bon appetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild

Oh my! Where do I begin?  You can probably tell by now that I have a thing for sweets and baking.  This book is a treasure trove and my copy even came with a free magazine subscription to bon appetite.  There are so many great recipes in this book, that I really don't know what to talk about first. So, I will start with the recipes that I made during Christmas 2010.  Apple Cake with Maple Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting, Homemade Marshmallows, and Coconut Checkerboard Brownies.

Here is a list of things I want to bake:  White Chocolate and Lemon Wedding Cake, Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes with Marbled Raspberry Cream, Hot Milk Cakes with Strawberries and Cream, Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake, Upside Down Honey Cheesecakes, and too many more to mention.

  Here is a picture of the Coconut Checkerboard Brownies and the Recipe.

Coconut Batter

1 7ounce package sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (Coco Lopez)

2 ounces Philadelphia brand cream cheese, cut into 1" cubes, room temp

1 extra large egg

1/8 tsp almond extract

1/8 tsp fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

Chocolate Batter

6 TBS unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

3 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 extra large eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sifted unbleached all purpose flour, (sifted, then measured)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Coconut Batter:  Measure 1/3 cup flaked coconut, cover and set aside.  Place remaining coconut and sugar in processor, finely chop.  Add cream of coconut and cream cheese to processor and blend well, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.  Add egg, almond extract, lemon juice and salt and blend well.  Transfer to bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until very firm.  about 3 hours.

Chocolate Batter:  Butter a 9x9x2 metal baking pan.  Melt butter with chocolate in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth.  Pour into medium bowl.  Cool to lukewarm.  Whisk in eggs and vanilla.  Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl; sift over chocolate mixture.  Mix until blended and smooth.  Spread 1 1/4 cups chocolate batter in prepared pan(cover and refrigerate remaining batter).  Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.  Refrigerate batter until very firm.  about 3 hours.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.  Alternate 1 TBS remaining chocolate batter and 1 TBS coconut batter over chocolate layer, filling pan completely.  Sprinkle reserved 1/3 cup flaked coconut over coconut mounds, press gently to adhere.  Cover pan tightly with foil.

Bake 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake until tester inserted in center of 1 chocolate mound comes out almost clean, about 40 minutes.  Cool brownies completely in pan.

These can be made 1 day ahead, cover tightly and store at room temp.

Happy Baking!