Chocolate Meringues and Lemon Meringues

I made Lemon Meringues and right after they went into the oven, I made Chocolate Meringues. I have not had great success with egg whites in the past but I was up for the challenge.

The lemon meringues required a little stove time for lemon juice, powdered sugar, cornstarch and water to firm up. I think that mine got too firm, as it was difficult to stir into the egg whites.

The lemon meringues browned too quickly in the oven and I had to take them out early. The result was fairly chewy meringues. The lemon part did not mix in well, as I had expected, and there were globs of lemon throughout. Definitely not a successful recipe.

The chocolate meringues, on the other hand, went much better! The egg whites mixed perfectly with cocoa powder and powdered sugar. The meringues baked for the full two and a half hours and were crunchy and uniform when I tasted them.

Ginger Brandy Cheesecake

Ginger Brandy Cheesecake was the featured dessert for Friday night's family dinner.  I had been wanting to make this dessert for some time, but really needed a nice show of people since the cake is quite big. Making a rich cheesecake just doesn't make much sense when there aren't many mouths around!

First thing's first: I ground up gingersnap cookies in the food processor. I used Trader Joe's Triple Ginger cookies and highly recommend them! I mixed the cookies with melted butter and pressed them into a 10" springform pan.

There is a little bit of brandy in the filling and the glaze of this cake. At first, I planned to omit this from the recipe, since I didn't have any brandy and didn't really feel a pull to go buy some. Instead, I sniffed around and low and behold ... found some Apple Brandy!

The cake baked. It was glossy and firm when it came out.

While the cake cooled, Charlie and I squeezed fresh oranges to make juice for the glaze.

The glaze cooked on the stove: cornstarch, orange juice, fresh orange zest, sugar, and brandy.

I sliced up spicy bits of crystallized ginger for the top.

And decorated it with the hot glaze and ginger candies.

All in all, I'd say this cheesecake was a glorious success. I loved the crust and the filling wasn't too sweet. Next time I might try making it in a smaller springform pan, just so it's a little taller. I am so glad I could share this wonderful treat with my family!

Fruited Yogurt Desserts

This is a simple dessert recipe that really anyone can do! Even you beginners!  I made Fruited Yogurt Desserts this afternoon for a healthy snack.

I began by gathering my ingredients: plain yogurt, blueberries, a banana, and agave syrup.

I get my agave syrup from a local company called Uncle Harry's Natural Products. If you have a moment, you should really check them out.  Uncle Harry's has some amazing stuff! I love the All Natural Tooth Powder and Monoi Tiare Oil. They also just started a twitter, which updates with sassy and smart tidbits!

I digress. Back to this yogurt delight: put a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt in a bowl. Peel and slice banana into coins and add it the bowl. Sprinkle blueberries into the bowl. Drizzle with about half a tablespoon of agave nectar. Stir and ENJOY! Or else! 

This isn't rocket science folks! Fruited Yogurt Desserts are yummy. I had to modify mine a bit from the original recipe due to a lack of certain fruits being in season and certain sweeteners not being a staple in my home. A flexible recipe for sure.

Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding

An afternoon treat for this terrible dark and drizzly Friday afternoon: Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding! Now, a moment of honesty... I didn't believe it when I read Mollie's description for this dessert: "transcendent served warm, with ice cream!" Really?! Could some simple dessert distract me from these January blues? I was willing to give a it a try, but with a killer headache, unrelenting damp darkness, and a stack of homework calling my name, I was a skeptic.

Anyways, here's the nitty gritty. I cubed a few cups of white bread. I used some recently purchased but not totally awesome organic white bread hamburger buns. I whisked eggs and milk and salt and vanilla. I poured the custard over the cubes of bread. Paused for a moment. Gazed outside at the drear. Looked down at the uncooked bread pudding... and realized I forgot an essential ingredient! SUGAR! I had to improvise a little bit here.  I thought about sprinkling the sugar on top of the bread pudding, but instead I just poured everything out, added the sugar, and mixed it with a spoon.  It actually turned out OK and was only a little bit hard to get out of the pan. Next time I will spray with some nonstick cooking spray beforehand.

I served the bread pudding with some canned peach slices and it was quite nice. The bread pudding reminded me of French toast, only baked. And I have to admit, there was a moment where I was able to push aside the rain, the school stress, and the ache in my brain and make room for this warm, tasty dessert.

