Monthly Archives: April 2020

Gesine Prado’s Perfect Pie Crust

Posted on by
Reply

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds of all-purpose flour (approximately 7 1/2 cups)

2 pounds cold unsalted butter (8 sticks) cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cups cold water

1/2 teaspoon salt


PROCEDURE
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and butter.  

Massage the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are a bit smaller.

 Add the water and smoosh around, coating the flour/butter with water.  Kneading until the whole mess looks like is’s holding together just a little.  

Dump the dough out and form into a loose square.  

Let this rest for 10 minutes and then roll out gently, sprinkling flour on your work surface and your rolling pin to keep everything from sticking and roll the dough into a rectangle.  

Make 4 single turns.  That means fold the dough over into a “letter” fold.  This is a holy mess until you get to the last turn. 
Don’t worry.  Bits are going to plop off willy nilly.  Just be patient.  Shove the errant dough chunks back into the whole and persevere!  This is the start of a letter fold

Fold one end towards the middle and then fold the second end over the first.  

Roll out your dough as you would for any pie.  Personally, I like my pies double crusted or latticed.  Which means I blind bake the bottom crust first.  I roll it out, dock the dough (prick it all around with a fork), line the top of the dough with parchment and then let it rest in the fridge for 10 minutes and then again rested in the freezer for 20 minutes. 

Place pie weights or dry beans on top of the parchment to weigh it down, you don’t want the dough to puff up while baking.  

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or just until the dough loses it’s raw appearance but don’t let it brown.  

Fill with fruity goodness, top with lattice or another round of pie dough and bake until the fruit filling starts to bubble and your top crust is golden brown.  

Chocolate Whoopie Pie Cake

Posted on by
Reply

Oven: 350 degrees Bake: 45 min

Indgredients:

1 (15.25 oz.) box chocolate fudge cake mix
1 (3.9 oz.) box instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. vegetable or canola oil
4 large eggs
1 c. sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla

Marshmallow Creme Filling:
10 Tbl. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (7 oz.) carton marshmallow creme
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
3 Tbl. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

For the Cake: Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla.  Using a hand mixer, mix until all ingredients are completely incorporated and mixture is smooth.  Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread out evenly.  It is a very thick batter.  Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert to a wire rack and cool completely.  Once cake is cool, slice in half horizontally.

For the Marshmallow Creme Filling:  In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix butter until smooth.  Add the marshmallow creme, salt and vanilla and mix until well combined.  Add one cup of powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add remaining one cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth and creamy.  Spread filling over the bottom half of the cake and place top half of cake over the creme filling.

For the Chocolate Ganache:  Place chocolate chips in a small bowl; set aside.  Microwave whipping cream in a small, microwave-safe, dish until it starts to bubble.  Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Stir together until smooth and creamy.  If chocolate chips aren’t completely melted.  Place in the microwave and heat, stirring every 10 seconds until mixture is smooth and chocolate is melted.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened and pour over cake.  Store cake in the refrigerator.  Bring to room temperature before serving.    

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Posted on by
Reply

Yield: 10 giant cookies Bake: 11-13 cookies NOTE: use Hy-Vee cake mix

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE COOKIES:

  • 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp red food color
  • ¼ c chocolate chips

FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE:

  • 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make cookies, in a large bowl combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

2. To make the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling and place on a plate. Continue scooping out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls until you have 10. Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. To assemble the cookies, take about 1/4 cup of red velvet cookie dough and flatten in your hands. Place a teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the center and wrap the cookie dough around the filling. Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Scoop onto lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Only bake 3 cookies at a time. The cookies are large and will spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

4. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies. Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy!

Note: if you are going to store the cookies for more than a day, you may want to keep them in the refrigerator. You can make the cookies smaller. Just use less dough and filling. You want to make sure you completely wrap the cookie dough around the filling before baking-so it doesn’t leak. Enjoy!