RECIPE: LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Living out in the sticks or always being on the road in someone else's kitchen, you would think I'd make sure I had everything I needed BEFORE I started cooking. I'm not sure how many times I need to learn that lesson... BUT if you watched me on Food Network Star, you know I am usually able to come up with something pretty good, even if I originally started out with plans to make a completely different dish. That's what happened yesterday. I planned to make my Mom's pound cake for Easter but as I was already in the middle of creaming the butter, I discovered the cream cheese was waaay past the expiration date. I did however, have some perfectly good ricotta cheese in the fridge so I ended up with a Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. It was so light, so moist yet a bit fluffy and very good. It was so good, I've already gotten a request for the recipe so I thought I'd share it with all of you, too. This will never replace my Mom's pound cake but I gotta tell you, it is the perfect shower, party or afternoon tea cake. Put it on your list to try!

My Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake is a fluffy, light variation on my Mom's original pound cake recipe. An accident turned delicious!

LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

4 whole eggs, room temperature

2 egg whites, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/8 tsp salt

LEMON GLAZE

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar (plus more if desired)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 300. Prep two 9 x 5 loaf pans. Grease and flour or spray all sides with Baker's Joy.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the ricotta and beat until combined. Then add the sugar, a little at a time. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are combined. Add the egg whites and beat until they are just incorporated. Turn the speed on the mixer down. Add the lemon juice. Combine the salt and the flour; adding a little at a time to the mixer until it is blended. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.

Pour into the prepared pans. Place on a baking sheet and place on center rack of your oven. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to allow it to cool until just slightly warm before icing.

For the glaze, combine the lemon juice and Confectioners' sugar and whisk; the glaze should be thick and creamy and not too stiff. You should be able to pour it. Add more lemon juice or sugar as necessary to achieve the pourable consistency.

Using a toothpick, poke a few holes into the top of the cake. Pour onto the top of the cake and spread. Allow to cool. Add a second layer if you want a thick glaze.

Serve with berries, whipped cream or any of your favorites.

WANT THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR MY MOM'S POUND CAKE? HERE YOU GO....

Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe: Heart-Shaped Cream Puffs

Cream Puffs are so simple and so delicious. Stuff them with just about anything you like: Pastry Cream, Chantilly Cream or Marscapone Cream but blackberry preserves and flavored whipped cream are the French classic version. If I have time, I make vanilla pastry cream for the filling which takes about 40 minutes to make and chill. If I don't have that kind of time, I simply add a few delicious flavors to some whipping cream and pipe it into the little puffs.

For Valentine's Day, I piped the dough into hearts... so easy and inexpensive and yet, so impressive. Nothing says I love you like a fluffy puff of dough stuffed with delicious cream! You can drizzle the top with chocolate, sit them in chocolate sauce or simply sift powdered sugar over them. You can do this.... I promise but please take the time to read the recipe all the way through before you start.  I have a step by step guide to walk you all the way through! This recipe and the pastry cream are versions of the tons of pate a choux recipes which exist. The two are pretty fool-proof and I have made them a million times. 

 

CREAM PUFFS WITH VANILLA BOURBON CREAM

Makes about 22 small puffs or about 15 heart-shaped puffs

Prep: 10 minutes    Bake: 20 minutes   Difficulty: Intermediate

Supplies: Cookie sheet, parchment paper, piping bag or ziptop bag (don't use a cheap one- it will break)

This is a classic Pate a Choux dough. I always mix mine by hand because I don't want to wash the extra bowl of the mixer but some believe (Alton Brown and Jacques Pepin do use a mixer) that you have to use a mixer to incorporate the eggs. I did a blind taste test and I cannot tell the difference in taste nor in texture or appearance.

CREAM PUFF DOUGH RECIPE (Pate a Choux)

1 cup water

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Get out a large measuring cup or short glass (I find a pint mason jar works great) and put the ziptop bag into it, open the top of the bag. This will give you some stability as you spoon the dough into the bag.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Put the water, butter, salt and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the butter is just melted. Reduce the heat to very low. Add the flour all at one time, mixing with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat until you start to see a little "film" on the bottom of the pan- only about 1 minute. The dough will come together in a ball. Remove from the heat and allow to cool just a little bit but not too much; the dough has to be warm to accept the eggs. If the dough is too hot, you cook the eggs. This is not good.

