Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Praline Cupcakes

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Filed under Cakes, dessert, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

 

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How was your thanksgiving?? I must say that mine was great!! I really enjoyed my time  off, and I will tell you that it will be hard tomorrow to get back to work. But good things always come to an end, that is how we get to appreciate them.

For Thanksgiving, I only got to prepare appetizers and desserts, and I had much fun Wednesday spending my day in the kitchen listening to Christmas tune and cooking.

I made :

  • Mini Pecan PiesIMG_3551
  • Vanilla CheesecakesIMG_3557
  • Raspberry. Lemon Mousse CakesIMG_3542
  • Chocolate Feuille D’automneIMG_3549
  • Lemon TartsIMG_3514
  • and Pumpkin Praline Cupcakes IMG_3555

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Most of the desserts can be served at all times of the year besides maybe the Pumpkin Cupcakes and that is why I decided that I would share the recipe of them today. It is a easy, quick recipe that is very very flavorful.

The batter of the cupcakes is similar to the Pumpkin Roll that I make, and the frosting is also similar to the Praline Cupcakes that i also make. I love both flavors together, they marry well. However, you could stay with a Vanilla flavored Frosting for a more subdue frosting.  If you did not like the spices in the cupcakes batter, you could also do without. Just an idea.

I must say that the cupcakes taste better the day that they are made. They are soft, very moist. They still will taste good the days that follow, but they will have a much more dense texture. 

Ingredients for about 35+ Mini- Cupcakes:

  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of Clover powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pie Crust Hearts:

  • Half a rolled pie crust
  • Milk, for brushing
  • Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Filling:

  • 8 oz of cream cheese,
  • 6 tbsp of butter at room temperature,
  • 1 tbsp of vanilla extract,
  • 1/4 cup of sugar.
  • 1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar,
  • 2 tbsp. of heavy cream.
  1. Turn your oven  to 350 degrees F. Place the mini cupcakes mold onto a medium perforated sheet and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the sugar, the spices, baking powder and salt together.IMG_3490
  3. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.
  4. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet pumpkin mixture until just incorporated.IMG_3491
  5. Fill the wells up to about 3/4.IMG_3492
  6. Bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
  7. While the muffins are cooling, cut out as many hearts as you need to decorate the top of each cupcakes.IMG_3501
  8. When placing them onto the medium silpat that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet, stretch them a bit so that they will appear longer.
  9. Brush each with milk, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.IMG_3502
  10. Bake until deep golden brown, 10 minutes at the most.
  11. Once cooked, set them aside to cool.
  12. For the topping, first prepare the caramel.  In a small saucepan, place the cream and the brown sugar, and cook until it is bubbling and the sugar dissolves.
  13. Empty the caramel into the small round flexiform and place it in the fridge for the caramel to cool.
  14. In a bowl of an electric mixer, place the cream cheese, the butter, the vanilla, the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix until it is well combined. Set aside.IMG_3517
  15. When the caramel is cold, empty it into the cream cheese frosting. With a spatula, fold the caramel into the frosting slowly but do not combine!IMG_3518
  16. With a small teaspoon, top each cupcake with the frosting.IMG_3519
  17. Then gently push a pie crust Heart into the frosting of each cupcake, and serve. Et voila!IMG_3525

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Pumpkin Praline Cupcakes

  • Servings: 24-30
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

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Ingredients for about 35+ Mini- Cupcakes:

  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of Clover powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pie Crust Hearts:

  • Half a rolled pie crust
  • Milk, for brushing
  • Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Filling/Topping:

  • 8 oz of cream cheese,
  • 6 tbsp of butter at room temperature,
  • 1 tbsp of vanilla extract,
  • 1/4 cup of sugar.
  • 1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar,
  • 2 tbsp. of heavy cream.
  1. Turn your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the mini cupcakes mold onto a medium perforated sheet and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the sugar, the spices, baking powder and salt together.
  3. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet pumpkin mixture until just incorporated. Fill the wells up to about 3/4.
  4. Bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
  5. While the muffins are cooling, cut out as many hearts as you need to decorate the top of each cupcakes. When placing them onto the medium silpat that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet, stretch them a bit so that they will appear longer. Brush each with milk, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake until deep golden brown, 10. Once cooked, set them aside to cool.
  6. For the topping, first prepare the caramel. In a small saucepan, place the cream and the brown sugar, and cook until it is bubbling and the sugar dissolves. Empty the caramel into the small round flexiform and place it in the fridge for the caramel to cool. In a bowl of an electric mixer, place the cream cheese, the butter, the vanilla, the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix until it is well combined. Set aside.When the caramel is cold, empty it into the cream cheese frosting. With a spatula, fold the caramel into the frosting slowly but do not combine!
  7. With a small teaspoon, top each cupcake with the frosting. Then gently push a pie crust Heart into the frosting of each cupcake, and serve. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

