Tag Archives: dessert

silky sweet potato pie

15 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in buy local, cook

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I found a great cookbook recently at my local thrift store, called Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source by Terry Walters. This is my first recipe in using this book and I am already loving the focus on local, seasonal cooking. This pie was so easy to make and after trying a piece, my friend B said that this was the best pie he had ever tasted. I am looking forward to trying more recipes in this beautiful book!

Silky Sweet Potato Pie
For the Crust:
1-1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or whatever flour you have on hand- I used spelt this time, but chickpea flour will add a rich and creamy texture to the crust)
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
For the Filling:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup rice milk (I used almond milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon agar powder
Preheat oven to 350 defrees (F). Wash the sweet potatoes, place them on a cookie sheet and bake until soft time will vary according to the size of the potatoes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, chop pecans in a food processor until it resembles fine meal. Add chickpea flour and process briefly to combine. Add oil, syrup and salt and process to form dough. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with canola oil, add dough and press to form an even crust (about 1/4-inch thick). Pierce several times with a fork and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins and cut into large pieces. Place in cleaned food processor bowl and add maple syrup, rice milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot and agar powder. Process until smooth.
Pour filling into pie crust, cover edges with foil and bake for 50 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy!
Resource:
Walters, T. (2009). Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.

strawberry rhubarb crisp

23 Monday Jul 2012

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The strawberry patch is starting to produce like crazy and I have some lovely young rhubarb behind the greenhouse… Time for a crisp! This is such a quick and simple recipe as it really only takes minutes to throw together before baking. Baked with the freshest of ingredients, I served this with a dollop of Devonshire double-clotted cream. Truly decadent with a cup a tea!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups sliced rhubarb

2/3 cups brown sugar (more if you like your crisp sweeter)

1/2 cup spelt four or rice flour or all purpose flour

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Grease a square baking pan (or stoneware baking pan). Place strawberries and rhubarb in the pan. Mix the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and sprinkle over the fruit. Bake for about 30 minutes. Serve warm and, if desired, with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

 

carrot cake (or apple cake)

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

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I had a craving for carrot cake the other day and wanted to share the recipe with you. I usually don’t frost the cake (if it’s just for me) and this time around I added a handful of raisons and then poured the batter into stoneware muffin pans for individual little cakes. This recipe can easily be turned into an Apple Cake simply by substituting apples for the carrots. I included two optional frosting recipes below.

Carrot Cake

1-½ cups organic sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups shredded carrots (about 5 medium)

1 cup nuts, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease and flour rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Mix sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except carrots and nuts. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting if desired.

Apple Cake

Substitute 3 cups chopped apple (about 3 medium) for the carrots). Frost with Caramel Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, milk and vanilla in medium bowl on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frosts a 13×9-inch cake or fills and frosts two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

Caramel Frosting

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup milk

2 cups brown sugar

Heat butter over medium heat  in a small saucepan until melted. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling then remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm.

Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Place saucepan of frosting in a bowl of cold water. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Frosts a 13×9-innch cake or fills and frosts two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

Resource:

Zeman, A. (1991). Betty Crocker’s 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook. New York: Prentice Hall

West Haven Date Bars

10 Tuesday Jan 2012

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I like dates and am trying to incorporate more dried fruit into my diet. This date bar recipe was a real find as it is quite different from the ‘Fig Newton’ style of date bar. Instead, this is a moist, chocolately treat!

 West Haven Date Bars

1 cup boiling water

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar or natural sweetener of your choice

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Lightly grease a 13x 9-inch pan. Pour boiling water over the dates in a small bowl and let stand until cool.

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until light. Blend in flour, cocoa and baking soda to make a smooth dough. Stir in date mixture. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over the top.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until center feels firm. Cut into 2x 1-1/2 inch bars while still warm. Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Resource:

Ojakangras, B. (1990). Chocolate Lover’s Cookies & Brownies. Publications

International Lmt.: Lincolnwood, Illinois.

 

 

chocolate cake with wild berries

08 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in cook, wild berries

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This cake has never failed me. Even non-chocolate lovers dive in! Perhaps the secret is the sauce? This cake is worth the effort to make and always looks good for any sort of presentation. I normally use Grand Marnier or Cointreau in the sauce for the liqueur. Garnish the cake with whole berries or edible flowers. Today I sprinkled some the the rose petals that I dried back in July on top. For the sauce, I used some of the Saskatoon berries and wild raspberries that I had picked last summer as well.



Chocolate Cake with Wild Berries

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

2 tabelspoons corn syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Grease a spring form pan. Heat 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan until melted. Cool for 5 minutes then stir in flour and eggs yolks until well-mixed.

In electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white mixture. Spread in pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes then run a knife along the sides of the cake to loosen. Open spring and remove. Invert cake onto a wire rack and remove bottom of spring form pan. Allow cake to cool completely.

Heat 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter and the corn syrup over medium heat until the chocolate chips are melted. Mix until smooth and then spread over the top of the cake, allowing some to drizzle down the sides.

Garnish with whole berries. Serve with Wild Berry Sauce and whipped cream if desired.

Wild Berry Sauce

2 cups of fresh or frozen berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, Saskatoons, dew berries, etc.) or 1 package (10 oz) frozen berries, thawed, drained, juice reserved

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-2 tablespoons orange or raspberry-flavored liqueur (if desired)

Add enough water to the reserved berry juice to measure 1 cup. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and stir in the juice and berries (reserve some whole berries for the garnish, if desired). Heat to boiling over medium heat, allowing the mixture to boil for about a minute. Remove from heat and stir in the liqueur. Serve warm over chocolate cake or ice cream.

Enjoy!

a most decadent breakfast… banana bread french toast

01 Tuesday Nov 2011

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What do we do with over-ripe bananas…? Make banana bread, of course. What should we do with all of that banana bread…? For something different, why not try this decadent recipe for breakfast or even as a dessert? A friend made this for me for breakfast just last weekend and I recreated it this morning so that I could share it with you.

Banana Bread French Toast

Slice banana bread into six 1/4-inch slices

Beat together 4 eggs, adding 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot enough, dip banana bread into the egg mixture, making sure to coat both sides. Fry in a skillet in a little butter and/or vegetable oil over medium-high heat, flipping over and cooking both sides until golden brown.

Serve with syrup, berry compote, jams or jellies. Enjoy!