Desserts - Double-Post Thursday

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.” - Erma Bombeck. (Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 42.)

Back in November 2016, I started another blog, Quote of the Day. While looking for quotes, this one from Erma Bombeck – my mom's favorite humorous columnist – jumped out as for a dessert post on one of my food blogs. I might post a few more on occasion.

It seems most of us occasionally want something snacky. I know I do! With that in mind, here are today's six dessert recipes to help you through the day (and for “whenever”), including Rhubarb-Strawberry Refrigerator Cake (which always reminds me of Mom) and Meyer Lemon Tart (Mom also loved almost anything lemony). Enjoy!

MEYER LEMON TART

This is from Amanda Hesser at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Amanda wrote, “The Meyer lemon has always been something of a California secret, and every year when its brief growing season begins there, eager cooks sigh with relief. The Meyer is not as assertive as the common supermarket varieties, but it offers so much more in nuanced flavor that it is unforgettable. And these days, the Meyer's secret is finally out. A Meyer lemon contains about four times the sugar of a regular lemon, but it can be used almost interchangeably with the traditional varieties, adding a rounder edge to both sweet and savory dishes. And you can use the whole thing – from pulp to peel. This gorgeous tart is the ideal way to showcase its seductive fragrance and flavor. (Regular lemons will work well in this recipe too, but you'll likely want to add a bit more sugar.)”

Yield: One 10-inch tart; Time: 1 hour.

This was featured in “All Perfume, No Pucker” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

For the Crust

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing pan

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tablespoon milk

12 ounces (about 2 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Lemon Curd

1 1/4 pound (5 or 6) Meyer lemons

1 cup sugar

5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing pan

7 large egg yolks

5 large eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Make the crust: in the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and the milk, and beat to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with salt. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture, stirring until completely blended. Gather dough into two balls. Freeze one for future use, chill the other for at least 1 hour.

Heavily butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan and trim the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork, and place the shell in the freezer for 30 minutes.

While shell is in freezer, prepare lemon curd. Grate zest of lemons. Squeeze lemons to extract 1 cup of juice. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine juice and zest. Add remaining sugar, butter and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.

In bowl of a mixer, combine eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly add hot lemon mixture to eggs until blended. Return mixture to saucepan, and place over low heat. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency; do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat, and continue to stir to stop the cooking. Strain lemon curd into a bowl. Adjust sugar to taste; the curd should be tart, but may need additional sugar if the lemons were unripe. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it right against the surface of the curd. Allow to cool.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove tart shell from freezer, and bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Spoon lemon curd into tart shell, and smooth the top. Bake until filling has puffed around the edges, about 30 minutes. Cover edges with foil, if necessary, to prevent over-browning. Cool to room temperature before serving.

RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CAKE

My family spent several years in northeast Connecticut. When I was 15, my parents bought a new house in South Woodstock (we'd lived in Thompson).

One of the new house's charms was a good-sized garden; a large patch of rhubarb threatened to overrun the entire garden. While Dad claimed most of the garden (as “John’s Pea Patch”), Mom decided that the rhubarb was hers. This is one of the many rhubarb desserts we had that year.

This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

6 C rhubarb, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 tsp. vanilla

3 dozen lady fingers, split

1/2 C sugar

whole fresh strawberries

2 pks. (3 oz. each) strawberry gelatin

2 C heavy cream, whipped

Combine rhubarb, sugar and 1 C water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil 6 – 8 minutes until soft. Drain 1 C syrup and save. Put rhubarb and remaining syrup in blender. Make pulp (3 1/2 C). Bring pulp to boil. Pour over gelatin and stir until dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened but not firm. Fold in whipped cream. Add vanilla. Line 9” springform pan (3” deep) with ladyfingers. Alternate layers of rhubarb mix and ladyfingers, ending with rhubarb. Chill overnight, or until firm. Top with glaze and strawberries.

