Tag: dessert

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Easy Éclairs

Éclairs do take a little time to make, but they are completely worth the effort. This classic French recipe is made a wee bit easier by using instant pudding for the filling, but that doesn’t detract from the taste or texture in the least. And this ganache style frosting — c’est magnifique! 

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 4 Large Eggs

Filling

  • 1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix*
  • 1-1/2 cups Whole Milk
  • 1 cup Whipping Cream

Ganache Frosting

  • 1 cup Whipping Cream
  • 3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups Powdered Sugar

*Any instant pudding mix will work well. Just be sure to select one that calls for 3 cups of milk, and you’re all set!

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat butter or margarine and water over medium-high to high heat until boiling.
  4. Remove from heat, and add flour and salt.
  5. Mix together until well combined and pulling away from the sides of the saucepan into one large lump.
  6. Place flour mixture in a large bowl or stand mixer.
  7. Stir flour mixture while adding eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each egg.
  8. Put dough into a pastry bag and pipe onto prepared baking sheets in about 12 strips, approximately 1-1/2 inches by 4 inches each.
  9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
  10. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until pastries are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap on them.
  11. Remove from oven and transfer to a baking rack to cool.
  12. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine pudding mix, milk, and whipping cream.
  13. Beat for 2-3 minutes until firm and fluffy.
  14. Cover and refrigerate.
  15. In a small bowl, blend together cocoa powder and white sugar with a fork or small whisk until well combined and all of the lumps are out of the cocoa.
  16. In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium-high heat until almost boiling.
  17. Remove whipping cream from heat and add cocoa mixture, whisking until smooth.
  18. Add vanilla and whisk to combine.
  19. Slowly add powdered sugar while whisking, and continue whisking until completely smooth.
  20. Keep ganache frosting warm.
  21. By now, your pastry should be completely cooled. Pierce the end of each pastry with a long, thin knife, pushing the knife almost to the end, and wiggling it to create an easy path for the filling.
  22. Fill a pastry bag with chilled vanilla filling and attach a long, thin tip.
  23. Insert the tip deeply into the end of each pastry and fill, drawing the tip back toward the hole you made at the end of each pastry as you go.
  24. Return each pastry to the cooling rack after they are filled, leaving space between each one.
  25. Stir warm ganache frosting again until smooth.
  26. With a large tablespoon, spoon ganache over the top of each pastry, allowing any excess to drip below the baking rack.
  27. Refrigerate to set frosting.
  28. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container, and enjoy within one day for the best texture. (Who am I kidding? These will be gone tout de suite!)

Sneaky Trick: Put a layer of parchment paper under your baking rack before frosting your éclairs to catch any dripping ganache. If you’re a little short on ganache, this will allow you to rescue some of the unused portion that drips through the baking rack, warm it, and re-use it. (Or, you can just snack on it while your éclairs are chilling in the refrigerator.)

 

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Crème Brûlée

This classic recipe is one that most folks only enjoy when they go to a fine restaurant, but it’s so easy to make that I’m surprised it’s not found at the local food cart as well! Thick, creamy, and not too sweet, this dessert has universal appeal, plus you can show off by caramelizing the sugar with a torch while your dinner guests watch in amazement!

Ingredients

  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • 5 Tbsp. White Sugar (divided – 4 Tbsp. in the custard, and 1 Tbsp. for the caramelized topping)
  • 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-1/2 Cups Whipping Cream
  • 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • Fresh Fruit to Garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Coat ramekins with a light coating of cooking spray. (Note: This recipe fills four 4-inch, 8-ounce ramekins perfectly, but it can also be made in one large baking dish; just be sure to choose a dish with straight vertical sides of an appropriate size.)
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat egg yolks, 4 Tbsp. sugar, and vanilla until well blended and creamy. Set aside.
  4. In a medium to large saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until just before it begins to boil, stirring frequently to prevent any of the cream from cooking to the bottom of the pan.
  5. Remove cream from heat, and slowly pour into egg mixture while beating.
  6. Continue beating until well combined.
  7. Return egg and cream mixture to saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until it begins to thicken and coat the spoon.
  8. Place prepared ramekins on a baking sheet, and pour egg and cream mixture into ramekins.
  9. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the custard is firm to the touch on the top, but is still jiggly.
  10. Allow to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate for later serving.
  11. When it’s time to serve, combine 1 Tbsp. white sugar and brown sugar.
  12. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top of the custard and gently spread into a thin coating.
  13. Use a cooking torch to caramelize the sugars until golden to dark brown. (Note: If you have a sensitive smoke detector, do this step under a kitchen vent on a high setting. This does have the potential to smoke a bit while caramelizing.)
  14. Garnish with fresh fruit and serve!

