Brimming with both classic confections and current creations, the Sugar Sisters bakery includes: "Let Them Eat Cake," "Fruity Favorites," "Calling All Chocoholics," and "One Smart Cookie." And they won't keep you overtime in the kitchen!
Brimming with both classic confections and current creations, the Sugar Sisters bakery includes: "Let Them Eat Cake," "Fruity Favorites," "Calling All Chocoholics," and "One Smart Cookie." And they won't keep you overtime in the kitchen!
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Overview
Brimming with both classic confections and current creations, the Sugar Sisters bakery includes: "Let Them Eat Cake," "Fruity Favorites," "Calling All Chocoholics," and "One Smart Cookie." And they won't keep you overtime in the kitchen!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781609252090 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 07/15/2005 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 814 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Sugar Sisters
Desserts for the Naughty and Nice
By Kate Hart
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
Copyright © 2005 Red Wheel/Weiser, LLCAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60925-209-0
CHAPTER 1
Let Them Eat Cake!
Lemon Geranium Sponge Cake
This old-fashioned treat can be made any time of the year.
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
5 drops geranium oil
rose geranium leaves, optional
Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat together honey, flour, lemon juice, and rind. Add yolks, milk, and geranium oil and mix again. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, and fold into the lemon mixture. Pour into a buttered 8-inch baking pan and place in another pan of hot water. If available, lay fresh rose geranium leaves on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until cake is set and knife comes out clean. Serve warm. Serves 6.
"Life is uncertain– eat dessert first."
—Ernestine Ulmer
"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already."
—Dave Barry
Chocolate Insanity Cake
1 18.25-ounce package dark chocolate cake mix
1 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 16-ounce container sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
A packaged mix, the size for a single-layer or loaf cake, may be used instead of the homemade batter. The pineapple and brown sugar will get all the attention anyway.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
7 canned pineapple rings, drained
7 maraschino cherries
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a 9- or 10-inch cast iron or other ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until melted and bubbling. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple slices in the bottom of the pan, with a cherry in the center of each slice. Fit nuts in between slices.
In a large bowl, cream shortening with granulated sugar. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beating until batter is smooth.
Carefully spoon the batter over the pineapple slices. Bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Place a serving plate face down over skillet. Using pot holders or oven mitts to protect hands, turn both upside down and remove the skillet.
Angel Food Cake
Fabulous with the boiled frosting recipe from the ultra-classic Joy of Cooking. And low-fat! Well, maybe not the frosting ...
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
12 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 cups sugar
Preheat oven to 375°F. Sift flour with 1/2 cup sugar four times. In a separate, large bowl, combine egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat with a flat wire whip, rotary beater, or high speed of electric mixer until moist, glossy, soft peaks form. Add 1 1/3 cups sugar, sprinkling in 1/3 cup at a time and beating until blended after each addition, about 25 strokes by hand. Sift in flour mixture in four additions, folding in by hand after each addition and turning bowl often. After last addition, use 10 to 20 extra strokes. Pour into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed lightly. Invert on rack and cool thoroughly, then remove from pan. Serve with frosting of your choice. Serves 8.
Red Velvet Cake
1/2 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream shortening and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. In a separate bowl, blend cocoa and food coloring; add to sugar mixture. Add flour, buttermilk, and salt alternatively. Mix soda and vinegar in cup and add to batter. Bake in two greased and floured 9-inch cake pans for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
"Your good friend has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it. You will probably need this information when you check me into the Betty Crocker Clinic."
—miranda, leaving a voicemail message on Sex and the City
Dundee Cake
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 ounce blanched almonds
1 1/2 ounces mixed orange and lemon peel
3/4 cup each currants, raisins, and seedless white raisins grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon boiled milk with 1 tablespoon sugar stirred in
Preheat oven to 325°F. In a small bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the nuts, fruits, and lemon rind and juice. Add the flour mixture and the water, and mix well. Place mixture in an 8-inch greased and lined cake tin. Flatten the top with damp hands. Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours or until a tester poked in the middle comes out clean. Ten minutes before cake is done, brush the top with the sweetened milk. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out on a wire tray. Serves 8.
Fruity Favorites
Rosy Apple Pie
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup red cinnamon candies, like Red-Hots!
5 medium cooking apples (about 5 cups apple slices)
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
9-inch double pie crust (frozen is fine)
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and cinnamon candies; cook until candies dissolve. Pare, core, and slice apples. Add to sugar mixture and simmer until apples are red. Drain but save syrup. Blend flour into cooled syrup and add lemon juice. Spread apples in a pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate and pour syrup over apples. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, seal, and flute edges. Cut slits for steam to escape. Bake about 30 minutes until desired brownness. Makes 1 pie.
The old wives' tale is true.
According to a study done by Michigan State University, those who eat apples daily get fewer respiratory infections than those who don't.
Surefire Rhubarb: Strawberry Crisp
3 cups rhubarb, sliced
2 cups strawberries, whole or sliced
juice from one lemon
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and flour until crumbly and then spread over rhubarb mixture. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until crisp is bubbly and top browned. Serves 6.
Need to get your strawberry groove on?
Try visiting Wepion, Belgium, the world capital of strawberries and stop by the World Famous Strawberry Museum. Or, maybe a little closer to home, visit Plant City, Florida—the winter strawberry capital of the world.
Easy Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
1 ounce (2 squares) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 tablespoon whipping cream dash of almond extract
8 fresh strawberries, figs, banana slices, cookies, or anything else you'd like to dip in chocolate
Combine chocolate and cream in a glass measuring cup or bowl; microwave for 1 minute at medium heat, stirring after 30 seconds, or until the chocolate melts. Stir in the almond extract and cool slightly. Dip each piece of fruit or cookie into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper and refrigerate for approximately 15 minutes or until the chocolate is set.
"Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices, and strawberries all count as fruit, so make sure you get enough."
—Theresa Cheung, in her chocography Better Than Sex
Missen's Lemon Bars
Named for a friend's daughter, who—after grabbing her share of the lemon bars—is usually "Missen—as in gone."
Crust
2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
Lemon Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unbleached white flour juice and finely grated rind of 3 lemons
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
powdered sugar for decoration
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix crust ingredients together and press into a greased, 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before adding filling. For filling, mix all ingredients together and pour over the cooled crust. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top after lemon bars have cooled (at least 15 minutes) and cut while in the pan. Makes 18 bars.
Best-Ever Banana Cream Pie
1 9-inch pie crust
3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons dark rum or rum extract pinch of nutmeg
3 medium bananas, ripe yet firm juice of half a lemon
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon sugar
On average, Americans eat 25 pounds of bananas annually. Maybe that's because they are good at alleviating depression—they contain the mood elevators serotonin and norepinephrine.
Bake the pie crust at 400°F for 7 to 9 minutes, cool and set aside.
Combine the milk, sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan and whisk madly until mixture is frothy. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until mixture begins to boil and thickens enough to coat a metal spoon lightly. Add cream cheese and stir until melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, rum or rum extract, and nutmeg. Let cool to room temperature.
Slice the bananas and arrange them on the bottom of the baked pie shell. Sprinkle a wee bit of lemon juice over the bananas if you feel the urge. Pour the cooled custard over the bananas and chill for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, whip the cream and sugar together until stiff, and garnish the pie with whipped cream. Serves 8.
Key Lime Pie
1 prepared graham cracker, chocolate Oreo cookie, or vanilla wafer pie crust
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 12-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup real key lime juice
1 cup whipping cream or prepared whipped cream topping
You can either prepare a pie crust according to a favorite recipe or purchase one that is already made. My favorite crust for this pie is the chocolate Oreo cookie crust. If using "real" whipped cream, whip cream until stiff. In another large bowl, combine cream cheese and milk and whip together until smooth. Beat in key lime juice. Gently fold in whipped cream. Pour ingredients into pie shell and chill for at least one hour (you can put it in the freezer for a quick chill if desired).
Always taste your first bite of this pie with your eyes closed. It's sensational!
