Desserts

Hello friends!  How’s that social distancing going?  I’m hearing a term called ‘quarantine fatigue’ which means people are getting really tired of being at home and are venturing out when maybe that’s not the best strategy.  It’s hard to keep in touch with those we care about just through texting, phone conversations, or Zoom, and I’m sure that’s a contributing factor.  Missing that physical proximity with our friends is a big deal, and really hampers those conversations that have to be in person.  I’m experiencing that with a couple of friends right now, and maybe you are too.  I can’t do anything to make their situation better, so I’m feeling pretty useless at the moment.  I know our friendships will survive and there will be better days ahead, so in the meantime let’s just do the best we can, reach out as best we can, and practice understanding and compassion for those we can’t hug in person at this moment.  And in the ‘Let’s be good to ourselves’ segment of the Blog today, how about we talk about strawberry crisp for a minute or two?

I wasn’t really sure what to call this recipe, and it’s had a long and winding road to end up where it is today.  A year ago, I was trying to create a Strawberry Jam Bar cookie recipe – I needed to use of a bunch of excess strawberry jam from the previous year.  I took an existing recipe, doubled the jam, and sent it out to tasters, who proclaimed that it had ‘too much jam’ – oops.  They were right – it did have too much jam, which resulted in it tasting way too sweet.  Then a few weeks ago, my ‘pretend daughter’ Allie sent me a photo of a Strawberry Crumble she’d made.  It looked delicious, with a crumbly topping and plenty of fruit.  Allie is an excellent and adventurous cook, is kind, smart and wickedly funny. And if I had a real daughter, I’d hope she’d be just like Allie.  Back to the recipe… Wait a second…that’s it!!  Make a bar cookie with big chunks of fresh fruit in addition to the jam.  On the plus side, it’s got a ton of fruit flavor and is a lot less sweet, but on the other side, it’s no longer a cookie bar.  So, it’s kind of a cookie, kind of a crumble, but really neither.  So, I’m calling it a strawberry crisp.  It was either that or I’d have to call it ‘I Have No Idea What the Hell This Is’ which probably wouldn’t have worked very well on Pinterest.

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Hello everyone!!  How are you holding up under all of this business going on in our lives?  I hope you are finding some peace, joy, and humor in everyday life.  Today we have a Rhubarb Coffee Cake  that can me made in a 13×9 inch pan, or is just as happy divided into two, 9-inch cake pans.  The cake pan option is nice for sharing with a neighbor or a friend in need of some sweetness in their lives – and who doesn’t at the moment? This recipe has been adapted from one of my all-time favorites – my grandma Liz’s rhubarb cake.  I can’t tell you the number of times as a kid I offered to put the last remaining pieces of her cake on a separate plate so the baking pan could be washed – and then stuffed most of them into my mouth.  It was sweet/tart and impossible to stop myself.  Grandma’s cake was a prize winner right out of the oven but got so super-moist after a day or two it became almost too moist (if that’s possible).  This was never an issue for grandma, who had seven children and it would have been a miracle if this cake survived one hour let alone one day.  Since people of those numbers are not in many households anymore, I’ve made just a couple of small changes to give the cake more structure. Lo and behold, it has become more of a coffee cake than a regular cake so that’s how we got here.  Dick suggested the addition of caramelized rhubarb, and that genius idea is how we got there.  Put the two concepts together and we’ve got ourselves an irresistible treat.  This cake has never lasted longer than three days in our house but held up well until the last crumb was devoured, and the last of the rhubarb topping was licked off my fingers.

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I received a text from my pretend daughter Allie, asking if I had ever made a Cream Sherry Bundt Cake.  Not only had I never made one, I’d never heard of such a thing.  She went on to explain that it was one of her grandmother’s favorite holiday desserts, and she’d love to bake one.  The problem was that grandma’s recipe, as well as anything Allie could find on the internet, required a boxed cake mix and an instant pudding mix.  Allie figured a baked from scratch recipe would be even better than the one she remembered.  She described the cake as one that was super moist and when it baked, filled the house with the scent of nutmeg and warm spices.  This sounded like it might be fun so I asked if she would like me to try and create grandma’s recipe from scratch, which she thought was a fine idea.

Um…. this turned out to be quite the challenge because as far as I could see nobody had ever attempted to make a ‘pudding cake’ from scratch before, so we were in murky and uncharted territory.  In addition to all that, waving a baking magic wand and turning boxed mixes into something homemade required utilization of my often-ridiculed lack of mathematical prowess, but we were on a mission and charged forward.  Allie was assigned to taste and critique each effort, and after a few tries, I think we might finally be there.  Grandma’s recipe called either for Crème Sherry (which is wine fortified with Brandy) or Brandy.  I’ve tried it both ways and personally prefer the Brandy version, but Crème Sherry is also good for a more subdued boozy flavor).This cake is delicious on its own, but a few extra easy minutes of effort will reward you with a warm and gooey butterscotch sauce that takes this whole thing right over the top.  If you opt out of the sauce idea, your cake can be dusted with powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, or cinnamon sugar before serving.

