Hi people,

I've tried to do pies a few times on www.messymayhem.com with mixed results and was wondering what people liked best? Any top tips from people would be much appreciated. Please bear in mind that things that are readily available to make pies in the US such as cool whip aren't easy to get hold of here. Any input to help improve results would be much appreciated.

Here are a few things I've tried plus various problems I've had with them:

Shaving foam - tends to make eyes sting
Baked crust - hard to get out of the tin, plus a bitch to clean up.
Sponge crust - see above but even worse!
Custard - good filling but more effective coverage achieved pouring it over a girl than using in pie form
Dream topping - if you can get the consistency right then this can work well but overly thick and it doesn't stick to the face, too thin and the pie is just too sloppy
Angel delight - same as dream topping.

Here are a few pics of our efforts with pies thus far.

I don't what Leonmoonin's pies were made from, but the ones he used on his fabulous (but now tragically abandoned) JustPied site usually gave pretty incredible coverage. Since he's British, I doubt he's using anything that you wouldn't be able to get your hands on.

I've used extra thick dream topping with custard folded through it to goo effect before. I think the flans that Bill used on George in Mucky Puppies are some of my favourites and iirc he said they were made from extra thick cake batter.
Angel Delight works well if you make it thick and with cold milk so that it sets nicely.

Kool whip with a bit of custard on the top.

First of all, I LOVE the result of the pie in the first pic, with Messy Jessie!

Some of the other suggestions that have been posted sound like they are worth trying. Is there any way to thicken up custard, maybe by adding flour, or corn starch, or powdered sugar? Would boiling the custard for a little while bring it down to a thicker consistency? (These are just thoughts, I've never worked with custard before.)

For a filling, I love fruit fillings, particularly cherry or blueberry. The fruit is in a thick syrup that is very gooey and splatters very well. Is that something available in the UK? Would adding marshmallow cream to angel delight make it stick better?

Again, just some thoughts and suggestions.

Good luck with finding something you like! Though I love "US-style" pies, with a crust, filling and cool whip, I like a lot of the kinds of pies that different UK producers have come up with along the way. As Pieromaniac_too mentioned, I liked Leon's pies that he used for "JustPied.com".

Norman

I take it that there's a bit of practice and trial-and-error involved there, or is it mostly down to luck/uncontrollable factors?

Thanks for all the helpful responses so far. I have just watched one of the Just Pied videos and you're right they are great. I shall have to see if I can bribe Lisa into telling me how they did it.




Well the first time we shot at Candy's place last year (and big thanks to her for letting me) she said after the shoot "I see now why you call it Messy Mayhem!". The whole thing tends to be quite manic and slightly chaotic. Mixing the gunge or making the pies can be quite a rushed affair so there often isn't time for exact science and invariably I will get a call half way through from a model who is running late or checking on some detail. It's some times a bit of a lottery what gets produced.

I'm pretty easy to please- shaving cream on a paper plate will do me fine! As for the stinging, have you tried letting it sit for 30 mins or so before use?

Stick to gunge, beans, eggs, spaghetti and custard. That's what UK wam producers do best. Leave the pie stuff to the American producers.

Bob, drop me PM and I'll give you my secret to crusts and a lead on how to get hold of Kool Whip in the UK... and I also have a great alternative.

It's got nothing to do with what country you are in. It's how you make your stuff...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-w6wGoBlc0&list=UUm8pac9KkxRDNKwc8VayEZA&spfreload=10

Who are the two girls in this clip and which video download is this from?

Love it

Thanks will do

That's Kitten & Sophie and you can find the download here http://messymayhemcom.umd.net/download_info/episode_57_part_3

Not that PM's are currently working for me... I see some have arrived. I'll get back to you when I can get to them!

I'm firmly in the shaving cream camp.

Cheap
doesn't smell bad
won't go rancid
doesn't have to be refrigerated
maintains its volume longer than squirty cream
designed to be on the skin
washes off easily with water
doesn't stain clothes/carpets
tested to be as kind to eyes as possible, but just shut your eyes!

I'm a big fan of the pies that Messy Jessie uses - which is a pastry base filled with a filling (apparently custard, angel delight, chocolate batter etc) and topped off with shaving foam. Leaves a good coverage and doesn't rely too much on the topping.

I always noticed the difference between pies used by UK producers, and ones used by US ones. The UK ones tend to be very airy light, easily wiped away and overall they just don't cover. While American pies are thick and cover very well. I've always wondered about what the difference is. I have no idea what kind of item is used in UK pies, but is the Shaving foam in the UK a different composition than american? Or am I just sounding like an idiot. I honestly have no idea.

I second the comment above about proper whipped cream- you can get it much thicker than squirty cream (and can also vary the thickness by whipping it more or less) and it doesn't "deflate" in the same way. Also it tastes and smells better! Its especially good used in combination with custard.