Category: Desserts

Yogurt with Berries and Granola

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When you want a really light, delicious breakfast, snack or dessert, nothing beats good yogurt, berries and granola. This is a dish that I make all the time, but never think of writing down.

We usually buy the best whole milk plain yogurt we can find (Brown Cow makes amazing yogurt!) and then add a little honey or jam. My favorite jam to add is Spicy Peach, paired with Cinnamon Granola. But you can really use almost any jam or fruit, even a frozen berry mix if you want to, and any granola you have on hand.

Ingredients

1 cup any berries – blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are good
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp Spicy Peach Jam
handful of Cinnamon Granola

In a wide, flat bowl start with yogurt, and drop jam over in little plops. (Technical term.) Toss berries and then granola over. Stir gently and devour.

Pie Crust Recipes: Traditional Pastry and Graham Cracker Crust

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I don’t often make pie crusts from scratch, but when I do, I have the best luck with this recipe.

Traditional Pie Crust:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3-4 Tbsp cold water

With a fork, stir together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in vegetable oil and mix gently until the mix is quite crumbly.

Dribble in 3 Tbsp of cold water and gently start mixing it in. The dough will start to stick together and start to form large lumps. If it isn’t, add the rest of the water.

Lay out a section of waxed paper that is twice as wide as it is tall and fold it in half. Unfold it and dump the pie dough onto the bottom layer. Form a flattish 6″ circle. You don’t want to beat it up – just pull all the loosish bits together. Fold the top over and begin to roll it out in a rough circle.

Keep your pie pan handy, and keep rolling until your circle is roughly 1/2″ – 1″ bigger than the pie pan. Remove the top layer of wax paper and “roll” the crust around the rolling pin. Unroll the crust over the pie pan, gently tugging and pushing down so the crust is well-seated in the pan.

Fold the edges up and under themselves, cutting off any extra-long bits and adding them anywhere your crust isn’t quite long enough. Then you can either use a fork to create a ridged edge, or you can crimp the edge with your hand. It’s easier to see than read – here is a video showing how to  crimp a pie crust.

Prick with a fork all over the bottom and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.  No chilling – and no baking beans or whatever.  Just pop it in the oven and bake it. You want the edges of the crust to just begin to darken. You’ll also smell a cooked flour aroma.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Add filling.  (If you’re using the crust for a filling that needs to bake, just fill it first and follow the baking times for baking a filled pie.)

Graham Cracker (or other cookie) Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers or BelVita Honey and Nuts cookies (3 packs of 2 cookies each)
1/3 cup melted butter
3Tbsp of sugar (1 1/2 Tbsp if you are using Belvita Cookies.)

Mix in a bowl, then dump into a pie pan, gently spreading the crumbs with the back of a spoon, going up the sides of the pan as well.  (Doesn’t have to be perfect – partway up is fine.)   Bake for 10 minutes at 350, remove and let cool before filling.

Fresh Cranberry Butter Cake

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Fresh, luscious Cranberries by Rasa Kasparaviciene on Unsplash.

Fresh Cranberry Cake, from Barefeet in the Kitchen, is easy and so delicious! The most important thing is to thoroughly beat the eggs and sugar until they are super light and fluffy. It forms a nice crust on top by itself and keeps very nicely for a few days. Had a piece with my dear friend Louisa yesterday and it’s perfect with afternoon tea!

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries (about 2 1/2 cups)
powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5-7 minutes. The mixture should almost double in size. The eggs work as your leavening agent in this recipe, so do not skip this step. This mixture should form a ribbon when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.

Add the butter, vanilla and orange zest; mix two more minutes. Gently stir in the flour until just combined. Add the cranberries and stir to mix throughout, and spread in a buttered 9×13 pan. The dough is quite thick, so you’ll need ot smooth it with a spatula.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely before cutting, and dust with powdered sugar.

Amazing!

Atlantic Beach Pie from Bill Smith

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I found Bill’s recipe for this lemony-limey cream pie with a crunchy cracker crust in Southern Living Magazine and decided to try it for our 4th of July supper.

