Archive for the 'sweet' Category

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Whole Orange Cake

March 16, 2011

On the spectrum of fruits that I enjoy, oranges come somewhere in the middle.  They are nowhere near the top with summer berries and mangoes, but I wouldn’t put them on the bottom with honeydew and cantaloupe either (can we talk about how disappointing restaurant fruit salads are when they are filled with melons??).  It’s not that oranges are not tasty; it’s just that they’re not always consistent.  Plus, let’s be honest, they just seem far too labor intensive to eat when the flavor is hit or miss.


That is until I discovered honeybell oranges.  They are the one and only exception when it comes to oranges.  Every year, right in the dead of winter, my parents send us a carton of honeybell oranges.  These oranges are only available for a short time during the year, but are seriously the juiciest, most flavorful oranges that I have ever encountered.  For someone who is typically so blasé about oranges and thinks that they are just mediocre in the fruit chain, the discovery of honeybell oranges was a very big deal.


This year, I may have expressed more excitement than usual because my parents did not think that 4 cartons of oranges would satisfy my need.  They sent us EIGHT cartons of oranges – I was left with NINETY-SIX oranges!  Huge, juicy, can’t-eat-more-than-one-at-a-time oranges!


After my initial shock, denial and disbelief, I gathered myself together, found space for the oranges in my apartment, and decided that this is a very good thing.  Instead of just using the oranges for fresh-squeezed juice in the morning, as a daily snack in the afternoon and as a replacement for milk in my oatmeal (have you ever tried that?  fruity and divine – try it), I realized that I could use these incredibly flavorful oranges in my baking.  I found a cake that used the entire orange, skin and all (no peeling involved!).  It was moist, light, and incredibly orange-y.  And in my unintentional effort to post gluten-free desserts, here’s one more for the list!

Whole Orange Cake (recipe from Scandi Foodie)

I added mini chocolate chips to the cake batter because I truly believe that the orange/chocolate combo is one of the best, but feel free to leave it plain, or add nuts, perhaps.  Also, I was nervous that the bits of orange peel would leave a slight bitter taste.  It did.  Not unpleasantly, but it was there in that marmalade kind of way.  But if you happen to plan in advance, this is one of those cakes that develops more flavor as it sits, and will lose any of that even slight bitter taste.

Ingredients

2 oranges
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking powder

1 cup mini chocolate chips, mixed with 1 tbsp. flour (gluten-free or otherwise)

Method

Wash the oranges, place them in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, then return to pan, cover with water and bring to boil. Let simmer another 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Drain and chop the oranges discarding any seeds.

Place the oranges in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.

Whisk the eggs and the sugar until thick and pale. Add the orange, almond meal, and baking powder and fold until just combined. Add the chocolate chips/flour mixture and fold in.  Pour into a greased, 9 inch round or springform pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Posted in cake, fruit, sweet, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 8, 2011

Do you have peanut butter?  An egg?  How about sugarbakingsodavanillaminichocolatechips??  I knew you would have these things on hand!  Because that’s all it takes to make the most delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies ever.  I’m not kidding, people.

Here’s the kicker, though.  I didn’t have all of those ingredients on hand.  Well, I did, but not nearly enough.  So I decided to trick the mind and make these cookies miniature instead.  Friends, a lesson: if you decide to make cookies in bite size so it actually looks like you’ve made more than you have (thinking that they will last you longer), you actually end up with having to make cookies sooner than expected because people eat them so fast!  Fact.  Seriously, people were so drawn to these little cookie-lets.  They flew out of my cookies jar, handfuls at a time, just because they were so small!  There is apparently no guilt factor when eating a miniature cookie…or, apparently, 30 of them.

But it wasn’t just their size – these cookies were so appealing because they were just so…cute.  That’s exactly the appeal of these cookies.  They’re cute, and they’re small, and most importantly, they represent “portion control”.  But they’re also soft and crumbly and my goodness, so yummy.   Make them for their ease, make them for their cuteness, but please just make them and go crazy.  Everyone around you sure will.

Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Joy the Baker)
Ingredients
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Using a mixer combine peanut butter and sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Add egg, baking soda, and vanilla and mix for another 2 minutes.  By hand, mix in mini chocolate chips.  Roll into teaspoon sized balls and place onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 7-8 minutes, until they look dry and lightened in color.  Let cook on baking sheet for a minute.  Carefully press each cookie down with a fork.  Continue to cool on baking sheet for an additional two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in chocolate, cookies, sweet, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
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Pecan Cornmeal Cake

February 8, 2011

Have I told you that I’m from North Carolina?  I’m what they call “a Tarheel born, a Tarheel bred (..and when I die, I’m a Tarheel dead)!”  And oh so proud of it.  Not only do I think that The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the greatest school in this country, I also think that Chapel Hill is one of the greatest towns in the nation.

Now, if you know anything about schools, rivalries or college basketball, you also know that my love for UNC directly correlates with my disdain for Duke.  With the universities (and towns) just being 8 miles apart, I really, really do not like anything Duke.  Dark blue, Cameron Indoor Stadium and…Durham.

So you can understand that the recent love that Durham has been receiving from national publications has been a little much for me to bear.  The New York Times is saying that Durham is one of the 41 places in the world to visit this year?!  It’s on the list with such places as Iceland, Zanzibar and Turkey?!  How can this be true??  And then an article last year tells me that Durham has become a foodie town??  Where is Chapel Hill in all of this?!  In my ridiculously biased opinion, I think that Chapel Hill’s greatness must have just seeped into Durham.  That’s gotta be it.

To ensure that this was the case, I went ahead and read that article about Durham’s “great” food.  It turned out that the article had a recipe from a restaurant in Durham that sounded, well, delicious.  So I tried it.  I’m deeply saddened to say that it was nothing short of spectacular.  This cake, made with cornmeal and pecans, and browned butter was just the perfect balance of light and nuttiness and rustic and unique.  It had a simplicity to it that needed nothing to dress it up – though a dollop of freshly whipped cream put it over the top.  It was, to my dismay, a yummy cake.  The Durham-based restaurant that serves this deliciousness must be on the border of the two towns.

*A little FYI about this timely post: one of the two scheduled UNC/Duke men’s basketball games is on the 9th.  Meaning, yep, tomorrow.  I don’t feel like I need to say this, but I expect you to root for the true blue.  You know, with a piece of this cake in hand.

Pecan Cornmeal Cake (from The NY Times via Smitten Kitchen)

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for pans
1/2 cup pecans, toasted over a medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until they smell fragrant
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream, for serving

In a small pan, melt the butter and let it heat until it browns and smells nutty (about 10 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Strain out the brown bits and set aside to cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt in a large bowl.  In a food processor, pulse pecans, and both sugars until powdery.  Don’t over mix, otherwise it will become pasty.  Add to the flour mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites and vanilla together, just to combine. Whisk this and the browned butter into the dry ingredients. Refrigerate batter overnight.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Thickly butter the sides of a 9-inch round tart pan.  Line the pan with parchment paper.  Pour batter into pan and spread to make sure that it has covered all sides.

Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes in pan, then turn out on a rack.  Serve (warm, if you like – it’s delicious if you do) with whipped cream.

Posted in cake, sweet, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Tiramisu

February 2, 2011

Picking the right dish to bring to a potluck can be very tricky.  I always want to bring something that not only tastes great, but is also outwardly spectacular.  The dish has to be striking enough for people to ask me for the recipe, but accessible enough for the other guests not to think that I went out of my way just to impress them.  And the entire time, I have to act cool about the whole thing.  It’s seriously such an extremely delicate balancing act!

You know what I’m talking about.  Or…do you?  …am I a potluck snob?

Regardless, bringing tiramisu will accomplish all of these potluck requirements.  Seriously.  Can you think of a classier dessert than tiramisu?  It has espresso and marscapone and shaved chocolate.  This dessert is practically screaming class!  A five star dessert that is surprisingly simple to throw together.  Honestly, it really did just take minutes to make!  Oh!  And it’s delicious.  All points accomplished!  Next stop, dinner party.

