Do you remember the first time you had a root beer float? I remember thinking “soda and ice cream, why hadn’t someone mentioned this deliciousness to me before this very moment?!” Mind you, I was a kid and probably didn’t need any more sugar or desserts in my life. But root beer floats always have such a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. I was at Franklin Fountain in Philadelphia recently. I saw that they sell root beer floats, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since. So when this month’s Cooking Light arrived with what I can only call an “Adult Root Beer Float” I was so excited to try it out.
The drink, referred to as a Black Cauldron (it’s the October issue), is just as simple as a traditional root beer float, but it uses a stout instead of root beer. To add a little bit more flavor, the drink also has a touch of vodka and brewed espresso. How can you not like this drink?
Ingredients: (makes 4)
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup vanilla vodka
1/4 cup brewed espresso (or coffee)
24 ounces stout beer (oatmeal, chocolate, whatever your favorite is)
Brew your espresso or coffee. Allow to cool.
Add 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream to each of 4 glasses.
Top each with 1 tablespoon vodka and 1 tablespoon espresso. (Note: espresso can make this drink very bitter. Feel free to use brewed coffee instead.)
Fill with the stout (it will get very frothy).
That’s it! What a great upgrade!
If you don’t like stouts, you are obviously not going to like this drink. But as a stout lover, I couldn’t get enough of this drink. The ice cream melts into the drink, making it really creamy. On a couple of mine, it actually floated to the top!
When I was creating my Labor Day Round Up post, I realized one of my favorite grilling recipes was conspicuously missing. My friends and I love to soak pineapple in a rum-sugar mixture, heat it on the grill until the sugars caramelize, and dig in. Although I have been butchering the recipe all summer, I used this Cooking Light recipe as inspiration for our favorite summer grilling treat. Now that I am making this in my kitchen on a grill pan, I’m actually able to pair it with the ice cream for the full effect.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup dark spiced rum (such as Captain Morgan’s)
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 pint vanilla ice cream
I was at a restaurant on Long Island that had a drink they called a “lushee” which was basically a frozen sangria. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Pure brilliance. I told a friend about this and we knew we had to make our own, what could possibly be more refreshing on a hot summer day? I was recently sent a cookbook that actually one-upped the concept of the lushee: a White Wine Sangria Popsicle.
The book, Poptails, by Erin Nichols of Erin Cooks, is filled with sixty pops inspired by your favorite alcoholic beverages. Recipes range from classics like a gin and tonic to fancy favorites like a cosmopolitan.There are even some awesome dessert pops like cherry cheesecake and banana split.
I was in love with this book before I even received it. What an amazing idea! Who wouldn’t want their favorite drink in iced pop form? The recipes had me imagining all of the lovely get-togethers I could have: a brunch with iced coffee and bloody Mary pops, a pool party with strawberry basil martini pops, or Christmas in July with spiked eggnog, mulled wine, and Christmas cheer pops. Sigh.
Anyways, I kept thinking back to those lushes and knew I had to try the white wine sangria pops.
I tweaked the recipe within the book a bit. For the original recipe, pick up a copy of this fun book!
Ingredients:
1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 liter flattened seltzer water
1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)
1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
Note: You’ll need ice pop molds and Popsicle sticks to make these.
I wanted to start this post with the definition of seltzer, club soda, tonic water, and sparkling water. Because I always manage to mess these drinks up. And no wonder: club soda, seltzer and sparkling water are all water infused with carbonation. These can all be interchanged. Tonic water is something a bit different, it is still a carbonated water, but quinine is dissolved into the water as well. It’s quite a bit more bitter so be sure to use club soda/seltzer/sparkling water in this recipe. Or for a bit more sweetness, a lemon-lime soda would work.
Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.
Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra.Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop.Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.
Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds. This is so you can enjoy your creation before waiting 24 hours 🙂
Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.
To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.
These pops were refreshing and a little bit tangy. I wanted a bit more sweetness though, I might add more simple syrup next time I make them. I also would add a bit more cranberry juice so that the pops turn a very light pink color, which would probably look really nice.
What’s nice about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can add or subtract whatever fruit makes you happy. You could use a sweeter wine, or even a (flattened) champagne. My friend made this recipe using white grape juice instead of cranberry.
