Gateau Engadine

In baking, I have two nemeses – meringue and caramel. With meringue, I can never seem to beat the egg whites up to their full volume, despite pathologically ridding everything of oil (I even keep a separate washcloth just for meringue bowls). With caramel, I always end up burning it. However, encouraged by my recent success with butterscotch caramel, I decided to give this caramel pie a go.

The Gateau Engadine, named after the Swiss mountain region of the same name, is actually quite simple. It is basically walnuts and caramel encased in a shortbread crust. What’s not to like, I ask?

Burnt caramel, I say. To be fair (to me), I didn’t actually burn the caramel. But it did have a slightly bitter taste. I am quite convinced that the fructo-oligosaccharide I used instead of corn syrup has a lower cooking temperature, and causes this slight bitterness. I think I was convinced of this last year, actually, but I’ve still not gotten hold of regular ole corn syrup. So maybe this is really just the taste of laziness!

I was extremely hesitant as to whether I should bring this pie to the gathering I was attending. It was quite good, but sub-par, in my opinion. Even though I was running late, I sat around and debated the point with myself for awhile. In the end, I decided to bring it with me. I concluded that the spirit of the project was in the “trying” instead of in making things perfect (as much as perfection pleases me…). And besides, a mediocre pie is still pie!

I was really glad I did because no one seemed to notice the bitterness (or was too polite to?), and just complimented the buttery, nuttiness of the pie. The whole thing disappeared within minutes, and all I had to take home was the pan. I’ll call that a success :)

*****

As it turns out, I had corn syrup in my pantry after all! I’d completely forgotten it was there. It was the dark kind, and a quick internet search revealed that dark corn syrup is just as good as the light, as long as you rely on a thermometer instead of the color to determine the caramel’s “doneness.” And of course I had to give it a try! So, I made a mini Engadine with pastry scraps and leftover nuts and cream…  And it was de-li-cious! Indulgent even. Like a caramel candy bar sandwiched between two shortbread cookies. I wish I could’ve shared this one with people!

I think this reaffirms the fact that acquiring the right ingredients is integral to any cooking project. I guess that’s what makes this a real challenge!