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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Strawberry Shortcake

April 30, 2020 by Mary 3 Comments

I first posted a picture of this Strawberry Shortcake on my Instagram account and received so many likes, including a request for the recipe. So, here is my recipe for Strawberry Shortcake that is really quite easy and as you can see, it is one of those things that makes a super luscious, impressive dessert!

I made this as the belated birthday dessert for my daughter-in-law, Kate, and the store had crappy looking strawberries, so we used blackberries and raspberries. Any good berry you like will do! I don’t like my desserts too sweet, so I do not add much sugar to the fruit as I think you really don’t need it. But do add more if you so choose.

Strawberry Shortcake signals spring to me as spring and summer are the height of strawberry season vs. the flavorless variety available in the winter. Agata, my other daughter-in-law in Poland, said the Instagram post made her craving for strawberries. And I found some good ones the next day after serving Kate her special treat.

You can wrap up the shortcake in aluminum foil and warm it in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 7 minutes and it will taste just as fresh as the day you made it – as these pictures show with the strawberries.

The other secret ingredient!

The real secret here is a tip from my mom. Make sure the cake is warm, split it and put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, followed by the berries to fall over it. The butter makes everything just a little richer, fresher and yummier.

Some Strawberry Shortcake recipes have a lot of butter in the cake portion. But I prefer a lighter cake and then using the butter fresh, as a finishing touch, as my mom did it. Super delish.

The background story…

When I was a little girl around ten years old, my mom gave me the responsibility to make a dessert every night during the summer. That was my “job”. And now don’t forget that I am the youngest of six, with five older brothers. Growing up in the Midwest, dessert was mandatory, even if it was just simply Jell-O and Cool Whip (a newfangled thing at that time). Yuk!

So, I had to choose the dessert recipe, make sure I had the ingredients and make it in time for dinnertime. Making Strawberry Shortcake, was one of my go-to recipes as it was simple, easy and impressive. And, my mom grew strawberries in our garden in the backyard that were so sweet and delicious!!

In those days, Bisquick was also a relatively newfangled thing that you could use to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles and yes, shortcake. And I often used Bisquick, but because this recipe is so easy and I have an aversion to premade processed food, please go with this recipe. It will not disappoint.

Enjoy!! And serve with LOVE.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE – serves 6 – 8

3 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and thickly sliced, or other mixed berries, leaving 6 – 8 berries whole, with the green tops, for the final decoration when serving.
¼  cup white sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar 
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsalted butter – very cold
1 egg – at room temperature
⅔ cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 rounded Tbs. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slice the strawberries (leave other small berries whole), and toss them with 1/4 cup of white sugar. Cover and set aside so juices will accumulate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. Sift all ingredients together into a bowl. With a pastry blender or knife, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl. Beat in the milk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined and no flour is visible. The dough will be more bread-like and sticky. Use your hands for the final mix to combine everything.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. You will have to work at spreading it out. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in the pan on a wire rack.

The finishing touches

Whip the heavy cream into luscious soft peaks, adding the powdered sugar and vanilla after it first starts to thicken. Do not over whip.

Slice partially cooled cake in wedges and then split each wedge in half, making two layers. Put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, top with berries to fall over it and top with the other cake layer. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and one whole strawberry or some small berries as shown in the photos.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: berries, dessert, desserts, shortcake, strawberries, whipped cream

Lemon Ricotta Cake

April 5, 2020 by Mary 4 Comments

Side view of Lemon Ricotta Cake with whipped cream, blueberries and Cape Gooseberries.
Side view as I wanted you to see how moist this cake is!

With the pandemic of Covid-19 in full force, we all need to stay at home and cook great meals, even dessert, with this delicious Lemon Ricotta Cake recipe! This is super simple to make and results in a lovely lemony, super moist, delectable cake.

I first made this Lemon Ricotta Cake when I had bought a bunch of ricotta to make a requested lasagna for one of my kids and then, he was not going to be able to stay for dinner so no lasagna (I wasn’t going to make it just for me) and a large container of ricotta sitting in my refrigerator. What to do? Make a cake for my dear friends, Margaret and Wayne, coming over for dinner two nights later!

You may remember, Margaret is a terrific baker – excellent cook too – but a great baker! She makes these amazing yeast sticky buns around the holidays that I absolutely adore. I get a little frightened of yeast-y things, unless it’s my mom’s homemade Polish bread recipe, which I’ve made a million times. Margaret is unfazed by any dessert or sweet recipe and just does it with aplomb.

