Tag Archives: desserts

Pecan Persimmon Upside Down Cakes

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pecan persimmon upside down_nCrunchy on the outside, moist in the middle, and topped with a mixture of caramel and persimmon, this small batch of individual-sized cakes will warm up a chilly fall afternoon.

Hachiya persimmons can be tannic and astringent, according to Full Circle Farms. After eating two raw with breakfast, Jack and I were not excited about the lingering mouthfeel, a term we’ve adopted from our culinary professors. They were beautiful and tasty on the first encounter, but left an acidic dryness. I thought the process of baking the fruit would retain the delicious flavor and eye appeal, and that by releasing sugars, the acidity might be reduced.  Since we only had one persimmon remaining, I opted for mini-cakes baked in a muffin tin. The result was six perfectly-sized individual cakes with a crunchy texture on the outside, a moist and flavorful inside, and caramel-glazedl baked persimmons on the top.

Pecan Persimmon Upside Down Cakes

Ingredients

  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 6 whole half pecans
  • 1 persimmon, sliced and then quartered
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • generous 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

  1. Grease a six muffin tin (regular sized).
  2. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium heat.
  3. Add brown sugar. Stir until sugar is melted and begins to bubble.
  4. Divide sugar mixture into bottom of muffin tin.
  5. Place a half of a pecan into center of sugar mixture, upside down.
  6. Place sliced persimmon quarters in a circular fashion on top of the sugar and pecan. Set aside.
  7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  8. Beat 4 tbsp butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
  9. Add in vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
  10. Mix in egg.
  11. Mix in milk. Continue mixing until fully blended.
  12. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
  13. Pour sifted mixture into wet ingredients.
  14. Mix until just blended, do not overmix.
  15. Fold in chopped pecans by hand.
  16. Scoop 1/6 of batter on top of each persimmon layer.
  17. Bake for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they pull away from sides and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  18. Let cool for 5 minutes in baking pan.
  19. Invert cakes to present. Enjoy with mugs of steaming hot tea.

Lighter than Air: Cream Puffs and Eclairs

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cream puffs_n

Friends who share a love of baking and cream-filled pastries dipped in chocolate ganache warmed up a rainy afternoon in our kitchen north of the Arctic Circle.

Perfectly turned out pastry puffs filled with delectable cream and dipped in chocolate ganache are the the stuff of home bakers’ dreams. Cream puffs and eclairs require a special dough called pâte à choux. Worked to exactly the right consistency, this dough bakes up light and flaky and leaves a hollow space in the center of the confection. Although we used traditional vanilla-flavored pastry cream, we also imagined filling these airy profiteroles with fresh whipped cream, homemade ice cream and even savories such as smoked salmon cream.

Making cream puffs and eclairs can’t be rushed. The pâte à choux dough requires time and attention in order to get it to the correct consistency as it cooks on the stove top. Next, it must be carefully piped onto a baking sheet and placed in the oven where it will finish. Creating the pastry cream is fairly easy, and making chocolate ganache is magical.

All that work, and between three bakers, three tasters and steaming mugs of of rooibos almond tea, our eclairs and puffs disappeared in short order.

Pâte à Choux

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • up to 4 eggs

Directions

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Pour milk and water into medium pan.
  3. Stir in salt and sugar.
  4. Add butter.
  5. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.
  6. Take mixture off heat and stir in all the flour. Mixture should look like mashed potatoes.
  7. Return pan to low heat and stir continuously. This will dry out the dough a little.
  8. Dough should come together to form a ball.
  9. Starchy residue at the bottom of the pan is an indicator that the dough is dried out enough.
  10. Take dough off stove and place it in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Turn it to low to allow the dough to be cooled off by the mixer.
  11. Mix in eggs one at a time, watching that the dough does not become too thin. The dough should be soft, creamy, and shiny.
  12. Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a large tip.
  13. Pipe ball shapes onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of room for these puffs to double in size.
  14. Bake puffs for 10 minutes.
  15. Turn oven down to 325 degrees F and continue to bake for 15 minutes.
  16. Fill with chilled whipping cream or pastry cream – savory or sweet.

These will freeze nicely.

Mocha Toffee Bites

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mocha toffee_n

A coffee lover’s must! These coffee-infused chocolate cookies have a wonderful chewy texture with a surprise toffee crunch. Serve with a hot beverage or a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert.

