Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Twelve

Yesterday I officially "completed" my 3rd cookbook, The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook, which goes to print on January 8 for a March 2010 release. Here's a preview recipe. This dessert will become a favorite of diabetics and everyone else in the family as well. Featured above, top, right.

Apple, Date, and Raisin Phyllo Strudel

I invented this recipe while preparing a special dinner for my father, who loves strudel. A few hours before the dinner, I realized I didn’t have any flour left, so I decided I would make the strudel with phyllo dough instead. Then, I added dried dates to a traditional filling to complement the Middle Eastern phyllo texture. My father ended up liking it even more than the regular version. Since then, I have taught this recipe to professional pastry chefs and home cooks in the United States and the Mediterranean. To make the strudel extra festive, you could use a small cookie cutter to cut out designs on the top before baking it. Be sure to thaw the phyllo dough according to package directions before beginning this recipe. Serves 12

Serving size: 1-inch slices

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon for garnish
• 1 (2x3-inch) strip lemon peel
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 pound dried dates, pitted, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 7 sheets phyllo dough, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup dried plain breadcrumbs

Preparation:

To make the filling (This step can be done a day ahead):

• Combine sugar with 1 cup water and lemon peel in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved completely.
• Once sugar has dissolved, stop stirring, and add dates, stir to combine, and cover the saucepan.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add in the apples, stir, and simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in raisins. Allow mixture to cool completely.
• When mixture is cooled to room temperature, preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
• Carefully unflold the phyllo dough and lay 1 sheet down on a clean work surface.
• Place canola oil in a small bowl.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly oil the phyllo, working from the outside in. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs. Continue layering phyllo dough, brushing each with oil and sprinkling with bread crumbs.
• Spoon the filling evenly down the long side of the phyllo sheet, about 2-inches from the bottom edge and 1-inch from both sides, creating a 12x13-inch log.
• Carefully fold the bottom edge and the side flaps over the filling.
• Slowly roll up the phyllo sheets like a jelly roll and place on a baking sheet.
• Lightly brush the top of the strudel with additional canola oil and sprinkle remaining tablespoon of sugar across the top.
• Make 12 (1-inch) evenly spaced diagonal slits across the top of the strudel to reveal the filling.
• Bake for 25 minutes, and rotate pan. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.Serve warm or at room temperature

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Eleven

From Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture Alexandria, Egypt's famous bakeries, like Patisserie Vinous often showcase these cookies stacked high on enormous trays. Mahlab, which is made from crushed cherry kernels, is the star of these ring - shaped cookies. It is a widely used ingredient throughout the Middle East. These cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. They are wonderful additions to celebratory cookie trays, and are delicious with coffee or tea for breakfast.

Cherry Kernal Cookies Mahlabayat Makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup expeller pressed corn oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cherry kernals, mahlab*
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon anise extract

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place the butter, corn oil, ½ cup water, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
• Cream together until everything is evenly incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder, ground cherry kernels, salt, and anise.
• Stir well to form a dough. Break off pieces of the dough and form into balls.
• Place the balls 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Press the balls flat and make a hole in the center by using the base of a wooden spoon.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden.
• Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets. * Found in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean markets

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Ten

A delicious and unique cookie: perfect for last minute baking from Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture.

Cherry Topped Semolina Cookies

Biskoweet bil Smeed wa Kareez 10 Servings

Makes 20 Cookies

Semolina is a yellow colored flour made from the heart of Durham wheat. The very fine milled version is used for pastries. Coarser grinds and pellets are used for pasta and couscous. In Egypt, semolina is almost exclusively used in pastries. These are delicious simple cookies which I first sampled on a dessert buffet on a Nile Cruise. After learning how to make them, I began bringing them to picnics, because they don’t require refrigeration, and everyone loves them. They also make a nice breakfast and teatime cookie because they’re not too sweet. They can also be stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to a month.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup semolina*
• ½ cup ground almonds
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg white
• 10 halved maraschino cherries, to decorate
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam

Preparation:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
• Preheat oven to 475F degrees.
• Mix semolina, almonds, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Whip the egg white until stiff peaks form and fold into flour mixture.
• Roll into 1-inch balls and place on at least 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Place half of a cherry on top of each cookie and press down slightly.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.
• Bake cookie trays side by side, until cookies are lightly golden (8 to 10 minutes).
• Place the jam in a small saucepan with a tablespoon of water and cook over medium heat until melted. Strain through a sieve and brush on hot cookies.
• Allow to cool in pans and serve at room temperature.

