Wedding Cake
This was by far the easiest cake that I have ever made. There was no recipe,
no eggs, butter, flour or sugar, and you wouldn't want to taste it...because it is made out of towels. It looks pretty scrumptious however.
I have considered making a wedding cake, but it is beyond my baking capabilities, so I will stick to making them out of towels.
~Kathy~
Classic Chocolate Mousse
(from Bon Appetit Magazine Feb. 2013)
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream, divided
4 large egg yolks
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 large egg whites
1. Beat 1/2 cup cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, cover and chill.
2. Combine egg yolks, salt and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a large metal bowl. Set over
a saucepan of gently simmering water(do not allow bowl to touch water).
Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is lighter in color and almost
doubled in volume, and thermometer reads 160 degrees..about 1 minute.
3. Remove bowl from pan. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.
Let stand, whisking occasionally, until at room temperature.
4. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another medium bowl on medium
speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually beat in remaining
1 Tbsp. sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until firm peaks form.
5. Fold egg whites into chocolate in 2 additions. Fold whipped cream into
mixture just to blend.
6. Divide mousse among 6 goblets. Chill until firm. Garnish with dollup
of whipped cream, dusting of cocoa, and/or cookies. Serves 6.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Blueberry Muffins
(The Steinbeck House Cookbook)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. butter at room temp.
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1. Wash and drain the blueberries. Toss the berries with 1/3 cup of the flour
and set aside.
2. Sift the two cups of flour with the sugar, cream of tartar, soda, and salt
into a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until the
mixture looks like coarse meal.
3. In another bowl, combine milk, lightly beaten egg, and vanilla. Add all
at once to dry ingredients, stirring just enough to moisten. Fold in
blueberry- flour mixture. Do not over mix.
4. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.
5. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve hot with butter, if desired. Makes 16-18 muffins.
New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding
(from Cook's Country Blue Ribbon Desserts)
In honor of the Super Bowl, here it is as promised...!! Go Niners!!!
Pudding:
1 (18-20-inch) French baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
1 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup bourbon
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
1. FOR THE PUDDING:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450
degrees. Arrange the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake,
stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes, rotating
the baking sheet halfway through baking. Let the bread cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9-inch
baking pan.
2. Meanwhile, heat the raisins with 1/2 cup of the bourbon in a small
saucepan over medium-high heat until the bourbon begins to simmer,
2-3 minutes. Strain the mixture over a bowl, reserving the bourbon
and raisins separately.
3. Whisk the egg yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 tsp. of the
cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.
Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup bourbon, and the bourbon used to plump
the raisins. Fold in the toasted bread until evenly coated.Let the mixture sit
until the bread begins to absorb the custard, about 30 minutes, tossing
occasionally. (If the majority of the bread is still hard when squeezed,
soak for another 15 to 20 minutes.)
4. Pour half of the bread mixture into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle
with half of the reserved raisins. Pour the remaining bread mixture into
the pan and sprinkle with the remaining raisins. Cover with aluminum
foil and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix the granulated sugar and the remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
in a small bowl. Using your fingers, combine the butter and cinnamon sugar
until the mixture is the size of small peas.
Remove the foil from the pudding, sprinkle with the butter mixture, and
bake the pudding, uncovered, until the custard is just set, 20-25 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake until the top of
the pudding forms a golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pudding
to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
6. FOR THE SAUCE:
Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. of the bourbon together in a
small bowl. Heat the cream and granulated sugar in a small saucepan over
medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low
and cook until the sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes.
Off the heat, stir in the
remaining 2 Tbsp. bourbon, butter, and salt. Drizzle the warm sauce over
individual servings of the bread pudding. Serves 8-10 people.
