Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars BY FIZA KHAN

  INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR THE FILLING:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill. 

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on. 
For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. 
Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Spider Cake

Before I had two boys it would never have occurred to me to put spiders on a cake. Thank god for little boys! Of course, there are deeper things that I have learned since parenting, but seeing the world through their eyes has made me happier, younger and sillier, which is such a gift. Spiders on a cake are just plain creepy and a whole lot of fun. The marble cake will satisfy your cravings for both vanilla and chocolate. Nutella buttercream and bittersweet ganache spiders are the perfect finishing touches.

INGREDIENTS

MARBLE CAKE:

• 2 1/4 (7 1/8 ounces) cups sifted cake flour - sift it into the measuring cup
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

NUTELLA AND CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAMS:

• 1 cup egg whites (about 8 large egg whites)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, softened
• pinch salt

• 1/2 cup nutella
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE GANACHE FOR SPIDER BODY AND WEB:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

CHOCOLATE SPIDER LEGS:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS

To make the marble cake:
Preheat oven to 350degreesF. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with parchment rounds and grease. Set aside. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. 

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix after each, until well combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla. 

Add the dry mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk. Split the batter in half and sift the cocoa powder over one half. Stir gently to combine.

Place some of the white batter in the bottoms of the two 8-inch cake pans. Add the chocolate batter in blobs. Very carefully stir the white batter into the chocolate, to achieve a marble pattern. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Once baked cool on a rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the buttercream:
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the egg whites and sugar. It will be very thick and grainy. Put the bowl over a double boiler and stir it with a rubber spatula until the sugar is completely melted. Brush the sides down with the spatula to make sure all the sugar is melted. 

Feel the egg mixture between your fingers to check for graininess. Once it is completely smooth, put the bowl on the mixer and beat with the whip attachment on medium high speed. Whip until it is light, fluffy, glossy and the bowl feels just about room temperature. If the egg whites are not cooled off sufficiently it will melt the butter when you add it.

Once the egg whites are whipped and cooled, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time on medium speed. WARNING: After you have added about half of the butter, it may look curdled and runny, this is normal and you should continue adding the rest of the butter.

Once you have finished adding the butter and it has mixed on medium speed for about a minute the buttercream will be creamy and glossy looking again. Add the salt, and vanilla. Divide the buttercream in two bowls, 1/3 in one bowl and 2/3 in the other. Add the nutella to the bowl with 2/3 of the buttercream. Add the cooled, melted chocolate to the other.

Unmold the cooled cakes and cut each later in half. Spread about 3/4 cup of the chocolate buttercream on the first layer. Repeat with the next two layers of cake and buttercream. Top with the final layer of cake.

Top the cake with 1 cup of the nutella buttercream. Spread it smooth with a metal spatula. Put more nutella buttercream on the sides of the cake, using enough to cover all the crumbs. Once the whole cake is covered, smooth the icing with the spatula, until it is nice and flat. 

To make the ganache spider web:
In a double boiler melt the chocolate and the butter together, gently whisking until smooth. 

Use a parchment bag to pipe a thin spiral around the cake. Use a toothpick or skewer to draw lines from the center of the spiral out to the edge to create the web. Use the chocolate ganache to draw a line down the side of the cake and pipe a smaller spiders body there. Repeat with as many spiders as you like.

Cover the rest of the chocolate ganache and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once the chocolate ganache is set up - this may take an hour or two - place it in a pastry bag fit with a round tip. Pipe a large ball of the ganache to create the spider's body.

Chocolate spider legs:
Fill another paper pastry bag about 1/3 full with the melted chocolate and pipe out the chocolate in the shape of the number 7 onto a silpat, waxpaper or parchment paper. Make sure you do a size that will fit the size of the spider body you intend to have. Pipe several extra in case you have breakage. Place the sheet into the freezer to set the chocolate.

Remove the spider legs from the freezer and using a small spatula, lift up the legs and place them on the spider, 4 on each side. Work quickly so the chocolate doesn't warm up too much. You may have to return the legs to the freezer if you are doing several spiders.

APPLE DESSERT RECIPES

APPLE DESSERT RECIPES BY FIZA KHAN

 

 INGREDIENTS

• 8 whole graham crackers
• 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, divided
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (recommended: Philadelphia)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light muscovado sugar

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 large vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 recipe Apple Mixture, recipe follows
• 1 recipe Apple Caramel Sauce, recipe follows

APPLE MIXTURE:

• 2 cups apple juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, reserved from the cheesecake mixture
• 1 tablespoon cold butter

• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 3 Fuji apples, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup apple brandy (recommended: Calvados)

APPLE-CARAMEL SAUCE:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• Pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons apple brandy (recommended: Calvados)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS :Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Place the graham crackers, 1/2 cup of the walnuts and brown sugarin a food processor and process until finely ground. With the motor running, add the butter through the feed tube and process until the mixture just comes together. Spray the bottom and side of the pan with cooking spray. Pat the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until lightly golden brown and just set, about 8 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and let cool completely.Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar and the orange zest in a food processor and process until combined.Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand fixer fitted 

with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the orange sugar, remaining granulated sugar, and light muscovado sugar and beat again until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix until just incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla seeds and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the salt and heavy cream and mix until just combined.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake until the sides of the cake are slightly puffed and set and the center still jiggles, about 55 minutes.

Turn the heat off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cake to cook in the water bath for 1 hour. Remove the cake to a baking rack and allow to cool to room temperature for 2 hours. Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours until chilled through.

Top with the warm apple topping, drizzle liberally with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining toasted walnuts. Serve additional sauce on the side.

Bring apple juice, sugar and vanilla bean to a boil in a large saute pan over high heat and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in the butter until melted. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and soft. Add the apple brandy and cook until reduced by 1/2. Transfer the apples to a plate and let cool slightly.

Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat (do not stir), swirling the pot occasionally to even out the color, until amber in color, 10 to 12 minutes.

While the caramel is cooking. Place the heavy cream in a small pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and keep warm.

When the caramel has reached the desired color, slowly whisk in the heavy cream and salt and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the apple brandy and vanilla extract. Keep warm.