The cake doesn’t really soak up the sauce… it is more like the sauce swathes the cake in a rich, sticky blanket of yumminess. Between the hot sauce, the crunchy pecans, and the velvety cake you have a major  convention of flavor and texture going on in your mouth.

If you cook it a little less (like I will next time) you will also have the gooey middles of the cakes. I am not sure that you can find something a whole lot better for the time and effort it takes to make these (hardly any). You can start them just before you serve the main course and have them on the table by the time the bread is gone. Seriously. This one’s a keeper.

Make these in muffin cups that have been sprayed with baking spray or individual custard cups.

Chocolate Cakes with Praline Sauce

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa
• pinch of kosher salt
• 12 oz chocolate, chopped. Mix bittersweet, dark, semisweet, or milk in any combination.
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melt one and allow to become golden brown
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Melt the chocolate and the one stick of butter together, whisking often
3. Remove from heat and add the browned butter
4. Sift the dry ingredients together three times
5. Beat the eggs and yolks until light
6. Beat in the sugar
7. Carefully whisk in the chocolate and butter combination
8. Divide between 8-10 muffin cups
9. Bake for 12 minutes (gooey) or 15 minutes (moist and rich)
10. Cool for no more than 2-3 minutes and unmold onto dessert plates

Praline Sauce

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 tbs heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup pecans, toasted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Melt the butter, salt, and brown sugar together until no longer grainy, stirring often.
2. Add the cream and stir well
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla
4. Sprinkle pecans over the cakes and pour the warm syrup over all

Makes 8-10 servings

images: marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I like sticky brownies not cakey ones. They have to be intensely chocolate. They have to cause your tastebuds to jumping around and screaming for milk or coffee. They absolutely have to be worth eating. Seriously!

The trick to really intense chocolate brownies is the darkest cocoa powder you can find. Cocoa gives a much richer flavor than melting chocolate and adding it, however in these you are going to use both. Yep. And then… ready? You are going to add toasted pecans (remember that the toasting intensifies the flavor…)  AND chocolate chips…AND white chocolate chips.

In a sugar coma yet?

These are fantastic. I think they will keep for several days… I say think because honestly they have never lasted more than an hour or two here. You can’t use the toothpick method to test these and see if they are done. In order to maintain the complete awesomeness that they are these brownies will always test raw.  Just follow the cooking time, and then cool them in the fridge long enough for them to set.  You can top them with ganache if you like extra chocolate.

Toasted Pecan Brownies

• 3/4 c unsalted butter-melted and allowed to brown
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c cocoa (the darkest you can find…do not substitute baking chocolate)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chopped and melted in 2 tbs heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c chopped pecans, toasted in a 375F oven for 5 minutes. Watch carefully!
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Cream sugar, melted butter, and chocolate until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. beat well. add flavorings.
2. Stir in dry ingredients, nuts, white chocolate chips, and chocolate chips
3. Spread into a greased 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Leave slightly under done.
4. Allow to cool long enough for the center to set.

Makes 12 or so depending on how big you cut them.

Post from: Baking Delights

The cookies themselves are made with Hershey’s Dark Cocoa. It is important that for this recipe you use a very rich, dark cocoa to get the level of chocolate intensity that these need. After the cookies are baked they are cooled and filled with a bittersweet ganache, sprinkled with crushed candy cane, and then topped with a Hershey’s Mint Kiss. These are a specialty kiss that I found, a traditional Hershey’s Kiss but filled with a mint truffle type filling.

Roll the cookie in sugar.

The result is amazingly rich, dark, and chocolatey with a fresh burst of peppermint flavor that cools your mouth and cuts through some of the chocolate.

This are going to be a popular addition to the cookie trays or gift baskets you create this year!

