- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
It's tough to live in North Adams and not be aware of the trains that rumble through the city multiple times a day.
When I was growing up, passenger trains were already a thing of the past in North Adams. My dad, however, worked for a shipping company that relied on freight brought in and taken out of the city by train. The company was located in a building near the freight yard, about where the American Legion's north parking lot is today. I spent many hours in the freight yard with my dad, watching the trains go by and watching the "switcher" shuttle freight cars around the yard. To this day, I wave at the engineers as a train rolls past me at a crossing. I used to wave at the crews in the cabooses, but cabooses, alas, are no more.
There is nothing like the sound of a train in the middle of the night. I live near one road crossing and within a half-mile of another. In the silence of the night, I can lie in bed and hear the train whistle warning issued by the engineer as the train nears the crossings — two long blasts, a short blast and another long blast. In the summer, when the windows are open, I can hear the thump-thump of the wheels on the freight cars as they go over the crossing. I can also hear the more distant whistle as the train approaches the second crossing. And what I find amazing is the fact that, if it's very humid or raining, the sounds of the trains are more amplified.
I'll now confess ... I love sitting at a crossing watching a train go by (isn't some of the graffiti on the freight cars amazing?). I also have been known to park briefly under overpasses — always keeping an eye out for traffic — to listen to the rhythm of the wheels clanking on the rails.
In honor of trains and our beloved Hoosac Tunnel, I offer up a classic dessert — a rich chocolate cake that makes it's own molten core of gooey chocolate ...
TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 cups chopped pecans
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
For the cake: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.
In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add powdered sugar; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. By hand, stir in flour, pecans and cocoa until well blended.
Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake 58 to 62 minutes. Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 hour; invert onto serving plate. Cool completely. Makes 16 servings. This cake will have a gooey center if done correctly.
For the glaze: In small bowl, blend powdered sugar, cocoa and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered. Makes about 1 cup.
- By The Berkshire Eagle staff
When we were tossing around ideas for the food page prior to July 4, a big cookout and family gathering holiday, our thoughts turned to burgers, hot dogs and cookout side dishes. Done, done, done to death ...But what could we do different? Then Eagle Calendar Editor Meggie Baker came up with doing retro dishes — and nothing is more retro than ... jello.
Meggie combed the internet and came up with several possibilities and narrowed it down to four: A jello poke cake was delegated to Jennifer Huberdeau, Eagle interim managing editor; a cherry Coca-Cola jello mold to Maggy Button, Eagle associate features editor; strawberry pretzel salad for Lindsey Hollenbaugh, feature editor; and rainbow jello cake (aka The Crown Jewel), that was to be reigned over by Meggie, herself.
The day of the staff sampling arrived and one thing became evident — people either love or hate jello. Some staff members flatly refused to taste anything that had jello connected to it. Oddly enough, the Cherry Coca-Cola jello mold got top raves.
Below are the recipes and the "chefs" comments on their jello experiences:
This cake was everything I wanted it to be! This great cake, also known as a stained-glass window cake, was very easy to make, if a little bit time intensive. The jello flavors are pretty interchangeable, so I had some fun and went with red and blue for a super festive look. The cake is light and sweet — a nice cool treat on a (not-too) warm afternoon. (Get it too warm and the cake will melt!)
The cake itself held form really well, but the slices tended to crumple into a pile of jello when removed from the pan. Three boxes of jello did seem a bit much — perhaps making it with two boxes instead would leave a little more room for the Cool Whip-gelatin to hold together. And lining the pan with parchment paper would make it easier to remove, eliminating the jello-crushing struggle of trying to get another bite of that graham cracker crust. — Meggie Baker
RAINBOW JELLO CAKE (aka The Crown Jewel)
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Filling:
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon gelatin (1 packet knox)
3-4 cups cubed jello
DIRECTIONS:
To prepare crust, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Press into greased springform pan. Bake in a 350F preheated oven for 10-13 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
To prepare jello, mix contents of jello boxes with one cup of boiling water. Stir to dissolve the jello, and then pour into a container to solidify. Repeat with required colors and flavors. Placing the jello in the fridge will speed the solidifying process up. Once solid, cut jello into small cubes.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over top of the pineapple juice and allow it to rest for 30-60 seconds. Heat mixture to boiling in the microwave or on the stovetop. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Add in the cold water, stir and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
Whip cream and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Slowly add in cooled pineapple mixture, and whisk until completely combined.
Remove bowl from stand mixer. Place jello cubes into the mixture, but try not to stir it as it will cause the jello to break up. Swirl the bowl until the jello and filling mix together. Pour filling into prepared crust. Place pan into the fridge for the cake to solidify completely- between 6-8 hours or overnight.
Note: The cake is best served and consumed within 2 to 3 days.
This cake is so easy to make, that the most difficult part was finding the vanilla Kraft Cool Whip frosting the recipe called for — turns out it was discontinued. But thanks to the internet, I was able to find the recipe, which Kraft put online for disheartened fans of the product. After making this delicious and light "alternative" to buttercream frosting, I can see why there was such an outcry when it was discontinued.
On the day of the office tasting, I was a little disappointed with the results. Despite many compliments about how good the cake was and how it would be their first choice to bring to a picnic, it didn't hold up in the jello department. The jello element isn't front and center, as it is with some of the others. If you're looking to bring a delectable, light cake with the taste reminiscent of strawberry cheesecake, this is the one for you. If you're looking for a treat where jello takes center stage, leave this recipe in the box for another day. — Jennifer Huberdeau
RETRO STRAWBERRY JELLO POKE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 box of white cake mix or your favorite homemade white cake recipe's ingredients
2 3-ounce boxes of strawberry jello
2 1/2 cups of water, divided
1 tub of Vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting*
DIRECTIONS:
Make the cake mix as directed in a 13x9 pan Let the cake cool for an hour. Using a wooden spoon, poke holes, a half-inch apart, in the cake.
jello directions: After the cake has cooled, boil 2 cups of water. Stir in the 2 boxes of jello, until the jello is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup of cold water and stir. Pour the jello over the cooled cake.
Chill at least three hours in the refrigerator. (We recommend overnight.) When chilled, frost with vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting.
*Vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip, thawed (sugar-free is recommended)
1 3.5 ounce package instant vanilla or French vanilla pudding mix
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread on cake.
The hardest part of this recipe was finding the mold itself. Everyone I asked said they didn't own one, "My mom had one (or two or three)." Yeah, my mom had a set, too, but that was then and this is now. Thank goodness, the MAC Thrift Shop in North Adams had a Tupperware jello mold, and it was half-price!
Warning: If you make this, when you add the Coca-Cola to the jello and boiling water mixture, it resembles Mt. Kilauea and the resulting mixture looks disgusting. As the jello thickens in the refrigerator, and you stir it, it becomes a lot clearer. I added the other ingredients after I stirred the mixture and it looked like a red Slush Puppy.
I had nightmares the night before our photo shoot about the jello not coming out of the mold. Fortunately, it came out in one piece with a satisfying "thwunk." — Margaret Button
CHERRY COCA- COLA JELLO MOLD
INGREDIENTS
2 3-ounce boxes cherry-flavored jello, not sugar-free
1 cup boiling water
10 ounces Coca-Cola
1 can red tart pitted cherries in water 14.5 to 16 ounces
1 can crushed pineapple 8 ounces
1 cup chopped pecans raw or lightly toasted
DIRECTIONS:
Place the powdered jello in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over it and stir until dissolved. Stir in the Coca-Cola. Refrigerate mixture until partially firm, about 30 minutes. Note: Check and stir every 3 to 5 minutes. You want it a thickened, but not set.
Place the cherries and juice in a food processor fitted with a knife blade or in a blender. Pulse or blend a few times to lightly chop the cherries.
Once the jello mixture has thickened, stir in the chopped cherries and its juice, pineapple and its juice, and pecans. Pour into a jello/gelatin mold. Refrigerate until set or overnight. Remove salad from the mold by inverting onto a serving platter. Serve cold.
I have to be honest about something: I'm not really a big fan of jello. Lucky for me, (in my humble opinion) I didn't grow up in a family that brought jiggling jello molds to picnics. No mystery jello for me! Which is why this dessert is perfect for any of my family gatherings. As far as jello goes, this one is pretty classic, straight forward and delicious. If you're a fan of the salty-sweet craze, this is the jello dish for you. The sweetness of the strawberries and the cheesecake-like filling pair perfectly with the salty pretzel crust. This was also extremely easy to make, it just required a few steps and some waiting. But if you have to make a dessert for a hot day, this sweet-salty treat can be made the night before with little oven time. — Lindsey Hollenbaugh
STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups crushed pretzels (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
FILLING:
2 cups whipped topping
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
TOPPING:
2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry gelatin (we recommend sugar free)
2 cups boiling water
2 packages (16 ounces each) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
Additional whipped topping and pretzels, optionalfor topping
DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, combine the crushed pretzels, butter and sugar. Press into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
For filling, in a small bowl, beat whipped topping, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Spread over pretzel crust. Refrigerate until chilled.
For topping, dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a large bowl. Stir in strawberries with syrup; chill until partially set. Carefully spoon over filling. Chill for 4-6 hours or until firm (overnight works best). Cut into squares; serve with whipped topping if desired.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
This Christmas was different from those in the past for all of us. Despite the fact I would be spending Christmas with my son and daughter-in-law — my first ever Christmas away from home — I put up my Charlie Brown-ish artificial tree and a few other "essential" (to borrow a pandemic word) decorations, like my small nativity set (as opposed to the one where the camels are a foot tall) and the lighted candles in the window.
Although I put the decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving, as I always do, I found myself procrastinating on taking them down. After months and months of darkness brought about by the pandemic and isolation (yes, my dining room table is still a desk rather than a place to eat), the brightly lit and colorful tree gave me solace and a ray of hope that by next Christmas everything would be back to, if not normal, a new normal.
I stood by the tree numerous times, touching an ornament and remembering where it came from on our travels or the person who had made it, many of whom are no longer with me.
One of my favorites is a crocheted angel, made by the wife of my husband's roommate when he was a patient at a rehab facility in Springfield, prior to our last Christmas together. I can't remember the woman's name, or her husband's, or even what they looked like. But I can see her hands as they constantly worked the crochet hook, her mouth occasionally moving as if in silent prayer, making angels by the dozens as she sat by her husband's side, and then giving them to people as a sign of hope.
Her husband passed away a few days later, my husband six weeks later. She was older at the time and she may be gone, too, by now, but the hope she gave me lives on in that little angel — and God knows, we need that more than ever in these times.
One night, after spending time with ornaments my Aunt Marion (Duprey) had made, I took out her cookbook. I wanted something more to remind me of her — and nothing does that quite like making one of her favorite recipes. I chose her rich, fudgy brownies ...
BAKED FUDGE (Brownies)
INGREDIENTS:
2 ounces baking chocolate
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nut meats (chopped)
1/2 cup butter
DIRECTIONS:
Cut chocolate into pieces and put it in the milk. Stir and cook over low heat until smooth and a paste is formed.
Beat the eggs, add the sugar and stir well. Cool chocolate paste, then add the egg mixture. Add the flour and salt, and mix well. Add the vanilla and the nuts.
Melt the butter and add to the mixture. Beat well and then turn into a greased 9-inch pan.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 F.
Makes 16 brownies.
- By Robin Anish
I like to think of November as the month of gratitude.
Thanksgiving and Veterans Day are both celebrated in the month of November. Both are days of gratitude. We show our gratitude for our many blessings on Thanksgiving and to our military veterans for their service to our country on Veterans Day.
Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, a federal holiday to commemorate the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, and its veterans.
However, by 1954 the United States had been through World War II and the Korean War giving reason for a bill to be passed that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor American veterans of all wars.
So, before we start planning our Thanksgiving celebration, let’s celebrate Veterans Day with gratitude for the sacrifices all veterans made to protect our freedoms. To those with kids, let this be a teachable moment.
I think this is a celebration that calls for cake!
This cake, made rich and sweet with pumpkin and spices, is perfect for celebrating both Thanksgiving and Veterans Day.
CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla; set aside. Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is smooth and light.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.
Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean; about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool completely. Frost and fill layers with orange cream cheese frosting.
ORANGE CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING
INGREDIENTS:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange food coloring (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Blend the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Mix in food coloring until thoroughly blended.
- By Meggie Baker, The Berkshire Eagle
Every summer, I wind up with a bunch of rhubarb and find myself making pie. So much pie.
This year, I'm trying to get out of my rhubarb funk, not just in my flavors but also in how I use it, the packaging. I have never made rhubarb cookies before, but cranberry/white chocolate is already a pretty formidable combination, and a perennial Christmas favorite around here.
These Rhubarb-Cranberry Cookies combine those three with oats, making for a sweet treat that is soft, summery and subtle on the rhubarb — perfect if you're baking for someone who doesn't love the pucker.
Note: Rhubarb adds some wetness to any dessert, but here the oats take on the job of keeping things from turning to mush. Still, it was a balancing act to get cookies that were cooked and not mushy, but also not overly browned. Keep your eyes on them.
RHUBARB-CRANBERRY COOKIES
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups oats
1 heaping cup of fresh sliced rhubarb
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the oats, rhubarb, chips and cranberries.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until set.
***
I have been dreaming about getting to make this galette since last Thanksgiving, when I made my first plum tart ever. It was amazing, sweet, with just a hint of a tartness that had my head spinning with ideas for how to make it even better. (For me, better means more sour.) Rhubarb was an obvious addition and I happily latched on to this recipe.
The result was thin and crispy, sweet and only slightly sour. It gets the stamp of approval from my family — it disappeared in one sitting. However, if you're like me and think something is only tart enough when you involuntarily recoil when you put it in your mouth, try reducing the sugar.
As I mentioned before, rhubarb tends to add a wetness to desserts, and especially to pies. No fear here, though. Piling half the dry ingredients into the crust first to create a catch for all of that juice, and folding the sides up high kept this dessert from leaking over and allowed that juice to turn into a lovely, sticky pie filling. I wouldn't advise baking on anything but a sided cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan, however. Just in case.
