Crock Pot Lemon Pudding Cake

On the same night that I made the Crock Pot Chicken Pasta, I also made this dessert for lemon pudding cake.  It was kind of funny because I had my large crock pot on one part of the countertop and my smaller one cooking this recipe.  This comes from Fix-It and Forget-It, Our Best Slow Cooker Recipes 2010 but I've changed the recipe a bit.  While they call for an actual lemon, I use lemon concentrate.  I've made this dessert once before, and then, too, it was a spur of the moment decision to make.  I generally don't just happen to have lemons in my house. 

Crock Pot Lemon Pudding Cake

3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup lemon concentrate
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt

1.  In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

2.  Beat egg yolks in a bowl.  Blend in lemon, butter, and milk.

3.  In a seperate bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt.  Add to lemon mixture, beating until smooth.

4.  Fold into beaten egg whites.

5.  Spoon into slow cooker.

6.  Cover and cook on high 2 to 3 hours.

7.  Serve with a spoon from slow cooker.

The Verdict:  It's really yummy, it's totally fun to serve, but not to mince words--it's a pain in the ass to make.

I'm not sure how I'd forgotten that from the first time I'd made it.  In my last blog post, I was writing about how much I've been relying on the crock pot for its ease, yet here I am dirtying three bowls and folding stuff into egg whites that I whipped with a hand mixer.  Hello, does that sound easy?  Not that it's rocket science, it's just not conduicive to easy pregnancy cooking.

We all really like the taste of this, though.  It's a bit cakey and a bit moussey at the same time, which has a nice mouth feel.  And while I'm always startled by cream and lemon together (isn't that an instant bellyache?) it's always a satisfying taste.  The creaminess, which in this instance is the eggs and milk, cuts down the acidity of the lemon, creating a sunny and mellow taste. 

I do suggest that you let it cool down before eating it.  The most obvious reason is not to burn your mouth--duh--but it's one of those foods that just doesn't feel good in your belly too warm. 

If you're looking for a quick dessert, this isn't it.  But if you want to impress everyone with the novelty of a crock pot making dessert, this is worth making. 

Jam and Bread Pudding

I can't believe that I haven't posted a recipe since Monday! It's been a crazy week here at our house. The holidays make things crazy enough, but on Tuesday my son had an accident while running in the house and hurt his two front teeth. We aren't sure what will happen; we have to wait another week to see the pediatric dentist again as only time will tell what will happen to his darling smile. So in addition to lots of tears shed by us all, it's been a challenging week in terms of cooking. Nothing too hard or chewy, of course. And trying to be clever with what's nutritous as well as soft.

Anyway, many, many weeks ago while reading a Food and Wine cookbook I came across this breakfast recipe for jam and bread pudding. It sounded decadent; a perfect breakfast for a once-a-year holiday treat. While the editors of the book chose to list it as a breakfast, it's also a delicious dessert.

Jam and Bread Pudding

One 1-lb loaf challah bread, sliced 1/2-inch thick

3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp strawberry jam or preserves

4 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp whole milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of the challah in the dish; tear the slices to fit. Spread 3/4 cup of the strawberry jam on top; cover with remaining challah.

2. Whisk the eggs with the granulated sugar, 2 1/2 cups of the milk and the vanilla and pour over the challah, pressing to soak. Brush the bread pudding with 4 tbsp of the butter. Cover with foil and bake for 24 minutes, or until set. Remove the foil halfway through.

3. Preheat the broiler. Blend the remaining 1 tbsp of milk with the confectioners' sugar. Add the remaining butter and strawberry jam and stir until the glaze is smooth. Spread all but 1/4 cup of the glaze over the bread pudding and broil until golden, about 2 minutes. Drizzle the bread pudding with the remaining glaze and serve.

The Verdict: Whoa, is this stuff decadent. And can you believe the recipe says that it's delicious drizzled with maple syrup? Who on earth would want to add more sugar?

This was a wonderful breakfast, but speaking of the sugar, feel free to play with the ingredients. You could probably cut the granulated sugar down by a 1/4 cup when blending with the eggs. The amount of jam can be reduced; I didn't measure out that much but just spread it from the jar onto the bread. I'm certain I didn't use 3/4 cup. Speaking of the jam, a nice addition to this recipe would be a layer of fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries on top of the jam. One other sugar reduction is the glaze. We found that the glaze that topped the pudding was plenty; we didn't use any of the additional glaze.

