Strawberry Custard Cake

I wanted to make something special with the feeling of Spring for Mother's day this year. Putting together layered cakes and making cupcakes are usually my favorite type of dessert to jump to, but my mom isn't a huge fan of either of those so I wanted to pick something that would look slightly like a cake, but have the texture of a custard. This fit the bill perfectly! It has a smooth custard texture, firm enough to slice and is packed with chopped strawberries.  

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. strawberries, chopped

4 eggs, separated

3/4 c. Splenda

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

3/4 c. flour

2 c. warm milk (heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, check, heat again 20 seconds if need be)

*Optional (what I used), whipped cream, crystallized rose sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with non stick cooking spray and set on top of a baking sheet. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in an electric mixer, and the yolks in a large bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

Meanwhile, add the Splenda in with the egg yolks and whisk together. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and melted butter and whisk again until everything is well combined. Add in the flour and whisk again. Add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, and whisk until everything is incorporated. The batter will be VERY runny, which is what you want. 

Gently fold in the whipped egg whites until about half of them are incorporated in with the egg yolk mixture. There will be really weird looking egg white lumps left, and no worries, it is supposed to look like that.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread out the chopped strawberries. The egg white should still be stiff enough to hold the strawberries on top. Bake for 1 hour in the oven, checking after 40 minutes because each oven can vary. The cake should no longer giggle in the center when touched. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before slicing or removing from the springform pan. 

Top with whipped cream and crystallized rose sugar!

Cranberry Custard

Cranberry dessert recipes sometimes scare me because you aren't sure if it is going to end up really tart and sour or mellow out in the cooking process. I also added lemon zest on top of the cranberries, which made me even more nervous about the combination of this dessert. It turned out tart like a lemon bar and the cranberries ended up adding a sweet note to the custard. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. flour
2 eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar
2 c. chopped cranberries (or halved)
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 6 ramekins in the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan. In a small bowl, mix the chopped cranberries, lemon zest and sugar together. Evenly spread out between the 6 ramekins. In a medium size bowl, whisk the flour, eggs and heavy cream together. Pour on top of the cranberry mixture. Very carefully (I use a Pyrex measuring cup with spout on the end) pour water half way up the sides of the ramekins in the baking pan (do NOT get the water into the custard! It will cook unevenly). Bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes until the custard is set. Let cool slightly before diving in!

Flan

 

This is one of those desserts that either goes unbelievably smooth and turns out perfect, or just ends up as a huge disaster. This was also my first time making it....ever. Please believe me when I say, that this is the EASIEST Flan recipe ever!

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1% milk, enough to fill both empty condensed milk cans
1 Tbs. vanilla
10 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 7 1/2 x 12 inch glass baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Set inside a larger pan and fill the outside pan with water until it reaches half way up the side of the smaller glass pan. In a blender, mix the condensed milk, milk, vanilla, eggs and salt together until well blended.

To make the caramel sauce, pour the two cups of sugar in a medium size saucepan. Heat to medium-high heat and start stirring constantly until the sugar starts to melt. It takes a while, and starts looking like the picture above, like large clumps. Keep stirring until all of the sugar is dissolved and you are left with a smooth caramel. If you burn the sugar in any part of this step, you need to start over or the whole dessert will taste bitter.

Pour the caramel into the prepared 7 1/2 x 11 pan, making sure it covers the entire bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture on top of that. Cover the smaller pan with tinfoil making sure it doesn't touch the liquid mixture. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the Flan is set (it only took 1 1/2 hours for me). Let cool fully overnight in the refrigerator. Transpose onto your serving platter, being very careful because the caramel comes out fast. Cut into slices and serve.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

1 vanilla bean
4 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar
8 egg yolks
pinch of salt
Super fine sugar
Assorted berries

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Arrange 8 ramekins in a baking dish. Fill hot water in the pan half way up the ramekins (make sure you do not get ANY water in the ramekins). Set aside.

Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into a small saucepan with the heavy cream. Heat over medium heat until simmering (do not boil), and stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.

In an electric mixer, combine the yolks and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the vanilla cream mixture to temper the eggs. Slowly add the rest in in a steady stream. Strain the custard mixture into a bowl. Divide the liquid evenly among the 8 ramekins.

Bake for 50-55 minutes (they will still be slightly jiggly). Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate at least 3 hours (I refrigerated overnight). Before serving, sprinkle the tops with the super fine sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar on top. Add fresh berries for some color.

Easter Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

1 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 c. superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Whisk the vanilla, sugar, egg and egg yolks in a bowl together. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and heat until almost at the boiling point. Pour the milk mixture over the egg mixture slowly, whisking throughout. Arrange 8 ramekins in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Divide the custard evenly amount the dishes. Fill water half way up the ramekins inside the baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes (check after 30 to see if the tops are firm yet). Let cool slightly. Sprinkle the tops with more superfine sugar, and use a creme brulee torch to brown the sugar slightly.

Lemon Cake Custard

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 c. sugar, divided
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Tbs. grated lemon peel
Whipped cream for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Separate the eggs and let stand to room temperature. In a large bowl combing 1/2 c. sugar, flour and salt. Whisk together. Add the milk, lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Beat the egg yolks and add to the lemon mixture also. Whisk everything together and make sure it is well incorporated. In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar in small batches to the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the lemon yolk batter. Spoon into six greased ramekins. Place into a 13x9 baking dish and add 1 inch of water to the pan around the ramekins. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or chilled.