A “Go-To” Birthday Cake by Rita Cevaal July 14, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment I have two kinds of recipes that I cook from. One is a collection that I go to automatically; it contains recipes that are quick and easy and family recipes that I have been making for decades – my “go-tos.” The other collection has more elaborate recipes that require more time and ingredients, saved for special occasions. I have a recipe that you will want to add to your “go-to” collection of recipes. It is quick and easy, looks beautiful, and of course it’s delicious! When reading Bon Appetit last spring this Raspberry Ricotta Cake caught my eye not only because it looked so cute but also because the ingredients were items I had at home. It makes a 9” round pan (you can also make it square, but it is prettier in a round). It is the perfect size when you need to bring a dessert somewhere, it does not need any embellishment, and you can make it throughout the year since it uses frozen raspberries. No mixer required. It’s so easy. It’s delicious. It’s a pretty cake. It has become “the” cake for our birthdays here at Marcel’s. Try it, you will not be disappointed. Raspberry-Ricotta Cake 2016-07-13 19:22:13 Print Ingredients nonstick vegetable oil spray 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 2 t. baking powder 3/4 t. kosher salt 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups ricotta 1/2 t. vanilla extract 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided Instructions Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by ¾ cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries. Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining ¼ cup raspberries over top. Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding. Notes Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature. You can also make this in 2 6” round cake pans. Reduce baking time to 40-50 minutes. Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
A Rediscovered Recipe by Julie Busteed May 24, 2016 by Jill Foucre 1 Comment It’s that rare but valuable experience – where you set off in search of one thing, and find something completely different. Such was the case during a recent recipe search. I was given a large cardboard box full of cookbooks. Or so I thought… The box with filled with items from a dear friend of mine who had passed away last year. She was a wonderful cook who also had the gift of hospitality. I was blessed to receive her cookbooks. What a treasure! Upon looking more closely, I discovered that the box contained not only cookbooks but also three ring binder notebooks where she kept all of her recipes from food magazines like Bon Appetit and Food and Wine. While leafing through the notebooks I found that she kept a list of every dinner party she had hosted, who was there, and what she served. Her journal was a gold mine of 25 years worth of dinner parties, with notes about what worked and what did not. Since we were often guests at her home, my name reappeared many times… the earlier entries dating back to before I was married. I, of course, don’t remember exactly what she served at every meal, but my memories were of delicious evenings feeling loved and cared for. I had also been looking for a lemon bar recipe that I used to make, but couldn’t find in my own files. It was such a surprise to find a copy of my recipe in her files! I hope that you enjoy this rediscovered favorite recipe! Lemon Bars 2016-05-23 16:30:44 Print Crust 2 cups flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 cup butter Filling 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup flour 1/2 t. baking powder Crust Preheat over to 350 F. Sift the flour and sugar and cut with butter until it clings together. Press with a fork into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Filling Beat eggs, lemon juice and sugar together. Sift flour and baking powder and stir into egg mixture. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 25 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over top when ready to serve. By Julie Busteed Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Molten Cupcakes February 16, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Molten Cupcakes 2016-02-16 19:49:12 Print Ingredients 1/2 cup granulated sugar 6 T. unsalted butter, room temperature 4 large eggs 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) pinch of salt 11 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted (2 ½ cups chopped) 18 raspberries (36 if they are small) confectioners' sugar, for serving vanilla ice cream (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin tin cups with paper liners. In large bowl with a mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low, beat in flour and salt. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide half the batter among cups, add two raspberries to each, and top with remaining batter. Bake until tops are just set and no longer shiny, 10 to 11 minutes, let cool in pan on a wire rack, 10 minutes. Remove from pans, dust with confectioners' sugar, and top with ice cream, if desired. By Judy Fitzgerald Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Chef Kelly’s Favorite Chocolate Cake January 25, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Chef Kelly's Favorite Chocolate Cake 2016-01-25 17:11:01 Print Ingredients 3¾ cups sugar 3 1/3 cups flour 1 cup cocoa powder 3 t. baking powder 3 t. baking soda 2 ½ t. salt 4 eggs 16 oz. milk ¾ cup vegetable oil 2½ t. vanilla 16 oz. boiling water Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. In a different bowl, combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients into the dry with paddle attachment on medium speed. After combined, add the boiling water. Fill 3 9-inch round pans 2/3 full and bake at 350 until cake tests done and begins to pull from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes. Kelly loves to serve this cake with Warm Caramel Sauce In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter with 2/3 cup brown sugar; add in 2 T. brewed coffee, 2 T. corn syrup, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, cool slightly and drizzle over cake and serve. By Kelly Sears Adapted from Chef Nancy Carey Adapted from Chef Nancy Carey Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
As Easy as Pie by Teri Hiben November 19, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment We’re in that time of year we call “The Holidays.” Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Day…. Celebrations abound! We gather with family and friends from near and far. We have parties and dinners, catch up on the latest news in each other’s lives and reminisce about the years past. As our families and friend groupings multiply and change, these gatherings help to deepen the love and admiration we have for one another. At the centerpiece of these gatherings is the food: food from our past, new dishes to share. For me, many of my family food traditions involve baking. My mom has already been busy baking the family pfeffernusse (peppernuts) to send to each of us in the next weeks. (I can’t wait!) Here at home there are cinnamon roll coffeecakes to mix, rise, bake and share with neighbors, as well as gingerbread and snowball cookies (and many others) to make. There will be sweet potato crescent rolls, stollen and biscotti to create – all filling the house with enticing aromas. But, first on the list of holiday baking are the Thanksgiving pies. My love of baking was passed down from my mom, Della, who was the baker for her family of 7 on her family’s Kansas farm starting at age eight! She’s an expert baker of many breads and cookies, but it’s her pies that have brought her fame. She’s affectionately known as “The Pie Lady” and her pies are fervently sought out at work and asked for by friends and family. I’ve been the willing recipient of much of her baking wisdom so have grown up baking pies of all sorts. This Thanksgiving I’ll be baking up a few cherry pies for the pie social at church and for our dinner, I’ll be serving both apple and pumpkin pies. Every bite eaten while spending time with people I love. I’d like to share with you mom’s pie crust recipe. It’s an easy, forgiving crust that bakes up flaky and tasty and is truly NO FAIL. Happy Baking! Della's No Fail Pie Crust 2015-11-17 16:24:17 Print Ingredients 2 ¼ c. flour (can use up to half whole wheat flour) 1 t. salt 2/3 cup oil ¼ cup water Instructions Mix together flour, salt and oil with a fork. Then add water and mix. Divide into 2 disks. Roll out between 2 pieces of wax paper that you “stick” to the counter with a slightly damp dishtowel. After adding the top crust to pie, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar, if you wish. Notes Yields a 2 crust pie. By Teri Hiben Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/