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Category Archives: Dessert
I am sure you have heard the rumor by now that Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write is hosting this round of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day. I was really excited that she said she had the time as I had to beg her to get her entry in last month – sorry about that “gentle” nudge!
Mardi decided to sweeten up HHDD this month with Blackberry Cheesecake Pots. I made this recipe last Saturday – it did not last long enough to photograph it. So, I made it again on Sunday, snap some pictures and we shoveled it into our big mouths! Easy. Delicious. Basically cheesecake filling in a cup. This is one of those fall-on recipes to have when you need a quick dessert for guests. It has cream cheese, sugar, a little cream and fruit. Simple, right! I did add a little more cream cheese then the recipe called for as well I cut the sugar down a bit and added vanilla bean paste. Really lovely! Thank you Mardi for hosting this month’s HHDD and for picking a winning recipe!
What are you waiting for? Time to get cooking …
Recipe: Blackberry Cheesecake Pots
- 250g cream cheese
- ¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) pouring (single) cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120g fresh blackberries
Process the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add half the blackberries and process until just crushed. Spoon into 4 x ½ cup-capacity (125ml) dishes and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Serve with the biscotti and the remaining blackberries. Serves 4.
I have been meaning to share this with you but have not really had the time to do much the past couple weeks. I had to get it to you for the weekend as you are going to want to make this immediately!!!!
I have admit ……. I have made this twice in less than thirty days. Yes, it really is that good! I made it once for Easter brunch and again, for a dinner party with Allison, Janet and Megan. I liked the second cake better. The first time was delicious but the texture was a bit creamy for me. I like my cheesecakes to be on a bit drier and I DO NOT mind the pretty crack that forms down the middle. I baked the first one for 40 minutes and the second cake I baked for 50.
Passion fruit. We both love passion fruit but have a hard time finding fresh around here. I have found a puree that I like so we use that very often in macarons, panna cotta, pavolas, cocktails and now curd. If you can find fresh, use that, as I think the addition of seeds would be beautiful. If not, puree is perfect. This recipe is devine. Smooth, creamy and slightly tart. The perfect pairing with this cheesecake.
What is your favorite cheesecake recipe? And why?
Recipe: Goat Cheese Cheesecake
Recipe: Passion Fruit Curd
Rich bittersweet chocolate and sweet grand marnier make this silky mousse the perfect indulgent dessert for the one you love.
We spent Valentine’s weekend with my mother in Winnemucca. It was a great long weekend spent just “hanging” out. We both love mellow weekends that require no agenda and this was just that. No errands, no chores, no cooking, just quality time with the ones you love.
Don’t get me wrong …. I love to cook but when someone else offers I love it even more. My mom treated us to two great home cooked meals. Now even though I was getting a break from the kitchen, I was still itching to make something so I offered to make dessert. I really had no idea what I was going to make, until I was at the grocery store and scoured my emails for some inspiration. The first bit of creativity came from White on Rice Couple for a Valentine’s Chocolate Mousse. I did improvise a bit as I was in the middle of no-where and could not get all of the ingredients. Now … I have to say, plan ahead, while it is fairly easy it does take some time to make. Whether it is for a special occasion or for no reason this mousse is perfect!
Recipe: Chocolate Mousse
*inspired from White on Rice Couple
Chocolate Mouse Components
Whipped Cream Base
1 cup heavy cream
Swiss Meringue
3 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar
Chocolate Base
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons grand marnier
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
Egg Yolk Base
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn syrup
Whipped Cream Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Optional
Strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries for garnish
- Whip the 240 ml of heavy cream for the mousse to stiff peaks and set aside in the fridge.
- Combine the second listing of heavy cream, vanilla extract and brown sugar and whip to stiff peaks, cover and set aside in the fridge until serving.
- Heat a large saucepan of water until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Make Swiss Meringue. Combine egg whites and granulated sugar in a bowl small enough to set over a pot of simmering water. Whisking constantly to keep egg whites from cooking, heat until temperature reaches 140º F. Remove from heat, pour into your mixing bowl and whip until meringue is completely cool. Set aside.
- Make chocolate base. Melt dark chocolate in a bowl over the simmering water until melted. It will be very thick, slowly had water water to loosen it up. Whisk until very smooth, add grand marnier. Set aside and keep warm, I kept it on the stove top, away from heat.
- Make egg yolk base. Whisk egg yolks in your mixer until broken up and light yellow. Heat corn syrup to a boil. Slowly add to the egg yolks, whipping constantly. Whip until thick and fluffy.