Glaze: Mix reserve syrup and 1/4 C sugar. Bring to boil & stir in 1 1/2 T cornstarch. Blend with small amount of water. Boil and cook, stirring until thickened and clean. Add a few drops of red food coloring. Cool.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

I got this from my oldest son and daughter-in-law for Christmas, 2002. They are so good…These, the buck-eyes, and a pot of coffee…Heaven…

This recipe can also be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

8 oz. fine semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

1 C heavy cream

cocoa powder for dusting (see note)

Put the cream & chocolate into a pan & heat on low until the chocolate has melted. Stir the mixture until smooth & glossy, then pour into a bowl & chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and, wearing gloves, roll between your hands into a ball. Place each truffle into a tray of SIFTED cocoa powder and shake around until well coated.

NOTE: Mary adds: “I’ll warn you, this process is very messy but WELL worth it. Also, some chopped pecans to roll them around in was really good. I’m sure you can think of all sorts of cool variations; I bet some grated orange peel or ginger would be good, too…” Also, “for the cayenne ones, I used a mixture of cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne.”

Very yummy, very addicting.

CHOCOLATE FILLED CAKE ROLL

Servings: 12 one-inch slices

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/23.shtml

Ingredients

Cake:

5 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

3 packets of Sweet'n Low

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:

2 cups skim milk

1 package sugar-free chocolate instant pudding mix

Topping:

2 teaspoons sugar-free cocoa mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.

Grease and line the bottom of a 10x15" jelly roll pan with waxed paper.

Beat eggs in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy.

Sprinkle sugar, Sweet'n Low and vanilla over eggs; continue beating for 2 minutes.

Sift flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together.

Sprinkle half the mixture over batter; fold in with spatula.

Repeat with remaining flour mixture.

Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake on center rack in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until cake is golden and springs back when lightly touched.

Arrange a towel on work surface and cover with wax or parchment paper.

Loosen edges of cake; unmold on paper.

Roll cake jelly roll style, using towel as a guide.

Leave cake rolled until it cools into jelly roll shape.

To make filling, blend milk with pudding mix according to package directions. Refrigerate pudding until it thickens.

Unroll cake, spread evenly with pudding, and reroll.

Lightly sprinkle sugar-free cocoa over the top to decorate.

Cut into 1" slices and serve.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 122; Fat: 2 g; Sodium: 197 mg; Cholesterol: 92 mg; Carbohydrates: 21 g; Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 1/2 Skim Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1 Starch

PEACH AND RASPBERRY CRUMBLE

This is from Diabetes Self-Management

Yield: 6 servings.

Prep time: 15 minutes. Baking time: 30-35 minutes.

Butter-flavor cooking spray

1 can (15 oz) sliced peaches in juice, drained

1 package (12 oz) unsweetened frozen raspberries, thawed

1 C quick-cooking oats, uncooked

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs reduced-calorie stick margarine, melted

2 Tbs honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 8”X8” baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange peach slices evenly in bottom of the pan. Sprinkle raspberries evenly over peaches. Set aside. In bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix with fork, breaking up brown sugar clumps. Add margarine & honey; stir to combine. Sprinkle topping over fruit. Bake uncovered for 30 – 35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly. Portion into 6 equal servings. Serve alone or over low-fat, no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream.

Per serving: Calories: 185; Carbs: 33g; Fat: 4 g (sat. fat: 1 g); Sodium: 70 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat

MARBLED PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

I'm not sure where this recipe is from; I have a sneaking suspicion it's from the infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list.

Makes 24 squares; Prep time: 15 minutes; Bake time: 30 minutes

No-Stick Cooking Spray

2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Creamy Natural Peanut Butter

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 8x8-inch baking pan with no stick cooling spray; set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine brown sugar, peanut butter and butter; beat until light and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat until fluffy. Stir in flour mixture just until blended. Spread in prepared pan.

Drizzle melted chocolate over batter. Use a small sharp knife to swirl the mixtures together and marbleize. (Note: do not over-mix or swirls will blend)

Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack; cut into 24 bars.