Dessert

Ingredients
2 (14 ¹⁄₂ ounces each) cans coconut milk
1 ¹⁄₂ cups shredded coconut
1 cup sugar

Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Remove from heat, cool, then refrigerate until fully chilled, preferably overnight.  

3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Comments
For some reason my ice cream maker didn’t want to freeze this so I ended up freezing it in the freezer and just stirring it every hour.  Unfortunately I wasn’t very pleased with the amount of shredded coconut in the recipe, the texture was not very pleasant.  Next time I’ll reduce the amount of shredded coconut.  It certainly has potential.  

Shown here with Chocolate Chai Cake.

Internet - Recipe Zaar

Ingredients
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
¹⁄₂ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¹⁄₂ cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ²⁄₃ cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¹⁄₃ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cardamom
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground allspice
Dash ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 cup dark hot chocolate, warm

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a large bundt pan. Remember to grease the tube in the middle.  

2. Microwave chocolate in a small bowl, stirring every 10 seconds until melted.  

3. In a mixer cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, stir in vanilla. Stir in chocolate and blend well.

4. In a separate bowl, sift flour with baking soda, spices and salt. Alternate adding flour and hot chocolate to the mixing bowl, mixing gently after each addition and starting and ending with the flour mix. The batter will be very wet. Scrape batter into bundt pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean). Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Comments
I have no idea where I found this recipe because it has been in my untried recipe folder for forever.  I was looking for something a bit unusual to serve with my Indian themed Game Day meal and I remembered this recipe.  It seemed like it would work well enough, so I gave it a go.  The result was a very moist, almost fudgy, dense cake.  The chai spices were fantastic and the cake was extremely rich.  

Shown here with Coconut Sorbet.

Unknown

Ingredients
For Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
³⁄₄ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
³⁄₄ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For Sundae Assembly
1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
Honey
Cinnamon

Instructions
1. Make Ice Cream: In a medium saucepan, gently warm 1 cup of heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt, until the sugar has dissolved. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warmed mixture and add the bean as well. Cover the saucepan, remove from heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a strainer on top. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl (one that can fit the bowl with the 1 cup of heavy cream) with ice and water.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

4. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then carefully pour the mixture back into the saucepan.  

5. Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Heat until the custard thickens. When it’s ready it will coat the back of the spoon and when you draw your finger across it, it should leave a definitive trail.

6. Pour the custard through the strainer, into the heavy cream. Stir the cream and custard to incorporate. Take the bean from the strainer and add it to the final mixture. Add the vanilla extract.  

7. Put the bowl into the ice bath, and stir until the mixture has cooled.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a lid) and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  I recommend chilling it overnight.  

8. Freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.  (Mine, which is a Cuisinart, takes about 20-30 minutes.)  

9. If you prefer soft serve, eat at this point.  Otherwise freeze until hardened, about 3-4 hours.  

10. Make Sundaes: Preheat oven to 375*F.  Cut puff pastry sheet into 6 pieces and roll out into 5 to 6-inch squares.  Place six small bowls (or mugs) upside down on two baking sheets.  Spray the bottoms of the bowls with cooking spray and place a puff pastry square on the bottom of each bowl.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.  (In theory they will form bowls.  Mine didn’t quite work since the bowls I used were too large.)  

11.  Allow puff pastry bowls to cool for a few minutes and then place a few scoops of ice cream into each.  Top with drizzled honey and cinnamon.  
**
Comments**
The ice cream in this recipe is the same as the recipe for Stracciatella, just without the chocolate.  This is the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had.  It’s so rich and delicious.  The idea for the honey, cinnamon and puff pastry came from the longing for Sopapillas.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 ¹⁄₂ cups strong brewed coffee, room temperature (If you don’t drink coffee, like me, a Venti from Starbucks will do the trick)
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons Instant espresso granules
6 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons Marsala
6 large egg yolks
²⁄₃ cup sugar
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds mascarpone cheese
³⁄₄ cup heavy cream
14 ounces ladyfingers (42-60)
3 ¹⁄₂ tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa
¹⁄₄ cup semi-sweet chocolate, grated (optional)

Instructions
1. Stir coffee, espresso, and 2 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons marsala in wide bowl or baking dish until espresso dissolves; set aside.

2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat yolks at low speed until just combined. Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1 ¹⁄₂ to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once or twice. Add remaining 4 tablespoons marsala and beat at medium speed until just combined 20 to 30 seconds; scrape bowl. Add mascarpone and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl once or twice. Transfer mixture to large bowl and set aside.

