This dessert is awesome. If you love chocolate covered strawberries, this is for you. Its a multiple layer dessert consisting of crepes, strawberry cheesecake, strawberries and chocolate ganache.
It looks complicated, and the instructions are long, but if you can make pancakes, slice vegetables, run a mixer for cookie batter, and heat cream on the stove, you can make this dish.
You don’t even need to make everything the same day, everything except the ganache can be made up to a day before and stored in sealed containers in the fridge.
“YOUWANT ME TO MAKECREPES?!?!?” Yes. I do. Don’t think of them as crepes. Think of them as really thin pancakes, that take a heck of a lot less time to make. The most important things to remember are to let the batter set before you try and flip them. (otherwise it will make a mess.), and don’t worry if you mess up. Make sure you use a round nonstick pan, the same size you want your crepes (I used a 6 inch nonstick I got at a discount store for about $5, it really doesn’t need to be that fancy).
Crepes:
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
4 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 c milk
3 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons melted butter.
Cheesecake Filling:
8 oz strawberry or raspberry flavored cream cheese (room temperature)
8 oz plain cream cheese (room temperature)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup half and half (or cream)
1/4 cup juice from the strawberries
2 Tablespoons strawberry jam, preserves, or jelly
Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped Cream:
1 cup Heavy Cream
2-3 Tablespoons sugar
Slice thinly and place into a seal-able container.
As you are filling the container, occasionally sprinkle the strawberries with a Tablespoon or so of sugar.
When all the strawberries are sliced (reserving a few for decoration if you’re into that sort of thing) put the lid on the container and shake to mix everything up. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight, until the strawberries release juices and they look really juicy.
Get out the cream cheeses if you are making the crepes the same day as you are assembling the lasagna. You will not be needing them this step, but its good to let them warm up while you are cooking.
Begin by adding all the ingredients in a blender
and blend for 1 minute on high (with the lid on).
Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend for another 15-20 seconds.
Allow the batter to sit in the fridge for 1 hour, or overnight.
To make the crepes:
Pour 3-4 Tablespoons (a little less than 1/4 cup) of batter into a preheated (to medium) lightly greased nonstick pan. Move the pan in a circular motion tilting so that the batter moves round and around the pan, slowly cooking, to ensure an even thickness.
When the batter no longer moves and the top has just lost its shine, and there are tiny bubbles (sort of like pancakes!), about 30-45 seconds. Carefully slide your spatula around the crepe in the pan to loosen and flip!
Cook for another 10-15 seconds and remove from the pan to a plate.
Set them aside to cool while you make the cheesecake filling, or store wrapped in plastic wrap, or in a sealable container in the refrigerator.
Step 3: Make the Cheesecake Filling.
Carefully strain the strawberries, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid.
Combine the cream cheeses in a mixing bowl and blend until smooth.
Add the sugar and mix until combined.
Then add 2 Tablespoons of jam.
Then 1/4 cup of juice from the strawberries previously prepared.
Follow with the half and half or cream.
Mix until everything is thoroughly combined and the mixture is smooth and easily spreadable. If it seems a little thick, slowly add the half and half or cream one Tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency of thick pudding.
Refrigerate if you are not assembling the lasagna right away.
The ganache is the easiest part of the whole recipe. You want to make this right before assembling the lasagna
Heat 1/2 a cup of cream until it is steaming on the stove top in a small pot (or in the microwave if that’s your sort of thing). Add the chocolate chips and stir slightly.
Allow the mixture to sit for 3-4 minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is thoroughly combined.
You don’t need to put the chocolate on the heat! The heat from the warmed cream is enough to melt the chocolate into a tasty goo. Really!
Spread the cheesecake mixture thinly over the crepes, making sure they are completely covered (about 1/4 inch thick).
Spread a layer of strawberries on top of the cheesecake.
Carefully pour a thin layer of chocolate over the strawberries, using the back of a spoon to spread it carefully.
Repeat the steps filling the dish, or until you run out of ingredients.
Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight.
If you want to top the dish with whipped cream, combine the 1 cup of heavy (or whipping) cream and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Whisk/beat with a mixer on high until stiff peaks form. This whipped cream is only slightly sweetened. Believe me, it makes a good contrast to the lasagna!
Spread the whipped cream on top of the lasagna.
Serve.
Text Only Directions:
Step 1: Prepare the Strawberries
Step 2: Make the Crepes
Step 3: Prepare the Cheesecake Filling
Step 4: Make the Ganache
Step 5: Assembly and Refrigeration
Crepes:
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
Strawberry Filling:
2 lbs strawberries
sugar
Cheesecake Filling:
8 oz strawberry or raspberry flavored cream cheese (room temperature)
8 oz plain cream cheese (room temperature)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup half and half (or cream)
1/4 cup juice from the strawberries
2 Tablespoons strawberry jam, preserves, or jelly
Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped Cream:
1 cup Heavy Cream
2-3 Tablespoons sugar
Step 1: Prepare the Strawberries
Step 2: Make the Crepes
Step 3: Prepare the Cheesecake Filling
Step 4: Make the Ganache
Step 5: Assembly and Refrigeration
Step 1: Prepare the Strawberries
Wash and trim the strawberries.
