Tag: Desserts

Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Fudge Pie

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We are having some friends over tonight for dinner. When I was thinking about what we would have for dessert, this recipe popped in my mind from many years ago. My sister-in-law at that time, had developed a recipe that we had hoped would be exactly like the fudge pie we always ordered at a restaurant there in Corpus. After many attempts, this is the recipe that she finally thought would give us that same flavor. We top it with whipped cream and just used a chocolate crumb pie shell to make it even easier. It is a one bowl fudgy flavored great recipe…easy and yummy….get the whipped cream ready.

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tables flour

2 tables cornstarch

3 teas unsweetened cocoa

2 tables water

1 1/2 tables melted butter

2 eggs

1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

1/2 cup coconut

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 teas vanilla

1 unbaked pie shell (I use the Keebler Chocolate Crumb shell)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and cocoa. Add water, melted butter and whisk until mixed well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk, vanilla, coconut and nuts. Mix until combined. Pour into pastry shell and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until firm to the touch.  Cool completely and top with whipped cream.

Desserts

Caramelized Banana Pudding

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NYMother's Banana Pudding
NYMother’s Banana Pudding

Taken From Southern Living Comfort Food Recipes.

Am making this for dinner tomorrow night for dinner. Love the combination of bananas and caramel.

1/2 cup firmly light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teas ground cinnamon

4 large ripe bananas, sliced

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup four

2 large eggs

2 cups milk

4 large eggs, separated

2 teas vanilla

48 vanilla wafers (I am using a package of Keebler Shortbread cookies, crushed)

Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly for 2-3 min or until bubbly. Add bananas; cook 2-3 min or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and set aside.

whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar and next 3 ingredients and 4 egg yolks in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly 8-10 min or until a pudding-like thickness. Mixture will just begin to bubble and will hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Divide half of banana mixture, pudding and wafers among 8 (1 cup) ramekins or ovenproof glass dishes. Layer with remaining banana mixture, pudding and wafers (or crushed cookies)

If topping with meringue, beat the 4 egg whites at high speed with mixer until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tables at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved (2-4 min). Spread meringue over ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

Bake at 325 for 15-20 min or until meringue is golden. Let cool on a wire rack 30 min before serving.

*I will use whipped cream instead of the meringue….we need all the fat content and calories we can get. We haven’t had our quota of cholesterol yet this week, as we substituted sliced tomatoes tonight for our normal fat-laden dressing soaked salad.

Chocolate · Cookies · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

German Chocolate Thumbprints

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At church today our teacher in our Sunday School class was talking about how spoiled his kids were and  told us that “IF” (and believe me he doesn’t) but “IF” he believed in reincarnation, he would want to come back as one of his children. I started to think about that and realized that it would be great to come back as one of our grandchildren. We had lunch today with our 10 yr old grandson and I got him in trouble by handing him a giant Hershey bar as soon as we sat down. Of course he immediately unwrapped it and began to chomp away on it before his dad saw it and fussed at him for eating it before having something “healthy”. I don’t think you can qualify Mexican food as “healthy” but since all Sevy had had all day was donuts and now candy, I guess the Mexican food was a little better than what he had eaten all day. All this to say that when you think about how we Baby Boomers totally spoil our grandkids, it would be great to come back as one of them.  But since we won’t be coming back as anyone or anything, I think I will just go ahead and eat all the chocolate I can now.

Hence the recipe…

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 table shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tables strong coffee (brewed)

1 teas vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tables baking cocoa

1 teas baking powder

1/4 teas salt

Filling:

3/4 cup flaked coconut

3/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1 teas vanilla

4 to 6 tables sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)

Drizzle:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tables shortening

Preheat oven to 350.

