Black Bottom Pie and a resolution

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. But, I’m going to make one for 2023. I’m actually going to post more recipes and such here. But, in a reversal of all things social media, I’m doing it for me, and maybe a small group of my friends. So, they are going to be unlike most social media recipe posts out there. Which I will say I hate! So many photos and videos and random noise. Nope, not me. If you are lucky, you’ll get a photo. I can promise you that you will get a recipe that I myself have made and think is delicious enough for you to make and share with your friends. I will post photos from my travels, if they are noteworthy. I’ll be heading to Australia in February for a whole month. I hope there will be post-worthy food nuggets from Down Under. Given past trips, I’m pretty sure, I’ll find some goodies.

OK, on to the recipe. It’s from a Bon Appetit, October 1999. It is a super-dark but not a super-rich pie. The filling is a chocolate pudding which is rich enough because of lots of egg yolks. It actually uses 1% milk, which isn’t rich at all, with cornstarch to thicken it and stabilize the eggs, and a little cream for richness. It’s absolutely delicious. You can tweak the intensity of the filling by changing the % on the chocolate you use. If you use semisweet (usually around 60% cacao), it will be less intense. If you use bittersweet, you can choose your cacao %. Some is 72%, others as high as 85%. I had a stash of 85% bittersweet so I used that. It makes this a very very dark intense pie. If you use 85%, you might want to make extra whipped cream because just a little bit isn’t enough to balance the intense chocolate. But, you do you. I know there are people out there who would eat this pie without any whipped cream. 😉

Black Bottom Pie
(serves 8-10)

FILLING
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
2 cups low-fat (1 %) milk
½ cup chilled whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or dark rum

CRUST
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
1 ounce bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
30 chocolate wafer cookies or 10 whole chocolate graham crackers (see Note)

FOR CRUST: Spray 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish with nonstick spray. Stir butter and chocolate in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add chocolate mixture. Pro­cess until crumbs are moistened. Press crumb mixture into prepared pie dish. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

FOR FILLING: Whisk first 4 ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in milk, then cream. Whisk in egg yolks. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and boils 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in rum and vanilla. Cool 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Transfer filling to frozen crust. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

FOR TOPPING: Beat ingredients in large chilled bowl until firm peaks form. You could pipe it onto the pie but you can also just spoon it over the whole top and smooth it out with a spatula. Or serve a healthy dollop with each slice instead.

Note: I could not find chocolate wafer cookies anywhere. My local supermarkets theoretically had them – there was a label for them and a sad empty shelf. They are the unicorns of cookies, it seems. Evidence that they exist seems to be there, but you ain’t gonna find them. Well, I couldn’t. Chocolate graham crackers work perfectly here. When I say 10 whole crackers, I mean the big ones that break into 4 smaller crackers. Ten crackers is usually 1 whole sleeve + 1 more whole cracker.

Apple Cider Sandwich Cakes

This recipe is adapted from one in the New York Times. They called them Whoopie Pies. Honestly, I’m not from Pennsylvania so I’d be the last person to claim these are Whoopie Pies. I’ve seen Whoopie Pies in stores. I’ve tried them. But what makes these cakes filled with “cream” a Whoopie Pie? Yeah, I’m not going there. We’ll call them sandwich cakes.

My friends from college and I, we have a bit of an obsession with apple cider donuts. College was smack in the middle of NY State, home to many orchards, many cider presses, and lots of delicious apple cider donuts. I miss those donuts, living in Colorado. They just aren’t a thing. I recently went to one of my old food haunts, Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck, NJ and got my fix.

The real deal

Of course, these cakes are not donuts. They are very good though. They keep better than donuts and they have the added yum factor of cream cheese filling.

I live a mile high, outside Denver, Colorado. The original recipe has been modified for that altitude but I provide the original leavening amount so you can try them in your “flatlands” kitchen.

Apple cider is available in most supermarkets. Seasonally, we have local fresh-pressed cider. In June, it’s the shelf-stable stuff. That works too but try to find one that is cloudy, not clear.

Apple Cider Sandwich Cakes
(makes 9 sandwiches)
Adapted from New York Times Apple Cider Whoopie Pies

FOR THE CAKES:
1 ¼ cup apple cider
1 ½ cups + 2 Tablespoons cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (1 teaspoon at sea level)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda (same at sea level)
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons melted
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup apple butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
FOR THE FILLING:
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook the cider until it has reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely, in the refrigerator.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the room-temperature butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add egg, apple butter and reduced apple cider, and beat until combined. The batter will probably break and look like a mess. No worries, it will come back together in the end. Add the dry mixture and mix just until combined, again scraping the bowl as necessary.

