Category: Desserts

Lemon Bar

Barb Fenzel of Les Gourmettes Cooking School (here in Phoenix) prepared this recipe.  This is my best attempt at recreating it from what I observed.

  1. Grease a 9×12 glass baking dish with butter.
  2. Pulse in your food processor: 3/4 C flour, 1/2 C confectioner sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 stick (cut into 8 pieces) cold butter.
  3. Press into pan using an offset spatula.
    Don’t bother cleaning the food processor basket yet.
  4. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile prepare your lemon filling.
  6. Combine in a large mixing bowl: zest and juice from two lemons, 1/2 C sugar, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 TBL corn starch.
  7. Dump onto your baked base and spread with a spatula.
  8. In your food processor, combine:  1 brick softened cream cheese, 1/2 C sugar, and 1 egg.
  9. Drop it onto your lemon filling by spoonfuls.
  10. Bake at 350º for another 30 minutes.
  11. Rest 1 hour before putting into refrigerator, and then chill 2 hours before serving.
  12. Cut into squares and serve.

Maple Glazed Apples

Chef Maggie Norris of Whisked Away Cooking School (here in Phoenix) prepared this recipe.  This is my best attempt at recreating it from what I observed.

Combine in a bowl – your Maple Glaze:

  • 1 block of cream cheese
  • 4 TBL butter
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  1. Preheat your oven to 350º
  2. Cut out the stem of your apple
  3. Cut a cylinder down into the core of your apple, being careful to not go through the sides or bottom.
  4. Cut a circle surrounding the core – halfway between the peel and the core
  5. Cut slices into the peel of the apple, about 1/4 inch in
  6. Cut slices from the core, going to the outside about 1/4 inch out
  7. Your goal is to create nooks and crannies without allowing any of the glaze to leak out.
  8. Place the apple in a small square of foil and fill all the nooks and crannies with your Maple Glaze
  9. Bake for 45 minutes
  10. Carefully plate and top with more Maple Glaze.

Here is an easy alternate

Combine in a bowl – your Maple Glaze:

  • 1 block of cream cheese
  • 4 TBL butter
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  1. Preheat your oven to 350º F.
  2. Cut your apple in quarters.
  3. Cut the seeds out.
  4. Cut three of the wedges into thin slivers.
  5. Grate the fourth wedge using a large hole grater.
  6. Place the apples in a pretty pattern in a greased ramekin.
  7. Sprinkle the grated apple over top of the slices.
  8. Drizzle the top of the apple heavily with your Maple Glaze
  9. Sprinkle to top of the Maple Glaze with Turbinado Sugar
  10. Bake for 45 minutes
  11. Serve hot, but warn your guests of the molten filling.

Pineapple Dessert

INGREDIENTS

  • Pineapple
  • Honey
  • Dark Rum
  • 1 lime
  • Marscapone cheese

STEP BY STEP

  1. Slice your pineapple in half
  2. Remove skin and eyes
  3. Slice thin sheets of the pineapple
  4. Put onto a place and drizzle with honey
  5. Next drizzle some rum over top
  6. Top with lime zest and lime juice from one lime
  7. Let marinate for about an hour
  8. Position sheets of pineapple to create a wheel on a dessert plate
  9. Drizzle some of the marinate over top
  10. Put a dollop of marscapone in the center
  11. Garnish with a slice of lime

This recipe is from Jacques Pepin

 

Gingerbread

  1. Butter and flour your ramekins.
  2. Whisk together
    • 2 C AP flour
    • 1/4 C instant coffee
    • 3 TBL cocoa
    • 1 TBL dried ginger powder
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  3. Cream together
    • 2 sticks softened butter
    • 1 C dark brown sugar
    • Mix for 5 full minutes
  4. Beat 4 eggs into the sugar mixture – one at a time
  5. Add 3 TBL fresh grated ginger and 2 C molasses
  6. Mix till combined, then mix into dry ingredients
  7. Fill each ramekin about 2/3 full
  8. Bake 20 minutes at 350º

