I’m super excited to introduce you to the Queen of Pie! I seriously have the best friends. They are talented and have the biggest hearts. My friend Caroline King is seriously rad. And she happens to make the most amazing pies ever. When I first met her I thought she was cool right away. She was new in my ward (church group) so I was trying to be extra friendly. She ended up inviting me to her Annual Christmas Chocolate Party. (She’s seriously that cool) And I was like, it pays to try and be a good friend.
She recently started up a food blog with her sister in law, who also happens to be named Caroline King. Crazy, right? Well they are extremely talented. And with Pi Day right around the corner I want you guys to get to know her a little better. And then you can make one of her recipes for Pi Day. So let’s get going…
When did you make your first pie?
In my 20’s when I was living in San Diego – about 2001, I called my Mom and had her walk me step by step through her chocolate pie. I used a store bought crust and made all sorts of other mistakes but in the end my room-mates were very happy to eat it – which is one of my favorite things about baking, the satisfaction of sharing it with people you love.
What made you fall in love with baking?
Around 2004 I was starting to get really interested in baking and I asked my parents for a Kitchenaid Mixer for Christmas. Once I had that gorgeous machine it was game on. I still use it almost every day. I started baking just easy stuff like sweet breads and cakes, but before long that got boring and I started to challenge myself more. It wasn’t until I got married in 2007 that I got really amped on pies. My husband comes from a heavy pie tradition, which really helped motivate me to master pie making. It’s not that I’m a stepford wife who must please my husband in all things, but the joy of baking for me is sharing it with people you care about. It’s so gratifying when you make something beautiful and your loved ones go absolutely nuts over it. Baking is also a kind of meditation for me. It gives me energy and it’s a small project I can start and complete in a relatively short time with an end result that gives us nourishment and delight.
How do you manage to bake so many great treats with young children around?I get asked this a lot, and it is a good question as I have 3 young children including an 8 month old. I do have my kids help out when I can, particularly my 6 year old who has good baking instincts and already knows her way around a pie crimp. it also helps that we are on a very early schedule, my kids wake up around 6, sometimes I will even bake something in the morning before school starts at 8. My baby and 3 year old take naps and because I’m stuck at home during these times I will often use those breaks to bake, of course I could be doing laundry, dishes, or all manner of house chores but sometimes you just need to do what you love.
How has baking strengthen your family relationships?
It’s part of a rich family tradition on both sides and these tastes and smells will be so much more than delicious to our children, they also represent home and family. Everyone has something that just “tastes like home” and I’m so pleased that the baking traditions from my, and my husbands family are such an intimate part of our daily life and before they are out of the house our children will be making these and have the skills to start some of their own baking traditions. Plus, there are a lot of people who love my pies, but no one more than my husband.
What was it like getting married to a man who had a sister with the same name? The funny thing about that, is how we might not have ever met if his sister and I didn’t have the same name. She and I had loads of friends in common and it wasn’t until I met the “other Caroline” that I decided I wanted to go out with Justin. Caroline was such a super cool girl that I wanted more King’s in my life. Of course it’s weird sometimes when we’re together because we both respond when our name is called and once I married Justin and we had the same first and last name there were even more funny name snafu’s that have come up. But Care and I are best friends, and it’s really cool and extremely uncommon to have the same name as your best friend!
Why did you and your SIL decide to start a blog? Care had a blog for years called “Caroline’s Bake Shop” which is still online and has loads of amazing recipes I refer to all the time. In recent years she had been posting less often because of life and I had never had the time to blog because I was working part time from home and had to spend any extra moments on my job. After my 3rd was born, I decided I couldn’t pull off my job any longer if I wanted to do it right. But not having any work outside of my home life is tough for me, I need an outlet, something I can put some energy into that is outside of my day to day. I presented her with this idea and she was super interested which made me so pleased because I think she brings not only her many years of obsessive and skillful baking but a different perspective and flavor profile that makes our blog so much more depth than a blog from just one point of view. We wanted to do it right, so we agonized over a name that we could own the URL and instragram handle for, and we only post bakes that meet a high standard for flavor, texture and appearance. We also take great care to get high quality photo’s in natural light which drives my family crazy when something get’s done late at night and no one can eat until I have sunlight to get a photo the next day.
Favorite thing about your sister in law?
That’s a difficult question because she is truly one of my favorite people. Not sure I can choose one thing, but if I had to edit my accolades for her, I would just say, she is one of the most generously loving, loyal, hilarious, talented, and inspiring people you will ever meet. And she’s not even one ounce pretentious or arrogant about how awesome she is. Love her a lot.
What field were you working in before you started your blog?I’ve worked in the surf/skate/snow industry since 1995, starting with a well known retailer where I worked all through college and once I graduated from the University of Utah I transitioned to working on the wholesale side of action sports for companies such as RVCA, DC, Ride and before my oldest was born as a sales manager for Burton snowboards. So baking was a really natural transition….NOT! My cronies from that world just tease me, it’s so strange that with all those years in skate and snow I ended up a dessert blogger. I think I will work in that industry on some level again, hopefully for my friends at shop-eat-surf.com where I worked part time from 2011-2015, they are the best people ever and do such important work. But for now I barely pull of managing my home of 3 kids and posting my baked goods a few times a week. I am loving my new career in blogging, only problem is how it’s totally unpaid and if I’m being honest I really miss interacting with my colleagues in a business setting. I’m too social to be a blogger forever, but it’s really fun for now.
