Summer Berry Pie

I never want to actually make anything with fruit because I prefer to eat it on its own or in cereal or with yogurt. But around this time, when its prime berry season, I can justify getting more berries to use in desserts. Fruit desserts are my favorite kind of dessert anyway, especially in the summer.

I made this for a party that our HOA threw for the 4th of July, except it was on the 1st since a lot of people would be going out of town. Most of the people that live in our condominium complex are empty-nesters or single, older people with grandchildren around my age. It's kind of like living with a bunch of grandparents because they're all really nice and want to talk to us all the time. They also loved this pie. Given the plethora of desserts on the table, I thought I would be taking a lot of this home, but I only had about a 1/3 of it left. Everyone wanted to know what made up the filling. The filling is pureed berries, strained, and then cooked with cornstarch to thicken it. It sets up beautifully in the refrigerator, and a lot of people guessed that it was jam. The other nice thing about this pie is that it isn't too sweet, just very refreshing for a hot summer evening.

Summer Berry Pie
source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients
For the crust:
5 oz. graham crackers (approx. 9 crackers), broken into rough pieces
2 tbsp. sugar
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

For the filling:
2 cups raspberries (about 9 oz.)
2 cups blackberries (about 11 oz.)
2 cups blueberries (about 10 oz.)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. strawberry jam

Preparation
To make the crust, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, process the graham crackers into fine, even crumbs (you should have about 1 cup of crumbs). Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a small mixing bowl and toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened. Transfer the crumbs to a 9-inch glass pie plate. Use the bottom of a ramekin or measuring cup to press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides, forming a crust. Bake in the preheated oven until it is fragrant and beginning to brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely while making the filling.

For the filling, combine the berries in a large colander and gently rinse (taking care not to bruise them). Spread the berries on a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently pat dry with additional paper towels.
In a food processor, puree 2 1/2 cups of the mixed berries until smooth and fully pureed, about 1 minute. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve into a small nonreactive saucepan, scraping and pressing on the seeds to extract as much puree as possible (you should have 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups). Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl to combine, then whisk the mixture into the puree. Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon; when the mixture reaches a boil and is thickened to the consistency of pudding, remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and set aside to cool slightly.

While the puree is cooling, place the remaining berries in a medium bowl. Warm the jelly (or jam) briefly in the microwave to melt it slightly. Add the warmed jelly to the bowl of mixed berries and toss very gently so that all the berries are coated. Pour the berry puree into the cooled crust and smooth with a rubber spatula. Evenly distribute the glazed berries over the puree and gently press into the surface. Loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled and the puree has set, about 3 hours (or up to 1 day). Slice with a hot, dry knife and serve.

Chocolate Sorbet

No, I didn't mislabel this post. This is chocolate sorbet, not chocolate ice cream. Like a fruit sorbet, it's pretty much water, sugar, and chocolate with a little vanilla extract and vodka thrown in. The vanilla brings out the flavor and fruitiness of the chocolate, and the vodka keeps the texture smooth and from being too icy. The article accompanying this recipe in Wine Spectator speaks of a true chocolate-lover who dislikes chocolate ice cream because he thinks that the milk and eggs and cream take away from the real flavor of the chocolate. Keep that in mind when you choose a kind of chocolate. It's worth a splurge for this recipe since it is such a crucial ingredient. For real chocolate lovers who want a cool summer treat, this is for you!

Chocolate Sorbet
source: Wine Spectator: July 31, 2010

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
4 oz dark chocolate, chopped or grated
1 tbsp vodka
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Whisk water, cocoa, and sugar over low heat until combined.
2. Meanwhile, melt dark chocolate very gently in a double boiler.
3. Turn heat under cocoa to medium, stirring constantly, until the liquid just boils.
4. Remove from heat, and add melted chocolate, salt, vodka, and vanilla to cocoa mixture. Stir thoroughly.
5. Let cool completely, then refrigerate until cold.
6. Freeze mixture according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Strawberries Romanoff (and a Bake Sale!)

