Lets please keep this as an information-only thread. One of my pet peeves is having to search through countless posts on a thread to find something I actually want. I'm sure most people feel the same.

By all means, pm the author if you want to compliment or discuss or need more information about a recipe.

-- Sun May 01, 2011 5:03 pm --

Chocolate Mousse - awesome icing-substitute on the mud cake I posted on the favourite cakes thread

About 20mins to make, 2 hrs in the fridge and a little fiddly but not hard

250g dark chocolate, chopped (I haven't tried any other chocolate)
3 eggs
1/4 C (60g/2oz) sugar
2 teaspoons dark rum (fake rum is simply awful - don't do it!)
1 C (250ml/8oz) cream, softly whipped
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
A little boiling water

1. In a small glass or ceramic bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the boiling water and mix to make a thin paste. Leave to soak.
2. Put the chocolate and rum in a heatproof bowl. Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and place the bowl over the pan making sure it is not touching the water. Stir occasionally until the chocoate is melted. Set aside to cool.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a small bowl for 5 mins or until thick, pale and increased in volume.
4. Beat in the melted chocolate/rum mixture and gelatine then transfer to a large glass or steel mixing bowl. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in the cream until the mixture is just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX!
5. Spoon the mousse into dessert glasses if you want to make an impression or just leave in the bowl if you don't care about looks or want to use it to ice a cake. Refrigerate 2 hours.

NOTE: You can leave out the gelatine and hot water if you want to. I like it firmer.

I shall have to try this.

Creamy Custard (gluten-free)

2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons all-corn corn-flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Milk or milk substitute (sorry, I've never measured the milk before). Personally, I use soya

1 Whip the egg yolks, corn flour and sugar with a whisk until light and creamy.
2 Add honey, vanilla and about half a cup of milk - whip again till smooth.
3 Transfer to a medium saucepan (mine has a copper base - I don't know if this helps or not) and cook, stirring with the whisk on medium heat until it thickens.
4 Gradually add more milk, stirring all the time, until you have a level of thickness you like. Let cool and check if you need to add more milk - do so very gradually!.

You can also add 2-4 teaspoons of cocoa to the mix just after step one if you wish.

I haven't tried it, but substituting the vanilla for strawberry (or other flavouring) might work too - maybe with a few drops of red colour?

Peanut Butter Crinkles

Very Easy

125g (4oz) Softened butter
1/3C White sugar
1/3C Brown sugar
1/3C Peanut Butter (smooth or crunchy - doesn't really matter)
1 1/4C Plain cake flour
1tsp Bi-carb soda
pinch salt
(opt) handful choc chips and/or peanuts

* Pre-heat oven to 180*C. No need to grease trays but if the trays are a bit worn out, use grease-proof paper
* Cream butter, sugars and peanut butter
* Fold in rest of ingredients
* Roll spoonfuls of mix into balls and place on trays allowing room to spread. I weigh mine to 25 or 30g per ball - I know I'm weird, thanks for the compliment!
* Cross balls with a fork and bake 12-15mins until pale brown
* Allow to cool for 5 mins before transferring to wire rack. Transferring them too soon will make them break up.

These never last long and rarely have a chance to get cold! I'm always very popular when I make them.

Here's the lemon bar recipe I've made many times before. I've also made this with apricot puree instead of lemon juice.
LS can vouch for this recipe.

Lemon Bars (Bon Appetit, July 1991)

Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Filling
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp grated lemon peel
Powdered sugar for the top

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl. Add butter and cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture into bottom of 9X13X2-inch baking dish. Bake until golden-brown - about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Maintain oven temperature.

Beat eggs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, lemon juice, 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp flour and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend. Pour into crust. Bake until mixture is set, about 20 minutes. Cool.

Cut into 24 bars. Sift powdered sugar over top before serving.

Jellied Yogurt

Make yogurt as per the instructions on the box but add half a cup of yogurt to the mix. Makes a lovely tart dessert.

-- Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:34 pm --

*jelly as per the instructions

(Bloody teenagers pissing me off and making me write gibberish.)

Marble Cheesecake (difficulty: easy-medium)

Okay, my parents are both diabetic/pre-diabetic, so I use different sugar substitutes and all that to reduce sugars. I imagine regular sugar and all will work fine though (just taste frequently as you make to ensure you don't get it too sweet).

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Put 1 - 2 cups of pecan pieces in food processor (you want them to be very small chips to serve as the base of your crust)
Add 1 - 3 teaspoons brown sugar (to taste)
Add 2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix all that. The mix should clump together some.
Grab your springform pan (I use the 9" one). I put parchment paper on the bottom to reduce sticking. Pack your mix from above along the bottom. For a thicker crust, just use more of the above ingredients. Any extras are great to put on top of the cheesecake when you eat it.
Bake for ten minutes (I think this helps the crust set and may give some flavor). Remove and let cool.


