I’ve been meaning to do this recipe for quite some time, but a friend’s birthday lunch finally inspired me. While these swans look quite elegant and complicated, they really are quite simple to do. A little practice with a pastry bag is all that is required! For the swans: 6 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup flour 3 eggs For the filling: 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup lemon curd
Betty's special version of this quick and easy dessert. No cooking, frying or baking! 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup lemon curd 3/4 cup crushed puff pastry cookies 1. Whip cream until stiff 2. Stir lemon curd to loosen and stir in about a half cup of the whipped cream. 3. Mix the cream and lemon curd mixture. Place some of the crushed cookies in a serving dish, top with some of the lemon mixture, layer with more cookies and cream. Garnish the top with a sprinkle of the cookies. Betty's special guest assistants: Lucy (L) & Maya (R)
This is the perfect homemade dessert for those who think they cannot bake and for those who can too! Preheat oven to 425 degrees and have ready a baking dish large enough to hold fruit.
2 lbs. peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (or fruit of your choice)
For the topping:
3/4 cup flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 oz. cold unsalted butter, diced
Combine flour, sugar, salt and almonds and process until nuts are roughly chopped. Add cold butter cubes and process just until mixture starts to "clump".
Spread fruit evenly in baking dish and sprinkle topping over it.
Bake until topping is brown and fruit is bubbling. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
Panettone is a rich, eggy bread with raisins, citron and citrus peel usually found at the holidays. It originated in Milan but is now found all over Europe as well as the U.S.
While it is delicious as is or toasted for breakfast, it makes a wonderful bread pudding. It can be a simple dessert or you can fancy it up by adding some crème anglaise You can make it truly elegant by adding a bruleé topping and serving it with an individual sauce boat of the crème anglaise. Because both the pudding and the sauce can be made ahead, it's a perfect dessert to prepare for company.
Panettone Bread Pudding
½ lb. panettone, cubed
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
Butter a 9 x 6 baking dish and add panettone cubes.
Whisk eggs and sugar, add remaining ingredients and whsk to combine.
Pour over bread cubes and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes, pressing down on bread cubes a few times.
You may cover the dish and refrigerate overnight if you so desire.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake pudding for about 45 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.
Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before serving.
This is a cake I developed many years ago for a friend whose father imported chocolate and cocoa from Holland. It is quite chocolatey and rich with an interesting texture. It doesn't require frosting but a dollop of whipped cream goes very well - and a few raspberries don't hurt either!
The cake keeps, covered, very well for a few days and also freezes well.
You will get 12 - 16 servings from this cake. If you are serving a smaller group, divide the mixture into 2 7" cake pans. Enjoy one cake now and freeze the second.
Grease a 10" cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and grease again.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Dissolve coffee powder in Amaretto.
Beat sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until incorporated into mixture. Beat in coffee mixture, cocoa, almonds and Amaretti crumbs.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry.
Mix in ¼ of the egg whites into chocolate mixture then fold in remaining whites with a large rubber spatula.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack, peel off parchment paper and invert onto another rack to cool completely.
Transfer to serving dish and dust with powdered sugar.
NOTE: If you don't have Amaretto liqueur, substitute ¼ cup water with 1 teaspoon almond extract.
A great dessert for a cold winter's day. Easier to make than pie and just as good. Perfect for a beginning baker.
Apple Crumble
For the Crumble:
2 ¼ cups flour
¾ cup unrefined brown sugar (demerara)
7 ounces butter, cubed, at room temperature
1 cup crushed Amaretti cookies
For the filling:
1½ lbs. apples
¼ cup unrefined brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and flour and gradually rub in the butter cubes using your fingers until mixture resembles crumbs. Toss in the crushed cookies.
Peel and dice apples, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon and toss with apples.
Place in a buttered 2 quart baking dish, or individual dishes, top with crumbs and bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice-cream.
The crumble freezes well.
Notes: If you can't find Demerara sugar, substitute brown sugar. If you can't find Amaretti, ginger snaps would work well or you can simply eliminate the cookies altogether.
You can also make the crumble in a food processor but you would want the butter to be very cold.
This is a recipe I have been making for years. I have seen it referred to as Warm Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Lava Cake, Chocolate Fondant and even Italian Souffle!
It's a great dinner party dessert since you can make it the day before and hold it in the refrigerator or even freeze it. Just be sure to allow it to return to room temperature before baking!
Warm Chocolate Cakes
6 oz. butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons flour
Additional butter for greasing molds
Additional flour and cocoa for molds
Butter 6 6oz. molds and coat with flour mixed with cocoa powder.*
In a heavy pan, heat butter and chocolate together over very low heat until the chocolate is almost completely melted. While that’s heating beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick.
Beat together the melted chocolate and butter; it should be quite warm. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.
Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.)
Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the molds on a tray for about 10 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set.
Invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately with a little whipped cream and a few raspberries, if desired.
*Be sure to butter the molds well. I always use flour mixed with cocoa, in about equal parts for anything chocolate. It prevents the finished product having a white coating!
