Delectable Desserts Ready in 30 Minutes or Less
- In This Quick Guide:
- Charles River Mud Pie
- Grammalane’s Lemon Pie
- Grampa Phil’s Pudding
Desserts are the best part of a meal, but who has time to make something from scratch these days? Now, you do! These desserts are delicious, easy, and are ready to devour in 30 minutes or less.
Charles River Mud Pie
- Serves: 4
- 2 cups coffee ice cream
- 2 cups chocolate ice cream
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup fudge sauce, heated
- 1 store-bought graham-cracker or chocolate-cookie-crumb crust
- 1 ½ cups whipped cream
- In a large bowl, combine coffee ice cream and chocolate ice cream. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chips, and fudge sauce.
- Scrape into graham-cracker crust, and press to smooth. Top with whipped cream, and serve.
Grammalane’s Lemon Pie
- Serves: 6
- 1 cup plus 4 TB. sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups water
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 4 TB. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 TB. butter
- 1 prebaked pie shell
- 3 egg whites, at room temperature
- ½ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. cream of tartar
- In the top part of a double boiler, heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Add lemon juice.
- Pour remaining ⅓ cup water in a small bowl, and whisk in cornstarch until blended and smooth. Slowly add to the double boiler, stirring. It will thicken.
- In a small bowl, beat egg yolks. Add 1 spoonful lemon mixture to egg yolks, stirring. Add 2 more spoonfuls, stirring. Repeat one more time. Pour egg mixture into double boiler, stirring, along with butter.
- Pour mixture into prebaked pie shell, and chill to set.
- Preheat the broiler.
- While pie chills, in a small bowl, combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar, and beat rapidly until mixture expands and forms stiff peaks.
- Add remaining 4 tablespoons sugar slowly, gently folding it into stiff egg whites so as not to deflate them. Meringue will firm up.
- Spread over chilled pie, and place under the broiler for 4 minutes or until meringue begins to brown.
Grampa Phil’s Pudding
- Serves: 8
- 2 ½ cups milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 oz. unsweetened solid baking chocolate
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 TB. flour
- 3 TB. cornstarch
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. butter
- In the top part of a double boiler, heat 2 cups milk, sugar, baking chocolate, and salt. Heat until just simmering.
- Pour remaining ½ cup milk in a small bowl, and with a fork, mix in flour and cornstarch until thoroughly combined. Slowly pour milk-flour mixture into milk-chocolate mixture in the double boiler, stirring constantly.
- Crack eggs into a small bowl, and beat. Add 1 spoonful chocolate mixture, stirring. Add 2 more spoonfuls, stirring. Pour egg mixture into pudding, stirring. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add vanilla extract and butter, cook for 1 more minute, and serve.
Variation: To make a chocolate pie, simply pour prepared pudding into a store-bought graham-cracker or chocolate-cookie-crumb crust. To dress it up even more, sprinkle whipped cream with chocolate shavings or dust with powdered chocolate (like from instant cocoa).
These delicious desserts are so quick and easy, they will become a staple on your dinner table. Remember, there is always room for dessert! Enjoy!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less by Tod Dimmick