Slice thinly and place into a seal-able container. As you are filling the container, occasionally sprinkle the strawberries with a Tablespoon or so of sugar.
When all the strawberries are sliced (reserving a few for decoration if you’re into that sort of thing) put the lid on the container and shake to mix everything up. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight, until the strawberries release juices and they look really juicy.
Step 2: Make the Crepes
Get out the cream cheeses if you are making the crepes the same day as you are assembling the lasagna. You will not be needing them this step, but its good to let them warm up while you are cooking.
Begin by adding all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute on high.Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend for another 15-20 seconds.
Allow the batter to sit in the fridge for 1 hour, or overnight.
To make the crepes:
Pour 3-4 Tablespoons (a little less than 1/4 cup) of batter into a preheated (to medium) lightly greased nonstick pan. Move the pan in a circular motion tilting so that the batter moves round and around the pan, slowly cooking, to ensure an even thickness. When the batter no longer moves and the top has just lost its shine, and there are tiny bubbles (sort of like pancakes!), about 30-45 seconds. Carefully slide your spatula around the crepe in the pan to loosen and flip!
Cook for another 10-15 seconds and remove from the pan to a plate.
Set them aside to cool while you make the cheesecake filling, or store wrapped in plastic wrap, or in a sealable container in the refrigerator.
Step 3: Make the Cheesecake Filling.
Carefully strain the strawberries, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid.
Combine the cream cheeses in a mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add 2 Tablespoons of jam.
Then 1/4 cup of juice from the strawberries previously prepared.
Follow with the half and half or cream.
Mix until everything is thoroughly combined and the mixture is smooth and easily spreadable. If it seems a little thick, slowly add the half and half or cream one Tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency of thick pudding.
Refrigerate if you are not assembling the lasagna right away.
Step 4: Make the Ganache
Heat 1/2 a cup of cream until it is steaming on the stove top in a small pot (or in the microwave if that’s your sort of thing). Add the chocolate chips and stir slightly.
Allow the mixture to sit for 3-4 minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is thoroughly combined.
Step 5: Assembly and Refrigeration.
Begin by lining your dish with crepes.
Spread the cheesecake mixture thinly over the crepes, making sure they are completely covered (about 1/4 inch thick).
Spread a layer of strawberries on top of the cheesecake.
Carefully pour a thin layer of chocolate over the strawberries, using the back of a spoon to spread it carefully.
Repeat the steps filling the dish, or until you run out of ingredients.
Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight.
If you want to top the dish with whipped cream, combine the 1 cup of heavy (or whipping) cream and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Whisk/beat with a mixer on high until stiff peaks form. This whipped cream is only slightly sweetened. Believe me, it makes a good contrast to the lasagna!
You’ve heard of cherry coke, there’s even vanilla coke, there are weird diet cokes, and random odd flavors that come out every now and then. This concoction you have to make on your own though.
Last year at an Italian festival nearby, there was a stand advertising, vanilla coke, cherry coke, and chocolate coke. I’m a coke addict so I had to see what was going on, and the lady at the stand showed me how to make it, and now I will share it with you!
Ok, its not that big of secret. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the ingredients are simple:
Pour in the coke.
Add some chocolate syrup and stir. (It has to be syrup, chocolate milk powder mix DOESNOTWORK. Believe me, I tried.)
I recommend adding ice, after mixing in the syrup, otherwise you get little chocolate globules floating throughout the drink.
Also don’t worry when it fizzes up when you add the syrup, its just what it does.
Yeah. I hate calling certain recipes perfect, because usually you then find one that is actually better. That and its up to the actual eater to determine whether something is perfect or not. I will share why I find these cookies to be so good though.
First, they are caramel-ey crispy. The bottoms are toasted just enough they get that delicious slightly browned crisp to them. Just above that though is a gooey chewy center, that has just the right amount of chew for an oatmeal cookie. Lastly, the little bursts of chocolate spread throughout are just the right amount.
Oh by the way you could use raisins instead of chocolate chips in this recipe. I just really don’t like raisins. Raisins and bananas, yes, two very popular fruits, that I just don’t dig.
Ingredients:
The Creamed:
Unsalted butter, softened 285g (10 oz)(1.25 cups)(2.5 sticks)
Brown sugar 170g (6 oz)(3/4 cup)
Sugar 99g (3.5oz)(1/2 cup) The Eggs:
Eggs 50g (1.75 oz)(1 large)
Vanilla Extract 9g (1/6 oz)(1 teaspoon) The Dry Goods:
Wheat Flour 205g (7.25 oz)(1 1/2 cups)
Baking Powder 5g (<1/4 oz)(1 teaspoon)
Ground Cinnamon 4g (<1/4oz)(1 teaspoon) The Extras:
Rolled Oats 234g(8 1/3 oz)(3 cups)
Chocolate Chips 2 cups (or one standard sized bag 12oz I think)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk all the dry goods together in a bowl.
