Tag Archives: dessert

STRAWBERRY-ROSE FROZEN YOGURT

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A scoop of homemade Strawberry Rose Frozen Yogurt

Today’s Musings:
There’s a creature that sits upon my desk, just behind and to the left of my laptop. Completely at ease, he tucks his willowy left leg around to the right, and crosses his right leg over the other, as if preparing for a yogic Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated twist). One elbow sits atop his right knee, a pedestal for resting his head into his long, curved fingers, beaked nose and pointed chin framing his Cheshire grin. As he stares unblinkingly with his emerald eyes, and he always seems to be staring, I’m reminded of a harlequin…or the devil character in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.  He sits poised, grinning and watching, ready to make a comment lest I try to write. As my hands hesitate above the keyboard, he whispers, “You’re a fraud,” “You’re not a writer,” “Go back to baking where you belong.” 

For the last two weeks, I tried ignoring him, wishing that he’d leave, attempting to escape him in every possible way: writing in a new location, choosing a different time, trying a different form, yet he continued to appear. 

Late last week, I finally looked up into his viridian eyes. He removed his hawkish chin from his hands and straighten up.

“Yes, Little One?”

“Who ARE you and why are you here, day after day?”

“I have many names: Imposter Syndrome, Writer’s Block, That Niggling Voice in your Head. I really hate that last one. I’m contracted to sprinkle doubt on your every word. I’ll be here until the bitter end, no matter what you do,” he cooed.

“Can’t you HELP me, instead of just pointing out what I’m doing wrong?”

“I cannot. There’s a no-help clause in my contract.”

“Well, what if you continue doing your job: make me doubt a line, a paragraph, the entire idea of writing this book, but then you took a break? Say, maybe 20 minutes of quiet time to treat yourself for a job well done, like a frozen yogurt or something? Then I can take that reprieve to figure out a solution rather than becoming mired in my defeat.”

“Ooo…I DO like a good homemade FroYo,” he purred while his reptile tongue flicked around his lips.

“So, it’s a deal, then? FroYo for a kibitzing reprieve?”

“It, My Dear, is a definite deal!”

Today’s Recipe: 
I originally envisioned making Strawberry-Basil or Strawberry-Balsamic Frozen Yogurt, but when I spied the bottle of rosewater, I couldn’t resist. A rosy disposition (now that I’ve made friends with my inner critic) deserves a rosy treat.

Fresh Strawberry-Rose Frozen Yogurt

Reducing the strawberry juice provides a big impact to flavor, even if you are using bland store-bought strawberries.


Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
  • 4 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) rosewater
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. Using a food processor, coarsely chop strawberries. In a medium bowl, stir together chopped strawberries, ½ cup granulated sugar, and salt. Set aside for 45 minutes. Don’t wash the bowl of the food processor, you will be using it again in step 4.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together whole-milk Greek yogurt, remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, rosewater, and lemon juice. Set aside.
  3. After 45 minutes, strain juice from strawberries into a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, reduce strawberry juice to 4-5 tablespoons of syrup. Let cool.
  4. Return strawberries to the bowl of the food processor. Process until pureed and add to yogurt. Add slightly cooled strawberry syrup and combine well.
  5. Cover bowl and let rest in refrigerator for at least an hour, but overnight is preferred. Process frozen yogurt in your ice cream maker, following the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to a container and keep frozen.

My Favorite Apple Crumble

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An apple crumble with a corner eaten out.

TODAY’S MUSINGS:
I bake constantly, yet rarely do my bakes make it to this blog. I bake because I’m craving cookies at 11 p.m. I bake when I’m invited to a potluck. I bake to repurpose leftovers (duck breast pot pie, anyone?). I bake to add recipes to my long-overdue and upcoming cookbook. I bake to recipe test and test and test.

This dessert wasn’t originally slotted for this blog (so forgive the janky photo). A friend gave me five pounds of homegrown apples and most of them ended up in my belly unadulterated and “as is,” but there remained two pounds of apples that were extra tart – too tart even for a Two-bit Tart. I decided to make an apple crumble, a delicious and easy-peasy recipe for using up a surplus of apples with ingredients on hand.

The day prior,  my sister had visited to help  decorate the tree and, along with her,  she brought a bottle of Shanky’s Whip® whisky for us to sample, because, truly, what goes better with handling fragile glass ornaments on teeny-tiny hooks than copious amounts of alcohol? (Only one ornament was harmed during this endeavor). Since both of us bake, we began discussing the addition of Shanky’s Whip® in various desserts potentially improved with a slug of vanilla-caramel flavored booze.

