Spring Dessert {Old Fashioned Cajun Tarte à la Bouille}

Tarte à la Bouille, or custard pie, is an old time Cajun dessert.

It's a simple thing, made with simple ingredients...like most old fashioned Cajun dishes.
And like most classic Cajun dishes, it's the simplicity and honesty in the food that makes it something special.

This pie is made with what we call "sweet dough."  The sweet dough crust is more like a sugar cookie or a sweet shortbread than typical pie crust.  Sweet dough is often used to make fruit filled turnovers we call "sweet dough pies."

Sweet dough pies are popular treats at local festivals.  Actually, they even have their own festival in the fall in Grand Coteau, LA.

But back to the Tarte à la Bouille.

The filling is a simple vanilla custard that can easily be modified with other flavors.

The dough...well...the dough.  

Let's just be real for a second.  I'm no baker.  Truth: I hate baking.  It's fussy with measurements and sifting.  Softening and chilling.  Cutting and rolling.  Oh, and lots of dirty dishes.

So why I thought making my own pie dough was a good idea, I'll never know.

I struggled.  And it pissed me off.  Words were said.  Not so nice words.
But the pie did turn out well.  

Note: this recipe calls for a lattice top.  A bottom crust is pretty much all I could manage.  The remaining dough is in my freezer waiting for another day's adventure.

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Tarte à la Bouille
slightly adapted from Nun Better: Tastes and Tales from Around a Cajun Table

For the Sweet Dough:
3/4 cups shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda

Cream the shortening and sugar together.  Add milk, egg, and vanilla and mix well.  Sift the flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda.  Add to the milk mixture and mix to form dough.  Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.  
Roll out onto a floured surface to fit a 9" pie plate.  Use the remaining dough for a lattice top.

For the Custard:
2/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, flour, salt, and eggs well in a heatproof bowl.  In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.  Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well until the egg mixture is warm.  Add all of the egg mixture to the saucepan with the milk.  Cook over medium heat until thickened.  Cool slightly and add the vanilla.  Spoon the custard into the pie shell and add the lattice top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 


 More Spring/Easter Desserts...

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Mardi Gras 2015 {King Cake Bread Pudding and Children's Mardi Gras}

This year’s King Cake was going to be a jelly roll style cake in purple, green, and gold.

Only I still haven't gotten past my fear of making a jelly roll cake.
So that doesn't really work out too well.

Alternate plan: King Cake Bread Pudding.

Bread pudding has long been a way to use leftover/stale bread.

Only there’s no such thing as leftover King Cake.

If there is, you're doing something wrong.
So that’s not really going to work out too well either.

No King Cake leftovers to turn into bread pudding.
But I wanted my bread pudding to taste like a King Cake.

So...King Cake Vodka.
Making my King Cake Bread Pudding a reality.

I had plenty of stale French bread, hamburger, and hot dog buns.  The custard was infused with King Cake Vodka, cinnamon, and hints of lemon to give that traditional King Cake taste.

A powdered sugar glaze went on top, along with the colored sugars found on a King Cake.

It tasted like a real King Cake, but was much easier and quicker to make.
(Recipe Below)

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I run Cajun Mardi Gras with the Basile Mardi Gras Association.  The Sunday before Mardi Gras, they host a Children's Run for kids up to 16 years old.

Here's my Mardi Gras

Performing  La Chanson de Mardi Gras (the Mardi Gras Song) before starting the run

All the boys ready to head out

Colorful costumes on a foggy day

Begging like a Mardi Gras should

And catching a chicken--every Mardi Gras' wish for the day

While the adults who run Mardi Gras are fueled by liquid courage, these kids are hopped up on doughnuts.



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King Cake Bread Pudding

For bread pudding:
8-9 cups cubed stale bread
3 cups milk
1/2 cup King Cake Vodka
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together milk, vodka, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Fold in the bread cubes.  Pour into an 8 x 8 oven safe dish.  Bake for about 45 minutes.  The bread pudding is ready when a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow pudding to cool before decorating or the colored sugar will melt.

For glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp King Cake Vodka

Add the powdered sugar to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of King Cake Vodka.  Add more vodka, a little at a time, until the glaze is a thick but pourable consistency.

