Salted Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin carving in our house is not complete without caramel apples! As we get older we are less inclined to bite into a gooey apple covered in caramel. If we come across a caramel apple we often times will cut it into wedges so that we can neatly eat it. A few years ago, instead of making actual caramel apples to go with our pumpkin carving I just started making caramel sauce to dip our apples into. Much neater and very yummy!

Of course, I'm probably the one that eats the most apples with caramel. Hubby would be the next most likely and will usually wait for me to eat my portion and then he will finish off the pan. The little guy would rather just have the apple wedges and forget about the caramel. Again, sometimes I would wonder what family he belongs to if I hadn't given birth to this boy!

This sauce is very easy to make and tastes great! I haven't made a low fat/low cal caramel sauce before so I'm not sure if the somewhat grainy texture is due to not using a full fat cream or just the fact that I didn't wait long enough for the sugar to dissolve completely. Either way, texture aside the taste is amazing!

**One little side note: When you are waiting for the mixture to brown don't let it go too long. By about 8 1/2 minutes I was getting a little nervous because my mixture was not turning a brown/gold color. I gave it a quick stir and realized that all the color was happening beneath the top layer. Thank goodness it didn't burn while I was waiting for that top layer to turn color.**

Salted Caramel Sauce
Source: Weight Watchers

1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 tablespoons light stick butter
1/4 teaspoon fine or coarse sea salt
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
4 apples (Gala work great), cut into wedges

Combine half-and-half, butter, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is hot, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and water in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, washing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in cool water to dissolve any sugar crystals. Boil, without stirring, until caramel turns dark amber, about 10 minutes.

Immediately remove saucepan from heat; let caramel cool 1 minute. Wearing long oven mitts to protect your arms and being careful to avoid any splatters, slowly whisk in half-and-half mixture, whisking until smooth. Transfer caramel to small bowl. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Serve warm with apple wedges.

Makes about 6 servings (1 serving = about 4 teaspoons of sauce)(1 serving = 4 weight watchers plus points)

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I have made many, many cheesecakes over the years. I have always shied away from any cheesecake recipe that uses low fat or fat free ingredients. I just always figured that if I'm eating cheesecake then I might as well en joy it. Right? I can't believe how wrong I was.

I decided to make a low fat cheesecake a few weeks ago for a potluck at work. I found the recipe while perusing the Weight Watchers site. Yep. Weight Watchers. I decided that I needed to reset my normal so this was one way to do it. I still wanted to provide a dessert so I decided to find a recipe that I could enjoy that also got rave reviews. This recipe fit that description on both accounts.

I was a little hesitant when I started making the crust and it didn't use any butter to bind the cookie crust. In all other cheesecake crusts I've made there is always a healthy dose of butter and sugar added to the cookie crumb mixture. I was afraid the crumb crust would move around when the batter was poured in, but I was pleasantly surprised when it stayed put in the pan.

The other thing I wasn't sure about was the mixture of fat-free and low fat cream cheese. I wasn't sure they were going to come together as well as they did. I've also never pureed cottage cheese but I was amazed at how smooth it became, almost like sour cream.

This recipe was easy to make and it tasted great! My husband and son ate it up even though at least one of them knew it was "diet" food. In fact, that one said that if this was healthier and tasted good I could make it any time. Enjoy!


Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Source: Weight Watchers

10 cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies
8 1/2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
8 ounces low fat cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Crush cookies; spread evenly over bottom of pan.

Using a mixer, beat together the cream cheese on lowest speed until well blended.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour; add to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

In a food processor or blender, puree cottage cheese until smooth. Add cottage cheese and vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture; beat until smooth. Add egg whites; beat until well blended. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until cheesecake puffs and center is almost set, about 60 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Run a knife around sides of pan to loosen; release pan sides. Cover and chill overnight. Cut into 12 slices and serve.

Makes about 12 servings  (1 serving = 6 points on weight watchers points plus)

Peach Tart

Pinterest, the treasure trove of ideas! A photo of miniature fruit tarts in teeny mason jar lids caught my eye right away. How can you resist something so small and cute? Individual portions, an unusual baking pan. This one definitely got pinned on my board.

I just had to find the perfect time to bake it. I didn't want to bake a whole batch and have all of them for just my little family to eat. I didn't have time during the summer between all of our trips to here and there. How about in the Fall? How about a dessert for book club? Perfect!

While my picture is nowhere near as cute as the one on pinterest (and the original blog post), it was very, very tasty. I would definitely make these again. Enjoy!


