SUMMER (desserts)

August 4, 2009 ~ Inaugural Tasty Morsels gathering

Announcing Tasty Morsels, the Morningside Heights Relief Society's group dedicated to great food and great company!

Each month we alternate between desserts and appetizers (and other great suggestions, like soup)...of course we started out with desserts. The hostess chooses the theme for the evening--the inaugural theme was, quite predictably, SUMMER. We make (or buy!) something somehow related to the theme (or not), then bring it to share and enjoy. We eat, we talk, we laugh, we share recipes.

See below for photos and recipes of some of the yums we enjoyed at our first-ever Tasty Morsels. We got so carried away talking and sampling the scrumptious desserts we forgot to snap any shots of the delightful company.

Please join us next month:

Tuesday, September 1, 8:00pm

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SUMMER FRUIT CROSTATA (Shauna Summers)
Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas)

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) ice water

For the filling (makes 1 crostata)

1 pound firm, ripe peaches, peeled
1/2 pound firm, ripe black plums, unpeeled
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you only need one dough, freeze the second disk.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the sheet pan.

For the filling, cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.

Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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RASPBERRY STIRRED CUSTARD (Margo Blair)
Betty Crocker
Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook: 10 minutes, 4 servings

1 cup raspberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 teaspoons packed brown sugar

1. Divide raspberries evenly among 4 individual serving bowls.
2. Mix granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in half-and-half. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Stir in vanilla.
3. Spoon custard over raspberries. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.

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HOMEMADE OREO COOKIES (Tara Kerr)

1 Devil's Food Cake mix
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs

Mix up, roll into small balls and bake at 350' for 8 minutes or until they crack.
Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

6 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. softened margarine or butter
2 tsp. vanilla
4 1/2 to 4 3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar

In a bowl beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar beating well.

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STONE FRUIT TEA CAKE (Sariah Toronto)
Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

1 T unsalted butter, for pan
2 1/4 c (11 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t fine sea salt
1 c (7 oz) granulated sugar
3/4 c (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 c coarsely chopped mixed stone fruit, fresh or frozen
1 T turbinado sugar

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until a smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk, and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter a shallow 10-inch round baking pan or tart pan. Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the fruit over the dough. Break the remainder of the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and distribute atop the fruit, then sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the dessert.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving. Top with Chantilly Cream.

CHANTILLY CREAM

1 c cold heavy cream

1 t granulated sugar

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

Chill a metal bowl and a whisk. Pour the cream into the bowl and whip with the whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping the cream until it hangs but does not fall from the whisk. If you are using an electric mixer, start whipping the cream on low speed, then gradually increase the speed until the mixer is on medium speed.

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LAURI BISHOP'S LEMON PIE

1 graham cracker pie shell
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon (key lime) juice
1 egg yolk
cool whip or whipping cream.

In small bowl mix sweetened condensed milk, egg yolk and lemon/lime juice (directly over the egg yolk). Once thoroughly mixed, pour into pie shell.

Let set in refrigerator 3-4 hours or until solid consistency.

Top with cool whip or whip cream.

Store in refrigerator.

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MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES (Tory Perry)
Cook's Illustrated

2 1/4 c (11 1/4 oz) lower-protein unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t finely ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c packed (2 1/3 oz) dark brown sugar
1/3 c (2 1/3 oz) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 c for rolling
1 large egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c light or dark molasses

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, pepper and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar and the 1/3 c granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the yolk and vanilla; increase the speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the molasses, beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl once with a rubber spatula. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the bowl once. Give the dough a final stir by hand to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at the bottom. The dough will be soft.

4. Place the 1/2 c granulated sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands into the water and shake off the excess. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll it between your moistened palms in a 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch ball; drop the ball into the sugar and repeat to form about 4 balls. Toss the balls in the sugar to coat and set them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary with the water.

5. Bake until the cookies are browned and still puffy, the edges have begun to set, and the centers are still soft (the cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating the sheet from front to back halfway through the baking time. Do not overbake.

6. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack; cool the cookies to room temperature.

Makes about 22.

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BLUEBERRY TART (Emily Nelson)
Real Simple

• flour for the work surface
• 1 8-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups blueberries

Directions

• 1Heat oven to 375° F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the sheet of pastry and roll it into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• 2Using the tip of a knife, score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18 to 22 minutes.
• 3Using the tip of a knife, rescore the border of the cooked pastry without cutting all the way through. Gently press down on the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it. Let cool to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
• 4Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry.
• 5Arrange the blueberries in a single layer over the filling and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar.

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ECLAIR CAKE (Brecken Cook)

My sisters and I all have August and September birthdays, and this became our birthday cake go-to because it doesn't require the oven. The icing is great on brownies. I like to eat it as soon as the icing is set, others like to wait a few hours until the graham crackers soften.

2 packages instant pudding mix (I usually do one vanilla and one something else chocolate, coconut, cheesecake.)
3 1/2 cups cold milk
8 oz Cool Whip (thawed)
Small Box of Graham Crackers

Stir pudding and milk together as directed on box. Fold in Cool Whip.
In a pyrex cake pan lay graham crackers to cover bottom. Pour half the pudding mixture over crackers. Repeat. Ending with a layer of Graham Crackers.

ICING
1/2 stick Butter
2 Tablespoons Cocoa
Glug of Corn Syrup
1 1/2 -- 2 Cups powdered sugar
drizzle of Milk to thin

Melt butter, cocoa and corn syrup together in medium pan over medium high heat until smooth, cover mixture with powdered sugar and beat together. Add drizzle of milk. Spread immediately over final layer of graham crackers. It will seem like not enough but you can push it. It will stiffen as it cools.