Dennys Food and Recipes: Easy Dessert: Blueberry Yum Yum Cake

Dennys Food and Recipes: Easy Dessert: Blueberry Yum Yum Cake: "From Denny: What could better describe a trip to Heaven than fresh blueberries, sugar, real butter and a creamy whipped filling for this delectable cake? A simple recipe that is as easy to make as it is to eat!

We love pecans at our house so you might enjoy sprinkling a few more chopped pecans on top of the blueberries for more crunch. There is nothing like the flavor of a toasted pecan.

After you put this cake together it goes into the fridge for chilling time, about an hour. Make it before you start dinner and it should be properly cool by the time everyone finishes dinner. Try not to cheat and choose the dessert as the first course!"

Romancing The Chocolate: Blueberry Pound Cake

Blueberries Image via Wikipedia

Romancing The Chocolate: Blueberry Pound Cake: "rom Denny: Talk about an easy recipe! It comes from a cake mix as its base. And, with the summer heat two months early here in south Louisiana all we can think about are refreshing cold drinks and berry desserts. :)

Even though the Mississippi River is above flood stage, and not expected to go down until sometime in late July or August, we are in a drought. Guess that's a good thing because the levees are earthen levees. So, the good news is we don't have to worry about more rain on the way to weaken those levees."

L. A. Westside Tavern Restaurant: Warm Toffee Cake

Check out how a Los Angeles restaurant has updated the dessert comfort food for a heavenly taste experience.

From Denny:  This rich amazing dessert is a favorite with diners at the Westside Tavern in West Los Angeles, California, located inside the Westside Pavilion. At 534 calories, this is a diet buster but well worth the indulgence! Warm toffee cake is a dessert comfort food from decades past - and still popular today.  A little scoop on the side of whipped mascarpone cream, cream or ice cream makes for a  heavenly taste experience.

Check out the Westside Tavern

Their concept description: An expansive, social and urban-minded restaurant, Westside Tavern features chef-driven yet affordable interpretations of California Tavern Cuisine alongside a complementary selection of fresh cocktails, craftsman beers and thoughtful wines. Encompassing 10,400 square feet and 300 seats, Westside Tavern is open for dinner daily and is designed to be used as a casually upscale gathering place by a broad cross section of Los Angeles professionals.




Warm Sticky Toffee Cake

From: Westside Tavern, West Los Angeles, California (inside the Westside Pavilion)

Total time: About 2 hours

Servings: 6 to 12



Warm Sticky Toffee Cake

Ingredients:


English toffee sauce

Ingredients:

1 1-2 cups heavy cream

3-4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (1 1-2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon) butter, cut into 1-2 inch cubes

1 1-2 cups dark brown sugar

3-4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the cream, butter, brown sugar and maple syrup. Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking frequently. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. Blend the mixture using an immersion blender until thickened and emulsified. Alternatively, the mixture can be blended in batches using a standard blender (be careful as the mixture is very hot). This makes 4 cups sauce.



Toffee Cake and Assembly

2 tablespoons (1-4 stick) butter, plus extra for buttering the ramekins

Sugar for dusting the ramekins

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

3/4 cup plus 2 1-2 teaspoons (3.4 ounces) flour

Pinch salt

3/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup plus 1 ½ teaspoons dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

3/4 cup coarsely chopped dates

Hot prepared toffee sauce

Whipped mascarpone cream, cream or ice cream

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 6 (6-ounce) ramekins with butter, and dust with sugar. In a saucepan, whisk the baking soda into the boiling water.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until fully incorporated.

4. To the butter mixture, add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Over low speed, slowly and gently add the dry ingredients, scraping the bowl to make sure the batter is fully mixed.

6. Over low speed, slowly stream the hot water into the batter. Add the dates and continue mixing over low speed until the batter thickens. This makes about 2 cups batter.

7. Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins. Bake until the cakes are a dark, caramel color, about 45 minutes.

8. Remove the ramekins and cool the cakes for 5 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the hot toffee sauce onto the cakes until they seem saturated (extra sauce will pool at the bottom, this can be gathered for additional glazing and serving), then glaze the cakes a second time with the sauce.

9. Set the cakes aside for about 30 minutes to set up and cool. The cakes can be made a few hours in advance and held on a baking sheet, loosely covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature.

10. To serve, cover each cake with one-fourth cup warm toffee sauce. Serve with a generous quenelle or dollop of mascarpone cream or whipped cream, or scoop of ice cream.


Each serving: 534 calories; 2 grams protein; 73 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 27 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 102 mg cholesterol; 63 grams sugar; 115 mg sodium.




*** Photo by Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

Dennys Food and Recipes - all kinds of food
Comfort Food From Louisiana - Cajun and more comfort food
Romancing The Chocolate - chocolate recipes and more food
The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd - more crazy humor
Dennys Blog Feeds - check out what is posting on all the blogs at a glance

Placing New Posts Over at Dennys Food and Recipes

*** Check out my newest food blog where all 3 food blogs are now combined into one easy place to search for your favorite recipes or try something new!





From Denny: The way the online world has changed so much in the past year it's time to pare back down to just a few blogs. Most people find a blogger through search engines, social sites and blog or rss directories now.

There is so much great news going on that it's just plain easier to place post drafts all in one place when I'm grabbing research and links to write a post. I've experimented the past year with various themes and niche only blogs only to find out my instincts were right all along and the so-called internet experts were wrong: generalized blogs do get more traffic over small niche blogs. So, my niche blogs are getting combined so I can stretch out a bit more, put my elbows on the table and write about all the other goodies I've wanted to include but was constrained by the narrow niche writing.

I'm leaving up this blog as an archive. Why spoil all those wonderful links littered all over the internet? You will still find all the posts here also over at Dennys Food and Recipes - even the funny posts.

Google and the other search engines keep changing their requirements and bloggers have to keep jumping through hoops. Who knows? If the web world changes yet again then I'll adapt yet again. :) Such is life in the fast lane.

I'll be writing on fav food stories and news, posting recipes for everything from pasta to chocolate to Louisiana food to the newest trends in beverages and international food. Come check out Dennys Food and Recipes where you can find all - in one place - all the posts of my three food blogs! And please join me on Google Friend Connect too! :)


*** THANK YOU for all your support this past year as it's been fun writing for you. I enjoy researching to find those little gems to bring back home for you! :)

Kid Friendly Recipes: Chocolate Quesadillas, Very Best Fudge

From Denny: It's still April so I suppose I can sneak in this cute photo of fudge in an Easter basket. :) I've been wondering what to do with this "orphan" recipe until I came across another delightfully simple recipe that is also kid friendly for when you want to work in the kitchen teaching your kids how to bake.

What's also fun is the second recipe is from a local Louisiana nine year old boy who is trying his hand at blogging. He catalogs his new food experiences and talks about his food choices at the restaurants he thinks are kid friendly. A food critic is born! And since I like to encourage budding writers, well, here I am promoting the kid. I do enjoy precocious kids! :)






Very Best Fudge

From: Family Features - Nestlé Test Kitchens

Makes: about 4 pounds

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar
1 can (12 fluid ozs.) evaporated milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups miniature marshmallows
4 cups (24 ozs.) or 2 (12-oz.) pkgs. Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
2 tsps. vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Line 13x9-inch or two 8-inch-square baking pan(s) with foil.

2. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in 4- to 5-quart, heavy-duty saucepan.

3. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted.

5. Pour into prepared baking pan(s). Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.






Chocolate Quesadillas

From: Catherine Prados. Her 9 year old son, Michael, writes Junior Food Critic, a blog where he writes of his food discoveries and kid friendly restaurants.


Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas
2 squares Baker’s chocolate (German chocolate works well), melted
Confectioners’ sugar


Directions:

1. Place one flour tortilla in a quesadilla maker or skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Spread melted chocolate over the tortilla.

3. Place the second flour tortilla on top and close the quesadilla maker or put a top on the skillet. If you are using the quesadilla appliance, cook for 1 minute or until desired crispness and slight browning are achieved. If using a conventional skillet, cook for 1 minute and then carefully flip the quesadilla to brown and crisp the second side.

4. Remove from quesadilla appliance or skillet and place on large cutting board. Cut into six pizzalike triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.


*** A funny post today: Roundup of Late Night Comedy 13 Apr 2010


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!