Cooking Lesson #142 Abracadabra! Magic Water Pie

It’s Pie Week

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ABRA... Before Baking...

CADABRA... After Baking...

TA DA! Magic!

How you doin’? I know some of us are trying to catch up on our bills and we don’t want to spend money on a lot of expensive ingredients. With that in mind, all you need to make this pie is butter, warm water and a couple of other ingredients right from your pantry and that will equal one 9-inch Magic Pie. It couldn’t be easier to make. You won’t believe how buttery, delicious and magical this pie can be.
 
Water is the main ingredient in this pie—no kidding! While originally created during the Houdini era it has made a big comeback in the last 3 months and may even be more magical today than Penn & Teller. At Perspectives we constantly develop new products in our Research and Development test kitchen (The California Kitchen). But I must be honest with you; I don’t know how it quite works only that it does—it’s magic! It doesn’t look like is all going to coming together, but it does as it cool. It tastes a lot like a custard pie, but without the eggs.

So now, Abracadabra! You can make a pie out of water, plus a few simple ingredients. It’s like pulling rabbits out of a hat!
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  1 hour
Chill time:  1 hour
Yield:  5 to 8 servings
 
Ingredients
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, unbaked (store bought) If from frozen, completely defrost before filling
1-1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter cut into pats (we originally called for lard)
 
Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Set the pie crust on a foil-lined sheet pan to prevent it from making a mess in your oven.
3. Pour all the water into the pie crust. Really. Do it.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar.
5. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over water in crust. Do not stir! I know it’s tempting, but don’t!
6. Drizzle vanilla over water in pie crust.
7. Place pats of butter on top of the filled pie.
8. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Set a timer!
9. Reduce the heat to 375⁰F. You may have to cover sides of the crust (with foil) to prevent burning. Continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.
10. The Magic Pie will be watery when you pull it out of the oven, but magically it will set-up as it cools. No kidding—you will feel like either Penn or Teller.
11. Allow to cool completely and then cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour until well chilled before cutting.

ChefSecret: Between the layering of ingredients and the baking temperature a transformation of these simple ingredients makes the pie filling set up. Keep an eye on the oven temperature and the time and remember, no matter how much you’re tempted, don’t stir the pie filling.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “Things have gotten so bad, CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.”
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                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020