Peach Tart in a Mason Jar Lid
Source: Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

Pastry Crust:
Recipe from Ina Garten

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water
Peach Pie Filling (recipe below - can be made ahead of time and refrigerated)

For the pastry, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and blend until it is in small bits the size of peas. Pour ice water and mix just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray your mason jar lids with nonstick spray. (I also used parchment paper between the crust and the lid.) Pull clumps of dough (about 2 tbsp for each mini tart) from the large dough ball and smoosh them into each lid. Push the dough so it covers the bottom and sides of each lid.

Prepare the pie filling, if not already prepared.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the pie filling starts to set. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out.

Peach Pie Filling:

5 cups diced peaches
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 of a lemon, juiced

Toss all of the ingredients into a large pot; mix until the flour is distributed evenly. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes. Turn the heat on medium-high. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Bring mixture to a boil and lower to low/medium heat. Stir occasionally. Keep over the heat for about 30 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Pour into a container, cool, then store in the fridge until ready to use or pour into pastry crust.

*Can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 12 mini tarts

Berry Surprise

Have you ever found an instance that you wish you could redo because your spouse always remembers it and brings it up? Yep, surprisingly this dessert is one of those things for me. Let me start at the beginning of this story.

Back when I was first married (maybe even before I was married) someone asked my husband what his favorite dessert was. I, in my naivete, was expecting him to say one of my signature dishes, apple pie, a cherry chocolate cake, you know, something like that. Nope. He tells them about some great dessert that was made many years before by a woman who was kind of like a foster mom to him. Not only did he mention it but he practically drooled while describing it. I was shocked. I was hurt. I was mortified. I was only 19 years old. Now in my much more mature years I have realized that he can have other favorites that haven't been made by me. I can tell you though that it has taken just about the 18 years of our marriage and me saying, "It's okay, you can say you like it even though it isn't mine" for him to feel like he can say he likes another person's dish. Okay, maybe it's not that extreme but sometimes it sure feels like it.

So anyway, for Father's Day this year I decided that I wanted to make his "favorite" dessert but put my spin on it. The recipe that I finally broke down and asked for a year or two ago was tweaked by me to use fresher ingredients and to shrink it down to a size manageable for three people.

The original recipe uses only blueberries in the form of canned pie filing, but I decided that I wanted to use fresh blueberries to make a homemade filling and I wanted to make a raspberry blueberry version. Graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, a fresh fruit layer, and homemade whipping cream. Really what's not to love about it. Enjoy!   

Berry Surprise

1 3/4 cup graham crackers, crushed (about 10 crackers)
1/2 cup butter, melted
Berry Sauce (see recipe below) or 1 can of pie filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cool whip or whipping cream

Prepare berry sauce if using homemade. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch baking pan (or 4 - 10 oz custard cups for a half size).

Mix the graham crackers and butter; set aside about 3 tablespoons of the mixture to spread over the top of the dessert); pat crust down in pan. Bake for 15 minutes (or about 10 minutes if using smaller portions). Remove from oven and cool crust.

Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cool whip. Spread over cooled crust.

Spread the berry sauce over the cream cheese mixture. Cover with remaining cool whip and sprinkle with remaining graham mixture.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving.

Berry Sauce
1 1/2 cups blueberries (or equivalent amount of berries)
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 cup water

Heat to boiling and simmer until sauce is thickened.

* A half batch of the entire dessert is enough for 4 - 10 oz custard cups. Double the recipe for a 9x13 pan.

Strawberry Cobbler

There are not many people who don't associate cobbler with a feeling of warmth and goodness and a feeling of "home". I usually think about making cobblers in the fall, but who can resist a cobbler with the fresh fruit that abounds in the summer!

Mind you, there is much debate it seems about what is a cobbler versus a crisp. My personal definition is that a cobbler is a dough spread over a fruit mixture whereas a crisp is a mixture of granola, oatmeal or something of the sort and put on top of the fruit. Not a big difference, but a difference for sure.

I've had this recipe in my archives for quite a while, one that was borrowed from my stepmom after sampling one of her desserts. You can use many different fruits, but the original recipe is for strawberry (or strawberry rhubarb). The butter cookie topping sets it apart from a biscuit topping cobbler. Just make sure you don't substitute salt for sugar as I did in one of my cooking gaffs which resulted in us picking the salty dough off the fruit! Enjoy!

