Taking the cake

A couple of months ago Marx Foods sent out an email saying they were giving away free samples of spices for people to use and then blog about. I jumped on the opportunity and two days later I had a package of spices delivered to my door step. In the box were samples of:

1. Tahitian vanilla beans
2. Lavender buds
3. Fennel pollen
4. Dried hibiscus flowers
5. Tellicherry peppercorns
6. Grains of paradise

This post features the vanilla bean but there will be future posts (Jason’s soon to be posted shrimp dish) about the spices he generously gave to us. Thanks Justin!

To be honest, I’ve used Tahitian vanilla beans in my cooking before. I was lucky enough to be able to pick some up on our honeymoon in Tahiti two years ago. I loved using them because they seemed to make ordinary desserts extra special. Unfortunately, I ran out before I had the chance to use them in all the applications that I had planned. More specifically, I didn’t get to try my hand at homemade vanilla extract, even though I told Jason I would so many times that he was sick of hearing it. You can imagine my anticipation in using the one I got from Marx Foods.

I got my chance last Sunday when we went over to L and C’s apartment in Long Island City for a birthday brunch held in L’s honor. When C sent me the menu for the shindig one thing was glaringly missing: a cake. What’s a birthday celebration without a dessert!? No, fruit salad does not count.

I asked C if I could bring a dessert as my present and before he could modestly decline, I started doing research into what L would like that incorporated the vanilla bean. I was going to do a strawberry trifle with a vanilla scented custard until C burst my bubble and told me L couldn’t eat whipped cream. How she finds the will to live is beyond me.

I finally decided on a cheesecake recipe that recently made the food blog rounds after it was the Daring Bakers challenge for April. I’ve made plenty of cheesecakes in my day but I always come away less than satisfied and wind up hunting for a different recipe the next time I make one.

Well that stops here and now.* This recipe turned out a fantastic cheesecake that managed to be fluffy and light yet rich and flavorful at the same time. It was a wonderful cross between an Italian style and New York style cheesecake. It was also incredibly smooth thanks to the water bath it baked in. The best part of this recipe is that it is vanilla (pun intended!) and lends itself to “customizing” very well.

In this instance, I stuck with the original recipe but topped the finished cake with a chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries. I already have tons of ideas on how I can change the crust and also incorporate fruits that will be coming out at the farmer’s market soon.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
adapted from Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

Crust

• 2 cups / 180 grams graham crackers or the crumbs
• 1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
• 2 tbsp / 24 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling

• 24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (very important to create a smooth mixture)
• 1 cup / 120 g sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream (I figured it’d be okay for L since it would be heated through thoroughly in the baking process)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• innards of 1 vanilla bean (could substitute 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
• 1 tbsp liqueur that suits your cheesecake, optional (I omitted this)

Chocolate ganache

• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Strawberry Topping

• 8-10 strawberries, hulled and thiny sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the water bath.

2. If starting with whole graham crackers, place in a food processor and grind to get crumbs. Add in melted butter and sugar and pulse to combine until it looks like wet sand. If you’re starting out with crumbs, you can just manually mix it all together.

3. Press the crust into the bottom and/or up the sides of your pan, depending on your preference. I use the bottom of a measuring cup for this to get the crust really dense and solid. I also wrap the bottom of my springform pan with foil to prevent water from leaking in while it bakes in the water bath. Set crust aside. Next time, I will blind bake the crust for 10 minutes in the oven to see if that creates a crunchier crust.

4. Combine softened cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or a large bowl if using hand-mixer) and cream together until very smooth. Add one egg at time, being sure that each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one. It’s also a good idea to scrape down the bowl between eggs. Add heavy cream, vanilla (innards or extract), lemon juice, and alcohol. Blend until smooth and creamy.

5. Pour batter into the prepared crust and tap the entire pan on the counter to bring the air bubbles to the surface. Place the pan into a large pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until quarter way up the side of the cheesecake pan.

6. Bake for 45-55 minutes. At the point of shutting the oven off, the cheesecake should still look VERY jiggly in the middle but held together at the edges. Do not bake it until it’s completely firm. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let it rest in the oven for an hour as the oven cools. By doing this the cake won’t cool too quickly, which is what causes cracks.

7. After one hour, remove the cake from the oven and take it out of the water bath. Let it cool on the counter for one hour.

8. While the cake is cooling, get started on the ganache topping. A lot of recipes for ganache say to heat the cream and pour it over the chopped chocolate. For frosting/spreading purposes, I like to do it the other way around and melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Then I pour room temperature cream over the melted chocolate while whisking. I suppose this opens up the possibility of having the chocolate seize but since I use room temperature cream and not cold, I’ve never had that problem. I find that by using this method, the ganache gets thicker much quicker and I can use it right away.

9. Spread the ganache over the top of the cooled cake with an offset spatula being sure not to let the chocolate pool over the sides.

10. Decorate with sliced strawberries.

* I don’t know who you are Abbey, but a special thanks to you!

Pecan Pie

On Christmas morning I made pie crust dough in preparation for pecan pies that I was supposed to make for Christmas dessert, along with creme brulee. Later in the day, though, I decided I didn’t have enough time and only the latter got made. As a result, the pie dough was thrown into the freezer and a prayer was said that it’d be fine to use later on.

This past Saturday, while Jason was making lamb chops for dinner, I decided finally make the pecan pie. I pulled one disc of dough - the recipe makes two - out of the freezer to defrost while I whipped up the filling.