What a wonderful pie! The crust is crunchy and slightly sweet and the perfect complement to a creamy filling and whipped cream topping.

I did make one change: Bill uses 4 egg yolks instead of the 2 eggs, but I have good luck using whole eggs, and hate having a million leftover egg whites, so I just added 2 whole eggs to the leftover egg yolk.

The lemon and lime zests look really pretty on the pie and add another little pop of flavor.

Ingredients

Crust:
1 ½ cups finely crushed saltine crackers (from 1 sleeve, about 37 crackers)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp sugar
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling:
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs and 1 egg yolk (Or 4 egg yolks per the original recipe)
¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2 large limes)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

Topping:
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
Zest of lemon and lime, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together crushed crackers, melted butter, sugar, and egg white in a medium bowl until combined. Transfer mixture to a 9-inch glass pie plate; firmly press on bottom and sides. Freeze 10 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven until crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together condensed milk, eggs and egg yolk until smooth. Whisk in lime juice and lemon juice until combined. Pour lime mixture into warm crust.

Bake at 350°F until center is just set, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

Beat cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Spread whipped cream topping over chilled pie, and garnish with lemon and lime zests.

Maya’s Lemon Tiramisu

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Maya made this for Christmas Lunch and it was one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever eaten. Light, lemony and not too sweet, and so pretty. I asked Maya for her recipe and here it is:

Ingredients

For lemon curd:

¾ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
½ cup unsalted butter, cubed

For filling:

6 egg yolks
¾ cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 ounce mascarpone (at room temperature)
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

For Ladyfinger “Dip”

1 Tablespoon of Grand Marnier Liquor
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
Ladyfingers (2 packages)

Step 1: Take Mascarpone Cheese out of fridge (it should be room temperature by the time you mix it in)

Step 2: Make Lemon Curd. Add lemon curd ingredients to a sauce pan and bring just to a simmer on medium-low heat, whisking often until mixture thickens, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. (Maya put some in a ziploc bag and piped it on the top.)

Step 3: Make Tiramisu Filling

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled (about 10 minutes) add 1 package of room temperature mascarpone cheese (4 ounces). Mix this until totally combined.

Next, whip up your whipping cream until soft peaks form, then add vanilla extract and salt. Gently fold this whipped cream with the mascarpone mixture; the consistency in the end should be kind of a light pudding.

Step 4: Make the ladyfinger dip. Combine Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and water in a shallow bowl that you can use to dip the ladyfingers in. Feel free to play with the ratios if you want your tiramisu more lemon-y. (If you can’t get ladyfingers, you can substitute sponge cake or pound cake cut into strips and baked for 10 minutes or so until they’re a little firmer.)

Step 5: Assembly

In a medium serving dish, you’ll start the layering. Dip some of your ladyfingers in the lemon dip, (they should be wet, but not soaked) and line the serving dish. Layer some of the mascarpone/whipped cream pudding on top of the ladyfingers (assuming three layers, use about a third of the mixture). Dot on some lemon curd, about 2 tablespoons. Repeat the dipping, placing, and layering until you’ve used up most of your ladyfingers and the mascarpone/whipped cream pudding; then drizzle with lemon curd. You probably will have lemon curd left over, if you make a whole batch of curd.

That’s it! Beautiful and lemon-ny, this adjusted tiramisu is a lot of work, but totally worth it!!

Baked Apple Oatmeal

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Another MelsKitchenCafe recipe – and I like this because you can prep it ahead of time and it isn’t overly sweet. It makes a great breakfast on a cold morning, but you could even use this as a treat with afternoon tea. Or as a weeknight dessert, served with a dollop of sweetened, whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned regular style oats
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground Nutmeg
1/4 – 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 T butter, melted, (omit for a vegan version)
2 large apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel) (I used Gala, but really you can mix it up.)

Mix oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. If you like things a bit sweeter, use the larger amount of brown sugar.

Mix the milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter, and pour into the oats. Stir gently to combine

Place chopped apples in the bottom of a 9×9 cake pan, (or a 9×12 pan as shown) and top with the oatmeal mixture. You can cover and hold this overnight, or you can bake it straight away at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Delish!