Sneaky Trick:  If your oven tends to heat food inconsistently, place the ramekins in a baking dish partially full of hot water instead of on a baking sheet. This will help the custard cook more evenly.

Bonus Sneaky Trick:  When separating your eggs, you can save the whites for later use in an egg-white omelette or for meringue. Egg whites can be frozen and thawed with no deleterious effects. Just don’t defrost them in the microwave…  trust me.

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Mocha Faux Mousse Filling

This isn’t really a mousse, per se, but it has a fantastic, fluffy texture and chocolate and coffee sweetness that is very reminiscent of a traditional chocolate mousse. This makes a tasty cake filling, soft frosting, or is even great inside cream-filled donuts or the Cream Puffs that I posted earlier today… hence the picture! 

Ingredients

  • 2-1/2 cups Whipping Cream
  • 3 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Instant Coffee Granules

Directions

  1. Beat whipping cream with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.
  2. Gradually add cocoa, powdered sugar, and coffee granules while beating.
  3. Feel free to taste frequently as you add the sugar to make sure this has just the right sweetness for whatever you’re using it for. Just turn off the mixer before you stick your finger in, silly.
  4. Continue beating until very stiff, but stop before it turns into sweet, chocolaty butter.

 

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Vanilla Cream Puffs

If folks knew how easy it is to make cream puffs, they would eat them every day. Step one: Choux pastry. Step two: Vanilla pudding. Step three: Fill ’em up! I make the filling even easier by using instant pudding, but you can make your filling from scratch if you want to show off. Bonus: You can call these “Bouffée de Creme de Vanille” and people will think you’re very cosmopolitan!

Ingredients

  • 5 oz. Package of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix*
  • 2 cups Whipping Cream
  • 3/4 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 2 tbsp. Powdered Sugar

Directions

  1. Mix together vanilla pudding mix, whipping cream, and milk, and beat for two minutes.
  2. Refrigerate pudding for at least one hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
  4. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  5. In a large pot, bring water and butter or margarine to a rolling boil over medium high heat.
  6. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined into a single lump.
  7. Transfer dough to a large bowl or stand mixer.
  8. Beat dough, and add eggs one at a time, blending well after each egg.
  9. Continue beating until smooth.
  10. Use a tablespoon to spoon lumps of batter onto prepared baking sheets.
  11. Bake in preheated oven for 22-24 minutes until golden brown.
  12. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
  13. When pastry is completely cool, fill a pastry bag with vanilla pudding.
  14. Pipe pudding inside of cream puffs until full.
  15. Dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

*Not every brand of instant pudding comes with exactly the same weight per box. Select one that calls for three cups of milk, and you’re good to go!

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Chocolate Baklava

If you’re searching for something to go with your coffee that’s so sweet it’ll give you tooth decay just smelling it, look no further. I’ve turned the traditional recipe up to eleven with the addition of chocolate. Sweet as sin, and twice the calories! Απολαμβάνω!

Ingredients

  • 1  16 oz. Package Phyllo Dough
  • 1 lb. Finely Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
  • 1/2 cup Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 cup Water
  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 cup Honey
  • 3 tbsp. Chocolate Syrup

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heavily coat a 9×13 baking dish with butter or a LOT of cooking spray.
  3. Melt butter in small saucepan.
  4. Unfold phyllo dough and cut in half to fit baking dish.
  5. Place one sheet of cut phyllo dough in the prepared baking dish and brush with melted butter.
  6. Repeat until the bottom layer is eight to ten sheets thick.
  7. Chop nuts into small pieces.
  8. Mix nuts with cinnamon and chocolate chips.
  9. Spread nut mixture evenly across phyllo dough layers.
  10. Cover with a single sheet of phyllo dough and brush with melted butter.
  11. Repeat until the top layer is eight to ten sheets thick.
  12. Using a sharp knife, cut into small squares or diamond-shaped pieces. (Remember, this is ridiculously sweet, so smaller pieces are better.)
  13. Bake in pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes until very brown and crisp.
  14. While baklava is baking prepare sauce. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium to medium high heat.
  15. Reduce heat, and add honey, vanilla, and chocolate syrup, and simmer while stirring for 20 minutes. Set aside.
  16. Remove baklava from oven and immediately pour sauce over the top, making sure to cover every piece.
  17. Allow to cool in baking dish.
  18. Serve in cupcake liners or on small squares of parchment paper. Do not wrap to store, or it will get soggy and end up more like a sad Poptart than baklava.
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Cheesecake Cups

