What on earth is a Piecaken, you ask?  I had no clue until my friends invited me to Piecaken Fest 2013!

Do you recall that Turducken craze a while back? Photos of Turducken were plastered all over the internet.  Basically, a turducken is a chicken stuffed into a duck, stuffed into a turkey and then cooked.  I haven’t tried it, and can’t say that I have any desire to attempt that.  I do find all these food creations and combos interesting though.  Anyway, a Piecaken is similar to the Turducken in idea.  It’s a pie backed into a cake. Hence, the name “Piecaken”.

Who would be crazy enough to attempt baking a pie into a cake and then having a festival dubbed the “Piecaken Fest 2013”?  My friends, of course!

We don’t normally gorge ourselves on carbs.  My friends are veritable foodies who know good food and good wine.  The Piecaken Fest was really a challenge in creativity and mastery in the kitchen.   One person joked that we should dub the Piecaken Fest “Piecaken Fest – Welcome to our gluttony” and another said we should have a Piecaken Parade (after the Piecaken tasting is done)!

A whole lotta Piecaken!

Savoury Piecaken

I entered the Savoury Piecaken category.  For some reason, I thought most people would be making sweet piecakens, so I figured savoury would be a good call.  Little did I know, the competition for savoury piecakens would be fierce!  Check out all these beautiful creations!

1. Bacon & onion quiche baked into a savoury zucchini “cake”
2. Meat pie baked in a vegetable cake
3. Phyllo-wrapped Smoked Salmon in a quiche
4. Yogurt cornbread topped with mixed cheeses with a Chicken Pot Pie baked inside
5. Tourtiere in a sour cream cornbread with organic ketchup glaze

I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to cast my vote for the best savoury piecaken, as looking at all those carb-laden dishes was quite daunting!  Thankfully, I had my Mini Piecaken Tester with me! She helped me sample a bit of each.

 We both agreed that the Phyllo-wrapped Smoked Salmon baked inside a quiche was our favourite savoury piecaken. She wanted to off-set all the piecaken with veggies! Smart girl!  My friend made a few delicious salads as well. The spinach salad with balsamic fig dressing was fabulous.

Then there was dessert!

Sweet Piecaken

Wow. In the Sweet Piecaken category, there were SEVEN piecaken entries!  I can’t recall the order they were in or their “official” names.

1. Faken Piecaken (Banana Cream Pie in a Chocolate Cake with coconut topping
2. Cherry Pie baked in a Chocolate Cake
3. Pear Pie with Crumble in a Vanilla Cake with Crumble topping
4. Strawberry Pie in a Sprinkle Cake with whipped cream topping
5. Apple Pie in an Ice Cream Cake
6. Pumpkin Pie in a no-bake cheesecake
7. Mincemeat Pie in a Christmas Cake (with LOTS of rum)!

It was a fun afternoon/evening. It was also really interesting to see what creations people came up with.  Really impressive!  This was a big challenge for me because though I love baking, I am not the best pie maker.  Pie just wasn’t something I grew up having much of as a kid.  Growing up in an Asian household, baking apple pies and cherry pies weren’t the norm with my family.  My husband, on the other hand, grew up with LOTS of baked goods at EVERY meal!  I can see how farm kids would burn off all those calories though. Between farm chores, splitting firewood, and being super active on the farm, I can see why my mother-in-law did lots of baking for the family.

Anyway, back to me being super inept at making pies.  My pie crusts never seem to work out the way I want them to. I blame that on my warm hands!

In case you ever want to attempt making a piecaken, here’s what I did:

And, the winners are…

Surprisingly, my Bacon & Onion Quiche baked in a Savoury Zucchini Cake Piecaken won first place in the Savoury Piecaken Category.  First place in the Sweet Piecaken Category was the Apple Pie in an Ice Cream Cake.

Last two photos (above and below) courtesy of  Maria from Notes from a Brown House.

A HUGE Thank You to Lisabeth (Ultimately Chocolate Blog) and Maria (Notes from a Brown House) for organizing this fun event!  Psssssst! You have to check out the Ultimately Chocolate site for some of Lisabeth’s delectable treats!  Cakes, tarts, TOFFLEs…The woman is talented!  If you’re on the Island and would like to order for an event, details are on her website.  Just sayin’!