Portion the dough into generous 2-tablespoon scoops on 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, about 1 1/2-inches apart. You should have 9 cakes on each sheet, 3×3. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the cakes are puffed and set, 12 – 13 minutes. Watch for over-done bottoms near the end. Transfer sheets to racks. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and the granulated sugar. Brush the tops of the warm cakes with a bit of the melted butter and press the tops in the sugar mixture. Set aside to cool completely.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Split the filling on 9 cakes. Top with remaining cakes.

Store in the fridge but allow to come to room temperature before serving. They are better at room temperature than cold but the cream cheese must be refrigerated for longer storage. Eat within 3 days, if you can stop yourself from eating them all right away.

Apple Cheddar Tarts for a Party

One of the best pre-made food basics out there is frozen puff pastry. No one makes puff pastry. OK, I did make it in culinary school. It’s wonderful, but you don’t want to make it from scratch, especially when Pepperidge Farms sells it frozen at  your local supermarket. It is the shortcut to so many wonderful things, from appetizers to desserts.

This is a not-very-sweet tart. It would be quite lovely at a cocktail or wine party. Apples and Cheddar cheese are a great combination. It goes nicely with a  hard cider, white wine, or beer.

One important tip when working with puff pastry: don’t let it get too warm. You need to thaw it until you can unfold it and roll it out but it should still be cold when you try this. If the pastry gets too warm, it gets sticky and it’s hard to deal with. If the pastry has warmed up too much, stick it in the fridge until it firms up.

Apple Cheddar Tart

(makes 2 tarts, serves 16, recipe can be halved)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry
5 large Granny Smith apples
5 tablespoons sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 cups shredded medium or sharp Cheddar cheese

Thaw puff pastry sheets 30-40 minutes, until still cold but pliable.

Preheat oven to 375˚F degrees.

Unfold puff pastry sheet carefully. Roll out into a 9″ x 14″ rectangle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with 2nd sheet of puff pastry.

Score edges of puff pastry creating a ½ inch border all around the pastry. You don’t want to cut all the way through. Just make a score.

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples (about 3/8″). Because 5 apples are more than sufficient to fill in the tarts, you don’t need to use the little end slices. (I eat them right then or you can sauté them in a little butter to top your morning pancakes, or add them to oatmeal.) Toss apple slices with sugar and lemon juice.

Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese inside the scored border.

Arrange apples as desired over puff pastry making sure to keep them inside the scored border.

Bake at 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender and starting to brown on the edges, and pastry is golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on a rack before cutting into serving pieces.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

I scream, you scream…for pumpkin ice cream!

It is ice cream season. And, if you have a can of pumpkin puree in your pantry, leftover from the holidays, this is a seriously delicious way to turn it into a summertime treat. I have served it to numerous guests to rave reviews.

This ice cream uses a custard, so the eggs are cooked. This is the trickiest part of the recipe, cooking the custard without scrambling it. Some recipes say cook the custard directly on the stovetop. If you haven’t done it before (or you have a hard time maintaining a low heat on your stove), there’s a good chance you will scramble your eggs and ruin the custard. I like to use a double boiler. It takes longer because the heat is gentler, but you are far less likely to ruin the custard this way. To make a double boiler, find a bowl that fits securely over any medium to large saucepan. You can buy a double boiler as a set, but it’s not really necessary.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
(makes 7-8 cups)

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
5 large egg yolks
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup half and half
1 15-oz. can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, just pumpkin puree)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup crumbled ginger snaps, not crushed too much because you want chunks

In a medium mixing bowl that you can use as the top of a double boiler, beat together the brown sugar, corn syrup, and egg yolks until thick and pale yellow. Mix in the cornstarch and spices.

In a small saucepan, heat the half and half to a simmer. Slowly mix the hot half and half into the egg mixture. Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of the double boiler. Place the custard over the hot water and stir, stir, stir. You can use a whisk or a wooden spoon. The custard is cooked when it thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and beat in the pumpkin. Pour through fine mesh strainer into a large clean bowl. If there are any lumps of pumpkin, push them through the strainer. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Stir the custard well before freezing. Freeze according to your machine’s instructions. The ice cream will be soft when finished. Add in the crumbled ginger snaps at the very end to maintain the cookie chunkiness. If you add them too early, they disappear. Still tastes good, but sub-optimal in my opinion. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a large container and put in the deep freeze (0ºF or less) for at least 2 hours.

