Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies

Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Some of you may have noticed that my recipes are a haphazard combination of measures. Sometimes by weight in grams or ounces, equally often cups and milliliters and other volume measures. My problem is that I have moved all over the world collecting cookbooks (and recipes from friends!) so I have gotten quite comfortable mixing and matching. I own two sets of measuring cups, US and UK, where a cup varies from eight ounces in the former to nine ounces in the latter. I don’t actually own a separate set of measuring spoons, but I know that an Australian recipe calling for a tablespoon of something needs four teaspoons instead of the US three. Thank goodness all teaspoons are 5ml!

I have a wonderful set of vintage scales, a gift from my mother, procured by a dear friend in Aberdeen, which has both imperial and metric weights. This is my very favorite thing in my kitchen and until I bought a digital scale, and I used it all the time.



When using my US cookbooks, I often measure things out, then tip them in the digital scale and write the weight in pencil in the cookbook, so I can just weigh the item the next time I use the recipe. How we ever started using cups, I do not know, because weighing is so much easier - and more accurate!

If you too find yourself with a foreign recipe, online or in a cookbook, check out Traditional Oven, the website I often use for conversions. It has been a godsend! But whichever measure you use, you'll want to make my salted caramel pumpkin blondies.

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies


To give everybody credit: My recipe was adapted from this recipe from BakedBree.com which was in turn adapted from this recipe from SingForYourSupperBlog.com which was in turn adapted from a recipe for basic pumpkin blondies from Annies Eats, who adapted hers from Martha Stewart. And so it goes.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (245g) room temperature butter
1 1/4 cups or 250g brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Check out the link if you'd like to make your own.)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 cup store-bought caramel syrup with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt added or this lovely recipe. I made this myself and ended up with a much darker caramel sauce.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Combine all dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.





Cream together the butter and brown sugar until very light and fluffy in another bowl.


Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar.







Now beat in the canned pumpkin.


Finally, fold in the reserved flour mixture a few spoons at a time, and stop stirring when the batter is just combined. This is going to be really thick.


Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper and spread half the batter around evenly.


Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the caramel sauce over the partially baked batter.


Carefully spoon the remaining batter over the caramel.


Spread to cover, as best you can. A gentle touch is key.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Return the blondies to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Let the blondies cool before cutting.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle on more salted caramel sauce before serving.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Enjoy!

Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Blackberry German Butter Cake - Brombeere-Butterkuchen #FoodieExtravaganza

Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.

Food Lust People Love: Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version, I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.

If you’ve never had butterkuchen or German butter cake, let me assure you that the name is well-deserved. This rich cake swims in the butter topping when it comes out of the oven. As the cake cools, the butter sinks in, making it super moist and delectable.

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing German recipes to celebrate the Oktoberfest which, despite its name, starts on Saturday, 16 September in Munich, extending only slightly into October with an end date of October 3rd this year.  Make sure to scroll down to see the dishes we’ve made in anticipation.

Meanwhile, you might want to check out my cheese-filled pretzels, homemade spicy German beer mustard and the obatza cheese spread I recreated for Sunday Supper, all three perfect for your Oktoberfest party.

This time around, I chose a sweet dish since every good and hearty meal should end with dessert, don’t you think? I'm pretty sure all German meals are good and hearty.

Blackberry German Butter Cake (Brombeere-Butterkuchen) 

This recipe is adapted from several I found on the internet. Here are three: ChefKoch.de, Lecker.de and GermanFood.org. Don't let the yeast scare you! This cake is really quite simple to make.

Ingredients
For the sponge:
1/4 cup or 31.25g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup or 120ml lukewarm milk (110°F or 43°C.)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the cake dough:
2 cups or 250g flour
1 large egg, at room temperature
7 tablespoons or 100g butter, softened, plus a little for buttering your baking pan
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the topping:
1/2 cup or 75g fresh berries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
9 tablespoons or 127g butter, softened

Method
To proof the yeast, we first make a sponge. Place flour in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Sprinkle in the dry yeast and add the teaspoon of sugar. Mix in the lukewarm milk.


Let the sponge sit in a warm place for 15 minutes. It should get foamy and increase in size. If it doesn’t, toss it out and start again with new yeast.

Assuming you have good, active yeast, add in the flour, egg, the softened butter, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture.

That's the foamy "sponge" on the bottom right. Good yeast! 


Mix until the dough is smooth and forms a ball.

