I’ll admit, this is one of those recipes that people think took you hours to make because it is so tasty, but in fact there are only 6 ingredients (two of which I didn’t really use), and the whole thing probably took me about 15 minutes (minus refrigeration time).
The recipe is from Gordon Ramsay’s book, Fast Food. Seriously, this is some fast food!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (125 ml) light brown sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups (550 ml) whipping cream, chilled
4 large ripe bananas, (chilled in the freezer 1-2 hours)
squeeze of lemon juice
semisweet chocolate for grating
First add the sugar, butter and 2/3 of a cup of cream in a pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
Continue to cook, letting it bubble for a minute or two stirring frequently (you don’t want it to burn!). Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
Next get out your blender and add the remaining cream, bananas you have cut into smaller pieces,
and a squeeze of lemon juice, into it.
Blend away until its smooth, creamy and thick. Really. That’s all you have to do. No really, thats it!
Next Gordon has you make them all fancy into separate dishes, but since I was taking mine to a party this is what I did. Spoon about 1/3 of the caramel sauce into a 9 × 9 glass baking dish (or well whatever you want to serve this thing in). Next add the banana mousse. Then spoon another 1/3 over the top of the bananas. Stir until swirled. Add the last 1/3 and swirl into the banana mousse again.
Finally shave some chocolate over the top, or do like I did and just sprinkle some chocolate powder you use for baking over the top. Its really not too bitter considering how sweet the rest of the dish is.
Refrigerate for a few hours and serve!
That’s it, really!
Told you it was fast!
No Images Version:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (125 ml) light brown sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups (550 ml) whipping cream, chilled
4 large ripe bananas, (chilled in the freezer 1-2 hours)
squeeze of lemon juice
semisweet chocolate for grating
First add the sugar, butter and 2/3 of a cup of cream in a pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Continue to cook, letting it bubble for a minute or two stirring frequently (you don’t want it to burn!). Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
Next get out your blender and add the remaining cream, bananas you have cut into smaller pieces, and a squeeze of lemon juice, into it. Blend away until its smooth, creamy and thick. Really. That’s all you have to do. No really, thats it!
Next Gordon has you make them all fancy into separate dishes, but since I was taking mine to a party this is what I did. Spoon about 1/3 of the caramel sauce into a 9 × 9 glass baking dish (or well whatever you want to serve this thing in). Next add the banana mousse. Then spoon another 1/3 over the top of the bananas. Stir until swirled. Add the last 1/3 and swirl into the banana mousse again.
Finally shave some chocolate over the top, or do like I did and just sprinkle some chocolate powder you use for baking over the top. Its really not too bitter considering how sweet the rest of the dish is.
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!
I made this salad a few weeks ago to take to a friends 4th of July barbeque (I’m really late, I know). I love basil, it is so tasty. I’ve got three plants growing in my back yard and I have more than I know what to do with!
I’ve always wanted to make my own pesto, and now I finally have enough fresh basil to do so! The recipe consists of a creamy buttermilk based dressing with garlic and pesto, mixed with noodles, fresh veggies and real mozzarella cheese chunks. Its really easy and really tasty.
I came up with this recipe by taking bits and pieces from all over the internet, and mixing in some of my own tastes! It has quite a few steps, but that’s only because I made my own pesto, but its relatively simple.
Ingredients
Dressing:
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoons rice vinegar
Pesto:
(or use 1 cup pre-made jarred pesto)
(this part is from simply recipes)
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad:
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup green beans
1 cup chopped zucchini (about one squash)
(if you prefer different veggies, use whatever you want!)
1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1 big ball of fresh mozzarella, cubed (or a bunch of the little balls, shredded if that’s all you’ve got!)
16 oz your choices of pasta (I used fusilli, but was seriously contemplating some bowtie)
Boil the pasta according to the box directions, drain, and allow to cool.
Mix together the buttermilk, sour cream, mayonnaise and garlic, set aside to let those flavors meld.
Prepare the pesto.
Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Set aside.
If you don’t like crispy veggies, lightly steam the zucchini and green beans. Don’t let them turn to mush though, it’ll just make the salad a mess
Toss together the pasta, and other salad ingredients, reserving a handful of Parmesan, mozzarella and tomatoes to top the salad.
Just before serving mix together everything but the reserved ingredients. Top the salad with the reserved ingredients and a few whole basil leaves to make everything look pretty.