There are plenty of other creative pop recipes within the pages of this book. I love the element of fun that the popsicles add and can’t wait to try more of these yummy recipes!
1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)
1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
Instructions
Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.
Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra. Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop. Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.
Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds.
Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.
To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.
Cannolis always remind me of my Italian/German side of the family. I can’t think of a Christmas that these little delicious desserts didn’t make an appearance. My sister was downright obsessed with them as a kid, if she got to the dessert table first, there was no chance of getting one. So when I was sent Grace’s Sweet Life: Homemade Italian Desserts, I was really hoping to find a recipe for cannolis so I could make some for her. Well, the cookbook did me one better: Vanilla Cupcakes filled with Ricotta Cream, topped with Marsala-Chocolate Whipped Cream. And to make them even better, they are topped with a mini cannoli!
Grace is a blogger over at La Mia Vita Dolce. The website is absolutely fantastic. Just the names of the recipes are enough to make your mouth water. Her new cookbook is no different. It is filled with recipes for the very traditional (Pizzelles – those Italian waffle cookies that look like snowflakes) to the super creative (Chocolate Salami, you read that correctly!) The photography is stunning. The titles of the desserts are in both Italian and English which I thought was a nice touch. (The title of the cupcakes in Italian is Piccoli Torta alla Vaniglia con Crema di Ricotta, Panna Montata al Cacao e Marsala in case you were wondering.) Grace breaks down the recipes into easy to follow steps, which is really helpful, especially for a recipe like the cupcakes I made. I changed bits and parts to her recipe just due to what I could and couldn’t find.
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk (I used skim milk)
For the ricotta cream:
1 1/2 cups ricotta
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
For the marsala-chocolate whipped cream frosting:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon marsala
24 mini cannolis
Superfine sugar is just normal sugar that is ground into a finer grain. If you can’t find it in your local supermarket, just add a little more than 1 1/4 cups sugar to a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes. Just make sure that you have 1 1/4 cup of sugar at the end.
So, I really wanted to make my own mini cannolis. I really did. But I couldn’t find anything to wrap the cannolis around to make mini ones, all the places I looked only had the metal tubes for regular sized cannolis. So then, I tried going to bakeries to ask for mini cannoli shells. They all either didn’t have any or were unwilling to give them to me without filling them first. Sigh. So the cannolis on top of these lovely cupcakes are not my own making. But, they are the best cannolis in Philly (in my humble opinion), from Termini Bakery. On to the cupcakes!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and egg yolks to a measuring cup with the vanilla extract. Lightly beat with a fork.
With the mixer running (if you’re using a hand mixer, you might need a baking buddy for this step), gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture.
Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time alternating with adding the milk in two additions. (1/3 flour, then 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour). Beat until just combined after each addition.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups. Fill each tin 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
To make the ricotta cream, beat the ricotta on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar as beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the frosting, sift the cocoa and the confectioners sugar into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Beat the heavy cream, cocoa mixture and the marsala on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until cold, about 15 to 30 minutes.
To assemble, use a pairing knife to cut a 1 1/2 inch deep cone shaped piece of cake from the center of each cupcake. Trim off the top of the cone piece into a round, flat disk that you’ll use to top off the cupcake. Add the ricotta cream to a large pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off). Pipe the cream into each cupcake, filling almost to the top. Top with the disks of cake.
Add the frosting to a large pastrry bag or ziplock bag. Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.
Top with the mini cannolis. How fun are these??
Although it seems like these cupcakes would be really heavy and overwhelming, they were actually light and airy (I have no idea how). The cannoli added a fun touch, but these cupcakes can hold their own without them.
The ricotta cream inside was fantastic. I loved the flavor of them with the vanilla cupcakes and the chocolate chips were a fun addition.
Be sure to go check out Grace’s Sweet Life cookbook!