Filling:

Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

Beat 3 8oz packages of cream cheese with 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (to taste) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until blended and smooth.
Add three eggs, one at a time, and mix well after adding each (filling should be very creamy at this point).
Take one cup of filling out and mix in 3 tablespoons of unsweetened chocolate powder.
Add 3 teaspoons to this chocolate mix (might need more to make it sweeter...do taste this part).

Take the white mix and layer that over the crust. Then add the chocolate and try to spread it out some. Then cover over with the rest of the white filling. Use a table knife to "cut" the filling and spread the chocolate (this creates the marble effect).
Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees F and bake another 30 minutes. Turn off the oven. Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door opened slightly for 8 hours. Then cover the cheesecake and place in the fridge overnight. (You want the cheesecake to cool slowly to reduce cracking; however, cracking is pretty hard to avoid)


Tip: I did create a water bath to try and prevent cracking (I still had a small crack, but my mom never uses a water bath when she makes cheesecake and hers have several cracks typically, so I think it helps). Once you have the cheesecake layered and such, cover the bottom and sides of your springform pan with foil (to prevent leaking and/or water getting to your cheesecake). Place in a container and fill with boiling water about half way up the springform pan (I only had a cookie baking sheet that was big enough to fit my springform, so I just used that and put as much boiling water in as I could). Place in the oven and continue as above.

Took this from another forum, all credit goes to the original poster.

Black Forest Cheesecake

Cherry Topping:
1 pound frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
1/4 cup kirsch (clear cherry brandy)
1/4 cup cherry syrup

Crust:
8 1/2 ounces chocolate wafer cookies (from one 9-ounce package)
6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling:
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), coarsely chopped
2 8-ounce packages philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract

Kirsch Whipped Cream:
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp kirsch
Chocolate curls, optional


Cherry Topping Instructions:
Combine cherries and kirsch in medium bowl. Steep 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Place cherries with juices in strainer set over medium bowl. Let drain 2 hours, shaking occasionally. Pour cherry juices from bowl into 1-cup measuring cup; add enough cherry syrup to measure 1 cup. Pour 6 Tbsp juice mixture into heavy medium skillet (reserve remaining liquid for filling). Halve cherries and add to skillet. Boil until syrup is thickened and mixture resembles preserves, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.

Crust:
Generously butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Using on/off turns, finely crush cookies in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, blend until mixture begins to stick together. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2inches up sides of pan. Chill crust at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

Filling:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir cream and chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts. Cool 10 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in chocolate mixture, then remaining cherry juice mixture and vanilla. Pour filling into crust. Bake cheesecake until outer 2 inches of cake are firm but center still moves slightly, about 1 hour and 15 minutes (top may crack). Cool completely in pan on rack. Top cake pan with paper towels and cover tightly with foil. Chill 1 to 2 days. Remove foil and paper towels. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake; remove pan sides. Spread cherry topping over cake.

Kirsch Whipped Cream:
Whisk cream, sugar, and kirsch in large bowl until peaks form. Spoon into center of cake. Top with chocolate curls, if desired.

Healthy moouse or sorbet
------------------------

300g frozen berries (mixed or same, rasberries and strawberries work lovely)
2 egg whites (I normally use 30g whey protein instead)
skimmed milk (add as you need)

Get your frozen berries into a mxing bowl and crush them up with a fork.
Add the 2 egg whites (or protein powder) and just a dash of skimmed milk.
Mix the stuff until if turns into a thick paste (add more milk if needed, never seems to be the same amount).

When you have a thickish paste get and electric whisk and fold/whisk some air into it.
Keep whisking for a few minutes, the more to whisk the bigger the mix will get.

When it is at th desired size either pop it in the freezer to make a sorbet type dessert or serve it up there and then to make a very pure tasting moouse.

If people are inetrested in photos to see how this dessert looks drop me a message and I will get it up somewhere.

Cheers

5 minute chocolate mug cake for one. Get on it.

Strawberry Tarts
2 Pounds Strawberries
⅓ Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Cloves
1 Pie Shell
Preheat over to 425o. Place bottom shell in pie. Sprinkle thoroughly with sugar. Cover bottom with strawberries. Sprinkle with about ½ the remaining sugar, cinnamon, & cloves. Add another layer of strawberries, sprinkle with remaining sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Put on lid, bake for 45 minutes. Warning: This pie generates lots of juice, if you want a more jelled interior, you might try more sugar and some pectin or gelatin.

Apple Tarts
3 Pound Apples
1 Pie Shell
⅓ Pound Honey
2 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon ½ Teaspoon Cloves
Peel, core and quarter apples. This tart follows the basic process for the strawberry tarts, but substitutes honey for sugar. Preheat oven to 425o F. Roll pie shell and place in pan, sprinkle bottom of shell with sugar. Put in a layer of apples, enough to cover, sprinkle on half of the cinnamon and cloves. Pour honey over layer (¼ to ½ cup). Repeat for second layer. Cover, bake for approximately 45 minutes.


Supposedly this are from the Victorian period are at least inspired by the Victorian period.