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Here we have the ultimate late summer dessert.  The one where you hide pieces of it in various places around the house, then excuse yourself for some lame reason, seek it out and go dig in.  There are currently two pieces in our refrigerator and they will soon mysteriously disappear.  That’s just the way it is with this dessert.  You take a bite.  Then another.  Then add a scoop of ice cream, and another.   With that warning in place, I say let’s get moving on making some just for you.

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Last summer, some readers asked if I thought I could make up a peach cake recipe.  It’s been banging around in my mind since then and now that we are in the middle of peach season, it seemed like a good idea to try and put one together. First of all, it had to be a solid enough batter to stand up to a peach, and that presents a challenge.  Peaches are both heavy and juicy, which can spell disaster for a wimpy cake batter that can’t take the weight or the added moisture. Turns out I didn’t need to look any farther than my own family tree…Grandma Vanderzanden to the rescue!  I dug out her old Rhubarb Cake recipe, made a few tweaks here and there, and ended up with a firm, moist cake that has plenty of peaches and a topping that is buttery, sweet, and has just a touch of cinnamon.  Whew!!! And since this is peach season, I figured tossing in a quick, no churn, soft serve peach ice cream might be a good match up for the cake.  This ice cream is loaded with fruit and has just the right amount of sweetness.  It also has no fat, so if you freeze it and unthaw, it tastes more like a granita than an ice cream.  I’m not complaining…either way is pretty good if you ask me.

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I have fond childhood memories of hot summer days, awaiting the neighborhood ice cream truck.  I don’t remember the driver’s name, but I thought he was ancient (but since I was 8, he could have been 25), wore a white jacket and hat, and drove a little red convertible around the neighborhood, blaring out some musical tune that could be heard for blocks, drove our parents crazy, and hypnotized all of us into running toward it at full speed. He arrived with a cooler that was fully loaded with as many ice cream treats a kid could imagine, which made it hard to decide what to choose.  I’m sure many an ice cream bar was melted with all us hanging over the side of his car, staring into the cooler, and mired in indecision.  One year, I was fully entrenched in my Drumstick phase, but when I discovered the Creamsicle the following summer, everything else fell away.  I still can’t resist that combination of creamy vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet, so dreamt up this super easy cremesicle pie. It can stay happy as a clam in your freezer for a couple of weeks or more, waiting for you to get the urge for a treat, and is nice to have for drop-in company.  The crust is crumbled waffle cones, held together with melted butter and a little sugar.  Then all that’s left to do is grab a couple of containers of ice cream and start layering. The crust is not baked in advance, so the whole thing comes together in a few minutes. I swear I can hear that little ice cream truck tune every time I grab a slice.

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They say the best recipes are those passed down from family and friends, and this recipe proves it.  I made a new friend, Sandy, at the gym this year.  We often find ourselves in the locker room or hot tub at the same time (preparing for a grueling workout ha ha), and the conversation often turns to recipes.  Sandy is one of those perpetually happy people, is friendly and kind to everyone, and always has a big smile on her face.  She also has incredible recipe ideas.  One day, she described a Strawberry Rhubarb pie with an oatmeal crust, and I was hooked.  I love pie but am not the biggest pie crust fan, so I was drawn to that idea like a magnet. This recipe originated from one in Family Circle Magazine from 1982.  Sandy added strawberries to the original, and I made a couple of small changes myself, and that’s what cooking is all about.  Love somebody’s idea, then get busy and make it your own by adding your own touches. I intend to make it every chance I get.

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Do you ever have an idea pop into your head that just will not leave you alone?  It happens to me more than I would care to admit, but my latest little visitor was the concept of a dessert with lime.  The coming of warmer weather makes me think about refreshing and cool desserts, and one that would welcome you with open arms after a spicy barbecue supper.  Here is the result of my ponderings: a no-bake (except for the crust, but that’s just ten minutes), smooth, creamy, and refreshing icebox pie, that is brimming with fresh lime juice and lime zest.  The creamy interior is set off by a crisp crust made of graham crackers and toasted coconut.  Here’s a dessert you can whip up with little effort, and it can sit there in the refrigerator, happy as a clam, for a couple of days until you’re ready to serve.  I personally have not been able to wait nearly that long, but it’s good to know if the opportunity presents itself.  PS: this recipe is really not made with key limes, but you can use them if you want to.  It seems like every other recipe out there that makes a pie like this with regular limes calls it a key lime pie, so I decided not to rock the recipe search engine boat.

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