In a microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, coffee, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Using a Thumbie (which you can by on Etsy for $5.00 in the chocolatecastles store), make an indention in the center of each ball. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a small bowl, combine the coconut, pecans and vanilla. Stir in enough of the sweetened milk to form a stiff mixture. Fill cooled cookies with filling (about a teas each). Melt chocolate chips and the shortening for the drizzle and then drizzle over the cookies. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: about 4 dozen

Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

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The pumpkins are out and am excited to find new delish ways to make use of them. I do remember the first year that Peter Pumpkin and I were married, I ask him to take me to the pumpkin patch down at Farmer’s market to pick out the perfect pumpkin that would adorn our porch. When we found it, I was so excited. There in the car seat beside us would be the first pumpkin that we had picked out and bought together. When “she” became (yes, it became a she as I named her Penny pumpkin), should we say a little decayed, ok, rotten, I ask him to bury her in our yard so we would always have  her with us. I do seem to get attached to things. He knew that if he buried her in our yard,  we would have a yard full of pumpkin ivy the next year, so he had just thrown her over the fence, and came in and told me he had taken care of her.  I didn’t bake any pumpkin dishes for a few days, just out of memory of Penny.  He didn’t tell me that until years later when we were in the heat of an argument how he had really “taken care of Penny” when he blurted out the words, “oh, and remember the year you told me to go bury Penny in our yard, well, I didn’t, I just threw her over the fence!” How cruel can a husband be??? So from that point on, I knew that this was not a man I could trust….I don’t let him pack away all my snowmen at Christmas now either, I just can’t take the chance. So, in honor of Penny,  here is a recipe that I found in a 2010 Taste of Home that I am making this weekend.

2 cups finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies (I will use Lorna Dune)

1 tables flour

3 tables butter, melted (as if the cookies don’t have enough in them already)

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-packed pumpkin

3 tables flour

1 tables milk

1 teas ground cinnamon

1/4 teas each: ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves

3 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, flour and 3 tables melted butter; press into an ungreased 9″ deep-dish pie pan. Bake at 350 for 9-11 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-50 min or until center is almost set. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 min to prevent overbrowning if necessary* (see below).  Refrigerate for at last 4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream

*an easy way to cover edges is to place the pie plate on a piece of foil that is large enough to lap over the edges when it is brought up around them. I go ahead and do this at the beginning of the baking as it is so much easier to do this before dish is hot, then just remove the foil from the edges, leaving it under the pie, to finish baking about 25-30 min before pie is done.

 

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit

Whiskey Cake (Or If you are a Bapt, like me, we like to refer to it as a Cake With a Kick)

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This summer we have had to adjust to living back in Texas, which means that we stay in the house alot. At our age, dealing with heat just means that you learn where the coolest (and I don’t mean “hip”) stores in town are and where the closest ice cream shop is located. Some of our kids are coming to dinner tonight and they had requested that we have whiskey cake for dessert. Mandy and Cameron have taken me to Whiskey Cake on several occasions for us to have that dessert and I told them that I was determined to find the recipe for it. Wa La, lo and behold, the chef at WC was featured in the Dallas paper with his recipe for this amazing cake, which the restaurant has been named having the best dessert for 4 yrs in a row, according to the article. So tonight is the unveiling of this creation that I hope resembles the “real thing”. It takes some time, but since I “don’t have a life”, as our kids seem to think, what else do I have to do but spend hours in the kitchen making any and all of their request. Oops, I guess that didn’t sound very nice. I just hope they remember this when it comes to them picking out my nursing home.
The recipe does take about an hour, but it truly is so worth it.
And for all you Baptist out there, if you decide to bake it for dessert when you are having the preacher over, it will be our little secret what’s in it.

1 lb of dates, chopped
(I buy the chopped dates in the box that are coated in sugar and it worked great.)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups boiling water
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
2 jumbo eggs (I had extra large so used two eggs and 1 egg yolk)
1 teas vanilla
Place the dates, baking soda and boiling water in a bowl. Stir and allow to sit 15-20 min to soften the dates.
Place the date mixture in a food processor and pulse until it becomes a paste. Set aside.
Cream butter and eggs, vanilla & sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the flour and mix to combine. Fold in the date mixture and pour into a 9×13″ baking pan which has been sprayed with Pam and then coated with a little sugar on bottom.
Bake at 350 in preheated oven. When cake tests done, cool for 20 min then flip cake out onto paper lined plate or tray.
Leave at room temp to cool completely. Once cool, wrap in plastic and keep stored at room temp or serve immediately.

Whiskey Sauce
1 cup heavy cream
2 tables granulated sugar
1 teas vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1 teas Whiskey
Bring cream, 2 tables sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the other 2 tables sugar until foamy.
Temper 1/2 of the heavy cream into the mixing bowl and then return the mixture to the rest of the cream.(I actually drizzled gradually about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture to the egg mixture, stirring constantly before adding it to the rest of the cream)
Continue to cook until thicken. (This did not take but a couple of mins).
Add the vanilla and whiskey.
Remove and cool. Store in fridge until ready to use.

