Category Archives: sweets

Sticky Toffee Date Cake

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1 pound dates, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons baking soda
For the Cakes
8 ounces butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3¼ tablespoons baking powder

For the Sauce
½ pound butter
1 cup brown sugar (8 ounces)
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch-round cake pans or 20 muffin tins.

Place the dates in large saucepan with 3½ cups cold water. Bring to boil, stirring a little to break up the dates. Then leave to simmer for 1 minute before removing from the heat. Stir in the baking soda (which will cause the mixture to bubble up).

Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, occasionally scraping down mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and then the flour and salt and mix briefly to give a lumpy dough.

Next, add the warm date mixture in two batches. Scrape down the sides of bowl in between mixing. The dough will now be quite watery but don’t worry! Finally add the baking powder (this will bubble up also).

Pour the batter evenly into the two pans or muffin tins. Bake for about 30-40 minutes for cake pans and about 20 minutes for muffin tins. Test if they are cooked with a small knife or toothpick, it should come out clean when cakes are done.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, combine the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer gently for a minute or two until thickened and well blended.

When the cakes are done, poke little holes all over with toothpick, this will enable the sauce to be absorbed more easily. Pour the caramel sauce over cakes while both are still warm and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out upside-down onto serving plates (the bottom is the most sticky bit!).   (Yield: 2- 9″ Cakes)

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Ginger Spice Cake With Warm Cranberries – Tyler Florence

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Cake:
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter — melted
1 cup buttermilk

Warm Cranberries
2 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cup water
2 cup brown sugar — packed
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup whipped cream — for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar — for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the pan bottom and place it inside; then spray the paper. Set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg, molasses, sugar, and melted butter until thick. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the cake’s structure. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth down the top of the batter until even. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, combine the ingredients for the cranberries in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan, and then slice it in wedges. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with warm cranberries and whipped cream.  Ginger Spice Cake With Warm Cranberries – Serves 8

As soon as I turned the page and saw that thick wedge of ginger spice cake lightly dusted with powdered sugar, snuggled up with a heaping spoonful of warm cranberries and soft pillow of whipped cream, my mind drifted off to a cozy mountain cabin warmed by the spicy aroma of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice wafting from the kitchen…

Terry’s notes:  Although this cake has Thanksgiving and Christmas written all over it, I made it a little earlier in the holiday season for a German Novemberfest party. I actually doubled the recipe and made two cakes – one for Novemberfest and the second for a CAbi party the next day. I used 8-inch cake pans instead of 9-inch, so my cakes were a bit thicker and took about 10 minutes longer to bake. I also simmered the cranberries an extra 10-15 minutes and added a few tablespoons of Luxardo Cherry Liqueur during the last 5 minutes of simmering.

 

Chocolate Shortbread Tart Crust

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chocolate pumpkin tart featuring chocolate shortbread crust

1 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cold

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.

Cut butter into several pieces and add to flour mixture. Pulse until mixture is sandy and butter is well-incorporated.

Pour crumb mixture into a 9 or 10-inch tart pan (or 4 individual tart pans). Press firmly up the sides and into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Crust can be filled without pre-baking.

For a baked crust, bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until firm. Allow to cool before using.

Makes 1 9 or 10-inch tart.

From Baking Bites blog

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce Recipe — Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

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1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
5 to 6 whole fresh peaches (best when not overly ripe or soft), peeled, cut in half and pit removed (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1/2 a lemon
7 tablespoons real maple syrup
1  1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a fork or pastry cutter. Cut the butter into small pieces and gradually add to flour mixture until evenly mixed.

Slice the peaches 1/2-inch thick into a bowl. Add the zest from the lemon half. Squeeze juice from the lemon half and stir in with the peaches and zest. Add 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup to the peaches and stir well.

Pour the peach mixture into a small pan (8 or 9-inch square) and cover evenly with the crumb topping. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until crisp and brown on top, an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

For the maple cream sauce, pour the heavy cream into a saucepan. Add the remaining 5 tablespoons maple syrup and corn syrup and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about one-third, about 15 minutes. Refrigerate the sauce until it is cold and thick. Or, if you’re in a hurry, set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice (the ice will melt and turn into ice water). Stirring your mixture, it will cool and thicken in about 15 minutes. Drizzle the maple cream sauce over the peach crisp. Serve warm.

 

Raspberry Tart

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Hot water pastry–this was not great, I have another one to try and will post that if it’s good

Filling:

2 cups fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter, melted or not

Bake at 450 for 20-30 min.

Blueberry Oat Bread

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2 c. flour
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 c. low fat milk
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tbsp. grated orange rind
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries or frozen but not thawed

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add milk, butter, orange peel and eggs. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to stir and mix about 30 sec. With spoon gently stir in blueberries.

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5 x 3 baking pan that has been greased on the bottom only. NEXT time I will grease the whole pan. Bake at 350 for 55-65 min, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield 16 servings

Lemon Meringue Pie — Alton Brown

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Lemon Filling

  • 4 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 (9-inch) pre-baked pie shell
  • 1 recipe Meringue, recipe follows

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk egg yolks in medium size mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Turn heat on medium and, stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually, 1 whisk-full at a time, add hot mixture to egg yolks and stir until you have added at least half of the mixture.

Return egg mixture to saucepan, turn heat down to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and gently stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest until well combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and top with meringue while filling is still hot. Make sure meringue completely covers filling and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Make sure pie is cooled completely before slicing.

Meringue Topping:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 pinch cream of tartar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Use to top lemon filling.

Yield: topping for 1 (9-inch) pie

Pumpkin Bread Pudding — Martha

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Unsalted butter, room temperature, for dish
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
10 ounces day-old bread, such as brioche or sourdough, cut into 1/2-inch slices or 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Dulce de Leche, carmel syrup or heavy cream for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, cream, eggs, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and anise seed. Arrange bread in dish. Pour custard over bread and top with pecans. Bake until custard is set, 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with dulce de leche, carmel or cream.

Note: I forgot the vanilla, realized this as I was posting the recipe oops.

Apple Crostada

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Crust:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8-10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. (If the dough still crumbles and does not form into a ball, add another tablespoon of ice water.) Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 30 min-1 hour.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough to a 12-14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat.

Filling:

• 8-9 tasty apples
• 3-4 tbsp flour
• 3-4 tbsp granulated or superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

For the filling, peel (opt), core, and cut the apples into half moons. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl add apples and toss gently. Mound in the center of dough round. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caramel sauce — Martha

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1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup heavy cream

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is dark, about 6 minutes. Remove
from heat, and carefully pour in cream (mixture will spatter); whisk until smooth. Let cool.

Photo shows a slice of apple crostada, vanilla ice cream and topped with carmel sauce.  YUM YUM