Tag: sweet

Dried Cranberry Sticky Toffee Puddings

Cranberry Sticky Toffee Pudding - A Pat & A Pinch

 

This recipe is from Best of Bridge and is the perfect sized treat for anyone with a sweet-tooth.  Because it is made with dried cranberries as opposed to the traditionally used dates, I like it all the better.   This dessert can be prepared ahead of time, and even frozen, but it is best served warm all of the way through.  Also please note that you will need ramekins in order to make them portion sized.  This recipe serves approximately 8 (unless you enjoy it as much as our family in which case it serves 4 with seconds).

A current trend in cooking is to add a little salt to sweet, so I thought to myself while soaking up the toffee sauce last night that these would likely be marvellous with the addition of bacon as well.  I am sure to most that will sound odd, and to some it will sound brilliant, so if you decide to be the guinea pig and put in some bacon (it will need to be pre-cooked and cooled, chopped finely, blotted with paper towel to remove as much grease as possible) then please let me know how it is.  If this idea sounds sacrilegious to you as it did to my own mother, please forget I mentioned it!

Dried Cranberry Sticky Toffee Puddings

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Toffee Sauce:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

Butter and flour 8, 1/2 cup ramekins. Place in the fridge until needed.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and add the vanilla and baking soda, then add the dried cranberries and set aside to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
Lightly beat the eggs and gradually add to butter mixture. 
Lightly mix the flour and baking powder together and gently fold into the batter. Fold in the cranberry mixture.

Place the ramekins onto a baking sheet for easy handling. Portion the batter into the ramekins and bake at 350 F for 25 – 30 minutes.

To prepare the Toffee Sauce, combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer until the sauce thickens.
 To serve, remove puddings from ramekins by running a knife around edge. Invert on plate and drizzle with warm Toffee Sauce.

The puddings can be made ahead, but are, again, best served warm.  They are easily reheated in a 300 F oven.  The sauce can also be made ahead and reheated.

Cranberry Sticky Toffee Pudding - A Pat & A Pinch

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Ginger Spice Cookies

Today, I craved something sweet, something spicy, something delicious to overcome the dreary day and something to inspire me to read more cases for school.  The solution: these ginger cookies which are an adaptation of a recipe with the same name from Epicurious.

DSC_0002The candied ginger in these cookies is what takes them beyond the standard ginger cookie. They have a lovely texture, neither too crisp nor too chewy and they go so well with a cup of tea or coffee or even a glass of milk.

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Ginger Spice Cookies

2 ¼ cups  all purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons  ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon  salt

¾ to 1 cup crystallized ginger depending on your taste and the size of the chunks (for finer chunks, use less)

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (I use whatever brown sugar I have on hand, light or dark)

3/4 cup unsalted butter — (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

White sugar to roll cookies in

Using a food processor, pulse the crystalized ginger and ¼ cup of the flour together until the ginger is crumb-like.

Combine the remaining 2 cups of flour and the next five ingredients in a medium bowl, blending with a spoon or whisk. Mix in the crystallized ginger and flour mixture.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses, beating until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix just until blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the white sugar in thick layer onto a small plate or flat bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, rolling each in the sugar to coat completely. Place the coated balls on the prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until just beginning to crack on top but still soft to touch, about 12 minutes in a conventional oven. Cool on sheets at least 1 minute before carefully transferring to racks and allowing to cool completely.

Don’t be surprised when the cookies fall a little while cooling – this is to be expected.

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Doreen’s Lemon Loaf

Doreen's Lemon Loaf - A Pat & A Pinch

It has been some time since I posted – law school is definitely time consuming.  Today, however, I needed a break from trying to understand the rule against perpetuities and wanted to make something simple and with good memories.  My grandmother’s lemon loaf was the perfect solution.  My grandmother, Doreen, wasn’t a great cook, but she made a few things that have definitely stuck around as favourites for me.  Two of them involved lemons, this cake and a lemon meringue pie that was to die for.  This is easy. The lemon meringue pie is more complicated.

Any type of lemons will work, but I had a bag of meyer lemons that I decided to use. The recipe calls for one lemon, I used 3 but they were small and not the juiciest.  As my dad says, you can’t have too much lemon.

Usually I spend a great deal of time on the photographs, but right now I don’t have the luxury of time, so I have gone to my point and shoot. I hope that the photo still entices you to give this simple and yummy recipe a try!

Doreen's Lemon Loaf - A Pat & A Pinch

Doreen’s Lemon Loaf

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 lemon, zested and juiced

½ cup milk

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar (for glaze)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 8.5×4.5″ loaf pan or two smaller loaf pans with parchment paper.  I prefer to use two small pans and reduce the baking time.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl.  Add the beaten eggs, lemon zest, and milk to the creamed mixture.  Sift together the dry ingredients (excluding the sugar for the glaze).  Mix the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients.  Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I sometime find that it helps to lay a piece of parchment over the pan after the loaf begins to brown, to prevent over-browning. Remove the loaf from the oven.

Mix together the lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar.  Carefully loosen and remove the still-warm loaf from the pan discarding the parchment paper. Return the loaf to the pan, pouring the lemon sugar glaze over it.  Allow the loaf to cool and absorb the liquid.  Remove the loaf from the pan when the liquid is absorbed. Cut, serve and enjoy with a cup of tea.

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Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte

This recipe has become a summertime (yes, I realize we are coming into fall and I am tardy) favourite at my family’s island home.  It is refreshing, sweet, tart and the perfect end to a hot summer’s day.

Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte - A Pat & A Pinch

Semifreddo

1 ¼ c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. butter

1 tbsp. Grated lemon rind

1 c. lemon juice

6 eggs

1 ½ c. whipping cream

Meringues

1 ½ c. sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. grated lemon rind

6 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

Prepare the semifreddo first as it needs to cool entirely. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat sugar, butter, lemon rind and juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. In bowl, beat eggs; whisk hot lemon mixture into the beaten eggs (DON’T add eggs TO lemon mix). Return mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring, just until boiling; simmer for 1 minute.  Pour into clean bowl. Place saran wrap directly on surface and chill in refrigerator to room temperature. (Mixture can be refrigerated up to 1 day) When ready to assemble, whip cream just to stiff peaks and fold it into the cold lemon mixture.

Trace four 8-inch circles on parchment paper, and place pencil side down on upside down baking sheets.  Combine ¾ c. sugar with the cornstarch and the lemon rind; set aside.  Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining ¾ c. sugar until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and then fold in reserved sugar mixture.  Spoon meringue onto circles, smoothing tops.  Bake in 300 oven for 1 hour or until dry and lightly golden.  Let cool.  (Meringues can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days.)

Line a 10” springform pan (bottom and sides) with plastic wrap to prevent torte from taking on a tinny taste from the metal unless the pan is non-stick.  Choose the best 3 meringues to use.  Fit one into the springform pan, carefully spread 1/3 of the lemon mixture over top.  Add 2nd meringue and spread another 1/3 of lemon mixture on top.  Do same with remaining meringue.

Freeze uncovered for at least 8 hours.  Torte can be frozen, well wrapped for up to a little over a week.  Let soften in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before removing sides and serving.

Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte - A Pat & A Pinch

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Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shanks

Great news, not only is it summer, but I have finished my undergrad and have 3 months before my first year in law school commences.  I’ve got a summer job that I’m quite excited about, who would’ve thought employment would feel like such a luxury!?!  If you are thinking, “hmmm, no blog posts since November, I wonder if she still knows how to cook?” the answer is yes, I just have spent very little time cooking anything shareable.

So, although the weather is getting warmer, here in B.C., we still have the occasional wet and chilly day and this is the perfect meal for just that.  I inquired as to its origins and my mother scoured her cookbooks and the internet to no avail.  So while I am sure this faux-tagine is not a family recipe, I can only credit my mom for introducing it to me.

A Pat & A Pinch - Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shank

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shank

3 tbsp. cumin seeds

3 tbsp. coriander seeds

4 12-14 oz. lamb shanks

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

¼ c. olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 1” piece fresh ginger, chopped

1 large yellow onion, grated

1 large pinch saffron

1 c. white wine

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 ½ tsp. ground cloves

2 whole bay leaves

1 ¼ c. dried apricots chopped

4 c. chicken stock

1 tbsp. butter

Toast the cumin seeds in a skillet for about 4 minutes, stirring a few times.  Grind the cumin seeds and coriander seeds coarsely with a mortar and pestle.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.  Put the olive oil in a large ovenproof pan over medium-high heat.  Brown the lamb on all sides, 10-15 minutes.

Remove the lamb, pour off the fat and add the carrots and celery.  Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until just beginning to soften.  Add the fresh ginger, onion, and saffron and cook until the onion is translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine, ground cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon stick, ground ginger, ground cloves, bay leaves, and dried apricots.  Cook 5 minutes.

Place shanks back in the pan and add the stock.  Cover the pan and cook in 350F oven for about 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender and falling off the bone.  Remove the lamb shanks and cover with foil.  Set aside and keep warm.

Skim the fat off and strain liquid into a saucepan.  Discard solids.  Reduce the braising liquid to a saucy consistency by slowly simmering.  Time will vary widely, can take as long as 20 minutes.  Adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper, add butter.

Serve with couscous and a nice seasonal green vegetable.

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Suzanne’s Flourless Chocolate Cake

I’ve been bad.  I know I haven’t posted in ages and I sincerely apologize.  The fact is, my life has been a whirlwind and will continue to be through early december.  So because I’ve had this post waiting since Canadian Thanksgiving for you and I will be in a conference for the majority of next weekend, I’m making time to share.

A Pat & A Pinch - Suzanne's Flourless Chocolate Cake

This cake is rich.  Chocolate lovers, pre-heat your ovens.  This recipe ended up in my family, forgotten by all (except me) until about three years ago.  I’m not sure where it came from, most likely my brilliant mother, but nevertheless, I am naming it for our chocolate-loving, beloved family friend, Suzanne, because she is always in my heart when I make it.

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate (the good kind – 90% cacao bars and NOT baker’s chocolate)

14 tbsp. unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks if you’re lucky enough to have portioned butter)

5 large eggs, separated

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

¾ c. granulated sugar

1 pinch salt

2 tbsp. unsweetened cacao powder

Optional

¼ c. chopped pecans

2 tbsp. booze (I recommend triple sec or cointreau but jack daniels worked well last time so this is flexible)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and sugar a 10 inch springform pan.

In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate and butter.  Heat until melted and smooth.  Transfer to a medium sized bowl and whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla.  Sift in sugar, salt and cacao while continuing to whisk. Lastly, mix in the booze and pecans.

With a mixer, whip the egg whites to soft peaks and fold one third into the chocolate batter.  Repeat with the remaining whites.  Pour this mixture into the springform and bake on for 25 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately loosen the springform collar.  Allow the cake to cool before serving.

If you’d like to festively decorate your cake as I enjoy doing, just use a sieve to sprinkle the cake with confectioner’s sugar.  By simply placing a leaf or cut out paper first, you can get nearly any desired design.

Bon appétit!

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