What treats do you recommend baking with young children? Pretty much anything that does not involve the stove. Sweet breads, muffins, cookies, cakes, bars and pastries, especially ones that need to be rolled out, they love that business. The thing that’s tough is letting go of making things look just right, I usually give them a little batch to work on themselves because to be competitive in this baking world the appearance of my bakes is a bigger deal than I would like it to be. But I think baking just makes sense for kids. You put an apron on them, drag a couple step stools into the kitchen and let them pour, stir and watch something really yummy come together. Then they get the satisfaction that comes from eating food you created, it’s a great feeling.
What is your hands down favorite pie?
Oh man, this is tough. I think the best tasting pie I make is one of my sister CK 1.0’s recipes. It’s called Chocolate Cinnamon Mousse pie and there is something absolutely transcending about the way it tastes. it’s like nothing you’ve had before and just sends you for a spin. I love making it because people go completely bonkers when they eat it. A close second place would be my granola pie which is such a cinch and seriously so insanely good. Both can be found on the blog.
What is your favorite thing about baking?
I think just the idea of spending your time and talent to make something that really makes the people you love happy. I have always enjoyed things that are beautiful and functional, and that is certainly true of baking. It’s one reason I’ve gravitated towards pies more in recent years, they are such a presentation and then you taste them, it’s so great! For sure it’s in the giving, I just love to serve people the things I bake and nothing is more satisfying than hearing their ooohs and aaahhs – which is why the blog is so fun, I get to share with even more people!
What advice would you give to someone who is intimidated with making pie or baking in general? Keep trying and don’t be lazy about it. Most of my friends who don’t do well with baking fail because they don’t measure things out properly, they use unsuitable substitutes and they don’t pay attention to bake times or proper equipment. I find that when you’re first starting out, the key to success is following a recipe very closely and once you’ve made it a few times, take more liberties. When it comes to pie, just use my crust recipe if you’re intimidated. It’s the most easy and I take you step by step. If you start with a really tough pie crust like all butter where there’s such and urgency to keep your ingredients cold and you need to be very careful with your dough handling etc. you will get discouraged fast. Once you have the easy shortening crust down, go for more difficult crusts. Unless you’re married to my husband who won’t eat your pie unless you use the shortening crust because pie fat biased is a thing, and my hubs is not interested in a butter crust.
When did the nickname Queen of Pie come along?
I’m not sure – maybe around 2012 or so. I knew I had a rep when my brother came to town a few years ago and we were at the river jetties beach and met some cool people who we had some friends in common with. As we spoke to them this gal said “I don’t know your name, but I know you’re like really good at making pie” – my brother just laughed. We made 5 pies for thanksgiving that year.
Do you like to listen to music or binge watch shows while baking? I love to have music playing, and I sometimes will bring in the tablet and do some netflix-ing, but generally all I need is some good music to dance around the kitchen with while I bake. I love my Pandora station right now that’s a shuffle of Foster the People, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yes, my music tastes have a very large range.
Name your favorite Bakery?There aren’t a lot of bakeries I have praise for because baking is something I can do as well as most bakeries so I don’t spend money on them. I really super love Banbury Cross Donuts in Salt Lake City – that’s something I have never made and because they are so expert at it I don’t feel I need to. There’s a place called Feldman’s deli in Salt Lake City as well that has the best bagel I’ve ever tasted, and I’m heavy into bagels so that’s saying something.
Name 3 women who have influenced your life?Mom is number 1 for sure. My Mother is for sure my hero, I want to be like her in every way possible. She was such an effective, thoughtful and caring Mother and she also is so incredibly accomplished. I don’t know how she does it, but she has a PhD from Tufts school of Law and Diplomacy, she’s taught at both BYU and the U of U, and she has held many leadership positions most recently as the head curator at the prestigious BYU Museum of Art where she worked for 15 years. Somehow she is this extremely effective leader and also the first person I call for advice, awesome recipes, or just to hear my hearts complaint. There is no one better at problem solving and trust me, I could just go on and on. Beyond my Mom there are many close seconds, I have 5 sister in laws and I must say that I am the luckiest girl on the planet because all of them are women who inspire me in different ways and having grown up with only brothers they have been an incredible blessing to me. I also feel so blessed to have my Mother in law as a true friend and mentor in the kitchen. She is not only a very talented baker who’s knowledge and skills are just mind boggling, but she’s tough and nails, super self disciplined and a great example of Christ-like love and sacrifice.
And what do enjoy most about having a blog?
Getting the feedback from people who make my bakes! It’s so exciting to me i can’t even tell you. I got a text from my friend Katie the other day saying she’s made my bagels 5 times and is totally hooked. Seriously hearing that my favorites are becoming favorites in my friends homes is the coolest reward for hard work.
What tips would you recommend for the perfect crust?
All my tips are in my pie crust recipe on the blog. Just have fun with it and don’t stress out. The more you make it the better it gets!
How are you celebrating Pi Day?
With a pie party at my house of course! Anyone is invited to come over and eat pie on that Monday evening, so don’t make your family night snack people – just come eat ours with us!
Isn’t she a gem??? Not many people would invite everyone over to their place for Pie. One of the things I love most about Caroline’s blog is her passion about making great treats. But it’s more than that. Food and desserts can bring families together. We can grow closer as we cook or bake together. It reminds me of family history. We can use the recipes of our ancestors and bless our lives. But it’s also important to share that love and joy with our children.
So my challenge this week is to make a family recipe together. Or head to Caroline’s blog and find a new recipe to try. I know as we share our love through service and quality time our family relationships will be strengthened. If you need a recommendation try the Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie. Caroline made it for my sister in law and my mother in law kept telling me what a great pie it was! The best she has ever had. Every thing she makes is like pure gold. You can thank me later. And be sure to check out her hashtag #pieisthenewblack for more great recipes!! And give her some love because it’s always great to hear that other people love your recipes!