Beat together the eggs with the vanilla extract.
Mix the butter in a mixer alone until a smooth and consistent texture (aka if there are any cold butter lumps, work them out). Slowly add the sugar and beat until the mixture has lightened and increased slightly in volume.
Add the eggs slowly, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Work in the dry goods slowly in three separate stages. When the dry goods are mixed in, stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips with a spoon.
Spoon or portion, or using a 1 oz disher, drop the dough onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake 15-17 minutes (mine were 16) rotating halfway through.
Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet (or they’ll break when you try to remove them!) then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy.
Ingredients:
The Creamed:
Unsalted butter, softened 285g (10 oz)(1.25 cups)(2.5 sticks)
Brown sugar 170g (6 oz)(3/4 cup)
Sugar 99g (3.5oz)(1/2 cup) The Eggs:
Eggs 50g (1.75 oz)(1 large)
Vanilla Extract 9g (1/6 oz)(1 teaspoon) The Dry Goods:
Wheat Flour 205g (7.25 oz)(1 1/2 cups)
Baking Powder 5g (<1/4 oz)(1 teaspoon)
Ground Cinnamon 4g (<1/4oz)(1 teaspoon) The Extras:
Rolled Oats 234g(8 1/3 oz)(3 cups)
Chocolate Chips 2 cups (or one standard sized bag 12oz I think)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk all the dry goods together in a bowl.
(these dry goods are before whisking)
Beat together the eggs with the vanilla extract.
Mix the butter in a mixer alone until a smooth and consistent texture (aka if there are any cold butter lumps, work them out).
Slowly add the sugar and beat until the mixture has lightened and increased slightly in volume.
Add the eggs slowly, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Work in the dry goods slowly in three separate stages.
When the dry goods are mixed in, stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips with a spoon.
Spoon or portion, or using a 1 oz disher, drop the dough onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake 15-17 minutes (mine were 16) rotating halfway through.
Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet (or they’ll break when you try to remove them!) then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy.
The recipe has been modified from Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food.
I love Juila Child, she is the awesome. It’s also cherry season, which means you have to do something with all those cherries! I thought I’d whip out the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking and see what Julia had to say, which was the clafouti.
According to the book, clafouti is a fruit flan, which is an egg custard filled with tasty cherry bits.
I have to admit, my clafouti could have been better. The bottom didn’t set correctly before I added the cherries, and the custard was kind of pasty and just lacking. It wasn’t as bad as the cupcake disaster though, so feel free to improve on what I’ve made!
Cherry Clafouti
(from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
Ingredients:
3 cups pitted black cherries
butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
————-
Batter ingredients:
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
Directions:
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly butter an 7-8 cup baking dish or pie plate about 1 1/2 inches deep.
Place all the ingredients below the line into a blender in the order listed, and blend at high speed for one minute.
Pour a 1/4 inch layer of batter into the baking dish.
The original recipe calls for a fireproof dish, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking for a few of these for the past year or so and have only found two, one at the flea market, another at a thrift store, neither of which are big enough for this recipe.
Because the recipe wanted me to put the dish over an open flame/burner, I instead put it in the preheated oven until the batter had set, which took 5-10 minutes depending on the dish, the batter and the way your oven heats.
After the batter has set, spread the pitted cherries over the batter, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries.
Place in the middle of the preheated oven and bake approximately an hour. It is done when it has puffed and browned, and a knife inserted in the center of the dish comes out clean. It will sink as it cools.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the dish just before serving.
Serve warm.
Cherry Clafouti
(from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
Ingredients:
3 cups pitted black cherries
butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
————-
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly butter an 7-8 cup baking dish or pie plate about 1 1/2 inches deep.
Place all the ingredients below the line into a blender in the order listed, and blend at high speed for one minute.
Pour a 1/4 inch layer of batter into the baking dish.
The original recipe calls for a fireproof dish, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking for a few of these for the past year or so and have only found two, one at the flea market, another at a thrift store, neither of which are big enough for this recipe.
Because the recipe wanted me to put the dish over an open flame/burner, I instead put it in the preheated oven until the batter had set, which took 5-10 minutes depending on the dish, the batter and the way your oven heats.
After the batter has set, spread the pitted cherries over the batter, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries.
Place in the middle of the preheated oven and bake approximately an hour. It is done when it has puffed and browned, and a knife inserted in the center of the dish comes out clean. It will sink as it cools.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the dish just before serving.
In the past week I have made two different types of baklava. One traditional style with sheets of phyllo and nuts, another with phyllo, nuts, and a custard.
The traditional name for custard baklava is Baklava Muhalabiyya in Arab cuisine, and Galaktoboureko in Greek cuisine. There is a difference between the two, the greek custard contains eggs, where the Arab custard does not.
Seeing the custard baklava got my brain wheels a turning. What would happen if I combined the traditional nut baklava with the tasty new custard baklava that I found?
