Category: Desserts (Page 8 of 21)

Chocolate Tea Bark

December 20, 2016 / Jenny / 4 Comments

This chocolate tea bark is made with melted semi-sweet chocolate topped with leaves of delicate black tea flavored with bergamot, orange and lemon. Some fresh orange zest gives it additional color and flavor. Super-easy to make, this chocolate tea bark makes a subtly elegant and delicious after-dinner treat, snack, or a sweet homemade gift!

Bark is a festive winter dessert because it is fun to make, and has so many variations. In this version, I use my favorite tea–called Lady in Waiting–from Wilkinson’s of Norwich, a coffee and tea shop in the village of Norwich, in the east of England. My cousin moved to the Norwich area a few years ago, and she often brings me a bag of this wonderful tea when she comes back to visit. It is a version of Earl Grey tea, and it has such a delicate yet powerful flavor. You can use any type of loose leaf tea you wish in this bark, though I am partial to the bergamot/citrus notes in the Earl Grey or Lady Grey types of teas.

I added some orange zest because I cannot resist the flavors of chocolate and orange together, and with the citrus notes already present in this tea, the orange zest goes perfectly. The quality of the chocolate also makes an impact, I have found. Spending a bit more on good chocolate is worth it when making bark. The flavors of the tea leaves and orange zest are subtle, and they look so pretty! It is well-known that both chocolate and tea have lots of health benefits, especially for the health of the soul. 🙂 I find both chocolate and tea especially good for the soul in the winter, when we seem to feel all pleasant things more intensely due to the challenges of the cold weather and long stretches of darkness.

The winter solstice is tomorrow, and it feels every bit of winter here today. We have plenty of snow on the ground and a cold wind is blowing. Our dog has taken to spending time next to the heat vent in the kitchen, and the kids don’t want to get out of their warm beds on these cold, dark mornings. This year, I am especially enjoying our Christmas tree lights and the colorful lights out on the porch as they cast such a warm and cozy glow. We are trying to remember to eat dinner by candlelight, even when it is a dinner thrown together at the last minute.

We are entering the peak of the holiday season, such a special and gracious time of year. Yes, it is a hectic and sometimes stressful time. But also, I hope we all will have some time not only to reach out to those around us, but to sit quietly and contemplate. My yoga instructor shared a famous Mother Teresa quote with us in class yesterday: “Peace begins with a smile.” This chocolate tea bark definitely makes me smile, and I hope it does you too. Peace and Happy Holidays!

Chocolate Tea Bark

Servings: the equivalent of two large chocolate bars
Time: about 15 minutes, plus 1/2 hour for cooling in the freezer, or a couple of hours of cooling time on the counter
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Ingredients:

8 ounces of high quality semi-sweet chocolate
2-3 teaspoons of Earl Grey, Lady Grey, or Lady in Waiting Tea, in leaf form
2 teaspoons of orange zest

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Zest your orange peel and measure out your tea leaves.

Break the chocolate into pieces. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or if you don’t have a double boiler, heat a couple of inches of water in a saucepan over low heat. Place a heat-proof glass bowl over the saucepan (but don’t let the bowl touch the water). Put the chocolate in the glass bowl and allow it to melt, stirring often. When the chocolate is melted and shiny, pour it onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and shape it into a rectangle with a spatula, so the chocolate is about 1/4 of an inch thick. (You may make it thicker or thinner, if you prefer). Sprinkle the tea leaves and orange zest evenly over the melted chocolate, pressing the leaves into the chocolate a tiny bit. Let the chocolate cool and harden, about 2 hours, or if you are in a hurry, you can put the baking sheet in the freezer for about a half hour. When the chocolate is cool and hardened, break it into pieces. Enjoy!

Lovely Lemon Cake

December 9, 2016 / Jenny / 19 Comments

This lemon cake is a rich, moist yellow cake infused with the invigorating flavor of lemon, frosted with a luscious, lemony butter frosting. If you like the flavor of lemon, then this cake is for you!

I love baking with lemons at this time of the year because the smell is so cheerful and uplifting. If I am feeling worn out from all the holiday running around, a whiff of the scent of lemon wakes me up and pulls me into the present moment. Grating the lemon peel and squeezing the juice is pleasant work because it smells so good!

This is the cake my daughter requests every year for her birthday. The recipe is adapted from one I found in my reliable Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, tenth ring-bound edition. I have been making it for years, and though it tastes just as good as a single layer cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan, it looks so pretty as a double layer cake like in the photos here.

I am always amazed that such basic ingredients can create such a delicious and beautiful treat. Flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and in this case lemons–that’s all it takes to make something special. Baking is an act of creation, generosity, and creativity, and with it you can give something special and memorable to someone. Cake does not last long, and it is definitely not a necessity, but the making of it and the sharing of it will live on for a long time in memories. Sometimes we need to let the people we see every day know they are special. Everybody needs an extra hug or some encouraging words from time to time–or a lemon cake!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and take the time to breathe and enjoy this special time of year. We have fresh snow today, making it look like the trees are all decorated with this lemon frosting! Drive safely and stay warm! I look forward to sharing this cake with Angie and the other bloggers at Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Sandhya @ Indfused.