In Courtney's post about this dessert, she mentioned La Madeleine, and from that moment, I knew I would be making this. Throw in my quart of delicious local strawberries from our CSA and the fact that I already had all of the ingredients on hand, and I knew this would make a special treat for a weeknight.

The first time I had strawberries Romanoff was at La Madeleine, and it was a bite of someone else's order. The cream was much thicker and more tangy than I anticipated. It's not too sweet but is the perfect accompaniment for those glorious strawberries. I even whipped up the sauce in the morning and stored it until later, making it a great make-ahead dessert for a party.

Strawberries Romanoff
source: Cook Like a Champion
Serves 2

Ingredients
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons brandy or vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced if large
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Mix the sour cream, brown sugar and brandy together in a small bowl.
In another bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it thickens slightly, then add sugar. Continue whisking until cream is fluffy.
Gently fold whipped cream into sour cream mixture.
Place strawberries in serving dish of your choice, top with sauce and freshly grated nutmeg.

Coming up this Saturday, Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil wrangled a bunch of Nashville-area food bloggers together to do a flood benefit bake sale. All proceeds will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. The Green Wagon in East Nashville (1100 Forrest Ave) has been kind enough to take us on, so we will be there from 1:30-4 pm with our delicious treats. I'll be making these delicious peanut butter cookies. All treats will go for $2. So if you're in the area, come on by and spend some money!

Hummingbird Cake

When planning brunch for Mother's Day, I was flipping through my Savannah Desserts cookbook, looking for something that would catch my eye. I wanted something decadent but not heavy and something that I could imagine Paula Deen serving me. Sure enough, this Hummingbird Cake caught my eye. You know, women sometimes are given a hard time for having a sweet tooth, but in my experience, that applies more to chocolate. It is the men I have known who really like their sugar, and this cake has plenty of it.

This is a different style of cake, very dense and moist, almost more like the texture of banana bread. The pineapple, banana, and oil make it so tender, and the pecans vary the texture of the cake. Next time, I might roast the pecans to deepen the flavor even more. The whole thing is topped off with a sugary cream cheese frosting. This sure was a big hit, and it went so well with the overall theme of the brunch.

Hummingbird Cake
source: Savannah Rum Runners Bakery in Savannah Classic Desserts by Janice Shay

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 (11 oz) can crushed pineapple, with juice (I used an 8 oz can.)
2 cups diced bananas
2 cups pecans (I had 1 1/2 cups, which was plenty)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (I ended up only using 3 1/2 cups.)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans.

To make the cake, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix until well-blended with a wire whisk. Add the eggs and oil and stir with a wooden spoon until moist. Add the pineapple, bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Stir until well-blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for 25 minutes (Mine took closer to 35), or until a tester inserted near the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto racks and remove the pans. Finish cooling before frosting.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese and vanilla until very soft. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually, beating until fully blended and a soft spreading consistency has been reached. Add a little milk if necessary to achieve a spreading consistency. Spread over the top of one layer. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake.

Super Snickerdoodles

When I was a kid, my favorite kind of cookie was a snickerdoodle. It's a fun word to say, and the crispy outside belied a chewy middle with a great cinnamon flavor. I also loved Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. As my semester is winding up, I wanted to make something special for my field ed group. We've been together all school year and have gotten to know each other very well and have shared a lot of ourselves and our ministries with one another. Because I saw one guy in my group eating a snickerdoodle one day, I decided snickerdoodles would be the perfect treat.

Kelsey recommended a few recipes that she had made, even listing these Super Snickerdoodles as one of her top 10 recipes of 2009. The texture of these cookies was incredible, but I thought they tasted just a tad too strongly of butter. Not that having a cookie tasting of butter is a bad thing, but I just wanted a slightly more nuanced cookie with perhaps a stronger cinnamon taste. These were gobbled up though, so I don't think anyone else minded!

