HOME MADE CREME FRAICHE

Creme Fraiche is all the rage on the Food Network cooking channels, but it is one of those ingredients that I've been too stubborn old fashioned to try, until now.

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and creme fraiche went onto my grocery list. You can imagine my shock when I saw the price of it (at least at our market) was $7+ per cup!!! That's just crazy.

So in my penny pinching thrifty mindset,(and wanting to know what all the creme fraiche hubbub was about), I set out to see if I could MAKE it. I was shocked at how easy, cheap (and fun) it is to do.  Yes, it takes a couple days to make, but 99.999% of that time is just waiting for it to "cure".

2 cups of heavy whipping cream (at least 45% butterfat)
3 tablespoons buttermilk (OR) plain yogurt (see note)

That's it!!

Mix the two ingredients together well, and put it into a very clean glass jar. Cover it loosely and let it sit on your kitchen counter for 24 hours (room temperature should be 70° to 75°).

It's good if you give it a quick stir after 8 hours, but that isn't absolutely necessary.

After 24 hours, it will still seem a little thin, but that's OK. Put a lid on the jar and put it in the fridge for another 24 hours. After 24 hours in the fridge, it will thicken up and be ready to use in any recipe that you would normally use sour cream for.

 

The flavor will be very mild at this stage, but it will get tangier the longer it sits in the fridge (keeps about 7 to 10 days).

People say it is the "mild cousin" to America's commercial sour cream, but I think it is much tastier than that. Of course, the flavor of your creme fraiche will depend on the "flavor" (quality) of whipping cream, and brand (quality) of buttermilk.

Creme fraiche is excellent for baking sweet AND savory dishes. It is much more tolerant to heat (than commercial sour cream), so it works well in gravy or sauces and makes killer mashed potatoes!! Sweetened, it is nice over any dessert, especially fresh fruit. Can you tell that I am a recent convert??

NOTE: Many of the recipes for creme fraiche (that are online) insist on using UN-pasteurized cream, but I couldn't find it, so I just used regular pasteurized heavy whipping cream and it worked fine.

NOTE: The buttermilk or yogurt that you use HAS to have live cultures in it. The buttermilk at our market was low fat and didn't mention "live cultures", so I opted for the same amount of organic unflavored yogurt with live cultures and it worked very well.

 

 

LUNCH BOX APPLE-PUMPKIN MUFFINS

School lunches are right around the corner,
and these muffins are SUPER moist (they taste even better on day two and three as long as you keep them covered well) AND they are packed with flavor!!

Make a batch of these for  school lunches, or a bake sale or share them at work. You will love this muffin!!!

 This recipe goes together quickly and easily and the muffins bake up with nice round tops covered with a sweet streusel topping. Makes 18 muffins. I don't even use a mixer for this recipe, just a hand whisk works well.

2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon (see substitution note below)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
(1) 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups cooking apples (peeled and chopped small)

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, mix dry ingredients until well combined, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk all of the wet ingredients until smooth, then stir in the chopped apples by hand. 

Mix the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Spoon batter equally into paper lined cupcake pans. Top with streusel topping (optional) (recipe below) and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350°.

Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

STREUSEL TOPPING   (optional)
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
4 teaspoons melted butter

Mix streusel ingredients with your fingers until you get a dry crumbly topping. Put a little on each muffin before you bake.

NOTE: You can substitute 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon-ginger-nutmeg combination.

NOTE: Let muffins cool down a little, but before they are entirely cold, cover with plastic wrap. Muffins should be stored covered.

NOTE: Recipe says to bake for 35-40 minutes. My oven cooked these in 35 minutes exactly.

MAPLE PECAN TASSIES

When our kids were little, I made these Tassie's ONLY on special occasions, or during the Christmas holiday. I'm not sure why that was "the rule", but it was.

These days, at our house, Tassie's have evolved into a barbecue "staple" for several reasons: not only are they super easy (and mess-less) to serve a crowd (especially the little ones), but you can make them a day (or even two) ahead of time, which is always handy.

