Showing posts with label simple desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simple desserts. Show all posts
I wanted to bake a cake today but I wasn't really wanting anything too fancy, just a good old fashioned cake. I didn't want a large cake either. There are only two of us, and there is one of us who really shouldn't be eating cake, so a smaller cake was what was needed.
I started looking through my various baking books and then I remembered this Lazy Daisy Cake recipe that my Aunt Freda gave to me years and years ago! I have it in my Big Blue Binder, written out in her very own hand-writing.
It's basically only ingredients, size of pan and oven temp/timing. That's the way old cooks passed their recipes on. They took it for granted that anyone who they passed them to would know what they were doing when it came to cooking or baking.
(Aunt Freda age 14)
Freda was my mother's youngest sister. I loved her very much. She was my favourite Aunt. We were very close and very much alike in a great many ways. Sadly we lost her to lung cancer about 11 years or so ago.
She was so beloved by so many people that they had to open up a second building and relay her funeral service to it by video as so many people had turned up to pay their respects. She was just a special person, a person with a huge heart and broad shoulders.
You could talk to her about anything and many did. You knew it was not going to go any further. She was a great listener and a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend . . . and a fabulous cook.
I love recipes like this . . . family recipes with a history. I love them
because every time I make one of them, I have the opportunity to think
special thoughts about my dear ones, and to remember happy times spent
together.
Every time I bake this cake, it is like getting a nice warm hug from my Aunt Freda. I can almost feel her looking down at me with approval . . .
Its just a simple cake, very much like my mother's Hot Milk Cake . Hot milk cake and this care are a plain vanilla sponge cake.
Both are baked in a square pan . . . nothing fancy or out of the ordinary . . .
The special touch is the broiled coconut topping. You melt brown sugar, butter, milk and coconut together in a saucepan while the cake is baking.
You must take care not to let the mixture boil. You just want the ingredients melted together.
This almost caramel-like mixture then gets spread onto the warm baked cake, which you then pop under a hot grill where it turns into a coconut-candy-type of coating. It is quite simply scrumptious!
You do need to watch it really carefully when it is under the grill because it can turn and scorch/burn in a flash. Don't ever be tempted to walk away and leave it.
This process really only takes a few minutes, so it's not much of a problem to stand by and watch while you do it.
I like to give it a little turn every 30 seconds or so. That way the coconut topping grills fairly evenly . . . oh but it is some good.
All caramelised . . . kind of like a creme bruleed cake, except there is no cream involved. Just one plain, moist, and very delicious cake.
This went down a real treat, served still slightly warm, with a glass of cold milk. It would be equally at home with a nice hot cuppa or with some fresh fruit or berries on the side, or even a dollop of whipped cream.
My heart, as I ate my very tiny piece (I promise!) was filled with love for my Aunt Freda with every mouthful. Family recipes . . . they're the best!
*Lazy Daisy Cake*
Makes one 9-inch square cake
Why not spend the afternoon with my Aunt Freda yourself and bake this tasty cake??? You can tell her I sent you. I am sure she would be well pleased and give you a very warm welcome!! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
In the summertime you don't want to be spending loads of time in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove. That is when simple and easy recipes like this one for an Easy Lemon Refrigerator Dessert come in really handy.
And to be honest its one of our favourite desserts any time of the year.
Easy Lemon Refrigerator Dessert, is a dessert which requires absolutely no cooking involved or needed.
If you can use a hand mixer, then you can make this and your family will be so impressed with the end result, they will think you slaved all day!
The base is simply shortbread fingers (store bought) which get soaked in a bit of milk and then layered in a loaf tin . . .
Next a creamy mixture of cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and heavy cream get whipped together and spread over top.
You cover this and chill it overnight, and presto chango the next day you have a beautiful dessert that was quick to make, and is most delicious to eat!
You can spoon whatever you want over top. Caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, fresh fruit, whatever you are wanting to use that is sweet and or fruity . . . today I spooned over some homemade strawberry jam! It went down a real treat!