RHUBARB-PLUM GALETTE
Recipe courtesy of: The Wordy Baker
Ingredients:
1 plain pie crust or cornmeal pate brisee
1 lb. of chopped rhubarb and plum slices (I used three short rhubarb stalks and two plums).
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 heaping cup flour
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together dry ingredients, and spread about half in a circle in the base of your pie crust. Toss your fruit mixture in the leftover dry mix, and pile in the center of your crust, leaving about 2 inches around the edges. Fold the edges of the crust around the fruit, overlapping and pressing down folds as necessary.
Bake on a silicone mat or parchment paper, for 55 to 65 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling and soft.
For a more traditional use of rhubarb, try Associate Features Editor Margaret Button's recipe for a classic dessert bar.
RHUBARB DREAM BARS
Ingredients:
For crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
For filling:
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
4 cups diced rhubarb
Directions:
Combine flour, butter and confectioner's sugar. Press crust on bottom of 15-by-10-by-1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
While crust is baking, prepare filling.
Blend the eggs, sugar, flour and salt until smooth. Fold in rhubarb and spread over the crust. Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees F until lightly brown. Cool and cut into squares.
- By Robin Anish
I’m on the Bennington Potters mailing list and a recent email provided a recipe for brownies that are seriously fudgy with bourbon or brandy marinated dried cherries mixed in. This is a grown-up version, but orange juice can be substituted for alcohol in the recipe to make a kid-friendly brownie.
Here’s the recipe from Bennington Potters. You’re going to love this brownie!
THE MOST DECADENT BROWNIE EVER
Recommend pan: Bennington Potters’ 8-by-16-inch rectangular baker, or any 9-by-13-inch pan.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dried sour cherries
4 tablespoons bourbon, brandy, or orange juice
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
5 squares unsweetened chocolate (5 ounces)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (we like Hershey Special Dark)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease the pan. Due to the cherries and their stickiness, use parchment or wax paper placed on the bottom to allow easy release. Grease the parchment, as well.
Place cherries and bourbon, brandy or orange juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring to make sure all of the cherries are coated. Let the liquid cook down until the cherries have absorbed most of the liquid and the alcohol has boiled out.
Set aside to cool.
Chop chocolate into pieces less than a half-inch in size. Place in a microwave-safe bowl along with the butter. Cover with a plate and heat until chocolate and butter melts and can be stirred together.
Do not overheat. Depending upon oven power, you may need to repeat this step; we recommend additional 10 second intervals if your chocolate needs more time.
Mix sugar and eggs together. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and stir until blended. Drain cherries of excess liquid, and add them with the vanilla to the batter. Stir in the nuts (if using) and chocolate chips. Fold in the flour and mix just until evenly distributed. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread as evenly as possible. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. A tester inserted in the middle should come out with only a few crumbs attached. Do not over-bake!
Cool until lukewarm. Keep brownies in as small an air-tight container as possible to reduce drying out. Will keep for many days.
- By Robin Anish
According to nationaldaycalendar.com, March 4 is National Pound Cake Day — and my inspiration for this article.
Aptly named, a pound cake is made from a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. The cake is buttery, sweet and delicious. The classic recipe is almost perfect, but its dense, heavy texture and rather hard, crumbly crust misses the mark a bit.
For all the sweet, buttery goodness of the classic pound cake, but with a melt-in-your-mouth silky texture, I highly recommend this recipe for Perfect Pound Cake from "The Cake Bible" cookbook by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
PERFECT POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
(Have ingredients at room temperature)
3 tablespoons milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, lightly combine the milk, eggs and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Scrape down the sides.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with buttered foil after 30 minutes to prevent over browning.
Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and invert it onto a greased wire rack. Cool completely.
Frosting is overkill on a pound cake, but a flavored simple syrup glaze adds a little something special without overdoing it.
When glazing, be sure cake is still warm. Poke holes over the top with a toothpick and spoon or brush some of the hot glaze over cake, let soak in and then repeat until syrup is used up.
BUTTER RUM GLAZED POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring just until sugar is dissolved.
Garnish slices with whipped cream and chopped pecans.
LEMON GLAZED POUND CAKE
Add 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind to cake batter.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Combine remaining ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring just until sugar is dissolved.
Garnish slices with whipped cream and blueberries.
I like to make tea sandwiches with leftover pound cake. Add a few chopped strawberries to cream cheese and spread between two slices of pound cake. Cut into triangles and serve.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
Sometimes, things that happen in my life leave me speechless. And, as anyone who knows me can attest, moments when I have nothing to say are very rare. My work week started with such a moment at my favorite coffee place ...
All employees of The Berkshire Eagle wear ID badges with our photos and names; newsroom people have a second badge that also has our photo, name and the word "Press" in a black-bordered box at the top. On Monday morning, I slipped the lanyard with the two badges on as I went out the door at home, leaving it dangling outside my jacket.
As I was getting my coffee, I noticed a middle-aged woman staring intently at my "Press" badge. I shrugged it off, thinking she recognized me from my photo or byline in the paper, or maybe I had once interviewed her for a story.
She came toward me and I waited for her to speak. Instead, she reached out and jabbed her index finger on my badge. As I waited for her to rail on me for "fake news," she drew her finger back and jabbed at my badge again. I again waited for her rants and raves. She looked at me in disgust and said crossly, "Nothing happened. Why wear something that says 'Press' if it doesn't do anything when it is pressed?"
I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Maybe she was joking, or, perhaps she was mentally handicapped, but it didn't seem like either was the case. Maybe I should have done jumping jacks or burst into song when she pressed it, so she wouldn't have been so disappointed ...
---
For a last-minute Valentine's gift, I recommend making these decadent truffles for your sweetheart. The love of my life, however, prefers dog biscuits ...
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
(Courtesy of Hershey's Kitchen)
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 cup cocoa or powdered sugar for rolling
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa; stir until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk; increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes or until mixture has pudding-like consistency and is smooth and glossy.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cover; refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or until firm. Shape into 1-1/4-inch balls; roll in cocoa or powdered sugar. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours. Store, covered, in refrigerator. About 2-1/2 dozen candies.
Variations:
Nut truffles: Add 3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans to chocolate mixture when adding vanilla. (To toast pecans: Heat oven to 375 F. Spread 3/4 cup pecan halves or pieces in a single layer in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool before chopping.)
Rum nut truffles: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons rum (or 1 teaspoon rum extract) and nuts.
Espresso truffles: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons powdered instant espresso or instant coffee when adding vanilla. Roll balls in cocoa or chopped nuts.
- By Lindsey Hollenbaugh, The Berkshire Eagle
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
I spent last weekend doing nothing, well, almost nothing — I did two loads of wash and put away the cushions from the deck furniture. I stayed in my PJs all day, finally taking a shower and getting dressed only long enough to pick up a takeout order of Chinese food Saturday night.
After deciding on a do-nothing day, I settled on the couch with the three remotes (TV, cable box and Firestick), my tablet and cell phone, and the next Eagle book club selection I needed to finish. I also grabbed my recipe box, thinking I would look for a recipe to use up the almost full can of pumpkin leftover from my son's dog's upset tummy a week before. I really had good intentions; I found two pumpkin recipes and then got waylaid making new file dividers for the box. By the time I had finished, all thoughts of baking had vanished.
I studied Spanish via an app on my tablet. Six years of Spanish decades ago in high school and college, and three years of using the app for at least 15 to 30 minutes daily, and I still can't speak it. I then turned to watching TV, first a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on regular TV, binge-watching old episodes of "Mad About You" on demand and finally binge-watching "Living with Yourself" on Netflix. I also fit in a nap — during the middle of the third season of "Mad About You."
Do nothing day was such a success, I repeated it on Sunday, except I finished the book and worked a shift at the supermarket. I had fleeting moments of regret I hadn't vacuumed when I saw dog hair drifting across the hardwood floor, but quickly put those aside with a couple episodes of "Hoarding: Buried Alive." A few hairballs simply doesn't compare!
While I was going through my recipe box, I found a recipe for one of my mom's go-to quick desserts — Chocolate Crazy Cake, also known as Wacky Cake or Depression Cake. I used to think it was called depression cake because you made holes, i.e. depressions, in the dry ingredients into which you poured some of the liquid ingredients. Come to find out, it was a cake created in the Great Depression, when eggs, milk and butter were hard to come by.
CHOCOLATE CRAZY CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
3 tablespoons cocoa (unsweetened)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients — two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one small depression, vanilla in the other, and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.
Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting.
Note: Oven baking times may vary, be sure to check your cake to make sure you do not over bake.
- By Robin Anish, Eagle Corespondent
"Easy as pie." Whoever came up with those words of wisdom clearly never baked a pie!
This time of year, I crave apple pie, and I thought about making an apple pie this past Saturday afternoon, but I just didn't feel like making it. Do you know why? Because making a pie is not easy!
Well, it's not really hard — it's more tedious than hard — but tedious is not easy, either.
First, you have to make the pie dough and let it chill while you peel and slice a lot of apples, then toss them with sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Then you have to roll out the dough; but first, you have to strew a lot of flour all over the counter so the dough doesn't stick. That'll be a lot of fun to clean up. Next, you have to pile the apples into the pie shell, roll out more dough, put it over the apples, crimp the edges and bake it.
While the pie bakes, you have to stick around and keep an eye on it. You set the timer. The timer goes off. You check the pie. The edges are getting too brown, you have to cover the edges with foil. You set the timer again. Timer goes off. You check the pie again. Not quite brown enough. Just a few more minutes. You set the timer again. You smell something burning. You check the pie. The juices are bubbling over onto the oven. The oven is smoking. That's it! ... This pie is done! You open the windows.
Oh yeah ... then there is the messy kitchen. You clean up.
Does that sound easy? No!
Is it worth it? For a homemade apple pie? Well, yeah!
But, "easy as pie?" I still don't get it ...
You know what I do when I want apple pie and I just don't feel like making an apple pie? I make baked apples.
EASIER-THAN-PIE BAKED APPLES
INGREDIENTS:
4 large firm apples
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup boiling water
Variation: Chewy caramels
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Core the apples leaving the bottom 1/2 inch of the apples intact.
Place apples upright in a baking dish just big enough to hold them. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and nuts. Fill cored apples with mixture. Dot with butter.
Pour boiling water into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, basting once or twice, until the apples are just tender, but not mushy. Serve warm.
Variation: BAKED CARAMEL APPLES
After 20 minutes, put 2 or 3 caramels into each apple cavity and bake 10 minutes longer or until tender and caramels are melted.
Just like apple pie, baked apples are delicious topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of cheddar cheese.
- By Berkshire Eagle Staff
If you're like any of us staring down a few bushels of freshly picked apples — it didn't seem like a lot while frolicking through the local apple orchard, right? — and you're not sure what to do with them, we've got four recipes worth getting out the apple peeler.
RUSTIC CARAMEL APPLE TART
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.
This easy-to-eat tart was the best part of apple pie without the mess. We all decided it was perfect to bring to a potluck or to serve after a dinner party.
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
6-1/2 teaspoons cold water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
FILLING:
1-1/2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
TOPPING:
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, warmed
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water and vanilla, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 400 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Combine the filling ingredients; spoon over crust to within 2 inches of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over filling. Whisk egg and water; brush over crust.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Using parchment paper, slide tart onto a wire rack. Drizzle with caramel topping. Serve warm.
OLD-FASHIONED APPLE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR FROSTING
Recipe courtesy of KingArthurFlour.com
This decadent apple cake was moist and deliciously rich thanks to its perfect brown sugar frosting.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger and ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, at room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 cups peeled, cored, finely chopped apple
Frosting:
7 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 2 tablespoons of cider syrup or boiled cider
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. To make the cake: Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and nuts in a large bowl. As soon as the mixture comes together and becomes pretty uniformly crumbly, stop mixing; you don't want it to turn into a cohesive mass.
Add the apples and nuts, and mix until the apples release some of their juice and the stiff mixture becomes a thick, creamy batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency. This will take about 3 minutes at low speed in a stand mixer.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with your wet fingers. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few wet crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool a bit while you make the frosting.
To make the frosting: Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl or onto a piece of parchment or wax paper; set it aside. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until the sugar starts to melt and the mixture becomes fairly smooth. While you may still notice a bit of grittiness from the sugar, you shouldn't see any melted butter pooled atop the sugar. Add the milk and (optional cider syrup) and bring to a boil.
Remove the syrup from the heat and pour it into a medium-sized mixing bowl (large enough to accommodate the powdered sugar). Let the syrup cool in the bowl for 10 minutes.
Pour the confectioners' sugar into the warm syrup in the bowl, then add the vanilla extract or flavor. Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined. You need to work fast here; the frosting stiffens up quickly as it cools. Pour the warm frosting onto the cake, spreading it over the entire surface.
Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
APPLE CAKE
Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen
This cake is a perfect cross between a moist coffee cake and apple pie. It comes together quickly, but beware: make sure to really butter/spray your pan as it can stick to the pan.
INGREDIENTS
For the apples:
6 apples, cored cut into cubes
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a tube pan or bundt pan. Toss cut apples with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half of the apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool completely before running a knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter.
CARAMEL APPLE MUFFINS
These apple muffins hit the right note of sweet thanks to the tiny crunchy caramel bits.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup 2 percent milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped peeled tart apple
12 caramels, chopped, or 1 cup caramel bits
Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons quick oats
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple and caramels.
Fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.
- By Berkshire Eagle Staff
Nothing goes with a summer get-together quite like brownies and dessert bars. Not only are they easy to pack, they can be eaten by hand, with little or no mess. And they can be made in a relatively short time.
