What dessert can I make with these restrictions?

April 21, 2012 7:42 AM

I'm currently teaching a grade nine foods class, and I am looking for any suggestions for a dessert recipe other than cookies. I don't have any good ideas! Also, I have multiple limitations on what is possible to make with them.

The recipe should be for a dessert that is both easy and challenging enough for a complete beginner. The kids have already expressed that they would prefer not to make cookies, unfortunately, since that would be the obvious choice. The recipe should be able to be completed well within a 75 minute class period, ideally 50 minutes or under, since they need time to eat and clean up. Other considerations are that they won't have time to let their dessert cool, so for instance, they could not make cupcakes, since they'd have to cool down before being iced. Ideally there would not be too much hands-off time while something was baking, since they need to constantly have a task (although baking time is a nice window for them to be cleaning...) Anything with marshmallows is also out, as I have some Muslim students who will not eat gelatin... come to think of it, the recipe will also need to be one where vanilla can be easily omitted, for the same reason (the extract has alcohol). Do you have any recipes that fit with these restrictions? I would be so grateful!!

posted by to recite so charmingly to Food & Drink (37 answers total)

Muffins? Same as cupcakes only no frosting. Or just make cupcakes and sprinkle powdered sugar on them instead of frosting.
posted by patheral at 7:59 AM on April 21, 2012

How about crepes? Fast, easy, versatile - fill with jam or ice cream and chocolate sauce. Also re vanilla - you can get vanilla extract made with glycerin rather than alcohol or vanilla sugar - natural foods places often carry it.
posted by leslies at 8:00 AM on April 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bread pudding? There are variants like Pina Colada that don't require vanilla. Also, did you know there is vanilla extract without alcohol?
Can you use packaged foods to make something like banana pudding?
posted by Runes at 8:01 AM on April 21, 2012

What about mini-pound cakes like this? They bake in cupcake pans and look like they could be done in under 70 minutes.
posted by la petite marie at 8:04 AM on April 21, 2012

Bar cookies, or brownies or blondies would be good.
posted by apricot at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chocolate pudding! Cornstarch and milk, semisweet chocolate chunks, sugar, salt, vanilla.

Stir. Boil. Stir.

Hot pudding is a joy, but of they prefer it cold they can clean their spaces while individual ramekins spend a few minutes in the fridge.

If that is too simple, maybe individual chocolate volcano cakes?
posted by bilabial at 8:13 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not a baker at all, but managed these Blueberry Scones a couple of times. They're tasty, and require more steps than just cookies or cakes. Bakes quickly too!
posted by Wulfhere at 8:14 AM on April 21, 2012

We made lollipops when I was in home ec. They are challenging because you have to use a candy thermometer and kinda watch the things, but you can also make them a lot of different ways and they come out looking neat. I liked doing it because it was one of those things I thought humans basically couldn't make.
posted by jessamyn at 8:14 AM on April 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

A little cake thst has a hot glaze pouted over it when just out of the oven. I made lime cakes with a lemon lime glaze this week. Cleanup while cake cools and enjoy.
posted by jennstra at 8:14 AM on April 21, 2012

And yes, you can add some vanilla beans to a large enough quantity of sugar for the whe class a week or so ahead maybe. Don't spend loads of money on commercial vanilla sugar.

I bet you might come up with vegan desserts involving rose water. I've heard of. Evan rosewater rice pudding, for instance.

Oh! And brownies! I love brownies, and they are pretty fast.
posted by bilabial at 8:17 AM on April 21, 2012

banana bread? Any kind of muffin (bc they are quicker to bake)? Maybe give them a few options of flavors and have them vote for which they'd prefer to make
posted by Neekee at 8:17 AM on April 21, 2012

Muffins, pound cake, brownies, quick bread (banana, carrot), lava cakes, yogurt cake. Vanilla can usually be omitted, though I know Muslims who use it (but don't drink).
posted by jeather at 8:18 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

More ideas, triffle, assemble and enjoy. Free form fruit pies, homemade crust. Nanaimo bars, have each group make a different flavored filling (classic, cherry, mocha..) olive oil cake from Italy is eaten warm.
posted by jennstra at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2012

How about one of those cakes you put inside a sort of clear container where you have a layer if cake, then whipped cream (they can whip their own), then fruit (teach them cutting and chopping techniques and how to make a simple glaze to make the fruit shiny), etc. It's a good idea cause you can make up your own layers and have a pound came or something ready, focus on the layers as the teaching part.
Something kind of like this.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maybe a modified cannoli recipe, like this one? It's actually just kind of a tart recipe with cannoli filling. Then again, little tarts filled with just about anything might be fun - and if you need more work than buying pre-made pie crust, have them make the pie crust from scratch.
posted by agentmitten at 8:25 AM on April 21, 2012

Cream puffs, a great recipe for any cook to master, crepes too. Let the trans brainstorm filling ideas a few days ahead. Toppings bars are fun for kids of all ages. Also both recipes can be sweet or savory.
posted by jennstra at 8:26 AM on April 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Should be let the TEENS Brainstorm
posted by jennstra at 8:29 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

French Yogurt Cake might fill the bill. It's now my number 1 go-to super easy base dessert cake that is yummy, simple, and almost infinitely flexible – you can ice it, glaze it, serve it with sauce, fruit, preserves, mousse... whatever you have on hand or want to pair it with. Or plain. Plain is good.

You can leave out the vanilla, or get alcohol free vanilla, or teach your kids to make vanilla sugar. I'm not a big fan of fiddly baking (mostly because I'm not good at it) and I adore this. I used it as the base for strawberry shortcake the last time I made it, and substituted some of the flour for finely ground almonds. Yum. Next time, I'm making lemon curd to serve with it.
posted by taz at 8:29 AM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fruit pie/cobbler/crumble?
posted by Idcoytco at 8:35 AM on April 21, 2012

(I should mention that the yogurt cake is not a super-sweet cake on its own, so teenaged jaded tastebuds may not be terribly impressed, now that I'm thinking about it... but this is part of what I personally love about it, and it's definitely a sort of classic thing that can save a million forgotten birthdays, carry a newb safely through the dessert course of their first (or 30th) dinner party, and warm the heart as an informal anytime home comfort-dessert that needs a minimum of ingredients that are all likely to be on hand anyway. I've made it with thick yogurt and normal yogurt and both were great, and it's proved a very flexible and forgiving recipe.)
posted by taz at 8:46 AM on April 21, 2012

You can try no-bake assembly desserts like tiramisu and parfait and trifles.
posted by spec80 at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2012

Best answer: One of the absolute classic cooking class desserts we used to make as kids in New Zealand is cinnamon pinwheels, and we still make them sometimes now we're adults (yum!). That link is to a food teachers blog so there are other recipes too (and don't forget to check the about page for how much is in NZ standard measures).
posted by shelleycat at 8:57 AM on April 21, 2012

Chocolate Mousse. I tend to use Alton Brown's recipe, which has gelatin, but I think the gelatin could be omitted since you're eating it right away --- it's mostly to keep it stiff for if you're making it early in the day for a dinner party or something. Or you could use this recipe instead which just uses eggs. Sub in coffee or granulated espresso crystals for the vanilla --- that will also enhance the flavor of the chocolate in the way that the vanilla is meant to. For your purposes, you can quick-chill them in an ice bath --- a fill a big roasting pan with ice, a little salt and water to get it going, and nestle the ramkins or whatever in there. Since the mousses will be individually portioned they should set up nicely while you're cleaning up.

Out of curiosity, I googled, and apparently there's such a thing as Halal gelatin, don't know if its' easy to get where you are.


You could also make caramel, either as a sauce for ice cream or for caramel candies. Depends how much faith you have in your kids --- the recipes/process are simple, but if you screw up it can be dangerous.

Orangette's a little safer.

You could also make lime curd or lemon curd, which are good bases for trifle --- a little more involved than just assembling. Make a lemon curd and chill in an ice bath while you whip cream, and you could easily assemble a trifle with some lady fingers or something in a class.
posted by Diablevert at 9:10 AM on April 21, 2012

Napoleons. There are a million variations, but here is a nice easy one. Use vanilla instead of almond extract in case you have allergy issues to deal with.

About all you will need to do for prep is to have the puff pastry sheets thawed when the class starts.
posted by plinth at 9:34 AM on April 21, 2012

When I was in home ec we made apple crisp. This Betty Crocker recipe doesn't call for vanilla.
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:46 AM on April 21, 2012

I don't know if this idea is insane or awesome, but... Bananas Foster. Quick, simple, delicious and bonus flames! Regarding your Muslim students, the alcohol burns off by definition, but I have no idea whether that makes it acceptable.
posted by carmicha at 10:00 AM on April 21, 2012

Can you do things where you make part of a dessert one day, then finish it the next? I'm thinking individual fruit tarts where you might make the pastry, roll and chill it, freeze, the then next class bake and cool, while you prepare the filling. It calls for vanilla in the pastry cream, but you could substitute a tiny bit of rose flower water or vanilla bean paste, which has no alcohol.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:00 AM on April 21, 2012

Some sort of cream or custard pie? Key lime or lemon meringue?
posted by supercres at 10:17 AM on April 21, 2012

A frozen souffle is basically a fancy frozen cake. Here is a decent recipe and presentation that 9ththe graders should have no problem with. The problem, of course, is they do need to let it solidify - meaning no instant gratification AND you need to protect it from other classes.

