Lemon Cream Pie

For my sister's Shabbat sheva brachot, (way back in August, when I was in New York!) I put myself in charge of making dessert. I went a bit crazy, makings two different types of truffles, two different types of biscotti and two different types of frozen pies. (Having just received a copy of Icebox Pies, it was clear they would be of the cold variety. Also helped break the heat!!) The first pie to catch my eye was none other than the Lemon Cream Pie, also the first pie recipe in the book. The idea is a familiar one, whipped cream folded into homemade lemon curd and poured into a graham cracker crust. Yum. I don't know anyone who can resist the delightful tang of lemon curd especially when mellowed by cream. Even my father, who is one picky dessert eater, stealthily went back for seconds. I used store bought graham cracker crust because that's what I had on hand, but I encourage you to make your own, it is so much better that way. As far as the lemon curd goes, it is quite easy but since it is made with whole eggs, you'll have a lot of straining to do to get all the cooked egg white out. Don't be lazy, strain as many times as you can. It makes all the difference.

Biscuit Cake

My commander recently got married, and to celebrate we threw her a little surprise party at the beginning of last week. I was told to make a cheesecake and planned to make a white chocolate cheesecake and some brownies with a cheese topping (for another post!). Well, the cheesecake flopped, so I was back to the drawing board. I flipped through ALL my cookbooks and finally decided to make this biscuit cake. The original recipe comes from Carine Goren's Sweet Secrets but is heavily adapted and doesnt resemble the original in anyway. I basically made the cream and layered it with vanilla and chocolate biscuits and topped with some mocha sauce I had laying around. The result was so delicious and for some reason, nostalgic. It reminded one of my friends of a cake her mother made growing up and it brought me back to one of my first baking experiences ever- making a no-bake biscuit cake in my sixth grade baking group. This cake is not only super easy to make but is lick-the-bowl-clean delicious. Make sure to freeze this cake so it's firm and sliceable. It's kind of messy to eat no matter what, but that makes it even better, I think. Putting this one in the drawer for Shavuot!

The Show Must Go On Concord Cake

Last Friday night, my dear friend Abby hosted a Thanksgiving dinner and she asked me to make dessert. I researched and researched and had settled on the All in One Holiday Bundt cake when she called me. I asked her if she had any last minute requests and she shyly copped to be craving chocolate mousse. Being that she's pregnant, I of course wanted to accommodate this craving but with mousse, raw eggs tends to be a problem. Back to the books I went! I found a recipe for this classic Concord Cake in one of my newer books by Israeli baker and patissier Ben Ami. The cake is made of two discs of chocolate meringue layered with chocolate mousse and then decorated with pieces of meringue. I bought all the ingredients Thursday night and quickly put together the mousse component that had to chill overnight. The next day I got to making the meringue. And there's where things started going awry. Some parts of the baked meringue tasted fine and some, oddly, tasted off. I refused to use them. So why do I call this The Show Must Go On Concord Cake? Because instead of chucking the entire cake, I used the good meringue to make a meringue crust and then I poured all of the mousse on top. I then topped it with the meringue pieces. Dessert saved! It got rave reviews and no one was the wiser. Obviously, next time I'd like to make this cake the way it was meant to be made. Additionally, I would top the cake with the meringue pieces just before serving because they got a bit soggy. Make sure that this is thoroughly chilled before serving, my mousse was a bit soft because it sat through shul. Still delicious, just soft. Below is the the recipe for the original. Should something go wrong though, improvise!

Frozen Ganache Shortbread Bars

I'm sorry the pictures for this dessert aren't better, but this was Shabbat dessert and I couldn't photograph on Shabbat. I was asked to bring dessert for Friday night dinner and thankfully, it didn't take much research to decide on these cookies. This recipe is another one I'm keeping under wraps but use any shortbread base and your favorite ganache to simulate your own version of these fudgy and deliciously cold bars. They were a hit for me and they will be for you, any way you choose to make them. I might try my hand at flavoring the ganache with extract or liqueur and sprucing up the shortbread base to match. The possibilities are endless but all I know is that a cold, chocolate dessert on a hot August day is just the ticket.

