Raspberry Dessert

There are few things in life that taste like "summer" to me more than raspberry dessert.  It's not much of a name, really, but it's what has stuck in my family for decades.  And as far as I can tell, this dessert pretty much only exists within my family.  It's more famous cousin, the raspberry jello pretzel salad, is chunkier and has that salty-sweet, cream cheesy thing going on.  But this fresh, bright, summery concoction is just sweet, soft Nilla wafer crumbs on the bottom, a creamy drizzle on top of that, followed by fresh, whole raspberries in jello, sweetened whipped cream, and a few more Nilla wafer crumbs and raspberries on top for garnish.  

Paul didn't ask me to marry him because of this dessert, but only because we started dating at the end of summer and were already married before raspberry dessert season came around.  It's what he has requested almost every year in place of birthday cake, which is saying a lot for someone like Paul who would typically go for a chocolate cake any day of the week.  Unless raspberry dessert is in play.  Then it's a fight to the finish to see who gets the last bite.  

Word to the wise though:  don't use birthday candles with this.   We learned from experience that the Nilla wafer crumbs on top go flying everywhere when the candles are blown out.

RASPBERRY DESSERT

Makes 1 square 8"x8" pan but we usually double it if it is for more than just the two of us

INGREDIENTS

1 package Nilla Wafers, finely crushed
1 small box raspberry Jello (don't mess around with sugar free)
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 cups fresh raspberries, washed and dried
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Prepare Jello according to package directions, then place in the refrigerator to cool until it is thick and syrupy but not yet firmly set.

Place Nilla wafers in a gallon size Ziploc bag and crush to a fine powder using a rolling pin or pulse in a food processor. Use about half of the Nilla wafer crumbs to cover the bottom of a square 8"x8"­inch baking dish. Set remaining crumbs aside for the top of the dessert. Press down so it is compact, but don’t worry that there is no butter or anything to hold a crust together ­ it really is just Nilla wafer crumbs on the bottom of this dessert.

In a medium bowl, add butter, egg*, and powdered sugar and whisk until light, about a minute or two, to make a smooth and creamy sort of sauce that can be drizzled over the Nilla wafer crumbs.

The sauce doesn’t have to completely cover the crumbs on the bottom of the dish so don’t try spreading it around or anything because that will just create a mess. Just drizzle it on to get mostly even coverage. Next, sprinkle 2 cups of fresh raspberries over the sauce and crumb layers, making sure they are evenly distributed. Once the Jello has thickened to a syrupy consistency but hasn’t entirely set, pour over raspberries, then return dish to the refrigerator and allow Jello to set completely:­ at least another hour or two. When Jello has completely set, whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla in a bowl, then gently spread on top of Jello and raspberries. Sprinkle remaining Nilla wafer crumbs on top (you may not need all of them if you feel like this layer is getting too thick), then use the remaining raspberries to arrange a pattern on top of the dessert and serve.

* Yes, this dessert has a raw egg in it and lots of people freak out about raw eggs, but I’ve eaten this every summer since I was a little girl and never had a problem. You can buy pasturized eggs if you are concerned because the USDA says those are safe to consume raw.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cocoa
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar


In a large mixer bowl combine sugar and oil. add cocoa; blend well. beat in eggs and vanilla. combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. add to cocoa mixture, blending well. chill at least 6 hours in the refrigerator {or 1 hour in the freezer} to allow dough to firm up. if you don't allow it to chill it's a sticky mess. heat oven to 350 degrees. shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll into confectioners' sugar. place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. bake 12 to 14 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touching. remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.

How to Temper Chocolate: Seeding Method

I adore chocolate-covered strawberries.  But they are so expensive!  I have seen them priced around $4 dollars for just one strawberry even.  So I figured, why not learn how to make them myself?  I have attempted chocolate dipped treats in the past using a method where you melt chocolate chips with a little shortening and it is sort of okay, but definitely nowhere close to the quality of chocolate you would get from a real chocolatier at a fine candy store.  And I'm kind of a snob when it comes to chocolate.  

I also put myself in charge of teaching how to make chocolate-dipped strawberries as part of our Relief Society Valentine's Day themed activity, so, you know, I kind of sort of had to learn.  

Properly tempered chocolate sets with a nice, slightly glossy and smooth finish and has a nice snap to the chocolate.  And it doesn't need to be refrigerated for it to set up.  Improperly tempered, lower quality chocolate used for dipping (like using chocolate chips for melting) will result in a softer, chewy set with no snap.  

So, here's what you do to properly temper chocolate.  Start with good quality chocolate, either in block form or wafers.  Trader Joe's sells 1 lb. blocks of dark or milk chocolate that are excellent at a very good price of $5/block.  Be cautious about buying "melting wafers" from the craft store - often they aren't very quality chocolate to begin with and the white candy melts are just that - candy melts and not chocolate at all.  You can also order your chocolate at numerous places online to get good quality chocolate.  Amazon has many good options if there isn't a Trader Joe's nearby.  

