Boston Cream Pie

So this is the dessert I chose to serve for Christmas dinner this past year. Well, my mom asked for it and so I decided to go for it. Although the 3 components (cake, filling, glaze) took a bit more time than I usually put into a recipe, it was definitely worth it. Also, I made the custard 2 days ahead, the cake the day before, and then did the glaze and assembly the morning of. Choosing to do the work over the course of a few days made it seem much less time-consuming.

Sitting here in 18F degree weather under my big feather blanket, wearing a hoodie and sweats and a hat, really makes me wish I was back in 86F degree Florida (where I was on Christmas when I ate this delicious dessert.) This is a great way to end a special dinner and is generally impressive, especially when you tell your guests that it was made entirely from scratch.

Boston Cream Pie

Custard

• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and ¼ cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

Cake (from Bakerella)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 3 cups of sifted self-rising flour (or make some yourself)
• 1 cup of whole milk (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• ½ teaspoon butter flavoring (in the extract section)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour (2) 8 inch cake pans, then prepare about 10 cupcake tins with paper or foil liners because there will be extra batter, or just prepare a 3rd 8 inch cake pan for the extra batter. Have fun with the cupcakes, feel free to make mini boston cream pies like I did.
Using a mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream for about 7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added.

Add flour and milk (alternating to creamed mixture), beginning and ending with flour.
Add vanilla and butter flavoring to mix; until just mixed. Divide batter equally into two, filling about 1/2 full cake pans, then fill whatever you want (extra cake pan, cupcake tins) with the extra batter. Bake and do with the extra batter however/whatever you desire.

Hold each cake pan about 3 inches above your counter and carefully drop the pans flat onto counter several times to ensure release of any air bubbles. This will help you have a more level cake.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes (depending on your oven) until done.
Cool in pans for 5 – 10 minutes. Remove and immediately wrap each layer in plastic wrap to seal in moisture. Cool completely on wire racks. I place my cake layers in the freezer to make for easier cutting/leveling.

Glaze *Do not make until custard has chilled and cake layers are cooled/frozen and ready to be assembled, because the pie must be assembled immediately upon making the glaze.

• 1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chip
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.

Assembly

Unwrap plastic wrap from your two cake layers. Place cake layers on a smooth service (I put them on a piece of parchment or wax paper on my counter) with the rounded side up. With the tool of your choice (I use a large serrated bread knife), slice the rounded portion off so that both sides are now completely level. Do this to both cake layers.

Place one of the layers on a cake stand that has a piece of parchment or wax paper cut to the size of the stand, then take custard and heap a generous portion onto the middle of what is now the bottom cake layer. Spread custard out to the sides, making sure to keep the amount of custard equal across the cake -mine was about 1/2 inch thick; you will not use all of the custard, so save the rest for a later use or for mini cream pies if you made cupcakes . Gently place second cake layer on top of custard layer.

*Now you can make the glaze*

Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides, being sure to cover the entire cake. This is why you cut a piece of paper to go underneath the cake, so that it catches the drips. There will be a little leftover, so feel free to use for the mini cream pies, or for dipping fresh fruit, pretzels, marshmallows or whatever else you on hand.

Chill in the fridge until glaze hardens (an hour or so?). I left mine in the fridge for a few hours while we prepared Christmas dinner.

Enjoy!

My ugly, but oh-so-yummy and personal-size mini Boston Cream Pies
made from the leftover batter that I put in cupcake tins. 

Christmas Dinner 2011

Christmas Dinner Menu (from top left, clockwise)
Twice baked potatoes
Yorkshire pudding
Creamed spinach
Cranberry fruit gel
Rib roast
Asparagus
And for dessert, not pictured, Boston cream pie (recipe to come soon)

One of my favorite holiday recipes of all time is my family's cranberry gel. It has oranges in it, which I love. It tastes so much better than the caned stuff. Just know before you make it, it is more like a jell-o salad almost -it is not a cranberry sauce. But boy is it yummy. My sister preferred the cranberry gel over the from-scratch boston cream pie we had for dessert, actually (though everyone else helped themselves to seconds and even thirds of the boston cream pie).

