Filter: Desserts

Blueberry Cardamom Coffee Cake 

Preheat the oven to 350°

For the streusel: 

Melt one stick (8 Tbsp) of butter. Combine the ¼ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then 1 ¼ cup flour. Mix well and set aside. 

For the cake: 

Prepare a 9-inch cake pan by greasing it with 2 Tbsp of butter and dusting with 2 Tbsp of flour. In a large bowl, cream the rest of the butter (6 Tbsp) and sugar (¾ cup) on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. This step adds air to the finished product and should not be skipped. Reduce to low speed and add the eggs 1 at a time. Then add the vanilla, orange zest, and yogurt. In a separate bowl, gently whisk together the rest of the flour (1 1/3 cup), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries until just incorporated.  

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and even it out. Crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Beignets 

Add the warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a standing mixer bowl and whisk until combined. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast starts to bubble a bit. 
In a separate small bowl add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and lemon zest to the bowl. Begin to massage the two ingredients together, releasing the oils of the lemon to infuse. 
Then add the sugar, lemon mixture, poppy seeds, milk, eggs, and melted butter to the stand mixture bowl and whisk until combined. 
Replace the whisk attachment with the dough hook attachment and add in the salt and flour. Mix on medium speed until smooth and the dough has pulled away from the inside of the bowl, about 2-3 minutes. 
Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel and let sit at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 1.5 hours.  
Prior to rolling out the dough set up a stove top fryer using a wok or wide, mid side pot. Fill about 2/3 of the way up with fryer oil and heat to 335° (at altitude) 350° at sea level. 
Transfer the dough to a large clean surface dusted with flour and roll out until it is 1/2” to 3/4” thick and cut into 1 1/2” to 2” squares or rectangles. 
Add 5-6 of the beignets to the set-up fryer and cook for 1 1/2-2 minutes per side or until golden brown. 
Cook in batches until the beignets have all been fried and set on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain. 
Coat heavily in powdered sugar and serve. 
 
*Alternatively, the dough can proof in the refrigerator overnight. It will need to come to room temperature the next day and must be left out about one hour prior to use. 
**For a stronger lemon flavor, add 1 teaspoon lemon extract with the melted butter.

Moonstruck Macaron

Preheat oven to 325º

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, and powdered sugar. Have 62 grams of egg whites ready sitting next to the bowl.

Place the remaining 69 grams of egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

In a small pan combine the sugar and water and heat to 235º. Use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature. Once the sugar reaches a temp of 220º start whipping the egg whites.

Once the egg whites reach a soft peak and sugar is at 235º, pour the sugar syrup into the whipped whites slowly down the side of the mixing bowl with the motor running at a medium speed. Try not to get the syrup on the whisk.

Continue whipping at medium to medium-high speed until the meringue is medium stiff. While this is going add, the set aside egg whites, to the almond flour mixture. Once the meringue is ready add 1/3 to the almond flour mixture. This is referred to as performing the macaronage. You can be rougher at this step to make sure everything is combined.

Add another 1/3 of the meringue folding gently to combine. Now you do not want to deflate the meringue. Also, if adding color to the macarons, now is the time. Add the remaining 1/3 of the meringue folding carefully to avoid over mixing. The batter should flow from the spatula without hesitation.

Pipe macarons onto a sheet tray with parchment paper or a silpat. Use a template to pipe so that all the shells end up the same size. While piping, keep the bag straight up and down, use even pressure, and keep the tip close to the surface without moving. All you are doing is filling the circle from the center. Not making circle motions with the tip.

For this recipe, there is no need to let the macarons sit and dry to form a skin. It will actually affect the sheen of the end result. Bake macarons for approximately 12 to 14 minutes, rotating at about 8 minutes. To test for doneness, gently wiggle a macaron, there should be no movement. Allow to cool, and then fill with Lemon Buttercream recipe from below.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend together room temp butter, powdered sugar and lemon extract until all ingredients are combined.

Peppermint White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Using a mixer cream the butter for about 3 minutes, until nice and smooth. With mixer on low, mix in the sugar and then cream again for another 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla and salt. Next, on low speed, add in the flour and mix until just combined.

Place the dough on a sheet of plastic and shape into a rectangular log that is about 8 inches long. Wrap fully and chill for atleast an hour. Heat oven to 350°. Remove cookies from fridge and cut into half inch slices. Lay out the cookies on a sheet tray one inch apart. You can use a tooth pick to make decorative holes in the top of the cookie.

Bake cookies for 8 to 12 minutes, rotating at 6 minutes, until they start to turn golden on the bottom. Remove from oven and let cool.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Once melted, dip the cookie in the chocolate and then in the candy cane pieces. Let chocolate set and enjoy.

Eggnog Cookies

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and spices and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk the egg yolks, eggs, eggnog, dark rum and vanilla.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars and cream cheese. Mix until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and return the mixer to low speed, pour in the eggs, eggnog and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to beat for another minute or two.