Triple Chocolate Mint Christmas Kisses

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 cup sugar or confectioner’s sugar for rolling
• Ganache filling
• 24 unwrapped chocolate mint Kisses
• 2 candy canes coarsely crushed

1. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and cream and beat well.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt and blend into the creamed mixture
3. Chill for at least two hours
4. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat
5. Roll  teaspoons of the dough into balls, roll in confectioner’s or granulated sugar, and place on baking sheet
6. Indent the balls with your thumb
7. Bake 10-12 minutes
8. Push the middles back down with your thumb and cool
9. Add 1/2 tsp ganache to each cookie and press a kiss into it
10. Sprinkle with ground candy canes
11. Cool completely

Makes about 2 dozen

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Try an oreo crumb crust, a peanut butter cookie crust, or even a gingersnap crust for a change. Experiment with different flavorings, if you like. This pie takes about 1 1/2 hours start to finish and is ready to serve.

I used finely ground black pepper in this. It gives it a bit of depth and the fine grind means that the smooth texture of the filling is not compromised.

French Silk Pie

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper, optional
• 4 eggs, room temp.
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked or a crumb crust

1. Beat butter and sugar until no graininess remains
2. Add cocoa powder and pepper and beat well.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating several minutes after each
4. Beat in vanilla
5. Spoon into crust and smooth top. Chill for 1 hour, at least
6. Serve with whipped cream, chocolate shavings or other garnish

Serves 8

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

The odd thing is that even though the chocolate arrived the next day, and didn’t travel far…and even though it was wrapped in insulating material and with ice packs it was hot. It surprised me because we aren’t having a hot summer and other companies that have sent me cold items have done so successfully. Opening the chocolate I found that it was beautiful, but melty.

In the fridge it went.

When the candy had hardened up enough to get it out of the box I tried it.

The texture is very creamy, in keeping with fine European chocolates. It is creamy enough that it softens at a  room temperature of 80 degrees.  It is completely smooth on the tongue and has a great mouth feel.

Although there were a variety of unique flavors I was not impressed with the taste. The flavor combinations had huge amounts of potential but in reality they were somewhat bland and overpowered by the chocolate itself. The flavors I thought were the most well balanced were:

*Lavender

*Rose

*Hazelnut

The rest of them were not particularly unique, the flavors were lost in the intensity of the chocolate. The designs on two of the chocolates were inedible, and I found myself with a mouthful of posterboard disk.

These are good chocolates but for an artisan price I preferred the Pure Imagination chocolates that Becke sent me in the blog exchange a year ago.

The Delice Chocolatier chocolate is good but it isn’t fantastic.

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I love doing cheesecakes. Even though people think they are really hard, and impressive–they are a cinch. Just a few tricks and tips will guarantee your success. Once you have the basic formula down you can change flavors and crust and topping to your heart’s content.

This brownie cheesecake was actually an accident. I was trying out a new chocolate cake recipe for Matt’s birthday party (7/24)  and the texture of the cake was not what I wanted..too dense to be cake, too dry to be brownie. What to do?

When I took it from the pans it crumbled. I grumbled. And then…

Cheesecake!

I used one and a half layers for the base of the cheesecake (cake was 8″ round, cheesecake wat 10″ round) and the leftover half I cut in chunks. I poured half the batter in over the crust, sprinkled the cake over it, and covered with the rest of the batter. I did set about 1/2 cup of crumbs aside for the top.

It was really good. There was a nice texture difference between the cheese filling and the brownie. The chocolate and vanilla combination provided a flavor variation and the white/ch0colate was a nice color variation.