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Nine

If you've never made creme caramel before...there's no time like the present. It tastes great, looks good, and is very impressive. With just a few ingredients, and very little "active time" you can have a dessert that would make Julia Child proud. Originally derived from Spain's famous flan recipe, this classic is now a permanent fixture in hearts and homes world wide. Which is why, I included the recipe in my second book, Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture. Crème Caramel Crème Caramel 10 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups sugar, divided
• 4 cups whole milk
• 8 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whipped cream, if desired, for garnish
• Maraschino cherries, if desired, for garnish

Preparation:

• Make the caramel by placing 1 cup sugar in a small heavy saucepan with ¼ cup of water to moisten. Bring to a boil over high heat, swirling the saucepan to dissolve the sugar.
• Boil, without stirring, until the syrup turns a dark caramel color (this will take approximately 7-10 minutes). Immediately pour the caramel into a 4-cup soufflé dish or a 10-inch oval baking dish (I used 6 4-inch hearts in this photo). Holding the dish with oven gloves, quickly swirl the dish to coat the base and sides (the caramel will harden quickly as it cools. Place the dish inside a roasting pan.
• Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Make the crème by combining milk, eggs, the remaining ½ cup of sugar, and vanilla into a blender and whipping for 3 minutes. Pour mixture into soufflé or baking dish. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the soufflé or baking dish. Bake the custard, uncovered, for 40 to 45 (or approximatley 30 minutes if using small molds like the hearts) minutes until it is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove form the roasting pan and let cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.
• To turn out, carefully run a sharp knife around the edge of the dish to loosen the custard. Cover the dish with a serving plate with a short lip around the edges and, holding them tightly; invert the dish and plate together. Gently lift one edge of the dish, letting the caramel run over the sides, and then slowly remove the dish. Garnish with whipped cream and maraschino cherries, if desired.

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Eight

Cardamom Shortbread Cookies (Ghorayeba) This Middle Eastern cookie can be enjoyed on many special occasions. The cookies are a beautiful white color and are decorated with a single blanched almond sliver. These cookies can be frozen for up to one month before serving. They're great to keep on hand for unexpected guests. This recipe is from my first cookbook, Arabian Delights. Ingredients:

• Butter, for greasing pans
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon rose water
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
• 5 ounces blanched (skinless) almonds, slivered

Preparation:

• Position racks in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease 2 double air-cell baking sheets* with butter.
• Mix shortening and sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely incorporated. Add the cardamom, flour, rose water, and orange blossom water.
• Mix to combine well.
• Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheets, leaving 1-inch between each ball. Gently press an almond sliver into the top of each ball and flatten slightly. If dough cracks, mend it by gently smoothing over it with your fingers.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tops begin to turn golden. (Cookies should still be white when taken out of oven.)
• * To ensure that cookies bake properly and do not brown on the bottom, use double air-cell baking sheets.

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Seven

This moist, dense pound cake is an Italian classic. North of Rome, it’s often referred to as a Ciambellone, south of Rome, it’s called Quattro Quarti, meaning 4 quarters, because the original recipe required ¼ kilo of butter, ¼ kilo of flour, ¼ kilo of sugar, and ¼ kilo of eggs. In Italy, this cake is sliced and eaten plain for breakfast, and topped with fruit and whipped cream for dessert.

This is the perfect cake to travel with because it’s sturdy. I wrap it in plastic wrap and bring it to people I’m visiting. If you’re invited to dinner you can bring it as a host/ hostess gift for breakfast the next morning. It can be cut up and used as a base for more sophisticated deserts like shortcakes and trifles. I like to present it whole, filling the “reservoir” in the top with a rich hot fudge sauce and scattering strawberries around the base of the plate. I’m sure once you begin baking this cake, you’ll find many of your own uses for it. This cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to a month.

