Carpe Epulae

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Didn’t end up having the tea party I planned on with Mom and our friends. These recipes and pictures are from the little party I had at work prior to our bigger planned to-do. On the morning of our party Mom called me to tell me her mother had passed away in the early morning. So, we were off to Texas to assist with family arrangements and rearrangements. We did take some of our tea party prep with us, though, and it was enjoyed.

In addition to fresh strawberries, there were turkey sandwiches (deli turkey, cranberry mustard and fresh spinach leaves on sourdough) and little cheese & spinach quiches.

Microwave Lemon Curd
Makes: 2 cups

1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup melted butter

In microwave-safe bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs till smooth. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Cook in microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute till mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from microwave and pour into storage container. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd till cool, then cover tightly. Store up to three weeks in refrigerator. If you overcook the mixture a bit or forget to stir, you can pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the bits of cooked egg.

Nicole’s Mock Clotted Cream
Makes: 1 cup or so

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 ounces softened mascarpone cheese

In food processor, process cheese till smooth. Add 1/4 cup of cream and process till well mixed. Add remaining cream and process on high till mixture is of almost butter consistency. This stays of this consistency longer than the other versions I have made.

Apricot Scones
Serves: 8

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup finely chopped apricots
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Heat oven to 450F. Grease baking sheet. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender till crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream and apricots, stirring just till dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto waxed paper and gently press or pat into a 7 inch round (mixture will be crumbly). Cut round into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Brush tops of wedges with remaining cream. Bake 13-15 minutes till golden.

Four Cheese Pimento Sandwich Filling
Makes: 5 cups

24 ounces softened cream cheese
8 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
8 ounces shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
4 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces diced pimientos, drained
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese 30 seconds. Gradually beat in other cheeses. Beat in mayonnaise. Stir in pimientos, Worcestershire and pecans.

Peachy Keen Fizz
Serves: 6

12 ounces chilled peach nectar
1 3/4 cups chilled raspberry flavored seltzer
OR
1 3/4 cups sparkling white wine
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup ice cubes

Stir together all but ice cubes and seltzer or wine till sugar dissolves. Stir in seltzer or wine and ice cubes. Divide mixture evenly among 6 flutes. Garnish with peach slices, fresh mint and edible flowers if desired.

Confetti Double Decker Brownies

3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup miniature semi-sweet M&Ms baking bits

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 9×13 inch baking pan. Cream butter and sugars together till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Divide batter in half. Stir together butter and cocoa. Stir into half of dough. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Stir flour and M&Ms into remaining dough and spread evenly over chocolate layer. Bake 25-30 minutes till edges start to pull away from pan sides. Cool completely before cutting.

Lemon Champagne Cupcakes

1 package (18.25 ounce) lemon cake mix
1 package (4 serving size) instant lemon pudding
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pink champagne
3 eggs
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
lemon curd
1 cup powdered sugar
milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 15×10 inch jelly roll pan. Line with foil. Grease foil. Mix first 7 ingredients together. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 17-25 minutes till toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack. Freeze 1 hour till firm. Cut into rounds. Spread lemon curd on one round, top with second round. Repeat with all rounds. Mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add enough milk to make mixture of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cakes and let stand till set.

Extremely tasty! Very lemony.

Ways to use leftover Easter candy. I have not tried any of these. Yet.

Magic Cake Bars

Peep Stuffed Cookies

Click pics for recipes.

I’m off to the store. And then the kitchen!

Update: I tried the cake. Very sweet, as expected. 15 minutes is not enough for the first cooking. Try 20. The Rice Krispies get stale quickly. Either that or when they hit the liquid of the condensed milk they get soggy. Whichever it was, the ones in the middle where the cake was less cooked were chewy instead of crunchy. It wouldn’t be my favorite to make again.

Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
6 bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 60 minutes till a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

(not my image)

Butter Pecan Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Topping
1 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Filling
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1/4 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2-4 1/2 cups flour

Topping
Stir together powdered sugar and cream. Pour 2/3 of mixture into ungreased 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour remaining mixture into ungreased 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle nuts evenly over.
Filling
Mix together sugar, cinnamon and flour and set aside.
Dough
Combine warm water and sugar in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over and let stand till foamy. Mix in oil and salt. Add enough flour, 1 cup at a time, to form soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Knead dough till smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky. Lightly oil another large bowl. Place dough in bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then cover with kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area till doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Assembly
Punch dough down. Turn out onto On lightly floured surface, divide in half and roll into two 12x8inch rectangles. Brush each with melted butter. Sprinkle each with brown sugar mixture, chips and nuts. Roll up each rectangle, starting from long side. Pinch to seal seams. Cut each roll crosswise into 10 pieces. Place cut sides down in prepared dishes, keeping about 3/4 inch space between rolls. Cover with towel and let rise in warm place 45-60 minutes till doubled. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake 40-45 minutes till tops and sides are lightly browned and centers do not appear doughy. If necessary, cover with foil for last 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Immediately loosen edges and invert onto serving platter.

(again, not my image)

Oatmeal S’mores Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease baking sheets. Cream together butter, shortening and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to creamed mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets.

Bake 11-13 minutes till golden brown. Cool 1-2 minutes on sheets before removing to racks to cool completely.

Do not use parchment paper. Greased sheets are very important to getting the cookies to come off the sheet. Marshmallows melt on the outsides and stick to the parchment paper. Also important is making the cookies large enough to have enough dough to cover the marshmallows as much as possible. I have had terrible luck getting cookies with marshmallows to turn out well. These were no exception.

Note the marshmallow melted on the outer edge. Sigh.

I layered the broken pieces with chocolate and vanilla pudding and whipped cream and made a very sweet trifle.

Silky Cocoa Cream Pie

1 baked 8 inch pie crust
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold milk
2 beaten egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sweetened whipped cream

Mix together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk.

Cook and stir constantly over medium heat, till mixture is thickened and bubbly – about 15 minutes. Boil 1 minute and remove from heat. Gradually stir 1/2 of hot filling into yolks. Return all to saucepan and heat to gentle boil. Cook and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into crust.

Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling. Cool. Chill 3-6 hours till set. Remove plastic wrap and garnish with sweetened whipped cream.

This first one is pretty close to being my favorite cake ever. Easy to make, looks like you spent tons of time, tastes fantastic.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cream Cake

Cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cream Frosting
2 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
10 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
white chocolate shavings and bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate shavings

Cake
Heat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour sides of two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with 1 1/2 inch high sides. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper and butter and flour paper. Sift cake flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Stir cocoa and water in large bowl till very thick paste forms. Set aside. Beat butter and sugars together till well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add egg mixture to cocoa mixture, beating till mixture is smooth. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each, beating well after each addition. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake 30 minutes till toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. If using 9 inch pans, check them at around 25 minutes so they don’t overbake. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and carefully peel off paper. Cool completely. Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature. These can also be done days ahead and frozen. Thaw in refrigerator enough to cut into layers but you don’t have to thaw completely to assemble the cake.
Assembly
Using serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Layers will be thin.

Transfer 1 cake layer, cut side up, to serving platter. Spread generous 1/2 cup Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cream Frosting over. Repeat layering 2 more times, using 1 cake layer and generous 1/2 cup frosting for each layer.

Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Best way to spread on the sides is to mound the frosting on top and gently scoot it out, down and over the edges.

Chill at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cream Frosting
Beat cream, sugar and cocoa in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in chocolate chips.

It won’t be smooth because of the mini chips. Play that up and swirl things, pull up small peaks all over, etc. Make it look like you intended it to not be smooth.

Fudge Filled Toffee Cookies

Makes: 4 dozen

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup English toffee bits
2/3 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecan halves

Cream together butter and sugars till light and fluffy. Beat in oil, egg and extracts. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir in toffee bits, pecans and coconut. Chill 1 hour till easy to handle.

Got folks who don't like coconut so I used slivered almonds instead. Probably made it a bit more difficult to get the balls to stay together.

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Using wooden spoon handle, make indentation in center of each ball, being careful not to push all the way through.

Never been able to get a wooden spoon handle to make large enough holes. I use the back of a rounded teaspoon measure.

Combine melted chocolate, milk and vanilla. Spoon 1 teaspoonful into center of each cookie. Top with pecan half.

Bake 12-14 minutes till lightly browned.

Mama’s No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
4 cups quick-cooking oats
OR
3 cups quick-cooking oats and 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I prefer this version)

Boil sugar, cocoa, butter and milk together for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add oats. Mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let set.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam, divided
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cookign spray. Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring till melted and smooth. Stir in sugar till well blended. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour till well blended; mixture will be thick. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 25-35 minutes till toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in pan. Spread 1/4 cup jam in thin layer over top of brownies.

