Baking with booze: 'Have your cake and drink it, too'

(Chefs and cookbook authors have concocted an array of recipes using booze to bolster flavors/Gannett News Service photos)

There is so much creative use of liqueurs in baked goods these days, it can make your head spin like a Long Island Iced Tea.

Baking with booze adds a depth and warmth to many recipes, from cakes and sorbet to mixers that pair beer and margaritas.

The following recipes from John Tanasychuk of McClatchy-Tribune are likely to make you a bit tipsy, just from reading the ingredients. They are a fun addition to the summer repertoire of drinks and sweets. Give these spirited sweets a shot for your next summer gathering or when you feel like indulging in a little guilty pleasure.

Have your cake and drink it too!” says one cookbook author.

“When the going gets rough, the tough make booze cakes,” says another.

Kids don’t have to have all the fun when it comes to sweets. Even without the oven, chefs are finding ingenious ways to add spirits to our sweets.
Sarah Magoon, pastry chef at Steak 954 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s W Hotel, just added a bourbon-laced Summer Peach Shortcake to her ever-changing menu.
Even without the oven, chefs are finding ingenious ways to add spirits to our sweets. At Taste Gastropub in Delray Beach, Fla., chef Allen Susser spikes milkshakes with vodka and other spirits.
Hedy Goldsmith, the pastry queen at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, shares her recipe for Chocolate Chambord Sorbet.
“We bake with booze because alcohol — from spirits, such as bourbon and rum, to liqueurs, like amaretto and creme de menthe, to wine and beer — imparts a subtle, sumptuous warmth that deepens the flavors of desserts and makes them taste even more decadent, luxurious and sinful,” writes Lucy Baker in her just-released book “The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets” ($18.95, Running Press).
Here are some spirited recipes for summer entertaining.

Chocolate-Chambord Sorbet

Hedy Goldsmith of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, has a way with updating childhood favorites. Here she ups the ante on chocolate ice cream.

1. 4 cups water
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1/2 cup cocoa powder
4. Pinch salt
5. 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
6. 3/4 cup Chambord (raspberry-flavored liqueur)

• Heat the water, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat.
• Whisk the ingredients together and raise the heat to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove the pot from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and the Chambord off the heat. Stir to completely dissolve the chocolate.
• Pour the mixture into a heat-proof container and allow to cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Do not chill the mixture or you will have a grainy final product. This mixture may be made the day before and left covered on the kitchen counter.
• Pour the mix into the ice cream machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
• Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serving: 224 calories, 35 percent calories from fat, 9 grams total fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 37 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total fiber, 32 grams total sugars, 34 grams net carbs, 2 grams protein, 22 milligrams sodium.

Beer Margaritas

This perfect summertime beer cocktail is one of 25 drink recipes included in the just-released “The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets,” by Lucy Baker (Running Press, $18.95).

1. 4 (12-ounce) bottles light-flavored beers, such as Tecate or Corona
2. 1 cup tequila
3. 1/2 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
4. 1 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
5. Lime wedges
6. Kosher salt

• Combine the beer, tequila, orange liqueur and limeade in a large pitcher and stir to blend. Rub the rim of each glass with a lime wedge and dip the glasses in salt. Fill the glasses with ice and divide the beer margaritas among them.
• Makes 6 drinks.

Nutrition information per serving: 354 calories, 0 percent calories from fat, 0 grams total fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 46 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams total fiber, 37 grams total sugars, 46 grams net carbs, 1 gram protein, 5 milligrams sodium.

Watermelon Malibu Surf

Serve this refreshing cocktail from the National Watermelon Promotion Board after dinner. Instead of 2 large servings, divide it between 6 shot glasses. For more recipes, go to watermelon.org.

1. 1 cup seedless watermelon chunks
2. 1 cup trimmed strawberries, cut in half
3. 1/2 cup coconut cream
4. 1 to 2 shots spiced rum
5. Mini watermelon wedges for garnish
6. 1/2 cup sweetened whipped topping

• Blend watermelon, strawberries, coconut cream and rum just until smooth. Place in freezer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Pour into chilled glass. Garnish with mini watermelon wedges and whipped topping. Serve immediately.
• Serves 2.

Nutrition information per serving: 418 calories, 36 percent calories from fat, 17 grams total fat, 15 grams saturated fat, 20 milligrams cholesterol, 57 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 50 grams total sugars, 54 grams net carbs, 2 grams protein, 29 milligrams sodium.

Taste Pineapple Grove Shake

Chef Allen Susser, of Taste Gastropub in Delray Beach, Fla., named this drink after the location of his restaurant in Pineapple Grove, Fla.

1. 3 ounces Skyy vodka
2. 2 ounces amaretto
3. 4 ounces pineapple juice
4. 8 ounces pineapple sorbet
5. 4 ounces coconut milk

• Fresh grated ginger, pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry, for garnish
• Blend all ingredients in blender on high speed for 45 seconds. Pour into 2 large, chilled Tom Collins glasses and garnish each with fresh grated ginger, pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.
• Serves 2.

Nutrition information per serving: 500 calories, 24 percent calories from fat, 14 grams total fat, 12 grams saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 57 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total fiber, 54 grams total sugars, 55 grams net carbs, 1 gram protein, 20 milligrams sodium.