Tiramisu (minimally adapted from David Lebovitz)

1 cup prepared espresso, at room temperature
1/4 cup Kahlua, or any coffee flavored liqueur
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz. marscapone
14 ladyfingers
barred chocolate (to use to for shaving on top)

1. Mix together the espresso and Kahlua.

2. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they begin to get stiff. Beat in half of the sugar until stiff. Scrape the egg whites into a small bowl.

3. In the same bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until stiff and light-colored.  Mix in the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth.

4. Fold in half of the beaten egg whites, then the remaining half, just until fully incorporated.

5. Place a spoonful of the marscapone mixture on the bottom of a standard loaf pan.

6. Dip each ladyfinger into the espresso mixture.  Really keep them in there and flip them until they are completely absorbed by the espresso liquid.  It will be delicious this way, believe me.  Place the ladyfingers in a single layer over the marscapone.

7. Place another spoonful of the marscapone mixture until the ladyfingers are covered.  Shave a generous amount of chocolate on top of the marscapone.

8. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers and cream.

9. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least for four hours.

Posted in sweet, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
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Pan de Mallorca

January 24, 2011

As it turns out, I’m afraid of yeast.  Seriously, I’m not kidding – there is just way too much to worry about.  Is the water warm enough for the yeast?  Will the yeast bubble??  Will the dough rise?  Am I kneading the dough for long enough?  Will the dough rise again??  Too much pressure, I tell you.  Too much left to chance.  I simply do not use yeast…I’m too afraid.

But I had these rolls called mallorcas in Puerto Rico.  They were rich pillowy buttery croissant-like rolls, split open and filled with butter and guava or cherry jam (or ham and cheese for the most traditional version, but c’mon, really…let’s go with the jam), grilled and then doused with powdered sugar.  They were literally oozing with buttery goodness.

The thought of never eating a mallorca again deeply, deeply depressed me, and I realized that the only way I could experience this joy again was if I made mallorcas at home.  I considered lifting my ban on yeast.  I searched for the most simple recipe for mallorcas.  All the steps seemed easy enough, but I held my breath the entire time.  (A full two hours of holding my breath.)  But – at the end – they were just like the ones I ate in San Juan!  Soft, buttery, warm, delicious.  Bring it on, yeast.  I’m ready for you.

Pan de Mallorca (original recipe here)

Like I said, the most traditional versions are filled with ham and cheese, grilled and dusted with powdered sugar.  A sweet and savory pastry of sorts.  For my fellow vegetarians, I even saw egg and cheese versions on San Juan menus, which I was tempted to try.  But for those true to my heart, my fellow sweet-teethed people, stick to the jam.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
flour for dusting work surface
butter to grease bowl and pan
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Procedure

1. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the sugar, salt, egg yolks, milk, 4 tablespoons of the cooled butter, and 2-1/2 cups of the flour. Mix well.

2. Lightly flour a work surface. Turn out the dough and knead for 5 minutes. Add enough of the remaining flour so that the dough is not sticky.

3. Grease a bowl with butter. Pour the dough in it and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside. Punch the dough down. Knead it on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 18×9 inches. Brush with the remaining melted butter. Roll up the dough from one short end and cut it into 9 slices; trim the ends to make them neat. Arrange the slices in the baking pan. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and dust with confectioners’ sugar.  Alternatively, you can split the rolls open, spread butter and a jam of your choice on both sides, close and grill.  After grilling, dust with powdered sugar.

Posted in breakfast, sweet, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
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Lemon Ricotta Cardamom Cakelets

January 13, 2011

I have a Saturday morning routine.  I wake up on the early side, head to the gym with my sister, we take an aerobics class and then make our way home, taking a little detour to stop at the farmers market.  Every weekend, we have plans to buy lots of fruits and veggies for the upcoming week.  But every week, we inevitably become distracted by the stand that sells  freshly made gelato.  There are new gelato flavors every week, all of which we sample, but there are several staples: lemon ricotta cardamom being one of them.  I honestly can’t get enough of this particular flavor.  It’s perfectly spiced and tart at the same time, with a silky smooth consistency.  It’s the most ideal way to start the weekend.