Mango Trifle

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Fresh mangoes by Desirae Hayes-Vitor on Unsplash

Inspired by the Great British Bake Off to try some new flavors – I made Mango Trifle for Samir’s birthday dinner last night. The recipe is very easy and so delicious.

Ingredients

2-3 cups of cake (angel food, lady fingers or yellow cake, unfrosted) cut into 1″ slices
14 oz (or more) frozen mango pulp, or fresh mango chunks
Cardamom Custard (recipe below)
2 Tbsp rum
fresh mango chunks
whipped cream

Cardamom Custard:
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 cups whole milk (Can also substitute fat-free 1/2 & 1/2 for some of the milk.)
4 eggs, well beaten in a medium sized bowl

Blend sugar, salt, cardamom, cornstarch and whole milk in a large saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly. Once the custard reaches the boil, remove from heat and add 1 cup to the eggs in the bowl, stirring vigorously so the eggs don’t cook. Add another cup of milk mix to the eggs, and continue stirring.

Return the whole thing to the saucepan and put back on medium/low heat. Heat for 1-2 minutes until the custard is just starting to bubble a little. Don’t leave it for a second at this point or it will curdle. Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken as it cools.

Toss mango in a bowl with rum and a little powdered sugar if needed. (Frozen mangoes are kind of hit and miss in terms of sweetness.)

To assemble:

Place cake in a thin layer on the bottom and sides of a large bowl or clear trifle dish. (Be a bit neater if using a clear trifle dish.) Place mangoes and rum liquid over cake, placing some on the outside so they show. Pour cooled Rich Custard over fruit and cake, cover and refrigerate at least a couple of hours until lightly set.

Just before serving, top with whipped cream and fresh mango chunks and dust with ground cardamom.

Vanna’s Nam Van – Coconut Milk & Fruit Dessert

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Nam Van with Cantaloupe (Easter 2022)

Our dear friend Vanna is the most amazing cook.  Literally everything she makes is the best I’ve ever eaten – no matter what she’s cooking!

Last night she was in town and made supper for all of us, including one of my favorite desserts – Nam Van, and she shared the recipe with me.

Nam Van is a popular dessert in Southeast Asia, and it’s a fruity, coconut milky dessert that’s unlike anything you’ll ever try. More liquid than a pudding, it’s refreshing and not overly sweet. The green jelly make it a pretty light green color, too.

We are lucky to have a great Asian Market close by, so we were able to pick up all the components, but you can always order these items online as well.  All the fruit and coconut milk was Arroy-D, and the green jelly is Chin Chin brand.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup palm sugar (or 1/3 cup brown sugar)
1/2 cup water

1 can lychees in syrup  (save lychee syrup)
1 can longans in syrup
1 can rambutans in syrup
1 can toddy palm seeds
1 can jackfruit in syrup

3 cups of coconut milk (We used Arroy-D cartons.)
2 cups ice
2 cans Green Jelly (We got Chin Chin brand)

1 cup fresh cantaloupe chunks
1 cup fresh muskmelon chunks

Make a simple syrup with palm sugar and water, by heating them in a pan until it comes to the boil and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

Open all the cans of fruit. Drain the syrup and rinse all the fruit.  Be sure to save the lychee syrup – you’ll add it back in later!

Palm seeds are oddly slick and sticky at the same time, but add a wonderful chewy texture. Don’t freak out – just put them in a colander and rinse them really well.

Place all rinsed, canned fruit into a large bowl.

Add the coconut milk, lychee syrup and about half the simple syrup. Stir the fruit gently until well mixed. Add ice and stir more until the mixture is a little chilled. Stir very gently and taste – adding more of the simple syrup as needed.

Shake the jelly out of the can, and cut it into 1/2″ cubes.  Cut melons into chunks and add both to the coconut fruit mixture, again stirring very, very gently.

Refrigerate at least a couple of hours.

To serve, add a little crushed ice to a bowl or cup and fill with fruit and coconut mixture. The ice helps keep it cool.