These cupcake style cheesecakes have all of the great flavor and texture of their larger cousins, but they’re easier to share! And the crust is so simple you’ll feel like you’re cheating. 

Ingredients

  • 16 ‘Nilla Wafers
  • 2 (8 oz.) Packages of Cream Cheese
  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. Whole Milk
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a cupcake tin with paper cupcake liners. (This should make about 16 in a standard-sized cupcake tin.)
  3. Place one ‘Nilla Wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner. (Easiest. Crust. Ever.)
  4. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
  5. Blend in milk and then eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
  6. Add sour cream, vanilla, and flour, and beat until smooth.
  7. Spoon cream cheese mixture into prepared cupcake tins to about 2/3 full.
  8. Wipe any drips off the cupcake tin with a damp paper towel. (You’ll thank me.)
  9. Bake in pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes, until tops just begin to brown.
  10. Allow cups to cool slowly over about 60 minutes by turning the oven off and cracking the door.
  11. Chill in the refrigerator.
  12. Garnish with fruity pie filling, crumbled cookies, or your favorite cheesecake topping.
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Razzleberry Tarts

These tarts are a hot mess of ooey-gooey goodness, and as an added bonus they are quite large. These are the absolute best when still warm out of the oven, but if any are left over (Ha ha ha… yeah, right!) they can be re-heated by covering in foil and warming them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The crust is the tried-and-true recipe everyone knows and loves, and can be used for many different varieties of pies and tarts. Warning: Do NOT wear a white shirt while eating!

THE CRUST

Ingredients

  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp. Shortening
  • About 6 tbsp. ice cold water

Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    2. Place several ice cubes in a large drinking glass or Pyrex measuring cup and add cold water. Set aside.
    3. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
    4. Add shortening and combine with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
    5. Slowly add ice cold water, thoroughly combining with flour mixture until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is joined into one large, slightly moist lump.
    6. Turn approximately half the dough out onto a floured surface, flipping until the exterior is coated in dry flour.
    7. Press down with your hands into a very rough approximation of the shape you want.
    8. Use a floured rolling pin to roll dough until it is less than 1/4 inch thick. Thinner is better (1/8 inch is ideal!) but too thin and your crust may be inundated with juices from your filling and have a soggy bottom like a toilet-training toddler.
    9. Place a single-serving aluminum pie tin upside-down on the dough, and cut with a sharp paring knife approximately one inch wider than the lip of the pan.
    10. Line pan with the dough you have just cut. It should protrude above the lip of the pan.
    11. Repeat cutting dough and lining pans until four aluminum pans have been lined with dough.
    12. Turn out remaining dough onto a floured surface, flipping until the exterior is coated in dry flour.
    13. Press down with your hands into a very rough approximation of the shape you want.
    14. Use a floured rolling pin to roll dough until it is less than 1/4 inch thick.  Again, 1/8 inch is ideal.
    15. Use a clean ruler as a guide and cut dough into 1/2 inch wide strips with a pizza cutter.
    16. Set strips aside, and keep the ice water handy.

Sneaky Trick: Don’t have a pastry blender?  A fork held in each hand will also perform this task admirably. Just pull them across one another against the bottom of the bowl until you have that crumbly consistency you want.