Norwegian Cheesecake

  1. Mash 4 graham crackers and mix with 1 TBL melted butter.
  2. Press crust into two ramekins
  3. Mix together 1 C creme fraiche and 1 C cream cheese
  4. Melt 1/3 C sugar with 5 TBL hot water in a pan
  5. Add big wide strips of lemon zest (to be removed later)
  6. Put 1 sprig of rosemary into water mixture.
  7. Add 2 tsp gelatin and bring sugar water mixture to a boil.
  8. Strain solids out and cool for 15 minutes
  9. Mix gelatin mixture in with cream cheese
  10. Pour into pie crusts and chill overnight
  11. Top with lingonberries or other fresh fruit (or preserves)

 

Creme Fraiche Custard

Ingredients

  1. Mix 1 egg and 1 C créme fraiche and put into greased pie pan
  2. Sprinkle lightly with Turbinado sugar (approx 1/2 C)
  3. If in a pie shell, wipe down the edge of the shell with egg white and sprinkle with more Turbinado
  4. Put a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven
  5. Bake at 275º for 30-40 minutes or until it starts to brown
  6. Custard should jiggle slightly, but not appear to be too liquid
  7. Turn off oven and open door halfway to let cool

Meringue Cups

The base for this dessert is from Martha Stewart.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 egg whites
  • 2 T agave syrup or pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg yolk (topping)
  • 1/2 C heavy cream (topping)
  • 1 C creme fresh (topping)
  • zest from one lemon (topping)

STEP BY STEP

  1. Beat egg whites
  2. Halfway through, add your sugar, tartar, cornstarch and vanilla
  3. When you have stiff peaks, put the mixture into a pastry bag with a 3/4 inch tip
  4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper with an outline of your serving tray (put paper upside down if it has pencil marks on it)
  5. Create two-inch decorative mounds around the edges leaving some space in the center for macerated fruit when this is all finished.
  6. Hollow out “dishes” in the center of each mound
  7. Bake at 250º for 60 minutes
  8. Leave oven door closed, turn off oven, and wait another 60 minutes
  9. Toss strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, peaches, etc – – – whatever – – – – with 1/4 C granulated sugar
  10. Meanwhile, beat 1/2 C heavy whipping cream to soft peaks, and fold in 1 1/2 C creme fresh and zest and juice from one large lemon
  11. Spoon the cream into the hollow dishes
  12. Place multi-colors of fruit onto the cream topping
  13. Serve all the extra fruit in the vacancy in the middle of the batch.

Tarts – COLLECTION INDEX

Lemon Curd and Tart Collection

More tart recipes and stand-alone lemon curd

Sweet Tarts

  • Pear and Pumpkin Tart
    The information below this section is from a third party. It is part of Grandpa's Personal Recipe box. Feel free to browse, but know that this information is from someone else.

    • A third-party recipe baked on Puff Pastry
  • Tortilla Pear Tart
    • A sweet tart baked on a flour tortilla
  • Cran-Apple Tart
    • A third-party recipe using easy ingredients on Puff Pastry
  • Rustic Freeform Tart
    • A tart with Panko bread crumbs and whatever fruit you have on hand
  • Breakfast Tart
    • Food processor dough that uses fruit
  • Apple Tart
    • Granny Smith apples on Puff Pastry
  • Peach Tart
    • Peaches on a simple pie dough

Savory Tarts

  • Onion Tart
    • Lightly cooked onions on a pizza dough base

Salted Caramel Mousse

INGREDIENTS to make four dessert cups

  • 1 C granulated white sugar
  • 6 TBL (1/2 C) salted butter – pieces
  • 1 C heavy cream
  • 1 C 85% cooking chocolate
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3 egg whites

STEP BY STEP

  1. Melt sugar over medium heat until it starts to brown
  2. Add cold butter and continue to stir
  3. Once butter has completely melted remove the pan from the heat
  4. Stir in heavy cream – whisking continually
  5. Put 1-2 TBL of the mixture into the bottom of each dessert cup
  6. To the remaining caramel; add chocolate and stir to melt
  7. Pour into a glass bowl to cool to about 100º
  8. Meanwhile, whip up 3 egg whites plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  9. Add 1/2 tsp salt and egg yolks to the chocolate bowl and whisk to combine
  10. GENTLY combine (fold) the whites into your chocolate
  11. Pour into cups and refrigerate for about 8 hours
  12. Add shaved chocolate, salt flakes, or crushed Oreo on the top
  13. Serve with small dessert spoons

