Category: Dessert

Plum Clafoutis

Servings: 4 to 6
Preheat: 425
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Source: Fine Cooking, Issue 118

Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert made by pouring a custard over fruit and baking it. Quickly sautéing the fruit first concentrates its juice and creates a flavorful syrup that permeates the custard. You can make this dessert with any ripe but relatively firm fruit that will remain intact, such as cherries, apricots, pears, or figs.

Ingredients: 

1 Tbs. sliced almonds
7 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more for the pie plate
12 oz. (3 to 5 medium) red or black plums, pitted and quartered
1 Tbs. brandy
1 Tbs. amaretto
1-1/2 oz. (1/3 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. table salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions: 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

Put the almonds in a 9-inch ceramic or metal pie plate and toast in the oven until pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a small bowl to cool, stir in 1 Tbs. of the sugar, and set aside. Return the pie plate to the oven and raise the temperature to 425°F.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbling and hot, add the plums, and cook, turning, until they begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle 3 Tbs. of the sugar over the fruit. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the sugar melts into the fruit juices and becomes a syrup, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the brandy and amaretto.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and the remaining 3 Tbs. sugar. Whisk in the eggs until the mixture is completely smooth; then whisk in the milk, cream, and vanilla.

Remove the pie plate from the oven and carefully butter it. Pour the fruit and syrup into the pie plate, spreading the fruit evenly.

Pour the custard over the fruit (the pie plate will be very full). Bake, sprinkling the reserved almond topping over the batter halfway through baking, until puffy and the center is set, about 15 minutes.

Let the clafoutis cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes (it will deflate). Dust liberally with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Plum Coffee Cake

Servings: 8 to 10
Preheat: 375
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Source: Joy of Baking

Fabulous

Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) flavorless oil (safflower, corn, or canola)
1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk plain yogurt
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest (the outer orange skin (rind) of the orange)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
7 – 8 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted (can also use 4 – 5 red plums)

Garnish:

2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse brown sugar (I like to use Turbinado or Demerara sugar)

Directions: 

Plum Coffee Cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour one – 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan. (Alternatively spray pan with non stick vegetable/flour spray.) Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir or whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt.

In another large bowl, stir or whisk together the oil, yogurt, orange juice and zest, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and evenly arrange the halved plums on top of the batter, flesh side facing up. Sprinkle with the 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chips

Servings: Makes 24 Cookies ( upto 3 dozen)
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 
Source: Excerpted from The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook. Excerpted by permission of America’s Test Kitchen.

We started our testing by swapping in our flour blend for the all-purpose flour in a standard Toll House cookie recipe. It was no surprise that these cookies had problems: They were flat, sandy, and greasy. We’d discovered during our baked goods testing that gluten-free flour blends simply can’t absorb as much fat as all-purpose flour can, so cutting back on the butter helped to minimize greasiness. Less butter, along with some xanthan gum, also helped alleviate the spread issue, so the cookies didn’t bake up so flat. As for the sandiness, we knew from our gluten-free muffin testing (see Chapter 1) that fixing this problem required a two-step approach. The starches in our blend needed more liquid as well as more time to hydrate and soften, so we added a couple tablespoons of milk and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. This resting time also had a secondary benefit: It gave the sugar time to dissolve, which led to faster caramelization in the oven. And that meant a cookie not just with deeper flavor, but also with a chewier center and crisper edges. Finally, we wanted our cookies to be less cakey and more chewy. We realized creaming the butter, as the original Toll House recipe directs, was aerating the butter too much. Melting the butter instead, and changing the ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar, gave our cookies the right chewy texture. The extra brown sugar also gave our cookies a more complex, toffee-like flavor. Bite for bite, this was a chocolate chip cookie that could rival the best versions of the classic. Not all brands of chocolate chips are processed in a gluten-free facility, so read labels carefully.

Ingredients: 

8 ounces (13/4 cups) ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 1/4 ounces (3/4 cup packed) light brown sugar
2 1/3 ounces (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
7 1/2 ounces (11/4 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Whisk flour blend, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in large bowl until well combined and smooth. Whisk in egg, milk, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in flour mixture with rubber spatula and mix until soft, homogeneous dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes. (Dough will be sticky and soft.)

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2 soup spoons and working with about 11/2 tablespoons of dough at a time, portion dough and space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.

3. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cookies are best eaten on day they are baked, but they can be cooled and placed immediately in airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)

Profiteroles With Raspberries

Servings: 5 to 6
Preheat: 425
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Source: MARK BITTMAN

Fabulous, serve with Brendan’s chocolate sauce instead of the respberries

Ingredients: 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 pint raspberries
1 pint ice cream or sorbet

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the butter in a saucepan with the salt and 3/4 cup water; bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and stir until the butter is melted. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour; continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the eggs to the slightly cooled flour mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition — the batter will come apart after each egg is added but will reunite as you stir. Transfer the batter to a resealable plastic bag or pastry bag and make a 1/2 -inch cut in one corner. Pipe mounds about 1 inch high and 1 to 2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between.
3. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the profiteroles from the oven and pierce the bottom of each profiterole once with a skewer, to keep them from getting soggy. Return to the oven; prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon and let the profiteroles crisp up for about 3 minutes. Cool on sheet on a rack.
4. Meanwhile, put the raspberries in a food processor along with 1 to 2 tablespoons water. Purée the berries, adding a little more water through the feed tube if needed, to create a pourable drizzle. To serve, use a serrated knife to slice each profiterole in half around the equator, fill with a scoop of ice cream or sorbet, and drizzle with the raspberry purée.

