Category Archives: sweets

Sugar Cream Pie from 12tomatoes.com/

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  • 1 pie shell, store-bought or homemade
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Preheat oven to 350º F and place pie dough in a standard pie dish.
  • Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Pour in heavy cream and mix together until fully blended and incorporated.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together half-and-half, egg yolks and vanilla extract, then gently stir egg yolk mixture into heavy cream mixture.
  • Pour pie filling into pie crust, then crimp the edges of the pie dough and brush with melted butter.
  • Sprinkle cinnamon across the top of pie, then place in oven.
  • Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until center is just set, but still jiggles slightly when shaken. (After about 1 hour, pie filling will boil. Allow to bubble for 10 minutes then remove from oven.)
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

 

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from 12tomatoes.com/

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  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups (mini) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 package (10 oz.) soft caramels, unwrapped
  • Preheat oven to 325°F and line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Coat foil with non-stick spray.
  • Combine the sweetened condensed milk and unwrapped caramels in a medium sauce pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir frequently until the caramels melt and the mixture is smooth and a medium-dark amber color. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt and mix together.
  • In a large bowl or mixer, beat together butter and sugars until combined. Then add eggs one by one, mixing after each addition.
  • Add in vanilla extract, then gradually mix in dry ingredients until just combined.
  • Fold in chocolate chips, then press half of the cookie dough into foil-lined baking dish.
  • Pour the caramel mixture over the cookie dough, and spoon the remaining cookie dough over the top taking care that the spoonfuls are evenly distributed across the whole dish.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and the edges have begun to pull away from the sides of the pan.
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely. Lift bars out of pan by the edges of the foil and cut into bars. Serve and enjoy!

Hot Fudge Sundae, Add Flaky Salt

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1 1/2cups  heavy whipping cream
1/3c up Lyle’s Golden Syrup or corn syrup
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup (20 grams) cocoa powder
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1teaspoon flaky vanilla salt (regular flaky salt is fine, too)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
  1. In a saucepan, combine the cream, syrup, sugar, and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate, butter, salt, and vanilla. Once the chocolate and the butter have melted, strain the entire mixture to ensure that no pesky cocoa powder clumps remain.
  3. Let cool to room temperature. If you are making this in advance, refrigerate until ready to use and then gently reheat on the stove or in the microwave until the hot fudge is pourable. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
  4. For the salty sprinkles: Combine everything in a small bowl and mix well. Store in a small jar and sprinkle on ice cream, sugar cookies just before baking, puddings, hot cocoa, milkshakes, etc.

Bill Smith’s Atlantic Beach Pie

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For the crust:

  • 1 1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers (about 6 ounces or 60 crackers)
  • 1/ 2cup softened unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
For the filling:

  • One14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice or a mix of the two
  • Fresh whipped cream, for garnish
  • Coarse sea salt, for garnish
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. You can use a food processor or your hands. Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough. Press into an 8-inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. note: crust took at least 15 min more to become golden, set on convection bake at 375.
  3. While the crust is cooling (it doesn’t need to be cold), beat the egg yolks into the milk, then beat in the citrus juice. It is important to completely combine these ingredients. Pour into the shell and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set. The pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced. Serve with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Chocolate Crème Brûlée from Ina

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  • ​1 extra-large egg
  • 4 extra-large egg yolks
  • ½ cup sugar, plus extra for topping
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, such as Lindt, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon instantespresso granules
  • ¼ cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlúa
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place six (8-ounce) ramekins in a roasting pan large enough to hold them completely flat.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, and sugar until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a medium saucepan. Off the heat, add the chocolate and espresso and whisk until the chocolate is melted. Slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg mixture, then whisk in the coffee liqueur and vanilla. Transfer to a large measuring cup and pour into the prepared ramekins until full.

Place the pan in the oven and carefully pour enough of the hottest tap water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the custards are set on the edges but still a little jiggly in the middle when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on each custard. With a kitchen blowtorch held one inch from the surface of the crème, heat the sugar until it caramelizes evenly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.

 

Creamy Chocolate Tartlets by Dorie Greenspan

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FOR THE TART SHELLS
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs or chocolate wafer crumbs (5 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped, plus optional chocolate shavings, for garnish
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
Lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche, for garnish

For the tart shells: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the tartlet pans with cooking oil spray.

Combine the crumbs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the butter over the mixture and stir with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened. Divide the mixture evenly among the pans; use your fingertips to firmly press it along the bottom and up the sides. Freeze the pans for 10 minutes.

