Ibby and Pop» dessert

MAPLE MACAROONS

Nicki Winters — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 02:50:11 +0000

makes about 30 macaroons

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1/2 tsp organic vanilla

1/8 tsp organic almond extract

2 cups organic unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract. Add the coconut and stir until combined.

Using a tablespoon as a scooper, spoon out the mixture onto a parchment lined tray ( or 2 ) leaving about an inch of space between the macaroons. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms and sides are golden brown and the tops are begining to brown. Once you have removed the macaroons from the oven let rest for a min of 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy

*note: these would be amazing with a little chocolate drizzled on top!

A CAKE TO CELEBRATE EMMA: NY CHEESECAKE WITH BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE TOPPING

Nicki Winters — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:47:44 +0000

Last weekend was my little sister’s 29th Birthday! Emma has never been a dessert girl but since I was the one hosting her birthday dinner this year there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity to try and convert her to the sweet side. I gave her a call and had a lengthy discussion over what type of desserts she sometimes enjoys and what exactly it is that she dislikes about other desserts. What it came down to was that she doesn’t like plain old cake…she thinks it’s boring. She does like however: crumbles, pies and cheesecakes. I decided I would try to give her a bit of everything she loves in a dessert. This NY Cheesecake has it all, minus a pie crust.

FOR THE CAKE:

1/3 c. butter, melted
1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. sugar
4 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
1/3 c. unsifted flour
1 tbsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper around the inside( you do not need to line the bottom of the pan, just the sides ) Combine the butter, crumbs and sugar; press firmly on the bottom of the 9 inch springform pan. In your stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly mix in the condensed milk until smooth. Now add the eggs, flour and vanilla mixing until combined. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 80 min or until lightly browned. Cool. Refrigerate a min of 2 hours before serving.

*Recipe from cooks.com

FOR THE BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

4 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
2 c. blueberries
2 tbsp. lemon juice

In small pot over med high heat combine all ingredients minus the blueberries. Cook stirring continually until thickened. Now dump in the blueberries and cook until the mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat. Once mixture has cooled, spread on top of cheesecake and refrigerate.

*Recipe from cooks.com

FOR THE CRUMBLE:

Make this ahead of time

1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 butter, cubed and softened

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and butter with a fork or paddle attachment until crumbly. Spread mixture out on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 min. Keep an eye on it as the sugar will burn quickly since the crumble is not on top of fruit while it is cooking like crumble normally is. When it is golden remove it from the oven and scrape it into a bowl. Once you have assembled the cheesecake top it off with as much crumble as your heart desires.

*Please note this crumble is quite crunchy, it’s more like a candy topping than a traditional crumble due to the fact that it is baked separately on a baking sheet.

BOCA NEGRA MINI CAKES

Nicki Winters — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:45:35 +0000

We had a few friends over for dinner last weekend. It was great to catch up, but even better to watch our friends interacting with Poppy and Poppy interacting with our friends. I decided to go with a Mexican themed dinner and dessert. Dinner was fish tacos and for dessert I made these beautiful, creamy, rich, chocolatey mini cakes. Heaven.

For those of you wondering what happened to me being ” off refined sugar ” – well I think it goes without saying that I am no longer going down that path. I did it for a few months and I felt no difference in my energy or in any area that I was hoping to improve. I am now back to eating as we all should…everything in moderation. Enjoy.

CAKES:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
10 ounces 56% to 70%-cacao baking chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
4 tsp all-purpose flour
2-3 tsp adobo sauce ( from the can of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce ) I used 2 tsp and couldn’t even taste a hint of the adobo, next time I will definitely use more.
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly coat the inside of the ramikins with butter, then sugar. In a medium saucepan combine the 1 cup sugar and orange juice. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the chocolate and butter, stir until melted. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Now stir in the flour, adobo sauce and salt.

Set the ramekins in a baking pan. Divide the chocolate mixture evenly among the 8 ramekins. Place the baking pan on the oven rack. Pour boiling water into the pan, enough to reach half way up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is set. Using tongs, gently remove the ramekins from the pan placing them on a rack to cool. Serve in the ramekin or turn out onto dessert plates. Top them off with a generous drizzle of sweet crema.

SWEET CREMA:

3/4 cups Mexican crema or sour cream
1/4 cup sugar

Mix together

*recipe from Better Homes and Gardens