February, 2001 Seductive Desserts, Cookies & Cakes
What can be more romantic than feeding that special someone? Make this Valentine's Day extra special with seductive desserts. Light the candles, turn the music on low and enjoy the sensuous textures and flavors of Chocolate Dipped Strawberries infused with Créme Anglais . Each bite will entice both you and your partner with the taste of crisp, fresh strawberries coated with rich, dark chocolate and the hidden surprise of the succulent vanilla cream. Or share a lemon raspberry parfait with one spoon. The silky, melt in your mouth flavors of fresh lemon and sweet raspberries will certainly delight your Valentine. If you are looking for something simple and sweet to top off a special romantic meal, try the Marinated Strawberries with Sorbet.
Looking for simple a way to put a smile on the face of your Valentine? Surprise them with a box of romantic Truffle Iced Hearts. Imagine the taste of a light cookie, topped with rich flavor of a chocolate truffle (and yes, they are gluten-free!). These are not very difficult to make and will keep well in a gift box. Line a beautiful heart box with red tissue and finish it off with a velvet bow.
For those looking at putting a little more into a sweet, delectable treat, try the mouth-watering Lemon Layered Cake. This truly defies all rules about eating gluten-free. Made with flour from our friends at The Gluten-Free Pantry, this four-layer cake will amaze you. So, if your Valentine has a sweet tooth for cakes and has gone without for years due to gluten-intolerance, deliver a slice of this gluten-free wonder and you never know how they may repay you!
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Tips: This dish takes a lot of preparation, but once everthing is prepped it comes together very quickly.
Directions: To prepare the cookies: Lightly spoon gf flour into a dry measuring cup, level with a knife. Combine the gf flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk; set aside. Beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar; beating until well-blended. Add gf vanilla and egg white; beat well. Add flour mixture; stir until well blended. Turn dough out onto parchment paper; shape into a 6-inch log. Wrap log in parchment paper; freeze for at least 3 hours, or until very firm. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut log into 24 (1/4-inch) slices. Trim each piece into heart shapes. Place cookies 1 inch apart on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the pan and cool on a rack. To prepare the icing, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl; stir well. Add milk; stir well. Note: If icing seems too thin, add more powdered sugar - if too stiff add more milk. Spread over cookies to within 1/4 inch of the edges. Place bittersweet chocolate in a heavy duty zip lock bag; seal. Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until chocolates are soft. Knead the bags until smooth. Snip a tiny hole in the corner of the bag; drizzle chocolates over the frosted cookies so that they resemble truffles.
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Degree of Difficulty: Involved
Makes 1 8-inch cake.
Directions: To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 (8x2-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with gf flour, knocking off the excess.
In a medium bowl, sift the gf flour, baking soda and salt together. In another bowl, stir together milk and lemon juice (mixture will curdle). Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add oil and mix well. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Using a spatula turn in lemon zest. Mix at low speed until just combined. Divide the batter between the cake pans, smoothing the tops. Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks for about 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks, remove paper and allow to cool completely.
To make the frosting: Beat the cream and powdered sugar with cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of whipped cream into prepared lemon curd to lighten, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
To assemble the layered cake: Put 1 cake layer, rounded side up, on a cake plate and spread with 1/4 of the frosting. Top with second layer, rounded side up, and spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Decorate with fresh flowers.
Serves two.
Ingredients: One basket fresh strawberries, washed and dried, leaving leaves on One cup Hershey's dark chocolate, melted
For Creme Anglaise: 3/4 cup milk 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1/4 cup sugar 2 egg yolks
Tips: This can be done the morning of your special evening. Make the Creme Anglaise at least an hour before you want to prepare the strawberries.
Directions: Prepare the Creme Anglaise; Pour milk into a small saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add the seeds and the bean to the milk. Cook over medium heat until steaming, do not boil, about 5 minutes. Discard bean and remove from heat. Combine sugar and yolks in a bowl and stir until blended. Gradually add milk mixture to the bowl stirring constantly. Return mixture to the pan. Cook over medium heat, until mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl, cover and chill at least one hour.
Make a small round hole in the tip of the strawberries, extracting just the center of the strawberry flesh. Set aside.
Fill a pastry bag, or a plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner with the Creme Anglaise and fill each strawberry with the creme. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in a microwave, about 1-2 minutes on high. Dip the strawberries into the chocolate, holding on to the leaves. Chill the strawberries until time to serve.
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Makes 2 servings.
Directions: Combine strawberries, powdered sugar, and chopped mint in a medium bowl. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Spoon 1/2 cup sorbet into small dessert dishes. Top with 1/2 cup of strawberry mixture. Garnish with mint sprigs.