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Filed under What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

thanksgiving

To all my readers, friends and family, I would like to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your day to the best, and enjoy the company of your family and friends. I would also like to send you my warm thanks for allowing me to touch your lives through cooking. Happy Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

With love,

Cecile and family

Cranberry and Apple Normand Tart

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Filed under dessert, fruit, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

 

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I never have to pleasure to host Thanksgiving, because I am in charge of Christmas dinner every year, but also because my sister-in-law, the only born American in our family, wants to make sure that by hosting it, it will be a true one, with a Turkey, and the potatoes and the dressing.

So this leaves me with making appetizers, desserts and sometimes sides. Every year, I scratch my head trying to figure out what I will be bringing. I have yet to think about the appetizers, but I think that I know what I will be bringing: Feuille d’automne, Tart Tatin and Apple and Cranberry Normand Tart.

This evening, I would like to share with you the Apple and Cranberry tart that I will be serving. It is very different that anything I have eaten before, but it is very good, very filling however. The great part about this dessert is that you can substitute the apples with any fruits that strike you fancy. The recipe was adapted from a recipe from Stephane Glacier called Tarte Normande.

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Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

  • 250 gr. of flour
  • 188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
  • 7.5 gr. of salt
  • 50 gr. of milk
  • 10 gr. of egg yolks
  • 15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

  • 1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8. 
  • 80 gr of butter
  • 120 gr. of brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp of cinnamon 

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberry

  • 225 gr. of eggs
  • 275 gr. of sugar
  • 38 gr. of sugar
  • 190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

  • 2 cups of heavy cream
  • 1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
  • seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract. 
  • 2-4 tbsp  of sugar.

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  1. You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.IMG_0180
  2. Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.IMG_0181
  3. Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.IMG_0182
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.IMG_0185
  5. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples.
  6. Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.IMG_0187
  7. Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of  for another 10 minutes.IMG_0188
  8. When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
  9. Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpats (or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat) and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
  10. Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling. Set aside.IMG_0190
  11. Take the dough back out, and gently peel the pie crust off the roulpat and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold) that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet. Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over.
  12. Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.IMG_0189
  13. Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
  14. Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.IMG_0191IMG_0212
  15. Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream, the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is still runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until you are ready to serve the pie.IMG_0192
  16. Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!IMG_0214

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

 

Cranberry and Apple Normande Tart

  • Servings: 12-16
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Print
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Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

  • 250 gr. of flour
  • 188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
  • 7.5 gr. of salt
  • 50 gr. of milk
  • 10 gr. of egg yolks
  • 15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

  • 1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8.
  • 80 gr of butter
  • 120 gr. of brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp of cinnamon

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberries

  • 225 gr. of eggs
  • 275 gr. of sugar
  • 38 gr. of sugar
  • 190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

  • 2 cups of heavy cream
  • 1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
  • seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
  • 2-4 tbsp of sugar.
  1. You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.
  2. Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.
  3. Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.
  5. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples. Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.
  6. Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of for another 10 minutes.
  7. When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
  8. Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpat, or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat, and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
  9. Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling and set it aside until you are ready to use it.
  10. Take the dough back out, gently peel it off the roulpat, and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold). Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over. Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.
  11. Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
  12. Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.
  13. Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until ready to serve the pie.
  14. Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

 

Feuille D’Automne

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Filed under chocolate/ candy, dessert, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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Don’t you love fall. The air is getting cooler, the leaves on the tree change to orange and red, and you start smelling cinnamon in all the places you go. Cinnamon in the apple ciders, in the apple tarts and in the pumpkin pies.. I love fall for all those reasons, but also because I don’t feel so guilty cooking scrumptious desserts in those cool days. One of  my favorite cake to prepare around this time of the year is called Feuille D’automne, or Fall leaves. The recipe was originally created by Gaston LeNotre ( reknown French Pastry Chef) in 1968. It is today a signature cake at all his pastry stores and restaurants. It is made with an almond Meringue, and a dark chocolate mousse. His recipe was adapted by me to make it a little less challenging. It is a beautiful cake that is also succulent. I challenge you to bring one at your next Thanksgiving gathering!!!