In retrospect, had I known that the crust would be super cooperative and take 5 minutes to roll out while the filling would take only 2 minutes to whip up, I wouldn’t have shafted my father-in-law and sister out of their requested Christmas dessert three weeks ago. Sorry guys!

No worries though, I have the other round of dough in the freezer destined to be used in another pecan pie when my father-in-law comes up to meet “baby J.” When she finally decides to grace us with her presence, of course. Head over to the life blog to see what’s been going on with that!

All Butter Pie Crust
source - Elise from Simply Recipes

This recipe is very quick to pull together with the use of a food processor but I imagine it would be easy even without it. It makes enough dough for a double pie crust.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and very cold (I put the cubes in the freezer for a few hours)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough doesn’t hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

     *JLH Note: I don’t remember seeing bits of butter in my dough but the crust still turned out flaky so I wouldn’t worry about that too much. Also, if you’re like me, you can just throw the rounds into the freezer to be used weeks later.

Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften in order to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check to make sure that the dough is not sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to prevent the dough from sticking. Carefully place the dough onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough.

      *JLH Note: To get the rolled out pie crust into the plate easier, I gently folded the round in half and then half again into an almost triangle shape. Then placed this into the pan with the triangle point in the middle of the pan and unfolded it. My pie dough also didn’t roll out into a perfect round so I used the trimmed edges to fill in any gaps along the edges. Again, my pie crust turned out flaky and yummy so I feel no shame in sharing this tip!

Pecan Pie
source - Elise from Simply Recipes

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

1 prepared pie-shell, chilled for an hour if freshly made or defrosted for 10 minutes if from frozen (see above recipe)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread pecans along the bottom of the pie shell.

Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.

Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes until the filling has set. About 20 minutes into the cooking you may want to use a pie crust protector, or tent the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent the pie crust edges from burning.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Enjoy!

Just desserts!

I don’t know about you, but I think that Christmas should be a time to feel guiltless if you want to act gluttonous and eat whatever you want. Then again, some people with more willpower than me only allow themselves the holiday season to indulge and I certainly can’t imagine that. You shouldn’t either. It’s too scary.

It stands to reason that a staggering amount of sugar is a large percentage of the holiday eat-fest allowance. This year, there were two desserts on the Hembrey Christmas dinner table: our traditional pretzel salad and a new addition, coconut carrot cake.

If you’ve never had pretzel salad before there’s a chance that you’ll turn your nose up at this recipe. You’d be missing out big time. It is definitely one of those “sum is greater than its parts” recipes so I encourage you to keep an open mind and try this easy, yet super tasty, recipe.

The recipe that my second mom has used for the last 20 or so years comes from an old cookbook, which is a collection of recipes that were contributed by people somehow connected to the Derby. If you need to ask what Derby I’m referring to, you clearly do not know my husband.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Mom’s Pretzel Salad

20 oz frozen strawberries, at room temperature
2 cups pineapple juice
1 6-oz package of wild strawberry jello

2 cups thin pretzels, crushed (not pulverized)
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 cups Cool Whip (I think that you could use homemade whip cream if you’re averse to Cool Whip and/or you have an extra thousand calories to spare)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the pineapple juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the juice boils, mix in the jello powder. Add the frozen strawberries along with their juices and stir to combine. Pour jello mixture into a bowl/pan large enough to hold it all and refrigerate.

Combine pretzels, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a 9×13 baking dish that has been lightly oiled either with Pam or butter. Bake for 10 minutes and then remove to cool.

While the pretzel mixture is cooling slightly, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then fold in the Cool Whip about 1/3 at a time so the mixture remains fluffy and light. Spread this over the slightly cooled pretzel crust.

When the jello in the fridge is slightly set (i.e.; if you shake the pan, it should shake versus slosh), lightly spread it evenly over the cream.

Refrigerate for a few hours to let the jello fully set. Cut and serve!

I didn’t take a picture of ours but for the sake of thoroughness, here’s a picture I found on the internet of a slice.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The carrot cake recipe is from one of dad’s coworkers. Dad proclaimed it the best he ever had, so naturally mom and I had to make it better. To make it extra special (better), we covered the iced cake with coconut flakes that we toasted in the oven at 350 degrees.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Coconut Carrot Cake

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups carrots, shredded (about 3 medium sized carrots)
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden raisin

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup toasted coconut

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans (9×13 sheet pan is fine). Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

In a food processor, combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Run machine for a couple of minutes until the eggs get frothy and pale in color. Slowly drizzle in the oil to create an emulsion, like making dressing. Mix for about 20 seconds.

Pour dry ingredients into food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times until just combined.

Pour mixture into a medium bowl and fold in the ingredients from carrots to raisins.

Pour into pans (2 cups in each pan if using the cake pans) and bake for 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean and sides pull away from pan. It needs about 50 minutes to an hour if baked in a 9×13 baking dish.

To make the frosting, beat the cheese, butter, and vanillla at high speed until fluffy. At medium speed, beat in sugar and cinnamon. Use 1/2 cup on top of all 3 layers; spread a thin layer around the sides. Coat the cake with toasted coconut.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We baked our coconut cake in a 9×13 dish and cut it in half to make a two layer cake. I also cut the frosting down to use only 2 package of cream cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter. The ingredients list looks a bit long but once everything was measured out, it took literally 5 minutes to make the batter.

Both desserts were very delicious and hopefully mom and my version of the carrot cake has taken first place in dad’s heart!