To make your summer food prep a little easier, the newsroom held a brownie and dessert bar bake-off Monday. Eight of our finest bakers created their favorite brownies or bars to be judged by their peers. The offerings included Carrot Cake Bars, Zucchini Brownies, Lime Brownies, Great Balls of Fire, Gooey Butter Bars, Chocolate Shortbread Caramel Bars, Marshmallow Krispie Bars and super-rich basic brownies. In the end, hungry newsroom staff voted for Managing Editor of Content Engagement Lindsey Hollenbaugh's Gooey Butter Bars, which were indeed gooey, but oh so good, with a rich, soft layer under an appealing marbled chocolate crusty top. Retired Associate Features Editor Margaret Button came in a close second, with her refreshing Lime Brownies that served as an excellent palate-cleanser for all the chocolate we were consuming. And then, for fun, we've included the most surprising entry — a chocolate brownie with a kick, a Habanero pepper kick. Spicy-food lovers will want to include this one in your upcoming Fourth of July picnic for some real dessert fireworks.
GOOEY BUTTER BARS
These gooey bars are, in fact, quite gooey, but so rich and delicious. The butter in this super-easy recipe gives the bars an almost toffee or caramel flavor without the hassle. Because they are so rich, cut them into small squares and be prepared to feed a crowd. This is a perfect potluck dessert.
— Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor of content engagement
INGREDIENTS:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg
FOR FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, egg and melted butter. Beat until well combined. The batter will be thick. Spread batter evenly on the bottom of a well-greased baking dish. Set aside while you make the filling.
For the filling, beat cream cheese, eggs, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
Remove 1 cup of cream cheese mixture. Set aside. Spread remainder of cream cheese mixture over cake batter base.
In the microwave, melt chocolate chips until smooth. Mix melted chocolate chips with reserved 1 cup of cream cheese mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Spoon dollops of chocolate cream mixture on top of plain cream cheese batter. Swirl carefully with a butter knife, creating a marble effect.
Bake for 45 minutes. Don't over bake this — it should be soft! Let the bars cool completely before cutting.
LIME BROWNIES
I watched Paula Deen make these one day on The Food Network and knew I had to try them. Her original recipe calls for orange, not lime. I've made them countless times, and I've swapped out the orange extract, zest and juice for lemon, or lime, or my son's favorite, lemon-lime (using half lemon, half lime extract, juice and zest). Easy to make and transport to whatever gathering you're heading to!
— Margaret Button
Yield: 24 squares
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure lime extract
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, lime extract, and lime zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.
Glaze: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE HABANERO BROWNIES
Although they weren't among our top contenders, these brownies, made by Joe Wotkowicz, mail room night shift supervisor, and his wife, Sherrie, are definitely worth trying! Rich, moist brownies — with a slightly delayed kick. People who tried them were saying, "Wait, wait ... here comes the kick!"
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Habanero pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line the pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk to combine the ingredients and set aside
Place the chocolate chips and the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir to combine. Microwave in 30-second increments (stirring between) until all the chocolate is melted. Stir the sugar, Habanero pepper and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs, two at a time and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until the brownies puff up a bit and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (about 25 to 30 minutes). Cool in the pan to room temperature. Spread a ganache or glaze evenly over the brownies, if desired. Refrigerate until the glaze is set and the brownies are firm.
Use the parchment paper to lift the brownies out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into 32 or 24 squares.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
Looking for that last-minute Valentine's Day sweet for your sweetie? Nothing says love — or war — like a cupcake.
At least, that is for the members of The Berkshire Eagle staff who went out of their way — and, for some, out of their comfort zone — to create cupcakes for a cupcake war held Friday afternoon. 
Ten participants competed for the top honor, with all staff members invited to sample a quarter of each cupcake (the equivalent of 2 1/2 whole cupcakes; a tough job, but we were up to it!) and then vote for their favorite. Cupcakes ranged from the very elaborately frosted and decorated to the I've-never-done-this-before rookie frosting spread. And oh, the flavors! Strawberry Dream, Cherry Coke, Apple cinnamon with apple cider frosting, margarita, chocolate mousse-filled chocolate with fresh raspberry buttercream, carrot cake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting, chocolate, maple bacon, chocolate with salted caramel and "not cupcakes," little gems more like brownies topped with fresh raspberries and a chocolate ganache.
When all the ballots were cast and counted, the winning cupcake was the moist, flavorful carrot cake cupcake created by Samantha Ferraro, ad fulfillment coordinator at The Eagle. Who doesn't love a great carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting? Second place went to Joe Wotkowicz, night supervisor of the mailroom, and his wife, Sherrie, for their Strawberry Dream cupcakes. And sweet dreams they were ... luscious white cupcakes, filled with a creamy strawberry filling, topped with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate decorations.
While all of the cupcakes were delicious, there were some who struggled with presentation. Who knew these cute little mini cakes could cause so much trouble and heartache in the kitchen? For help, we called on Linda Tognini Williams, owner or Linda's Pastries in Pittsfield, and a professional baker for six years, to offer would-be cupcake makers some tips.
Williams recently competed in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire County's fifth annual Cupcake Wars fundraiser, an event in which she has competed each year. In 2018, she won the award for the most creative presentation. Much to her chagrin, the award for the best-tasting cupcake has so far eluded her, "but in the auction part of the event this year, my cupcakes [a chocolate cupcake with movie-theater snacks] went for $45; the winner of the best-tasting award's dozen went for $25," she said.
When it comes to making good cupcakes, Williams said it begins with having quality ingredients.
"Have the butter and eggs at room temperature. At room temperature, they mix easier and make a smoother batter, which makes a moister cupcake," she said.
When mixing the ingredients, Williams warned against over-mixing the batter, which she said results in a dense cupcake. "Mix it until the ingredients are just combined."
To fill the paper-lined cupcake tins, Williams uses an ice cream scoop to do the job. "So they all come out the same size and will bake the same," she said.
She reminded bakers that the oven should always be preheated before popping the cupcakes in to bake. Once the cupcakes are baked, cool them in the pan for a couple of minutes and then take them out of the pan and let them finish cooling on a rack. "If you leave them in the pans, they keep baking and dry out," Williams explained.
One of her cupcake tricks is to put the baked cupcakes in the freezer for a couple of days before frosting and decorating them. "It keeps the cupcakes moist," she said. And, also for upping the moistness of the cupcakes,
she advised using a recipe that has sour cream as an ingredient. Your recipe doesn't include sour cream? That's OK, just "add 1/2 cup sour cream to a recipe for 12 cupcakes." And, to make your cupcakes lighter, Williams suggested substituting cake flour for all-purpose flour in the same proportion.
When frosting cupcakes, Williams said she always uses buttercream frosting. The main thing to remember is to cover the entire top of the cupcake to the top of the paper cup. "Don't leave any cupcake showing," Williams said. And if piping the frosting on, start in the middle and pipe around the cupcake to the edge — and then work your way back to the middle for a higher cupcake.
CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES WITH BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(Recipe from lilluna.com)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 18
INGREDIENTS:
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
3 cups powdered sugar (more or less, if needed)
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil till thick and foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.
Fill paper-lined cupcake pans half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until brown sugar dissolves completely. Add vanilla, salt, and enough powdered sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe. Use a large star tip to frost cupcakes.
***
STRAWBERRY DREAM CUPCAKES
Simple white cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2cups flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
INGREDIENTS:
Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, mix well. Stir in milk until batter is smooth, pour into cupcake liners. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Filling: Fresh strawberries with cream cheese frosting.
Iced with cheesecake frosting and topped with white chocolate accents.
- By America's Test Kitchen
Simple, rich almond cake makes a sophisticated and delicately sweet dessert, but traditional European versions tend to be heavy and dense. For a slightly cakier version with plenty of nutty flavor, we swapped out the usual almond paste for toasted blanched sliced almonds (we disliked the slight bitterness imparted by skin-on almonds) and added a bit of almond extract for extra depth.
A generous amount of lemon zest provided subtle brightness. For an even lighter crumb, we increased the flour slightly and added baking powder — an untraditional ingredient — to ensure proper rise.
Making the batter in a food processor broke down some of the protein structure in the eggs, ensuring that the cake had a level, not domed, top, which was especially important for this unfrosted dessert. We swapped some butter for oil and lowered the oven temperature to produce an evenly baked, moist cake.
For a crunchy finishing touch, we topped the cake with sliced almonds and a sprinkle of lemon-infused sugar. If you can't find blanched sliced almonds, grind slivered almonds for the batter and use unblanched sliced almonds for the topping.
ITALIAN ALMOND CAKE
Servings: 8-10
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup blanched sliced almonds, toasted
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Grease 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper. Pulse 1 1/2 cups almonds, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in food processor until almonds are finely ground, 5 to 10 pulses. Transfer almond mixture to bowl.
Process eggs, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and almond extract in now-empty processor until very pale yellow, about 2 minutes. With processor running, add melted butter and oil in steady stream until incorporated. Add almond mixture and pulse to combine, 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Using your fingers, combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest in small bowl until fragrant, 5 to 10 seconds. Sprinkle top of cake evenly with remaining 1/3 cup almonds followed by sugar-zest mixture.
Bake until center of cake is set and bounces back when gently pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes, rotating pan after 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run thin knife around edge of pan. Invert cake onto greased wire rack, discarding parchment, and reinvert cake onto second wire rack. Let cake cool completely on rack, about 2 hours, before serving. (Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to three days.)
Nutrition information per serving: 485 calories; calories from fat; 30 g fat (7 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 127 mg cholesterol; 287 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 35 g sugar; 10 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Italian Almond Cake in "The Perfect Cake."
- By America's Test Kitchen
We love a tall New York-style cheesecake but there's no denying it's a bit of a project. It's also incredibly rich and decadent. Sometimes we want the essence of a cheesecake with less fuss, and we want the tang of a cream cheese-based cake without the weight — something lighter and creamier to finish a meal.
Enter no-bake cheesecake: The filling is lightened with whipped cream and the absence of eggs makes for a less rich cake. We achieved the best flavor and texture when we stuck to the tried-and-true combination of heavy cream and cream cheese thickened with gelatin.
Allowing the gelatin to hydrate in a portion of the cream and then bringing it to a boil in the microwave fully activated its thickening power. Lemon juice, lemon zest, and a little vanilla added just enough spark to perk up the tangy cream cheese.
And with a few simple tweaks, we created a peanut butter lover's variation, using Nutter Butter cookies in the crust and a generous dose of peanut butter in the cake. Serve with fresh strawberry topping (recipe follows), if desired.
ICEBOX CHEESECAKE
Servings: 10-12
Start to finish: 45 minutes active cooking time
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
8 whole graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup (4 2/3 ounces) sugar
1 pound cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
DIRECTIONS:
For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Pulse crackers and sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 15 pulses. Transfer crumbs to bowl, drizzle with melted butter, and mix with rubber spatula until mixture resembles wet sand. Using your hands, press crumb mixture evenly into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Using bottom of measuring cup, firmly pack crust into pan. Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 13 minutes. Let crust cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
For the filling: Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cream in 2-cup liquid measuring cup and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 20 seconds; whisk to combine and set aside.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining 1 1/4 cups cream and sugar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Fit stand mixer with paddle, reduce speed to medium-low, add cream cheese, and beat until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl once (mixture may not be completely smooth). Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and continue to beat until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add dissolved gelatin mixture and lemon zest and continue to beat until smooth and airy, about 2 minutes.
Pour filling into crust and spread into even layer with spatula. Wrap cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
To unmold cheesecake, wrap hot, damp dish towel around pan and let stand for 1 minute. Remove sides of pan and slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cheesecake onto platter. Serve.
FRESH STRAWBERRY TOPPING
Makes about 3 cups
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
This topping is best the day it's made. Do not use frozen strawberries in this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced thin (4 cups)
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Toss strawberries, sugar, and salt together in bowl and let sit, stirring occasionally, until berries have released their juice and sugar has dissolved, about 30 minutes.
Process jam in food processor until smooth, about 8 seconds. Simmer jam in small saucepan over medium heat until no longer foamy, about 3 minutes. Stir warm jam and lemon juice into strawberries. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition information per serving: 346 calories; 263 calories from fat; 29 g fat (17 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 95 mg cholesterol; 196 mg sodium; 18 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 16 g sugar; 4 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Icebox Cheesecake in The "Perfect Cake ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
We wanted a pie that had a firm, juicy filling full of fresh blueberry flavor with still plump berries, and we also wanted a crisp, flaky crust.
To thicken the pie, we tried cornstarch, as well as our gluten-free flour blend, but preferred tapioca starch, which was subtle enough to allow the berry flavor to shine through. Too much of it, though, created a congealed mess.
Cooking some of the blueberries down to a saucy consistency helped us reduce the amount of tapioca required, as did adding a peeled Granny Smith apple that we shredded on the large holes of a box grater.
Rich in pectin, the apple helped thicken the berries naturally. Since gluten-free pie crusts can easily turn soggy, we found that preheating a sheet pan in the oven and baking the pie on the lower rack helped keep the crust crisp. (We also offer a gluten-free flour blend).
It's not safe to place a glass (Pyrex) pie plate on a preheated baking sheet. If you must use a glass pie plate, do not preheat the baking sheet; note, however, that your crust will not be as crisp. This pie is best served the day it is made.
Blueberry pie
Servings: 8
Start to finish: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS:
30 ounces (6 cups) blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and shredded
5 1/4 ounces (3/4 cup) sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
Pinch salt
1 recipe Double-Crust Pie Dough (recipe below)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
DIRECTIONS:
Cook 3 cups blueberries in medium saucepan over medium heat, mashing occasionally with potato masher to help release juices, until half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and measures 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Place shredded apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Combine apple, cooked berry mixture, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, sugar, tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice, and salt in large bowl.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 F. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch metal pie plate, and ease dough into plate; remove remaining plastic. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic. Remove top plastic. Using 1 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut hole in center of dough, then cut out 6 more holes, about 1 1/2 inches from hole in center, evenly spaced around center hole.
Spread blueberry mixture evenly into dough-lined pie plate. Gently invert top crust over filling and remove remaining plastic. Trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate, pinch dough edges together, and tuck under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers. Brush pie with egg white.
Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 4 hours. Serve.