If you are using a mixer, this is the time to transfer the dough to the bowl of your mixer. I will just use the same saucepan and put it on top of a dish towel to keep it from slipping around as I beat in the eggs. It is essential to add the eggs one at a time to your dough. I usually put all 4 eggs in a small bowl and just slip them in, one at a time, beating each with a wooden spoon until it is incorporated then I add the next egg and repeat. At first, it will seem as if you've made a mistake but do not stop. In a few seconds, the dough will go from slippery to a bit sticky as the egg is accepted into the dough. Do this 4 times. Take care not to be too aggressive with the wooden spoon because I have actually tossed an egg out onto the floor... that is how slippery the dough is in the beginning.

Once you have the eggs fully incorporated, spoon the dough into the pastry bag or ziptop bag you have set up. You can use it right away or it will hold beautifully in the fridge until you are ready to use it. I have waited a day or more, in fact, but bring the dough to room temperature before you try to pipe it onto the baking sheet or you may blow out the side of the ziptop bag.

Pipe the dough into heart shaped or little puffs (see photo at the top) For the heart, draw the outside and then fill in the middle. For the puffs, I find that swirls don't cook as pretty as simply applying pressure to the bag until the puff is the size I want, then pull the bag back.

Before you put the into the oven, wet your finger with water and push down any little peaks so they don't burn.

Bake the puffs for 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees. Open the door and quickly rotate the pan and reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 10-12 more minutes. It is important not to simply switch the pan to an oven set to 350. The puffs will deflate.

I've had to trial and error this timing with my oven... and to my taste. I don't want dried out puffs but I also don't want them too eggy. Grab one out, let it cool slightly and check the inside to see if it is what you want. If so, remove them from the oven.

Take a small knife or even a toothpick and puncture the top of the puff so the steam can escape. Allow them to cool on a rack before filling.

1. Boil the butter in water with sugar and salt. 2. Add all of the flour and stir over very low heat until you begin to see a "film' on the bottom of the pan. 3.Remove from heat, add eggs, one at a time. Dough is slippery until the eggs are excepted. 4. The dough with all four eggs mixed in. 5. Put a ziptop bag over a glass or something to stablize it. 6. Put the dough into the corner of the bag and snip the end.  

VANILLA AND BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM FILLING

This is a fast and easy filling. Below I have included the recipe for pastry cream, which I dearly love but takes a bit longer to make.

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup Confectioners sugar

1/2 tablespoon Vanilla extract

1 tablespoon bourbon (I like Four Roses)

In the bowl of your mixer, add the whipping cream and sift in the Confectioners sugar with the mixer on low speed. Add the vanilla and bourbon. Increase the speed to high and beat until the cream forms peaks that hold... but careful not to over beat. Spoon into a ziptop bag and pipe into the center of the puff. OR for a more dramatic appearance, slice the top of the puff off, add a large mound of the cream and put the little top on it. Dust with Confectioners sugar or drizzle with chocolate.

VANILLA PASTRY CREAM

Pastry cream is a classic French filling and used for many purposes. It does take a while to make and chill before you can use it but it is beyond delicious! You can add bourbon or any other flavors you want.

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Prep: 5 minutes    Cook: 12 minutes      Chill: 30 minutes

Supplies: Large bowl filled 1/2 full with ice water

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk plus 3 ounces more (a little more than 1/2 cup)

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise but not cut through

8 egg yolks in a medium heat-proof bowl

1/2 cup granuated sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 stick unsalted butter 

Put 1 cup of milk, the cream and the bean in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. (you will see the little bubbles foaming around the edges of the pot)

Remove from the heat and allow the bean to infuse the mixture for 15 minutes. While you are waiting, you can fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice and cold water. Set aside.

Remove the bean, scrape out the seeds from inside the pod and stir them back into the milk-cream mixture. Discard the pod.

Add the sugar to the yolks and whisk for 30 seconds to help dissolve the sugar.

Put the saucepan back onto medium heat and bring it back to a simmer. Once you reach the simmer, temper the eggs by briskly whisking a small amount of the hot mixture into the eggs; keep whisking constantly; adding a little more of the hot mixture into the eggs. Continue whisking it in until you have it all incorporated and then return to the saucepan. 

Next, use a fork to whisk the cornstarch into the remaining 3 ounces of milk. I just use the measuring cup because it shows the ounces on the outside. It is just under 1/2 cup of milk.

Put the saucepan back over medium heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue whisking or stirring over medium heat. Suddenly, you will notice it beginning to thicken up. Don't think you have ruined it or curdled it. Just keep stirring until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat. 

Put the saucepan into the ice bath you prepared earlier; take care not to allow any water to get into the pan and continue stirring to cool the custard a bit. Add the butter and stir until it is completely melted and incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap or spoon into a piping bag. Refrigerate until ready to use.

TO SERVE: Several options. Dust with powdered sugar. Dip or drizzle with chocolate. Any-all are good! To make a quick chocolate drizzle: 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Put in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 15-20 seconds or so- just until the chocolate softens. Stir to incorporate and the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. You may need a few more drops of the heavy cream to get the consistency you like. ENJOY! You will make these for the rest of your life once you perfect them!

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Eco-Friendly Party Ideas for Weddings, Mother's Day, Birthdays, or Just Because!

I am getting more and more requests for Eco-Friendly ideas and concepts for weddings, parties, birthdays, etc. If you want to be eco-friendly, think about using items you can either reuse, recycle, or re-purpose. An old wine box becomes a cheese board. Flats of flowers are pretty for decorations and go on to have new life in the garden. There are lots of pretty new bio-degradable paper products you can find now and when you use fruits, veggies and other food items for decorations, you can EAT them after the party! Here are some simple and fun suggestions for your next get-together, just in time for Earth Day, Arbor Day, Mother's Day, and Spring planting season!

Here are some tips and favorite images from over the years...

Use plants, trees, herbs, pots or flats of flowers, mini-shrubs, or mini-evergreens like lemon cypress. Wrap in burlap, put in a tin can, put them in market baskets, etc. They look pretty and you can use them in the yard after the party. 

You can find lots of eco-friendly serving pieces, plates, etc these days. Melamine is awesome; you can reuse it over and over again. There is also lots of new bio-degradable products that look beautiful  instead of institutional. You can find these at any party store.

 

Use wood... rugged, rustic and it lasts forever. We cut wood rounds from a fallen tree to use for trivets, stacking and candle holders for a wedding 3 years ago and have used them many times since.

Use fruit and veggies that compliment your menu for decorations... and eat them after. Yum.

You will be shocked at what you can reuse, repurpose or recycle. I used the top of a wooden wine box for this cheese board presentation! Lightly sand it and wash it thoroughly before using it.

Grass flats make everything look fresh and Spring and are the perfect palate to work from for decorating for just about any occasion. If you use wheat grass, you can even juice it and drink it afterward. Yuck.

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Simple Summer Fun: Beat the Heat with Homemade Popsicles!

In the past, popsicles were just for the kids. Not anymore! Popsicles today are as diverse as the many flavors you can use to create them. I got on a popsicle kick last summer and started making my own. Now, a year later, I am completely obsessed with these frosty concoctions and have lots of new ideas for fruity and creamy creations. I prefer to keep it simple and use plastic cups as molds because they are flexible and release the pops easily but there are many different inexpensive plastic popsicle molds available that you can buy almost anywhere.

Use plastic cups to make perfect frozen pops for summer parties like these yummy Sangria Pops with summer fruits

TRICKS FOR FAST, EASY POPSICLES

1. Use chilled ingredients when you can so your pops freeze faster. Allow pops to set up and freeze a bit before inserting the sticks so they will stay centered.

2. If you are layering flavors or colors, you have to allow the first layer to freeze completely.

3. If you are using fruit or other add-ins in a juice based liquid, it will usually float to the top of the cup- which will be the bottom of the pop. If you want it to be distributed throughout the whole popsicle, you have to add it as they set up.  

4. When using fruit or mix-ins with a cream based pop, it will usually stay suspended throughout the pop.

5. If you are using crumbs or sprinkles, add a bit of liquid to them and allow them to freeze completely before adding the other layers.

6. Anything with a high fat content like heavy cream or Half and Half tastes great- but won't set up as hard as whole milk will so use it in moderation or you will have a difficult time getting the pops to release from the mold.

7. Fruit juice and tea freeze very hard so add some water and a bit of sugar before freezing.

8. Fresh fruits freeze well and taste great. Puree the fruit and add a little agave nectar, simple syrup, or honey to sweeten. Artificial sweeteners don't freeze well for some reason. I like to use infused simple syrup- like mint or vanilla to make the fruits really exotic and full of flavor.

