The Welcome
Home Good Things
&
Recipes
October
20, 2004
Good Morning,
dear Sisters~~~
I am thinking of you this bright morning as I pray
you're walking hand in Hand with the LORD and that
He is your help and encouragement today. I often
pray for the needs of sisters who receive this
letter and the LORD continually brings different
ones to mind. I trust He is the joy and rejoicing of
your heart no matter what this day holds for you in
terms of the day to day struggles, sorrows,
difficulties, joys and triumphs.
My mom has been on "holiday" in the New England area
and asked me to be sure to prepare some family
favourites when she returns home with Aunt Martha
next week. When she was a little girl, my
grandmother made Parker House rolls and Boston Cream
pie dreaming of the elegance of the hotel that made
them famous; and these have been two of her
favourite recipes all through the years. While my
grandmother only imagined dining at the Parker House
in Boston, my mother's dream was fulfilled last week
when she and Aunt Martha had a special dinner
there---which included those childhood favourites:
Parker House Rolls and Boston Cream Pie. I'm more
than pleased that she was
not disappointed when dining there, tasting the
"real thing." For her
Birthday in times past, I've made her Boston Cream
Pie and so now, I hope she'll not be disappointed in
the future when the dessert is prepared here at
home. I have a dream of one day going for a visit to
the New England states and our nation's Capitol and
perhaps one day, I too, will dine at the Parker
House. Though I always know, home is the best place
to be.
Parker House Rolls
Parker House Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts
6 cups all-purpose flour (about)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 large egg
In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar,
salt, and yeast; add 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1
stick). With mixer at low speed, gradually pour 2
cups hot tap water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F.)
into dry ingredients.
Add egg; increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes,
scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in 3/4 cup
flour or enough to make a thick batter; continue
beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. With
spoon, stir in enough additional flour (about 2 1/2
cups) to make a soft dough.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead
until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working
in more flour (about 1/2 cup) while kneading.
Shape dough into a ball and place in greased large
bowl, turning over so that top of dough is greased.
Cover with towel; let rise in warm place (80 to 85
degrees F.) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough
is doubled when 2 fingers pressed into dough leave a
dent.) Punch down dough by pushing down the center
or dough with fist, then pushing edges of dough into
center. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface;
knead lightly to make smooth ball, cover
with bowl for 15 minutes, and let dough rest.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
F.
In 17 1/4-inch by 11 1/2-inch roasting pan, over low
heat, melt remaining
1/2 cup margarine or butter; tilt pan to grease
bottom. On lightly floured surface with floured
rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. With floured
2 3/4-inch round cutter, cut dough into circles.
Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides
into melted margarine or butter pan; fold in half.
Arrange folded dough in rows in pans, each nearly
touching the other. Cover pan with towel; let dough
rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.
Bake rolls for 15 to 18 minutes until browned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Parker House Boston Cream Pie
Makes 10 servings [Read the process thoroughly
before you being preparing this dessert]
New England is not only the birthplace of the diner
but also of Boston Cream Pie. Originating in the
early nineteenth century, Boston Pie, as it was then
called, was a plain two layer sponge cake filled
with a vanilla custard. In 1855, a German-born
pastry chef at Boston's Parker House Hotel spruced
up the classic cake by adding a luscious chocolate
glaze topping and the dessert (now known as Boston
Cream Pie) has remained popular to this day. In
keeping with the diner tradition of tall cakes, my
version consists of four layers filled with a
deliciously light custard, leaving you to declare,
"Who cares if they call it a pie when it's really a
cake?"
Custard filling
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sponge Cake
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter,
melted and cooled
3/4 cup heavy cream
Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
or instant coffee crystals
2 teaspoons hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the custard filling, in a medium bowl, whisk
together the
yolks, sugar, and cornstarch; set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a gentle boil. Remove the pan from
the heat and whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk
into the yolk mixture. Return the entire
mixture to the saucepan containing the remaining
milk. Place over medium-high heat and bring to
a boil, whisking constantly. Continue to boil,
whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thick.
Remove the pan from the heat, scrape the bottom of
the pan with a spatula, and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the butter pieces until melted. Whisk in
the vanilla. Quickly strain the custard through a
fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with
plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface.
Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate
for 2 hours, or until well chilled.
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake
pans. Dust the pans with flour and tap out the
excess.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the
eggs and sugar. Set the bowl over a saucepan of
simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the
bowl does not touch the water---you may want to use
a double boiler. Heat the egg mixture, whisking
constantly, until the eggs are warm. Transfer the
bowl to the electric mixer stand and, using the
whisk attachment, beat on high speed for about 10
minutes, or until the mixture has tripled in volume.
Reduce the speed to low and beat in lemon zest and
vanilla.
Sift a third of the flour mixture over the batter
and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula. In two
more additions, sift in the remaining flour mixture,
again folding in gently. Place the melted butter in
a small bowl. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the
cake batter into the bowl and stir until blended.
Gently Fold this mixture into the remaining cake
batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and
smooth the tops with the spatula.
Bake the cakes for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the
tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool the
cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.
Invert the cakes onto the racks and cool completely.
Then assemble the cake, using a long, serrated
knife, cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
Remove the custard filling from the refrigerator and
whisk until smooth. In an electric mixer set
on high speed, beat the heavy cream until it forms
soft peaks. Fold one-third of the whipped cream into
the custard and then fold in the remaining cream.
Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on a serving plate.
Scrape about 1 cup of the custard filling onto the
layer and, using a small offset metal spatula,
spread it into an even layer. Repeat with the
remaining cake layers and filling, ending with a
cake layer. Refrigerate the cake while you're
preparing the chocolate glaze.
Chocolate glaze: Place the chocolate and the cream
in a medium bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of
simmering water, again making sure that the bottom
of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat the
mixture, stirring often, until the chocolate is
melted and the mixture is smooth. Don't get water
into the mixture.
In a small container, dissolve the espresso powder
or instant coffee in the hot water. Stir the coffee
mixture and vanilla into the chocolate glaze.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Pour the warm
glaze over the top of the cake, allowing some of it
to drizzle down the sides. Serve the cake
immediately, or refrigerate until 1/2 hour before
serving.
God Bless you in your home. Until next time...
With love, In Jesus--------pamela
©2004
A Christian Home