Holiday Recipes | 20something cupcakes

Archives For holiday recipes

grasshopper pie.

December 12, 2010 — 2 Comments

If you like mint chocolate chip ice cream, you will *die* for this pie.

It’s creamy. It’s minty. It’s decadent and sinful, light and refreshing – all rolled into one. It’s served frozen and drizzled in warm homemade fudge sauce.

{It’s pure perfection}

And I’m especially loving it for the holidays, thanks to its festive green hue. It’s a bit of a process to make, but so totally worth it. Here’s how it all goes down: You start with your Oreo crust, which is just one package of cookies {I actually use Newman’s Own brand} crushed and mixed with melted butter and then pressed into a pie plate. For the filling, get some egg yolks and an egg into your mixer bowl, and whip them until nice and thick. You then add your gelatin and crème de menthe. Next comes the trickiest part of it all, and it’s really not all that tricky – you’ll just need a candy thermometer. Heat some water and sugar until it gets to a certain temperature and then slowly add it to the egg mixture, keeping the mixer going on low speed. Then it’s time for my favorite ingredient of this pie – the marshmallow cream. Add that along with a touch of mint extract and whip it all up together for a couple of minutes. The last piece of the pie, if you will, is to whip a nice amount of cream up and fold it into the mixture. Now, you’re ready to pour it into the pie crust and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

The last touch for this pie that takes it truly over the top is the homemade fudge sauce. You could go without it, really, as the pie on its own is already pure perfection, but the sauce is so easy and so delicious – why not just go for it? Heat some cream and sugar and melt a combination of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate right into it. A touch of butter, a sprinkle of salt, and you’re there. Less than five minutes, and you just took your already perfect grasshopper pie right into pure, unadulterated chocolatey-mint heaven.

Be sure to check out Tara’s blog for the full recipe!

*Note of caution: You may have a hard time getting the frozen crust out of your pie plate, as I did. The first piece is the most difficult, and then it gets a little easier. Next time, I may try baking the crust for ten minutes first and letting it cool before filling and see if that helps.

In Sweets + Treats chocolate, holiday recipes, mint, pies + tarts, project pastry queen

black + white cranberry tart.

December 5, 2010 — 1 Comment

At first, the idea of a cranberry tart did nothing for me. But once I read this recipe, I realized how genius it was.

For one, you don’t even need an oven for this tart. It’s about the easiest thing I’ve ever seen/eaten/made/done. For two, it’s completely adaptable. Fresh cranberries in the fall and winter, fresh raspberries or strawberries in the spring and summer…

The crust is made out of chocolate sandwich cookies (read: Oreos, though I did buy the Newman’s Own version after reading how the Pastry Queen herself recommends them due to lack of hydrogenated oils – that’s right! These are healthy cookies!) crushed up and mixed with melted butter; but – you could do a graham cracker crust, or gingersnap…heck, you could toss in whatever cookies you have on hand and I bet it would work.

The filling is a simple combination of cream, butter, and light corn syrup – heated and poured over chopped white chocolate, and then whisked into a creamy wonderland. Instead, you could go with dark chocolate. Or milk. You get the idea.

You can make this tart anyway you want! And you don’t even have to bake it!

It’s brilliant. A hidden gem.

So if the idea of cranberries doesn’t get you going, problem solved. Though I must say – the cranberries are delicious. I think they make this tart the perfect dessert for the holiday season. Garnish with a mint leaf and there you have it – Christmas in a tart pan. The creamy sweetness of the filling goes so perfectly with the tart cranberries. Everyone will be super-impressed. Like, beyond. Just look at how sexy this baby is. No one needs to know it took you less than ten minutes.

Oh, and sidenote – I cooked with fresh cranberries for the first time today. Does anyone know what happens when you eat a raw, fresh cranberry? I tried to dare Daniel but he refused. Wimp.

Head on over to Josie’s fabulous blog for the full recipe!

*The original recipe calls for 8 individual foil tart pans, which I couldn’t find, so I halved it and made it in one 9-inch tart pan. The recipe also says to refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, and if you’re making a big tart like I did, you definitely want to go overnight. After 3 hours my tart was still…not ready for its close-up, as you can see from the photos.

In Fabulously Simple, Sweets + Treats cranberries, holiday recipes, no-bake desserts, pies + tarts, project pastry queen, white chocolate

larger-than-life praline {pumpkin} cheesecake.

November 7, 2010 — 26 Comments

Sometimes, I like to keep things simple.

Sometimes, I like for a cheesecake to be… just that. A cheesecake.

As you can likely imagine from the title, that’s not what you’re about to find here. While it may be {arguably} simple to make, the flavors and the composition of this beautiful fall dessert are anything but. On its own, a cheesecake is a cheesecake, and it’s perfectly delicious. Then, you throw some pumpkin into the mix. And now you have a pumpkin cheesecake, which is also perfectly delicious. Then you opt to change up the crust: graham cracker is pretty standard – and again, perfectly delicious – but you make this pumpkin cheesecake with a buttery gingersnap crust. And right now, as it stands, things are looking pretty good.

But then. Then you go and decide to pour a sinfully rich praline sauce of the deepest, beautiful brown coloring over the top of your cheesecake. There’s a touch of salt that balances the sweetness perfectly. And now, you’ve basically reached the pinnacle of what a cheesecake can be.

Now your cheesecake isn’t just a cheesecake. It’s a praline-topped pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust.

It’s larger-than-life. Not only because it has all of the gorgeous height (which you will get more of if you use a 9-inch pan than I did with a 10-inch) that we all love with a cheesecake, but it’s also about the flavors. Everything about it is just larger-than-life.

{Except the calorie count. We’ll pretend that piece of this pie doesn’t exist when discussing this cheesecake}

If you’re looking for something fabulous to make this Thanksgiving, I say this cheesecake is the way to go. It combines everything that makes me think of the holiday all into one – the pumpkin, the pecans – and in my book, it sure beats a standard pumpkin pie. It’s honestly not difficult to make at all; the only part that’s a little different from what you may be used to is that the cheesecake bakes in its springform pan which is then set in a larger pan (I used my roasting pan) that’s filled halfway with boiling water. So make sure you have a big enough pan to set your springform in, and you’re good to go.

The only change I made to the recipe was to add more pecans to the praline topping; one cup didn’t seem like enough, so I used the whole 6-ounce bag. I was glad I did, because the extra pecans covered the cake perfectly. I would also consider baking it a few minutes longer if you’re using the 10-inch pan, as my crust probably could have been a bit more stiff.

Click here to see how the rest of the Project Pastry Queen members fared!

Larger-than-Life Praline Cheesecake

{adapted from Rebecca Rather}

Ginger Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 35 to 40 cookies)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Praline Topping:

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

To make the crust: Line the bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking/baking spray. In a large bowl, stir together the crushed gingersnaps with the melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Press into bottom of the prepared pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove (you’ll need it boiling by the time you’re done with the filling).

To make the filling: Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed about 1 minute, until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium-high for 20 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice; beat on medium speed about 1 minute, until incorporated.

Pour the filling over the crust. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan and set it on the center rack of the oven. Pour enough boiling water into the larger pan to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 1 hour, or until the filling is set and golden brown on top. Cool the cheesecake on a rack about 30 minutes, then chill for several hours or overnight. Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and set it on a serving plate.

To make the praline topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them for 7 to 9 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. Coarsely chop the nuts.

Stir together the brown sugar, cream, and butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. Boil the mixture for about 1 1/2 minutes, adjusting the heat to make sure it does not boil over. Do not stir. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, and pecans. Cool the topping at least 15 minutes before pouring over the top of the chilled cheesecake. Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to serve. The cheesecake will keep, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

In Sweets + Treats cheesecake, fall recipes, holiday recipes, praline, project pastry queen, pumpkin

{american} flag cake.

July 2, 2010 — 16 Comments

This was a very special cake, for many reasons.

For one, it was the first time I ever used a pastry bag and actually liked it – which was a big moment for me. Another reason is that I made it for a BFF’s party celebrating her man, who recently became an official citizen of the United States. He’s from Canada, and although he’s lived here his whole life, he was still super excited because he has serious American spirit; we were excited, too, because it gave us a reason to throw a huge party complete with every classically American dish you can think of, and a whole lot of sweet tea vodka and apple pie martinis.

And, you know, it also represents our country’s independence. So that’s cool, too.

You should probably {at least} consider making it this weekend, because not only is it as festive as it gets, it’s also beyond delicious. I literally can’t even tell you how obsessed people were with this cake – I heard everything from it’s the best cake they’d ever had, to intense threats recommendations to open my own bakery. The cake itself is a sponge cake, so it’s super dense and moist, and it has so much flavor – thanks to a heavy dose of butter. The icing is a cream cheese/buttercream variety, and it was also a huge hit – everyone loved how the tartness of the berries complemented it. It takes some time to pipe the icing and place all the berries on top, but I promise you – it’s not that hard, and that means a lot coming from someone as pastry bag-challenged as myself.

{What I finally figured out: you must use a big enough pastry bag! Get plenty of icing in there, but make sure you don’t overfill the bag so that you can fold the top of it over your hand}

Flag Cake

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For your stars + stripes:

2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour (or use Pam for baking) an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. I think my sheet pan is actually 18 x 12 x 1, and it worked out just fine. I think it’s a little tricky to find a pan this exact size recommended – so use what you have. If it’s something much smaller, like a half sheet pan, you can always split the cake into 2, or halve it – which would be an especially good idea if you have a smaller group, because this recipe makes a ton of cake.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. No over-mixing! Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

Like Ina, I served this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth. Easy-peasy.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. If you want to, you can outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick, though I didn’t find this step necessary. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe.

Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Hold the bag with the edges folded over your hand (see below), and use your other hand to spatula the icing into the bag. Make sure to use a big enough bag, and to fill it about halfway or a little more. Squeeze the icing so that its pushed down to the tip and there’s no air in the bag, and squeeze the icing out gently. Try doing a little practice run on your counter, if you’re an amateur like me.

You want to try and gently squeeze it out as evenly as possible when you’re doing the stripes. I certainly didn’t do a perfect job, but once I figured out how to hold the bag and did a few practice lines, I started getting the hang of it.

Pipe two rows of white stripes below the first stripe of raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. I didn’t have enough room to do the last 2 stripes of raspberries, so I ended up just piping extra icing there – just make it work! Pipe stars on top of the blueberries. I probably got a little carried away here and did too many white stars – you can try spacing them out a little better than I did for a closer result to Ina’s.

End result: an imperfectly perfect + richly delicious flag cake, sure to steal the show.

Have a fabulous {and safe} Fourth of July, dolls!