Apple Caramel Cheesecake

I had to make another Apple Caramel Cheesecake so that I could take some pictures. This is my signature cheesecake. I use homemade Caramel sauce and fresh Granny Smith Apples. it tastes better than it looks! Umm,umm, good!

Banana Cream Layer Cake

Here we layer delicate banana-buttermilk cake with a fluffy Bavarian-style cream that's made low-fat by combining nonfat milk with a reasonable amount of whipping cream. The rich taste makes it hard to believe that this cake has only 300 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat per slice.


Ingredients


Cake

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas, (about 3), plus 2 whole bananas, divided

1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour, (see Ingredient Note)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bavarian Cream

3/4 cup low-fat milk

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whipping cream
 
Preparation


1.To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with wax paper or parchment paper.

2.Whisk eggs, 1 cup sugar and oil in a large bowl. Stir in mashed bananas, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the banana mixture and fold in just until blended. Divide the batter between the pans.

3.Bake the cake until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

4.To prepare Bavarian cream: Place milk in a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the milk and let stand for 1 minute to soften. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the gelatin. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and transfer to a medium bowl. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of raw egg whites, 40 to 45 minutes.

5.Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Whisk one-third of the whipped cream into the milk mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until set and thickened to the consistency of whipped cream again, about 1 hour.

6.To assemble cake: Shortly before serving, place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and spread half the Bavarian cream over it. Peel and slice the remaining bananas; arrange half the slices evenly over the cream. Top with the second cake layer. Spread the remaining cream over the cake and arrange the remaining banana slices decoratively over the top.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 3. Wrap the cooled layers in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

Ingredient Note: Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Available in large supermarkets and in natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.

Nutrition

Per serving: 300 calories; 11 g fat (3 g sat, 5 g mono); 47 mg cholesterol; 47 g carbohydrates; 5 g protein; 3 g fiber; 229 mg sodium; 204 mg potassium.

Porcini Risotto

This classic Italian dish is rich with the flavor of dried porcini mushrooms. Adding truffle-flavored olive oil at the end of cooking adds depth. Always remember when making risotto to cook the rice until it is creamy but still has a bit of tooth. With a large green salad, this dish is elegant enough for guests.


Food as Medicine: The dried Porcini mushroom, Boletus edulus, has an exceptionally high protein content.

Ingredients


1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms

3-4 cups warm Vegetable Stock

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons truffle-flavored olive oil (optional) or extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)



Instructions

1. Rinse the dried mushrooms in cold water, drain, and add to warm vegetable stock to soften.



2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft. Add the rice and stir to combine. Add the mushrooms, cut into smaller pieces if necessary. Reduce heat to medium-low.



3. Add the stock, one ladleful at a time, as you stir the rice. As the rice absorbs the liquid, add more. After 15 minutes, test the rice for doneness.



4. When the rice is tender but not mushy, remove from heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add truffle-flavored olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

I Am Close

I am real close to opening up my blog sales page and my website for what they are intended for. Which is selling cheesecakes. I will only sell within the United States. Sorry ,no international orders will be available. I just have a little bit more adding and tweaking . I was in touch with state offices here and found that I do not need to charge sales tax ,since these are food items for "take out' only. So, I am having to redo all of my code for my shopping buttons. Also, I need to figure out how much it will cost to ship for orders done online. Anyway, I will keep you posted as to when I am actually "live " on the sales page.
Kent