Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie
When Maria Bertino, BA'17, dreams about recipes for her new baking shop, Ham on Rye, she's often transported back to Sunday family dinners at Grandma Ida's house.
Delicious spaghetti and meatballs that took days to prepare. Tupperware containers filled with dozens and dozens of cookies of all varieties.
So much food. So memorable.
That nostalgia, along with those incredible scents and tastes, inspired one of Bertino's favorite holiday recipes: her cranberry-pomegranate mousse pie. Enjoy this perfect blend of sweet and tart flavors — a light, festive finale to any holiday meal!
> Learn more about how Bertino's love of baking suddenly became her official second job
Ingredients
- 2 wide strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
- 1 cinnamon stick or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 ½ cups (283 grams) fresh cranberries, plus 20 or so for garnish
- 1½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar, divided, plus more for garnish
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, divided
- 2 cups (462 grams) cold heavy cream, divided
- 1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder (0.17oz/5g)
- 1 Graham Cracker Crust, fully baked in a 9-inch pie plate and cooled
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
METHOD (pie filling)
In a small saucepan, combine the orange zest, cinnamon, salt, cranberries, and 1 cup (198 grams) of the granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons of the pomegranate molasses, and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring often with a heatproof spatula, until the cranberries have burst and the mixture is very thick and reduced to a jammy consistency, 10 to 15 minutes (it shouldn’t immediately cover the line left by the spatula as you scrape it across the bottom of the pot). Remove from the heat.
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and scrape the compote into the sieve. Set the saucepan aside to use again later. Use the spatula to force the mixture through the mesh into the bowl below, pressing on the solids (discard the solids). Whisk ⅓ cup cream into the compote until the mixture is completely smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate just until the cranberry mixture is cool, 25 to 30 minutes. The cranberry compote can be made up to 4 days ahead. Keep covered and refrigerated.
Pour 3 tablespoons of cold water into a clean saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside to allow the gelatin to soften, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of the heavy cream (231 grams) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or into a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and beat, starting on medium-low and increasing the speed to medium-high as the cream thickens, until you have firm peaks. You can also do this by hand with a whisk. Refrigerate the bowl until it’s time to assemble the mousse.
Remove the cooled cranberry mixture from the refrigerator, uncover, and whisk just to smooth it out. Place the saucepan with the gelatin over low heat and warm, swirling often, until the gelatin is melted into a clear liquid free of granules—you want to make sure it’s completely melted or the mousse won’t fully set. Whisk the gelatin into the cranberry mixture.
Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and scrape half of it into the bowl with the cranberry mixture. Fold until just a few streaks remain. Fold in the remaining cream until you have a light, uniform mixture, then scrape it into the prepared crust. Smooth the top and refrigerate until the mousse is set, at least 4 hours. After the first hour in the refrigerator, cover the pie with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. The cranberry mousse can be assembled and chilled in the crust up to 1 day ahead. Keep covered and refrigerated.
METHOD (sugared cranberries)
While the pie is setting, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar (100 grams), 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, and ⅓ cup water.
Bring to a very gentle simmer over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and add the 20 cranberries. Simmer very gently just until the cranberries are softened and a few have burst, about 3 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries from the saucepan and transfer to a wire rack (discard any that have collapsed or lost their shape).
Let sit until the cranberries are slightly tacky to the touch, about 1 hour.
Toss the cranberries in some granulated sugar to coat them and return to the wire rack to continue drying at room temperature until the pie is set.
METHOD (assemble the pie!)
Just before serving, remove the pie from the refrigerator and uncover.
Whip the remaining ⅔ cup cream as before until you have soft peaks.
Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and scrape the whipped cream on top of the pie.
Spread over the the filling, making swooshes and swirls, and dot with the sugared cranberries. Cut into wedges and serve.
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The story behind the pie
Back in October, there was a fall market festival that had an open vendor spot for Maria Bertino to publicly and officially launch her new bakery, Ham on Rye. The only problem: She had nine days.
Nine days to figure out a menu. And taste test the menu. And buy more ingredients. And bake all her treats. And launch her social media accounts and website. And finalize signage and logos.
She proved to herself what she was capable of during those long nights and early mornings.
“We sold out of everything but five cookies, so that was really unexpected and really encouraging,” Bertino said.
Baking has been a favorite hobby of Bertino’s since childhood, when she and her sister, Elizabeth Fagerland, BA'19, would make a sheet cake or a brownie mix on Friday nights. The Food Network was always on their TV. Every family gathering — especially those at Grandma Ida’s house — was defined by the meal and the desserts.
It’s why she doesn’t mind devoting her downtime — and her kitchen — to this new venture. Bertino is still working full-time as a content manager for a shipping and logistics company.
“When I'm not baking something, I get a little antsy,” she said with a laugh. “I just think I have a really strong capacity to learn, and I don't think you're ever done learning. That’s one of the exciting things about baking. I have so much to learn.”
She said her husband, Tony Bertino, provides tons of support (he’s also a chef at Lyle’s Pizzeria in Omaha). His marketing background helped her brand the business. Their kitchen has calendars on the wall. Their oven is almost always on.
And he’s a great sounding board for ideas – although so many of Maria’s recipes end up tapping into her memories and experiences of her childhood. Example: Her popular sweet potato pie cookies evolved from her mom’s sweet potato pie recipe.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen a bakery in Omaha with a kind of whimsical yet nostalgic vibe — and that is Ham on Rye,” she said. “Think about your holiday memories. How can I take you back there with a recipe? Can I make something really wonderful and dreamy, but also it just tastes really good? That’s my hope for Ham on Rye.”
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