Ben The Baker LLC

"Thaw & Serve" Gluten-Free

Peanut butter lovers, this pie is gonna hit you hard! Some may say it’s a bit over the top, but I say it’s just right. A pretzel crumb crust gets covered with a layer of chocolate ganache, filled with peanut butter cream, then topped with a light drizzle of ganache and crushed salted peanuts. This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

If you’ve ever been to a Minnesota potluck, odds are you’ve been introduced to a humble dessert known as “Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad.” This salty/sweet combination has a pretzel crust, a cream cheese and Cool Whip filling, a topping of raspberries suspended in jello, and is normally served as bars in a 9″x13″ pan. I wanted to capture these same flavors in pie form, but rather than settling for Cool Whip in the filling and jello for the topping, I upgraded to freshly whipped cream in the cream cheese filling and substituted my favorite raspberry pie filling recipe for the jello topping. This addictive tangy/salty/sweet combination has led several of my customers to admit to me that they finished the whole pie in less than a day! Beware, the average human’s self control is no match for this flavor combination. This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This may be in the running for my most addictive pie… I love key lime pie so much, I have on several occasions eaten half of a key lime pie while sitting in my car at the Kowalski parking lot. I’m not proud of it, but it is what is. My version of key lime pie is much more addictive than what you can get in a store! Large companies buy pasteurized key lime juice which has been sitting on the shelf for months and lost much of its flavor. I always take the time to juice and zest fresh limes so the flavor really shines through! I use standard limes you see in the supermarket (Persian limes) instead of the smaller key limes that are traditionally used. I think it’s better than any other Key Lime Pie I’ve had before! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This is a classic New York style cheesecake baked to exactly 150 degrees internal temperature to guarantee a perfect creamy texture. Rich and tangy and topped with homemade sea salt caramel with toasted pecans! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This is a classic New York style cheesecake that is precisely baked for a soft, creamy texture. It’s rich and tangy and topped with a generous portion of our popular homemade lemon curd! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

If you grew up eating plenty of PB&J sandwiches like I did, then this might hit your nostalgia button. We make a generous layer of peanut butter cream filling for the bottom two thirds of the pie, then top off the final third with our homemade raspberry pie filing. All of this inside a pretzel crumb crust to enhance that salty/sweet combo. PB&J for dessert! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

"Take & Bake" Full Size Savory Pies

For this pie, we simmer chicken in heavy cream, water, and dry vermouth along with peas, carrots, onions, celery, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, and ground black pepper for full depth of flavor. No store bought chicken broth or bouillon in this pie! All wrapped in our flaky pie crust and baked fresh in your oven at home. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

To make a batch of these pies we dry rub 90 lbs of pork shoulder with salt and fresh ground pepper overnight, load in the smoker for 4 hours, then wrap in foil for a few more hours to retain the juices we add back in later. Then we shred the pork and toss with cheddar, Swiss, and a homemade BBQ style sauce made with tomato puree, onion, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

For this pie we saute a bit of onions and celery in butter, then stir in shredded chicken, Frank's Red Hot, cream cheese, bleu cheese, and chives. We use just enough cream cheese for a bit of richness, plenty of bleu cheese for complexity, and a bit of Frank's Red Hot for that true buffalo chicken flavor. I would say it is a low or low-medium spice level, maybe a 3.5 out of 10, so anyone that enjoys just a little bit of heat should enjoy this pie. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

This comes as a full size pie or a mini pie, just like the Chicken Pot Pie does, but it is a bit less messy to eat and the mini pie can be easily held in your hand like you would a pasty. Ground beef, Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery are combined and flavored with garlic, a dash of soy sauce, fresh thyme, sea salt, and freshly ground black peppercorns. Perfect as-is, or with a dash of your favorite hot sauce. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

Homemade Ice Cream (1 Pint)

Since our homemade lemon curd has been so popular over the years, we thought we’d base an ice cream flavor around it! We first make a batch of lemon curd using freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, sugar, and Himalayan sea salt and then blend that curd into our homemade ice cream base recipe. The lemon flavor comes through as smooth, light, and refreshing in this ice cream, so you get to taste the other side of it compared to the sharp tartness of straight lemon curd. One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