Double-crust pie dough
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
Perfect pie dough has just the right balance of tenderness and structure. The former comes from fat, the latter from the long protein chains, called gluten, that form when flour mixes with water. Too little gluten and the dough won't stick together; too much and the crust turns tough.
So presumably we would face mostly a structural issue with a gluten-free dough, since gluten-free flours are naturally low in protein. As our first step, we swapped in our gluten-free flour blend for the wheat flour in all the pie dough recipes the test kitchen has developed over the years. We produced workable doughs in every case, but an all-butter dough (which includes sour cream for tenderness) had the necessary richness to stand up to the starchiness of the gluten-free flour blend and was clearly the best starting point.
Although we weren't surprised to find that the dough was still too soft and lacked structure, we were taken aback by how tough it was; on its own, the sour cream was not sufficient to tenderize a gluten-free dough. We solved the structural problem easily with the addition of a modest amount of xanthan gum, but flakiness and tenderness were still elusive.
In an effort to further tenderize our dough, we tested ingredients that are known to tenderize: baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Vinegar was the clear winner, producing a pie crust that was not only tender, but also light and flaky. Like conventional recipes, this pie dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for two days; however, it is not sturdy enough to withstand freezing.
INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
13 ounces (2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend (recipe below)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and frozen for 10 to 15 minutes
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ice water, sour cream, and vinegar together in bowl. Process flour blend, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum together in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until crumbs look uniform and distinct pieces of butter are no longer visible, 20 to 30 pulses.
Pour half of sour cream mixture over flour mixture and pulse to incorporate, about three pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough comes together in large pieces around blade, about 20 pulses.
Divide dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into 5-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling out dough, let it sit on counter to soften slightly, about 30 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
The America's Test Kitchen gluten-free flour blend
Makes 42 ounces (about 9 1/3 cups)
It is important to bring the mix to room temperature before using it in a recipe. Be sure to use potato starch, not potato flour. Tapioca starch is also sold as tapioca flour; they are interchangeable. See notes at right about shopping for rice flours and substitutes for potato starch and nonfat dry milk powder.
INGREDIENTS:
24 ounces (4 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup) white rice flour
7 1/2 ounces (1 2/3 cups) brown rice flour
7 ounces (1 1/3 cups) potato starch
3 ounces (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
3/4 ounce (3 tablespoons) nonfat milk powder
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl until well combined. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
Nutrition information per serving: 506 calories; 227 calories from fat; 26 g fat (15 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 63 mg cholesterol; 339 mg sodium; 70 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 34 g sugar; 6 g protein.
___
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Blueberry Pie in "The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
There is much to love about sweet, nutty pecan pie, but it's easy for this simple dessert to turn out tooth achingly sugary and void of pecan flavor, with a curdled filling sogging a leathery crust.
We wanted to create the ideal recipe for a not-too-sweet pie with a smooth-textured filling and a properly baked bottom crust. We decided to start from the bottom up.
By partially baking the crust, we ensured that the filling wouldn't compromise its texture during baking and serving; we also found that adding the filling while the crust was still warm helped a great deal.
Next, we melted the butter and stirred together the filling in a bowl set over almost-simmering water. This makeshift double-boiler setup helped us maintain gentle heat, which protected against curdling.
We reversed the filling's sugar overload by using a moderate amount of brown sugar. Its subtle, nuanced sweetness and molasses taste kept the spotlight trained on the pecans' toasty flavor. Poured into the warm shell and baked to nutty perfection, this pecan pie moved right to the top of our nice list.
Chill the dough-lined pie plate for at least 30 minutes before beginning the recipe. The crust must still be warm when the filling is added. To serve the pie warm, cool it thoroughly so that it sets, then warm it in a 250 F oven for about 15 minutes and slice.
CLASSIC PECAN PIE
Servings: 8
Start to finish: 1 hour (plus 2 hours for cooling)
INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe basic single-crust pie dough (recipe follows), fitted into a 9-inch pie plate and chilled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed (7 ounces) dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces) pecans, toasted and chopped fine
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 F. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pie plate to wire rack and remove weights and foil. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and reduce oven temperature to 275 F. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.)
Melt butter in heatproof bowl set in skillet of water maintained at just below simmer. Remove bowl from skillet and stir in sugar and salt until butter is absorbed. Whisk in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Return bowl to hot water and stir until mixture is shiny, hot to touch, and registers 130 F. Off heat, stir in pecans.
Pour pecan mixture into warm pie crust. Bake pie until filling looks set but yields when gently pressed with back of spoon, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has firmed up, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm (see note) or at room temperature.
BASIC SINGLE-CRUST PIE DOUGH
We wanted pie dough that we could count on for reliably flaky, flavorful, crust and achieving it came down to determining the right fat, the right proportion of fat to flour, and the right method for combining them. A proportion of 3 parts butter to 2 parts shortening proved optimal for both flavor and texture, and a high-fat ratio of 2 parts flour to 1 part fat produced a workable, tender dough.
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
Total time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour for chilling)
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
4-6 tablespoons ice water
DIRECTIONS:
Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter shortening over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Stir and press dough together, using stiff rubber spatula, until dough sticks together. If dough does not come together, stir in remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into 4-inch disk. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling dough out, let sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 659 calories; 375 calories from fat; 42 g fat (13 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 123 mg cholesterol; 338 mg sodium; 70 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 52 g sugar; 7 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Pecan Pie in "All-Time Best Holiday Entertaining ."
A few months ago, I binged every season I could find of "The Great British Baking Show" on Netflix. I never thought that I'd actually learn anything from watching those talented home bakers, as they strive week-after-week to make a star baker-worthy cake, bread or pastry (and try to earn that elusive "Paul Hollywood handshake").
Finally, I can say, that all those nights I spent watching "cake week" episodes — the ones devoted to carefully rolling warm sponge cakes into spirals without breaking them — have paid off. I made my first ever Swiss roll the other night, on a whim.
If you aren't aware, local strawberries are in season. (I picked up six pints this weekend at a farmers market, but you also can pick-your-own at many local farms.) Knowing this ahead of time, I asked several of my Berkshire Eagle co-workers for dessert recipes that use strawberries. Meggie Baker, digital projects manager for news, sent along a recipe for a no-bake strawberry cheesecake; Margaret Button, associate features editor, sent me a recipe for a strawberry cream cake roll and Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor content engagement, provided a strawberry sauce recipe.
I went into the weekend planning on making only the no-bake cheesecake with a homemade graham cracker crust. But, after popping the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill, I was still a little ambitious and had plenty of leftover strawberries to use. I put a pound of hulled strawberries onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and popped them in the freezer. (This is a simple way to freeze and later bag strawberries for use in the future.) Then, I decided to make the cake roll. I made the sponge cake and put it in the oven. I got my flour sack towel ready and waited for the cake to bake. I had never made a sponge cake before, never mind roll one in a towel and set it to cool. But I did both. I flipped my warm sponge cake onto a towel, slowly peeled off the parchment paper and carefully rolled it in my flour sack towel. As it cooled, I made the cream filling, suspicious of how easy it had been to roll that cake. Surely, I though, it will crack. But, to my delight, I unrolled the towel, spread the cream according to the directions and rolled the sponge back up without any problems. I later dusted it with powdered sugar. It was light, airy and delicious.
The cheesecake also was light and delicious and a great treat on a hot night. I plan on making both of these desserts again and again.
As for that Paul Hollywood handshake, I think it's equivalent to a family that happily downed these desserts.
STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE ROLL
This fresh Strawberry and Cream cake is the perfect dessert for a summer night get-together. It's relatively simple to make — the hardest part is rolling it in a towel right after it comes out of the oven. It does get a bit soggy after about 6 hours in the refrigerator. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries can also be used.
Margaret Button, associate features editor
Servings: 10
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar
1 recipe filling
DIRECTIONS:
Separate eggs. Allow egg whites and yolks to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 15-by-10-by-1-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-color. Gradually beat in the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, beating on high speed until sugar is almost dissolved.
Thoroughly wash beaters. In another bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold egg yolk mixture into beaten egg whites. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg mixture; fold in gently just until combined. Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and turn cake out onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove parchment paper from cake. Roll towel and cake into a spiral, starting from a short side of the cake. Cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare desired filling.
Unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cake with desired filling to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up cake; trim ends. Cover; chill for up to 6 hours.
STRAWBERRY CREAM FILLING
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries (or 1 cup fresh raspberries)
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Fold in strawberries or raspberries. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar after rolling with filling.
NO-BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
YIELD: Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces prepared whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared graham cracker crust (or make your own)
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
DIRECTIONS:
Beat the cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Fold in the whipped topping. Scrape mixture into the pie crust. (There may be some filling leftover. If so, reserve it to be decoratively piped onto the top of the pie.) Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Decorate the top of the cheesecake, when chilled. Starting in the center, arrange the strawberries in a circular pattern. Pipe with extra filling, if desired.
Note: If you prefer to make a graham cracker crust, combine 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 8 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cool completely before filling.
STRAWBERRY SAUCE
This sauce is perfect as a chocolate cake filling or served slightly warmed over vanilla ice cream. If you're using super fresh, ripe strawberries that are on the sweeter side, consider using a little less sugar in this recipe. This is also a great way to use up strawberries that are close to the end of the shelf life.
Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor content engagement
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup water (divided)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
DIRECTIONS:
Wash, clean, and hull strawberries. Chop them into equal size pieces.
Place strawberries in a saucepan with half the water, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Place it on medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved; shaking the pan to cook evenly.
Continue to cook a minute more, then, use a vegetable or potato masher and mash the fruit to create a smoother sauce.
Add cornstarch to the remaining water and stir well. Add it to the strawberries.
Continue to cook on medium — the mixture will thicken and look glossy. When glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula it's ready.
If you want a super smooth sauce, strain the filling by pouring it through a sieve.
Pour into a mason jar. Let cool completely.
- By Jim Romanoff, Associated Press
Making a healthier — yet still satisfying — cheesecake is just a matter of choosing the right ingredients.
Nutritionist Ellie Krieger, host of the Food Network show "Healthy Appetite," recommends reduced-fat rather than non-fat ingredients because they significantly cut fat, saturated fat and calories without sacrificing taste and texture.
In most cheesecake recipes you can, at the very least, replace regular cream cheese with Neufchatel (reduced-fat cream cheese) which has fewer calories and about a third of the fat.
Additionally, you can replace about half the cream cheese with a smooth puree of reduced-fat cottage cheese, which will cut fat and calories even more.
If you're adapting a recipe that calls for a graham cracker crust, you can cut fat and calories quite a bit by using a small amount of canola oil rather than a lot of butter to bind the crumbs together.
In her recipe for Ricotta Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries, Krieger uses a blend of Neufchatel and pureed part-skim ricotta cheese. The resulting cake is creamy and has all the delicious cheese flavor you would expect.
This recipe further reduces calories and fat by eliminating the crust. A bit of flour added to the batter forms a golden-brown "crust" on the sides and bottom as the cheesecake bakes.
The serving size of Krieger's cheesecake is a nice big wedge, heaped with fresh raspberries. "We eat with our eyes," she says. "If the slice looks small you'll be dissatisfied before you even take a bite."
RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WITH FRESH RASPBERRIES
Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (15 minutes active) plus 3 hours 20 minutes cooling time
Servings: 8
15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 ounces Neufchatel (reduced-fat cream cheese), softened
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon orange liqueur or water
Two 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 325 F. Coat a 9-inch, leakproof springform pan with cooking spray.
In a food processor, puree the ricotta until smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream, Neufchatel, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt and process until well blended. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the center is just set, 50 to 55 minutes.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before removing it from the pan. The cheesecake will be about 2 inches high.
In a small saucepan, bring the jam and liqueur to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Brush the top of the cheesecake with the jam mixture, then top with raspberries, flat side down. The cake should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition information per serving: 295 calories; 13 g fat (8 g saturated); 127 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrate; 10 g protein; 3 g fiber; 375 mg sodium.
(Recipe from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave," Taunton Press, 2008)
Copyright © 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- By America's Test Kitchen
We started our New Orleans bourbon bread pudding recipe by tearing a baguette into ragged pieces, which gave the bread pudding a rustic look. We then toasted the bread to a deep golden brown, which prevented the prepared recipe from turning soggy.
Once the custard set up in the oven, we sprinkled cinnamon, sugar, and butter on top and let it bake until the topping was caramelized. Then, for a real taste of New Orleans, we drizzled the bread pudding with our warm bourbon sauce.
New Orleans bourbon bread pudding with bourbon sauce
Servings: 8-10
Start to finish: 2 hours, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 (18- to 20-inch) baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces (10 cups)
1 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup bourbon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and chilled, plus extra for baking dish
8 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 recipe Bourbon Sauce (recipe follows)
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 F. Arrange bread in single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp and browned, about 12 minutes, turning pieces over and switching baking sheets halfway through baking. Let bread cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 F.
Meanwhile, heat raisins with 1/2 up bourbon in small saucepan over medium-high heat until bourbon begins to simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain mixture, reserving bourbon and raisins separately.
Butter 13-by 9-inch broiler-safe baking dish. Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk in reserved bourbon plus remaining 1/4 cup bourbon. Add toasted bread and toss until evenly coated. Let mixture sit until bread begins to absorb custard, about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. If majority of bread is still hard, continue to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pour half of bread mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of raisins. Pour remaining bread mixture into dish and sprinkle with remaining raisins. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Using your fingers, cut 6 tablespoons butter into sugar mixture until size of small peas. Remove foil from pudding, sprinkle with butter mixture, and bake, uncovered, until custard is just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and heat broiler.
Once broiler is heated, broil pudding until top forms golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Serve.
Bourbon sauce
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup bourbon
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk cornstarch and 2 tablespoons bourbon in small bowl until well combined. Heat cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in salt, butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon. Drizzle warm sauce over individual servings. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Nutrition information per serving: 681 calories; 361 calories from fat; 40 g fat (24 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 275 mg cholesterol; 207 mg sodium; 67 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 53 g sugar; 7 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce in "Cooking At Home With Bridget and Julia ."