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Ingredients for a cake for 8-12 people:

You will need to make 3 almond meringue disks,  a chocolate mousse.

Ingredients for the Almond Meringues, also called Succes:

  • 100 g de poudre d’amandes tamisée
  • 100 g de sucre glace
  • 200 g de blancs d’œufs
  • 160 g de sucre en poudre

Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse:

  • 500 gr. / 1 lb bittersweet chocolate
  • 125 gr. / 4 oz butter
  • 180 gr. / 6 oz egg yolks
  • 250 gr. / 8 oz egg whites
  • 75 gr. sugar

Ingredients for the Chocolate Decoration:

  • 400 gm dark chocolate couverture
  • cocoa powder
  • confectioners’ sugar
  1. In a large bowl, sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar and set it aside.
  2. In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, put the egg whites and whip until they are foamy.
  3. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until they are forming soft peaks. See below.
  4. photo 1
  5. Add the almond mixture to the whipped eggs.IMG_7245
  6. Fold the almond carefully so that the eggs will not deflate.IMG_7246
  7. Lay a large silpat onto a large perforated sheet and pipe the almond meringue into circles to make 3 rounds of about 9 inches.IMG_7247
  8. Cook in a warm oven of 250 for 90 minutes. Set aside. IMG_7248
  9. We are now ready to make the mousse which is the filling  in between the meringue layers.
  10. Place the chocolate chips into a bowl and melt the chocolate either on the stove over boiling water, or in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Add the butter and mix well.
  11. Beat the egg whites into hard peaks and slowly add the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture.photo 5
  12. To assemble the cake, place the metal round on top of medium silpat that would be placed on a medium perforated sheet, or fill 1/3 of the medium round mold with the chocolate mousse. Place one of the meringue disk above the mousse. Fill the other third of mousse, cover it up with another meringue.  Place the last disk and end with the mousse.photo 1
  13. Place the cake into the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  14. When the cake is ready, Remove the cake from its mold either by peeling the silicone mold or removing the metal ring.IMG_3443
  15. To prepare the chocolate that will wrap the cake, warm up  the chocolate to a liquid state. Place a plastic wrap at the bottom of a metal pan, or a deep flexipan and spread the chocolate so that it will cover the entire pan in a very thin layer. Place the pan into the fridge or the freezer and let it harden. photo 2photo 3
  16. Let the chocolate cool at room temperature until the chocolate begins to get cloudy. Refrigerate to set completely.
  17.  When the chocolate is set, bring the pans back to room temperature and wait a few minutes until the chocolate is pliable but not soft.
  18. Draw strips of about 4 to 3 1/2 inches into the chocolate.
  19. With a sharp knife, cut the strips.
  20. Lift off the strip of chocolate and place the thin strips around the cake to hide the cake contours. Repeat to cover the entire diameter of the cake. IMG_3444

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21. the chocolate will be somewhat soft enough to wrap the outside of the cake, but you will not be able to bend it. Let the cake rest for a few minutes and you will see that the chocolate will be able to fold and you will be able to fold it over the top.

 

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22. With the rest of the chocolate, you can either make waves or make shavings that you would place on top of the cake for decoration.

23. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for added decoration.

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Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Feuille D'Automne

  • Servings: 8-12 people
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Print

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Ingredients for a cake for 8-12 people:

You will need to make 3 almond meringue disks, a chocolate mousse.

Ingredients for the Almond Meringues, also called Succes:

  • 100 g de poudre d’amandes tamisée
  • 100 g de sucre glace
  • 200 g de blancs d’œufs
  • 160 g de sucre en poudre

Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse:

  • 500 gr. / 1 lb bittersweet chocolate
  • 125 gr. / 4 oz butter
  • 180 gr. / 6 oz egg yolks
  • 250 gr. / 8 oz egg whites
  • 75 gr. sugar

Ingredients for the Chocolate Decoration:

