Tag Archives: ruttgers bay lake lodge

I’d bike miles for this dessert

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 My biking partners and I did our first organized bike ride on Saturday. I think we registered last January or February for the Tour of Lakes. This year the routes started and finished at the high school in Crosby, Minn. Since it is pretty early in our biking season, we decided we’d take it easy on the 35-mile route, which actually turned out to be close to 42 miles.

We’d never done this ride before, but we’d heard lots of good things about the food served at the stops along the way. In fact, Tour of Lakes has become famous for the food they provide. We were expecting great things. As it turned out, though, the best thing we ate on our Tour of Lakes weekend was not at a rest stop.

We were tired and shopped out by the time we got to Deerwood on Friday afternoon and checked into Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge. We had dinner reservations at Ruby’s, the restaurant at Ruttger’s. We were getting ready for a walk around the reseort before dinner when I opened the little refrigerator in our room. I really couldn’t believe my eyes.

Tucked into that small refrigerator was a plate with three beautiful slices of the chocolate dessert that Ruttger’s is famous for — Bette LeMae. I had sampled it at the Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience last winter. When I mentioned it on my blog, Chris Ruttger left a comment and said they’d be sure there was some Bette LeMae for Tour of Lakes. I thought that meant they would be offering little sample bites at one of the stops along the bike route. After all, Tour of Lakes was known to have awesome fuel for riders.

Yes, we rode more miles than expected on Saturday. But, really, it was Chris Ruttger who went the most important extra mile. He was so kind to surprise us with that decadent melt-in-the-mouth chocolate. He must be a good detective, too. How did he even know we were staying there? That chocolate before bed kept us riding like wild women the next morning, pedaling 21 miles to the first stop. Thanks, Sherlock.

The fresh fruit, yogurt, breakfast burritos, candy bars, granola bars and root beer floats along the bike route were great. But the best food for me and my biking partners was at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge.

You can make your own Bette LeMae using the recipe on Ruttger’s web site. Click here to get right to the recipe.

To read more about Bette LeMae, you can go to the post I wrote in March. Click here.

 

I’ll bet you’ll love this chocolate Bette

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Mmmmmmmmmmm. Chocolate. And more chocolate. Rich, not too sweet and not one bit of flour. That’s Bette LeMae. It’s a traditional dessert that’s been served at northern Minnesota’s Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge for years. And, I had a taste of it at the Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience a couple of weeks ago.

Just one of the two-bite-sized cube of Bette LeMae flew me right back in time to my first experience with flourless chocolate cake. I was at a cooking class with about five other people in Andrea Halgrimson‘s kitchen. She was teaching us how to make a cake she described as so decadent, so breathtaking she just had to name it, "Chocolate O." You know what that "O" stands for, right? The chocolate dessert lived up to its name.

Ruttger’s Bette LeMae is just like that. They were so kind to share their recipe as they offered samples of the sublime cubes of chocolate dipped in chocolate.

As you read through the recipe, you’ll notice that the mixture of boiling water, chocolate, eggs, sugar and butter must be strained before baking. This removes any little bits of cooked egg, creating a perfectly smooth flourless cake. Use a fine mesh strainer or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth.

The batter is poured into a round pan and baked in a hot water bath, or Bain Marie (bane mah-ree). This method cooks the cake gently, creating a smooth, custard-like texture. As it cools after baking, this cake becomes something like fudge — only much better. Smothered in a rich blend of chocolate and heavy cream, this dessert becomes simply dreamy.

You can go directly to a printable version of Ruttger’s Bette LeMae recipe by clicking right here. They’ve got a recipe archive that’s worth checking out, too. Click here.

I just registered for my first bike ride of the season. This year, the Tour of Lakes starts at the high school in Crosby, Minnesota. Deerwood is right next door. And, that’s where Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge is located. Tour of Lakes has a reputation for for the quality, variety and quantity of the food at the rest stops. Maybe I’ll find Bette LeMae at one of the stops? A hungry (chocoholic) biker can only hope.

In the meantime, (I can’t wait for June 5th) I’ll make my own Bette LeMae. Mmmmmmmm. Chocolate. And more chocolate.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Ruttgers!

 

 

 

 

Bette LeMae — A Signature Recipe from Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge

  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup butter
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 6 whole eggs

In saucepan, mix water and sugar and boil for 2 minutes. Add butter, bittersweet chocolate and chocolate chips. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 more minutes.

While mixture is boiling, beat 6 eggs in mixing bowl. Slowly add boiled mixture to eggs, beating at low speed. Let mixture beat for 2 – 3 minutes. Strain mixture into stainless steel bowl and pour into prepared wax paper-lined and floured 9-inch round pan. Place pan in hot water bath and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. When done, remove from water bath and place on towel. Scrape around side of pan and allow to set for 10 minutes.

Turn Bette LeMae over onto plate. Let cool for 1 hour before frosting.

Bette LeMae Frosting Glaze

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Scald whipping cream and remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Let stand until cooled. Frost Bette LeMae. Store in the refrigerator.