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
It's tough to live in North Adams and not be aware of the trains that rumble through the city multiple times a day.
When I was growing up, passenger trains were already a thing of the past in North Adams. My dad, however, worked for a shipping company that relied on freight brought in and taken out of the city by train. The company was located in a building near the freight yard, about where the American Legion's north parking lot is today. I spent many hours in the freight yard with my dad, watching the trains go by and watching the "switcher" shuttle freight cars around the yard. To this day, I wave at the engineers as a train rolls past me at a crossing. I used to wave at the crews in the cabooses, but cabooses, alas, are no more.
There is nothing like the sound of a train in the middle of the night. I live near one road crossing and within a half-mile of another. In the silence of the night, I can lie in bed and hear the train whistle warning issued by the engineer as the train nears the crossings — two long blasts, a short blast and another long blast. In the summer, when the windows are open, I can hear the thump-thump of the wheels on the freight cars as they go over the crossing. I can also hear the more distant whistle as the train approaches the second crossing. And what I find amazing is the fact that, if it's very humid or raining, the sounds of the trains are more amplified.
I'll now confess ... I love sitting at a crossing watching a train go by (isn't some of the graffiti on the freight cars amazing?). I also have been known to park briefly under overpasses — always keeping an eye out for traffic — to listen to the rhythm of the wheels clanking on the rails.
In honor of trains and our beloved Hoosac Tunnel, I offer up a classic dessert — a rich chocolate cake that makes it's own molten core of gooey chocolate ...
TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 cups chopped pecans
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
For the cake: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.
In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add powdered sugar; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. By hand, stir in flour, pecans and cocoa until well blended.
Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake 58 to 62 minutes. Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 hour; invert onto serving plate. Cool completely. Makes 16 servings. This cake will have a gooey center if done correctly.
For the glaze: In small bowl, blend powdered sugar, cocoa and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered. Makes about 1 cup.
- By The Berkshire Eagle staff
When we were tossing around ideas for the food page prior to July 4, a big cookout and family gathering holiday, our thoughts turned to burgers, hot dogs and cookout side dishes. Done, done, done to death ...But what could we do different? Then Eagle Calendar Editor Meggie Baker came up with doing retro dishes — and nothing is more retro than ... jello.
Meggie combed the internet and came up with several possibilities and narrowed it down to four: A jello poke cake was delegated to Jennifer Huberdeau, Eagle interim managing editor; a cherry Coca-Cola jello mold to Maggy Button, Eagle associate features editor; strawberry pretzel salad for Lindsey Hollenbaugh, feature editor; and rainbow jello cake (aka The Crown Jewel), that was to be reigned over by Meggie, herself.
The day of the staff sampling arrived and one thing became evident — people either love or hate jello. Some staff members flatly refused to taste anything that had jello connected to it. Oddly enough, the Cherry Coca-Cola jello mold got top raves.
Below are the recipes and the "chefs" comments on their jello experiences:
This cake was everything I wanted it to be! This great cake, also known as a stained-glass window cake, was very easy to make, if a little bit time intensive. The jello flavors are pretty interchangeable, so I had some fun and went with red and blue for a super festive look. The cake is light and sweet — a nice cool treat on a (not-too) warm afternoon. (Get it too warm and the cake will melt!)
The cake itself held form really well, but the slices tended to crumple into a pile of jello when removed from the pan. Three boxes of jello did seem a bit much — perhaps making it with two boxes instead would leave a little more room for the Cool Whip-gelatin to hold together. And lining the pan with parchment paper would make it easier to remove, eliminating the jello-crushing struggle of trying to get another bite of that graham cracker crust. — Meggie Baker
RAINBOW JELLO CAKE (aka The Crown Jewel)
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Filling:
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon gelatin (1 packet knox)
3-4 cups cubed jello
DIRECTIONS:
To prepare crust, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Press into greased springform pan. Bake in a 350F preheated oven for 10-13 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
To prepare jello, mix contents of jello boxes with one cup of boiling water. Stir to dissolve the jello, and then pour into a container to solidify. Repeat with required colors and flavors. Placing the jello in the fridge will speed the solidifying process up. Once solid, cut jello into small cubes.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over top of the pineapple juice and allow it to rest for 30-60 seconds. Heat mixture to boiling in the microwave or on the stovetop. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Add in the cold water, stir and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
Whip cream and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Slowly add in cooled pineapple mixture, and whisk until completely combined.
Remove bowl from stand mixer. Place jello cubes into the mixture, but try not to stir it as it will cause the jello to break up. Swirl the bowl until the jello and filling mix together. Pour filling into prepared crust. Place pan into the fridge for the cake to solidify completely- between 6-8 hours or overnight.
Note: The cake is best served and consumed within 2 to 3 days.
This cake is so easy to make, that the most difficult part was finding the vanilla Kraft Cool Whip frosting the recipe called for — turns out it was discontinued. But thanks to the internet, I was able to find the recipe, which Kraft put online for disheartened fans of the product. After making this delicious and light "alternative" to buttercream frosting, I can see why there was such an outcry when it was discontinued.
On the day of the office tasting, I was a little disappointed with the results. Despite many compliments about how good the cake was and how it would be their first choice to bring to a picnic, it didn't hold up in the jello department. The jello element isn't front and center, as it is with some of the others. If you're looking to bring a delectable, light cake with the taste reminiscent of strawberry cheesecake, this is the one for you. If you're looking for a treat where jello takes center stage, leave this recipe in the box for another day. — Jennifer Huberdeau
RETRO STRAWBERRY JELLO POKE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 box of white cake mix or your favorite homemade white cake recipe's ingredients
2 3-ounce boxes of strawberry jello
2 1/2 cups of water, divided
1 tub of Vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting*
DIRECTIONS:
Make the cake mix as directed in a 13x9 pan Let the cake cool for an hour. Using a wooden spoon, poke holes, a half-inch apart, in the cake.
jello directions: After the cake has cooled, boil 2 cups of water. Stir in the 2 boxes of jello, until the jello is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup of cold water and stir. Pour the jello over the cooled cake.
Chill at least three hours in the refrigerator. (We recommend overnight.) When chilled, frost with vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting.
*Vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip, thawed (sugar-free is recommended)
1 3.5 ounce package instant vanilla or French vanilla pudding mix
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread on cake.
The hardest part of this recipe was finding the mold itself. Everyone I asked said they didn't own one, "My mom had one (or two or three)." Yeah, my mom had a set, too, but that was then and this is now. Thank goodness, the MAC Thrift Shop in North Adams had a Tupperware jello mold, and it was half-price!
Warning: If you make this, when you add the Coca-Cola to the jello and boiling water mixture, it resembles Mt. Kilauea and the resulting mixture looks disgusting. As the jello thickens in the refrigerator, and you stir it, it becomes a lot clearer. I added the other ingredients after I stirred the mixture and it looked like a red Slush Puppy.
I had nightmares the night before our photo shoot about the jello not coming out of the mold. Fortunately, it came out in one piece with a satisfying "thwunk." — Margaret Button
CHERRY COCA- COLA JELLO MOLD
INGREDIENTS
2 3-ounce boxes cherry-flavored jello, not sugar-free
1 cup boiling water
10 ounces Coca-Cola
1 can red tart pitted cherries in water 14.5 to 16 ounces
1 can crushed pineapple 8 ounces
1 cup chopped pecans raw or lightly toasted
DIRECTIONS:
Place the powdered jello in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over it and stir until dissolved. Stir in the Coca-Cola. Refrigerate mixture until partially firm, about 30 minutes. Note: Check and stir every 3 to 5 minutes. You want it a thickened, but not set.
Place the cherries and juice in a food processor fitted with a knife blade or in a blender. Pulse or blend a few times to lightly chop the cherries.
Once the jello mixture has thickened, stir in the chopped cherries and its juice, pineapple and its juice, and pecans. Pour into a jello/gelatin mold. Refrigerate until set or overnight. Remove salad from the mold by inverting onto a serving platter. Serve cold.
I have to be honest about something: I'm not really a big fan of jello. Lucky for me, (in my humble opinion) I didn't grow up in a family that brought jiggling jello molds to picnics. No mystery jello for me! Which is why this dessert is perfect for any of my family gatherings. As far as jello goes, this one is pretty classic, straight forward and delicious. If you're a fan of the salty-sweet craze, this is the jello dish for you. The sweetness of the strawberries and the cheesecake-like filling pair perfectly with the salty pretzel crust. This was also extremely easy to make, it just required a few steps and some waiting. But if you have to make a dessert for a hot day, this sweet-salty treat can be made the night before with little oven time. — Lindsey Hollenbaugh
STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups crushed pretzels (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
FILLING:
2 cups whipped topping
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
TOPPING:
2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry gelatin (we recommend sugar free)
2 cups boiling water
2 packages (16 ounces each) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
Additional whipped topping and pretzels, optionalfor topping
DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, combine the crushed pretzels, butter and sugar. Press into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
For filling, in a small bowl, beat whipped topping, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Spread over pretzel crust. Refrigerate until chilled.
For topping, dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a large bowl. Stir in strawberries with syrup; chill until partially set. Carefully spoon over filling. Chill for 4-6 hours or until firm (overnight works best). Cut into squares; serve with whipped topping if desired.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
This Christmas was different from those in the past for all of us. Despite the fact I would be spending Christmas with my son and daughter-in-law — my first ever Christmas away from home — I put up my Charlie Brown-ish artificial tree and a few other "essential" (to borrow a pandemic word) decorations, like my small nativity set (as opposed to the one where the camels are a foot tall) and the lighted candles in the window.
Although I put the decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving, as I always do, I found myself procrastinating on taking them down. After months and months of darkness brought about by the pandemic and isolation (yes, my dining room table is still a desk rather than a place to eat), the brightly lit and colorful tree gave me solace and a ray of hope that by next Christmas everything would be back to, if not normal, a new normal.
I stood by the tree numerous times, touching an ornament and remembering where it came from on our travels or the person who had made it, many of whom are no longer with me.
One of my favorites is a crocheted angel, made by the wife of my husband's roommate when he was a patient at a rehab facility in Springfield, prior to our last Christmas together. I can't remember the woman's name, or her husband's, or even what they looked like. But I can see her hands as they constantly worked the crochet hook, her mouth occasionally moving as if in silent prayer, making angels by the dozens as she sat by her husband's side, and then giving them to people as a sign of hope.
Her husband passed away a few days later, my husband six weeks later. She was older at the time and she may be gone, too, by now, but the hope she gave me lives on in that little angel — and God knows, we need that more than ever in these times.
One night, after spending time with ornaments my Aunt Marion (Duprey) had made, I took out her cookbook. I wanted something more to remind me of her — and nothing does that quite like making one of her favorite recipes. I chose her rich, fudgy brownies ...
BAKED FUDGE (Brownies)
INGREDIENTS:
2 ounces baking chocolate
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nut meats (chopped)
1/2 cup butter
DIRECTIONS:
Cut chocolate into pieces and put it in the milk. Stir and cook over low heat until smooth and a paste is formed.
Beat the eggs, add the sugar and stir well. Cool chocolate paste, then add the egg mixture. Add the flour and salt, and mix well. Add the vanilla and the nuts.
Melt the butter and add to the mixture. Beat well and then turn into a greased 9-inch pan.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 F.
Makes 16 brownies.
- By Robin Anish
I like to think of November as the month of gratitude.
Thanksgiving and Veterans Day are both celebrated in the month of November. Both are days of gratitude. We show our gratitude for our many blessings on Thanksgiving and to our military veterans for their service to our country on Veterans Day.
Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, a federal holiday to commemorate the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, and its veterans.
However, by 1954 the United States had been through World War II and the Korean War giving reason for a bill to be passed that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor American veterans of all wars.
So, before we start planning our Thanksgiving celebration, let’s celebrate Veterans Day with gratitude for the sacrifices all veterans made to protect our freedoms. To those with kids, let this be a teachable moment.
I think this is a celebration that calls for cake!
This cake, made rich and sweet with pumpkin and spices, is perfect for celebrating both Thanksgiving and Veterans Day.
CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla; set aside. Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is smooth and light.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.
Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean; about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool completely. Frost and fill layers with orange cream cheese frosting.
ORANGE CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING
INGREDIENTS:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange food coloring (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Blend the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Mix in food coloring until thoroughly blended.
- By Meggie Baker, The Berkshire Eagle
Every summer, I wind up with a bunch of rhubarb and find myself making pie. So much pie.
This year, I'm trying to get out of my rhubarb funk, not just in my flavors but also in how I use it, the packaging. I have never made rhubarb cookies before, but cranberry/white chocolate is already a pretty formidable combination, and a perennial Christmas favorite around here.
These Rhubarb-Cranberry Cookies combine those three with oats, making for a sweet treat that is soft, summery and subtle on the rhubarb — perfect if you're baking for someone who doesn't love the pucker.
Note: Rhubarb adds some wetness to any dessert, but here the oats take on the job of keeping things from turning to mush. Still, it was a balancing act to get cookies that were cooked and not mushy, but also not overly browned. Keep your eyes on them.
RHUBARB-CRANBERRY COOKIES
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups oats
1 heaping cup of fresh sliced rhubarb
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the oats, rhubarb, chips and cranberries.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until set.
***
I have been dreaming about getting to make this galette since last Thanksgiving, when I made my first plum tart ever. It was amazing, sweet, with just a hint of a tartness that had my head spinning with ideas for how to make it even better. (For me, better means more sour.) Rhubarb was an obvious addition and I happily latched on to this recipe.
The result was thin and crispy, sweet and only slightly sour. It gets the stamp of approval from my family — it disappeared in one sitting. However, if you're like me and think something is only tart enough when you involuntarily recoil when you put it in your mouth, try reducing the sugar.
As I mentioned before, rhubarb tends to add a wetness to desserts, and especially to pies. No fear here, though. Piling half the dry ingredients into the crust first to create a catch for all of that juice, and folding the sides up high kept this dessert from leaking over and allowed that juice to turn into a lovely, sticky pie filling. I wouldn't advise baking on anything but a sided cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan, however. Just in case.
