Second Wedding....the Bride Wants Pie?!?

Decorating By mrsw Updated 20 Jul 2007 , 10:51pm by darcat

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mrsw Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 3:34pm
post #1 of 21

Okay here it is. A dear friend of mine is getting married in August (time to plan) and she wants pies instead of a cake for the reception. We had a sit down yesterday and I found out they are inviting 300 people to the reception icon_eek.gificon_eek.gif. I am figuring between 8-10 slices per pie - So that is a lot of pies. The bride want mostly fruit pies with chocolate cream, banana cream, pumpkin, and pecan thrown in too. Along with whipped cream. I made the suggestion of Reddi Whip and she thought that could be lots of fun -

My problem is: 1. Am I being realistic on the servings, and 2. What on earth to charge - per pie, per slice, per insanity?!? And would it be cost effective to use frozen pie or pre-made pie crusts instead of scratch? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.

20 replies
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crystalina1977 Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 3:40pm
post #2 of 21

I would say no more than 8 slices per pie, and for 300 people you would need at least 38 pies. That's a lot of pie. You better believe I would be buying pre-made crust in a heart beat. It could wind up being expensive so I would definitely put some time into figuring out the costs of all the ingredients before you give her a price. For instance, the pecans are probably going to be expensive, or if she wants berries, etc.

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adawndria Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 3:47pm
post #3 of 21

Our friends had "Groom's Pie" but all were pumpkin. They only had 5 or 6 (sliced very thin) since it wasn't the main cake. I would definitely research all the ingredients like Crystaling suggested. You'll be making so many different batches of filling, that you could run into a really high cost. I know some places charge $20 for a pie, so you could be looking at upwards of $800 in pie. Also, not everyone likes pie, so maybe you could talk her into doing a small cake and cut back on some of the pies.

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mrsw Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 4:28pm
post #4 of 21

Oh I am sure the ingredients alone are going to be a fortune! Maybe I need to go get a "pie" and see about slices. I have not given the bride an estimate yet so that will need to be done this week straight away and maybe give her a comparison estimate on a cake + pie and one on cake only. That way she can make the final call. The couple is having an open bar so this is gonna be an expensive shindig anyway. Thanks for the replies!

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Doug Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 4:31pm
post #5 of 21

simple question:

and just where will you store while making 30+ pies???

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Rikke_Denmark Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 4:39pm
post #6 of 21

you need a big freeser and start making pies soon LOL

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adawndria Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 4:56pm
post #7 of 21

Great idea to give her options! Would it be easier to make small, individual pies? I don't know if it would be or not, but it would definitly cut down on slicing...but it doesn't help the issue of where to store them all. And I don't know if you can buy small shells as easily as regular shells.

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mrsw Posted 17 Jul 2007 , 5:25pm
post #8 of 21

Oh believe me I have thought about where these are gonna be stored. Thank goodness I have two large freezers at my disposal but 30+ is still a bunch of freakin pie! We talked about mini tartlet pies but the bride didn't want to do that. I have been researching a cake for 300 and that is gonna be one big cake too or several small ones? icon_confused.gif The one good thing is that I have a bit of time.

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mccorda Posted 18 Jul 2007 , 1:22pm
post #9 of 21

Make cakes that look like pies and display them on the floating cake stand and make some real pies as "side cakes"

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mrsw Posted 18 Jul 2007 , 2:50pm
post #10 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by mccorda

Make cakes that look like pies and display them on the floating cake stand and make some real pies as "side cakes"




Hmmm that sounds like an interesting option. Are there any pictures in the galleries of these? Just wondering how to search for them. Thanks for the suggestion.

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mccorda Posted 18 Jul 2007 , 3:07pm
post #11 of 21

Click on the Galleries tab and then do a search for the word "pie". There are several in amongst the 4 pages that came up. (Not all the cakes on the four pages look like pies but there are several that do)

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mvhatteras Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:14pm
post #12 of 21

hummmm ...

baking close to 40 pies does not sound like a fun way to spend a weekend! Remember also that fruit pies do not always slice easily and presentation doesn't always look the neatest.

If you have an interest in not baking these then I would advise the following: There is a brand of pies called "Chef Pierre" they have a line of "high pies" that are very tall, very gourmet and very very yummy! A case of 6 should cost about $35 to $40 depending on the flavor. There is a farm stand nearby that buys them and sells them as "fresh baked" for about $20 a pie - they sell about 60 cases a week in the summer, so you know they have to be good! Except for the fact that they look perfect you would not know they aren't homemade!

If this option interests you send me a pm and I will let you know what to do!

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jlewis888 Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:22pm
post #13 of 21

No words of wisdom for you here--but a definite prayer to be sent your way!

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missnnaction Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:22pm
post #14 of 21

mvhatteras...Does sara lee make those?

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antonia74 Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:27pm
post #15 of 21

If this isn't her main dessert, would she go for having a tower of little individual tarts instead?

