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Pound Cake and Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

Pound Cake on Foodistapound cake slicesWhen you need a quick dessert for a summer dinner, try this one using a homemade or store bought pound cake and a jar of homemade or store bought raspberry jam.  Start with a puddle of chocolate raspberry sauce, place the pound cake in the puddle, imbibe it with Amaretto liqueur, add a nice big scoop of chocolate pudding made with ricotta cheese, and top it with whipped cream and shaved almonds.  You can change the sauce and the liqueur, add your favorite nuts and coconut flakes, or just a dollop of whipped cream to make it your own creation.  The whole family will love this one. 

Chocolate Ricotta Pudding

Mix together in a bowl until smooth

  • 15 oz. ricotta cheese, pressed through a fine-mesh sieve
  • 1 oz. square bittersweet chocolate, grated
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp almond extract

Raspberry Sauce

Cook and stir over medium heat until sauce thickens:

  • 1/4 cup raspberry jam (seedless)
  • 1/2 cup water with 1 Tbsp corn starch
  • 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Assembly:

  1. Spoon 2 – 3 Tbsp of sauce onto individual serving plates.
  2. Place 1 slice of pound cake on sauce.  Drizzle 1 Tbsp of Amaretto over cake.
  3. Top with large spoonful of pudding.
  4. Garnish with whipped cream, chocolate curls and/or almonds

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Coco's Pancakes

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

iStock_000001560440XSmallThis recipe is adapted from the standard Better Homes and Garden Cookbook that I was given for a wedding gift in 1967.  I altered the ingredient proportions to make the recipe a “no brainer” for breakfast chefs at my restaurant in Tonga.

The secret to making these lofty pancakes is in the whisking – don’t over beat the batter!  The batter should be a bit lumpy and then let it rest while the griddle heats up.  You can also use a non-stick skillet to bake these cakes.  Pancakes should be light and fluffy, and uniformly golden brown on both sides.  There’s only 2 tsp of sugar in this recipe because you’re going to serve them with sweet syrup or fruit.  At Coco’s, we baked them with sliced bananas, apples and of-course blueberries.   Although we paid $8 for 1/3 cup of imported blueberries, blueberry pancakes were still profitable and a good seller.   We served them with a variety of tropical fruit syrups or with fruit coulis, fresh sliced fruit and whipped cream.  

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 2 eggs

Method:

  1. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together milk, water, oil, and eggs.
  3. Pour wet mix into dry mix.  Whisk to just moisten dry ingredients. 
  4. Preheat griddle, brush with oil.
  5. When griddle is hot, wipe off excess oil with paper towels.
  6. Pour batter onto griddle and cook until a few bubbles pop and the edges look dry.  Flip and continue cooking until done.  Lightly press tops, if they spring back, they’re done.

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Pioneer Cookies

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

cookies 002

It is hot today in Las Vegas, too hot to bake, but I wanted something crunchy and chocolately  to go with a cup of coffee tonight.  This was almost a dissaster!!  I reached for the corn syrup and grabbed the almond extract instead.  By the time the fumes hit my nose, it was going into the pot.  These cookies of-course are no-bake cookies.  Well, the almond didn’t hurt them a bit, infact the chocolate stands out a bit  more.  I always add almond to my chocolate cakes with great results.  Anyway, this recipe is one I’ve made since I was a kid, standing next to mom in the kitchen.  These cookies take exactly 15 minutes to make from start to finish. 

I didn’t have any oatmeal, so I used fiber bran cereal.  They remind me of mortar with hay mixed in, like they did building log cabins in pioneer days.  So with that in mind, I’m calling these “pioneer cookies.”  Must be about time for a pow-wow… all day I’ve had an Indian war chant going through my head.  Can’t you picture bare chested men in feather head-dresses, stomping around a fire chanting hey-ya-ya while the drums are playing.  Where does this stuff come from… my zany thoughts? 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp corn syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla ( 1/2 tsp each almond and vanilla extracts)
  • 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 1/2 cups fiber bran cereal (or quick-cooking oatmeal)
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/2 chopped nuts of your choice

Method:

  1. Cook butter, sugar, cocoa, milk, and salt in a sauce pan or medium-high heat. 
  2. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes while stirring constantly.
  3. Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and corn syrup.
  4. Add bran or oats, coconut, and nuts.  Stir until all are well coated.
  5. Drop by tablespoon onto waxed paper and chill until firm.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Bars

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

magic cookie barsThis recipe is based on “Magic Cookie Bars” from the 1970s.  It’s incredibly easy to make and very rich.  I highly recommend a simple Columbian brewed coffee to sip with these bars.  You don’t want to defuse the flavors of the chocolate, hazelnuts, coconut, and caramelized cream over a graham cracker crust, with a complex espresso concoction.  Though, on second thought, a double tall latte would be grand. 

This recipe is part of my published article on Suite101.com (see RSS feed on my side bar) Picnic for Two at The Concert.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (Malt Biscuits for Aussies and Kiwis)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 can (14 oz) Eagle brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (Anchor brand for Aussies and Kiwis)
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. (180° C.)
  2. Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper
  3. Combine graham cracker crumbs with melted butter, press into the prepared baking pan.
  4. In a bowl, mix chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts.  Spread over the graham cracker crust evenly.  With a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper over the filling, press down to compact the filling. Remove plastic wrap.
  5. Pour condensed milk over the entire top of the filling.
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brown.
  7. Remove from oven to a rack and cool for 10 minutes.  Invert pan over a rack, remove parchment paper from bottom, invert cookies right-side up onto another rack and continue to cool.
  8. When cookies are cool, use a sharp knife and cut into 2×3 inch bars.

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Cream Pies – Easy Key Lime Pie

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

key20lime20pieNot too tart and not too sweet, just 5 ingredients in a graham crack crust, how much easier can it get.  This recipe is off a can of sweetened condensed milk, a common brand name used in the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, which I cannot remember, but it wasn’t Borden or Carnation.  At any rate, you must use a really good quality condensed milk or this pie will flop.  It was one of the best selling desserts at my restaurant in Tonga.  If you’re anti-meringue just top it with whipped cream … or not. 

The native limes in Tonga are very small, like a key lime, so to grow the big beautiful limes from overseas, the plantations grafted the big limes onto their native lime trees.  The same grafting procedure was carried out with Meyer lemons.  Tonga hadn’t gotten around to grafting sweet mandarines yet when I left in 2006, but surely it will happen as the native mandarines are so sour that they’re only good for jams and chutneys, though the Tongans like to eat them out-of-hand.  “Pucker Power” is the phrase I always used to describe the local citrus fruit.  More about Tonga and tropical fruit later…

Key Lime Pie

  • 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • Zest of 1 lime (reserve 1 tsp for meringue)
  • 1/3 cup lime juice (about 6 Key limes)
  • 1 Tbsp sugar for meringue
  • 1 graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Pour condensed milk into a bowl.  Beat egg yolks until smooth, gently stir into condensed milk until combined, add zest and lime juice.  Stir gently until combined.  Pour batter into graham cracker crust and chill while making meringue.  To make meringue, whip egg whites until frothy, add zest,  add sugar gradually and continue beating until soft peaks form.  Top pie with meringue, swirling the meringue out to the edges of the crust.  This will seal in the custard.  Bake in center of oven for 20 minutes.  Cool before serving.

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