I'm making it sound like this dish wasn't delicious because of all the sugar, but really it was. The already eggy challah bread puffed up wonderfully when soaked in the egg mixture. And the glaze was great. I think the only thing we were disappointed over was that the strawberry taste of the jam got lost. More fruit, please. By the way, the recipe didn't say how long to broil the pudding. With all that sugar, I should have known better. I thought four minutes would be OK and didn't watch it; two was plenty. What you're seeing in the picture was a little bit of what my mom used to call "pink." That's the nice way to say, yes, it got burned a little bit. The woes of being a home food blogger. I don't have a team of food designers to fix my mistakes.

I think with a little tweaking, this could become a holiday tradition.

Ricotta Semifreddo

Our Christmas Eve dessert this year was ricotta semifreddo, a recipe that originally appeared in the November 2010 Cooking Light. I'd never attempted a semifreddo, which I have just learned means "half frozen" in Italian. This recipe includes grated orange rind, giving it a hint of citrus.

Ricotta Semifreddo

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp grated orange rind
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
3 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (16-oz) container part-skim ricotta cheese (such as Calabro)
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
Fresh orange sections (optional)
Fresh currants (optional)

1. Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, milk, honey, orange rind, vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp salt, cream cheese, and ricotta in a blender; process until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Pour cream into a medium bowl and beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold 1/4 cup whipped cream into the ricotta mixture. Fold in the remaining cream.

2. Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze at least 8 hours or until set. Remove semifreddo from freezer, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Discard top piece of plastic wrap. Invert loaf pan onto a serving plate, and tap to remove semifreddo. Discard the remaining plastic wrap, and slice semifreddo crosswise. Serve with orange sections and currants, if desired.

The Verdict: Yum.

There's not much else to say about this recipe. It's super-easy to make and tastes wonderful. The hint of orange goes extremely well with the creamy and mild custard. In addition, the ricotta is slightly grainy, giving it a nice texture in the mouth. It's a bit like ice cream but not as creamy and definitely has more flavor notes.

After about 20 minutes of sitting at room temperature, my semifreddo was still a bit reluctant to pop out of its loaf pan. So I set it in a 13 x 9 x 2" baking dish of warm (not hot!) water. It slid right out. The edges go a bit soft and melty, while the middle stays fairly frozen with a little bit of crunch.

We didn't garnish with the orange or currants, however, I think if you're looking for something to top it with a raspberry ice cream sauce or even a little bit of balsamic reduction. But really, a topping is completely unnecessary. This dessert can hold its own.

Apple Crisp

The family went apple picking a few weekends back and brought home two huge bags of them. Can you believe that they're already almost gone? And they were all from snacking. I did have one small bag of apples that were a bit bruised, however, reserved for some kind of baking. The other night I had a craving for apple crisp, so baking apples were given to the cause.

I really thought I'd taken pictures, but apparently we were all in such a hurry to chow down on hot apples topped with crunchy, sweet topping, I forgot. Sorry about that.

Apple Crisp

6 medium cooking apples, sliced
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cook or old-fashioned oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup cold butter

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In an ungreased 8-inch square pan or a glass pie dish, spread the apples.

2. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter, using a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm, with ice cream or cream if desired.

The Verdict: Prepare for a fight for the leftovers.

While this is cooking, your house will smell amazing. The apples, cinnamon and sugar all melt together, creating the most wonderful fall aroma you can imagine. The topping is great--crispy and sweet. It is plentiful, though. I'm not exactly complaining, but you'll see what I mean when you're sprinkling and sprinkling and sprinkling topping over apples for what feels like whatever.

This was a last minute decision to make, so I didn't have any ice cream to accompany it. But a good vanilla, like Ben & Jerry's, would be out of this world with it.

Oatmeal Brownies

Oh, don't turn away in horror because Shannon attempted brownies again. I could tell that last recipe was a disaster before I even made it. And I'm not even that good at baking.

