Chocolate Cream Dream Pie, AKA Leave Your Man at Home Pie

I recently hosted a girls' night with a couple of girlfriends. We watched Waitress, that very feminist, female-empowering (read: awesometastic) movie with creative pie recipes woven into the storyline. Main character Jenna, played by Keri Russell, makes pies for a living, but what's unique about her pies is that her life experiences often drive the kinds of pies she makes.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Jenna finds out she's pregnant and names a pie, "I Don't Want Earl's Baby" Pie. It's a pie made of egg and brie cheese with a smoked ham center.
• "Baby Screaming Its Head Off in the Middle of the Night and Ruining My Life" Pie: New York-style cheesecake, brandy-brushed and topped with pecans and nutmeg.
• "Earl Murders Me Because I'm Having an Affair" Pie: smashed blackberries and raspberries in a chocolate crust.
• "I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong and I Don't Want Earl to Kill Me" Pie: Vanilla custard with banana. Hold the banana.
• "Pregnant Miserable Self-Pitying Loser" Pie: Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambeed.

That list is probably only half the pies Jenna invents during the movie. What could be more appropriate during this pie-themed Girls' Night than for me to make a pie, too. I chose a Dorie Greenspan chocolate pudding pie recipe with a graham cracker crust. Dorie calls it "Chocolate Cream Dream" Pie. It's quite a cute name, but in honor of the film, I had to rename it "Leave Your Man at Home" Pie. After all, this is girls' night. And I wrote the word P-I-E on the top with chocolate chips, you know, in case anyone thought we were eating, um, baked alaska? It was the perfect pie to get us in Waitress mood.


Chocolate Cream Dream Pie
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan in Sweet Times

1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Bring milk and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, flour, and cornstarch together by hand until thick, smooth, and pale. Very gradually add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Pour this mixture through a strainer and back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until the cream thickens and one bubble comes to the top and pops, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in the chocolate and vanilla. Scrape the cream into a clean bowl, lay a sheet of plastic wrap against the top of the cream, and chill for at least 1 hour. The cream can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.

The Crust
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 11 double crackers)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar (Dorie calls for 2/3 cup shredded or flaked coconut but I've replaced that with sugar)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl or a food processor, mix together the crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until uniformly moistened. Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie plate, bringing crust up to top of plate around the sides. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a rack. Crust can be made ahead, covered, and refrigerated for 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 1 month.

Topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip cream until it holds soft peaks. With a rubber spatula, fold in the sugar and vanilla.

Assembly
Fill the crust with the chocolate and top with whipped cream. Refrigerate up to 3 hours.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Combine egg yolks, flour, and cornstarch...

Whisk together till light yellow and thick...

Pour the hot milk-sugar mixture into the egg mixture slowly while whisking in order to temper the eggs (you don't want omelet like I tend to do!), then strain the mixture through a sieve back into the saucepan...

Cook until the milk-egg mixture thickens, remove from heat, and add vanilla and chocolate...

When it resembles chocolate pudding, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly across the surface of the pudding (to avoid a skin forming), then refrigerate...

To make the crust, blend together graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar...

Press into a pie pan and bake for 5-8 minutes at 350 degrees F...

To assemble, fill the pie crust with the pudding...

Whip up the heavy cream...

Fold in the confectioners sugar and vanilla...

Spread on top of the pudding, then refrigerate the pie until you're ready to serve...

You've got pie!

"Leave Your Man at Home" Pie!

Toasted-Coconut Rum Banana Bread

I came home from work completely exhausted, put my keys and purse on the kitchen table, readying to settle in on the couch for the evening, and then instead realized there was going to be a change of plans as I stared annoyingly at my blue hobnail Fenton glass bowl of four very ripe bananas. Four of them! Doh! Why did I wait? Or more fairly, why did I buy so many bananas when I knew I couldn't eat them fast enough? Or maybe it's not my fault at all. Why does Mother Nature let bananas turn brown so quickly? :(

Back in November, I blogged about a similar experience where I came home to find very ripe bananas on my countertop and had to decide what to make with them. Back then, I chose not to be as predictable as banana bread, and instead made Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. It was incredible.

This time, I decided I would make banana bread. But this is no ordinary banana bread. It's got the flavors of Jamaica with coconut and rum mixed in with the banana. And as exotic and unconventional a banana bread as the title conveys, it's still an easy bread to make. Beatrice Ojakangas continues to be an excellent source for recipes.


Toasted-Coconut Rum Banana Bread
Recipe by Beatrice Ojakangas in Quick Breads

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium)
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted 5-8 minutes in a 350 degree F oven

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or three 5x3-inch loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, rum, and almond extract. In another bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together, then add to the creamed mixture. Blend in the banana and coconut. Turn into the prepared pan or pans. Bake 55 to 60 minutes for the large loaf or 45-55 minutes for the smaller loaves, or until they test done. Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then turn onto a rack. Makes one large or three small loaves.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, rum, almond extract, and dry ingredients...