I just set a tray of these beauties out on the buffet table, and guests "re-visit" it again and again; I guess their mini-size isn't as intimidating as a big old piece of pecan pie.

Tassie's Aren't Just For Christmas Anymore!!

PASTRY CRUST
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (see note)
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese (with electric mixer) until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes cleanly away from the inside walls of your mixing bowl.

Roll pastry into 1 inch balls and place them into an un-greased mini-muffin pan. Using your fingers, press the balls of dough into the bottom of each cup and up the sides. (I use the floured round end of my rolling pin to press the dough into place). Place the pan of shaped shells into the freezer for a few minutes while you make the filling.

FILLING
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (see note)

Beat the eggs until very well mixed and lemon colored. Stir in everything else (except nuts) and whisk until smooth; set aside.

Put a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each pastry shell and add enough filling to fill the shell about 2/3 full. (see note)

Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before you try to lift them out. Lift Tassie's out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

 

 

NOTE: Keep in mind that the filling puffs as it bakes, so don't overfill the unbaked shells. If you overfill them, they will be hard to get out of the pans. If your Tassie's resist coming out easily, use the tip of a knife to help you "lift them" out of the pan.

UPDATE: The recipe that I've used for 35+ years, used butter in the crust. However, recently, I decided to try butter flavored Crisco and I was thrilled with the crust difference. The butter produces a very white and non-flaky crust, but the butter flavored Crisco produces a super-flaky golden crust that picky-picky husband loved. If you click on the following photo, you can see how nice and flaky this ingredient substitution turned out.

NOTE: If you do not have maple extract, just leave it out.

NOTE: Picky-picky husband is not a big nut eater, so I put minimal nuts in these when I make them. Even with the extra filling, they bake in 20 minutes.

 

HARD CHOCOLATE SHELL FOR ICE CREAM

 This fudge-y treat is rich, delicious, quick to make and fun to serve, AND....when you pour it over something COLD, it turns hard, just like commercial "Magic Shell" ice cream topping (except it is a lot more budget friendly).

I've only ever made chocolate (duh!!) but I don't see why peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips or even mint chocolate chips wouldn't work just as well!!

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the chocolate, butter and oil until the chocolate melts. I do this in the microwave, starting at 30 seconds on high, then stir, then 15 more seconds and stir and a final 15 seconds and stir.

At first, it will seem like the ingredients don't want to blend, but whisk it for 10-15 seconds and it will go together beautifully. Once it is smooth, whisk in the vanilla extract.

Cool to room temperature, (you can use it right away, but if you use it before it cools down, it will take a few more seconds to harden on the ice cream).

NOTE: If you use your microwave to melt the chocolate, watch it carefully, since your microwave might cook faster or slower than mine and chocolate scorches easily.

NOTE: With the addition of butter and oil, I thought this might have a greasy taste, but it does NOT. While it is still hot (which is my favorite) this has a velvety texture, almost like the best hot fudge sundae taste.

MINI MAPLE CHEESECAKES

We love the world of mini desserts these days; with an "empty nest", mini desserts are an easy better way to battle the mega-calories that a big ole' cheesecake in the fridge tempts us with.

Picky-picky husband LOVES all things maple, so I've been on a search for a maple cheesecake for a long time. This recipe is a combination of several other recipes combined with my own personal tweaks. WE
are very pleased with the results; they are sweet, smooth to the tongue, maple-y and super easy to make.

CRUMB CRUST
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix until well combined; I do this in a plastic food bag (saves on clean up). 

Preheat your oven to 275° and put paper cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.

Put a slightly rounded tablespoon of crumb mixture into each paper liner and press down.

CHEESECAKE FILLING
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1/3 cup REAL maple syrup (I've never tried pancake syrup)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple extract
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour

Beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy and well mixed. While the mixer is running, drizzle in the maple syrup (scrape the sides of the bowl down if necessary).

Beat in the egg, extracts and flour until smooth.

Pour over the crumb crusts, filling almost to the top.

Bake at 275° for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. 

NOTE: My electric oven took 35 minutes to bake these because my maple syrup and egg were cold (right out of the fridge). If you bring the syrup and egg to room temperature before making these, it would probably only take 30 minutes to bake.

NOTE: I've never used artificial pancake syrup in these little cheesecakes, so I can't tell you if that will work or not, although I'm guessing it would (it just wouldn't taste as good).

NOTE: This recipe made 10 little cheesecakes.

CAKE DECORATING 101

I don't profess to be a great cake decorator but I do "OK"; lets just say if I can do it, certainly YOU can do it; it isn't rocket science.

This post has a very good basic butter cream frosting recipe and a few tricks of the trade that I've learned over the years. Don't be nervous, just jump in and "give it a go". Practice makes perfect and your friends and family will love eating those "practice cakes" (our kids grew up on them).

 

 

 

 

 

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1 cup white Crisco vegetable shortening
1 cup butter (room temperature)
8 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup heavy cream

With an electric mixer (stand mixer works best) beat the vegetable shortening and (room temperature) butter until it is well mixed together.

Add half of the powdered sugar, salt, extracts and half of the cream. Beat until very well mixed.

Add the last half of the powdered sugar and the last half of the cream.  Beat on high for 2 or 3 minutes until very fluffy (makes a lot of frosting).

 

 

NOTE: Some people freak out about shortening in the frosting and I understand that, but, remember.....when you buy a cake from a chain type bakery, the frosting is made with ALL shortening, trust me!!

If you are dead-set against using vegetable shortening, you CAN use all butter, but the taste is very heavy; it is your choice.

NOTE: This frosting is great for the entire cake including borders and piping words, etc., but it IS a soft frosting and it WILL melt if you have it out in the sun or in a very hot room.  I like to frost  my cakes and then chill them until about an hour before serving.

If you don't have time to freeze the cake, just make sure it is completely cooled before frosting it (not even just a LITTLE bit warm).

DECORATING TIPS

Cupcakes are very popular right now and they are super easy to do. Using the above frosting recipe and a Wilton M1 decorating tip, you can have cupcakes that look like they came from a bakery in no time; that big M1 tip is the secret.

The following mini-lesson, is for a simple "every day" one layer 9x13 cake.

1. Brush all the crumbs off of the cake (you will thank me later)because it is easy to get the crumbs mixed in with your frosting and that isn't pretty.

2. I like to wrap or cover my HOT cake with saran wrap (right on the surface of the cake) and then let it cool down and put the wrapped cake in the freezer overnight.  The day you want to serve the cake, take it out of the freezer and frost it while it's still frozen. A frozen cake is sturdy and the frosting stays right where you put it.
Don't put it back in the freezer!!  The frozen/frosted cake will thaw out in about 60-90 minutes and be perfect for serving.

3. Put a thick layer of frosting all over your cake; don't worry about it looking smooth at this point, just try to cover it evenly.

 

 

 

4. Now here is a little trick that I learned a million years ago. Get a small fine mist spray bottle (that isn't used for anything else) and fill it with cold water. Give the frosting a light mist (from the distance of about a foot(just a super quick fine spritz) then smooth the frosting with a smooth bladed knife(wiping off your knife in between each stroke).  I always use an off-set spatula for this (see photo below) but any non-serrated knife will work in a pinch.

If you don't have a spray bottle, you can almost get the same effect by dipping your spatula into very hot water (then shaking off all excess water) before smoothing your frosting. This next picture shows what just ONE SWIPE around the sides of this cake (using the warm wet knife method) will do; you can imagine if you went over it a couple more times.

 

 

 If you are a perfectionist  (which I am not) and want NO frosting lines, just keep smoothing.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only use the spritz technique on white frosting. If you use it on colored frosting, it will run and make your frosting look uneven....especially blue or green.

5. You can go crazy and buy all sorts of decorating tips and doo-dads, but you certainly don't need them.  Get just get a few of the basics and you will be amazed at what you can do.