Key Lime Pie – Easy

SALTINE CRUST

  • 1 1/2 Sleeve square saltine crackers
    – crush and pulse in food processor till coarse crumbs
  • Add 1/8 tsp salt
  • Add 10 TBL melted butter
  • 1/3 C Sugar

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

  • 8-10 graham crackers
  • 1/3 C Sugar
  • 1 stick melted butter

STEP BY STEP

  1. Press crust into 9 inch pie plate
  2. Blind bake at 300º for 10
  3. In mixing bowl combine 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk, 4 egg yolks, 1/4 C heavy cream, 1 TBL lime zest, 1/8 tsp salt and 1 C fresh lime juice
  4. Pour into warm pre-baked pie shell
  5. Bake at 350º for 15-17 minutes
    – Should jiggle in the center, but the outside should be set
  6. Cool completely on the counter, then transfer to refrigerator for 4-6 hours

WHIPPED TOPPING – OPTIONAL

  • Put into kitchen aid – 1/2 C heavy cream, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla – Start on low speed, and increase to high – until stiff peaks

 

Candied Lemon Peel

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 lemons
  • 2 cups cold filtered water PLUS lot of tap water
  • 2 cups white sugar

STEP BY STEP

  1. Cut lemons into quarters.
  2. Remove the fruit pulp, leaving the yellow peel and the white pith.
  3. Cut the quarters into 1/4 inch crescent strips.
  4. Put strips in a small pan, and cover with tap water.
  5. Bring water and lemon peel strips up to a boil in a small pan.
  6. Simmer 2 minutes.
  7. Drain as much of the water, as you can.
  8. Fill the pan with more water
  9. Bring water up to a boil and simmer 2 minutes
  10. Drain most of the water.
  11. Fill the pan up with cold water
  12. Rinse for a few minutes, and dump water.
  13. Fill up the pan again, rinse for a few minutes, then dump water.
  14. This time, use a colander so that you get as much of the water off the lemons as possible.
  15. Combine 2 cups of cold filtered water with 2 cups sugar.
  16. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
  17. Reduce heat to low simmer and stir in citrus peels
  18. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  19. Strain lemon strips, dumping water, but DO NOT RINSE THE PEELS.
  20. Set peels on clean printer paper to dry slightly.  About 15 minutes.
  21. Toss the candied peels in 1/2 C Turbinado sugar, granulated sugar, or powdered sugar (different textures) and let dry for another 6-8 hours.
  22. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.

Bird’s Custard Powder – Pudding

INSTRUCTIONS

Grandpa’s Custard for Two

A microwave oven actually does a better job of preparing this than a stovetop.  Microwave instructions are in bold italic letters.

  • 2 level TBL Birds Custard Powder
  • 1 TBL Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 pt (8 oz) milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • optional:  1 egg yolk
  • optional:  1/2 C cooked white rice
  1. Mix custard powder with sugar
  2. Mix 1-2 TBL cold milk and vanilla into custard powder
  3. OPT:  Add egg yolk to the mixture
  4. Heat larger portion of milk to a simmer (about 90 seconds in microwave)
  5. Temper hot milk into the custard mixture
    – Pour hot milk into the colder slurry, stirring continually.
  6. Add rice if making rice pudding or prickly pear syrup for a SW flavor
  7. Return to pan and cook, stirring until thickened, or put into microwave for 11 second intervals.  Start with 4 cycles.  5 might be necessary, expecially if preparing with rice.
  8. Whisk in your raisins or 1/2 tsp flavoring syrup
  9. Pour into serving bowl and let cool 5 minutes.

Step by Step Instructions from the label on the Box/Can

BIRD’S CUSTARD POWDER

  • 1/4 Birds Custard Powder
  • 1-2 TBL Granulated Sugar
  • 1 pt (16 oz) milk
  1. Mix custard powder with sugar
  2. Mix 2 TBL cold milk into custard powder
  3. Heat larger portion of milk to a simmer
  4. Temper hot milk into the custard mixture
  5. Return to pan and cook, stirring until thickened

Homemade Custard Powder

GRANDPA’S CUSTARD POWDER

  • 4 oz (1/2 C) Confectioner sugar
  • 1/4 C dried milk powder
  • 1/4 C corn starch
  • 1/4 maple sugar (fine is preferred)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 tsp almond powder or instant pudding of your choice
  • OPTIONAL:  3 oz Dutch cocoa plus 1/4 additional confectioner sugar
  • OPTIONAL:  Quarter teaspoon of Carmencita Colorante

RECIPE:

  1. To 1 C mix, add 1 C milk and 1/2 C heavy cream
  2. Whisk together, then bring to boil over medium heat
  3. Simmer on low for about 4 minutes or until thickened
  4. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla and sieve into cups
  5. Refrigerate at least an hour

What does Temper mean?

