This recipe comes courtesy of the C&C Cakery blog, which, sadly, no longer exists. Luckily I copied the recipe into my notes file several years ago, before it disappeared. And I'm glad a did. These bars are way tastier than they have any right to be! The recipe might sound a little weird, but it's dead easy to put together and really delicious.

Barbarian Bars

Slightly adapted from C&C Cakery

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 c. chopped dark chocolate
• 1/2 c. chopped milk or white chocolate (or a mix of both)
• 1/2 c. butterscotch chips¹
• 1 c. unsweetened dried coconut²
• 300mL sweetened condensed milk³

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 23x33cm (9x13") pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter and mix well.
3. Dump the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
4. Sprinkle the nuts in an even layer on top, followed by the dark chocolate, then milk chocolate, butterscotch chips (or toffee bits), and finally the coconut.
5. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything, spreading it as evenly as possible. Try to coat the entire surface with milk.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until browned on top (25-30 minutes).
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
8. Cut into squares and serve.

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¹ I didn't have any butterscotch chips, so I substituted Skor toffee bits and am very happy with the results. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for sweetened coconut, but, given how many other sugary ingredients were already present, I opted for unsweetened. I definitely think that was the right call! The bars are delicious, but, even with the unsweetened coconut, they are still very sweet! I think they would have been cloying and much too sweet if there'd been sugar added to the coconut as well. ^Back
3 The original recipe called for a "14-oz" can of sweetened condensed milk (which works out to just shy of 400mL in metric). However, the standard size can for sweetened condensed milk here is 300mL. And I only had one. It was a little tricky to get it to cover the whole surface. Having the extra 90-ish mL definitely would have made that task easier. That said, 300 was enough (just barely). And I think the lesser amount made for a better sweetness balance. I think more milk would have put these in danger of being too sweet. So it worked out for the best in the end. ^Back

My mom makes fabulous cheesecakes and, over the years, has shared several of her recipes with me. Surprisingly, this is not one of those recipes. I was tempted, but the lure ATK's promise of a "foolproof" cheesecake was too strong. (Plus, there's something very satisfying about getting to check off another recipe in one of my cookbooks.)

I did make a couple very minor changes to the recipe -- mostly to avoid having leftover ingredients -- but I tried to follow the instructions very closely. I don't have much experience with cheesecakes, so I was out of my comfort zone here. It seems to have turned out well though, despite my worries about it being underbaked, overbrowned, or not sweet enough.

I might be tempted to try turning the oven up very slightly next time, but I'm undecided. It did seem cooked in the end, so maybe it's best not to mess with it. I have similar thoughts about the browning step at the end. I felt that even just four minutes at 500°F made it quite dark and wondered if 475°F might not be a more suitable temperature. I may experiment with that next time. I'll see.

Sorry, I forgot to snap any photos and it's all gone now. Another thing to try to remember for next time!

New York Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Crust

• 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs (or 6 whole graham crackers, crushed)
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1kg (2.2 lbs) cream cheese, softened
• 135g mascarpone (or more cream cheese)
• 1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 7 large eggs¹

Directions

Crust

1. Place one over rack in the upper middle position and one at the lower middle height.
2. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and brush the bottom of a 23cm (9") springform pan with melted butter.
3. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and have a food processor, this whole procedure can be done with short pulses in the food processor. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and don't have a food processor then a molcajete or a Ziploc back and a rolling pin are probably your best bet for arriving at the crumb stage.
4. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, mixing well.
5. Add the flour and mix until evenly combined.
6. Pour in the butter and mix with a fork until all the crumbs look moistened.
7. Dump the crumb mixture into the greased pan and press it down firmly to form an even layer.
8. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to tamp it down and smooth it out a bit more.
9. Bake at 160°C (325°F) on the lower middle rack for 12-13 minutes.
10. Set aside to cool while the filling is prepared.