So,  here I am baking up a quick apple crumble with a bottle of Shanky’s Whip® watching me from the kitchen counter – it seemed like the ideal time to test our dessert musings. I’ve been making apple crumbles and apple crisps since jr. high school. By far, this version was the best apple crumble I’ve ever eaten. So much so that, when I went to cut a large square to bring to my friend,  I realized there wasn’t a large square left – I had demolished ⅔ of the tray!

What made this version so special? It could be the homegrown, tart, ideal-for-baking apples; It might be the Shanky’s Whip®; further taste-testing is required for a definitive determination. In the meantime, try making your own version and let me know what you think

TODAY’S RECIPE:
You’d think this is a paid promo by Shanky’s Whip® Whiskey, but it’s not. My sister bought a bottle for the holidays and, after sampling a few glasses, both of us knew the warm caramel and vanilla notes would complement most cold-weather baked goods – We weren’t wrong.

An Apple Crumble before baking with a bottle of Shanky's Whip in the back

Apple Crumble

I’ve made more than my share of apple crisps and crumbles and this version tops the charts – tart apples, crunchy crumble, and plenty of warming cinnamon and vanilla. I prefer to peel my apples, but if you don’t mind apple peels in your dessert, feel free to leave them on.


Ingredients

    Crumble Topping
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
    • Apple Filling
  • 2-2 ½ lbs. tart apples, peeled (if desired) and roughly chopped
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 Tablespoons Shanky’s Whip Whisky® or 2 Tablespoons Brandy and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8” square baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and Kosher salt. Pour in melted butter and stir until fully combined. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, Stir together chopped apples, granulated sugar, cornstarch, Shanky’s Whip Whisky®, cinnamon, and Kosher salt. Pour Apple filling into the 8” square baking pan and crumble topping over apples.
  3. Bake for approximately 40 minutes until apple filling is bubbling and crumble topping is beginning to brown. Cool slightly and serve warm, but not hot.

Gourmet No-Bake Banana Split Cake

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A slice of banana split cake on a white plate with the entire cake in the background

PINEAPPLE CONFESSIONS:
Never have I ever dissected a whole pineapple.  Me – the woman who whips up her own marshmallows, won’t buy jarred caramel sauce when homemade tastes so much better, who measures out and combines 16 ingredients over 2 days to concoct her own vermouth  recipe – can’t be bothered to dismember an innocuous pineapple.  In the produce section, faced with the choice of intact pineapple or flayed and filleted cylinder,  I’ve always chosen the latter,  gladly plonking down a few extra quid for the convenience.  During my childhood, we often enjoyed fresh pineapple in our home on Nutwood street.  I remember mom deftly slicing off crown and bottom,  paring off the skin, gouging out the brown eyes, carving the pineapple carcass into equal disks, removing the core,  and then ultimately chopping the remaining succulent flesh into chunks to be devoured after dinner.  My mouth would water at the sweet, tart, tropical scent wafting from the kitchen.  To assuage my longing to savor a hunk of the golden flesh,  mom would hand me scraps of the core to suck and gnaw on while she worked.  A poor surrogate for the fleshy real McCoy, these woody nobs with mere hints of juicy tartness managed to sate my desire until after I had cleaned my dinner plate.  Perhaps watching mom wrestle with this bromeliad beast turned me off from the dismemberment process.   It’s always seemed like too much work and  too much waste compared to the juicy payoff.  I was faced with this pineapple dilemma when purchasing ingredients for the following recipe.  Convenience won out again. 

TODAY’S RECIPE:
With another nod to edible nostalgia,  I’ve whipped up one more sweet treat from my childhood.  The actual name of this dessert is “Banana Split Cake,”  but, growing up, it was known around our house as “Happy Easter Cake,” because mom would often serve this dessert after Easter dinner, spelling out “Happy Easter” with garishly bright red maraschino cherries on the top.  My favorite part of this cake was the decadent second layer, which I believed to be pure butter and confectioners’ sugar – should I be relieved to know now that it also contained cream cheese to, um, cut the richness?  Always one to gild the lily,  I’ve spiffed up mom’s recipe substituting fresh pineapple for the original canned, freshly whipped cream for Cool Whip®, luxurious Luxardo maraschino cherries for the grocery store variety, and I toasted the raw pecans. 