TEMPER BRINGS HOT AND COLD TOGETHER

Tempering is a way to mix hot and cold liquids and keep them from forming lumps.  The most common thing where lumps can be prevented is gravy.  We’ve all had lumpy gravy, but if the flour had been TEMPERED into the liquid, lumps would not have formed.

As far as eggs, that is another very common thing needing tempering.  When you add a hot liquid to your eggs, or add your eggs to a hot liquid, you will generally end up with scrambled eggs.  The goal is to combine the ingredients of two different temperatures.

Tempering is quite easy.  It just takes you an extra minute of cooking time, but the results are worth it.   In the case of Birds Custard Powder, if you just put the powder into the hot liquid lumps will form.  If you dump the mixture into the hot liquid all at once lumps will form.

To temper the two together, pour the hot liquid into the colder liquid VERY VERY SLOWLY while whisking continually.  You can speed up a little bit as you continue to pour, but never EVER stop whisking.

Once the liquids are combined, continue to cook until thickened.  Not too quickly again because haste makes waste… and lumps will form.

 

Pillsbury Doughnut Drops

  • Open a package of Pillsbury Dinner Rolls or croissants
  • Cut into quarters and shape roughly into a ball
  • Drop into hot oil – about 375º – and cook until browned
  • Flip if necessary
  • Drop into a bag of cinnamon mixture
    2 parts sugar and 1 part cinnamon
  • Shake donuts and then place on towel to cool a bit before eating

 

Banana Ice Cream

  1. Dice and freeze three bananas
  2. For strawberry ice cream, dice and freeze 1/2 C strawberries
    For chocolate, just refrigerate 1/4 C chocolate chunks
    For vanilla, add one vanilla bean
    For peanut butter, add 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1 TBL peanut butter
  3. Put above into a blender
  4. Add 1/2 C cold milk and 1 tsp vanilla
  5. After blending, spread into pre-chilled bread pan
  6. Freeze for one hour and then serve
  7. Note: If you leave it in the freezer too long, it can become too hard

Pots and Co – Little Pot of…

We just finished our trip back to the US from Spain on British Airways and were served the most marvelous dessert. A Chocolate and Orange “Little Pot.”

It is labeled as “an indulgent blend of milk and dark chocolate infused with fresh orange zest.”

Here is a link for researching items to serve with at our pizza restaurants.

http://usa.potsandco.com/

http://www.grandepizza.com

http://www.uncletonysnypizza.com

http://www.tonysoncentral.com

http://www.cheesenstuffdeli.com

 

Cookies – COLLECTION INDEX

Cookie Information – Search on COOKIE

Cookies for One or Two

Misc Cookies

Chocolate and Chocolate Chip

Sugar Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Molasses Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

Rainbow Ice Pops

RED

  • Blend frozen strawberries, raspberries and banana
  • Add yogurt and a splash of water

YELLOW

  • Blend frozen mangos and banana
  • Add orange segments and yogurt

GREEN

  • Blend spinach with frozen banana
  • Add yogurt and a splash of honey

BLUE

  • Blend frozen blueberries, pineapple and banana
  • Add yogurt and a splash of water

VIOLET

  • Blend frozen raspberries and banana
  • Add yogurt and some beet juice

Freeze in Otter Pop tubes or Popsicle forms

Optionally, for more vibrant colors you can add a drop or two of food coloring

Banana Bowl

Ingredients:

  • 2 cu skim milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cu sugar
  • 3 tbl corn starch

Instructions:

Slice & line bowls deeply. Whisk over simmering water until ribbons start to form about 10 minutes, will also increase in volume. Ladle over bananas into bowls, poke bananas down, refrigerate for 1 hour (better overnight). Tunk air bubbles out, cover & refriderate.

Special Steps:

Serve with whipped cream and crumbled cookies.

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