In Search of Baking Friends

[SirPies]

I found you all! Like many folks (I'm sure) my interest in baking has skyrocketed this year. But I need a community to troubleshoot and brainstorm ideas! I accidentally started a pie-making business out of my small, apartment kitchen (100 pies sold in 6 months) - and I'm also always looking for new and exciting recipes to try. Desserts are the priority. Yeast is terrifying/magical. And can anyone tell me what IS a turtle pie?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I found you all! Like many folks (I'm sure) my interest in baking has skyrocketed this year. But I need a community to troubleshoot and brainstorm ideas! I accidentally started a pie-making business out of my small, apartment kitchen (100 pies sold in 6 months) - and I'm also always looking for new and exciting recipes to try. Desserts are the priority. Yeast is terrifying/magical. And can anyone tell me what IS a turtle pie?

Turtle pie is a ice cream and dacquoise pie. It was created by an upscale restaurant chain here in California called the Velvet Turtle. The versions of turtle pie that you see online are not any close to what we ate at the Velvet Turtle.

 

[SirPies]

Interesting - seems like it's become more of an idea than a specific dessert anymore. I've found maybe a dozen recipes so far in cookbooks and online that are all COMPLETELY different in design and techniques, let alone flavor ratios! I have yet to figure out what's the central idea of "turtle pie" inspiring all of these. Thanks for sharing this history and your perspective!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Interesting - seems like it's become more of an idea than a specific dessert anymore. I've found maybe a dozen recipes so far in cookbooks and online that are all COMPLETELY different in design and techniques, let alone flavor ratios! I have yet to figure out what's the central idea of "turtle pie" inspiring all of these. Thanks for sharing this history and your perspective!

I don’t think there was a concept behind the pie. The name turtle pie comes from the name of the restaurant, The Velvet Turtle. They just took the ice cream cake uptown by adding dacquoise. The Velvet Turtle was a place where you went for your anniversary or senior prom dinner. We didn’t even have one in our county—we had to drive an hour and a half to the San Francisco Peninsula where the rich people lived