Dot Cake, by Cheryl & Maddie

Maddie went to a baking camp for a couple of weeks this summer and fell in love with one of the desserts they made.. a dot cake! She brought the recipe home and wanted to try her hand at it. Her friend came over yesterday and they eagerly gathered all of the ingredients. We didn't necessarily follow the original recipe as that had us making the dough from scratch. Since this involved two 9 year olds who very much wanted to do this on their own, I found a recipe that used a funfetti box mix to help the process. These turned out SO well! And they (mostly) made them all by themselves. A sweet treat for all of us. Yum!

Ingredients: 

Cake: 

1 box Funfetti cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

4 oz sour cream (we forgot this even though they took it out.. oops! Didn't notice it missing)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

Decoration: 

1 bottle rainbow sprinkles

Directions: 

1) Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, combine eggs, cake mix, oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and fully combined. 

3) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 33 minutes. 

4) While it cooks, make the buttercream. Beat the butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix. 

5) Gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing after each cup. Add the milk a little at a time until the frosting reaches a sooth consistency. Continue beating until light and fluffy. 

6) Once the cake has cooled, use mason jars to use as cutters. Simply press each jar down into the cake and lift. 

7) Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe a generous amount into each cake. Use a spatula to smooth. 

8) Add rainbow sprinkles to the top. 

9) Serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Sliced Apple Cake, by Diane

We made this as a dessert for thanksgiving instead of messing around with a crust. We found this recipe from Chef Stuart Okeefe. Overall this got mixed reviews, some found it really comforting and others just missed the crust.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup milk

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup AP Flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced (we used a mandolin)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prep a loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. Mix eggs through vanilla in a bowl.

3. Mix flour through salt in another bowl. 

4. Combine both bowls and add in apples folding in gently.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly.

6. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving

Chocolate Cloud Cake, by Diane

 

I made this cake for Passover because it is flourless, and although it didn't rise like it was supposed to we jokingly decided that was because it was Passover. This was really deeply chocolate without being too sweet, and we would definitely make it again next year (but decided without the grand marnier). Great as leftovers too! Recipe by Richard Sax.

Ingredients:

8 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsley chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp and cut into 1 tbsp pieces

6 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cognac or grand marnier

1.5 cups cold heavy cream

3 tbsp confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

unsweetened cocoa powder or shavings for topping

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350F with the rack in the center. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Do not grease.

2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until smooth.

3. In two small bowls, separate 4 eggs. In a large bowl, whisk 2 whole eggs and the 4 yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until just combined. Slowly whisk the warm chocolate mixture in. Whisk in cognac or grand marnier if using. Using a handheld mixer in a separate bowl beat the 4 egg whites until foamy, about 2 min. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until beautiful glossy soft peaks form that hold their shape but aren't stiff, about 5 min more. Very gently fold in 1/4 of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and then add remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

4. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top is puffed and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly, about 35-40 min. Be careful not to bake the cake beyond this point.

5. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a rack. The center of the cake will sink as it cools forming a crater.

6. For the whipped cream topping, whip the cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with hand mixer until billowy soft not stiff peaks form. Using a spatula fill the crater with whipped cream and top lightly with cocoa powder.

7. To serve, run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cake and carefully remove the sides of the pan. Store leftovers in the fridge, it freezes well too.

Sufganiyot, by Cheryl

These were surprisingly very easy to make! And delicious.. I mean, who doesn't love fried dough. I got this recipe from Once Upon a Chef and it was super easy to follow. I chose not to fill them with jelly since no one in my house likes that. Instead, we dipped them in Nutella! Yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp instant/rapid rise active dry yeast

3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 large yolks

2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus about 1 quart for frying

1 tsp vanilla extract

About 1 cup jam or jelly - or custard, Nutella, pudding, etc.

Directions:

1) Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioner's sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk and set aside.

3) To the yeast mixture, add the egg yolks, 2 tbsp oil, and vanilla and whisk. 

4) Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 1-2 hours. 

5) Line a baking sheet with a few paper towels. Line another with parchment paper and dust heavily with flour. Dust a clean countertop and your hands with flour. Pat the dough into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Add more flour add necessary so it doesn't stick. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut 24 squares and transfer to the baking sheet. Sprinkle squares lightly with flour.

6) Add oil to a heavy pot to measure about 2 inches deep. Heat to medium high heat. When hot, place 6 dough balls into the pot and fry until golden brown, 1.5 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel lined pan. 

