A favorite dessert for autumn! It’s especially good served over warm apple tarte.

Make the ice cream base several hours or the night before so it will have adequate time to chill before churning. The following recipe makes enough for a 2-quart ice cream maker:

Whisk together 1 quart light cream (half and half), 2 cups heavy cream, 3/4 – 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I like Mexican vanilla for this recipe), and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Chill thoroughly.

Before churning, whisk the ice cream base to mix, then add it to the ice cream maker (kept in the freezer for at least 24-48 hours prior!) and churn for about 30-45 minutes. The base will appear to increase in volume from the air being churned in and be the consistency of soft serve ice cream when it is done.

Transfer to a pre-frozen container for hard freezing. Let freeze for an additional several hours.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: A late-harvest apple wine or an apple cider would be perfect. I loved Domaine Pinnacle Ice Apple Wine from Quebec – decadent and delicious apple character. Cheers!

Vanilla is one of my favorite aromas and flavors, and with the addition of some fresh dairy and a little sweetener, it makes one of my favorite desserts. It’s really good on its own, on brownies, cobbler or clafoutis, or with fresh fruit.

Make the ice cream base several hours or the night before so it will have adequate time to chill before churning. The following recipe makes enough for a 2-quart ice cream maker:

Mix together 1 quart light cream (half and half), 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup sugar, and the beans in 1 vanilla pod. Split and scrape the inside of bean pod for all the tiny vanilla beans inside. Whisk them in with the sugar and cream until the sugar is dissolved. (Save the vanilla pods for vanilla sugar, vanilla rum, and vanilla extract!) Chill thoroughly.

Before churning, whisk the ice cream base to mix, then add it to the ice cream maker (kept in the freezer for at least 24-48 hours prior!) and churn for about 30-45 minutes. The base will appear to increase in volume from the air being churned in and be the consistency of soft serve when it is done.

Transfer to a pre-frozen container for hard freezing; I use a third pan. Let freeze for an additional several hours.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: A late-harvest dessert wine, made from Muscat, Viognier, Semillion, or Petit Manseng would all be lovely. There are some interesting dessert wines made from other fruits as well; Villa Appalaccia Winery in Virgina makes a raspberry dessert wine that would be a good pairing with this ice cream served with fresh or baked fruit. Cheers!

It’s cherry season! This recipe for one of my favorite cherry desserts is from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. It also makes a delicious breakfast or brunch the next day.

Pit 1.5 lbs of cherries and let macerate for 1 hour in 3 ounces kirsch.

Preheat oven to 450F.

Grease a 9-in baking dish with 1 Tbsp butter. Coat with a pinch of sugar. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Beat 6 eggs with a whisk in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 ounces sugar and mix well to incorporate.

Stir in 4 ounces of flour and 1 tsp vanilla extract until the batter is homogenous, but do not overwork the flour.

Fold in the cherries and their juices using a rubber spatula.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until a golden crust has formed on top. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean, not wet.

Serve with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar and vanilla ice cream.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: A Rose with red fruit aromas; a young, fruity red wine, like Beaujolais, or an off-dry or dessert-style sparkling wine, such as Prosecco. Cheers!

This is Robin Bellinger’s recipe and was posted on Serious Eats (www.seriouseats.com) a few months ago. I made some minor changes – using dark brown sugar, increasing the chocolate (recommended by Robin if you prefer more chocolate in your cookies), and flattening and baking the cookies longer for a crispier cookie. They are delicious – crisp on the outside, but still chewy and very chocolatey!

- makes about 3 dozen -

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and then fold in chocolate chips. Drop onto a greased or lined cookie sheet, flatten slightly with your fingers, and bake 11-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wine pairing: Really? Well, dessert wines, ports, or brandies would all work, but these cookies are really, really good with a glass of milk, and since this came from Robin’s Eating For Two blog, that’s what I’ll recommend! Cheers!

French Christmas cake recipe adapted from my high school French teacher:

Cake:

5 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup sifted flour

3 TBSP cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff, but not dry. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar.

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored.

Sift 1/2 cup sugar with flour, cocoa, and salt; fold into egg yolks until blended. Add vanilla.

Carefully folk yolk mixture into whites.

Line bottom and sides of 15.5 x 10.5 x 1″ pan with waxed or parchment paper & grease paper lightly. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake in a slow oven (325F) about 25-30 mintutes. Cool 5 minutes; turn cake onto towel sprinkled with generous amounts of confectioner’s sugar.

Peel off paper and cool to lukewarm. Trim side crusts if necessary.

Roll cake in the towel. Cool. Unroll.

Spread with sweetened whipped cream. Roll again.

Ice with chocolate icing and decorate as desired, or serve with Mocha Rum Sauce (Death by Chocolate, Marcel Desaulniers). For an easy ganache, pour 1 cup of heavy cream brought just to a boil over 12 ounces chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, or a combination) that has been chopped into 1/2-inch pieces. Stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2-1 ounce of rum or other liquor if desired.

Cream for filling:

Beat 1 cup of chilled whipping cream and 2-4 Tbsp of sifted confectioner’s sugar together and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a chilled bowl with chilled whisk until stiff immediately prior to use.

2009 Variation: We added about 1 cup of toasted chopped hazelnuts to the batter and another 1/2 cup of finely chopped hazelnuts on the finished ganache-covered cake for extra crunch.

Bon Appetit!

Wine pairing: Virginia late harvest Petit Manseng, Sauternes, coffee with spirits, eggnog with brandy…