Super Snickerdoodles
source: Kelsey's Apple a Day

Ingredients
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
2 large eggs
4-5 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. Put butter and 1 1/2 c. sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Mix in eggs.

4. Reduce speed to low and gradually incorporate flour mixture.

5. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon to preferred ratio.

6. Shape dough into 1 3/4 in. balls (you should have about 20). Roll in cinnamon sugar and place three inches apart on baking sheets lines with Silpat or parchment paper.

7. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, twelve to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container for up to three days.

Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie

You know that rule about how you're supposed to make things that you've made before when planning a dinner for guests? Yeah, I routinely break it. Last year for Easter, this meant a trifle that tasted way too much like chemicals. This year, I left it up to Cook's Country. Joe had suggested a lemon meringue pie, gesturing with his hands just how tall he wanted the meringue to be. I had never made meringue. Or lemon curd. But that didn't stop me.

Like everything in the America's Test Kitchen vein, this lemon meringue pie tastes like a lemon meringue pie should. Lots of lemon juice gives it a great, puckery lemon flavor, and the meringue is silky and light. I don't have a stand mixer, so I just used a hand-held, which took slightly longer than the times indicated in the recipe.

Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie
source: Cook's Country

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) pie shell. fully baked and cooled
FOR THE LEMON FILLING:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup of lemon juice (from 6 lemons)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
8 large egg yolks (reserve 4 whites for meringue later)
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

FOR THE MERINGUE:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch and salt together in a large non-reactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture is translucent and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in yolks until combined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.

Strain through fine mesh strainer into the baked and cooled pie shell and scrape off filling from the bottom of strainer. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until set and well chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

WHEN READY TO MAKE THE MERINGUE:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium high heat. Once syrup comes to a rolling boil, cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside while beating egg whites.

With electric mixer beat whites in large bowl at medium low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add salt and cream of tartar and beat gradually increasing speed to medium high, until whites hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, slowly pour hot syrup into the whites. Add vanilla and beat until meringue has cooled and becomes shiny and thick, 5-9 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, mound meringue over filling making sure meringue touches the edges of the crust. Use spatula to create peaks all over the pie.

Bake until peaks turn golden brown about 6 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature and serve.

Coffee Toffee Bars

On Monday afternoon, Joe's childhood pet, a 17 year-old terrier named Toffee was put to sleep and sent to the big farm in the sky. She was in bad health, so Joe said good-bye to her when we were up in Wisconsin in July. But as I know all too well, even saying good-bye to an elderly pet can be painful, so I decided to honor Toffee's life and the love she gave and was given by baking these treats. Note that these are for human consumption and not for dogs!

I was afraid that these would not turn out and that I would've just wasted two sticks of butter. I almost threw in an egg to help the dough along, but it's just a really crumbly dough, so be warned. The taste is different considering from the visual that you're thinking, "Oh! Chocolate chip cookie bars!" But the coffee and the almond extract give it a different depth of flavor. We will eat these and raise a glass in Toffee's memory. Rest in peace.

Coffee Toffee Bars
source: Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee
  
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 2-½ cups Flour (approximately) (I used 2 cups)
  
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar.

Blend in the almond extract, instant coffee, baking powder and salt.

Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.

Press into a well-greased 9×13 pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack. Cut into pieces as desired.

Peanut Butter Cookies

On Wednesday, my friend L grabbed me after theology and asked me if I would be interested in baking for our field ed group the next day. Another friend and member of our group, J and his wife had just had their first baby, and we wanted to acknowledge and celebrate J's entry into fatherhood. I, of course, jumped at the chance.