Filling

1. Reduce oven temperature to 95°C (200°F) and carefully grease the sides of the springform pan with a bit of melted butter.
2. Beat the softened cream cheese and mascarpone (if using) with 3/4 c. of the sugar for ~1 minute.
3. Add the remaining 3/4 c. sugar and beat for another minute.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat for 1 more minute.
5. Beat in the eggs one or two at a time.
6. If desired, strain the filling through a fine mesh strainer.²
7. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan and set aside for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to the surface.
8. Gently draw the tines of a fork across the surface to pop the air bubbles.³
9. Bake the cheesecake on the lower middle rack at 95°C (200°F) for 3-3.5 hours⁴. If you don't mind poking a thermometer into the top of the cake -- which seems criminal if you went to the effort of straining the filling and popping all the bubbles on the surface -- then you can test for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Look for an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
10. Remove the cake from the oven and preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F).
11. Once the oven is preheated, place the cake on the upper middle rack and bake for another few minutes⁵ until the top is well-browned. Watch it carefully!
12. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
13. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, then continue cooling, in pan on wire rack, for 2-3 hours.
14. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6-24 hours⁶ before serving.
15. Serve as-is or with a fruit compote of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for six eggs + 2 yolks. This would definitely make the cake richer, but I didn't want to have to deal with figuring out what to do with two leftover egg whites, so I just put in an extra whole egg in place of the two yolks. This doesn't seem to have hurt the cake any. ^Back
2 I skipped this step. ^Back
3 I did do this step, but it didn't seem to work very well. A lot of the air bubbles seemed very reluctant to pop. I'm sure it's beneficial if you want the smoothest possible top, but I'd be inclined not to bother next time. It's fiddly and the bubbles don't bother me enough for it to be worthwhile. ^Back
4 Mine needed every minute of the full 3.5 hours. To the point where I was worried that it was still a bit underdone at the end of baking. I think it was fine in the end, but it made me a bit nervous. ^Back
5 ATK suggests 4-12 minutes, which is a pretty wide range. Mine was already quite dark after 4 minutes. As noted above, I think I would be tempted to try browning it at 250°C (475°F) next time, just to see how it goes. ^Back
6 Mine definitely didn't get a full six hours in the fridge before cutting, but it seemed none the worse for wear for it. ^Back

This pie did not go as planned. Just about everything that could go wrong, did. I mixed the gelatin in at the wrong point. The meringue didn't whip up properly. I had to ditch the whole batch and start over again. I ended up making a French meringue rather than the Swiss one called for in the recipe. And then, because the French meringue is uncooked, I had to try to bake it in the oven rather that giving it a quick blast under the broiler to brown it. On top of that, I ended up baking it to at too high a temperature which then required me to take it out before the meringue had fully set. And heating the pie back up caused filling to liquefy, so then I had to toss it back in the fridge to try to get it to set again. By the time I'd reached the end of the whole process and managed to assemble the pie, I felt like it was cursed.

Even with all that, this pie was amazing! Seriously, so delicious. I can't even imagine what it would've been like if I'd managed to do it right. Definitely one to try again.

Banana Pudding Pie

Adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2020

Ingredients

Crust

Original Recipe

• 4 c. Nilla Wafer cookies
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Lazy Way

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust

Filling

• 2 tsp. unflavoured gelatin
• 1 3/4 c. half-and-half (10% cream), divided
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pinch ground allspice
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

Meringue

Swiss Meringue¹

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

French Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. sugar

Directions

Crust

Original Recipe

1. Pulse cooies, sugar, flour, and salt in food processor for ~10 pulses.
2. Add melted butter and pulse until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Transfer to 9" pie plate and use your hands to press the crumbs firmly up the sides of the plate. The walls should be at least 5mm thick and go all the way up to the top edge of the plate.
4. Press the remaining crumbs into an even layer on the bottom of the plate. Be sure to firmly press into the corners.
5. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 18-20 minutes.
6. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Lazy Way

1. No prep needed. Crust is ready to use.

Filling

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 c. of the half-and-half and set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, egg yolks, flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and remaining 1 1/4 c. half-and-half until fully combined.
3. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping corners, until mixture thickens (5-7 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla, and gelatin mixture.
5. Stir bananas into hot filling.
6. Pour filling into crust.
7. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.