Harvey Cranberry Gel
1 (6oz) raspberry gelatin mix (or two 3oz)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (or use fresh, sliced/chopped oranges, if you prefer)
1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

In a large, pretty bowl that you wish to serve your cranberry gel in*, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, then add cold water. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Fold remaining ingredients into chilled gelatin and chill in fridge until firm (2-3 hours).

*you can always prepare this in a large, normal bowl, then pour into a lightly greased mold or 8x11 dish after folding in the remaining ingredients

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies... How Christmas Tastes

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, beautiful morning runs in Kentucky these are a few of my favorite things.

Honestly, I am a little slap happy while writing this (can't you tell from the above attempt at a song?). It's 3am and I am up because something woke me at exactly the 4 hour mark in my sleep cycle, that small window in which, if I am woken up, I cannot get back to sleep.

Just a fair warning, I can be a jerk 4 hours into my sleep cycle. Deal with it. (note: I love you, J!)

Actually, instead of dealing with it, you should make these cookies, because they could even make a very-grumpy-me content enough to stop complaining about lack of sleep...maybe. Oh well. I am off to go try something ridiculous in my kitchen (I will tell you about it later) at 3am and then to spin class at 5:30am in an attempt to not waste this early morning. Wish me luck.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
1 ¼ c butter, softened

2 c sugar

2 eggs

10 oz bag Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips*, divided
(*I had a hard time finding these, so I used the candy cane Hershey's Kisses and chopped them up instead, but the baking chips are less work, if you can find them)

¾ c unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and blend well. Combine cocoa, baking soda, salt and flour; then blend into creamed mixture. Add peppermint baking chips, reserving ⅓ c. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. This is a wet, sticky dough. Top with a few reserved baking chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Do not over-bake. Cookies will be soft. They will puff during baking, but flatten a little upon cooling. Cool on cookie sheet until set, about 3 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Christmas parties everywhere, every night. That's what December is for. Of Course, one should never show up to a party empty-handed, so here's a fun treat you can take with you next time you go to a holiday shindig. The glossy finish on the balls makes them a real treat that you can be proud of. They are a little labor intensive, but drag a friend into the kitchen and put on some dancing music and you will never notice.

Also, please please please keep these pure and use real Kentucky bourbon. I personally used Four Roses, but there are quite a number of good distilleries from Kentucky to choose from. These are not terribly strong, so you won't get tipsy off of them, but you can definitely taste the bourbon. This recipe is classic and definitely not that rum ball recipe that you find everywhere else. I personally much prefer these with their sweet, white insides.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls
From Beyond the Fence (a Kentucky cookbook)

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 block paraffin wax, shaved
Whole pecans, 1 to top each bourbon ball with

Spread chopped nuts in a shallow bowl and pour bourbon over nuts. Let soak overnight. The following day, in a separate bowl, combine butter, 4 cups sugar, and soaked nuts Mix thoroughly until mixture is consistent. Add remaining 1 cup sugar and mix well by hand. Using 1 tablespoon scoop, evenly scoop balls, rolling each into a sphere in your hand. Lay rolled balls on wax paper. Chill balls for at least 10 minutes in the fridge. In the meantime, prepare chocolate by melting chocolate and wax in a double boiler. Stir until melted and consistent throughout. Dip each ball into chocolate with a toothpick and allow excess chocolate to drip off before returning to wax paper. Place a pecan half on top of each ball before the chocolate hardens.

