BAKE HAPPY: 100 Delightful Dessert Recipes to Rock Your World
Judith Fertig Steve Legato
Running Press
May 2015
$27.50/hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7624-5379-5
Judith Fertig is a prolific cookbook author who has studied at Le Cordon Bleu in London and École de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris. She is the coauthor of The Gardener and the Grill, Patio Pizzeria, and BBQ Bistro, and author of 500 Cupcakes, Back In the Swing, and I Love Cinnamon Rolls!, among many others. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
Make Your Sweet Tooth Happy!
Colorful, flavorful, feel-good desserts practically shout “happy!” BAKE HAPPY will bring some good juju back to your kitchen. Whether you’re in the mood for spicy autumnal aromas, luscious caramels, bright citrus flavors, or sultry chocolate, BAKE HAPPY has something that will satisfy your sweet tooth and your soul. With 100 recipes for cupcakes and cookies, bars and brownies, tarts and turnovers, and delicious cakes, BAKE HAPPY is meant to be savored all year round.
Cherry Mashers, Pollock-Style
Makes 30 Sandwich Cakes
These little yellow cakes, similar to Whoopie Pies, have a sour cherry and marshmallow filling and a final flourish ofmelted semisweet chocolate. Channel your inner abstract expressionist artist and make the pattern as interesting as possible, à la Jackson Pollock, whose unique painting style involved standing and dripping paint from a brush onto a canvas on the floor.
Cherry Mashers
3 cups (285 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (500 g) granulated or raw sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sour Cherry and Marshmallow Filling
6 tablespoons (90 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 cup (60 ml) sour cherry preserves
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1 (7-ounce/205-g) jar marshmallow creme
Chocolate Garnish
1 cup (175 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
For the Cherry Mashers, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set the bowl aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale, light, and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and egg until well blended. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla until just blended. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture, 1 cup (250 ml) at a time, until you have a smooth batter, about 2 minutes.
Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheet for each cake, spacing the mounds 2 1/2 inches (6.5 cm) apart.
Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on the edges and the tops spring back to the touch, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
For the Sour Cherry and Marshmallow Filling, in the bowl of a food processor or in the clean bowl of an electric mixer, process or beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, cherry preserves, almond extract, salt, and marshmallow crème until smooth.
To assemble the Sour Cherry Mashers, spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of filling on one little cake and top with another cake. Repeat with the remaining cakes and filling.
For the Chocolate Garnish, place the chocolate chips in small sealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and microwave on high for 12 seconds, then massage the chips in the bag to help them melt. Keep microwaving the chocolate for very short intervals and massaging until the chocolate has melted completely.
Snip a corner from the bag and squeeze decorative lines of melted chocolate across each assembled Sour Cherry Masher. Serve right away or store the cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Rum and Brown Sugar Banana Fool
Makes 6 Servings
What grows together goes together in this dish of tropical fruit and the fruits of the sugar cane.I much prefer baked bananas to fresh ones, as baking concentrates their flavor. And, of course, anything caramelized—or made withrum—just has to be better! A “fool” is an old English dessert made with puréed or mashed cooked fruit and fluffy cream.
2 very ripe bananas
2 tablespoons white, dark, or spiced rum
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup (250 ml) heavy whipping cream or crème fraîche
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish
Freshly grated chocolate, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a 9-inch (23 cm) square baking dish with foil. Place 6 martini glasses in the freezer to chill.
Arrange the bananas in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle them with the rum and sprinkle the sugar over top.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bananas are caramelized and soft. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the bananas cool, then mash them in the baking dish.
Whip the cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form and fold the whipped cream into the mashed, caramelized bananas using a wooden spoon. (If you are using crème fraîche, simply fold it into the bananas as is, no need to whip it.)
Divide the fool among the 6 chilled martini glasses. Top each portion with some grated nutmeg and grated chocolate and serve.
These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:
Recipes from BAKE HAPPY by Judith Fertig. (Running Press; May 2015; $27.50/hardcover; ISBN; 978-0-7624-5379-5). www.runningpress.com
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