Meringue

Swiss Meringue

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a heatproof bowl.
2. Place bowl over saucepan filled with a couple inches of boiling water.
3. Whisking gently but constantly, cook until mixture reaches 71-73°C (160-165°F). This should take ~8 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and whisk on high speed until meringue forms stiff peaks (2-3 minutes).
5. Uncover pie and spread meringue over filling. Make sure to spread it all the way to the edges.
6. Heat broiler and broil until meringue is well-browned (1-2 minutes).

French Meringue

1. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until frothy.
2. Add sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time while continuing to beat on high speed.
3. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
4. Uncover pie and spread meringue over filling. Make sure to spread it all the way to the edges.
5. Bake at ?? for ??. I tried baking it at 450°F (230°C), but had to take it out after only 8 minutes as the top had become excessively brown and was in danger of burning. I'll try 400°F (200deg;C) next time and see how that goes.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 2/3 c. sugar total (1/3 c. granulated, 1/3 c. brown). This did NOT work at all for me. I don't know if the problem was too much sugar or something else, but it certainly seemed like A LOT of sugar for the amount egg and the mixture was thick and sticky and syrupy, almost like molasses. I didn't want to try the Swiss meringue again after one failed attempt, so I just whipped up a quick French meringue since they're reliable and I've never had one fail. If I were going to try the Swiss meringue again, I'd start by adding less sugar and see if that helped at all. Hence the reduced sugar quantities above. ^Back

I'd never even heard of chiffon pies before coming across this recipe. Apparently they were popular from the 30s up through the 70s, but you don't see them so much these days. I'll still always love the classic cooked custard pumpkin pie, but it was nice to try something a little different this time. This does make a lovely light and airy pie. And it's not as difficult or fussy to make as I was expecting. I did use a ready-made graham cracker crust rather than making my own. Homemade would, of course, be nicer, but I was happy enough with the short-cut.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country October/November 2016

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust
OR

• 9 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/4 c. dark rum
• 1 Tbsp. gelatin
• 2 c. pumpkin purée
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/3 c. sugar

Topping

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 gingersnap cookies, crushed

Directions

Crust

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and ginger and mix well.
2. Stir in melted butter.
3. Press crumbs into bottom and up sides of pie plate.
4. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling

1. Sprinkle gelatin over rum and set aside for ~5 minutes.
2. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around the edges and gelatin is completely dissolved (30-60 seconds). Set aside to cool until just warm.
3. Microwave pumpkin until also just warm (1-2 minutes).
4. Beat pumpkin with brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cream until completely combined.
5. Stir in gelatin mixture.
6. In a clean bowl and with clean beaters, whip egg whites on medium-low until foamy (~1 minute).
7. Increase speed to medium-high and whip to soft peaks (~1 minute).
8. Gradually add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. (You should be able to invert the bowl without the meringue slipping or dripping.)
9. Whisk about a third of the meringue into the pumpkin mixture to loosen it.
10. Gently fold in the remaining meringue.
11. Scoop the filling into the crust, letting it mound in the centre slightly.
12. Chill for at least four hours.

Topping

1. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a blender¹ and mix on medium for 30 seconds or so.
2. Increase to high until cream stiffens.
3. Spread cream over pie.
4. Top with crushed gingersnaps.

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¹ Using a blender rather than beating with a hand or stand mixer results in smaller air bubbles and a denser, stiffer whipped cream that will last much longer without "deflating". If the pie will be eaten right away with no chance of leftovers, feel free to use the beaters for extra fluffy whipped cream. ^Back