RHUBARB-PLUM GALETTE
Recipe courtesy of: The Wordy Baker
Ingredients:
1 plain pie crust or cornmeal pate brisee
1 lb. of chopped rhubarb and plum slices (I used three short rhubarb stalks and two plums).
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 heaping cup flour
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together dry ingredients, and spread about half in a circle in the base of your pie crust. Toss your fruit mixture in the leftover dry mix, and pile in the center of your crust, leaving about 2 inches around the edges. Fold the edges of the crust around the fruit, overlapping and pressing down folds as necessary.
Bake on a silicone mat or parchment paper, for 55 to 65 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling and soft.
For a more traditional use of rhubarb, try Associate Features Editor Margaret Button's recipe for a classic dessert bar.
RHUBARB DREAM BARS
Ingredients:
For crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
For filling:
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
4 cups diced rhubarb
Directions:
Combine flour, butter and confectioner's sugar. Press crust on bottom of 15-by-10-by-1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
While crust is baking, prepare filling.
Blend the eggs, sugar, flour and salt until smooth. Fold in rhubarb and spread over the crust. Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees F until lightly brown. Cool and cut into squares.
- By Robin Anish
I’m on the Bennington Potters mailing list and a recent email provided a recipe for brownies that are seriously fudgy with bourbon or brandy marinated dried cherries mixed in. This is a grown-up version, but orange juice can be substituted for alcohol in the recipe to make a kid-friendly brownie.
Here’s the recipe from Bennington Potters. You’re going to love this brownie!
THE MOST DECADENT BROWNIE EVER
Recommend pan: Bennington Potters’ 8-by-16-inch rectangular baker, or any 9-by-13-inch pan.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dried sour cherries
4 tablespoons bourbon, brandy, or orange juice
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
5 squares unsweetened chocolate (5 ounces)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (we like Hershey Special Dark)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease the pan. Due to the cherries and their stickiness, use parchment or wax paper placed on the bottom to allow easy release. Grease the parchment, as well.
Place cherries and bourbon, brandy or orange juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring to make sure all of the cherries are coated. Let the liquid cook down until the cherries have absorbed most of the liquid and the alcohol has boiled out.
Set aside to cool.
Chop chocolate into pieces less than a half-inch in size. Place in a microwave-safe bowl along with the butter. Cover with a plate and heat until chocolate and butter melts and can be stirred together.
Do not overheat. Depending upon oven power, you may need to repeat this step; we recommend additional 10 second intervals if your chocolate needs more time.
Mix sugar and eggs together. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and stir until blended. Drain cherries of excess liquid, and add them with the vanilla to the batter. Stir in the nuts (if using) and chocolate chips. Fold in the flour and mix just until evenly distributed. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread as evenly as possible. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. A tester inserted in the middle should come out with only a few crumbs attached. Do not over-bake!
Cool until lukewarm. Keep brownies in as small an air-tight container as possible to reduce drying out. Will keep for many days.
- By Robin Anish
According to nationaldaycalendar.com, March 4 is National Pound Cake Day — and my inspiration for this article.
Aptly named, a pound cake is made from a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. The cake is buttery, sweet and delicious. The classic recipe is almost perfect, but its dense, heavy texture and rather hard, crumbly crust misses the mark a bit.
For all the sweet, buttery goodness of the classic pound cake, but with a melt-in-your-mouth silky texture, I highly recommend this recipe for Perfect Pound Cake from "The Cake Bible" cookbook by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
PERFECT POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
(Have ingredients at room temperature)
3 tablespoons milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, lightly combine the milk, eggs and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Scrape down the sides.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with buttered foil after 30 minutes to prevent over browning.
Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and invert it onto a greased wire rack. Cool completely.
Frosting is overkill on a pound cake, but a flavored simple syrup glaze adds a little something special without overdoing it.
When glazing, be sure cake is still warm. Poke holes over the top with a toothpick and spoon or brush some of the hot glaze over cake, let soak in and then repeat until syrup is used up.
BUTTER RUM GLAZED POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring just until sugar is dissolved.
Garnish slices with whipped cream and chopped pecans.
LEMON GLAZED POUND CAKE
Add 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind to cake batter.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Combine remaining ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring just until sugar is dissolved.
Garnish slices with whipped cream and blueberries.
I like to make tea sandwiches with leftover pound cake. Add a few chopped strawberries to cream cheese and spread between two slices of pound cake. Cut into triangles and serve.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
Sometimes, things that happen in my life leave me speechless. And, as anyone who knows me can attest, moments when I have nothing to say are very rare. My work week started with such a moment at my favorite coffee place ...
All employees of The Berkshire Eagle wear ID badges with our photos and names; newsroom people have a second badge that also has our photo, name and the word "Press" in a black-bordered box at the top. On Monday morning, I slipped the lanyard with the two badges on as I went out the door at home, leaving it dangling outside my jacket.
As I was getting my coffee, I noticed a middle-aged woman staring intently at my "Press" badge. I shrugged it off, thinking she recognized me from my photo or byline in the paper, or maybe I had once interviewed her for a story.
She came toward me and I waited for her to speak. Instead, she reached out and jabbed her index finger on my badge. As I waited for her to rail on me for "fake news," she drew her finger back and jabbed at my badge again. I again waited for her rants and raves. She looked at me in disgust and said crossly, "Nothing happened. Why wear something that says 'Press' if it doesn't do anything when it is pressed?"
I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Maybe she was joking, or, perhaps she was mentally handicapped, but it didn't seem like either was the case. Maybe I should have done jumping jacks or burst into song when she pressed it, so she wouldn't have been so disappointed ...
---
For a last-minute Valentine's gift, I recommend making these decadent truffles for your sweetheart. The love of my life, however, prefers dog biscuits ...
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
(Courtesy of Hershey's Kitchen)
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 cup cocoa or powdered sugar for rolling
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa; stir until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk; increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes or until mixture has pudding-like consistency and is smooth and glossy.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cover; refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or until firm. Shape into 1-1/4-inch balls; roll in cocoa or powdered sugar. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours. Store, covered, in refrigerator. About 2-1/2 dozen candies.
Variations:
Nut truffles: Add 3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans to chocolate mixture when adding vanilla. (To toast pecans: Heat oven to 375 F. Spread 3/4 cup pecan halves or pieces in a single layer in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool before chopping.)
Rum nut truffles: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons rum (or 1 teaspoon rum extract) and nuts.
Espresso truffles: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons powdered instant espresso or instant coffee when adding vanilla. Roll balls in cocoa or chopped nuts.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
I spent last weekend doing nothing, well, almost nothing — I did two loads of wash and put away the cushions from the deck furniture. I stayed in my PJs all day, finally taking a shower and getting dressed only long enough to pick up a takeout order of Chinese food Saturday night.
After deciding on a do-nothing day, I settled on the couch with the three remotes (TV, cable box and Firestick), my tablet and cell phone, and the next Eagle book club selection I needed to finish. I also grabbed my recipe box, thinking I would look for a recipe to use up the almost full can of pumpkin leftover from my son's dog's upset tummy a week before. I really had good intentions; I found two pumpkin recipes and then got waylaid making new file dividers for the box. By the time I had finished, all thoughts of baking had vanished.
I studied Spanish via an app on my tablet. Six years of Spanish decades ago in high school and college, and three years of using the app for at least 15 to 30 minutes daily, and I still can't speak it. I then turned to watching TV, first a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on regular TV, binge-watching old episodes of "Mad About You" on demand and finally binge-watching "Living with Yourself" on Netflix. I also fit in a nap — during the middle of the third season of "Mad About You."
Do nothing day was such a success, I repeated it on Sunday, except I finished the book and worked a shift at the supermarket. I had fleeting moments of regret I hadn't vacuumed when I saw dog hair drifting across the hardwood floor, but quickly put those aside with a couple episodes of "Hoarding: Buried Alive." A few hairballs simply doesn't compare!
While I was going through my recipe box, I found a recipe for one of my mom's go-to quick desserts — Chocolate Crazy Cake, also known as Wacky Cake or Depression Cake. I used to think it was called depression cake because you made holes, i.e. depressions, in the dry ingredients into which you poured some of the liquid ingredients. Come to find out, it was a cake created in the Great Depression, when eggs, milk and butter were hard to come by.
CHOCOLATE CRAZY CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
3 tablespoons cocoa (unsweetened)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients — two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one small depression, vanilla in the other, and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.
Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting.
Note: Oven baking times may vary, be sure to check your cake to make sure you do not over bake.
- By Robin Anish, Eagle Corespondent
"Easy as pie." Whoever came up with those words of wisdom clearly never baked a pie!
This time of year, I crave apple pie, and I thought about making an apple pie this past Saturday afternoon, but I just didn't feel like making it. Do you know why? Because making a pie is not easy!
Well, it's not really hard — it's more tedious than hard — but tedious is not easy, either.
First, you have to make the pie dough and let it chill while you peel and slice a lot of apples, then toss them with sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Then you have to roll out the dough; but first, you have to strew a lot of flour all over the counter so the dough doesn't stick. That'll be a lot of fun to clean up. Next, you have to pile the apples into the pie shell, roll out more dough, put it over the apples, crimp the edges and bake it.
While the pie bakes, you have to stick around and keep an eye on it. You set the timer. The timer goes off. You check the pie. The edges are getting too brown, you have to cover the edges with foil. You set the timer again. Timer goes off. You check the pie again. Not quite brown enough. Just a few more minutes. You set the timer again. You smell something burning. You check the pie. The juices are bubbling over onto the oven. The oven is smoking. That's it! ... This pie is done! You open the windows.
Oh yeah ... then there is the messy kitchen. You clean up.
Does that sound easy? No!
Is it worth it? For a homemade apple pie? Well, yeah!
But, "easy as pie?" I still don't get it ...
You know what I do when I want apple pie and I just don't feel like making an apple pie? I make baked apples.
EASIER-THAN-PIE BAKED APPLES
INGREDIENTS:
4 large firm apples
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup boiling water
Variation: Chewy caramels
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Core the apples leaving the bottom 1/2 inch of the apples intact.
Place apples upright in a baking dish just big enough to hold them. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and nuts. Fill cored apples with mixture. Dot with butter.
Pour boiling water into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, basting once or twice, until the apples are just tender, but not mushy. Serve warm.
Variation: BAKED CARAMEL APPLES
After 20 minutes, put 2 or 3 caramels into each apple cavity and bake 10 minutes longer or until tender and caramels are melted.
Just like apple pie, baked apples are delicious topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of cheddar cheese.
- By Berkshire Eagle Staff
If you're like any of us staring down a few bushels of freshly picked apples — it didn't seem like a lot while frolicking through the local apple orchard, right? — and you're not sure what to do with them, we've got four recipes worth getting out the apple peeler.
RUSTIC CARAMEL APPLE TART
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.
This easy-to-eat tart was the best part of apple pie without the mess. We all decided it was perfect to bring to a potluck or to serve after a dinner party.
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
6-1/2 teaspoons cold water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
FILLING:
1-1/2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
TOPPING:
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, warmed
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water and vanilla, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 400 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Combine the filling ingredients; spoon over crust to within 2 inches of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over filling. Whisk egg and water; brush over crust.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Using parchment paper, slide tart onto a wire rack. Drizzle with caramel topping. Serve warm.
OLD-FASHIONED APPLE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR FROSTING
Recipe courtesy of KingArthurFlour.com
This decadent apple cake was moist and deliciously rich thanks to its perfect brown sugar frosting.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger and ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, at room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 cups peeled, cored, finely chopped apple
Frosting:
7 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 2 tablespoons of cider syrup or boiled cider
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. To make the cake: Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and nuts in a large bowl. As soon as the mixture comes together and becomes pretty uniformly crumbly, stop mixing; you don't want it to turn into a cohesive mass.
Add the apples and nuts, and mix until the apples release some of their juice and the stiff mixture becomes a thick, creamy batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency. This will take about 3 minutes at low speed in a stand mixer.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with your wet fingers. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few wet crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool a bit while you make the frosting.
To make the frosting: Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl or onto a piece of parchment or wax paper; set it aside. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until the sugar starts to melt and the mixture becomes fairly smooth. While you may still notice a bit of grittiness from the sugar, you shouldn't see any melted butter pooled atop the sugar. Add the milk and (optional cider syrup) and bring to a boil.
Remove the syrup from the heat and pour it into a medium-sized mixing bowl (large enough to accommodate the powdered sugar). Let the syrup cool in the bowl for 10 minutes.
Pour the confectioners' sugar into the warm syrup in the bowl, then add the vanilla extract or flavor. Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined. You need to work fast here; the frosting stiffens up quickly as it cools. Pour the warm frosting onto the cake, spreading it over the entire surface.
Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
APPLE CAKE
Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen
This cake is a perfect cross between a moist coffee cake and apple pie. It comes together quickly, but beware: make sure to really butter/spray your pan as it can stick to the pan.
INGREDIENTS
For the apples:
6 apples, cored cut into cubes
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a tube pan or bundt pan. Toss cut apples with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half of the apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool completely before running a knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter.
CARAMEL APPLE MUFFINS
These apple muffins hit the right note of sweet thanks to the tiny crunchy caramel bits.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup 2 percent milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped peeled tart apple
12 caramels, chopped, or 1 cup caramel bits
Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons quick oats
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple and caramels.
Fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.
- By Berkshire Eagle Staff
Nothing goes with a summer get-together quite like brownies and dessert bars. Not only are they easy to pack, they can be eaten by hand, with little or no mess. And they can be made in a relatively short time.