Strawberry Cobbler

2 pints fresh (or 24 oz. frozen) strawberries or 10 oz. each rhubarb and strawberries
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Stem and rinse strawberries. Leave small or medium berries whole, but halve if large. (If frozen you can defrost a bit but they don't have to be completely defrosted.) If using rhubarb, cut rhubarb into 1/2 in chunks.

Prepare Butter Cookie Dough Topping.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix cornstarch, sugar to taste, prepared fruit and vanilla in bowl. Toss to coat. Place fruit in 8 or 9-inch baking pan (9x13 if doubling). Drop prepared dough onto fruit by heaping teaspoons.

Bake until golden, about 45 to 55 minutes (if doubling, about 2 hours).

Butter Cookie Dough Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 large egg or 1 yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

 

For years I've had a recipe card in my collection that shows how to make cute chocolate covered strawberries that look like tuxedos. I've always wanted to make them but have never found the time or the desire to actually follow through on it. This time wasn't any different as you can see. I made these for a baby shower so I didn't think tuxedos were quite in line with the theme of the party.

The process really wasn't terribly difficult. I wanted to try to temper the chocolate because I thought they would look more polished if they were shiny. I have a difficult time tempering chocolate, so I did my best. You can't imagine how hard it is to get chocolate to a certain degree without it going past that. Near impossible, I say.

Once the chocolate was tempered and cooled a bit I got down to business. For most of the strawberries I ended up spearing them with a toothpick through the top so I could dip them down into the chocolate without ripping off the greens. It also gave something for them to lean against so that they didn't roll around while drying.

Eventually I ran out of toothpicks and ended up holding the larger berries by the greens in order to dip them in. It worked just about as well as the toothpicks so if you don't have any on hand you don't have to stress out about it.

The chocolate hardened pretty well just sitting on the pan at room temperature but I wanted to make sure that they stayed as fresh as possible for the baby shower the next afternoon. I researched the best way to store chocolate covered strawberries overnight and found out that if you put them in individual baking papers (like cupcake liners), put a sealed lid on it and stick them in the fridge they have the best chance. There is a bit of sweating that can happen from the chocolate taking on the water in the strawberries, so I was surprised when I took them out of the fridge the next morning and they looked absolutely perfect!

I placed them in the fridge at work and grabbed them back out that afternoon. Unfortunately that fridge had a different temperature setting, almost like a freezer, and the berries did a lot of sweating while sitting in there. They still tasted good but they had little beads of water on the chocolate and the chocolate was a bit wet where it was sitting in the paper liners. Oh well, all the guests enjoyed them and that is really what matters. Enjoy!

Cherry-Topped Ice Box Cake

Hmmmm . . .  not so much left of this dessert. And what is left looks like it got dropped on the floor or something. Oh wait, it did get dropped on the floor. There is a reason it looks like that. Okay, maybe I should back up for just a second.

We had a dessert social at work to celebrate our lovely and talented school nurse. She won school nurse this year for our entire state so a little celebration was in order. I decided to make cherry topped ice box cake, a light, refreshing, fruity dessert perfect for a get together. I think this was one of the only two desserts that were brought that weren't chocolate. That just tells you how stressed out everyone is, right. Out of probably 10 desserts, only two weren't chocolate!

Anyway, as the dessert sits in the fridge it gets yummier and yummier. The crackers get softened by the pudding mixture and when the crackers lose their crunch they also lose the ability to be served up without completely breaking apart. I was so excited to see that at the end of the day there was a still a corner of the dessert left. I thought, "Great, I'll grab the pan, stick it back in the fridge, take it home for my two guys and snap a picture of it for this post. A win-win situation." As I was putting it in the fridge I set it on the edge of the tray for a second to get a better grip on something and before I even knew what happened it was on the floor upside down. Thank goodness it had a lid on the pan because otherwise all would have been lost. As it was, I brought home the above very tasty mess!

I will try to make this dessert again because I am sure it is copyright infringement to post this picture from the cookbook on my blog. I will post it for a bit until I can get another picture. And I guarantee you that the fact that their cake is in perfect form it was either photoshopped or they they took the picture when the crackers were still super crisp. Either way, enjoy!

Cherry-Topped Ice Box Cake
20 whole graham crackers
2 cups cold milk
1 package (6 serving size) instant pudding (vanilla or chocolate)
1 3/4 cups thawed whipped topping
2 cans (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

Line a 13x9 inch pan with some of the graham crackers, breaking crackers if necessary. Pour cold milk into bowl. Add pudding mix. With electric mixer at low speed, beat until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then blend in whipped topping. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Add another layer of crackers. Top with remaining pudding mixture and remaining crackers. Spread cherry pie filling over crackers. Chill about 3 hours.

