classic rice pudding

The original made such a tiny amount I am doubling it here. 

Classic Rice Pudding

INGREDIENTS

-- 2 large eggs

-- 1/2 C. white or light brown sugar

-- 1 t. vanilla extract

-- 1/4 t. cinnamon (optional)

-- 4 cups whole milk

-- 1 cup heavy whipping cream

-- 2/3 c. short grain white rice (I used arborio)

-- pinch of salt 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk together the egg, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon if using in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Add the milk, cream, rice, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. 

3. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

4. Slowly add about half a cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the egg mixture.

5. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining rice mixture. Stir everything together and continue heating on low heat for about another 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Don't boil. It will thicken quickly. Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so you don't want it to be too thick before you take it off the heat. a touch soupy is still OK. 

6. Remove from heat and serve warm. 

 I got this recipe from Stephanie and it is the best I have ever made! So I am saving it here. 

Kittencal's Buttery Cut-Out Sugar Cookies W/ Icing That Hardens

from food.com

 
 

Ingredients

COOKIES

• 1 cup butter, softened (no substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon almond extract
• 3 ¹⁄₄ cups all-purpose flour
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt 

   

  FROSTING
•  2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (the sugar must be sifted)
• 1 tablespoon milk (adding in more if needed for proper spreading consistency)
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon almond extract (can use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in place of the almond)
• food coloring (use your choice of colours)

   

   

  DIRECTIONS

  
  

  1. For cookies; in a large bowl combine butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract; beat using an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
  2. In another bowl combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the butter mixture until well blended.
  3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
  4. Set oven to 400°F.
  5. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not grease cookie sheets use parchment paper only).
  6. On a very lightly floured surface roll out the dough into about 1/4-inch thickness.
  7. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.
  8. Place cookies 2-inches apart on cookie sheet.
  9. Bake 4-6 minutes.
  10. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely before icing.
  11. For the frosting; in a small bowl mix the confectioners sugar with milk (start with 1-2 tablespoons, you will likely need more milk for the perfect spreading consistency).
  12. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is smooth and glossy (if the icing is too thick add in a small amount more of corn syrup).
  13. Divide into as many separate bowls as you wish for different colours.
  14. Add in food coloring until desired intensity is achieved.
  15. Paint the icing over the cookies using a brush, or dip edges of cookies into icing.
  16. Allow to set on waxed paper.

   

   

   

   

   
  

 

Black Forest Cake

 I made Black Forest cake the other day, using this recipe. I have never made a sponge cake like that before but it came out pretty well. Although there are many steps, the toughest is the cake itself. For the rest, I was surprised how simple it was to make, I had thought it would be more complicated. The frosting is basically just whipped cream! 

------

Black Forest Cake Recipe

from Natasha's Kitchen

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 52 minutes

 

This Black Forest Cake is a German chocolate cake with 4 chocolatey layers, 1 lb of kirsch infused cherries and a light whipped cream. If making for children, omit kirsch and add 1 Tbsp sugar to the cherry syrup.

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

Skill Level: Medium

Cost to Make: $18-$20

Keyword: Black Forest Cake

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Servings: 12 -14 slices

Ingredients

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake Layers:

• 9 large eggs room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 Tbsp 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

What you'll need:

• Two 9" cake pans and flour sifter or fine sieve

Ingredients for Cherry Filling:

• 4 cups 1 lb bing cherries, pitted, plus 12 whole cherries for decor (I used frozen Costco cherries for these, with maraschino cherries for the top)
• 3 Tbsp kirsch a cherry liqueur (I lowered this to 2 T, next time I might add some Maraschino cherry juice for a bit more cherry flavor)
• 1/4 cup cold water

For the Frosting/Topping:

• 3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup Confectioners powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp kirsch cherry liqueur
• 3 oz good quality dark chocolate

Instructions

How to Make Cake Layers: Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of cake pans with parchment (don't grease sides).

1. Beat 9 eggs with the whisk attachment for 1 min on high. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating on high speed a full 8 min. It will be thick and fluffy. Tip: the mixture it should fall off the whisk and still ‘stand up’ on the cake mixture
2. Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup cocoa powder and sift in thirds into batter, folding with a spatula between each addition. Once all flour is in, continue to fold just until no streaks of flour remain, scraping the bottom of the bowl to get any pockets of flour; do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
3. Gently fold in 1/2 tsp vanilla and room temp butter, folding as you add butter in a steady stream and scraping from the bottom to make sure you don't have butter pooling at the bottom. Fold just until incorporated. Divide batter equally between two prepared cake pans and BAKE RIGHT AWAY in fully preheated oven at 350˚F for 20-25 minutes (my oven took 22 min), or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: Once the butter is added, it must be transferred to baking pans and put into the oven immediately or the batter can deflate quickly.
4. Let cool in pans for 10 min then run a thin edged spatula around edges to loosen cake. Transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. When cakes are at room temp, and you're ready to assemble, slice cake layers in half with a long serrated knife.

Making the Syrup:

1. Roughly chop pitted cherries and place in a medium bowl with 3 Tbsp kirsch. Let sit at room temp for at least 30 min, stirring a couple times, then drain cherries in a sieve over a bowl. Keep the cherries and syrup. Add 1/4 cup cold filtered water to the syrup to get about 3/4 cup total syrup.

Making the Cream: For best results freeze bowl and whisk attachment 15 min before using.

1. Beat 3 1/2 cups heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form, add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp kirsch and beat on high until stiff and spreadable (1-2 min). Refrigerate until ready to use (tip: keep whisk attachment in the bowl - you can re-whip if it seems slightly loose after refrigeration).

Assembling your Black Forest Cake:

1. Place first cake layer on a cake stand and brush with 1/4 of the syrup. Cover top with about 3/4 cup frosting and top with 1/3 of the chopped cherries. Repeat with remaining layers and top with the flattest layer. Transfer 1 1/2 cups frosting to a pastry bag with a large flower tip and refrigerate until ready to use (don't handle the bag too much or the cream will soften). Fill the cracks along the sides of cake with frosting then frost the top and sides with remaining frosting.
2. To make chocolate shavings, you can either melt chocolate in the microwave, spread it thin over the back of a baking sheet, then refrigerate a few min and use a food scraper to create bark-like shavings. This is the more authentic way. Alternatively, you can use a potato peeler to shave a chunk of chocolate.
3. Cover sides and top of cake with chocolate shavings leaving a 1" perimeter on top for piping frosting. Pipe rounds of frosting around the top of the cake and place a whole cherry over each one. Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Recipe Notes

*Recipe Tips: Measure flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and level off top with back of a knife. You can use thawed frozen cherries or canned cherries. If using canned cherries, select cherries in water or juice, omit the 1/4 cup additional water and use the juice from can instead. Maraschino cherries can be used for the topping/decor.

Homemade chocolate pudding

I love chocolate pudding but I didn't realize it was so easy to make and made out of stuff I always have. Like homemade brownies, this recipe is dangerous!!

Chocolate Pudding

From Spend with Pennies

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cup sugar
• ⅔ cup cocoa
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 4 ½ cups milk
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch. Mix well. Add in cold milk, whisk until combined. 
• Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly until mixture reaches a boil.
• Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
• Allow mixture to cool completely, stirring occasionally to avoid a skin forming on the pudding. 
• Serve chilled or warm.

Notes

Note: Place a plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding while it cools to avoid a skin from forming.

The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies

This gingerbread cookie recipe is great, not too spicy and nice and soft if you bake for 7 minutes. We are not big fans of gingerbread cookies but we liked these. 

THE MOST WONDERFUL GINGERBREAD COOKIES

From Food.com

        INGREDIENTS

•  3 cups all-purpose flour
•  1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons baking powder
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon baking soda
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 ³⁄₄ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter - I just used salted butter and omitted the salt
  
• ³⁄₄ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¹⁄₂ cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional) - I didn't use this
  

    

  DIRECTIONS

  • In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
  • In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
  • Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
  • Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
  • Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
  • (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
  • Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
  • Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
  • Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
  • Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
  • Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
  • Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
  • Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
  • After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
  • I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.

   

Birthday Cake

 I have made this cake several times and each time I make the frosting as written, which is WAY TOO SWEET. I am blogging it here so I can try something different next time. OR it would be even better to try a different kind of buttercream entirely.

Classic Birthday Cake

from livforcake

Ingredients

Yellow Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 2 tsp clear vanilla extract (apparently this makes the cake taste more like box mix, I use regular vanilla and it is fine)
  
• 1 cup whole milk room temperature

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
• 3oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate chopped, melted, cooled

Instructions

Vanilla Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8" cake rounds and line with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
• Bake for 35-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. (for 9 inch rounds, it took approx. 25-30 mins to bake)
  
• Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.

Chocolate Frosting

• In a large bowl, whisk sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder to combine. Set aside.
• Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat until smooth (approx 5mins).
• Add in cooled melted chocolate and beat until combined.

Assembly:

• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake in a rustic manner using an offset spatula.
• Decorate the top with sprinkles and decorative flags if desired.

Sugar Cookies

We made these for Easter and they were pretty good, I made sure to leave them thick and they stayed soft in the middle. I didn't have meringue powder and don't like to use raw eggs in royal icing so I just mixed powdered sugar and water together and we iced the cookies with that.


Sugar Cookies

From A Touch of Thyme

Ingredients:

For the sugar cookie:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the icing:

- Powdered Sugar and Water

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Turn the mixer to low and add the baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined.
3. Form dough into a ball and wrap dough tightly in plastic cling wrap and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour or overnight).
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
5. Remove dough from fridge and let it stand for 5-10 minutes.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thick. Cut out shapes using egg-shaped cookie cutters.
7. Transfer your cookies onto the cookie sheet, placing them 1 inch apart.
8. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
9. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on thickness. Let it cool for 1 minute on the pan and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple cake

This is a good way to use up extra apples!

https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/

Maple Pudding

Kiran wanted to invent a new dessert dish (he really wanted to sift some flour!) but we didn't really have time for a huge production in the kitchen. SO I found this recipe for Vanilla Pudding and we switched it to Maple! Kiran sifted the cornstarch instead. It was easy and excellent, a little on the sweet side, would have been better with whip cream on top. We gobbled up the whole thing for dessert.

Ingredients

• ¹⁄2 cup maple syrup
• ¹⁄₄ cup sugar
• ¹⁄₄ cup cornstarch
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups milk
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In medium double boiler, cook maple syrup, sugar, cornstarch, milk and salt. When mixture begins to thicken, add part of mixture to egg yolks; mix well, then pour egg mixture back into mixture in double boiler.
2. Cook until thick; take off stove, then add butter and vanilla.

Pouding Chomeur (Poor Man's Pudding)

This is a French-Canadian treat I remember having on rare occasion as a child. My mom made this recipe the other day, it was so delicious I couldn't stop eating it and I had to have the recipe. 

Ingredients 

⦁ 1/2 cup softened butter or 1/2 cup margarine

⦁ 1 cup sugar

⦁ 2 eggs

⦁ 1 teaspoon vanilla

⦁ 2 cups flour

⦁ 1 teaspoon baking powder

⦁ 1 1/3 cups milk

⦁ 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

⦁ 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

⦁ 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

⦁ 1/3 cup butter

Directions

CAKE.

1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar till the mix is light.

2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix.

3. In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

4. Alternate flour mix and milk to the butter mix.

5. Pour into a 13 inch by 9 inch greased pan.

MAPLE SAUCE.

1. In a large casserole, bring to boil the syrup, brown sugar, cream and butter and constantly stir.

2. Reduce heat and gently cook 2 minutes or till sauce has reduced a little bit.

3. Pour sauce gently over cake.

4. Bake at 325°F about 40 - 45 minutes or till cake is light brown and when toothpick inserted comes ou

Whoopie Pies

This is the kind of dessert that I like the best. These Whoopie Pies are like Whoopie Pies on crack, I think it's because the recipe uses butter instead of shortening. I ate so many of these I should probably never make this again, but just in case I do, here is the recipe I used:

https://www.kcet.org/food/weekend-recipe-whoopie-pies

Making (and eating) the full-size pie is quite extravagant, but next time I would probably make them half the size, so 12 small pies instead of 6 huge ones. 

And since you can't find Marshmallow Fluff in this backwards place:

https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/homemade-marshmallow-creme-30296

p.s. Who knew that you can make your own marshmallow fluff?

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I must have seen a pineapple upside-down cake on Facebook, because somehow the image has been stuck in my head all day. I decided to make us one for dessert tonight in my cast iron fry pan. I don't know if I've ever even had pineapple upside-down cake before, I've certainly never made it. What a loss! This cake is so easy and fast to make, and so delicious! The brown sticky crust on the outside reminds me of delicious grand peres my french-canadian grandmothers made for us growing up (that I've never been able to replicate as an adult), but the pineapple and cherries make it even better! I suggest you stop whatever you are doing and make this right now.

