Fantastic Yet Practical Holiday Desserts
During this season of major holidays we tend to get nostalgic about our traditions. Ask people how they plan to celebrate and the answer will usually have the word “always” in it. Much as we want to cling to the familiar, times, tastes, people and needs change as families evolve and traditions are altered to accommodate the changes.
For example, I still host our Christmas dinner though in a different state. I slow roast the turkey as my mother did, with my grandmother’s stuffing, and serve candied yams but the vegetables are roasted, not steamed, the coleslaw with homemade boiled dressing has been replaced by mixed greens in light vinaigrette and we have fresh cranberry salsa not jellied or whole berry sauce. For the younger children, this is the traditional meal, the one they will remember.
The biggest change is in our schedule for Christmas Day. We’re no longer so close that we can ignore travel time, so we start later. One person usually has professional obligations that evening and night, and it’s more important that he be with us for the dinner than opening the gifts, so we’ve reversed the order of the day. We used to open gifts then eat, now we eat first. As a result the entire dessert portion of the menu is new and developing it has been an eye opener.
As I’ve often mentioned my mother had a knack for freezing blueberries in season. Christmas dessert was parfaits of raspberry sherbet, those berries and whipped cream with platters of homemade cookies. It was a perfect light end to a heavy meal. Back then, presents opened, the kids were happy to stay seated for dessert. Not so now. Gifts trump dessert and icy parfaits are better consumed at a table, plus they require time to construct just before serving which is inconvenient with the new schedule.
A self-serve dessert table seemed the practical answer and to make it work, I’ve developed a selection of choices which include the most traditional Christmas flavors, any of which would make a good dessert in itself. All can be simply made from mixes, keep well and can be recycled for other holiday events—and beyond. As I said it’s been a real eye-opener especially for the convenience afforded in serving it.
Usually setting up a dessert table brings its own set of problems. It entails more work, more expense, and implies having even more leftovers to deal with. However, the four recipes below provide solutions, at least for me. I make them well in advance, take them out of the freezer a couple of hours before dinner, and return the leftovers to the freezer right after to deal with later. I also chose them because they are easy to make; a bonus for busy people or those not familiar with baking.
First a couple of notes:
1) Many baking directions, call for greasing the bottom only not the sides of the pan. The reason for this is that if the batter can adhere to the sides of the pan it won’t rise so high in the center making it easier to roll or to balance layers when filling and frosting them.
2) With the log, I tried many recipes for other cake mixes and they all were too thick to roll well, cracking badly and needing too much filling and/or icing to make them easily. After several experiments including chocolate, spice, and red Velvet cakes, I now stick to gingerbread.
3) The wine used as an ingredient in the fruitcake is undetectable, making the cake child-friendly, but it acts as a preservative so that the cake can be made a few weeks or months in advance. Other alcoholic flavorings are achieved by repeatedly sprinkling with liquor and re-wrapping. It will keep in the refrigerator for several months. Without the applied liquor, it makes wonderful holiday brunch bread.
4) Opera Cake is intended to be a classic sponge cake with ground almonds in the flour. I make a sponge cake batter for mine, but omit the ground almonds because of allergies. However, when offered as part of a buffet, yellow cake mix will substitute and save effort. For the sponge cake batter recipe I use Julia Child’s.
5) To freeze the cakes, I place them on a paper doily on the serving plate if possible, if not on a waxed paper covered plate. I cover them with supermarket plastic shopping bags, placing toothpicks at strategic locations to prevent the bags from marring the surface of the cake. Re-freezing is the same process. Leftover presentation tips are with the recipes.
6) Regarding icing for party presentation, I have discovered that microwaving a can of commercial frosting 30-45 sec. liquefies it so it can be spooned over the cake as a glaze and it cools to a shiny finish. .
YULE LOG—Serves 16-18
Using a boxed Gingerbread cake mix, I replace half the water with applesauce, add ¼ cup oil and use 2 eggs. Beat only until well incorporated – about 2 min.
Grease the bottom only of a 19 x 11 inch jelly roll pan. Line it with parchment paper and grease the paper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake on the middle rack for 16 to 18 min. until it springs back
when poked lightly with a finger.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar. Cover with a tea towel, and using a board as a brace invert the cake. Peel off the parchment and roll the long side of the cake in the towel. Resting the edge on the bottom let the cake cool completely.
Meanwhile, beat 8oz. cream cheese with 8oz. Cool Whip until smooth adding:
1 tsp. maple flavored extract
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Have ready 1 can Cream Cheese flavored frosting
Carefully unroll the cake and fill with the cheese mixture. Re-roll. Trim ends evenly.
