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Cranberry Pear Tart

Cranberry Pear Tart

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Yield: 10 – 12 servings

Bon Appetite Dec 1995 / Epicurious

December 1995: A good year for recipes. This appeared in the same issue of Bon Appetite as the Puff Pastry Pinwheel Cookies. Pear and Cranberry go very well together. The chopped Cranberries are mixed in a delicious custard.  Baked on this tart crust they make a delicious holiday season dessert.

Crust:

  • 1cup plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
  • ½cup (1 stick) plus 1 TBS chilled unsalted butter, diced
  • 6TBS powdered sugar
  • ¼tsp salt
  • 2-3TBS ice water

Filling:

  • 6TBS ( stick) unsalted butter
  • 3large Bosc pears (about 1¼ to 1½ lb), peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored
  • 8TBS sugar
  • 2large eggs
  • 2TBS all-purpose flour
  • ¾cup fresh cranberries (about 3 oz)
  • 3TBS pear brandy, apple brandy (Calvados), brandy
  • additional cranberries
  • sweetened whipped cream

Special Equipment:

  • 11-inch removable bottom tart pan


To make crust:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all crust ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Press dough evenly over bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Dock (pierce) crust all over with fork to prevent bubbles.

Bake crust until golden brown, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Maintain oven temperature.

To make filling:

Melt 2 TBS butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add pears. Sprinkle 2 TBS sugar over pears. Sauté until pears begin to brown and soften slightly, turning occasionally, about 12 minutes. Cool pears. Place pears, rounded sides up, on work surface (do not clean skillet). Cut pears into thin crosswise slices; press gently to fan slices of each quarter.  Fan backwards towards the wide end.  Using a knife blade, transfer pear quarters to crust, pointed ends toward center.

Melt remaining 4 TBS butter in same skillet over lowheat, whisking to incorporate pear juices left in skillet. Whisk 4 TBS sugar, eggs and flour in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in butter mixture from skillet. Combine ¾ cup cranberries and remaining 2 TBS sugar in processor and coarsely chop cranberries. Stir cranberry mixture and pear brandy into egg mixture .

Spoon cranberry custard mixture between pears and into center of crust.

Bake:

Bake tart until filling is set and top begins to brown, about 50 minutes. Cool tart on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Using small sharp knife, cut crust away from pan sides if necessary. Gently push up pan bottom to release tart. Place tart on platter. Garnish with additional cranberries. Cut tart into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Puff Pastry Pinwheel Cookies with Jam filling

Puff Pastry Pinwheel Cookies with Jam filling

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Yield: 40 cookies

Bon Appetite Dec 1995 / Epicurious

December 1995: Meghan and I made these in Colorado a few times. They are very simple and quite delicious. Make a nice gift when you get invited to dinner around the holidays.

Supermarket staples – puff pastry and fruit jams – are transformed into delicate teatime treats that require very little effort. For gift giving, place the cookies between sheets of waxed paper or colorful tissue paper, and pack them in a pretty tin.

  • 117¼ oz package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
  • 1egg beaten to blend (glaze)
  • ½cup (about) table, sparkling or sanding sugar
  • ½cup (about) assorted jams (such as raspberry, apricot and kiwi)
  • Powdered sugar (optional)


Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 2 heavy large baking sheets. Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 16×13-inch rectangle. Trim edges neatly, forming 15 x12-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle into twenty 3-inch squares. Using small sharp knife, make 1-inch-long diagonal cut in all 4 comers of 1 square, cutting toward center (do not cut through center). To form pinwheels, fold every other point of puff pastry toward center of square, pressing to adhere.

Repeat with remaining puff pastry squares.

Brush pinwheels lightly with egg glaze. Sprinkle each with ½ tsp of table or sparkling sugar. Place scant ½ tsp jam in center of each. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until pinwheels are golden and puffed, about 13 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to rack and cool. Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheet, glaze, sugar and jam.

Sprinkle cookies with one of the sugars, if desired.

Can be prepared ahead. Place cookies between waxed paper sheets in airtight containers and freeze up to 2 weeks; thaw before packing, or store airtight at room temperature up to 3 days.