All my research stated that it is best to melt at least 1 pound of a chocolate at a temper as it is easier to temper and maintain temper in a pound of chocolate than in smaller amounts.  You start by chopping 3/4 of your total chocolate into small bits, reserving 1/4 of the chocolate block in bar form for later.    

Next, put your chopped chocolate into a clean, dry (it MUST be dry - any water will cause the chocolate to seize and clump) bowl and set it over a pan of hot water.  I brought my pan of water up to a simmer and then turned off the heat so it would be hot but no longer simmering and definitely not boiling for this step.  Then I carefully set my bowl right down into the water, making sure that the water didn't come close to the rim of my bowl, and then just let it sit for a while, allowing the chocolate to melt about halfway before any stirring.  I also saw methods where you microwaved the chocolate at short intervals, stirring in between, or putting the chocolate in a double boiler, but I like the glass bowl set directly in the hot water method best.

When the chocolate is about halfway melted, using a dry rubber spatula to stir the chocolate, helping it to continue melting.  I took the bowl out of the water first and set it on a dry towel on the counter to make sure I didn't slosh any water into it.  Then place the bowl back into the hot water and allow the chocolate to continue melting until it is completely melted, stirring periodically as necessary.

Once the chocolate is completely melted, use a digital thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate, watching closely until it reaches 115 degrees F (for dark chocolate) or 110 degrees F (for milk or white chocolate).  The chocolate should not go over this temperature or you risk burning it, which is why a thermometer is so crucial.

At this point, remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the hot water and add the reserved 1/4 chunk of chocolate to your bowl or melted chocolate, stirring gently and almost constantly to melt the big chunk.  You can sort of scrape it and agitate it with your spatula to incorporate it into the melted chocolate.  The warm chocolate will melt the block of chocolate and the block of chocolate will help gently bring down the temperature of the warm chocolate.  Adding a block of properly tempered chocolate and continuous stirring encourages the formation of the proper crystalline structure necessary for properly tempered chocolate.  I know, sounds weird and hokey, but I saw this explanation over and over and it is one of those science of baking things that are kind of cool to know.

Continue to stir and cool the chocolate, taking its temperature periodically, until the chocolate reaches 90 degrees F (for dark chocolate) or 87 degrees F (for milk or white chocolate).  At this point, you can test the chocolate's temper by smearing a small amount of your melted, tempered chocolate on a piece of parchment or waxed paper and watching to see if it sets properly.  If you tempered everything correctly, your smear of chocolate should begin to set within juts a few minutes.  It will start to lose its shine and take on a slightly more matte look, then begin to set around the edges.  In a cool room, properly tempered chocolate will set within about 4-6 minutes.  Don't be tempted to stick your chocolate in the fridge to speed things up because that won't actually tell you whether your chocolate has been tempered properly.  If it doesn't seem to be properly tempered, continue to stir and cool the chocolate another 1-2 degrees, then test it again.  If it looks to be properly tempered, remove any remaining chunks of chocolate from your reserved 1/4 block if it hasn't melted completely and just set it to the side (you can reuse it and melt it again later).  Or just pop it in your mouth while you proceed to dip your strawberries.

Now your chocolate is tempered and ready for dipping and coating!  You can dip clean, dry (make sure they are totally dry!) strawberries, truffle centers, almonds - whatever you want!  While dipping, you need to keep your tempered chocolate warm, by stirring it with your spatula periodically and watching its temperature.  If it falls down in the 85 degree range, set your bowl of melted, tempered chocolate back in the hot water for 1-3 seconds (seriously, it doesn't take very long) to let the chocolate at the bottom of the bowl warm up a bit, then stir it again to mix the warm chocolate from the bottom with the cooler chocolate on top.  But don't let the chocolate go up over 90 degrees or you will need to start the tempering process over again!

I dipped my strawberries into the tempered chocolate, then gently scraped the bottom back into the bowl to remove some of the excess chocolate so it wouldn't puddle at the base of each strawberry on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  When you finish dipping all the strawberries (or truffle centers or whatever you are dipping), you can pour the remaining tempered chocolate onto parchment paper and allow it to set back into a block form and store it in a cool, dry place to be used the next time you want to temper chocolate.  Or you can pour it over some raw almonds or other nuts to make yourself a delicious chocolate bar, because why waste your perfectly tempered chocolate?

I looked at a number of tutorials, sites, and recipe books when figuring out this process, but the two that were most helpful and that I followed most closely are here and here.  The first site even has a video explanation of the process I set out above.