Mango Sorbet

Here's the mango sorbet that I promised you. Originally I intended to make an apricot sorbet but the supermarket that I went into Thursday night was out, indicating that apricot season was effectively over. Disheartened, I looked around and saw mangoes. Now, I personally am really not a fan of mango at all, but I walked over to them anyway and they were perfectly ripe. Mango sorbet it would be. I picked up three of them and took em on home. Like the plum sorbet, this was super easy to make. Well, almost super easy. I don't have much experience cutting mango so I thought I would cut myself a couple of times. The other challenging part for me was straining the puree. The recipe doesnt call for it straining but I wanted super smooth sorbet so I took the time to do it. A bit messy and time consuming, but definitely worth it. More so than the plum sorbet, the mango sorbet really was really true to the fruit's flavor. I omitted the rum from the recipe and substituted lemon juice for the lime juice and the result was still great; clean and fresh. If you're looking for something easy to make, freeze your ice cream maker work bowl today so you can have refreshing sorbet tomorrow! In this summer heat, how can you resist??

Plum Sorbet

Shavua tov! The whole of last week led up to a big Shabbat meal I hosted as a sort of pre-draft get together with all my friends. Thank G-d, it was a success, but this week now leads up to the draft itself, on Thursday. Ahh!! In any case, planning the meal was super fun and this time, with my new (used) ice cream maker in hand, Shabbat dessert was a no-brainer: fresh, homemade fruit sorbet. As you can see, I made a plum sorbet. When I was in the shuk last week, I saw Santa Rosa plums and figured that in one form another, the latest additions to the market would make it into dessert. I opened up my copy of The Perfect Scoop and found a recipe for Plum Raspberry Sorbet. Since raspberries are hard to find here, fresh or frozen, and are quite expensive even if you do manage to find them, I decided to adapt the recipe into a plum only recipe. The sorbet couldn't have been easier to make. Cook together plums, sugar, water. Cool, blend and churn. Done. The cooking turned the final product a beautiful color I don't even know the name of! And the flavor was so fresh and clean and summery. I served these with gingersnaps (more on those later) which I thought was a great pairing and David Lebovitz agrees; I only saw afterwards his recommendation to serve these in gingersnap ice cream cones. Anyway, if you want to take advantage of the fruits of the season, make some sorbet. I have leftover cherries that a guest brought... can you guess what I'm going to make with them once they're all pitted??

Chocolate Sorbet

This weekend, I hosted my very first Shabbat meal in my apartment! And, be proud, for the first time in a long time, my dessert choice came easily to me! As the summer progresses and the days get hotter, I find the need for something cool and refreshing increases. So I whipped out my copy of The Perfect Scoop and looked around for information. In this definitive volume devoted to all things ice cream, David Lebovitz provides no shortage of inspiration. Seeing as I have no ice cream maker, I didn't want to use a million egg yolks, and dairy was off limits, I headed to the chapter on sorbets. The fruit sorbets sounded delicious, (the cherry sorbet stood out as it's prime cherry season here!) but I passed them over in favor of the rich and decadent Chocolate Sorbet. Made with only the best cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate, this sorbet packs a powerful punch. Add the chill factor and you have a wonderful, refreshing, and refreshingly different Shabbat dessert. If you have an ice cream maker, this is a breeze to prepare. If you don't, and I don't (I asked around electronic shops here, apparently they dont carry them anymore in this country- shame!), you can still make this by chilling the base and then beating it every half hour to break up the ice crystals. The texture isn't as smooth as if machine churned, but this version doesn't suffer too much. Out of sheer laziness, and the late hour, I didn't blend before starting the freezing process, but I don't think it mattered. Also, for easier mixing, I poured the base into a nine inch pan.  I would suggest though, pouring the base into a tall container when you're finished the "churning" process as the increased surface area of the pan allows the sorbet to melt faster. No one complained about the fudgy, melty texture, in fact this was a big hit, but I would have preferred nice, clean, unmelted scoops of sorbet. 