The results are mixed. The custard in the baklava I created is only okay for a day or two, whereas nut baklava usually gets better with age. Add to that fact the forgetting of the dish on food day at work, and not having the will to actually eat an entire pan of the stuff, leads to kind of runny sugar syrupy, custard lumpy, but the nuts and the top phyllo still tasty as can be.
So that recipe is a half fail at the moment.
Because that was slightly a fail, and I still had plenty of phyllo left over, I mad a smaller pan of traditional nut Baklava, but only with pecans instead of walnuts or pistachios. Its my Baklava, I’m using pecans if I want to.
It is best if you make the syrup first. It needs to be cool when you pour it over the just out of the oven baklava. If it is still warm when poured, instead of cooking and bubbling when it hits the hot dish, it will just soak into the phyllo and make it soggy.
Ingredients:
1 c sugar
1 c honey
1 1/2 c water
2 tbsp lemon juice
Combine all of the above ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring so the sugar dissolves.
Boil for about 5 minutes, without stirring until it forms a thick clear syrup.
Set aside to let it cool completely, not moving it or moving it as little as possible.
6 cups of whole milk
1 c semolina flour
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 eggs
1/2 c white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
In a medium bowl whisk together the semolina, cornstarch, 1 cup of sugar and salt so there are no clumps.
When the milk comes to a boil, gradually add the semolina mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Cook stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and returns to a full boil.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Beat the eggs until the yolks are broken and slightly mixed.
Add 1/2 c up of sugar,
and whip until thick and pale about 10 minutes. (10 minutes here people, I’m not kidding.)
(Before – dark yellow, After – light yellow)
Stir in vanilla.
Fold the whipped eggs into the hot semolina mixture, cover lightly with plastic wrap (to keep from getting that nasty milk film on the top of it), and set aside to cool.
Nut Filling:
1 lb walnuts finely chopped or coarsely ground, or pistachio (I used pecans, because I like pecans, but walnuts or pistachios are traditional)
1/4 c sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
There are many different blends for Baklava fillings, search the internet and experiment to find one that you like. According to a taste tester, this one has an apple pie flavor because of the cinnamon and cloves.
Finely chop the nuts, by hand, by blender, or food processor. Use whichever method you have available and are comfortable with. I don’t have a cutting board yet, so I put my blender to use. (Living in different houses and using what they already have leads to having a blender, but not a cutting board.)
Mix together the chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
You will need:
Approximately 1/2-1 cup clarified butter (see below)
A pastry brush
One package of phyllo dough
Clarified Butter
To make clarified butter for this recipe melt two sticks of butter in a microwave safe bowl, do not stir while the butter is melting. Otherwise you will have to wait for the butter to separate.
When the butter is done melting there should be three layers, a fluffy white layer on top, a translucent yellow layer in the middle, and thick white fatty looking layer on the bottom.
Skim the foamy layer off the top, using a spoon and a paper towel.
When the majority of the foamy white stuff has been skimmed off the top, carefully pour the translucent yellow liquid into another bowl, making sure none of the white goop on the bottom goes with it.
This translucent yellow liquid is the clarified butter.
It helps to read up on Baklava and working with phyllo dough before starting, this is a very handy guide written by an at home Baklava baker.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Set up your working station:
Setting up the work station is important. Phyllo dough dries out very quickly so you have to work just as fast. The basics of what you will need are phyllo dough, clarified butter, pastry brush, a damp towel, plastic wrap and a water spritzer. Have both or either filling close at hand as well.
Note that most of the images below are from my nut only Baklava, using a 9 × 9 inch glass baking dish. The images with the 9 × 13 inch baking dish are from my custard/nut combination. I had my roommate take the pictures this time too, so you get to see both hands! (And no, those are not my pajamas, really…)
Roll out your phyllo dough onto the waxy sheet that comes with it, or onto some wax paper. Cover with the damp towel and plastic wrap.
Brush down the dish you are making this in with the butter.
Lay in the first layer.
If your phyllo sheets are larger than your dish (like below) lay one side into the dish with part of it hanging over the edge. Spread butter onto the portion on the bottom of the dish with the pastry brush. Fold over the extra edge then brush that with butter as well.
Go lightly with the butter, you don’t want to drown the sheets of dough.
Continue building layers like this brushing each one lightly with butter before adding the next until there are 8-10 layers of dough in the dish.
If your dough is longer than your dish, but not twice as wide, alternate sides that the dough folds over on. That way there is the same number of layers on each side, and your desert isn’t lopsided.
If you notice your damp towel is getting a little too dry, and your phyllo is becoming brittle, spritz the towel with water lightly. If you soak the towel it will get the phyllo wet and it will stick together.
Pour in your filling, and even it out (for both the custard and the nuts). I wanted more than one layer of nuts, so I reserved about half of them for later.
Lay another layer of dough on the filling and brush with butter. Be careful if you are using the nut filling, it is easy to tear the dough at this point, especially if you are using a sticky brush, since it doesn’t stick to the nuts very well. The dough sticks very well to the custard though, and I didn’t have any problem with tearing at this layer.