Sometimes I over-think baking for people, especially in a group. Is anyone vegan or gluten-free or allergic to nuts? I decided to make these peanut butter cookies and prayed that no one was allergic to nuts and would feel left out. The first time I made these cookies was with my best friend Abby when I visited Bloomington last May. She rightly calls them crack cookies. They are seriously addictive, and I ate 5 (at least they're small) while they were cooling on the rack. Sure enough, the cookies that I brought were quickly devoured, and I was encouraged to bring more baked goods to field ed group should I feel the urge to bake again.

These cookies have a great peanut butter flavor, and I appreciate the addition of chocolate chips. I skipped rolling them in more sugar, since I didn't feel like they needed it. They can be easy to overbake, and I thought they weren't done enough, but when they cooled, they were perfect.

Peanut Butter Cookies
source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

I tried to keep things relatively simple for Thanksgiving this year, knowing that Joe and I were going to be out of town up until the day before, so I wouldn't have a lot of time beforehand to prep. Consequently, I was a lot more relaxed than I have been in previous years. So relaxed that I ended up burning the rolls. Oh well! Before we left on our trip, I made this ice cream to go with the standard pumpkin and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pies. It was the perfect complement. The cinnamon flavor is definitely present but not overbearing, and it made the ice cream slightly more exciting and seasonal than plain vanilla. This is the perfect ice cream with which to top your apple, pecan, pumpkin, or any other variation of fall pie.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
source: Lime in the Coconut (originally from David Leibowitz's The Perfect Scoop)

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
10 3-in long cinnamon sticks, broken up (I bought mine for a very affordable price at Cost Plus World Market)
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

Preparation
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for at least one hour.

Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a bowl and set a strainer on top.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrap the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Pour the custard into the strainer set over the cream. Refrigerate until cool.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Maple Ice Cream

November doesn't exactly seem like the best month to bust out the ice cream maker, but entries in Google Reader keep popping up with seasonally flavored ice cream like pumpkin, cinnamon, and, today's treat, maple. The maple flavor is not terribly strong, but it contains just a hint. I think maple extract would make it stronger. Like most custard-based ice creams with 5 egg yolks, this is intensely creamy and smooth. Joe and I have been enjoying our ice cream with a Maple Leaf Creme Cookie from Trader Joe's.

Maple Ice Cream
source: The Perfect Scoop via Erin's Food Files

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup dark maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Warm milk and sugar in medium saucepan. Pour cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium-low heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla, and stir over ice bath until cool. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Freeze until solid & scoopable.

Swirled Pumpkin-Bourbon Cheesecake Squares

I'm so pleased that it's fall again, and I can revisit recipes that I saved from last year and never got around to making them. The funny thing is that I even bought gingersnap cookies at the end of last fall to make the crust for this and still didn't make them. Last Friday, we had plans with some friends for dinner, and I offered to bring dessert. When I was calling out saved recipes to Joe, he zeroed in on this one. Who wouldn't? I had him at bourbon.

These don't have a very strong pumpkin flavor, but they're nice and creamy in addition to being festive. The bourbon flavor really comes through in the crust. It's almost like making a cheesecake but without nearly so much effort. These were a hit, and I'm glad I finally got around to making them.

Swirled Pumpkin-Bourbon Cheesecake Squares
source: Kelsey's Apple A Day

Ingredients
For crust:
about 20 gingersnaps, broken into large pieces
1/4 c. granulated sugar
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 TBSP bourbon

Cheesecake Filling:
11 oz. low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 c. low-fat sour cream
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 TBSP (packed) dark brown sugar
3 TBSP bourbon

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x9x2 in. square pan with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

2. To make the crust: Process the gingersnaps in a food processor until very finely chopped. You should have one cup of crumbs. Combine crumbs, sugar, butter, and bourbon. Pat into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool on a rack.

3. To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add egg, vanilla, and bourbon and beat until smooth.

4. Scoop 3/4 c. of the cream cheese mixture into a medium bowl and stir in pumpkin puree and brown sugar.

5. Spoon the plain cream cheese mixture evenly over the crumb layer in the pan. Dollop pumpkin mixture on top and swirl with a fork to make a decorative design.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until firm in the middle when gently shaken (Mine took about 35-40 minutes). Cool in the pan for one hour. Chill thoroughly.

