Category Archives: dessert

strawberry mascarpone tart

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strawberry tart 1

Things that are difficult to take pictures of: ice cream, anything shiny, and this strawberry tart.

I almost didn’t post the recipe because I didn’t have any pictures that I deemed worthy, but instead I just settled on this picture, taken with the BF’s iPad.

Why?  Because this recipe needs to be shared, people.  It’s so easy, and so refreshing, and so… perfect.  It’s light, refreshing, and the right amount of sweet.

The kid in me prefers a Nilla Wafer crust, but you could use a regular pie crust all the same, just baked according to its own directions.  You could even use one of those store-bought graham crusts if you were extra short on time, I’m sure it would still taste great!

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Makes 1 8- or 9- inch tart

Printable Recipe

For the Crust

•             2 2/3 cups vanilla wafer cookies

•             1 tbsp sugar

•             1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

•             4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

•             1 egg, whisked with 1 Tablespoon water

For the Filling

•             2 lbs strawberries, stemmed and sliced or quartered

•             1/2 cup white sugar

•             1 Tablespoon lemon zest

•             1 teaspoon lemon juice

•             8 ounces mascarpone cheese

•             4 ounces whipped cream

•             1/2 teaspoon vanilla

•             1/3 cup powdered sugar

•             1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Make the crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Crush wafer cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs.  Add melted butter and vanilla extract and continue processing until blended.  Dump into pie or tart pan and press firmly into bottoms and sides (I find using the bottom/sides of a glass to help press makes a big difference).
  2. Brush bottom of crust with whisked egg and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown; cool completely (up to overnight) before filling.

Make the filling

  1. Toss the strawberries with half of the zest, all of the juice, and sugar in a large bowl; set aside for 30 minutes.
  2. While the strawberries are macerating, mix the mascarpone cheese with lemon zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until well combined.  Gently fold in the whipped cream; refrigerate until needed.
  3. After 30 minutes, strain juice from strawberries into a small saucepan.  Add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil of medium heat.  Reduce until thick enough to cover the back of a spoon, it should be like a syrup.  Set aside to cool.

Assemble the tart

  1.  Spread the mascarpone mixture over the bottom of the tart shell, top with strawberries (sometimes I arrange them fancily, other times I just dump them on top and spread them out, whatever your preference and energy levels call for that day), brush with balsamic syrup and chill until ready to serve.

 

 

[ Adapted from Simply Recipes ]

 

 

s’more popcorn

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smore popcorn 9860

Summer has arrived in Arizona, with our highs consistently in the upper 90s and 100s I know that no-burn days a right around the corner.  No burn days are these horrible things that were invented to prevent humans  from enjoying delicious s’mores.  They SAY it’s for air quality, but I’m pretty sure they just hate happiness.

And s’mores.

So every summer these terrible days stand between me and a delicious s’more… and trust me, you DO NOT want to be between me and my dessert.  That is not a safe place for anyone to be.

So what can I do?  Plan ahead.

A good contingency plan can be the difference between life and death, people.  LIFE AND DEATH.

So how will I feed my s’more addiction when I can’t roast marshmallows?  HOW!?

BF came to the rescue on this one, when he sent me this post from Buzzfeed.  I was not surprised to see that I had all of the necessary ingredients on hand.

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Thus I discovered what is one of the easiest and most delicious snacks of all time.  The only thing that would have made it better is if I had Golden Grahams in the pantry.  I think they would’ve actually worked better than just the crushed graham crackers, but then maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to make this again.

I used  this “simply salted” popcorn which has just a hint of salt, leaving it like a blank canvas on which to paint my flavor brush.  Sure popping popcorn isn’t rocket science, but when it means one less pan to clean, how can I resist?

I can’t.

smore popcorn 1043

S’more Popcorn

Makes about 10 cups s’more popcorn

Printable Recipe

  • 1 3-oz. bag microwave popcorn, popped (or 10 cups popped popcorn)
  • 4 Tbsp. butter
  • One 10-oz. bag mini marshmallows, divided
  • 1 sleeve graham crackers (9 crackers) or a generous sprinkling of Golden Grahams cereal
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
  • Salt to taste

1. Pop popcorn according to package directions – 2 minutes and 25 seconds is the magic time in case you were wondering.  At least for our microwave it seems to be.  You could also pop popcorn on the stovetop if you wanna be all old-fashioned-like.  Spread popcorn on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with crumbled graham crackers.