  • 400 gm dark chocolate couverture
  • cocoa powder
  • confectioners’ sugar
  1. In a large bowl, sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar and set it aside.
  2. In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, put the egg whites and whip until they are foamy.
  3. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until they are forming soft peaks.
  4. Add the almond mixture to the whipped eggs.
  5. Fold the almond carefully so that the eggs will not deflate.
  6. Lay a large silpat onto a large perforated sheet and pipe the almond meringue into circles to make 3 rounds of about 9 inches.
  7. Cook in a warm oven of 250 for 90 minutes. Set aside.
  8. We are now ready to make the mousse which is the filling in between the meringue layers.
  9. Place the chocolate chips into a bowl and melt the chocolate either on the stove over boiling water, or in the microwave for 2 minutes.
  10. Add the butter and mix well.
  11. Beat the egg whites into hard peaks and slowly add the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture.
  12. To assemble the cake, place the metal round on top of medium silpat that would be placed on a medium perforated sheet, or fill 1/3 of the medium round mold with the chocolate mousse. Place one of the meringue disk above the mousse. Fill the other third of mousse, cover it up with another meringue. Place the last disk and end with the mousse.
  13. Place the cake into the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  14. When the cake is ready, remove the cake from its mold either by peeling the silicone mold or removing the metal ring.
  15. To prepare the chocolate that will wrap the cake, warm up the chocolate to a liquid state. Place a plastic wrap at the bottom of a metal pan, or a deep flexipan and spread the chocolate so that it will cover the entire pan in a very thin layer. Place the pan into the fridge or the freezer and let it harden.
  16. Let the chocolate cool at room temperature until the chocolate begins to get cloudy. Refrigerate to set completely.
  17. When the chocolate is set, bring the pans back to room temperature and wait a few minutes until the chocolate is pliable but not soft.
  18. Draw strips of about 4 to 3 1/2 inches into the chocolate.
  19. With a sharp knife, cut the strips.
  20. Lift off the strip of chocolate and place the thin strips around the cake to hide the cake contours. Repeat to cover the entire diameter of the cake.
  21. 21. the chocolate will be somewhat soft enough to wrap the outside of the cake, but you will not be able to bend it. Let the cake rest for a few minutes and you will see that the chocolate will be able to fold and you will be able to fold it over the top.
  22. With the rest of the chocolate, you can either make waves or make shavings that you would place on top of the cake for decoration.
  23. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for added decoration.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!

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Filed under What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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I hope that you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did. I had a great time with my family. As I worked a lot, it was wonderful to stop, and enjoy some times with my loved one.

I meant to write you guys a BIG Thank you yesterday, but I was so busy with cooking that I did not have time to send you my best wishes for the day.

Since Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. I wanted to thank you for being part of my life if only in my blog. As you know I truly love cooking, but i love to share my recipes and it is a pleasure to see that many of you are now following my blog.  I really appreciate all the comments, and questions you have shared with me over this year, and the past. It is a great compliment to know that  you are enjoying my recipes, and that you look forward my recipes. So thank you!!

I really value your insights and your comments, so please continue responding to my entries with comments and questions.

For now, again un Grand Merci a vous tous ( a big thank you to you all) and Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Pear and Cranberry Tart

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Filed under dessert, Fleximolds, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What types of desserts dressed your table on Thanksgiving day? If you read my previous post, you know that I offered pecan pies, White Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Pot de Creme and Cranberry and Pear Tart. I wanted to offer a fruit dessert because my husband’s family really enjoy them. They particularly love crumbles and those heavier tarts. Their favorite are made with plums and apples. I chose this one because pear to me has a much refine taste than apple, and cranberry gave a Holiday flare and color to it.

I also found this recipe in the latest publication of Fine Cooking called Holiday Baking.

This recipe was not hard to do. All was fairly easy to do besides laying out the dough into the mold ( the dough is so soft and crumbles easily…) You ought to try anyway, it was very very good!

Ingredients for the dough: 1 cup of toasted walnuts, 1 cup of sugar, 2-3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of finely grated lemon zest, 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 hard cooked egg yolks crumbled, 2 sticks of butter cold, 2 raw egg yolks, 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Ingredients for the filling: 5 pears peeled, cored, and diced, 2 cups of fresh cranberries, 6 tbsp of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar.

Ingredients for the finish: 1 egg yolk, 1/3 cup of milk.