Chocolate Soufflé Malakoff

Chocolate Soufflé Malakoff

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Yield: 8 – 10 servings

Recipe from Julia Child

1984: This is not the easiest dish to make but it is good enough to be worth the effort. I made this quite often for Christmas when we lived in NH.  It’s been a long time, but in 2017 I used it for New Year’s Eve.

  • 3½oz semisweet chocolate
  • 1oz unsweetened chocolate
  • ¼cup plus 3 TBS dark rum
  • 1¼cups sugar
  • 2TBS instant coffee
  • 2sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6oz toasted hazelnuts, ground, (about 1½ cups loosely packed)
  • ½tsp pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 2cups heavy cream, chilled
  • 32lady fingers or 8 x 4½ sponge cake cut into lady fingers.
  • shaved chocolate for garnish


Melt chocolate:

In a medium saucepan, combine the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate. Cover and place in a larger pan partially filled with boiling hot water; set aside to melt.  You can also use a microwave to melt the chocolate.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.

Add and mix the rum to the melted chocolate. Set the pan of chocolate over the ice and stir until cool but not chilled. Delicately fold the chocolate into the whipped cream.

Make simple syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the coffee and ⅓ cup of water. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is clear. Bring to a boil and let boil for several seconds. Remove from the heat and set in a pan of cold water; stir until tepid.

Blend the syrup:

Add the syrup by dribbles into the perfectly melted chocolate. Beat in the butter, 1 TBS at a time using a portable mixer. Stir in the ground hazelnuts, vanilla and salt.

Make the whipped cream:

Pour the heavy cream into a bowl set over a larger bowl of ice. With a portable mixer, beat until the cream is almost doubled in volume and the beaters leave light traces on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the cream from the ice.

To assemble:

Encircle a 6-cup soufflé dish with a double thickness of wax paper, to make a collar standing 3 inches above the rim of the dish. Dissolve the remaining ¼ cup sugar in ½ cup of warm water and add the remaining 3 TBS rum. Lay the ladyfingers or cake in a dish and dribble the syrup over them. Cover the bottom of the soufflé dish with an even layer of the ladyfingers.  In my 1.6L corning-ware dish, I used 8 for each layer; Add ¼ of the mousse and spread. Repeat with the remaining ladyfingers and mousse. Chill.

Remove wax paper and garnish with the shaved chocolate.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse

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Yield: 4 Servings

Martha Stewart

December 2016: I tried this recipe for a slightly simpler mousse. It came out quite nice and may be a little thicker than the first one. Because bittersweet chocolate is high in pure chocolate (at least 35 percent cocoa solids), it’s best used when a deep chocolate flavor is called for. It’s also a great eating chocolate. Semisweet chocolate, which has more sugar and fewer cocoa solids than bittersweet, can often be substituted in recipes without significantly affecting the flavor or texture.

  • 4large egg yolks
  • 4TBS sugar
  • 2cups heavy cream
  • 8oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
  • 1tsp vanilla extract


In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, 2 TBS sugar, and ¾ cup heavy cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture coats back of spoon, 3 to 4 minutes (do not boil and do not go over 180°F). Remove from heat; whisk in melted chocolate and vanilla. Strain into a bowl; chill until cool.

With an electric mixer, beat remaining 1¼ cups heavy cream with remaining 2 TBS sugar until stiff peaks form. Stir ⅓ of whipped cream into cooled custard mixture, then gently fold in the rest with a rubber spatula.

Spoon into serving dishes; chill, covered, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Linzer Torte

Linzer Torte

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Yield: 8 servings

Recipe from Jacques Pepin

Circa 1988: I got this recipe at a cooking class I took with Jacques Pepin at “That Kitchen Place” in Amherst, NH. I’ve made it a few times and love the way it tastes.

Dough:

  • 1¾cups flour
  • 1cup ground almonds
  • ¼cup granulated sugar
  • 2sticks (8 oz) sweet butter, softened
  • 3egg yolks
  • ¼tsp powdered cinnamon
  • ½tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼tsp mace powder

Filling:

  • 1½lb fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
  • -or-
  • 112 oz jar quality raspberry preserves
  • 1TBS raspberry brandy
  • powdered sugar


For the dough:
Combine the flour and ground almonds on a work table and make a well. In the center, place the butter, cut in pieces, and the remaining ingredients. Start mixing with your fingertips. Gather the ingredients together. With the palm of your hand, smear the dough away from you, a piece at a time, in the technique called “fraser.” Gather the dough and repeat once more.