THE PIE

Ingredients

  • 16 oz. Frozen Mixed Berries or Fresh Berries (Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries are the traditional mix, but go crazy!)
  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Corn Starch
  • 4 tbsp. Margarine
  • 1 Egg White, Beaten

Directions

  1. Pour frozen mixed berries into a large bowl to defrost while you are preparing your crust. If they’re slow to thaw, pop them in the microwave on a defrost setting for a few minutes. They don’t need to be completely soft, just not hard as a rock. Your berries can also be fresh.
  2. Cut any extra-large mutant strawberries until they are about the same size as the blackberries and raspberries.
  3. Add sugar and corn starch to berries and combine.  Avoid crushing berries as much as possible while mixing.
  4. Spoon berry mixture into prepared pie crusts and dot each tart with 1 tbsp. margarine, cut into a few small pieces.
  5. Moisten ends of dough strips with ice water and use strips to create a lattice pattern on the top of each tart.
  6. Press the ends of the lattice strips into edges of bottom crust, dipping your fingers into the ice water to help them adhere if they’re stubborn.
  7. Crimp edges of bottom crust and lattice strips around the edges of the pans.
  8. Put tarts on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. (If you skip this step, you will have to clean your oven and stand on a chair to turn off the smoke detector. Just sayin’.)
  9. Brush crust with beaten egg white.
  10. Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, until pastry has browned and filling is bubbly.
  11. Serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Sneaky trick: Don’t want to go to the trouble of making a lattice crust, but want it to look like you slaved over the proverbial hot stove for hours? Roll top crusts and trim to about 1/2 inch wider than the top rim of the pans. Use small cookie cutters to make shaped holes in the dough and set cut-outs aside. Attach top crust to the tart, and dab the dough cut-outs with a little ice water. Reattach the cut-outs over the holes you made in the crust, but slightly off center from where the holes are. This will vent your tarts and give you a snazzy look.

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Top Secret Brownies

This otherwise ordinary brownie recipe has a “secret ingredient” that gives these treats that shiny, crinkly top that everyone craves! You are sworn to secrecy!

Ingredients

  • 2 Squares Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
  • 1 Stick Margarine (Yes, Margarine…. NOT butter.)
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 handful Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Shhhhh!)
  • 1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt margarine and baking chocolate in a saucepan over medium low heat until just melted.
  3. Remove from heat and add white sugar and eggs. Stir until smooth.
  4. Add flour and stir until smooth again.
  5. While no one is looking (Remember, this is a secret!) add one handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir until they have melted into the warm batter. (I know: A “handful” is awfully imprecise. No more than twenty chips will do the trick.)
  6. Pour into a 9×9 baking pan well-coated with cooking spray.
  7. Optional: Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. (You Southerners can use those pecans y’all are crazy about if you prefer. Bless your hearts.)
  8. Bake for 30 minutes, and cool for about 30 more… if you can wait that long.
  9. Pour the milk and serve!

I have also made this recipe with duck eggs instead of chicken eggs and it turns out even more rich and decadent.  Next year, give the kids ducklings instead of chickens for Easter, and you’ll see what I mean!

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Box cake? What box cake!? This recipe may start with this cheat, but it’s much better than the recipe on the box. I recommend starting a fire in the fireplace before you start cooking so you can burn the box afterward.

Ingredients

  • One 15.25 oz. box “Carrot Cake” mix. (I like the one that has the little orange pieces of fake carrot in it, but any brand will do.)
  • Three Eggs, 1/2 cup Oil, and 1 cup Water (or whatever your brand of cake mix requires)
  • Three Large Carrots
  • 3/4 cup Golden Raisins
  • 1/2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts (Or you Southerners can use Pecans instead, bless your hearts!)
  • Cream Cheese Frosting (I won’t judge you if you use ready-prepared frosting. I really won’t. But, I’ll be posting my recipe for this soon!)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven per directions on the box.
  2. Run carrots through a food processor until finely ground (or grate and chop them if you need an upper-arm workout.) Set aside.
  3. Chop walnuts. Set Aside.
  4. Prepare cake mix per the instructions on the box.
  5. Add carrot, golden raisins, and walnuts and mix thoroughly.
  6. Spoon into muffin/cupcake tin prepared with paper cupcake liners, filling each one about 2/3 full. (If you don’t have paper cupcake liners, I’m sure it will be fine with just a coating of cooking spray, but they really turn out better with liners…. Actually, go get some liners before you start your batter, OK?)
  7. Bake per directions on the box.
  8. Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool.
  9. After thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.
  10. Decorate with Sprinkles, or if you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can mix some orange and green food coloring into a bit of your frosting and pipe those cute little frosting carrots on the top instead. (Show off!)
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