Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash soup is one I have been wanting to try for awhile now. I was hoping to make a creamy version of the soup with a hint of sweetness to it.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2 pounds of Butternut Squash
3 cups of Low Sodium Chicken Broth
3/4 cup of Heavy Cream
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tablespoon of Cinnamon

Start out by toasting the cutting the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes and then toast them at 350F for 15 minutes or until the start to turn a golden brown color.

Puree the squash in a blender until very smooth. Add the chicken broth, pureed squash and salt to a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer upon reaching a boil. Add in the heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Keep it at a low heat while you stir in the final ingredients.

Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle a little brown sugar on top if you like.

I also recommend serving with cinnamon-sugar toast if possible. Makes for a yummy dinner.

Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake "The Lucky Carter"

Had a request put in for a chocolate mascarpone cheesecake by a friend. This also gave me the chance to try out Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers for the crust. I have decided to name this cheesecake "The Lucky Carter".

Crust:

1 1/4 cup of Nabisco Barnum's Chocolate Animal Crackers
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

2 packages (16 ounces) cream cheese
2 cartons (16 ounces) of Mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup of corn starch
1 3/4 cups of sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
8 ounces of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate

White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake

White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake

Life...advice for a seven year old.

My son started school again this past week. Knowing that I would be driving him to school on his first day I wanted to be able to give him some advice and hopefully get him off on the right foot for the new school year. My advice to him was, work hard at the things you do not like and be the best at the things you enjoy. I believe he took it to heart and I'm excited to see how well he does this year. Being a father can be a challenge at times, but more times than not it can be a real joy. I love spending time my son and watching him grow into a young man. This year should be fun as his writing skills start to improve. I'm looking forward to him writing some exciting stories about snakes and ninja fighting in the jungle.

Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon pound cake, one of the simple pleasures in life.


2 sticks of unsalted butter (16 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional: Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

I like to let my lemon juice and zest to sit in the refigerator overnight. Both of these are placed in air tight storage containers. I find this tends to mellow down the lemon flavour a little bit.

Anise "Black Eyed Suzy" Lemon Cheesecake

I covered half of the cheesecake with the shredded licorice. This gave the non-licorice loving crowd a chance to enjoy the cheesecake. Overall, I was happy with the cheesecake. The only things I would like to improve upon are the crust and mellowing down of the lemon flavor. That is why I suggested using Meyer lemons if they are available to you. The crust was a little too dense for my liking. I'm thinking of doing a brushing of egg white on top next time.

Anise Cheesecake challenge - Birthday Request

My sister's birthday is this weekend and she put in a request for an anise flavored cheesecake. After a little research, I have put together my game plan and completed my shopping list.

I decided to call this cheesecake "Black Eyed Suzy". It is going to be an anise flavored shortbread crust with a lemon filling. The top will be sprinkled with shredded black licorice.

Shortbread crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons of anise extract

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1 1/2 pounds, 3 (125 ml) pkg (each 8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

4 tbsp cornstarch

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup lemon juice (Meyer lemon if you can find them)

Lemon zest from 5 lemons

Topping:

Black licorice shredded

Special notes:

Processed the lemon zest with 1/2 cup of sugar in a food processor until the sugar was yellow and the zest was broken down. Stirred the lemon sugar in with the rest of the sugar.

Back Door Baker

Well, I finally broke down and started to set up my blog. Sit back and enjoy life, love and desserts. The Back Door Baker is here to provide you with all three.