For this Mother’s Day, we’ve decided to create a full 3-course menu that will be sure to impress. Quite often, there are no words that can truly capture how much our moms really do for us, but a good way of trying to express this emotion is through food! These recipes are delicious ways to show how much you care and want to celebrate your bond!
Let’s start with our sophisticated, elegant and deliciously addicting appetizer: Figs stuffed with whipped ricotta
Ingredients:
8 figs
8 ounces ricotta cheese
¼ cup whipping cream
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup crushed pistachios
Preparation:
For The Filling:
Place ricotta in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Start the mixer on slow and whip for 2 minutes. Gradually mix in whipping cream and salt. Adjust the mixer speed to the highest level and whip until mixture is light and airy, about 5 minutes. Mix in 1 tablespoon of honey and mix until incorporated.
Prepare the figs:
Take your figs and cut off the very top of each one, then cross-cut each fig. Take care not to cut the figs all the way to the bottom.
Take either a Ziploc bag or piping bag and fill it with the ricotta cheese. Then fold the bag up and twist it around to get all the cheese into one area.
Cut off the very tip of one corner on the bag.
Pipe the whipped ricotta cheese into the center of each fig.
Top each fig off with a dollop of honey.
Add a little bit of crushed pistachio to the top of each fig.
Enjoy!
Now we move on to the main course – this one is extra special because we’re making homemade pasta! You’ll need a pasta machine for a more exact finish. Homemade pasta is always sure to impress and really shows that extra special touch of time and effort put in!
Here is what you need:
4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups flour( semolina flour or all-purpose flour — or a blend)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Preparation:
Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Knead the dough on low speed for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. (If the dough seems too dry, add in an extra tablespoon or two of water. If the dough seems wet or sticky, just add in some extra flour, but you the dough to be fairly dry.)
Form the dough into a ball with your hands and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Roll out the pasta dough into your desired shape, using your pasta maker.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of generously-salted boiling water until it is al dente, usually between 1-5 minutes depending on the thickness of your pasta. Drain and use immediately.
Use your mother’s favourite pasta sauce to really let the fresh pasta shine!
Finally, we move on to dessert – after a meal like this, one of our favourite desserts are cupcakes! Cupcakes are great because if you somehow have the willpower not to eat all of them in one shot, they’re always some that last for a while, so you have a sweet treat to look forward to every day.
Here is what you need for our vanilla buttercream cupcakes:
Cupcakes:
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 large egg whites
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup whole milk
Vanilla buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk
Preparation:
Cupcakes:
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Add cupcake liners to muffin tins. In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Cream butter until light and fluffy using the paddle attachment. On slow speed, add eggs, one at a time and until completely mixed. Then, add vanilla extract and vegetable oil and mix.
Add dry ingredients and mix on slow speed until incorporated. Add milk and mix on slow speed for 30 seconds. Scrape bottom and mix again for 20 to 30 second or until batter is smooth.
Scoop or pour 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake liner. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin and allow to cool on the cooling rack.
Vanilla buttercream:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and beat with paddle attachment until smooth. Add powdered sugar in two batches and mix until creamed. Add vanilla and mix.
Add milk, gradually, starting with half. Mix and continue adding milk until smooth.
Continue mixing buttercream for 4 to 5 minutes.
Pipe to your heart’s content!
There you have it, a full menu of delicious food for the heart and soul. If you’ve noticed a pattern in these recipes, that they all were made from a stand mixer, you’re not wrong! Stokes recently came out with brand new fashionable colours of their beloved Promix Plus – it makes for the perfect gift, and a great way to put it to use would be by recreating some of these recipes! If you make any of these and want to share it with us, please tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.
On behalf of Stokes, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day!
Enjoy 🙂