This recipe is from Betty Crocker, and you know ol' Betty knows her way around a kitchen. I was a little nervous about the amount of butter these brownies call for--I set 911 on speed dial in case one of us went into cardiac arrest while consuming that much fat in one sitting.

Oatmeal Brownies

Crust and Topping

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Filling

4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

2/3 cup butter or margarine

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, mix oats, 3/4 cup flour, the brown sugar and baking soda. Stir in melted 3/4 cup butter. Reserve 3/4 cup oat mixture for topping. Press remaining oat mixture in pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat chocolate and 2/3 cup butter over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted; remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in 1 1/4 cups flour, the baking powder and salt.

4. Spread filling over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved 3/4 cup oat mixture. Bake about 30 minutes longer or until center is set and oat mixture turns golden brown (do not overbake). Cool completely.

The Verdict: Hello, fudge with a crunchy topping? Everyone was smiling like Lotus Eaters.

The brownie part was, by far, my favorite. If you like moist brownies, you'll like this recipe. And I am now dreaming of filling something fruity between the oat layers. I do still have a sugar pumpkin waiting to be used. Check back to see if these Oatmeal Brownies inspire me to create an oatmeal pumpkin bar. With the rate Noyan is eating these brownies, that could be tomorrow...

Clafoutis aux Pêches

Almost two weeks ago, my husband bought about two pounds of peaches for me in the hopes that I'd make him some jam. I didn't get around to it, so this week he's been getting them in his lunchbox. But that's only so many peaches for so many days and there were many left, on the verge of going bad. What to do other than make jam?

So I was psyched when I found a Paula Deen recipe for something called Peach Clafouti. The picture looked great and the ingredients looked doable. I didn't have heavy cream but I did have half-and-half from the scones last week, so I figured that would do. Of course, the only question left was: what the hell is a peach clafouti? Having never heard of one before and having no one to talk to about it, I was saying it in my head to rhyme with football has-been Doug Flutie. I wasn't sure what a clowfoodee is supposed to look like, let alone taste like. But the main ingredient is fresh fruit, which means my husband will eat it, regardless.

Clafoutis aux Pêches

1 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2 cups peach slices

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

6 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch baking dish; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over bottom and sides of dish. Arrange peaches in a concentric circle over bottom of prepared dish.

2. In the container of a blender, add eggs, cream, flour, extracts, zest, salt, and remaining sugar; process until well blended.

3. Pour batter over peaches and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Verdict: First a story, if you'll allow me, s'il vous plait.

So I prepare my clowfoodee in the midst of my crazy poulet et pommes de terre, slightly worried that half-and-half wouldn't work like heavy cream. I poured my batter over the peaches then had to return the dish to the fridge as the chicken wasn't ready to vacate the oven. Oh great, I'm thinking, especially as the peaches start to pop out of the batter. Finally, the dish goes in the oven and cooks.

When I pull it out, it is not cake-looking like the Paula Deen picture, but shiny. The toothpick came out clean, so I knew it was cooked. Still, Noyan walked by and said, "That looks good!" I let it sit for a while then served it. We sat eating what appeared to be peaches baked in custard. It tasted wonderful, but this wasn't clowfoodee. So I momentarily thought: just lie. Write in the blog that you made peaches baked in custard on purpose.

Before blogging about the chicken last night, I decided to do a little research into clowfoodees. And wouldn't you know, it's actually a French dessert. I learned from Wikipedia that outside of France it's often called a Clafouti, where in France it's a Clafoutis. (Ah, so it's not a clowfoodee.) It's traditionally made with cherries, but lots of other fruits are often used. So I checked in with Julia and voilà! there under fruit flans is not one but seven recipes for Clafoutis. Which leads to the absolutely amazing part--my peaches baked in custard was actually more authentic than the cakey looking picture! HA!

So, The Verdict: Easy, creamy, not cloyingly sweet. And the perfect dessert pairing to a French meal.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Fall was in the air, but then it was 81 degrees here today.

Still, I'm getting the autumn bug. If you read my brownie disaster post, you'll know I'm not much of a baker. But even the worst cook among us (I think of 30 Rock's Liz Lemon character who uses her oven to warm her jeans in the morning) start thinking hot chocolate and apple orchards this time of year. We hope that if it isn't us, someone is whipping up something homey in the kitchen. We've been eating pomegranates once a week, I picked up a sugar pumpkin that I'm not sure what to do with yet, as well as a bag of cranberries.

