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The Basics: Pear Crisp

partysugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:00:13 -0800

A crisp is a deep-dish fruit dessert that's topped with a crumbly oat, butter, and flour mixture. It's a fabulously easy and versatile finish to any home-cooked meal. Once you know the basic topping ingredients, you can use whatever fruit is in season. Apple crisp is my dad's favorite, but when I made this, I decided to use pears. As the crisp bakes, the topping browns and the fruit caramelizes. Crisps are best enjoyed warm out of the oven and are especially wonderful when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This old-fashioned and comforting dessert is always a crowd pleaser, so learn how to make it and read more.

Pear Crisp
From Ina Garten

Ingredients

4 pounds ripe Bosc pears (8-10 pears)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.
For the topping: Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.
Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

Serves 8.

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Twilight Cupcakes: Love Them or Hate Them?

partysugar — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:00:23 -0800

I know the majority of you love cupcakes, but now I'm wondering how you feel about cupcakes with human faces on them - and not just any faces, but the vampire and werewolf from the upcoming New Moon. These cupcakes are currently on sale at the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop in New Jersey. Personally, I prefer cupcakes with a simple, smooth, and creamy frosting, but if I had to choose, I would pick a Team Jacob cupcake. How do you feel about them?

You Must Make These Brown-Sugar-Caramel Frosted Cupcakes!

partysugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:31 -0800

Love pecan pie, but tired of making the same old Thanksgiving dessert? Then bake these brown-sugar-pecan cupcakes with caramel frosting instead! Seriously, these cupcakes are the best dessert I've tasted in weeks.

The fluffy batter is rich, but light with a distinct browned-butter flavor. Although it requires a little time to make, the caramel frosting is absolutely to die for. It's smooth and creamy with a sweet taste similar to caramel candies. The pecans tie the elements together and provide a breakfast-like texture to the cakes.

When I served these at a recent dinner party, I was shocked at how good they tasted. Everyone was simultaneously saying, "mmmm" and "these are amazing." You simply must make these delicious cupcakes. Get the recipe after the break.

What Should You Do on a Cold Rainy Day?

OnSugar Blog — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:50:43 -0800

Here are highlights from the OnSugar blog Cakes Icecreams Tarts And.

That's right, you should bake brownies! 'Cause I'm sure you've already got all the ingredients at home, yeah? Chocolate chips, cocoa powder, plain flour, eggs, butter . . . Okay, now you're ready to go into the kitchen! Anyway, It has been raining since morning and, you know, one gets lazy when it rains. I decided to postpone my study plans till tonight, and to stop being envious of all the bakers who'd been baking recently when I had buried myself among my books, I BAKED!

To see her decadent brownie recipe, read more

Come Party With Me: Bold Flavorful Thanksgiving - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:15:15 -0800

I'm a fan of trying out new recipes on Thanksgiving, but I always like to serve some sort of pumpkin dessert. It doesn't matter if it's pie, cookies, or ice cream - as long as it's pumpkiny. To finish a meal that is full of vibrant colors and bold flavors, I would offer guests a spirited twist on the classic crème brûlée. Pumpkin puree and brown sugar make this smooth and creamy treat perfect for turkey day.

Crème brûlée is also great because you can get people up and moving after the big meal: invite everyone to sugar and blow torch their own crème brûlée! To get this recipe, which can be prepared in advance, read more.

Pumpkin and Brown-Sugar Crème Brûlée
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups heavy whipping cream
8 tablespoons raw sugar or golden brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk pumpkin, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in large bowl. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla, then spices and salt.
Bring cream just to boil in medium saucepan. Gradually whisk hot cream into pumpkin mixture.
Divide mixture among eight 5x1-inch ramekins. Divide ramekins between 2 large roasting pans. Add enough hot water to pans to come halfway up sides of ramekins.
Bake until custards are just set in center, about 35 minutes. Chill custards until cold, about 6 hours. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon raw sugar over pumpkin custard in each ramekin. Using kitchen torch, melt sugar until deep amber. Alternatively, use broiler. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar [not raw sugar] and melt directly under broiler until deep amber. Refrigerate 15 minutes to allow sugar to harden. Can be made 1 hour ahead. Keep chilled.

Serves 8.

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Ready to Try the World's Best Apple Pie?

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:29 -0800

Because I haven't been a huge pumpkin pie fan until extremely recently, I've tried to take advantage of Fall's other stellar produce to end the season's celebrations on a sweet note. Like everyone says, there's nothing more American than apple pie. To that I'd like to add: there's nothing that exemplifies Autumn more than the smell of a baked-from-scratch apple pie. This one is perhaps the best I've ever tasted! It's piled high to the sky with fresh apple filling, and the crust calls for shortening instead of butter, which makes it exceptionally flaky. To make this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just because, keep reading.

Would You Rather Eat Pumpkin or Pecan Pie?

partysugar — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:30:50 -0800

Source: Flickr Users delgaudm and museinthecity

This Thanksgiving, Make Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie!

partysugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:33 -0800

Although I can't deny the deliciousness of a slice of classic, cinnamon-laced pumpkin pie, in recent years, I've expanded my horizons to somewhat non-traditional Thanksgiving desserts. Pecan pie? Surprisingly easy, yet wildly delicious. Pumpkin meringue pie? An unexpected crowd-pleaser. Pumpkin cake with pecan brittle and whipped cream cheese frosting? Devoured in seconds. Triple chocolate pumpkin pie? Sign me up! When I came across this recipe, while browsing Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving central, I knew I had to try it. If you've made pumpkin pie in the past, you can master this. It's actually easier because the crust is made from graham crackers instead of a standard pastry dough. The resulting pie is dense and rich. Each bite is an experience of flavors: first you taste chocolate, then pumpkin, and finally the sweet crust. To take a look at the recipe, read more.

Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For the graham cracker crust
2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped
For the filling:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ground cloves
1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides.
Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.
Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack.
Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 12.

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Name That Dish!

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:15:02 -0800

If you prefer to entertain this season with dainty, bite-sized desserts like these pumpkin brownies, chances are, you'd also flip for the small, custardy French pastry, flavored with rum and vanilla, pictured below. Can you identify it?

Come Party With Me: Potluck Thanksgiving - Desserts

partysugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:50:13 -0800

If you've volunteered (or been assigned) to bring a dessert to a Thanksgiving potluck, don't run to the nearest bakery. You can bake a delicious homemade treat that will impress your friends and family! Start by selecting an unexpected dessert like caramel-walnut pie. It's similar to classic pecan pie, but is made with walnuts instead. Next give yourself plenty of time to make the pie and if necessary, experiment with the recipe. Although the resulting pie, with its rich Fall flavors, is scrumptious, the technique to put it together is wildly simple.

The dough is store bought and the filling requires nothing more than a whisk, measuring cups, and a bowl. To give this easy, yet divine Thanksgiving dessert a try, keep reading.