My annual dessert buffet catering gig was on 9/15/2012, and here's the list of what I made &

W

wigs

Well-known member
served. This gala had a Jimmy Buffett theme.==>

I made 1 each of these three:

1) Lemon Cloud Cake;

2) Decadent Banana Cake w/ Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting; and

3) Tiramisu Trifle.

I made two desserts of each of the following:

4) Island Breeze Cheesecake;

5) Strawberry Cream Pie in a Thyme-Scented Almond Crust;

6) An Elegant Raspberry Tart (I made Michael In Phoenix's homemade almond paste for this one--delicious!);

7) Apple Tart w/ Hazelnut Frangipane;

smileys/bigeyes.gif Chocolate Strawberry Torte;

9) Pina Colada Cheesecake;

10) White Chocolate-Key Lime Cheesecake; and

11) Fudge Truffle Cheesecake.

I was unable to offer slices of all 11 varieties at once due to space limitations so the list above is approimately the order in which my sweets were cut, garnished, plated and disappeared, but that is probably not indicative of what might have happened had I had room for the 4 chocolate cheesecakes earlier on (Numbers 10 & 11).

I was told to cook for a crowd of 300, and I calculated I cranked out about 269 dessert portions. I had maybe 16 slices of the chocolate cheesecakes left over (Nos. 10 & 11).

 
REC: Decadent Banana Cake w/ Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting from Southern Living

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups plus 5 1/2 tablespoons cake flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
2/3 cup buttermilk
Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows--Note from Caryn: I used 1 tsp coconut extract in the frosting in place of the 1/2 tsp vanilla extract called for + I used 6 Tbsp unsalted butter instead of the 2 Tbsp called for.)

Step 1
Sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt.

Step 2
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in bananas at low speed. Increase speed to medium, and gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

Step 3
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Step 4
Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Step 5
Spread Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.


Ingredients for Frosting
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

How to Make It
Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add confectioners sugar alternately with milk, beating at low speed until blended. Add vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in coconut.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/decadent-banana-cake-with-coconut-cream-cheese-frosting-10000001144168/

 
REC: An Elegant Raspberry Tart adapted from CELEBRATIONS! 2003 Sheila Lukins

For the lemon curd:
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 lemons), strained
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar

For the almond cream:
1/3 cup almond paste
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 large beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Enough tart or piecrust for a 1-crust tart to fit into a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and patted dry

1. Prepare the lemon curd: In the top of a double boiler over simering water, whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar. Whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. (Do not stop whisking or the eggs will cook and clump.) Scrape the mixture into a bowl and lay plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool completely and use immediately or refrigerate.

2. Prepare the almond cream: Combine the almond paste and the butter in a bowl and cream with an electric mixer. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat the mixture on high speed until it is light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Roll the tart dough out on a lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit the dough into a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom and trim the overhang.

5. Spread the almond cream over the bottom of the crust. Bake the tart until it is very lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes. Let it cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

6. When the tart is cool, carefully remove the ring. Spread 3/4 cup of the lemon curd over the tart. Cover the surface with a single layer of raspberries, all standing on their stem ends. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The tart tastes best served the day it is made.

 
REC: Fudge Truffle Cheesecake from a Hershey's and Bordon's magazine ad

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake (Makes one 9-inch cheesecake.)

Chocolate Crumb Crust: In medium bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup powdered sugar; 1/3 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa; and 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter. Press firmly on bottom of a 9-inch springform pan or on the bottom of a 9-inch cheesecake pan.

Filling:
2 cups (one 12-ounce package) Hershey's Semisweet chocolate chips
3 packages (8-ounces each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare Chocolate Crumb Crust and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, over very low heat, melt chips, stirring constantly. In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add melted chips and the remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature; chill well. Refrigerate oeftovers.

NOTE from Caryn: I baked my cheesecake in a hot water bath at 325 degrees F until the center registered between 145-150 degrees; this took about 57 minutes in my oven. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to sit on a cake rack STILL IN THE WATER BATH for 45 minutes. Remove from bain de marie and let cool to room temperature on the counter for at least 2 to 3 hours. Refrigerate overnight. Decorate with piped sweetened whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

 
HI, ErininNY--This was for a membership drive for our local Senior Center. The town fairly recently

built & opened a brand new facility so they were giving tours and encouraging current members to bring non-member friends in an effort to gain new recruits to join this organization. They had quite a good turnout--luckily, the weather was perfect so they were able to set up tables outside on the patio where they were grilling burgers & brats. They had live music on risers inside the main room--my serving tables were inside. They had a full-sized multi-colored picnic umbrella in the center of my work station. I took all sorts of fruit for a grouping--pineapple, papayas, mangoes, coconuts, key limes, star fruit, pomegranates--anything that looked "islandy". Oh, yes, I also found these cute little "baby" bananas with each being only about 3 inches long that I put into the mix.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top