Honestly though, 30 minutes prep, 20 minutes cleaning time, and an awesome next class guaranteed.

You could also stage it so one class makes for the next, etc... it is doable.
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:10 AM on April 21, 2012

A rustic apple tart would fit all your criteria. It could be served a la mode with store-bought ice cream.
How about granita? It needs freezer time, but comes out regularly for more scraping.
posted by Gilbert at 11:41 AM on April 21, 2012

CHERRY-O-CREAM CHEESE PIE from my freshman home making class 1969.
posted by bjgeiger at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2012

Lemon bars? The ingredients for the layers are prepared separately and then baked together. Plus you have to juice the lemons. They can be made with limes instead of lemons, so different groups can make different flavours. Maybe even grapefruit would work.

I've not made the linked recipe; the reviews suggest more lemon juice to make the flavour/tartness better. There are lots of recipes out there.
posted by deborah at 5:48 PM on April 21, 2012

One of my favourite memories from home ec cooking was making apple strudel with custard. We managed it in a 50 minute class, using the baking time to make the custard. We even made the pastry from scratch, although you could buy it frozen if you were worried about time/skills.
posted by lollusc at 5:59 PM on April 21, 2012

Rice crispy treats. They're doable for a beginner, but you have to take some care when melting the marshmallows into the butter; it requires constant stirring and surveillance. And they are also flexible--you can have plain ones, or add chocolate chips, peanut butter, what have you. You can cut out shapes from them with cookie-cutters, or assemble buildings/animals with the pieces.

You can get halal marshmallows, or vegetarian marshmallows.

I've never met a kid who didn't like rice crispy treats. And whenever I have brought them to any sort of function, whether picnic, office party, what have you, there is not a crumb left, usually well before the end of the function.
posted by parrot_person at 9:05 PM on April 21, 2012

I do have some questions.....how big is the class? Do they all have to make the same exact thing? Are they going to be working as one big group (as in 29 students watch while one mixes the batter) or are you going to split them into smaller groups? Is it a food class that teaches about cooking and being in the kitchen is par for the course, or a food class that teaches about nutrition and this kitchen trip is a break from normal class?

If it's the former I think you should have the students break into their own groups (of say four, if space allows) and find their own recipes. Give them a list of ingredients you will have on hand (the staples - flour, eggs, etc), tell the students they can bring ONE thing from home (if they WANT something beyond the staples).

This would provide a number of lessons - time management (they need to research and fine a recipe they can do in under 40 minutes, say), skill recognition (they should only pick recipes they feel comfortable they can make in the time limit...), teamwork and communication (if you've got four students in a group, and they're bringing things in - they can't bring in non-complementary items).

Doing it this way would be more educational overall than simply handing them a recipe and saying, "here, make this!" Furthermore it relieves you of trying to figure out a dish that you can serve all your students - now it means some students can still make pudding if they want, even though someone in the class is lactose intolerant (for example), and at the end I'm sure the students would get a kick out of trying each other's recipes.

I do something similar with my students for a simple Science experiment - I say, "design an experiment you can do to solve x - you can use whatever's in the lab." And they come up with and handle their experiments pretty well.

Anyway - that's what I would do if I were running a baking class of ninth graders.

If I don't understand the situation, and it's a nutrition class, I think the fruit tarts idea is great. The sugar content is relatively low (well...relative to most of the other suggestions XD) and there's the added advantage of fresh fruit (and again - a chance to let the students add their own flavor to their desert, by choosing the individual fruits to go on their tart)
posted by Lt. Bunny Wigglesworth at 9:59 PM on April 21, 2012

Chocolate berry pudding

chocolate batter part: lightly beat 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1tsp vanilla extract.
sift ½ cup flour, 2-3 tbsp cocoa, ½ cup caster sugar. mix wet ingredients into dry until smooth.

Grease a large shallow baking dish (otherwise it sticks to the bottom quite badly). cover the bottom with ~300g berries (frozen works well). pour the batter over it. it should only be 3-4 cm (? 2 inches?) deep. bake in preheated oven at 180 C (sorry no idea what that is in F) for 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. mine didn’t look cooked in the middle as the berries made it a bit soggy, but it was – test at the edges where there aren’t so many berries and the mixture bubbles up over them. don’t overcook.

v. good with whipped cream!!

I use coconut flour instead of wheat flour. It gives a subtle coconutty flavour I just love.
For adults, add some cointreau to the berries first :)
posted by flutable at 4:13 AM on April 22, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks everybody! I forgot to mention that they have already made pudding, which worked well with this group. The class isn't a cooking class, so much as a foods unit in a general home ec class. I think the cinnamon pinwheel scones will be great.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 6:53 AM on April 22, 2012