7) When they are cool enough, puncture the side with a paring knife to form a pocket. Squeeze 1-2 tsps of jam or whatever inside. Or serve it on the side to dip into. 

8) Dust the donuts generously with confectioner's sugar. Serve warm. 

Cinnamon Sugar Crusted Pumpkin Bread, by Diane

 

I made this recently as part of a Harvest Full Moon ceremony, and it was really good! I have never seen a pumpkin bread rise like this one did, and I even scooped out some of the batter to make muffins just in case! Clearly, that wasn't enough as evidenced by this photo. No matter, this recipe was really good and the cinnamon sugar crust was really nice! The flavors were really well balanced and it came out nice and moist. 

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree

1/2 vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Heaping 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (I used dried bc I didn't have this on hand)

Heaping 1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 pinches ground cloves

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Plus: 1 tbsp each sugar and cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 and butter a 6 cup loaf pan.

2. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, and sugar until smooth. Add in baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves until the batter is well-combined. 

3. Add flour and stir until just mixed (batter will be lumpy). 

4. Pour into the loaf pan and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top. 

5. Bake 65-75 min until toothpick comes out clean from the top and center.

Charoset Stuffed Honey Cake, by Diane

We made this cake for Rosh Hashanah this year- it was originally planned for Passover but we never got around to making it then. It wound up being a good thing, because the Passover recipe used alternate flour, so for Rosh Hashanah we were able to combine the charoset cake recipe from @jakecohen with a traditional honey cake recipe from @dianemorrisey to get this amazing deliciousness! This cake was so good, the flavors were really reminiscent of the Jewish holidays, and it was easy to make. The only changes we all agreed on were that we would cook the cake for less time, as the honey cake layers weren't as moist as we would have liked. The cake was actually better the second day around, because the charoset filling had penetrated the honey cake layers with some extra delicious flavor. We will definitely be adapting this for Passover using Jake's original recipe, and this will likely be a Rosh Hashanah staple from here on out!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray or butter (enough to grease the pan)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups AP flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 apples, chopped into bite size pieces (we used gala)

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Grease a bundt pan heavily and set aside, preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, beat sugar and oil until combined, then add eggs in one at a time until well mixed. 

4. Stir honey and vanilla into the sugar mixture.

5. Add the dry ingredients in and mix very well. The mixture will be thick and you'll need to make sure everything is combined.

6. Combine apples through cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside.

7. Build your cake by spreading half the cake batter on the bottom, then a middle layer of the entire charoset mixture, then remaining cake batter.

8. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (Note: we did 50 minutes and think this is what made the cake dryer, so I'd go for 40!). Let cool before serving (we left it uncovered, but when covered overnight the cake softened so we are going to try and cover it next time!)

Mistake Cake, by Diane

This is a recipe I have been making for years for our family and I have just never thought to post it! This cake is a riff on a strawberry shortcake, but we make it with blueberries for the 4th of July each year. The cake gets its name from a mistake that went wrong but so good it's oh so right and now we make it this way every year! A few 4th of July's ago, I tried to make whipped cream from scratch using whipping cream and sugar, then assembled the layers of the cake and put it in the fridge before our cookout. By the end of the meal, the whipped cream had turned to liquid and essentially melted through the layers of the cake. What started out as a massive disappointment turned into quite the discovery as the cake soaked up all the sugary creamy goodness and now we will never make it any other way!! This cake is so freakin' delicious and absolutely the taste of summer. YUM.

Ingredients:

1 ring angel food cake

1 pint strawberries, sliced

1 pint blueberries

1 8oz container heavy whipping cream

1/2- 1 1/2 cups sugar

Canned whipped cream

Directions:

1. Slice the angel food cake into three even layers and poke each layer several times with a fork, set aside. 

2. Mix cream and sugar until the sugar dissolves (use your desired level of sweetness).

3. Assemble the cake by starting with the bottom layer and drizzling about 8 tbsp of the cream mixture onto the cake, making sure it soaks in. Then cover with berries and place the next cake layer on top. 

4. Repeat for all layers, and the drizzle more cream mixture over the outsides and inside of the cake, reserving some "mistake cake sauce" for serving. Chill for 30-60 minutes to allow the sauce to absorb.

5. When ready to serve, top with dollops of canned whipped cream and berries and serve with a side of the magic sauce. Yum!!!

Cherry Pie, by Diane

 

Look at these beauties!! :)

This month for bookclub I read Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. What a cool book this was to learn all about how these elements help you cook and bake better tasting food! I wanted to test one of the recipes in the book out, and it just so happened that the next day was the first day of cherry picking season! 