3. In now-empty mixer bowl (no need to clean bowl), beat cream at medium speed until frothy, 1 to 1 ¹⁄₂ minutes. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1 ¹⁄₂ minutes longer. Using rubber spatula, fold one-third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, and then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Set mascarpone mixture aside.

4. Working one at a time, drop half of ladyfingers into coffee mixture, roll, remove, and transfer to 13 by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. (Do not submerge ladyfingers in coffee mixture; entire process should take no longer than 2 to 3 seconds for each cookie.) Arrange soaked cookies in single layer in baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly into dish.

5. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use rubber spatula to spread mixture to sides and into corners of dish and smooth surface. Place 2 tablespoons cocoa in fine-mesh strainer and dust cocoa over mascarpone.

6. Repeat dipping and arrangement of ladyfingers; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons cocoa. Wipe edges of dish with dry paper towel. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours. Sprinkle with grated chocolate, if using; cut into pieces and serve chilled.  

Comments
This recipe is more the 2007 Cook’s Illustrated Annual and it was amazing.  Art requested that I make Tiramisu and, even though I’ve made it before, it was in a time before I saved all of my recipes.  I had no idea where that original recipe was, so I turned to Cook’s Illustrated for help.  While it didn’t use the standard zabaglione, the flavor was stellar and lack of zabaglione made it infinitely easier to bring together.  I swapped out the rum for marsala but, otherwise, the recipe is unchanged.

Art was pleased.

Cook’s Illustrated 2007

Ingredients
2 ³⁄₄ cups flour
2 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
²⁄₃ cup shortening, melted (I do this in the microwave, in a microwave safe bowl, in 30 second bursts)
2 ¹⁄₄ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup nuts, optional (I like walnuts and pecans best)
8 ounces chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet, but any would work)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  

2. Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  

3. In a large bowl, mix the melted shortening and the brown sugar.  Cool.

4. Add eggs to brown sugar mixture, beating after each addition. Add dry ingredients, nuts, and chocolate and stir to combine. Pour into greased 9x12-inch baking pan.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.   Cut into squares and serve.  

Comments
This is an old family recipe that I grew up eating; I think that my mom might have made these for my dad while they were dating in fact!  I’ve had the recipe for years, but this is the first time I got around to making them myself.  I had a hard time explaining what they were to Art and Lance prior to baking them, but afterward it was decided that they’re sort of like chocolate chip cookies in bar form.  

I made these for Game Day and, due to Lance’s nut allergy, I split the batter into two 9x9-inch pans and only added nuts to one of the pans so that the other was nut free.  They turned out great, just like my childhood memories.  The edges were slightly crisp and the insides were moist and chewy.  

Thanks for the recipe, mom!

Person - Mom

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
³⁄₄ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
³⁄₄ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 ¹⁄₂ ounces bittersweet chocolate

Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, gently warm 1 cup of heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt, until the sugar has dissolved. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warmed mixture and add the bean as well. Cover the saucepan, remove from heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a strainer on top. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl (one that can fit the bowl with the 1 cup of heavy cream) with ice and water.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

4. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then carefully pour the mixture back into the saucepan.  

5. Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Heat until the custard thickens. When it’s ready it will coat the back of the spoon and when you draw your finger across it, it should leave a definitive trail.

6. Pour the custard through the strainer, into the heavy cream. Stir the cream and custard to incorporate. Take the bean from the strainer and add it to the final mixture. Add the vanilla extract.  

7. Put the bowl into the ice bath, and stir until the mixture has cooled.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a lid) and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  I recommend chilling it overnight.  

8. Freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.  (Mine, which is a Cuisinart, takes about 20-30 minutes.)  

9. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or by a double-boiler method.  To use the microwave, place chips in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating.  

10. About 5 minutes before the ice cream is done, slowly pour the chocolate in a thin stream directly onto the ice cream.  It will flake and break as the ice cream mixes.  

11. If you prefer soft serve, eat at this point.  Otherwise freeze until hardened, about 3-4 hours.  

Comments
This is the first custard based ice cream I’ve ever made.  I followed a recipe I found on Return of the Yummy.  The ice cream was fantastic – Art declared it the best ice cream he’s ever eaten.  The bittersweet chocolate complimented the sweetness of the ice cream perfectly and it was just the way I remember it from the Stracciatella I got in England.  The ice cream was so rich and the flavor of the vanilla really shone through.