Place your very ripe bananas in a bowl...

Mash them!

Here's your batter...

Pour into your well-greased pan...

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes (it took me about 55 min)...

Delicious cross-section with flecks of coconut...

Coffee Ice Cream

I think coffee ice cream is magical. It's a flavor that even some of my non-coffee-drinking friends still enjoy as an ice cream. Of course if you're a coffee drinker like I am, then coffee ice cream might be sheer euphoria. And I'm all for strong flavor; I drink my coffee black and want to taste the quality of the beans without the distraction of cream and sugar.

This ice cream recipe by David Lebovitz is outstanding. Be sure to select carefully the coffee beans you use for it because they will determine the taste of the end product. Since the recipe calls for a cup and a half of beans that you're going to discard afterward, I went to Trader Joe's and got one of those large cheap canisters of a bold coffee. I figured that way if I screwed up or the recipe wasn't as dreamy as I had hoped, I didn't invest too much. Well, I've got a couple of things to say about that. First, I was an idiot to question for even a second that a David Lebovitz ice cream could be anything less than perfect. Second, the Trader Joe's coffee was fantastic, and so now I know I can get away with making great ice cream from cheap beans.

Every time you make this ice cream, it will come out differently. Think of the possibilities. I mean, no two brews are alike, plus, if you keep trying different coffee brands, you'll keep getting different ice creams! Next time I'm going to try Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla coffee beans. Maybe then I won't scare my sister off. She normally loves coffee ice cream, but my version made with a very bold bean was actually more than she could handle as someone who doesn't drink her coffee black. I'll try not to make my flavors all about me in the future. :)


Coffee Ice Cream
Recipe by David Lebovitz in The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee

Warm the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Rewarm the coffee-infused milk mixture. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible, then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla and the finely ground coffee and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Warm the milk, sugar, beans, salt and half cup of the cream...

Cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour...

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and then add the warmed coffee-infused milk...

Pour the egg-coffee-milk mixture back into the saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat till mixture thickens...

Pour the custard through a strainer and into a bowl containing the remaining 1 cup of cream...

After discarding the beans, add the vanilla and finely ground coffee and stir over an ice bath...
The ice cream mixture is ready to go in the fridge (I insist on chilling it overnight)...

Take the mixture out of the fridge and pour into your ice cream maker...

When it's done churning, it will look like this yummy soft serve ice cream...

Serve soft or freeze until hard...

Scoop and enjoy!

How to Have a Turkey Sandwich on Passover: Passover Rolls

I'm giving you the secret to my semi-normal life during Passover. If you can have a turkey sandwich on this quite food-restricting holiday, you know it can't be too bad. And with this roll recipe, it's all possible!

There are actually a lot of different Passover roll recipes out there, and I chose this one because it had half the number of eggs as most of them. I also saw some versions that called for a tablespoon or so of sugar. The one below works just fine for me.

Because I shape my rolls pretty small, I might make myself two or three mini turkey sandwiches for one meal, and they're perfect to bring to work. You could also make Swiss cheese, tomato, and lettuce sandwiches, or even snack on the rolls plain. They're my brother Zachary's absolute favorite Passover food item. Consider this secret of mine, well, not so secret anymore!


Passover Rolls
Recipe by Judy Zeidler in The Gourmet Jewish Cook

2 cups matzo meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

In a bowl, combine the matzo meal and salt and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil. Pour in the matzo meal mixture and stir until blended. Transfer to a large bowl of an electric mixer. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well after each addition until completely blended. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

With well-oiled hands, shape the dough into 3-inch balls or ovals and place 2 inches apart on a well-greased baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to racks and cool. Split and fill with your favorite mixture.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Make the dough and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping into balls...

Shape the dough into balls and space evenly apart on the cookie sheet...
Bake for 40-50 minutes in a 375 degree F oven...
Cross-section...
Turkey Sandwich on Passover! Yes We Can!

The Ultimate Passover Snack: Caramel Matzoh Crunch

I'm starting to wonder if all of the Passover-keeping people out there have tried this sweet snack at one point or another. It is SO enormously popular. The recipe has been floating around the Internet for years and wherever it goes, it gets rave reviews. It's hardly original for me to post it to Happy Go Marni, but on the other hand, I feel so left out! Plus, it's something my mom and I both make every year.

It's great to munch on in small doses when you need to kill that chocolate craving, and it makes a fun hospitality gift if you wrap it cutely in a tin and hand it to the person hosting your seder.


The best way to think of this is as a cross between chocolate bark, peanut brittle, and toffee. It taste everything like toffee, but it sort of resembles bark and brittle in appearance. It doesn't take long to make, its homemade caramel will knock your socks off, and it goes really far. One recipe will last you the entire week of Passover...that is, unless you're gift-giving or have zero willpower, which is actually entirely possible, even probable.

