BETTY SLOWE: Making Mary's cakes at home

If you have spent time wandering around downtown Northport, your nose may have led you to Mary's Cakes and Pastries.

Across the narrow street behind The Globe restaurant, Mary Cesar and her staff can be found busily baking and decorating cookies, cakes and pies that beg to be sampled.

Mary's philosophy is that a cake should taste as good as it looks and her baked goods look perfectly decorated and very appetizing.

If you pick up a copy of her new cookbook, 'Favorite Recipes from Mary's Cakes,' you'll find recipes for her cakes, gelato, candy, cookies, pies and even savory treats like cheese straws, soups, crackers, quiches and salads.

Mary's recipes aren't so complex that they can't be made in a home kitchen. Just the opposite: Mary has nothing against 'easy' as long as it both tastes and looks delicious.

The following recipes are among those in the book.

You can purchase a copy of the cookbook at Mary's Bakery or online at www.maryscakesandpastries.com for $17.95.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups chopped pecans

For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12x17-inch (half-sheet) pan; set aside.

Cut butter into pieces. Add all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix with a fork, pastry blender or your hands until incorporated and the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Press into baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Remove from heat and let cool before pouring filling over the crust. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

For filling: Mix the salt, eggs, corn syrup and granulated sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 2-3 minutes until mixture turns a pale yellow but is still runny. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips by hand. Pour over the prebaked cookie crust. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until bubbling on top. Cool and cut into 1 3/4-inch squares. Makes 36 squares.

Chocolate Roulage

7 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and line a 12x18-inch half sheet pan with parchment paper. Melt and cook butter and set aside. Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Whip eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 10-12 minutes. Fold dry ingredients into egg mixture by hand. Fold in melted butter, taking care not to deflate the batter. Pour into sheet pan and bake 10-15 minutes or until spongy. Cool and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.

Cover cake with chocolate butter cream and roll into a log, jelly roll style. Cut both ends at an angle and slice off a piece to form a 'branch.' Coat the entire log in ganache, using a fork or pastry spatula to add texture to the 'bark.' Garnish with meringue mushrooms, pine needles made from fresh rosemary and dust with confectioners sugar.

Lost a recipe? Have a recipe to share? Reach Betty Slowe at betty.slowe@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0198.