Makes 12 servings

Oreo Truffles

I really need to step up my game in the food photography department. Yikes, the picture of these truffles really stinks. I think my problem is that I don't have a lot of props or dishes, I don't have a lot of knowledge about lighting, and I don't have a lot of time to work on it. Yes, I know, excuses, excuses, excuses. If only this was my job, then I would have to find time for it, right? I wish. And since it's not, you'll just have to endure very unprofessional photos of everyday food that is made in my non-professional kitchen. Now on to the Oreo truffles!

I was asked to make a cake for the baby shower that was canceled back in January because of our lovely winter snowfall, and seeing as how I came down sick the weekend before the shower I just didn't have energy to teach all day, make 3 dozen iced sugar cookies for our fantastic classified staff, and bake and frost 2 three layer cakes. Instead, I suggested the idea of a dessert bar. Another staff member was planning to bring dark chocolate cupcakes so I figured we wouldn't want too much cake (did I really just say that there could be too much cake?) for the shower and volunteered to bring Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Lemon Bars, and Oreo Truffles.

Not as much work as 2 three layer cakes but still a bit of work. What made me choose Oreo Truffles were a few things. First, I wanted something that was mostly chocolate. Second, I leaned toward wanting one dessert with mint but wasn't sure how many people actually like mint. Third, I wanted something easy. Fourth, and finally, pictures of these were everywhere I looked. Blogs, facebook, pinterest, you name it and they were there.

They really are easy to make. I found a few sites that had clear directions as well as helpful tips. You really can't mess up a three ingredient dessert, but some truffles can definitely look a bit better than others. I didn't spend my time trying to temper the chocolate to make it shiny. I just didn't have enough time, nor was I motivated to have them look perfect. They were good. I think I liked the regular Oreo filling compared to the berry filling. Oh, did I mention that I made half with a regular Oreo filling and half with a berry Oreo filling? My son took one bite of a berry Oreo and said, "It tastes like my vitamins." No, that doesn't mean healthy and good for you, it means fake grape (or fruit) flavoring. Others liked them, but I think I was a purist when it came to a choice between the two flavors. The regular Oreos are in white chocolate and the berry Oreos are in semi-sweet chocolate. Enjoy!

Oreo Truffles
Sources: The Capitol Baker and Two Peas

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 package Oreo cookies*
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate**

*You can use any type of Oreo cookies with this recipe- regular, chocolate, mint, vanilla, or berry.
**You can use any type of chocolate with this recipe - white, dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate.


Place the entire package of Oreos in a food processor or blender and pulse until crushed completely. If you do not have a food processor or blender, you can also place the cookies in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush the cookies.

Pour the crushed cookies into a bowl and mix with the cream cheese until well blended. You should start by using a spoon, but may need to use your hands to ensure the cream cheese is evenly distributed. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. While rolling, if you feel the mixture is becoming too soft, simply place the bowl in the fridge until the mixture becomes more firm.

Shortly before removing the balls from the freezer, melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat in 30 second intervals and stir in between. Do this until the chocolate can be stirred to be completely melted. Take the melted chocolate and set aside for 1 minute. Now you can dip each ball into the melted chocolate and place on a wax or parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can use a fork to lift the chocolate covered ball out and onto the paper, or a large skewer stuck through the top. The fork worked best for me after trying a few different options. You should have leftover chocolate for drizzling as a garnish, or if you are sprinkling with Oreo crumbs, sprinkle immediately after transferring from the bowl to the pan.

Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. Shortly before removing the baking sheet from the fridge, take the remaining melted chocolate and if it has hardened you can place it in the microwave for 5-20 seconds. Wait a few minutes for it to cool and then place in a ziploc bag and cut a small hole in one corner. Remove the balls from the fridge and pipe the chocolate on top of each ball.

Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Makes 36-48 truffles

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

I honestly wasn't sure what to classify this as; a dessert, an appetizer, a fruit dish . . . it really is a chameleon of a dish. I came across it on pinterest and decided to make it for our football festivities about a month ago. I wanted something fun and sweet to enjoy after eating homemade pretzels and pepperoni pizza puffs so I opted for a healthier form of dessert (hence why it has the dessert label).

