I had my (super small group of) friends over today at my place. I wanted to cook for them and this my first time inviting them over for Eid. I have never celebrated Eid with friends because I don’t have a clique or cluster of friends that I regularly hang out with, unlike normal people who “jalan raya” in huge groups till the wee hours. So I decided to group my separate friendships together and invite them over today so I can feed them and be merry. Yay!
Initially, I wanted to do the whole ketupat and rendang galore food menu but then I realized at this point, people might be sick of it. Since I was learning Malay cooking from my mother recently, I decided to ask her to teach me how to cook her popular Mee Siam. Unfortunately, I was busy with the cleaning so I didn’t really get to help her. Sorry, Ma! But my mother being the MVP she is, cooked for me and friends. It was an added bonus to have my sister over to enjoy the food also.
I thought since my mother got the food covered, I wanted to make a dessert for everyone to end the meal. I had a hankering for pie. Just like how I make many decisions, I decided to make pies. After doing extensive research, I settled on blueberry and cherry pies because they seem to the simplest to make without me having to buy a lot of ingredients and to use what I mostly have at home.
Although my pie crust was not successful (I’m not giving up!), the fillings were pretty nice. Though the blueberry pie was a bit watery. Hopefully, a little tweaking here and there will make my second attempt more successful.
- 6 cups (890g) fresh blueberries*
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (28g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk — for brushing the top before baking
I like how simple this recipe is compared to others I found. The only thing that would cost you is the fresh blueberries but it is worth it. It was also advised not to use frozen blueberries because it would cause the filling to be more watery. Also, the filling is not too sweet and the cinnamon is a nice touch.
- 4 and 1/2 cups halved pitted fresh cherries (900g)
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (28g) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (it’s delicious!)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
The cherry pie was my personal favorite out of the two pies. The cherries were a bit costly and a little tedious since you have to remove the stem and seed of 900 grams of cherries. The almond extract was a nice contrast to bring out the flavor (and glorious smell) of the pie. Though both pies look identical, the pies tasted not very different also.
The one thing I never realized is pies are so much easier than cakes! Maybe the tedious part is the crust but you can always buy the ready-made pastry layers from any supermarket for $10 at most. I highly recommend these 2 recipes because they are foolproof and simple! I was also able to make 4 pies in total, 2 of each flavor which I froze to be used in the future. These pies can be frozen up to 3 months. It is also recommended to bake the pie the day before you intend to consume it so that the filling will have the night to set.
All in all, it was a rather successful day. I’m so happy that I could have my friends over to catch up and they could also meet my family. Nothing happier than the two groups of people who are important to me together.
xoxo
*ps: I boiled the remaining “juice” from the pie filling and it became jam!
Inshirah Majid 