Lemon Chiffon Pie in Gingersnap Crust

I've been baking a lot lately, but things have been crazy and I am just now finding the time to post. The girls' banquet or sob fest was last night and most of them are leaving in the next couple of days so my time is freeing up for a bit before I move. Crazy! Two weekends ago, when I went to A for Shabbat, I brought over this Lemon Chiffon Pie. Something mousse-like was requested and I immediately went for lemon. I figured a chiffon pie would be perfect and indeed, made with a homemade gingersnap crust, it was. In my humble opinion, gingersnap and lemon are perfectly complementary and everyone else agreed. Light and refreshing, it's the perfect summertime dessert. However, there are a couple of technical things I'd do differently. The recipe for the chiffon pie comes from the book Pie by Ken Haedrich. He calls for one envelope of gelatin and not knowing what the Israeli equivalent was, I used 2 teaspoons. I think it was too much as the end product was a but too... jiggly for my liking. I loved the texture of it when it was still mousse-like, not all the way set. I think the next time I make this, and there will be a next time (even if I only make the filling as a dessert) I'd cut the gelatin back to the vicinity of a teaspoon, a teaspoon and a quarter. Otherwise, I have no complaints. All my eaters were happy. My roommate ate the leftovers of this pie all the way to the last crumb.

Chocolate Refrigerator Cake

I had a beautiful Shabbat this past weekend, spent with friends in one of my favorite places, the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. For both of my meals, I was put on dessert duty. I'm always happy to make desserts but lately I've been realizing that it's easier to make difficult life decisions than decide what to make for dessert. It's actually pretty sad :) I spent part of my in-day on Tuesday researching desserts (yes, baking constitutes research for me!) that would be great for a hot day and as I was flipping through all my books I was hit with inspiration. Chocolate Refrigerator Cake! Or Cookies and Cream Cake. Whichever you think will elicit a better reaction from your eaters.This cake comes from the fifties but is no less of a success now than it was then. Made with chocolate wafer cookies layered with whipped cream and then stacked in rows in a pan, the cake is chilled overnight where the cookies soften into a wonderful cake-like consistency. You can use store-bought chocolate wafers or make your own, as I chose to do here. I used the recipe from the Cookie Companion but you can also use the cocoa wafer recipe found here. Once the cookies are made, this is a breeze to put together. The response to this dessert was overwhelmingly positive. At both meals where I served this, people LOVED it! With cookies and cream involved, it's not too difficult to understand why, but still my roommate placed this in her favorites of all time category and she's been eating my baking for two years now! Needless to say, if you're looking for a fun dessert to make this summer, this should be it.

Easiest Chocolate Mousse Pie

This Shabbat was spent with my friend L in Efrat by a former teacher who we've been in touch with over the years. When asked if we could bring anything we were told no but what kind of guests go to a host empty handed? So, with chocolate in mind, I whipped up the easiest but still quite impressive recipe I had on hand, Easiest Chocolate Mousse Pie, from Lori Longbotham. (I actually have the chocolate deck, but I assume that it appears in the book form as well.) Seriously, this dessert lives up to its name. I made it in ten minutes. Ok, maybe fifteen not including freezing time but still, super fast. I hadnt tasted this at all and was convinced that if it was so easy it couldnt be that good but I was told otherwise! M's husband reassured me that he was eating it not to make me feel good but because it was good. Really good. I sent M the recipe. I think that is the best compliment one can receive with regards to a recipe. I mixed vanilla and chocolate biscuits because I didnt have enough chocolate ones, which I think added something different to the look of it. Feel free to use all chocolate or all vanilla next time. I also froze the pie make it more of a frozen dessert than a mousse but it can be refrigerated instead if you opt for the mousse route. Either way you go, it'll be fine. If you are going to freeze it, be sure to let it thaw for five or so minutes at room temperature so that it's somewhat sliceable.

Easiest Chocolate Mousse Pie

from Lori Longbotham

Crust:

9 ounces chocolate wafers

6 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Mousse:

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup brewed coffee (I used 1/2 cup boiling water and 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder)

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Butter a nine inch springform pan. Set aside.
Place the cookies in a food processor and grind to a fine powder. Slowly pour in the margarine with the machine on.
Dump the crumbs into the pan,
and pat into the bottom evenly and up the sides of the pan. Set aside.
Have ready your coffee.
Place the chocolate and coffee in a pot or saucepan or microwaveable bowl.
Melt until smooth. Let cool for five minutes.
Place the cream, vanilla and salt in a bowl
and whip until stiff peaks form.
Add the chocolate mixture in three batches, folding well.
The mousse.
Pour into the pan and smooth. Refrigerate or freeze as desired.

