» JANET’S CHEESCAKE «
(14 January 2011) - Some years ago we went to Chilliwack, (British Columbia, CANADA), just before Paul and Sara had kids, to visit my brother/sister-in-law. It’s a beautiful place and they took us everywhere... My favorite site was de Bride’s Veil Falls. We went all the way to the top and the view was simply gorgeous.
Fernando and Janet made us feel right at home. We enjoyed this vacation very much!
Janet is a super nice lady and a great cook. She made this extraordinary cheesecake for desert one of the days while we were there. I tried many cheesecakes, but… this one is my favorite!
Thank you guys for everything!
Ingredients:
• 4 Eggs (separated and at room temperature)
• 2 Packages of cream cheese at room temperature (I like low fat)
• ¾ Cup of powder sugar
• ¼ Cup of powder sugar
• 1 Tbs of lemon zest
• 1 Tsp of vanilla
• 2 Tbs of unsalted butter
• 25 Vanilla wafers or Maria cookies (grinded should measure about 1 cup)
Grease the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with unsalted butter. Grind the vanilla wafers (or Maria cookies) mixing them with the butter and press the mix in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
In a big mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg yolks and ¾ cup of the sugar. Scrape the bottom of the bowl adding the lemon zest and the vanilla. In a different container, beat the egg whites until fluffy, add the rest of the sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
Fold in, the cheese mixture into the egg whites, carefully.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Pour the cheese mixture in the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. Let it cool in the oven, then place it on a serving platter and dust the top with the ¼ cup of powder sugar.
Light and fluffy. *Serves 8 people* - Spectacular!
» UPSIDEDOWN APPLE CAKE «
(30 December 2010) - I always love to bake, and even though I gave it a try when we were living in Spain, it was in Florida where I became good at it. I tried and tried again… because practice makes perfect. Mario got me a copy of a Cuban cookbook, borrowed from a coworker that invited us over for dinner frequently. I love that book, but I only have the baking part. It’s a pity that the book is not in print anymore... That was our first experience with Cuban cuisine, which I love ever since…
Ingredients:
• 2 ‘Golden Delicious’ apples
• The juice and zest of ½ a lemon (separated)
• ½ Cup plus ¾ of a cup of sugar (separated)
• 2 Tbs of water
• ¾ Cup of unsalted butter
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Tsp vanilla
• ½ Cup (low fat) sour cream at room temperature
• 1¼ Cups of flour
• 1 Tsp baking powder
• ¼ Tsp baking soda
Rules for baking successfully: have all the ingredients at room temperature, and when putting the batter in the cake pan, the pan has to be ¾ full or the cake will collapse after baking.
Butter the bottom and the sides of a 9 by 1½ inches baking dish. Peel and core the apples, cut into quarters and each quarter into 4 slices. Macerate in the lemon juice, and after 10 minutes, arrange the apples on the bottom of the baking dish.
Meanwhile make a caramel, as follows: put ½ cup of the sugar and the water into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Boil until the mixture turns golden. Watch it carefully because it could get dark quickly and –if so- it will taste burnt and bitter. Pour the hot caramel over the apples and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat ¾ cup of the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one by one, scraping the bowl after each addition. Incorporate the lemon zest and vanilla, and beat for another 2 minutes. Fold-in the flour mixture and the sour cream, alternating, starting with the flour. Pour the batter over the apples and bake for 45 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden and has little cracks. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the cake and invert it onto a serving plate.
A brilliant finish to any meal. *Serves 8 people* - Fantastic!
» RASPBERRY CLAFOUTI «
(17 August 2010) - My favorite dessert is flan. After that, it’s any dessert made with fruit, especially summer fruit. In Spain we don’t make a lot of homemade desserts. On special occasions we buy something at the bakery; for everyday meals there is always a bowl of fruit on the table.
Not so in the U. S. where Americans frequently make homemade desserts. And if you are going to have fruit, why not have it in a pie, a cobbler, a crisp, or the less known a brown betty, or a clafouti (among others). And that… is okay with me!
Ingredients:
• 2 Cups of fresh raspberries
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup of heavy cream
• ½ Cup of flour
• ½ Cup of sugar
• 1 Tsp of vanilla
• 1 Tbs of lemon zest
• Powder sugar (for dusting)
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Generously butter a pie dish, scatter the raspberries in the dish and set aside.
Beat the eggs until bubbly. Add the rest of the ingredients except the powder sugar. Mix well until everything is incorporated.
Pour the mixture over the fruit and bake for about 20–25 minutes, until it gets golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. Sprinkle with powder sugar before serving.
Delicious at room temperature. *Serves 8 people* - I love it!
» CHOCOFLAN «
(26 June 2010) - Flan is probably my favorite dessert, so when I saw this recipe I thought: “this must be really good” - and it is!
I made some changes in the recipe (like I always do) and came out delicious. I never thought to mix chocolate cake and flan, but the result is mouth watering.
Ingredients for the Flan:
• ½ Cup of sugar
• 1 Can of evaporated milk (12 oz.)