I was recently sent the Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook to review. Paging through the cookbook, I really loved the number of how-to’s included in the book. Everything from how to cook an omelette to what kitchen utensils every beginner cook needs. The recipes are really simple with beautiful photos to help you throughout; it’s basically a better version of my blog! 🙂
The cookbook isn’t just for beginners though, there are plenty of recipes that are helpful for any level of at-home cook. There is a recipe for gnocchi I can’t wait to try! (I attempted to make gnocchi once before, but they didn’t end up being happy little pillows of deliciousness; they were pretty dense. Sigh)
I decided to try to make their cherry pie. I have only made pie crust once before so I was excited to try again. Plus, I recently bought a Babycakes Pie Maker and had yet to try it out. The recipe for the cherry pie was followed by a how-to for making a lattice pie top so I wanted to try that out as well.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup cranberry juice
4 cups frozen pitted tart cherries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pie crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
7 tablespoons cold water
Note: I will give the directions as if I was making a large pie and will add commentary where the mini pie maker has different instructions. (I’m guessing most people don’t have a mini pie maker lying around!)
To make the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a large saute pan.
Stir in the cranberry juice until smooth.
“Smooth” might be more appropriate
Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Remove from heat and add the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
To make the crust, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until crumbly.
Gradually add the cold water. Start with 5 tablespoons and add 1 or 2 tablespoons more if needed. Toss with a fork until a ball forms.
Divide the dough in half with one ball slightly larger than the other. (You don’t have to do this if making mini pies.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball to fit in a 9-inch pie plate. When ready to transfer to the pie plate, loosely roll the dough around your roller and unroll into the pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch beyond the edge of the plate. (The mini pie maker comes with a cutter so I used that to get the correct shape. I then used another tool that comes with the product to push the dough into the mini pie plate.)
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Add the filling. (For mini pies, this is about 2-4 tablespoons of the filling per pie)
The book also goes through how to make a lattice-topped pie! Roll out the remaining pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. (I just used the cutter provided with my mini pie baker). With a pastry wheel (? No idea what a pastry wheel is. Feel free to use a pizza cutter or a knife), cut the dough into 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide strips.
Take half the strips (I just went every other that was cut) and lay them across the pie in with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches between them.
Fold back every other strip.
Take one strip of dough and lay it perpendicular to the strips already on the pie. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip and fold back the strips that are running underneath that strip.
Lay down a second strip and continue the process until the lattice top is finished.
Trim the strips to fit in the pie and fold bottom pastry up over the edges of the strips and seal. (I couldn’t do this for mine, but I bet they would have looked much nicer!)
Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. (I baked mine for 15 minutes and cooled on a wire rack).
I was quite happy with how these turned out. I think they needed a bit more sugar, but I think I used the wrong type of frozen cherries (mine were no sugar added). I also think a little lemon zest would really up the flavor of these quite nicely.
I also made a normal topped pie
I’m so excited about the lattice top! I obviously added a bit too much filling because it spilled over, but when I make a real pie, I now know how to do the lattice on top, yay!
To sweeten it up, I just topped the mini pies with ice cream. That solved the problem!
My sister and dad have their birthdays within 2 days of each other. And this year, my mom was away on Mother’s Day so we didn’t get to celebrate. So when I went home to celebrate the birthdays of my sister and dad, I wanted to bring a little something for my mom as well. When the last issue of Cooking Light had a recipe for Lemon Early Grey Squares, I knew they would be perfect. My mom is obsessed with everything bergamot. She’s also a huge citrus (specifically lemon) fan. I hope she likes them!
I have many childhood memories of me chasing down the ice cream truck to get my absolute favorite ice cream treat: a Chipwich. I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for in a dessert? Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream sandwiched in between. Mmm.
So I was, well, horrified, to find out that the Chipwich brand name is no longer in existence as of 2007. At that time, Nestle bought the rights to the name and stopped all production because it competed with their “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.” I mean, come on. The name Chipwich is exponentially more catchy. But hey, whatever floats their boat.
Since finding out this information, I can’t get the idea of making my own Homemade Chipwiches or Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches out of my head.
I was sent an Airbake cooking sheet recently and wanted to test it out. The Airbake Nonstick Insulated sheets are pretty snazzy. They are made of 100% aluminum and are comprised of two sheets surrounding a layer of air. This is said to reduce the temperature of the metal that actually comes in contact with the food which should result in more even baking. Airbake also claims that cookie bottoms won’t burn, win! (They also have natural sheets if you don’t want nonstick)
I decided to use a recipe from David Lebovitz for Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies because the only way I can think to enhance my homemade chipwiches would be to add a little salt to bring out the flavor.
