August 29, 2012

Martha Stewart's Rasberry and Hazelnut Jelly Roll



This jelly roll recipe is one of Martha Stewart's and it can be found in the August 2012 issue of her magazine, Martha Stewart Living. I did my best to recreate this fabulous looking dessert! ( Martha's is in the photograph below,) The kids and Chris said it's a home run! One of the keys to making this is in the rolling up of the cake and just as importantly the brand of fruit preserves you use!



What you will need...

1/2 cup plus1 T. of all purpose flour
1/2 c. skinned whole roasted hazelnuts. (I bought them whole, cracked and roasted them myself)
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted but not hot
1/4 c. of confectioner's sugar
clean kitchen towel

For the Filling you will need...

1 c. plus 3 T of high quality raspberry preserves (I used St. Dalfour.)
1 c. of very cold whipping cream
2 T hazelnut liquor


What you will need to do...

For the cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large jelly roll pan or baking sheet with cooking spray. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the pan to cover. Trim the edges and spray parchment with cooking spray...set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer. In the meantime pulse the nuts, flour and salt in food processor or blender until nuts are finely chopped...about 1 minute. Pour 1/3 of the flour into a sifter.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a heat proof bowl and then place bowl over the pot of water and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Then using a mixer, whip egg mixture until it begins to lose some color and becomes fluffy. Sift the first third of the flour into the egg mixture and fold with rubber scraper. Then drizzle 1/3 of the butter into the mixture and blend. Repeat 2 more times and then spread batter onto the prepared jelly roll pain. Bake in the oven until golden brown...about 8 minutes.

Spread clean kitchen towel out on the counter and dust with confectioner's sugar. Remove cake from oven and flip it onto the clean towel, peel off the parchment paper and starting at one of the short endes, roll the cake up in the towel as tight as you can. Let the cake sit until completely cooled, about 1 1/2 hours.

For the Filling: Unroll the cake and spread the jam over the top of the cake leaving a one inch margin around the entire cake. Then whip the heavy cream with the liquor until medium peaks form. Spread whipped cream over top of the jam, again leaving the 1 inch margin around the perimeter of the cake. Starting from one of the short sides, roll the cake up at tight as possible and then lay it on a serving platter with the seem side down. refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Dust with confectioner's sugar using a sifter, slice and serve!

Enjoy!!!

February 5, 2012

Cheddar and Jalapeno Corn Bread

 This is a twist on the traditional corn bread recipe. It is a very moist corn bread packing just a little bit of heat!!!



 Ingredients

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups milk
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8oz sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
4 oz can of Jalapeno peppers chopped

     Method

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Combine the eggs and milk. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with egg mixture. Add the shredded cheddar and chilies and blend by hand.               
Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares; serve warm.