Every ice cream shop needs a fantastic chocolate ice cream recipe, and we’ve got one! We use high fat (22-24%) cocoa powder in our recipe for a rich, robust chocolate flavor, the same cocoa powder we use for our rich Tigerstripe Chocolate Cream Pie. Try it out and see if you might have a new favorite chocolate ice cream!! One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

For this recipe we slice very ripe bananas and toss with sea salt and brown sugar, then roast in the oven for a half hour to really bring out the flavor. This gets blended in with our ice cream base mix that we make in-house for a creamy, true banana ice cream. One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

This is a really unique recipe — rather than just swirling in caramel to a vanilla ice cream base, this recipe starts by making a giant batch of homemade caramel. After caramelizing the sugar, when you would normally add just a bit of cream to make caramel sauce, you instead add almost 5x as much cream and some egg yolks to make an entire pot of salted caramel custard. I ate several quarts of this ice cream in the first few weeks after making it, so it’s a dangerous one! One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

For this flavor we slow-roast hazelnuts in the oven for an hour and work off the skins once they are cooled. Then we grind them in the blender into a smooth hazelnut butter and incorporate it into our homemade ice cream base. The hazelnut flavor comes through very well and a scoop of it in your afternoon coffee or espresso makes for an amazing affogato 🙂 One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

An ice cream flavor for the true coffee lovers out there! Freshly ground coffee beans are cold-brewed with water and bourbon whiskey for 24 hours, then even more coffee beans are ground and heated in a heavy cream/cocoa powder mixture to create a coffee-infused chocolate cream. These two mixtures are added together to create ice cream with amazing coffee-bourbon-chocolate flavor! One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

The best ice cream is made with simple ingredients that allow its true flavors to shine through. We steep Tahitian vanilla beans in our homemade ice cream base overnight, then top off with a bit of pure vanilla bean extract to bring in different flavor notes than the steeped vanilla bean itself. One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

This recipe starts by simmering a pot of diced strawberries with a touch of sugar for several hours to concentrate their flavor. Then we add just a bit of balsamic vinegar to the strawberries and age it overnight in the fridge to increase the complexity and really bring out the strawberry flavor. Instead of a light/refreshing style of strawberry ice cream, this recipe has a deep, rich strawberry flavor that really reminds me of the best strawberry jam! One pint. We keep our ice cream at an extra cold -18 degrees to keep the best flavor, texture, and to prevent ice crystals. This means when you get your ice cream you probably can't get a spoon into it right away. You may need to keep it on the counter or in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften, or place in the freezer overnight to come to temperature.

"Take & Bake" Full Size Dessert Pies

I use Granny Smith apples for their tart, complex flavor that combines with fresh ground nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, and rum to create an apple pie that has won over several friends who claim to have never liked apple pie before trying this one! You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

With just a touch of rum, freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon, this pie will definitely hit the spot for you peach lovers out there. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

With just a touch of rum, freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon, this pie will definitely hit the spot for you peach lovers out there. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

This is the pie I remember most from making pies with my grandma on the farm as a child — cherry pie! Like most fruit pies, it’s a very simple recipe. You don’t need much else when you have over 1.5 pounds of sour cherries in every pie, just a hint of cinnamon and almond extract to go with the sugar and thickener. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

You’ve never had a pecan pie like this before! Throw away your preconceived notions of what a pecan pie should be and embrace this chocolate masterpiece. While rather plain on the outside, the inside holds a chocolate-pecan filling enhanced with vanilla and bourbon whiskey that is quite rich. Some people like to cut these pieces small or serve with plain vanilla ice cream to balance the richness of the pie. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

Another classic fruit pie recipe, this pie uses almost two pounds of wild blueberries with just a hint of cinnamon added in. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

Another classic fruit pie recipe, this pie uses almost two pounds of wild blueberries with just a hint of cinnamon added in. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

What Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without a traditional pecan pie at the dessert table? Some pecan pies are cloyingly sweet and the pecans are overpowered by the sweetness, but not this pie where the pecans take center stage. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

This is the pie I remember most from making pies with my grandma on the farm as a child — cherry pie! Like most fruit pies, it’s a very simple recipe. You don’t need much else when you have over 1.5 pounds of sour cherries in every pie, just a hint of cinnamon and almond extract to go with the sugar and thickener. You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

I use Granny Smith apples for their tart, complex flavor that combines with fresh ground nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, and rum to create an apple pie that has won over several friends who claim to have never liked apple pie before trying this one! You can order this pie with either a Double Crust or with a Crumble topping (topped with a generous amount of oat crumble/streusel instead of pie crust). Fruit pies keep great at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week after you bake them, so there’s no rush to eat it all at once. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

If someone asks whether you want Pumpkin Pie or Cheesecake and your answer is “yes,” then this is the pie for you! With a layer of cheesecake hiding underneath a traditional pumpkin pie filling, this is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. This is a full size 9" pie that you bake from frozen -- it's as easy as baking a frozen pizza!

Toppings

If you haven’t had lemon curd before, it’s a delicious concoction of freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, butter, sugar, and sea salt. It’s great for spreading on toast or bagels (I like to dip Teddy Grahams in it), or you can just eat it straight from the jar 🙂 This item comes frozen and you just need to thaw for a couple hours before moving to the fridge, where it will keep great for months.

This is the ultimate add-on for your favorite items — pour on top of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream or instantly transform Apple Pie into Caramel Apple Pie! I heat sugar in a pan until it caramelizes and turns dark amber, then add in heavy cream, Himalayan sea salt, and vanilla extract for a rich complex flavor that’s not overly sweet. This item comes frozen and you just need to thaw for a couple hours before moving to the fridge, where it will keep great for months.

"Thaw & Serve" Cheesecakes

This is a classic New York style cheesecake that is precisely baked for a soft, creamy texture. It’s rich and tangy and topped with a generous portion of our popular homemade lemon curd! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This is a classic New York style cheesecake baked to exactly 150 degrees internal temperature to guarantee a perfect creamy texture. Rich and tangy and topped with homemade sea salt caramel with toasted pecans! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

"Thaw & Serve" Full Size Dessert Pies

This may be in the running for my most addictive pie… I love key lime pie so much, I have on several occasions eaten half of a key lime pie while sitting in my car at the Kowalski parking lot. I’m not proud of it, but it is what is. My version of key lime pie is much more addictive than what you can get in a store! Large companies buy pasteurized key lime juice which has been sitting on the shelf for months and lost much of its flavor. I always take the time to juice and zest fresh limes so the flavor really shines through! I use standard limes you see in the supermarket (Persian limes) instead of the smaller key limes that are traditionally used. I think it’s better than any other Key Lime Pie I’ve had before! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

If you’ve ever been to a Minnesota potluck, odds are you’ve been introduced to a humble dessert known as “Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad.” This salty/sweet combination has a pretzel crust, a cream cheese and Cool Whip filling, a topping of raspberries suspended in jello, and is normally served as bars in a 9″x13″ pan. I wanted to capture these same flavors in pie form, but rather than settling for Cool Whip in the filling and jello for the topping, I upgraded to freshly whipped cream in the cream cheese filling and substituted my favorite raspberry pie filling recipe for the jello topping. This addictive tangy/salty/sweet combination has led several of my customers to admit to me that they finished the whole pie in less than a day! Beware, the average human’s self control is no match for this flavor combination. This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

If you grew up eating plenty of PB&J sandwiches like I did, then this might hit your nostalgia button. We make a generous layer of peanut butter cream filling for the bottom two thirds of the pie, then top off the final third with our homemade raspberry pie filing. All of this inside a pretzel crumb crust to enhance that salty/sweet combo. PB&J for dessert! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This pie has the same origin as the Raspberry Pretzel Pie, but modified for those blueberry fanatics out there! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

