June 2012

Last month I filled in as a pastry chef at Canby Grove Conference Center. It was hectic and messy, but really tasty! Because making desserts to large groups can be tedious - since you need to make large volumes of one kind - I decided to get creative, and created a couple of new recipes that I thought I would share with you. Summer is, after all, a great time to get together and enjoy the company of good friends; what better way to end a great meal than with a great dessert!

Susanna Krizo
Editor

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White Chocolate Coconut Scones

8 dl / 3,5 cups All-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
100 g / 3,5 oz butter
3,5 dl / 12 oz milk
100 g / 3,5 oz sugar
White chocolate chips
Sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Blend flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl Add butter, and cut the butter into the flour with your fingers.
Add the cold milk and form the dough quickly (you want chunks of butter, not a uniform dough). Divide the dough into about palm sized portions, flatten the dough with your hand to a disk. Add white chocolate chips and sweetened coconut on top of the disk and make a half moon shaped scone, hiding the chocolate and coconut inside. Sprinkle some coconut on top of the scone and bake in the oven until the surface is slightly brown, about 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately.

These scones are ideal for camps, since they can be made the day before, and refrigerated overnight.

 
Chocolate Apricot Cake

150 g / 5,25 oz melted butter
2 eggs
3 dl sugar / 10 oz
4,5 dl / scant 2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs cacao
1 dl melted chocolate
1,5 dl / 0.5 cups milk
Apricot jam (choose one that is of good quality)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whip eggs and sugar until white and fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, vanilla, and cacao. Add the flour mixture, milk and cooled butter to the egg-sugar mixture alternating all three. Add melted chocolate. Bake in the oven for 15 min. Allow to cool.
 
Chocolate glace

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
4,5 cups confectioners' sugar
1,5 cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
0,5 cup milk

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Cut the cake in squares, spread apricot preserve on the cake, pipe chocolate glace on top (I made a cross beginning from each corner, and added a floret where the lines cross in the middle)

You can also put a circle of chocolate sauce on the plate under the square for a nicer presentation.




Breakfast Breads

I found these two recipes at allrecipes.com. We got rave reviews from our guests!

Coffee Cake 

FOR THE CAKE

1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened 

2 cups Scant Sugar 

3 cups Flour, Sifted 

4 teaspoons Baking Powder 

1 teaspoon Salt 

1-1/4 cup Whole Milk 

3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff

  

FOR THE TOPPING

1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened 

3/4 cups Flour

 1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar 

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon 

1-1/2 cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don't overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm---delicious!

 

Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients 

1 cup margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
6 bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup lite sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

I sprinkled chocolate chips on top of the batter; it gave a nicer looking presentation for the otherwise rather dull looking bread.