To make the dough, first grind the walnut with the sugar in a food processor to get a sandy texture. Add the flour, the cinnamon, lemon zest, salt, crumbled-hard yolks and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and mix again to combine. Add the raw yolks and mix again. The dough  should be sticky and moist like a cookie dough. If the dough is too soft, add more flour. Cut the dough in half and make 2 disks that you will use for the tart. Place the disks in a plastic bag and refrigerate for an hour. Once the dough has refrigerated, roll one of the disks into a 11 inch round. Place one of the disk into a pie mold. I used the 9 inch pie mold from Demarle.

In a bowl, add the diced pears, the cranberries, the flour and the sugar and mix well. Empty the content into the tart.

Take the other disk out and roll it out until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut strips of 1/2 inch wide and place them over the tart. You can criss cross them to make diamond-shaped windows. Mine did not look like that because I made all my strips criss cross in the center, and I cut out leaves for the outside of the pie. Obvisouly you can’t see… Oh well, i tried… Whatever you do, trim the ends of the strips and press them into the edges to close the pie only leaving windows here and there.

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk left and the 1/3 cup of milk, and brush the tart with a rubber spatula.

Bake in an already warm oven at 350 for 1 hour. To remove the pie from the mold, peel the mold and place the pie onto a plate. Serve the pie cold or warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream. YUM!!!!!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

White Chocolate and Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Filed under Cakes, Fleximolds, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I love Pumpkin soup, but can’t seem to acquire a good appreciation of the Pumpkin pie. I don’t know what makes it unsavoury to me, maybe it is the combination of pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon… I am not sure. Since I was in charge of the desserts and  did not want to brush aside the traditions, I still wanted to offer a Pumpkin dessert. I had already made Pecan pies and A Cranberry and Pear Torte, so I wanted to go another route and settled for a recipe that I found in Holidays Baking of the Fine Cooking Magazine in store right now. Everything tastes better with chocolate so I added some to the recipe along with some other minor changes. Here it is:

Ingredients for 12 mini cheesecakes ( muffin size): 2 packages of cream cheese at room temperature, 20o gr. of melted white chocolate, 2/3 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp of vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup of canned pupkin, 2 1/4 tsp of all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of ginger, 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg.

Materials; silpat, perforated sheet, scalloped muffin tray.

In a the bowl of an electric mixer, place the cream cheese and beat it on medium high until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar and the vanilla and beat again until it is well mixed. Add the melted chocolate and beat at medium low until it is well incorporated and there are no lumps. Then add the eggs, one at a time and best them a bit  just enough to mix them in. (Do not overbeat, or the cheesecake will fluff up and crack). Place the scalloped cupcake tray on a perforated sheet and spoon about 2 tbsp of this batter in each cupcake. You shoud have 1/3 of the batter left. Add the pumpkin, the nutmeg, cinnamon, flour and ginger and stir well. Spoon about 1 tbsp of this batter in each cupcake tray on top of the vanilla/ chocolate batter. With the back of a spoon, dig down into the batter and make swirls. Bake in a warm oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 300. When they are cooked ( the center of the cupacake should barely juggle), remove the cupcake tray from the oven and let the cheesecakes cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours up to 3 days. Before serving, make the caramel, and drizzle it on top of the cheesecake.

Caramel: 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp of fresh lemon juice.

In a small saucepan, place the sugar and the lemon juice and cook over medium-high until the sugar is melting and is becoming a golden color. Stir gently to prevent the sugar from burning in isolated spots. You want to cook the caramel until it becomes a light caramel color ( amber). Remove it from the stove and with a spoon, drizzle the caramel over the cupcakes and drizzle the rest of the caramel over a silpat making circles that you will use as decorations.

To serve, drizzle some caramel on each plate, place a cheesecake on top of the caramel, place a dollop of whipped cream and place a caramel decoration on the cheesecake. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Thank you for a Blessed Thanksgiving!!!

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As I mentioned earlier, I love Thanksgiving and look forward to this Holiday with much anticipation. This year this holiday was even more special because as a new American myself, I really observed this Holiday not as a resident who follows the traditions of the country I live in, but as an American. This holiday had much more significance this year than it ever had. I really felt blessed and grateful to have been accepted in this country as one of them. And it almost felt as if it was truly my first Thanksgiving in that I had the opportunity to thank all the one that made it happen, and thank all who supported me all those years.