9. If you want to add soda to your pops, it's better to let them go flat first or you'll have lots of bubbles in the texture and they'll probably overflow in the freezing process.

10. Leave a little room at the top of the mold because the liquids will expand when they begin to freeze and spill over unless you allow some room.

11. Alcohol does not completely freeze. If you want to make adult versions of your pops, you'll need to dilute the liquor with some fruit juice or water. I recommend making the pops with very light liquor then serving the pops in a pretty glass with a shot of the chilled libation.

12. To remove pops from plastic molds or cups, very quickly dip them in warm water or rub between your palms for a couple of seconds and they should release.

MOLDS FOR FROZEN POPS

I typically prefer to use small plastic cups for my frozen treats for a variety of reasons: they have a wide mouth so they are easy to pour and layer and they are flexible so the pops release easily. Small plastic cups are also the perfect serving size , they store easily, and you can wash them to use them over and over again. They also help keep melting pops from making a huge mess and still look very pretty in a bowl full of ice for serving, especially the clear plastic cups like these I made with blueberries and strawberries for 4th of July.

 

There are also lots of innovative popsicle molds on the market like these fun tray and straw molds which allow you to sip the popsicle as it melts.

When I was a kid, we'd make our own popsicles using Kool-Aid and a plastic ice tray. While we didn't have popsicle sticks so my mom would give us one or two in a Dixie cup and send us outside to eat them.  My current favorite summer serving solution is a spin on this old school classic. I serve popsicles in plastic glasses for a party. For the kids, this helps keep mess to a minimum and for the adults, you can ramp up the festivities by pouring over your favorite chilled libation. Get the how-to for Popsicles & Prosecco...

      Serve popsicles with chilled Prosecco or sparkling soda 

COCKTAIL POPSICLES

Along the same lines, another big trend is cocktail popsicles. Freeze your favorite cocktail into a frosty bite. You can serve these in cups, cocktail glasses, or on a big tray of ice. Remember that alcohol does not completely freeze so you do need some other ingredients and limit the amount of alcohol in the pop. I often put a bottle of my favorite libation (vodka, bourbon, rum, liqueur, etc) into the freezer for a few hours and then simply pour it over the pop served in a pretty glass. Everyone loves this and it is so refreshing as a dessert after a heavy meal or to start the party rocking on a hot night. Get the recipe for my Sangria pops...

Fresh fruit Sangria pops are a perfect summer party starterFrozen watermelon margaritas Get more popsicle recipes...

Have a frosty cool summer! Follow me on Facebook for more recipes, cocktails, party ideas and fun! ALL PHOTOS BY ARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Cocktail Popsicles: Make Sangria Pops!

Last summer, I went crazy over popsicles, using homemade and store-bought popsicles in a variety of different ways to create cocktail popsicles. One of my favorite things to do is to put tequila, vodka, bourbon, or rum in the freezer to get it really cold. To serve, pour over a fruit flavored popsicle in a glass. The popsicle melts and creates a nice cocktail. I've done the same thing with cold Prosecco or Champagne. My Popsicles and Prosecco is always a huge hit. 

Here is the latest version of cocktail popsicles: Sangria Pops. I always have loved serving big pitchers of fresh fruit Sangria for a party and I like to use the fruit that is fresh and locally available. But here is a new way to greet your party guests that pretty, frosty cold, and delicious... perfect for a hot summer night. They are even pretty enough for a special occasion. Make up tons of these fresh fruit Sangria Pops in advance and serve them on a platter filled with ice or in a chilled wine glass. Either way, guests will love them!

Fresh Fruit Sangria Pops Photo by Arden Photography

SANGRIA POPSICLES

Makes 12-24 popsicles depending on the size of the cup or mold

1 bottle white wine (you can use what you like- even Rose is good)

3 cups white grape juice

2 cups fresh fruit of any combination (I used strawberries, cherries, and green grapes)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons orange juice

Small plastic cups or popsicle molds

Popsicle sticks

Slice the fruit into small chunks or slices. Put in the bottom of a pitcher and add the sugar and orange juice. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves. Pour over the wine and the grape juice. Stir well. Pour into small plastic cups arranged on a sheet pan or cake pan that will fit into your freezer. Let them become semi-frozen for an hour or so and then add the popsicle sticks. Let them freeze for at least 4 hours- more if you have a large mold or larger cup.

Serve on ice or in chilled wine glasses... you can even pour chilled white wine over them... easy and delcious!

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