Here are some tips for great cheesecake:

1. Never whip your ingredients. You want them to be dense. Always mix at low speed with paddles rather than whisks if possible.
2. Have all ingredients at room temperature.
3. Always use a bain marie (water bath) when baking.
4. Bake at a low temperature. 375 for about 45 minutes.
5. Turn oven off and leave the door closed. Leave cake in the oven for 1 hour.
6. Remove from bain marie and allow the cake to cool to room temperature before wrapping tightly and refrigerating overnight.
7. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Chocolate Cake for Base and Brownie Chunks

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to  325F
2. Grease and flour 2 8 inch round pans
3. Beat sugar and butter until creamy
4. Add eggs one at a time
5. Add vanilla
6. Beat in cocoa
7. Add flour and milk alternately, in three parts. Begin and end with flour.
8. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool

Cheesecake

• 32 oz cream cheese (full fat)
• 16 ozs sour cream
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 eggs

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended.
2. Add vanilla
3. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition
4. Fold in the sour cream

Assembly

1. Press one layer or more of the cake in the bottom of a 9-12 inch springform. Make sure the bottom is well covered.
2. Pour in half the cheesecake mixture.
3. Add crumbled cake chunks, reserving about 1/2 cup crumbs for the top.
4. Pour over the rest of the cheesecake.
5. Cover the bottom of the springform with aluminum foil, bringing it up the sides.
6. Place pan in larger pan of hot water. Water should come halfway up the sides.
7. Bake for 45 minutes.
8. Turn oven off and leave door closed for 1 hour. Don’t PEEK!
9. Remove from oven, take out of bain marie.
10. Let come to room temperature and cover tightly.
11. Refrigerate over night.

Next day

1. Run a knife around sides to loosen
2. Remove sides of springform.
3. Glaze with ganache glaze if desired. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Serves 12

images-Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

• She could throw her really cute red and white polka dot apron over her head and cry
• She could create magic

I think she decided to create magic and threw ingredients together to make Blondies. You know why? These are the most versatile of bar cookies. I mean you can toss almost anything in there… well, within reason..I mean I am not suggesting Blondies as a way to get your kids to eat liver, you know? But any kind of nut, any kind of chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, or white chocolate chip… dried fruit…the list goes on.

I wanted something a little different. so I chopped up Snickers Bars. Marc is somewhat addicted to Snickers so I figured it would be a no brainer dessert.

I liked how they came out. I was not expecting the Snickers to melt into the bars as much as they did but other than that it was a great addition. These are sweet, chewy, and have lots of flavor expoding in your mouth all at once. Imagine your tastebuds running around your tongue shouting “INCOMING!!”

You can’t imagine that? Well then, I guess you will have to make these and experience it for yourself.

Snicker Bar Blondies

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 regular sized Snickers, chopped in chunks
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup  butterscotch chips (or brickle)
• 1 cup honey roasted peanuts coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Allow butter to come to room temperature
3. Butter a 13x 9 inch pan
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda
5. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy
6. Beat in the sugars until no longer grainy
7. Add the eggs, one at a time
8. Add the vanilla
9. Stir in the dry ingredients
10. Fold in the chips, nuts, and Snicker Bars
11. Smooth into the prepared pan
12. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool, and cut into desired sized bars.

Makes 1 13×9 inch pan

image:MaryeAudet

Post from: Baking Delights

I mean, how can you go wrong with edible kitchenware?

They are small, and bite sized and make great containers for almost any sort of sweet that you can think of.  Personally I am envisioning a lemon mousse next, maybe a ginger cheesecake filling..and the list goes on and on.

I made a puff pastry tart the other day and I filled it with a light mousse made from Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle tea.  It was very caramelly and sweet…and yeah, I will be posting the recipe maybe tomorrow…but after I filled the tart I found that I had some left over.  I had wanted to try these cups anyway…I am thinking about them for Erin’s baby shower May 30th.  I have been working on menus for that and I am thinking a tea theme with sweet amuse bouche….in several varieties….

Sorry..back on track..

So I put the left over chilled mousse in the cups…each holds about two tablespoons. I dropped a drop of leftover ganache on each one..and as you can see they are cute and they were really…really ..really good.

The nice thing about them is that they look really cool so even if you just filled them up with Cool Whip you would have something on the special side!  You will more than likely see these again on the blog.