Alton talks about six different kinds of baking in that book, the method used for the banana bread is the “muffin method”. This method you combine the wet items in a bowl, the dry in a separate bowl, then add the wet to the dry.
One of the things Alton does differently is he measures his ingredients by weight not volume, like professional bakers do. I’ve made the bread both ways, by using cups and tablespoons, as well as getting my awesome new scale out and measuring the ingredients by weight, both ways make a similar loaf.
This banana bread is simple and basic. It doesn’t have any frilly flavors like lemon, or poppy seed, and it doesn’t have any other fruits in it. Its just plain ole banana bread, a tasty staple.
I of course made a few minor changes. The first time I made it I didn’t have any oat flour, so I just replaced that with all-purpose flour. Lately I’ve been baking with whole wheat flour, so I’ve replaced the all-purpose flour with that. The whole wheat makes it thicker, and it eats like a meal. The original recipe also calls for nuts, but nuts are expensive, and many people I know can’t eat them for a variety of reasons, so I usually leave them out.
Ingredients:
Wet Works 1
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Overripe bananas
340 g
3 – 4
Sugar
210 g
1 cup
Dry Goods
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Whole Wheat Flour (or all-purpose)
220 g
1 2/3 cup
Oat Flour
35 g
1/3 cup
Baking Soda
6 g
1 tsp
Salt
6 g
1 tsp
Wet Works 2
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Unsalted Butter
113 g
8 tbs
1 stick
melted and cooled
Eggs
100 g
2 large
Almond Extract
6 g
1 tsp
Optional:
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Nuts (walnuts,pecans, or almonds)
1 cup
chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Grease a loaf pan and line with wax paper.
Peel the bananas.
Mash them. The weight is a little more than what the recipe calls for. This made and OK banana bread, not great. The added banana makes the loaf a little wet when it comes out of the oven, just remember, less bananas means drier bread, more means wetter.
Add 210 grams (or 1 cup) of sugar.
In another bowl melt the butter (this is the butter unmelted).
Two eggs is pretty close to the 100 grams!
Add those to the butter.
Then add the butter/egg mixture (wet works 2) and the almond or vanilla extract to the banana mixture (wet works 1).
Next measure out the “Dry Goods”.
You’ll need 35 grams (1/3 cup) oat flour.
Then 220 grams (1 2/3 cups) of whole wheat or all-purpose flour.
Then 6 grams (1 tsp) each of baking soda and salt.
Add the combined “Wet Works” to the “Dry Goods” and stir until combined.
If you are using the nuts, add them now (I’m not so there aren’t any pictures).
Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until a thermometer placed into the middle of the loaf registers 210 degrees F (100 degrees C).
Allow to cool on the stovetop for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Store the bread tightly wrapped for upto a week.
Summary:
Ingredients:
Wet Works 1
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Overripe bananas
340 g
3 – 4
Sugar
210 g
1 cup
Dry Goods
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Whole Wheat Flour (or all-purpose)
220 g
1 2/3 cup
Oat Flour
35 g
1/3 cup
Baking Soda
6 g
1 tsp
Salt
6 g
1 tsp
Wet Works 2
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Unsalted Butter
113 g
8 tbs
1 stick
melted and cooled
Eggs
100 g
2 large
Almond Extract
6 g
1 tsp
Optional:
Ingredient
Weight
Volume
Count
Prep
Nuts (walnuts,pecans, or almonds)
1 cup
chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Grease a loaf pan and line with wax paper.
Peel the bananas and mash them. The weight is a little more than what the recipe calls for. This made and OK banana bread, not great. The added banana makes the loaf a little wet when it comes out of the oven, just remember, less bananas means drier bread, more means wetter.
Add 210 grams (or 1 cup) of sugar.
In another bowl melt the butter (this is the butter unmelted) and allow it to cool. Add the two eggs and almond or vanilla extract.
Then add the butter/egg mixture (wet works 2) to the banana mixture (wet works 1).
Next measure out the “Dry Goods”.
You’ll need 35 grams (1/3 cup) oat flour, 220 grams (1 2/3 cups) of whole wheat or all-purpose flour and 6 grams (1 tsp) each of baking soda and salt.
