SC - Snark Pie (OP)

[cclark at vicon.net]

Francesco Sirene wrote:
>from *The Kelowna Hospital Women's Auxiliary Cook Book* compiled and
>published by the Kelowna Hospital Women's Auxiliary, Kelowna, B.C., November
>1936:
>
>"SNARK PIE ...

Thanks.

Now here's a first approximation of an adaptation of the recipe, in an
attempt to make it better suited to the tastes of authenticity snarks. The
amounts have yet to be tested; the recipe may need a bit of adjusting.

AUTHENTICITY SNARK PIE

Make a short paste of flour, butter, water, an egg yolk, and a little
saffron. Let it rest, then make a coffin in a trap and set it in the oven
til it be hard.

2 cups flour
2/3 c. melted butter
1/3 c. warm water
1 egg yolk
a little salt to taste
a few threads of saffron, ground or crumbled just before mixing in

Mix all above ingredients, stirring until smooth. Add flour if needed to
make a moderately stiff dough. Let it rest (in the refrigerator) for about
half an hour, then roll it out and make a 9" pie shell. Fill with pastry
weights, beans, or loose cereal (in a form that won't stick inside), and
bake in a moderate oven until dry and somewhat browned. Remove weights and
let cool.

The crust might stay crisper if it is brushed with a little melted butter
before filling.

SPICED CREAM FILLING

Take cream of cow milk or thick milk of almonds, mix therewith amydon or
rice flour and stir it on the fire until it is somewhat thickened, mix in
sugar, canel, nutmeg, cloves of gilofre and maces, and yolks of eggs, and
let it not boil once the yolks be therein, and fill your coffin therewith.

1 c. whole milk
2 c. light cream
1/3 c. rice flour, sifted through a fine wire mesh strainer (or cloth)
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. mace
a small pinch of salt
3 large or 4 small egg yolks, lightly beaten with a bit of milk

Mix milk, cream and rice flour. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring
frequently; reduce heat and cook, stirring constantly, until somewhat
thickened and smooth. Stir in the sugar and spices (mixed together before
adding), and then reduce heat to very low. Temper the egg yolks by beating
in some of the hot cream mixture. Add the egg yolks to the pot and cook,
stirring constantly, until it is a bit thicker. Let cool, then pour into the
crust.

SNOW TOPPING

Take some sweet thick cream, and the white of one or two eggs, a little
sherris-sack, or rose water, and as much sugar as will sweeten it; then take
a stick of birch, and make it clean, and cut it in the end four square, and
whip all the aforesaid things together; as it riseth take it off and put it
onto the pie, until the pie is all covered with snow.

an adaptation using modern methods:
1/2 c. whipping cream, cold
3 Tbsp. superfine sugar
1/2 tsp. rose water *or* 2 Tbsp. cream sherry
1 large egg white, at room temperature

Whip cream to soft peaks. Add sugar and rose water, and whip briefly, to
firm peaks. Beat egg white (with clean beaters) to stiff peaks. Fold egg
white gently into cream, then top the pie with this. Serve at once. To a
snark. :-)

Notes: 

The rose water may be increased or decreased according to the strength of
your supply thereof.

Raw egg white might contain pathogenic bacteria. The risk can be reduced by
storing in the refrigerator, using while fresh, warming it only just before
beating, and eating promptly afterwards. The risk could be eliminated if you
can get pasteurized egg whites.

Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon

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