Almond Cake

We do a version of this almond cake with a cherry topping but it's great plain as well. We pulled the recipe from italian-dessert-recipes.com which has all sorts of yummy italian desserts.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups of flour

Topping:

1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup of SLICED almonds


ProcedurePreheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter.
Pour melted butter in a bowl and stir in sugar. Stir it.
Add eggs (see it really is one bowl).
Stir till creamy.
Add all other ingredients (but not the topping ingredients!).
Grease bottom and sides of pan. I use a springform - but you can use a 9 inch also.
Spread the batter in the pan.
Sprinkle the almonds over the top and add sprinkle the sugar.
Bake for 40 mins.


Innkeepers Inn Above Onion Creek

Chocolate Terrine

Ingredients:

• Canola Oil
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate such as Valrhona Manjari (64%) chopped
• 8 ½ ounces of unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Directions: Lightly oil a 12-by-4-3 inch high (6-cup capacity) terrine mold. (see Sources, page 330); the oil will anchor the plastic wrap. Line the terrine with plastic wrap and set aside.

          Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large double boiler over hot, not simmering, water, stirring from time to time.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

          When the chocolate feels just warm to the touch, stir in the 8 egg yolks until well combined. Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder and stir into the chocolate mixture.

          With an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks; refrigerate while you beat the egg whites. With clean beaters, beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the terrine mold and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 12 hours. (The terrine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

To Serve: Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crème anglaise into the center of each serving plate. To cut the terrine, hold a long-bladed knife under very hot water to heat the blade, then wipe dry with a towel. Heating the knife will help it glide through the terrine. Slice the terrine into ¼- to 3/8 inch-thick slices (rewarm the blade as necessary) and arrange two slices on each plate.

Innkeepers Inn Above Onion Creek

Mixed Fruit Walnut Crisp

Mixed Fruit Walnut Crisp
By: Janie Orr

2 Quart baking dish
Serves 8 or so

3 lbs. fruit – Mix Fruit – grapes (MUST use grapes), peeled or unpeeled tiny pieces of Granny Smith apples, fresh cranberries, cherries, pear, frozen rhubarb, fresh or frozen strawberries. There’s no real ratio of fruit. You can use most anything – take this as a perfect opportunity to clean out your refridgerator!
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix lemon juice and sugar with fruit. Transfer fruit mixture to 2 quart buttered baking container

Crumble Topping:
1 cup flour
1 stick butter, cut into bits and softened
¾ cup oatmeal, quick or old-fashioned
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts. Crumble topping evenly over the fruit – being careful to cover all the fruit.

Bake at 375 degrees until the top is golden and crisp (about 25-45 minutes depending on your oven). Make sure it gets crisp on top.

Serve warm with ice cream or half and half.

Janie’s Tip – Use seasonal fruit. Berries and peaches in the summer, and apples in the fall. Adding some dried fruit to the mixture is OK. Easy to make for large groups of people.

Cream Cheese Brownies

Larry’s “Nearly Famous” Cream Cheese Brownies
By: Larry Gregg

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
½ to ¾ cup chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup plus 4 tablespoons unsifted flour
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar

In a small sauce pan or top of a double boiler, melt 6 tablespoons butter and chocolate; set aside to cool. Cream 2 tablespoons butter with cream cheese; gradually adding ¼ cup sugar, cream until fluffy. Blend in 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons flour, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Set aside to chill slightly.

Beat 2 eggs until lemon colored. Slowly beat in remaining ¾ cup sugar until thick. Add baking powder, salt, and ½ cup flour. Blend in chocolate mixture, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, nuts, and almond extract.

Spread ½ to 2/3 of chocolate in bottom of greased 8- or 9-inch square pan. Spread cream cheese mix in second layer. Spoon remaining chocolate mix over cream cheese and zig-zag a knife through to create a marble look on top. Bake 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the chocolate clean. Let cool slightly and serve a la mode as a sundae.

French Silk Pie

French Silk Pie
By: Barbara Murray

½ cup Land O’Lakes® margarine
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Combine margarine and sugar, blend well. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Pour into cooled pie shell. Chill 2 hours. Top with chocolate shavings and Cool Whip®.

It tastes better when it’s made the day before you serve it!!

Apple Pie

Apple Pie
By: Cindy Watkins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

FILLING:
5-6 Granny Smith apples
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1-2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
*You can add nuts and/or raisins to this: ½ cup nuts, ¾ cup raisins

TOPPING:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
½ c. butter

Place pie crust (see recipe for Barbara’s Pie Crust) in an 8 or 9" deep dish. Mix sugar, flour, and salt; set aside. Peel and core 5-6 apples and slice into medium wedges. Arrange wedges in pie crust (pile higher in center for top crust pie). Sprinkle spices over apples, then sprinkle with sugar. Mix, then dot evenly with butter. Add topping evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes or until very bubbly and top crumbles are golden brown.

**This may also be done with a top pie crust. Cut designs in crust – very pretty! Dust crust with cinnamon and sugar instead of making a topping.

Pie Crust

Pie Crust
By: Barbara Murray

1 ¾ cups flour
½ cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk

Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and milk. Mix with a fork. Roll dough into a ball. Place dough between two sheets of wax paper. Roll with a rolling pin until about ¼ inch thick. Once in the pie pan, prick crust all around before baking. Bake at 450 degrees for 9-13 minutes.

Makes 1 - 8” pie crusts

Almond Flan

Almond Flan
By: Ana Rosa Albelais Magee (published in Southern Living)

Preparation time: 1 hour

½ cup sugar
1 2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup slivered almonds, coarsely ground

Sprinkle sugar evenly in a 9-inch cake pan; place over medium heat. Using oven mitts, caramelize sugar by shaking pan occasionally until sugar is melted and a light golden brown. If a gas burner is used, a little stirring may be necessary when caramelizing the sugar. Cool. (Mixture may crack slightly as it cools.)

Combine remaining ingredients in container of electric blender; blend at high speed for 15 seconds. Pour over caramelized sugar; cover pan with aluminum foil and place in a larger shallow pan. Pour about 1 inch of hot water in larger pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove pan from water and uncover; let cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Loosen edges with a spatula. Place serving plate upside down on top of cake pan; quickly invert flan onto serving plate.

May be garnished with fresh fruit

Makes 8 servings