Life With Kathy

Jessica-Pies are Awesome

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paapromo1_jessicaholdingpie

Today we have a special guest with us. Her name is Jessica and she thinks Pies Are Awesome! She makes these wonderful pies with many great designs. You should see some of her creations, they’re amazing! I was able to ask her some questions, so you can see how she answered those below.

1. Have you always loved to bake?

Shockingly no! My husband is the chef in the family. In fact, before last year, I barely knew where my kitchen was… But each year I pick one new topic to learn about, and in 2015 I decided it was high time I learned how my oven worked.

2. How did you come up with these great pie ideas?

I love creating in all mediums – from clay sculptures, to films, to event decor, to Lego creations… Baking is just another medium for expressing my geeky passions. With each new pie I combine a subject near and dear to my heart (specific games, comics, toys, pop culture icons, etc.) and a new baking/decorating technique that I would like to try out. Sometimes the results are epic, sometimes the results are epic fails. But I always learn something new that helps me evolve as a baker!

3. You’re so creative with your pies. How long does it usually take to make one?

It depends entirely on the technique, and wether or not I’m making the dough and filling from scratch. My longest pie was 4.5 hours, my shortest 15 minutes – the latter when I’m using the Pie Guide stencils that I created.

4. What has been of your favorite pies you’ve made?

I have many favourites, but if I had to choose, I would pick my Crypt of the Necrodancer Pixel Pie, mainly because it features subject matter that I really love, was a totally new technique, and was especially fun to make.

5. What has been one of the hardest pies you’ve had to make?

The Crypt of the Necrodancer Pixel Pie while my fave, was also the hardest. It took some thinking… it’s the only pie I’ve made so far that required me to sit down with graphing paper and a calculator! But I was super happy with the end results.

6. Did anything inspire you to bake?

While I do like learning new things in general, what prompted me to select “baking” as one of those new things was my 2015 New Years resolution. I made a pledge to not eat any refined sugar what-so-ever that year, only fruit (man that was tough!) because I have a major sweet tooth. Out of desperation for desserts that did not include any sugar, honey, agave, juice etc. etc. I had to learn to make my own treats using only whole fruit. Pies were the best option for a no-sugar dessert that actually tasted good.

7. Do you have a favorite kind of pie?

Apple! I like the classics. Oreo pie and lemon meringue would be close seconds though…

8. Have you gone through any kind of challenges while making pies?

Knowing *nothing* about baking or cooking going in has resulted in many (humorous) challenges… I still don’t know how to crack an egg. My friends and family have bought me all sorts of tools to help me separate egg yolks from whites, but after many failed attempts I’ve resorted to buying egg whites in boxes.

Things that are second nature to other people I learn the hard way – like putting flour on your rolling pin, or not putting whip cream on a scalding hot pie out of the oven. Other less obvious things – like mixing food colouring with an alcohol-based extract to paint pie dough better, or using eqq whites to “blend” dough layers when sculpting – were also learned over time. But I’m not afraid to fail! The disasters taste just as good as the triumphs.

9. Would you like to add or say anything else to my readers?

Yes! Part of my mission is not just to create the most epic and out-there pies myself, but to encourage and celebrate other people making epic pies too! That’s why I’ve just launched my first ever Kickstarter campaign for my Pie Guides: a simple tool that helps anyone create super cool geeky pies in minutes, even if they’ve never baked before: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jessicabojin/piesareawesome

I post a new pie every week on my Instagram account @ThePieous, and I would love to hear what you think, and hear about all of your awesome pies too!

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I hope that you’ll all check out her wonderful creations. I was very impressed with many of them. She’s very talented!

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Comments

  15. Wow, so much talent! I WISH I was good at pies, I am awful at them though. This is really great!The designs are amazing.

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