Mad About Maida

  This is not a Maida Heatter recipe but it turned out so good, I wanted to share. I could not find any recipes in Maida's books for plums. A member of the family who owns the nursery where I work has a fantastic vegetable garden and he brings wonderful things (corn!) in to share with employees. It is the time of year for these delicious plums and he has presented us with two boxes full during the past two weeks. A customer and I were discussing them and she shared this recipe. It is wonderful and I would think that you could substitute apples, peaches or just about any fruit if you don't have plums. Cake: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. lemon zest 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened) 2 large eggs 8-10 plums (about 1 lb.), pitted and sliced Streusel Topping: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened) Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the botto...

  Palm Beach Chocolate Layer Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 50. This is a dense cake with a strong chocolate flavor but not too sweet. The icing is hard and thick and is delicious (be aware that the icing is made with raw eggs). It was just a tad dry and I'm wondering if the oven temperature was reduced to 350 instead of 375 might help. The baking time is only 25-30 minutes. On the next page of "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts" is "Palm Beach Tube Cake" and I'm curious how it compares to this one. It is made with white sugar (a whopping 2 cups) instead of brown sugar. This is a rich cake and a small piece goes a long way. It is fantastic with milk or ice cream.   3 ounces unsweetened chocolate 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed 2 eggs 1 cup boiling water Preheat th...

  Johnny Appleseed Squares (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 115. This recipe was a bit of a mess - actually it was a big mess - as Michael is prone to saying "It is a Maida Mess ". But it was a delicious mess. First off, the recipe did not stick together well. I did place it in the freezer, as Maida instructed, but it was still difficult to cut into squares. Smaller apple slices would have helped and if you attempt the recipe, I would recommend very small apple slices because slicing into the apple is difficult and the apple pieces want to slide out of the squares (especially when eating them).  After slicing the squares and storing them, the mixture became even softer and mushier. Still, this is quite a tasty treat and would be an unqualified hit if they were firmer. Perhaps I did not bake them long enough (although I did the full 30 minutes as directed). This makes 16 to 24 squares, depending on how you cut them. 1 cup ...

  Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 406 . Here is the delicious chocolate sauce recipe that I mentioned last week. This goes great with the Fantastic Vanilla Ice Cream or any ice cream for that matter. 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 2 tsp. dry instant espresso or coffee 1/4 cup boiling water 3 TBS. whipping cream 1/4 cup Grand Marnier Finely chop the chocolate in a food processor. Transfer to a double boiler. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water. Add to the chocolate. Add the whipping cream. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the Grand Marnier. Serve warm or at room temperature.        

Fantastic Vanilla Ice Cream (S ource:  Maida Heatter's Cakes  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 301). Ice cream is one of my favorite things on earth and I always have some on hand, although most of the time it is store bought. That is absolutely okay but once you experience home-made ice cream, you realize that the two are indeed separate entities. I have made some of Maida's delicious ice creams in the past ( Devil's Food Chocolate and Blueberry instantly come to mind) but so far this year, had not even taken the ice cream maker out of the freezer. That is, until this week. I opted for something simple and came across this recipe. This is a delicious ice cream but it is very, very soft and begins to melt almost immediately after being removed from the freezer. It is very rich so a little bit goes a long way. I made the Grand Mariner Chocolate Sauce to go with this and of my lord, talk about divine. I will post that recipe later. You will need a candy ther...