Summer Peach Shortcake

Pasty chef Sarah Magoon, of Steak 954 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., just added this inventive bourbon-laced treat to her menu.

Sugar biscuits:

1. 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4. 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
5. 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut in pieces
6. 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
7. 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Bourbon marinated peaches:

1. 2 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2. 2 teaspoons lemon juice
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 1/2 cup water
5. 1/4 cup bourbon, preferably Maker’s Mark
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 1 teaspoon lemon verbena leaves, torn, or 1 teaspoon lemon zest

White chocolate creme chantilly:

1. 8 ounces good-quality white chocolate, such as Valrhona
2. 1/2 cup creme fraiche
3. 1 cup heavy cream
4. 1/4 cup sugar
5. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6. 1 tablespoon bourbon

Assembly:

1. Powdered sugar, garnish
2. Springs of lemon verbena, optional garnish

Sugar biscuits:

• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processer fitted with metal blade. Pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse to form a coarse meal mixed with pea-sized pieces of butter. Add 2/3 cup cream and pulse just to combine.
• Turn out onto a floured board and press together to form a 1 1/4-inch-high square. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dip the cutter in flour to prevent sticking and cut out the biscuits. This should yield 8 biscuits. Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Brush the chilled biscuits with remaining 2 tablespoons cream and sprinkle heavily with turbinado sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Bourbon marinated peaches:

• Toss diced peaches in lemon juice in large bowl and set aside. Combine sugar, water, bourbon, vanilla and verbena leaves or zest in a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Let the syrup steep for 15 minutes, strain and chill. When the syrup is cool, toss together with peaches. Chill until ready to assemble.

White chocolate creme chantilly:

• Melt white chocolate in a heat-proof boil on a double boiler, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add creme fraiche, heavy cream, vanilla and bourbon. Whip until soft peaks form. Do not overwhip until stiff.
• Add 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture to the chocolate, stirring fast so the chocolate does not seize up. Gently fold in remaining cream and refrigerate.

Assembly:

• Cut biscuits in half. Brush biscuits lightly with some of the marinating syrup from the peaches. Top bottom half of the biscuit with some of the marinated peaches. Top them generously with White Chocolate Creme Chantilly, then place top half of the biscuit on the cream. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with a sprig of lemon verbena.
• Makes 8 shortcakes.

Nutrition information per serving: 764 calories, 48 percent calories from fat, 41 grams total fat, 26 grams saturated fat, 112 milligrams cholesterol, 97 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 76 grams total sugars, 95 grams net carbs, 7 grams protein, 139 milligrams sodium.

Long Island Iced TeaCakes

This hyper-boozy cake isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s from the Cake Shots chapter of “Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine, and Beer,” by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone ($16.95, Quirk Books).

Long Island Iced Tea Cakes:

1. 2 cups cake flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6. 1 tablespoon gin
7. 1 tablespoon light rum
8. 1 tablespoon tequila
9. 1 tablespoon vodka
10. 1 tablespoon triple sec
11. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12. 2 tablespoons cola, chilled
13. 1 cup sugar, divided
14. 1/2 cup milk
15. 6 egg yolks
16. 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Long Island Iced Tea Soaking Sauce (see note):

1. 1 tablespoon gin
2. 1 tablespoon light rum
3. 1 tablespoon tequila
4. 1 tablespoon vodka
5. 1 tablespoon triple sec
6. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
7. 1 teaspoon sugar
8. 2 tablespoons cold cola

To make cakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.
• In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a glass measuring cup, combine vanilla, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, triple sec, lemon juice, cola, 1 teaspoon of the sugar and milk. Don’t worry if the alcohol curdles the milk.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until yolks form a thick ribbon. Gradually beat in the butter and remaining sugar.
• Beat in flour and milk mixtures in three alternating additions. Pour batter into the pan. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pan on wire rack for 5 minutes; turn cake out onto a wire rack. Let cook completely.
• To make soaking sauce and serve: While the cake cools, combine all the sauce ingredients in the cleaned and dried cake pan. Cut cake into 2-inch square pieces; return them to the pan to soak up the sauce, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Invert cake pieces onto a large tray.
• To serve, arrange tea cakes on a platter with cocktail picks.
• Makes 20 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 170 calories, 32 percent calories from fat, 6 grams total fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 76 milligrams cholesterol, 22 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams total fiber, 11 grams total sugars, 22 grams net carbs, 2 grams protein, 76 milligrams sodium.
(Note: For stronger flavor, double the soaking sauce recipe.)

Vanilla Vodka Oreo Shake

Chef Allen Susser, of Taste Gastropub in Delray Beach, turns childhood flavors into an adult treat.

1. 3 ounces Svedka vanilla vodka
2. 2 ounces chocolate syrup
3. 8 ounces whole milk
4. 2 (4-ounce) scoops premium vanilla Ice cream
5. 3 ounces (about 8) crushed Oreo cookies

• Place all ingredients in a blender and puree on high speed for 45 seconds.
• Pour into 2 chilled cold glasses.
• Serves 2.

Nutrition information per serving: 495 calories, 30 percent calories from fat, 17 grams total fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 61 milligrams cholesterol, 51 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 44 grams total sugars, 49 grams net carbs, 8 grams protein, 160 milligrams sodium.