No matter how pressed for time we are during the holidays, some of us just can’t cozy up to the adage that store-bought is better than none, especially when it comes to dessert. After all, dessert is the crowning glory to a fine meal, the trophy for a cleaned plate.
But the question remains: How to truss the turkey, prepare the veggies and puree the soup and still have time to bake a dessert? The answer: Do last things first. Make the desserts before the turkey is even out of the fridge.
Here is a handful of timely sweets culled from this season’s crop of cookbooks. All the desserts can be prepared two or three days before Thanksgiving, with a few simple tasks remaining at serving time.
A sugar-crusted cinnamon walnut cake makes the best keeper of the bunch-just be sure to wrap it securely and store it in a cool place up to three days. The cake also can be frozen up to several weeks, but the glazed nut garnish should be kept in a cookie tin.
Creamy sweet potato pie with a hardy cornmeal crust and a noble pecan pie likewise keep for two or three days. Both benefit from a brief warming before serving. Poached pears do double-duty on a holiday table-they look stunning and they add a respite from the richness of the meal.
A bonus: The cinnamon walnut cake and the two pies transport well-perfect for potluck-style feasts when you wish to bring the dessert and take home the honors. Or, serve all of the desserts as a menu for a holiday sweet-table party or an open house. Just add assorted chocolates, sparkling wine and a list of appreciative guests.
CINNAMON WALNUT CAKE
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 1 to 1 1/4 hours
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
This recipe is adapted from “Festive Tables: Recipes, Menus and Tablesettings for Every Occasion” by Raymond Waites (Bulfinch Press, $24.95).
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 medium eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons each: pure vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sour cream
Nut mixture:
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Beat butter and 2 cups sugar in large bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix baking powder, baking soda and flour. Alternately add half of the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the butter mixture. Mix well.
3. Add remaining dry ingredients and sour cream. Mix well. If batter is too stiff, add a few drops of milk.
4. For nut mixture, mix all ingredients in small bowl. Put half of the cake batter into prepared pan. Top with half of the nut mixture. Top with remaining batter. Top with remaining nut mixture.
5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool on wire rack until warm. Remove from pan to a cake plate, nut side up. Store, tightly covered, up to 3 days.
Optional glazed nut garnish: Put 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon water into medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts into a syrup and turns a medium amber color. Immediately stir in 1 cup walnut halves and then pour mixture onto a buttered baking sheet. When cool, break into pieces and use as a garnish on top of and around the cake.
SWEET POTATO PIE WITH HAZELNUT STREUSEL TOPPING
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
This recipe is adapted from “Heritage of America Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens” (Better Homes and Gardens Books, $39.95). Double the crust recipe if you wish to bake this in an 11- by 8-inch rectangular tart pan.
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/4 cup margarine or butter
Cornmeal pastry, recipe follows
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange rind
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each, ground: nutmeg, ginger
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
Hazelnut streusel topping, recipe follows
1. Peel sweet potatoes. Cut off woody portions and ends. Cut into quarters. Cook, covered, in enough boiling salted water to cover until tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Drain and mash in a large bowl. (You should have 1 1/2 cups.) Cut up margarine; add to hot potatoes, stirring until melted.
2. Meanwhile, prepare cornmeal pastry. Working through a plastic food bag, pat dough over bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold under extra pastry; crimp edge high. Do not prick pastry.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. For filling, add brown sugar, orange rind, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to potatoes. Stir in eggs and half-and-half. Place pastry shell on the oven rack; pour in filling. Cover outer edge of pie with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Sprinkle with hazelnut streusel topping. Bake until knife inserted near center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate up to 2 days. Serve at room temperature.
Cornmeal pastry: Mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1/3 cup shortening or lard until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 3 to 5 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over mixture, tossing with a fork after each addition until all is moistened. Form into a ball.
Hazelnut streusel topping: Mix 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon and nutmeg in small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons margarine or butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts or almonds.
NOBODY’S FOOL
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
This rich-yet-light recipe is adapted from “Gooey Desserts, The Joy of Decadence” by Elaine Corn (Prima Publishing, $24.95). The cranberry mixture should be folded into the cream just before serving to prevent weeping.
2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup each: granulated sugar, brown sugar
Juice of 2 oranges
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 whole star anise
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Orange rind, mint sprigs for garnish
1. Combine all ingredients except cream and garnishes in a saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring now and then to prevent sticking. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Refrigerate until cold or up to 1 week.
2. Whip the cream in a cold bowl with cold beaters, to stiff peaks. To make ahead, put cream into a cheesecloth-lined wire mesh strainer set over a bowl. Refrigerate, covered, up to 6 hours.
3. To serve, fold 3/4 cup of the chilled cranberry sauce, leaving streaks, into the whipped cream. Spoon into a stemmed serving dish. Garnish with orange rind and mint.
HOLIDAY CARAMEL-PECAN PIE
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings
This recipe is adapted from “Dessert in Half the Time” by Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts (Crown, $25).
1 prepared 9-inch pie crust
2 large eggs
1 cup each: sugar, dark corn syrup
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup broken or coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup pecan halves
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out crust on floured surface to fit a 9-inch glass pie plate. Trim and flute edge of crust.
2. Put remaining ingredients, except nuts, into food processor fitted with metal blade. Process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add the chopped and whole pecans and using a rubber spatula, stir to blend. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
3. Bake in the middle of the oven until the edges of the pie are lightly browned and the top is puffed. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Store at room temperature, in a covered tin, for 2 to 3 days.
POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE AND DRIED FRUITS
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
This sophisticated fruit dessert is adapted from “Gooey Desserts, The Joy of Decadence”
Mascarpone cheese, available in specialty markets or Italian stores, has a subtler taste and softer texture than cream cheese.
1/4 cup each: golden raisins, minced prunes, minced dried apricots
1/3 cup brandy
6 Bartlett pears, just underripe, stems on
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups white table wine
1/2 cup sugar
Rinds of 1 lemon and 1 orange removed with a zester
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup softened mascarpone or cream cheese
Shredded orange rind, mint sprigs for garnish, optional
1. Soak the raisins and minced fruits in the brandy.
2. Peel the pears, leaving stems intact. Slice a thin, horizontal piece off the bottoms so pears will sit upright. With a melon baller, scoop out cores from the underside. As you work, place pears in a big bowl of cold water to which 2 tablespoons of lemon juice has been added. You’ll be reserving 1 cup of this lemon water.
3. Stand pears in a Dutch oven with a cover. Add wine, sugar, rinds, orange juice and the 1 cup reserved lemon water; liquid should come 3/4 of the way up the pears. (If not, add more wine or water.) Cover and heat to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until a knife can pierce a pear at its thickest part with a little resistance, about 20 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove pears to stand on a plate. Boil down the poaching liquid to make 1 cup, about 35 minutes. The liquid will become jammy and begin to taste like apricots. Pour it into a small pitcher and chill.
5. Meanwhile, toast the almonds on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree oven, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Blend the soaked fruit and the brandy with the cheese until smooth. Stir in the toasted almonds.
6. For ease, place cheese mixture into a pastry bag without a tip and force the mixture into the pears’ cavities (or use a small spoon to stuff mixture into pears). Stand pears, stems up, on a platter and refrigerate well-covered up to 2 days.
7. To serve, pour cool poaching syrup down the necks of the pears and let it pool on the plate. Garnish with orange rind and mint.