After a very successful try at coffee-flavored ice cream, I had wanted to use coffee in other desserts, but to achieve a really rich coffee flavor, I learned that I had to steep a lot of beans. The problem is we had shipped up just enough beans for our required morning brew. So, coffee flavors were put on hold until a recent trip to Anchorage where I had an opportunity to pick up some organic coffee extract. I was hoping it would provide the same rich flavor as steeped beans. It did! Just one and a half teaspoons of extract turned really good cookies into great cookies. The addition of the toffee crunch sent the confection over the top. These cookies could be gussied up with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of melted chocolate. But those additions are unnecessary in an already perfect recipe.

Mocha Toffee Bites

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 tsp coffee extract
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1  1/2 tsp coffee extract
  • 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp dutch processed cocoa
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup English toffee bits

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together sugars and egg. Beat until smooth.
  4. Add vanilla and coffee extracts. Beat until well mixed.
  5. Add cocoa powder and salt, beat until well mixed.
  6. Mix in chocolate-butter mixture from double boiler.
  7. Mix in flour and baking powder.
  8. Stir in toffee bits.
  9. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment-lined sheet, at least an inch apart.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 8 – 10 minutes.
  11. Let cool for a couple of minutes on sheet. Then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.

Yield: about 15 cookies

Dutched Hot Cocoa

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Rich, creamy and with a wicked cocoa flavor you can almost sink your teeth into, Dutched cocoa and homemade marshmallows make the perfect after dinner or home movie hot beverage.

Homemade Hot Cocoa with Homemade Marshmallows

Every great food has “secret ingredients.” Here, they are Dutch process high fat cocoa and homemade marshmallows. Also known as “Dutched” cocoa, this cocoa is made from the richest grade of cocoa available and is processed for an especially smooth flavor. As for the marshmallows… As sticky and messy as these are to make from scratch, having experienced how flavorful and wonderfully gooey a melted marshmallow can be, it’s going to be hard to go back to store-bought.

Ingredients (2 cups)

  • 2 cups milk or soy milk
  • 1 tbs Dutch Process High Fat Cocoa (available from Penzeys Spices)
  • 1 1/2 tbs sugar
  • dash of cinnamon
  • dash of vanilla
  • a couple of homemade marshmallows cut into chunks

Directions: Heat milk, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a heavy pot (to prevent scorching) over medium low heat. A whisk works well for mixing in the cocoa. Do not boil. When steam develops and liquid is hot to the touch, pour into mugs and top with marshmallows.

Cinnamony Sugary Buttery Cookies

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These cinnamon vanilla snaps are addicting! They key is in the ingredients…

A secret behind the best pies, cookies and breads is that they start with excellent ingredients. Organic butter from grass-fed cows and Bob’s Red Mill all-purpouse flour give these cinnamon sugar cookies a head start, and Penzeys double-strength vanilla extract put them at 11 on a 1 – 10 scale! The “double-strength” description is spot on; you truly only need half the required quantity of vanilla recipes call for and the flavor is divine. High-quality Saigon cinnamon added the final touch. These cookies come out of the oven ready to melt in your mouth!

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp Penzeys double-strength)

For topping –

  • 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together sugars at medium speed.
  3. Add butter and mix until incorporated.
  4. Add egg and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
  5. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
  6. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl.
  7. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in cinnamon mixture.
  8. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
  9. Bake for 18 minutes.
  10. Cool immediately on wire racks

Yields 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe adapted from At Home in Alaska.

Grilled S’mores? Who Knew? A Better (messier) Campfire Snack

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This twist on a summertime favorite kicks the s’mores experience up a couple of notches. Graham crackers, thick chunks of dark chocolate, and marshmallows are as good as you remember them when you were a kid. Maybe better.

Guilty as charged: hardly a summer goes by when we don’t have s’mores at least once. They’re a great campfire dessert. But when a friend recently suggested we try grilling our s’mores instead of only toasting the marshmallows, we figured that maybe tried-and-true had been improved.

Hot off the grill, these s’mores don’t look dangerous. But looks, as everyone knows, can be deceiving. What you’re seeing here is molten goo ready to start pouring all over your hands, mouth, face, shirt and jeans at the slightest touch.

The chocolate looks like it’s set. It isn’t. As soon as it’s even slightly disturbed, it turns to liquid. The molecular science behind this is beyond our ken, but one thought came to mind: there’s a market for the s’mores equivalent of lobster bibs! The cracker is toasted crispy and warm, and the marshmallows are perfectly heated through – gooey and never burned.