I continued my routine a couple of Saturdays ago when I got to the farmer’s market and there was no one there!  No fresh bread!  No baked goods!  No fresh vegetables that I never turn to!  And worst of all, no gelato stand.  Sadly, our farmers market closed for the winter and since that Saturday my routine has changed to sitting in the apartment dreaming of the samples of fresh, rich gelato that will not be tasted until the spring.  (The gym had to be sacrificed for the sorrow).

With leftover ricotta in the fridge, I instead decided to incorporate these flavors into a cookie.  These are actually the perfect representation of the flavors of the lemon ricotta gelato in a more substantial form.  It’s a cakier cookie, kind of like the top of a whoopie pie.  Which leads me to think of dreamy fillings you could sandwich between the two.  But the softness actually nicely correlates to the creaminess of the gelato.  They are much more than a holdover until the farmers’ market returns.  But they will be the perfect accompaniment to the gelato in the spring.

Lemon Ricotta Cardamom Cakelets (adapted from here)

Both of the cardamom and lemon flavors become stronger as these cakelets sit, but feel free to add more of either or both of the lemon and cardamom if you want more assertive flavors.

Cookies:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 lemons, zested
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • about 2 tbsp. milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough by the tablespoon onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cardamom in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, until the glaze coats the back of a spoon.  Dip each cookie into the glaze and place on a wire rack to harden for about 2 hours.

Posted in cookies, sweet, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Croquembouche

December 17, 2010

Yes, friends.  I went there.  I wanted to make something unique for this time of year.  Something spectacular, if you will.  So I turned to the most trusted dessert source I could think of: the French.  They love these things called “croquembouche” over there.  Essentially, filled cream puffs, dipped in caramel and tacked onto a cone to make the whole thing look like a tower.  I, honestly, just really loved the name…and the fact that I would be making cream puffs with a sweet and silky ricotta filling.  How could this not be delicious?


Sure, it would be tasty, but why build a tower?.  What’s the need for this?  What’s the point of going out to an arts supply store and buying a styrofoam cone, just so you can use toothpicks to stick cream puffs onto it?  The point, I soon found out, is that you will be a holiday hero for making this!  First of all, to be clear, they’re not just cream puffs.  They’re cream puffs covered in caramel.  Like a ring-spun halo of caramel.  Which increases its value ten fold.  Second of all, it’s on a cone, people!  You end up with this cream-puffy looking tree with caramel dripping and oozing all over it.  It really does look kind of spectacular.  Are you as excited as I am?!

Just to be sure that I wasn’t truly insane with my awe of this French wonder (though, would anyone care if I was?), I also put out the extra cream puffs that were too big to put on the tree at a recent gathering.  They were the same thing, just not stuck onto the cone.  Sure, people liked the ones on the plate, but they gravitated towards the croquembouche.  “I want to try that,” they would say, even though they would be chomping on the plated cream puff at that very moment.  Sheer fascination with the cream puff tree.  And who can blame them?!  It’s a brilliant idea!  The French really do know what they are talking about.

Salty Caramel Croquembouche (original recipe from Fine Cooking magazine)

Because there are many many components to this dessert, and because I did not change a single thing from the original recipe, and perhaps because I’m slightly lazy, I’m linking it here.  Also, here is a step by step guide on how to assemble this fabulous fabulous dessert.

Posted in sweet, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
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Chocolate Bark with Almond Brittle

December 8, 2010

I don’t make candy.  I just can’t handle it.  It’s intimidating.  You need thermometers and huge oven mitts and to know terms like, “soft ball stage.”  And then, to top things off, the candy needs to look pretty at the end.  Inviting, even.  Talk about pressure.  It’s really not for me.

Do I even need to say it?  Of course I tried to make candy!  With the holidays just around the corner, I just figured that some homemade chocolates around the house would be nice to share.  So I picked the most no-brainer recipe I could think of: chocolate bark.  This isn’t really supposed to be that hard.  Mix melted chocolates with nuts or crushed mints or dried fruit, and ta da!  You have homemade chocolate bark!