*Easy Lemon Refrigerator Dessert*
Serves 6
75g of granulated sugar (6 TBS)
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
100ml of double (heavy or whipping) cream (1/3 cup)
150g of shortbread fingers (just enough to line the bottom of your pan)
To serve:
fresh fruit
or jam
Summer is far too short to spend it all in the kitchen don't you think? But we still got to eat! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
We are having one set of the Missionary Elders for supper tonight (Friday as I write this). As you know I always love to spoil the missionaries. I know how hard they work.
They are far, far from home, and family, and always bring such a special spirit into our home. I always say to my friends, if you want your home to be filled with light for an hour or so, feed a Missionary. They are always really appreciative. Its a win/win situation really!
Its been a bit hot for cooking and so I decided to make them an easy meal of BBQ ham sandwiches, macaroni salad, coleslaw, potato chips and then this fabulous refrigerated White Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert!
I can't show you a piece of it cut out because the dinner hasn't actually happened yet and I don't want to take away from the joy of the Missionaries when I bring it to the table, but from here you can clearly see how light and fluffy it is.
The filling is super simple and super easy to make. You simply beat cream cheese and sugar together with a bit of vanilla.
Melted white chocolate gets beaten into this. I used milky bar chocolate buttons because they melt really easy, but you can use any good white chocolate, broken into bits.
I melt it in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. So long as you keep the water from touching the bottom of the bowl, this works very well.
You let the melted chocolate cool a bit. Not too much because you don't want it to be hard at all. You want it to be at the right consistency to stir it into the cream cheese, but at the same time not hot enough to melt the cream cheese.
Once the chocolate is stirred into the cream cheese mixture, you whip some cream, just until soft folds form. Any more than that and you won't be able to mix it properly into the rest of the filling. Once it is softly whipped, fold it in.
The crus is simply digestive biscuits made into fine crumbs, mixed with melted butter. That gets pressed down into a baking tin with removable sides.
A spring form pan works great. You actually do this before you make the filling and place it into the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling. Bad me, I got ahead of myself, lol.
Once you have the filling all done, take the crust out of the fridge and spoon the filling on top of the crust. I use a back of a spoon to press it down compactly, taking special precautions to press it well against the sides and then filling in the middle.
You don't want there to be any gaps or air spaces in the filling. Patience is your friend here and will reward you well when it comes time to serve.
After you have it all in the pan, you can decorate the top of the cheesecake as you wish. I used more chocolate buttons and placed them decoratively around the top of the cake. Then I sprinkled some milk chocolate flakes in between these to give the cake some definition, and provide some contrast.
You could also scatter some fresh raspberries on top, which look really nice, in which case I wouldn't do that until I was ready to serve it.
I just know they are really going to enjoy this. It is the perfect summer dessert. Easy to make. Doesn't heat up the kitchen. Delicious as well. I hope you will give it a go!
*White Chocolate Cheesecake*
Serves 8 to 10Whip the cream until it forms soft
folds. Don't over beat it. Gently fold it into the cream cheese
mixture. Spread this over the chilled crust, smooth it out. Place
back into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. Top with your
chocolate and berries (if using) and serve, cut into wedges.
I think this is a dessert you and your family and any guests would love. I hope you will try it out for yourself! Candy sprinkles would also look really nice on top! Bon Appetit!
Oh, I do so love fresh berry season, don't you? We grow our own Strawberries, Blueberries and Raspberries, and the Strawberries are coming fast and furious at the moment! Oh, there is nothing more delicious on earth than a freshly picked strawberry with the warmth of the sun still burnishing its sweet flesh!
This is a beautiful way of using them during berry season. Its a simple recipe which I adapted for use from the cookbook entitled Supper For a Song, by Tamasin Day-Lewis. I love her recipes. They are always well written and they always turn out. I know she is largely unknown in North America, but she is a great cook and writer.
You are probably more familiar with her brother, Daniel Day-Lewis. Ah-ha! See, I knew. Anyways, this recipe is a real gem. It is perhaps a bit faffy in a way in that you make a sabayon sauce to cover the berries with before glazing them under the grill.
A Sabayon is not difficult to make, just time consuming. You do have to stand whipping it over simmering water for quite a time, but its so delicious when done. I had to bring in the extension cord from the shed that Todd uses to plug our mower into because I don't have an outlet near my stove that I can plug into.
