A convention of apples:
The grocery store has had novelty apple varieties lately. Not only did the check-out guy not punch me out for buying one each of six kinds of apples, but he figured out that I was taste-testing the fancy cultivars.
From left to right: Lady Alice (origins unknown), Piñata (Golden Delicious x Cox's Orange Pippin x Duchess of Oldenburg), Sonya (Gala x Red Delicious), Ambrosia (origins unclear), Jazz (Royal Gala x Braeburn), and the sticker for Pacific Rose (Gala x Splendor).
Jazz basically tastes like a Gala but with a more dense, hard, texture, and Pacific Rose is a lot like Fuji--very sweet and crisp, but juicy.
I love baking and I love desserts but I rarely make them because I don't really like to eat them as much as I think I do, and Mom can't help me out because she's diabetic, and I can't cook with Splenda because then I can't stand the taste. So we can never eat the same dessert.
I caved in and tried this. It's one of those Ultimate Junk Food things, right up there with Gold Rush Brownies.
From left to right: Lady Alice (origins unknown), Piñata (Golden Delicious x Cox's Orange Pippin x Duchess of Oldenburg), Sonya (Gala x Red Delicious), Ambrosia (origins unclear), Jazz (Royal Gala x Braeburn), and the sticker for Pacific Rose (Gala x Splendor).
Jazz basically tastes like a Gala but with a more dense, hard, texture, and Pacific Rose is a lot like Fuji--very sweet and crisp, but juicy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I love baking and I love desserts but I rarely make them because I don't really like to eat them as much as I think I do, and Mom can't help me out because she's diabetic, and I can't cook with Splenda because then I can't stand the taste. So we can never eat the same dessert.
I caved in and tried this. It's one of those Ultimate Junk Food things, right up there with Gold Rush Brownies.
Many recipes, including the one in my Jell-O dessert cookbook, use canned frosting, but I highly recommend making the bitter chocolate frosting instead. It's very easy and absolutely worth having the contrast between the bite of the cocoa and the sweet filling.
Adapted from Cooks.com (I cut this in half and then added another graham cracker layer):
Cake:
27 squares of graham crackers (14 crackers, broken in half)
1 four-serving packet of instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk (skim is fine)
6 ounces whipped topping, thawed
9 x 9 square baking dish
Combine pudding mix and milk and beat for two minutes. Fold in whipped topping.
Cover bottom of dish with a layer of graham cracker squares (you'll need 9 halves per layer). Spread with 1/2 of pudding mixture. Repeat. Cover one more time with crackers. You'll have three cracker layers and two pudding layers.
Frosting:
3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon light corn or cane syrup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cups powdered sugar
Beat together until smooth. You might need another splash of milk to make it spreadable without shifting the top layer of crackers.
Frost.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
I'd love to try this with coconut or banana filling. Maybe I could do a tropical version? With some crushed pineapple or mandarin oranges? Hmmm.
UPDATE: Yep, it freezes! Woo hoo!
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