I prepared myself for what I thought would be an easy candy making experience: I chopped the nuts, prepared my chocolate for the melting process, and lined my pan with foil.  Then.  I finally read the recipe.  This wasn’t a normal bark recipe.  It was a bark with homemade almond brittle!   As in…homemade candy.  What.  Was this really necessary?!

Of course it was necessary!  Who wouldn’t want a smooth chocolate with a crunchy, salty almond brittle to break it up.  What a tasty little (impressive) treat that would be!  The lucky part for me (and for all of you homebakers-that-do-not-make-any-kind-of-candy-at-all), this recipe did not have temperatures to follow, or “stages” to watch out for.  The only instruction was to cook the sugar and water until it reached a shade of  “dark amber”.  Colors!  Awesome – totally doable.  So I followed the color directions and suddenly had almond brittle!  And then I mixed it with the melted chocolate (what I was set out to do in the first place!), and I had the best tasting chocolate bark…ever.  It was like two candies in one!  Double the success!

A few words that are not intended to scare you off from making this: You don’t have a lot of time!  You might think you do, but, really, you don’t.  Don’t step away when making the caramel for the brittle.  It looks all pale and sad for the longest time, and then bam!  It’s dark amber in no time.  It will fool you.  And then, the trickiest part of all: the spreading of the brittle in order for it to cool.  Really, to be honest, the brittle does not at all need to be spread to be brittle-like.  It crystallizes instantly.  And then it will become impossible to spread.  Be as speedy as possible and try to get the brittle as thin as you can, which, as it turns out, will make the chopping of the brittle a lot easier…which will make the the mixing with the melted chocolate a smoother process.  It all comes full circle at the end.  Which is when you get to enjoy delicious homemade candy!

Chocolate Bark with Almond Brittle (from Fine Cooking magazine)

The recipe says that after breaking the brittle to eventually put in the chocolate, you should filter out the smaller pieces and the “dust” that falls from cutting the brittle, because it will make the bark too sweet overall.  Although I thought that this was an unnecessary step, I did follow it, and was glad that I did.  First of all, the bark was just the right amount of sweet at the end.  And second of all, more importantly, the ensuing leftover “dust” would be an incredibly delightful and welcome addition to any ice cream or yogurt, I would imagine.

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

9 oz. Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate

Method

1. Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place the sugar and water in a 2 quart heavy saucepan.  Swirl (do not stir!) to moisten the sugar.  Heat on high until the mixture starts boiling, stirring occasionally.  Keep boiling until the mixture turns a dark amber color.  Turn off the heat and mix in half of the almonds.  Quickly spread the mixture on to the baking sheet to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cool completely, to room temperature.  This mixture will be quite hot for some time.  Break or chop into bite size pieces, saving only the pieces, and filtering out the sugar dust.  Put aside.

2. Heat about 2 inches of water in a saucepan.  Chop chocolate and place in a glass bowl that is bigger than the saucepan, in order to create a double boiler.  As the water simmers, place the bowl on top of the saucepan, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Be sure that none of the water gets into the bowl with the chocolate.

3. Turn off heat and mix in reserved almonds and almond brittle.

4. Line a 9×13 pan with foil.  Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan, making sure that the chocolate covers all the almond pieces.  Shake the pan to level the chocolate and place the refrigerator.  Cool for 45-60 minutes.  Take out to break into pieces, and then place back into refrigerator until ready to serve.

Posted in chocolate, sweet, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
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Quesitos

December 3, 2010

When I was younger, one of my favorite outings would be to go out for breakfast.  There was always something so special about it.  Weekday breakfasts were always quick, and usual, and just something to get us out the door before a whole day of school.  But when we went out for breakfast on a Saturday morning, I knew that I would have the lesiures of the weekend ahead.

Ironically, my favorite place to go out for breakfast was McDonalds.  Talk about a long, leisure-filled breakfast.  I mean, don’t get me wrong – I absolutely loved the fancy hotel buffet brunches with the soft served ice cream.  But McDonalds is what I would get excited about.  For one reason, and one reason only: the cheese danish.  You understand.

