Fried Nutella Banana Pies

via Heather Christo Cooks

Uhm hot and gooey Nutella? Yes please!

Ingredients

• 1 chilled pie crust 
• 8 tablespoons Nutella
• 2 Sliced Banana’s
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 quart vegetable oil
• Powdered sugar

Directions

• Roll out the (store bought or get your Martha Stewart on and make it from scratch) pie crust to 1/8th inch thick.
• Use a 4” round cookie cutter to make circles of pie dough.
• Top with 1 tablespoon of nutella and a few pieces of sliced banana.
• Brush the beaten egg around the edge of the pie crust and then fold it over and very gently use a fork to pinch the edges together without breaking through the pie crust. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to fry.
• Bring the vegetable oil up to 375 degrees in a large heavy pot. Gently add the pies, a few at a time, to the hot oil and gently fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Gently remove from the oil with a slotted spoon or strainer. Quickly drain on a paper towel.
• Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot (these stay hot for a long time!).

 

LCHF Hot Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 a cup of chocolate Almond milk, unsweetened 
• 1/2 a cup of whipping cream
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• a dash of vanilla extract
• 4 squares of Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa, chopped

METHOD

1. Heat the milk, cream, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches boiling point, but do not let it boil.
2. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth (about five minutes).
3. Remove from heat and enjoy!

YIELD

1 serving

 

Sticky Date Cake with Caramel Sauce

Recipe by Dixie Elliott

Photograph by Ben Dearnley

There’s one thing I love more than the Pumpkin craze of Fall… an all year round caramel obsession!

Between Sticky Date Cake and Sticky Toffee Pudding I can’t decide which I like best, the winning factor is really how much caramel sauce I put all over it.

Ingredients

• 250g pitted dates, chopped
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 125g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Caramel sauce

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 300ml thickened cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 60g butter, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 7cm deep, 22cm (base) cake pan and line base with baking paper.
2. Place dates and bicarbonate of soda in a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water. Allow to stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until dates are tender.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon, stir in date mixture and flour. Mix until well combined.
4. Spoon mixture into cake pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.
5. Make caramel sauce: Combine sugar, cream, vanilla and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until boiling. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 minutes. Pour warm sauce over warm cake. Cut into wedges. Serve.

Notes

Cake and sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance. Place both in separate foil-lined airtight containers and store the cake at room temperature, and the sauce in the fridge.

4 Tips For Baking Better Cakes

via Saveur

1.

All-purpose flour isn’t really made for every purpose (much like all weather tires).  For the best results when baking a cake, you need to use cake flour, a finely milled and typically bleached variety of flour made from soft winter wheat.  With a lower content of gluten-producing proteins than in all-purpose flour, cake flour yields baked goods with a fine, soft texture.  Although cake flour is readily available at grocery stores, in a pinch, you can substitute three-quarters of a cup of all-purpose flour mixed with two tablespoons of cornstarch for each cup of cake flour called for in the recipe.

2.

The key to a smooth batter is making sure the milk, butter, and eggs are at room temperature when you mix them into a cake batter. Chilled eggs and milk can harden softened butter when they’re mixed in, resulting in a curdled appearance.  Whereas butter and milk can be microwaved to soften — a shortcut that works but is not ideal due to the risk of overheating — you can’t microwave the eggs without cooking them.  Ideally, you should leave the eggs out overnight so that they can come to room temperature naturally (if you are pressed for time, you can quickly warm up refrigerated eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm tap water).  The cold eggs will cool the water right away, so drain the bowl and refill it with more warm tap water.  Let the eggs sit in the water for about five minutes so that they reach the proper temperature before adding to the batter. 

3.

When it comes time to mix the ingredients, a bit of counter-intuition helps: Most home bakers learn not to beat their batter in order to prevent the formation of gluten, which leads to a tougher crumb. While this may be a concern when using all-purpose flour, cake batter is less prone to gluten production.  And beating a cake batter for a short period of time actually helps smooth and aerate it.  Once the batter is just mixed, beat it on high speed for five seconds.  You will notice that it immediately transforms into a smooth emulsion, ensuring that the ingredients are evenly dispersed.

4.

Finally, most bakers dread the random air bubble that wreaks havoc on a sliced cake’s appearance.  But this type of aesthetic imperfection can be avoided by dropping the pan on a countertop to burst any air bubbles.  Once you pour your batter into the pan, smooth its top with a rubber spatula.  Next, drop the pan from the height of about a foot onto countertop.  The impact of the fall will force large air bubbles out and settle the batter into the pan, producing a more even shape.  Only do this for cakes leavened with baking soda or baking powder, however; egg foam cakes, like genoise, need their air bubbles in order to rise.

Baked Pumpkin & Sour Cream Puddings

From Smitten Kitchen

Yield: 7 to 8 half-cup puddings

Pudding

• 1 3/4 cups (from a 15-ounce can, 415 grams) pumpkin puree (unsweetened; not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) heavy cream
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Topping

• 1 cup (227 grams) sour cream
• 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices in a food processor and blend for 30 seconds.
  
• Transfer to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. Once glurping and simmering in the pot, cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The mixture will thicken and get a bit darker. Reduce heat slightly and whisk in milk and cream.
  
• Off the heat, slowly whisk in eggs.
• Divide between 7 to 8 ovenproof 6-ounce pudding cups or ramekins on a baking sheet.
  
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until puddings barely jiggle when shimmied and/or a knife tip inserted into the center of puddings comes out clean. Try not to over bake.
• While they bake, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl.
  
• When the puddings are cooked through, transfer to a cooling rack on the counter and leave oven on.
  
• Spoon 2 tablespoons of sour cream mixture onto first pudding and use a small offset spatula, butter knife or spoon to quickly (it will get melty fast) spread it over the top of the first pudding.
  
• Repeat with remaining puddings.
• Return puddings to oven for 5 more minutes, then cool completely at room temperature, about 1 to 2 hours.
  
• Chill until ready to serve.

Natas do Céu (Heavenly Cream)

Ingredients

• 1 package of ‘Bolacha Maria’ cookies (about 16 cookies) can sub for Nabisco tea cookies
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 tbs water
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp
• 1 teaspoon milk
• Roll out the cookies into fine crumbs and set aside.

Directions

For the egg sweet topping

• In a small sauce pan, pour in 2 tablespoons of water and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Stir.
• Heat the sugar water until it forms a light threadlike syrup but do not boil or allow to become golden.
• In a small bowl, whisk the yolks with a teaspoon of the milk. Gradually, while still whisking, drizzle in the sugar syrup, incorporating it thoroughly into the yolks. Set aside.

For the white mousse

• Beat the cream with 1/4 cup sugar until peaks form and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, until foamy. Continue to beat on high speed while gradually incorporating 2 tablespoons of sugar.
• Beat until soft peaks form.
• Fold the egg whites into the cream until the egg whites are thoroughly incorporated.

To assemble

• Work in alternate layers starting on the bottom of glass bowl with the cookie crumbs. Pour a layer of cream followed by a layer of cookies until there’s no more left of both then ending with topping it all with the sweetened egg yolks.

Serves 6

Home Made Ice Cream

Home made ice cream, with only three ingredients and made in 10 minutes? 

Yes please!

• 5 fresh strawberries (Or any fruit you like)
• Wash and slice the fruit, put it in a food processor
• Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and pulse until the fruit is puréed
• Add the puréed fruit to a large mixing bowl
• Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of powdered (confectioner’s) sugar to the fruit
• Followed by 2-1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• Mix until soft peaks start to form (You want it to stay loose enough to pour easily but still holds shape)
• Pour into a container and place in the freezer for 3-5 hours until set

Makeover Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of finely chopped pecans
• 6 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup of cold water
• 2 packages of (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese
• 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
• 1 carton of (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
• 1 can of (21 ounces) blueberry pie filling

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the flour, pecans and butter.
• Press onto the bottom of a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute.  Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
• Beat in gelatin mixture until blended.
• Fold in whipped topping.
• Pour over crust.
• Spoon pie filling over top.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until firm.
• Refrigerate leftovers.
  

Yield: 20 servings

 

Cocoa Pebbles Crunch Cake

 

Ingredients

• 1 oz. (approximately 1 square) 72% semisweet chocolate
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tbsp, plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup, plus 1 tbsp buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of cake flour
• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 3 6″ springform cake pans
• Nonstick baking spray (like Pam)
• 4 cups of Cocoa Pebbles Crunch, loosely packed (recipe below)
• 1 16 oz. jar Marshmallow Fluff
• 1/4 cup of whole milk

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. 
2. In a microwave oven, heat chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl (about 40 seconds), stirring every 15 seconds, until melted. 
3. Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar. 
4. Incorporate eggs. 
5. Mix in oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate. 
6. Scrape down sides of bowl; add flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. 
7. Mix on low-speed until batter is smooth. 
8. Spray cake pans with nonstick spray.  Divide batter evenly among pans; use back of a spoon to smooth tops. 
9. Bake cakes for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
10. Cool cakes in pans.  Unlock and remove sides of 2 pans.  Leave one locked and reserve for bottom layer (this keeps cake sturdy as you add layers on top). 
11. In a large bowl, mix Cocoa Pebbles crunch and 1 1/4 cup fluff. 
12. Brush bottom layer with milk; top with crunch/fluff mix. 
13. Place next layer of cake on top; repeat step 12. 
14. Place final layer of cake on top; spread with remaining fluff. 
15. Refrigerate overnight. 
16. Before serving, unlock and remove bottom pan (use knife to gently separate pan from cake).

Cocoa Pebbles Crunch Recipe

• 4 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 4 3/4 cup of Cocoa Pebbles cereal, lightly crushed with hands to half the volume
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 4 tbsp of non fat milk powder

Directions

1. Heat oven to 275°F. 
2. Melt butter In a microwave-safe bowl (about 45 seconds). 
3. Toss dry ingredients to distribute evenly. 
4. Add melted butter and toss again so ingredients adhere to one another. 
5. Spread 1/2 inch layer of mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
6. Bake for 20 minutes until it begins to brown. 
7. Remove from oven, cool completely, and break into dime-size clusters before using.

Chocolate Caramel Minis

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups of crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tbsp of unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together crackers, sugar, and butter by hand.
3. Divide mixture into four 4″ pie pans (or one 9″ pan*) and shape crust, pressing with thumbs.
4. Chill for 15 minutes.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Let cool.

Caramel

• 3 tbsp of corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of fleur de sel
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp of sour cream

1. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk together corn syrup, sugar, fleur de sel, and water; bring to a boil.  Cook without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 340°F or until its color is a deep amber, being careful not to overcook.
2. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, heavy cream, and sour cream until smooth.  (The mixture will bubble, so stand back!)
3. Pour a thin layer of caramel (about 1/2″) into pre-baked mini crusts and let cool for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours.

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• Fleur de sel for garnish

1. Bring cream to a boil over medium heat. 
2. Place chocolate in a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute.
3. Stir mixture in one direction until smooth.

Putting it all together

1. Pour a 1/2″ layer of ganache into mini crusts, over the chilled caramel layer.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until set.
2. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

 

*If you use a large pie pan, layer the ganache first and then the caramel for easier cutting.