Pavlova!

Hands down, one of our absolute favorite desserts. It's Australia's national dessert, much like apple pie is our American national dessert. 

Even people who *say* they don't like desserts love this. It's beautiful and looks impressive. It has a deep, dark secret, too: It looks like it took hours to make, but actually it's very easy and takes very little time. 

Angela's Pavlova

6 egg whites
pinch of salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream

A pint of fresh red raspberries
A pint of fresh blueberries
A pint of fresh blackberries
2 cups fresh sliced and sugared peaches
Note: this is the fruit I use; you may substitute your own fresh favorites.

Beat egg whites intil foamy; add the salt, then add the sugar gradually. Mix in vinegar, then add the vanilla last. Beat until stiff but not dry peaks have formed.

Cover a LARGE rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper, and lightly butter the parchment paper.  Pile the meringue into an 8" mound in the center, making an indentation in the top. (It should look like a volcano crater with it's top blown off.) The meringue will spread out a lot while baking, so be sure to make the meringue very tall and the indent quite deep. 

Bake for 40 to 43 minutes at 300 degrees, --do not peek!-- then turn off the oven and leave the meringue in it for an additional 40 minutes longer, making sure not to open the oven door. Remove from oven to cool completely. Very carefully remove the pavlova shell to a very large round serving platter.

At serving time:
Whip the heavy cream until stiff, and mound the whipped cream into the center crater of the meringue. Top the whipped cream with the fresh fruit; not all of it will fit onto the top of the pavlova. Slice into generous wedges and add additional fruit to each serving. 

Bliss!

Serves 8 to 10 with generous slices and lots of fruit


Any leftover pavlova can be refrigerated overnight, loosely covered. It must be eaten within 24 hours; the whipped cream is fairly fragile. 

September 24, 2011 - Two Versions of Linzer Hearts

So why, out of the blue, would I publish the very special  Linzer Hearts recipe in the middle of September with nary a holiday beckoning? As it happens, my niece Christy is being married on October 8, and my insane sister-in-law is making cookies for the reception. As if there won't be enough sugar shock for everyone to imbibe. But they are pretty, they are festive, they are amazingly delicious. And they are a pain in the butt to make, since they  require assembly. Hence, the cookies must be made in advance. Not a recipe to leave for the last minute when wedding nerves are jangling.

One small note: If you don't want a lemony cookie, then omit the lemon zest and juice altogether, and substitute a large pinch of cinnamon and a large pinch of either mace or nutmeg for a slightly spicy cookie. Cinnamon and raspberry play very nicely together. Or just go with a vanilla-y cookie, or substitute half the vanilla extract for almond extract for a refined variation.

LINZER HEARTS

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 large pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
zest and juice of half a lemon
1 2/3 cups flour

seedless raspberry jam (Dickinson’s is the best)
powdered sugar

Preparation
Cream butter and sugar on medium high speed of a stand mixer until fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the jam and powdered sugar) and beat well. Let the dough rest for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Roll out the dough to about the thickness of a dime. With a heart shaped or round cutter, cut out an even number of cookies. Half of the cookies (these will be the tops) will have the center cut out with a small cutter: i.e. a heart, or small circle,or some other shape. Place cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at (400F) in preheated oven for 3 to 6 minutes. They should be a very pale golden color.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, dust the tops with powdered sugar from a shaker or a fine sieve. Spread a thin layer of jam onto the bottom halves, and press the 2 parts together.

30 to 36 cookies.
(We triple or quadruple the recipe for holiday baking).

Make ahead note: Cookies can be baked in advance and frozen prior to assembly. Defrost a day or two before your occasion, and dust the tops with powdered sugar. Spread the bottoms with jam and press together with a top.

------OR------

A more authentic recipe, with almonds in the cookie:
Thank you, King Arthur Flour!

RECIPE II

Linzer Cookies

AT A GLANCE

PREP

25 mins.

BAKE

8 mins. to 10 mins.

TOTAL

2 hrs 35 mins.

YIELD

24 cookies

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• grated rind (zest) of 1 lemon, or a large pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• raspberry jam for filling
• confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. To make the dough: Beat the butter, sugar, and zest until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. Add the yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, almond flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Don't over-beat.
3. Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
4. To assemble: On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough out about 1/4"-thick. Using a 2 1/2" round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scrap dough, roll, and repeat. Place the cut cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6. While the first half of cookies is chilling, cut rounds from the remaining dough. Once you've transferred these cookies to a baking sheet, use your smallest cookie cutter or the end of a round piping tip to make a peekaboo cutout in the center of each. Place cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
7. To bake: Bake all of the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn brown. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
8. To fill the cookies: Place the cookies with the holes in them on a cookie sheet and sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Turn the remaining cookies flat side up and spoon jam into the center, spreading it slightly. Top with the sugar-dusted cookies.

Be sure to double this recipe -- they don't last!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Haven't posted in some time! Happy New Year, all, and happy birthday to my lovely house mate Patrice. For her birthday I made vanilla cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese icing, and they were a huge hit. Here's the recipe for all who want to make something simple, yummy, and yet sophisticated.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

Yields 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cup granulated sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs, room temperature

4 egg yolks, room temperature

3 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until no flour pockets remain.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake 20-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (4 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup fresh -0r- frozen raspberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend cream cheese, butter, and salt together until fluffy. Add confectioners sugar alternately with the raspberries, using only as much sugar as needed to make a medium-soft, light frosting. Pile high or pipe high onto cupcakes.

note: I found this recipe at burnmenot.blogspot.com and simply doubled the quantities.