The dough will be very soft. Use a dough scraper to place it on a piece of waxed paper.

Set a 10-to-12-inch flan ring on a cookie sheet. Place about ¾ of the dough in the bottom of the ring and spread it out, using a piece of parchment or waxed paper to help spread. It should be about ¼-inch thick all over the bottom.

Roll some dough into strips and press inside to form the edges. Use the waxed paper again to thin the sides to about ¼ inch thick. Trim the excess dough.

If using fresh or frozen berries, puree and strain the berries. Place in a saucepan and cook down to thicken and intensify the taste to approximately ½ cup of puree. If using raspberry preserves, strain the preserves. Combine the puree or preserves with the raspberry brandy and spread the mixture on the bottom of the dough.

Roll leftover dough into thin cylinders. Flatten the cylinders into strips and arrange on top of the jam lattice-fashion–about four strips in each direction.

Fold the edges of the torte in toward the middle of the torte, on top of the jam and strips. Flatten gently with your fingertips. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 minutes, until nicely browned and crisp. Let rest at least 10 minutes, then remove the ring. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and clean the crumbs of dough from around the bottom edge.

Slide the Linzer torte onto a serving platter. Be careful as it is delicate and brittle. Serve in wedges at room temperature.

Hermit Bars

Hermit Bars

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Yield: about 30
Source lost

2012: I remembered my mom making these and dug around and found a recipe. Sorry, but I lost the source. They’re good though…

For the story on the origin of Hermit Cookies see Bon Appetit’s hermit-cookie-reclusive-recipe. Not the same recipe as appears here as it doesn’t contain molasses.

  • 2cups plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
  • 2tsp baking soda
  • 2tsp ground ginger
  • 1¾tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1¾tsp ground cloves
  • ¼tsp salt
  • ½cup (1 stick) plus 1 TBS unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1cup loosely packed light-brown sugar
  • 1large egg, room temperature
  • ¼cup un-sulfured molasses
  • ¾cup raisins


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl once. Add molasses; beat until combined, and scrape down sides of bowl. Add the flour mixture and raisins; beat on low until dough just comes together, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator to chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Remove dough from refrigerator, and turn out onto a clean work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces, and shape each piece into a 12-inch log about 1½ inches in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheet, at least 3 inches apart.

Place in oven, and bake until logs are golden but still very soft to the touch, 20 to 22 minutes. The logs will flatten out and lengthen as they bake and get slightly puffy in the center. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice logs into 1-inch-wide bars. Hermit bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week

.

Kentucky Butter Cake

Kentucky Butter Cake

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Yield: 8 to 12 slices

Recipe from Pillsbury Kitchens’ Family Cookbook

Must be a family favorite. I’ve made this over 50 times. Carefully wrapped in cling film, then placed back in the pan and wrapped again, they have made numerous FedEx trips to college.

Cake

  • 3cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2cups white sugar
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • ½tsp baking soda
  • 1cup buttermilk or water if using buttermilk powder
  • 1cup softened butter
  • 2tsp vanilla extract
  • 4eggs

Butter Sauce

  • 1cup white sugar
  • ½cup butter
  • 3TBS water
  • 2tsp vanilla extract


HIGH ALTITUDE – Above 3,500 feet: Decrease sugar in cake to 1¾ cups increase buttermilk to 1 cup plus 2 TBS. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes.

Note: I have made this with store bought buttermilk, regular milk with 1 TBS of white vinegar added, and Saco buttermilk powder. I prefer the Saco, but all choices work. For Saco, add 1/4 cup Saco buttermilk powder to dry ingredients and 1 cup water to wet ingredients.

Preheat oven to 325°F. (High Altitude 350°F)

Mix:

Generously grease (with shortening or butter, NOT cooking spray) and lightly flour a 10 inch fluted Bundt pan. Don’t skimp on this or the cake will stick to even the best non-stick pan!

In a stand mixer bowl, mix the dry ingredients on low speed for a few seconds to blend.

