Funnel Cakes

It's fair week in the PNW...so here's a recipe for some traditional "fair food" that you can make at home in case you missed it at your local county fair!

Ingredients (makes 6-8 funnel cakes, 8-10 inches)

1½ C AP flour

2 T sugar

2 t baking powder

pinch salt

1 egg

½ C milk

½ C water

½ t vanilla extract

oil for frying

powdered sugar

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until evenly blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, water and vanilla. Beat liquid mixture into flour until smooth.

In an electric frying pan or deep skillet, heat about 1½ - 2 inches of oil to 375°F. (I heat the oil to nearer 400°F; as soon as you add the batter, the temperature drops significantly. If it drops below about 350°F, your batter is soaking up oil before it cooks.)

From a few inches above the oil, drizzle batter* (about 1/3 C) in circular, spiral pattern into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown -- about 2 minutes each side. Use tongs to remove from oil onto paper towel lined plate or pan to drain.

* Using a funnel is traditional (though not necessary): Cover the spout/bottom of the funnel with your finger; load the funnel with 1/3 C of the batter --  or a little more since some will remain coating the sides the funnel. Release your finger holding the funnel a few inches over the oil, drizzling in a circular, spiral pattern...

Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

        ...or go all out and drizzle with your favorite syrup or top with ice cream!

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's the time of year when you can get pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING! I don't want to overload, but I do like pumpkin ...and sweet potato, and butternut squash...all of which appeal to me even more this time of year.

I tried this one from AllRecipes.com ...with a few alterations. I didn't have gingersnap  cookies on hand, and I have nut allergies, so skipped the pecans (in the crust and as garnish); but I did have graham crackers that needed to get used up, so I made a graham cracker crust and added a bit of candied ginger to it.

I was a little short on cream cheese, but made up the difference with a couple ounces of mascarpone; that shouldn't impact the overall outcome much.

It's good. Not fantastic, but really good. Pumpkin flavor is mild and the cheesecake texture is moist, creamy and firm. Topped mine with a dollop of barely sweetened vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon-nutmeg.

Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies made an appearance in a number of food magazines (and online) a couple years ago. I noticed...but never picked up on the trend. They recently showed up again in Better Homes & Gardens. If you grew up eating them and have nostalgic, comfort-food associations, that may increase the appeal. For me...meh.

I made the chocolate version of the cookie; then I mixed up a batch of the cream filling and split it: 1/2 chocolate -- following the BH&G recipe, and I stirred peanut butter into the other half. I have a sweet tooth, for sure! But even for me, the all chocolate was good but just too 'one note'...chocolately, yes, but plain sweet on sweet. The peanut butter at least added some balance.

Recipe @ BH&G

Bread Pudding ...with berries

The original recipe called for blueberries, but acknowledged other berries or chopped fruit would work; without berries you'd have a perfectly good plain/basic bread pudding recipe -- which, honestly, I might prefer; but I had blueberries I wanted to use up, so this was perfect! My first choice would be blackberries. Raisins are the most traditional. Use what appeals to you...or whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients
6 C cubed bread*
1½ C whole milk
¼ C butter
1 C sugar
¼ t salt
5 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
Optional:  2 C fresh berries or chopped fruit; turbinado or other coarse sugar

* Any bread will do, but if you have brioche or french bread or even croissants it's a bonus!

Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Lightly coat a 2 qt casserole dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
Place cubed bread in baking dish.

Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan just until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. (Or temper in the egg mixture...)

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in milk mixture. Pour over cubed bread and let stand 12-15 minutes. Gently fold in berries (if desired), turning bread in baking dish so all cubes are soaked. Top, if desired, with coarse sugar.

Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Delicious as is, or...serve with blueberry syrup or crème Anglaise.

Raised Doughnuts

 National Doughnut Day (the first Friday in June) is coming right up. My students -- our Trojan Cafe cooking club -- have elected to celebrate by making our own. So, of course, I had to test out the recipe in advance. Really, the sacrifices I make for my students... ;)

Ingredients

2 t yeast

2 T warm water (105-115°F)

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

½ t salt

1 egg

2 T + 2 T butter or shortening

2½ cups flour

oil for frying

powdered sugar, sugar & cinnamon, icing(s), sprinkles, etc.

You can get as creative as you want, here! I'm sure at school we'll have a lot more colorful icings; I just used what I had on hand here at home!

Directions

Combine lukewarm water and yeast in bowl of stand mixer. Let it sit until dissolved (about 5 min).

