What are you making for Thanksgiving dessert?

[patti]

My husband and I made Praline-Pumpkin Torte and Lucky 7 Coconut-Lemon Cake tonight. They aren't perfect, but I won't pass judgment until after we serve them tomorrow.

Bad sign: When my husband tried to transfer one cooled praline-pumpkin layer from the rack to the cake plate, a blob of cake fell out of the center. Which answered my previous question to him, "Why's the middle of the cake sagging?" We baked it according to directions, and it even passed the toothpick test, but it was obviously underdone. The cake needs refrigerating, and because it was late and we were nonplussed, we put the layers in the fridge without putting it all together. Anybody have any ideas? Should we put them back in the oven tomorrow and bake them a little longer? (The blob was very tasty, though.)

[mighty quinn]

my brother brought a pumpkin pie-i gave hime crap because it has a store-bought crust, but i have to give him credit for the fact that he grew the pumpkins and made the filling! he also brought 4 quarts of blueberries that he picked in the n.c. mountains this summer. i'll be making cobbler from those. i'm also making coconut custard pie-something different-i'm a bit of a coconut junkie! my s-i-l brought a couple of pies down from philly- came from a bakery at reading terminal so they must be tasty. they're a mistery as of right now. i can't imagine having any roon for dessert today!

[tan319]

Sounds like a really nice dessert, Kevin!

[Wendy DeBord]

Wendy, I hope you post your cake as I would love to see it.

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I didn't do it. I got so mad/frustrated making rolled shortbread cookies (because my room temp. is just toooooooo HOT! Lately it has to be in the mid to high 90's) I desided it's not worth it. My kitchen is twice the heat in the winter then the summer (the heating system is all screwed up and it just dumps the buildings worth of heat on me)...........lately it's really gotten the best of me. Begining level work is becoming expert level.

[kthull]

Sounds like a really nice dessert, Kevin!

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Something I hadn't expected, that turned out great, was that some of the caramelized sugar of the pralines dissolved when in contact with the mousse. Since these pralines were a component of a few ice cream recipes at emerils.com, I thought they'd hold up better. However, since they were also in contact with the gingerbread, the gingerbread soaked some of it up and had this nice caramel hit to it. Same thing happened with the crushed pralines on the surface of the dome. Really neat.

The second batch had to done as a trifle. Still a huge hit, but I only have one dome mold and the first dome hadn't been set enough to unmold (the mini only took about an hour...the full size was on hour three at 1 a.m. and still a bit squishy).

[KatieLoeb]

The Asian Pear-Cranberry cobbler was absolutely delicious and a big hit, especially with my 7 year old nephew. He thought they were "really sweet!!" and wondered why they had to cook them. I told him it was so they'd soften up a bit. I'll have to bring him a raw one to eat out of hand and see how much he loves that.

[andiesenji]

I baked two of these pumpkin/pecan "pies" yesterday. One was consumed completely, one about 1/4 consumed.

I didn't use a regular pie crust as we prefer something a bit different. I simply mixed up a batch of scone dough (poppyseed/ginger), pressed it into the pan (deep dish pizza pan) pre-baked it for 12 minutes at 275, just enough to give it some body and dry it a bit.

Then allowed it to cool slightly, pressed the sides back up then filled it and baked it, (again at 275 so the surface would not develop a tough skin) for 70 minutes.

[ludja]

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Ludja, those sound good. I've eaten at A Southern Season many times. That is Neal's original restaurant. Can you tell me how the chestnut cream cake was received? I'd love to have a recipe for it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Woods

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[ludja]

I would love to have this thread as a reference for next year--so I rounded up some of the other desserts people mentioned on other threads:

applely things:

apple strudel, cranberry and apple pie, caramel apple pie, apple tarte tatin

pumpkin:

pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin tart, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin creme brulee

cranberry:

cranberry cheesecake, orange cranberry cake, cranberry & apple pie

other:

nut strudel, mincemeat pie, pecan tart, roasted pears with candied hazelnuts and hazelnut syrup, chocolate pecan pie (aka derby pie), bourbon bread pudding and boubon molasses pudding

Woods: I'll pm you the chestnut cake recipe after a guest leaves this weekend!

Edited November 29, 2004 by ludja (log)

[patti]

My husband and I made Praline-Pumpkin Torte and Lucky 7 Coconut-Lemon Cake tonight. They aren't perfect, but I won't pass judgment until after we serve them tomorrow.

