Dessert - Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post deals with the yumminess of dessert, and includes Sheet-Pan Sweet Potato, Pecan and Pumpkin Pie and Valerie's Pumpkin Pudding. Enjoy!

SWEDISH ALMOND CAKE

This is from Dorie Greenspan in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Dorie wrote, “Fika is the Swedish custom of stopping twice daily for coffee, conversation and a little something sweet; the word was created by flipping the two syllables in kaffe. Minutes after I had a fika in the Stockholm studio of the pastry chef Mia Ohrn, I started thinking about what I’d serve at my own first fika. This cake, so much easier to make than you’d guess by looking at it, has become my favorite. The recipe turns out a moist, buttery, tender cake, which would be lovely as is. But when the cake is half-baked, I cook a mixture of butter, sugar, flour and sliced almonds, spread it over the top (a homage to Sweden’s famous tosca cake), put the pan back in the oven and wait for the mixture to bubble, caramelize and create a shell that is a little chewy, a little crackly and very beautiful. It’s a perfect cake for fika, and great for brunch.”

Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 1/4 hours, plus cooling.

This was featured in “The Perfect Cake for Your Coffee Break”, and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020767-swedish-almond-cake.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and lukewarm, plus more unmelted butter for greasing the pan

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup whole milk, lukewarm

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Topping:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons whole milk

Preparation

Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (using solid, unmelted butter), and dust the interior with flour; tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a mixer (use a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the sugar and eggs together on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, and gradually add the melted butter, followed by the milk and vanilla. (I like to pour the ingredients down the side of the bowl as the mixer is working.) Mix until the batter is smooth; it will have a lovely sheen. Decrease the speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredients. When the flour mixture is almost fully incorporated, finish blending by stirring with a spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Slide the cake into the oven, and set your timer for 30 minutes.

As soon as the timer dings, start the topping (leaving the cake in the oven): In a medium saucepan, mix together all the topping ingredients. Place over medium-high heat and, stirring constantly, cook until you see a couple of bubbles around the edges. Lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring nonstop, for 3 minutes. The mixture will thicken a little, and your spatula will leave tracks as you stir. Remove the pan from the heat.

Immediately take the cake out of the oven (leaving the oven on), and carefully pour the topping over the cake, nudging it gently with a spatula to cover the cake completely.

Return the cake to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes (total baking time is about 50 minutes) or until the topping, which will bubble and seethe, is a beautiful golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack, and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully work a table knife between the side of the pan and the cake, gently pushing the cake away from the side (it’s a delicate job because the sticky topping isn’t yet set). Remove the sides of the pan, and let the cake come to room temperature on the base. When you’re ready to serve, lift the cake off the springform base and onto a platter.

CHAMPIONSHIP CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Yield: 3 dozen bars

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter or regular margarine

2 cups (12 oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F. Stir together flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl.

Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Press mixture on bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and the nuts. Spread evenly over hot baked crust. Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on wire rack then cut into bars.

VALERIE'S PUMPKIN PUDDING

This is from Valerie Bertinelli on the Food Network. Active Time: 25 minutes; Total Time: 25 minutes; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/valerie-bertinelli/valeries-pumpkin-pudding-for-wolfie-3234631.

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie mix), about 1 1/2 cups

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 to 12 ginger snap cookies

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine three cups of the milk, the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and ginger. Whisk to combine and then set over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer.

Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the remaining 1 cup milk.

Whisk half of the hot milk-pumpkin mixture into the egg mixture until smooth, then gradually whisk the egg-milk-pumpkin mixture back into the saucepan. Continue to cook, now over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.

To assemble, layer the cookies and pudding mixture in a serving dish or parfait glasses. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold (at least 2 hours).

4-INGREDIENT FROZEN LEMONADE PIE

This is from the Food Network, and begins, ""This easy-to-make pie is sweet and tart - just like the drink. Don't stop at lemon, though; try any other fruit sorbet for a variation."

Active Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes (includes freezing time); Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/4-ingredient-frozen-lemonade-pie-3365016.

Ingredients

1 cup lemon sorbet

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup heavy cream

One 9-inch graham cracker pie crust

Directions

Put the sorbet in a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted. Stir in the condensed milk and let cool.

Put the cream in another medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it is thick and holds a ribbony shape when you run the beaters through it (do not let it form soft peaks), 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir the thickened cream into the lemon sorbet mixture and pour into the pie crust. Smooth out into an even layer. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until set, about 2 hours or up to overnight.

SHEET-PAN SWEET POTATO, PECAN AND PUMPKIN PIE

This is from Jocelyn Delk Adams on the Today website. It begins, "This is a fun recipe that will please everyone, even the pickiest people, on holidays! You can have three different flavors of pie all in one, so everyone is satisfied.

"Swap option: You can use canned sweet potato and canned pumpkin. Also puff pastry is a fun sub for refrigerated pie dough."

Prep Time: 60 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes; Servings: 16

To view this online, go to https://www.today.com/recipes/sheet-pan-sweet-potato-pecan-pumpkin-pie-recipe-t200661.

Ingredients

Crust

2 boxes refrigerated rolled pie crust (4 crusts total)

1 egg plus 1 teaspoon water, whisked together

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 large egg, room temperature

Pecan Pie Filling

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch kosher salt

2 cups pecans, roasted and roughly chopped

Sweet Potato Filling

2/3 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 sweet potato, fully cooked and mashed

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup evaporated milk

Preparation

For the crusts:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Unroll 3 of the pie crusts on a lightly floured work surface. Stack them on top of each other. Roll out the thick, layered dough to a 15- by 21-inch rectangle. Press into a rimmed baking sheet so that the crust comes up the sides and hangs over slightly. This will be the bottom crust.

Chill until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.

For the pumpkin pie filling:

Whisk together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice and the egg in a medium bowl until smooth. Cover and set aside.

For the pecan pie filling:

Whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fold in the pecans, cover and set aside.

For the sweet potato pie filling:

Using a handheld mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, then carefully mix in the egg and vanilla. Once combined, add mashed sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. As the mixture begins to smooth out, gradually pour in the evaporated milk. Mix until fully incorporated, cover and set aside.

To assemble:

Remove the prepared baking sheet with dough from the refrigerator. Using a fork, poke the pie crust about a dozen times, going all around the dough (except for the crust).

Using a large spatula, carefully scoop, spread and smooth each filling onto the crust. On the left side, start with the sweet potato and allow it to only take up 1/3 of the pan. Next, scoop out the pumpkin pie filling on the opposite right side leaving just the center open then add the pecan filling to the center (because there is a bit more liquid in the pecan mixture, it will spread a bit, do your best to control it by quickly scooping, spreading and smoothing).

Finally, decorate the outside pie dough that is hanging over and brush the outside of the pie crust with your egg wash.

Bake until all pies are set and the crust is golden-brown and crisp, about 50-60 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to completely cool, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Tightly cover the top with nonstick aluminum foil (or plastic wrap) and transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.

Allow the pie to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Slice, serve and enjoy!