Meanwhile in glass bowl, heat milk until very warm, but not boiling; let cool slightly while yeast is blooming (bubbling, producing a froth).

Add milk, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 cup of flour to bowl with yeast. Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add remaining flour, continue mixing dough. Scrape down sides. Dough will be very sticky.

Transfer dough to large bowl coated lightly with oil. Cover loosely with cling wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled (1-2 hours).

Roll dough out on a floured surface to about ½” thickness. Cut using a donut cutter or large & small round cookie cutters. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Fill electric skillet approx. 1” deep with vegetable oil; heat oil to 375°F.

Carefully place doughnuts in hot oil, a few at a time; do not crowd doughnuts. Do not let oil temperature drop below 350°F.  Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on cooling rack positioned over paper towel covered tray.

Glaze doughnuts with your favorite frosting, thinned with milk or water. If desired, top with nuts, sprinkles, etc.

Mini-Cheesecakes

My culinary club students wanted to make mini-cheesecakes. So I went in search of a recipe...

Ingredients

CRUST:

2/3 C graham cracker crumbs

2 T sugar

3 T butter, melted

¼ tsp cinnamon

FILLING:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ C sour cream

1/3 C sugar

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

GLAZE:

½ C sour cream

2 T sugar

¼ tsp vanilla

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Using a plastic bag and rolling pin, crush graham crackers into fine crumbs. In a bowl, mix 2/3 C graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir. Divide evenly between muffin cups, pressing firmly to bottom using a spoon or the bottom of a glass.

  

Using a stand mixer (or mixing bowl and whisk), beat softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add sour cream, egg, sugar and vanilla; mix just until well blended. (DO NOT OVERMIX!!)

Divide the filling mixture over the graham cracker crust, filling each cup only 2/3 full.

Bake at 325°F for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops are set. With cheesecakes in the oven, increase oven temp to 400°F.  Meanwhile…

Make glaze: Mix together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla; set aside until oven reaches 400°F. When oven reaches 400°F, remove cheesecakes. Top each cheesecake with 1 teaspoon of glaze, spreading slightly with back of spoon; return cheesecakes to oven for 6-8 minutes. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature in muffin tins.

Serve as is, or…

            …top with your favorite fruit pie filling

            …drizzle with your favorite fruit syrup, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, etc.

French Quarter Beignets

My students have asked to make beignets, so I'm testing out a recipe I've had for ages -- seeing how we can make the rising stage work to fit our schedule...

Ingredients
¾ C warm water
¼ C granulated sugar
1¾ tsp yeast
1 egg
1 tsp salt
½ C evaporated milk
3¾ C flour
2 T shortening

non-stick cooking spray
oil, for deep-frying
confectioner's sugar
optional: cinnamon, syrup(s) for dipping

Directions
In a large bowl, mix water, sugar and yeast; let sit 10 minutes.

In another bowl, while the yeast is blooming, beat egg, salt and evaporated milk. In a third bowl, measure out flour.

After 10 minutes, stir egg mixture into large bowl with yeast mixture. Blend in half the flour. Add shortening and continue cutting in the shortening and continue to mix in remaining flour.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, adding just enough flour to keep it from sticking.

Wash the large bowl and lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray. Return dough to bowl; cover with plastic wrap lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Let rise for at least an hour.

Punch down dough to remove excess air bubbles. Roll out dough -- on a very lightly floured surface -- to ¼ inch thick. Use a bench knife to cut into 2-inch squares.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer, electric skillet or fying pan to 350° F. Deep fry beignets, flipping constantly with a fork (or slotted spoon, or tongs...) until they are light golden brown. Remove and drain on briefly paper towels.

Toss gently in a bowl with powdered sugar. Optional: Toss with powdered sugar and cinnamon...and/or serve with fruit syrup dipping sauce. Raspberry is my favorite!

Ginger Crème Brulée

My custards took longer to cook than 1 hour. It will depend on how wide or deep your ramekin style is. Cook them until the centers barely move.

Ingredients
¹/₃ C sugar
4 egg yolks
2 C milk
2 T chopped crystallized ginger
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
6 T sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325˚.

Place 6 4-ounce ramekins in a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine ¹/₃ C sugar and egg yolks, stirring well with whisk.

In a saucepan, combine milk and ginger. Heat over medium heat to 180˚ (just beginning to simmer; do not boil), stirring occasionally. Strain mixture through a sieve, discarding solids. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Divide mixture between 6 ramekins. Add hot water to baking dish to a depth of 1 inch, taking care not to drip or spill into custard filled ramekins.