For toppings…

Because of this, I supremely value Margaret’s approval on sweets, as she is the expert, and this cake passed with flying colors. I originally served it with ice cream, but I found that to be too cold and masked the natural moistness that is inherent in the cake. The whipped cream, which I used last night to celebrate my son’s birthday (notice the candle holes on top of the cake), along with blueberries and these odd yellow berries called, Cape Gooseberries, was better than ice cream and just delicious!

Easy peasy…

In making this Lemon Ricotta Cake, you don’t even need to pull out the mixer, just make sure the butter is completely softened and you can mix by hand with a spatula.

And it is not only the ricotta that makes it so moist but also the grated apple – an added surprise!!

Make this nice little sweet to end your meal or enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

Happy Sunday everyone – stay safe and stay at home – we can do this!!

  • Lemon Ricotta cake batter in a bowl.
Lemon Ricotta cake batter in the pan ready to go into the oven.


LEMON RICOTTA CAKE – serves 8

9 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the cake pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 Tbs. baking powder
Pinch of salt – preferably French grey
1 cup ricotta cheese
Zest of 1.5 lemons
1 medium apple, peeled and grated
Powdered sugar, to dust the top
Blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries (Optional)
Heavy Whipping Cream – whipped (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8″ cake pan with some softened butter. Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter that as well. Dust all over with flour.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar together using a rubber spatula. When the two are combined and creamy, add in the eggs and mix to combine. You may want to use a whisk at this point.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir everything together until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Then add in the ricotta, lemon zest, and grated apple. Again, stir everything to combine – there should be no visible clumps of dry ingredients, but do not overstir.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the batter. Bake the cake for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cake is beginning to get golden on top and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper. Once the cake has cooled, dust the top with powdered sugar.

Serve with love, whipped heavy cream, fresh blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries and and enjoy!! 

Lemon Ricotta cake out of the oven, cooling.
Lemon Ricotta cake with powdered sugar and birthday candle holes.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: coffee cake, easy desserts, lemon ricotta cake, lemony cake, simple desserts, tea cake

Tarte Tatin

November 25, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Most of you know me as not such a sweet person. I mean, I am nice, I think, but I do prefer savory over sweet any day of the week. So over the past 6 months, I have made this Tarte Tatin recipe about 8 times, trying to perfect it in order to make it worthy enough to share it with you!

Great for Thanksgiving!

I think this could be a terrific alternative to the pumpkin and/or pecan pie for Thanksgiving this Thursday. It is a little healthier approach, but only if you decide, because holidays are always a special time, and should be kept so, with traditions in your family.

If you do decide to make this on Thursday, you can easily start it while the turkey is still in the oven, then bake it while the turkey is resting, if you only have one oven.

Easy as pie!

I initially learned about Tarte Tatin about 35 years ago. I had one of my first big projects with American Express and I was art directing a large photo shoot for a series of billing enclosures – remember those lovely little 4-color ad inserts you got with your bill every month in those days? Well the photo stylist I had hired to find all the props and to be on the set to style, suddenly started talking about this Tarte Tatin she had made the night before at her boyfriend’s apartment. They had had a bunch of people over, drinking and partying and she just went into the kitchen to make this, easily, and of course, everyone loved it!

The apples cooking…

So, man, I was in. But her recipe had you make a Pâte Brisée as the crust, which is really just a French version of a pie crust with a lot more butter and here, I just used my pie crust recipe made with all butter, and added an extra tablespoon. I had an already-made crust in the freezer, which then makes this recipe super easy.

What struck me about her story is that, A.) this had to be super easy to make if she just went in and whipped it up, probably even after having a few drinks at that – similar to Louise Fowler making me a Pecan Pie and B.) what a great way to wow people and make them happy, similar to “Oh you made a pie!”

I have had her recipe all this time, but now, I created this even easier recipe with what I have here.

My Tarte Tatin recipe is super quick, just as long as you can peel apples fast, but do take the time to make sure the sugar caramelizes completely and if you have a pie crust already made, it’s money!!

Here you go!!

TARTE TATIN – serves 6 – 8

4 Tbs. butter
¾ – 1 cup of white sugar, depending on the sweetness of your apples
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8th’s
Cinnamon – overall sprinkle
Nutmeg – overall grating of whole nutmeg
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 9” unbaked pie crust made with all butter plus an added 1 Tbs. of butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with the butter, melted. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top of the butter.

Place apple pieces on top of the butter and sugar, rounded sides down, in a circular pattern. Do cram them all in the skillet!

Turn heat to medium-high and cook until sugar dissolves and begins to caramelize. Continue to cook until apples soften and caramel begins to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully and then remove from heat.

While the apples are caramelizing, sprinkle a work surface (preferably use a pastry cloth with a rolling pin cover) with 1 Tbs. flour and roll pie dough into an 11-inch circle.

