Robin’s Random Recipes

From Cook’s Illustrated.

Cream cheese is the best thing to happen to limes since Corona. I think this may become my new key lime pie! Next time I’ll use probably 4 oz animacl crackers, 5 tbs butter, and a little more lime juice. Or possibly just more zest, I think I skimped.

Crust
5 ounces animal crackers
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar (light or dark)
Pinch table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

Filling
2 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lime zest , minced
Pinch table salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice , either Key lime or regular. NOT BOTTLED.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 8″ square baking dish with nonstick tin foil.

2. TO MAKE THE CRUST: In workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups crumbs). Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, ten to twelve 1-second pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with fingers). Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

3. TO MAKE THE FILLING: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

I made this for the first time a couple of days ago. It’s not the cobbler I grew up with, but it’s very good and EASY.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3.75 oz)
3/4 cup sugar (5.5 oz), plus 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fruit or berries, sliced (not sweetened or thickened)

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt.

2. Whisk flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk until just incorporated into dry ingredients. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven. Pour batter into pan, without stirring it into butter, then arrange fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until batter browns, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Excellent all on it’s own, topped with strawberries, or as a base for strawberry shortcake. Since the butter is melted and not softened it’s quick to throw together.

Cake
16 Tbs (8 oz) unsalted butter, plus 1 tbs, softened, for pan
1 ½ c (6 oz) cake flour, plus 1 tbs for pan
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ c (8 ¾ oz) sugar
2 tbs zest plus 2 tsp juice from 2 lemons
4 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Glaze
½ c (3 ½ oz) sugar
¼ c fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray 9×5” loaf pan with Pam with Flour.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter

In food processor, process sugar and zest until combined. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla; process until combined. With machine running, add melted butter through feed tube in steady stream. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Sift flour mixture over eggs in three steps, whisking gently after each addition until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325F and bake until deep golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Combine lemon juice and sugar in small saucepan, bring to boil stirring occasionally, simmer until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack, poke all over with skewer, then brush on glaze

From The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book

I did the math tonight and realized I’ve been making lemon meringue pie for 20 years. Since I’m not yet 30, that’s saying something. I’ve used at least a dozen different recipies but have finally settled down with this one. Each time I make it I look aghast at the lack of zest and consider throwing some in, but it really doesn’t need it and it’s nice to have the pudding layer chunk-free.

Every recipe has a different opinion about what needs to cool (crust, filling) and for how long. I’m impatient and throw everything together hot. One of these days I’ll nail down the perfect combo and again, I’ll report back.

1 blind baked 9″ pie crust
4 eggs, separated
1.5 c sugar
60 g cornstarch (6 tbs)
.25 tsp salt
.5 c cold water
.5 c fresh lemon juice
1.5 c boiling water
2 tbs butter
.5 c sugar

Preheat oven to 425F

In a large saucepain (I prefer a saucier) stir together 1.5 c sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in cold water and lemon juice, then egg yolks. Next stir in the boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Continue to cook, stirring briskly, until thick and bubbly, about 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter until melted.

Pour filling into crust. Whip egg whites to soft peaks then gradually add remaining .5 c sugar while whipping to stiff peaks. Spread meringue over filling, bake for 4 to 6 minutes until nicely colored. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Best eaten cold.

My sister’s favorite, which I appreciate since it’s so very easy! I’ve made this with bottled key lime juice, key limes, and Persian limes. The bottled juice is the hands-down loser, and I honestly can’t tell a difference between the fresh limes. Persians win for ease of use–there’s no joy in zesting and juicing a dozen tiny key limes. I know many consider that sacrilege, but so be it. One of these days I’ll orchestrate a blind taste test and when I do I’ll report back.

I prefer to bake this in a tart pan as it fills the pan better.

9″ blind baked graham cracker crust (1 pk crackers, 5 oz butter, pinch salt, tbs sugar)
15 oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
4 tsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 325F

Whisk together filling ingredients until well blended. Pour the filling into the crust, bake until the center looks set but still quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack, then refrigerate until cold. Serve with whipped cream.

This tart is a perfect choice when you don’t have enough berries for a cobbler (my all-time favorite.)

Tart Pastry (Pâte Sucrée)
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (about 2 3/4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), very cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar , plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Kirsch or framboise, optional
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Wondra flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 half-pint containers fresh blackberries (about 10 ounces total), picked over

1. For the tart pastry: Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor with four 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about twenty 1-second pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.

2. Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Unwrap and roll out between lightly floured large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 11-inch round. (If dough becomes soft and sticky, slip onto baking sheet and refrigerate until workable.) Transfer dough to tart pan by rolling dough loosely over rolling pin and unrolling over 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan by gently lifting dough with one hand while pressing dough into corners and sides of pan with other hand. Press dough into fluted sides of pan, patching breaks or cracks if necessary. (If some edges are too thin, reinforce sides by folding excess dough back on itself.) Run rolling pin over top of tart pan to remove excess dough. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet or large plate and freeze 30 minutes. (Frozen dough-lined tart pan can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen up to 1 month.)

3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet; lightly spray one side of 18-inch square heavy-duty extra-wide foil with nonstick cooking spray. Press foil greased side down inside frozen tart shell, folding excess foil over edge of pan; fill with metal or ceramic pie weights. Bake until pastry appears dry and pale gold under foil and edges have just begun to color, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove from oven and carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out. Return baking sheet with tart shell to oven and bake until sides are medium golden brown, about 5 minutes; set on wire rack to cool.

4. For the filling: While tart shell is cooling, heat butter in small saucepan with light-colored interior over medium heat; cook, swirling or stirring occasionally, until butter smells nutty and milk solids at bottom are golden brown, about 7 minutes. Transfer butter to small heatproof bowl to stop cooking; cool butter until just warm to touch. Whisk egg and egg white in medium bowl until combined; add sugar and salt whisk vigorously until light colored, about 1 minute. Whisk in warm browned butter until combined; then whisk in vanilla, framboise, and lemon zest and juice. Whisk in Wondra flour, then whisk in cream until combined.

5. Add berries and bake: Distribute blackberries in single tightly packed layer in bottom of cooled tart shell. Pour filling mixture evenly over blackberries. Place tart on baking sheet in oven. Bake until fragrant and filling is set (does not jiggle when shaken), bubbling lightly around edges, and surface is puffed and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating sheet pan after about 20 minutes for even browning. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, at least 1 1/2 or up to 6 hours. Remove tart pan ring; slide thin-bladed spatula between tart pan bottom and crust to loosen, then slide tart onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.