7. To serve, lift cheesecake and foil from pan. Cut into squares.

Tres Leches Flan Cake

We had our housewarming party last Saturday, and I wanted to make a cake that was slightly different, would stand out, and did not require any artistic decorating. Cue the bundt pan and this recipe that I've had squirreled away since last September. This was the perfect time for it. I was worried that it wouldn't come out okay, but it worked absolutely beautifully and everyone loved it.

Yes, that is cake with a layer of flan on top. The cake is deliciously moist, and the flan is a nice textural contrast to the cake. This will impress everyone at your next gathering and doesn't require too much extra effort. Be sure to pour the flan mixture slowly down the side of the pan so it sinks to the bottom. My cake came out of the pan as soon as I flipped it over; I didn't have to wait for it to warm to room temperature.

Tres Leches Flan Cake
source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

Cake:
1 (18.25 oz.) box butter/yellow cake mix and ingredients to prepare as directed on box
1 (12 oz) can of regular Coke or Pepsi

Topping:
1 (10.9 oz) jar of cajeta or caramel ice cream topping

Flan:
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Follow instructions to make cake, but use the can of coke instead of water. Set cake mix aside and make flan by putting the flan ingredients in a blender and mixing well.

Spray the bundt pan with Pam and then cover the bottom with caramel

Pour cake mix into bundt pan.

Pour the flan mix gently down one side of the pan. The flan will go to the bottom and the cake mix will raise up a bit as the flan mixture fills the bottom of the pan.

Set the bundt pan in a larger pan or tray with water. (I used a roaster.) You are creating a double boiler, but you only need a couple inches of water.

Put it all in the oven and it will cook for at least 45 minutes and as much as an hour.

Check the cake doneness with a toothpick. The cake will stay more moist than most cakes you've ever made and you will see it separate a bit from the pan when it is done.

Let is cool and refrigerate for several hours.

Take it out two hours before you plan to serve. Turn the bundt pan over and let it sit while warming to room temperature.

The bundt pan should then lift off to reveal a layer of flan, topped with caramel sitting atop a very moist cake.

Grandma's Banana Nut Cake

My dad has been requesting that I make this cake for some time now, and since I had a bunch of ripe bananas in the freezer, I asked for the recipe. It's my grandmother's recipe, though it's very similar to any kind of banana bread recipe but with a lot of sugar to make it more cake-like. I wanted to make it as-written the first time. Next time I think I'll sub butter for the Crisco and maybe top it with a cream cheese frosting. My dad enjoyed it thoroughly! He did specify that nuts were a necessity in this cake, so don't skimp on those.

Grandma's Banana Nut Cake
source: Family Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda (or 1 tsp if sour milk is used)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk - sweet or sour

Preparation
Cream Crisco and add sugar gradually. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Add banana pulp and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk. Bake at 350-degrees for 30-35 minutes in greased 9 x 13 pan.

Oatmeal Crisps

I must've not been paying very close attention to the title when I decided to make these and was surprised when they came out quite crispy. Good work, Kira. I agree with Erin's assessment that they're like a dessert granola bar. These are a nice, easy, quick treat. I threw mine in the refrigerator to harden up the chocolate a bit. I've been kind of mindlessly munching on these, which perhaps isn't the best plan knowing that there's a stick of butter in there...

Oatmeal Crisps
source: Rebecca Rather's The Pastry Queen via Dinner and Dessert

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shredded coconut

½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Melt the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir 1 to 2 minutes, until the brown sugar is no longer grainy. Remove the pan from the heat. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, salt, and coconut. Add the butter mixture and stir to combine.