Toffee Sauce
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
1 lb light brown sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 tables whiskey
1 tables vanilla
Place butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan and melt. Add the brown sugar and cook over medium heat for 10 min.
Add the heavy cream and allow to cook for an additional 7 min, stirring occasionally.
Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to ensure it is cooking evenly
Remove from heat and add the whiskey and vanilla. Stir.
Cool. You can store in fridge up to 3 days.
When ready to serve the cake pieces, place the needed amount of cake pieces on a baking sheet. Poke holes in the cake pieces and spoon some of the toffee sauce over each piece.
Place in a 500 degree oven for about 2-3 min or until toffee is bubbling and cake is warmed throughout. After placing each piece on individual plates, spoon a little of the Whiskey Sauce over the pieces. Serve with additional whipped cream if desired.

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Grandbabies & Gluten

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In the last few days I have learned several things. First of all I learned that you cannot substitute gluten free pasta when making one pot pasta casseroles. They end up like a pot of mush. Secondly, yesterday we learned that no matter how many grandkids you have, there is always room in your heart for another. Our son and his wife gave us the most beautiful little girl last night and I just keep looking at the pictures over and over. She has already stole our hearts. Since we have to share with the other grandparents we came home and I just took a banana cake out of the oven to take to the daughter-in-law that is now first in our will for giving us this precious little bundle. When our daughter, Christi saw that I was baking Mandy a cake, she quickly informed me that she had given me a precious little girl 3 years ago and I didn’t bake her a cake. So I had to promise her that a cream cheese pound cake will be waiting for her when she walks in the door on Saturday. I told her that if they would move our sweet little Kenley from Florida to Texas, we would bake her all the cakes she wants.

This banana cake that I am posting was posted on Face Book the other day and it caught my eye. It really is delish. I did add cream cheese frosting to it. Everything is better with cream cheese frosting, right? The cake is light and has a mellow banana flavor with a crumb topping.

Preheat oven to 300 and grease a 9×13″ baking pan.

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1 teas baking soda

3/4 teas salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk, divided

2 eggs

1 teas vanilla

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I only had light, and it worked fine)

1/2 stick butter

To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Blend in the melted butter until mixture is moist. Pour in 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and stir until well combined. Mix the 2 eggs and vanilla with the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and then pour over flour mixture. Beat for 1 minute. Pour into greased 9×13″ baking pan.

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour and cold butter. With pastry cutter, blend in the cold butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake cake for 32-38 minutes in preheated 300 degree oven.

As soon as the cake came out of the oven I drizzled some of the cream cheese frosting over the cake. When cake cooled, I poured the rest of the frosting over the cake and spread evenly over cake.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts · Fruit

Chocolate Cherry Creme Cake

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Last weekend had me making several cherry pies to help celebrate our son, Cameron’s 30th. He is a cherry pie addict. I guess I had really never noticed recipes on the backs of Oregon Fruit Product Pitted dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup but for some reason, last Saturday I did. This recipe was written on the back of the label. I never thought I would be able to say that I didn’t have cream cheese in my fridge, ready to bake in an instant, but today, I have no cream cheese. As soon as I can get to the store, I am making this cake. I might even add a little hot fudge to the individual pieces when serving.

1 Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake Mix, baked according to directions on box for 9×13 using the eggs, oil and water.

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 teas vanilla or almond extract

2 cans Oregon Dark Sweet Pitted Cherries, drained, reserve syrup

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake according to directions on box and pour into prepared and greased 9×13″ pan. Bake as directed on box. Let cake cool completely. Make cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling

In small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in Eagle Brand milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and extract. Spread on cooled cake, leaving an edge of the dark cake showing all around for a nice presentation. Refrigerate until set.

