Desserts

Lisa's Apple Pie
This is my most requested dessert, especially at Thanksgiving. The recipe comes from that wonderfully obsessive magazine, Cook's Illustrated. There is an alternative (spicier) pie filling from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook at the end.
Serves 8

Pie dough
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
12 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter cut into ¼-inch pieces
8 Tbsp. chilled Crisco shortening sticks (butter flavor is good)
6-8 Tbsp. ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor workbowl fitted with the steel blade. Add butter and pulse to mix in 5 1-second bursts. Add shortening and continue pulsing until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, four or five more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle 6 Tbsp. Ice water over mixture. Press mixture together with broad side of rubber spatula, adding up to 2 Tbsp. more ice water if dough will not hold together [I always need to add 8 Tbsp. because of our dry climate]. Squeeze dough gently until cohesive and divide into 2 equal balls. Flatten each into a 6-inch wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate flat at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days, before rolling.

3. Remove dough from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 425°.

4. Roll one dough disk in a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle, pressing from the center out. Fold dough in quarters [see my hint below], then space dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex regular pie pan.

5. Gently press dough into sides of pan leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate in place. Refrigerate while preparing fruit.

Filling
2 lbs. Granny Smith (4 medium) and 2 lbs. McIntosh (4 medium) apples [note: the ripest, best Granny Smiths are light green, almost yellow. If you can get them, the very best baking apples are: Macoun, Royal Gala, Empire, Winesap, Rhode Island Greening and Cortland.]

¾ c. plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
1½ Tbsp. juice and 1½ tsp. zest from one medium lemon
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1 egg white, beaten lightly

1. Peel, core and cut apples into ½ to ¾ inch thick slices and toss with ¾ cup sugar and lemon juice and zest through allspice. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center.

2. Roll out other dough round and place over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to ½ inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that the folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 Tbsp. Sugar

3. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to almost room temperature, at least 4 hours.

Hints:
· Try to keep dough as chilled as possible. I even chill my (marble) rolling pin and the pie plate.
· Don't let the apple mixture sit too long. The sugar pulls out the juices of the apples the longer it sits.
· Try rolling out the dough on top of a large piece of lightly-floured saran wrap so you don't have to fold up the dough to transfer it to the pie plate.
· If the dough seems brittle to you, make a note to add a little more water next time.

The above recipe is from the November 1997 issue of Cook's Illustrated

Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook apple pie filling
3 lbs. (about 9) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch slices
½ c. sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ c. heavy or whipping cream

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Toll House Down East Blueberry Pie
Yes, this recipe is from Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the Toll House chocolate chip cookie. She was a friend of Meemah's! Mom writes: "We first had this pie in Duxbury, Mass. on one of our summers there. We were at an Historical Society dinner at the King Caesar house and Allan pushed it aside and asked for a hamburger, to the chagrin of Beepah."

Wash & dry 4 cups blueberries (leaving water on the berries will make the sauce watery).

Boil for 2 min.:
1 c. berries
2/3 c. water
1 c. sugar

Make a paste of 2 Tbsp. flour (Wondra is best), a scant ¼ c. water and ¼ tsp. salt

Slowly add the flour paste to the hot berry syrup & stir, boiling until it becomes clear and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 min.

Add 3 cups berries to mixture, mix will & pour into a pre-baked pie shell. Chill 6-8 hours.

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Auntie Norma's Carrot Cake
Makes 8 molds and 1 cake.

2 ¼ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. allspice
1 c. walnuts
2 c. shredded carrots
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 ½ c. vegetable oil
1 c. raisins
1 8oz. can crushed pineapple (drained, but reserve juice for frosting)

1. Preheat oven to 350° .
2. Spray cake tin and molds with non-stick spray.
3. Drain pineapple.
4. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, spices & set aside.
5. Chop nuts in food processor and place in a large bowl.
6. Shred carrots and add to nut mixture.
7. Blend the eggs & sugar in the processor for 1 min. until light yellow. Add vegetable oil and process for 1 min. more (scrape down the sides).
8. Add dry ingredients and pulse 5-6 times until the flour disappears.
9. Add batter to carrots & walnuts
10. Fold in the raisins and pineapple.
11. Fill oiled cake pan and molds. Bake the molds for approx. 30-35 min, until tester comes out clean. Bake the cake for 55-60 min., until tester comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Icing:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp. sweet butter, softened
3 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pineapple juice

1. Cream cheese & butter and slowly sift in sugar and continue until incorporated and free of lumps.
2. Stir in vanilla and pineapple juice.