Does McDonalds even sell these gems anymore?  From what I recall, they were perfection.  A flaky pie crust filled with a usually, off-center dollop of sweetened cream cheese, all drizzled with a candy-sweet glaze.  It was absolutely amazing in my young eyes, a breakfast for champions.

I am happy to report that my tastes have matured since then.  But my love for cheese danishes is still just as strong.  So when I discovered a similar pastry during my recent trip to Puerto Rico, I was ecstatic.  Instead of pie crust, these pastries were flakier.  Instead of the blob, er I mean, dollop, of cheesecake-like center, these pastries were filled with cream cheese, barely kissed with a touch of sweetness.  Instead of the glaze, these were rolled in sugar, sparkling, and baked to a deep golden brown.  Instead of being flat and round, these pastries were long and cigar-like, kind of like it actually was older and more mature than any other cheese danish that I had before.  It was like the cheese danish of my dreams – only, it was sooo sooo much better.  It was, I’ll even say, the highlight of my trip – breakfast wins people over like that.

Quesitos (adapted from here)

Ingredients

1 package puff pastry, thawed

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

3 tbsp. powdered sugar

1 egg white

sugar, for sprinkling

honey, slightly warmed, for brushing on top

Method

1. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a small bowl.  Mix until the sugar is well incorporated into the cream cheese.  Place into the fridge until ready for use.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Roll out thawed puff pastry on a floured surface until it is a 12 x 12 square.  Divide the puff pastry into 12 equal squares.  Prick each piece with several fork marks.

4. Take the cream cheese mixture out of the fridge.  Spread 1 tablespoon measure along one edge of one square, leaving about a quarter inch of space on both sides.

5. Fold over edges, and then roll the puff pastry until the cream cheese mixture is completely enclosed.  Press edges to seal.  Repeat with remaining 11 squares.

6. Place pastries, seal side down, onto the baking sheet.

7. Brush each pastry with the egg white.  Sprinkle the top of each pastry with granulated sugar.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

9. Immediately move the pastries to a wire rack and brush with warmed honey to make the pastries glisten.

Posted in breakfast, sweet, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
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Sweet Potato Pudding Cake

November 18, 2010

You know what I love most about this time of year?  The color orange.  It’s everywhere!  I mean, besides the leaves changing to a bright saffron colored hue, it’s also the color of my favorite winter vegetables – sweet potatoes, and butternut squash and pumpkin!

With Thanksgiving only a week away, my favorite orange colored dish is just waiting to baked – pumpkin pie.  Nope, not the one with the fresh pumpkin where you add spices and sour cream or whipped egg whites, or cream or anything else that makes it absolutely divine.  I’m talking about the kind where the pumpkin and spices are already mixed for you in a can and you just pour it into a ready-made, store-bought crust.  Don’t judge.  It’s absolutely delicious and I wouldn’t want anything else for the holiday.

Needless to say, a post about canned pumpkin pie wouldn’t have cut it.  So I decided to step it up this year.  This sweet potato pudding cake has the texture of my beloved pumpkin pie, but a little more dense, a little less sweet and salutes my love affair with both the color orange and coconut.  It’s moist, luscious and has found a place next to my traditional pie on the Thanksgiving table.

Sweet Potato Pudding Cake (adapted from here)

Ingredients for Cake:
2-3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons coconut rum
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 large eggs
14 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Ingredients for topping:
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method
1. Cook sweet potatoes by baking in a 400 degree oven until tender (45 to 60 minutes).  Alternately, you can microwave the potatoes on high for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool, then remove the peel and mash potato until smooth.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9” round springform pan with cooking spray.

3. In a large mixing bowl,  beat mashed sweet potato and eggs until smooth and combined. Mix in coconut milk, brown sugar, rum and butter, blending  until combined.Sift in  dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Scoop mixture into prepared pan.

4. In a separate small bowl, stir together coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon – sprinkle over the top of the cake batter.

5. Bake cake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 to 75 minutes. Remove from the oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

6. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the pan and slowly remove side ring – let cake cool for an hour, then place into the refrigerator until cold, about 3 hours.

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