That's okay! We'll see you at the next one. Have a relaxing night!

Ms. Ingie wrote:Decision made - I'm staying home. Toria will pick up my dessert and bring it with her. I hate to miss it, but I don't think I'll be much fun. Catch you all next month.

hi ingrid: did you want to host the dessert exchange in march? that's great, but let me know if you don't and i'll be happy to host.

tonight's dessert event was an evening well spent. we had a delicious dinner of chicken gumbo with perfect, light, matzo balls; salad; fried (red) tomatoes--thanks pie lady. the desserts were excellent and i found the conversation particularly interesting. there are some unusual hobbyists among us and i learned a lot. i'm grateful to be part of this group.

Pie Lady, thank you for the hospitality and a wonderful dessert exchange. Your gumbo was terrific, as were all of the desserts that I sampled.

I'll host March, just need to come up with a date.

When's the next one?

Yeah yeah...they were more red than green...they were green on the outside!

You should have seen the look on the guy's face when I asked for green tomatoes in February. "Green?...Tomatoes? What do you do with those?"

I had such a nice time yesterday. Those desserts were really something, and unusual too. I really need to make gumbo more often. Thanks for coming and giving such a nice finale to the weekend!

Here are the pictures, though I need information for some descriptions ...


Apple, rhubarb and cranberry cake with clotted cream and caramel sauce, by justjoan by cal222, on Flickr


Mississippi Mud Cake, by PieLady by cal222, on Flickr


Chocolate Fudge Cake Bombes by SueF by cal222, on Flickr


Top is sponge candy by Cathy2, Caramel Graham Bars by Toria by cal222, on Flickr


Banana chocolate chip cupcakes baked in ice cream cones with cream cheese frosting by mrsm by cal222, on Flickr


Coconut macaroons by ms. ingie by cal222, on Flickr

Another successful dessert exchange. Thanks Jenny. The name on mine is Caramel Graham Bars. I'll post the recipe but its all over the internet. Simple but very good.

Caramel Graham Bars

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients
1 package (not box but one of the inner wrapped packages) of graham crackers or to line the pan.
1 cup of dark or light brown sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts or pecans)
1 tsp vanilla if desired

Line a jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with small sides) with non stick aluminum foil. I think the non stick foil is necessary
for success. Maybe parchment would work too but I have not tried it. Place graham crackers on the foil, don't worry if any break or it does not come completely to the end.

Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan and let boil for two minutes. Add vanilla. Pour this mixture over the graham crackers in pan spreading evenly with knife or spatula, and quickly sprinkle chopped nuts on top evenly. (Some recipes add nuts to the sugar and butter in the pan, and pour the whole thing on the crackers...this might be a good idea but I did not do it. It might help nuts to stick)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 min. Cool slightly and cut into bars. There are several variations on this recipe.

1. Chocolate- same thing but omit putting nuts on right away. After getting out of oven, sprinkle chocolate chips over and as they melt, spread like frosting. Quickly sprinkle chopped nuts over top, cool and cut into bars. This last variation can be made with saltines or matzohs as well.

2. I think if you cook this mixture longer you could make actual hard toffee from it too instead of a softer caramel.

Hi,

Sponge Candy is easy:

1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda

Butter either a metal 9 x 13 pan or a marble slab.

In a large pot, put in the first three ingredients. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then stop stirring. When I candy thermometer reads between 290 and 300 degrees, take pot off stove and stir in baking soda. This will foam quite a bite.

Pour into buttered pan or marble.

If it is winter and the air is dry, you can chop up and store in tin.

If it is humid, you will want to dip in chocolate. If it is too humid, maybe wait for a change of season.

Clean up using hot water to dissolve the sugar.

Cathy2 wrote:Sponge Candy is easy:

Sponge candy also melts if kept in a closed container with moist pastries.

JoelF wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Sponge Candy is easy:

Sponge candy also melts if kept in a closed container with moist pastries.

Oops! Did it just melt into a messy puddle?

Can you ask Sue what was the name of her dessert. I made up one, because I couldn;t remember it.

Thanks!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

JoelF wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Sponge Candy is easy:

Sponge candy also melts if kept in a closed container with moist pastries.

Oops! Did it just melt into a messy puddle?

Indeed it did. I'd take a picture, but it's not safe for work viewing.

Cathy2 wrote:Can you ask Sue what was the name of her dessert. I made up one, because I couldn;t remember it.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Bombes is what it was called on the King Arthur Flour page. To me they're "I'm never having a Hostess Sno-Ball ever again" (not that I was likely to: They're pretty vile, compared to, say, the glory that is the Ho-Ho)

I found that out too about sponge candy. Melts if kept with other pastries in a closed box.

Sponge Candy is the Wicked Witch of the East, just a little bit of water and it's melting!

Regards,