2. Heat butter, half of the chocolate chips, and half of the marshmallows in the microwave until the butter is melted, stir to combine.

3. Drizzle marshmallow mixture evenly over the popcorn and toss to combine.

4. Once the popcorn is well-coated with the marshmallow mixture, add the unmelted marshmallows and chocolate chips and toss everything together.  Sprinkle with additional salt to taste.

5. Let cool completely then transfer to a paper bag for storage (in the unlikely event that you have any left)

 

[ Adapted from BuzzFeed ]

chocolate cashew butter

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cashew 3 - 2

Whatever you do, don’t make this.

Sure, it seems harmless enough.  It’s just some cashew butter… What’s the harm in that?

cashew butter april

With the first bite you’ll be impressed by the texture, second bite, “ooh, that chocolate is a really good addition,” third bite “ooh, I can taste a little salt in there too…”

Using it to dip some banana or apple in, smearing a bit on some toast.  Maybe dunking a graham cracker or two…

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Next thing you know it’s gone and you’re torn between the shock of, “Did I just eat a whole container of cashew butter?” followed by the panic of realizing, “MY GOD, THERE IS NO MORE CASHEW BUTTER!”

You’ll know you’re in real trouble, though, when you’re standing at the counter eating the second batch straight out of the jar with a spoon… totally not speaking from experience.

Like I said, this is serious stuff.

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Well, I put those graham crackers in there for the picture… it’d be a real shame to waste them.  Might as well eat the rest of them too, since they’re already on the plate.

 

Chocolate Cashew Butter

Makes about 8 ounces cashew butter (mine fit into my 8 ounce mason jar)

Printable Recipe

  • 2 cups (about 8 ounces) cashews*
  • 1 ounce chocolate, milk or dark, chopped (or a tablespoon or two of mini chocolate chips)
  • 1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil
  • salt, to taste (I added about a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt)

1.  Place 2 cups cashews (or nut of your choice) into the food processor.  Blend continuously until they break down into a butter form.  This will take awhile and you will need to scrape down the sides a few times.  They will go from nuts, to chopped nuts, to something resembling almond meal, then to the consistency of chunky peanut butter, then to a smoother consistency.

cashew butter Collage

2.  Once smooth, add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil and continue blending and scraping until it is completely blended.

3.  Taste and add salt as desired, blend and scrape down the sides one last time to incorporate the salt.

Can be stored at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerated for about a month (I’ve seen other sites say up to 3 months).

* You can use any nut you like, roasted or raw, but roasted nuts will give a more pronounced nut flavor (raw cashews basically just hold onto the chocolate and stay pretty neutral in flavor) – Just make sure to use unsalted so that you can control how much salt goes into the butter. (If you’re feeling adventurous, give honey-roasted peanuts a try, you might not even need  want to add the chocolate with that one.)

* Use more or less chocolate, milk or dark, to your taste, or omit the chocolate all together.  Other things that mix well – honey, maple, cinnamon, etc.

 

[ Adapted from How Sweet Eats ]

 

 

reeses cup bundt cake

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DSC_7806

 

By the time you read this, I should be on my way to California… on VACATIONNNNN!!!

So, since this will be the last post for awhile, and the last March (cake) Madness post, it is only fitting that I would combine two of my favorite things: chocolate and peanut butter.  And Reese’s cups, to make it more redundant.  And more delicious.

This cake was arguably the first “recipe” I ever made.  Once upon a time ago, when I was a little girl baking with my momma, we needed to make a dessert for our neighborhood block party (remember those?).  Mom asked what we should bring and of course my brain immediately went to my then (and still) favorite candy, Reese’s Cups.  In cake form.

reeses cake 8545

Of course back then it was just a box cake mix and a bajillion chopped up Reese’s cups.  Mixed into the cake, adorning the top, dumped into the hole in the middle… I even halved them and made a little Reese’s border along the outside of the cake.

