Chapter 14

Cakes, Pies, and Puddings

Women of past generations, including our mothers, knew the value of putting food up, most often in canning jars, but also in dried forms. Winters were long; livelihoods were precarious; the well-being of a family depended, in large part, upon the foods that were stored for the coming months. How often in old cookbooks do we see combinations for dried fruit pies or compotes? Fruit had to last and there were several ways of doing that: One was to dry it.

As ingenious as many of those women were at preserving and drying foods, I wonder if they might not be surprised at how versatile dried foods are, particularly in dessert making. Did they ever imagine that one could make a cheesecake fragrant with the aroma of pears, including the crust? Similarly, wouldn’t some of our forebears be amazed to discover that plum pudding needn’t be filled with raisins, but with plums—dried ones? Or that carrot cake could be made with dried carrots and taste as tempting as the fresh carrot version, cream cheese frosting and all?

For many people, dessert is the favorite part of a meal. Some of the desserts in this chapter are elegant, some are simple. What they share, besides being plain good, is that each is intriguing to make and uses a given dried food as an ingredient. Let these recipes please you, and just as important, tempt you into experimenting with making your own desserts with dried foods.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Is it possible to make this great all-time favorite American cake with dried shredded carrots? You bet it is! And the crumb remains exceptionally moist, just like the one in the fresh version that we all love. This is so good, in fact, that it served as our wedding cake. If you like, vary the flavors by substituting equal amounts of chopped dried pineapple and fig pieces for the walnuts and raisins. Of course, if s also very tasty served without frosting, with a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top.

1 cup dried shredded carrots

1 cup water

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup loosely packed brown sugar

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup dried grapes (raisins)

For the frosting:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ pound cream cheese, softened

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of powdered orange peel

For the topping:

¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon finely crushed dried shredded carrots

1 tablespoon dried shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 × 9-inch baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the dried carrots with the water. Let sit for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Drain.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and the granulated and brown sugars until combined. Stir in the eggs and combine the mixture well.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, the baking soda, the cinnamon, and the salt. Add the rehydrated carrots and stir to coat them with the dry ingredients. Stir in the walnuts and the raisins. Add the butter mixture and stir until the batter is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before baking.

Bake the cake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a rack before frosting.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, with a mixer, combine all the frosting ingredients until smooth and fluffy.

Spread the frosting decoratively over the top of the cake and top with the walnuts, the shredded carrots, and the coconut. Cut into squares and serve.

Serves 24

Pear Amaretto Cheesecake

In this unique, glorious cake, the almond-scented pears perfume not only the graham cracker crust, but the filling as well. Thus it is when you use dried pear powder for flavoring: It is light enough to become evenly distributed throughout the cake. Two other very appealing combinations, using powders flavored with a full-bodied liqueur, are apricot mango cheesecake and cranberry apple cheesecake.

3 ounces dried pears, pulverized (you will need ½ cup dried powder)

½ cup Amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)

For the crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons pear-Amaretto mixture (from above)

For the filling:

Three ½-pound packages cream cheese, softened

5 eggs

For the topping:

2 cups sour cream

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the dried pear powder and the Amaretto. Let sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate.

Prepare the crust: In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, the butter, and 2 tablespoons of the pear-Amaretto mixture until crumbly in texture. Press the crust evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Prepare the cheesecake filling: In a bowl, blend the cream cheese with a mixer until it is soft. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, blending thoroughly before adding the next. Beat the mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and creamy. (The mixture should be as free of lumps as possible before the remaining pear mixture is added.) Add the rehydrated pear-Amaretto mixture and blend completely. Pour the batter into the graham cracker-lined springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour—the top of the cake should hold together. Remove the pan from the oven to a rack to cool.

Prepare the topping: In a bowl, combine all the topping ingredients completely.

Spread the topping evenly over the top of the cake, then return the cake to the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a rack before chilling in the refregerator. Remove the sides of the springform pan before serving.

