Welcome to Dessert Crazy

Banana Cake with Nutella Whip

Candice — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:23:14 +0000

One of my favorite food combos is chocolate and banana. This will give you a dense, extra moist banana cake, with a light mousse for an icing. It’s also very easy to make. The Nutella whip could be used for a number of different things. You could serve it as a quick and easy dessert, just mound it in martini glasses, and put a strawberry or banana slice on the side. You could even stir in a little Frangelico to make it more interesting.

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour 2 9” round cake pans.

Mix together oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs, sour milk, mashed banana, and vanilla.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into banana mixture just until moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a moist crumb, about 30 minutes.

Let cool on racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans.

Cool completely.

For the icing:

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the Nutella. Ice the cake .

Store the cake in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 two-layer 9” cake.

Blueberry Shortbread

Candice — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:38:39 +0000

This is the real thing, with the traditional one pound of butter to one pound of flour ratio. They just melt in your mouth. I remember making this with my great-grandmother. She always insisted that the best shortbread should be made entirely by hand, so as a child playing with the dough was as much fun as eating the cookies. The warmth of your hands gets the dough to exactly the right texture for patting into the pan, so great-grandma had something good going there. The blueberries are my addition, but feel free to change it around with mini-chocolate chips or chopped dried tart cherries. You can even leave out any additions if you are a shortbread purist.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Knead all ingredients together by hand, except the blueberries. Once you have a smooth dough, add in the blueberries and knead until they are throughout the dough.

Pat into an ungreased 9×13” pan. Using a wet knife, cut a diamond pattern halfway through the dough, or just use squares.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until very lightly browned on top. Let cool 10 minutes, then cut the squares on the pattern.

Chocolate Kahlua Meringue Mousse Mini-Tortes

Candice — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:32:57 +0000

If you’ve never had the mixture of meringue and mousse before, give these a try. When meringues rest overnight surrounded by mousse, they soften and become slightly chewy. The combination of the smooth creamy mousse and the light chewiness of the meringue give these rich little gems an amazing texture. There are two overnight steps to create these, one to dry the meringues and one to soften them. Get as creative as you want with the piping for the tops. You can make something as simple as a kiss, or make a masterpiece. There’s enough extra meringue and mousse to play with, and to allow for sampling! You can also make this into three 8” rounds, plus the top design, if you want one large dessert (increase baking time at 275 to about an hour). I used to make this for a restaurant called the Old Mill Inn.

Note that there are two overnight steps to make these!

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Draw 2 ¼” circles on the paper.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Meringue: Sift together cocoa and powdered sugar. Beat 8 egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt together until foamy, slowly drizzle in 1 cup of sugar while beating on high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in cocoa mixture on low speed.

Pipe 2/3 of the meringue onto the parchment paper into 2 1/4” circles, in a single layer, filling the circle completely. Pipe the remaining 1/3 meringue into decorative shapes, or just pipe more disks. I like to pipe kisses, swirls, and crisscrosses. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, lower oven temperature to 275 degrees and bake an additional ½ hour. You should be able to lift a corner of the meringue from the paper. (The time will vary depending how thickly you pipe the meringue and the humidity in the air) Let sit in the oven overnight, remove from paper to use.

Mousse: Melt the chocolate, beat in 8 egg yolks, then the butter and the Kahlua. Let cool. Beat 8 egg whites until foamy, then slowly add ½ cup of sugar on high speed and beat until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Fold into cooled chocolate mixture.

Assembly: Take a full meringue circle and top it with about ¼ cup of the mousse. Top with a second full circle, and top with another ¼ cup mousse. Top the mousse with the decorative meringues. Refrigerate overnight to let meringues soften serving. There is enough extra mousse and meringue to account for breakage and sampling.

Makes 8-9

Ultimate Desserts Magazine!!!

Candice — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:33:33 +0000

Thanks so much to Better Homes and Gardens, and to MixingBowl.com for featuring me in the latest BH&G Special Interest Publication, Ultimate Desserts. You’ll find two of my recipes in there, my Almond Fudge Brownies and my Dulce de Leche Bars. The magazine was released on Tuesday, March 23. Of course, that was the day that some crazy person made a scene in the local Genuardi’s grocery store, jumping up and down and screaming about recipes….