To make your summer food prep a little easier, the newsroom held a brownie and dessert bar bake-off Monday. Eight of our finest bakers created their favorite brownies or bars to be judged by their peers. The offerings included Carrot Cake Bars, Zucchini Brownies, Lime Brownies, Great Balls of Fire, Gooey Butter Bars, Chocolate Shortbread Caramel Bars, Marshmallow Krispie Bars and super-rich basic brownies. In the end, hungry newsroom staff voted for Managing Editor of Content Engagement Lindsey Hollenbaugh's Gooey Butter Bars, which were indeed gooey, but oh so good, with a rich, soft layer under an appealing marbled chocolate crusty top. Retired Associate Features Editor Margaret Button came in a close second, with her refreshing Lime Brownies that served as an excellent palate-cleanser for all the chocolate we were consuming. And then, for fun, we've included the most surprising entry — a chocolate brownie with a kick, a Habanero pepper kick. Spicy-food lovers will want to include this one in your upcoming Fourth of July picnic for some real dessert fireworks.
GOOEY BUTTER BARS
These gooey bars are, in fact, quite gooey, but so rich and delicious. The butter in this super-easy recipe gives the bars an almost toffee or caramel flavor without the hassle. Because they are so rich, cut them into small squares and be prepared to feed a crowd. This is a perfect potluck dessert.
— Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor of content engagement
INGREDIENTS:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg
FOR FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, egg and melted butter. Beat until well combined. The batter will be thick. Spread batter evenly on the bottom of a well-greased baking dish. Set aside while you make the filling.
For the filling, beat cream cheese, eggs, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
Remove 1 cup of cream cheese mixture. Set aside. Spread remainder of cream cheese mixture over cake batter base.
In the microwave, melt chocolate chips until smooth. Mix melted chocolate chips with reserved 1 cup of cream cheese mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Spoon dollops of chocolate cream mixture on top of plain cream cheese batter. Swirl carefully with a butter knife, creating a marble effect.
Bake for 45 minutes. Don't over bake this — it should be soft! Let the bars cool completely before cutting.
LIME BROWNIES
I watched Paula Deen make these one day on The Food Network and knew I had to try them. Her original recipe calls for orange, not lime. I've made them countless times, and I've swapped out the orange extract, zest and juice for lemon, or lime, or my son's favorite, lemon-lime (using half lemon, half lime extract, juice and zest). Easy to make and transport to whatever gathering you're heading to!
— Margaret Button
Yield: 24 squares
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure lime extract
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, lime extract, and lime zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.
Glaze: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE HABANERO BROWNIES
Although they weren't among our top contenders, these brownies, made by Joe Wotkowicz, mail room night shift supervisor, and his wife, Sherrie, are definitely worth trying! Rich, moist brownies — with a slightly delayed kick. People who tried them were saying, "Wait, wait ... here comes the kick!"
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Habanero pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line the pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk to combine the ingredients and set aside
Place the chocolate chips and the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir to combine. Microwave in 30-second increments (stirring between) until all the chocolate is melted. Stir the sugar, Habanero pepper and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs, two at a time and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until the brownies puff up a bit and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (about 25 to 30 minutes). Cool in the pan to room temperature. Spread a ganache or glaze evenly over the brownies, if desired. Refrigerate until the glaze is set and the brownies are firm.
Use the parchment paper to lift the brownies out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into 32 or 24 squares.
- By Margaret Button, The Berkshire Eagle
Looking for that last-minute Valentine's Day sweet for your sweetie? Nothing says love — or war — like a cupcake.
At least, that is for the members of The Berkshire Eagle staff who went out of their way — and, for some, out of their comfort zone — to create cupcakes for a cupcake war held Friday afternoon.
Ten participants competed for the top honor, with all staff members invited to sample a quarter of each cupcake (the equivalent of 2 1/2 whole cupcakes; a tough job, but we were up to it!) and then vote for their favorite. Cupcakes ranged from the very elaborately frosted and decorated to the I've-never-done-this-before rookie frosting spread. And oh, the flavors! Strawberry Dream, Cherry Coke, Apple cinnamon with apple cider frosting, margarita, chocolate mousse-filled chocolate with fresh raspberry buttercream, carrot cake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting, chocolate, maple bacon, chocolate with salted caramel and "not cupcakes," little gems more like brownies topped with fresh raspberries and a chocolate ganache.
When all the ballots were cast and counted, the winning cupcake was the moist, flavorful carrot cake cupcake created by Samantha Ferraro, ad fulfillment coordinator at The Eagle. Who doesn't love a great carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting? Second place went to Joe Wotkowicz, night supervisor of the mailroom, and his wife, Sherrie, for their Strawberry Dream cupcakes. And sweet dreams they were ... luscious white cupcakes, filled with a creamy strawberry filling, topped with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate decorations.
While all of the cupcakes were delicious, there were some who struggled with presentation. Who knew these cute little mini cakes could cause so much trouble and heartache in the kitchen? For help, we called on Linda Tognini Williams, owner or Linda's Pastries in Pittsfield, and a professional baker for six years, to offer would-be cupcake makers some tips.
Williams recently competed in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire County's fifth annual Cupcake Wars fundraiser, an event in which she has competed each year. In 2018, she won the award for the most creative presentation. Much to her chagrin, the award for the best-tasting cupcake has so far eluded her, "but in the auction part of the event this year, my cupcakes [a chocolate cupcake with movie-theater snacks] went for $45; the winner of the best-tasting award's dozen went for $25," she said.
When it comes to making good cupcakes, Williams said it begins with having quality ingredients.
"Have the butter and eggs at room temperature. At room temperature, they mix easier and make a smoother batter, which makes a moister cupcake," she said.
When mixing the ingredients, Williams warned against over-mixing the batter, which she said results in a dense cupcake. "Mix it until the ingredients are just combined."
To fill the paper-lined cupcake tins, Williams uses an ice cream scoop to do the job. "So they all come out the same size and will bake the same," she said.
She reminded bakers that the oven should always be preheated before popping the cupcakes in to bake. Once the cupcakes are baked, cool them in the pan for a couple of minutes and then take them out of the pan and let them finish cooling on a rack. "If you leave them in the pans, they keep baking and dry out," Williams explained.
One of her cupcake tricks is to put the baked cupcakes in the freezer for a couple of days before frosting and decorating them. "It keeps the cupcakes moist," she said. And, also for upping the moistness of the cupcakes,
she advised using a recipe that has sour cream as an ingredient. Your recipe doesn't include sour cream? That's OK, just "add 1/2 cup sour cream to a recipe for 12 cupcakes." And, to make your cupcakes lighter, Williams suggested substituting cake flour for all-purpose flour in the same proportion.
When frosting cupcakes, Williams said she always uses buttercream frosting. The main thing to remember is to cover the entire top of the cupcake to the top of the paper cup. "Don't leave any cupcake showing," Williams said. And if piping the frosting on, start in the middle and pipe around the cupcake to the edge — and then work your way back to the middle for a higher cupcake.
CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES WITH BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(Recipe from lilluna.com)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 18
INGREDIENTS:
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
3 cups powdered sugar (more or less, if needed)
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil till thick and foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.
Fill paper-lined cupcake pans half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until brown sugar dissolves completely. Add vanilla, salt, and enough powdered sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe. Use a large star tip to frost cupcakes.
***
STRAWBERRY DREAM CUPCAKES
Simple white cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2cups flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
INGREDIENTS:
Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, mix well. Stir in milk until batter is smooth, pour into cupcake liners. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Filling: Fresh strawberries with cream cheese frosting.
Iced with cheesecake frosting and topped with white chocolate accents.
- By America's Test Kitchen
Simple, rich almond cake makes a sophisticated and delicately sweet dessert, but traditional European versions tend to be heavy and dense. For a slightly cakier version with plenty of nutty flavor, we swapped out the usual almond paste for toasted blanched sliced almonds (we disliked the slight bitterness imparted by skin-on almonds) and added a bit of almond extract for extra depth.
A generous amount of lemon zest provided subtle brightness. For an even lighter crumb, we increased the flour slightly and added baking powder — an untraditional ingredient — to ensure proper rise.
Making the batter in a food processor broke down some of the protein structure in the eggs, ensuring that the cake had a level, not domed, top, which was especially important for this unfrosted dessert. We swapped some butter for oil and lowered the oven temperature to produce an evenly baked, moist cake.
For a crunchy finishing touch, we topped the cake with sliced almonds and a sprinkle of lemon-infused sugar. If you can't find blanched sliced almonds, grind slivered almonds for the batter and use unblanched sliced almonds for the topping.
ITALIAN ALMOND CAKE
Servings: 8-10
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup blanched sliced almonds, toasted
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Grease 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper. Pulse 1 1/2 cups almonds, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in food processor until almonds are finely ground, 5 to 10 pulses. Transfer almond mixture to bowl.
Process eggs, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and almond extract in now-empty processor until very pale yellow, about 2 minutes. With processor running, add melted butter and oil in steady stream until incorporated. Add almond mixture and pulse to combine, 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Using your fingers, combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest in small bowl until fragrant, 5 to 10 seconds. Sprinkle top of cake evenly with remaining 1/3 cup almonds followed by sugar-zest mixture.
Bake until center of cake is set and bounces back when gently pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes, rotating pan after 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run thin knife around edge of pan. Invert cake onto greased wire rack, discarding parchment, and reinvert cake onto second wire rack. Let cake cool completely on rack, about 2 hours, before serving. (Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to three days.)
Nutrition information per serving: 485 calories; calories from fat; 30 g fat (7 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 127 mg cholesterol; 287 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 35 g sugar; 10 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Italian Almond Cake in "The Perfect Cake."
- By America's Test Kitchen
We love a tall New York-style cheesecake but there's no denying it's a bit of a project. It's also incredibly rich and decadent. Sometimes we want the essence of a cheesecake with less fuss, and we want the tang of a cream cheese-based cake without the weight — something lighter and creamier to finish a meal.
Enter no-bake cheesecake: The filling is lightened with whipped cream and the absence of eggs makes for a less rich cake. We achieved the best flavor and texture when we stuck to the tried-and-true combination of heavy cream and cream cheese thickened with gelatin.
Allowing the gelatin to hydrate in a portion of the cream and then bringing it to a boil in the microwave fully activated its thickening power. Lemon juice, lemon zest, and a little vanilla added just enough spark to perk up the tangy cream cheese.
And with a few simple tweaks, we created a peanut butter lover's variation, using Nutter Butter cookies in the crust and a generous dose of peanut butter in the cake. Serve with fresh strawberry topping (recipe follows), if desired.
ICEBOX CHEESECAKE
Servings: 10-12
Start to finish: 45 minutes active cooking time
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
8 whole graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup (4 2/3 ounces) sugar
1 pound cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
DIRECTIONS:
For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Pulse crackers and sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 15 pulses. Transfer crumbs to bowl, drizzle with melted butter, and mix with rubber spatula until mixture resembles wet sand. Using your hands, press crumb mixture evenly into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Using bottom of measuring cup, firmly pack crust into pan. Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 13 minutes. Let crust cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
For the filling: Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cream in 2-cup liquid measuring cup and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 20 seconds; whisk to combine and set aside.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining 1 1/4 cups cream and sugar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Fit stand mixer with paddle, reduce speed to medium-low, add cream cheese, and beat until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl once (mixture may not be completely smooth). Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and continue to beat until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add dissolved gelatin mixture and lemon zest and continue to beat until smooth and airy, about 2 minutes.
Pour filling into crust and spread into even layer with spatula. Wrap cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
To unmold cheesecake, wrap hot, damp dish towel around pan and let stand for 1 minute. Remove sides of pan and slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cheesecake onto platter. Serve.
FRESH STRAWBERRY TOPPING
Makes about 3 cups
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
This topping is best the day it's made. Do not use frozen strawberries in this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced thin (4 cups)
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Toss strawberries, sugar, and salt together in bowl and let sit, stirring occasionally, until berries have released their juice and sugar has dissolved, about 30 minutes.
Process jam in food processor until smooth, about 8 seconds. Simmer jam in small saucepan over medium heat until no longer foamy, about 3 minutes. Stir warm jam and lemon juice into strawberries. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition information per serving: 346 calories; 263 calories from fat; 29 g fat (17 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 95 mg cholesterol; 196 mg sodium; 18 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 16 g sugar; 4 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Icebox Cheesecake in The "Perfect Cake ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
We wanted a pie that had a firm, juicy filling full of fresh blueberry flavor with still plump berries, and we also wanted a crisp, flaky crust.
To thicken the pie, we tried cornstarch, as well as our gluten-free flour blend, but preferred tapioca starch, which was subtle enough to allow the berry flavor to shine through. Too much of it, though, created a congealed mess.
Cooking some of the blueberries down to a saucy consistency helped us reduce the amount of tapioca required, as did adding a peeled Granny Smith apple that we shredded on the large holes of a box grater.
Rich in pectin, the apple helped thicken the berries naturally. Since gluten-free pie crusts can easily turn soggy, we found that preheating a sheet pan in the oven and baking the pie on the lower rack helped keep the crust crisp. (We also offer a gluten-free flour blend).
It's not safe to place a glass (Pyrex) pie plate on a preheated baking sheet. If you must use a glass pie plate, do not preheat the baking sheet; note, however, that your crust will not be as crisp. This pie is best served the day it is made.
Blueberry pie
Servings: 8
Start to finish: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS:
30 ounces (6 cups) blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and shredded
5 1/4 ounces (3/4 cup) sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
Pinch salt
1 recipe Double-Crust Pie Dough (recipe below)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
DIRECTIONS:
Cook 3 cups blueberries in medium saucepan over medium heat, mashing occasionally with potato masher to help release juices, until half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and measures 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Place shredded apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Combine apple, cooked berry mixture, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, sugar, tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice, and salt in large bowl.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 F. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch metal pie plate, and ease dough into plate; remove remaining plastic. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic. Remove top plastic. Using 1 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut hole in center of dough, then cut out 6 more holes, about 1 1/2 inches from hole in center, evenly spaced around center hole.
Spread blueberry mixture evenly into dough-lined pie plate. Gently invert top crust over filling and remove remaining plastic. Trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate, pinch dough edges together, and tuck under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers. Brush pie with egg white.
Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 4 hours. Serve.
