Many, many wonderful desserts, easy to follow directions. And in some cases, the stories behind their creation. It's hard to resist a dessert called "Not yo mama's banana pudding"! And some sound weird but no doubt taste marvelous- Key Lime Grits Pie, for one.
Here's a recipe I tried out for her bookclub meeting last week. It was a hit:
Cassata Cake
From The Lady & Sons Just Desserts by Paula Deen
Paula says: “This Italian dessert tastes something like a cake version of a cannoli.”
2 pounds ricotta cheese (Paula uses Sorrento’s brand and so do I, but I also like Polly-O)
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup white crème de cacao (odd that this “cassata” cake has no cassata in it!)
¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 ½ dozen ladyfingers, split
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar.
Maraschino cherries and walnuts or pecans, for decorating the cake.
Beat cheese, sugar, vanilla, and crème in an electric mixer on medium speed for about ten minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Line bottom and sides of a springform pan with ladyfingers. Fill pan with cheese mixture, chill overnight. When ready to serve, whip cream and granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. Frost the top of cake and garnish with cherries and nuts.
I changed a couple of things here, too. I like maraschino cherries, so I added some chopped cherries and pecans to the cheese mixture. I also didn’t beat it quite as long as ten minutes. The texture was more like a cannoli filling that way. Finally, I added a teaspoon of crème de cacao to the whipped cream topping. Yum.
Serves ten. Yeah, right, not in my house. Try six.
What it looks like:
There are many others I plan on trying.
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