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Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category
Happy Monday everyone! It’s the start of a new week, a new month, a new blog layout and a new recipe. And a new feature – from now on, all recipes will be available in a printable format. I’ll work on getting all of the archived recipes put in a printable format as quickly as possible.
Because I’m just all about the “new” today.
I like my new layout a great deal; it gives me lots of room for modification so I can change the look in the form of new headers and colors and buttons on a regular basis without having to take the time to design and code a new theme every time I want to change it. I hope y’all like it too; I welcome any feedback you might have.
Okay – Boston Cream Pie. It’s one of Beloved’s favorite desserts and the one I made on Valentine’s Day. When made from scratch it’s not a complicated recipe by any means, but it is a tad time consuming. It is also one of the yummiest cakes you’ll ever eat.
The origins of the name – to say nothing of the recipe – differ depending on the source, but it’s generally accepted that it’s called “pie” when it is really a cake because in the mid-nineteenth century, pie tins were more common than cake pans so many people baked cakes in them. The Parker House Hotel in Boston claims to have served these cream “pies” since their opening in 1856, hence the “Boston” part of the name.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the dessert (I have quite a few readers outside of the U.S.), it consists of two layers of sponge or butter cake that are sandwiched together with pastry cream. A chocolate glaze is then poured over the top of the cake and allowed to drip down the sides. My version uses a simple butter cake, baked in two thin layers and filled with classic creme patisserie; a thick, rich, vanilla-flavored custard that consists of egg yolks, butter and milk thickened with flour or corn starch and flavored with vanilla. I spread the top with an easy chocolate ganache consisting of heavy cream, bittersweet chocolate and a little butter.
It is oh, so very yummy, and it should be: The cake is adapted from the 1975 edition of The Joy of Cooking, the creme patisserie is adapted from the 40th Anniversary Edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and the chocolate ganache is adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible.
I am nothing if not an equal opportunity adapter.
Note: The creme patisserie will hold up to being sandwiched between the cake layers much better if it has been refrigerated a bit, so make it first. The cake recipe is for two 8″ or one 9″ cake layers - since I prefer a 9″ cake for this recipe I bake two thin layers; that way I don’t have to worry about splitting a single layer with a knife and risk it falling apart. If you make two 8″ layers or a single 9″ layer, increase the baking time about 5 minutes. Also allow the ganache to cool until just barely warm to the touch before spreading on the cake – it will thicken, but still run down the sides of the cake without pooling at the bottom.
Boston Cream Pie
serves 8
Creme patisserie (or vanilla custard)
1 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup flour
2 cups very hot milk (almost boiling)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
In the 3-quart bowl of a stand mixer, gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks with the paddle attachment and continue beating for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon when the beater is lifted. Gradually beat in the flour until completely smooth.
With the mixer running on low/medium low, gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolks in a thin stream. Pour egg/milk mixture into a clean, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set on the stove over moderately high heat. Stir constantly with a wire whisk, making sure to reach all over the bottom of the pan. As the custard heats, it may become lumpy, but will smooth out as you beat it. When it reaches a boil, lower the heat to medium and continue beating with the wire whisk for another 2 minutes or so, taking care not to scorch it at the bottom of the pan.
Remove from the heat and beat in the butter and vanilla. Scrape into a clean bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until ready to use.
Gold butter cake
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 375º F; grease and flour cake pan(s). Have all ingredients at room temperature before beginning.
Sift the flour together with baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream the butter until soft and gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, then add the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to the egg/butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and scraping down the sides of the bowl and stirring until the batter is smooth after each addition. Pour the batter into the cake pan(s) and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the layers comes out clean.
Remove pans to a wire rack; cool cake completely before removing from pans.
Chocolate ganache
4½ ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the chocolate over low heat. Add the heavy cream and raise the heat to medium. Heat and stir, trying not to create any air bubbles, for a few moments. Remove from heat; add the butter and stir well. Allow to cool until barely warm to the touch.
Assembly
Place one cake layer, top side up, on a flat serving dish at least an inch or two larger in diameter than the cake. Spread the creme patisserie thickly and evenly over the surface of the cake; top with the other layer, bottom side up (if the cake layers “domed” during baking, shave the tops with a sharp serrated knife until flat). Pour the ganache on top and gently spread with a spatula until the chocolate coats the top of the cake evenly and begins to drip down the sides.