It is really easy to put together but the fruit does get brown pretty quickly even after adding in the orange juice. I would suggest making the cinnamon chips first since they don't have to be warm when served and making the fruit salsa right before you plan on eating it. Either way, you can't go wrong. Enjoy!

**Yes, I had to buy Crisco since we rarely use it and I didn't realize that they had a spray. So, I bought a big old tub which will last us a VERY long time. I'm thinking the next time I make this I may just use regular butter since that's what we use in our house. I'm not sure if it will make a difference. I guess I'll see.**

Fruit Salsa
1 pound fresh strawberries
2 fresh kiwis
1 Granny Smith aple
1/4 to 1/2 cup orange juice

Chop fruit into small chunks. Add orange juice and stir well. Serve with cinnamon chips or as a topping for waffles or pancakes.

Cinnamon Chips
3-4 flour tortillas (depending on how many chips you want)
butter flavor Crisco spray (or regular butter flavored Crisco, melted)
cinnamon
sugar

Using kitchen scissors, cut tortillas into wedges. Place on cookie sheet. Spray or brush with Crisco. Sprinkle heavily with cinnamon/sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

Yum, yum, yum! My mom sent me the link for this cheesecake and asked if it could be included in our Thanksgiving menu. I thought it would be a great idea since, one, I hadn't made cheesecake for a while, and two, I would be required to make it the night before and therefore not a slave to making dessert on Thanksgiving day.

We made a special trip down to Seattle to get the salted caramel sauce since they only sell it at a few locations. The cheesecake came together really well. I roasted a few different types of pumpkins, some sugar pie pumpkins and others just small sized pumpkins. It was interesting to see the difference in the pulps and seeds between the two.

My only problem with this dessert was that the spring on my springform pan was not as tight as it used to be. I guess after 15 years or so it's reasonable to think that the spring would finally be sprung! I should have gone with my initial reaction to the fact that I could easily pop the base piece out while the spring was tight. Like, three times I popped it out. Finally on the fourth time it stayed in and I thought maybe I had just put it a little off kilter for the first three times. Nope, not it.

After a few minutes I started smelling burning. I opened my oven and black smoke poured out. I managed to get a pan (I knew I should have stuck a pan in originally but I just overlooked it) in for the dripping. I turned off the oven and took out the bottom rack. I scrubbed the bottom of the oven as best as I could at 400 degrees F. I thought for sure my cheesecake was toast since I had to turn the oven off and then preheat it again 10 minutes into baking. The oven continued smoking throughout the baking time, often enough that we had to pop out the battery on our smoke detector. Miraculously the cheesecake turned out and it didn't take too much longer than the projected baking time. It was definitely worth the hassle. Enjoy!


Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake
Source: King 5

Crust:
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
1/2 cup butter 
1/4 cup brown sugar

Filling:
1 medium sugar pie pumpkin
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups unrefined sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Hot Cakes salted caramel sauce, plus extra for drizzling (or use your favorite caramel sauce)

To make the crust
Combine all of the ingredients and press into a 9-inch springform pan.

To make the filling
Preheat oven to 400° F.

Cut the pumpkin in half crosswise and roast, cut side down, for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Cool slightly and scrape out the seeds. Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor until smooth. You will need 2 cups for the filling.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth then beat in the eggs and egg yolk until incorporated. Beat in 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, the sugar, sour cream, flour, spices, vanilla and caramel sauce. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Heat a little of the extra caramel sauce and drizzle a pattern over the top.

Bake at 350° F for about 1 hour or until the center is set. Let rest for 20 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

Raspberry Cheesecake

 

Chocolate crust, creamy cheesecake, sweet yet tangy raspberry sauce . . . yum! These flavors and textures match together perfectly. This cheesecake recipe holds a special place in my life because it was the very first cheesecake that I ever made 15 years ago. Holy cow, 15 years ago! Has it really been that long? My very first Taste of Home magazine (mailed to me 15 years ago) introduced me to this delicious dessert and while I have made other cheesecakes since then it is definitely one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs, crushed
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Raspberry Sauce:
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling/Topping:
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 cup whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

Combine the three ingredients for the crust; press into bottom and 1-1/2 inches up sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Chill one hour or until firm.


Puree raspberries in blender. Press through a sieve; discard seeds. Add water if necessary to measure 1 cup. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in raspberry juice; bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and set aside.


In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla until fluffy. Add egg whites; beat on low just until fluffy. Add egg whites; beat on low just until blended. Stir in cream. Pour half of filling into crust. Top with 3/4 cup raspberry sauce (cover and refrigerate remaining sauce). Carefully spoon remaining filling over sauce.


Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is nearly set. Remove from oven; immediately run a knife around pan to loosen crust. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight. Add orange juice to chilled raspberry sauce; gently fold in raspberries. Spoon over cheesecake.


Makes 12-16 servings

Mini Lemon Chiffon Cake

Doesn't this cake just scream summer? To me it definitely looks like a dessert that should be eaten in the heat of a July evening. Red, white, and blue . . . fresh, summer fruits . . . light, airy cake . . . fluffy, slightly sweet whipping cream. Yum, yum, yum.

I made a lemon chiffon cake in a mini bundt size for individual portions. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries were our fruit of choice this time, but you could easily do another summer fruit and have it taste as equally delicious. The homemade whipped cream is just heavy whipping cream whipped to medium stiff peaks with a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla added in for flavor. Enjoy!

Mini Lemon Chiffon Bundt Cakes
Makes 4 mini bundt cakes

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 + 1/8 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 medium egg yolks
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
3 medium egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar


Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray bundt pans with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert the cake on the wire rack and cool completely.

Can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Serve with whatever accompaniments you wish.

4th of July

Happy birthday, America!!!

Something light, fun, and festive for celebrating Independence Day. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries layered with homemade whipped cream. Red, white, and blue! Enjoy!

Brownie Trifle

Doesn't this dessert look amazing! I mean, if you are into brownies and chocolate pudding and whipped topping and strawberries and more chocolate that is. It tastes every bit as good as it looks! Not only that but it is so easy to make and yet it looks like you fussed and fretted for hours. Okay, maybe not hours, but it really is an easy dessert to throw together. Enjoy!


Brownie Trifle
Source: Wilton Brownie Fun!

1 box of brownie mix
eggs, water, and oil to prepare mix
1 package (5.1 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
6 cups thawed frozen whipped topping, divided
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup chopped chocolate candy bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with vegetable spray. (Use an 8" or 9" square pan unless your mix is for a 9x13 pan size.)

In large bowl, prepare brownie mix following package instructions. Spread into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes; set aside to cool completely. Cut into bite-size pieces.

In large bowl, prepare pudding mix according to package instructions using only 2 cups of milk. Chill 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Gently fold in 2 cups of whipped topping.

In 3-quart trifle or other clear bowl, place 1/2 the brownie pieces. Top with 1/2 of the pudding mixture, 1/2 of the remaining whipped topping, and 1/2 of the sliced strawberries. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate pieces.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Makes about 12 servings

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

 
We don't typically celebrate half birthdays around here but on June 3rd we decided we would make an exception to the rule. You see, that was the day our little guy turned 4 1/2 years old and in the week before this momentous occasion we received our first foster care placement. While this has been a good thing it has also come with some adjusting. And since he has done such a great job with learning how to share his toys as well as his mom and dad we decided that we wanted to mark the date with something special just for him.

He was pretty excited! While you might not think a 4 year old palate would be refined enough for cheesecake you would be mistaken. This boy knows his cheesecake. I think this may be the first one I've actually baked since he was old enough to eat it, but he has eaten it elsewhere and it is a dessert that has stuck in his mind like glue!

While this is not my favorite cheesecake recipe, I like this particular one because it goes with our mini cheesecake pans and it is so easy to cut it in half and make only one little mini that is perfect (maybe still a bit much) for our little family. It is a bit on the sweet side for me, if you can imagine that, but I manage to muscle some down every time. Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Makes one mini (5.5"/2 cup) cheesecake

Crust:
1/2 cup graham crackers, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium eggs
4 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of mini springform pan with a bit of melted butter.  Chill in the freezer until ready to use.

In a small bowl using a fork, mix crushed graham cracker, 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of springform pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Using a mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time on low speed until blended. Add chocolate chips or any other mix-in at this time. Pour batter over the crust. Place pan on cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool before removing from ring of pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

**You can add any topping you would like. We chose to add fresh raspberries and a bit of chocolate syrup to this one.**

Chocolate Fondue

A post on a food blog that doesn't have much cooking or baking involved. Hmmmmm . . . sounds pretty good if you ask me.We love fondue for dessert! We like fondue for dinner as well, but we haven't ventured to make that at home yet and it's a bit too spendy to eat it out very often. The place where we typically have our dessert brings out a plate with pieces of pineapple, strawberry, banana, pound cake, brownie, marshmallow, and cheesecake on it. I know, over the top, right. You chose milk, dark, or white chocolate (if you eat dinner there you can pick from many more flavors) and you get to dipping. It is soooo good!

