Baked Lemon Cake Puddings

I had bookmarked these several months ago, but the book somehow got put back on the shelf with the bookmark still in it.  I just came across it recently.  Now I am wondering,what else has a bookmark.  At least I came across it now, so I was happy to make these.

This recipe is a concoction which allows the cake part to float to the top and the custard part to float to the bottom.  While there was not a big distinction between the cake and pudding layer, I did find these to be tasty.  They were a nice change from the chocolatey cake I made earlier this week.

I love all things citrus-my favorite fruit drink is lemonade.  You will not see me drinking tea or soda if lemonade is around, regardless of the weather.  When I took of spoonful of this cross between a cake and a pudding, I was quite taken.  Fluffy in some areas and silky smooth in others, the texture was pleasing to the palate.  Also, the tart lemony flavor was pretty addicting, so it was very difficult not to eat the whole thing.  It had just the right amount of tartness, not mouth puckering but enough for you to notice the zing. 

I filled two 16 ounce ramekins to make mine.  The recipe below is for six 6 ounce custard cups or ramekins.  Also, you can use a 1 quart casserole dish.  The cooking time should be about 55-65 minutes for the casserole dish.

Baked Lemon Cake Puddings
adapted from Good Housekeeping Book of Desserts

Ingredients
3 tbs flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 tbs melted butter
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
2 medium sized lemons

Grease all the inside of the ramekins or custard cups.  Set aside.

Zest the lemons to make 1 tablespoon.  Then squeeze out 1/3 cup of lemon juice.

Fill a small bowl with the egg whites and salt.  Beat until soft peaks form and continue to beat, slowly adding 1/2 cup of sugar.  Beat at high speed until the mixture reaches the stiff peak stage.

Take out another bowl and beat egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.  Then add all the other ingredients and beat until well blended.  Fold the egg white mixture into the batter with a whisk or spatula, folding until no white streaks remain.

Then boil about 6 or 7 cups of water in a saucepan.  While this is coming to a boil, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Evenly fill the custard cups with the batter and place in a 9X13 inch pan and place on oven rack.  Fill the pan with the boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the custard cups.  Slide rack with pan back into oven and bake until tops are golden and firm.  This should take about 40-45 minutes.  Remove and let custard cups cool on wire rack before serving.

Emerald River Parfaits

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and mint.  Actually, it was also one of my grandmothers favorites. My grandmother on my mother's side of the family passed away prior to me being born so I never knew her.  It is funny what kind of traits you carry from generations past, even if you never met them.

Anyhow, the bottom layer of the parfait is a chocolate cream made with semi sweet chocolate and the top is made with white chocolate and mint.  The mint is derived from crushed Altoid mints.  This is a wonderful way to get a strong mint flavor infused into desserts.  I got the idea from David Lebovitzs' mint brownies.

This creamy dessert is a great way to end the meal.  It is definitely a recipe that I will make again. This recipe makes 4 dessert parfaits

Emerald River Parfaits
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Chocolate Layer
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin

Get out 4 wine glasses or any decorative glasses that hold 12 oz.  You will not be filling to the top, as shown in the picture above.

Place 1/4 cup and 2 tbs heavy cream in small bowl.  Sprinkle gelatin over top and push down with spoon to make sure it sinks.  Let stand for 7 minutes to soften.

Put remaining heavy cream ( 1 cup plus 2 tbs) and sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook until mixture comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Continue to stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.

Place pan back on heat and whisk in the gelatin/cream mixture.  Keep the heat low, for you do not want it to get to a simmer. Continue to stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Place a mesh strainer over a bowl with a pour spout.  Pour the chocolate mixture into the strainer.

Now it is time to fill the wine glasses.  Taking the bowl, pour some of the chocolate batter into a 1/3 measuring cup.  Then slowly pour it into the center glass, making sure that nothing drips on the outer edges.  Continue with this process, measuring out each addition for the next three glasses.  I kept measuring out even down to tablespoons to make sure the layer would be even for all 4 glasses.

Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until set.