Gourmet No-Bake Banana Split Cake

Close your eyes and take a bite. You’ll be reminded of a banana split when the ice cream begins to melt and the flavors meld. For a twist, my mom added a layer of tart, homemade raspberry jam between the banana and pineapple layer for an added jolt of color and flavor. I've kept it out of this version.


Ingredients

    Crust
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 full sheets of crackers)
  • pinch salt
    • Filling
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ cups finely chopped fresh pineapple, well drained
  • 4 ripe bananas, sliced
  • 1 ½ cups whipping cream
  • 2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 16 Luxardo maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled

Directions

  1. Melt ½ cup (1 stick) butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs and salt. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9×13” pan.
  2. Beat together remaining ½ cup (1 stick) butter with cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and salt 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Spread evenly over graham cracker crust. Layer with chopped pineapple then bananas.
  3. Whip whipping cream with 2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar. Cover bananas with whipped cream and garnish with Luxardo maraschino cherries and chopped pecan.
  4. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Raspberry Red Velvet Cake

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Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ambiguity. His clever, well-crafted emails arrive in her mailbox daily, sounding a bit flirty, yet remaining maddeningly ambiguous. Until she sees him again — wrapped in a young, blowsy blonde, replete with pert, up-turned nose and sparkly cell phone case.

Now she knows. Ambiguous no more.

Ambiguity. She’s discussing red velvet cake with a coworker. Or, more precisely, red velvet cake doughnuts. She’s never understood the passion for the insipid flavor of red velvet anything. “Close your eyes,” she says, “and what do you really taste? It’s not chocolate; the cocoa powder is too minimal. It’s perhaps uniquely tart – but is that necessarily a good thing? What flavor makes it so adored?” Her coworker thinks it contains raspberries – no, the luxurious red comes from food coloring these days or beets, non-Dutched cocoa in the past. Not a berry to be found.

‘But couldn’t you,” he asked, “remake it in your style? With chocolate and raspberries and cream cheese frosting?”

Yes, she could. It wouldn’t be red velvet cake anymore, but something different, richer, more flavorful, and utterly her.

Her Red Velvet – ambiguous no more.


Raspberry Red Velvet Cake

  • Servings: One 8-inch Cake
  • Print

Whether this a truly a red velvet cake depends on what defines red velvet for you. This one contains rich, dark, moist chocolate cake with a hint of raspberry and lashings of cream cheese frosting and is anything but ambiguous with flavor.


Ingredients

    Cake
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1.2 oz. package freeze-dried raspberries, crushed to a powder (I buy mine at Trader Joe’s)
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ teaspoons red food coloring
    • Raspberry Jam
  • 4 oz. package frozen raspberries
  • ½ cup sugar
    • Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, chilled
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter the parchment and dust with flour.
  2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, coffee, and salt. Stir in the dried raspberries (reserving a bit for decoration, if desired).
  3. Combine together water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients (the mixture will be very wet).
  4. Working quickly, divide batter between pans and bake for 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, invert onto cooling racks and cool completely.
  5. Meanwhile, make raspberry jam. Combine the frozen raspberries and sugar in a deep-sided saucepan and bring to boil over a medium heat. When the sugar is melted, boil for another 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool and set.
  6. To make frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until creamy.
  7. Sandwich cake with plenty of cream cheese frosting and raspberry jam. Cover top and sides with remaining frosting. Chill until ready to serve.

Autumn Apple Cake

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Apples, cinnamon and rum-soaked raisins capture autumn in this moist Bundt cake. Coffee cake? Snack cake? Impressive post-meal dessert? It works for all three – you decide.

Autumn Apple cake on a bed of fallen leaves

Autumn in L.A.

Feigning Hollywood starlet ennui, tanned summer leaves serenely suicide from weary trees, “Too hot,” they lament, “I cannot stay a moment longer.”  L.A. subtly shifts into autumn, leaving paroxysms of sunset hues to the other coast.


Autumn Apple Cake

Adapted from Richardson’s Canal House Inn apple raisin cake.


Ingredients

    Cake
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup dark spiced rum
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cut into ½” dice
    • Glaze and Icing
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan, knocking out excess flour. Combine golden raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Set aside and let soak.
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together oil, eggs, sugars, and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in apples and drained golden raisins. Spoon batter into pan.
  3. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 75 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes and then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
  4. In a small saucepan, combine unsalted butter, brown sugar and honey and heat on medium until sugar is completely melted and glaze is thickened and bubbling. Brush over top and sides of cake. Combine powdered sugar with enough water to make a glaze and drizzle over cake. Serve plain of with sweetened whipped cream

Sliced Autumn Apple Cake