Tag Archives: baking

November 21, 2010 · 3:13 pm

Thanksgiving Dessert: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart with Streusel Topping

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A combination of so many things that I love: apples, cinnamon, cheesecake, caramel (I used homemade Dulce de Leche, or try this Caramel Sauce), and a buttery, slightly sweet oat topping. A perfect end to a Thanksgiving meal- a perfect end to just about any meal!

The recipe is long, but not complicated. While there are a lot of ingredients, each layer is easy to put together. Just make sure you have all of your layers ready to go before putting things into the pan.

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For a more pronounced caramel flavor, you could drizzle individual servings with additional caramel sauce at serving time.

I used a Cream Cheese Pastry recipe for the crust, but you could also use any basic pie crust. I bake this in a tart pan (mine has an 11” diameter). You could also use a deep dish pie pan, but you might want to reduce the amount of streusel topping and increase the baking time to make sure cheesecake layer sets.

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Cheesecake layer on the bottom.

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A caramel apple filling made with apples, brown sugar, dulce de leche or caramel sauce, and cinnamon. Use a spoon to gently and evenly distribute apples over the cheesecake filling. Try to not mix the two layers together.111010 057-1

A chunky streusel topping with a nutty oat flavor gets sprinkled over the apples.111010 058-1

Cover edges of tart with a pie crust shield. I do not own one that fits my tart pan, so I make my own out of foil. See How To…Make Your Own Pie Crust Shield. Since the tart pan has steeper sides than a regular pie plate, when you are tracing the circle to cut out, be sure to cut a circle that is about 1/2” smaller than the outside edge of the tart pan. 111010 068-1

Bake until center is set (it will still jiggle just a little in the center, but will continue to set as it cools) and streusel is golden brown. I leave the foil on for all but the last 5 minutes of baking time.  111010 073-1

The hardest part: keeping little fingers (and a few big ones) from picking at the streusel topping while the tart cools completely.

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RECIPE:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart

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Cream Cheese Pastry Crust:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 oz (½ pkg) cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs powdered sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cups flour (divided)

In a food processor, combine butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and salt. Process until smooth. Add ½ cup flour. Pulse just until flour is incorporated (do not overmix). Repeat with another ½ cup flour. Scrape dough from sides of bowl and repeat with the last ½ cup flour.

On a floured surface, flatten dough into a ½” thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or until firm enough to roll. Dough can also be frozen for later use.

Cheesecake Layer:
12 oz (1 ½ pkg) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth with a mixer.

Apple Layer:
4 cups peeled and sliced apples (about 3-4 apples)
½ cup Dulce de Leche or Caramel Sauce
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp ClearJel or cornstarch
½ tsp cinnamon
scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients.

Streusel Topping:
6 Tbs butter, melted
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
2 Tbs brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients. Mix until crumbly.

ASSEMBLY:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Move oven rack to lowest level.

Remove pastry dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle 1” larger than a 10-11” tart pan. Transfer to ungreased tart pan. Crimp edges, if desired.

Pour cheesecake filling into crust. Carefully top with apple layer. Sprinkle with streusel topping.

Cover edges of tart with a pie crust shield or aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes on lowest rack of oven. Reduce heat to 375°F, move tart to center rack, and bake for 15-25 additional minutes, or until just the very center (not the edges) jiggles when shaken lightly. Cover entire tart with foil if streusel begins to brown too much. Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE: This can be made into bars by cooking in a rectangular baking pan (put crust on bottom of the pan only, not up the sides). A 7×11” pan will give you about the same thickness as the tart, or use a 9×13” pan for slightly thinner bars.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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November 13, 2010 · 7:47 pm

Jaws 2010

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A quick break from Thanksgiving Recipes to bring you Jaws 2010. Three creative young bakers put together this fabulous 3-D Jaws Cake (complete with dismembered Barbie) for a Retro Jaws Party last night.