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Final judgment: Praline-Pumpkin Torte - Excellent! Moist, rich and tasty. Everybody loved it and this recipe is a keeper. Next time will bake a bit longer and be more watchful when testing for doneness.

Lucky 7 Coconut-Lemon Cake - Eh. The lemon filling was tart and lemony, but all in all, will unlikely make this particular cake again.

[viva]

I like experimenting with T-Day desserts, because that's where people seem a little less bound to tradition and willing to experiment. Unlike, say, god forbid, messing with the stuffing recipe.

Along the chestnut lines, this year I made a chestnut chocolate rum cake (chocolate cake layers with rum syrup, RLB's chestnut mousse for filling between the layers, and RLB's chestnut rum buttercream frosting). It was a nice change of pace but chocolate-y enough for the chocoholics to be satisfied.

In past years, I've done:

- harvest pie (apple, pear, cranberry)

- apple-quince-raisin pie

- sweet potato cheesecake

The family-favorite pumpkin pie is the fluffy one from Julia's "The Way to Cook".

One friend brought a blackberry pie this year, but it seemed kind of out of place. Delicious, but out of place.

[ludja]

Is it too early to think a little about pies, cakes and desserts for Thanksgiving?

Here's a recent thread on pumpkin pie

And a few on apple pie:

apple varieties for pies

recipes for apple caramel pie

Don't forget to serve a wedge of cheddar cheese with your apple pie

A tentative plan for me this year is:

Marlborough Pie

Pear Ginger Pie (I made this last year)

Squash and Cranberry Strudel from "Lidia's American Table" in a blended nod to my Austrian roots.

[jgm]

What is Marlborough Pie? Sounds interesting.

I'm trying to get the tobacco thing out of my head. . .

[ludja]

What is Marlborough Pie?  Sounds interesting.

I'm trying to get the tobacco thing out of my head. . .

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Marlborough Pie

Definition: [MARHL-bur-oh] This Massachusetts specialty is a single-crust pie with a custardlike filling of applesauce, eggs, cream and sometimes sherry. Many Massachusetts families serve it as a traditional Thanksgiving dessert.

--Copyright © 1995 by Barron's Educational Series, from The New Food Lover's Companion, Second Edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst

Some recipes I've seen (surfing the net; it's not in any of my New England or regional cookbooks that I've noticed) also have some lemon zest or use finely grated apples rather than applesauce. I'm intrigued to see what the texture and flavor would be like. I think I first heard of it in an excerpt from John T. Edge's recent book on "Apple Pie: An American Story". After tasting variations all over the country, he listed this pie as one of his favorites. Here's a link to the recipe he gives in his book: click. I thnk it's a rather old-fashioned recipe and I'm not sure that people make it much anymore, although it would be related to other apple custard pies.

[suzilightning]

since my mother-in-law buys her desserts (did you know Mrs. Smith uses milk in her apple pie? about the 4th ingredient down and we can't forget the Sara Lee raspberry cheesecake - neither which johnnybird can eat) since john goes up for thanksgiving weekend i always send up a dessert that he can enjoy. it has to be able to make the 90 mile one way trip up to poughkeepsie so ususally it is black forest mousse pie. this year i'm thinking about doing a spice cake or a pineapple upside down cake.

what i really wish i could find is a recipe for the cranberry chiffon pie i had at American Bounty during their soft opening. it was one of the most wonderful things... er pieces of food i have ever put in my mouth. flaky, rich pastry with a tart cranberry filling and just the right amount of sweetness....

[K8memphis]

I usually stick with apple and pumpkin pies, but I decided to be adventurous this year by trying all new recipes.  I just made a cranberry almond upside-down cake and tonight I will make Ina Garten's pumpkin banana mousse tart.  I am still torn between making an apple pie as a standby, or going with a pear gingerbread cake that I have been wanting to try as well. . .

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Hey, I made Ina Garten's pumpkin banana mousse tarte for Thanksgiving one year and I recommend at least halving the sugar--it was uber sweet. And actually I did my apple pie as usual and I was glad I did because the torte was too sweet for us. And I have some very serious sweet-aholics. But I only make the apple pie on Thanksgiving and Christmas so that's a definite every year.