Ingredients/Mint Layer
Same as chocolate layer except:
white chocolate chips replace semi sweet
include 2 tbs powdered Altoid mints (I used a blender to convert to powder)

Follow the instructions for the first layer above and add the powdered mints to the cream/sugar mixture prior to adding the white chocolate.

Pour the mint layer in the center of the glass, over the set chocolate layer.  Refrigerate another 4 hours or until set.

Optional: Prior to serving, garnish with sweetened whipped cream and an Andes Candie in the center of the cream.
                                     **LAST YEAR: Old Fashioned Cookies**

Ivory Monkey Parfait

I am sure you are wondering what this Ivory Monkey is.  It is a pudding parfait that is made up of vanilla rum pudding, roasted bananas with cashews, shortbread cookies and caramel.

The pudding is enough for about 6 parfaits that probably only hold a little over 1/2 cup, filled to the top.  As an alternative, this can always be made in a big trifle dish.  The only ingredient that I had extra of was the cookies.  The exact yield is hard to place because people have their own preferences on how thick and how many layers they want in the individual serving.

As you go through this recipe, consider the versatility of the layers, they do not have to be used in a parfait.  The cashew bananas are great on ice cream as well as the banana whipped cream.  The pudding is great all alone or with some crunched up shortbread cookies on top.  I am sure you can come up with your own creative combination. Note that the pudding has to be prepared a day in advance.

Ivory Monkey Parfait
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Pudding
3 beaten egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vanilla rum
1/2 tsp ground vanilla beans
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup and 3 tbs of sugar
2 tbs cold water
1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin

Ingredients/Layers
Cashew shortbread or regular shortbread cookies (I used Keebler brand of Sandies)
Caramel ice cream topping (12 oz)
4  bananas
1 1/2 tsp water
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2 tbs confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

The day before serving, make your pudding.  Put 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl then sprinkle over the gelatin powder and set aside.

In another bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and frothy.  This should take about 3 minutes. Pour the milk into another bowl and cover.  Then heat in microwave about 30 seconds.

Pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture and stir.  Repeat process until all the milk is blended into the batter.  Then fill the bottom pan of a double boiler with water and let it come to a boil. Place the top pan over the bottom and pour in the batter.  Let cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the gelatin mixture and stir until it is dissolved and remove pan from heat.  Set aside to cool.

Beat the whipping cream in a bowl until soft peaks form and fold into cooled batter.  Lastly, add the rum and ground vanilla beans, stirring until well blended.  Cover bowl and place in fridge overnight to set up.

The next day you will make the layers.  Peel three of the bananas and slice into rounds between 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Fill a saucepan with 1 1/2 tsp of water and place over medium high heat.  Place banana pieces in pan, spacing apart.  Cover pan and let the bananas steam cook for 1 minute.  Uncover and drain pan.

Melt the two tablespoons of butter and place in a shallow bowl.  Place the chopped cashews in another, setting it beside the bowl of butter.  Then take a baking sheet and line with foil.

Handling each banana piece lightly, dip into the butter and roll in the chopped cashews.  Place on the prepared baking sheet, making sure none are overlapping or touching.  Bake bananas in oven for 5-6 minutes on each side. You want all the cashews on the banana pieces to be toasted.  Remove pan from oven and let bananas remain on pan to cool.

For the whipped cream, place the remaining banana in the food processor and puree.  In another bowl, combine vanilla extract, confectioners sugar and heavy cream together.  Beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Then fold in the banana puree.

Take several cookies and break them up into small crumbs and place in a separate bowl.

Now you are ready to assemble your parfait.  I used a layer of pudding between each item.  It went like this (from bottom to top): pudding, caramel, pudding, cookie crumbs, pudding and cashew coated bananas.  Lastly, I spooned the whip cream on top and sprinkled it with cookie crumbs. Then it was ready to be served. 

The assembly is where personal preference comes in as to how big your parfait will be, how thick the layers will be and how many layers you will have.  Either way, this is a wonderful banana rum treat.  Enjoy!