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An open-mouthed shark (formed out of Rice Krispies Treats) filled with blood-stained teeth (piped white chocolate) all on a sea of Red Velvet Cake. After the cake was completed the girls had a whole new respect for Cake Boss!111210 010-1

A-M-A Bakers hard at work!

111210 013-1 Many thanks to Little J for sacrificing a Barbie for the project!

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November 12, 2010 · 7:34 am

Thanksgiving: White or Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

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These white rolls are incredibly light and fluffy. Perfect for sopping up gravy, or spreading with cranberry sauce and filling with leftover turkey. The recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs: Our Best Bites. You could also shape them into crescents before baking.

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For a heartier roll: try this recipe for
Whole Wheat Honey Pull-Apart Rolls:

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The whole wheat recipe is a simpler recipe than the white rolls, as it uses instant yeast (which only requires one rise) and there is no need to heat and then cool milk. But as they are made with 100% whole wheat, they are not as light and fluffy. I happen to prefer a hearty roll, but my kids prefer the white ones.

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When making rolls for big gatherings I like to prepare and prebake them a few days ahead. To make and freeze: Bake rolls on a large parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving a little more space between rolls than if they were in a 9×13”pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until rolls just barely begin to brown. Remove from oven. Cool. Place in Ziploc freezer bags. Freeze.

On serving day: Place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until hot and golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

RECIPES:

White Dinner Rolls

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2 cups whole milk
½ cup + 1 Tbs sugar, divided
1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tbs) butter
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 pkg active dry yeast (or 4 ½ tsp)
2/3 cup warm water
8-9 cups all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, ½ cup sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbs sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. (You can also use large baking sheets) Shape each half of dough into 12 balls and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan. (Dough can also be formed into crescent rolls by rolling each dough half into a circle and cutting into 12 wedges, then rolling up in crescent shape)

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go, preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls.

Yield: 24 rolls

Recipe from Our Best Bites

NoEmptyChairs.me

Whole Wheat Honey Rolls

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2 ½ cups warm water
2 eggs
6 Tbs honey
¼ cup olive oil
5 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat gluten
¼ cup dry milk
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs instant yeast ***
1 – 2 cups additional whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl (preferable a stand mixer), add wet ingredients. Add 5 cups flour, gluten, powdered milk, salt and yeast. Mix until well combined. Knead in enough additional flour so that dough just begins to form a ball. Knead for 5-6 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes before shaping rolls.

Shape into balls (or other shape: knots are my favorite). Place in greased pans; brush with oil, cover and let rise until doubled in size. For a shiny roll: brush with slightly beaten egg  just before baking (or brush with butter immediately after removing from oven). Bake at 375°F for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

***Note: If using instant yeast, the dough only needs to rise once (after being shaped). If you are using regular yeast, allow dough to rise before shaping dough, then rise again in pans before baking.

Yield: about 3 dozen rolls

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**To prebake for serving another day: Bake rolls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving a little more space between rolls than if they were in a 9×13”pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until rolls just barely begin to brown. Remove from oven. Cool. Place in Ziploc freezer bags. Freeze.

On serving day: Place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until hot and golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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October 22, 2010 · 12:41 pm

Pumpkin Nutella Bread

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Don’t you love it that you can mix together the same basic ingredients, but bake it in a loaf pan instead of a round pan, and you suddenly have bread for “breakfast”, instead of cake for “dessert” ?!

Add a couple of ingredients like Pumpkin and Nutella, and you’ve just added vegetables and nuts (ie protein!), and now you can really fool yourself into thinking that you are eating a balanced meal.

If you have never eaten Nutella, you are definitely missing out. It is a creamy, spreadable combination of ground hazelnuts and chocolate. Cooking with it leaves you with a great excuse to lick that spatula clean-just don’t do it when your kids are around, or there will be lots of tears when you don’t share.

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I brought this Pumpkin Nutella Bread, along with some banana and zucchini breads, to our Seminary class for breakfast this morning, and it was the first to go! Although at six in the morning, a class full of teenagers will eat just about anything sweet.