Place crust on top of apples in the skillet and roll a rolling pin over the top to cut off the excess crust.

Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, about 20 – 23 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Do not allow it to cool any longer. Place a flat plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert to release the Tarte Tatin from the pan. Scrape any remaining apples stuck to the pan back on top of crust.

Serve with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and LOVE. Enjoy!!

Tarte Tatin ready to be served!

Filed Under: Brunch, Desserts, Dinner, Lunch Tagged With: apple dessert, apple desserts, apples, tartes, Thanksgiving desserts

Almond Joy After-Dinner Drink with Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles

April 13, 2017 by Mary 6 Comments

 

Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles with the box open.Ok, so you try to think of something spectacular to serve for dessert, particularly when guests are over, when all you really want is a small super special chocolate thingy, right? Well if you had that “thingy” then how about a terrific, simple after-dinner cocktail to serve with it?

It would work even better than a dessert, right?

So we have it here for you in the MARY’s secret ingredients  recent spring box! These artisanal, handmade NY Honey Whiskey Truffles from Catskill Provisions will have you hurrying back to their website for more, I guarantee.

I absolutely adore chocolate truffles and have eaten them from all over the world, but I’m telling you, THESE are THE BEST!!! And I do not say that lightly. Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles - cut in the center.

Just look at this cut one where the interior ganache swirls up on just the cut!

And the flavor, with the whiskey and honey, is to die for. Catskill Provisions uses their own honey and their own honey whiskey to make these precious gems. There are only four in this beautifully packaged box. (I told you, you’ll want more.)

Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles with cocktail and window in the background.100% New York State raw honey is the common ingredient in their all-natural food products, from chocolate truffles and sauces to mixes and marinades to rubs and cocktail rimmers and, of course, their highly acclaimed whiskeys & spirits.

It began with one beekeeping kit—a gift that sparked a passion. Claire Marin, proprietor of Catskill Provisions, was immediately taken with the bees’ Zen-like devotion to their pursuits. She was impressed with how they worked together towards a common goal, in easy harmony with their environment.

Born in Madrid and raised in New York City from the age of fourteen on, Claire had already attained success in the publishing world as Vice President, Publisher of Woman’s Day Brand Group. But after moving to the small, rural town of Long Eddy in the Catskill Mountains, she found herself more and more moved by the bees. Following their example, she began building her own community-oriented business with resources close at hand—the hives, maple trees, and local farmers of Upstate New York.

And so in thinking about my job here, to use these in a different way — I couldn’t use them in a recipe, they are way too special on their own. So I created this delicious drink recipe to go with them! An all around PERFECT dessert in my book!

Make with LOVE and enjoy!!!

Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles - drinks makings.ALMOND JOY AFTER-DINNER DRINK WITH CATSKILL PROVISIONS NY HONEY WHISKEY TRUFFLES – serves 1

1 bar spoon (1 tsp.) of very hot tap water
1 bar spoon of honey, preferably Catskill Provisions
Stir to combine in a cocktail shaker

When the honey is dissolved, fill the shaker with ice

Add 1.5 oz. Rye whiskey
and 0.5 oz. Disaronno Italian Liquor or other amaretto liquor

Stir for 30 seconds – do NOT shake

Strain into your favorite straight-up glass (I used our Baccarat Perfection Martini glasses)

Enjoy thoroughly with Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles.

Go to sleep dreaming the sweetest dreams….

Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles - cut in drink environment.

 

Filed Under: Cocktails, Desserts, Products for sale Tagged With: after-dinner drinks, Catskill Provisions, Catskill Provisions NY Honey Whiskey Truffles, chocolate truffles, dessert

SOOM CHOCOLATE TAHINI CAKES

April 8, 2017 by Mary 6 Comments

Soom Chocolate Sesame Spread.These three sisters have got it all down pat. Their Soom tahini’s are to die for!

Really.

The Soom Company is made up of three sisters, Shelby, Jackie and Amy who worship the sesame seed, with good reason. It’s so good for you in so many ways, but let’s talk first about the taste. My husband hates things with tahini – but not with theirs! True story.

The three sisters decided to call the company Soom Foods because soom soom is sesame in Hebrew.

Tahini is a versatile “paste” made from sesame seeds, which are high in protein, calcium, omega-3, six fatty acids and antioxidants. Soom only uses sesame seeds from Ethiopia – the very best place for them. They produce and package their product in Israel and import it to sell in the US. The chocolate tahini is peanut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, kosher, no added oils… and only 10 grams of sugar!
 