Add the combined “Wet Works” to the “Dry Goods” and stir until combined. If you are using the nuts, stir them in now.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until a thermometer placed into the middle of the loaf registers 210 degrees F (100 degrees C). If you stick a toothpick in the loaf it may come out gooey. Don’t worry this will set-up as it cools, if you wait for it to come out clean, the outside of the loaf will burn. The bread is fine as long as the inside reaches 210 degrees F.
Allow to cool on the stovetop for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Its one of my favorite vegetable dishes, and really easy to make. Almost as easy as opening a can, but better.
When its tomato season again I plan on making this with fresh tomatos. As part of the natural food diet I’m on, I’m trying to eat more locally and seasonally (not saying I am able to do this all the time, but I’m trying).
Ingredients:
1-2 small zucchini (or more if you have many)
1 can of plain tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (plain)
olive oil
basil
oregano
garlic
Clean and slice the zucchini into chunks. Slice the zucchini longways, then again if needed, then into small slices. Half or quarter circle chunks are a good size depending on the diameter of the zucchini.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the zucchini. Saute until tender.
Next add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
The tomatoes I used already had garlic, oregano, and basil in them. Normally I use plain diced tomatoes, and they usually aren’t organic. This is just what my parents had in their pantry, so its what I used.
At this point, add some garlic powder, oregano and basil to flavor.
Stir and cook until the tomato flavor is saturated throughout the dish.
I’m told that when I was a baby/toddler my grandfather used to give me whole onions to just munch on like you would an apple. I’m not as fond of onions now as I was then.
Whenever I order something like a hamburger or sandwich, I very strictly specify no onions. I can’t stand the things, most of the time they’re little crunchy chunks of strong taste that usually just mess up whatever I’m eating. If they aren’t crunchy then they’re long and stringy.
The first time I made cucumber salad I left the onions out because I thought they were gross. The resulting salad was even worse though.
One thing that does include onions that I love, and don’t even mind eating the onions in, is french onion soup. I’ll admit, the only reason I ate it in the first place was the the melted cheese on top. Then I found out french onion soup, doesn’t taste like onions.
Up until this point I had been dining on soup from restaurants. The canned stuff was just disgusting and my mom’s was just lacking.
I’m still working on perfecting on my personal recipe every time I make it, but this is what I have so far:
Ingredients:
1 large spanish onion (I prefer this to a yellow or sweet onion)
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp flour
4 cups beef broth (or vegetable)
pepper
1/2 tsp ground sage
For toasty cheese topping:
1 slice of toasted bread cubed or sliced (your preference)
1-2 slices of swiss cheese, or shredded, (or mozzarella, or gruyere)
Peel and slice the onion very thinly. If you don’t want long stringy pieces of onion cut the slice in half.
Melt the butter in the olive oil on low heat in a large soup pot, making sure it doesn’t burn. Add the onions and stir to coat.
Cook the onions on low heat until translucent and soft.
Add the salt and sugar, stir.
Bring the heat up to medium, medium-high heat, and cook until a deep golden brown throughout. Stir frequently making sure that they cook, but not burn. At this point they’ve broken down, and only partially still look like onions.
When they are cooked, turn the heat down again to low and stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir with the onions until the onions are coated and the mixture is paste-like. If the flour is not sticking, add another tablespoon of butter. Cook another minute or two so that the flour browns.
Add about 1 cup of the beef broth and mix well. It should be a thick consistency without any lumps but the onions.
Add the rest of the beef broth and stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and sage.
Allow to simmer for approximately 1 hour.
Serve as is, with cheese topping:
Toast some bread in a toaster, or brush with olive oil and brown under a broiler.
Pour the soup into am oven/broiler proof dish, top with the toasted bread and sprinkle with cheese (or place a slice of cheese over the entire dish).
Broil or bake at 400 degrees F until the cheese is melty and tasty.
So, potato soup is boring and white looking, with maybe little bits and pieces in it. But the taste is much more exciting.
I started with a basic Potato Leek Soup from Simply Recipes and modified it a little to fit my taste, ending up with a tasty smooth simple potato soup.
Ingredients:
3 large leeks
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
4 medium to large sized potatoes
Salt & Pepper
Start with three leeks:
Trim the leafy bits and the hairy bits from them:
(Dude! They took my hair off!)
Slice them lengthwise:
(Wow, man! Look at your insides!)
Then chop them all to pieces, and rinse them well in a colander:
(Well this sucks.)