This pie was really outstanding, especially the filling! I could eat entire bowls of this filing on it's own! The crust recipe was very specific and a bit time consuming, but I could see how following these steps led to a flaky almost puff pastry like crust because of the science behind the method. She really emphasizes that cold butter leads to flaky crust and so every step of the recipe accounts for this. The addition of the vinegar made the dough taste outstanding as well, mostly because of her belief that acid is a flavor booster in the right proportions. Can't wait to try more of her recipes in the future! 

One final word of advice- we ate this while it was warm because we just couldn't wait, but I would definitely let it cool because the magic happens when the filling gels back together once at room temperature!

Note: the filing recipe is separate from the book, and can be found here!

Ingredients:

Filling-

4 cups tart cherries (we had a mix of 2 types tart for 2/3 and 1/3 sweet)

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tbsp butter, diced

1 tbsp white sugar

Crust-

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 generous tbsp sugar

 

Large pinch salt

8 oz chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup ice water

1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt for the crust in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, then freeze the entire thing for 20 minutes (bowl and ingredients). Freeze the butter and ice water as well.

2. Mix at lowest speed, adding in cubed butter a few pieces at a time until the butter looks like broken walnut pieces. Avoid overmixing.

3. Add the vinegar in a thin stream, and then add just enough water to mix until the dough barely holds together (if unsure, take dough in your palm and squeeze- if it crumbles add more water and if it holds together its done). 

4. Dump the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and avoid touching with your hands. Wrap in a ball then cut into two halves and wrap individually and press each ball into a disk. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

5. While the crust chills, make the filling by placing the cherries in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cover until they lose their juice, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. Mix the cornstarch and sugar together in a small bowl and add to the cherries along with the extract and mix well. 

7. Return to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring often. You can add more cornstarch if it's not thick enough. Allow to cool completely.

8. Preheat the oven to 375, and roll out one of the dough disks to fit a 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Top with pats of butter then cover with the other dough disk.

9. Sprinkle with remaining tbsp of sugar and bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool completely before eating.

Cake Pops, by Cheryl

Cake pops... need I say more? So the first half of these were super easy to make. The second half... not so much. It takes a little practice, but I did figure out some tips along the way. One, do not dip the cake pop into the white chocolate to coat it. It will break and be impossible to put back together. Two, the amount of white chocolate chips stated in the recipe is not enough at all. Mine only made 26 pops (recipe said 36) and it didn't cover all of them. Third, less is more. I used a spoon to put the coating on and then used that to move what I had all around the pop. Otherwise it drips and turns into a gooey mess. All in all I got 18.5 cake pops done, 2 broken, and 6 without any coating. BUT they are DELICIOUS! And mess free when eating. And delicious. Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from here):

1 box white cake mix

3 tbsp. white frosting

11 oz. white chocolate chips (not enough)

sprinkles

Directions:

1) Bake cake according to box directions. Let cool. 

2) Crumble the entire cake.

3) Add the frosting to the crumbled cake. Mix well until it becomes a dough and can be formed into balls. 

4) Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. 

5) Melt a small amount of white chocolate chips. Dip skewers into white chocolate and then push into cake pops.

6) Refrigerate for one hour.

7) Melt remaining white chocolate chips.

8) Roll each cake pop into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. 

9) Add sprinkles quickly before chocolate hardens. 

10) Chill before serving.

Matzo Crack, by Diane

This was our second Passover dessert and they came out REALLY sweet!! I would cut the sugar by 3/4 next time (included below), and then they would be really good! Recipe from bakedbree.com. 

Ingredients:

4 pieces matzo

1 stick salted butter

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250. Line a baking tray with foil.

2. Arrange matzo so it fits in one even layer, you’ll have to halve some. 

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then add in sugar. Stir constantly until butter bubbles and sugar melts completely. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4. Pour the sugar mixture on the matzo and spread in an even layer. Bake for 25 min.

5. Sprinkle chocolate chips on the matzo and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove and spread the chocolate in an even layer.

5. Sprinkle salt on top and refrigerate for 2 hours until hard. 

6. Break into chunks and serve!

 

Coconut macaroons, by Diane

We made these as a Passover dessert and they were so good! We were all really impressed with how these turned out, and they were really easy to make. We reduced the sugar by a 1/2 and because it seemed like a lot, and added an extra egg white to hold them together, both of which came out great so I am adding them below. We also discovered that they softened when stored overnight in a tupperware container, which made them way better and more authentic, so I would suggest making these ahead of time!

Recipe from delish.com

Ingredients:

5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

4 egg whites

1 pinch of salt 

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1.5 cups chocolate chips 

1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, line a baking tray with parchment paper, and spray w cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, salt, sugar and vanilla until light and foamy. 

3. Fold in coconut and mix well. Roll into mounds lightly and place spaced apart on the tray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes (we tented ours with foil at the end because the tops were browning). Cool on a cooling rack. 

5. While the macaroons cool, melt chocolate and coconut oil until smooth. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate then drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let harden.

Hamentashens, by Cheryl

Yay for Purim season! What a fun Jewish holiday... too bad the typical carnivals and parades can't happen this year, but we are prepared for a lot of zoom celebrations! Last night I went to a hamentashen baking zoom class through our temple. I actually have never made hamenatashens before. They were always just around and I never felt the urge to, and to be honest I don't LOVE hamentashens. I always find the dough to be too dry. BUT, this dough is delicious, soft, and sweet! I was eating it before I even baked it. There's a tad of orange juice in the dough and I really think that adds to its flavor. And my first batch came out great! No oozing of the insides and no breaking apart of the dough. Definitely put these on your list to make! 

Ingredients: (recipe from a temple member)

3 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup butter

1/4 orange juice

2 eggs

2.5 tbsp baking powder

Fillings: chocolate chips, apricot jam, raspberry jam, nutella, etc. 

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange juice. Mix in the baking powder, and then gradually stir in the flour until the dough forms a ball. If the mixture is too sticky add some flour. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. 

2) Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2.5 inch circles using a cookie cutter or a glass. Place circles on prepared cookie sheets. 

4) Spoon 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of filling, or 4-5 chocolate chips onto the center of each circle. Pinch the sides of each circle to form a triangle, covering as much of the filling as possible. (They may be frozen on the cookie sheets if desired to help retain their shape while cooking).

5) Bake for 10-15 minutes (mine took 14) until the edges are golden brown. 

Makes approximately 2 dozen. 

Chocolate Fondue, by Cheryl

Time to break out the fondue pot! I've made a couple of posts on here about my love for fondue and this post is no exception! The chocolate fondue will take all of your problems away! It is so dreamy, velvety, and "OMG" inducing. Yum!

Ingredients:

12oz milk chocolate bars (I used 3 Lindts bars)

1 cup heavy cream

A pinch of salt

Dipables: strawberries, marshmallows, bananas, rice krispy treats, etc. 

Directions:

1) Heat the cream with a pinch of salt over medium heat in a small saucepan until small bubbles form. 

2) Reduce heat to low and add the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Eat!!!

Gingerbread Cookie Pumpkin Trifle, by Diane

 

This is the first post that I won’t be able to add a “healthy” tag onto in a very long time, and well worth it!! This recipe takes our beloved Unbelievably Soft Ginger Cookies and mixes them into a layered trifle with pumpkin pie filling, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream. What’s not to love?? 

Ingredients:

1 batch ginger cookies

1 can puréed pumpkin

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp each ground cloves and nutmeg 

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 box vanilla pudding mix, prepared

1 container cool whip, thawed (I would use fresh whipped cream next time as we didn’t have enough of this and also the cool whip didn’t spread well)

Directions:

1. Mix the pumpkin, spices, sugar, milk, and prepared vanilla pudding together. 

2. Keep a few cookies aside for decoration, then crumble remaining cookies.

3. Layer the trifle with cookies, pumpkin mix, whipped cream and repeat once more for 6 total layers. 

4. Top with decorative cookies.

Pumpkin Cheesecake, by Cheryl

It's pumpkin season! This was very easy to make and delicious to eat! I'm all about pumpkin everything right now so I needed to include a new dessert for us to munch on besides all of the kids' Halloween candy, ugh! Pair this with a nice topping like whipped cream or a caramel sauce and you'll definitely want to get another slice. Yum! 

 Ingredients (recipe from ) 

For crust: 

1.5 cups grahama cracker crumbs 

6 tbsp melted, unsalted butter 

1 tbsp sugar 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

For filling: 

3 8-oz cream cheese packages, room temperature 

1.5 cups light brown sugar 

15 oz canned pumpkin 

4 large eggs 

1/4 cup sour cream 

2 tbsp all purpose flour 

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

Directions: 

1) Pulse graham crackers in processor until crumbs form 

2) In a bowl, stir together all of the crust ingredients with crumbs. Transfer into a 9-inch springform pan and press into the pan going up about 1/2 inch on the sides. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool to room temp. 3) Beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy about five minutes. 

4) In a separate bowl whisk together the rest of the filling ingredients. Add this mixture to the cheese and sugar mixture and mix on low speed until well combined. 

5) Transfer mixture to the pie crust and bake on the middle rack for 1 hour. Turn off heat, prop the door open, and let the cheesecake sit for about 45 minutes. Let cool to room temp, then transfer to fridge for more than 4 hours.

Cake Brownies, by Diane

Every year for our birthdays, my friend Emily and I share a dessert called the chocolate uprising- it’s a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream, a walnut cake brownie, fudge, buttery caramel, and fresh whipped cream. This year, due to covid, we couldn’t get our beloved dessert- so we made it ourselves! I was responsible for the brownie and ice cream, and she brought the rest.

The trick for the cake brownie is to keep it dense, but not fudgy like a traditional brownie. I did some research and found this recipe which was very highly reviewed! The result came out exactly like at the restaurant, which allowed us to keep the tradition alive! 

Note: I learned that self-rising flour is simply flour with salt and baking powder (1.5 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt per each cup of flour)! This is part of what makes it a cake brownie. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup self rising flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 8x8 or 9x9 pan. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar, then add in eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding the walnuts last, and pour into the pan.

3. Bake for 25-30 min or until edges are firm. 

Cinnamon Buttered Dates, by Diane

 

This was our dessert for cooking through the countries, for the country of Qatar. This was so so, but neither of us thought we would make it again. I accidentally used salted butter, which didn’t help! 

Ingredients:

3/4 lb dates, pitted
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Arrange dates on a plate and set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and whisk flour and cinnamon in until it forms a gravy consistently.

3. Pour over top of the dates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Burnt Basque Cheesecake, by Diane

This recipe really intrigued me, and it felt right to add it as our fourth course for the summer Spain meal. The technique involves pouring a crustless batter into a parchment lined pan to get the shape, and then cooking it at high heat so the outside appears burned (it tastes carmelized not burned). This technique calls for the cheesecake to be still uncooked in the center when the outside is burned, so that it forms a crust when it sits at room temperature and poaches the inside. It is also served at room temperature as well. It tastes like creme brûlée and butter cake had a love child, and it’s delicious!


Ingredients:

2 lbs cream cheese, at room temp
1 3/4 cup sugar
7 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Line a 10” springform pan with parchment paper leaving 2 inches around all sides. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.

2. On low speed or by hand, cream together the sugar and cream cheese.

3. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stream in the cream and add the vanilla.

4. Fold in the flour and make sure no lumps are left.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 60 minutes (50 if your oven runs hot). You want the color to be dark like the photo.

6. When the cheesecake is darkened and the inside still jiggly, remove from the oven and allow to cool until room temp. The cheesecake will fall with puffy edges like in the photo.

7. Serve at room temp.

Whole30 Chocolate Covered Strawberries, by Diane

This week I got a fruit mix that contained strawberries, which I don’t like by themselves. But there was a bunch of them sitting in the bottom of the container and I couldn’t let them go to waste, so I created a chocolate coating for them that was whole 30 compliant. These are delicious!


Ingredients:

12 Strawberries
3 tbsp Cocoa powder
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 tbsp Date syrup


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

2. Mix in cocoa powder and date syrup and stir until smooth.

3. Using a fork, dip the strawberries in one by one and coat twice, leaving a few seconds for the first coat to congeal before dipping again.

4. Place the strawberries gently on a parchment paper lined plate. Once hardened, transfer to a container and freeze.

Chocolate Sea Salt Dates with Almond Butter, by Diane

This was a FREAKING HIT. I needed a Whole 30 snack and I was craving something sweet, so I whipped this up. Holy moly this was a great combo. The sea salt was a last minute addition that changed the whole flavor in the best way possible! I suggest eating these far away from the kitchen because they are so easy to make and so delicious that you will be tempted to run back in and make 25 more. :)


Ingredients:

4 dates
4 tsp almond butter
2 tsp cocoa or cacao powder (I recommend the cacao, as it tastes deeper in flavor and pairs well)
Coarse sea salt


Directions:

1. Slice into the dates lengthwise, being careful not to cut all the way through.

2. Stuff a tsp. of almond butter into the dates and squeeze shut.

3. Sprinkle with cocoa/cacao powder and sea salt.

4. DEVOUR.