What else is fun about it is that you can change it up, sprinkling chopped nuts, marshmallows, or other Kosher-for-Passover candies on top, or using white and dark chocolate and marbleizing the two for a cool visual effect. The possibilities are endless. You could even add a flavoring to the caramel, like vanilla, or a liqueur. This Caramel Matzoh Crunch is honestly so good you will find yourself wanting matzoh at other times throughout the year, and let's face it, it's not normal to have a craving for matzoh in November.


Caramel Matzoh Crunch
Recipe by Marcy Goldman in A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking

4-6 unsalted matzohs
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup coarsely chopped chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large (or two smaller) cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover the bottom of the sheet with baking parchment — on top of the foil. This is very important since the mixture becomes sticky during baking.

Line the bottom of the cookie sheet evenly with the matzohs, cutting extra pieces, as required, to fit any spaces.

In a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter or margarine and the brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil (about 2 to 4 minutes). Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and pour over the matzoh, covering completely.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350°. Bake for 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure the mixture is not burning (if it seems to be browning too quickly, remove the pan from the oven, lower the heat to 325°, and replace the pan).

Remove from the oven and sprinkle immediately with the chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand for 5 minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the matzoh. Chill, still in the pan, in the freezer until set. Break into squares or odd shapes.

This makes a good gift.

Variation:
You can also use coarsely chopped white chocolate (or a combination of white and dark), and chopped or slivered toasted almonds (sprinkled on top as the chocolate sets). You can also omit the chocolate for a caramel-alone buttercrunch.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Line the pan with foil and then parchment paper...

Cover the bottom of the pan with sheets of matzoh...
Bring the brown sugar and butter/margarine to a boil...
Here's your caramel layer...
Immediately (because it will harden quickly) pour the hot caramel layer over the matzoh sheets, then bake for about 15 minutes. When done, sprinkle chocolate chips over the hot caramel-covered matzoh...
Don't return the pan to the oven; just let the chocolate chips sit for 5 minutes to become spreadable, then spread evenly over the caramel layer...
I recommend putting the tray in the fridge for a few minutes to set the chocolate...
Then break up the matzoh into irregular snack-sized shapes...

Notice the double layer? Caramel, then chocolate? Why not try marshmallows or nuts next time?
Yum!

Winners Announced for the 2009 L.A. Cupcake Challenge

The baker behind Sugar Jones holding up her Award-Winning Blackberries and Cream Cupcake.

Let's put a stop to the anticipation. In case you've been checking back to see who won the 2009 L.A. Cupcake Challenge on Sunday, the results are finally in. There were two categories - Traditional (you know, your red velvets, chocolates, vanillas, etc...) and Original (the more exotic, creative, unexpected flavors). An Overall Winner was also selected.

So without further ado...

Best Traditional
1st: Susie Cakes: Red Velvet
2nd: Two Parts Sugar: Raspberry Red Velvet
3rd: Blue Cupcake: Chocolate

Best Original
1st: Polkatots: Dulce De Leche
2nd: Sugar Jones: Blackberries and Cream
3rd: Southern Girl: Sweet Potato Pie

Best Overall
1st: Polkatots: Dulce De Leche
2nd: Sugar Jones: Blackberries and Cream
3rd: Sugar Jones: Casanova's Kiss

As you can see, Sugar Jones impressively won 2nd place for her original Blackberries and Cream cupcake, and then took home 2nd and 3rd place overall! I'm very excited to see Blue Cupcake made it to 3rd place in Best Traditional because I thought the quality of her cupcake to be outstanding and I was hoping the rest of the voters felt the same way. Polkatots's Dulce De Leche was certainly the talk of the room on Sunday; so many people came up to me and asked if I had tried that one yet because it was going to be a surefire winner. Those are some smart tasters, predicting the future like that! Southern Girl's Sweet Potato Pie was another I enjoyed, and there was nothing at all similar to it of the dozens of cupcake flavors submitted to the Challenge.

Southern Girl's Award-Winning Sweet Potato Pie

I am sad not to see a couple of my personal favorites on these winner lists, such as the Pineapple-Upside-Down cupcake from Susie Cakes or Buttercake Bakery's Chocolate, but I'm also not shocked and appalled by any of the winners, and I admit there were definitely a few cupcakes entered on Sunday that did not do anything for me and frankly, would have offended me and my taste buds if they had won.

Blue Cupcake's Award-Winning Chocolate

Congratulations to all the winners! Heck, congratulations to all who entered at all. I can't even imagine making HUNDREDS of identical cupcakes, keeping both flavor and presentation consistent, then lugging them in a vehicle to the event, setting up a display, and maintaining a smile as people (including myself) piggied their way from booth to booth. A lot was asked of you bakers, and I don't take any of it for granted!

So when is the 2010 L.A. Cupcake Challenge? :-)