Ingredients (makes about 12 hand-sized chipwiches, make cookies larger if desired):
4 ounces salted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 pint vanilla ice cream (or your favorite ice cream)
Most of the time when I explain my blog to someone, they bring up Julie and Julia. I have yet to watch the movie, and I am only a few chapters into the book, so I’m not exactly sure how many similarities I have to Julie. However, it goes without saying that Julia Child is an inspiration to most, if not all, food bloggers, cooks, and home cooks. August 15, 2012 is Julia Child’s 100th birthday. To celebrate, JC100 was launched. It is a national campaign involving restaurants, chefs, bookstores, and bloggers. The goal is to “raise one million voices in tribute to Julia”. When I was asked to participate, I jumped at the chance. The campaign started 100 days before Julia’s birthday on May 7.
The first recipe was a classic Omelette Roulee, a Rolled Omelette which Julia described as “dinner in half a minute.” Well, I found one thing I have in common with Julie (not Julia): I am not a big egg fan. The idea of eating an omelette at all, let alone for dinner, didn’t make me happy. So I passed over the recipe so that the first recipe I posted could be something I truly love. JC100 is sending me a new recipe each week so I should have a summer full of Julia Child recipes on here!
This week, the recipe was right up my alley: chocolate mousse! This chocolate mousse is a winner. Instead of the typical mousse made with cream and egg white, this one is made of egg yolks, sugar, and butter. I also made a fresh whipped cream to top off the mousse.
Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur
A pan of barely simmering water
A basin of cold water
6 ounces or squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
4 tablespoons of strong coffee (I used espresso granules dissolved in boiling water)
1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange liqueur
To make, prepare your two waters. Add a small pot filled with water to the stove over medium heat. Bring to just below a simmer. Add ice to a medium sized bowl and fill with water.
Add the egg yolks to a medium sized bowl; you want it to be stainless steel or porcelain. Reserve the egg whites for later use.
Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick, pale, yellow, and falls upon itself forming a ribbon. Add the orange liqueur.
Place the bowl over the simmering water and and continue to beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. (Keep the simmering pot over the heat, you’ll use it again soon)
Move the bowl to on top of the ice water bowl and beat for another 3 to 4 minutes. The mixture should again form ribbons and have the consistency of mayonnaise.
Add the chocolate and 4 tablespoons coffee to a small saute pan.
Melt the chocolate and coffee mixture over the hot water.
Remove from heat and slowly beat in the butter a little at a time to make a smooth cream.
Add the chocolate mixture to the egg-sugar mixture and mix to combine.
So, what you’re supposed to do at this stage is beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Add the 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and then fold in the rest of the egg whites.
That was on a different page. Which I apparently decided not to read. So my “mousse” had more of a pudding consistency. Oops. It was still delicious!
Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
To make the whipped cream, add the cream to a bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix the cream on medium/high until frothy.Add the sugar, vanilla and orange liqueur. Beat on medium/high until stiff peaks form, and the mixture resembles whipped cream.
To serve, scoop the mousse into individual bowls and top with fresh whipped cream.
Despite my colossal mistake, this dessert turned out really well! The mousse had a silky consistency that I really enjoyed. I couldn’t necessarily taste the coffee or the orange liqueur, but I could taste that there was something special in there.
The whipped cream was a great complement. The orange liqueur was a bit more pronounced in the whipped cream which worked really well with the mousse.
I’m bummed I messed up Julia Child’s recipe, but, to quote Julia herself “try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!” I learned that I really need to read a recipe all the way through before starting to make a recipe, something I am guilty of on more than one occasion. So I may not have had the right consistency, but the flavor was still there. I’ll call it a win!
Tim Tam Tarts. Isn’t that oh so fun to say? A Tim Tam is a chocolate cookie from Arnott’s in Australia. You might see them every now and then in America, but don’t be fooled, those are made by Pepperidge Farm and I’m sorry, they just don’t live up to the originals. These happy little biscuits covered in chocolate are absolutely delicious. Their motto is “The Most Irresistible Chocolate Biscuit” but I think it’s more appropriately “Visitors to Australia’s Biggest Australian Obsession”. Seriously. They are the best.
