A classic pastry crust is great for all kinds of pies and tarts, but simple crumb crusts work even better for some recipes. Cheesecakes and key lime pies, for instance, seem to pair even better with crispy crumb crusts than they do with pastry. Graham crackers are the old standby for crumb crusts, as they have a good flavor and texture, but are relatively plain. If you’re looking variety in your crumb crusts, try making a Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust instead.
This crust starts out with vanilla wafer cookies. Any plain, crispy cookie will work and Nilla Wafers are a good basic choice. I tend to use Trader Joe’s Ultimate Vanilla Wafers. The cookies are pulverized in a food processor with a little sugar, a little more vanilla and some melted butter, then pressed into a baking dish and cooked until crispy. When the crust is finished, you can top it off with the filling of your choice! This basic recipe will work for other crumb crusts (graham or chocolate wafer), too.
I’ve included the option of brushing the crust with a lightly beaten egg white in the recipe. This step will help create a seal on the crust and prevent it from getting soggy from a moist filling. It is not as good as lining the crust with melted chocolate, but it does help with cheesecakes and things.
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The Oxford English Dictionary has been updated with a handful of new words in the last month. Popular texting terms like “LOL” made headlines, but the OED added a number of foodie terms – and I’m not just referring to the phrase “muffin top,” which was added both as meaning the top portion of a muffin and as something much less flattering!
Foodie terms include quite a few items that you’re probably familiar with. It’s a little strange to think that not all of these terms were in the dictonary when they’re often found in culinary dictionaries, but if it weren’t for the food culture of the internet and the fast pace at which food trends seem to spread these days, many of these items would still be regional specialties that we never would have heard of.
- Babycino: A drink of hot milk that has been frothed up with pressurized steam, intended for children.
- Banh mi: A Vietnamese snack consisting of a baguette filled with a variety of ingredients, typically including meat, pickled vegetables, and chili peppers.
- California Roll: Sushi roll containing cucumber, imitation crab stick, and avocado.
- Chermoula: In North African cookery, a sauce or marinade for fish or meat, typically containing olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and cilantro.
- Crème de cassis: A sweet, dark red liqueur that is made from blackcurrants
- Doughnut hole: A small spherical piece of dough cooked as a doughnut
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Although it sounds like it uses a strange combination of ingredients, my Tomato Soup Cake is a big hit every time that I make it. The moist, spicy cake is an old recipe and is very flavorful. You would never guess that it calls for condensed tomato soup in the recipe – most people just ask for seconds! I usually make the recipe as a simple spice cake, but thought that I would try a chocolate version a try for a little variety.
These Chocolate Spice Tomato Soup Cupcakes are reminscent of carrot cake, with a moist, spicy texture and a hint of warmth from the condensed tomato soup in the batter. I actually prefer to use tomato juice (or V8 juice) in these cakes because I am a lot more likely to have it in my kitchen than a can of condensed tomato soup. The chocolate flavor comes both from unsweetened cocoa powder and from mini chocolate chips. It may not seem like a lot of chocolate, but you do get a good chocolate flavor in the finished cakes and it balances well with the cinnamon and clovers in the batter.
I generally use cream cheese frosting on spice cakes and that is a good choice for these, as well. That said, it never hurts to have a little more chocolate on a chocolate cupcake, so I opted for a chocolate sour cream frosting, instead. The frosting comes together very quickly in the microwave and has a smooth, slightly fudgy texture to it. Make sure to add in the confectioners’ sugar gradually and beat it in well to ensure a glossy frosting that is not too thick to spread easily.
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Nothing beats a key lime when you’re going to make a key lime pie. Key limes are more acidic and more tart than Persian limes (the most common variety of lime), and they make for a very bright and sweet-tart pie. I use regular limes when I don’t have key limes because they work just as well and still turn out a very good key lime pie. While I definitely wouldn’t use just any bottled lime juice, I wondered how bottled key lime juice work work and picked up a bottle of Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice to give it a try.
This key lime juice is from concentrate, but it is made with 100% Key Limes from Key West, Florida. It comes in a 16 ounce bottle, which gives you more than enough juice for 3 or 4 key lime pies. The juice looks and smells very fresh, and the very bright and slightly bitter key lime flavor is unmistakable. It is definitely the best bottled lime juice I’ve had to date, and it worked beautifully in a test pie. Fresh persian limes are still a good choice when you can’t find Key limes, but you’ll do very well if you opt for this bottled key lime juice in place of fresh key limes, too.