Shabbat Dessert Roundup Part 3: Sunshine Orange Semifreddo

To me, it’s a no-brainer that Shabbat afternoon dessert for a day that is blisteringly hot should be cold and creamy. I’ve ragged on and on about the Israeli heat and in this small way I feel I can battle it that much easier. That’s right, cold desserts. And air conditioning, of course. This was the finale to a very cute and cleverly themed Burgers Bar (the ubiquitous burger joint here in Israel) meal, hosted by friends of mine, R and I. I’ve renamed this dessert, which comes from Flo Braker’s Desserts for All Occasions, Creamsicle Cake, both because it tastes just like creamsicle and because explaining semifreddo is just too complicated. I loved this dessert- it was light and creamy and perfectly orange flavored over a crunchy cookie crumb base. You can choose to add the orange flavored liqueur or opt to leave it out, as I did. The filling starts with reduced orange juice and is then cooked with eggs and some sugar. Once the desired temperature to kill all the bacteria is reached the eggs are then beaten until thickened and whipped cream is folded in. It is then poured over the baked crust and frozen until solid. Care must be taken to eat it either in an air conditioned room or fast, as it will melt otherwise. The only thing I would do differently is to bake the cookie crust a bit less, or use a softer cookie to begin with, so the crust is not as crunchy. It was a tad difficult to cut all the way through and chew although I did enjoy the contrast of crunchy and creamy. This dessert is a definite keeper and got rave reviews. I’m particularly proud of this one and I hope to actually repeat it. Which would be a first.

Sunshine Orange Semifreddo or Creamsicle Cake
adapted from Flo Braker's Baking for all Occasions

Crust:
150 grams zwieback toasts, graham crackers or tea biscuits
2 tbsp powdered sugar
2 ounces chocolate chips or bar chocolate
3 ounces butter or margarine, melted and cooled

Filling:
2 cups strained fresh orange juice
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9inch springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place the crackers, chocolate, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor.Grind into a find powder.Add the margarine or butter and pulse briefly to distribute.Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.Pat the crumbs into the pan to form an even crust and bake for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cover and place in the freezer. To make the filling, place the orange juice in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the juice is reduced to one cup. Set aside to cool completely.Meanwhile, place the cream in a large metal bowl,and whip until soft peaks form. Cover and set aside while you continue with the filling.Add the sugar, corn syrup and egg yolks to the cooled orange juice.Whisk until thoroughly blended. Place over low heat and whisk constantly until the mixture registers 170 on a thermometer.
Pour the orange-egg mixture into a bowl. Place ice cubes underneath the bowl to cool it down. Using a handheld mixer, beat the mixture until it is cold, light and fluffy. The time will depend on your mixer. It could take as long as twenty minutes.

When the mixture is thoroughly beaten, add the cream.Gently fold to combine.

Pour the batter into the pan and smooth evenly over the crust. Freeze overnight.

Milk Chocolate Mousse Meringue Cake

I made this cake for C and D's engagement party but I didnt bring it. Why, you ask? Well... I was embarrassed. This cake, which I adapted and sort of messed up, was no looker. So I stashed it in the freezer and pretended I didnt make it at all. Until my friend A told me after the party that she craved something sweet and I confessed to having this. Her eyes widened and she demanded some. So I got some plates and forks and we tasted it and let me tell you, I was shocked. At how good this cake was! It was amazing! There was perfect contrast between the crunchy, nutty meringue layers and the smooth milk chocolate mousse with an unexpectedly yummy hit from the hazelnut powder that I impulsively decided to throw in. It was so good I was glad I had saved it from people who may have not appreciated it. Right there, we polished off a nice wedge of cake. It was so good that some girls from the dorm, snuck into the freezer and evened the cake out to half. They never asked and they were no friends of mine so I still dont know who did it and while I think that might be a bit... unethical, could I really blame them?? The rest of the cake went to Adi, who lovingly and happily polished off every last bite over the course of a couple of days. The original cake was supposed to have different flavored chocolate mousses in between each layer but I chose only one so as not to overwhelm the palate with competing flavors. I also burned the third meringue layer-- that day was not a successful one; just one of the many mishaps that happened in the kitchen that day. I froze the ganache which I think caused it to be watery and therefore far liquidier when spreading than I would have liked. But after being parked in the freezer, no one was the wiser. The parts can be made ahead of the time and the cake assembled when you're ready.

