MetropoChris » Desserts

Wordy Thirty Dinner Party

Chris Perez — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:32:47 +0000

Christy turned 30 last month and we held a novel-themed “Wordy Thirty” party.

We brainstormed for quite a bit to come up with the menu and decorations shown in today’s post on TheKitchn.

I put links to the recipes we used in the post, which you can also find on my site here in the entrees, desserts, and drinks sections. Those darn Turkish delights took for-eeeever but they came out amazing. My personal favorite was the yummy Plum cake though, which is something I think we’ll be making again and again. Mmmm….cake.

Plum Cake – Inspired by Through the Looking Glass

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:24 +0000

The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown:
The Lion beat the Unicorn all round the town.
Some gave them white bread, some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum-cake and drummed them out of town.

For the plum cake we went with Ina Garten’s Plum Cake Tatin recipe

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
10 to 12 purple “prune” plums, cut in half and pitted
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the plums in the dish, cut side down.

Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don’t stir. Pour evenly over the plums.

Meanwhile, cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined.

Pour the cake batter evenly over the plums and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If a plum sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

Eat Me Cakes – Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:22 +0000

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words “EAT ME” were beautifully marked in currants.

Our recipe for the Eat-Me cakes is based on a Scotch Shortbreads recipe found in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook…

Ingredients:

0.5 lb butter
0.5 C confectioner’s sugar
2 C flour
1/4 t salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating well.
Mix the flour and salt together and add to the first mixture, combining thoroughly.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until its 1/4″ thick, then cut into circles and stars.
Put them on ungreased cookie sheets (we used a Silpat)
Prick each cookie with a fork, and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned around the edges

For the frosting we used Wilton’s color flow mix with a royal icing recipe…

Ingredients:

1/2 C plus 1 teaspoon water
4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar (about 1 lb)
2 Tablespoons Wilton Color Flow Mix

Directions:
With electric mixer, using grease-free utensils, blend all ingredients on low speed for 5 minutes. If using hand mixer, use high speed.
Color flow icing crusts quickly, so keep bowl covered with a damp cloth while using. Stir in desired icing color.

-We divided our icing into three separate bowls and added different food colorings to each (white, powder blue, royal blue).

In order to fill an outlined area, the recipe above must be thinned with ½ teaspoon of water per ¼ cup of icing (just a few drops at a time as you near proper consistency). Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Color flow is ready for filling in outlines when a small amount dropped into the mixture takes a count of ten to disappear.

-Frost the cookies with the words “Eat-Me” and “Try One” as described in the book and shown in the cartoons.

Turkish Delight – Inspired from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:12 +0000

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious.

Our Turkish Delight recipe was adapted from one on About.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
Few drops of red food coloring
1 cup confectioners sugar
Vegetable oil or shortening

Directions:
In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper.

In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like consistency.

Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in rosewater. Add a few drops of red food coloring to get desired color. Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool overnight.

Once it has cooled overnight, turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one-inch pieces.

Sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch. Put sugar and cornstarch mixture in a paper bag and put the sliced turkish delights into the bag. Shake bag to coat with mixture. Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper.

Isi Whipped Cream

Chris Perez — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:48:26 +0000

If you don’t own a Isi Whipped Cream maker, you need to start thinking about one. The elegant silver canister will treat you to whipped cream delights and foamy desserts in a twist. Here’s the recipe for the basic whipped cream…

Ingredients
1 pint (2 cups) chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar*
1 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation:
Add sugar and vanilla extract to heavy cream and swirl or stir to dissolve completely. Screw on one iSi cream charger and shake 3 to 5 times, depending on desired consistency. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 10 days until needed.

Note: Try adding Bailey’s Irish Cream, Peppermint extract or Mint juice.