Gabrielle Turner recently won first place in the Berry Pie Contest at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Market with this flaky cherry pie.
Turner said she considers herself an accomplished baker, except when it comes to pies. “As a child I participated in food competitions at the fair. I make cakes, cupcakes, cookies. But I am relatively new to cakes.”
Cakes, she said, can be a bit demanding. “I think it takes a certain dedication, technique and precision. You can’t rush it. You have to be meticulous about it. I probably had a lot more failures than successes.”
However, she was happy with the cake she made for the competition. She said if you don’t overwork the dough, you’ll get a flaky crust. “It’s okay to have chunks of butter, as long as they’re broken,” she said.
She also finds it important to keep the dough cold. “Everything is cold from start to finish (until it goes into the oven). I use butter straight from the fridge. I use ice water. And I refrigerate my dough after rolling it, usually for two or three hours. The dough really needs time to rest.”
Send requests or recipes to Recipe Swap, c/o Michael Hastings, Food Editor, Winston-Salem Journal, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101; or email [email protected] Include name, address and a telephone number during the day. Previously published recipes are available at www.journalnow.com.