Stuffed Baked Peaches
10 fresh peaches, pitted and halved
1 egg yolk
7 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup crushed Amaretto di Saronni cookies
Remove one spoonful of peach flesh from each peach and puree; set aside. Cream 6 tablespoons of butter in a bowl, stirring in egg yolk, peach puree, and crushed cookies until well combined. Fill each peach half with a generously rounded scoop of the mixture.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the peach halves, open side up, in a large glass casserole with the remaining tablespoon of butter, and bake for 5-7 minutes or until cookie mixture is lightly browned. Serve peaches at room temperature with creme fraiche or ice cream. Serves 10.
"In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally."
—W. Somerset Maugham
Calling all Chocoholics
In the villages of Central America during the eighteenth century, chocolate was believed to be the drink of the devil, and no one under 60 was allowed to imbibe under threat of excommunication.
Truffles
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, almond extract, or any other flavoring
powdered sugar, cocoa powder, sprinkles, or chopped nuts for decoration
Combine chocolate and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in flavoring. Pour into a small dish and refrigerate until set, but not hard, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Form balls and roll in toppings. Makes 35 truffles.
"Research tells us that 14 out of any 10 individuals like chocolate."
—Sandra Boynton
Mousse au Chocolat
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up into pieces
1/2 cup sugar, preferably superfine
8 egg yolks
5 egg whites
Put the chocolate and vanilla in a double boiler over gently boiling water. Stir until melted, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and egg yolks until thick. Add the chocolate. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Add about a third of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and beat until well mixed. Gradually fold in the remaining egg whites, and this time, mix gently rather than vigorously. Blend well, but do not overmix. Pour the mixture into a large serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 7 hours before serving. Serves 8.
"I don't love acting. I love chocolate."
—Elizabeth Taylor
Bad-Girl Brownies
Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt 4 squares of bittersweet chocolate in a pan with 1 stick of butter. Set aside and let it cool. When it's room temp add:
2 scant cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla, almond, or cherry extract
Don't stir too much! Only until mixed.
Bake for 30 minutes in a lightly greased 9 x 12-inch cake pan.
Eat all the brownies and make someone else clean up the pan.
Easy Chocolate Soufflé
1/4 cup unsalted butter
5 squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream or raspberry sauce for garnish
Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat butter and chocolate together until completely melted (you can do this in the microwave for about 2 minutes). Stir until smoothly blended. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites at medium speed until foamy, then gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add yolks, flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla to the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in approximately a third of the egg white mixture, then gradually add the remainder. Spoon into four 6-ounce ramekins or a baking dish, and bake 15 to 20 minutes on a jelly roll pan until tops are puffed. Top with whipped cream or raspberry sauce. Serves 4.
"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"
—Lucy van Pelt in Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts
No Brown M&M's for These Rock Stars!
M&M's were supposedly developed so that soldiers in the field could eat candy without getting covered in chocolate. First sold in 1941, they quickly became a favorite of GIs serving in World War II.
The colors of the M&M rainbow have caused many a controversy; some say the GREEN ONES are an APHRODISIAC, others say the ORANGE ONES INCREASE BREAST SIZE. Even some celebrities have gotten in on the M&M color craze. The band VAN HALEN so hated brown M&M's that it was written into their contract that if they even saw one as they were about to play a concert, they would leave.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. In a separate pot over medium-low heat, heat the milk and cream until hot but not boiled. Be careful not to scorch. When the milk is hot, add a bit to the melted chocolate and mix well. Then stir in the rest of the milk, and add the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. With the double boiler over low heat, beat the chocolate mixture with an electric mixer on low or a rotary mixer for three minutes. Taste and add more cinnamon if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Sugar Sisters by Kate Hart. Copyright © 2005 Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Let Them Eat Cake!
Lemon Geranium Sponge Cake
Chocolate Insanity Cake
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Angel Food Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Dundee Cake
Fruity Favorites
Rosy Apple Pie
Surefire Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
Easy Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
Missen's Lemon Bars
Best-Ever Banana Cream Pie
Key Lime Pie
Stuffed Baked Peaches
Calling All Chocoholics
Truffles
Mousse au Chocolat
Bad-Girl Brownies
Easy Chocolate Soufflé
No Brown M&Ms for These Rock Stars!
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Chocolate Cupcakes
One Smart Cookie
Killer Sugar Cookies
Margie's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Classics
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Peanut Butter Crisscross
Bring on the Ginger! Cookies
Chinese Almond Cookies
Chow Mein Haystacks