Dessert - Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post deals with dessert, and includes Maple-Cider Oven Doughnuts and Vegan Frozen Chocolate Soufflé. Enjoy!

APPLE-CRANBERRY DESSERT

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, and begins, “Bake someone happy with a cranberry-studded apple dessert crowned with a crunchy topping.”

Ingredients

6 cups sliced peeled apples (about 6 medium)

2/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2/3 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened Vanilla ice cream, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 375ºF. In large bowl, mix apples, cranberries, cinnamon, syrup and lemon juice. Spoon into ungreased 8-inch square baking dish.

In medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients except ice cream with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit mixture.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender, juices are bubbly and topping is golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft):

Bake 43 to 48 minutes.

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

This is from the Food Network. Prep Time: 20 minutes; Inactive: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour; Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/blueberry-crumble-recipe-1956497.

Ingredients

Filling:

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened

2 pints blueberries, or any other berry

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup apple cider or orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 cup toasted oats

1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

For the filling: In a bowl, add the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cider, and vanilla, Carefully mix the ingredients together with a spatula, leaving the blueberries whole. Set aside while you assemble the topping.

For the topping: In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour, sugars, and butter. Using the paddle attachment, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks mealy or crumbly. (This can be done by hand.) Stir in the oats and nuts.

Pour the filling into an 8-inch square baking dish and evenly distribute the topping over the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve warm.

KEY LIME PIE

This recipe is from Joyce LaFray Young and adapted by The New York Times cooking newsletter. The recipe begins, "This recipe came to The Times in a 1991 magazine article by film critic David Edelstein about Florida culinary specialties like conch chowder, alligator, stone crabs and Key lime pie. Key limes are small, yellowish, seedy and wildly more tart than their ordinary Persian counterparts. Unfortunately, Key limes grow slowly, so many Florida farmers replaced their Key lime trees with Persian ones. You can buy bottled Key lime juice at most supermarkets, but you can also make this easy pie with regular limes, although it won't be quite as delightfully tart."

Yield: One 9-inch pie; Time: 30 minutes, plus 3 hours' freezing

This was originally featured in "Food; That Old Poisoned Arrow", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/10862-key-lime-pie.

Note: I enjoyed reading the article that this was in (check the link above), especially the part about eating alligator (mentioned as "chicken-of-the-swamp"). (Hint: apparently, it didn't taste like chicken.) I highly recommend reading the article.

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup Key lime juice (see note)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 9-inch graham cracker crust

Whipped cream

Preparation

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed until thick and light in color. Add the condensed milk and mix on low speed. Still on low speed, add half the lime juice, cream of tartar and then the remaining lime juice, mixing after each addition. Mix well until blended.

Pour into pie crust and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the center is firm and dry to the touch. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Tip

Key lime juice is a tricky one. You generally have to buy it bottled, even in the Keys (it's usually found in specialty markets). The pie is great with regular limes, but it's not as distinctively tart. (One possibility is to mix regular lime juice with a bit of lemon juice.)

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE MAPLE SNAPS

This is from March 2015 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 71), and begins, "These snaps are great on their own, or as wafers for sandwich cookies. Maple syrup lends flavor and moisture, which lets you cut down on oil in the dough." Makes 40 cookies in 30 minutes or less.

This can be viewed online at https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/chocolate-orange-maple-snaps/.

Ingredients

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup canola oil

1 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. grated orange zest

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat three baking sheets with cooking spray.

Whisk together maple syrup, oil, cornstarch mixture, vanilla, and orange zest in large bowl.

Sift together flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until smooth.

Measure out cookie dough in 1-tsp. scoops, and arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are firm on top and edges have darkened.

MAPLE-CIDER OVEN DOUGHNUTS

This is from March 2015 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 69), and begins, "Hard cider adds zip to this traditional Vermont doughnut." Makes 12 doughnuts

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/maple-cider-oven-doughnuts/.

Ingredients

Doughnuts

1 12-oz. bottle hard cider

1 cup maple syrup, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Topping

1/2 cup maple sugar or brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, melted

Preparation

To make Doughnuts: Bring hard cider and 1/4 cup maple syrup to a boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 30 minutes, or until mixture has cooked down to 1/3 cup. Cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F, and coat 12-cup doughnut or muffin pan with cooking spray.

Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Make well in center, and add egg, melted butter, remaining 3/4 cup maple syrup, buttermilk, and hard cider syrup; mix until just combined.

Scoop batter into prepared molds, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until Doughnuts spring back when lightly touched. Cool.

To make Topping: Combine maple sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Pour melted butter into shallow soup plate. Dip top of each Doughnut into melted butter, then dip into sugar mixture.

VEGAN FROZEN CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE

This comes from Vegetarian Times (July/August 2005 issue, page 63), and begins, "You could serve this at a fancy dinner party in Paris, and no one would ever guess that it’s vegan! Strong coffee gives it flavor depth. Folding in Hip Whip, a vegan whipped topping available in the frozen foods section of most natural foods stores, keeps it light, smooth and creamy when frozen." Makes 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/vegan-frozen-chocolate-souffle/.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups vegan carob chips

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup hot, strong coffee

2 Tbs. maple syrup or corn syrup

1 16-oz. pkg. silken tofu, drained

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 7.5-oz. tub vegan frozen whipped topping, thawed

Preparation

Cut strips of aluminum foil long enough to wrap around 6 3-oz. demitasse cups and high enough to make a 1 1/2-inch collar over rims. Secure with a rubber band. (Or, tear a length of foil long enough to go around a 10-oz. soufflé dish. Fold foil in half lengthwise, wind it around dish so it's at least 3 inches above rim. Tie with string.)

Put carob chips into heatproof bowl over pan of simmering water, and melt. Meanwhile, whisk together cocoa, coffee and maple syrup, and stir into melted carob mixture.

Put tofu in blender or food processor; purée 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add carob mixture and vanilla, and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl.

Whisk thawed whipped topping into carob-tofu mixture. Fill cups 1 inch above rim, or fill dish 2 inches above rim. Freeze 3 hours, or overnight. Remove from freezer 20 to 30 minutes before serving to soften. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.