The PieCaken - For SCIENCE
June 24, 2012

I spend a lot of time on the internet - a lot of time. Every once in a while, something comes across my bows that catches my interest. I had no time, inclination, nor desire, to embark on this adventure today, yet here I am: 3 trips to the store, 2 baking sessions, and 2 attempts at frosting later, and I am MASTER of my frigging kitchen. Kneel before me, Baked Goods! Bow to my will!

It started with a Facebook message about a pie baked inside a cake - called a Piecaken, like a chicken baked inside a duck baked inside a turkey is called a Turducken. I asked Keely what kind of pie she wanted and what kind of cake, the rest, you shall see:

First off, I have 9" pie pans and 9" cake pans. I needed a pie that would fit INSIDE a cake, so I went to Wal-Mart and saw I could buy a single spring-form pan for $8.75 or buy a set of 3 - 8", 9" and 10" - for $9.50. I decided to make a 8" pie and put it in a 10" cake. Keely is a fan of chocolate (always dark, never milk) so a bit o Duncan Hines and some fake pie crusts and I was in business.

I used the 8" spring-form to cut the top crust of the pie (you don't want to have a big glob of crust.) In retrospect, I probably should have used the 9" spring-form as the cutter.

Bottom crust stuffed in the greased 8" spring-form.

16oz of frozen raspberries, 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons corn starch for the filling. Cooked on the stove until thick.

A little extra top crust would have let me make a better seal.

Grandma Linn taught me to never let anything go to waste. Extra crust? Smear with extra filling and bake for 15 minutes - now you have Crust Treats. How frugal was Grandma Linn? I remember once, I was 6 years old or so, and Grandma Linn was making me chop wood for the stove. I cut my finger and she came out and scolded me:"Bah! In old country, boys don't get axes until they pull one from head of enemy. Here, give me hand." She took my finger, put it in her mouth and sucked on the cut. She spit the blood on the ground and said "Bah! Not enough to make blood sausage for dinner. Worthless boy, quit crying and chop."

{That whole story was a lie - Grandma Linn was a very kind woman whose ancestors emigrated from Scotland in 1703. She never made me chop wood. I learned to make Crust Treats from my mom.}

15 minutes later, um um good. The pie kept cooking.

There it is, 55 minutes at 350°

And there it is, naked. I made sure it had cooled completely.

I mixed up the cake batter and poured a layer into the bottom of the 10" spring-form pan.

How to get the pie into the cake without breaking? I first made sure it was free from the bottom of the form (everyone should have a 14" Chef's knife in the kitchen.) and sort of slid it into the 10" form.

There it is! An easy 1" all the way around.

I dumped the rest of the cake batter onto the pie and smeared it around so it was completely covered. The box says cook it for 31 minutes at 325°. I ended up cooking it for almost an hour before it was done.

And there it is, cooling on the cutting board. Did you know I once refused to buy a house because it didn't have a cutting board? I reasoned if they had skimped on the cutting board, they skimped elsewhere. My kitchen actually has 2 cutting boards.

I didn't like my first run at frosting: 1c powdered sugar, stick 'o butter, and 1/4c powdered chocolate. I made the mistake of using sweetened cocoa and the mix turned out kind of grainy.

Next try went WAY better: 1/2 stick butter, 4oz cream cheese, 3tbsp cocoa, 3/4c powdered sugar, and a tsp of vanilla. That's some good stuff right there.

Finished piecaken

It slices very nicely

Oh MAN, it tastes like angels having an orgy in your mouth! I took a pic of Keely trying a bite, but it was too . . . orgasmic . . . is that the right word? {checks picture again} Yup, too orgasmic for public view.

That's it, folks. Piecaken? Yeah, I've done that.