Grapefruit Bundt Cake

 

This recipe is from the My Maine magazine, Spring 2026 edition (photo from Summer 2026) and it is a recipe by Julianna Deschenes. I haven't made it yet, but it is a contender for our on the road food plan for our overnight trip to our favorite music festival in NY state. 

 

Ingredients

Bundt Cake:

2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temp

1 & 1/4  cup granulated sugar

1 cup Greek yogurt

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon grated grapefruit peel

2 Tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Grapefruit Glaze:

 1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice 

 

Process

 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Generously butter bundt pan and sprinkle lightly with flour.  

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

4. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 

5. With the mixer on low speed, add the yogurt, oil,  grapefruit zest, juice, and vanilla. 

6. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, beating until just combined. 

7.  Pour the batter into prepared pan, place in over, and bake 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

8. Let cool completely on a wire rack. While the cake is cooling prepare the grapefruit glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice until smooth.  

9. When the cake is cooled, invert the cake onto a cake stand or serving platter and drizzle the grapefruit glaze over the top. 

 

Enjoy! 

Caramel Apple Tarts by J.L. of Great Diamond Island

 

This recipe is from a cookbook that is a collection of recipes from the residents of Great Diamond Island, in Casco Bay off the coast of Portland Maine. J. L. (who has not given me permission to use her name YET, is the mother of one of my best friends from high school in CT.  SP and I have recently started the "empty nest cull" where we are clearing ourselves of the things that no longer serve us, are not things that are used regularly, and that our children don't want. We are repacking some books and clothes etc. for the grandchildren we want. Anyway, the kitchen cookcook shelves were recently tacked, and I passed this book along to Pickle, extracting this recipe since it was special. Without further ado...

 

Ingredients

 1 sheet frozen puffed pastry, thawed

4 Granny Smith Apples, cored and cut into slices 1/2 inch thick

6 Tbs brown sugar 

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 egg white, beaten

4 tsp honey

caramel sauce 

 

Process

 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
3. Roll out the pastry sheet on lightly floured surface into a very thin 18x14 rectangle. 
4. Using a small plate and a guide, cut out four 7 inch rounds. 
5. Transfer to baking sheets and refrigerate. 
6. Heat a non-stick frying panover medium heat. 
7. Add apples, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice and saute until slightly browned, about 15 minutes. 
8. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. 
9. Place the apples in the center of each pastry round. 
10. Fold the edges of the dough over the apples to form a volcano shape. 
11. Brush the outside of the dough with the beaten egg white.
12. Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden. 
13. Drizzle each tart with 1 teaspoon of honey.
14. Transfer to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. 
15. Serve warm or at room temperature. 
16. Prepare serving plate with a design of caramel sauce, then place tart onto the plate and add a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. 

 

ENJOY! 

Pot de Creme au Chocolat

 

I have no idea where this recipe came from as it is a dog-eared page torn out of somewhere. It has Hi-Ho's writing all over it and this is a dessert that she loved to make

 

* Hi-Ho added notes: double makes 12, but also double for 8 * 

 

Ingredients

 

 6-ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate bits

 a square of Baker's unsweetened chocolate, chopped up a bit

 1/2 pint light cream (it must be light)

2 Tablespoons milk  

4 eggs, separated

salt 

4 ramekins 

 

Process 

 

1.  Into a blender, dump a 6-ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate bits. Add to this a square of Baker's unsweetened chocolate, chopped up a bit. 

 

2. Heat a 1/2 pint light cream  with 2 Tablespoons of milk, until it is hot, but not boiling. 

 

3. While the cream is heating, separate the 4 eggs. 

 

4. Add a dash of salt to the chocolate and then pour the hot cream into the blender. Turn on the blender and let the blades go until the racket has stopped and the mixture looks smooth. 

 

5. Take the top of the blender off, slide in the 4 egg yolks, and let them cream for another minute. 

 

6.  Pour mixture into 4 ramekins, pot de creme dishes, or after dinner coffee cups and set them in the icebox. 

 

7. About an hour before you will use them, take them out of the refrigerator. They should be served at room temperature.

 

* Added in Moms handwriting: whipped cream to top, Raspberry puree adn serve with Rum or Cointreau.  

 

 

Pastry Puffs

 

This is a good old easy recipe from EVERYDAY FOOD, the old booklet by Martha Stewart.  You can probably also turn these into cream puffs using the recipe HERE. 

 

Yield = 110 small puffs

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup water

2 stick unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled 

4 large eggs 

 

 

Process

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

 

2. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. 

