by Kathy Douglas | Mar 11, 2019 | Desserts
Celebrate like the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day with a special treat created with Irish Stout and Whiskey. We used a deep chocolate stout cake rolled into delicious truffles, then coated with dark chocolate ganache. To top it off, we created a pastry dipping sauce flavored with Irish Whisky.
Be sure to roll the cake truffles when the cake is still warm. The melted chocolate pieces in the still warm cake are what holds the truffles together.
INGREDIENTS
Cake Truffles
1 ½ stick unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 ounce unsweetened natural cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pan
2/3 cups Guinness or other Stout
3 tablespoons molasses
3 ¾ ounces all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs yolks, at room temperature
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Ganache coating
½ cup cream
6 ounces chopped dark chocolate
Irish Whisky Sauce
1 ¼ cups whole milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
4 large egg yolks
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon Jamison Irish Whiskey or other Irish Whiskey
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line an 8×8” pan with parchment paper. Butter, then dust the sides and parchment with cocoa. Set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the stout and molasses to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter in the mixer work bowl on medium speed until smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition. Turn the mixer on low speed, and add 1/3 of the flour, then half stout mixture. Continue adding another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining stout mixture, and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 minutes. The cake should be just slightly underdone. Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes or until just barely warm. Then scoop and roll into 16 equal size balls and place on a parchment lined sheet tray. Refrigerate for 2 hours until cold.
To make the ganache topping, place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just steaming. Pour over the chocolate. Let sit five minutes then stir until the chocolate is completely melted, shiny, and smooth. Dip the balls in the chocolate placing them back on a parchment lined sheet tray. Return to the refrigerator until set, about two hours.
While the cake truffles set, make the whiskey sauce. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla bean paste until it just comes to a simmer.
In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until the mixture is pale yellow and thickened. Whisking constantly, temper the eggs by drizzling in the hot milk, a little at a time. When combined, pour the entire mixture into a clean saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 7 to 8 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and add the whiskey, whisking to combine. Set the bowl in the ice bath until cold. Cover and refrigerate the sauce.
To serve: spread a tablespoon of sauce on each plate, add two cake truffles and serve cold with the extra sauce. Makes 8 servings.
by Kathy Douglas | Mar 4, 2019 | Desserts
Mardi Gras isn’t complete without the sweet and colorful King Cakes appearing on tables in New Orleans throughout the Carnival season. Layered with pecans, cinnamon, and dark brown sugar, the cakes are decorated in green, gold, and purple. The cake is finished with a tiny plastic baby hidden inside to symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it in his or her slice.
For the Cake
1 cup warm milk, between 100-100˚F
2 tablespoons dry yeast
½ cup sugar
3 ¾ cups flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 sticks butter, melted
5 egg yolks
Butter & Brown Sugar Spread
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¾ cup roasted pecans, chopped
Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons dried egg white powder
2 tablespoons fresh juice
To Finish
Purple, green and gold decorative sugars
1 plastic baby to insert after baking
In a large mixing bowl combine the warm milk, with the dry yeast, sugar and ¼ cup of the flour. Mix with whisk until both the sugar and the yeast dissolves. When the mixture begins to froth or foam, add the remaining cake ingredients. After the dough comes together as a large ball, turn the dough out and knead dough on a clean but floured surface for 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap move to a warm place in the kitchen for 90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in volume.
While the dough rises, using a wooden spoon, combine all the ingredients for the butter and brown sugar spread.
Preheat the oven to 375˚F. When the dough has risen, punch it down and weight it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces by weight. Roll into three 18” long ropes of dough. Roll out each long rope of dough into a long rectangle about 4 to 5” x 18”. Spread 1/3 of the butter and brown sugar spread over the dough and roll tightly back up to a rope shape. Braid the three pieces around each other and then form into a circle.
Place the braided circle of pastry onto a parchment lined baking sheet, cover lightly with a piece plastic wrap and allow it to rise for another half hour or so or until it doubles in size. Once doubled place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove the cake and place onto a wire rack to cool for another 1 to 1½ hours.
When the cake is cooled mix the powdered sugar, powdered egg white, and lemon juice together with a small wire whisk so that the icing is smooth and thick. If too thick add water a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. if it’s too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, then immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold decorative sugars while the icing is still wet. Insert a plastic baby into underside of the cake and transfer to a platter and serve.