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Auntie Norma's Cheese Cake
This cheese cake is so good, Norma sold them to her local gourmet shop!

Cookie crumb crust:
1 c. sifted flour
pinch salt
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. shortening
2 Tbsp. butter

Mix to make fine crumbs and add:
1 egg yolk, then mix again.

Bake at 400° for 10 min. and set on rack to cool.

Filling:
5 8oz. pkgs. soft cream cheese
1 ¾ c. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. frozen lemonade
1 Tbsp. frozen orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ c. milk

Beat until thoroughly mixed, then beat in:
6 eggs

1. Pour into baked crust. Place in hot 500° oven and bake for 15 min. Reduce heat to 250° and bake for 1 hour.
2. Open the door, and turn the heat off. Let cool in pan in oven for over 1 hour.

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Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Cake
Mom says this is a famous recipe from the Settlement Cookbook, which was what Grandma Pereira used to learn American cooking. The Pereira kids requested this every year for their birthdays.

Preheat the oven to 375° and line 2 or 3 8-inch cake pans with wax paper.

2 ½ c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
2 ½ c. brown sugar (1 lb.)
3 eggs
3 squares bitter chocolate (3 oz.)
½ c. sour or buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

1) Sift the flour, measure & sift again.
2) Cream the butter until soft & fluffy, then add sugar and beat again.
3) Add the eggs one at a time, beating hard after each one.
4) Add the melted chocolate
5) Gradually sift the flour, salt & baking soda into the mixture, alternating with the milk.
6) Add the vanilla and boiling water.
7) Bake at 375°.

Grandmother used to frost this with chocolate-flavored whipped cream.

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Grandma's Crumb Cake (from Norma)

½ c. salted butter (1 stick)
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. vanilla sugar
1 c. flour

1. Do not preheat oven.
2. Butter a large, lipped cookie sheet or pan.
3. When Grandma's Yeast Dough has rested enough, flour a large surface and roll dough out thin until it will fit the pan.
4. Mash above ingredients until butter disappears. Add the regular sugar and vanilla sugar until absorbed. Add the flour. Mix to get crumbs.
5. Top the yeast dough with the crumbs and bake in a cold oven at 250° for about 20 to 25 min.

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Mom's Flan
Mom loved the flan our neighbor Rosa Elena Polit used to make, but thought it was too much work (Rosa Elena used to cook the milk down herself). Mom was glad when she found this simpler recipe in a magazine. Flan was always Grandma Pereira's choice for dessert on her birthday.

For caramel syrup:
¾ c. sugar
1/3 c. water

1. Combine the sugar & water in a 4 c. glass measuring cup. Cook, uncovered, on high for 2 min. Stir. Cook for an additional 3 to 5 min. or until syrup turns golden brown.

2. Pour the hot syrup into the top of a double boiler or bain marie. Tilt and swirl it around so that it sticks 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pot. It will harden to a shell as it cools and give the flan its distinctive caramel surface.
   

For flan:
2 cans evaporated milk (or 1 1/2 can evaporated and 1/2 can regular milk)
1 can condensed milk
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla

1. Blend the milks, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. (Mom says be sure to blend this with the cover on the blender!) and pour into the caramel-lined pan.

2. Cook over water until custard begins to separate from the pan. Be sure to check the water level every 15 min. to make sure it hasn't cooked away (add more water as needed). Mom says it typically takes about 1 hour & 10 min. to fully cook.

3. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 8-10 hours) and when you are ready to serve it, put a plate (with sides high enough to catch the juices) on top of the custard and invert to unmold the flan. If too much caramel sticks to the inside of the pan, loosen it with a little boiling water.

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Orange Kiss Me Cake
This famous cake was the first one to win the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Mom says every time she makes it people rave on and on.

