Feasting With the Prophets VI

Week #6: Joseph F. Smith (remember the F!)
Favorite Dessert: Custard Pie

Unfortunately, me plus polygamists equals frowny face, so it's best to just leave the prophet life facts alone until we get past the Manifesto (which actually happened during Joseph F. Smith's presidency. Hurray for monogamy!)

So while his life will remain a blank for me until I can calmly deal with the idea of polygamy, we will enjoy this gem:

This is Joseph F. Smith and his freaking enormous family, with lots of grumpy faces and one ray of sunshine just to the prophet's right:

I love this kid. Makes me happy everytime these ol' polygamists get me riled up.

On to the dessert!

Custard Pie

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white
2 1/2 cups scalded milk
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2.Mix together eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir well. Blend in the scalded milk. For more yellow color, add few drops yellow food coloring.
3.Line pie pan with pastry, and brush inside bottom and sides of shell with egg white to help prevent a soggy crust. Pour custard mixture into piecrust. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
4.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

It actually tasted a lot like flan, only less delicious. We did top it with caramel sauce, so it was pretty delicious.

Feasting With The Prophets V

Week #5: Lorenzo Snow

Favorite Dessert: Yorkshire Pudding

Apparently, the writers of the news article didn't seem to think it was a problem to list Yorkshire Pudding as a dessert. Neither did I, until I realized:

Yep, that's roast beef and gravy. Not a dessert.

So I looked ahead at some of the other prophets, and things like oyster stew and boiled wheat (what the) are popping up everywhere. To keep the dessert train going, we'll be replacing those weeks with fun alternatives.

This week, we were watching Julia Child making a crazy chocolate cake and laughing at the weird things she used to say ("It's smells chocolate-y." "It's so shiny!"). Later, I was sitting at computer, stumped at what to do for dessert the next day, and I remembered Julia's cake, and thought it would be fun to try. And so, six hours later:

Raspberry Chocolate Genoise Cake!

This is a three layered unleavened cake, filled with chocolate creme fraiche and raspberries, topped with whipped cream, covered in a chocolate shell, topped with chocolate ruffles, and dusted with powdered sugar.

I am not going to post the recipe on here because it's just ridiculously complicated, but here's the link to it:

If nothing else, just go to it and listen to Julia talk as she bakes. Totally worth it.

Feasting With the Prophets IV

Week #4: Wilford Woodruff
Favorite Dessert: Cherry Nut Cake

Wilford Woodruff didn't seem to have an overly active sweet tooth, but he did lead an interesting life. He was likely the first fly fisherman in the Rocky Mountains, and he was the prophet to whom the American Founding Fathers appeared:

"Before I left St. George, the spirits of the [Founding Fathers] gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, “You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.” These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. . . . I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others."

So cool.

Wilford Woodruff Cherry Nut Cake

Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups buttermilk
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
1 cup walnuts, whole
1 pkg. candied cherries

Filling:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup corn syrup

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans; set aside. In bowl of mixer, cream sugar and butter until fluffy. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add to sugar and butter mixture alternating with buttermilk. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Invert cake onto wax paper and cool. While cake is cooling prepare filling. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, melt butter. Add sugar, milk, and corn syrup. Cook until a soft boil stage or 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Once filling has reached soft boil stage, take off the burner and beat until golden and thick enough to spread. Spread filling on first layer of cake (not on sides). Sprinkle whole walnuts and candied cherries over filling. Place the next layer of cake on top of the walnuts and cherries and repeat the process.

(Sadly, the cake did not survive long enough for me to take pictures of people enjoying it.)

Feasting With the Prophets III

Week #3: John Taylor
Favorite Dessert: Applesauce Cake

This was our first sugary dessert! President John Taylor was known to have a sweet tooth: in fact, he was a big reason that the sugar beet industry started up in Utah. Regular sugar was too expensive to import from the U.S., costing almost $1 per pound to transport. So the Utahns tried their hand at processing sugar beets into refined sugar, which didn't turn out well. But we got an Applesauce Cake out of it all and Sugar House, Utah, where (funnily enough) my friend now lives and works in a bakery.

Applesauce Cake Recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chilled applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Cream butter or margarine with sugar. Add applesauce; beat well. Stir in flour, soda, and spices. Add nuts and raisins.
2. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes, or until done. Serve warm.

We topped ours with cream cheese frosting, and it was delish.

Feasting With the Prophets!

A few months ago, I came across a website called "Feasting With the Prophets," a website with all the prophets' favorite desserts. I mentally shelved the idea until the holidays were over and life calmed down a little bit. Well, holidays were over three months ago (although our presents to the Eatough family are still sitting in our closet and patiently awaiting a trip to the post office. Seems to be a pattern here, doesn't it?) , and life is about as calm as it will ever be around here, so it's time to get our prophet feast on!

Week #1: Joseph Smith

Favorite Dessert: Johnny Cake w/ butter and syrup

Joseph Smith's family ate Johnny Cake so often that one of his children, when asked to bless the food, prayed "We thank Thee, Lord for this Johnny Cake, and ask Thee to send us something better. Amen."

We forgot to take pictures from that week, but it was yummy. A little plain, but Joseph wasn't exactly dining with kings during his turbulent life.

Week #2: Brigham Young

Favorite Dessert: Buttermilk Doughnuts

Brigham Young learned to make these doughnuts as a young man while caring for his sick mother. Later on, in Utah he ate two or three of these every morning during the "second course" of breakfast, which took place after the morning chores were done.

Tyler was itching to dive into this sugary goodness all afternoon while we baked them. He was soooo excited when it was finally time to eat.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoying their donuts (doughnuts?)

Tune in next week for John Taylor!