Recipes Juicy pie redolent with fresh apples is sure to delight on Thanksgiving

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THE CANADIAN PRESS

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Here are three recipes for decadent desserts to serve your family and friends this Thanksgiving from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book (Random House) by Elizabeth Baird and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.

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Random House

This velvety-textured orange Bundt cake can be served with the syrup or an orange glaze. Either way, add orange sections and blueberries to each serving, if desired.

Random House

Apples and pumpkins are at their peak at this time of year, and many home cooks will incorporate them in delicious pies, cakes and cobblers for their family and friends.

Prizewinning Apple Pie

On Thanksgiving weekend The Village at Blue Mountain, Ont., fills with the fragrance of freshly baked apple pies. For this Quintessential Apple Pie Contest, bakers from this apple-growing region that rings Georgian Bay carry their pies - double crust, single crust, lattice top, streusel and more - to the judging tables. Baking enthusiast Brenda Hall of Collingwood, Ont., took first prize with this pie, which she called "Grandma Thompson's," a classic double-crust pie that's not too sweet but full and juicy with freshly harvested local McIntosh apples. For a fall pie, reroll the pastry scraps and cut out maple leaves to arrange over the top crust.

Double-Crust Sour Cream Pastry (recipe follows)

1 egg yolk

25 ml (2 tbsp) coarse sugar

Filling

8 apples (such as McIntosh or Northern Spy), about 3 lb (1.5 kg)

175 ml (3/4 cup) granulated sugar

25 ml (2 tbsp) cornstarch

5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon

Pinch each nutmeg and salt

25 ml (2 tbsp) butter, softened

Set out a 23-cm (9-inch) pie plate.

Filling: Peel and core apples; cut into 5-mm (1/4-inch) thick slices to make 2 l (8 cups). Place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, toss together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to apples and toss until coated.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to generous 3-mm (1/8-inch) thickness; fit into pie plate. Trim to rim of pie plate. Scrape in filling; dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry. Whisk egg yolk with 15 ml (1 tbsp) water; brush some of this egg wash over pastry on rim. Fit pastry over filling; trim to leave 2-cm (3/4-inch) overhang. Fold upper layer of pastry under pastry on rim; flute to seal. Brush some of the remaining egg wash lightly over pastry. Cut steam vents in top; sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in bottom third of 230 C (450 F) oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 C (350 F); bake until bottom is deep golden, apples are tender and filling is bubbly and thickened, about 65 minutes. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Set aside at room temperature for up to 8 hours.)

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: about 489 calories, 4 g protein, 25 g total fat (13 g saturated fat), 65 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre, 70 mg cholesterol, 208 mg sodium.

Double-Crust Sour Cream Pastry

625 ml (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

125 ml (1/2 cup) cold butter, cubed

125 ml (1/2 cup) cold lard, cubed

50 ml (1/4 cup) ice water (approx)

50 ml (3 tbsp) sour cream

In a large bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and lard until in fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.

In a liquid measure, whisk water with sour cream, drizzle over flour mixture, tossing briskly with a fork and adding a little more water, if necessary, until ragged dough forms.

Divide in half; press into 2 discs. Wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze in airtight container for up to 1 month.)

Makes enough for 1 double-crust 23-cm (9-inch) pie.

Orange Sour Cream Bundt Cake

This velvety-textured cake hails from the kitchen of veteran cake baker Malcah Sufrin. You can serve it with the syrup or an orange glaze. Either way, add orange sections and blueberries to each serving, if desired.

250 ml (1 cup) butter, softened

300 ml (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar

4 eggs, separated

15 ml (1 tbsp) finely grated orange rind

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla

500 ml (2 cups) all-purpose flour

7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) each baking powder and baking soda

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) sour cream

Syrup

125 ml (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

125 ml (1/2 cup) orange juice

75 ml (1/3 cup) orange-flavoured liqueur

Grease 9-inch (2.5-l) fancy or classic Bundt or tube pan; dust with flour. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with 250 ml (1 cup) of the sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in orange rind and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture alternately with sour cream, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of sour cream.

In a separate bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites until frothy; beat in remaining sugar, 15 ml (1 tbsp) at a time, until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third into batter; fold in remainder. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake in centre of 160 C (325 F) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack.

Syrup: Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, orange juice and liqueur to boil over medium heat; reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced to 175 ml (3/4 cup), about 7 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Brush half over warm cake. Let cool. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap; store at room temperature for up to 1 day or overwrap in heavy-duty-foil and freeze for up to 1 month.)

Serve with remaining syrup.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: about 314 calories, 4 g protein, 16 g total fat (10 g saturated fat), 38 g carbohydrate, 1 g fibre, 86 mg cholesterol, 325 mg sodium.

Orange Glaze

In a bowl, mix 175 ml (3/4 cup) icing sugar with 20 ml (4 tsp) orange juice, adding a little more juice if necessary to make pourable. Slowly pour over cooled cake. Let stand until glaze is dry, about 1 hour.

Turning Out a Bundt Cake

Let a large cake, like a Bundt cake, cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. With knife, gently loosen cake around edge and centre. Place rack over pan. Grasp bottom of pan and, holding rack firmly to top, turn cake over. Lift pan off. If pan sticks, turn cake and rack back over and, with thin flexible plastic blade, loosen cake where it is stuck. The pan should slide off when it's turned over.