Spoon the dough into the pan. Lightly coat your fingers with cooking spray or butter and press the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes and cut into narrow fingers. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Drizzle over the bars.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This is the second time I've made this ice cream recipe. The first time, I made a batch to take to a dinner party with the apparently misguided assumption that there would be some leftover to bring back home and take a picture of. It was not to be. The six of us polished off the whole container. What is it about homemade ice cream that makes people go crazy? I'm of the opinion that it always tastes so good because there aren't all kinds of chemicals and preservatives in it. I just don't have any potassium sorbate in my pantry. Also, I make all of my ice cream with love, which could have something to do with it.

But really, if you were so inclined and had green food coloring, you could add some so it looked like the mint chocolate chip ice cream from the store. This is a Philadelphia-style recipe, which means no egg yolks. It's not quite as rich or creamy, but it's very simple to mix together. The mini chocolate chips seal the deal for me. The first time I made this, I think I used something like 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 cups half-and-half, and 1 cup milk, and it worked out really well, so feel free to experiment a little depending on what you have in your fridge.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
source: Amber's Kitchen

Ingredients
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
green food coloring (optional)
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation
In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract
until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After about 10 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes later, spoon into a container, and freeze for 2 hours.

Coffee Ice Cream

I know it's difficult to tell from the picture, but this is the smoothest, creamiest, most flavorful ice cream I have made to date. We are currently under contract on a condo, so in preparation for moving, I'm trying to empty out some things in the freezer and pantry. We had bought some whole-bean decaf coffee for a dinner party, and since we rarely drink coffee, it just sat in the freezer taking up space. And then I came upon this ice cream recipe. It was my first time making a custard-based recipe, and I was a little scared I would scramble the eggs or not cook it long enough, but it was a lot easier than I thought it might be. I made some breakfast tacos with the leftover egg whites.

The coffee flavor in this ice cream is pretty strong, so if you're not a fan of that flavor, this is not for you. The whole beans infuse the cream mixture deliciously, and I loved seeing the white cream slowly turn a hint of brown. By no means low-calorie, you'll only need a small scoop to be satisfied because it's so rich.

Coffee Ice Cream
source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients
1½ cups whole milk (I used 2%)
¾ cup sugar
1½ cups whole coffee beans
Pinch of salt
1½ cups heavy cream, divided
5 large egg yolks
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. finely ground coffee or espresso powder

Preparation
Combine the milk, sugar, coffee beans, salt and ½ cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the mixture is warm and just begins to bubble, remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

After steeping, return the saucepan with the coffee mixture to the burner over medium heat. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Once the coffee mixture has become warm again, slowly pour the mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Return the egg-coffee bean mixture to the saucepan over medium high heat.

Cook the mixture, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula or spoon (about 170-175° F.) Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer with a can or heavy-bottomed glass to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible, then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla and ground coffee or espresso powder. Chill the batter over an ice bath, or in the refrigerator. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator and then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I've been a terrible blogger and cook lately. Between my mother-in-law coming to town, Nashville Restaurant Week, and going to Milwaukee for the 4th of July, I haven't been eating much at home for the last few weeks. So, naturally, one of the first things I make is ice cream.

Having seen a lot of ice cream recipes that call for all kinds of egg yolks and heavy cream, I was a little nervous how this might turn out. But it came out beautifully. The peanut butter flavor is strong and rich, and the texture is creamy. On a whim, I threw in some chocolate chips. Joe said it tasted like an ice cream version of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. This is super-easy to make. It would go great next to some chocolate cake!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
source: Smells Like Home (originally David Lebovitz)

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 2/3 cup half-and-half
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp vanilla
1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Purée the peanut butter, sugar, half and half, salt, and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add chocolate chips 5 minutes before ice cream maker is done churning.
   

Chewy Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Apparently being in Bloomington got me on a baking kick, because one of the first things I did when I got home was bake some cookies. Joe had a rough time at work and stuff while I was gone, so these were like an I'm back! present for him as well as clearing out a few things in the pantry. I also wanted to use my pretty pink new cookie scoop.