The cranberries are for an Everyday Food recipe I'd torn out long ago: cranberry upside-down cake. I've wanted to try it forever and just never got around to it. And not so long ago, my Aunt Anne made one. That cinched it. I needed to make one for myself. I tried to get Amir to help me with the baking, but he got up on his step stool, held the measuring spoon for approximately 10 seconds and announced, "OK, all done." Sigh. So he might not follow in my joy of cooking. At least he likes to read.



Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

8 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 3/4 cups cranberries
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (I found I needed more like 1 full cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

2. With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

3. Spoon batter over cranberries in pan and smooth on top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

The Verdict: Make this if you want to be the hero of this year's Thanksgiving.

Not only is this cake beautiful, it tastes just as good. The sugar over the berries caramelizes, creating a sweet-tart top. The thick cake underneath is just the right amount of sweet, creating a delicious balance to the berries. Fantastic.

A (One Time Only?) Dessert Special

A year or so ago, perhaps longer now, my husband asked what he thought was an innocent question: "Can we throw away your old baking pans? They're in bad shape." I asked if we'd be replacing the pans and he said yes. I wasn't aware that he meant "can we throw away your old baking pans...right now?" It's been frustrating each time I want to cook something and the recipe calls for a pan that I used to have. Or I thought I did, anyway.

That it's taken over a year to just identify what's gone should tell you something. I'm not a baker. I remember watching a holiday special on the Food Network where Paula Deen and Rachel Ray are cooking together. They begin baking a dessert and it begins to dawn on Paula Deen that Rachel Ray has no clue how to bake. She is surprised and horrified. But while I like Paula better than Rachel, I suddenly felt a surge of camaraderie with her. I can't bake either. Try as I might and fantasize as I do, my sugary confections often fall flat--sometimes literally.

So it's rather comical that I was suddenly possessed with the idea of sharing dessert recipes now that I plan to show this blog to others. What can I possibly share with you? My disasters? OK, I can do that easily.

My mother had a large collection of recipe cards that I have no idea where they came from. It doesn't say clearly on the card. But I've kept many over the years because they looked good. One in particular, for brownie ice cream sandwiches, looked especially delicious. A very important kitchen tip I've learned the hard way is to read your recipe well before you try to cook it. I swear I did this. But there were still many parts that made no sense to me. Lining a pan fully with waxed paper? Are you kidding me? It slips out of place. Immediately freeze something that comes out of the oven? That's just weird. But here it is:


Fudgy Brownies & Cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs, beaten
mint chocolate chip ice cream
strawberry ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two 8x8-inch baking pans with waxed paper.

2. Combine butter and chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted, about 1 1/4 minutes. Stir well to mix.

3. Add sugar, flour and vanilla extract to chocolate mixture and mix well. Let stand to cool slightly. Add eggs and mix well. Spoon mixture into the prepared baking pans.

4. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Freeze pans for 5 minutes. Cut each pan of brownies into 9 squares.

5. Place a brownie on each of 9 individual serving plates. Place a scoop of ice cream on each brownie. Place a brownie on top to make a sandwich and serve immediately.

The Verdict: Disaster.

Oh! Now I know where my mom got those recipes: Shitty Recipes for You Monthly Magazine. As you now know, my pan selection is less than stellar. I borrowed the second pan from my friend and neighbor Deanne, only to learn that I didn't even have a pan. Fine. I'd make the brownies in two batches. I bake the brownies for the suggested time and when I take them out of the oven, I decide to take them out of the pan and cool them on a plate. Except that they rolled lethargically out of the pan in a chocolate tube.

After I pressed them back into a brownie shape, I realized these were nowhere near a brownie consistency. Not even a fudgy brownie. They were more like tightly packed brown sugar. So I poured the rest of the brownie mixture on top of the pressed brownies and baked it all for an additional 20 minutes. I thought that maybe I could cut the brownie in half and put the ice cream in that way, but the result was greasy, thin brownies. At that point I gave up and we ate them like that for dessert.