Anakin and Padmé Pear Pie Inspired by Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

It’s week 2 of my Star Wars Baking Challenge!

Each week leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in December, I’m watching one movie from the Skywalker Saga (find the watch schedule here) and baking a Star Wars treat inspired by it.

Last week was all about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and this three-tiered cake inspired by Queen Amidala’s iconic red dress! This week, it’s all about the second episode in the saga, Attack of the Clones!

Star Wars Baking Challenge — Week 2, Attack of the Clones

When considering what to bake for this movie, there was one iconic scene on Naboo that stuck out to me — Anakin and Padmé’s breathtaking secret wedding at the end of the film.

Padmé’s veil with the pearl beading has always been one of my favorites. But how in the world do you make that into a baked good?! Yeah, that’s a good question…

In order to capture this iconic scene, I decided to attempt a rather ambitious technique that uses cinnamon to artfully add portrait details to the top of a pie. And while I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew, I learned a lot and had a fun time doing it! And instead of a standard apple pie filling, it only seemed appropriate to substitute the apples for pears — remember that scene on Naboo when Anakin cuts the pear with the force?

For the “PIEtrait” idea, I learned how to approach this technique from Jessica @ThePieous who demonstrates this many times with her breathtaking pies — she makes it look SO easy. She offered me some helpful tips, like how to make a stencil to use for the fine details with my Cricut cutting machine — and I’m so thankful. Visit her Instagram to be amazed at her absolutely brilliant pie creations.

Anakin and Padmé Star Wars Pear Pie

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What You Need:

For the Pear Filling

• 6-7 pears
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 tbsp. of flour
• 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg
• 1 tsp. of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. of salt
• Pie pan

For the Pie Crust and Decorations 

• Pre-made refrigerated pie crust, three rolls
• 1 egg white, beaten
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla
• Food coloring — white, brown
• Sprinkles — pearls, clear white pieces
• Pastry brush
• Paring knife
• Fondant mold for pie crust edging (I used this one)
• Anakin and Padme outline template for Cricut
• Cricut and Cricut Design Space (or similar cutting machine)
• Card stock paper
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

First, access the Star Wars Anakin and Padmé outlines and the circle template from this Cricut Design Space project link to use to decorate the top of your pie. Cut the files on card stock paper to fit your pie pan, for me, that was approx. 10 inches wide for the main background circle (for a 10 inch pie). I made Anakin’s profile about 8 inches tall and Padmé’s about 6.5 inches tall (I eyeballed this until I felt the pieces fit the area).

Roll out one of your refrigerated pie crusts on a clean surface. Cut out a circle that is 10 inches wide in diameter by tracing your circle card stock template. Carefully transfer the circle of dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This will serve as the base of your pie, or your “canvas”, so to speak.

Carefully remove the stencils from the dough, being careful not to disturb the excess cinnamon on top, and discard. If the edges of your design are not as clean as you’d like, use a paring knife to straighten the edge of the cinnamon.

Next, use your extra scraps of dough to add embellishments to your pie top. For Anakin, make two pieces of dough to add as the white collar of his Jedi garb. Lay it on top of the area that is covered with cinnamon, brushing the piece with egg white to keep it in place. Also for Anakin, cut three long, thin pieces of dough and use them to make a braid to attach at the back of Anakin’s head behind his ear.

If at any time your dough becomes too soft to work with or if you need a break (I took a couple!), just stick your pan in the fridge to harden.

Before working on Padmé’s headdress, I chose to add a braided border around the circle of dough for embellishment. For this, use a silicone mold for fondant by coating it in flour and pressing a spare piece of dough in it. (I used this one.) Make enough of these to cover the perimeter and secure in place with egg wash. For each piece, make sure to blend the edge into each other by smoothly connecting the two so that the pieces don’t separate when you bake it.

For Padmé, next I added her veil with excess pieces of dough. Brush egg wash on her head area. Cut a small piece out at a time (like the top of her head or a piece for the veil) and use your fingers dipped in egg wash to blend the pieces together and smooth the edges. For this area, raised spots and a bit of texture are good. Reference the photo of Padmé’s headpiece above as you work.

Once you’ve finished the look of your characters, trim the excess pieces of dough that may be hanging off of the circle.

Paint Anakin’s braid and any white spots in his hair and cloak with brown food coloring mixed with vanilla.

For Padmé’s veil paint it with white food coloring.

Around the edges of the pie, brush vanilla into the edges.

Bake the top of your pie for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown, in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees.

While the top of your pie cools, it’s time to prep the bottom of your pie. The pie filling is up to you, but pear seemed liked the perfect choice for these two! (Just sub use pears in your favorite apple pie recipe or follow the one below.)

For your pie filling, peel and slice your pears into small pieces and place into a large bowl. Add the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

Place your second pie crust roll in your pie pan and fill it with an even layer of pears. Bake the base of your pie for 40 minutes.  Note, I like to place my pie pan on top of a cookie sheet while it bakes in case any pie filling bubbles over.

Remove your pie from the oven once the timer dings and quickly transfer your Anakin and Padmé design onto the top of your hot pear pie. *Gently* press down on your top pie piece to form a seal between it and the pear pie bottom.

Once your pie is cool, add your finishing touches on top — fill in any areas that may have shifted in the oven with white coloring for the veil or cinnamon for the brown areas. Add pearl sprinkles on top of the veil to give it an elegant design. Lastly, sprinkle decorating sugar pieces (found with the sprinkles) on the blank space behind Anakin and For Padmé’s portraits.