Cut into wedges to serve. Wrap leftovers with plastic wrap and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving.
Printable version (requires Adobe Reader)
I’m not a big bread eater. Oh, every now and then I’ll get a hankering for a good sandwich or I’ll have a piece of toast with my Sunday brunch or a warm roll with dinner, but I’m not one of those people who can’t do without bread – to be honest, I’d miss cornbread way before I’d miss sandwich bread or dinner rolls.
Nor are Beloved and the Young One all that fond of bread – they both enjoy a good sandwich (more than I do) and those warm dinner rolls (again, more than I do), but that’s about it. There are weeks I buy or bake bread where it more or less sits there in its designated spot on top of the microwave, just getting stale. This is further compounded by the fact that Beloved prefers whole grain bread and The Young One will only eat white sandwich bread or cheese bread when I bake it – I often have two loaves of bread just…sitting there.
The bread exception – for me, anyway – is bread pudding. I LOVE the stuff. If it is on the menu at a restaurant, Beloved knows we will be ordering dessert; in fact, he’s been known to tell the waiter, “Don’t bother asking – just bring the bread pudding.” For me, it is one of the ultimate comfort foods (Pho Bo and Sticky Rice with Mangoes is also on that list…I know, but I never claimed to be normal, now did I?).
Anyhoo, this weekend I found myself with half a loaf of white sandwich bread that was fit for nothing but toast, and it wasn’t going to be good for that much longer either. I certainly didn’t want to throw it away, so I stood there, pondering it, while I fried bacon for our Sunday brunch, when it occurred to me – French toast! But there was only the two of us, since Beloved is in California on business, so that would only use three pieces of bread. Where did that leave me? With a lot more stale bread, that’s where.
Ah-hah! I thought. Bread pudding! And not just any bread pudding – a chocolate bread pudding! But all of the chocolate bread pudding recipes instructed melting the chocolate and adding it to the eggs and milk, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that. So I ended up substituting chocolate chips for the raisins in a more traditional bread pudding recipe. I also skipped the sauce, which is made of butter, sugar, eggs and usually some sort of booze – I wanted The Young One to be able to have some, and it was quite rich enough without the sauce anyway.
I plated the pudding and took the picture of it about 10 minutes after it came out of the oven, and it was very tasty hot, but not so pretty and the cinnamon seemed a tad overwhelming. However, I ate some for breakfast this morning, after heating it for about 30 seconds in the microwave, and I have to tell you I preferred it this morning. So let the pudding rest for at least an hour before you serve it, to allow it to set up and the flavors to meld.
Also, most bread pudding recipes are going to call for French or Italian loaves, or a sweeter bread such as Challa. Sandwich bread will be just fine for this recipe if you further dry it out in the oven a little before soaking it in the milk.
Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
serves six, or me
4 cups cubed stale, white sandwich bread
2 cups whole milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Place the cubed bread in a large mixing bowl; pour the milk over it, allowing it to soak for about 15 – 20 minutes. Push the bread down into the milk with a spoon occasionally.
While the bread is soaking, use the tablespoon of butter to grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. I used my soufflé dish, but a 9″ x 9″ square baking dish should work well, too.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices and beat with the whisk attachment until frothy, about 2 minutes. (This can be done by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer; it will just take longer.) Gently stir the egg/sugar mixture into the bread and milk until thoroughly combined, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour the bread mixture into the buttered dish and bake for 35 – 45 minutes, or until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan.
You can serve the pudding right away, but it is best if allowed to rest for at least an hour. If it cools off too much, you can reheat it gently in the oven for a few moments.
I am late today posting, and the rest of the week may be a bit haphazard – the drug dealer from Florida who bought this dump, sight unseen, as a “legitimate” front our responsible and immensely caring landlord has taken our rents and run because that’s what sleazy gigolo criminals do forsaken us due to financial difficulties and the power to our office building is going to may be shut off today. We have a backup plan, since we’ve been unpleasantly aware of this possibility for some time, but implementing it is going to take time and effort we really can’t spare right now.
Life – it surely can be interesting.
Anyhoo, I learned a couple of things while making this recipe yesterday:
- Never buy apples in bags no matter how cheap they are; half of them will be bruised beyond use.
- I could use a course in food photography.
