Visiting a Friend with Baby #2

We are off to visit my oldest friend who just had a new baby.  We are so excited to meet her newest member.  Although I can't relate to having two, I can only imagine how exhausting it is to entertain guests when you have two under two running around.  That is why I am bringing lunch and dessert for our visit.

Both recipes that I chose come together pretty easily, but they need time to sit so they have to be made well in advance.  For lunch I made macaroni and cheese (the overnight edition) and for desert this lovely tart that I've been dying to make forever.

Overnight Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: 
4 cups whole milk
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/8 cup butter, diced into small cubes
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated  (I like to mix the cheese that I use: this time I used medium orange cheddar and an aged white cheddar)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Grease a 13x9" baking dish.  Spread half the pasta in the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese, dot with half of butter and sprinkle with half the salt.  Repeat the layers with the remaining pasta, remaining cheese, butter and salt.

2. Pour milk evenly over pasta, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 24 hours.

3. Bake, covered with foil at 350F for 45-60 minutes.  Remove the foil during the final 15 minutes to allow the top to brown and get crispy.  (Sometimes I sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the top when I remove the foil.)


Caramel-Swirl Double Chocolate Tart

Almond crust, cooling

Ingredients:

Crust:
2-1/4 cups almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

Filling:
6 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup 35% whipping cream, divided

Dark chocolate filling

Caramel Sauce:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup 35% whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

Crust:
2. In a food processor, process the almonds, sugar and flour until the nuts are finely ground.  Pour in butter; process (or mix) until thoroughly moistened.  Pat nut mixture into the bottom of a 10" pie plate.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is lightly coloured.  Cool on rack.

White chocolate filling

Filling:

Caramel sauce simmering

3. Meanwhile place white chocolate in a bowl and dark chocolate in another bowl.  Bring cream to a boil in saucepan over medium heat.  Pour 1/3 cup of hot cream over white chocolate; pour remaining 2/3 cup hot cream over dark chocolate.  Whisk white chocolate mixture until smooth and the chocolate is melted.  Repeat with dark chocolate.  Let each cool for 10 minutes.  (At this point you can start making the caramel sauce in the same saucepan.)
4. Pour dark chocolate over cooled crust, spreading evenly.  Pour white chocolate over dark chocolate, tilting pan to evenly distribute.

Caramel Sauce:
5. In a saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Drizzle caramel sauce over white chocolate in decorative pattern.
7.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.  Store in the refrigerator.

Assembled product without
the caramel sauce.

Ready to be refrigerated for 8 hours.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Two years ago my husband and I went to the UK for a vacation and we discovered sticky toffee pudding in York. And what a discovery it was! It now ranks pretty high on my list of all-time favourite desserts.  When I returned home I went on a search for a recipe to make my own sticky toffee pudding whenever my heart desired.  And in case you didn't know, it is not a pudding.  We learned ourselves in England that pudding is just their word for a dessert.  I found this recipe in a book called Favorite Foods by Jill Dupleix. I've made this dessert on a few occasions and always get good reviews.  I'm making it tonight for a Mommies Night Out that I'm hosting at my house.  And I'll tell you that this recipe tastes exactly like the one I had in England.

The dessert we discovered in York!

Ingredients - Cake:
180g (about 1 to 1-1/4 cups) dates, pitted and chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1-2/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients - Toffee Sauce:
2/3 cup brown sugar
250ml (1 cup) whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter

Heat oven to 350F.  Mix dates and baking soda in a heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water on top and let it sit. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until pale, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gently fold in the sifted flour mixture, stir in the date mixture and then pour into a lightly greased (8") square pan.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Combine sugar, cream, vanilla and butter in a sauce pan, bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring.  Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.  (I often find that if I simmer it longer, the sauce comes out even thicker.) Set aside until ready to serve, then reheat when needed. Cut the cake into squares and pour the sauce over, serving warm.

Here is how I normally serve this pudding: Pour a spoonful of the sauce on a plate, cut a good size piece of cake and place on top.  Then put another 1-2 spoonfuls of the sauce on top of the cake.  Pop it into the microwave for 45 seconds - 1 minute (depends on the size) and serve.  Traditionally you would add a spoonful of double cream (I find it in a small jar at the Superstore) over top, but you could also use vanilla ice cream, fresh cream, etc.

This recipe says it feeds four - but those must be HUGE servings.  I find that you could serve 8-10 people with very generous portions and everyone is happy.

The mommies loved it and there was just enough left over for my husband and I to enjoy a piece for breakfast the next morning with a nice latte!

Of course in my rush to make the dessert while my daughter was sleeping, I forgot to take pictures of the process, but here is a pic of my creation at our breakfast this morning!