I didn’t have enough mini Reese’s to do that this time.

reeses cake 1-1

I didn’t really miss them.  (Ok, maybe I missed them a little bit)

This cake was so good, as soon as I took a bite I was immediately upset, because I knew that it was suddenly a choice between cake and dinner… No one should ever need to make that choice.

Especially when ganache and Reese’s are involved.

It was even better the next day, in case yours lasts that long.

 

Reese’s Cup Bundt Cake

Makes 1 bundt cake

Printable Recipe

For the cake:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter

  • ⅓ cup dutch processed cocoa powder

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt (unless your peanut butter is really salty)

  • ⅓  cup creamy peanut butter (I always use Jif)

  • 1 cup water

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

  • 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

  • 2 large room temperature eggs, lightly beaten

  • ½ cup sour cream; room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 10 reeses cups, roughly chopped (usually easier to chop if they’re chilled)

  • Mini reeses, for decorating (optional)

For the chocolate glaze:

  • ½ cup chocolate chips (or 4 ounces chopped chocolate)

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

1.  Heat butter, peanut butter, and water over medium heat in a small saucepan until butter and peanut butter are just melted.  Stir in cocoa powder and set aside to cool to room temperature.  To ensure my impatience didn’t get in my way, I decided to wait to preheat the oven until this point and didn’t let myself mix anything until the oven beeped.

2.  Preheat oven to 350˚F and prep a bundt pan with butter and flour or with Pam for Baking

3.  In a large bowl, sift or whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda until well mixed.

4.  Slowly whisk or beat in the melted butter mixture until combined, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and whisk to incorporate.  Stir in sour cream until combined.

5.  Option 1: Pour half of batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups, and pour remaining half of batter over the Reese’s.

 Option 2:  Stir peanut butter cups  into batter and pour into prepared pan.

6.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes until done.  Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack and remove pan to finish cooling completely.

7.  Once your cake is cooled, make your ganache by heating your cream just until it starts to bubble.  I usually do that by heating it in a 2-cup measuring cup in the microwave, but you can use a saucepan on the stove if you like.

Add chocolate and corn syrup and whisk to combine (if you used a pan for your cream, pour the cream over the chocolate instead).  At first it will look like it’s going well, then it will look like it’s going very poorly, then if you just keep whisking you’ll be relieved when it all comes back together again.

 

happy birthday to me [ and the momofuku confetti cake ]

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confetti cake crop 8477

It’s Saturday, March 16th.  Today is my birthday, but you won’t be reading this until tomorrow.  I spent the whole morning at the spa getting a full body massage thanks to my wonderful, loving boyfriend.  It was, without a doubt, the perfect way to start my birthday.

momo confetti cake top

The best way to continue my birthday?  By eating my birthday cake for lunch, obviously.

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I made this cake last weekend and it’s been quietly stashed away in my freezer since then.  Waiting, haunting me in the back of my brain.  For the last week, like a mobius strip in my brain, “confetti cake, confetti cake, confetti cake…”

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And even lazy me, despite saying that reading the recipes in the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook makes me tired, even I could do it.  And it wasn’t that hard.  Day 1 I made the crumb and cake.  Day 2 I made the frosting, soak, and assembled everything.  Day 3 (which was actually 1 week later) I consumed everything.  Well, ahem, not everything.

instagram confetti cake

Not that I would have any issue taking down a whole cake, but I had plenty of other eating to do and therefor decided to save my tummy’s valuable real estate for dinner with the BF at one of my favorite restaurants.  After slicing my cake, I very carefully laid each piece on a plastic-wrap-lined baking sheet and put it in the freezer to chill for a few hours.  Once hardened, I wrapped each piece individually in plastic wrap and then foil, and placed them in a freezer-safe gallon-sized bag for future consumption.  God bless whoever invented the freezer.

