Tag: Dessert
Old Witch’s Magic Nut Cake
by Martin Family Food Admin on Nov.05, 2015, under Cakes, Desserts
Old Witch’s Magic Nut Cake
(Source: story by Wende and Harry Devlin)
3 eggs
1 (1 lb.) can pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can swap out white whole wheat if you like)
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup yellow raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or mixture of both
Icing:
4 oz. cream cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon juice
1/2 box confectioners’ sugar
chopped walnuts or pecans to sprinkle
Beat together wet ingredients, mix together dry ingredients and combine the 2 mixtures. Pour batter into 3 pans (or pound coffee cans–or I just used a 13×9). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool cake(s). Cream together ingredients for icing. Frost top of cakes and sprinkle with more chopped walnuts if desired.
Chocolate Angel Pie
by Martin Family Food Admin on Oct.27, 2015, under Desserts, Pies
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For a pie with a balance of chocolate filling, crisp meringue, and fluffy whipped cream, we needed to boost the chocolate flavor. By making a cooked custard, we were able to load nearly a pound of chocolate into the filling, and using part milk and part bittersweet chocolate lent depth and complexity. True meringue takes time, and we found that 2½ hours in the oven was necessary for the lightest, crispest crust. To prevent the crust from sticking to the pan, we rely on a double dose of cornstarch—in the egg whites and as a coating for the pie plate. To finish, we go with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder.
SERVES 8 TO 10
Serve the assembled pie within 3 hours of chilling.
INGREDIENTS
-
FILLING
- 9 ounces milk chocolate, chopped fine
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
- 3 large large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, chilled
-
MERINGUE CRUST
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus extra for pie plate
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-
TOPPING
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
INSTRUCTIONS
-
1. FOR THE FILLING: Microwave milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in large bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in medium bowl until combined, about 1 minute. Bring half-and-half to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, slowly add hot half-and-half to egg yolk mixture in 2 additions until incorporated. Return half-and-half mixture to now-empty saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened slightly, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir half-and-half mixture into melted chocolate until combined. Let cool slightly, about 8 minutes.
2. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Gently whisk one-third of whipped cream into cooled chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until ready to assemble pie. (Filling can be made up to 24 hours in advance.)
3. FOR THE MERINGUE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate and dust well with extra cornstarch, using pastry brush to distribute evenly. Combine sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, 1 to 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar mixture and whip until glossy, stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla to meringue and whip until incorporated.
4. Spread meringue into prepared pie plate, following contours of plate to cover bottom, sides, and edges. Bake for 1½ hours. Rotate pie plate, reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees, and bake until completely dried out, about 1 hour longer. (Shell will rise above rim of pie plate; some cracking is OK.) Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
5. FOR THE TOPPING: Spoon cooled chocolate filling into cavity of pie shell, distributing evenly. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream and sugar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Spread whipped cream evenly over chocolate. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 1 hour. Dust with cocoa. Slice with sharp knife and serve.
DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE: BUSTED CRUST
The egg white crust is part of what distinguishes angel pie. To avoid a sticky, broken meringue shell, add cornstarch to the whites, and grease the pie plate and dust it with more cornstarch. Also, this uses the ideal baking time and temperatures to ensure that the interior and exterior of the meringue cooked properly.
Cherry Chip Cake with Fluffy Frosting
by Martin Family Food Admin on Aug.10, 2012, under Cakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 12-14 servings
Ingredients:
Cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cherry extract
1 tablespoons marachino cherry juice (from the jar that the cherries come in)
1 10-ounce jar marachino cherries, finely chopped
Frosting (this makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake.):
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 2 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment or waxed paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until very light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the cherry extract and cherry juice. Add one third of the flour mixture, beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the egg-milk mixture, then half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat until incorporated. Beat in the rest of the milk mixture, then add the remaining flour mixture. Beat the mixture for 2 minutes to make sure everything is incorporated and aerated. Fold in the cherries, then divide the mixture between the two pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and release the cakes from the pans. Cool completely on the cooling racks.
For the fluffy frosting:
- In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
- Meanwhile, heat the sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Heat until it comes to a full boil, then remove from the heat.
- Once the egg whites are stiff, slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture. Do not scrape the sides of the bowl, or you will have sugar crystals in the frosting. Beat the frosting until it forms a shiny, fluffy marshmallow frosting, 5-7 minutes.
- Frost the cake and sprinkle red sugar sprinkles on top