Some experiments work, some not so much

I seldom plan for a dessert but I frequently want to eat dessert after supper. So this means if I'm going to have dessert I have to improvise.

I have a recipe for "All Bran Brownies" which I had never tried so I decided to make it one evening. The recipe basically calls for soaking some All Bran in warm water to soften then mixing in a box of instant brownie mix and baking soda and then baking. Easy peasy :) So as the All Bran was soaking I went to get the brownie mix out of the cupboard and to my horror the cupboard was bare. Well, bare of brownie mix anyways. However, I had a box of chocolate cake mix. So I thought that was close enough and continued with the recipe using the cake mix.


The key ingredients... All Bran cereal and Chocolate Cake mix.


The mix in the pan all ready to go in the oven. It was significantly thicker and more dense than a typical cake mix or even a typical brownie mix. It was more like the consistency of mashed potatoes.

I baked and iced the cake but alas, the experiment was a failure. The cake was dense and had a definite All Bran taste. Not even icing could save this cake. I had one piece and threw the rest away. However, its one saving grace is that because of the high fiber content from the All Bran cereal, the cake was very filling. It was almost a meal in itself.

On another day I decided to improvise a cheesecake-type dessert. I started by making a graham cracker crust. I didn't measure anything which is so not like me but was very fun and freeing :)

This is about 1/2 box of graham cracker crumbs, a pinch of salt, about 2 tablespoons of sugar, and a little melted butter. After mixing them all together I pressed the mixture into a pie plate.

The filling was interesting. It consisted of 1 package of light cream cheese, 1 can of condensed milk, some salt, and a splash of lemon juice (all mixed together in the bowl). Then I folded in about 2/3 of a cool whip container and about 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.

The salsa in the picture was not part of the dessert recipe. We were having tacos that night :)

Then I poured the filling into the crust. It was about the consistency of pudding which is a little more liquidy than I would have liked. I put the pie in the refrigerator to set. It needed about 5 hours to set but 2 hours later a certain man in my life was asking "is the dessert ready yet?", "can we have dessert now?", "I'm sure the dessert will be set by now" so I caved and served the not-quite-set dessert.

I started with this. It's like Nutella but instead of all hazelnut it's half hazelnut and half caramel. I spooned some of this lovely concoction into a bowl and melted it in the microwave.

I served one slice of pie onto a plate and drizzled the melted Nutella-like spread over the top. Yummy!

You can tell from the pic that the pie could have used more time to set in the fridge. However, even after being in the fridge overnight it was still a little sloppy. I think using less Cool Whip (about 1/3 of a tub instead of 2/3) would resolve the problem. I also would have cut the salt out of the filling or reduced it significantly. A little salt in the crust is great but having more than a pinch in the filling was too much. The almonds added a nice texture to the filling. Another option would be to sprinkle the almonds on the pie crust and then pour the filling on top to result in more of a layered effect.

Overall, I see this pie as a successful experiment. It was eaten quite happily (the next day it had set a little more) and with a few minor modifications I'd make it again.

Have you tried to whip together a dessert with no preparation? What was the result?