Recipes: Desserts to serve with wine
Glazed pecans, marzipan polenta, chocolate velvet, spanish almond cookies, orange cornmeal cake, pine nut and ricotta tart with fig preserves
Monday, December 29, 2008
GLAZED PECANS
PG TESTED
2 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line cookie sheet with "release" aluminum foil.
Combine egg white, sugar and spices in a bowl. Add pecans and stir to coat. Spread nuts on cookie sheet, separating to make a single layer. Roast for 30 minutes.
-- Elizabeth Downer
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MARZIPAN POLENTA CAKE
PG TESTED
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 ounces) almond paste
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
Confectioners' sugar or berries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin tin. Stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Break up the almond paste with your fingers into pea-size pieces. Place the almond paste and sugar in the bowl. With an electric beater, beat at medium speed until the mixture is uniform, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and vanilla to the bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, another 2 minutes or so.
One by one, beat in the whole eggs and the egg yolks until the mixture is very smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Clean off the beaters. Stir the flour mixture in by hand.
Evenly divide the batter among the 12 buttered muffin cups. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding, then turn out.
Sprinkle with sugar and/or garnish with berries.
To make as a cake for slicing, butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or line with parchment paper and butter the paper and pan. Mix the batter as directed then bake the cake until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the sides have begun to shrink away from the pan, about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, then unmold. Makes 1 large or 12 small cakes.
-- lovenbake.com
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CHOCOLATE VELVET MOUSSE WITH, SHHHH, OLIVE OIL
PG TESTED
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Click photo for larger version6 ounces very good sweet dark chocolate (such as Lindt or Callebaut), chopped
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted after measuring
1/4 cup double-espresso coffee, at room temperature or 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Chambord or Cointreau
3/4 cup fruity-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
Raspberries, optional
Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or in a saucepan over very low heat. Let cool to lukewarm.
In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the coffee and liqueur just to combine. Then stir in the melted chocolate. Add the olive oil and mix well.
Thoroughly wash the beaters so that they are free of grease. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites until almost stiff. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and whisk until patches of white disappear. Repeat whisking in the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture, 1/3 at a time, until patches of white disappear. Do not overmix.
Transfer the mousse into a pretty bowl or individual dessert dishes, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve cold with raspberries, if you wish. Makes 6 servings.
-- Teresa Barrenechea, Spain
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SPANISH ALMOND COOKIES
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Click photo for larger versionPG TESTED
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup lightly flavored extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon aniseed, crushed (optional)
1 egg yolk beaten with a few drops water
1/4 cup almond halves
Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beat in the olive oil then add lemon peel and aniseed. Stir in the dry ingredients until well-mixed, making a soft dough. Chill the dough 1 hour or longer.
Roll the cold dough into 1 1/4-inch balls or ovoids and flatten them slightly. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or on parchment paper.
Brush the tops of the cookies with beaten egg yolk, press an almond half in the center of each and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until cookies are lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Makes about 40 cookies.
-- Janet Mendel