Desserts

Ice-Cream Cake Roll
This is a chocolate cake roll with ice-cream as the filling.  I generally use mint chocolate chip ice-cream, but have used other flavors as well.  This recipe is not for the faint at heart.  I have no ideas how many times I have made this cake.  Coming from a large family, we all kind of took over a certain type of dessert and got good at it.  And when it needed to be made, we were the one to make our particular specialty.  This cake is my particular specialty in my family.  I started cooking at a fairly young age and my dad taught me how to make this cake.  We often made desserts together on Sunday afternoons.  He taught me a lot of my dessert specialities-good memories that I hope to pass on to my own kids. I have made this cake almost every time it was needed/wanted since then-even after being married.  Two of my brothers always had this cake for their birthdays.  As our family grew and we became adults with kids, I altered the recipe to make double and triple batches.  My husband and one of my children love this cake, so it is now a tradition in our home to on certain birthdays.  It really is super delicious!!  The original recipe came from the classic "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbook.  I have changed a few things-mostly added more cocoa powder and made the size larger to curtail it to our family.

To make 1 large cake roll:
1/2 cup flour
1/3-1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
Sift the above ingredients together and set aside.
6 egg yolks
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
In a medium mixing bowl beat egg yolks and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually add the 1/2 cup sugar, beating on high until the sugar is dissolved.
6 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form.  If you are using the same beaters-wash them thoroughly!  If you get any yolk into the whites, they will not fluff up. Gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form, but not too stiff.  Essentially, the egg whites should look like whipped cream.

Fold egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture-gently (not with the mixer-a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon would be great).

Gradually sprinkle the dry mixture over the egg mixtures and fold in gently, just until it is all combined.  Spread batter evenly into a greased/floured cookie sheet (15x10x1 pan).

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Immediately loosen the edges of the pan with a knife. When the pan is cool enough to touch, but still pretty warm, turn cake onto a clean dishtowel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Gently roll up the towel to help the cake form.  Let cool.  

1 container of mint chocolate chip ice-cream
Soften ice-cream until you can spread the ice-cream (stir it until it is softened and ready to spread).  Unroll cake and gently spread ice-cream on it.  Re-roll cake and immediately place in freezer to harden.  This cake is delicious no matter how you eat it, but my favorite way is to serve it with chocolate sauce-I just love chocolate!!

To make 2 large cake rolls:  
(this is a little more tricky as you really need a large bowl for the whites and mixing is a little harder-you have been warned)
1 cup flour
3/4-1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
Sift the above ingredients together and set aside.
12 eggs yolks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
In a medium mixing bowl beat egg yolks and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually add the 1/2 cup sugar, beating on high until the sugar is dissolved.
12 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
In a very large mixing bowl beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form.  If you are using the same beaters-wash them thoroughly!  If you get any yolk into the whites, they will not fluff up. Gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form, but not too stiff.  Essentially, the egg whites should look like whipped cream.

Fold egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture-gently (not with the mixer-a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon would be great).

Gradually sprinkle the dry mixture over the egg mixtures and fold in gently, just until it is all combined.  Spread batter evenly into a greased/floured cookie sheet (15x10x1 pan).

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Immediately loosen the edges of the pan with a knife. When the pan is cool enough to touch, but still pretty warm, turn cake onto a clean dishtowel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Gently roll up the towel to help the cake form.  Let cool. 

1 gallon of mint chocolate chip ice-cream
Soften ice-cream until you can spread the ice-cream (stir it until it is softened and ready to spread).  Unroll cake and gently spread ice-cream on it.  Re-roll cake and immediately place in freezer to harden.  This cake is delicious no matter how you eat it, but my favorite way is to serve it with chocolate sauce-I just love chocolate!!


Chocolate Pudding/Chocolate Cream Pie:

1 cup sugar

1/2 - 3/4 cup cocoa powder (depending how rich you want it)

½ cup + 2 TBLS flour or 5 TBLS cornstarch (1/4 cup + 1 TBLS)

½ tsp. salt

mix together in a saucepan and add:

3 cups milk (can use powdered milk with hot water or pre-heat the milk in the microwave to speed up cooking time—if using cornstarch, must add to cold milk)

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens.  Cook 2 minutes longer.  Remove from heat.

Temper (this means to stir a small amount of hot cream filling into egg yolks while stirring quickly so eggs do not cook.  Continue adding small amounts into yolks until yolks are mixed into cream mixture thoroughly).

4 beaten egg yolks

Add yolk mixture to saucepan with rest of cream mixture. 

Return to a boil and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat.

Stir in:

¼ cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Cool to room temperature and pour into:

1 baked pie crust or chocolate cookie crust—delicious with chocolate whipped topping spread on top and grated chocolate for garnish.



Pie Crust:
For 1 pie crust—

1 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

mix in dry ingredients, add:

½ cup shortening

cut in shortening until dough resembles coarse crumbs, add:

1/3 cup liquid (1 beaten egg and fill rest of measuring cup with milk)

For 2 pie crusts—

3 cups flour

1 TBLS + 1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

mix in dry ingredients, add:

1 cup shortening

cut in shortening until dough resembles coarse crumbs, add:

2/3 cup liquid (1 beaten egg and fill rest of measuring cup with milk)

Roll out until 1/4” thick.  To transfer to pie plate, fold carefully in half and then in half again.  Carefully pick up and place in pie plate—unfolding to be flat and centered in pie plate—do not stretch the dough, place gently in pie plate.

Using a fork, prick every few inches into the dough.  .  If baking filling in crust, add filling and follow instructions on filling for baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes—until golden brown.  Let cool before adding filling.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup boiling water
3 TBLS butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup powdered milk

Using an electric mixer or a small blender (I use my magic bullet), blend together water, sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Add powdered milk and blend until thickish.  If there are leftovers, they are good in the fridge for at least 2 weeks (I won't admit how long I had the leftovers and then made chocolate sauce with them-oh man that was yummy too!). 

Magic Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 TBLS sugar
1-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans are my favorite-though my husband doesn't like nuts, so half of the batch has nuts and half doesn't)
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk (or 3/4 -1 cup of homemade sweetened condensed milk)

In 9x13 pan melt butter.  Add cracker crumbs and sugar-stirring together with a fork and then pressing down for your crust.  Top crust evenly with chocolate chips, nuts, & coconut.  Pour milk evenly on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal & Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond flavoring)

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2-4 cups oatmeal (depending how flat or fat you want your cookies)

½ cup ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)

2-3 cups chocolate chips or whatever you want (raisins, nuts, toffee chips, butterscotch, m&m’s, etc)

Cream butter & sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and extract.  Beat again until light and fluffy.  Add flour, soda, salt and mix.  Add oatmeal, flaxseed and chocolate chips.  Stir in.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

* For peanut-butter cookies, substitute ½ cup butter for 2/3 cup peanut butter, and decrease flour ½ cup (peanut butter thickens the dough as well as adds fat, so you can play around with your proportions).