If you do tear the dough (which is likely), just piece it back together the best you can and brush it gently with the butter. I have found it didn’t matter too much with tearing except the top layer, but that is only because I wanted a pretty top layer.
Add about 8-10 more layers, brushing with butter between each, as directed above.
If you are just using one layer of filling you can stop at this point. If you are using more than one continue, adding another layer of filling, then another 8-10 layers of dough, and so on, until you have as many layers as you would like, or until you run out of filling.
I don’t recommend having multiple layers of the custard. The dough in the middle is likely to become soggy and ick, it works best with one solid layer in the middle of flakey dough.
You can add as many layers of dough at a time you would like, its your Baklava. Most recipes I found recommended 8-10 and I found it worked well in mine.
When you get to the very top layer of dough, using a nice solid piece of phyllo press it onto the top of the dish. If like in my case, your phyllo is larger than your dish, lay what would be the extra in the dish and brush with butter first, or trim a sheet to the proper size. Lay over the larger piece to cover the entire dish with one solid piece of dough.
Using a VERY sharp knife carefully slice through the top layer of dough.
Do not cut through the bottom layer. If you only have one layer of filling (like with the custard) only cut through the top layer. If you have multiple layers slice through them, but not the bottom one. The cuts make the top bake golden and crispy and pretty, and leave space for the sugar syrup to flow through the entire dish. Cutting directions can be found on this site.
Spritz lightly with water
Bake 40-45 minutes if you have a custard filling, and 30-35 for a nut filling. I have seen recipes that have you bake the phyllo for up to an hour. Take the Baklava out of the oven when the top is golden brown and crispy looking. The custard does need to be in the oven for at least 40 minutes though so that the custard can cook long enough to set.
Immediately after removing it from the oven pour the sugar syrup over it making sure to pour some on all of it getting into the corners and along the edges.
Allow the dish to cool completely. COMPLETELY.
When cool, using a sharp knife, slice through the baklava, following the cuts already made, slicing all the way through to the bottom.
The custard Baklava is best eaten within the first day or two. After that it gets soggy and liquid-y.
On the other hand the nut baklava gets tastier with age. I’m not sure how long until it goes bad. It never lasts very long.
I am enamored with Alton Brown. I love his show, I’ve got a dorky childish crush on his tasty cooking abilities.
Along with Alton, I’m enamored with anything sugary and buttery and calorie laden. Which means when I saw Alton’s episode on buttercream icing I had to try it.
His buttercream consists of eggs, a sugar syrup, and a whole lotta butter. It didn’t sound too difficult, so I gave it a whirl.
It whirled all right but it didn’t fluff thats for sure. The butter kept breaking and separating even at the lowest setting, so all I had was at the end was a thick buttery sugary syrup. It tasted great, it just not quite right for frosting a cake with.
I’d go into more detail about what happened what went wrong and what happened in the kitchen during and afterwards, but those are painful memories of failed sugar. Please don’t make me bring them up.
Never fear! I will try this concoction again, after I burn off the calories from this cake I made to use the frosting on.
I ended up making a buttercream-esque frosting instead for the cake consisting of shortening, butter, and powdered sugar. It still tasted delightfully light, fluffy, sweet and buttery.
By the way, I cheat. I used a boxed white cake. Not only was it boxed, but funfetti as well. I did spiff it up a little with whipped egg whites to make it extra fluffy. (Alton said its okay to used boxed cake as long as you make your own frosting!!!!)
You will need:
1 boxed white cake mix (get one where you have the option of using whole eggs, or just the whites)
oil
water
eggs (follow the box for the amount needed)
seed free fruit spread (I used Raspberry Polaner’s Fruit Spread)
shortening
butter (softened)
powdered sugar
Start by greasing two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
Following the directions for making a cake using only egg whites, separate as many eggs as needed and place the egg whites into a chilled metal bowl.
Beat the egg whites with a cleaner than clean beater until stiff peaks form. If your beaters are dirty, the egg whites will not be able to fluff properly.
In a separate bowl mix together the cake mix, water, and oil (or whatever the box says to mix together). DO NOTADDTHEEGGSYET!
Beat the cake mix for a couple minutes until mixed.
When the batter is mixed, slowly fold in the whipped egg whites. Mix in about 1/3 of the egg whites at a time until they are all mixed in.
Pour half of the mixture into each of the cake pans.
Bake the cake as directed on the box (mine said 27-31 minutes at 350 degrees F).
The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, and the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.
Allow the cakes to cool completely (I’m serious here, LETTHEMCOOL).
If you really need to eat some slice a very thin slice off the top of the cake, no chunks!!!
(Here is where I began to get very upset at my failing buttercream, so there aren’t pictures for all the steps, nor did I actually measure anything out, sorry!)
Start making your fake buttercream icing.
I used about a 1 to 1 ratio of shortening to butter in this icing. I wanted the butter for flavor, but the shortening to help keep things smooooooooth. Use as much as you want, I used about a cup of each (I wasn’t measuring, just adding things randomly).