But seriously, the people from Meredith (the parent company of BH&G), have been amazing to work with. They made the interview process fun and easy, and made this whole experience one that will stay with me forever. Thanks also to my friends and readers for supporting me in this blog. I love all of your comments and suggestions. I also encourage any closet bakers out there to take the plunge and start your own blog. Good things happen!

Strawberry Sundae Cupcakes

Candice — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:33:45 +0000

Where’s the ice cream? It’s in the batter! These are rich vanilla cupcakes with a smooth strawberry buttercream. Only make the buttercream if you have a stand mixer, it has to whip for 30 minutes. If you don’t have the stand mixer, try folding the strawberry sauce into your favorite vanilla frosting. You can even top the cupcakes off with a small dab of the sauce for an accent. These always feel like a party to me. Time for confetti?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the melted ice cream and the buttermilk.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the ice cream mixture in thirds, beating for about 10 seconds after each addition. Divide among the cupcake liners.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out with a moist crumb.

Strawberry Buttercream:

Combine the frozen strawberries and the ¼ cup sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer lightly over medium-low heat until the strawberries are tender all the way through and the juices have been released. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Return the strawberries to the pan, and simmer until the mixture is reduced to ½ cup. Let cool.

Beat the butter, whipping cream, and powdered sugar together in a sturdy mixer with the whip attachment, for 25-30 minutes until light and fluffy. It will curdle and look horrible for a good part of the time, but it will turn into a rich buttercream at the end. Fold in the strawberry reduction. Ice the cupcakes, and enjoy. Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator, but serve at room temperature.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Banana Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

Candice — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:14:02 +0000

“Oh, I ran around the corner and I ran around the block, and I ran right into a donut shop…” We used to sing that song (sung to the tune of Turkey in the Straw) around the campfire when I was in girl scouts. Here’s a donut worth singing about. It’s a raised donut with a hint of banana, and covered in either a sugar coating or a chocolate glaze. I like to glaze the donuts then sugar coat the holes. You can make the donuts the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight. Let them sit out for a bit then fry them in the morning. That way you can have fresh donuts for breakfast. As to the proper way to spell donut (doughnut)…I leave that up to you.

Dough:

Combine sugar, salt, yeast and 1 1/2 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Heat the milk and butter together to 130 degrees (you can heat them in a microwave for about 1 ½ minutes on high, or heat in a saucepan). Add the warm liquid to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir in the mashed bananas. Beat in the eggs and yolks. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in 3 ½ cups flour, then knead for about 10 minutes, kneading in additional flour ¼ cup at a time. The dough will be on the sticky side. Transfer to a large, buttered bowl. Flip the dough over, so the top has a light layer of butter from the bowl, to prevent the dough from drying out. Cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. The dough will lose its stickiness as it rises. Roll the dough to about 1/3” thick. Cut with a 2 ¼” donut cutter, or just cut into circles or diamonds. Place the donuts and holes on a baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled, about ½ hour to 45 minutes.

At this point, instead of letting them rise, I usually wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let warm up for ½ hour to an hour.

Fry the donuts in batches in 350 degree oil for about 1 minute each side. For the holes, I just toss them all in at once and keep stirring them around until they are golden brown.

Drain on paper towels, then sugar coat or glaze with chocolate glaze.

For a sugar coating:

Dip the warm donuts or holes in sugar.

For chocolate glaze:

Combine the butter, cream, and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave 30 seconds. Repeat until you have a smooth mixture. Stir in the vanilla, then the powdered sugar. Stir in the corn syrup.

Dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the chocolate glaze. You can eat them right away, or let the glaze harden for ½ hour first.

Makes about 30 donuts and holes.

Raspberry Almond Tart

Candice — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:45:26 +0000

Very rich and sophisticated, this tart will impress even your mother-in-law. It’s actually not hard at all. There are a number of layers, but each layer is very simple to produce. My dad proclaimed it better than key lime pie. If you knew how much my dad loves key lime pie, you would understand just how big a statement this is. Serve this for brunch, tea, social clubs, or as a special dessert anytime. The almond taste is very pronounced.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Line a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom with the pastry.