Oh, and they are not outrageously expensive.  About 3.99 for 16 of them.

images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I love doing Daring Bakers.  It forces me to challenge myself in ways I would not normally challenge myself.  It forces me to think outside of the box, and it allows me to be part of a group that includes the premier pastry chefs, bakers, and bloggers in the world.   I don’t know how you imagine my life to be, maybe blithely moving from mixer to oven to computer and back again, but that ain’t it!  Anyway, Daring Bakers gives me the chance to leave my daily stuff and imagine that I am a 5 star pastry chef once a month.

This month was cheesecake.  Once again, something that i have lots of experience with.  I used to create cheesecakes for Dallas area restaurants in the 80s as a little income.  I make cheesecakes the way some people make chocolate chip cookies.

You see, basically all good cheesecakes have the same basic ingredients in the same basic proportions.  You want to keep the fat content high and the air content low.  It is really quite simple.  Once you have the formula for a good cheesecake down it is just a matter of changing flavorings and textures.  So, I was not surprised when the recipe for this months Daring Bakers Challenge was very very similar to my own standby recipe.  I did not want to make something I had made before, again like last month I wanted to be stretched and challenged.  So…I present to you my Triple Layer *Oh Yes I Did* Cheesecake.

This is the cheesecake before the ganache is spread on it.

I used my Xanadu Brownies for the crust (more about that later) then a layer of chocolate cheesecake, followed by a layer of espresso cheesecake, using the JazzyBirdCoffee I reviewed on Kettle and Cup.  That is topped with a layer of intense vanilla bean cheesecake and then covered with a shiny, rich layer of ganache.

Oh wait…I forgot to tell you about a layer that you can’t see.  In between the chocolate and the espresso….

Chopped up milky way bars.  Uh huh…Oh yes I did!

I liked this cheese cake a lot.  I did not know how much it would make, and I should have doubled the recipe to get the layering effect that I was looking for.  Remember, my family is big so while this was a big cheesecake to most people, it gave us each one small serving.  If you are going to make this in a 9″ springform I do suggest doubling to get thicker layers.

The other problem I had was that it did not look as pretty as I wanted it to when it was cut.  I would suggest freezing slightly, and cutting with a knife dipped in warm water.  This is how my slices looked:

By the time I realized the images were bad the cake was gone. LOL!

This is going to be a long post.  I will give you the images and what I did first, and the recipe second.

I used my Xanadu Brownies for the crust.  These are rich, chewy brownies, deep dark and delicious.  I knew they would not be overbaked by being in the oven twice.  Just spoon the batter in the bottom of your springform pan.  Cover the outside with aluminum foil.  You will want that on their later anyway.  Bake until just done.  Set the pan aside to cool completely.

The first thing to know about a cheesecake is that you do not want to whip air into the batter.  You want it to be heavy and dense.  Always beat on lowest speed and use cookie whips rather than the ballon whisk attachment if you have them.  Everything should be at room temperature.

Once I had the basic batter made, but before I added the heavy cream called for in the recipe, I seperated the batter into three equal parts of about 3 1/3 cups each.

The recipe calls for one cup of heavy cream.  You need to divide this into three 1/3 portions.

*The chocolate layer: Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge.  Add 8 ozs of bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped.  Stir until smooth.

*The espresso layer: I used one package of JazzyBird Espresso plus enough cream to make up the 1/3 cup.  You can also just heat the cream as above and then steep ground espresso beans in it, then strain.  You could substitute Earl Grey Tea for coffee if you wish.

* The vanilla layer.  Heat the cream as above.  Steep 1/2 inch of a split vanilla bean in it until it cools.  Remove pod.  Scrape out seeds into the cream  and set pod aside.

Chop 10 fun size Milky Way bars coarsely.

Now, pour the chocolate layer on top of the cooled brownie crust.  Add the chopped Milky Ways.  Keep them to the center more because if they are on the outside they will ooze and mess up the look of the layers.   Carefully spread the espresso layer over that.  Now, spoon on the vanilla layer.