Not a problem. Eggs yolks, sugar and lemon juice get whipped in the top of a double boiler until they are creamy, thick and rich, and then you continue to whip them until the mixture cools, upon which you fold in very softly whipped double cream. Take care not to over-whip the cream or it won't fold together properly. Softly, softly is the best. You can do this the night before if you want, and refrigerate it until you want to grill the berries. This makes it a great last minute dessert for entertaining.
A mix of berries is macerated in some sugar and liqueur and then popped into a gratin dish, napped with the sabayon and then gilded beneath the grill/broiler until golden.
This does not take very long . . . only a minute or so. If you do it for any longer you risk the mixture separating . . .
Just long enough to burnish the cream mixture, but not long enough to cook the berries, maintaining the shape and integrity of their deliciousness.
Altogether this is quite, quite lovely and so very delicious. Mmmm . . . I could eat that sabayon on its own by the spoonful!
*A Gratin of Summer Berries*
Serves 4
Put all of the berries into a large bowl. Gently stir in the sugar and the liqueur. Leave on the countertop to macerate for about 25 minutes, gently turning after 15 minutes.
To make the sabayon, put the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in the top of a double boiler and set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the double boiler isn't touching the water. (Alternately you can use a large heat proof bowl that will fit over top of your saucepan of simmering water without falling in.) Using an electric whisk, whisk on medium high speed until th mixture has doubled in volume and thickened so that the mixture leaves a trail over top when you lift the beaters out of the pan. Remove to the countertop and place onto a kitchen towel to keep the pan from moving about. Continue to whisk with the electric whisk until the mixture is completely cold.
Using clean beaters, whisk the cream just to the point where it forms very soft folds. You want it slack, and not beaten stiff. It won't fold into the other mixture properly if you over beat it. Gently fold the cream into the cold cooked mixture. At this point you can continue on to finish the recipe or put it in a covered dish in the refrigerator overnight. (If you are doing it overnight, then don't macerate the berries until about half an hour or so before you want to make the dessert.)
I really hope that you will take the opportunity to make this with your summer berries this year. I think you will really enjoy it! Bon Appetit!
Cinnamon Tea Cake. Sometimes I just crave cake. I know that as a diabetic I should not indulge this craving, but every now and again, I really must. So long as I am careful about everything else, it is a craving I can indulge from time to time.
When I do feel the urge to indulge this lush moist tea cake recipe fits the bill perfectly. It comes together in minutes, has a lovely buttery crumb and a lovely cinnamon sugar crust. Its wonderful with your morning hot cuppa!
Serve warm with glasses of cold milk for a delicious teatime treat!
60g butter, softened (4 1/2 TBS)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
150g caster sugar (2/3 cup)
1 large free range egg
150g self raising flour (1 cup, plus 1 1/2 TBS) sifted
80ml milk (1/3 cup)
10g butter, melted, extra (2 tsp)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 TBS caster sugar, extra
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch deep round cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Beat
the butter, vanilla, sugar and egg together until light and fuffy with
an electric whisk, about 10 minutes. Stir in the milk and flour.
Spread into the prepared baking tin, smoothing the top. Bake for about
30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and
the top springs back when lightly touched.
Turn
the cake onto a wire rack, then turn topside up. Brush the warm cake
with the melted butter. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Serve warm.
This is not a particularly fancy cake, but a plain cake.
Simple to make with simple flavours . . . it won't win any beauty contests, for sure.
But what it might lack in beauty, it more than makes up for in flavour and in texture.
This is a light cake, fluffy. It is simple but that simplicity is enhanced by the cinnamon sugar topping.
I like to serve it with milk and fresh fruit, although the originally recipe suggests buttering it.
Hmm... I have never tried that, but it might be very good that way.
However you choose to enjoy it, there is one thing for sure. You WILL enjoy it.
No doubt about that whatsoever. The simple things in life truly are the best. And I have a great fondness for the simple things.
*Cinnamon Tea Cake*
Makes 10 servings
Mix together the cinnamon and extra sugar.
If you are looking for a simple basic cake to bake this weekend, that is quick and quite tasty, this just might be it! A recipe which has stood the test of time. Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons