And the winners are …

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Best Dessert: Emily Torgan-Shalansky, Mascarpone Cake with Mango Sauce

This cake is Torgan-Shalansky’s version of a recipe from her grandmother, who had emigrated from Poland to Honduras.

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

Mascarpone Cream

8 oz. mascarpone

1 cup chilled heavy cream

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Dona Ana’s Mango Sauce

3 large ripe mangoes

sugar

lime juice

 

Preparation

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. With mixer on low, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.

4. Pour batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Rap on counter to get rid of air bubbles.

5. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert it onto plate. Remove and discard paper.

Mascarpone Cream

Beat mascarpone, cream and sugar in a large bowl until mixture holds stiff peaks.

 

Dona Ana’s Mango Sauce

Peel and pit mangoes. Put flesh into a blender with about 1 tablespoon lime juice and two tablespoons of sugar.  Blend.

Assembly

Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Remove top half. Put bottom half on plate and spread with half of cream. Put top half on; spread with remainder of cream. Serve with sauce alongside.

Best Dessert First Runner-Up: Layne Mayer, Vanessa Weiner, Amy Orth, Dark Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

These are a sophisticated version of the contestants’ favorite Passover dessert.

Ingredients

5 large egg whites

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3/4 cup  – 1 cup sugar (depends how sweet you want them)

4 cups long-shred unsweetened coconut (about 6 ounces), lightly toasted

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, cooled, ground

12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place egg whites in large bowl; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue is very thick (similar to marshmallow crème), about 5 minutes.

2. Fold in coconut, then almonds. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake macaroons until pale beige outside and dry-looking (insides will still be soft), about 25 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; cool macaroons completely. Transfer macaroons to work surface; re-line pans with clean parchment.

3. Place chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water. Stir chocolate until smooth; remove from over water. Dip bottom of 1 macaroon into melted chocolate to depth of 1/4 inch. Place on prepared sheet, chocolate side down. Repeat dipping with remaining macaroons. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. These can be made three days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated. Let macaroons stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Makes roughly 4-5 dozen.

Best Dessert Second Runner-Up: Adrienne Uffer, Hamantashen

Adrienne Uffer bakes these so often, she no longer needs to measure the ingredients. For our readers, she did.

 

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients together to make dough. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Roll out dough and make circles.

Filling

1 lb pitted prunes

1/4 lb apricots

1 cup raisins

1 teaspoon lemon rind

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup apricot preserves

 

Preparation

Cook prunes, apricots and raisins. Chop, then mix the rest of ingredients.

Shape and fill hamantashen and bake in an ungreased pan in 375°F oven for approximately 15 minutes.

People’s Choice: Doug Blake, Rugelach

“Every good baker needs a good teacher. My first and best teacher was my mother, Sally Goldberg. The rugelach teacher was my wife’s cousin Irene, who introduced me to the Cuisinart. We baked these at the Jersey Shore in 90 percent humidity (not recommended for a first attempt!)”

 

Ingredients Traditional Rugelach

Dough

3 cups flour

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, unsalted, softened

1 package yeast

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

3 egg yolks

Mixture for rolling

2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

8 ounces chopped pecans, mixed very finely in a food processor.

Mixture for spreading

Seedless preserves (apricot, raspberry or plum)

 

Preparation

In a food processor or a stand mixer, combine flour, salt and yeast. Cut in the butter. Add yolks and heavy cream; mix well. Wrap in foil and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment or silicone liner. Divide dough into fourths and work one part at a time, keeping the rest cold. Spread board generously with pecan sugar and roll out dough in mixture, covering both sides and working some into the dough. Roll into 14- to 16-inch circle. Cut into quarters; spread each fourth with jam, then cut each fourth into four slices. Sprinkle with more pecan sugar and roll up each slice from the edge to the center; bend each piece into a crescent. Bake 12-15 minutes; cool on racks and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Makes 64.

 

Ingredients Chocolate Rugelach

Mixture for spreading

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

Roll out 1 piece of dough as above in pecan sugar. Brush with melted butter. Spread with chocolate mixture; cut into slices and roll up as above.

Makes 16.