Topping:

Drain cherries, reserving syrup. In small saucepan, combine syrup from cherries, cornstarch and sugar. Mix until smooth. Heat and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the cherries. Let cool. with a small spoon, arrange the cherries only on top of the cake. Do not use the thickened syrup, only what stays on the cherries. Keep cake in fridge. When serving, use syrup to spoon over individual pieces and top with whipped whipping cream if desired.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Peanut Butter Candy Cheesecake

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It is so strange that as a child I really didn’t like peanut butter. My mom didn’t like it and I’m sure I probably heard her talk about how awful it was so never even tried it. During one of my pregnancies I developed a love for peanut butter. The older I get the more I enjoy anything made with peanut butter. When I saw this recipe I knew that it would be made the next time we have people over.

Taken from All American Amazing Cakes:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers

1/4 cup granulated sugar

5 tables tables butter, melted

Filling:

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4  cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teas vanilla

10 fun-size (I get these at Walmart, I think you get either 8 or 10 for a dollar) chocolate covered crispy peanut buttery candy bars like Butterfinger, chopped

Garnish: crushed Butterfingers

Preheat oven to 300.

To prepare crust in a small bowl combine crushed graham crackers and sugar. Add melted butter, stirring to combine. Press mixture into bottom and 1″ up the sides of a 10″ spring from pan. Bake for 6 min. Let cool completely.

For filling, in a large bowl and beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and peanut butter with mixer until very creamy. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time beating just until combined before adding the next egg. Stir in cream, vanilla and chopped candy. Spoon batter into cooled crust.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 min. Turn oven off and leave cake in oven with door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cheesecake cool completely. Then cover and chill for at least 4 to 6 hours before serving. Garnish with more whipped whipping cream and crushed candy bars.

Cakes · Desserts

Yogurt Cake

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Taken from Gourmet 2009, this cake has to be healthy because of all the Yogurt! Refreshing, light with just a hint of sweetness. Since I got the recipe out of the gourmet magazine I thought I had better make the description sounds a little bit gourmet! 

Cake

3 cups sifted cake flour (not self rising) * shift before measuring

2 teas baking powder

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

2 sticks unsalted butter softened

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs warmed in shell and Warmwater for 10 minutes

2 cups well stirred plain whole milk yogurt not Greeks style at room temperature for 30 min.

Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

3 table light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teas vanilla 

Cake

preheat oven to 350° butter a 9×13 pan;  

then line bottom with parchment paper and butter parchment.

dust with flour knocking out excess.

sit together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with mixer at high-speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.

Beat in eggs one at a time at medium speed. At low speed makes in flour mixture and three batches, 

alternating with yogurt beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.

spread batter evenly into pan and rap  pan on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.

bake until cake pulls  away from pan and test done when pic is inserted in center and comes out clean;about 35 to 45 minutes.

cool in pan about 10 minutes then run a knife around edge and invert onto a rack and discard parchment. Call completely about one hour.

frosting

sift together powdered sugar, corn syrup, cream, and vanilla until smooth.

place cake on platter and poor icing over-the-top, allowing the icing to drop over the side.

allow to sit for 15 minutes before cutting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncategorized

Company & Cards

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Tonight we are having some friends over for a light dinner and to play Hand & Foot, our new favorite card game. Wanting to keep I simple, I am serving sandwiches, chips & dips, deviled eggs, fruit, homemade oatmeal cookies*(this recipe is on blog) and chocolate cream pie. The chocolate pie is my mom’s recipe which I have made since the 70’s. Topped with whipping cream, it is just a winner, every time. FYI, as much as we have moved to different houses, I am accustomed to having  to adjust to different ovens. This gas oven bakes a lot faster than the electric oven I was using in California, so am having to really watch closely every thing I am trying to bake, until I get used to it. I finally got smart and instead of possibly ruining a whole sheet of oatmeal cookies, I baked two at first just to test the temperature and time that it took for them to get done before baking a whole sheet. The Chocolate Cream pie recipe is listed below. It I also delicious just served as pudding in a pretty glass, topped with whipping cream and toffee bits, or sprinkle crushed up Oreos on top.

3 egg, room temperature

3 cups milk

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teas salt

4 heaping tables unsweetened cocoa

1 cup sugar

3 tables butter

2 teas vanilla

Mix all ingredients except vanilla and butter, in a saucepan, whisking over low heat until all the lumps are all out and eggs are well blended in milk mixture. Turn up heat to medium and continue stirring until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, stirring until butter is melted and blended well. Pour into a cooled and baked pie shell or into individual glasses. Chill and top with desired toppings.