For some reason, chocolate-white chocolate chip cookies remind of the box lunches from Jason's Deli that we would get for church meetings. While I like regular chocolate chip cookies, I always wanted to trade for a chocolate-white chocolate chip or a white chocolate-macadamia cookie. So this kind of cookie reminds me of delis and turkey sandwiches and church.

I particularly like the strong chocolate flavor set off by the sweetness of the white chocolate. The dense chocolatiness makes the cookies feel like such an indulgence, even though they aren't any moreso than any other cookie.

Chewy Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
source: Confections of a Foodie Bride via Dinner and Dessert

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa*
1/2 cup butter, cubed and room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chopped white chocolate (I used white chocolate chips.)

*Don’t substitute with natural cocoa. The Oreo-like flavor comes from the richer dutch-processed cocoa.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 and place oven racks in the upper and lower middle position.

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa, and set aside. Beat the butter on medium-high until light and add sugars, creaming well. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for 15 minutes.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment- or silpat-lined cookie sheet (however you bake your cookies) and bake (see note below). Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet and store in an air-tight container.

Here’s a tip from Shawnda:

Let’s talk about the size of of this cookie. I use a No 12 scoop to drop a well rounded scoop of chilled cookie dough (a little less than 1/2 cup of cookie dough) onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 24 minutes. I get 8 or 9 cookies with a diameter of 6 inches using the No 12 scoop. Perfect if you’re going for the “real bakery” look, perhaps less-than-perfect if it’s just you and 8 of your new chocolatey friends over a weekend. If you scoop a more normal sized cookie, I’d estimate 12-16 minutes in the oven.

I used a normal cookie scoop, which yielded about 2 1/2 dozen cookies (counting the few I dropped on the floor). 16 minutes was about how long it took the cookies to bake.

Peanut Butter Cookies

When confronted by a request to bring something to a Memorial Day picnic-turned-cookout-turned party, Abby almost immediately suggested Smitten Kitchen's Peanut Butter Cookies. She had made them before and she and her friends referred to them as "crack" cookies because of their addictive properties. Peanut butter cookies aren't usually my absolute favorite but I definitely wanted to try them. So we headed off to Kroger for the third time in the three days that I had been there to obtain chunky peanut butter.

Abby was a total pro at forming the cookies and rolling them in sugar, though we skipped the criss-cross step. And they were just as addictive as promised. I loved the textural contrast of the chocolate and peanut butter chips with the smooth, buttery dough. We ate the ones that came out slightly burned on the bottom, and they all vanished by the end of a heated game of Taboo.

Peanut Butter Cookies
source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis

I am not the most visual-artistically talented person ever, so when it comes to decorating cakes or cupcakes, I tend to keep it simple. This also explains my love for my bundt pan which turns out cakes impressive enough to elicit sighs of approval but doesn't require a lot of work on my part.

This was the dessert I brought for our church supper club yesterday to finish off a classic cook-out meal with burgers, veggie kebabs, potato salad, and green salad. I wanted to make something light but still indulgent. May just does not seem like the time to be making heavy chocolate tortes.

Pound cakes allegedly got their name because they required a pound of sugar, pound of flour, and pound of butter. All those pounds sound so heavy, but this cake was dense without being heavy. The flavor of the cream cheese and butter was enhanced by the strawberry coulis (which, as I told everyone, basically is "fancy" for pureed strawberries).

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis
source: Smitten Kitchen via Annie's Eats

Ingredients

for the cake:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (8 oz.) package Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

for the coulis:
2 cups quartered, hulled strawberries (about 12 oz.)
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preparation

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a bundt pan or tube pan (line the bottom with parchment if using a tube pan). Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 75 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

To make the strawberry coulis, combine the strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Puree until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. (I did not remove the seeds. No one seemed to mind.) Cover and refrigerate until cold. Serve with slices of pound cake.