Ingredient: whipping cream,

Individual Strawberry Royale

Strawberry Royale puts an interesting spin on an old classic by using some little ‘Swiss Rolls’ to make seasonal individual desserts.

Despite the name, the cake does not stem from any type of Swiss tradition or cuisine. The origin of Swiss Roll is not Switzerland, but its beginning is still a mystery. Some think it is an old English recipe, some think it is possibly inspired from the Austrians. Historians believe it was invented around the 19th century. 

The earliest published reference for a rolled cake spread with jelly was in the Northern Farmer, a journal published in Utica, New York, in December 1852.

During the 1960s, manufacturing Swiss Roll as snacks became fairly popular. Big brands such as Little Debbie and Lyons Company began their Swiss Roll businesses around that time.

Different countries have their own version of Swiss Roll. Depending on the country’s taste, they develop their own flavors of cakes and choices of fillings.

In France, Bûche de Noël or Yule Log, is a traditional French dessert during Christmas. It is basically a Swiss Roll decorated with chocolate frosting to resemble a tree branch.

In Sweden, they called it Rulltarta, and some of their Swiss Rolls are made with potato flour instead of wheat flour.

There are many varieties of Swiss Rolls that can be found in most bakeries in Asia. Hong Kong styled Swiss Rolls are typically lighter than western style, because they usually only use standard whipping cream filling.

Indian Swiss Rolls are called Jam Rolls, using filling such as a pineapple jelly.

In Japan, it is common to use Matcha (green tea powder) to flavor the sponge cake, and red bean flavored whipped cream is sometimes used as fillings.

In Malaysia, fruity flavored Swiss Rolls like coconut, strawberry, and blueberry are quite popular. 

Along with great eye appeal this is such a nice, easy summer dessert.

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 Individual Strawberry Royale
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword individual strawberry royale
Servings
Ingredients
Cake/Filling
Strawberry Sauce
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword individual strawberry royale
Servings
Ingredients
Cake/Filling
Strawberry Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Cake/Filling
  1. Line 6 ramekins with plastic wrap. In a large bowl whip cream until stiff peaks form; set aside in refrigerator. In another large bowl, beat pudding mix & milk until smooth.
  2. In a small dish, sprinkle gelatin over boiling water & stir until dissolved. Mix gelatin into pudding mixture & fold in whipped cream. Add sliced strawberries, mix gently.
  3. Cut Swiss rolls into 1/4-inch slices & arrange in ramekin dishes to cover bottom & sides. Pour pudding mixture over cake. Cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate until set.
Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar & salt. Add water & strawberries; cook until 'clear' & bubbling.
  2. Remove from heat & add butter, lemon juice & zest (if using). Allow to cool then place in a blender. Blender until sauce is smooth or omit the blending process & use as is with chunks of strawberries. Cool sauce completely.
  3. Invert desserts onto serving plates. Drizzle with strawberry sauce & serve.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pancake Bake

Today, February 25th is Shrove Tuesday. The date can be anytime between February 3rd & March 9th. It is exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday, based on the cycles of the moon.

For centuries, the consumption of pancakes has widely been regarded as a popular way to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, which takes place the day before Ash Wednesday in preparation for Lent. However, the day is celebrated in a variety of ways around the world with many different foods.

Today’s recipe idea comes from the bettycrocker.com website. I printed this pancake recipe out a very long time ago but never got around to trying it. So today’s the day … You notice it uses General Foods Bisquick mix. I don’t use a huge amount of this baking mix but its handy once in a while.

I was curious (as usual) about the history of the product. It seems a salesperson for General Foods, was on a train to San Francisco late one evening in the 1930‘s. Since the dining car was already closed and he was quite hungry, he asked the chef if he could make him something quickly, nothing fancy and not too much fuss. He was served a plate full of piping hot biscuits. When asked how this was possible so fast, the chef said he had a pre-mixed blend of lard, baking powder, flour and salt that he stored in an ice chest. This became the inspiration for a product that is still convenient more than 80+ years later. Today, Bisquick’s product line has grown to include flavored biscuit mixes, easy shake ‘n pour pancake mix and even gluten-free Bisquick. Interesting!

This turned out to be real good, but of course you have to like pumpkin to enjoy it and we do.

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 Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pancake Bake
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch, Lunch
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Pancakes
Filling
Topping
Course Brunch, Lunch
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Pancakes
Filling
Topping
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Pancakes
  1. In a large bowl, combine Bisquick mix, & 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup milk, 2 eggs, pumpkin & 1 tsp vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing ONLY until just combined.
  2. Heat griddle to about 325 F. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until edges appear dry, about 2 minutes, then turn & cook 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter; let pancakes cool completely.
  3. Lightly butter a 13 X 9-inch baking dish. Spread each cooled pancake with cream cheese, then cut in half & place cut side down into baking dish.
Filling
  1. In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk, cream, sugar & 1 Tbsp vanilla. Pour over pancakes. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 8 hours.
Topping
  1. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Remove baking dish from refrigerator. In a small bowl, mix flour, brown sugar & 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or finger tips until the size of small peas. Sprinkle on top of pancakes in baking dish.
  2. Bake about 1 hour or until topping is golden & filling is set. If topping browns to quickly, cover with foil. Allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

Roasted Summer Fruit with Spiced Mascarpone Cream

You guessed it —- more roasted fruit! It seems to be my addiction this summer. This time its not that I had fruit on hand but instead some mascarpone cheese. Who would dream of letting that go to waste?? Sometimes called  Italian Cream Cheese, mascarpone is believed to have originated in the Lombardy region of Italy. Mascarpone is used in both sweet and savory dishes to enhance the flavor without overwhelming the original taste. Lombardy has a rich agricultural and dairy heritage. Farms that produce the cheese provide their cows with special grasses that include fresh herbs and flowers. This in turn gives a unique taste to the milk and a creamy texture to the cheese.

