DJL Dishes Dessert: Raspberry and Honey Cheesecake

So it's been awhile since my last Dish on Dessert, and it just so happens that this meeting for Culinary Club features recipes from Warren Brown's United Cakes of America.  The recipe I chose to attempt was his Raspberry & Honey Cheesecake representing the state of Wyoming.  I do have to say, Brown's assumptions about bakers are a wee bit on the presumptuous side (while I would LOVE to own one someday, not all hobby bakers can afford a stand mixer like a Kitchenaid).  Beyond that, I found a lot of his recipes very creative as representations of each state.  I haven't made a great many cheesecakes in my day, and this particular recipe sounded challenging without being TOO difficult.  On to the recipe!

Crust Ingredients:

- 5 oz. Graham crackers (9 full crackers)
- 3 tbsp Superfine granulated sugar
- 3/4 stick Unsalted butter melted
- 1/8 tsp Salt

Filling Ingredients:
- 16 oz Cream cheese
- 16 oz Fresh Goat cheese
- 1/2 cup Superfine granulated sugar
- 1/2 Crystallized or raw honey
- 4 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Sour cream
- 1/4 cup Heavy cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Raspberry puree (<--I substituted raspberry filling since I don't have a blender.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and place the rack in the middle position.  Grease a 9-by-3-inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. Crush the graham crackers in a bowl or food processor into very fine crumbs.

3. Using a fork, toss all the crust ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined.  Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.

4. Bake until fragrant, 10-12 minutes.  Set aside to cool while you make the filling.  Leave the oven on.
5. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cheese on medium speed to break up and soften them. (I used a hand mixer because I don't have a standing mixer.)
6. Reduce the mixer to slow speed and add the sugar and honey in 2 additions each, beating until they dissolve, about 3 minutes total.
7. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to combine before adding the next.
8. Mix the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla together until smooth.  Pour into the mixer slowly.

9. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.  Drizzle up to 1/4 cup of the raspberry puree randomly on the batter and swirl it with your finger.
10. Bake, uncovered, until the center of the cake is only slightly wobbly when the pan is shaken, about 1 hour.

11. Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
12. Cool the cake for 4 hours, until it reaches room temperature.  (It cracked because I didn't follow the recipe about the water bath, but it didn't make the cake any less delicious.)

13. Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.
14. Set the pan in warm water to loosen the cake.  Run an offset spatula around the edge if necessary.  Invert the cake onto a flat plate, then turn it right side up onto a decorative plate for serving.  Smooth out any tears on the sides with an offset spatula.  Add a cluster of raspberries to the top of the cheesecake if you like.

Well, the end results were received pleasantly at both the Culinary Book Club meeting on Wednesday and among the staff.  I wish I could have taken a picture of what the pan looked like following the library "feeding frenzy."  I was told that one of my work friends was scraping the crust that got stuck in the pan, which made me smile.  This is one recipe I wouldn't mind making again, but it's really a once in awhile recipe considering the price of fresh goat cheese.

Bon appetit! ^_^

DJL Dishes Dessert: Tiramisu

The first time I made this dish was two years ago for one of my coworkers who requested it as her birthday dessert.  My one problem at that time was locating lady fingers, the cookies that are the foundation of a tiramisu.  So I made due with what I could find and while the dessert was delicious, I wanted to make another one in the future.  My same awesome coworker asked for it this year, and I made sure to deliver.

Ingredients:


- 2 Tbsp of Maxwell House instant coffee
- 1 Tbsp of sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 pkg. (3 oz. each) ladyfingers, split & divided (I actually got two 6 oz. packages and used 9 oz.)
- 2 pkg. (8 oz.) Neufschatel cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups thawed whipped cream
- 1 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder


Directions:


1. Dissolve combine coffee granules and 1 Tbsp. sugar in boiling water. Arrange 1 pkg. ladyfingers on the bottom of 11x9-inch dish; brush with 1/2 cup coffee. (I spooned the coffee over the ladyfingers using a regular tea spoon.)


2. Beat Neufschatel cheese in a large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar; mix well. Whisk in whipped cream.


3. Spread half the Neufschatel cheese mixture over ladyfingers in dish; top with remaining ladyfingers. Brush with remaining coffee mixture; cover with remaining Neufschatel cheese mixture. Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Bon appetit!

DJL Dishes Dessert: Baked Indian Pudding

Recipe:  Baked Indian Pudding

Creator:  Mary at One Perfect Bite
The Dish:  Wow, it's been an even longer time since I've done a dish on dessert, and since my library had their International Potluck this past Monday, I just went for broke.  I'd heard about this dish on an episode of The Best I Ever Had on Food Network, and it looked... FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC.  So while I'm not Native American in any way, I wanted to try my hand at this dish.  It looks like a combination of a custard and a polenta and has a taste similar to pumpkin pie... and something else I can't quite place.  It's best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top, so far be it for me to deprive my coworkers by not bringing along some Blue Bell.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups of milk
- 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup cream (<--I actually substituted milk for this.)

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 300 degrees. In a sauce pan, bring 3 cups of milk to a boil. Mix 1 cup of cold milk with the cornmeal and stir slowly into the hot milk. Cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add butter, sugar, and molasses. Remove from heat. Add salt and spices. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of hot liquid to eggs, stirring constantly. Stir tempered eggs into cornmeal mixture.

3. Pour into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes during the first hour. After 1 hour, pour cream (or milk in my case) over top of pudding but do not stir. Continue cooking until top is set, 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer.

4. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Yields: 6-8 servings

It was delicious and my coworkers loved it, though some of them had it cold with the ice cream.  With the taste being similar to pumpkin pie, which is best served warm or cold, I think it's just a matter of preference.  Personally, I nuked mine and while runny, it was delicious.  I will have to make it again. 

DJL Dishes Dessert: Snowballs!

With this being a big season of baking, I thought it was time to deliver a new dish.  Now, this dish is pretty simple, thanks to the fabulous and creative Angie Dudley of Cake pop and Cake ball fame.  You all might know her as Bakerella from http://www.bakerella.com/.  Anyways, today we're dishing on, you guessed it, cake balls made into snowballs!

Snowball Cake Balls Recipe

Ingredients:


~ White cake prepared according to box mix
~ 1 canister of vanilla frosting
~ Blue and white candy melts
~ Blue and white sparkly sugar


Instructions:


~ Crumble the baked and cooled cake in a large bowl.  Be careful not to spill the crumbled cake out of the bowl while crumbling and crushing.
~ Add about 3/4 of the canister of vanilla frosting to the cake crumbles.
~ Mix well with a wooden spoon.  The mixture should have a slightly moist appearance.
~ On a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, roll cake mixture into 1-1.5 inch balls.
~ Place cake balls into refrigerator to help them set.


Coating Instructions:

~ Choose your color of candy melt (I picked white and blue for the winter theme).

~ Place candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute.

~ Stir melted candy coating with a fork or spoon until nice and smooth.

~ Take cake balls out of the refrigerator and add into the melted candy coating.

~ Roll the cake balls to coat evenly, using a pair of forks to remove excess coating.

~ Place the cake balls back on the cookie sheet, sprinkling sparkling sugar over the top.

~ Let the candy coating dry, then serve and enjoy!

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:  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!