Melt the butter in a really big soup pot:
Add the leeks and cook on low for 10 minutes. DO NOTLETTHEMBURN OR BROWN! They’ll taste gross if you do.
While those are cooking, peel and chop the potatoes into about 1/2 inch pieces (or smaller if you want them to cook faster):
(Dude, you’re nekkid. Yeah man so are you!)
Add them to the leeks and add the water and broth:
Cook for 20 Minutes. The soup is almost done when the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, and the mix looks kinda goupy:
Now comes the tricky part.
If you have a stick blender you can stick in the pot to blend up some of the potatoes, this is the easiest way.
If you don’t very very carefully, pour out half of the soup. Put that into a blender and blend until smooth. CAREFULLY! This stuff is hot hot hot!
Add the blended mixture back into the other half still in the pot and stir to combine.
Carefully do a taste test without burning your tongue. Add salt and pepper as needed until you like how it tastes. There are other things you can add to it like hot sauce, marjoram, or other spices, but I like things like this to be simple.
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’m just going to get to the point, they’re dim sum, they’re finger food, they’re oriental, and they’re sesame seed covered goodness.
The ingredients for these tasty balls are simple, but might be hard to find if you don’t have an Asian market near by. Then again, there’s always the internet. If you can’t find what you need in the Asian market, ask! Many times items are only labeled with their native language, the people working in the store will be more than happy to find you what you need.
I got my recipe from the book Classic Deem Sum by Henry Chan, Yukio Haydock, and Bob Haydock. The recipes are from Yank Sing Restaurant in San Francisco. The book was published in 1985 so it might be a little hard to find. I found mine at the library but there are a few on Amazon.
I modified their recipe a little bit. Red bean paste is easily found already prepared in Asian markets, so I used prepared red bean paste instead of making my own.
The recipe calls for wheat starch. Wheat starch is NOT wheat flour. Wheat starch is finer and resembles corn starch more than flour. I found mine at my local Asian market.
Make one batch of sweet rice dough at least two hours in advance.
Sweet Rice Dough:
Ingredients
2 cups sweet rice flour
3/4 c water
1/4 c lard, softened (I used crisco)
2/3 c wheat starch
1/4 c dark brown sugar, packed
2/3 c boiling water
Start with the rice flour
Mix in the water.
Mix by hand until the mixture forms a dough, set aside.
Add the lard (or crisco) to the wheat starch.
Mix together. I used a fork to do this, much like you would for a pie crust.
Add the brown sugar to 2/3 cup water and stir until dissolved.
Bring to a boil.
This next part is a little tricky and involves hot boiling sugar water, so there aren’t any pictures.
To the wheat starch and lard mixture, quickly pour the boiling sugar water mixture while stirring vigorously until combined. (See told you this was tricky.)
It should look like this when combined.
Add the wheat starch mixture to the rice flour and mix well by hand.
The instructions then say to turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until thoroughly mixed, about 10 minutes. I realized my handy kitchenaid would work much better, and tossed it in there for a while until the dough formed a nice ball.
Flatten the dough to 1/2 and inch and wrap in plastic wrap.
Preheat 4/6 cups of oil (or heat your deep fryer) to 360 degrees F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Rewrap one half and set aside. Knead the other portion a few times and roll into a 1 inch dough worm.
Cut dough into 20 sections and roll each into a ball. Cover and repeat with the other half of the dough.
The bean paste I had was a little watery so I drained it a bit. I took a spoonful at a time and set it in a couple paper towels (a tea towel would work well also). Fold over the towel and squeeze to remove some of the water. When you unfold the towel the paste should be noticeably drier.
Take one of the balls and form into a shallow cup.
Add a dab of the bean paste 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon to the center of the cup.
Bring the sides up to close the opening and roll in the palm to make an even ball.
Roll this ball into white sesame seeds to coat.
Fry the sesame seed balls in 360 degree F oil about 4-6 at a time. Remove each ball when it begins to float. Drain on a rack or paper towels, serve hot.
8 oz dried red beans
1/4 c black sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 c lard (or crisco)
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1. Wash beans in cold water. Discard any that float.
2. Put beans into a 2-quart pan. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat.
3. When water boils, add 1/2 c more water and reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until beans are tender enough to be easily mashed between thumb and finger, about 2 hours. Replace water as necessary to keep beans covered. Cool in liquid to room temperature.
