Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)

I'm doing a series of ramekin dishes for both of my blogs. This flourless cake turned out delicious!

Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)
1 ounce semisweet chocolate
1 T butter, softened
1 T cocoa powder
1 egg
Dash of salt
1 T sugar
1 T Kahlua
1 tsp powdered sugar


Place chocolate and butter in the bottom of a ramekin. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, then 20 seconds again and stir until melted. Allow to cool. Add cocoa powder then egg, whisking with a small wire whisk. Add sugar, salt and Kahlua. Bake in a toaster oven at 300ºF for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

I find that when I'm home alone, or when my kids and husband all decide to cook for themselves, I like making individual dishes baked in a ramekin in my toaster oven. I keep toying around with the idea of doing a blog of recipes designed for one person and cooked in a ramekin. What do you think?

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

Fill a small ramekin with fresh or frozen (thawed) berries, about 2/3 full
Sprinkle with 2 tsp of sugar

In a cereal bowl, combine with a pastry cutter:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp rolled oats
Pinch of cinnamon
Dash of salt

Sprinkle butter combination over berries. In a toaster or small oven, bake at 350ºF for about 8 minutes, or until top is brown and berries are bubbly.

This recipe is about 350 calories, 6 grams protein, 8 grams dietary fiber, 10 grams fat, 131 mg sodium, and 18 grams sugars.

Revisiting Cinnamon Rolls

Scald and set aside to cool:

1 cup milk

Cream:
6 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Dissolve:
2 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water

When the above steps are completed, combine them and add 6 1/2- 7 cups flour and 1 tsp salt. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Raise until double and roll out. Sprinkle with cut-up butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and slice into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and allow to rise again. Bake at 375º for 12 - 15 minutes.

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 square butter
1 tsp vanilla
milk

Mix ingredients, adding milk until desired consistency.

My daughter, Adara slices the rolls

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars (from bon appetit magazine)

Ingredients:

Crust

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 1/4 cups finely ground graham crackers (from about 17 whole graham crackers)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup purchased dulce de leche

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

2/3 cup purchased dulce de leche

3 tablespoons (or more) heavy whipping cream

Fleur de sel

Preparation

Instructions:

Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted butter; stir until coated. Transfer crumb mixture to pan. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake until crust is light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

Filling

Blend cream cheese and sugar in processor until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, processing 3 to 5 seconds to blend between additions. Add dulce de leche and vanilla; process until blended, about 10 seconds. Spread batter evenly over cooled crust. Bake until just set in center and edges are puffed and slightly cracked, about 38 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Glaze

Heat dulce de leche and 3 tablespoons cream in microwave-safe bowl in 10-second intervals until melted. Stir to blend, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if too thick to pour (amount of cream needed will depend on brand of dulce de leche). Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake; spread evenly. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour (glaze will not be firm). DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.

Cut cheesecake lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 6 strips, forming 24 bars. Sprinkle bars with fleur de sel.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars on the bottom, stacked with Peanut Buddies, Lemon bars, similar to Triple Sec Lime Bars, and Raspberry Bars (from Cooks Illustrated September 2005).

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

I had quite a few pine nuts left over from the Lebanese-Inspired Spicy Lamb Pizza on my other blog and the Italian Easter Pie (posted in this blog prior to this post). I found a recipe for Pine Nut Tart, another Italian dessert, in a generic Mediterranean cookbook I've had for years. I made quite a few changes to the recipe, so I'm calling it my own version. Fabulous. Seriously scrumptious. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and my kids and their friends and Dave all seemed to like it too.

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

Butter Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup cold salted butter, chopped
1 egg

Mix the flour, sugar and butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the egg and mix until combined. Press into the bottom of a tart pan or springform pan. Cook at 375ºF for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Filling
1 1/2 cups raw pine nuts, roasted in the oven at 375ºF for 7 minutes
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt

Combine honey, butter, extract and eggs. Beat until blended. Spread roasted pine nuts in crust. Pour honey mixture over nuts. Bake tart in the oven at 375ºF for 40 minutes or until set. Serve slightly cooled (warm) or cold.

Italian Easter Pie

I had a dish like this while I was in Italy, and I've been meaning to try it ever since. Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network is the author of this recipe. I didn't even try to deviate from her instructions my first time trying it, and I'm glad. It's perfectly, subtly sweet, and the pine nuts and orange zest are gorgeous.

Easter Pie
by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for garnish
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup cooked short-grained rice
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 6 sheets fresh phyllo sheets or frozen, thawed
• 3/4 stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter,
  

Directions

Blend 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and ricotta in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the rice and pine nuts. Set the ricotta mixture aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 9-inch glass pie dish. Lay 1 phyllo sheet over the bottom and up the sides of the dish, allowing the phyllo to hang over the sides. Brush the phyllo with the melted butter. Top with a second sheet of phyllo dough, laying it in the opposite direction as the first phyllo sheet. Continue layering the remaining sheets of phyllo sheets, alternating after each layer and buttering each sheet. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dish. Fold the overhanging phyllo dough over the top of the filling to enclose it completely. Brush completely with melted butter.

Bake the pie until the phyllo is golden brown and the filling is set, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over the pie and serve.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

I made these for my daughter's 21st birthday. Huge hit! They were gone faster than any cupcakes I've made in the past. This is my own recipe, based on a recipe I developed earlier in this blog for triple chocolate cupcakes with strawberry icing. The texture and richness are to die for.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes

First Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz melted 100% cocoa chocolate bar (cooled)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup Chateau Monet

Second Ingredients:
2 cups white, all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine First Ingredients in order, beating constantly until smooth. Combine Second Ingredients in a bowl, then add to first ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill muffin tins to 3/4 full. Bake mini cupcakes for 13 minutes or until done. Bake full sized cupcakes for 35 minutes or until done. Frost with raspberry icing.

Raspberry Icing:
1 lb of powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh raspberry preserves
1- 2 Tbsp Chateau Monet (to texture)

Whip the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add the vanilla, then add the preserves and Chateau Monet until consistency is just right for spreading over cupcakes.