Peanut butter lovers, this pie is gonna hit you hard! Some may say it’s a bit over the top, but I say it’s just right. A pretzel crumb crust gets covered with a layer of chocolate ganache, filled with peanut butter cream, then topped with a light drizzle of ganache and crushed salted peanuts. This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

This pie has a cocoa-infused cream cheese/whipped cream filling and almost a pound of Oreo cookie wafers between the crust and the tiger stripes, culminating in the ultimate chocolate cream pie. It’s perfect for chocolate lovers! This is a full size 9" pie that you just need to thaw to fridge temp before serving. You can thaw for around 3 hours on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

"Take & Bake" Mini Savory Pies

To make a batch of these pies we dry rub 90 lbs of pork shoulder with salt and fresh ground pepper and let rest overnight, load in the smoker for 4 hours, then wrap in foil for a few more hours to retain the juices we add back in later. Then we shred the pork and toss with cheddar, Swiss, and a homemade BBQ style sauce made with tomato puree, onion, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices. This mini pie has the same smoked pulled pork and cheese filling as my full size version, but sized for a single serving and a quicker bake. Don’t worry though, it still weighs in at over half of a pound so it is fit for a small meal 🙂

For this pie we saute a bit of onions and celery in butter, then stir in shredded chicken, Frank's Red Hot, cream cheese, bleu cheese, and chives. We use just enough cream cheese for a bit of richness, plenty of bleu cheese for complexity, and a bit of Frank's Red Hot for that true buffalo chicken flavor. I would say it is a low or low-medium spice level, maybe a 3.5 out of 10, so anyone that enjoys just a little bit of heat should enjoy this pie. This mini pie has the same filling as our full size version, just in a single serving for a quicker bake. Don’t worry, it still weighs in at over half of a pound so it is fit for a small meal 🙂

For this pie, we simmer chicken in heavy cream, water, and dry vermouth along with peas, carrots, onions, celery, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, and ground black pepper for full depth of flavor. No store bought chicken broth or bouillon in this pie! All wrapped in our flaky pie crust and baked fresh in your oven at home. This mini pie has the same homemade chicken pot pie filling as my full size version, but sized for a single serving and a quicker bake. Don’t worry though, it still weighs in at over half of a pound so it is fit for a small meal 🙂

This pie is a bit less messy to eat than the Mini Chicken Pot Pie and can be easily held in your hand like you would a pasty. Ground beef, Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery are combined and flavored with garlic, a dash of soy sauce, fresh thyme, sea salt, and freshly ground black peppercorns. Perfect as-is, or with a dash of your favorite hot sauce! This mini pie has the same beef & potato filling as my full size version, but sized for a single serving and a quicker bake. Don’t worry though, it still weighs in at over half of a pound so it is fit for a small meal 🙂

"Take & Bake" Mini Dessert Pies

With just a touch of rum, freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon, this pie will definitely hit the spot for you peach lovers out there. These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!

We all know that strawberry and rhubarb are meant to be together -- the sweetness of the strawberries offsets the tartness of the rhubarb and brightens the flavor of the pie. If you add too much strawberry, however, it overwhelms the rhubarb and your taste buds start to think it's just a plain strawberry pie. After some experimentation, we went with 60% Rhubarb and 40% Strawberry to keep plenty of tart flavor in this pie. These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!

Another classic fruit pie recipe, we keep it simple with plenty of blueberries and just a hint of cinnamon added in. These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!

I use Granny Smith apples for their tart, complex flavor that combines with fresh ground nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, and rum to create an apple pie that has won over several friends who claim to have never liked apple pie before trying this one! These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!

Another classic fruit pie recipe, you don't need much more than plenty of raspberries with just a hint of cinnamon added in. These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!

This is the pie flavor I remember most from making pies with my grandma on the farm as a child — cherry pie! Like most fruit pies, it’s a very simple recipe. Plenty of sour cherries in every pie, with just a hint of cinnamon and almond extract to go with the sugar and thickener. These mini-pies come in Apple, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors. With just a quick 30-40 minute bake, they are perfect for a small treat at the end of a long day or as a gift for a friend!