Cherpumple Cheesecake Pie-Scraper


Ingredients:
unsalted butter, powdered sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, cold water, gelatin, pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, white chocolate chips, egg, heavy cream, powdered sugar

Directions:
—Special Equipment—.
You will need between three and six 6” round tart forms, a leaf-shaped cookie cutter, and paint brushes to make this recipe.
—Make Your Pie Dough—.
Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until creaming, then add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on low until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, salt, and spices and whisk to mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture to the butter all at once, and mix on low. Mix only until the flour is just incorporated, because over-mixing could lead to tough crusts that shrink down in the oven. A little shrinking is fine, but too much and you’ll have differently-sized pie layers, which could make stacking difficult.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, then split the dough into quarters. Split each quarter into three for a total of 12 pieces of dough. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator.
—Form & Bake Your Pie Shells—.
Preheat the oven to 350°F Line two half-sheet pans with baking paper and place two (or if you can fit them comfortably, three] of your tart molds on each.
Dust your counter surface with a light sprinkling of flour. Using a rolling pin, roll your first piece of dough into as round a shape as possible, with a thickness of about 1/8th of an inch.  Carefully pick it up (I use a large flat spatula that I also use for moving delicate cake layers around] and rest the dough on the form, gently using your fingers to nudge and nestle it into place.
Cut away the excess dough from the top of the form using a small, sharp paring knife.
Continue until you’ve prepped all the tart forms on your two sheet pans. Place the sheets in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to let the dough rest. Then prick the base of the dough all over with a fork to keep bubbles from misshaping the dough in the oven.
Place a square of parchment paper over each tart and weigh down the dough with beans or baking beads. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the parchment papers and weights and bake the shells for another 2-3 minutes until the tarts are a nice very light, toasty brown.
Take the crusts out of the oven and allow to come to room temperature. Remove the baked shells from the molds and set aside, then repeat with your remaining dough until you have all twelve shells baked.
Now you’re ready to make your fillings!
—Prep for All Fillings—.
Divide the water into three small bowls, each with 1/4 cup cold water in it. Sprinkle 2 1/2 teaspoons gelatin over each and set aside to bloom.
—Prep for the Cherry Filling—.
Place your cherry jam in a small saucepan and heat until bubbling. Mix in one bowl of bloomed gelatin, stirring for 1-2 minutes until it melts completely. Place the jam in a small bowl and set in the refrigerator to cool.
—Prep for the Pumpkin Filling—.
Technically you don’t have to cook canned pumpkin, but since we’re adding some sugar it’s best to heat it until it starts to bubble, add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and one bowl of gelatin, and cook down for about 5 minutes. Place in a medium bowl in the refrigerator to cool.
—Prep for the Apple Filling—.
Peel your apples, and then chop the flesh into small chunks. Add them to a saucepan with your sugar and cinnamon, and cook over medium for about 10-15 minutes, until the apples have released their water and start to fall apart in the pan. Squeeze in the lemon and add the last bowl of gelatin, and mix to combine. Place in a medium bowl in the refrigerator to cool.
—Prepare the Cheesecake Base—.
Place the cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the condensed milk and continue beating another 20 seconds or so, until the mixture is homogenous. Pour into a medium bowl and set aside.
Pour your cold cream into the bowl of your stand mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment. Whip at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
—Finish the Fillings—.
Make sure the fillings are at room temperature at the very warmest. If any have started to set up in the refrigerator, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it without making it warm. Fold the cherry jam into 1/3 of the cheesecake base, the sweetened pumpkin into 1/3, and the apple compote into 1/3. Using a large spoon, dollop each filling into 4 tarts and use an offset spatula to smooth the filling out. You will have some of each filling left over!
With your leftover filling, set each flavor aside in its own Tupperware or bowl covered in plastic wrap.
—Layer the Pies—.
Begin by placing a cake board or plate on a turntable, and spreading a dab of any type of filling in the middle to secure the base. Place one of your filled, set pies on top of the board, making sure it’s centered.
This next step is a little nerve-wracking the first time, but because of the sturdiness of this crust and the gelatin in the filling, these “pie-scraper” towers are actually surprisingly stable! To stack for ultimate stability, use an offset spatula to spread a little of whichever flavor of filling you’re stacking on top of to add some fresh mousse to the top. Place the next pie layer directly on top of that fresh mousse, which will stick to the bottom. Make sure the layers are lined up as perfectly as possible before moving on to stack the next layer! When you reach the final layer, no need to add any more filling to it unless it really started to dip down as it.
I stacked in the following order: pumpkin-apple-cherry-pumpkin-apple-cherry etc. However, you can and should stack however you like. You will have filling left over, but rejoice! It is super delicious served on its own as a yummy cheesecake mousse.
Wrap the layered pie in plastic and put it in the refrigerator at least overnight, at most for 48 hours. It’s okay if some of the pie layers crack a little on the sides overnight—as the filling sets, it contracts, which can cause the weight to shift and these fractures can appear. It’s alright though, the structural integrity is sound as long as you slice and eat the layered pie within two days.
—Make the Leaf Decorations—.
Preheat your oven to 350°. Line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper.
Remove your leftover dough scraps from the refrigerator and place on a countertop lightly dusted with flour. Roll out your dough to 1/8th inch thickness, and use your leaf cookie cutter to cut out as many leaf shapes as you can.
Paint orange, yellow, and red gel colors onto the leaves, then place in the oven for about 2 minutes to set the color. While the color is setting, crack an egg in a bowl and add two tablespoons water. Whisk to combine, creating an egg wash.
Remove the leaves from the oven and use a pastry brush to coat each leaf in egg wash.
Place the sheet back in the oven and bake the leaves for an additional 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are a nice toasty golden color.
Allow the leaves to cool on a rack, and marvel at their pretty shine! If you want to go the extra extra mile, dip a very thin brush into black gel color and add veins and an outline to each leaf.
—Decorate the Layered Pie—.
At most about an hour before serving, melt a handful of white or dark chocolate chips and set aside. Remove the pie from the refrigerator and use a small knife or spatula to spread a little chocolate on the back of each leaf, then hold it up against the side of the pie to allow the chocolate to cool and adhere the leaf.
I lined my leaves up around the bottom and reserved two for the top, but depending on how many you make and what size they are, you can decide to create a pretty cascade of leaves, pile them up on the top of the pie, or anything else you can imagine!
Whip a cup of cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and use a large start tip to pipe cream swirls on top of the pie.
Then combine 1 cup powdered sugar with a tablespoon of water and slowly mix in more water 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you reach a pourable consistency. Add a few drops of purple and a drop of red food gel to get a deep berry color. Put the glaze in a squeeze bottle or use a spoon to create drips down the sides of the pie.
—Slice & Serve—.
Using a large, sharp kitchen knife, slice into the top up to the center point of the cake and push the knife straight down. You may feel some resistance, but persevere! Make sure you’ve cut all the way down to the board.
It is important to keep this pie cool at all times, especially once you start cutting pieces out of it, because it will become less stable at room temperature. Just make sure if you don’t finish it at once, you wrap it up in plastic again and put it back in the fridge!