This Soom Chocolate Sesame Spread tastes so naughty, but it’s actually good for you! It’s like if Nutella had a soul, it would be Soom! The indulgence of chocolate with the nourishment of sesame.

So dig in and spread on ANYTHING.

Soom chocolate tahini on ice cream in a white bowl.Here it is on ice cream – so smooth, so yummy, so delicious.

Their website has lots of recipes using their regular tahini and the chocolate variety.

And then I made these cakes. So good…

Make with LOVE and enjoy!

SOOM CHOCOLATE TAHINI CAKES – serves 6

8 Tbs. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pans
½ cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for pans
2 – 3 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds
½  cup all-purpose flour
2 pinches of salt
1/3 cup Soom Chocolate Sesame Spread
3 large eggs
¾ cup superfine sugar
Zest of 1 lime (optional)
Ice cream, for serving
Fresh mint for garnish

Soom Chocolate Tahini cakes cocoa dusted baking pans.Soom chocolate tahini cakes flour and cocoa sifted.Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use extra butter to grease 6 half-cup muffin molds or similar, or use smaller molds. Dust molds with cocoa and sprinkle the sesame seeds in the bottom of each. Sift together remaining 1/2 cup cocoa with the flour and the salt. Set aside.

Melt 8 Tbs. butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, or in a small, heavy saucepan on very low heat. (Watch carefully if using a saucepan.) When almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth and all melted. Set aside.

Using an electric beater, whisk eggs. Add sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the Soom Chocolate Tahini on a low speed. Add in the cooled melted butter. Fold in the cocoa/flour mixture by hand with a spatula, until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the molds and set molds on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake 12 to 14 minutes, less for smaller molds. A skewer or toothpick inserted in the middle should NOT come out clean. 12 minutes was perfect in my oven.

Soom chocolate tahini cake with lime zest.Soom chocolate cake cut with ice cream and mint leaves.Cool for 20 minutes or more before unmolding. Dust tops with lime zest and serve with ice cream or just serve with ice cream and mint garnish. The center of the cake should be warm, wonderful, and gooey.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!!

Filed Under: Desserts, Products for sale Tagged With: Soom chocolate sesame spread, Soom chocolate tahini cakes, Soom foods, tahini

Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine Coffee Cake with Magisso Cake Server

December 22, 2016 by Mary 4 Comments

Magisso cake server with package.

 

The Magisso cake server, so pretty in pink, is a sleek, sexy little tool that is included in our winter MARY’s secret ingredients subscription box. Beautifully designed, made of undulating curves of plastic with the edge sharpened on one side, makes cutting and serving your cake a singular beautiful motion. Press down to cut, gently squeeze in to lift, and release your grip to place the cake piece on your plate.

Pecan, olive oil, and Benedictine coffee cake being cut by a pink Magisso cake server.It is a most harmonious motion. No sawing with a knife, no messy pieces, just giving you pure unadulterated pieces of cake with a sexy little curve to the shape of your piece.

So I made this nut cake, trying to recapture a nut cake recipe that my mother used to make. It was her favorite cake. Loaded with finely ground nuts and not too sweet, she loved it. Me, as a kid, not so much. But here I was last Sunday craving it!

 

Here is the recipe:

PECAN, OLIVE OIL AND BENEDICTINE COFFEE CAKE WITH MAGISSO CAKE SERVER – serves 10

Unsalted butter, for the pan
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Benedictine
3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted and finely chopped
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Strawberries, slightly sweetened whipped cream, or ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla) for serving with the Magisso Cake Server

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans in a pan in the oven for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove nuts from the pan right away to prevent further toasting and place on a cutting board to cool. Then finely chop.

Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan and dust with flour, set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until light in color, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add granulated sugar; beat until mixture is pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; mix in oil and liqueur. Lightly fold in flour mixture in 3 batches using a rubber spatula. Fold in toasted pecans. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 20 – 24 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely. Turn cake over on a plate and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Cut with Magisso cake server and serve with strawberries and slightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla). Let the ice cream get a little melty on the cake – pure heaven…

This cake even tastes better after a day or two – wrap it well in plastic wrap. Always serve with LOVE and enjoy!!
Overhead shot of Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine coffee cake with Magisso cake server and a bowl of strawberries.Slice of Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine coffee cake with strawberries in the background.

Still have a gift to get for that difficult person on your list? We have MARY’s secret ingredients gift cards here!! Gift cards are delivered by email and contain instructions to redeem them at checkout. Our gift cards have no additional processing fees. Easy peasy!

Filed Under: Desserts, Products for sale, Tea time Tagged With: coffee cake, dessert, Magisso, Magisso cake server, olive oil & Benedictine coffee cake, pecan

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