Being invited to lunch at someone's home is always followed by "What can I bring?" That's just the way I was raised. Mom drilled those words into my head. And I've come to love the unexpected possibilities of uttering those words. But in this case, I really should have spent that split-second more time before opening my mouth. It was too late to take them back. The search was on for an easy, yet "it looks complicated" dessert.
You'd have to see my kitchen to understand how silly this next sentence sounds. Instead of looking through my cookbooks and cooking magazines, I hopped on the computer and started an Internet search for a dessert recipe. My kitchen is small. But even with that limitation (and trust me, it's a limitation!), I have devoted three (yes, count them, three!) kitchen shelves to my cookbook, cooking magazine, and recipe clippings collections. There are stacks of cookbooks beside the microwave. There are file folders and shirt boxes full of recipes I've clipped out of magazines and newspapers. There are cooking magazines like Everyday Food, Cook's Country, Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine...shall I go on?...hiding in every nook and cranny I can find. Then, just to bring everything into perspective, there's a sign high up on top of the highest cupboard that says, "I can cook, I just don't". As icing on the cake (so to speak), my husband found a comic in the Sunday paper a few months ago that he clipped and posted on the side of the refrig. It shows a woman (not unlike myself) sitting at her kitchen counter with cookbooks spread out everywhere, recipe clipping dripping off the counter top, and her eyes glued to her computer monitor. The small child at her side asks, "What's for dinner, Mom?" The woman speaks without looking up, "Hot dogs, I'm busy reading recipes." My husband thinks it's hilarious. I get the irony, but I'm not laughing.
The specifications for dessert were: Chocolate & Fruit. Well, chocolate is easy. Fruit, on the other hand, can be tricky. My fav is, and always will be, Raspberries. A quick e-mail to a fellow recipe collector got me some ideas. The Internet search began in earnest. And, as expected, results came pouring in. Knowing my friends taste in desserts, I was pretty sure that cheesecake would have to be part of the picture. And, something lemon. The sorting and sifting through the pile of results wasn't going to be fast.
Surprisingly, I was wrong. The 'sort' went like this: Chocolate and raspberries. Lemon and cheesecake. Oh! Raspberries on lemon cheesecake. Oh...I have to make two desserts.
That's how I ended up bringing two desserts to lunch -- Decadent chocolate cake with raspberry sauce AND Citrus cheesecake with raspberries.
Here they are (thanks to Betty Crocker):
Decadent Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce
Ingredients:
Cake
Sauce
|
1
|
cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
|
1/2
|
cup butter or margarine
|
1/2
|
cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
|
4
|
eggs, separated
|
1/2
|
cup sugar
|
1
|
box (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed, drained and juice reserved
|
1/4
|
cup sugar
|
2
|
tablespoons cornstarch
|
1
|
to 2 tablespoons orange- or raspberry-flavored liqueur, if desired
|
|
1/2
|
cup semisweet chocolate chips
|
2
|
tablespoons butter or margarine
|
2
|
tablespoons light corn syrup
|
Garnish
1/2
|
cup whipped cream
|
Fresh raspberries, if desired
|
1. 1 Heat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom and side of 8-inch springform pan or 9-inch round cake pan with shortening. In 2-quart heavy saucepan, melt 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in flour until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until well blended; set aside.
2. 2 In large bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until soft peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Spread in pan.
3. 3 Bake springform pan 35 to 40 minutes, round cake pan 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (top will appear dry and cracked). Cool 10 minutes. Run knife along side of cake to loosen; remove side of springform pan. Place cooling rack upside down over cake; turn rack and cake over. Remove bottom of springform pan or round cake pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. 4 Meanwhile, add enough water to reserved raspberry juice to measure 1 cup. In 1-quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch. Stir in juice and thawed raspberries. Heat to boiling over medium heat. Boil and stir 1 minute. Place small strainer over small bowl. Pour mixture through strainer to remove seeds; discard seeds. Stir liqueur into mixture; set aside.
5. 5 Place cake on serving plate. In 1-quart saucepan, heat glaze ingredients over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted. Spread over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Place whipped cream in decorating bag fitted with star tip. Pipe a rosette on each serving. Serve cake with sauce. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
Citrus Cheesecake with Berries
Ingredients:
Citrus Crust
1
|
cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
|
1/2
|
cup butter or margarine, softened
|
1/4
|
cup sugar
|
1
|
tablespoon grated lemon peel
|
1
|
egg yolk
|
Filling
5
|
packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
|
1 3/4
|
cups sugar
|
3
|
tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
|
1
|
tablespoon grated orange peel
|
1
|
tablespoon grated lemon peel
|
1/4
|
teaspoon salt
|
5
|
eggs
|
2
|
egg yolks
|
1/4
|
cup whipping cream
|
Topping
3/4
|
cup whipping cream
|
1/2
|
cup fresh raspberries
|
1. 1 Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 10-inch springform pan. In medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients, using hands. Press one-third of mixture evenly on bottom of pan. Press remaining mixture halfway up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
2. 2 In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, the orange peel, lemon peel and salt with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in eggs, 2 egg yolks and 1/4 cup whipping cream, beating on low speed until well blended. Pour into baked crust (pan will be full). Bake 20 minutes.
3. 3 Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Bake about 35 minutes longer or until center is set. (Do not insert a knife because the hole could cause cheesecake to crack.) Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven 15 minutes. Cool in pan on cooling rack 15 minutes.
4. 4 Run knife around side of pan to loosen cheesecake. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours or until chilled; cover and continue refrigerating at least 9 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
5. 5 Run knife around side of pan to loosen cheesecake; carefully remove side of pan. In chilled small bowl, beat 3/4 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Spread whipped cream over top of cheesecake. Garnish with raspberries. Store in refrigerator.
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