DJL Dishes Dessert: Fresh Peach Cake

As a librarian, I participate in helping to create programs for my library, and one of the topics that was discussed during this year's meeting was a Cookbook Club.  Everyone in the Adult Service department said I would be the best candidate to mediate such a club.  So now, it has finally become a reality only it is no longer a Cookbook Club but a Culinary Club for all types of Foodies, or people who love food.  I started off the meeting with two different recipes one from each book I had for discussion, and I must say I'm happy with the Fresh Peach Cake from the Barefoot Contessa herself.  The picture below is not of my cake, alas we didn't have a camera to take a picture, but it does look scrumptious. ^_^

Recipe Title:  Fresh Peach Cake
Creator:  Ina Garten
From:  Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (substituted 16 oz. of frozen peaches)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch-square baking pan.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. (Note: Since I do not have a sifter, I used a colander and gently sifted the dry ingredients through the bottom.) With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

3.  Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.
4.  Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The "foodies" of the library's new club did enjoy it, and I will most likely keep this recipe in my arsenal for the future, especially for potlucks. ^_^

DJL Dishes Dessert: Whoopie Pies!

Title:  Whoopie Pies
Creator:  *Parsley*
The Dish:  It's been awhile since I've dished on dessert, and I thought it was the perfect time for making whoopie pies!  What is a whoopie pie?  To look at one, you'd think it was a giant version of an Oreo cookie, but it's really so much more than that.  A whoopie pie is a nice layer of creamy vanilla filling sandwiched between two almost cake-like chocolate cookies.  They are so much fun to eat and fun to make as well, especially when you have a recipe like this one provided online by the above creator.  I have used other recipes, but because of food avoidances by several of my coworkers I wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy these delightful treats.  So I searched for a recipe that didn't make use of either shortening, marshmallow cream, or gelatin, which did take a bit of searching.  However, I was able to find this gem of a recipe which I'm going to list below.

Ingredients:
Whoopie Pie:
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoon vegetable oil or canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup baking cocoa (I used Nestle unsweetened cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons milk

Cream Filling:
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 4 tablespoons butter (that's half a stick)
- 3 to 3 1/4 cups of confectioners' sugar (I used about 3 cups of powdered sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly coat cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

2. For whoopie pies: In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and oil until crumbly.  Add eggs and beat well.  In a separate small mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

3. Gradually beat flour mixture into sugar mixture.  Add milk and mix together well.

4. With lightly floured hands (or damp hands as I did), roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  (I took a bit of liberty with this and formed them into 1-inch balls.)  Place 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Flatten balls slightly with bottom of lightly greased flat-bottom glass.  (On this one, I just lightly pressed them down with my fingers.)

5. Bake at 425 degrees for 5-6 minutes or until tops are cracked.  Cool for 3 minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

6. Filling: In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and confectioners' sugar.  Beat in milk and vanilla extract until fluffy.  (I actually had to add another tablespoon of milk here since the filling seemed a bit too thick, but that will vary on how each person prepares the recipe. ^_^)

7. Pipe filling using pastry bag (or spread with knife, though I used a small spoon to add the filling) on to flat bottom of cooled whoopie pie and top with another whoopie pie to make a sandwich.

Here are mine already packed and ready to take with me to work on Monday!

Although the filling was rather sweet, the cookies really do help to balance out the sweetness.  Overall, this was one of the best whoopie pie recipes I've used, and I highly recommend it for anyone to use.  I can't wait to see how my coworkers like them on Monday.

Bon appetit!

DJL Dishes Dessert!

Title:  Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
The Dish:  Fall is one of my favorite times of year, mostly because of 2 things: the change in the weather from hot to cool and the appearance of pumpkin products on the shelves.  I'm a big fan of pumpkin dishes, mostly in the way of desserts, but I wouldn't mind trying something savory with pumpkin sometime.  For now, though I'll stick with the sweet side of pumpkin.

Speaking of which, there is nothing quite as sweet or decadent as cheesecake, and when you combine that with the awesome flavor of autumn that is pumpkin, people get one amazing tour for the senses.  There is just something about using pumpkin in something as rich and sumptuous as cheesecake that just makes my mouth water.  I found this recipe on Kraft Foods and decided to make it for a special occasion at work, so here's hoping that everyone will enjoy it!

Ingredients:
-25 NABISCO Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

-1/2 cup  finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

-1/4 cup butter, melted

-4 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

-1 cup sugar, divided

-1 tsp.  vanilla

-4 eggs

-1 cup  canned pumpkin

-1 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/4 tsp.  ground nutmeg

-Dash ground cloves

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix crumbs, melted butter, and pecans, pressing the mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Use   

either a 13x9 inch rectangle pan or a 9-inch spring-form pan.

3. Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup of sugar, and vanilla using a mixer until just blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg until just blended.  Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter and set aside.  Stir in remaining sugar, pumpkin, and spices into remaining batter. 

4. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter onto crust, topping with spoonfuls of the plain batter.  Repeat layers, and then swirl with a knife. 

5. Bake for 45 minutes (with 13x9 inch pan) or 55 minutes to 1 hour and 5 minutes (with spring-form pan) until center is almost set.  Cool completely.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

DJL Dishes Dessert!

Title:  Pecan Truffles

The Dish:  Now, I'm a huge fan of truffles, of course what gal doesn't love a smooth chocolate ganache coated in a chocolate shell?  I have tried a variety of different truffles from many different confectionary stores and chocolateries, and one day I decided to try making them myself.  After finding a simple recipe (which most truffle recipes are fairly simple at least when it comes to a basic chocolate truffle), I and several friends found them to be a delicious success.  Even my beau, who originally thought all truffles tasted like liquor and thus didn't like them, loved these truffles and made a white chocolate variation. 

Recently, I began thinking about how I could possibly do a twist to the recipe to see what new flavors I could create.  Being from the south, I first thought about pecans.  I realize that most truffles are supposed to be smooth in texture, but with pecans I thought it would make a nice nutty flavor that people would like.  So I came up with a means to do pecan truffles.  They were well-received at my library, and I cannot wait to make them again. 

Ingredients:
8 ounces of Neufschatel cream cheese
18 ounce package of Oreos
1 cup chopped pecans (make sure not to chop them into coarse pecan butter)
10 squares Baker's chocolate
30-40 pecan halves

Directions: 
- Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.
- Crush the Oreos into fine crumbs either using a food chopper or placing them in a large Ziploc bag and using a meat tenderizer or your hands.  A rolling pin works wonders too.
- Combine the Oreo crumbs and chopped pecans with the cream cheese until all are combined into a thick ganache.
- Scoop out a spoonful of the ganache and roll into about a 2-inch ball, placing the ball onto the cookie sheet.  Repeat until the ganache is gone.
- Unwrap and melt the Baker's chocolate squares according to the instructions on the box.  (I use the microwave since I don't have a double-boiler.)
- Drop the ganache balls into the melted chocolate and roll until coated.  Remove the covered balls and place back on the cookie sheet.  You can remove them either by hand if you have plastic gloves or using two forks to help drain the excess chocolate from the truffles.
- Take the pecan halves and set one on the top of each truffle, pressing down to make sure the pecan will stick to the chocolate.
- Place the truffles into the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or until the coating has hardened.

You can use these as gifts or just enjoy them among family and friends.  The texture of the pecan truffles is almost similar to a moist brownie bite, so bon appetit!