- Fold chocolate base into egg yolk base and gently fold until incorporated. Next, fold in the plain whipped cream until incorporated. Fold in Swiss meringue until incorporated. Store chocolate mousse in fridge until ready to dish and serve.
- We served small dishes of mousse garnished with a small dollop of cream and fresh raspberries. You can also alternate layers of cream, mousse and berries as White on Rice did.
- Serve.
- Eat.
Okay, I am so behind, that I am sure my partner with this event is ready to kick my @*^% – February just runs me over like a mad truck. Not to mention we decided to skip town for the long weekend.
I am not going to recap Ten in 10 as it stayed pretty much the same as last week. I will say, Lenny is doing a stellar job and I am kind of just riding his “shirt tails”. I am turning 43 this week and am planning on kicking it up a notch or two with regards to the workout part of my Healthy Challenge. I think I am having a mid-life crisis!
WOW is about all I can say about the RSBC challenge. Everyone did an amazing job despite Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year and the long weekend. As well as cooking some very creative desserts using the Superfood Butternut Squash, everyone seemed to get a nice week of exercise in as well – made me proud!
What’s up with the Wheelers – kudos as they are family working on this challenge together and not only did they get a lot of great workouts in (yes, over 40 miles just in running between two of them) but they got the kids involved in making this very yummy gelato. This has got to be the most ingenious way to get your children to eat their veggies …. they will never know!
 Gluten Free in Salt Lake – Unfortunately Trish came down with a nasty winter cold and did not complete the entire work-out portion of RSBC but she did get the “C” part of the challenge done and with flying colors. She used a cousin to the Butternut Squash, the Acorn and made these yummy cupcakes – not only did she include the squash but she also made them dairy free. I love that she has a yummy brown sugar meringue as the frosting. Great Job!
 Eat More Toast – Justin & Brianna got a lot of road miles in, in the form of biking and running. As well they took a chocolate chip cookie recipe and made it healthier by adding the superfood of the week, the Butternut Squash. I loved that they did this as it brought back memories of when my mother use to put zucchini in cookies – it was so good! Now, they did take it up a notch by sandwiching some ice cream between two cookies, but that is okay, they earned it!
 Balance Food – Now Christy writes that I left her stumped with this challenge, I find that hard to believe as I always marvel at how creative she is when she picks the “Superfood” for the week. This week she took the Superfood Butternut Squash and made two outstanding desserts that were equally as comforting and spicy – gingerbread and a crisp. Now this is definitely something I would have never thought to make.
I have to admit Chez Us did not do all that well with the work out part of this challenge, we are definitely not at where we should be with our miles. We will be getting a lot of extra road time in this week. We never will fail you with food; we did create a dessert using Butternut Squash. I roasted some butternut squash with only a sprinkle of water and then I pureed it in a food processor. I then turned it into a lovely flan with a burnt sugar bottom – YUM!
Next week’s challenge is fun – be sure to run over to Balance to read all about it! For the record, Christy has stumped me with this one!
Recipe: Butternut Squash Flan
1/2 small – medium butternut squash, seeded
1 1/2 cups whole milk, you can use low or non fat but it will not hold us as well
1/4 cup sugar, plus 4 tablespoons
2 eggs
Cut butternut squash in half. Remove seeds. Sprinkle with water and wrap in foil. Put into a preheated oven (425) and cook until soft. Let cool. While squash is cooking, prepare your ramekins by lightly buttering them. Then heat 4 tablespoons of sugar in a small pan until melted and browned. Drizzle into the bottoms of your ramekins, set them into a deep roasting pan. Boil enough water to come up half way up the ramekins. When squash is cool remove flesh from skin and puree until smooth. Heat milk with 1/4 cup sugar until simmering. In a separate bowl mix squash puree with eggs and slowly add heated milk, whisking the entire time. Pour into prepared ramekins. Gently pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, making sure to come up about half way up the ramekins. Bake at 350 for 30 – 40 minutes until centers are set. Cool. Serve. Eat.
We are crazy for passion fruit! I was first introduced (can you believe it) to fresh passion fruit while we were in Sayulita. Lenny had been introduced as a child as it is readily available in the Azores. I went crazy for it. We were basically indulging in a bowl of fresh made passion fruit ice cream daily while we were in Mexico. Now, I am on the lookout for fresh passion fruit every time I hit the market, just maybe someday, they will be lurking in the shadows of a mango or two.