Milk Chocolate Mousse Meringue Cake

For the Mousse:
500 ml cream
300 grams milk chocolate

For the Nut Meringue:
6 egg whites
3/4 sugar
150 grams powdered sugar
100 grams ground nutsPlace the cream in a bowl and heat to a simmer.Add the milk chocolate,and stir until smooth.Chill.On the day you plan to make the cake, remove the ganache from the fridge and whip until a nice cream forms. Set aside.Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Trace three 9 inch circles on parchment paper and place on baking sheets. In a squeaky clean bowl, place the whites.Begin beating and when foamy, gradually add the white sugar.Beat until peaks form. Place the powdered sugar and nuts on top,and gently fold to combine.Divide the batter evenly among the three pieces of parchment and bake until crisp, dark and dried out. Allow to cool.On your serving plate, place one meringue disc and pour a third of the ganache on top. Spread evenly, covering all the edges.


Sprinkle with hazelnut powder if desired between each layer. Repeat with the remaining layers. Freeze for best storage. This is a decadent but refreshing dessert perfect for summer! Happy Baking!

Shabbat Dessert Round Up Part 2- Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

This past weekend I hosted Shabbat lunch. I opted for a dairy meal because I wanted to avoid heaviness on such a long, hot day. That meant that I could go all out and actually make a dairy dessert, something that never gets to happen because it is forbidden by Jewish law to eat dairy and meat together. I had lots of milk chocolate and regular chocolate to use up and being as I've had my eye on these Peanut Butter Crispy Bars from Baked, these were what I was going to make. The bottom is rice crispies covered with a candy-like syrup. It does involve a candy thermometer, but it's not that intimidating, I promise! The only difficult part of these is waiting for the layers to chill to move on to the next one. The second layer is a dreamy mixture of milk chocolate and peanut butter. Although the milk chocolate isn't that detectable flavor-wise, it adds a delicate creaminess that enhances the peanut butter. Oh, and the top is a smooth, slick layer of chocolate. We're basically talking a Reese's peanut butter cup with rice crispy bottom. In fact, you could even make these in little mini muffin tins without the crispy layer and actually have an identical treat! Salivating, yet? This dessert received raves-- my friends loved them. They're a bit decadent so I cut them into twelve servings instead of the stated nine. Keep them in the freezer for longer storage. I assure you, though, they'll disappear on you even in the freezer. That's what happened to me.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Crust:
1 3/4 cups crisp rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Second Layer:
5 ounces milk chocolate
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Top:
3 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 tsp corn syrup
4 tbsp butter or margarineGrease an 8x8 inch pan and set aside. Place the rice crispies in a bowl; set aside.In a saucepan, place 1/4 cup water and the sugar and corn syrup. Take care not to get any on the sides of the pan. Gently stir to combine. Put a candy thermometer in the pan.Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the syrup registers 235 degrees on the thermometer.Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the mixture over the cereal,and stir thoroughly to combine.Press into the greased pan and set aside. Place the chocolate and peanut butter in a bowl.Microwave slowly until almost melted. Stir until smooth.Pour over the crust,and spread until smooth. Place in the fridge or freezer to set up.For the final layer, place the topping ingredients in a small bowl.Microwave slowly and stir until smooth.Pour over the peanut butter layer, and spread slowly to cover completely. Freeze until set and until ready to use. Just before, remove from the freezer and use a bench knife to cut them. They're good straight from the freezer but are also really yummy with just a slight chill still on them. I didn't mange to photograph them because they all literally disappeared from the pan in the freezer. Maybe next time!