Grandma Rose's Banana Whipped Cream Roll

Pumpkin month is over which means I can FINALLY move on to other kinds of recipes. I'm really excited about the Christmas season. As a child, Christmas always meant fudge, divinity and painted sugar cookies. Even though I'm an adult now, those traditions still stand. Bad news for any diet but good news for my sweet tooth.

However, I made something a bit out of character for this time of month- a banana whipped cream roll.

This was my very first time making a cake roll, as you can probably tell. It didn't turn out to be the most beautiful roll ever, but it tasted pretty good. I'm going to warn you though, this is not a dessert to make if you're on a budget.

What you need for the sponge cake:
9 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon orange flavoring
Grated rind of 1 orange
1 cup potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling and whipped topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 sliced bananas
Chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thoroughly grease and line with parchment paper a 13x17 jelly roll pan. Separate your eggs.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Very gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, add 3/4 cup of sugar.

 Continue beating until thick and shiny. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks unti thick. Add remaining sugar, orange flavoring and rind. Continue beating until thick. Beat in the potato starch mixed with salt until the batter is smooth.

Fold part of egg whites into the yolk mixture.

Then, very carefully, fold this mixture into the remaining egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

I suggest checking at around 15 minutes as mine came out a bit dry.

Now comes the part where I tell you to do as I say and not as I do. The recipe said to turn out the cake onto sugar-sprinkled foil or waxed paper. However, I suggest turning it out onto a sugar sprinkled dish towel. Roll it up like a jelly roll. Using foil prevented the heat from escaped and really dried out the cake. Let cool completely before unrolling.

Whip cream until thick, adding sugar and vanilla. Combine 1 cup whipped cream with bananas.

Spread the filling on the sponge cake.

Carefully roll it back up.

Ice it with the remaining whipped cream. If you're feeling fancy you can put the cream in a star-tipped pastry bag and run the cream over the top and sides of the roll.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Voila!

Oolala! This cake is very visually appealing, if I do say so myself.

Well, until you see my less than perfect job at rolling it. This cake would have been absolutely perfect if it had not been so dry. So remember, keep an eye on a time and use a towel, not foil!

Good luck and happy baking!
Rosie

Source: Grandma Rose...

Grandma Rose's Praline Pumpkin Pie

Well, Thanksgiving has come and passed and now it's time for Christmas. I love the Christmas season. I enjoy giving gifts and I always put a lot of thought into every single gift. Yesterday we put up the Christmas tree and the stockings so it's really starting to feel like that time of year. It was even below 70 degrees here in Texas!

Tomorrow morning I go back to Boston. I love my friends and my life at school, but it's hard to tear myself away from my family and loved ones. Thankfully, I only have about two and a half weeks before I come back home for an entire month. But until then, I have a lot of work to do-- not to mention baking!

 

Yesterday, in the midst of our decorating frenzy, I made this praline pumpkin pie from the Grandma Rose cookbook. After making several of her recipes, I learned to take her instructions with a grain of salt and I think this actually worked out well for me. As I suspected, the written baking time was too long and the heat a bit higher than necessary. I'll tell you how long I baked it and at what temp, but your welcome to play with it a bit if it doesn't work for you.

What you need for the crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold sweet butter
6 tablespoons sour cream

For the praline shell:
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet butter, softened

 Sift together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter, leaving the mixture in coarse lumps.

Cut in the sour cream, a little at a time, using no more than is necessary to hold the dough together. Add no water. I actually used about 7-8 tablespoons of sour cream because mine was just far too dry.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle and fold it in thirds. Chill the folded dough wrapped in waxed paper for at least 30 minutes before using.

Roll out the dough and line a nine inch pie plate with it. Cut excess dough off of the edges.

Blend pecans with sugar and butter. Press gently with the back of a spoon into bottom of pie shell.

What you need for the filling:
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin and the eggs.

Add in the cream, rum, sugar and spices. Blend gently. If using a mixer, be very careful as the whipping cream will whip up if you are too vigorous. Pour into the shell.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Pie is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If you wish, you can top with a meringue and stick back in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

 

I actually was not a huge fan of this pie. The filling does not taste like a traditional pumpkin pie and the texture is a lot lighter. For some reason, I actually had too much filling and ended up making a little trifle as well.

I really like the praline layer, but the crust was really tough. This is possibly my fault as I kept second guessing the crust and may have overworked it. My parents loved it and though it was delicious but I'm not sure that this is something I would want to make again.

I hope you'll give it a try yourself and tell me what you think of it. Good luck!
Rosie

Source: Grandma Rose...

In Which I Discuss Zelda and Grandma Rose's Sad Pumpkin Cheesecake

I did it guys. I was able to put down the wii remote and leave the room long enough to make a new post. Actually, I haven't had the opportunity to play the game as much as I wish. It turns out that I actually have responsibilities while home. Gross.

I'm about to wax poetic about Zelda. Feel free to skip to actual the baking if you're not interested. I won't be offended.

Anyway, if there's one thing I can say about the game, it's absolutely beautiful. When I hear people criticize the Zelda games for not utilizing the hyper realistic graphics found in most games today I get so angry. There is just something so fantastical and over the top about the Zelda games that realistic graphics would simply can't capture it. I love the dark stylization of Twilight Princess but Skyward Sword really found something beautiful for itself. For the first time, the characters seem real and tangible. Players really get a sense of the proportional difference between characters when they're looking up at Groose and his friends for the first time. There's great humor in the dialogue and game play is invigorating. Like I said, I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked, but so far this game has really blown me away.

But now to the actual point of the blog. Cheesecake. PUMPKIN cheesecake.

What you need:

For the crust
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted sweet butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar

For the filling:
2 lbs cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
5 whole eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1 lb can of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons rum
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly grease a 9 inch springform pan. Combine all crust ingredients and line the bottom and sides of the pan.

Cream the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar and the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Gradually add flour, mixed with spice, and pumpkin. Add rum.

Pour into the crust. Now this is where things need to be modified. The recipe calls for the cheesecake to be baked for 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, I checked the cake 20 minutes before it was time and it was already overcooked. I would suggest checking this at an hour and judging the remaining baking time from there. You'll know it's done when the center is firm to the touch.

My sad burnt cheesecake. I had to trim off the really heinous parts.

 When the cheesecake is completely cool, you can make the whipped topping. Whip the cream, sweetening with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon rum if you would like. Pipe with a star-tipped pastry bag. Sprinkle with toasted chopped almonds or pecans.

Despite being overbaked, this cheesecake was still pretty tasty. I'm sure that if it had been baked for the right amount of time, it would have been heavenly.

As it was, the filling was not quite as creamy as I would have preferred. However, the taste was good and the cheesecake as a whole was wonderfully rich.

Good luck and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Rosie

Source: Grandma Rose's...

Grandma Rose's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

I'm a redhead now, which means I feel obligated to claim fictional Irish heritage. One part of this completely untruthful (as far as I know, at least) background that I will claim in a heartbeat will be a love for all thing potato. Take a potato, dress it up anyway you can, and I guarantee I'll like it.

However, I never for a second imagined putting mashed potatoes in a cake.

Yes boys and girls, we're making a chocolate cake with mashed potatoes in it. So, let's get to it then.

For the cake you will need:
4 eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
1 cup sweet butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9 inch tube pan or two 9 inch layer cake pans. I chose to do a tube. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until set. Set aside.

Cream butter with remaining sugar until fluffy, and add egg yolks, cooled chocolate, and mashed potato.

Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add to batter.

Mix sour cream with baking soda and vanilla. Add to batter with the pecans and then, lastly fold in the whites.

Spread into the pan. For a tube pan, bake for about 50 minutes. For layer pans, bake about 35 minutes. My cake was not quite done at 50 minutes, and I never could seem to get it done. When I finally was satisfied, I ended up drying it out. Be careful and really keep an eye on it so this doesn't happen to you.

Set on a wire rack and leave in pan until cooled completely. When cooled, remove from pan and frost.

What you'll need for the frosting:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla

 Combine chocolate, cream, water, and corny syrup. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved. Raise heat a little and cook without stirring for about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick enough so that a bit dropped into a cup of cold water forms a soft ball.

 Stir 2 or 3 tablespoons hot chocolate into beaten egg. Pour egg mixture back into remaining chocolate mixture, stirring briskly. Add vanilla. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat a few more minutes until a little thicker. Let cool and frost the cake.

I was really excited about this cake with it's strange ingredient of mashed potatoes and, well, it wasn't that special. The cake itself was a bit bland and the frosting was gritty (my fault for obviously not letting the sugar dissolve well enough) and a little too bitter for the plain taste of the cake.

Give it a try if you'd like. Good luck!
Rosie