Blueberry Pie

This is a pretty standard Blueberry Pie recipe, but of course I had to complicate it a little bit. I had never made a lattice pie prior to this and was determined to try it. The only problem was... I only had one crust to work with!

I started by tracing the bottom of the pie pan into the unbaked crust. Instead of having a full crust on the bottom of the pie, I just had enough to cover the bottommost circle.

Then I made the filling for the pie. By some miracle from God, I had exactly four cups of frozen blueberries in my freezer! Amazing!  I zested a lemon, squeezed its juicy goodness in there, and added flour and sugar. I love the way the blueberry juice made everything sort of hazy pink once combined.

Then it was time to assemble the lattice!  Using the remaining pie crust, I rolled it out and sliced thin lines. I used to study my mom's Betty Crocker cookbook as a little girl, and I as I worked, I could see the black and white photo instructions for making a lattice pie crust in my mind. I think it turned out just right, especially for my first time!

And how did it taste!? Pretty darn spectacular. I especially loved the lemon zest. I think blueberry and lemon and lattice are a match made in heaven!

Maple-Walnut Pie

Maple-Walnut Pie was one of two pies we served on Thanksgiving. This pie was very similar to pecan pie in both appearance and composition. Instead of whole pecans, I filled the pie crust with chopped walnut pieces. I used an electric mixer to combine eggs, pure maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt. After pouring this mixture on top of the walnuts, I baked the pie in the oven until the center was firm.

I gave this pie a chance, even though I do not rate walnuts high on my nut list. It was OK. A little bitter (because of the walnuts) and a little too sacchariny sweet (because of the maple syrup). I do not think I will make this pie again, although it was a nice addition to our holiday meal.

No-Fault Pumpkin Pie

 Boo!

No-Fault Pumpkin Pie, as the name implies, is a very easy recipe!  I chose not to do mine in a pie crust.  I think pie crust is kinda gross.  Everything into one big bowl and mix it up. Pumkpin puree, evaporated milk, spices, molasses, brown sugar, and eggs.

Blend it up and bake in the oven! Strangely, I am allergic to pumpkins. I had a little taste though, and this was a really spicy, super pumpkin flavored pie. It was really delicious and if I didn't have an allergy, I would eat it all up! Happy Halloween!

Banana Bread

Some of my favorite moments are ones spent all alone; a hot mug of milky tea, Harry Nilsson crooning in the background, creating a kitchen sink of a recipe like Banana Bread.

There's a lot going on here folks: a sesame seed coated loaf pan, super ripe bananas soaked in strong coffee, vanilla extract, almond extract, orange zest, and a beautiful variety of spices.

When I told Charlie I was making banana bread, he said he was excited for the chocolate chips! (Homedude LOVES chocolate). I realized the recipe didn't call for them, but it appears that even Ms. Mollie herself likes to add them, so I did too.

Carrot Cake

This dense and spicy Carrot Cake was fantastic. I halved the recipe, as the original made two loaves. Ingredients included shredded carrot, lemon zest, lemon juice, brown sugar, butter, raisins, cinnamon, and allspice. I also lined the loaf pan with poppy seeds, which seemed like a groovy idea at the time, but made the crust of the cake really hard. I don't think I'll do it again!

The inside of the cake didn't cook completely, no matter how long I kept it in the oven. I'm not sure if that was an issue with my appliance... or just a stubborn loaf of bread.  Either way, this cake, which seems more like a bread, still seems like a success!

Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel was a delicate and complex process.  I have skipped over this recipe for a while, but because it contains such perfect autumn ingredients, I decided that today I would finally do it.

First, I layered sheets of filo dough brushed with melted butter.

Then I filled the dough with the good stuff: apples, lemon zest, cinnamon, raisins, sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. 

This recipe made three rolls of strudel. I baked one off today and saved the other two for this weekend.  This one has cheddar cheese in it!  After placing the filling, I folded up the sides of the filo dough.

Then I rolled the whole thing up and brushed it with melted butter!

The strudel baked and baked, and started getting brown pretty quick. 

 

Next time I will cook it at a lower temperature for a little longer, as the outside was really done, but the apples were not completely soft. 

