Category Archives: desserts

ZUPPA INGLESE

by carlina

zuppe-inglese.jpg

Ingredients:

For the Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk
zest of 1 lemon
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Sauce

2.5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

To Layer and Serve

24 lady fingers
1/2 cup vin santo
1 pint raspberries

Preparation:

Cream: Bring the milk and lemon zest to a boiling point. Remove from the heat. Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add the flour and vanilla as you beat and slowly beat in the hot milk. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes or until thick. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for two hours.

Chocolate Sauce: Melt the chocolate, cocoa and a ¼ cup of water. Remove from the heat and add the sugar while stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add the cream and stir more until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

To Layer: Apply 12 lady fingers in a dish, drizzle with a quarter vin santo. Apply 1/4 of the pastry cream followed by a layer of the chocolate sauce and top with another layer of the pastry cream. Make another layer in the same manner.

Refrigerate for 3 hours and garnish with raspberries.

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Photography by Frabattista

TRIPLE LAYER CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

by carlina

carrot-cake.jpg
Ingredients:

For the cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 cups finely grated peeled carrots (about 1 pound)
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 1/2 ounce)
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 8oz drained crushed pineapple
  • 1/2 cup coconut

For the frosting

  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Lightly grease waxed paper. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and vegetable oil in bowl until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into sugar and oil mixture. Stir in carrots, chopped pecans, raisins, coconut and pineapple.

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally.

Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 45 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature)

For frosting:

Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth and creamy.

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer.

Using icing spatula, spread remaining frosting in decorative swirls over sides and top of cake.

Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Serve cake cold or at room temperature.

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Photography by Stuart Spivak

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

by carlina

chocolate-pecan-pie.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 1 (3 1/2- to 4-ounces) fine-quality 60%- to 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate bar, finely chopped
  • Pastry dough
  • 2 cups pecan halves (7 ounces), toasted and cooled
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup dark corn syrup

For Pastry Dough

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Equipment: a pastry or bench scraper

Preparation:

Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a work surface. Divide dough into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring. Remove from heat.

Spread chocolate in bottom of pie shell with back of spoon and let it set, then cover with pecans. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl, then whisk in corn syrup and pour over pecans.

Bake pie until filling is puffed and crust is golden, 50 to 60 minutes. (If pie is browning too fast after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature. Serve with whipped cream.

Cooks’ note: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled, uncovered, until cool, then covered. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warm, about 10 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

From Gourmet | November 2007

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Photography by Stuart Spivak

APPLE and QUINCE CRISP with RUM RAISINS

by carlina

apple-quince-crisp.jpg

Ingredients:

For Rum Raisins

  • 1 1/2 cups raisins
  • 1 cup dark rum

For Crisp Topping

  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For Filling

  • 4 cups water
  • 3 1/2 cups sugar, divided
  • 2 pounds quinces (about 5 medium), peeled, quartered, cored
  • 4 large Gala apples, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Preparation:

For rum raisins: Simmer raisins and rum in small saucepan 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Ignite with match; let flames burn out, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons liquid to small bowl for crisp topping.

For crisp topping: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until butter is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Cool.

Mix flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl. Add browned butter and 2 tablespoons reserved liquid from rum raisins; stir until moist clumps form. DO AHEAD: Raisins and topping can be made 1 day ahead. Cover each; chill.

For filling: Combine 4 cups water and 3 cups sugar in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add quinces; simmer until tender, 15 minutes. Remove from syrup; cool. Reserve syrup for another use. Cut quinces into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to large bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add apples, lemon juice, flour, salt, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and rum raisin mixture to bowl with quinces; toss to blend. Transfer to baking dish. Crumble topping over.

Bake apple and quince crisp until golden and bubbling, about 55 minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 12 servings.

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Photography by Stuart Spivak

ZUCCHINI BREAD

by carlina

zucchini-bread.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in.

Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

CARROT CUPCAKES with MASCARPONE ICING

by carlina

carrot-cupcake.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbs. maple syrup or honey
  • 1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 7 Tbs. fresh orange juice, warmed
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

For the mascarpone icing

  • 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 4 oz. cold mascarpone or low-fat cream cheese
  • Strips of dried mango for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 10 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, maple syrup and orange zest until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the carrot.

In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. In another small bowl, stir together the orange juice and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two additions, alternating with the orange juice mixture in two additions until smooth. Do not overbeat or the cupcakes will be tough.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the cupcakes are risen and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a baking sheet and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the mascarpone icing, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest and mascarpone until blended.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them and garnish with strips of dried mango. Cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 10 cupcakes.

Adapted from New Healthy Kitchen Series, Desserts, by Annabel Langbein (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

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Photography by woohooitsallie

GINGER SCONES

by carlina

ginger-chocolate-scone.jpg

Ingredients:
  • 4 Cups flour
  • 1/2 Cup sugar
  • 1/2 Cup brown sugar — firmly packed
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 Teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 Teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 Cup unsalted butter — chilled and cut into small pieces
  • 1 Cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs — lightly beaten
  • 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 Teaspoon orange zest — grated
  • 10 Ounces semisweet chocolate — chopped
  • 1/2 Cup crystallized ginger — finely chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375. Combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor or bowl. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine next 4 ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture. Very gently stir until dough is just moistened and begins to cling together. Stir in chocolate and ginger. The less this dough is handled the better the results will be.

Drop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet in 1/3 cup amounts. Leave at least 1 inch between scones. Bake 15-17 minutes or until scones are golden. Cool on wire rack at least 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Serves 12.

NOTE – If you don’t have buttermilk handy, you can substitute as follows:
– take 1 cup of milk (or milk substitute like soy milk);
– add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar;
– allow the soured milk to stand for 10 minutes before adding to recipe.

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Photography by sirbrillig

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

by carlina

ricotta-cheesecake.jpg

Ingredients:
  • 3 pounds fresh ricotta
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup grated zwieback or biscotti
  • 1 teaspoon plus 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream or mascarpone, optional
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Your choice of additional flavorings like 1 teaspoon Dutch-process cocoa powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water, or 1/4 cup chopped citron or 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, etc.

Preparation:

Place the ricotta in a sieve over a bowl and let drain for 1 hour. Butter the bottom, sides and rim of a 3-inch-by-10-inch leakproof springform or plain round cake pan. Mix the grated zwieback crumbs with 1 teaspoon sugar and coat the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ricotta in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at low speed until smooth. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar. Continue to beat until mixture is very smooth. Beat in the optional cream or mascarpone, vanilla and any desired flavoring. Pour into the pan and smooth the top.

Place the pan inside a roasting pan whose sides are not higher than the cake pan and add warm water to the larger pan to within 1 inch of the top of the smaller pan. Place pans in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours, covering the top loosely with foil after 30 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature in the water bath. Lift pan out, dry it and remove the foil. Refrigerate overnight, and it will firm up.

To unmold, slide a thin knife around the cake edges. Release the sides of the springform pan. If using a plain cake pan, invert onto a large plate covered with plastic wrap, tap the bottom and the cake should slide out. (If it does not, soak a towel in hot water, wring it out and place it over the bottom and sides of the pan for 10 seconds.) Reinvert cake onto a platter. Refrigerate until serving.

Makes 12 servings.

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Photography by Stuart Spivak

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

by carlina

blueberry_cheesecake

Ingredients:

Shortbread base

  • 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

  • 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup blueberry or other fruit preserves
  • hot shortbread base

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 9 inch pie plate and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom.

Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

In a bowl whisk cream cheese until smooth and whisk in eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Evenly spread preserves over hot shortbread and pour cream-cheese mixture over it.

Bake in middle of oven at 350°F until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

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Photography by Balaji Dutt