Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries

Sometime I justify baking with not wasting ingredients.  More often I've got odds and ends to use up and look for recipes to fit.  In this case I had a liter of whipping cream expiring the day I found it lurking in the back of the fridge.  I found a recipe in the book that sounded like it would work and then realized just how perfectly it did.  I used up two leftover bags of cranberries in the freezer and the remainder of a box of chocolate graham crumbs. I even had one little bottle of Grand Marnier in the cupboard.  Could it get any more right?

Unfortunately for me the recipe just didn't work.  The components didn't jive and the flavours were unbalanced.  This isn't a recipe I would recommend making.

Baking notes:
-The chocolate cookie layer was hard as a rock in the corners where I couldn't get it thin enough.  The chocolate cookie layer didn't pair well with the Grand Marnier or the spiced cranberry sauce.
-I used only 4 Tbsp of Grand Marnier rather than 5.  The orange was still pronounced.  Due to the nature of the recipe the frozen cream layer was a tad icy, but that would be expected since the water molecules would take considerably longer to freeze coming from room temperature.
-I used 3 cups of cranberries, 1/2 cup raspberries and 1 1/2 cups blueberries.  This made the compote sweeter than an all cranberry sauce, which I liked.
-I also reduced the nutmeg and allspice to a 1/2 tsp each in the sauce, which I thought was plenty!  I definitely wouldn't recommend any more, it would be totally overwhelming.

You can find the Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries recipe on the Epicurious website.

6/569

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry-Raspberry Compote

It was a birthday, a cause for celebration that enabled me to buy $12 worth of cream cheese.  As much as I love cheesecake, it's always been price that holds me back.  My best friend Erin turned twenty-two recently, so I made her a delicious mac and cheese dinner (with a big helping of salad and brussel sprouts, I might add) and this extremely decadent and wonderful cheesecake.  Without exaggeration; it's the type of cheesecake you'd order from a restaurant and rave about to anyone with an ear.  I was completely thrilled with the results, decadent but light and lovely, brightly flavoured with tart winter cranberries and sweet summer raspberries.  It was winter spiced and summer kissed.  To top it all off the cake was beautiful, creamy white cheesecake with pretty red swirls, very pleasing to the eye.  This is the best cheesecake I've had (so far) in my life.

Baking notes:

-Firstly: it's very important that you start the cheesecake the day before you plan to eat it.  It needs to sit and chill properly.

-Be sure you have a big enough water-bath pan to place the 10-inch cheesecake in.  I had to send my husband to the store for a disposable tin roasting pan.  The water-bath is what ensures a moist cheesecake, do not skip.

-I forgot to buy oranges to zest, that were required in the compote.  Instead I used 1/2 tsp orange oil/extract. 

-I did not cool the cranberry puree for six hours in the fridge.  Instead I placed it in the freezer for two hours, stirring occasionally so it did not harden.  Once it was cold and thickened I was able to use it.

-I used graham crackers for the "butter cookies" in the crust.  

-There is a lot of vanilla and cinnamon called for in the recipe.  Unfortunately I believe it was necessary and would advise you not to skimp.

You can find the recipe for Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry-Raspberry Compote on the Epicurious website.

5/569

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Right off the bat I apologize for the atrocious photography.  We've been a busy pair these past few days, only home when the sun is down.  Luckily for us our hard work has been rewarded with dessert, unfortunately for my photographs it's been at night.  No matter, the bread pudding in question was delicious.  It all started with two unfortunate loaves of dry brioche bread and one can of dulce de leche half price at the store.  Wanting to use these two together I turned to my Dessert cookbook and here is what I found: Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding.  I prepared the recipe with great care, indulging in far to many sweets this week as it were, slowly mixing, stirring and cooking.  In the end the bread pudding came out rather dry, we bought (gasp!) vanilla ice cream to top the pudding which made it much nicer.  The dulce de leche flavour was more or less indiscernible, it came across as sweet more than anything, which was a bit of a disappointment.  Though I wouldn't make this recipe again, I would still encourage you to try it.

Baking notes:
-I didn't have the full amount of cream on hand so I substituted 3/4 cup of cream for milk.
-I didn't have any rum, so I used bourbon.  I also had some bourbon vanilla on hand so I used that as well.
-I increased the chocolate from 3oz to 4oz.  It was an improvement for sure.
-The pudding was a tad dry, but I used a 9x13 inch pan instead of a 7x11 asked for.  Try decreasing the baking time by a few minutes if you use the bigger pan because the layer will be thinner.

You can find the recipe for Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding on the Epicurious website.

4/569

Coconut Checkerboard Brownies

The hunt was on for a can of coconut cream.  Armed with a shopping list, a phone and my best manners I scoured the store shelves, traipsing up and down aisles and looking from here to there, before asking a shelf stocker.  They never have any idea. Curses.  It took three stores but I found a can.  When I brought it home and opened it would you guess what I found?  The same solid coconut sitting at the top of every other can of coconut milk.  My advice to myself next time is to use the coconut solids from a regular can of coconut milk (meaning don't shake the can!) and save the time!

These brownies are the cake-y kind, there is no convincing me otherwise.  Since I'm more of a chewy or fudgy brownie girl they weren't my favourite brownie ever, but I did find myself wanting more once they were gone.  My husband on the other hand loved them since he is both a brownie and a coconut guy, I made them especially for him.

Baking notes:
-There is a brownie layer underneath the coconut, so the chocolate is not lost in the strong taste of coconut.
-I followed this recipe exactly as is and it turned out as promised.  It looks impressive, but doesn't require any sophisticated technique.

3/569

Golden Raisin and Apple Lattice Pie

It's those apples!  In an extensive attempt to use up 40 lbs of apples gifted to me, it only made sense (due to the amount of apples required) for an apple pie.  While we do love a good apple pie around in this house, we're used to it as a wonderful fall dessert, full of cinnamon and spice.  Instead this pie plants itself firmly in the spring camp with clean, bright flavours.  The golden raisins are a bonus in every bite, plumped up from all the apple juices they've swollen to small grape size and burst inside the mouth with a thrilling zing.  The crust on this pie is crisp and flaky, just as any pie shell should be.  Being that it is me, however, I hard trouble rolling out the dough without it being too thin.  I still don't know how!  Why would the picture in the book show an adequately thick crust, while mine was thin and sparse?  Either way it's a slice of humble apple pie worth sharing.

Baking notes:

-I did not use the specified golden delicious apples.  Instead, I used macintosh apples which are very soft, cooked or not.  I thought the results were a fantastic use of the apples.  Crispy apples will be left with just a bit of bite, but my apple pie was soft and delectable.

-The egg wash (yolk+cream) was important to the dark browning of the crust, try not to ignore.

-If you wanted, vanilla seeds might be very nice in this pie, I would add them to the apple/raisin mixture before filling the crust.

You can find the recipe for Golden Raisin and Apple Lattice Pie on the Epicurious website.

2/569