Serves 6 to 10

Grandma’s Coffee Cake

I teach an aqua-fitness class and one day, one of the coteachers, Sue, brought this simple, always-good-to-eat cake for brunch following our swim. This is an old-fashioned cake that can be varied with any number of different dried fruits. Not only did my grandmother Bell and grandmother True dry foods, but, it turns out, so did Sue’s grandmother.

1 cup dried peach pieces (1-inch size)

1½ cups milk, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the dried peaches in 1 cup of the milk. Let sit for 1 hour to rehydrate.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 11 × 7 × 2-inch baking pan.

In a bowl, with a hand-held mixer, combine the flour, the sugar, and the butter until crumbly in texture; reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping.

Add the baking powder to the remaining flour-sugar-butter mixture. Stir in the remaining ½ cup milk, the eggs, and the vanilla. And the rehydrated peaches and the rehydrating liquid, and combine the batter well. (It will be fairly thin in consistency.) Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crumb topping evenly over the batter.

Bake the coffee cake for 30 minutes.

Let the cake cool slightly and serve it directly from the pan, cut into 2-inch squares.

Serves 8 to 12

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

The main component of fresh food is water, and when you remove the water, as you have seen throughout recipes in this book, you have many options as to how to use that dried food. Here, I began by pulverizing—actually grinding to a powder—dried strawberries. I’ve always loved the idea of using food to flavor food. I could have used that powder to sprinkle on plain yogurt or ice cream. Instead, I decided to semirehydrate it (reconstitute it only halfway back to its fresh state), and add it to packaged angel food cake mix. It worked better than I could have imagined. Mango or pineapple powder are also very good used in this fashion. Needless to say, this simple premise has dramatically expanded my repertoire of cakes that I can put together in a moment’s notice!

I have also discovered that larger-sized dried fruit pieces can be added to other cake mixes: rehydrated apples to spice cake mix; rehydrated raspberries or cherries or strawberries to devil’s food cake mix. However, don’t be tempted to add larger fruit pieces to the angel food cake mix: The powder works best.

2 tablespoons dried strawberry powder

1 tablespoon water

1 box angel food cake mix

In a small bowl, combine the strawberry powder and the water, stirring to combine.

Make the angel food cake according to the instructions on the box, adding the semirehydrated strawberry powder when you add the flour packet. Bake the cake according to the directions on the box. Let the cake cool and cut it into slices for serving.

Serves 12

A Surprising Variation: My husband’s interest in shiitake mushrooms once impelled him to add dried shiitake powder to angel food cake mix. As unlikely as it sounds, the cake turned out to be wonderful. We spread it with butter, like bread. You’ll be astonished at how sweet mushroom powder is.

Dried Apple Pie

Although the recipe calls for dried apples, this pie can be made with many other dried fruits—peaches, raspberries, cherries, and so on. Adjust the spices to enhance the specific fruit. Know, though, that the tarter the fruit, the more flavorful the filling. If the dried apples you use are particularly sweet, add lemon or orange or pineapple juice to the rehydration liquid for balance. Remember, too, to vary the liquid when you make this pie with other dried fruit.

Pastry Dough for a double-crust 10-inch pie

3 cups peeled dried apple slices

2 cups apple juice or water, warmed

½ cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling on crust

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon butter

Milk for brushing top crust

In a saucepan, combine the dried apple slices and the warm juice or water. Let sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate.

Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes until the apples are soft but not mushy. Let cool.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

While the apple mixture is cooling, line the bottom of a 10-inch pie plate with the pastry. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, the cornstarch, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg, and sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the unbaked pie shell. Pour the apple mixture into the shell and sprinkle the filling with the remaining sugar mixture. Dot with the butter, cut into bits.

Roll out the dough for the top crust. Trim, then moisten the rim of the bottom crust. Arrange the top crust over the filling, trim, and seal the bottom and top edges together firmly. Flute the edges, if desired. With a sharp knife, cut slits in the top crust as steam vents. Brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake the pie for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F and bake the pie for 25 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned on the top. Let the pie cool on a rack.

Serves 8

Mock Mincemeat Pie

I call this mock mincemeat pie because although there is not a trace of either meat or suet in it—both imperative components of a true mincemeat pie—the filling looks like mincemeat and tastes like it, too. This pie is good served cold. It keeps well, and is a wonderful way to use dried ingredients that did not meet your expectations—the leather was too brittle or the fruit too sour. Chopped nuts and dried cherries can also be added to the filling.

Pastry Dough for an 8-inch single-crust pie

1 cup apple juice or orange juice

1 cup dried grapes (raisins)

1 cup berry leather, broken into pieces

¾ cup dried pineapple pieces

½ cup dried apple pieces

¼ cup chopped candied citrus rind

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

3 eggs

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and fit it into the pie plate. Trim and crimp the edge. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine the apple or orange juice with the next 5 ingredients. Let sit for 1 hour to rehydrate. Stir in all the ground spices.

In another bowl, beat the eggs until combined. Stir in the brown sugar and the melted butter. Pour the egg mixture over the spiced fruits and stir to combine well. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake the pie for 1 hour. Let the pie cool on a rack before serving. If desired, serve with fresh whipped cream or softened ice cream.

Serves 6 to 8

Plum Pudding

I must say that I’m partial to this pudding: I love making it, sharing it, and giving it away as a gift at Christmastime. Unlike the English plum pudding, which has no plums (but plenty of raisins), this pudding is plum-filled. You will taste the difference. Don’t forget to dry a good supply of plums when they come into season. Then you’ll be all set to make this pudding for the holidays, when it is at its most timely best.

1 cup whiskey

1 cup dried plum pieces (1-inch size)

¾ cup orange juice

4 slices white bread, broken into pieces

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups dried grapes (raisins)

1 cup finely chopped pitted dried dates

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

In a bowl, combine the whiskey and the dried plum pieces, cover, and let soak overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, drain the plums, reserving the whiskey. Measure it and add enough of the orange juice to make 1 cup.

In a bowl, place the bread pieces. Pour the whiskey-orange juice mixture over them and stir to combine. Stir in the brown sugar and the eggs, and combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the rehydrated plums, the raisins, the dates, and the walnuts. In another bowl, combine the flour, the cinnamon, the cloves, the baking soda, and the salt. Add the dry ingredients to the fruit mixture and stir to combine. Add the softened bread crumb-egg mixture and combine. Pour the pudding into a well-greased 2-quart pudding mold—do not use a ring mold or a tube pan—and cover the mold with aluminum foil. Tie string around the edge of the mold to secure the foil and prevent water from seeping into the pudding.

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a deep kettle. Place the mold on a rack in the kettle and cover the kettle with a tight-fitting lid. Steam the pudding for 3½ hours, adding more boiling water when necessary to maintain the level of water in the kettle.

Let the pudding cool for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the mold. Securely wrapped, this pudding keeps in the refrigerator for months.

Serves 24

Tapioca Pudding with Dried Fruits

This recipe came to me from my husband’s mother, Adeline, a great cook, whose own mother cooked for ten people at every meal. Then, as now, tapioca was a crowd pleaser, a sweet treat—a good dessert. In this milkless, eggless rendition, the dried fruits add nutrients—a consideration not to be overlooked when choosing a dessert to serve your family or friends.

5 cups water, divided

1 cup pearl tapioca

1½ cups dried apple pieces (1-inch size)

½ cup dried grapes (raisins)

¾ cup sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a 9½-inch square ovenproof bowl, 2 inches deep, combine 2 cups of the water and the tapioca, and let soak, covered, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

The next day, add the dried apple pieces, the raisins, the sugar, the cinnamon, and the salt, and stir to combine. Add 1 more cup of water to cover the ingredients and stir to combine. Bake the mixture, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the oven and stir in 1 more cup of water. Bake the pudding, uncovered, for 15 minutes more.

Remove the bowl from the oven again and add the remaining 1 cup of water and the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Lower the heat to 325°F and bake the pudding, uncovered, until the tapioca becomes glossy, about 30 minutes. Serve the tapioca while it is still warm.

Serves 10 to 12