Twinkies!!!!

A few weeks ago I gave this recipe to a coworker and figured I should prolly post it since it is one of my guilty pleasures that I can’t make anymore. Nowadays, it takes to much time that I don’t have, and the real reason, I would eat it all in one or two sittings.

The Marshmallow Buttercream

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 cup of room temp butter

1 vanilla bean (pitted)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme

Instructions

Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then marry the marshmallow creme into the butter and beat it for 2 minutes.

Now pour in the confectioners sugar. Beat the mix for another 2 minutes. After that, pour in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean. This time stir the mix until it is consistent thoughout.

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The Twinky Cakes

1/3 teaspoon  Cream of Tartar

Nonstick Cooking Spray or Vegetable Oil

1/2 teaspoon  Salt

3/4 cup  Granulated Sugar

1 teaspoon  Baking Powder

1/4 cup  All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup  Cake Flour

2 tablespoons  Milk

4 tablespoons  Unsalted Butter

1 teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

5 large Eggs (separated and at room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Move the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Apply the vegetable oil or cooking spray to the molds you will be pouring the mix into.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, salt, cake flour, and baking powder. Heat a pan over low heat, with milk and butter until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add the swirl pour in the vanilla. Now cover the pan to keep warm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until it is a foamy constancy. Now gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the cream of tartar while the mixer continues to beat until the egg whites reach soft peaks. This should take about 6 more minutes.

Transfer the beaten egg whites to a large bowl with a spatula and add the egg yolks to the standing mixer bowl (you don’t need to bother cleaning the bowl). Beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar on a medium-high speed until the mixture is really thick and a lite yellow color. This should take about 5 minutes. Now add the beaten egg whites to the yolks. Make sure you do not mix these together yet. This is important.

Now shower the flour mixture over the egg whites to make a snow cover. Now you can mix everything on low speed for just 10 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer, make a well on one side of the batter, and pour the melted butter mixture into it. Fold gently with the same large rubber spatula until the batter shows no trace of flour and both the whites and yolks are evenly mixed. This should take about 8 strokes.

Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared molds, filling each with about 3/4 cup of batter (I would advise using a measuring cup). Bake until the cake tops are light brown and feel firm while springing back to the touch. This process should take approximately 13 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the molds to a wire rack and allow the cakes to cool. Do not remove them yet!

Now take the cream filling:

Put the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Pipe frosting into three spots on the underside of the Twinkie (Or use a piping rod to trail it through the center from the side). Make sure not to overfill the cakes or they will split.

Serve while they are still warm and get ready to enter heaven.

Small Dish of Absinthe Delight

1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
2-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin dissolved in 2 tbsp of water
1-1/2 tbsp absinthe
Your favorite berries for serving

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream with the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. Now take off the heat, whisk in the gelatin and absinthe.

Strain the mixture through a fine
sieve into a pitcher, then pour into six
4-ounce ramekins, bowls or small deep valley dishes. Press a piece
of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the puddings and refrigerate until set, at least six hours. Serve with your choice of “fresh” berries.

Now prepare for a trip to heaven… or hell; depending on if you are being naughty I guess. 😉

(side note: I had an idea after all of them were consumed… If you are feeling adventurous, you could sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the top of one of the puddings as they are ready to be served, then quickly torch the sugar to a light caramelization, like a brûlée.)

Bittersweet Chocolate Crémeux

1-1/2 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 cup whole milk
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
9 oz fine chopped dark chocolate
Sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for serving

Start off by bringing the cream and milk to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. Remove
from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot cream. Pour in this mixture to the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard is slightly thickened and coats the back of the spoon, about 5 minutes.

Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl. Add the chopped chocolate and let stand until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk quickly until smooth, then pour the cremeux into a shallow glass or ceramic dish. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cremeux and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or overnight. Spoon the cremeux into glasses, top with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings and serve to your devoted followers. 😉

Poached Pear Delight

In my top 3 Desserts List. Well worth the time it takes to prepare.

4 ripe pears
3 1/2 cups pinot grigio
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 long strip lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
Biscotti or gram cracker crumble (I use a gram cracker pie crust)

Peel, halve, and core the pears, leaving one end intact. Combine the pinot grigio, 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon and anise seeds, in a medium saucepan over high heat, and cook about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the pears, cut-side down, in one layer, making sure that the liquid covers the pears completely. Cover and simmer until the pears are tender but intact, 30 to 60 minutes.

Remove the pears and set aside at room temperature. Remove the lemon peel from the liquid and continue simmering until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Or turn up the heat to speed up the process. Serve the pears with the syrup, a dollop of mascarpone cheese and gram cracker crumble.