So when one of my friends traveled to Australia recently and asked what I’d like, I basically yelled in her face “TIM TAMS!” which can be quite alarming to someone who has zero idea what a Tim Tam is. I clearly made an impression, because she returned with two boxes! Now, Tim Tams are perfectly delicious on their own, maybe with some milk. But I’m a food blogger, so I had to try to turn the cookies into something even better. A Dark Chocolate Tart with Tim Tam Crust, Raspberries, and Rose Water Whipped Cream? YES! (I adapted this recipe for Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream from taste.com.au)
Note: I am currently taking the Melt Buttery Spread Challenge and am substituting any and all butter/oils with Melt. I wrote a review of Melt a while back, which you can read here. If you can’t find Melt in your supermarket, use other coconut oil spreads, or just butter in this recipe)
Ingredients:
For the tart:
1 box of original Tim Tams
2 ounces Melt , melted (about 1 tablespoon in its original form)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
~7 oz dark chocolate (200g if you’re using a scale), roughly chopped (I used almost 5 dark chocolate candy bars!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream, to serve
Berries and Cream in Vanilla Dessert Cups is the perfect quick dessert for guests, or just to fulfill a sweet tooth in a pinch. I found the vanilla dessert cups in Whole Foods and immediately knew I was going to fill them with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream. This recipe for Berries and Cream in Vanilla Dessert Cups is easily adaptable to account for what is on sale or what looks freshest, any berry or fruit will do.
I love tiramisu. Honestly, what’s not to like? I’ve never tried to make a traditional tiramisu, but it might be a terrible idea. I’d probably eat the entire thing in one sitting. So to save me from that embarrassing end, I decided to try a recipe from the Walkers Shortbread website for Individual Tiramisu. The recipe makes two servings of tiramisu so that I can’t be a complete piggy. I came across it while trying to find a recipe to photograph (I made their raspberry creme brulee instead) and knew I’d have to make it. Luckily, I still had some Walkers Shortbread leftover!
1 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueur
1 tablespoon hazelnut flavored liqueur
2 ounces boiled water
1 heaping teaspoon espresso granules
8 shortbread cookies (I used Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 container (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
So before I go into the recipe, I just wanted to talk about one of the small businesses near me, Wedge + Fig in Philadelphia. They are an amazing cheese shop, brunch location, and also serve some of the best and most creative paninis in the city. When I had a hankering for this tiramisu recipe, I was excited to find that I had all of the ingredients on hand. Except the mascarpone cheese. Blast.
I thought I’d take a gamble and went to two corner stores near me. No mascarpone. So I went over to Wedge + Fig, assuming they wouldn’t have it either, but thought they might know where to get some. I asked, expecting a no, and was ready to leave. They told me they did not sell it, but they had some on hand because they used it in some recipes and would be willing to sell me some. How awesome! So thank you SO much to Wedge + Fig for saving the day. My tummy thanks you!
On to the recipe: Begin by combining the espresso granules with the boiling water. Stir to combine.
Take 1 tablespoon of the espresso and combine it with the coffee and hazelnut liqueurs.
Take 6 of the shortbread cookies and brush them with the coffee mixture on both sides.
Cut each cookie in half. (Note: I decided later that I kind of preferred them crumbled so after allowing them to soak, I just chopped them up a bit. The halves didn’t fit in my glasses nicely.)
In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese and 1/4 cup sugar.
Fold in the whipped cream. (I could just eat this mixture allll day. Mmm.)
Take two wine goblets or Irish coffee glasses and place three cookie halves in the bottom. (I just put two teaspoons of the crumbs in the bottom of mine.) Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over the cookies and repeat the layers.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours so that the cookies/crumbs can soften.
Add the chocolate mini chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring until melted. Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the 2 remaining cookies. (Place the cookies on wax paper before drizzling).
Just before serving, lightly sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa using a fine sieve. Add a chocolate-drizzled cookie to each glass.
How easy was that?
I love how fancy this dessert seems to be with minimal effort.
The whipped cream and mascarpone is so fluffy and flavorful.
The shortbread really soaked up all that coffee-hazelnut flavor, but maintained just enough crunch to keep it satisfying.
The presentation of this dessert is really nice too. The chocolate drizzled cookie is great to dip into the tiramisu to get some of the mascarpone mixture.
I’m aware I should share the second one of these. But um. I think I like it too much! We will see…
Every Easter, we have this adorable little bunny cake that shows up for dessert. I honestly don’t know what bakery we get it from, but it always makes me smile. So I thought I’d try to recreate it. Obviously, a bunny would be filled with carrots, so I decided to make a Bunny Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, covered in coconut.