Last weekend we finally found fresh passion fruit at the Berkeley Bowl. As soon as I walked into the fresh fruit section I smelled the pungent but sweet smell of ripe passion fruits. Speaking of indulging this was definitely just that, at $2.98 a passion fruit. I love cutting one open and just slurping it up; but, decided to make something special with them.
I have not made panna cotta in a long time and have been thinking about it very often recently. This was the perfect opportunity. I did have to change my traditional recipe as I did not have enough regular milk, but after a few twitters, I felt comfortable substituting regular milk with buttermilk – it came out perfectly. I loved the tartness of the passion fruit mixed with the fragrant vanilla beans and the creaminess of the buttermilk and cream. Such an elegant way to end a meal with the one you love, pure passion.
Recipe: Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Gelee
200ml fresh passion fruit puree
3 teaspoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons gelatin powder
3 tablespoons cold water
Put passion fruit puree and sugar into a saucepan over low heat and cook until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle gelatin powder into the cold water in a small bowl and let soften for 5 minutes. Add the gelatin into the passion fruit mixture and stir until dissolved. Pour the mixture into 6 small glass containers or 4 ramekins, let set up in the fridge.
Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Panna Cotta
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
4 tablespoons cold water
Add heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean paste into a saucepan and gently warm milk, do not bring to a boil. Let the mixture steep for about 15 – 30 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and it reaches the intensity of flavor you want. Add the buttermilk to a large bowl. Strain the cream mixture into the buttermilk. Whisk gently. Add the gelatin into the cold water and let it soften for about 5 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture to the cream/buttermilk mixture and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved, you do not want lumpy panna cotta. Let the mixture continue to cool, about 10 minutes, but do not let it set too long or it will begin to firm. If the passion fruit gelee is set, gently pour the cream mixture into the container. Let it set in the fridge at least 3 hours or longer. Serve. Eat.
I wanted to spice up this previous post for our entry into the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest as well as for a dinner party so I took the same recipe but I left out the warm spices of winter and substituted them with dried chilies, that I ground up in a coffee grinder (I keep one just for spices). In order to cool down the spicy chilies I served this cake with a salted caramel gelato. It was a hit with all our guests, even the children!
Recipe: Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Chili Cake
8 oz. scharffen berger bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 stick of good quality unsalted butter
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground chilis, depending on the heat you want
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Creme the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix just to incorporate. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in the chocolate and chili. Pour into a lightly buttered pan, I like to use a tart pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Salted Caramel Gelato
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon grey sea salt
Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to melt and turn dark brown, about 3 – 4 minutes. Once the sugar has reached the color desired, slowly whisk in the cream until well combined. Add the milk and the vanilla bean and cook until hot about 3 minutes. Beat eggs yolks in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 of the mixture into the yolk, constantly whisking, slowly add rest of the cream mixture and return to the saucepan. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the salt. Transfer to a container and cool completely in the refrigerator. Using a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod. Add seeds to gelato mixture, discard pods. Churn according to the directions of your ice cream maker. Store in a tightly sealed container until frozen. Serve. Eat.
While we were in Palm Springs, our friend Andy, wanted to make a pineapple upside down cake with a fresh pineapple he had sitting around. The dilemma was that the pineapple was fresh and not canned, most recipes call for “canned”. I found a recipe that was featured in Gourmet years ago and we decided to changed it up a bit. The end result – melt in your mouth goodness!
Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cake
For topping:
- 1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
For batter:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup dark rum
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and sides of a 8 or 9 inch cake pan.
Make topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into cubes. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Add pineapple. Remove from heat. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Make batter:
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. Batter may appear slightly curdled, this is okay. Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in pan for 5 minutes. Invert a plate over pan and invert cake onto plate. Serve. Eat.
A recipe for an easy flourless chocolate cake which is lightly scented with orange zest and cardamon.
I have been making this cake for a few months now; no I am not keeping it a secret, I just keep forgetting to share it with you. With the holidays coming up, I thought, this would be a perfect dessert to serve, as it is easy and very flavorful. The orange zest gives it a bit of zing, while the cardamon lightly adds a warm wintry spice. I like to serve it with creme fraiche which I sweeten with light brown sugar.
Recipe: Cardamon Orange Flourless Chocolate Cake
8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 stick of good quality unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 orange, zested
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Creme the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix just to incorporate. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in the chocolate and spices. Pour into a lightly buttered pan, I like to use a tart pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve. Eat.
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