My friend Michele and I made a gorgeous tower of assorted flavours of tarts for a couple that really didn't like cake. They were thrilled! The top of the tower was a little pie for their "cake cutting" ceremony. Worked really well!

We did lemon curd tarts, cherry lattice tarts, dark chocolate tarts, blueberry tarts & apricot frangipane tarts. Doing 200-300 wouldn't be that bad! The photo here had about 150-175 and that took us one day.
LL

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lionladydi Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:32pm
post #16 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by mvhatteras

hummmm ...

baking close to 40 pies does not sound like a fun way to spend a weekend! Remember also that fruit pies do not always slice easily and presentation doesn't always look the neatest.

If you have an interest in not baking these then I would advise the following: There is a brand of pies called "Chef Pierre" they have a line of "high pies" that are very tall, very gourmet and very very yummy! A case of 6 should cost about $35 to $40 depending on the flavor. There is a farm stand nearby that buys them and sells them as "fresh baked" for about $20 a pie - they sell about 60 cases a week in the summer, so you know they have to be good! Except for the fact that they look perfect you would not know they aren't homemade!

If this option interests you send me a pm and I will let you know what to do!




That was going to be my suggestion also. Some of these ready made pies are so much like homemade. I frequent a discount grocery store and some of their pies and cakes are wonderful. You just never know when and what they are going to have. I purchased all my cheesecakes for a big Red Hat regional meeting and the most I paid was $6.99 for the sugar free ones. The peanut butter/chocolate cheesecakes were to die for and I gave $5.99 for them. I bought pumpkin pies for $1.99 and they were 10" pies. My grandson can eat one in two days!!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It is a big project.

Diane

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2sdae Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:32pm
post #17 of 21

the last idea of 1 small pie foor the cutting ceremony and several flavors of tart type pies would be good. You could still use her idea of several different fruit and chocolate fillings even the pecans.
Might be a more cost effective and guest pleasing way to go. Maybe some sheets to cut up in back to serve those who didn't like pie?

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marthajo1 Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:36pm
post #18 of 21

I have a cherry "pie" in my gallery. If you do something like that though I would suggest not doing fondant crust as it started to melt from the cherry juice. It was very yummy though! icon_lol.gif

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=410403

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Metabea Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:41pm
post #19 of 21

I work for a local restaurant and my main job is the Bakery. At Thanksgiving last year another lady and I ended up making 850 pumpkin, 150 coconut cream, 85 apple, about 50 cherry, lemon meragine, and pecan. We make our own whipped cream from scratch so I'll tell you pie sucks to bake lol. We have these really cool pie racks that hold 8 pies each and fit nicely into our fridge. You can pick them up at any bakery store along with the pie slicer we use which you can buy in 6 or 8 slice pieces. All the slices are nice and even. For our non baked pies we use frozen pie crust which our commissary makes for us, these have a top tin on top of them. We put on a sheet pan 5 per pan put another pan over this bake the crust for 15 minutes take off the top pan take the top tins off the crusts then bake for another 5 minutes. Nice golden crust.

If you decide to do this... good luck icon_wink.gif But I also think that maybe a couple of sheet cakes would help cut back on the pies. My family would rather have cake over pie but my sisters family prefers pie... so to each their own, right thumbs_up.gif

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mrsw Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:50pm
post #20 of 21

Oh believe you me I tried to convince the bride tarts would be best but she want slices so everyone gets enough of the good stuff. I have let her know the prices for me baking from scratch, buying ready made pies, and just doing cakes one wedding one groom. I am waiting to hear back from her. Thanks to all who responded with suggestions and well wishes - This is one interesting wedding icon_confused.gif

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darcat Posted 20 Jul 2007 , 10:51pm
post #21 of 21

Antonia those tarts look sooooo good lol

I have a recipe for an super flaky pie crust that is no fuss and makes about 4 1 crust pies to batch and is very cheap to make. I like to make several batches a day and put in the freezer for the fall for pumpkin, apple and chicken pies (can give the recipe if you want) when I make the fruit pies I usually freeze them well covered uncooked and they fit great on top of each other once they are frozen. As for the cream pies I would make the crusts in the plate then freeze that so they are ready to go. Also I make one of the best coconut cream pies around (everyone asks for them) and I start with a cocount pie filling and doctor it up (saves time and money) I also do the same with chocolate pie and banana cream. By doing this you save buying and mixing up the corn starch and sugar. (personally I find the little tarts expensive to buy and a bigger pain than a large pie) Now for the fruit pies I would by the cans or bags of pie filling. Another thing at least in my city the cool whip is half the price of the ready whip and they can still just plop on how much they want. Just a few ideas and if you need the recipe for the coconut cream or the the pie dough just pm me I'd be happy to help. If you do it in steps it will go very fast. First few days make the dough. Next day roll out die into plates and if filled add filling . If for cream pies freeze empty shells. You can also bake the fruit pies and then freeze works great as well so then in the end you'd only have the cream pies to do.

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