Lemon Bars

I don't even remember when or where I found this recipe but it's been such a great way to have a nice treat without guilt. I'm the first to admit that I do have an affinity for sweets but I also know that limiting sweets is probably better for me in the long run. Remember the brother who doesn't let sugar cross his lips, unless it's a red velvet cake from Magnolia Bakery in New York City - he has given this Lemon Bar recipe the thumbs up.

For those just tuning in, this challenge invites you to submit your healthy recipes for judging by our celebrity chef, Christine Cushing. We know that food and lifestyle play an important role in our long term health. We're hoping that this challenge will encourage people to be aware of the foods they eat while supporting an awareness for the critical need to sign our organ donor cards.



We would have liked to have said that Christine is cheering us on in this picture but really, as we've already mentioned in a previous post that she's a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. For our friends outside of North America, the Maple Leafs are a professional hockey team representing Toronto, Canada. Hockey is to Canada what soccer is to Europe.

Psychgrad's note: Giz and Christine have similar persuasions when it comes to hockey teams.

Christine has paid a visit to the blog to see how we're doing. Check back here, to see the comment she left with a hint on the type of recipes she'll be looking for when judging Tried Tested and True Two submissions.



Here are some lemon bars that I made a while ago. My first thought when trying them was, "these need to go into a Tried, Tested and True roundup".



Ingredients:

11 whole low-fat graham crackers
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz) sugar-free lemon Jello
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup thawed frozen low-fat whipped topping
Lemon zest curls for decorating (optional)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Line 8" square baking pan with foil, overhanging ends by 2"




3. Coat with cooking spray.
4. In food processor, pulse crackers and sugar until crumbs form (I left out the sugar)
5. Drizzle in butter and t Tbsp water; pulse until moist crumbs form.



6. Press into bottom of pan.



7. Bake 15 minutes or until set. Cool
8. Whisk 1 cup boiling water into Jello until dissolved
9. Stir in 1 1/4 cups ice water, yogurt, zest and juice.



10. Chill until thickened but not set - about 45 minutes.
11. Pour over crust; chill until set - at least 3 hours.
12. Cut into squares. If desired, garnish with whipped topping and lemon zest curls

At only 73 calories and 2 g fat per bar, this dessert is a healthy option treat to satisfy a sweet craving.

She Said - She Said - Cake Decorating Class 4

With all of the excitement of Tried Tested and True Two, our last installment of "She Said-She Said" has been delayed by a couple of weeks. But, we saved the best for last (you can catch up on the first three weeks here, here and here.

Giz wrote the portions in red
Psychgrad wrote the portion in purple

Course I is done - we survived without cuts and bruises. We even have the certificates to prove it.

Note to self: In the future, try to avoid dropping your Wilton rose on course certificate (the yellow thing is the perfect rose I made and subsequently dropped on my certificate about 10 seconds after receiving it).

The prep for the 4th and final class of session 1 felt pretty intense. With cake, several piping bags filled with a variety of different coloured icing in different consistencies and topped with different tips, off I went for the climactic challenge of "the final cake".

I learned that making roses that look like roses is a bit of an art. It's also once again, all about consistency - the icing and how you apply pressure to the decorating bag. Early on in the class there was some rather colourful language coming from an otherwise dignified women. If you've been following the series, you know about "annoying woman" who today, true to form, threw a little hissy fit because she just couldn't get it. We tried to reassure her it was all fun and eventually we'd all get it but nooooo...she was beside herself - had to be perfect. I asked her if she was going for an interview at a bakery right from class that she was so hard on herself. At the end of it all, she chose not to register for the next session. Stay tuned for that one.







Then we practised creating a different style of flower



and then the leaves



The beauty of learning how to make leaves properly is that it's possible to hide nearly all sins with leaves.

And then time started running short so it was a race to get the whole thing finished before the class was over.

I ended up staying an extra hour to finish my cake

Here are some of my classmates' cakes, at various stages:








And here's my final cake. I was happy with it, except for some of my icing being too soft (the bow is not supposed to look flat).





Here's Giz's cake:



Overall, I am happy that I took the course. I don't plan to take the second course in the near future, but would like to continue to learn cake decorating techniques.

Light Swirl Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze

Christine Cushing brings a distinctive passion to everything she does. Don't you just feel drawn to someone that has that much passion? To have found something you really love to do and then to be able to not only make it your life career but also create a name for yourself in the process is a special attribute.

We've chosen another of Christine's recipes to highlite. Today's recipe was the
Food TV Challenge for March.

Ingredients for Coffee Cake

2 cups sifted cake flour (500 ml)
1 tsp baking powder (5 ml)
1 tsp baking soda (5 ml)
1/4 tsp salt (1 ml)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (2 ml)
3/4 cup white sugar (175 ml)
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (150 ml)
1 cup full fat yogurt (250 ml), divided
3 X Large eggs
1 tsp vanilla (5 ml)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (15 ml)
3 Tbsp apple butter (45 ml)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted (25 ml)

Maple Glaze



1/4 cup maple syrup (50 ml)
1 Tbsp corn syrup (15 ml)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1 ml)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a bundt or tube pan. Tap away excess flour. Set aside.




2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in sugar. Add the soft butter and 1/2 the yogurt and mix on low speed for about 2 minutes, just until mixture starts to come together.




3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, apple butter and rest of yogurt. Add this mixture to the flour mixture in three batches, beating in between additions. Scrape down the sides and beat for 1 minute on medium speed, until batter is smooth.

4. Transfer half the batter to another small bowl. Add the cocoa powder to one batch and stir with rubber spatula to combine thoroughly. Pour chocolate batter carefully into another half and fold just twice to create swirl. Pour batter into prepared pan, gently.




5. Bake on the middle rack of oven for 45 to 55 minutes. Cake is done when a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean and top is golden. Leave cake in pan and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.




6. Meanwhile, make glaze by combining all ingredients in small saucepan, until it comes to a boil.

7. Remove cake from pan, flip upside down and drizzle with glaze. Cool completely.




The verdict: A wonderful cake with light texture. I over marbled the cake - that would be the only change I would make to this cake. Baba is very happy - it's cut up into individual servings in her freezer for her to have with afternoon tea.