Mix these with a blender on medium to high speed. Until nice smooth and silky. I beat for 2-3 minutes, you may need to do it longer depending on the temperature and softness of your ingredients.
Now comes the powdered sugar. (No pictures sorry!)
Sift about 1 cup of powdered sugar to start with.
Stop the beaters for a second and add about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of sifted powdered sugar. Stir a little bit with a spatula to incoporate just slightly so the sugar doesn’t go everywhere when you turn the beaters back on.
Mix with beaters until the sugar is incorporated.
Do some quality control and taste your icing. Unless it still looks shiny and greasy, you don’t have enough sugar yet, it’ll taste gross and greasy.
Keep adding sifted powdered sugar, mixing and tasting until the frosting is the consistency and sweetness that you desire.
I’m not sure what happens if you add too much sugar. I never tried that….if you do, let me know what happens.
Now back to the cakes….
Slice the cakes in half carefully with a long serrated knife.
Spread the insides of each cake with the fruit spread and put them back together as level and centered as possible (so they’re like large sandwich cookie made of two layers of cake, and some fruit spread).
Set one jelly filled cake on your cake plate (or a really big upside down plate in my case).
Plop about 1 cup of frosting ontop of that and spread it out.
Set the second fruit spread filled cake ontop of that as centered as possible (a.k.a. not like mine).
Then plop down what is left of the frosting (minus that spoonful to eat later). I mean all of it here people! It really actually will make it easier to frost. I don’t know why but its easier to take frosting off than put more on (especially when your frostings got those cake crumb nasties mixed into it because you didn’t put enough on to start!).
Spread around until the whole thing is covered.
DELICIOUS.
Ok if you really wanted to you could get all fancy and smooth out the frosting, and maybe even make some more color it and add some flowers.
At this point though with all the issues I had with the original buttercream, I just wanted to eat the damn cake.
Oh, and here is the episode that inspired this madness:
Second half mostly on how to ice your cake once the frosting is made:
I made this smoothie this morning to hide a bunch of stuff I didn’t want to taste. I’m suffering from my second spell of illness in the past month. It has not been fun. (It’s also why I haven’t been posting, who wants to eat something a sicko ate?)
My dad gave me some anti-viral elderberry extract to help me get better, and stay better. Its not that it tastes bad, its elderberry extract, its just stronger than strong. Usually when you think of extracts you think of little bottles of alcohol-y fruit flavored liquids you add to things you are cooking or baking. Not this stuff, this stuff is almost as thick as honey, and as dark as molasses. Usually I take a spoonful of the stuff and pour it right down the back of my throat. This morning my brother’s magic bullet sitting right next to the bottle of extract was calling to me.
This cheesecake is only brought out during the holiday season. Mostly because it uses crushed candy canes and those are a little hard to find in the middle of July (starlight mints, the red and white ones, work but don’t tint the cheesecake as pink). Peppermint flavor screams winter and the holidays as well.
This recipe is so good, I’m just going to get to the point and let you try it for yourself.
(Please excuse the not-so-great photography this time, I’m dog sitting and the lighting in their kitchen isn’t so great for photos.)
Ingredients:
Oreo Cookies (or chocolate crumbs)
Butter or margarine, melted
1 envelope (or 1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
16-oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candies
1 cup whipping cream
2 1.05 oz milk chocolate candy bars
1 9-inch round spring-form pan.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Crush the cookies. I used a blender/food processor to crush the cookies. Make sure the crumbs don’t become too fine, otherwise the crust will be too hard. The original recipe called for 1 cup, but thats never enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
Mix between 2 and 3 tablespoons of butter for each 1 cup of cookie crumbs you use.
Start with a little butter, only adding more butter if the crumbs aren’t sticking together well. Adding too much butter makes the crust really hard. Press the crumb/butter mixture into the bottom of a spring-form pan.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven (350 degrees F). Cool.
Crush the peppermints or candy canes. I used starlight mints this time because for some weird reason the grocery store didn’t have any (its two days before Christmas people!). I used about 25 mints (usually about 3 candy canes).
The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of crushed peppermints, I like using a little more about 1/3 to 1/2 cup. Adjust the amount to your taste, if you really like mint use more. If you don’t like mint, or are making this for someone else, use the original amount.
Soften gelatin in the 1/4 cup cold water. Stir over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved.
Combine the cream cheese and sugar together until well blended.
Add the melted and cooled gelatin.
Gradually add the milk, doing your best to keep the mixture as smooth as possible.
Fold in the crushed peppermints.
Chop the chocolate into small chunks. (I use about half a 5 oz hershey’s symphony bar, I like extra chocolate.)
Whip the cream.
Fold in the whipped cream and chocolate pieces.
Pour the mixture over the cooled crust.
Chill in the refrigerator until firm.
Slide a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to help release it from the pan. Slice and serve. (Pictures of that tomorrow.)
