Month: September 2016

Lemon Mousse Trifle

This is my absolute #1 favorite dessert to serve and to eat, but it takes a lot of work and makes a lot of dirty dishes. However, it also makes plenty of scraps for the chef to snack on along the way!

* This dessert contains raw eggs, so if that’s not appealing, just stop here. Otherwise, be sure to get fresh high quality eggs and consume within 24 hours of preparation.

Fresh, light textured, creamy, sweet and sour, delightful. This dessert incites intrigue and wonder. How can this be so good? Please don’t let me ever find the bottom of the dish kind of delicious.

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet pan cooled flat jelly roll lemon cake
  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
  • 4-6 tablespoons cold water
  • 3 large lemons, zest and juice (Meyer lemons turn out good too)
  • 4 separated eggs
  • 4 tablespoons sugar (for mousse)
  • 2 2⁄3 cups whipping cream (for mousse)
  • about 1 extra cup whipping cream (for the top)
  • simple syrup with lemon juice (for assembly)
  • candied lemon zest (for the top)

Instructions

  1. Bake a lemon cake in a parchment-lined jelly roll sheet pan; allow to cool while you prepare the other items. (Once cool, you will cut out shapes to fit neatly into your trifle container.)
  2. Zest 1 lemon and combine with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar in order to candy the zest. Rest in freezer until ready to garnish.
  3. Juice the zested lemon and prepare a simple lemon syrup by warming juice, water and sugar on the stove. Reserve for assembly.
  4. Whip approximately 4 cups of whipping cream. Allow to rest in refrigerator while you prepare the mousse. Don’t add sugar yet.

Prepare the lemon mousse

  1. Dissolve gelatin in cold water in a small pot that can later go on the stove. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.
  2. Beat the 4 egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of sugar until light and fluffy. Carefully blend in juice and zest of 2 remaining lemons.
  3. Melt dissolved gelatin over low heat. Add to the egg mixture, stirring well. (Once you add the gelatin you must be ready with the whipped cream and egg whites quickly or you will have lumpy mousse.)
  4. Take about 3⁄4 of the whipped cream from the refrigerator and fold into the egg mixture.
  5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg mixture.
  6. If desired, add any powdered sugar to remaining whipped cream to taste.
  7. Assemble trifles: layer cake, brush with simple syrup (prevents cake from being too dry), mousse, cake, syrup, mousse, etc. until containers are full. Try to end with mousse. Add a large dollop of sweetened whipped cream to the top. Finish with candied lemon zest.
  8. Chill for 2-20 hours prior to serving.

Notes

  • This recipe uses gelatin and is therefore not vegetarian. You might be able to substitute with agar agar powder, but I have not experimented with this yet.

Cream Cheese Pastries

From an old Betty Crocker desserts cookbook, arises this irresistible family holiday classic mini cookie. The image was borrowed from the web since these disappear faster than a camera shutter in our house.

Servings: 6 desserters

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 8 oz package cream cheese
  • 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1⁄4 tsp salt
  • 1⁄2 cup jelly

Instructions

  1. Cream butter and cheese together. Mix in sugar.
  2. Combine flour and salt. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Divide dough into rough thirds. Roll flat on flour-dusted surface. Cut into 2 1⁄2″ square shapes.
  4. Move pieces to cookie sheet with parchment. Place dot of jelly in center of each square and bring up set of diagonal corners and pinch to seal.
  5. Bake in 375°F oven about 10-13 minutes.

Notes

  • Using parchment will spare your cookie sheet from boiling jelly spill-over which is very hard if not impossible to get off.
  • Sometimes the dough is dry from rolling; to get a better seal when closing use a drop of water.

Impossible Salmon Pie/ otherwise known as Salmon Surprise

This was another Sunday morning Hateley kid favorite. Serves ~4

Ingredients

  • 1 can salmon (drained, 15.5 oz)
  • 1⁄2 cup chopped onion
  • 1⁄2 cup chopped bell pepper
  • 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1 1⁄2 cup milk
  • 3⁄4 cup Bisquick
  • 3 eggs
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In a greased pie plate, sprinkle salmon, onion, bell pepper, and half of the cheese.
  3. Beat together milk, Bisquick, eggs, salt and pepper.
  4. Pour into pie plate. (Can refrigerate at this point if you want to make it for breakfast the next morning.)
  5. Sprinkle on remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Refrigerator Rolls—easy but good

Refrigerator Rolls from the 1940s — the rolls the Hateley kids grew up on. Very good.

Servings: 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 1 cube butter
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1⁄2 cup sugar
  • 1 1⁄2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • 7 cups flour
  • 2 yeast packages dissolved in 1⁄2 cup lukewarm water (a yeast package is about 2 1⁄2 teaspoons)

Instructions

  1. Pour boiling water over cube of butter; stir until melted. Add 1 cup cold water, then sugar, salt, eggs and flour. Beat well.
  2. Turn into greased bowl, cover and place in ice box for minimum of two hours and up to 24 hours.
  3. When ready to use remove from ice box and shape into rolls. Shape into rolls. Let rise until light, about 45 minutes to an hour.
  4. Grease pan with butter; bake at 375 degrees until brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Notes

  • Can also make this into 2 loaves of bread and 1 small pan of rolls. Bake loaves at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.