From Food. com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 slices pineapple, from a can of sliced pineapples
• 9 maraschino cherrys (plus more for cake batter, if desired)
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup melted butter (I used a little less and topped up with pineapple juice)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter in iron skillet.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Mix together a little bit.
4. Arrange pineapple slices on top brown sugar/butter.
5. Place cherries in center of slices. and then 1 between each slice, and 1 in the middle.
6. Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl
7. Mix wet ingredients: melted butter, milk, egg in another bowl.
8. Combine dry and wet ingredients, mix to combine but only as little as possible. 
9. I also chopped up extra maraschino cherries and added them in to this cake batter because I like maraschino cherries. 
10. Pour batter over pineapple in skillet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. (35 minutes worked great for me)
11. Remove from oven, let cool about 5 minutes or so, turn onto heat-proof plate while still warm.

Strawberry Shortcake

Every year when I see the first local strawberries in the store, I think "strawberry shortcake." It's one of my favorite desserts, and I finally found the perfect biscuit recipe, I don't want to forget it!

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Makes 6 biscuits worth

Ingredients

1 lb fresh strawberries 

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2.5 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup milk, plus a little more for brushing on biscuits

1 teaspoon granulated or coarse decorating sugar

3/4 cup whipping cream 

 

1 Tablespoon sugar

 

 

Directions

Directions

• Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, slice strawberries, mix with 2 Tablespoons sugar; set aside.
• In medium bowl, cut butter into flour, 2.5 Tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt, using pastry blender or 2 forks, until butter is the size of small peas. Stir in milk.
• Place on lightly floured surface; knead 5 to 7 times or until dough forms. Pat dough 1/2 inch thick; cut out 6 rounds with 2 1/2-inch round cutter (I used a cup). Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush milk over rounds; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.
• In chilled small bowl, beat whipping cream and 1 T. sugar with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. (or do what I do, put it in a tight Tupperware container, cover tightly, and shake) 
• Split shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon strawberries between halves and over tops. Top with whipped cream and additional strawberries.

 

Ashoka or Moong dal Halva

This is Amma's famous sweet from India. I am not a huge fan of Indian sweets but I like this one.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cup moong dal
2 cups milk
2 cups water
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cup ghee
pinch of ground nutmeg (or more to taste)

OPTIONAL ALMOND PASTE
Take one handful almonds, soak in hot water for 2 hours, peel, add milk and grind to a smooth paste. 

METHOD.

1. Take the moong dal, put it in a small pan and heat up dry over medium heat just until the beans feel hot to the touch.

2. Wash the moong dal and drain it, then add 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 cups water to the moong dal. Cook in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles or until dal is cooked.

3. Put the cooked moong dal in a large stock pot. Add in the sugar and almond paste if using and heat over medium heat until the sugar melts (approx. 5 minutes).

4. Add in 2/3 cup ghee, and cook, stirring over medium heat. As it cooks, you will see it get thicker and thicker.

5. After about 10 minutes of boiling over a low heat, add in another 1/3 cup of ghee. After 10 more minutes, add in the final 1/3 cup ghee.

6. When the mixture gets to the correct consistency, sort of like a jam or hot fudge consistency (and the ghee separates from the mixture a tiny bit), take it off the heat.

7. Mix in a small amount of ground nutmeg.

8. Leave the Halva in the pot, as it cools it will get thicker and end up a thick pudding consistency and fall away from the sides of the bowl.

How the Tropizenne turned out

I know all of my avid readers are waiting with baited breath to find out how the Tropizenne, the fancy French dessert I was planning to make for a dinner party a couple months ago turned out.

Well this is how I had imagined it would turn out:


Note the delicious brioche bread, perfectly luscious pastry cream, with chunky sugar on top. MMMM.


To make a long story short, this is how my tropizenne actually turned out:

Turns out I should have been way more worried about the pastry cream than about the brioche, but live and learn. I had the pastry cream leaking out all over the place, and I had a pot luck to attend in about 20 minutes! So what did I do?

Make trifle! What I did was demolish the tropizenne and added in layers of whip cream and raspberries. It tasted so good and I think everyone at the party loved it. I sure did!

Moral of the story: There's nothing a little whip cream and raspberries won't fix.