For colored sugar:
(can be made ahead)
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided in thirds
purple food coloring, or red and blue
green food coloring
yellow food coloring

Divide the sugar into three plastic bags.  Add 3-4 drops of yellow food coloring to one bag.  Knead the color into the sugar. Repeat with green food coloring. For purple, I like to use purple food paste to get a rich purple color. Red and blue food coloring can also be used.


Once the bread pudding has cooled, drizzle the powdered sugar glaze over the top.  Decorate with the purple, green, and gold sugars.

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Mardi Gras 2015 {Meat Pies}

Only 20 days until Mardi Gras 2015.

Parades haven't started quite yet.
They don't start in New Orleans until Jan 31.  In Cajun country/Acadiana it's not until Feb 7.

My first event isn't until Feb 1...a Courir de Mardi Gras & Bal du Dimanche at Vermilionville in Lafayette, LA

Wanna know a secret?
I'm not feelin' it just yet.
I like a late Mardi Gras.   March is ideal.

I need a little breather after finishing 3 months of non-stop stuff.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas.  New Year's.  The Boy's 13th birthday.

Seems like other people feel the same way too.  Not many people I know have decorated yet or even had their first King Cake of the year.  (Ok...I've had King Cake already.  Two.  Who's counting?)

Maybe some festive food will jazz me up?

I've always wanted to try making Natchitoches Meat Pies.  Made famous in Natchitoches, LA--home of Steel Magnolias--these pies are filled with ground beef or ground beef and pork and are most often fried.

They make good "parade food"  since they're portable and can easily be brought out to the parade route.

I filled mine with a seasoned ground venison and pork mix.  Made some tasty dipping sauces too:
Creamy Remoulade (also like on Shrimp Po'Boys)
Creole Mayonnaise (like on pretty much anything)
Jalapeno Buttermilk Dip (was a little too thin)

Some pies were baked, others we tried fried.
Fried won the taste test.

It's Carnival Time, afterall.

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Natchitoches Meat Pies (Venison & Pork)

makes about 45  4" pies

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground venison
1/2 lb ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-3 teaspoons hot sauce
3-4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoons flour
splash of water

1 recipe pie dough (below)
1 egg, beaten

oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add venison and pork to the pan and brown, breaking the meat into small pieces.  Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute for 5-7 minutes.  Add seasonings, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Lower to medium heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour and about 1 tbsp water over the meat mixture and stir.  Cook for a few more minutes to help dry out the mixture.  Place mixture in refrigerator for about 15 minutes to cool.

Divide dough into 4 sections.  Place 3 back in refrigerator and the fourth on a floured counter top.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick.  Cut dough into circles with a 4" diameter.  Dough scraps can be rerolled.

Brush edges of each circle with beaten egg.  Place 1 to 1/2 Tbsp filling on each circle of dough slightly off center.  Fold the circle to make a crescent shape.  Seal by pressing with the tines of a fork.  Place pies on a lightly floured cookie sheet.

Repeat with all four sections of dough.  Using the full recipe of dough plus rerolled scraps should yield about 45 pies

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 350 F.  Fry the pies for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Pies can be frozen and fried without thawing.  They will take closer to 15 minutes.

Drain pies on paper towels and serve.

*Pies can also be baked at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.


Meat Pie Dough
(from Real Cajun by Donald Link)

5 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water

Add flour and salt to a large bowl.  Cut butter into flour with two forks, a pastry cutter, or your hands.  Work butter into flour mixture until it looks like small pebbles.  Stir in water with a fork until dough pulls together.  Knead until smooth.

Place dough on work surface dusted with flour; roll into a rectangle.  Fold the rectangle over itself in three sections--like folding a letter.  Repeat rolling into a rectangle and folding into a letter 4 times.  Chill dough until firm (at least 15 minutes).


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Creamy Remoulade

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 Tablespoon Creole mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon green onions, finely chopped
1/2 Tablespoon parsley, minced

Thoroughly whisk the first 7 ingredients (through paprika).  Stir in the celery, green onion, and parsley.  Refrigerate--better if made ahead.  Makes about 1/2 cup.


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Creole Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayo
2 heaping Tablespoon Zatarain's Creole Mustard
1/2- 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Combine all 3 ingredients in a bowl.  Makes about 1/2 cup.


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Jalapeno Buttermilk Dip

1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Dip will be thin.  Makes about 1/2 cup.

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