If you use a Pinot Grigio wine in the reduction per directions above, I would use a deep oak Pinot Gris as a paring wine to balance out the desert. It makes it even better!!!

Clementine Granita

12 Clementines, plus 12 more for juicing
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 slice (1/2 inch) peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Slice the top 1/2 inch off each clementine; reserve. Cut around flesh and scoop out into a sieve set over a bowl; reserve skins and be careful not to tear them. Press flesh to extract juice. Squeeze in juice from tops. (You’ll have about 1 cup.) Juice more Clementines to yield 2 cups.

Moisten clementine skins with some juice or water. Roll skins in 1/4 cup sugar to coat. Freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

Bring remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the water, and ginger to a boil in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Let stand for 30 minutes; discard ginger. Stir in
2 cups juice and the lemon juice; transfer to a nonreactive 8-inch square baking dish. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours.

Scrape granita with a fork to fluff. Spoon granita into clementine “cups.” Freeze for 10 minutes before serving.

Keep extra Clementines on hand in case some of the skins tear and
for juicing.

Chocolate Soufflé

(I used an electronic scale)

Prep the Dish

.88oz unsalted butter for greasing
finely grated Chocolate

For the creme patisserie

.71oz Cornflour
7.04 fl oz Milk
7.5oz Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa solids, chopped
2.82oz egg yolks

Now the egg white mix

7.5oz egg whites
5.29oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder for decoration

Preheat oven to 356°F
Brush 8 ramekins (8cm in width, 4-5cm in height) with the softened butter in upward strokes, from the base to the rim. Chill the dishes for 5 minutes, then as an insurance policy so the soufflé doesn’t stick to the dish, apply a second coat as before.
Sprinkle a little grated chocolate into each dish, tilting and rolling the dishes around to line them with an even layer of chocolate.

For the creme patisserie

For the creme patissiere, slake the corn flour with a little of the milk, then gradually add the rest of the milk until you have a smooth mixture. Pour into a small pan, and slowly bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Boil for 30 seconds then off the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks until smooth before transferring to a bowl to cool.

Now the egg white mix

In an artisan mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually start to add in the sugar, whisking well in between each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk until you have a thick and glossy mixture.
Add one third of the egg whites into the chocolate crème patisserie mixture and mix well. Now add in the remaining egg white and gently fold into the mix. Do not over work the mixture as it will become too hard and stiff.
Divide the mixture between the ramekins. Level the surface with a palate knife then bake for 6-8 minutes, or until well risen and with a slightly wobbly centre. Remove from the oven and dust with the remaining cocoa powder. Serve immediately!!!!!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

3-1/2oz butter, softened
3-1/2oz caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out using a sharp knife
2 eggs
3-1/2oz self-raising flour
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp candied lemon zest (optional – available from specialist delicatessens and cake decorating shops) (if you do it yourself, don’t grate the white bitter part under the yellow skin. That will ruin the zest’s flavor.)

Lemon Curd:
6oz golden caster sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
2 eggs
4oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Italian Meringue:

2 egg whites
1-3/4fl oz water
3-1/2oz caster sugar

Decorate:

Zest of 1 lemon
Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with paper cases.

For the lemon curd, place the sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl, add the eggs and butter and immediately start to whisk. Set the bowl over a pan of just simmering water, being careful the bowl does not touch the water. Continue to whisk until the mixture has thickened then remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken. Measure out a little over 2-12oz for the cupakes and spoon the rest into a sterilised jar to store.

For the cupcakes, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla seeds together in a large mixing bowl until pale, fluffy and well combined. Crack in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until both are fully incorporated into the mixture. Fold in the flour, fresh lemon zest and candied lemon zest gently.

Place a couple of teaspoons of batter in the bottom of each case, add a teaspoonful of lemon curd then cover with a little more mixture.

Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown and spring back when pressed lightly in the centre.

Meanwhile for the meringue topping, make a sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over a gentle heat. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form and the mixture has doubled in volume. Gradually add the sugar syrup while you continue to whisk, being careful the syrup doesn’t touch the whisk directly. Keep whisking continuously, until the meringue mixture is thick and glossy and has cooled down – check by feeling the side of mixing bowl.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe some meringue on the top of each cake. Using a blowtorch, lightly brown the top of each cake to toast the meringue. Decorate with strips of lemon zest and a dusting of icing sugar.

Chocolate Cake

Let us begin…

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small package of Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch pie pans. Now make sure you don’t over bake these! You want them to be moist.

Now here it comes!…

 

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
4 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

In small saucepan cook flour and milk until it forms a ball, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat both mixtures together on high speed until fluffy and smooth. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Refrigerate for about 1/2 hour, until it is of spreading consistency.

After the cake is cooled, frost it! Don’t forget to frost the center first.