Oh, I’m getting better, I’m just not progressing at a rate that suits me – I’m definitely not happy with the shots I took for this. Oh, well; you’ll get the basic gist of it all.
So, faced with half a bag of reasonably decent Macintosh apples, I decided to make an apple crisp with them, and some homemade vanilla ice cream. Now, if you’ll scroll waaaaay down and look at the sidebar, you’ll see a little button that says “Cook, Eat, Share – Featured Author.” I have NO idea how they found me, but the people who run this site sent me an email asking me to be a contributor on their site, and since I have what is ostensibly a food blog where I post recipes at least once a week, I got the status of “Featured Author.”
I have absolutely no idea what that entails as of yet, but it is quite flattering.
Anyway, I haven’t had much of a chance to search the site for recipes until this weekend, but when I did I found a treasure trove – if you need recipes, you should really check this site out. I found one for “Double Crumb Apple Crisp” that looked just wonderful, but it made a ton. With some adjustments in ingredients, proportions and procedure, I came up with a dessert much more suitable to a household of three (one of which won’t touch it because he only likes “crunchy” apples 
).
It can be easily doubled if you’re feeding a crowd, and is absolutely tasty no matter how large you make it.
Note: if you use salted butter, cut the amount of salt in half.
Apple Crisp
serves 6 – 8
7 cups thinly sliced cooking apples
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, depending on the tartness of the apples
1 teaspoon cinammon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl and allow to sit for about half an hour. Stir, and sprinkle with the corn starch; mix thoroughly.
While the apples are macerating, preheat the oven to 350° F. Whisk the oats, brown sugar, flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl, cut the butter in to the oatmeal mixture with a pastry cutter or two table knives until it is coarse and crumbly.
Press a little more than half the oatmeal mixture in the bottom of an 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish; spread the apples evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture over the apples.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, until the topping is brown and crisp and the apples are tender. Serve warm, with ice cream if desired.
I’ve written about this before but once upon a time, many moons ago, my ex, who was the night manager at a convenience store when I was expecting Darling Daughter, brought me home a little cookbook that was packaged with a carton of Benson and Hedges cigarettes (yeah, it was a LONG time ago). It was full of recipes from America’s Favorite Resorts, and since Darling Daughter will be 23 in about 2 weeks, it goes without saying that the book is a bit…outdated.
It doesn’t mean the recipes aren’t damn good. Because they are.
And this is one.
The book is titled Recipes from America’s Favorite Resorts, and this one comes from the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. It’s my understanding that the Mauna Kea was the standard for high-end resorts in Hawaii from the time it opened in 1965 through the 80s; by the time Beloved and I discovered it in 2003 it was a little shabby and outdated (sort of like my cookbook), but still a charming and lovely place. It certainly had one of the nicest beaches in the area – when we Beloved and I weren’t attempting to access remote black sand beaches, we spent hours lounging in a secluded cove at the far end of the Mauna Kea’s beautiful white sand beach (in fact, I learned to snorkel there).
(It also didn’t hurt that Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurant was located in the resort right across the road.)
I heard the Mauna Kea was renovated a couple of years ago, and I’m a little sad because it’s now just another glitzy resort. I’m going to miss that Grand Old Dame of a hotel.
I, of course, knew nothing of this when I first received this little gem of a cookbook – all I knew is that the descriptions of the resorts, including the Mauna Kea (which I never thought I’d ever really see), were wonderful and the recipes made me want to cook them.
So I did, and you should too. This is not an inexpensive pie to make, so I usually save it for special occasions, and it is very sweet and very, very rich – when it says the 9-inch will serve 8 – 12 people, it will serve 8 – 12 people. But it is oh, so delicious.
Note: all ingredients should be at room temperature.
Macadamia Nut Pie
serves 8 – 12
7 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup flaked coconut (I use unsweetened coconut when I can find it)
1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Mix the eggs, butter, honey and sugar with an electric mixer on low until smooth. Sprinkle the coconut over the bottom of the pie shell; pour the egg/honey mixture over the coconut. Be careful; the crust will be full. Sprinkle the macadamia nuts evenly over the filling.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 30 minutes, but this pie is delightful if served a little warm.
This week for the Spin Cycle, Jen has tasked us with Holiday Baking.
I don’t bake and make candy for the holidays like I used to in the days when I couldn’t afford to buy “real” gifts (funny, but the gifts people seem to remember the most were those homemade ones). These days the only time I really do any cooking or baking for the holidays is when we have the annual holiday party for our employees, which we host in our home (and I hope they’ll be able to ignore the fact that I didn’t have the carpets cleaned before this year’s gala…’cause it’s a mess).
However, I have enough holiday recipes that it took me awhile to decide what I’d post. I have an absolute kick-ass fruitcake recipe, but it needs to age for at least six weeks (it’s routinely doused in Southern Comfort while it ages – you glow in the dark when you eat a piece), so I figured it was kind of late for that. I thought about my pumpkin bread, but then again most people have a great pumpkin bread recipe, even if it isn’t baked in a coffee can. I posted my peanut butter fudge recipe last year and didn’t want to recycle it, and everyone makes cookies. Then it occurred to me:
Amish Friendship Bread.
If you’ve never heard of this, you’re in for a treat. The version I make is not a yeasty-type bread that you’d run out and make a ham sandwich with, it’s more of a sweet quick bread. (Actually, if you want my opinion, it’s really a cake.) It is delicious: sweet and cinnamony with a wonderfully moist crumb.
I also have to warn you, if you’ve never heard of this, you’re going to start off loving me – it is damned good – and then probably end up hating me. Why? Well, one of the great things about Amish Friendship Bread is that not only can you give the baked goods to friends and family, but also a “starter” of the batter that will multiply for them to use, not only to bake this marvelous bread/cake, but also leave them with lots of starter to give to their friends, and so on and so on.
It’s like a happy little chain letter you bake in the oven.
The problem is, while your family will ask for this lovely dessert/quick bread/coffee cake on a regular basis (and if you keep up your starter, you’ll be able to make it on a regular basis), you’re going to sooner or later (and it will probably be sooner) run out of people to give the starter to. Which has always been my problem – I end up with starter for the bread running out of my ears, and eventually just pour it all down the drain.
HOWEVER, before I go on to the recipe, which includes the recipe for the starter, the instructions for tending the starter and giving it away, and the recipe for the final product, let me just say that I LOVE the internet because I have found instructions on how to tend just enough starter for personal use – no giving it away when your friends and family start to avoid you because they are drowning in vats of their own starter.
So, without further ado, Amish Friendship Bread. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAINTAIN THE STARTER FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
NOTE: Do NOT use metal bowls or spoons. Mix the starter/batter in a glass bowl and stir only with a wood/silicone spoon or spatula. Also, do not refrigerate the starter. Yes, it is perfectly safe.
Amish Friendship Bread
makes 2 standard loaves or 1 Bundt pan cake, 2 cups of starter to give to friends and one cup to use for the next batch
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water – about 110° F
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk – about 110° F
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to keep the mixture smooth; add the yeast/water and stir until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a gallon zip-lock bag; seal and leave it. This is Day 1. (When giving the starter and instructions to friends, make note that they do nothing with the bag on Day 1.)
Don’t be alarmed if the mixture bubbles after it’s been sitting on the counter for awhile; it’s supposed to.
Day 2: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 3: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 4: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 5: Add a cup of flour, a cup of sugar and a cup of milk to the bag. Seal; mush with your hands until well mixed. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 6: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 7: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 8: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 9: Mush the bag briefly with your hands. Walk away and forget about it.
Day 10: Add a cup of flour, a cup of sugar and a cup of milk to the bag. Seal; mush with your hands until well mixed.
You should now have 4 cups of starter; place 1 cup each into three 1 gallon zip-lock bags; seal and set aside – you will give two to friends, and keep the other for your next batch. Use the fourth cup for the bread you’ll make that day.
NOTE: When you give away the starter, make sure to include the instructions for tending the starter and baking the bread.
Amish Friendship bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1(6-serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup starter
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar combined with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, divided
Preheat the oven to 350° F; grease two standard sized loaf pans or a 10-cup Bundt pan. Dust the inside of the pan(s) with about half of the sugar/cinnamon mixture; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; set aside.
In a large glass or ceramic mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except for the sugar/cinnamon mixture), mixing well. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing only until just combined; do not over-mix. Pour into the pan(s) and sprinkle with the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (the Bundt pan may take longer) or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack; cool completely before slicing.