 

3. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water, 1 stick unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon sugar to a boil over high heat.  

 

4. Immediately remove from heat and stir with a wooden spoon. 

 

5. Stir in 1 cup all purpose flour . 

 

6. Continue to stir until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes. 

 

7. Let cool 2 minutes. 

 

8.  Add four large eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until the batter comes together. 

 

9. Transfer batter to a large zip top bag so that the batter is in one corner. 

 

* your can also use a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round plain tip. * 

 

10. With scissors, snip 1/2 inch opening in the corner .

 

11. Pipe batter into desired size mounds, 1 inch apart on the sheets. 

 

12. With a wet finger, smooth any pointy tops.  

 

13. Bake 10 minutes. 

 

14. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until puffs are golden brown and feel light and hollow inside, roughly 20 to 30 minutes. 

 

15. Let cool on sheets on a wire rack. 

 

Enjoy! 

 

Hard Sauce

I have such fond childhood memories of my grandmother K-K making hard sauce while my mother worked away at making minced meat pis for Christmas dinner. It was such hard work for a reward I loved to snitch out of the refrigerator before we ate. 

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup sweet butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 brandy (or rum or sherry but rum is best)

Nutmeg 

 

Process

 

1. Cream the butter and sugar well (this is the hard work when done by hand)

 

2. Add the brandy, a few drops at a time (This is another element of effort because it takes time.) and beat it until fluffy (your arms will hurt)

 

3. Add the nutmeg to taste and chill, (this is the phase where I would sneak tastes)

 

Serve with pie of choice.  

 

 

 

Oat Macaroons

 

Ooh these sound really good! I want to make them this week! I am going to change the date from 2021 so it is closer to the top! Maybe I can even dip them in chocolate! 

Ingredients

 1 and 1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Process

 Combine ingredients. Drop in small cakes and bake on tin sheet. 

No mention of temp or time as usual.

Pot de Creme Au Chocolate for 6

 

 This recipe is a huge memory for me and Hi-ho's culinary adventures. She loved making pot de creme for her frequent dinner parties. This is a yummy indulgence. 

Ingredients

1 quart milk

1/2 pound semi-sweet chocolate. 

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 eggs separated

Process

1. Boil 1 quart milk 

2. Very gradually, add the milk to the chocolate to melt, stirring all the time. 

3. Add 3 Tablespoons sugar and let cool. 

4. Beat 3 egg yolks. 

5. Beat one egg yolk. 

6. The beat together lightly. 

7. Add egg mixture to chocolate and strain when cool. 

8. Pour into individual ramekins. 

9. Bake in a hot water bath aka Bain Marie in medium oven for 25 minutes. 

10. Put on ice to cool aka cool in fridge.

Iced Strawberries

 

" Hull strawberries. Add 3/4 pound powdered sugar to each pound of strawberries. Place in deep glass dish with layer of sugar between each layer of fruit. Pour over 1/2 cup and fruit juice. Place in refrigerator for an hour and a half. Remove, sprinkle with shaved ice and then more powdered sugar. "

Fans

 

 Ingredients

2 cups bread flour

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Mix and roll. 

2. Cut with circular cover, then into 4 pie shaped pieces. 

3. Crease with handle of knife to look like Faus.

Cottage cheese and Fruit

 This is an oldy. Apparently, clabbered milk is an ancient form of fermentation. It is also a form of wild fermentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Put 2 quarts rich clabbered milk into a cheese cloth bag and hang to drip. when whey has drained put curds in a bowl and stir until creamy. Beat whites 4 eggs stiff with enough sugar to sweeten well. Mix 1/2 cup thick cream into curds and fold in beaten whites of eggs. Pile fresh fruit in center of dish and surround with mixture. "

Chocolate Rolls (Serve with Chocolate Sauce)

 

Ingredients

Yolks of 5 eggs, beaten hard - 5 minutes

Half cup powdered sugar

1 level teaspoon corn starch

2 Tablespoons ground chocolate

Whites of 5 eggs,  beaten stiff 

Directions

 "Combine first 4 ingredients. Add whites of eggs beaten stiff to mixture. Bake in flat pan lined with paper, buttered and floured, about 10 minutes. Turn out on board, roll. Before serving unroll and spread with half pint cream whipped with a little sugar and vanilla. Roll up while warm. "

* Ne reference to chocolate sauce *

Chiffon Pie

 

This recipe requires a pie crust recipe

Ingredients

 4 egg yolks, the whites beaten

1/2 cup sugar

juice of 1 lemon, save rind

1 Tablespoon butter

Directions

 "Cook in double boiler until it thickens. Let cool. Beat whites of eggs with 4 Tablespoons sugar. When yolks are cool add rind of lemon and beaten whites of eggs. Put whole on just bottom of pie crust. Bake in slow oven."

Apple Tart

 

 "Place the quantity of apples to be used in a saucepan after peeling, coring, and slicing them. Add a little sugar and water together with some grated nutmeg and lemon peel. Cook until apples are tender and cool. Cover shallow pie dish with pastry, add apples. Put strips of pastry on top. Bake in moderate oven until crust is easily separated from dish. "

Butterscotch Pie

 Oh yum!

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons flour

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks  (make a meringue out of the whites)

brown sugar

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

pastry shell or pie crust

Directions

"Cream butter. Mix flour, cornstarch, and salt, and work into the butter. Add 2 egg yolks and mix well. Add brown sugar to milk and scald. Pout this over the butter mixture, gradually, stirring and cook continuing to stir until the mixture thickens. Cool and flavor (with vanilla?) and pour into baked pastry shell or pie crust. Cover with meringue made of egg whites"

Brandied Fruit

 

" Take equal quantities of ripe and sound fruit (apricots, peaces, or plums) and prick them several times with a fork through to the stones. Put sugar in lined vessel - 1 lb sugar to 1 lb fruit - a pour in a small quantity of water, just enough to be absorbed by the sugar. Place over fire until small transparent bubbles rise to the top. Put mixed fruits into the syrup and simmer gently until they begin to soften. Leave them in the syrup until cold or until the following day. Take out and place on sieve to drain. Boil syrup until somewhat thickened and reduced. When cold mix with an equal quantity of pale brandy. Place fruit in jars or glasses and pout syrup over them and serve."

Apple Surprise

 "Peel but not core uniformed size apples. Prepare a rich syrup with equal parts sugar and water and cook 5 minutes. Simmer apples in the syrup until they are transparent. Remove apples from syrup. Add 2 Tablespoons grated orange rind to each cup of syrup. Simmer several minutes and then cool. When ready to serve spoon syrup over chilled apples. Serve with whipped cream to which is added riced cream cheese."

What the heck is riced cream cheese?

Strawberry Tart

 

This recipe screams to me that it is from Merry Meeting Farm as there were thick rich berry patches all around. 

Ingredients

 1 quart strawberries (can add peaches, raspberries, blueberries)

4 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup red wine

Process

 "Heat on the back of the stove and do not boil..."

well that just screams a wood heated stove!

"...Pour off juice and boil to reduce.

Pastry Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cups rice flour, sifted. 

I cup butter, chopped fine

cold water 

 

"Mix with hands 1 and 1/2 cup rice flour, sifted, with 1 small cup butter until very fine. Add 2 dessert spoons of cold water. Put into a ball and throw back and forth for about 5 minutes. Roll out to the size of a pie plate. Fill with beans and bake in a hot oven for 25 minutes. Take out the beans. Sprinkle pastry lightly with powdered sugar. Just before serving put in berries. Pour juice over and sprinkle with powdered sugar. "

Queens Toast

 

 

Picture = Queens Toast Rack

 

I am not sure if this is a dessert or a breakfast but I really just want to know which queen came up with this. 

 

"Take crusts off 8 slices of bread. Saute in butter. 

Chop almonds, saute in butter, add to honey in double boiler. Pour over toast slices. "

 

There's a couple of directions this recipe can go the way it is written, so, good luck.

Orange Nut Bread

  

Ingredients

 2 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans because walnuts make my mouth itch)

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 large oranges, quarter and peel

Process

 "Slice oranges thinly and cover with cold water. Boil ten minutes and change water 3 times. Drain. Return to pan and add 1 Tablespoon sugar. Heat until sugar melts. Combine flour, orange rind, walnuts, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Moisten with egg. If not damp enough add 1 Tablespoon milk. Put into a greased loaf pan. Let stand covered for 10 minutes. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes."

Ice Box Rolls

 Ingredients

1 cake yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups cool water

1 egg

7 cups flour

4 teaspoons Spry

Process

 "Crumble yeast into bowl, add sugar, salt and water. Add well beaten egg. Sift flour once before measuring. Add half the flour and beat well. Add melted spry and mix in remainder of the flour with your hands. Let it rise to double its bulk and punch down. Cover tightly and place in ice box. For making rolls, remove desired amount of dough, shae, let rise to double its bulk and bake 20 minutes in a hot oven. "