The batter is a basic pumpkin bread batter, with Nutella beat into part of it, and then swirled together in a loaf pan.

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The Nutella swirls were especially moist and rich!

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This was the first time I’ve tried adding Nutella to my pumpkin bread, but I will definitely continue making it this way from now on!

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RECIPE:

Pumpkin Nutella Bread

  • Servings: Makes 2 medium loaves
  • Print

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4 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 cup melted coconut oil (or mild olive oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1 (16 oz) can of pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
¾ cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.  Stir into pumpkin mixture.  Remove 2 cups of batter and place in a small bowl. Using the mixer, beat the Nutella into the batter in the small bowl until smooth.

Grease and flour two medium loaf pans (or make one large loaf and several mini loaves or muffins). Spoon half of pumpkin batter, and then half of chocolate batter into the loaf pans. Swirl with a butter knife. Repeat layers with remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters. Swirl again.

Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, or until top of loaf springs back when touched gently (or toothpick comes out clean). Check bread after about 30 minutes: cover loosely with foil if it is beginning to brown too quickly.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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October 19, 2010 · 1:21 pm

Halloween Cookies: Mummies

 

A quick recipe-reprint from last year: our favorite Yummy Mummy Cookies. The cookie is a basic chocolate sugar cookie or regular sugar cookie dough. Coated in melted white chocolate and scored to look like a mummy.

Visit last year’s post  Yummy Mummy Cookies for details on prep.

Happy Halloween!

 

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RECIPE:

Yummy Mummy Cookies


2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1-2 pkg white chocolate chips
1-2 Tbs shortening per package of chips (not butter)
Mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs. Stir together dry ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture. Beat until blended. Refrigerate 20 minutes for easier handling, if desired.

To form mummy bodies: Roll dough into 2-3” long carrot shape. Roll a small ball for a head. Press together on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-9 minutes. Cool completely.

Microwave white chocolate chips and shortening until smooth. Coat tops of mummy cookies by placing one cookie at a time on a table knife. Hold knife over the bowl of melted white chocolate and spoon mixture over cookie. Gently tap knife to remove excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper. Place 2 mini chocolate chips on for eyes. As coating begins to set on cookies, use a toothpick to score lines into the coating to resemble mummy wrappings.  Let harden completely before storing.

FOR VANILLA MUMMY COOKIES: Use your favorite Sugar Cookie dough (one without too much spread).

Recipe adapted from Hershey’s

NoEmptyChairs.me

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October 4, 2010 · 12:01 pm

Strawberries & Cream Sponge Cake Roll

As I mentioned yesterday, this is one of my very favorite cakes. I have been baking it since I was in high school. Back then, my main sources of recipe inspiration (in addition to a wonderful mother from whom I am still inspired) were two Southern Living Annual Cookbooks. From the 80s. I have adapted this recipe somewhat from the original recipe (and often make it sugar-free and whole grain), and I still love it just as much now as I did then.

This cake is light, full of fruit, and not overly sweet. I love whipped cream as a frosting because you can easily control how sweet it is without compromising texture. This is also a cake that is easy to make healthier with some simple substitutions (see recipe at end of post). By substituting a gluten free flour (oats, brown rice, etc) this is easily made gluten free as well.

A sponge cake is made mostly of eggs with just enough flour to stabilize it, and just enough sugar that it doesn’t taste like an omelet.

Roll cakes look much more complicated than they really are, so for those who may not be familiar with baking and putting together this kind of cake, I have included a few more process pictures. This technique can also be used to make jelly-rolls, pumpkin roll cakes (another of my favorites!), Christmas Yule logs, ice-cream filled roll cakes.

The one thing that my kids don’t like about this cake is that the beaters are no fun to lick! Large amounts of raw eggs, no matter how much they’ve been whipped and what other ingredients have been thrown in, still taste pretty bad. Luckily, something magical happens in the oven, leaving you with a moist, airy cake just begging for a creamy, fruity filling.