Grind:
1 large navel orange with pulp & rind (save the juice!)
1 c. raisins
½ c. walnuts

Sift:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar

Add:
½ c. shortening
¾ c. milk
and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Then add:
2 eggs
¼ c. milk
and beat for 2 minutes.

Fold orange mixture in and pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 min.

Topping:
Drizzle 1/3 c. orange juice over the warm cake. Mix 1/3 c. sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon and ¼ c. chopped walnuts and sprinkle on top of the cake.

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Pereira Special (from Norma)
This was Grandma's tour de force dessert. She was so proud of it she entered it in the Pillsbury bake-off one year.

1. Do not preheat the oven.
2. When Grandma's Yeast Dough has rested enough, flour a large surface and roll out dough until it is 1/8" thick.
3. Pour some of the melted butter in a pot and add the chocolate to melt over gentle heat.
4. Add the sugar and nuts. Mix, and add the vanilla and Grand Marnier or Cointreau. Stir until you get a smooth consistency adding more nuts or chocolate as needed. Taste to make sure it is sweet enough.
5. Spread the chocolate mixture up to ¼" of the edge and roll it up carefully, smoothing the seams when you are done. Twist, patching where it leaks.
6. Put into cold oven and bake at 200° for 5 min, then at 300° until brown.
7. Glaze it.

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 heaping Tbsp. apricot preserves or honey

Bring to a boil, stirring, then brush over Pereira Special.

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Grandma's Plum Cake (from Norma)

2 lbs. Italian Plums, halved & pitted

1. Do not preheat oven.
2. Butter a large, lipped cookie sheet or pan.
3. When Grandma's Yeast Dough has rested enough, flour a large surface and roll dough out thin until it will fit the pan. Brush melted butter on the top of the dough.
4. Place the halved plums sliced side up so they are fitted all over the top of the dough and bake in a cold oven at 250° for about 20 to 25 min.
5. Before serving, sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

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Pot de Chocolat (quick chocolate mousse)
This recipe is unbelievable easy and even more decadent! It is a good thing the serving size is very small. Mom says: "All my married life I made only 2 desserts for company -- this chocolate mousse and Rosa Elena's Flan. Both recipes were quickly made and drew rave notices."

1 ¼ c. scalded Half & Half
12 oz. pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 Tbsp. brandy, rum, or the liqueur of your choice (I like Cointreau)

1. Put the hot Half & Half in a blender and add the rest of the ingredients.

2. Blend until the chips are dissolved (listen to the blender).

3. Pour into demitasse cups (or any other very small container) and refrigerate.

4. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream if you must.

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Zebra Cake
The official birthday cake of the Waite kids!

2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. heavy cream, whipped
2 pkgs. Nabisco™ Famous Chocolate wafers

1. Whip the cream and stir in the vanilla.
2. Prepare a wax paper covered board to support the cake in the refrigerator.
3. Spread 1/2 tbsp. cream on each wafer. Stack the frosted wafers together on the wax paper in groups of 5 or so until all are frosted, then combine the stacks until they form two logs about 14-inches long.
4. Carefully roll the two logs together and frost with remaining cream; chill for 4-6 hours.
5. To serve, slice at a 45 degree angle so that the alternating rows of cookie and cream form a zebra-like stripe pattern.

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Aunt Grace's Banana Cake

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Mom's Glazed Angel Food Cake

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Foolproof Pie Crust

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Oven-bake Caramel Corn
Connie learned to make this from Uncle Carl -- they used to munch it in the summers she came to visit as a teenager, long before they turned to the religion of less sugar and fat. Connie makes it once a year at Christmas time to give as gifts or for a special holiday snack. It is food of the Gods.

2 c. brown sugar
1 c. margarine, melted
½ c. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
8 qts. popped corn
2 c. nuts (optional)

In a heavy pan, boil sugar, margarine, corn syrup and salt for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vanilla and baking soda; mix thoroughly.

Pour over popped corn in a large bowl; stir to coat well. Place on 2 large roasting pans. Bake at 200° for 1 hour. Stir every 15 min. When cool, place in covered containers.

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