Oreo Cookies (or chocolate crumbs)
Butter or margarine, melted
1 envelope (or 1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
16-oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candies
1 cup whipping cream
2 1.05 oz milk chocolate candy bars, chopped
1 9-inch round spring-form pan.
Directions
Crush cookies into crumbs. Create a mixture of 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter to 1 cup of crumbs, increasing amount if needed to cover the bottom of the springform pan. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool.
Soften gelatin in cold water, then heat on low until dissolved. Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing until well blended. Add in the dissolved gelatin. Gradually add in the milk mixing until smooth. Fold in crushed peppermint.
Whip the whipping cream. Fold in the whipped cream and chopped chocolate. Pour over the crust and refrigerate until firm.
Last night I went and hung out with Amy. She has been busy, busy, busy making chocolates for gifts for Christmas. She was already in the middle of finishing up the cherry cordials when I got there.
Cherry cordials are something you have to pay attention to while you’re making them, so I left her to her chocolatey ways. Instead I helped her mom dismember some retarded quilt squares that were put together backwards. We also decided the menu for dinner on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve Menu:
Honey Baked Ham
Green Beans
Summer Corn
Twice baked potatoes
Pizza wreath
Cranberry Mint Punch
Corn Bread
And dessert provided by me, Peppermint Cheesecake (and its no-bake!). I’ll be making this Sunday night so if you would like to make one too here is a list of things you will need:
Oreo Cookies (or chocolate cookie crumbs), butter, unflavored gelatin, 16 oz cream cheese, sugar, water, milk, peppermint candy, heavy cream, and milk chocolate candy bars, some beaters, and a springform pan.
about 12 oz of crushed peppermint candies (candy canes or starlight mints, or other hard peppermint candy)
a 9 × 13 pan lined with wax paper.
Melt 1 lb of the brown melting chocolate until smooth.
Spread into the bottom of the lined pan so it is a uniform thickness. Work quickly before the chocolate sets.
Place pan into the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.
While the chocolate is cooling in the fridge, melt the white chocolate.
Take the pan of brown chocolate out of the fridge and spread the white chocolate ontop of the brown chocolate.
Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candies ontop of the white chocolate before it hardens, using your hands to press the crushed candy into the chocolate if needed.
Place in the refrigerator until cooled.
Remove from the refrigerator and peel away the wax paper. Break the large sheet of peppermint park into smaller manageable pieces.
Here is a simple recipe version of Amy’s Cordials, the amounts are not exact, you kind of just go along as you’re making them until you’re out of one ingredient or another, or have made as many as you want to (at least thats how we’ve done it).
Sorry I do not know what types of molds she had or what brand fondant she used. All of her supplies came from the Hartville Chocolate Factory though, so I’m sure if you call them they can give you the details! (I’ll also update this with a link to the information when I get it from amy later.) When you initially mix the fondant, it looks like a thick powdered sugar/water mixture. When it sets up with the cherries inside the chocolates though, it turns into a delicious cherry flavored liquid.
Ingredients:
Melting Chocolate
Fondant
Maraschino Cherries
Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. Slice the cherries into halfs or quarters (depending on the size of the cherries). Dry them the best you can with a tea towel or paper towels (be careful of towel fuzz!).
The fondant that Amy had was a 1 to 5 ratio of cherry juice to fondant, so for each 5 teaspoons of fondant powder, she added 1 teaspoon of cherry juice.
Melt the chocolate. Spoon a small amount of chocolate into each mold. Using a paintbrush brush the chocolate up the sides of each mold. Set in the freezer a minute or two to quickly set the chocolate. If the shell on the sides of the mold is too thin for your liking, add another layer of melted chocolate, and quickly freeze again.
Place a piece or two of cherry into each hardened cherry cordial mold. Top carefully with a small amount of fondant and allow the fondant to flow to the bottom of the cups.
When the fondant has settled, top with melted chocolate. Set in refrigerator to cool until solid.
I am a cookie making machine. This is the fourth type of cookie I have made in the past week (Chocolate Mint Snappers, Jelly Thumbprints, and some Peanutbutter cookies that are coming soon).
These are light, citrus-y, with just the right amount of crunch to them while still being delightfully chewy. The flavor is reminiscent of fresh squeezed orange juice that tickles your tongue. They’re just the thing to perk you up in the middle of a dreary, dark, cold winter.
Ingredients
Cookies:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
zest of 2 oranges
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Rolling Sugar:
1/4 cup sugar
red and yellow food coloring (or orange)
(or 1/4 c orange colored sugar)
Orange Glaze:
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and orange zest.
Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, and add in parts to the wet mix. Mix until just combined.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (but work quickly and don’t add too much four or the cookies will be tough).
Cut the dough in half and shape into 2 rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and chill the dough logs in the refrigerator over night, or at least 4 hours, until very firm.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together the powdered sugar and orange juice to make a glaze.
Add a couple drops of food coloring to the 1/4 c of sugar, and stir, stir, stir, stir. Stir until there are no blobules of food coloring left and the sugar is orange in color. (It works really!)
