Sweet Mary

Dad's Favorite Italian Cake

This cake doesn't look like much; however, it is extremely flavorful and rich. I was going to post a long story about this cake; however, all you really have to know is that it was a special request that my father made on his birthday many years ago during a time when both he and my Mom were at home together. Now, my Dad had taken early retirement from IBM right before all the big layoffs in the early 90's. But, my Mom, on the other hand, was at home because she unexpectedly lost her (supposedly secure) job. Ah, the early 90's were tough for a lot of people.

Anyway, during that period, my Mom had a hard time just chilling out and enjoying the free time. This was quite the opposite of my father, who loved having all the time in the world to pursue his interests. My Mom will agree that she might have been driving my Dad a little nuts. And, I do recall getting a crocheted blanket in the mail, as well as loaves of bread and other assorted items. She had to keep busy. So, with all that time, she wanted to make him something special for his birthday.

My father, at the time, was very much into Italian cuisine and, thus, for his birthday, chose this Italian cheesecake. I believe the recipe is from an old Sunset magazine or cook book. My Mom just calls it "Dad's Favorite Italian Cake." It was a big hit with everyone and, really, no one has made it for maybe a decade or so.

Now, I have to say, I had never tasted this cake because back when all of this was happening, I lived in California. I wouldn't have eaten or tasted it anyway because I was a vegan back then. This Easter, my Mom asked us to make it because the cake reminds her of good times with my Dad before he passed away. And, after tasting it, it was a wise choice to bring this cake back to the table for more than nostalgic reasons. It is a sweet cheesecake made with Ricotta, pine nut brittle, chocolate chips, and a really nice top and bottom almond crumb crust. And, a bit of rum kind of rounds it all out. It's a bit on the heavy side, but absolutely delicious and easy to see why my father loved it so much. I will definitely make it again.

1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds
3 and 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons light rum
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocoate chips
Almond Crumb mixture
Powdered Sugar

Place the 1/3 cup sugar in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook till sugar becomes liquid and turns gold. Make sure heat is even under the pan. Make sure sugar isn't sticking to sides of pan. Try to keep sugar even in pan. Stir in pine nuts and then immediately turn out into a buttered shallow pan. With a buttered spoon, press mixture to flatten it out a bit. Let it cool. Break it into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a bowl, mix ricotta, rum, and 3/4 cup of sugar till blended. Stir in chocolate and pine nut brittle. Set aside.

Prepare Almond Crumb Mixture and spoon half into a buttered 10-inch spring form pan. Pile it slightly higher around the edges. Do not press too firmly. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the center and then spoon the remaining crust mixture over the ricotta all the way to the sides. Gently pat down to form an almost flat top.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool thoroughly. You can put this in the fridge if you are making it ahead. Before you serve it, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Almond Crumb Mixture

2/3 cup blanched almonds
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
7/8 cup cold butter (1/2 pound minus two tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Toast blanched almonds in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes. Let them cool. Grind them finely in a blender or food processor. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and ground almonds. Cut in the butter till fine crumbs form (you can also use a mixer). Beat together the egg and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and toss with a fork until evenly moistened. The mix should be crumbly. Don't over mix.

Sugar High Friday Round Up

Don't forget to go on over to Habeas Brulee to see the recipe round up for this month's Sugar High Friday. There are some really great recipes. And, if you haven't seen my contribution, you can catch it on the round up or click
HERE.

The I Love You Don't Leave Egg

I try to avoid posting sappy personal stories and just stick to making desserts. However, my nephew wrote a secret message to my sister on one of his eggs this weekend. Seriously, how sweet is that? I'm just prepping you for the next post, which, indeed, includes a nostalgic family story that could very well tug on your heart strings a bit more, as well as a dessert that blew me away (and that's hard to do) and just may become an Allen family Easter tradition.

Sugar High Friday #41: Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies

More cookies, you ask? Well, yes, thanks to my shameless cookie addiction as you well know. These cookies have a super sweet purpose that ties in nicely to this month's Sugar High Friday, hosted by the author of a site called Habeas Brulee. The theme is simply "Sweet Gifts." I am posting a bit early because I won't be around next weekend. Sugar High Friday is really Friday, March 28th. I'll be sure to post the link to the recipe round-up on the 28th.