Well, one night a few weeks ago my husband and I were hanging out after our son went to bed and I suddenly got the brilliant idea of using the chocolate bar in our cupboard for a little impromptu fondue. We happened to have some pineapple (although it was pretty ripe by then), strawberries, a banana, and some pretzels. No cheesecake, pound cake, or brownie but who would have all three of those sitting around their house at the same time anyway. Not me, otherwise I'd be in some serious trouble.  

There really isn't a recipe per say. I just melted the chocolate in my fondue pot, cut up some fruits and grabbed some pretzels and got to dipping. I will say that I added in a bit (and I mean a tiny bit) of a chocolate bar with chili and that was a mistake for me. Oh my goodness, the fact that it was heated it made it so much hotter and the taste of the chili totally overran the chocolate. I'm all about the chocolate. I would not do that again. I guess you live and learn. Enjoy!

Don't you love the 1970's electric fondue pot! My friend picked this up for me 

at a garage sale for less than $2 when she heard how much I liked dessert fondue. 

Glorious, glorious chocolate!

Peeps S'Mores

 

Yes, that is a photo of the finished product! If you’ve ever had a S’more you know that they traditionally consist of graham crackers, a piece of a chocolate bar, and a toasted marshmallow or two. I have heard of others who change up an ingredient or two but not me. I am a traditionalist when it comes to S’mores. It has to be one whole graham cracker, ¼ of a Hershey chocolate bar, and two toasted marshmallows. That has always been my recipe for S’mores. That is until now.

My friend (thanks, Sheila!) linked to a posting of someone who made S’mores using a Peeps chick in place of the marshmallows. Since we happen to be out camping while the Peeps are available I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it out.

 

Doesn’t it look like the chick is staring at me begging me not to put him in my S’more? 

 

He wasn’t so lucky, as you can see. After his toasting he almost looks a bit more like a rubber ducky, huh. I guess the caramelizing of his sugar gave him that look. And the poor guys’ eyes are gone and his beak is a toasty brown.

Have I become a convert of Peeps S’mores? Nope, not a chance. I found that while they were certainly the same sugary sweet as a traditional S’more, the marshmallow peep either didn’t get hot enough or wasn’t big enough to even start melting the chocolate bar. And I have to say I love my chocolate bar oozing out of the graham cracker along with the toasted marshmallow. So, it was fun for a change of pace but we’ll be sticking with the traditional S’more around this campsite. Enjoy!

Trifles

These are actually trifles! What I mean by that is that they are trifles, as in the dessert, but they are also trifles, as in a small quantity of something. I kind of deconstructed my daring bakers challenge when the spongecake didn't work out to my satisfaction and decided instead to bring all the components to our dinner at our friends' house. I whipped up a quick batch of yellow cake as well as some made-from-scratch chocolate pudding. You can see I got my chocolate fix! Woohoo!

I used our friends' stemless wine glasses (which I then came home and promptly bought a set of) to create a layering of yellow cake, raspberry mousse, crushed almond cookies, more yellow cake, lemon mousse, more crushed almond cookies, and topped it off with a few slivered almonds. (My picture doesn't show the double layer of cake because my husband scarfed down the remaining cake before I could tell him I was trying to get a picture of the trifle. Oh well, that's technically what it's there for, right?)

For the chocolate version, I still used the yellow cake, then topped it with chocolate pudding, crushed chocolate cookies, more yellow cake, more chocolate pudding, and more crushed chocolate cookies. Magnificent! It was the chocolate fix I was looking for the other day. I found finally found it!

The yellow cake was just out of a box. I thought after spending so much time on the spongecake the day before and not having it be to my liking I would just go with something I was confident would give the taste and texture I was looking for. The raspberry and lemon mousse recipes can be found on my last post, click here. The almond cookie recipe is still coming so hold on just a little bit longer. That leaves the best for last, chocolate pudding! Enjoy!


Chocolate Cream Pudding
Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan; add milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour into bowl or individual dessert dishes; press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Cool; chill until set.

Triple Berry Crisp

 
I always love a recipe that is easy to make, tastes great, and is healthy for you. This recipe for triple berry crisp is one that would fit in that category. I found it one day while reading the box of my Cascadian Farms granola, which then led me to their website, which then led me to this delicious recipe.