Double-crust pie dough
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
Perfect pie dough has just the right balance of tenderness and structure. The former comes from fat, the latter from the long protein chains, called gluten, that form when flour mixes with water. Too little gluten and the dough won't stick together; too much and the crust turns tough.
So presumably we would face mostly a structural issue with a gluten-free dough, since gluten-free flours are naturally low in protein. As our first step, we swapped in our gluten-free flour blend for the wheat flour in all the pie dough recipes the test kitchen has developed over the years. We produced workable doughs in every case, but an all-butter dough (which includes sour cream for tenderness) had the necessary richness to stand up to the starchiness of the gluten-free flour blend and was clearly the best starting point.
Although we weren't surprised to find that the dough was still too soft and lacked structure, we were taken aback by how tough it was; on its own, the sour cream was not sufficient to tenderize a gluten-free dough. We solved the structural problem easily with the addition of a modest amount of xanthan gum, but flakiness and tenderness were still elusive.
In an effort to further tenderize our dough, we tested ingredients that are known to tenderize: baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Vinegar was the clear winner, producing a pie crust that was not only tender, but also light and flaky. Like conventional recipes, this pie dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for two days; however, it is not sturdy enough to withstand freezing.
INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
13 ounces (2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend (recipe below)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and frozen for 10 to 15 minutes
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ice water, sour cream, and vinegar together in bowl. Process flour blend, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum together in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until crumbs look uniform and distinct pieces of butter are no longer visible, 20 to 30 pulses.
Pour half of sour cream mixture over flour mixture and pulse to incorporate, about three pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough comes together in large pieces around blade, about 20 pulses.
Divide dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into 5-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling out dough, let it sit on counter to soften slightly, about 30 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
The America's Test Kitchen gluten-free flour blend
Makes 42 ounces (about 9 1/3 cups)
It is important to bring the mix to room temperature before using it in a recipe. Be sure to use potato starch, not potato flour. Tapioca starch is also sold as tapioca flour; they are interchangeable. See notes at right about shopping for rice flours and substitutes for potato starch and nonfat dry milk powder.
INGREDIENTS:
24 ounces (4 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup) white rice flour
7 1/2 ounces (1 2/3 cups) brown rice flour
7 ounces (1 1/3 cups) potato starch
3 ounces (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
3/4 ounce (3 tablespoons) nonfat milk powder
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl until well combined. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
Nutrition information per serving: 506 calories; 227 calories from fat; 26 g fat (15 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 63 mg cholesterol; 339 mg sodium; 70 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 34 g sugar; 6 g protein.
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For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Blueberry Pie in "The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
There is much to love about sweet, nutty pecan pie, but it's easy for this simple dessert to turn out tooth achingly sugary and void of pecan flavor, with a curdled filling sogging a leathery crust.
We wanted to create the ideal recipe for a not-too-sweet pie with a smooth-textured filling and a properly baked bottom crust. We decided to start from the bottom up.
By partially baking the crust, we ensured that the filling wouldn't compromise its texture during baking and serving; we also found that adding the filling while the crust was still warm helped a great deal.
Next, we melted the butter and stirred together the filling in a bowl set over almost-simmering water. This makeshift double-boiler setup helped us maintain gentle heat, which protected against curdling.
We reversed the filling's sugar overload by using a moderate amount of brown sugar. Its subtle, nuanced sweetness and molasses taste kept the spotlight trained on the pecans' toasty flavor. Poured into the warm shell and baked to nutty perfection, this pecan pie moved right to the top of our nice list.
Chill the dough-lined pie plate for at least 30 minutes before beginning the recipe. The crust must still be warm when the filling is added. To serve the pie warm, cool it thoroughly so that it sets, then warm it in a 250 F oven for about 15 minutes and slice.
CLASSIC PECAN PIE
Servings: 8
Start to finish: 1 hour (plus 2 hours for cooling)
INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe basic single-crust pie dough (recipe follows), fitted into a 9-inch pie plate and chilled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed (7 ounces) dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces) pecans, toasted and chopped fine
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 F. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pie plate to wire rack and remove weights and foil. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and reduce oven temperature to 275 F. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.)
Melt butter in heatproof bowl set in skillet of water maintained at just below simmer. Remove bowl from skillet and stir in sugar and salt until butter is absorbed. Whisk in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Return bowl to hot water and stir until mixture is shiny, hot to touch, and registers 130 F. Off heat, stir in pecans.
Pour pecan mixture into warm pie crust. Bake pie until filling looks set but yields when gently pressed with back of spoon, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has firmed up, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm (see note) or at room temperature.
BASIC SINGLE-CRUST PIE DOUGH
We wanted pie dough that we could count on for reliably flaky, flavorful, crust and achieving it came down to determining the right fat, the right proportion of fat to flour, and the right method for combining them. A proportion of 3 parts butter to 2 parts shortening proved optimal for both flavor and texture, and a high-fat ratio of 2 parts flour to 1 part fat produced a workable, tender dough.
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
Total time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour for chilling)
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
4-6 tablespoons ice water
DIRECTIONS:
Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter shortening over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Stir and press dough together, using stiff rubber spatula, until dough sticks together. If dough does not come together, stir in remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into 4-inch disk. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling dough out, let sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 659 calories; 375 calories from fat; 42 g fat (13 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 123 mg cholesterol; 338 mg sodium; 70 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 52 g sugar; 7 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Pecan Pie in "All-Time Best Holiday Entertaining ."
A few months ago, I binged every season I could find of "The Great British Baking Show" on Netflix. I never thought that I'd actually learn anything from watching those talented home bakers, as they strive week-after-week to make a star baker-worthy cake, bread or pastry (and try to earn that elusive "Paul Hollywood handshake").
Finally, I can say, that all those nights I spent watching "cake week" episodes — the ones devoted to carefully rolling warm sponge cakes into spirals without breaking them — have paid off. I made my first ever Swiss roll the other night, on a whim.
If you aren't aware, local strawberries are in season. (I picked up six pints this weekend at a farmers market, but you also can pick-your-own at many local farms.) Knowing this ahead of time, I asked several of my Berkshire Eagle co-workers for dessert recipes that use strawberries. Meggie Baker, digital projects manager for news, sent along a recipe for a no-bake strawberry cheesecake; Margaret Button, associate features editor, sent me a recipe for a strawberry cream cake roll and Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor content engagement, provided a strawberry sauce recipe.
I went into the weekend planning on making only the no-bake cheesecake with a homemade graham cracker crust. But, after popping the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill, I was still a little ambitious and had plenty of leftover strawberries to use. I put a pound of hulled strawberries onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and popped them in the freezer. (This is a simple way to freeze and later bag strawberries for use in the future.) Then, I decided to make the cake roll. I made the sponge cake and put it in the oven. I got my flour sack towel ready and waited for the cake to bake. I had never made a sponge cake before, never mind roll one in a towel and set it to cool. But I did both. I flipped my warm sponge cake onto a towel, slowly peeled off the parchment paper and carefully rolled it in my flour sack towel. As it cooled, I made the cream filling, suspicious of how easy it had been to roll that cake. Surely, I though, it will crack. But, to my delight, I unrolled the towel, spread the cream according to the directions and rolled the sponge back up without any problems. I later dusted it with powdered sugar. It was light, airy and delicious.
The cheesecake also was light and delicious and a great treat on a hot night. I plan on making both of these desserts again and again.
As for that Paul Hollywood handshake, I think it's equivalent to a family that happily downed these desserts.
STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE ROLL
This fresh Strawberry and Cream cake is the perfect dessert for a summer night get-together. It's relatively simple to make — the hardest part is rolling it in a towel right after it comes out of the oven. It does get a bit soggy after about 6 hours in the refrigerator. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries can also be used.
Margaret Button, associate features editor
Servings: 10
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar
1 recipe filling
DIRECTIONS:
Separate eggs. Allow egg whites and yolks to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 15-by-10-by-1-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-color. Gradually beat in the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, beating on high speed until sugar is almost dissolved.
Thoroughly wash beaters. In another bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold egg yolk mixture into beaten egg whites. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg mixture; fold in gently just until combined. Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and turn cake out onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove parchment paper from cake. Roll towel and cake into a spiral, starting from a short side of the cake. Cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare desired filling.
Unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cake with desired filling to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up cake; trim ends. Cover; chill for up to 6 hours.
STRAWBERRY CREAM FILLING
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries (or 1 cup fresh raspberries)
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Fold in strawberries or raspberries. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar after rolling with filling.
NO-BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
YIELD: Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces prepared whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared graham cracker crust (or make your own)
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
DIRECTIONS:
Beat the cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Fold in the whipped topping. Scrape mixture into the pie crust. (There may be some filling leftover. If so, reserve it to be decoratively piped onto the top of the pie.) Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Decorate the top of the cheesecake, when chilled. Starting in the center, arrange the strawberries in a circular pattern. Pipe with extra filling, if desired.
Note: If you prefer to make a graham cracker crust, combine 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 8 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cool completely before filling.
STRAWBERRY SAUCE
This sauce is perfect as a chocolate cake filling or served slightly warmed over vanilla ice cream. If you're using super fresh, ripe strawberries that are on the sweeter side, consider using a little less sugar in this recipe. This is also a great way to use up strawberries that are close to the end of the shelf life.
Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor content engagement
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup water (divided)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
DIRECTIONS:
Wash, clean, and hull strawberries. Chop them into equal size pieces.
Place strawberries in a saucepan with half the water, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Place it on medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved; shaking the pan to cook evenly.
Continue to cook a minute more, then, use a vegetable or potato masher and mash the fruit to create a smoother sauce.
Add cornstarch to the remaining water and stir well. Add it to the strawberries.
Continue to cook on medium — the mixture will thicken and look glossy. When glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula it's ready.
If you want a super smooth sauce, strain the filling by pouring it through a sieve.
Pour into a mason jar. Let cool completely.
- By Jim Romanoff, Associated Press
Making a healthier — yet still satisfying — cheesecake is just a matter of choosing the right ingredients.
Nutritionist Ellie Krieger, host of the Food Network show "Healthy Appetite," recommends reduced-fat rather than non-fat ingredients because they significantly cut fat, saturated fat and calories without sacrificing taste and texture.
In most cheesecake recipes you can, at the very least, replace regular cream cheese with Neufchatel (reduced-fat cream cheese) which has fewer calories and about a third of the fat.
Additionally, you can replace about half the cream cheese with a smooth puree of reduced-fat cottage cheese, which will cut fat and calories even more.
If you're adapting a recipe that calls for a graham cracker crust, you can cut fat and calories quite a bit by using a small amount of canola oil rather than a lot of butter to bind the crumbs together.
In her recipe for Ricotta Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries, Krieger uses a blend of Neufchatel and pureed part-skim ricotta cheese. The resulting cake is creamy and has all the delicious cheese flavor you would expect.
This recipe further reduces calories and fat by eliminating the crust. A bit of flour added to the batter forms a golden-brown "crust" on the sides and bottom as the cheesecake bakes.
The serving size of Krieger's cheesecake is a nice big wedge, heaped with fresh raspberries. "We eat with our eyes," she says. "If the slice looks small you'll be dissatisfied before you even take a bite."
RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WITH FRESH RASPBERRIES
Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (15 minutes active) plus 3 hours 20 minutes cooling time
Servings: 8
15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 ounces Neufchatel (reduced-fat cream cheese), softened
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon orange liqueur or water
Two 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 325 F. Coat a 9-inch, leakproof springform pan with cooking spray.
In a food processor, puree the ricotta until smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream, Neufchatel, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt and process until well blended. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the center is just set, 50 to 55 minutes.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before removing it from the pan. The cheesecake will be about 2 inches high.
In a small saucepan, bring the jam and liqueur to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Brush the top of the cheesecake with the jam mixture, then top with raspberries, flat side down. The cake should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition information per serving: 295 calories; 13 g fat (8 g saturated); 127 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrate; 10 g protein; 3 g fiber; 375 mg sodium.
(Recipe from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave," Taunton Press, 2008)
Copyright © 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- By America's Test Kitchen
We started our New Orleans bourbon bread pudding recipe by tearing a baguette into ragged pieces, which gave the bread pudding a rustic look. We then toasted the bread to a deep golden brown, which prevented the prepared recipe from turning soggy.
Once the custard set up in the oven, we sprinkled cinnamon, sugar, and butter on top and let it bake until the topping was caramelized. Then, for a real taste of New Orleans, we drizzled the bread pudding with our warm bourbon sauce.
New Orleans bourbon bread pudding with bourbon sauce
Servings: 8-10
Start to finish: 2 hours, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 (18- to 20-inch) baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces (10 cups)
1 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup bourbon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and chilled, plus extra for baking dish
8 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 recipe Bourbon Sauce (recipe follows)
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 F. Arrange bread in single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp and browned, about 12 minutes, turning pieces over and switching baking sheets halfway through baking. Let bread cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 F.
Meanwhile, heat raisins with 1/2 up bourbon in small saucepan over medium-high heat until bourbon begins to simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain mixture, reserving bourbon and raisins separately.
Butter 13-by 9-inch broiler-safe baking dish. Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk in reserved bourbon plus remaining 1/4 cup bourbon. Add toasted bread and toss until evenly coated. Let mixture sit until bread begins to absorb custard, about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. If majority of bread is still hard, continue to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pour half of bread mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of raisins. Pour remaining bread mixture into dish and sprinkle with remaining raisins. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Using your fingers, cut 6 tablespoons butter into sugar mixture until size of small peas. Remove foil from pudding, sprinkle with butter mixture, and bake, uncovered, until custard is just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and heat broiler.
Once broiler is heated, broil pudding until top forms golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Serve.
Bourbon sauce
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup bourbon
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk cornstarch and 2 tablespoons bourbon in small bowl until well combined. Heat cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in salt, butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon. Drizzle warm sauce over individual servings. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Nutrition information per serving: 681 calories; 361 calories from fat; 40 g fat (24 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 275 mg cholesterol; 207 mg sodium; 67 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 53 g sugar; 7 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce in "Cooking At Home With Bridget and Julia ."
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