I would have loved to have hosted the Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but it was at my sister-in-law. All I was in charge of, were appetizers and desserts. Though quite easy to do, they seem to take the longest. I chose to offer stuffed mushrooms and Brie and Cherry Tartlets. For desserts, I wanted to offer traditional Thanksgiving desserts: pumpkin, pecan, chocolate pies but chose to offer a variety of small desserts so that everyone would find something they would like. In turned out, most ate a bit of everything. I was so so glad. My desserts were: White chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake, Pear and Cranberry tart, Dark Chocolate Creme in a shot glass, and Small pecan pies.

What did you serve?

Thanksgiving…

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Thanksgiving is such a special time. It is almost like Christmas in that you spend time with your friends and closed ones, but it is better because you don’t have the pressure of gift giving and everything that comes along. During Thanksgiving, you are reminded to appreciate your blessings ( and believe me I feel blessed everyday to be living here in the United States), you are enjoying great food, and you are spending time with the people you love. Though, it is also a difficult time for me because I am so far away from my native family, I enjoy this holiday very much. In fact I love Thanksgiving! I have embraced this American Holiday with its traditions with my whole heart. I decorate my house, I venture to learn recipes with ingredients  that used to be foreign to me such as pecans and cinnamon. Yes, Thanksgiving is of course not celebrated in France, so we don’t have those family dinners with pumpkins pies, ham and dressing;-) It has been fun learning to taste all those things and learning to make them as well. Well for those who read me, you must know that I love to cook, and I will take any opportunity to cook, and offer cooking class. Yesterday, I had a Children’s Cooking Class. Though, we were not very many, we had lots of fun! We made cupcake turkeys, pigs in a pilgrim hats, corns in husk, Chocolate Pilgrim Hats, and Cheese and Grape Turkeys. Not only did children learn to make those items on their own, they also ate them or took them home. I hope you will join us next time;-) Until then,

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Fancy Macaroni and Cheese

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Filed under pasta, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Until this morning, fall was here but it did not really feel like so. Leaves were still on trees and it was still so warm. This morning however everything changed. It was raining,  my driveway was paved with leaves and the morning light was dimmer, almost orangey… It made me think of a poem from Paul Verlaine I learnt when I was growing up:

“Les Sanglots longs Des Violons de l’automne Blessent mon coeur D’une langueur Monotone (…)Il pleure dans mon coeur Comme il pleut sur la ville. Quelle est cette langueur Qui penenetre mon Coeur” (The longs sobs of The violons Of Autumn Lay waste my heart With monotones Of boredom (…)Falling tears in my heart Falling rain on th town. Why this long ache, A knife in my heart.)
And this made me feel melancholic…happy and sad at the same time. Happy because Thanksgiving is coming, and I will be home for a few days, sad because it is in times like this that I miss my family from Home……
But enough babbling, with this weather also comes envy of comfort food. So here is one: Macaroni and Cheese. This recipe is based on a recipe I found   in the Cooking Light Comfort Food Magazine on display in store right now. 
Ingredients: 4 cups of uncooked pastas ( I used Penne Rigatoni), 4 cups of water, 3 tbsp of butter, 1/2 cup of Crumbled Smoked Bacon, 1 purple onion diced thinly, 3 tbsp of flour, 3 cups of milk,  3/4 tsp of onion powder, 3/4 tsp of garlic powder, 3/4 tsp of dill, 4 oz of 6 Italian Cheese mix, 4 oz of sharp cheddar, olive oil, salt and pepper. 
Materials; Demarle frying pan, small saucepan, Large Round Mold, Octogonal Silpat. 
1. You can cook pastas acccording to the package directions or you can cook using the round mold and octogonal silpat. In the large round mold, place 4 cups of pastas, 4 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt. Microwave for 10 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 10 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile prepare the sauce for the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter, add 3 tbsp of flour and mix well to make a roux. When the flour is turning brown, add the warm milk and stir at medium temperature until it comes to boil. Cook for another 5 minutes until it thickens. Add the Italian Cheese, the garlic powder, onion, dill, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper, mix well and set aside. 
3. In a frying pan, warm up 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute those onions until they become brown and caramelized. Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes. Set aside. 
Drain the pasta of excess water. Place the pastas back into the round mold and add the sauce. Mix well. Sprinkle the sharp cheddar on top of the pastas. And spread the bacon/ onion mixture on top of the cheese. Cook in a warm oven for 15 minutes at 375. Et voila!
I served my pasta with ancho chili roasted chicken tenders and staemed corn with red pepper flake, but you may add already cooked and diced chicken to this dish to make it a meal. 
                                  Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking