When Brianne Lefort read an advertisement in a national cooking magazine, she saw the chance of a lifetime. However, the culinary arts senior thought entering and winning a desert contest was just wishful thinking.
And the 21-year-old from Golden Meadow knew her chances were slimmer when she discovered that the contest, “Emeril’s Delmonico Five Sweet Years,” was hosted by a New Orleans restaurant owned by world famous chef Emeril Lagasse.
“I really didn’t think I had that much of a chance, but I gave it a shot,” Lefort said. “If someone had to win, you just never know if that can be you. I mean someone has to win.”
After spending more than a month creating a desert — experimenting with pumpkins and apples — she sent her recipe for Autumn Apple Pie Cake with Maple Spice Cream Cheese Icing the day before the deadline to Lagasse’s Delmonico restaurant.
Three weeks later, she received the news. She won. Lefort initially thought she was just one of the few contestants that had entered. That is, until she learned that more than 600 amateur chefs from around the nation submitted recipes.
“To me, it wasn’t that big of a deal at first until everybody wanted to interview me,” Lefort said. “When I found out that so many people entered, I just couldn’t believe it. I can’t explain the feeling. I was overwhelmed and shocked.”
In addition to having the winning recipe placed on the fall menu, Lefort won a free party for 30 at Lagasse’s upscale New Orleans restaurant to be held next month.
“We still haven’t gone yet, but I really hope they keep my desert on the menu until then,” Lefort said. “That’s one of the first things I will order.”
Her winning recipe, judged according to taste, originality and presentation, combines apple pie cake with a spiced cream cheese frosting. It is then served with homemade gingerbread ice cream and caramel sauce.
“I just kept playing around until I thought I had something good,” Lefort said. “The filling is an altered version of my mamma’s personal apple-pie filling.”
Lefort said her accomplishments should serve as an example to other students that they can achieve anything if they set their minds to it. It just takes effort and time, she said.
“If you see an opportunity, go for it,” she said. “If you never try it, you never know if you can achieve it nor what the outcome will be. This was a long shot for me, but I won. Others can do the same.”
After she graduates, Lefort hopes to become a chef like Lagasse and own an upscale New Orleans restaurant as well as a shop selling pastries and coffee.
Lefort’s winning recipe:

Autumn Apple Pie Cake with Maple Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes one 9-inch cake, 8 to 10 servings
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 teaspoon
unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1¬ cups evaporated milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
apple filling, recipe below
maple spice cream cheese frosting, recipe below
1 cups chopped toasted pecans, garnish
gingerbread ice cream, recipe below
caramel sauce, recipe below
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a nine-inch cake pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter, and lightly flour, shaking to remove any excess. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar, beating until the mixture is light, 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine the evaporated milk, lemon juice and vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternatively with the evaporated milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Remove the cake from the pan. Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake into three layers. Place the first layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread one-half of the hot apple and syrup mixture over the top and out to the edges of the cake, leaving a -inch border. Repeat with the second layer, using the remaining apple and syrup mixture. Place the third layer, upside down, on top. Let the cake cool and absorb the syrup, 1 to 2 hours.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with the icing and press the chopped pecans onto the top and sides to garnish.
Cut the cake into portions and serve with the ice cream on the side and the warm sauce drizzled over the cake and the ice cream. Serve immediately.
Note: Any remaining cake should be wrapped and refrigerated, due to the cream cheese frosting.

Apple Filling

5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Combine all the ingredients in a large heavy saut pan or skillet and cook over medium heat until the apples are tender and a light syrup has formed. Remove from the heat and use immediately to fill the cake.

Maple Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¬ cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the cream cheese, butter, syrup, and pumpkin spice until smooth and fluffy. Slowly incorporate the sugar, mixing only until the lumps are gone, being careful not to over-heat. Cool in a refrigerator for 30 minutes, and then use to ice the cake.

Gingerbread Ice Cream

(Makes 1 quart)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¬ cup molasses
5 large egg yolks
cup sugar
Combine the milk, cream, ginger and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture into a clean container, whisk in the molasses, and return to a simmer.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until frothy and lemon colored, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture to the hot milk, whisking constantly. Cook over the medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container set over an ice bath, stirring to cool.
Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate, as necessary, until well chilled, about 1 hour.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container until ready to serve.

Caramel Sauce

(Makes 1 cups)
1 cup sugar
¬ cup water
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup heavy cream
cup whole milk
Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Without stirring, cook the syrup to the caramel stage (320-338 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer). Toward the end of the cooking time, turn the heat to a very low to avoid burning the sugar or letting the caramel get too dark: it should be a golden brown color.
Remove from the heat and cool undisturbed for 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, scald the cream. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the hot cream to the caramel and stir. Slowly add the remaining cream to the caramel, return to low heat, and cook, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved. Let cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, scald the milk and then slowly stir into the caramel to thin the pouring consistency.