But the torte still seems like such a good idea--maybe I'll try it again this year--or maybe instead of orange zest and lemon juice, go orange juice and lemon zest, or maybe both zests--tweak it somehow...in fact if I do make it I'd probably use a quarter cup of brown sugar in the pumpkin stuff & like a scant tablespoon of sugar in the graham crackers if any at all. I'd cut way back.

Have you made it before??? Did you think it was too sweet??? Happy baking to you!

[JayBassin]

Pumpkin-pecan roulade (jelly roll) filled with pumpkin-ginger cream and topped with candied pecan halves.

[mikeycook]

Usually someone brings pies with them, mostly apple and pumpkim, but I must confess that, for the first time, I am buying a cake for Thanksgiving as well, a Red Velvet Cake from Cake Man Raven in Brooklyn. If it goes over well, I may start making it next year (recipe is on the site as well as Food TV's web site).

[Kris]

I'm going to my parent's house on Thanksgiving and my mom usually purchases a Mrs. Smith's natural juice apple pie (yuck). I don't eat it. But she and my sister both love that pie.

I have tried experimenting with different pies and desserts over the years, including:

peach cobbler

pecan pie

coconut custard pie

pumpkin cheesecake

sweet potato cheesecake

carrot cake

I haven't decided what to try this year. Maybe I'll experiment with something new.

[browniebaker]

This year I want to go all-out with a pie buffet. I'm thinking of baking the following:

apple pie

buttermilk chess pie

butterscotch pie

Japanese fruit pie (raisins, pecans, and coconut)

pecan pie

pumpkin pie

sweet potato pie with crumb topping

O, joy! There will be pie for breakfast, pie for lunch, pie for tea, and pie for dinner in the days after Thanksgiving.

[Ling]

This year I want to go all-out with a pie buffet. I'm thinking of baking the following:

apple pie

buttermilk chess pie

butterscotch pie

Japanese fruit pie (raisins, pecans, and coconut)

pecan pie

pumpkin pie

sweet potato pie with crumb topping

O, joy! There will be pie for breakfast, pie for lunch, pie for tea, and pie for dinner in the days after Thanksgiving.

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That sounds like my idea of heaven. Pie is so comforting; pie is love!

Is "Japanese fruit pie" popular in Japan? I've never heard of it. Are the raisins, pecans, and coconut mixed in some sort of brown sugar/butter/corn syrup filling like a pecan pie?

[ludja]

...

That sounds like my idea of heaven. Pie is so comforting; pie is love! 

Is "Japanese fruit pie" popular in Japan? I've never heard of it. Are the raisins, pecans, and coconut mixed in some sort of brown sugar/butter/corn syrup filling like a pecan pie?

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According to Bill Neal in "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie:

Japanese Fruitcake is an exotically named, typically Southern dessert cake, especially popular in the 20th century.  This same cake was once called Oriental cake, but there is nothing of the Far East about it, except the spices, none of which is Japanese in origin.

(The filling in Japanese Fruitcake can be the same as is used in a "Japanese Ccconut Pie". The filling for the two in Neal's book is: fresh grated coconut, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon zest. For the pie filling, eggs are added. Also interesting, that "Japanese Fruitcake" is quite different from that one one might regularly think of as a fruitcake. The filling is sandwiched between the cake layers that are spiced and have rasins and pecans in them.) I wonder if the 'fruit' in the pie name is just a name carryover from it being the filling for the fruitcake.)

It would be interesting to hear what is in browniebakers, "japanese fruit pie".

edited to add: What a classic spread browniebaker! I like the mix of pies you have. I've never made a butterscotch pie but I know I would love it.

[Amuse Bouche]

I'm always looking for a pie alternative, since I'm not the biggest pie fan (sacrilege! I know). This year we'll probably have the standard pumpkin (made by my grandmother) and pecan (made by my mother) and I'm thinking I'll bring chocolate gingerbread in a bundt pan.

[ludja]

Pumpkin recipe ideas:

pumpkin cheesecake

and

pumpkin pastry cream

[Kris]

Okay, so it's going to be sweet potato cheesecake and pumpkin cheesecake to bring to my parent's house. My mom made the request last week.

Also, I'll probably make hubby a pecan pie, even though pies aren't my forte.

If anyone has a killer pecan pie recipe, please share.