The Best Elegant & Show-Stopping Cranberry Pie
An elegant and festive cranberry pie featuring a unique, pink-hued crust and a light, airy chiffon filling. The from-scratch pie crust is made with finely ground dehydrated cranberries, butter, and a touch of vodka for extra flakiness. The crust is blind-baked until golden and crisp. The no-bake filling is a mousse-like mixture made by cooking down fresh cranberries into a puree, which is then stabilized with gelatin and folded into a homemade sweetened whipped cream. The pie is chilled until set and can be decorated with beautiful sugared cranberries.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 7 hours (includes chilling times)
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup finely ground dehydrated unsweetened cranberries
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) very cold butter, cut into cubes
- 5 tablespoons very cold vodka
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- For the Filling:
- 1/4 cup triple sec
- 1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup very cold heavy cream
- For the Decorations:
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Orange peel, cut into thin strips
- Sweetened whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Make the Crust: In a food processor, pulse the flour, ground cranberries, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces form. Add 3 tablespoons of a vodka-vinegar mixture and pulse until the dough comes together, adding more liquid if needed. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Roll the chilled dough into a round and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp the edges and refrigerate for another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake for another 25-30 minutes, until golden. Cool completely.
- Make the Filling: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of triple sec to bloom.
- In a saucepan, cook the cranberries, orange zest and juice, ginger, 1/2 cup sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons of triple sec for about 10 minutes, until the cranberries pop.
- Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture until dissolved. Transfer to a blender, let cool slightly, then puree until very smooth. Pour into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
- In a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to stiff peaks.
- Stir one-third of the whipped cream into the cooled cranberry mixture to lighten it. Then, gently fold the cranberry mixture into the remaining whipped cream until no streaks remain.
- Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight, until set.
- Decorate and Serve: Before serving, make sugared cranberries by tossing fresh cranberries in a lightly beaten egg white, then in sugar, and letting them dry.
- Top the pie with whipped cream, the sugared cranberries, and orange peel strips.
Notes
- This pie requires multiple chilling steps for the dough and the final filling, so it’s a great make-ahead dessert.
- Using vodka in the pie crust is a technique that helps to create an extra-tender and flaky result.
- Blooming the gelatin before adding it to the hot cranberry mixture is a crucial step to ensure it dissolves properly.
- The article references a ‘Cook’s Note’ for the flour that is not provided in the text.
Find it online: https://www.eatswithsoul.com/stopping-cranberry-pie-recipe/