This recipe makes a big batch, nearly 2 quarts. My ice cream maker, a Cuisinart, is not big enough to hold the whole thing in 1 batch. Make sure your machine can hold it all after it’s frozen – remember it expands as it freezes, or freeze it in 2 batches.

Based on a recipe from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein, William Morrow and Company, 1999.

Apple Cheesecake Tart

I made this tart, which is really a cross between a tart and a cheesecake, for a party. Huge hit! It’s apple season so why not make a rich and creamy dessert that features this most-loved American fruit?

Though this isn’t a true cheesecake, some of the hints in my Cheesecake – You crack me up! post are also relevant here. It is vital that your cream cheese and egg are at room temperature. You will get a lumpy mess if you try to make this without having the foresight to warm up your cream cheese and egg.

Apple Cheesecake Tart
(makes 1 9″ tart, serves about 12)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large apples (I like Honeycrisp but Jonathan or Cortland are also good)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, and lemon juice. Gently stir in the flour until well blended.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom and at least 1″ up the sides of a 9″ non-stick springform pan. Refrigerate while you work on the filling.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a clean large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and brown sugar. When this mixture is fluffy and there are no lumps, beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat again until smooth.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into 1/4″ slices.

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon. Add the apples and toss to coat evenly.

Place the pan on a rimmed sheet pan (just in case your pan leaks). Pour the cheese filling into the tart shell. Gently cover with the apples, scraping out all the sugar and cinnamon. Move the apples around to cover the filling completely.

Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and bake for another 40  minutes.

Remove from the oven. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the crust. Release the springform but don’t try to take the sides off until the tart cools for 10 minutes. It’s just too hot to handle right out of the oven. When you remove the springform, if some pieces stick to the pan sides, scrape them off and put them on the top of the tart. It’s a rustic tart. No one will notice.

Allow tart to cool completely before serving. Once the tart is completely cooled you can remove the pan bottom by running a knife under the bottom crust and then carefully using a large flat spatula to release the crust all the way to the center. Gently slide the tart onto a serving plate. Or not, you can serve it on the pan. I do all the time!

This tart can be refrigerated overnight before serving. Any leftovers (yah, right) can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier, Storey Publishing, 2001.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

My daughter loves shortbread. My daughter currently lives in Ithaca, NY (a lovely place; you should visit), toiling away as a grad student. Sunday is her birthday. As the dutiful mom/chef that I am, I had to send her some cookies for her birthday. Shortbread coming up!

You can find the recipe on Epicurious.com. It’s originally from Bon Appetit Magazine.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pecan-shortbread-cookies-106027

Only ingredient adjustment was to reduce the baking soda slightly for my 5400 ft. altitude. There’s only 1/8 teaspoon in the original, so it probably doesn’t matter much.

I did find I had to bake them longer than the recipe said to get them lightly browned and set. Original says 20 minutes. I’d say 25.

They are delicious! Buttery and light. If you live in a humid climate, eat them quickly because they will get flabby. Still taste great but lose that crisp snap.

They did look a little worse for wear after shipping however. She still ate them. 😉

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Summertime is about BBQ’s and casual potlucks. I like to bring simple cakes to them because people don’t bake as much as they used to. I’ve found few people who don’t love a treat like this. This cake is simple and delicious. Blueberries are in season now, and this is a yummy way to enjoy them: wrapped up in a butter cake and covered with a crumb topping.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
(makes 1 9″x9″ cake, serves 9)

butter or non-stick spray for greasing pan
flour for prepping pan

Cake batter:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (use 2 teaspoons if making at sea level)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons sugar (use 3/4 cup at sea level)
1 large egg
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold and cut into bits

Preheat oven to 375°F with the rack set in the middle. Prepare a 9″x9″x3″ baking pan by buttering or spraying the bottom and sides. Add a couple Tablespoons flour and coat the bottom and sides well. Knock out the excess flour.

Sift together batter dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and milk. The batter may clump together; do not worry about it. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, stirring until just combined each time. Fold in the blueberries. Scoop into the prepared pan and spread out to level (the batter is thick).

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out of the center clean. Cool in the pan. Can be served warm or at room temperature. Best the day baked but it will keep a couple of days stored at room temperature.

Adapted for baking at 5400 ft. from a recipe in Gourmet, May 1994.

Rhubarb Cake

A simple snacking cake that uses a common garden vegetable: rhubarb. If you have friends with a garden, ask them if they have rhubarb so you don’t have to buy it. Every gardener I know has more than they need. Remember that only the stalks are edible. The leaves contain too much oxalic acid (it’s actually the chemical that gives rhubarb its distinctive tart flavor), making them poisonous to humans.