You can use any combination of berries that please your palate. I have used raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, tayberries, and blackberries. The website recipe uses frozen berries which I have used, but I love it when I have fresh berries instead. I just make sure that whatever I am using I have a total of 28 ounces of berries in my recipe.

I have also used vanilla ice cream as a complement, but my favorite is fresh whipping cream since I can control the amount of sugar and ingredients in it. Wow, typing up this post makes me really want a serving of it right now. Enjoy!

Triple Berry Crisp
Makes 6 servings

8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen
10 ounces strawberries, fresh or frozen
10 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups Cascadian Farms oats & honey granola, or another granola
ice cream or whipping cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish, mix berries, sugar, and flour until fruit is coated (do not thaw if using frozen berries). Bake 10 minutes (20 minutes if using frozen berries).

Stir. Sprinkle with granola.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until light golden brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipping cream.

Daring Bakers - Ice Cream Petit Fours

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Where to begin? The challenge this month was basically to brown butter and use it in a pound cake that was then used in Baked Alaska or Petit Fours. I have wanted to make both of these desserts for a while now and while I thought about making both I decided that our budget, waistlines, and sanity couldn't handle completing both. Therefore, since the Petit Fours could be divided easily between more people, leaving less for me to eat, I went with those.

I first made the ice cream which was easy enough because I used the same recipe I used last month, Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry from David Lebovitz. I fell in love with this ice cream last month and could literally feel myself biting into the chewy almonds just thinking about it. I didn't have any issues with this step because I felt like I had just whipped up a batch a short time ago and knew the steps, if not the measurements, by heart. (For that recipe, click here.)  

Next up, brown the butter and make the pound cake. I have to say that I have never specifically browned butter to include it in a dessert. I thought at first that this might be difficult for me since I wasn't sure at what point the butter would be browned, etc . . . However, upon making it I realized that I have indeed done this before in the form of making almond roca or toffee or any number of recipes for candies.

Yum! Doesn't that last picture look incredibly appetizing? It's almost like I just cleaned a grease trap or something. Believe it or not, that is my browned butter after sitting in the freezer for a bit. Mmmm, makes you want to stick a spoon in and eat it up. (Did you catch the sarcasm? I hope so.)

On to the pound cake. The batter mixed and baked up beautifully. I didn't exactly cut my cake evenly, but it worked well enough for its purpose.

Up until now I have followed the directions exactly. Notice I said, up until now. This is where I re-read the directions and realized that after reading them the first time about a week prior and then brushing up on the steps the day before I must have left out the middle. You know, the part that explained that you would be freezing and re-freezing overnight and re-freezing for at least an hour to get your Petit Fours to come out the way you want. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow those steps because I had guests who would be eating them a few hours later so I had to improvise.

I froze the cake so it was somewhat frozen when I slathered the ice cream between the layers. Instead of freezing the ice cream in the pan and then removing it and setting it on the bottom layer, I ended up just squishing scoops of ice cream between my hands and then patting them down in a somewhat even layer on the cake. I then put on the top layer of cake and stuck it back in the freezer to firm up before slicing.

I sliced half of the cake into skinny rows and made half of a batch of the chocolate glaze so that I could at least try to make Petit Fours for the guests I was having over for dinner. They were a bit rough around the edges but they still tasted good. The rest of the cake went back into the freezer to harden up overnight so I could play around with the look of the Petit Four the next day.

Ahhhh, the various stages of melting chocolate. Have I mentioned before that I love chocolate? While it was cooling, I was able to slice the cakes a bit more neatly and trim the rough edges away. I also was able to trim the top layer of cake a bit because that was thicker than the bottom layer.

When it came time to coat the cakes it wasn't a smooth process for me. There is a pun in there if you realize that I could not get a smooth coating of chocolate on the outside of those little cakes. It really didn't have so much to do with the ice cream melting and the cake sliding off, it was just that if the chocolate was thin enough to pour it was too hot for the ice cream and if it was cool enough for the ice cream it was a bit too thick to pour. After having some horrendously covered cakes, I made the decision to coat the top and have chocolate drizzle down the sides. Much prettier presentation and actually a nice amount of chocolate for the size of the dessert.

Although it was an interesting process, I love any excuse to make homemade ice cream, and it was on my Top 100 list of things to do, I probably won't be making these again, at least not the ice cream version. It was just a bit too much work, especially right now for our family. Who knows what the future holds though . . .

If you want the recipes for the Brown Butter Pound Cake and Chocolate Glaze, email me. Enjoy!