You could probably save time by refrigerating the cans and carton of coconut milk overnight so they’re cold to start with.  Still add ice to the mix and to the cup – this lightens the milk a bit.

The Best 4th of July Banana Cream Pie

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Perfect Banana for Banana Cream Pie by Lucian Alexe on unsplash

It’s been so long since I’ve made banana cream pie, and Kumy really loves it, so I thought it would be fun to make for the 4th of July.  We had plenty of bananas at just the right stage of ripeness and everything else we needed.

I used the oil pie crust recipe from my mom’s old Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook from the 1960s, and a version of Melskitchencafe’s filling.  (I use whole eggs in my version, and I add rum.)

We watched socially-distanced fireworks at the neighbors and came home to pie.  Kumy said he was too full – he’d made lassi (Pakistani yoghurt beverage) and drunk 2 big glasses, but even he had to get a piece for himself after taking a bite of mine.

Next morning, he had it again for breakfast.  Banana Cream Pie for breakfast – he’s got his priorities straight.  I was planning to take a photograph of a piece, but alas – that ship has sailed…

I make it with a regular Pastry Pie Crust, but it’s also good with a graham cracker crust, or my new favorite a Belvita Honey Nut Cookie crust.  Here are my favorite Pie Crust recipes.   And of course you can always use a ready-made crust!

Pie Filling:

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup half ‘n half
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten in a small bowl
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp rum (optional, but really good)
2 Tbsp butter
3-4 medium bananas, peeled and sliced into 1/2″ slices just before filling.

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium sauce pan. Add half ‘n half and milk and stir well. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Keep the beaten eggs close by.

Once the mixture has thickened and is bubbling, remove it from the heat. Start to pour into the eggs, whisking furiously as you do. Once you’ve added a cup or so of the milk mixture, you can go ahead and add all the eggs and milk back into the pan. Put back on the heat, and bring back to a gentle simmer.

Once you start to see a little gentle bubbling, keep cooking and whisking for another 60 seconds. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, rum  and butter.

Cover and leave to cool.

To assemble your pie, pour a thin layer of filling onto the pie crust, then add banana slices. Top with remaining pie filling and put into the fridge to cool.

Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
splash of rum (optional)

Just before serving, whisk heavy whipping cream, vanilla, rum and powdered sugar until it’s nice and fluffy. (Don’t overmix – you’ll end up with butter.) Pour over top of filling and serve.

If you want to get really fancy, save some banana slices and arrange the artfully on top of the whip cream.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

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sticky-toffy-pudding-cakeI’ve always wondered why British people are so obsessed with Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake.  After all, I’ve had pudding cakes and they were fine.  Usually awfully sweet, but nothing worthy of hero worship.  Then one day, I decided to try making it.

My friend Donna and her husband Bob had come over for  dinner and brought a gorgeous carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and caramel sauce, which is the only way I will ever be able to eat it again.

There was some caramel sauce left over and I thought – Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake!  Fortunately Kumy loves dried dates and figs so we always have dates in the pantry.

I found a recipe on Mel’sKitchenCafe.com, made it and the world tilted on its axis. (Mel’s recipes are truly the best!)  The cake is tender, moist and not too sweet.  Kumy loved it plain.  I couldn’t resist the caramel sauce and cream on top.

Sooo good!   I understand now, British people.  I understand.

Ingredients for Cake

6 ounces dates, pitted and finely chopped (they’ll be quite sticky – but just power on through them!)
3/4 cup boiling water
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients for Caramel Sauce   (I haven’t made this yet, but I’m sure it’s good.)

3/4 cup brown sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Additional heavy whipping cream for drizzling (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8×8 or 9×9 pan.  (I used a small rectangular pan.)

For the cake, in a medium bowl, stir together the dates, boiling water, baking soda and vanilla extract. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.

In a separate medium bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer) until well-combined and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs and mix.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. Fold in the dates and the water they soaked in until combined; don’t overmix.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes. Cake is done when the top springs back from a touch.  Let cool.

Make the sauce by adding the brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is smooth, 5-7 minutes.

Serve cake warm or at room temperature with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a smaller drizzle of heavy whipping cream.  Your world will never be the same again.