Cut a piece about 3 inches long from one end on an angle and position it along the “trunk” to form a branch. Secure it with a bit of frosting.
Frost the cake and add any decorations. Freeze until ready to serve. Allow to thaw 30 to 45 min.
Supervise cutting of this cake. Try to cut slices to retain the proportions if you intend serving it again.
Freeze on serving plate and refreeze the same way.
MODIFIED OPERA CAKE Serves 10-12
(3) 9 inch round cake pans—available as a 3-pack in a dollar store
Parchment paper or waxed paper
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8 oz. container whipped topping
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. almond extract
1 can dark chocolate frosting
Toasted slivered almonds—optional for garnish
Cut parchment rounds to fit cake pans. Grease pan bottoms and paper rounds. Mix batter according to package directions and place 1/3 in each pan. Bake at package stated temperature for 1/2 the time recommended, usually about 15-18 min. or until top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool then invert onto plates and peel off paper. If necessary, slice tops to level them.
Beat cheese, topping and extract together until smooth. Plate one cake layer and cover with a thin layer of frosting, spread ½ the cheese mixture on top and repeat with a second layer. Top with the 3rd layer even side up making sure it’s level. Remove excess filling from sides with a knife if needed.
Microwave remaining frosting 20-30 sec. until easily pourable but not too runny and using a spoon as a guide if necessary, pour evenly over the top of the cake to create a smooth glazed effect. It’s O.K. if some runs decoratively down the sides. Decorate with toasted slivers of almonds or a sprig of holly in the center.
Re-freeze as at first for later use. Serve leftovers in slices in a circular pattern on a plate.
CRAZY CAKE- Serves 6-8
This is the easiest cake ever, requiring no beating. It keeps well at room temperature for days, and at only 140 calories a piece, is great for dieters. For this use, I double the recipe, make it in a sheet pan, cut it in thirds (crosswise) and layer it with raspberry preserves and cool whip mixed with cream cheese. See Opera Cake directions above.
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. vinegar—preferably white
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cold water
Sift all dry ingredients together, before putting into an UNGREASED 2”deep x 9”square cake pan. Make 3 holes in the mixture and pour the oil in one, vinegar in a second and vanilla in the third. Pour the water over all and stir with a fork until blended. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min. This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9”x13” pan to make a sheet cake. Cool, invert onto a board.
Beat until smooth 8 oz. cream cheese with 8 oz. whipped topping .
1 can Vanilla frosting.
8 oz. Raspberry preserves
Cut cake in thirds crosswise to make 3 layers and slice off rounded tops to even if necessary. Place one layer on a doily covered serving plate. Spread with ½ the cheese mixture and spread with ½ the preserves. Repeat and top with 3rd layer. Cover with frosting. Garnish with colored sugar or a sprig of holly.
Freeze and refreeze as directed. To serve leftovers, save some frosting and cover sliced ends. If not possible, present slices fanned on a plate.
CHRISTMAS BREAD: Serves 8-10 depending on shape of pan
This is based on two boxed Quick Bread mixes. I like Cranberry and Pumpkin, but have used Date and Nut as well. In fact, I might add them if I were to make more than 2 loaves. I do add dried fruits and nuts to the mix but don’t really measure them. I combine the dry mixes of the same brand, in a bowl and add the total required ingredients. I substitute red wine for half the water required then add the other ingredients and any add-ins. I decorate and bake as directed in two loaf pans-one per box of mix used.* When the loaves are cool, I sprinkle the tops with about 2 Tbs. of whiskey, cover them in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. I bake them in October and over the next months I repeat the whiskey “shower” every couple of weeks. However, these also make excellent breakfast bread. The loaves I intend for that I don’t sprinkle with whiskey but depend on the wine used in the mixing to preserve them. People who normally hate fruitcake like this, especially with a cup of coffee or tea because it has a lighter texture.
NOTE: This batter rises, so any heavy decorations, nut halves, candied cherries should be placed about halfway through the baking or to they will be absorbed into the loaf.
*For Christmas Dinner presentation I bake half the batter in a tree mold or a regular 9” round cake pan. Please remember the fruit bread is stored in the refrigerator not the freezer. Cut the remainder of the fruit “cake” into interesting shapes or fingers, and present them plated with small squares of a quick muffin fruit mix, like Jiffy, baked in a loaf pan, with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top. It creates an economical, efficient and attractive presentation.
Hope this helps solve some problems to make entertaining easier for you.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!