Retrieve the dough from the refrigerator. It should have flattened a little into an oval shape on its own. If it hasn’t, thats ok too. Carefully unwrap from the waxed paper and roll in the colored sugar. Don’t be afraid to pat the sugar into the dough.
Slice the dough 1/4 inch thick, and arrange on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are very lightly browned.
If at any point the dough is difficult to slice, stick it in the freezer for a minute to re-firm it.
Transfer the cookies to cooling racks while still hot, and brush with the orange icing you prepared earlier. (Slide some wax paper under the rack to catch drips.)
These cookies are a holiday staple in my family. I can’t think of a year that someone didn’t make at least one batch of these cookies.
The original recipe calls for apricot jam or preserves to fill the cookies, but any flavor can work. I have found in the past that jam or preserves are best, jelly is too runny and has too much sugar in it. Last time I used grape jelly the fruity dots caramelized or escaped the cookie and ran all over the baking sheet. My favorite is raspberry and strawberry preserves.
This recipe makes about 7 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used the juice from half a lemon)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (I used the zest from one whole lemon)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup apricot preserves (or strawberry, or raspberry, or peach, or …)
Directions
Start by zesting and juicing your lemon (if you’re using the real stuff).
Add the butter, sugar, and cream cheese to the mixing bowl. To soften the butter and cream cheese, I zap each for 30 seconds on high in the microwave (watch them so they don’t melt!).
Cream these three ingredients together until smooth and creamy (and tasty!)
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
Mix until smooth and liquid looking. There will be a few blobs of cream cheese left, but it should be mostly uniform looking.
Combine the flour and baking powder.
Stir into the cream cheese mixture about 1/3 at a time, until just combined.
You’ll have to switch over from the mixer to a spoon and man power towards the end of adding the flour.
Cover and stick in the refrigerator or freezer until firm (it depends on how much time you have to make these). Do not skip this! You’ll be covered in sticky dough if you do.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Roll level tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. The original directions say to use ungreased sheets, but my cookies stuck. Keep the dough in the fridge or freezer while the cookies are baking. This keeps the dough firm and easy to roll into balls.
Make an indentation in the center of each ball. I used a handy coffee scoop lightly greased to do this, but your fingers work well too.
They should look something like this:
Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of your chosen jelly or preserves.
The directions say to bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. The cookies become a little dry and too crumbly for my liking and I found that 10 minutes works just fine. The insides of the cookies are baked through, but are still soft and moist (the way a cookie should be).
Allow to cool for two minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Be careful if the jelly centers are runny, hot jam burns.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used the juice from half a lemon)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (I used the zest from one whole lemon)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup apricot preserves (or strawberry, or raspberry, or peach, or …)
Directions
Zest and juice the lemon (if using real lemon juice). Combine the butter, sugar and cream cheese. Mix until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, than the lemon juice and zest.
In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients slowly, in parts. Mix well.
Put the dough in the refrigerator or freezer until chilled (about an hour in the refrigerator half hour in the freezer).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Shape level tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls. Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Using your finger, thumb, or other implement make an indentation in the center to fill with jam/preserves.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until set and very lightly browned.
How many dozen cookies did you say you need? Seven? Thats how many cookies? 84? And why didn’t you mention this earlier, like Sunday, when I loafed around the house with nothing better to do than catch up on my movie watching?
Last night I spent three hours making 9 dozen chocolate mint snappers – for my Mom. She has a cookie trade today with 14 other people. Fourteen people multiplied by six cookies each = 7 dozen cookies. The last two dozen we’re keeping. The recipe makes 3 dozen cookies, so two batches wouldn’t be enough, so three it was.
These cookies are rolled into balls then coated with sugar before being baked. They flatten out as they cool into a flat crispy crunchy cookie.
Of course I’m the brainiac who thinks, why yes, I can make all three batches at one time!
After making three batches in one bowl at the same time, I don’t recommend it. I had added about 2 cups of the flour when I realized my brand new kitchenaid wasn’t going to make it through the last three cups.
I ended up sitting on the floor so I could get a tight enough grip on the bowl to mix all of the ingredients together (don’t worry, no floor related ickness or dirt entered the cookie making process, i just needed the stability of the floor).
Finally the dough was mixed, I then spent the next two hours forming balls, rolling them in sugar and baking them for fifteen minutes. Not the most enthralling way to spend an evening, but definitely tasty, and I helped my Mom.
Chocolate Mint Snappers
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1 3/4 cups unsifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
sugar for coating
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the chocolate chips over hot (not boiling) water. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl combine shortening, sugar and egg; beat until creamy.
Mix in corn syrup, peppermint extract and melted chocolate.
Gradually blend in flour.
Shape dough into balls using 1 level tablespoon dough for each.
Roll in sugar.
Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 3 dozen cookies.
Stumble It! | 
It whirled all right but it didn’t fluff thats for sure. The butter kept breaking and separating even at the lowest setting, so all I had was at the end was a thick buttery sugary syrup. It tasted great, it just not quite right for frosting a cake with.