 

Apricot Almond Bread

Apricot Almond Bread is the perfect treat for someone who doesn't like their sweets too sweet. The bread has apricots and a little maple syrup but beyond that, nothing to make it really sugary. I was concerned that the almonds would be too overpowering and too tough to crunch, but the sliced almonds gave it a tender touch of crispiness.

First I softened the apricots on the stove in simmering water. I added butter, maple syrup, orange zest, an egg, flour, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt to the bowl.


Then I baked the loaf for a little over an hour. It came out beautifully; brown and crisp on top and tender in the center of each slice.


My favorite part of the process was inverting the loaf of bread onto a wire rack. I get such a satisfaction out of taking something whole like that, stressing it out, and keeping it whole. See little loaf, I knew you could do it. You're fine! Pleasing to my core.

Second only to inverting is slathering the finished product in butter and consuming.

Iced Carob Brownies

Before you get all excited about these... these Iced Carob Brownies... you have to understand what carob is. It isn't chocolate. It doesn't taste like chocolate. To me, the taste is more like deep, rich, complicated molasses.


The only similarity between carob and chocolate are the dark, rich, color. While making these brownies, I was reminded of dark chocolate, because of how dark the batter became as I mixed it together.


After combining the batter ingredients, I added some currants and a dash of allspice, and the pan went into the oven.


After letting the pan cool, I spread frosting over the top. The frosting was carob, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. I thought the frosting was too tangy and didn't match the cake very well. I don't know that I would make this recipe again. While I find carob to be a palatable flavor, it's not something I crave. This cake was a bit dry and thick.

Montana's Mom's Dynamite Cheesecake

I made Montana's Mom's Dynamite Cheesecake today, but it won't be consumed until Sunday. This'll give the cake plenty of time to set and me plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine outside!

I made the cheesecake in a 10" spring form pan. The crust is a simple graham cracker and melted butter concoction. The filling is cream cheese, eggs, white sugar, vanilla, fresh lemon juice, and lemon rind. It was a little lumpy, which worries me, but the scent of lemon and vanilla was pretty spectacular.

After baking this, I let the cake cool and spread on the topping: sour cream, vanilla, and sugar. Mmm! It's like a yogurt cup for grownups. Bake the cheesecake a little longer, then wrapped it up. It's in the refrigerator now... my mom is having a party on Sunday and will serve it then. Guess we'll have to wait until Sunday to see what the consensus is!

Berry Ice

It's finally summer in Seattle! I've been wanting to make Berry Ice for some time, and today was finally the day.

First, you blend blackberries with a little sugar and lemon juice in the blender. Then you strain the blended mixture to separate out and discard the seeds. I poured the smooth mixture into a container and left in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Stirred, left it for another 30 minutes. Then, I tasted it! So fruity and divine. Cooling and sweet. Love at first bite!

Cardamom Coffee Cake

Mmm, I do love a coffee cake! Cardamom Coffee Cake was dense and rich, spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. The original recipe called for 4 sticks of butter and 2 cups of brown sugar... yikes! I halved this recipe, filled two 9-inch cake pans, and the results were divine. I was worried that there would be trouble transferring the cake out of the pan, but the flip was executed beautifully.


Cardamom was a new spice for me; something I had never baked with before. It's quite aromatic and reminds me of ginger and roses. It definitely gave this cake a depth I had never experienced before. I can't wait to try some cardamom in drip coffee, per PCC's recommendation. Just sprinkle a little in with the grounds before you make drip coffee for an extra hint of spicy flavor!

Yogurt Pie with Berry Sauce

I was able to check three recipes off my list with this go around: Yogurt Cheese, Yogurt Pie, and Berry Sauce.

Yogurt Cheese is made from a regular batch of yogurt, which is left to strain overnight. The result is extra rich and creamy yogurt. It taste like Greek yogurt but isn't nearly as fattening!


Yogurt Pie uses yogurt cheese with a little sugar and vanilla mixed in. I poured this into a sweet crumb crust and served it with Berry Sauce. I spilled about a third of this sauce, a third of it got stuck in the strainer, and the last third was used to drizzle on individual slices of Yogurt Pie. This pie is RICH but doesn't make me feel nearly as guilty as cheesecake.

(My apologies for the crappy photos in this post. I dunno what the deal is!)