Okay, this doesn't look too much like something edible at this point...Up close it looks like a nasty special effect...

Chop unsweetened chocolate and mix with semisweet chocolate in medium bowl. Heat cream in small saucepan over low heat till simmering. Pour over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Stir in remaining jam with wire whisk till smooth. Pour chocolate mixture over jam layer on brownies. Shake pan gently to distribute glaze. Refrigerate 45 minutes till chocolate mixture is set.

These will not do well sitting out of refrigeration for very long.  They will get slippery.

The 3rd full week in March is National Chocolate Week!

And we start the week off with Truffle Mousse Cheesecake and Milky Way Balls.

Truffle Mousse Cheesecake

Crust
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Filling
16 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups melted, cooled semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Mousse
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups melted, cooled semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
Ganache
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Crust
Heat oven to 325°F. Combine all ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9 inch springform pan.

This is the unadjusted crust amount. It fell apart when I took it off the pan. So I adjusted it down. I don’t have good luck with these crusts. It was a pretty standard crust recipe but it always seems to not have enough butter and sugar for the amount of crumbs. So, since I prefer the filling to the crust anyway, I just adjusted the amount of crumbs down.
Filling
Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, vanilla and cream till well blended. Pour into crust.

Bake 50-60 minutes till set. Let cool completely before topping with mousse layer.
Mousse
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand 3-5 minutes to soften. Heat gently, stirring till gelatin is melted. Cool. Whip cream to soft peaks.

Add melted, cooled chocolate and whip to partially stiff peaks. Pour in gelatin in steady stream and beat to stiff peaks. Spoon over top of cooled cheesecake layer and smooth top. Cover and chill 4-6 hours.

Ganache
Melt chips and cream together. Stir in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature but still pourable. Remove pan sides from cheesecake. Place on serving platter. Pour ganache over entire cake, spreading on sides and smoothing top. Chill till set.

If you notice the overhang in the above picture, that is due to the crust that fell away when I took the pan side off. So it pretty well made it impossible to put the ganache over the sides. Plus, the ganache was really thin so I adjusted the amounts in the recipe for the next time.

Also, let this sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so before serving or the mousse will be exactly the same texture as the cheesecake and what’s the point of having 2 layers if they are the same?

Milky Way Balls

1/4 cup butter
18 large marshmallows
3 large Milky Way candy bars
2 1/2 cups crisp cocoa rice cereal

Melt butter and add marshmallows and Milky Ways.

Melt together over low heat and stir in cereal. Wet hands and roll mixture into balls.

Roll in powdered sugar and set on waxed paper till cool.

If you like your chocolate sweet, this is one for you. Upon further tasting, when they have cooled down, they aren’t as sweet. The sweet could be cut also by using regular Rice Krispies instead of the chocolate ones. I may try again with Milky Way Darks…

Okay, so this isn’t super challenging. I just wanted to post a picture of mid-melt Peeps.

10.5 ounces Peeps
3 tablespoons butter
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Melt Peeps and butter over medium heat.

No, no, don't melt us!!!!

Stir frequently but do not keep on heat until all Peeps melt completely.

We're mellllltttinnnnggg....

The mixture will get brittle if you overcook it so cook until most Peeps are melted then stir vigorously to melt remaining Peeps. Stir in Rice Krispies. Spread in buttered 9×13 inch pan and press down with greased hands. Let stand until set.

If desired, sprinkle with sprinkles while still sticky and press down gently

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 10

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
2 packages (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding
2 cups cold milk
8 ounces frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

Heat oven to 350F. Spray bottom of 9 inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring till melted and smooth. Add sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour. Spread in prepared pie plate. Bake 30 minutes till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Scoop out center of brownie with spoon, leaving 1/2 inch thick around edges and a thinner layer on bottom. Whisk together pudding and milk 2 minutes. Stir in half of thawed whipped topping and all but 1/2 cup of brownie pieces removed from shell. Spoon into shell. Top with remaining whipped topping and remaining brownie pieces.

Do whisk or shake the pudding for the full 2 minutes. Otherwise, this will spread out more and cover the edge of the pie “crust.”