Some years ago, Brion and I visited the Lombardy region of Italy. We have great memories of the wonderful food but probably even more so the beauty of the architecture and history. We spent a bit of time in Milan. While there we visited the world renowned ‘La Scala’ opera house and museum as well as the glass roofed shopping arcade and giant cathedral, the ‘Gothic Duomo’. I’ve included some of our photos from Milan for you to enjoy.


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Roasted Summer Fruit with Spiced Mascarpone Cream

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, European, Italian

Servings


Ingredients

Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, European, Italian

Servings


Ingredients

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a skillet, toast almonds until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

  2. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small roasting pan, toss together all prepared fruit, half of the sugar, the brandy & butter. Roast, stirring occasionally, until for tender, about 15-20 minutes.

  3. While fruit is roasting, beat together mascarpone, remaining sugar, vanilla, ginger & cardamom until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip cream; fold into mascarpone mixture along with half of the almonds.

  4. Divide mascarpone mixture into dessert dishes forming a mound in each. Spoon fruit & pan juices over top. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.


Recipe Notes
  • You can prepare the fruit & cream ahead. Just keep them in separate dishes; cover & refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Puddingbrezel – Classic German Pastry

The puddingbrezel  is a special kind of pretzel. Made with buttery ‘danish pastry’, filled with a smooth, sweet vanilla pudding. The term danish is connected to a strike among Danish bakers in the 19th century. When bakers from neighboring countries, especially Austria, were invited to work, they brought with them a new kind of dough. As soon as the strike ended, the Danish bakers started to experiment with this new dough adapting it to their needs. 

This dough technique was called lamination. Although the dough is prepared with yeast, it is processed with cold ingredients. After kneading, it is folded and rolled out again multiple times to achieve the desired fluffy and flaky texture. For successful danish pastry, butter is needed as it works to separate the various layers of the dough as they bake.

To put it simply, we have an Austrian pastry that was adapted by the Danes, which is used to make a German delicacy. How is that for ‘interculinary’.

If you like danish, your sure to love these!

 

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 German Puddingbrezel
Using the shortcut version of danish pastry eliminates having to 'knead' the dough.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American, German
Servings
Ingredients
Shortcut Danish Pastry
Vanilla Pudding
Course dessert
Cuisine American, German
Servings
Ingredients
Shortcut Danish Pastry
Vanilla Pudding
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Shortcut Danish Pastry
  1. Dissolve sugar into lukewarm water & sprinkle with the yeast. Allow to stand 15 minutes. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar & salt; pulse in cold butter cubes. Mixture should resemble pea sized chunks. Remove mixture from food processor & transfer to a large mixing bowl.
  2. Whisk together eggs & whipping cream. Stir in yeast mixture & pour over the flour mixture. Toss together with a wooden spoon, just enough to make dough form. Divide into two portions. Each portion makes about 8-10 pastries so if you don't need it all right away, double wrap one portion in plastic wrap & freeze for later. Refrigerate dough for several hours or overnight.
Vanilla Pudding
  1. In a small dish, combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk & beat until completely smooth. Slice vanilla bean lengthwise & scrape out the seeds. Cut the remaining pod in half crosswise.
  2. In a saucepan, add remaining 2 3/4 cups milk, sugar, salt, vanilla pulp & pod. Place on stove over high heat. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat & add cornstarch mixture stirring constantly. Return saucepan to stove, continue cooking ONLY until bubbly & thickened. Remove from heat & take out vanilla pod. Cover with plastic wrap to avoid forming a skin as it cools.
  3. To make PUDDINGBREZELS: Roll a portion of the dough into a 12 x 18-inch rectangle. Cut strips on the long side of the rectangle, about just over 1/2" wide. Twirl two of the strips together & form into pretzels. Transfer carefully to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with some room in between to expand during baking. Let rise 30 minutes before filling.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 F. Using a pastry bag, pipe cooled vanilla pudding into the two holes of each pretzel. Brush each pastry with an egg wash consisting of 1 egg whisked together with 2 Tbsp water. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.Timing depends upon the size you chose to make your puddingbrezels.

Harvest Pie / Tarts

The name of this pie definitely conjures up a cornucopia  of fall flavors. The idea of combining fruit and vegetables has forever appealed to me.

I have always had a love for zucchini as far back as I can remember. Even though it is served as a vegetable, its technically a fruit because it comes from a flower. It has a golden blossom that grows under the leaves.

A member of the gourd family, zucchini is an easy to grow, summer squash, native to Central America and Mexico. Zucchini became quite popular after the 1940’s with the interest in Italian cookery.

In 1992, I came across a recipe in a little ‘Pillsbury Classic Cookbook’ for HARVEST PIE.  It had a great combination of apples, zucchini, carrots and spices. If you like these ingredients, this ‘classic’ will become a favorite fall ‘go to’ dessert recipe for you.

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 Harvest Pie
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a 9-inch DEEP pie with pastry.
  2. In a large bowl, combine apples, zucchini, carrots, nuts & flour; toss to coat.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat brown sugar & margarine until well blended. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest & 2 eggs; blend well. Add to apple mixture; mix well.
  4. Spoon filling into pie crust-lined pan. Top with second crust & flute; slit crust in several places. In a small bowl, blend egg & water; brush over top crust. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cover pie loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning.
  5. Serve with whipped cream if desired.
Recipe Notes
  • Oven temperatures often vary, so if you prefer, bake pie at a bit lower temperature.