Category Archives: Desserts

Desserts

Mandarin Cheesecake

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Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 lbs cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 2 T cream
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 T cup orange juice concentrate
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 T water
  • 1 cups mandarins, drained
  • 1/4 cup apricot jelly
  • graham cracker pie crust

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 325F.
  2. Combine the cream cheese, flour and brown sugar. Mix well.
  3. Slowly blend in the cream and whole eggs.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks then slowly blend in the sugar.
  5. Fold the egg white mix into the cream cheese.
  6. Grease a deep cake pan. Press the graham cracker crust into the bottom of the pan.
  7. Pour in the cheese batter.
  8. Stand the cake pan in a large pan half filled with water.
  9. Bake for 1-1/2 hours or until a knife inserted in the centre pulls out clean.
  10. Cool cake. Turn out of mold and flip so graham cracker crust in underneath.
  11. Arrange mandarins decoratively on the top. Glaze with apricot jelly

Pears in Phyllo Pastry

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Ingredients

  • 1 lb pears, poached or canned, drained
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 T rum
  • 16 oz  phyllo dough
  • 3  T unsalted butter, melted

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Cut pears into cubes and mix with cinnamon and raisins.
  3. Heat honey in a pan. Stir in the pears. Simmer until reduced 1/3.
  4. Add rum. Remove from heat. Cool and refrigerate.
  5. Heat the butter.
  6. Place 3 layers of dough on a clean surface, using a pastry brush to wipe each with butter.
  7. Cut off a large square. Cover the remaining dough with a damp cloth to prevent it drying.
  8. Place a small scoop of pears in the centre of the phyllo square.
  9. Fold the corners of the pastry together and pinch shut.
  10. Brush with butter.
  11. Bake for 5-7 minutes.

Raspberry Cheese Trifle

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Trifle is a traditional dessert that combines jam, cake and custard. There are many variations. This one adds the soft taste of cheese.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 8 oz ricotta cheese
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 2 T sugar
  • 2 cups raspberries
  • 1/2 cup raspberry puree
  • 6 lady fingers, crumbled

Steps

  1. Combine the cheeses and beat until whipped.
  2. Add lemon juice and sugar to taste.
  3. Beat in 1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries and the puree.
  4. Layer parfait glasses with cheese mixture, rasperries, lady fingers, cheese mixture and raspberries.
  5. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  6. Serve with a small scoop of whipped cream.

Apple Charlotte

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Some prefer to cut off the crusts on the bread before they make this simple, sweet dessert.

Ingredients

  • 4 apples, peeled and quartered
  • 10 slices bread, white or light grained
  • 1 T sugar
  • 4 ox honey
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 T raisins
  • 1 oz calvados liqueur

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Slice the bread in rectangles
  3. Grease a baking dish or charlotte mold and sprinkle with sugar
  4. Line the bottom and sides with bread
  5. Heat the honey. Stir in the brown sugar and stir until smooth
  6. Add the apples to the honey. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  7. Stir in the raisins.
  8. Pour in calvados and stir. Remove from heat.
  9. Pour the apple mixture over the bread.
  10. Bake for 30 minutes.
  11. Cool. Turn out of mold.

Key Lime Pie

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Key lime pie is easy with this recipe.

You will need a large bowl and a mixer. Note that the filling goes in a pastry shell that has already been baked. Create a different texture and flavour by using a graham pie shell instead of a pastry pie shell. Still good.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (28 oz)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup key lime juice
  • 1/2 cup whipped cream
  • pre-baked pie shell

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Combine milk and yolks. Beat to frothy.
  3. Gradually add the lime juice.
  4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not let it brown.
  5. Cool until ready to place in fridge.
  6. Refrigerate for 2 or more hours.
  7. Garnish with whipped cream

Apple Walnut Horns

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There is a bit of time and work involved with this recipe but the results are indulgent. Try other fillings such as jam, or a mix of chopped apples, raisins and almonds.