Place the tart shell pans on a baking sheet; bake (middle rack) for about 10 minutes or until the crusts take on some color. If you plan to assemble the tarts right away, cool the shells to room temperature, then freeze for 10 minutes before unmolding very carefully – these are fragile – and filling. If you are not assembling right away, store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, then freeze for 10 minutes and unmold before filling (see headnote).

For the filling: Combine the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is velvety smooth. Be careful; you don’t want to give this too much heat and you certainly don’t want it to come to a boil. Turn off the heat, keep the pan on the burner and add the butter a little at a time, stirring the small pieces in until they melt. Once again, the mixture will be smooth and, this time, a little shiny (a ganache). Transfer the ganache to a liquid measuring cup with a spout. The yield is a generous 3/4 cup.

Place the tartlet shells on a tray. (That makes it easy to move them around.) Fill them with the ganache, dividing it evenly among the crusts and pouring it as full to the rim as possible. Use an offset spatula to help spread the filling as needed. If you have any ganache left over, save it: You can reheat it gently in a microwave and then pour it over ice cream.

Loosely cover the tray with aluminum foil and carefully slide it into the refrigerator; chill until the ganache is cold and firm, about 2 hours, or for up to 1 day.

At serving time, top the tartlets with whipped cream or crème fraîche and scatter over some chocolate shavings, if using. Serve right away.

 

 

Blueberry Cobbler from allrecipes.com

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3 cups fresh blueberries
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In an 8 inch square baking dish, mix blueberries, 3 tablespoons sugar, and orange juice. Set aside. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are combined. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over blueberry mixture. Try to cover as much of filling as possible.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

 

Peach Cobbler

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  • 8 fresh peaches (peeled, pitted, and sliced into chunks)
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden.
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Peel the peaches with a knife or peeler, or drop the peaches one-by-one in boiling water for about a minute. Then, take each one out and put it into a bowl of ice water for about a minute. The skins should slide off pretty easily if the peaches are ripe.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the first list of ingredients (peaches, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, cornstarch). Toss everything together so the peaches are coated evenly, then put the mixture into a greased two-quart (8×8) baking dish and bake in the oven for ten minutes.
  4. In another large bowl, combine some of the ingredients from the second list– flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use your fingertips to blend the butter into the mixture, or use a pastry blender ñ until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Then, stir in the water until just combined.
  5. Take the peaches out of the oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over them. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon.
  6. Bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Enjoy!

 

Real Caramel Sauce

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Makes 3 to 4 cups

  • 1 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Equipment:
  • Candy thermometer
  • A long-handled silicone spatula or wooden spoon
  1. Combine the syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture simmers around the edges.
  2. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon for use again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more.
  3. Attach the candy thermometer to the saucepan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered, without stirring until the mixture reaches 305° F. Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small saucepan until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and cover it to keep the cream hot. When the sugar mixture is at 305° F, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter chunks.
  4. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically. Put the pan back on the burner and adjust the heat so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 225° F (or 228° F for a sauce that thickens like fudge when poured over ice cream). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
  5. Serve the sauce warm or hot. Store in the refrigerator (it keeps for ages) and reheat it gently in the microwave or a saucepan just until hot and flowing. You can stir in rum or brandy to taste. If the sauce (after reheating) becomes too thick or stiff to serve over ice cream, it can always be thinned with a little water or cream.

 

The Ultimate fruit cake

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3⁄4 cup dark rum
2⁄3 cup dried cherries
1 1⁄4 cups whole walnuts
1⁄3 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
1⁄4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1 cup plus 1 1⁄2 Tbsp. sugar
10 1⁄2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
1⁄4 cup unsulphured molasses (not “blackstrap”)
1 large egg
1⁄3 cup plus 1 1⁄2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
1⁄4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice

Four hours before you plan to bake the fruit cake, combine the rum and cherries in a small bowl and let stand for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you prefer. Drain the cherries, reserving the rum and transfer to a bowl along with the walnuts, candied orange, and candied ginger.

Heat the oven to 325°. Grease a 3 1⁄2-by-7-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream 1⁄2 cup plus 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of the sugar with the butter and molasses on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and continue mixing until combined, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off, scrape the paddle and bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then mix for 15 seconds until smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the pepper, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice. Using a large rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until almost combined. Add the walnuts and dried fruit and until completely incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes.
While the cake is baking, combine 1⁄2 cup of the reserved rum with the remaining 1⁄2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan and heat over low, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the cake is done, transfer the pan to a rack and brush with all of the rum syrup. Let the cake cool completely, then remove from the pan and serve, or wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.