Should make 48 balls (I suggest to make them smaller than a tablespoon to get 48)

Spiced Sweet Potato Souffle

Sweet potatoes have to be one of the best vegetables ever. They are sweet like candy and are packed with tons of nutrients. If you follow that old rule that goes, "the more color a veggie has, the better for you," sweet potatoes rock the universe. They can be made into something sweet like pie or savory like baked fries, or they can be made into fancy things (hence, souffle) or just downhome goodness of mashed potatoes. Anyway, I had been dying to try a sweet potato souffle for a while, so I tested this one out for Thanksgiving. I loved it and will be making it again. I could honestly have this as dessert as well as a side, and that's fantastic news due to the fact that this dish is relatively good for you (not too much sugar or fat compared to pie or something...). I must admit, mine did fall a little, but that really is not a reason to not make this =).

Oh, and if you are not a fan of ginger and allspice and such, feel free to omit them. Some people may find the dish to reliant upon spices (too much ginger? ha. No such thing. You people are crazy.)

Spiced Sweet Potato Souffle
Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound, 12 ounces) 
  2 tablespoons butter, softened 
  1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce) 
  1/2 cup whole milk
  1 tablespoon grated orange rind 
  1/3 cup fresh orange juice 
  1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ginger1/4 teaspoon allspice3/4 teaspoon salt 2 large egg yolks 5 large egg whites 
• 
  

• Position oven rack to lowest setting, and remove the middle rack. Preheat oven to 425°.
• Coat a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.
• Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at high 10 minutes or until tender, rearranging potatoes after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Slice each potato in half, then scoop out the insides with a spoon (this is easier than peeling the potatoes, in my opinion). Combine potatoes and butter, and mash with a potato masher until smooth.
• Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, potato mixture, half-and-half, and next 8 ingredients (through egg yolks) in a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl.
• Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with a mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into potato mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dish. Sharply tap dish 2 or 3 times on the counter to level. Place dish on a baking sheet; place baking sheet in a 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove soufflé from oven). Bake 1 hour or until soufflé is puffy, golden, and set. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Delight

While looking through some old (1960's and 70's) cookbooks that my roommate and her mom found while antiquing, I came across this recipe. I had to try it. I mean, it's called "Pumpkin Delight." It's the perfect season to try such things, even if it means using a cake mix. This recipe ends up being almost like pumpkin pie filling, topped with something like a a thick, sweet, pecan-studded crust/shortbread. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an easy dessert to serve to a group

Pumpkin Delight

1 (29 oz.) Can Pumpkin 

1 (13 oz.) Can Evaporated Milk 

1 Cup Sugar 

¼ teas. Pumpkin Pie Spice 

½ teas. Cinnamon 

3 Eggs 

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix 

1 Cup Pecans (chopped) 

1 Cup Butter or Margarine (melted)

Beat together pumpkin, milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and eggs. Pour into a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle on pecans. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake at 350F for 1 hour. Chill. Cut into squares, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!

Pecan Pie Bars

• Yay fall. I made these last week for a Statistics study session. Only 4 people came, so there were plenty of leftovers for me to take to Tuesday Night at my friends' house, where the boys quickly devoured them. As you can see, I barely managed to get a picture before these bars disappeared!
• Pecan Pie Bars
  Adapted from Southern Living's Utterly Deadly Pecan Pie
• 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4-6 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 8 large eggs
• 3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk milk
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 3 cups pecan halves
• Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour and salt into a bowl, add oil; mix with a fork. Sprinkle water 1 tablespoon at a time until moistened and dough forms a bowl. If it seems to wet (should be the consistency of a pie crust dough), add flour; too dry, add water. Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan until the bottom is completely and evenly covered. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

• Remove crust/pan from oven and let cool. Turn oven to 325°.  Whisk eggs in a large bowl until foamy; whisk in brown sugar and next 6 ingredients. Pour mixture into pan (on top of the crust), and top with pecan halves. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 300°, and bake 30 more minutes. Turn oven off, and let pie stand in oven, with door closed, 3 hours.

My First Attempt at Stollen

Stollen, my favorite sweet bread, at least until I try something new again.