You will need an egg separator, small covered bowl to store the egg whites overnight, large bowl, pastry fork, pastry board, medium bowl, beaters or spoon, ungreased cookie sheet.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 cup butter
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup light cream or sour cream
  • 1 T yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups walnuts, chopped fine
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Steps

  1. Pour flour into a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mix is grainy.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks.
  3. Add the cream, yeast, salt and vanilla to the eggs. Beat well.
  4. Stir into flour and mix well.
  5. Divide the dough into 2 portions, cover with a damp cloth and place in fridge to chill, at least 4 hours.
  6. Preheat oven to 350F
  7. Roll out dough on a pastry board sprinkled with granulated sugar, to 1/8 inch thick.
  8. Cut into 12 wedges.
  9. Beat egg whites until stiff.
  10. Fold in the apples, walnut and sugar.
  11. Spread a teaspoon of filling over each wedge, but not to the edge
  12. Roll up each wedge. Form into a crescent.
  13. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes until browned.
  14. Remove from sheet and cool on wire racks.

Squash Brownies

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Adding vegetables to your desserts is a terrific way to add both texture, fibre, and essential vitamins and minerals, usually with little or no change to the flavour. Recipes like this turn the diet-destroying brownie into a good thing.You can use almost any type of squash including acorn or pumpkin. You can shift the taste by using pecans or almonds instead of walnuts, or even try peanuts if allergies are not a concern. You can eat these brownies plain or try them with chocolate fudge or cream cheese icing.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup squash, cooked and mashed
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup light cream
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1-1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Beat together the squash, sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla, until light.
  3. Sift together the dry ingredients, then slowly pour into the batter. Stir until completely mixed.
  4. Stir in the nuts.
  5. Spread into a greased 13×9 inch greased pan.
  6. Bake 35 minutes.

Chocolate Pot de Creme

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup 18% cream
  • 1-1/2 oz dark chocolate, chopped or grated
  • 1 T sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp brandy, cointreau, or rum (optional)

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
  2. Use a double-boiler to melt the chocolate in 2 T of cream. Stir constantly until smooth.
  3. In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining cream and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the cream is hot, but not boiling.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually stir them into the hot milk.
  5. Whisk in the melted chocolate. Stir until smooth. Stir in liqueur if desired.
  6. Strain mixture through a sieve into 2 custard cups.
  7. Place custard cups in a small baking pan and half fill with water.
  8. Bake until the custards are set, about 20 minutes. The top will be firm but the middles will be soft in the centre.
  9. Cool custards, then refrigerate. They will firm up as the cool.
  10. Serve chilled.

Maple Creme Brulee

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There are 3 desserts that are closely related: creme brulee, creme caramel, and egg custard. Creme brulee is made the more remarkable by its crisp caramelized topping that needs to be cracked before you can access the custard.

Ingredients

  • 1 litre 18% cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup maple sugar
  • 8 egg yoks
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Heat cream and maple sugar on a medium heat until it bubbles around the edges only. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
  3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and maple syrup.
  4. Slowly pour the hot cream into the yolks, whisking constantly.
  5. Pour custard into 6 individual baking dishes.
  6. Sit the baking dishes in a baking pan, and half fill the pan with water.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes until the custard is firm, but jiggles in the middle when shaken.
  8. Before serving, sprinkle the tops with maple sugar and place under the broiler until the sugar melts (about 3 minutes). Watch carefully as you don’t want the sugar to burn.

Ginger Shortbread

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup candied ginger, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground ginger

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Cream butter.
  3. Gradually blend is sugar.
  4. Blend in flour and powdered ginger with a wooden spoon.
  5. Add the candied ginger.
  6. Knead lightly on a floured board.
  7. Form into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  8. Flatten ball and roll out into a large circle, 1/2 inch thick.
  9. Dimple the surface with a fork and score deeply into pie shapes.
  10. Bake 45 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes and cut into pieces.