Easy Tiramisu

A delicious serving of tiramisu.  Yummy!

A couple of years ago I had a wonderful dessert of tiramisu at the Lavender Bistro in Tryon, North Carolina.  That inspired me to undertake making this dessert, and I discovered it is really quite easy.  I wanted to find a recipe that did not use egg yolks and did not use alcohol.  I tweaked a recipe of Sandra Lee's of the Food Channel.

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature  *(I used 8oz of mascarpone cheese.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (7-ounce) package of ladyfingers
1 cup strong black coffee *(I made a cup of strong espresso---stronger than coffee.)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Sandra Lee made her recipe in 4 wine glasses---four individual servings.  I used an 8 x 8 inch glass dish and I was able to get 6 servings from this.

Directions:
1.  In a chilled bowl combine 3/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar.  Whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Heavy cream and sugar ready to make whipped cream.

2.  In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream, vanilla and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.  (Next time I will use only 1/4 cup of sugar here, because the mascarpone cheese is  sweet.) Whip with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Mascarpone, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla.  Blend together.

Cheese mixture.

3.  Line the bottom of the glass dish with ladyfingers that have been dipped quickly into the coffee.  You do not want to soak the ladyfingers, because they will turn into a mushy texture.  Dip quickly, no more than 5 seconds.

Ladyfingers dipped into coffee lining bottom of glass dish.

4.  Spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the ladyfingers.

Sptread cheese mixture on ladyfingers.

5.  Add a second layer of ladyfingers that have been dipped into the coffee.

Second layer of lady fingers.

6.  Spread the remaining cheese mixture on top of these ladyfingers.    Top with the whipped cream.

Top with whipped cream.

7.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.  Just before serving put the cocoa powder into a small sieve and tap gentle to dust the top of the dessert. 

Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

This is an easy dessert.  It would be quite elegant served in individual wine glasses as Sandra Lee's recipe suggests.  I'll be making this again. 

Ready to eat. 

Check this out for a recipe to serve in individual wine glasses.

Photo from Well Fed.

A Delicious Blueberry Bread Pudding from Stale Bread

Blueberry Bread Pudding.

Whenever someone posts a good recipe on Facebook, I share it so I then will have it saved in my Facebook Account.This recipe for Blueberry Bread Pudding is one such recipe.  I don't remember who posted it, but I did remember that I had saved it.  Today I had a bit of stale bread that needed to be used---some brioche and part of a whole wheat baguette--- so I made this.

Blueberry Bread Pudding
Yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients

1 loaf of dense white bread, cubed (about 4-5 cups) (I used brioche and whole wheat bread.)
2 cups milk
2 cups cream (I used half and half)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 pint blueberries
1 tablespoon raw (turbinado) sugar*
1 tablespoon butter, to coat the dish

Topping Ingredients
¼ cup raw (turbinado) sugar*
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Gently heat the cream, milk, sugar and salt in a heavy bottomed pot until it is just about to boil. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs, vanilla and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon in a large bowl. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, stirring constantly so that the eggs don’t scramble. Add the cubed bread to the custard, toss together and put aside.

Heat cream, milk, and sugar. 

Mix eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Add egg mixture to milk mixture slowly so eggs will not scramble.

Add bread cubes.

In another bowl, add a tablespoon of the raw sugar to the blueberries, and mash together so that there is mix of mashed and whole blueberries. Let the blueberries and the sugar sit for a few minutes, allowing juices to collect. Mix the blueberries into the pudding well, and put the whole thing in the refrigerator for at least an hour so that the bread can fully soak up the custard.

Crush part of the blueberries. 

Mix blueberries into the pudding mixture.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large baking dish.** Pour the bread pudding mixture into the dish. Sprinkle the pudding with the cinnamon and sugar. Cover the pudding with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the center is set. Remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes. At the very end, put the pudding under the broiler for another 1-2 minutes to crisp up the top of the pudding. Let the pudding sit for at least a half hour before serving. Serve it up with vanilla ice cream, and you’ll be in heaven.

Ready for the oven.

Out of the oven.

With vanilla ice cream ready to eat. 

* If you only have regular white sugar, that’s fine. The raw sugar creates a better crunchy crust, but it is not a big enough difference to deter you from making this recipe!
** The pudding puffed up a great deal while baking, I would recommend using a large baking dish, and putting a baking sheet underneath to catch any wayward pudding or blueberries.

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Summer Berries and Figs with Honey-Basil Cream

Summer Berries and Figs

Now that it is fig season, I just had to make my favorite summer fig dessert.  As Janet Hazen in her little book, Basil says The flavor of basil paired with fresh figs and summer berries in this unique dessert is sure to leave a lasting impression on you and your dining companions.   This was first served to us many years ago by a dear friend who also recommend Hazen's  little book,  I hurried right out to find the  book, and I've been using it for many years for unique recipes using basil including this recipe.

This recipe makes from 4 to 6 servings.

Honey-Basil Cream:

1 pint heavy cream

½ cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup finely chopped fresh sweet basil leaves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Figs and Berries:

1 pint Black Mission figs, trimmed and quartered (or halved if small)

½ pint strawberries stemmed and halved

½ pint raspberries

½ pint blackberries

Sprigs of basil, for garnish.

To Make the Honey-Basil Cream:

Place the cream, water, and honey in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from boiling over.   Add the basil and reduce the heat to moderate, cook for 20 minutes until the cream is thick and pale brown.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Strain through a fine wire sieve and transfer to a small saucepan.  Keep warm over low heat until ready to use. 

Combine the figs and berries in a large bowl; mix gently.  Arrange in serving dishes and drizzle with the warm Honey-Basil Cream.  Garnish with the sprigs of basil, and serve immediately. 

I had a beautiful basil plant from which to gather my basil.

Beautiful basil plant.

I found these lovely figs at Costco.

Black Mission figs.

With Alice's help I made the Honey-Basil Cream.  It was great to have someone to help with the stirring and with the preparation of the fruit. 

Chopping the basil.

Stirring the Cream mixture.

Adding the basil. 

Gently mix the figs and the berries in a large bowl.

Figs and berries ready to serve.

Strain the Honey-Basil Cream to remove the basil.  You really just want the flavor of the basil in the Cream.

Serve in individual dishes topped with the warm Cream and garnished with a sprig of basil.

Drizzle the warm cream over the berries and figs.

Ready to enjoy.

 If you like basil, I can highly recommend Janet Hazen's book, Basil.

Basil by Janet Hazen.

 

How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Kiwi Trifle Using Left Over Cake

I made a Shamrock Cake for St. Patrick's Day in which I cut out shamrock slices from one cake and baked them in the center of a second cake.  So I had all these pieces of cake left over from the first cake.  But I didn't waste them.

Cutting out shamrock slices left a lot of the green cake unused.

Leftovers from cake number one.

I froze the leftovers and one night I cut up cubes of the cake and served it with pistachio ice cream.

Cubes of cake.

Served with pistachio ice cream.

I used the remainder of the cake in a small pistachio kiwi trifle.  I first put in a layer of  cake which had been cut into cubes.

Cake layer.

Then a layer of pistachio pudding. I used an instant Jello mix for the pudding.

Instant Jello pistachio pudding mix.

Pudding layer.

Followed by a layer of kiwi slices.  Repeat until complete.  I put a bit of whipped cream on top. This was really good.

Kiwi layer.

Whipped cream on top.

The different layers from a side view.

I still have quite a bit of the Shamrock Cake, and I think I will freeze it to have on hand when I want to make a trifle.  If unexpected company shows up, it's always easy to make a trifle for dessert as long as you have cake, pudding mix and fruit of some kind. 

Double Crusted Peach Pie

Old-fashioned double crust peach pie.

It is the peak of fresh peach season here in North Carolina, and I have a plentiful supply of peaches.  I had been to the Farmer's Market and bought a half peck and then a friend came by with a half peck for us.

Nice peaches from the Farmer's Market.

With all these peaches I decided to make an old-fashioned peach pie.  I went to one of my favorite internet sites for recipes All Recipes. Com and found this one. 

Old-Fashioned Peach Pie

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (or make your own).
1 egg, beaten 
5 cups sliced peeled peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted the salt.)

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degree F).
2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts. Brush with some of the beaten egg to keep the dough from becoming soggy later.

   

   Brush crust with egg wash.

3. Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently.
   

   

   Slice peaches and add lemon juice.

   

   Dry ingredients mixed.

   In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
   
   
    Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.
   
   

   

   Ready for oven.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown too fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving. This tastes better warm than hot.

Out of oven.

Ready to eat.

 Add a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy!

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