The company I currently work for organizes a huge drive for the March of Dimes, a well known non-profit in the U.S.A. Their mission is simply to help keep babies healthy and alive. Although I cannot participate in the actual walk (now known as the March for Babies) due to an ongoing back issue, I realized I can help some of the teams who are walking and raising money at a bake sale they are having this week. Nope, I can't walk, but I sure can bake. And, my baked goods are well known in some parts of the company because, lord knows, I am always bringing stuff in and passing it out (and, by the way, I temped there while in culinary school and, thus, I brought stuff in from class almost every day!). I am doing three rounds of baking this week for the bake sale...cookies, muffins, and pies that I hope will bring in some good money for the March of Dimes.

So, these Giant Chocolate Toffee cookies hail from Epicurious and are perfect for a bake sale due to the bigger size and balance of bittersweet chocolate, nuts, and toffee (i.e. chopped up Heath bars). I will warn you sugar and dark chocolate freaks that these babies are highly addictive. Not at all for the faint of heart. Super rich. Super moist. Super chewy. Super sweet. And, with the darker chocolate, you get a nice bite at the end. I dare the bake sale browsers to buy just one! You'll want one for later, I guarantee it!

On a baking note, if you don't like darker chocolate, use semi-sweet. You won't get the hint of bitterness, then, and they'll taste just as good.

1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped up bars)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 1.4 ounce chocolate covered toffee bars, chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl with a whisk. Stir chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until completely melted and mixed. Remove from the double boiler and let sit till luke warm.

Using a mixer, beat sugar and eggs till thick, about 4-5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in the flour, then the toffee and nuts. Chill batter till firm, 45-50 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the sheets, about 2 1/2 inches apart. Spray the cup with baking spray to avoid sticking. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate pans halfway through. Cookies should crack on top, but be soft to the touch. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the pan after taking them out of the oven and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Food Blog Search

I've been meaning to mention the new link to the left. Perhaps, you already have seen it, heard about it, or used it? I hope so. It's called Food Blog Search. Plug in what you are looking for (i.e. strawberry rhubarb pie, chocolate mousse, etc.) and sift through all the registered food blogs. And, yes, I am in there. Somewhere. I won't come up as quickly because I don't get as many hits on my site (except for strawberry rhubarb pie....that is the most popular recipe on this site). But, if you keep searching, you'll eventually find me.

This search engine was created by Elise of Simply Recipes and Ximena of Lobster Squad. Simply Recipes is one of my favorite sites. And, the illustrations on Lobster Squad are fantastic. Check them out. And, use Food Blog Search.

Upcoming Classes

This spring I'll be teaching two classes at the Learning Connection in Providence. Click here to view the culinary classes. I will be teaching two Saturday classes, Elegant Tarts in May and Seasonal Fruit Pies in June. Spread the word and don't forget to check out all the other cool stuff at the Learning Connection.

Martha's Double Chocolate and Ginger Biscotti

I am hunkering down this month to read a 950 page book for my book/food club. I will shamefully admit that I didn't even bother to read the last book even though we had two months to read it. I have no excuses. I was lazy. I watched a lot of crappy TV (and am no better for it) and whined about the winter instead. Therefore, I am getting off my arse and getting started because I will finish this one, as it was one of my suggestions. And, no, book club, I did not realize it was such a big honker complete with a long list of the many characters and a glossary to help a reader navigate all the Hindi slang. I promise I will bake you up something pretty and sweet to make up for it.

Now, I really do love to read. And, when I get into a book, it's hard for me to put it down. I'm about 100 pages into this one since starting it this morning. Once you get past the first 50 pages, the story really starts and, hell, you start remembering all the words you've looked up and getting the hang of the book's language and flow. I am into it. I just took a break and made a chocolately snack to go with some afternoon coffee. Yum. Chocolate biscotti with ginger and a cup of coffee. This recipe is from the Martha Stewart website. No complaints from me. I also liked that it made about two dozen. I'll eat a few and give the rest away tomorrow.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
3 oz dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg, yolk, and sugar till light and fluffy. Then, beat in the vanilla and oil until combined. On low, beat in dry ingredients until combined. Fold in nuts, chocolate, and ginger with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Moisten your hands a bit. Divide the dough in half. Then, make two logs, each about 9 by 2 1/2 inches and lay them on the parchment on the baking sheet. Bake until they are set on top, about 20 minutes. Take them out. Let the pan sit for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 325 F. Then, transfer the logs to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal into slices that are 1/2 inch thick. Return pieces to baking sheet. Bake about 20 more minutes until crisp. Half way through, turn the biscotti. When done, cool on pan for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sugar High Friday Pie Round Up

Hey there....don't forget to check out all the cool inspirational pies on Vampituity. Rachel has the round up posted and there are some beautiful pies, including my I Hate Winter Where the Hell is Spring Pie. Also on that note, please think about making a donation to Pie Ranch.