You will need:
Disposable plastic frosting bags (a true MUST)
2-3 couplers (2 piece couplers let you change tips)
Decorating tips  (a large star and a round writing tip)
Off-set spatula  (not an absolute must, but very handy)
Food color paste (not the watery stuff) Check Walmart
Water bottle for misting

 

After you "flat frost" the whole cake, it is time to put on the borders/trim and any writing or drawing  you want on the cake. Now is the time you will use the frosting bags and metal tips.


6. The disposable frosting bags are probably the handiest part of this process. You can use non-disposable ones, but once you try to wash one, you will quickly see the "beauty" in the disposable kind.

7. The couplers, are not absolutely necessary either. You can just slide the metal decorator tips down inside the frosting bag and snip off the end. However, if you want to use a variety of decorating tips, the coupler is the way to go. Each one has two pieces; the larger part slides down inside the frosting bag and then the metal tip fits onto it from the outside, then the coupler band is screwed on (does that make sense?)

 

 

Once you have the decorating tip on, nestle the decorator bag inside of a large mug or measuring cup and fold the top raw edge down over the container, sort of like folding down a collar. Now put a cup or two of frosting in the bag (the "container" is just to hold the bag steady while you fill it).

Twist the top of the frosting filled bag closed and apply pressure with your fingers. As the frosting comes out the end, you will have to re-twist it tighter before continuing. When you are done using the frosting bag, just use scissors to cut the bag off just above the coupler, then throw the coupler and tip into the dishwasher!!

The base of your cake should have the larger frosting border than the top edge of your cake. Practice making a shell pattern on some wax paper before you try it on the cake.

 

 

8. I like to use a Wilton M1 tip on my cake base; it is a huge star tip and it takes an over sized coupler as well.

 

 

 

NOTE: When you first start to decorate, you will be fairly slow. Keep in mind that the heat of your hands can soften the frosting in the frosting bag and that can be a problem. If you find it getting too soft to hold its shape, put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

NOTE: Don't use regular (watery) food coloring in this frosting recipe; not only will it effect the consistency of your frosting, but the colors will  never get any stronger than a pastel color. 

Get some food coloring paste (it is very concentrated and gives you very deep colors, so go easy with it at first); one drop of blue will color an entire bowl of frosting. 

Walmart sells the food color paste in their cake decorating section.

NOTE: A fun thing to try is edible glitter. It is basically a transparent food starch that has been dried and flaked, but you can sprinkle it on ANY color frosting and it will look shiny and sparkly; it is GREAT for cupcakes or little girl princess cakes.

Another fun decorating tip is called a grass tip.

Grass Tip

 

Using a grass tip is super easy, you just apply lots of pressure, then immediately release the pressure and lift up at the same time which will make "blades" of grass.
 

 

GIVE IT A TRY !! BUT MOST OF ALL ...

 

 

 

 

HAVE FUN !!!

S'MORE CUPS

This has to be the cutest idea that I've seen in a while. It (and the photo) is from  At Home With Amy.   They are delicious and so much fun.

7 whole graham crackers finely crushed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
4 milk chocolate candy bars (see note)
12 large marshmallows

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and melted butter together until crumbly and evenly mixed. Put a small scoop of these crumbs in each cup of a mini-muffin tin and press down and up the sides to form a little "cup".  Bake at 350° for 4 or 5 minutes or until the edges are bubbling.

WhiLe the cups are baking, break apart the candy bar into sections (Hershey's are already scored into sections) and cut the marshmallows in half (scissors dipped in cold water works well for this).

Remove the cups from the oven and put a square of chocolate in each crumb cup, then top with a marshmallow half. Return to the oven for 1 or 2 minutes or until the marshmallow is just slightly puffed.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing them, then cool them completely. 

Melt the remaining chocolate (microwave works well) and dip the top of the completely cooled S'more Cups into the melted chocolate. Let them sit for about an hour to "set" the chocolate.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week. "Reheating" these in the microwave for a FEW seconds, is beyond delicious.

NOTE: Any (ALL chocolate) candy bar will work, whatever is your favorite....dark? white? milk chocolate?