Although I definitely do not enjoy spending an entire day reading for class and having to drink coffee by the gallon (one can only read about political theory and history for so many hours before having to fight off sleep), I do enjoy having an entire day devoted to sitting on the couch, which is conveniently located just a few yards from my kitchen.

Such vast amounts of reading need to be punctuated by physical activity, and by "physical activity" I mean kneading dough, measuring ingredients, and pulling various pans and bowls out of my cabinets. This bread definitely kept me busy and provided some nice breaks during my reading. I started it at 7:30am and finished it at about 1pm. Also, since the dough makes 2 loaves, so I baked one and I froze the other just at the stage before baking so that I can have one later when I want something sweet and holiday-like, but do not have the 6 hours to make it.

Overall, grad school and working is a bit hard to juggle (especially when you throw in my 5-day-a-week exercise regimen), but cooking and baking is here to stay... for now.

The beautiful layers of sugar on top remind me of undisturbed snowfall on a winter morning. No wonder this is a great holiday treat.

Stollen
Adapted from David Lebovitz

You can certainly swap out any dried fruits you want although I’d keep the tang of the dried cherries or cranberries in there, if you can find them; the little nuggets will brighten up your winter just a bit.

⅔ cup dark raisins

⅔ cup golden raisins

½ cup dried cranberries or cherries

⅓ cup dark rum

1 cup slivered or sliced almonds, lightly toasted

¼ cup water

2 ½ (one envelope) teaspoons active dry yeast

½ cup milk (whole or low-fat), at room temperature

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour (or use similar amount all-purpose flour)

½ cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons ground dried ginger

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest

¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract, or 1/2 teaspoon of powdered vanilla

1 cup, plus ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

1 large egg yolk

½ cup chopped candied ginger *optional. I feel this would be so good in it, but I did not have any, so I omitted it and the bread was still divine

½ cup diced candied citrus peel (I made my own as per the directions here)

½ cup powdered sugar, or more, if necessary

1. Mix both kinds of raisins with the cranberries or cherries with the dark rum or orange juice, then cover. In another bowl, mix the almonds with the water, and cover. Let both sit at least an hour, or overnight.

2. Pour the milk in a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir briefly, then stir in 1 cup of the flour until smooth to make a starter. Cover, and let rest one hour.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, or by hand, stir together the remaining 2 ½ cups flour, the rye flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon of the dried ginger, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, citrus zest, and vanilla. Pour in the 1 cup of the melted butter, honey, and the egg yolk, and mix on medium speed until the mixture is moistened uniformly.

4. While mixing, add the yeasted starter, one-third at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Once added, continue to beat for about four minutes until almost smooth: it should resemble cookie dough. Add the dried fruits (and any liquid), candied ginger, citrus peel, and almonds, and beat until they’re well-distributed

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead a few times, then place back in the mixer bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place for one hour.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead the dough again, then return it to the bowl. Let rest for another hour.

7. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape each one into a oval, and place them evenly-spaced apart on a baking sheet (I used my stoneware one).

8. Cover the loaves with a clean tea towel and let rest in a warm place for one hour.

9. Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the tea towel and bake the loaves for 45 minutes, or until they’re deep golden brown.

10. While they loaves are baking, mix together the remaining ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon dried ginger. When the breads come out of the oven, generously brush the remaining ¾ cup melted butter over the hot loaves, letting the butter saturate the breads, repeating until all the butter is absorbed.

(Feel free to lift the loaves to saturate the bottoms. Just make sure you don’t break the loaves.)

11. Rub the gingered sugar mixture over the top and side of each loaf then let rest on the baking sheet until room temperature.

12. Sift the powdered sugar over, under, and around the breads, rubbing it in with your hands. They wrap the loaves on the baking sheet in a large plastic bag and let them sit for two days. After two days, the loaves are ready to eat, or can be wrapped as gifts. You may wish to sift additional powdered sugar over the top in case they need another dusting.

Storage: Stollen can be stored for at least a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. Or frozen for at least one month.