Food Just Desserts Sylvia Lee discloses her secrets in the new "Desserts." ANNABEL COHEN Special to the Jewish News r, or nearly a baker's dozen years, Bloomfield Hills resident Sylvia Lee served up sweet treats for a community hungry for the flavor of homemade. She also sup- plied desserts for some of the most important food names in town. Caterers, and restaurants such as the Lark, were her best customers. Now, 10 years after selling her Southfield shop, she dishes up all her delicious recipes in a picture-filled book that'll have you licking the pages. Desserts, said Lee, is a "delicious learning, baking and eating experience." "My style is not commercial," said Lee. "It's good homemade stuff with real butter, cream cheese, real lemon peel, real apples. Basically, it's what mothers and grandmothers made at home, but dressed up a little, with pret- ty decorations." Her recipe style is different from most books. Lee gives instructions as you read the ingredients rather than listing ingredi- ents and then offering directions. Her book also includes decorating and baking suggestions and techniques. You can find Desserts at Esther's Judaica in West Bloomfield, BookBeat in Oak Park, Gift People in Franklin, Warren Drugs in Farmington Hills, Holiday Market in Royal Oak, Quarton Market in West Bloomfield, Papa Jo's in Birmingham and other stores around town. Here's a sampling of recipes from the book: FRAMBOISE TORTE Batter: 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 2 T. raspberry liqueur 1 T. raspberry jam 1/2 cup plus 1 T. (1 stick plus 1 T.) butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 3 large eggs, separated 1/8 t. salt 1/4 t. cream of tartar 1/3 cup sugar Frosting: 5 T. butter 3/4 cup whipping cream 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted 2 T. raspberry liqueur Garnish: 1 cup chocolate shards, (recipe below Preheat oven to 350E Grease an fl- inch heart-shaped or round cake pan. Batter: Combine chocolate chips, raspberry liqueur and jam in a double boiler or medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. With a hand-held mixer, slowly beat in butter and sugar. Remove from heat and con- tinue to beat, adding the flour and egg yolks until smooth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until peaks form. Slowly mix in the salt, cream of tarter and sugar. Transfer egg- white mixture to chocolate mixture; using the hand-held mixer, mix for 10- 15 seconds. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. Frosting: Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Turn off the heat and stir in whipping cream, cocoa and confectioners sugar. On low heat, stir until smooth, about 5 min- utes. Cool slightly; stir in the liqueur. Remove the cooled cake onto a serving plate. Pour the frosting over the cake, tip- ping the plate to spread evenly. Do not use utensils on top to smooth the frosting because they dull the finish. You may use a spatula to smooth the sides, as they will be covered with chocolate shards. Press the chocolate shards into the sides of the cake. Top the cake with a real or silk rose. Makes one 8-inch torte. CHOCOLATE SHARDS 1 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate, milk, white or butterscotch chips Melt the chips in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Spread a large rectangle of the melted chocolate, about 1 /4-inch thick, with a spatula on a clean marble or Formica surface. Let cool to room temperature. With a paint scraper (about 2-3-inch- es in size), or a small metal spatula, scrape away from you, pushing scraper on bottom of chocolate spread, creating broken pieces in random sizes. Store in a dry, sealed container. Perfect for using on sides of cakes — covers uneven glaze, uneven sizes and adds great taste and texture. Sylvia Lee puts her experience into her cookbook. APRICOT POUND CAKE 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, softened 1/2 cup (1 stick butter), softened 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 3 cups sugar 6 large eggs 3 cups flour 1 t. baking powder 1 t. vanilla extract 4 T. thick apricot preserves 2 T. apple jelly, melted dried apricot rounds, optional 8-24 almond slices, optional green gel ( in small tubes in your gro- cery baking section), optional Preheat oven to 325E Grease a 10- inch Teflon tube pan well. Set aside. Combine margarine, butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix well with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the sugar; mix well. Beat in the eggs until combined. Turn mixer to low; add flour, baking powder and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Mix at medium for 10 seconds more. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Use a spoon to create a "ring" in the center of the batter in the pan. Spread the "ring" with the apricot pre- serves. Spread the remaining batter in the pan. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake to lukewarm and unmold by putting a flat dish on top of the pan and inverting the pan — one palm on top of the dish and one palm under the cake pan. Turn the pan quickly. Using the same method, invert the cake into an upright position onto the serving dish. Presentation: Brush the top of the cake with the melted jelly and decorate, if desired, by placing 1 to 3 apricots on top of the cake and adding 8 almond slices per apricot, pressed vertically around the apricot to make daisies. Make flower stems by squeezing gel into stems. Makes 14 to 16 servings. ITALIAN CORNMEAL RING 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 4 large eggs 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 t. baking powder 1 cup milk 2 T. lemon juice 3/4 cup yellow•cornmeal grated peel froml lemon pulp from 1 lemon" Preheat oven to 350E Grease a 10- inch Bundt-type pan well. Set aside. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the sugar until creamy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and beat in the flour, baking powder, milk, juice, corn- meal, grated peel and lemon pulp. Increase speed to medium and beat for 10 seconds more. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan; bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake to lukewarm and =mold by putting a flat dish on top of the pan and inverting the pan — one palm on top of the dish and one palm under the cake pan. Turn the pan quickly. Using the same method, invert the cake into an upright posi- tion onto the serving dish. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired. Makes 16-18 servings. Vt< - 1/16 2004 40