Add in the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Remove from bowl, and scrape the bowl again to make sure everything is incorporated.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, drop dough at least 3 inches apart. Let the scooped dough sit in fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the icing: Whisk together the reserved powdered sugar, eggnog, bourbon or rum (If using) and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Add additional eggnog if necessary to reach desired consistency.

To finish the cookies: Drizzle desired amount of glaze over the cookies.
Enjoy!

-Recipe by Tara Walker

Nectarine Meringue Parfaits

To make the crumble, preheat oven to 300° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

In a bowl, combine oil, honey, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Add oats, almonds, and coconut and stir to coat. Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet and press into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn sheet front to back and continue to bake until golden brown and almonds are toasted, another 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Break into 1”-2” pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

To make the meringues, lower oven temperature to 200° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a clean dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, add egg whites. Beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to high and whip until mixture forms soft peaks.

In a bowl, sift together sugar and peach powder. Gradually add strawberry sugar and continue beating until whites are stiff and shiny.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag. Snip off a 1/4″ hole in piping bag tip. Pipe small 2” dollops onto baking sheets. Bake until meringues are firm and dry, about 1 hour. Turn oven off and let meringues sit in oven for 30 minutes.

Gently peel meringues off parchment paper.

Meanwhile, to make the nectarines, in a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add nectarines, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until nectarines soften, about 5 minutes total.

To assemble, add 1 tablespoon crumble to bottom of 6 parfait glasses. Add 4-5 meringues to glasses. Pour spoonfuls of nectarine mixture over meringues, allowing liquid to drip down onto meringues. Sprinkle more crumble over nectarine mixture.

Utah Peach Nice Cream

“Nice cream” is the term for puréed frozen bananas that resemble soft serve ice cream. For this version, we added peak-of-season Utah grown peaches and froze them ourselves. You can substitute peaches from the freezer section if desired, but if you do, you may need to add a small amount of maple syrup to sweeten.

In a food processor, add frozen peaches and bananas. Let sit at room temperature to thaw slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add vanilla, oatmilk, and maple syrup, if using, to food processor. Pulse until fruit starts to break into smaller pieces. Use a spatula to occasionally stir mixture. It may take up to 10 minutes to fully puree. The finished product will resemble soft serve ice cream.

Serve immediately for very soft “nice” cream. If it has started to melt too much, place in a container and freeze for 1 hour. For firmer “nice” cream, freeze for 4 hours. Once frozen, let nice cream thaw slightly to make it easier to scoop.

Nutrition per serving (not including maple syrup):  90 calories; 1g total fat (0g saturated); 5mg sodium; 21g carbohydrates; 3g dietary fiber; 14g sugar (0g added sugar); 2g protein

Pineapple Mango Coconut Popsicles

In a medium bowl, add coconut milk, almond yogurt, vanilla bean paste, and coconut shreds and whisk until well combined.

In a food processor, add fruit and pineapple juice and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add fruit to coconut milk-yogurt bowl and stir until well mixed.

Divide mixture evenly among popsicle molds. Transfer to freezer and freeze until frozen, 2-4 hours. Serve with Tajin seasoning for an extra kick.

Nutrition per serving: 70 calories; 4.5g total fat (2g saturated); 15mg sodium; 8g carbohydrates; 1g fiber, 5g sugar (1g added sugar); 1g protein

German Layer Cake (Kalter Hund)

Line loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside.

Melt coconut oil in microwave and set aside to cool slightly.

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, cream, rum, and coffee. When mixed, turn mixer on low and slowly add melted coconut oil and mix.

Pour a layer of batter on bottom of pan. Place a layer of cookies and cover with batter. Repeat until pan is full, ending with batter layer. Cover and refrigerate, 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, remove from pan, and cut into slices.

Chocolate Caramel Peanut Bars

To make the shortbread, use cooking spray to coat bottom of an 8”x 8” baking dish. Place parchment paper in bottom and up sides of dish.

In a medium bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar and salt. Mix for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides often. Beat in vanilla. Add flour and chocolate chips to creamed mixture. Beat until dough holds together, about 3 minutes. Spread evenly in baking dish. Press with fingers or bottom of a juice glass or measuring cup.

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake until lightly golden, 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the nougat, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and peanut butter. Sift powdered sugar over mixture and stir until well combined. Continue cooking until sugar is bubbling and smooth. Add marshmallows, stir until melted and combined. Remove from stove and stir in vanilla.

While shortbread is still hot, spread nougat mixture evenly over it. Let cool, 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm caramel and cream until smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes. Remove from stove and stir in peanuts. Evenly spread over nougat layer. Put in freezer for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the topping, using a double boiler, in a bowl, add chocolate and peanut butter and melt. Stir until well combined and spread evenly over caramel layer with offset spatula.

Place in freezer until chocolate is set, 20-30 minutes. Cut and serve.