For some reason the mere mention of the word soufflé can strike fear into the hearts of even the most experienced chefs - never mind home cooks!
Actually, all you need is a recipe, some time, be willing to pay attention to detail and some willing candidates to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don't wait for an important dinner party to give this a try - give your family an amazing treat.
Chocolate Soufflés
For the pastry cream:
¾ cup milk
⅓ cup superfine sugar*
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons flour
Put the milk and two-thirds of the sugar in a small pan and slowly bring to a boil. Put the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl and whisk until light and thickened then beat in the flour. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return to the pan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly.
For the soufflés:
½ cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
4 ounces chocolate - you may use semisweet or bittersweet - finely chopped
5 egg whites
2 tablespoons superfine sugar*
*If you can’t find superfine sugar, simply whiz regular sugar in a food processor briefly.
Preheat the oven to 400º and put a baking sheet in to heat. Butter and coat with sugar two 4” soufflé dishes (you may also use 4 smaller dishes). Fold the cocoa and chopped chocolate into the pastry cream.
Beat the egg whites until foamy then gradually add the 2 tablespoons sugar until soft peaks form. Fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the pastry cream then carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites using a rubber spatula.
Divide the mixture between the soufflé dishes to the top, smoothing gently. Transfer to the baking sheet and cook for 10 to 14 minutes until risen. Remove from the oven, place on a serving plate and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately.
Note: You may make the pastry cream a day ahead and bring to room temperature before proceeding. The soufflé dishes may be filled and covered and can wait for 30 minutes before baking.
I recently invited some friends for a "proper" Afternoon Tea. I served
the obligatory cucumber sandwiches and smoked salmon sandwiches along
with shrimp salad rolls, scones with butter and raspberry jam, mini
lemon meringue tarts, fresh fruit and Brandy Snaps. I don't think any
of the women there had tasted Brandy Snaps before and they were the hit
of the afternoon. I'm happy to share the recipe with you.
Brandy Snaps
Ingredients:
¼ cup light corn syrup ¼ cup molasses ½ cup butter 1 cup flour ⅔ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons brandy
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat the syrup and molasses to boiling. Remove from heat and add butter.
Combine the flour, sugar and ginger. Add gradually, while stirring to molasses mixture. Mix well. Add brandy.
Drop by half-teaspoonfuls three inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake ten minutes or until large bubbles have subsided.
Remove from oven, loosen one cookie at a time and roll over handle
of a wooden spoon. Slip off carefully. Serve filled with whipped cream.
Variation: Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets for cookie "baskets".
Use a large cookie sheet and make two at a time. Bake at 325° for 10 to
12 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to set for a moment or two and drape
over inverted custard cups. Let sit until crisp.
Cautions: Do not attempt to make these on a humid day!
Do not fill with cream until an hour or so before you are ready to serve - they will dissolve.
As American as apple pie. We’ve all heard that many, many times. But apple pie is just as British as it is American - in fact, I’m sure the Brits were making it long before the Americans. In my opinion, Brownies are the All-American dessert. If you travel to Britain or France, you will see offerings of American Brownies but never American Apple Pie! So here is my recipe for what I immodestly call the Ultimate Brownie:
Ingredients:
6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (1½ sticks) ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1⅔ cups sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour ¼ pound good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate very coarsely chopped 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and butter the foil. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, add the cocoa. Whisk until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until blended. Add 1 egg and whisk until just blended.
Whisk in the vanilla and the second egg until just blended. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just blended. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts and stir until combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with small, gooey clumps of brownie sticking to it, 33 to 38 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies won’t be fudgy. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.
Lift foil and remove brownies from pan. Remove foil and, using a sharp knife, cut into four strips then cut each strip into four squares.
Whether you are preparing a romantic dinner for two, or want a show-stopping dessert for a dinner party, this recipe ticks all the boxes!
I was astonished to find that the recipe originated from my hometown of Aberdeen, Scotland. Of course the English claim credit and call it “Cambridge Burnt Cream” - not an appetizing-sounding dessert at all. The Scots and the French were firm allies for years so whether it actually was a French recipe or not will probably never be known.
In any event, it is remarkably simple to prepare but it does require a kitchen torch to achieve the proper crisp caramel topping. It can be made the day before and stored, covered with plastic wrap. An hour or two before serving, remove the plastic wrap and gently blot any moisture that may have gathered on top with a paper towel. Apply the topping and refrigerate until serving.
Ingredients for 2 servings
1 cup of heavy cream, scalded
¼ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
¼ cup Demerara sugar for topping
Preheat oven to 325º.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined.
Gradually add scalded milk, whisking continually
Add salt and vanilla and whisk until combined.
Strain through a fine sieve into a Pyrex jug.
Pour gently into two ramekins.
Prick any bubbles with a tooth pick.
Place in a baking dish and fill half-way up with hot water.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until just set.
Remove from water bath and place on a cooling rack.
Refrigerate, covered lightly with plastic wrap.
Apply a light coating of Demerara sugar and torch. Repeat.
