Did you know that, in the UK, we each eat an average of 36 pies per year? Probably not, we imagine, but the fact that Brits eat a pie every ten days clearly shows why British Pie Week has become one of the country's favourite national awareness days.
Taking place from March 7th - 14th, Pie Week is designed to raise the profile of the humble pie even higher. Hot or cold, sweet or savoury, big or small, everyone has their favourite but one question still remains: which pies go best with coffee? We decided to not only find out but also tell you how to make them.
Banoffee Pie
When it comes to sweet pies, they don't come much sweeter than the legendary banoffee. These colourful delights go great with a coffee as a reward after a long day at work.
Ingredients
To make a banoffee pie, you will need:
4 bananas, sliced
394g caramel
300ml double cream
dark chocolate (optional)
For the pastry, you will need:
100g butter, chilled (plus extra for greasing)
200g plain flour
1 medium egg, separated
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
Begin by preheating your oven to 190C/170C/gas 4, then make the pastry. Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and sugar, then pulse again until mixed. Finally, add one tbsp at a time of very cold water - pulsing the processor after each tbsp - until the dough starts to come together as a single piece. When this happens, remove the dough and knead it with your hands until smooth. Wrap tightly with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Next, grease a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin, then roll the chilled pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and use it to line the tin. Leave an excess of approx a ½cm of pastry around the edge, then cut it to length with scissors. Place a piece of parchment paper on the pastry and weigh it down with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and brush the pastry with beaten egg white. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Fill the pastry case with half of the caramel, layer the sliced bananas on top, then add the rest of the caramel and place in the fridge. Whip the cream until thick and spread over the tart. Garnish with 2-3 pieces of finely grated dark chocolate and serve with a cappuccino to perfectly accentuate the bitterness of the chocolate and enhance the sweetness of the banana and caramel.
Roast Chicken Pie
Pork pies are sensational, obviously, but if you're going to the effort of making your own savoury pie, why not push the boat out with this chicken, bacon and leek filled classic? One of the greatest dishes ever created, this goes great with a frothy coffee when all you want to do is kick back and get comfortable.
Ingredients
To make a roast chicken pie, you will need:
For the pastry:
250g flour
1 tsp salt
60g cold butter
60g cold lard
For the filling:
1 whole chicken, rubbed with butter
1 tbsp olive oil
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped into lardons
3 leeks, sliced into rounds
45g butter
45g plain flour
225ml milk
200ml chicken stock
100g petits pois
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
25g pack parsley, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten, to glaze
Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 5, then season the chicken and roast for 90 minutes or until the juices run clear.
To make the pastry, sift the salt and flour into a bowl, then grate in the lard and butter. Rub the mixture with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add 2 tbsp cold water. Continue to add cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture binds together, then wrap tightly in cling film and leave to rest.
Next, in a large, non-stick frying pan, heat the oil and fry the bacon. Once browned, reduce the heat, add the leeks and cook until soft. Mix the butter and flour together and add to the pan, ensuring it coats the bacon and leeks. Gradually add the milk while stirring continually, then add the chicken stock and petit pois and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mustard and remove from the heat.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes, then carve - discarding the skin and bones - and add to the pan along with the parsley.
Increase the oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 6, then roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use to line a 25cm pie dish. Spoon in the filling, then roll out the remaining pastry for the pie topping. Brush the edges of the pie with water, then lat the top over it and crimp and seal the edges. Brush with beaten egg then make an X-shaped incision in the middle to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes until golden. Serve to hungry friends or family with a latte for maximum indulgence.
Apple Hand Pies
These irresistible golden treats are perfect hot, cold, on their own or served with cream or custard and are the perfect accompaniment to a strong cup of coffee.
Ingredients
To make five apple hand pies, you will need:
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3cm chunks
50g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
25g salted butter, cubed
320g sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
1 tbsp cornflour
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp demerara sugar
Put a saucepan over a medium heat, add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes until the apples soften. Tip the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool.
Unroll the pastry with the short side facing toward you, cut in half lengthways to make two rectangles, then cut each into five smaller rectangles.
Once cool, toss the apple mixture with the cornflour and spoon into the middle of half the pastry rectangles. Brush the exposed pastry around the mixture with some of the beaten egg, then carefully place the plain pastry rectangle on top of the filling, pressing down around the sides to encase. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork, then use just the tip of a knife to cut three lines across the top of the pies to allow steam to escape.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, arrange the pies on top and brush all over with more of the beaten egg. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Next, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, brush the pies with the remaining egg, sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Serve with an espresso for the ultimate pick-me-up.
The Pie’s the Limit!
Here at Cafe2U, we can't resist a good pie/coffee combo and we're sure you'll love it
too. To have some of our top-quality coffee delivered straight to your door, contact your nearest Cafe2U van here.