Apple Pie and Cinnamon Ice Cream

APPLE PIE

Filling:
6 apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
splash of apple cider (or water)

Mix everything together. You can try it with a sppon, but when you get tired, just dig in and use your hands.
Pour into an unbaked pie crust (I just use store bought- Jiffy brand is my favorite). Poke holes in the crust with a fork.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with crumb topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for another 35-45 minutes.

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1 cup instant oats
3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened

Combine. Again, use your hands. They work so much better and help to melt the ingredients together.

* When making the crust, use cold ingredients. I put the crust in the refrigerator before I roll it out. Just to get it nice and cold. It makes the crust flakier.
* Use real BUTTER in the topping, not margarine.

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CINNAMON ICE CREAM

This is the best cinnamon ice cream I have ever had! Better than store-bought.

1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-and-half.
When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat and whisk half the mixture into the eggs. Wisk quickly so the eggs don't scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan.
Stir in the heavy cream. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enought to coat the back of a metal spoon.
Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker.

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Pork goes really well with apples. I made this with pork tenderloin. Pretty good.

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I was craving chocolate orange ice cream, so I made these to go with it. You can never have too much dessert ;). They were very good. My roommate ate the frosting out of the bag. The cupcakes tasted like the chocolate oranges you get at Christmas.


Chocolate Orange Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flower
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla and orange zest.
Alternating, beat in the flour and milk at low speed (start with milk--it starts off a little dry; and end with flour).
Evenly distribute into preparted muffin tins and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. (When done, a toothpick will come out clean and they will spring back when pressed.)

Cool completely before frosting.

* These dry out particularly quickly. Make sure you keep them in an airtight container.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup, softened (1 stick)
8 oz cream cheese (1 block)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 1/2 tsp orange extract
3 drops each yellow and red food coloring

Beat butter and cream cheese until really smooth.
Add powdered sugar in small additions (so you don't make a mess).
Add orange juice, orange extract and food coloring.

* Can add orange extract to taste, but start with 1 1/2 tsp. Don't use too much food coloring or they look really fake.
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Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
2 whole eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups light cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Scald milk. (Bring it just to a boil. Don't leave it, because it can happen really fast. Safer to do it in a double boiler, but not necessary)
Add the vanilla and whisk.
Mix the sugar, flour and salt. Pour the dry ingredients slowly into the hot milk, whisking briskly to mix and disolve them. Allow the mixture to heat again, stirring occasionally until it thickens slightly.

Break the 2 eggs into the mixture, whisking briskly to mix in eggs well. Allow mixture to heat again unitl it thickens, whisking often (to prevent it from curdling; if it begins to curdle, just whisk vigorously until smooth). Heat for at least 2 minutes.

Pour the chocolate chips slowly into the mixture, whisking slowly to melt the chips and blend the mixture. When the chips are melted, move to a countertop and whisk until mixture is smooth and a uniform brown color.

Use a fork to break up the frozen orange juice and add the chunks to the hot mixture. Stir slowly until they melt.

Cover tightly and put in the refrigerator for AT LEAST SIX HOURS.

Mix the custard and the two cups of cream and freeze the ice cream in a machine.

* MAKES A LOT! Mix before you put it in the maker and it might not all fit.
* You may not want to use that much OJ Concentrate. It ended up very orangey.
* I made the light cream using one cup of heavy cream and one cup of milk.

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FYI: I made this with Chicken and Rice Caserole. Orange goes really well with chicken.

Getting Started

My name is Lindsay. I am an avid baker and love getting people together to share my creations. Food is a way of uniting people and bringing people together. It will always end up being more than the sum of its parts.
My roommates and I have started a tradition of Sunday dinners. Each Sunday, we invite a different apartment over to get to know them over dinner. I always cook. Lately, I've realized that I plan my meals dessert first. Then I find a main dish to go with it. I have a few staple main dishes, but I almost never make the same dessert twice.
Food is my form of expression--dessert is my favorite tool. This is a diary of my escapades into the dessert world, and the meals that mean I'm allowed to eat them. Some recipes I take from other blogs and then modify to turn them into my own. Others are recipes passed around through friends and family. All are uniquely me... so here goes.

--Lindsay Bragg

P.S. my first awesome blog recommendation -- Your Cup of Cake -- a collection of mainly cupcake recipes created by a classmate of mine. Her's are much prettier and I get a lot of my initial recipes from her blog. She's awesome!