For a frozen yogurt that’s dense and creamy—not icy and rock-hard like most versions—the key is controlling the water in the base so that the number of large ice crystals that formed during freezing was minimized.
If bread pudding is mostly bread, it makes sense that the better your bread, the better the pudding. I usually make my bread pudding with challah, the way Luther liked it best. For this book, I decided to mix things up a little. This recipe uses raisin-cinnamon bread for that hint of spice I love. The big secret, as with all bread pudding, is to use stale bread; otherwise, it will disintegrate in the custard.
These lovely light buns with a beautiful shiny surface are perfect for birthday parties, with afternoon tea or a cup of coffee, or enjoyed on a cold day in the fall with a mug of hot chocolate.
This recipe is old-fashioned in the sense that it doesn't involve any canned milk, powders, or artificial flavorings. It results in a flan that is not too eggy thanks to the use half-and-half instead of milk to help thicken it.
Most countries have their own version of rice pudding, and this has a bit of a Scandinavian vibe, with the inclusion of cardamom, a favorite Nordic spice.
As I said in the introduction [of Desserts LaBelle], “Sweet Talk from Patti,” sweet potato pie is in my blood. Any and every sweet potato pie I make is compared to the OG: Chubby’s version, which was also the inspiration behind my dear friend Norma’s recipe. (It’s in my first cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine. If you don’t have the book, last time I checked the recipe was also online.) Why I can’t leave a good thing alone, I don’t know. This is my current rendition, which starts with Chubby’s pie and throws in some new tricks, too. If you have been boiling sweet potatoes for your pie, try the microwave method here. It is a lot quicker.
While there is no consensus on how Lemon Chess pie got its name, there is Splendid Table consensus that Lemon Chess pie belongs on the Thanksgiving Table. Bright and light, it is exactly the counterpoint we need at the Thanksgiving feast.
The hallmark of Dutch apple pie is its creamy apple filling, but we didn’t rely on the traditional cream to achieve it. Instead we added melted vanilla ice cream to the apple filling for extra creaminess and a rich vanilla flavor that nicely complements apple pie.
Canned pumpkin puree adds a bit of subtle flavor to these muffins, but more important, it also makes the muffins ultramoist.
This recipe began as an experiment and turned out great. It uses the bottom of the pumpkin as a natural crust. Then again, maybe it’s not as new as I think: I have heard that European settlers made the first pumpkin pie from a whole pumpkin by scooping out the seeds and filling the inside with honey and milk and then baking it in hot ashes.