Skip the Pumpkin Pie: Try These Desserts!
Chocolate, Cashew and Maple Pie (courtesy of Melissa Clark, epicurious.com)
It certainly isn’t for the diet conscious, but Thanksgiving is a time to splurge on calories. Give this delicious, high fat treat a chance. A variation on pecan pie, this is a sure crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
For crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
For filling:
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons brandy
3 ounces bittersweet (at least 60% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups unsalted roasted cashews
For serving:
2 (8 ounce) containers crème fraîche
Special equipment: 9-inch glass or metal pie pan; pie weights or dried beans
Preparation
Make crust:
In food processor, pulse flour and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and pulse or gently stir with fork until incorporated.
Squeeze small handful of dough: If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, pulsing or stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface, gather into ball, and flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Dough can be made ahead and frozen up to 1 week. Defrost in refrigerator before proceeding.)
On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 12-inch round, then transfer to pie pan. Trim edge, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. *** bottom and side of shell all over with fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. (Shell can be assembled to this point ahead: Wrap entire pan well in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 week. Defrost in refrigerator before continuing.)
While shell chills, preheat oven to 425°F.
Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans, then bake until pastry is set and pale golden on rim, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until pale golden all over, 5 to 7 minutes more. Cool on rack.
Make filling and bake pie:
In medium saucepan over moderately high heat, simmer maple syrup, uncovered, until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in butter (mixture may splatter), then sugar and salt. Remove from heat and let cool to warm room temperature.
In medium bowl, whisk together eggs and brandy. Whisk egg mixture into cooled maple syrup mixture.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread chopped chocolate in even layer over bottom of prepared crust. Sprinkle nuts in second even layer, then pour filling over nuts. Bake until filling is puffed and center is just set, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. (Pie can be made up to 1 day ahead. Let cool, then cover loosely and store at room temperature.)
To serve:
Using electric mixer, beat crème fraîche until it holds soft peaks. Serve with pie.
Spiced Apple Cake with Eggnog Sauce (courtesy of Rick Rodgers, epicurious.com)
What brings to mind holiday cheer better than eggnog? This is a really simple recipe, that yields extraordinary results.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
3 tablespoons Applejack, dark or golden rum, or warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar, sifted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 4 cups)
1 cup (4 ounces) pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Special Equipment: 10-inch bundt pan (3 1/4 inches deep; 3-qt capacity)
Garnish: confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Accompaniment: 3 cups eggnog, chilled
Preparation
In small bowl, combine raisins and rum. Let stand until raisins plump, about 1 hour. Drain, discarding rum, and set aside.
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter bundt pan, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
In large mixing bowl or bowl of electric mixer, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Add brown and granulated sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Using electric mixer, beat on high speed, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed, until batter is pale and smooth, about 3 minutes for handheld mixer or 2 minutes for standing mixer. Stir in apples, pecans, ginger, and raisins. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake until wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean and cake just shrinks from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes, then invert and unmold onto rack and cool completely. (Cake can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.)
Just before serving, sift confectioner’s sugar over cake. Serve accompanied by eggnog.
Pumpkin Cheesecake (courtesy of Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living)
You can make as many jailbird jokes as you wish regarding Martha, but there’s no denying her talent for creating decadent baked goods. This is a way to throw in that traditional pumpkin flavor in a not so traditional way.
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds)
Unsalted butter, for parchment and pan
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Pinch of salt
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the filling: Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds, and reserve for another use. Place squash, cut sides down, on a baking sheet lined with buttered parchment paper. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let cool.
Make the crust: Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg yolk and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and salt; mix until dough comes together. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-inch circle, a scant 1/4 inch thick. Fit into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Freeze 15 minutes. Bake until crust is firm and pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Scoop squash flesh into the bowl of a food processor; process until pureed. Transfer 1 cup puree to a medium bowl; reserve remainder for another use. Stir in cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger.
Wrap exterior of springform pan (including base) in 2 layers of foil. Butter sides of pan; set aside. Put cream cheese into the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and flour, mixing until smooth. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, until just combined; do not overmix.
Stir 2 cups cream cheese mixture into squash mixture; set aside. Pour remaining cream cheese mixture into prepared pan on top of the crust. Drop dollops of squash-cream cheese mixture on top. Gently swirl with a butter knife.
Set pan in a large, shallow roasting pan. Transfer to oven. Carefully pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake. Bake until cake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 50 to 60 minutes. Turn off oven; let stand in oven with door slightly ajar 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Run a knife around sides of cake; unmold.
Tarte Tatin (courtesy Julia Child, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom)
Though Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, feel no shame giving it a little European twist. Tarte Tatin is a lovely upside down apple tart that can provide a sophisticated end to your meal.
Ingredients
For the Tart Dough:
3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons chilled butter, diced
2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
1/4 cup ice water, or as needed
For the Tart Tatin:
6 Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and halved
1 lemon, zested and juiced
11/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, as accompaniment
Preparation:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the flours, sugar and butter. Pulse 5 or 6 times in 1/2-second bursts to break up the butter. Add the shortening, turn on the machine and immediately add the ice water, pulsing 2 or 3 times. The dough should look like a mass of smallish lumps and should just hold together in a mass when a handful is pressed together. If the mixture is too dry, pulse in more water by droplets.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface and with the heel of your hand, rapidly and roughly push egg-size blobs into a 6-inch smear. Gather the dough into a relatively smooth cake, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
Slice the halved apples into 4 lengthwise wedges each, and toss in a large bowl with the lemon juice and zest and 1/2 cup sugar. Drain the apples after macerating 20 minutes.
In a 9-inch skillet melt the butter over high heat. Stir in the remaining sugar and cook until the syrup bubbles and caramelizes, and turns a brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange a layer of apple slices in a neat pattern on the caramel in the skillet, then arrange the remaining apples neatly on top.
Return the pan to moderately high heat and cook for about 25 minutes, covering the pan after 10 minutes. Every few minutes press down on the apples and baste them with the exuded juices. When the juices are thick and syrupy, remove the pan from the heat.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a circle, 3/16-inch thick and 1-inch larger than the top of the pan. Drape the dough over the apples, pressing the edge of the dough between the apples and the inside of the pan. Cut 4 small steam holes on the top of the dough. Bake until the pastry has browned and crisped, about 20 minutes.
Unmold the tart onto a serving dish (so the pastry is on the bottom), and serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, as desired.
About The Author
What a gorgeous array of desserts! You’ve inspired me to dust off my abandoned food processor. Thank you, Lily!!
These are great new recipes, I enjoyed how the recipes were organized. I might consider them!
That tart looks scrumptious.