4. Place beans and liquid in bowl of food processor with metal blade. Puree.
5. Place towel in mixing bowl. Pour in beans. Gather four corners together and twist to squeeze out excess liquid. Discard liquid.
6. Toast black sesame seeds and pulverize in a food processor or blender. Set aside.
7. Heat lard in wok over medium heat until liquified. Add bean paste, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until beans are the consistency of slightly dry mashed potatoes, about 25 minutes. Make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
8. Stir in pulverized black sesame seeds at this point. The mixture should be very thick.
9. Place in a shallow bowl and cool to room temperature.
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.
I am not vegetarian, let alone vegan, but I know many people who are. I bought this really awesome cookbook for a really awesome friend who blogs on a really awesome pet blog, and I couldn’t help but go through it before sending it on its way. It was hard not photocopying the whole thing, but I restrained myself and pulled only a few recipes out.
The cookbook was Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, writting by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. If you haven’t seen this book, pick a copy up for yourself. These authors’ other books are awesome as well.
I was vegetarian back in the day (I won’t say how long ago, that just makes me feel old). I was young and had no idea what I was doing beyond not eating meat. It became a pain in the butt because I was young, dependent on my parents yet, and my dad was big on making roasts for dinner, so I eventually stopped.
Living on my own was the next time I came close to being vegetarian. I didn’t do it on purpose, it was just easier and cheaper to make meals without as much meat, or with no meat at all.
Since buying this book for my friend, I’ve become re-interested in vegetarian and vegan foods. They are healthier, cheaper, and you’re helping sweet furry cuddly animals. I could probably be vegetarian again one day, but it would be some serious work to be vegan. I love egg and dairy products too much, I don’t know if I could live without cheese (no matter how much I’ve found out its really not good for you).
I decided to make one batch of the special flavors of cupcakes from the cookbook, the orange pudding cupcakes, and a batch of plain golden cupcakes with chocolate frosting. The initial results weren’t as amazing as I expected. Right out of the oven they were a little dry, and more earthy than sweet tasting.
I decided to use my friends as food guinea pigs though, and fed them a few too see what they thought. All of my taste testers thought they were great and were really surprised when I told them that they were vegan. They didn’t agree with me at all about the flavors. Since there was such a consensus about how great they were I had to try another one.
They taste better the next day! They became moister and the sweet flavor associated with cupcakes were there. So if you make these and aren’t overly impressed as soon as they come out of the oven, frost them, and let them sit and develop their animal free cupcake-y goodness.
Orange Pudding Cupcakes
These are some tasty citrus cupcakes. I used orange buttercream frosting instead of the ganache used in the recipe in the book. These were light, and I didn’t want to overpower them with a big blob of chocolate on the top (even though chocolate orange is the awesome!). I also didn’t have any marmalade on hand, so I just omitted that part.
3/4 c soy milk
1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp tapioca flour, cornstarch or arrow root
1/4 c plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp of turmeric for color (optional)
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
Whisk together the soy milk, orange juice, tapioca flour, sugar, vanilla and tumeric (if using) in a small heavy bottomed saucepan. (I used a spoon because I’m once again house-sitting and am whiskless, and its a nonstick saucepan.) I used cornstarch because that is what I had on hand, but I think one of the other choices would work better, the cornstarch left the pudding starchy tasting (but still good).
Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is warm and steaming, whisking occasionally.
When the mixture is warm, reduce the heat to low, and stir constantly for 5 minutes as the mixture thickens. When the pudding becomes too thick for a whisk switch to a fork (or like me stick with the spoon).
When the mixture is sufficiently thick and pudding-y, turn off the heat and fold in the orange zest, mixing for another minute.
Transfer the pudding to a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes until the mixture stops steaming. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, it will continue to thicken as it cools.
Next make the cupcakes:
1/3 c canola oil
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c soy milk
1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Measure out the flour in a small bowl.
In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, soy milk, orange juice, and vanilla.
To that mixture add 1 tbsp of flour from the flour in the bowl and mix until combined. This will help emulsify the mixture.
As you can see in the picture before adding the flour, there are large blobs of oil dispersed throughout, after mixing in the flour, there are still drops of oil, but they are smaller and more evenly dispersed.
Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition until smooth.
Fold in the orange zest and mix to distribute.
Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. (I love my silicone muffin tray by the way.)
Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees F. The tops should spring back when touched, and a toothpick come out clean when inserted into the center of a cupcake.
Remove from the muffin tin and cool completely on a baking rack before filling with the pudding, or frosting.
Orange Buttercream Frosting
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small bowl combine the margarine and shortening until well combined.
Add the confectioners sugar in about 1/2 cup additions.
After each addition of sugar, add a splash of orange juice and beat well with mixers on medium speed.
Add the vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes until the frosting is smooth, creamy and fluffy. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. (I put mine in a plastic ziplock bag.)
Assemble
Fit a pastry bag with the widest tip possible, and fill the bag with pudding (use common sense when doing this). Or take a plastic ziplock bag and fill with pudding. Using scissors snip of a corner of the bag to create a poor mans pastry bag.
Using your finger, poke a hole in the top of each cupcake and kind of squish the cupcake around so there is room to pipe pudding into the centers. (High tech I know!)
Pipe the pudding into the cupcakes. Do this by sticking the bag as far as you can into the cupcake, and squeeze the pudding in while supporting the cupcake with your other hand. You want to fill them up as much as possible, don’t be afraid if a little comes out the top of the cupcakes.
When all of the cupcakes are filled use your finger to wipe off access pudding (or a knife if you’re sanitary like that or are feeding them to other people).
Pipe the orange buttercream frosting ontop of the cupcakes decoratively. Or just use a knife or spatula and slap some on there, they’ll taste good either way!
Set the cupcakes in the refrigerator to set the frosting. Eat. (They taste best the second day after the orange and sweetness has had time to soak through the entire cupcake.)
3/4 c soy milk
1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp tapioca flour, cornstarch or arrow root
1/4 c plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp of turmeric for color (optional)
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
The cupcakes:
1/3 c canola oil
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c soy milk
1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest.
Orange Buttercream Frosting:
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the pudding:
Whisk together the soy milk, orange juice, tapioca flour, sugar, vanilla and tumeric (if using) in a small heavy bottomed saucepan.
Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is warm and steaming, whisking occasionally.
When the mixture is warm, reduce the heat to low, and stir constantly for 5 minutes as the mixture thickens. When the pudding becomes too thick for a whisk switch to a fork.
When the mixture is sufficiently thick and pudding-y, turn off the heat and fold in the orange zest, mixing for another minute.
Transfer the pudding to a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes until the mixture stops steaming. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, it will continue to thicken as it cools.
Next make the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Measure out the flour in a small bowl.
In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, soy milk, orange juice, and vanilla. To that mixture add 1 tbsp of flour from the flour in the bowl and mix until combined. This will help emulsify the mixture.
Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition until smooth.
Fold in the orange zest and mix to distribute.
Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. (I love my silicone muffin tray by the way.) Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees F. The tops should spring back when touched, and a toothpick come out clean when inserted into the center of a cupcake.
Remove from the muffin tin and cool completely on a baking rack before filling with the pudding, or frosting.
Orange Buttercream Frosting
In a small bowl combine the margarine and shortening until well combined. Add the confectioners sugar in about 1/2 cup additions. After each addition of sugar, add a splash of orange juice and beat well with mixers on medium speed.
Add the vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes until the frosting is smooth, creamy and fluffy. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble
Fit a pastry bag with the widest tip possible, and fill the bag with pudding (use common sense when doing this). Or take a plastic ziplock bag and fill with pudding. Using scissors snip of a corner of the bag to create a poor mans pastry bag.
Using your finger, poke a hole in the top of each cupcake and kind of squish the cupcake around so there is room to pipe pudding into the centers.
Pipe the pudding into the cupcakes. Do this by sticking the bag as far as you can into the cupcake, and squeeze the pudding in while supporting the cupcake with your other hand. You want to fill them up as much as possible, don’t be afraid if a little comes out the top of the cupcakes.
When all of the cupcakes are filled use your finger to wipe off access pudding (or a knife if you’re sanitary like that or are feeding them to other people).
Pipe the orange buttercream frosting ontop of the cupcakes decoratively. Or just use a knife or spatula and slap some on there, they’ll taste good either way!
Set the cupcakes in the refrigerator to set the frosting. Eat. (They taste best the second day after the orange and sweetness has had time to soak through the entire cupcake.)
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If you haven’t seen this book, pick a copy up for yourself. These authors’ 