If you have an electric mixer, you can make this cake.

You can use a food processor to chop the rhubarb, or chop it with a knife.

Snacking Rhubarb Cake
(serves 12)

butter or non-sticking cooking spray for greasing pan
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen and thawed rhubarb, finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
½ + ¼ cup white sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup natural applesauce (little added sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda (use 1 teaspoon at sea level)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish well with butter or non-stick cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and ½ cup white sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and applesauce until combined. The batter may break (mine did) but don’t worry about it. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix gently until nearly completely incorporated. Add the rhubarb and stir until it is a uniform batter. Pour into the prepared dish. In a small bowl, mix together ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle uniformly over the top of the cake. Bake for 35 minutes.

When the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife along the edge to release the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely before serving from the pan. The cake is very moist and sweet. I don’t believe it needs any embellishment, but some sliced strawberries would be OK.

Tested at altitude from a recipe at http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/cake, a great source for all things rhubarb.

Photo credit: By RhubarbFarmer (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Easy Upside Down Cake – Use up those peaches stashed in your freezer

Nearly every peach lover I know here in Colorado has a stash of peaches in their freezer. That’s because Colorado grows some truly excellent peaches and they show up by the case almost every summer (sadly, some summers we get very little because Colorado is still a tricky place to grow peaches). I like to make a simple “sauce” with them to put on pancakes or waffles, or in oatmeal.

Without the nuts, you can see the peaches but I like it better with the crunch from the nuts

But sometimes, you need dessert. 🙂 This one is a straightforward spiced cake baked with a sweet topping of peaches and blueberries. It’s the perfect cake for tea, coffee, or an informal dinner party. I brought it to dinner with some friends and it was a huge hit.

Unlike many cakes, you don’t need an electric mixer, but you do need a heavy 10″ skillet, like a cast iron skillet. You will also need a plate larger than the skillet on which to turn out the cake.

Upside-Down Peach and Blueberry Cake
(serves 10)

Topping
1 Tablespoon butter
6 Tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
the zest of ½ a lemon (remember to zest it before you juice it)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, not necessary to thaw)
¾ cup fresh or frozen peaches, thinly sliced

Cake
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour (measure after sifting)
1 teaspoon baking powder (¾ teaspoon at 5400 ft., Boulder altitude)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅓ cup vegetable oil (I prefer sunflower oil)
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup skim milk

⅓ cup toasted almond slices for garnish (see Note)

Preheat the oven to 325°F and position an oven rack in the center of the oven.

Melt the butter in a 10″ heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about a minute. Remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in the lemon zest, blueberries, and peaches. Spread into an even layer. Set aside while you make the cake.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, honey, egg, almond extract, and milk. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix together until well blended.

Pour the batter evenly over the fruit in the skillet. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake is golden.

Cool the cake for 4 minutes on a wire rack. Place a large plate on top of the skillet. Using heavy potholders (that skillet is still very hot), flip over the plate and the pan. The fruit and sauce shouldn’t stick much, but if it does, use a spoon to scrape it out and arrange on the cake. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds. Cool cake somewhat because it will be too hot to eat the sugary topping right out of the oven. It’s delicious warm or at room temperature.

Note: To toast almond slices, put them in a small baking pan and put in a 300°F oven for about 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then so they brown evenly. Watch carefully because they can burn in a flash.

Adapted from Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Susan G. Purdy, William Morrow and Company, 1993.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pie

Almost the weekend…how about a yummy, rich & creamy chocolate pie? Not sure where this recipe came from. I got it from my mom back in the early 80’s. But, it’s a keeper. Note that this pie contains raw eggs, though many supermarkets now carry pasteurized in-the-shell eggs. They can be used if you are concerned about eating/serving raw eggs.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pie
(8 – 10 servings)

Crust
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅓ cup melted butter
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Filling
6 oz. semisweet chips
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, separated
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Prepare the crust: combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add butter and chocolate. Mix thoroughly. Press mixture into a 9″ pie plate. Chill until firm.

Melt chocolate over hot but not boiling water. Cool about 5 minutes. Blend cream cheese, ½ brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Beat in cooled chocolate and blend well. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually beat in ¼ cup brown sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy. Fold into chocolate mixture. Fold in whipped cream. Scoop into prepared crust, reserving ¼ of the mixture for decorating. Chill until filling sets slightly. Drop reserved mixture in mounds over top of pie. Chill overnight.