Italian Yogurt Pound Cake Makes 1 (8.5x 4.5-inch) loaf pan Serves 8 Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for buttering pan
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large cage- free eggs, beaten until light and foamy
• 1 ¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose baking flour, plus extra for buttering pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup organic non-fat French Vanilla Yogurt
• 1 (13.5 ounce) jar hot fudge sauce, optional
• 1 cup strawberries, trimmed, optional Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Butter the bottom and sides of an 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan.
• Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the top of it.
• Turn over and tap off excess flour.
• Combine sugar, butter, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs and mix until well combined.
• Place the flour and baking powder into a sifter or strainer and sift into the mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix well just until ingredients are incorporated.
• Stir in the yogurt. Pour into loaf pan and smooth out the top.
• Hit the bottom of the pans on the counter a few times.
• Bake on a rack in the middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven. Let it cool for 5 minutes in pan.
• Remove from the pan and place on a cake rack to cool completely.
• Spoon hot fudge sauce into the indentation on top of the cake. Scatter strawberries around the sides or base of the cake.

Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Six

I don't think any of my cooking students will be able to trek through the fore casted foot of snow to get to cooking class tomorrow. Luckily the eclair and profiterole recipes we made in last week's class are a cinch to do on your own. The dough needed, called Pate a Choux, means "Cabbage dough" in French because the little puffs resemble cabbage heads. Pate a Choux is different from other doughs because it is made by heating water and butter together on the stove top, stirring in flour, and adding eggs off the heat. This dough is then piped through pastry bags to form the desired shapes. Interestingly, the word "choux" is also a term of endearment in French. You'll think fondly of it once you see how easy it is to make. You can freeze the shells (filled or not) up to a month before serving.

Profiteroles and Eclairs with Italian Pastry Cream I "discovered" profiteroles at a trattoria in the Trastevere district of Rome called La Piazetta. The trattoria is no longer there, but the memory of their exquisite dessert is permanently fresh in my memory. I could always count on them for fresh profiteroles with homemade pastry cream filling, delicious chocolate sauce, and freshly whipped cream on top.

While this recipe seems French, it was actually brough with Catherine de' Medici to France with her Florentine chefs in the 16th century when she married King Henri II.

• Ice cream and whipped cream are often substituted for the pastry cream filling. They can be topped with powdered sugar and cocoa powder instead of icing. For easy and elegant appetizers, stuff the shells with savory fillings. Makes: 6 traditional éclairs or 4 éclairs and 8 profiteroles Ingredients: Dough:
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 2 eggs, beaten slightly Pastry Cream:
• 2 eggs, beaten slightly
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Icing:
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa (omit if making colored frosting)
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate for colored éclairs Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place 2/3 cup water in a medium saucepan and add butter. Simmer over medium heat until butter melts.
• Bring to a rolling boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the flour at one time, mixing vigorously to incorporate. Set mixture aside until cool enough to touch.
• Mix in eggs.
• Scoop mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 – inch plain tip.
• Pipe 3-inch long strips equal distance apart on the cookie sheet. (If you are also making profiteroles- only use 1/2 of mixture. To Make Profiteroles:
• Using the same tip, pipe remaining batter into small circles or mounds on second baking sheet.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.
• Remove from oven and make a small slit in the side of each éclair to let steam escape.
• Allow to cool on cooling racks. To Make the Pastry Cream:
• In bowl of a large standing mixer or with electric beaters, whisk eggs and sugar until they are thick and creamy. Add the cornstarch and mix well to incorporate.
• Heat the milk until the boiling point. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture.
• Transfer mixture back to the pan and add vanilla. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Scrape down the sides and continuously stir in the same direction until cream is thick. Remove from heat, cover the top by pressing parchment paper or wax paper right down onto the surface of the cream.
• Allow to cool. (This step can be down a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator). To make the Icing:
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the milk in a small saucepan, remove from the heat. Stir in the cocoa (if using) and confectioners’ sugar. Once combined, add chocolate pieces and stir until glossy.
• Assemble the éclairs by putting cooled pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a plain wide tip. Pipe filling into center of éclairs and profiteroles (from slit side).
• Smooth frosting on top of each one . If the icing gets thick, reheat it slightly until smooth and whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator until serving.