Add in the wet ingredients. Beat on slow until mixed then beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Taste the batter! I found out that I had skipped the sugar one time by tasting before it was too late.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

To Make Butter Sauce:

In a saucepan combine the remaining sugar, butter, and water; heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

While cake is still hot and in the pan, prick deeply at one-inch intervals with a long-tined fork. Slowly pour ¾ cup sauce over cake so that it drains into holes. Cool upright in pan for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Brush with remaining sauce to glaze. Let cool completely before covering.

You may let stand overnight, as this cake is even better with age. To send it to a college student or other cake-deprived individual, wrap the glazed and cooled cake with plastic wrap, return it to the Bundt pan, and wrap with more plastic wrap to keep the cake from falling out of the pan. Cushion all around with packing foam in a sturdy mailing box.

Blueberry Cornmeal Loaf Cake

Blueberry Cornmeal Loaf Cake

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Yield: 8 to 10 Servings
Adapted from Karyl Bannister

Circa 2000:  I just love this recipe. I first found it in Eating Well magazine out of Vermont. I later found that this dense lemony loaf with a slightly crunchy texture comes from Karyl Bannister, author of Maine’s Cook & Tell newsletter. It is also in Richard Sax’s book Classic Home Desserts and the CKBK web site.

I’ve made this many times. It is great plain with butter or toasted with a schmear of cream cheese.

  • ⅔-1cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
  • 1½cup all-purpose white flour (HA: 1¼ cup plus 2 TBS)
  • ⅓cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
  • 1½tsp baking powder
  • ½tsp salt
  • ½cup plus 1 TBS, plain nonfat yogurt (HA: ⅔ cup)
  • 1TBS fresh lemon juice
  • ¾cup, sugar (HA: ⅔ cup)
  • 4TBS, vegetable oil plus more for preparing pan
  • 1tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1large egg plus 1 egg white
  • ¼tsp ground cinnamon
  • sanding sugar


HIGH ALTITUDE – Above 3,500 feet: Decrease sugar to ⅔ cup, increase yogurt to ⅔ cup. Bake at 375°F for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Lightly oil an 8×4-inch loaf pan and set aside.

Toss blueberries with 1 TBS flour and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together remaining flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In another small bowl, combine yogurt and lemon juice.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together ⅔ cup sugar, oil and lemon zest. Beat in whole egg, then egg white, beating well after each addition.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the yogurt mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tsp sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 25 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and continue to bake until cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 35 minutes longer.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Cover again with the foil and turn out onto rack. The foil will keep the sugar topping from being all over the counter. Cool completely.

For best flavor, wrap the cake in the pan and store overnight before cutting. Remove from pan and slice to desire thickness.

Spread slices with a little cream cheese for a nice addition.

Black Magic Cake

Black Magic Cake

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Yield: 8 to 10 Servings

Hershey’s

This is a personal favorite. The coffee adds an interesting character to this cake.

  • 2cups sugar (HA: 1¾ cups)
  • 1¾cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 2tsp baking soda (HA: 1½ tsp)
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1tsp salt
  • 2eggs
  • 1cup buttermilk** or sour milk* (HA: 1¼ cups)
  • 1cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
  • ½cup vegetable oil
  • 1tsp vanilla extract


Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan, two 8- or 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.

Bake:

50 to 55 minutes for fluted tube pan,

30 to 35 minutes for 9″ round pans,

35 to 40 minutes for 8″ round pans,

35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan

or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen cake from side of pan and remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired. Makes 12 servings.

* To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.

** Saco Buttermilk powder:

Add ¼ cup of powder to the dry ingredients and 1 cup of water to the liquid ingredients.

(HA: ¼ cup plus 2 TBS of powder to the dry ingredients and 1¼ cup of water to the liquid ingredients.)

Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Betty Crocker

My granddaughter says this isn’t enough frosting for a layer cake doing a crumb coat, the middle, top and sides. She also made many colored rosettes for the top. If you need extra frosting for rosettes or other decorations, add another cup of sugar and 1/2 a stick of butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla and more milk.

Note: Be sure to use powdered “cane” sugar. Some powdered sugar comes from beets and can make the frosting grainy.

  • 4cups powdered “cane” sugar
  • 1cup butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 2tsp vanilla
  • 2 to 4TBS milk

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 2 TBS of milk.

Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

Frosts 13×9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.