I used a recipe from David Lebovitz for the cake and frosting, and used Betty Crocker‘s instructions on how to make it into a bunny.
I still had some plain yogurt leftover from making a batch of Mango Lassi over the weekend. I wanted to try to make my own combination and realized I still had rose water on hand. I love love rose water, which is a common ingredient in this sweet yogurt drink. I also picked up some ground cardamom when I was picking up all of the Indian spices. Cardamom is used to flavor a lot of desserts so I thought it would work great in the lassi as well. So I ended up with a Rose Water Cardamom Lassi!
Ingredients:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon rose water
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons coconut milk
Ice cubes
1 tablespoon pistachios, chopped
Add all ingredients except the ice cubes and pistachios to a blender. Puree until well combined.
Pour into a glass over ice. Top with chopped pistachios.
Um. Yum.
The rosewater is oh so nice in this drink.
The pistachios add a nice crunch to the drink which I really liked.
Lassi is supposed to be super sweet, but if you’re sensitive to sweetness, you can limit the amount of sugar, or you can substitute vanilla yogurt for the plain yogurt and omit the sugar entirely.
I love how easy these are to whip up!
Lassi is traditionally served with lunch, but I honestly love it as a dessert drink.
I am Irish, on my father’s side. So, more appropriately, I’m Irish American (among other things). Even more specifically, I am Irish Philadelphian. (Yes, I may have made that phrase up. But there are a bunch of us so I think the phrase should exist.)
Now I’m sure you were very interested in what my heritage is, but there is a reason I’m telling you this. Philadelphia has this… candy? dessert? … we will go with “treat”… called an Irish Potato Candy.
Irish Potato Candy is a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut rolled into a little ball and coated in cinnamon. So it ends up looking kind of like a potato, hence the name.
A super cute potato, that is
I’m under the impression Irish Potato Candy is essentially a Philadelphia-only thing. Friends from New York and D.C. both look at me like I’m crazy when I bring these up. But they are delicious and an integral part of every St. Patrick’s Day for me, so I needed to share them!
Last week, I was contacted by Walkers Shortbread about a recipe photo challenge they are hosting. Walkers asked a bunch of bloggers to make one of the recipes off their site and photograph the end result. They even offered to send me the Walkers ingredient needed to make the recipe. I came across their Raspberry Creme Brulee recipe and I knew I had to make it. It’s a traditional creme brulee, with a Walkers Shortbread crust and raspberries. How fantastic does that sound?
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 pint Raspberries (fresh)
1 pkg. (5.3 oz) Walkers Shortbread Fingers
light brown sugar, to taste
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Add the milk to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. While waiting for the milk to boil, add the egg yolks, sugar and heavy cream to a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine.
Add 3/4 cup of the boiled milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This tempers the eggs so that they don’t cook when you add the rest of the milk. Once incorporated, add the rest of the milk in a steady stream.
Take a box of Walkers Shortbread Fingers. Using a metal spoon, break the shortbread (while still in the plastic package) into fine crumbs.
Add the shortbread crumbs to the bottom of four ramekins. Add the raspberries to the ramekins.
Pour the custard (the egg and milk mixture) into the ramekins. Be sure to leave some room at the top.
Bake for 40 minutes at 300 degrees, or until a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean.
Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature. Chill the custard for at least two hours (I chilled mine overnight).
When ready to caramelize preheat your broiler to high. Sprinkle a thin coating of light brown sugar on each chilled custard. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the sugar is melted and golden brown. (Check on the custard after 1 minute, the broiler works quickly!)
Remove and serve.
So. I hated it.
Hehe. Of course I’m kidding. This dessert was absolutely awesome. I can’t stop thinking about it. Plus look how pretty it is!
This has everything that attracts you to a traditional creme brulee: creamy, sweet, and a nice crunch from the crust and the broiled top.
But it also has little delicious bursts of raspberry. Yum!
I loved the incorporation of the Walkers shortbread crust. I think every creme brulee needs to have one of these delicious cookie crusts.
This could easily be changed to incorporate other berries as well. What a great recipe!
Note: I was provided no compensation other than samples of Walkers Shortbread fingers. All opinions are my own.
