Frozen pastry specialist Freshbake Foods claims to have cracked the holy grail of convenience foods ­ microwaveable pastry that doesn't turn to sludge ­ with the launch of MicroBake pies this week. The company claims the flaky pastry topped pies cook better in the microwave than in the oven. After a year of research and development, Freshbake has developed packaging that allows steam to escape so the pastry lid rises and the pie browns in less than five minutes. The launch will be supported by a month long advertising campaign in women's magazines. MicroBake is aimed at single diners and families with staggered mealtimes. About 37% of meals are eaten by one person alone and it has become the norm for family members to eat at different times; 85% of UK households have a microwave [TN Sofres Family Food Panel]. Savoury pie sales overall are showing a slight decline, but Freshbake, which has 14% of the frozen pies market [AC Nielsen MAT], believes microwaveable pies will help to reverse this decline by making them more convenient. MicroBake is available in steak and chicken flavours. Rsp: 99p for 150g. {{P&P }}