Sadly I was too eager to eat this last night to take the time to get pictures, I’ll try to remember tonight.

Internet - Return of the Yummy

Ingredients
12 ¹⁄₂ ounces cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heavy pinch salt
1 cup sugar
¹⁄₂ cup vegetable oil (I used canola since I happened to have some on hand)
1 egg
1 cup yogurt
1 ¹⁄₂ cups fresh blueberries OR 1 ¹⁄₂ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients reserving 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss with the blueberries OR chocolate chips. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Add 1 cup blueberries OR 1 ¹⁄₂ cups chocolate chips to mixture and stir 3 more times. Reserve the ¹⁄₂ cup of blueberries.

4. Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, add the mixture to greased muffin pans. If making blueberry muffins, sprinkle the remaining ¹⁄₂ cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Comments
This recipe comes from Alton Brown, and I’ve tweaked it only slightly to account for the fact that chocolate chip muffins are fantastic too.  The recipe above yields 12 muffins and is easy enough to double with a bit extra stirring.  The yogurt adds a great tang and these aren’t super sweet.  

In the picture, the chocolate chip muffins are on the top left and the blueberry muffins are on the bottom right.  The white powder on the blueberries is from the tossing in the dry ingredients.  If you want to avoid that, reserve 36-48 berries in step 3 and only toss the berries being added into the actual mix with the dry ingredients.

Internet - Alton Brown

Ingredients Topping
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar

Cake
2 ¹⁄₂ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
**
Instructions**
1. Preheat oven to 325*F.

2. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.  Grease a bundt pan very well with cooking spray, including the center tube.  Put ¹⁄₄ cup of the topping mixture into the bundt pan and carefully rotate and shake the pan so that all the nooks and crannies are coated with the cinnamon and sugar.  Save the remaining mixture for later use.  

3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.  Beat for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Add in the vanilla and beat 30 seconds until incorporated.

5. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

6. Spread one third of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with ¹⁄₄ cup of the topping mixture.  Repeat this process two more times until all of the batter has been spread into the pan.  Sprinkle any remaining topping over the last layer.   

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: When the cake is done baking, if you notice a lot of loose sugar on the bottom of it, turn your broiler on and leave the cake underneath the broiler for a few minutes to melt the sugar, sort of like you would for a crème brûlée.  

Comments
I have no idea where I found this recipe, but it’s been in my files of “untried sweets” for quite some time.  This could very well be named “Cinnamon Spice Bundt Cake” instead of Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake but, with any name, it’s delicious.  The cake is spicy, dense, and moist.  It would probably make a fantastic breakfast coffee cake as well as a dessert.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
³⁄₄ cup granulated sugar
³⁄₄ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¹⁄₂ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Place butter and cream cheese in your mixing bowl and leave them alone for 20 minutes while gathering your other ingredients.  

3. Add white and brown sugar to mixing bowl and beat until well combined.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

4. Mix dry ingredients together and add to liquids. Mix just until flour is incorporated. Add chocolate chips.

5. Dish onto baking sheets with a #30 disher or large spoon.  Cookies should be 2-3 tablespoons of dough.  Bake about 20 minutes or until cookies are starting to brown on the edges.  

6. Remove cookie sheet from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cool cookies on the sheet on the rack for 20 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.  The cookies will firm up and finish cooking with the heat from the cookie sheet.  

Note: My preferred cookie making method involves placing the dough onto parchment paper.  When the cookies are cooled, I can slide the paper (and cookies) off the cookie sheet and slide a sheet with uncooked dough back onto the cookie sheet.  

Comments
I ran across this recipe online somewhere and figured they’d be great to make when we had company over for the 3rd of July.  The original recipe made cookies that were a bit smaller, so it took me some time to figure out the right cooking time.  20 minutes yields a cookie that’s nice and soft in the middle, but fully cooked.  These are not hard cookies.  The flavor of the cream cheese is a nice treat.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 ¹⁄₂ pounds ripe peaches, sliced (about 8)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¹⁄₂ cup butter, melted

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Lightly grease an 9x9 inch baking dish.

2. Place peaches in baking dish.  

3. Mix remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and sprinkle over peaches.  

4. Bake 45-50 minutes until topping is golden.

Comments
This recipe is from the mother of my childhood best friend.  For the past 14 years it has been the recipe that makes me look forward to peach season.  As soon as I can get them, I make this.  It’s fantastic with ice cream or just plain.  Either way it’s hard to stick to one serving.

Person - Mrs. Meehan