Bake as directed in the recipe.

Cool the cake overnight.  Next day make Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and shiny.

Remove cheesecake from refrigerator.  Working very fast spread the warm ganache over the cake, spreading it smoothly over the top and sides.  It is helpful to protect the cake plate with waxed paper while doing this.

Allow to set, in the refrigerator and then top with more chopped Milky Ways:

Store in the refrigerator.  Allow to stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving for best flavor and texture.  So here is the whole recipe without my changes.

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator:

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries – heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon – cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel – take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website – just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle – add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of “coins” of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime – add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets – put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

images:maryeaudet

Post from: Baking Delights

O.k..with that said.. I only check the Daring Kitchen about once a month.  Sometimes I get there twice but not too often.  So when the date got changed from the 29 to the 27 I didn’t know.  You can bet I totally freaked on Friday when I saw daring lasagnes popping up all over the internet.

I was reassured that for this month the 29th was acceptable but that in the future the post date will be the 27th.  Whew. I have made homemade lasagne before numerous times..In fact I have made homemade lasagne from homemade pasta to homemade ricotta to homemade sauce…so this challenge seemed to me as if I would be cheating by doing a regular lasagne.  I thought about chicken and artichoke Parmesan lasagne…I thought about prosciutto, pear, and bleu cheese lasagne…I thought and I thought..How could I be different and challenge myself?

Dessert lasagne..only rule I gave myself was..No chipotle.  This is what I came up with:

Cannoli Dessert Lasagne with Ganache

Yeah.  Cardamom pasta cooked in orange juice, star anise, and sugar, wrapped around a sweet cannoli filling, drizzled with bittersweet chocolate ganache, topped with whipped cream and garnished with pistachios.

So…here’s how I did it.  Ready?

Cannoli Filling

1 pound of whole milk ricotta, drained in a cheesecloth for 30 minutes

4 oz cream cheese

4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

Whip the cream cheese and the ricotta together until well blended.  Add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, and beat well.  Stir in the pistachios and chocolate and set in the refrigerator to thicken.  This is best made one day ahead if possible.

Cardamom Pasta

2 tablespoons very fresh cardamom

2 cups flour

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons walnut oil (not toasted walnut oil..just plain walnut oil)

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

couple of tablespoons of orange juice if needed to acheive the proper consistency

Mix dry ingredients.  Beat eggs and stir in to flour mixture with walnut oil.  Form into a ball.  Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is very supple and elastic.  Cover and set aside until ready to roll or at least 1 hour.

Unless the dough is sufficiently relaxed you will not be able to roll it thin enough.  The main cause of pasta dishes that are just bland or mediocre is the pasta being too thick.  A thin pasta is delicate and adds a whisper of texture and flavor.

On a counter dusted with flour roll the dough as thinly as possible.  You will want to be able to almost read a newspaper through it.  Cut it in long strips about 2 1/2 inches wide.

Mix 2 quarts of orange juice, 1/2 cup of sugar, four whole star anise, a pinch of salt, and about 4 cracked cardamom pods (or a few teaspoons of cardamom) in a pan.  Add enough water to make it deep enough to cook the lasagne noodles.

Bring to a boil and then carefully add the noodles while stirring.  Cook until done.  You do not want these to be al dente..you want them to be cooked well but not mushy.

Drain well and pat dry.

Ganache

8 ozs of chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

Bring cream just to a boil.  Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until smooth and melted.  Keep warm.

Assemble

Take a noodle and lay it flat on the counter.  Spread it with a thin layer of the cannoli filling.  Carefully and gently roll it up.  Drizzle some of the ganache on a serving plate, carefully lay the lasagne on the plate at an angle.  Drizzle with more ganache.  Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of pistachios.

Makes 8

Once again, thanks to the Daring Bakers for helping me to push myself to be a little more creative than I would normally be

images (c)Marye Audet 2009, all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights