Tuesday Desserts

Who doesh't love desserts?

Okay, I'm sure someone is thinking, "Gee, my aunt/uncle/next-door-neighbor hates dessert." But most of us love dessert. For those of us who do love dessert, there's bound to be something in today's post to get your attention. Will it be the Vegan Frozen Chocolate Soufflé? Maybe the Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts? Maybe all of 'em? No matter, make sure of one thing: Enjoy!

MINT-CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

This is from Betty Crocker, and begins, “Get a double dose of mint! Cool mint chips flavor these brownies, and a mint-chocolate glaze generously highlights the top.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes; Servings: 16

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Brownies

1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

2/3 cup mint-flavored chocolate chips

Mint Frosting

1 cup Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)

1/4 teaspoon mint extract

Betty Crocker™ green gel food color, if desired

Shiny Chocolate Glaze

1/3 cup mint-flavored chocolate chips

4 teaspoons butter

4 teaspoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon hot water

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips. Spread in pan.

Bake 28 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

In small bowl, stir all Frosting ingredients using spoon until well blended. Spread frosting over brownies.

In 1-quart saucepan, heat Glaze ingredients over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon hot water at a time, until mixture is thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over frosted brownies. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until glaze is firm. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

Expert Tips

Can't find mint chocolate chips? Use semisweet chocolate chips and add 1/8 teaspoon mint extract to the brownie batter.

What a refreshing combination! For another, try using raspberry-flavored chocolate chips for the mint ones and tint the mint frosting pink.

If you like nuts, pecans are delicious in this recipe. Stir in 2/3 cup when you add chocolate chips.

CINNAMON BAKED DOUGHNUTS

This is from Ina Garten of the Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa.

Level: Easy; Total: 35 min; Active: 15 min; Yield: 12 doughnuts

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Baking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1-1/4 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 doughnut pans well.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.

For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.

ORIGINAL PLUM TORTE

This is from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. It begins, “The Times published Marian Burros’s recipe for Plum Torte every September from 1983 until 1989, when the editors determined that enough was enough. The recipe was to be printed for the last time that year. 'To counter anticipated protests,' Ms. Burros wrote a few years later, 'the recipe was printed in larger type than usual with a broken-line border around it to encourage clipping.” It didn’t help. The paper was flooded with angry letters. “The appearance of the recipe, like the torte itself, is bittersweet,' wrote a reader in Tarrytown, N.Y. 'Summer is leaving, fall is coming. That's what your annual recipe is all about. Don't be grumpy about it.' We are not! And we pledge that every year, as summer gives way to fall, we will make sure that the recipe is easily available to one and all. The original 1983 recipe called for 1 cup sugar; the 1989 version reduced that to 3/4 cup. We give both options below. Here are five ways to adapt the torte.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

This was featured in “Eating Well” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup unbleached flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt (optional)

2 eggs

24 halves pitted purple plums

Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.

Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.

Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)

Tip

To freeze, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.

BAKED APPLES

This is from Dorie Greenspan in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Dorie wrote, “I don’t remember my mother at the stove. When asked what childhood dish was my favorite, I’d stammer and come up empty. And then, walking down the stairs in my Paris apartment, I got to the third floor and said out loud to no one: baked apples! My mother made baked apples. Her apples were big Cortlands or Rome Beauties, and she cored and stuffed them with raisins, because my father loved raisins. I also bake with Cortlands or Romes when I can get them, Fujis or Galas when I can’t. I’ll often stuff them with raisins, but I think they’re especially nice filled with bits of dried apple and candied ginger. And I like to baste them with apple cider and honey. They’re good hot or cold, but best served warm and topped with something creamy. Cinnamon (my mom always used too much) is optional.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling.

This was featured in “My Mother’s Best (And Only) Recipe: Baked Apples,” and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020471-baked-apples.

Ingredients

4 large baking apples, like Rome Beauty

2 lemon wedges

2 to 3 dried apple rings, cut into bits

4 tiny pieces crystallized ginger (optional)

3 to 4 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup apple cider or juice

Heavy cream, whipped cream or ice cream, for serving (optional)

Cinnamon, for dusting (optional)

Preparation

Center a rack in the oven and heat to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, and set a 9- or 10-inch glass pie dish on top.

Cut a small cap off the top of each apple, and set aside. Using a paring knife or corer, core the apples, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom. Cut away and reserve about 1/2 inch of peel around the tops of the apples. Rub the peeled portions of the apples with the lemon, squeezing a little juice into each opening.

Fill each apple with an equal amount of dried apple and ginger, if using, pressing down lightly as needed to push bits into the opening. Pour 1/2 teaspoon honey over the dried fruit in each apple. Cut the butter into 4 pieces, and top each apple with a pat. Pop the caps back on the apples. (It’s O.K. if they teeter). Transfer the apples, lemon wedges and a few of the reserved peels into the pie dish; pour in the cider or juice, and stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. (The honey won’t blend evenly into the cider, and that’s fine.)

Bake the apples, basting occasionally with the cider and honey, until you can poke them with a skewer or the tip of a knife and not meet much resistance, 50 to 70 minutes. Since apples are so variable, check early and often, as you might need more or less time.

Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before serving moistened with a little pan sauce, and if you want, top with cold heavy cream, whipped cream or ice cream and dust with cinnamon. The apples are good warm or at room temperature. They’ll keep, covered, for 2 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated in a microwave.

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

This was posted on the Vegetarian Times web site on MAY 1, 2017, and is from the June 2016 issue (page 35). It begins, “You can mix and match fruits for different fillings.”

Makes 4 servings. This can be viewed online by clicking here.

Note: The website was missing part of two of the topping ingredients (the “2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired” and “1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top”). Fortunately, I had a June 2016 issue of Vegetarian Times next to me when I pulled this up from the website.

Ingredients

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1⁄8 tsp. salt

6 cups (2 lbs.) blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

1 tsp. melted margarine or coconut oil, optional

Topping

1/2 cup white or brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum or oat flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch

2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top

3 Tbs. turbinado sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

To make Filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large bowl. Add blueberries and margarine or oil, and stir to coat. Set aside.

To make Topping: Whisk together rice flour, sorghum or oat flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch or potato starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in coconut milk. Let stand 10 minutes, until dough firms into spongy consistency.

Spread Filling in 2-1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. Scoop 1/4 -cup dollops of Topping over Filling with ice-cream scoop, leaving space between each dollop. Brush dollops with coconut milk; sprinkle Topping with turbinado sugar. Bake 1 hour, or until Filling is thick and bubbly and Topping is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

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.

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