• 1 Package of cream cheese (8 oz.) (softened)
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Tsp of vanilla
Ingredients for the Cake:
• ½ Cup of sugar
• ½ Cup of milk
• 1 Cup of flour
• 1 Tsp of baking powder
• ½ Tsp of baking soda
• 1/3 Cup of cocoa powder
• ½ Stick of unsalted butter (softened
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tbs of vanilla
In a small saucepan put ½ a cup of the sugar. Cover it and place it over medium heat until it melts (about 5 minutes - don’t stir). Don’t let it burn or it will be biter. Pour the caramel over a 12 cups mold, letting it cool upside down.
Preheat the oven to 350 ºF.
In a blender, mix ½ a cup of sugar, evaporated milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Spread some butter on the sides of the mold, put the prepare mold into a baking dish pouring the flan mixture inside. Add some water to the baking dish to make a water bath and place it in the oven.
Meanwhile prepare the cake: Mix the dry ingredients.
In a mixing bowl beat the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Scrape the bowl and add the dry ingredients little-by-little alternating with the milk.
Pour carefully the cake mixture over the flan. Let it bake for a total of 45 minutes. Once that the dessert is done, let it cool for 15 minutes. Invert the Chocoflan into a serving dish and put it in the refrigerator.
An extraordinary dessert. *Serves 8 people* - This brings heaven closer!
» PEARS IN WHITE WINE «
(26 May 2010) - Saturday was a special day, as we had some dear friends for dinner. We know each other for a long time. She is a pastor’s wife, and was a Spanish teacher for a lot of years. Her daughter lives in Madrid, married a Spaniard, and has a daughter. Anne and Gerald go to Spain often to be with their family.
We have a lot of things in common: We both love Spain, the culture and the food. When they came for dinner I prepare this desert. We all love it.
Ingredients:
• 4 Pears (must be firm - D’ Anjou or Bosc)
• ½ Cup of sugar
• 1 Cup white wine (not dry!)
• 1 Cup of water
• 1 Stick of cinnamon
• 2 Anise stars
• The peel of ½ a lemon
• 1 Tsp of vanilla
Peel and cut in half the pears, take of the fruit’s core, and put them to cook in a pot with the liquids, sugar, spices, vanilla, and lemon peel. Cover and cook them for one hour at medium heat. When they are done, take them from the wine and let them cool. Meanwhile let the liquid simmer for 20 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Strain the syrup over the pears, and put them in the refrigerator.
Gerald said they where delicious! *Serves 4 people* - Wow!
» FRUIT SALAD «
(10 May 2010) - Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Ruben and Maria, Donna (Paul’s mom) and Michael, and we went to Sara’s home for dinner. We have a nice supper, very good company, and “us mothers” received great presents.
Sara made lasagna two ways: one with rice pasta the other with the regular kind. Maria brought appetizers, Donna salad, Mario bought two cakes at the supermarket (he has to have his sweets), and I made a fruit salad.
I wish a Happy Mother’s Day to every mom, as I had.
Ingredients:
• 4 Cups of strawberries (clean and cut in pieces)
• 3 Slices of pineapple (clean and cut or you can use canned)
• 2 Cups of blueberries
• 1 Can of mandarin oranges (the juice can be also used)
• 2 Bananas (peeled and sliced)
• Whip cream
Put all the fruit in a big salad bowl, and mix it carefully.
Use whipped cream as a toping. *Serves 8 people* - Fruit Salad… Yummy, Yummy!
» FLAN «
(4 May 2010) - This is a very popular dessert in all South American countries… Made with cream cheese, evaporated milk or any other kind of milk. Flan is very versatile as other things can be added to it, such as: fruit, coffee, or chocolate.
It is the best Spanish dessert… served in every restaurant and loved by everyone. People say that when a woman knows how to make flan, she is ready to get married.
When I was living in Madrid I used to play around with the original recipe making changes to my father’s enjoyment, because he loved sweets, and everything else (maybe a little too much).
When we moved to this country, my parents came for a visit. My father loved his daughter and her cooking. He used to brag to the family about my abilities. I guess I got it from him, because he made “paella” that could stop traffic.
Ingredients:
• 6 Eggs
• 1 Cup of milk, 2% fat
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 Tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbs water
In a small pot, put half the sugar and the water. Cover with a lid and let it cook slowly. Check it constantly, but don’t stir. As soon as it starts to get some color, uncover it and watch it because it will turn dark quickly (and that will make it bitter). It will be ready when it gets golden. Pour the caramel into an ovenproof glass-baking dish (a pie plate works great) and swirl it around to cover the bottom evenly. Flip the dish over and let the caramel cool upside down.
In a pot bring the milk to a boil with the cinnamon stick. Just before it starts boiling, remove it from the stove and let it cool.
Meanwhile put three whole eggs plus thee egg yolks in a blender (the remaining three egg whites can be used to make macaroons or something). Add the rest of the sugar, the vanilla and warm milk (strain the milk before adding it).
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cover the flan loosely with aluminum foil and bake it in a water bath for one hour. Uncover it and let it cool. Remove the dish from the water bath and run a knife along the edge to loosen the flan. Place a large flat platter upside-down over the dish (like a lid) and holding the baking dish and platter together invert the dish to transfer the flan to the platter. The caramel will have cover the flan and be slightly liquid. Make sure to pour all of the caramel onto the flan.
My daughter says it’s the best part! (She has been known to lick her plate!). *Makes 6 servings* - Really yummy!