One of the recipes I consulted online says to add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if necessary but I decided to leave my dough slack to make it more cake like, and less bready. So it didn’t really form a stiff ball. This probably makes it unauthentic, but, hey, I’m not even a little bit German plus I’ve added wild Jersey blackberries, so that makes it unauthentic already.


Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Press the dough out into a lightly buttered 8x8in or 20x20cm pan. Let it rest again for 15 minutes while heating oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Wet your hands slightly (so they don’t stick to the dough) and use your fingers to create dimples in the top of the dough.


Mix the sugar and cinnamon together with the berries and sprinkle evenly over dough.



Cut topping butter into small pieces and dot them evenly all around the cake. Mine was pretty soft so it was more a matter of spooning small bits on.

Food Lust People Love: Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version, I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and the sugar on top has caramelized. There is still going to be quite a bit of butter bubbling on top but don’t worry, it will sink in as the cake cools.

Food Lust People Love: Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version, I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version, I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.


Many thanks to this month’s host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for choosing our theme and her behind the scenes work. It’s almost time for Oktoberfest! How will you celebrate?




Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!


Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version, I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.
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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt #BundtBakers


For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

This month our host for Bundt Bakers is Cristina from Bizcocheando and she has challenged us all to make filled Bundts. I’ve baked quite a few with fillings between layers of batter, like my dark chocolate mint truffle mini Bundts, glazed chocolate macaroon Bundt, cinnamon crown Bundt, Sock It to Me Cake and, a Texas favorite, sticky pecan pie Bundt. So I decided to do something different and add a filling after baking.

Growing up my favorite doughnut was always the lemon-filled. I find them a bit too sweet now, but as a child, they seemed the perfect amount of tart and sweet. Since I discovered a few years ago how easy it was to make homemade lemon curd, it’s made an appearance in several dishes. The prettiest lemon curd requires lovely yellow or orange yolks, just like the ones we get here in the UAE. I have no idea what those hens are eating but the color of their yolks is gorgeous.

The lemon curd recipe makes more than will comfortably fill this Bundt, but that’s not a problem. I promise you’ll want to eat the rest with a spoon.

Ingredients
For the cake:
3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups or 300g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil
3 oz or 85g cream cheese, cut in pieces, softened
3/4 cup or180ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 60ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon curd filling:
2 small lemons
2 large eggs
Heaping 1/3 cup or 80g sugar
1/4 cup or 50g cold, unsalted butter
2 teaspoons cornflour or cornstarch

For the lemon glaze:
3/4 cup or 95g confectioners' sugar or as needed to get the consistency you’d like.
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method
Start by making the lemon curd so that you can pop it in the refrigerator to chill before baking the cake. Follow these instructions.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, use a whisk to combine and aerate the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Add in the eggs, oil, cream cheese, milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat on medium for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down once halfway through.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Pour in your prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Test with a wooden skewer to make sure the cake is cooked through.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.


Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then turn the cake out of the Bundt pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before attempting to cut.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.


Use a long serrated knife to cut the cake in half. Gently remove the top.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Use a melon scoop to cut a small channel into the bottom of the cake.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Spoon in your chilled lemon curd.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Replace the top of the cake. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together for your lemon drizzle. Use a plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner to drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Once the drizzle has dried and hardened, cover the cake with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely filled Bundts we've baked for you today! Many thanks to our host, Cristina from Bizcocheando for all of her hard work behind the scenes and for this great theme!

BundtBakers  

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

Pin my Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt!

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.
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Thursday, January 19, 2017

Lemon and Prosecco Bundt #BundtBakers

This Lemon and Prosecco Bundt is perfect for any celebration where you want the guest of honor to feel special. After all, there is nothing like the pop of a cork to herald the beginning of a party.



The fact of the matter is that everyone has a birthday. That is part of the human condition. We are born. We have a birthday. So right here at the beginning of a new calendar year, our Bundt Bakers host Sue from Palatable Pastime proposed that we share birthday cakes to celebrate. Thanks, Sue! What an excellent idea!

I immediately put my thinking cap on. Birthday cake, birthday cake. I know I bake a lot but not being much of a sweet eater, it's never for me. (My birthday is four days from now. There will not be cake. If you wanna bake me something, make it something savory!)

I drew a blank. Then I thought, what makes a party more festive? Well, sparkling wine, of course. A quick Google search for Champagne cake recipes turned up 5,300,000 results! Clearly this was not a new idea.

To make it my own, I added a little lemon to the mix. And because a good Prosecco is usually cheaper than a good Champagne, I switched that up too. Despite the cheesy cut glass bottle, this one comes highly recommended and we usually buy a decent stock at an end of the year sale.

Today just happens to be the birthday of someone very special to me, my friend, Jane. She is sweet and kind and more generous than anyone I know. She also has a wickedly delightful sense of humor. But what I love most about her is her loyalty and faithfulness and courage. It's been a rough few years for her and her family and she has managed to keep the faith and make the rest of us still smile through her tears. If you happen to read this, Jane, I love you! I wish I could send you this cake, or better yet, be there to bake it for you for your special day. Happy Birthday!

Ingredients
For the cake batter:
1 cup or 200g granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup or 120ml Prosecco

For the soaking syrup:
1/2 cup or 120ml Prosecco
2 tablespoons or 25g sugar

For the glaze:
1 cup or 125g powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons Prosecco

To decorate - optional, but, hey, it's a birthday party!
Sparkling sugar
Tiny pearl sprinkles

Bundt pan: 10-cup or 2.4L Nordic Ware Blossom <affiliate link

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease the Bundt pan liberally with butter and shake in some flour to coat.

Zest your lemon into the sugar and mix it around thoroughly so the zest will flavor the sugar. Set the bowl aside.



Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. This aerates the flour and eliminates the need to sift.

Put the butter, lemon sugar and lemon juice into a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated, scraping the bowl down in between additions.


Add half of your flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Scrape the side of the bowl down, then add half of the Prosecco. Beat again until thoroughly mixed.



Repeat with the rest of the flour and the rest of the Prosecco.





Spoon the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.



Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While the cake bakes, make the soaking syrup by combining the sugar and the Prosecco. Stir till the sugar dissolves.



When you remove the cake from the oven, drizzle the bottom with a few teaspoons of the soaking syrup. Leave the cake to cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes then invert and remove the cake from the pan.


Gently brush or spoon the rest of the soaking syrup on the cake. Leave to cool completely before glazing.



To make the glaze, put your powdered sugar in a bowl and add Prosecco a teaspoon at a time, stirring with each addition, until you have a good drizzling consistency.

Use a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off to make drizzling easier. If you are using sprinkles to decorate, have them at the ready because the surface of this glaze dries quickly. If you don’t sprinkle them on immediately, the sprinkles will just bounce off.



Pour everyone a glass of the Prosecco, cut the cake and enjoy!



What is your favorite birthday cake? Are you committed to the same one every year or do you mix it up? Perhaps you'll find a new favorite in the ones we are sharing today.

BundtBakers  

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

Pin it! 

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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Cranberry Sweet Rolls #BreadBakers

Cranberries are the darling of this season, showing up in savory and sweet recipes. (For those of us who can't get Florida Strawberries!) They add both sweetness and a welcome tart bite to these cranberry sweet rolls. Perfect for Christmas morning. Or any morning, really.


If you’ve been reading this space for a while, you might remember that I started Bread Bakers with my friend and fellow blogger Renee at Magnolia Days in September of 2014. As a group, we've been baking bread and growing like a good sourdough starter ever since. Twelve bakers took part in that first group event. This month, more than two years on, we have 16 delicious sweet yeast breads to share with you. Some months we’ve had 29 or 30 but I’m happy with 20 in a busy month like December.

Part of our Bread Bakers blurb talks about members taking turns choosing the theme or main ingredient and hosting the event each month. Because everyone is so willing to step forward, I haven’t actually hosted for ages, just played a supporting role to whoever was in charge. This month I’m stepping in to host! Our theme was chosen by Laura of Baking in Pyjamas who unfortunately had to drop out this month. I am delighted to fill in.

My cranberry sweet rolls are a seasonal take on cinnamon rolls, but with a buttery enriched dough and homemade cranberry filling. Make sure to follow my instructions to set aside a little of the filling for topping as well. That bright red on top makes them even more festive. If you want to enjoy these freshly baked for breakfast, follow the alternative instructions for the second proofing.

Don't forget to scroll down and check out all the other sweet yeast breads we’ve baked for you this month, perfect for the holiday season.

Ingredients
For the enriched dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 envelope fast-acting yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 57g butter, very soft but not melted

For the filling:
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/4 cup or 60ml water
1/4 cup or 60ml fresh orange juice
Zest of 1/2 orange (save other half for decoration)
2 cups or 210g fresh or frozen cranberries

For the glaze:
3/4 cup or 95g powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 teaspoons milk

Method
Make the filling first so it has time to cool:
In a large saucepan, bring sugar, water, orange juice and cranberries to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until cranberries begin to pop, just a few minutes. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes longer or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in orange zest; cover and set aside to cool.



Line the bottom of an 9 in or 23cm round baking pan with baking parchment.

To make the dough: Place the water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes to activate the yeast.

Add in the flour and salt. Mix well until a soft dough forms. Keep your mixer on medium speed and add in the butter a tablespoon or so at a time, mixing until the butter is incorporated each time.



Cover the bowl with some cling film or a damp towel and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. With rapid rise yeast, this rest takes the place of the first full proofing. This quite a soft dough.


On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle about 12x15in or 31x38cm.



Spread all but about 1/4 cup or 75g of the filling on the dough rectangle, going all the way to the sides but leaving a bit empty at the end. Save the balance for decoration.



Roll the dough up as tightly as you can manage, jellyroll style, ending at the empty end so it can seal itself as you finish the roll. Cut the roll into six equal pieces.



Place the cut rolls into your prepared pan.

Cover with cling film and set in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until doubled in size. (Alternatively, if you want to bake fresh for breakfast in the morning, you can now put the sweet rolls in the refrigerator to rise more slowly overnight. Take them out in the next day and put them in a warm place while you preheat your oven.)



When the last rise time is almost up, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden.



Remove from the oven and leave to cool before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze, add the milk by teaspoons to the powdered sugar, stirring well in between, until you reach a good drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cranberry sweet rolls. Add dollops of the reserved cranberry filling in between. Sprinkle with the remaining orange zest.



Enjoy!

Check out all the great sweet yeast breads!

BreadBakers
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin it!

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Sunday, December 4, 2016

Craig Claiborne's Eggnog Mousse

Eggnog is a simple drink, made with fresh eggs, cream or milk and sugar. Craig Claiborne’s Eggnog Mousse takes those key ingredients and puts them together to create a creamy, fluffy dessert.



This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing eggnog recipes, actual homemade eggnog in one case as well as recipes that use eggnog as an ingredient. While I was researching eggnog, I came upon a recipe from 1958 which appeared in The New York Times in an article written by Craig Claiborne.

Mr. Claiborne was a food critic for The Times as well as its food editor for 29 years.  As the author or editor of more than 20 books, he has been credited, along with Julia Child, with bringing French cuisine to the United States. A trailblazer in many ways, Mr. Claiborne was the first man to hold the food editor position in any major newspaper, a role that was considered a woman’s job when he took over back in the 1950s.

When this recipe was originally published, Mr. Claiborne didn’t call it eggnog mousse but simply eggnog. After reading through the method, I made that name up because this is clearly a mousse. A very adult mousse, with all that alcohol.

His penultimate instruction was to serve it in punch cups with spoons. But in his final instruction, he allowed that one could add 1 to 2 cups of milk to the yolk mixture for a thinner eggnog. An eggnog a person could drink, presumably.

This recipe makes about 4 1/4 cups or 1 liter of mousse. It is easily doubled or even quadrupled. Indeed, Mr. Claiborne's original recipe was for four times this amount. He must have been throwing some very big parties!

Important: Raw unpasteurized eggs should never be served to children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems (such as transplant patients and individuals with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and diabetes).

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup or 66g granulated sugar
1/4 cup or 60ml bourbon
1/4 cup or 60ml Cognac
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups or 355ml heavy whipping cream
Pinch cream of tartar
Nutmeg or cinnamon, to serve

Method
Separate the egg yolks and whites carefully, putting the whites in the refrigerator for later.

Using electric beaters, whip the egg yolks and the sugar until they thicken and turn a pale yellow.



With the beaters on slow, gradually add the bourbon and Cognac, beating well in between additions, until all is incorporated.



Cover the boozy yolks with cling film and pop them in the refrigerator to chill.

Once the yolk mixture is chilled, beat the cream with the pinch of cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture with a light hand.



Use a clean mixing bowl or wash the one you just used very well and beat the egg whites in it until they reach stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk/cream mixture.





Spoon the resulting mousse into serving dishes and chill until ready to serve. My little cups hold just a little more than a 1/4 cup or 60ml, perfect if you are offering this eggnog mousse with other dessert options on a buffet table. Put out the demitasse spoons, if you have any.


Sprinkle on a little nutmeg or cinnamon before serving.


This week our Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing their own special eggnog recipes in honor of National Eggnog Month. Many thanks to our host Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections for all of their behind-the-scenes work!

Baked Goods

Beverages

Breakfast and Breakfast Pastries

Desserts


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