Bake 1 hour or until center barely moves when ramekin is jiggled. Remove ramekins from pan, cool completely on wire rack. Cover; chill at least 4 hours.

Sift one tablespoon sugar to evenly cover cover each custard top. Using a kitchen torch about 2 inches from custard surface, "brulée" by moving torch back and forth until sugar is melted and caramelized (approx. 1 minute). Serve immediately, or within 1 hour.

If you don't have a kitchen torch...
Put 6 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon water in saucepan; cook, without stirring, over medium heat until sugar is golden (5-8 minutes). Immediately pour over cold custards, gently spreading if necessary to form a thin layer.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
1 C heavy cream
2 T corn syrup
2 T butter
¼ tsp salt
1 C sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out*

Directions:
In saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, butter and salt. Bring to simmer, whisking; remove from heat.

Spread sugar evenly in a large skillet. cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until sugar melts and starts to caramelize (about 5 minutes). Continue cooking, swirling the pan but not stirring, until sugar becomes dark amber (10-15 minutes).

Remove from heat. Add warm cream mixture. Return to medium heat and bring to a simmer; continue whisking until smooth (another 8+ minutes). Stir in vanilla seeds. Let cool slightly before serving.

* or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Couscous with Apricots & Ginger

This comes from a collection of recipes - "The Well-Fed Backpacker". With ingredients that are easily transportable, require no refrigeration, and easy one-pot cooking, this could make a warm, filling breakfast or is plenty sweet to serve as a dessert. Personally, I don't think it needs the extra honey. I happened to have pearl couscous on hand, but the smaller grained variety would work just fine.

Recipe makes enough for one hungry hiker.

Ingredients:
1 C couscous
1½ C water
½ C dried apricots (torn or diced, if desired)
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
1 T honey
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in saucepan, stir to combine. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until water is absorbed and couscous is tender.

Coconut Jasmine Rice Pudding with Ginger-Mango Coulis

Serves approximately 30

Rice Pudding Ingredients:
12 oz jasmine rice
6 C whole milk
1 orange peel, remove in one long strip
15 oz sugar
3¾ C heavy cream, room temperature
3 C coconut milk, unsweetened
1½ Tbls vanilla
non-stick cookingspray, as needed

Directions:
Rinse rice in strainer, then parboil in water 5 minutes. Drain and resesrve.

Heat milk to scalding; add orange peel, sugar, and rice. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly until rice is tender. Remove from heat, discard orange peel.

Add cream and coconut milk; continue to cook over very low heat for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Lightly coat serving dishes with non-stick spray; ladle in pudding. Let cool until firm (6-8 hours)

Ginger-Mango Coulis Ingredients:
3 oz water
3 oz sugar
2 Tbls ginger root, finely minced
½ pint mango purée
1 tsp arrowroot powder, as needed

Directions:
Place water, ginger and sugar in saucepan. Whisk until well combined. Bring mixture to full roiling boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat; combine with fruit puree. Check thickness, adjust with arrowroot slurry if needed; sauce will thicken as it cools. Cool completely.

Yield: 1 cup

Blackberry Bread Pudding with Lemon Whipped Cream

I know some people who have "comfort food" associations with bread pudding. I don't think I ever had bread pudding growing up...just not part of my family traditions. So this was a new one for me. The blackberries aren't actually any part of the pudding, so any bread pudding recipe (if you have a traditional family favorite) could simply be dressed up with some sweetened blackberries and lemony whipped cream.


Ingredients
1 large brioche loaf, cut into 1½ -inch cubes
3¾ C heavy cream
1¼ C sugar
zest of 1 lemon
6 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1½ pints fresh blackberries
1 Tbls lemon juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet; toast until lightly golden brown on all sides, turning a few times (about 15 min). Remove and let cool slightly.

Bring cream, 1 cup sugar, and lemon zest to a simmer over medium heat.
Whisk together eggs and yolks in medium bowl.
Slowly whisk warm milk into eggs; add vanilla.

Transfer bread cubes to 9x15" baking dish. Pour custard mixture over bread; press bread to submerge in custard. Let sit (room temp) 30 minutes so bread absorbs more custard.

Place baking dish inside a larger roasting pan; fill outer pan with warm water halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until puffed around edges, slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from water bath; let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Toss remaining ¼ C sugar with blackberries. Serve bread pudding topped with macerated berries
and Lemon Whipped Cream.

Lemon Whipped Cream
1½ C heavy cream
1½ Tbls powdered sugar
1 Tbls lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
½ tsp vanilla