Posts tagged dessert
Superbowl Whoopie Pies
0
For some odd reason, I haven’t done ANY posts on Whoopie Pies. That is absolutely crazy since they are all the rave around these parts! If you don’t know, a whoopie pie is a great substitution for the cupcake. Because the filling is sandwiched between 2 cake-like cookies (or vice versa) the cake-to-icing ratio is spot on, leaving no gobs of icing behind and none of it goes into your nose. No shade to the cupcake- I still will get down with you lol but who doesn’t love the idea of being able to go absolutely HAM on a sweet without a trace? As to be expected, I have been invited to several game-day parties (please don’t hate on my fame and popularity…ok, 2 parties and one invite was really for Greg..but who’s counting?). Of course, I can’t go anywhere empty-handed. I was going to make something from my Superbowl post last year but a friend of mine sent me this cute idea and I HAD to recreate it. (Thanks Zack!!)They had an oval shaped pan but I made my own pattern and traced it onto 4 sheets of parchment paper. #POW (who’s bad??!!) The only thing that made them a little more involved than I would’ve liked (aside from my decision to free hand the shapes) was making the the Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I didn’t like having to use another pot for the double broiler. But it is definitely doable and most defintely worth it!
This recipe comes from my two new boos, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. They are the authors of my baking bible, Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented. Enjoy!
Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Yields 10-12 large whoopie pies, 15-17 small pies
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups (17.5 oz) All Purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup (2.18 oz) dark cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) hot coffee
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) hot water
2 cups (15.32 oz) light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup (6 fl oz) canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) buttermilk, shaken
Swiss vanilla filling (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line four baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the AP flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and espresso powder. Pour the hot coffee and hot water over the cocoa mixture and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth.
In another medium bowl, combine the canola oil and light brown sugar. Add this to the cocoa mixture and whisk until combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture.
Spoon into a piping bag and pipe into 2 inch rounds on prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart (or scoop onto sheets with a small scoop).
Bake 10-15 minutes, until the cookies crack slightly on top and spring back in the center when gently pressed. Let cool completely, then remove from sheet with an offset spatula. Pipe or scoop half of the rounds with the filling. Top each piped round with another cookie and serve.
Swiss vanilla filling
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) sugar
2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the sugar dissolves (test this by dipping your finger into the mixture – when you can no longer feel grains of sugar when you rub the mixture between your fingers, then the sugar has dissolved) – the mixture will be slightly warmer than body temperature.
Transfer bowl to mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until the mixture is smooth, white, and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the butter, one piece at a time. Add sea salt and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Beat until the filling is smooth and glossy (it may look curdled, but just continue to beat – eventually the mixture will come together).
Kicking Key Lime Pie
0
You can NOT be from Miami and NOT like Key Lime Pie. Sorry, it just aint happening. There is something about Key Lime that screams South Florida, The Keys (of course) and lazy summer days on one of the many beautiful beaches down there. I recall making Key lime pies in the kitchen with my mom and 4 sisters. We were sloppy and that “meringue” topping always looked like it had bubbled up from some active underwater volcano. However, we continued to take our pies to funeral wakes and various showers and feed whomever was moved enough (either with crippling grief or elation) to look beneath (literally) the presentation and taste our creations. They were always a hit. I believe we even tried our hand at peddling a few come to think of it.
I cannot understand for the life of me why my mother would have all of us “assisting”. We made such a mess, we fought over the strainers, dropped egg shells in the batter and were responsible for the many we had to “scratch” and re-make. But babaaaaaay, after squeezing 27 of those quarter-sized key limes allllll by my lonesome, I NOW KNOW WHY! That was a lot. But, I will say that I did not have the proper tools. I used a traditional reamer and that made it a little messy and tedious. Plus I’m sure I left a significant amount of juice behind because I just couldn’t get in there good enough. Here is an image of the latest in juicing…GOTTA GET ONE ASAP!
Ingredients
- 2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
- 1 cup key lime or regular lime juice (27 key limes- by one bag and grab 2 or 3 regular limes to carry you over if needed)
- 2 whole eggs
- zest of 3 persian limes or 6-8 key limes (be sure to zest BEFORE juicing)
- 12 Keebler prepared graham cracker pie crust tart shells
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tea vanilla extract
*Re Substitutions: Do NOT use store bought key lime juice, that’s just offensive. However, the common green limes (persian) will serve as good proxies if needed in this case. I was definitely surprised to see we even had key limes at our grocery store. They come in 1lb bags (about 20 per bag) for less than $3.00.
Directions
Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended. Place your prepared pie shells on a cookie sheet with sides (or risk dropping half of them like I did). Spoon filling evenly into them. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Once chilled, make your whipped topping by combining cream, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Place dollops of cream in the center of each or pipe it onto the pies. garnish with lime zest (or the zest of a few lemons for contrast like I did) and serve chilled. Amazingly simple with the perfect balance of sweet and tart. We got a winner right here, trust!
Company Apple Crisp
0Their sugar-high is not MY problem…
I was charged with babysitting my nephews the other day and I couldn’t resist their little pleading faces when they asked me for dessert. I caught a glimpse of the bowl of apples in my periphereal and decided to make the “Company Apple Crisp” dish I’d found in my Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I recalled how simplistic and common the ingredient list appeared to be and knew I had those items but was still amazed that I did, in fact, have every single item with the exception of fresh lemon juice. 
I did, however, have a lime and that would HAVE to work….and it did.
Sorry, but site or no site, I was too tired to wash dishes after babysitting and definitely NOT for the SAME 2 little reasons I was so beat. Therefore, you’ll have to deal with the styrofoam bowls I used to serve this sweet treat. They’re not completely unsightly when you peek in on their contents. YUM-MEEEEE.
It may have been inconsiderate of me to give them the Apple Crisp JUST before turning them back over to their mom but all they know is that Auntie Zina is the fav (and if you truly know anything, you know that is a bold face lie).
INGREDIENTS
Topping:
3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 c pecans, chopped fine
3/4 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 c (3 1/2 oz) packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 tea. table salt
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
3 lbs. Golden Delicious apples (approx 7)
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 c apple cider
2 tea. juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
DIRECTIONS
For the topping:
- Adjust rack to the middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
- Stir in butter until mix is thoroughly moistened and crumbly.
- Set aside.
For the filling:
- Toss apples, sugar and cinnamon together in large bowl; set aside.
- Bring cider to a simmer in a 12-inch oven-safe* skillet over medium heat.
- Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, approx. 5 minutes.
- Transfer reduced cider to bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice and set aside.
- Heat butter in now empty skillet over medium and cook stirring frequently, until apples begin to soften and become translucent, 12 to 14 minutes. (DO NOT FULLY COOK THE APPLES BECAUSE THEY STILL HAVE TO BAKE IN THE OVEN)
- Remove pan from heat and gently stir in cider and mix until apples are coated.
- Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks.
- Place skillet on a baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack until warm, at least 15 mins. and serve….preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Strawberries n Cream Tarts
0
I recently purchased a “Cook’s Illustrated; America’s Test Kitchen” magazine. Let me tell you, for instructional material, they have it on lock. Not only do they provide step-by-step guides, they let you know exactly WHY grandma’s recipe was sometimes hit or miss and why the variation and alteration you have in mind could possibly render a superb (or disastrous) recipe. They test several recipes and publish (often with pics) the outcome of each. I get excited because it brings out a little bit of the scientific geek in me. If only 10th grade science were like this…
I have to admit that I am “dieting” so please recognize the sacrifice I am making to bring you this recipe and excuse any drool on this post as well.
The original recipe was for a large tart but after making the graham cracker crust in the blender, I could not place my pie shell for the life of me. (IF YOU HAVE IT…..BRING IT BACK!!!) So, I ran to Publix and chanced upon mini prepared tart shells. These were probably more appealing to my nephews anyway. (But I STILL want my pie shell!)
Making the filling was surprisingly easy. I have to admit that it almost didn’t happen. The mixture failed to thicken as fast as promised and it wasn’t until I was about to throw it out (I don’t have time to waste on failed dishes, lol) that I noticed it was ready. So the lesson here is to be patient and WAIT!
FOR THE FILLING
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out (or 2-3 tea. pure vanilla extract if you can’t find a fresh bean. I couldn’t )
1 1/4 cups cold cream
1 quart strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
To Make Filling: Sprinkle the gelatin over 1 tablespoon cold water in a bowl and let soften 5 minutes. Put the granulated sugar and vanilla seeds in a saucepan and rub the seeds into the sugar with your fingers. Add 1 cup cream and whisk over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture. Transfer to a bowl, then set in a larger bowl of ice water and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cream and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Pour into the tart shells and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour….or for whatever reason in my case…2 hours.
Before serving, top the tart with the strawberries and dust lightly with powdered (confectioner’s) sugar.
This is a very LIGHT dessert. It’s perfectly refreshing for a nice summer night with friends.