Flaming Baba au Rhum

Servings: 9
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 2 hours plus 2 hours rising – need 4 hours
Source: Melissa Clark , NYT’s

Delicious yeast rum cake

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons sugar
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
4 large eggs, at room temperature
250 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)
4 grams fine sea salt (1/2 teaspoon)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into cubes, more for greasing pan
55 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped (1/3 cup)
150 grams dark brown sugar (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, cut into coins
3 strips orange peel
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup dark rum
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup crème fraîche
7 to 15 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 to 2 tablespoons), to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

PREPARATION

1.
Pour 1/2 cup warm water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in sugar and sprinkle in yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2.
With mixer on low, beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour and salt. Add butter, a few cubes at a time, and beat until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3.
Grease a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan with softened butter. Spoon half the batter into bottom of pan. Sprinkle chocolate over top of batter, making sure the chocolate doesn’t touch the sides of the pan. Spoon remaining batter over chocolate. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
4.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and transfer pan to oven. Bake until deep golden and firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Let baba cool in the pan, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack while it is still warm and let cool completely.
5.
In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, ginger, orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain into a bowl; discard solids. Stir 1/2 cup rum into liquid.
6.
Place wire rack with cake over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour rum syrup slowly over surface of cake, allowing excess to drip into baking sheet below. Pour extra syrup from pan into a bowl and then pour it back on top of cake. Repeat several times until most of the syrup has soaked into the cake. (Reserve extra syrup for serving; you should have a least 1/3 cup left over.
7.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Beat in crème fraîche. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, to taste, and vanilla.
8.
Place cake on large platter. Place remaining 1/4 cup rum in a small skillet over high heat. Tilt skillet slightly so that rum catches fire. Pour flaming rum over cake and let it burn off. Spoon whipped cream into the hollow center of the cake, then slice; or slice and then dollop with whipped cream. Serve cake with reserved rum syrup.

Dark Chocolate and Pomegranate Bark

Servings: 8 – Approximately 3/4 lb
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Source: Melissa Clark , NYT

Quick, festive and fabulous

Ingredients: 

140 grams bittersweet chocolate (5 ounces)
20 grams crystallized ginger (2 tablespoons)
140 grams fresh pomegranate seeds (1cup)
6 grams flaky sea salt (1teaspoon)

Directions: 

1. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler….Sit the chocolate until fully melted. Remove the bowl that contains the melted chocolate from the double-boiler and stir in the crystallized ginger and half of the pomegranate seeds.

2. Use a small baking sheet (toaster oven size) and line it with parchment paper. Pour the melted chocolate onto the sheet. Use a spatula to smooth the chocolate into one even layer about 1/4 inch thick (it does not need to fill the entire sheet). Sprinkle the chocolate with the remaining pomegranate seeds and sea salt.

3. Chill the chocolate bark for at least 30 minutes or until firm. Break or cut into small pieces. Store in an airtight container. Serve the same day because condensation may occur.

Chestnut Honey Squares

Servings: 32 Squares
Preheat: 400
Prep Time: About 45 minutes
Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015840-chestnut-honey-squares#notes_section

The inspiration for this foolproof recipe came from the Paris bakery Moulin de la Vierge. These honey-kissed squares can be made ahead, do not require exotic equipment, are relatively simple (you pat the crust in the pan) and are beautiful, with a glistening glaze. Stored in an airtight container, they stay fresh for days.

Ingredients: 

FOR THE PASTRY:

90 grams (3/4 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
45 grams (1/2 cup) almond meal (see note)
35 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar, preferably unrefined vanilla sugar (see note)
1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
80 grams (1 cup) sliced almonds
30 grams (1/3 cup) candied orange or lemon peel, cut into tiny cubes
65 grams (1/3 cup) sugar, preferably vanilla sugar
2 tablespoons chestnut honey or other intensely flavored honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9 1/2-inch-square baking pan with parchment, letting it hang over the sides for easier removal later.

2. Prepare the pastry: In a food processor, combine flour, almond meal, sugar and salt. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water. Pulse to incorporate. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water through the feed tube, tablespoon by tablespoon, pulsing until just before the pastry forms a ball. You may not need all the water.

3. Turn the dough out into the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place in the oven on the center rack and bake until the pastry begins to brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. While the pastry is baking, prepare the topping: In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the almonds, candied peel, sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Heat just until the ingredients are incorporated.

5. Remove the pan and spread the almond-honey mixture evenly over the pastry. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the topping is a deep gold, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to a rack to cool in the pan. Once it has cooled, remove from the pan and cut into 32 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.