Lovely Lemon Cake

Servings: 12
Time: about 30 minutes of hands-on time, about 30 minutes of baking time, and a couple hours of cooling time
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Ingredients:

for the cake:

3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of finely shredded or grated lemon peel
1 and 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
2 eggs

for the frosting:

1/3 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/3 cups of fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (or you can use vanilla extract if you prefer)

Directions:

for the cake:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 9 x 1 and 1/2 inch round baking pans.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and lemon zest. Add the milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed (carefully, so you don’t spread flour all over your kitchen!) until combined into a batter. Then beat on high speed for two minutes. Add the eggs and beat on high for two more minutes. Pour the batter into your two prepared baking pans, distributing the batter evenly. Bake in your 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pans. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting:

While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. In a medium or large bowl, beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating carefully to combine. Slowly beat in the 1/4 cup of lemon juice and the almond extract (or vanilla extract if you prefer). Gradually and slowly beat in the remaining powdered sugar. Beat in more lemon juice, a little by little, if needed, until you reach the consistency you want for your frosting. Once you reach your desired moisture balance, beat the frosting till it is smooth and fluffy.

Place the first layer of cake on a large plate and spread the top evenly with frosting. Place the second layer on top of the first and then frost the top and sides with frosting, spreading and distributing it as evenly as possible. Be as fancy or as basic as you want to be with the frosting spreading and design. Carefully transfer the cake to a cake stand or leave it on the plate. Slice and serve. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, tenth ring-bound edition.

Cherry-Cranberry Crisp

November 23, 2016 / Jenny / 4 Comments

A radiant cherry and cranberry filling, mixed with a classic crisp topping of oats, graham cracker crumbs, and brown sugar, makes this cherry-cranberry crisp burst with flavor and color. If you are looking for a festive and delicious holiday dessert that is easy and doesn’t involve making a pie crust, then this is a great option! Don’t get me wrong, I love to make pies–in fact I will be making one this evening–but…sometimes it’s nice to throw a dessert together quickly and without much fuss. And the gorgeous colors and many health benefits of tart cherries and cranberries are an added bonus!

I used frozen Montmorency red tart cherries and frozen cranberries for this recipe. I have written in a previous post about my love for this particular type of cherry (Michigan is known for them), but any tart cherry would work fine. I made the filling for this crisp before assembling it and baking it, so I could make sure I had the level of sweetness that I wanted. Everybody has a different threshold for tartness, and this way you can adjust the sweetness before you bake the crisp.

Also, it helps to make sure you mix the cherries and cranberries well while they are cooking in the filling, because the cherries are sweeter than the cranberries, and if someone ends up with a spoonful of mainly cranberries, they may be in for a very tart surprise! However, when mixed up, the cherries and cranberries make a delightful burst of sweet-tartness, and I am so pleased with this very bright flavor and color, and the antioxidants inside it all.

The crisp topping is very simple. My aim with this crisp is to make it as flavorful and at the same time as easy as possible, so it can be a recipe you can turn to when you are a bit pinched for time, but still want a beautiful dessert. It is a crisp topping I use all fall for apple crisp, and it is simply four ingredients–old fashioned rolled oats, graham crackers, brown sugar, and a bit of butter.

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow already, in addition to it being my husband’s birthday! And my daughter’s birthday is a few days after that. Busy times, and yet I am trying to focus on what is most important, and one of those things continues to be gratitude. In these times when there are pressures about holiday shopping, I try to remember also that time is a gift. Spending time with loved ones is a gift, especially if you can be fully present for them.

Food brings people together, bridges gaps, and expresses love. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, I hope you have a great day, and if not, I hope you have a great day, and weekend as well! I am sharing a quote that my yoga instructor shared with our class: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~ Melody Beattie

May you have all those things this weekend, and thank you for reading this blog!

Cherry-Cranberry Crisp

Servings: 6
Time: about 15 minutes prep time and 15-20 minutes baking time
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Ingredients:

For the filling:

4 cups of frozen tart cherries
2 cups of frozen cranberries
1 cup of sugar (or a bit more, if you desire more sweetness and less tartness)
3 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/4 tablespoon of almond extract

For the topping:

1/2 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup of graham crackers, crumbled
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Get out a 9 x 9 inch baking dish (8 x 8 inch works too).

Place the frozen cherries and cranberries in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract. Gradually bring to a boil, stirring as the mixture warms up, to combine the ingredients. When the mixture starts to boil, stir it continually for about a minute, as it starts to thicken and the fruit bursts. Turn the heat down and simmer for a couple of minutes, tasting the filling and adding more sugar if desired. (My family likes it with the 1 cup of sugar, so it’s sweet but with a hint of tartness. If you are used to more sweetness, you might want to add a bit more sugar.) Let the filling cool a bit while you make the topping.

In a small bowl, combine the oats, graham cracker crumbs, and brown sugar. Spoon the filling into the baking dish. Make sure the cherries and cranberries are mixed up, so they can complement each other, and not be in their own corners of the baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling. Dot the butter pieces on top of the filling, distributing them evenly. Bake in your 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired. Enjoy!