Makes 10-12 servings.
by Kathy Douglas | Feb 18, 2019 | Desserts
This cake is a delicious moist lemon loaf filled with blueberry jam and topped with a tart lemon icing. It’s the dream of warm summer days eating sweet blueberries and drinking tart lemonade. So, kick the winter blues and bring some summer into your day with this easy recipe.
INGREDIENTS
Butter, room temperature for greasing the pan
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
¾ cup 5% Greek yogurt
½ cup grapeseed oil
2 extra large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract
¾ cup blueberry jam
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon lemon
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8” bread pan with softened butter. Line with parchment on the long side allowing the extra parchment to hang over the sides. Butter the parchment then dust the pan with flour tapping out any excess.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt together in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, add the sugar then add the zest and rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers. Whisk in the yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts. Blend thoroughly. Whisk in the ½ the dry ingredients into the wet. When incorporated whisk in the remaining ingredients.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan; smooth top. Add the blueberry jam and spread evenly. Top with the remaining batter and smooth. Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using the parchment, remove the cake from the pan. Remove the parchment and cook the cake completely.
To make the lemon icing: whisk the lemon juice with the confectioners sugar until smooth. Pour over the cake. Allow to set. Make 16 slices.
by Kathy Douglas | Feb 11, 2019 | Desserts
This dazzling Valentine dessert is made with cute little heart-shaped crisp meringue shells packed with a cherry filling. Easy to make, these delicious shells are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside – fill them with your favorite fruit filling or chocolate ganache.
INGREDIENTS
6 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Jarred Mini Cherries, Lemon Curd, or Chocolate Ganache
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 200˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a market draw 12 heart-shapes on each piece of paper. Turn the parchment face-down on the baking sheets.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a large pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy. Add 1 cup of the sugar and raise the speed to high until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully fold the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the meringue. To a large piping bag add a large star-shaped tip, pipe a disc of meringue inside each circle. Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.
Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.
Add the filling to the shells and serve.
by Kathy Douglas | Feb 4, 2019 | Desserts
All dressed up for Valentine’s Day and filled with delicious fresh raspberries and whipped cream. We dipped these cute little cream puffs in chocolate ganache and topped with fun sprinkles from @fancysprinkles. Perfect for the day of love, cream puffs are easy to make using a simple Pâte à Choux dough then baked to crisp, puffy perfection.
INGREDIENTS
Cream Puffs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large egg
Raspberry Whipped Cream
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
Pint fresh Raspberries
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Ganache
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 cup whipping cream
Valentine Sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan, add the butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly about 3 minutes. Add 4 of the eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition. For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water; Set aside.
Transfer the dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Pipe twelve 1-1/2 inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown for 30 minutes. While baking, do not open the oven door. Remove from the oven and cool on sheets on wire racks.
To make the Raspberry Whipped Cream– Using a hand mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks. Combine the raspberry with whipped cream and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip. Insert the tip into the bottom of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream.
To make the Ganache– Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the whipped cream over medium heat until small bubble form around the edges of the pan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Dip the tops in the ganache, let the excess drip off and place them on parchment. Decorate with the Valentine sprinkles, allow the chocolate to set and serve. Makes 24 Cream Puffs.
by Kathy Douglas | Dec 17, 2018 | Desserts, Holiday
A plate of pretty ornaments, our Orange Cardamom Butter Cookies are decorated with fresh-squeezed orange juice icing and pastel dragées. Full of the taste of the season, these are a favorite on our holiday cookie plates.2 ½ cups, All purpose flour we prefer White Lily flour
INGREDIENTS
1-1/4 tsp of ground cardamom
½ tsp salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
1-1/2 tsp finely grated fresh orange peel
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 extra large egg – room temperature
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 to 1 ½ tsp fresh orange juice
Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt together. Using an electric mixer beat the butter until creamy about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to blend together. Reduce the mixture to low and work in all the flour slowly. Separate the dough into two balls, place in a zip top bag and shape each one into a disk. Refrigerate for 24-36 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Working with one disk of dough at a time, remove from the refrigerator and let the dough stand for 15 minutes. Roll the dough out into a 1/8’ thickness and cut out shapes. Gather dough scrapes together into a ball and refrigerate for several minutes until cold. Re-roll and re-cut shapes. Repeat with the other disk of dough. As you cut them, place the cut cookies in the refrigerator to keep the shapes cold until time to bake.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheets 3 inches apart and bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet and remove to racks to cool completely.
When the cookies have completely cooled mix the powdered sugar with the orange juice to form a thick glaze. Drizzle on the cookies and decorate with French Dragees. Makes 52 cookies.
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