Add 1 ½ teaspoons of the lemon juice to the raspberry jam. Spread the jam mixture over the bottom of the pastry. Add the other ½ teaspoon of lemon juice to the milk.

Grate or crumble the almond paste on top of the jam.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Stir well to mix. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and almond extract, and continue to beat one more minute.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour milk, beating very lightly between additions. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the whites into the batter, 1/3 at a time. Spread the batter on top of the almond paste in the tart pan. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.

Bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. Let cool.

Combine the powdered sugar, the almond extract and the two teaspoons of water in a small bowl. Stir to form a light glaze (add additional water ½ teaspoon at a time, as needed). Drizzle the glaze over the top of the tart.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Candice — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:52:57 +0000

These cookies have it all! Peanut butter, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, Reese’s, M&Ms, you name it! To mix it up, you can use individual candy-bar sized packages. The more you throw in, the more fun the cookies are. Here’s a chance to use your imagination. The cookies in the picture use ½ cup of coconut, Reese’s, M&Ms, and a cup of chocolate chips. Kids will love dumping in all the fun ingredients, almost as much as they’ll love eating them.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugars and shortening for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter, and beat for 2 more minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg, water, and vanilla and beat until creamy. Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to creamed mixture. Mix well, stir in oats and mixed goodies. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten lightly (they don’t spread much).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before removing to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

King Cake

Candice — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:10:52 +0000

King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition! It’s not really a cake, but after a few mint juleps, do you really care? It’s actually a large cinnamon coffeecake with colored sugar in Mardi Gras colors, gold, green and purple. To make it a true King Cake, there needs to be a plastic baby hidden inside. There are different versions of what getting the baby means, anywhere from making you buy the next round to moving the party to your house. Of course, if you make it, you know where you hid the baby….Enjoy this cake, and celebrate New Orleans and Mardi Gras!

Dough: Combine sugar, salt, yeast and 1 1/2 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Heat the milk and butter together to 130 degrees (you can heat them in a microwave for about 1 ½ minutes on high, or heat in a saucepan). Add warm liquid to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir in the sour cream. Beat in the eggs and yolks. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in 3 ½ cups flour, then knead for about 10 minutes, kneading in additional flour ¼ cup at a time. The dough will be on the sticky side. Transfer to a large, buttered bowl. Flip the dough over, so the top has a light layer of butter from the bowl, to prevent the dough from drying out. Cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. The dough will lose its stickiness as it rises.

Stir the cinnamon into the 1 cup of sugar. Cut the dough in half, then roll out to rectangle which is about 26” across, and 7” tall. Spread with ¼ cup melted butter, and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting at the top, roll it up tightly into a very long tube. Pinch the seam so the cinnamon-sugar mixture doesn’t spill out. Form the loaf into an oval shape, with a big space in the middle to allow for expansion. Pinch the ends together well. Place the loaf onto a cookie sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Cover with a towel, and let rise for 30 minutes to an hour or until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Let cool, then push the plastic baby through the bottom into the cake.

Glaze: Add powdered sugar to the melted butter. Add water until you have a medium-thick glaze. Spread the glaze onto the two King Cakes, and sprinkle with stripes of yellow, green and purple sugars.

Valentine Brunch Cocktail

Candice — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:36:25 +0000

On March 7, San Pellegrino is sponsoring the Almost Famous Chef Competition, where culinary students from all over the United States will compete in a food channel-type event. The winner will receive an internship with a truly famous chef. The events will be broadcast live online. As a foodie and culinary student, I like to consider myself to be an ALMOST almost famous chef. Being a “woman of a certain age” who is using her mid-life crisis to switch careers, I find such events to be very inspirational. If you read my blog, you obviously like food, and most people who like food follow the works of famous chefs. If you watch this competition, one day you can look back and say “I remember seeing xxxxxxx, when he/she was just a student. Now’s your chance to get on the bandwagon, and become a groupie of the next Emeril or Garces.

In thanks to San Pellegrino for making an almost chef’s dreams come true, here is a romantic little drink, light and refreshing, perfect for a Valentine’s day brunch. I’m also including a non-alcoholic version, since kids love fancy drinks.

Combine the San Pellegrino and the Chambord or grenadine syrup in a wine glass or champagne flute. Add the raspberries, and serve.