Start by beating 5 egg whites until stiff peaks form (with a little salt and cream of tartar-for stabilization). You should be able to turn your bowl upside down and have the egg whites not run onto the counter (just be careful testing this as you go along!)

Beat your egg yolks separately, then gently fold them into the egg whites with a little flour and powdered sugar. This is one cake that I do sift my powdered sugar and flour for. It makes a huge difference in being able to incorporate them quickly into the batter without lumps. I measure first, then sift them directly into the egg white bowl.

The batter should still be pretty thick when you are done, but will lose a little of the  volume.

Use wax paper to line a jelly-roll pan (baking pan that is about 10×15”, but you can use a size that is a little larger as well; 9×13” is too small). Leave some hanging over the edges. Spray the wax paper with baking spray (I use the kind for baking that has flour in it).

Spread your batter into the pan, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges. This batter will not melt or spread as it cooks, so try to get it even on the top.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set. It should not brown. The cake below is actually just a little overdone (it still tasted great though!)

While the cake is baking lay a linen (or fuzz-free) dishtowel on the counter. Dust a small amount of powdered sugar onto the towel in a rectangle just larger than your baking pan (I use a sifter again-actually just a mesh strainer). Turn the hot cake upside down onto the towel (wax paper side up). Gently peel off the waxed paper.

Roll the cake up in the towel, beginning at the narrow end.

Cool completely on a rack.

Unroll cooled cake (leave on towel) and spread with sliced fruit. This is one quart of sliced strawberries mixed with 2 Tbs sugar. I like to let the fruit/sugar mixture sit for a few minutes before spreading it onto the cake so that the sugar dissolves.

Beat 2 cups of whipped cream until stiff. Sweeten to taste. Spread half of the whipped cream over the berries, until the berries are just barely covered. Leave a small section on one of the narrow ends uncovered. As you roll the cake, some of the filling will push to the end. This keeps too much from leaking out.

Beginning at the narrow end, roll cake again. Place on a serving platter, seam side down.

Frost with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

Slice and serve. Store in the refrigerator.

You could make this with different kinds of fruit; fresh berries work especially well.

Another use for the cake: Bake as directed and let cool without rolling. Cut cake into small squares and use as a base for an English Trifle.

RECIPE:

Strawberries and Cream Sponge Cake Roll

5 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
5 egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sifted powdered sugar
½ cup flour
Powdered Sugar
1 quart strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs sugar
2 cups whipping/heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbs powdered sugar
Whole strawberries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15×10” jellyroll pan (or cookie sheet with sides) with wax paper and spray with cooking spray (Cooking spray w/flour in it for baking works great).

Beat egg yolks until light and lemon colored. Stir in vanilla. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, beating until stiff. Fold in ¾ cup powdered sugar. Fold in egg yolk mixture. Fold in flour. Spread batter in pan. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (do not let cake brown).

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift a small amount of powdered sugar on a linen towel. Turn hot cake out onto towel. Carefully peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel. Cool on a wire rack.

Combine strawberries and 2 Tbs sugar; let sit for 5 minutes. Beat whipping cream until foamy. Add 2-3 Tbs powdered sugar and ½ tsp vanilla, beating until soft peaks form. Unroll cake. Spread cake with berries, then half of the whipped cream. Reroll cake. Place on a serving plate. Frost with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with whole strawberries. Chill until serving time.

Sugar Free/Whole Grain/Gluten Free Alternative: Substitute Stevia, Splenda, or erythritol for the sugar (use Splenda or erythritol in the cake; stevia does not provide the bulk the cake needs, but is fine for sweetening the filling), and oat flour, rice flour or finely ground whole wheat flour (white wheat, preferably) for the white flour. The whole wheat flour obviously isn’t gluten free, but you can substitute most other gluten free flours, or a blend of flours for the white flour.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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