Momofuku Milk Bar Confetti Cake

Makes 1 6-inch round cake

Printable Recipe

For the Crumb:

  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
  • ¾ cup cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 Tablespoons sprinkles
  • ¼ cup grapeseed oil
  • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract


For the cake:

  • ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ⅓ cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ⅓ cup grapeseed oil
  • 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup + 4 Tablespoons sprinkles, separated


For the soak:

  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract


For the frosting:

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • ¼ cup vegetable shortening, softened to room temperature
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking powder


Step 1: Make the crumbs
1.  Preheat the oven to 300˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Combine the dry ingredients in a mixer until well-mixed.  Add oil and vanilla and continue mixing until they form into clumps.
3.  Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 17 minutes, until done.  Err towards under-done rather than over-done, the crumbs will harden a bit once cooled.  Allow to cool on the pan, then transfer to an airtight container for storage.
*Crumbs can be stored up to 1 week in the fridge, or a couple of days at room temperature.

Step 2: Make the cake
1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a quarter-sheet pan (9- or 10-inches by 13-inches) with foil and parchment, greasing if desired (I sprayed with Pam for Baking)
2.   In a medium bowl, whisk together your cake flour, baking powder, salt and sprinkles; set aside.
3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and shortening until combined.  Add both sugars to the butter mixture and cream together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating for about 10 seconds after each one, scraping the bowl after each addition.  Continue to mix on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl at the end of the 3 minutes.
4.  On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat for 4-6 minutes on medium-high until the mixture is white, has grown to about twice its original size, and is completely homogenous with no streaks running through it, scraping the bowl as necessary.  Don’t worry if it takes a while for everything to get incorporated.
5.  Add the flour/sprinkle mixture and pulse until moistened, then mix just until the flour is incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl one last time to check for any hidden flour bombs.
6.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it with a spatula to ensure it’s even(ish).  Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup of sprinkles and bake 25 to 30 minutes until done.  When done, the cake should have a golden top and spring back when gently touched.  If  you’re still not sure you can stick a toothpick into the center and see if it comes out clean – it should be mostly clean with a few crumbs sticking to the toothpick.
7.  Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow the cake to finish cooling on a wire rack.
*The cooled cake can be, wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for one day, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for one month.

Step 3: Make the frosting
1.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, shortening, and cream cheese on high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2.  Scrape down the bowl, then with the mixer on low speed, stream in the corn syrup and  vanilla.  Continue beating on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and glossy white, about 3 minutes.
3.  Scrape down the bowl and add the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and baking powder and pulse to incorporate the powdered sugar.  Once the powdered sugar is mixed in, beat again on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until it is fluffy and white.  Use the frosting immediately.
*Frosting can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week, bring to room temperature before using.

Step 4: Assemble the cake
Equipment needed:

  • 2 acetate strips
  • 1 6-inch cake ring
  • 1 6-inch cake board or whatever it is that you would like to use to store your cake on
  • 1 gallon-size zipper bag or pastry bag (for frosting)
  • 1 pastry brush
  • Saran wrap
  • 1 prepared confetti cake
  • 1 recipe prepared frosting
  • 1 recipe prepared confetti cake crumb

1. Make  your cake layers
1.1  Lay your cake on your work surface and cut out 2 6-inch circles using your cake ring.. Using the remaining cake and the cake ring, make a 3rd 6-inch cake out of the cake scraps.  I did this by cutting out the two corner-ish pieces, leaving as big of a piece as possible to be the base for my bottom franken-layer.

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There will be a lot of scraps leftover for … quality control.  Yes, that’s what they are for.  Don’t want to get all the way to the end to find out that you don’t like your cake, right?  I put mine in a freezer-safe bag along with my other cake scraps leftover from home made ding dongs.  I’m sure I’ll not have any problem finding something to do with them.

1.2  Clean the cake ring and line it with an acetate strip, and place it Fill your plastic storage zipper bag with frosting, if you haven’t already, and cut a 1/2 to 3/4 inch hole in the corner. Squeeze evenly over the crumbs (see figures 1-4 of the how-to above).onto whatever base you’ve chosen to use – I also placed plastic wrap between the bottom of my cake ring and my cake surface so that I could move my cake as I deemed necessary.

confetti cake 8390 1.3   Place Circle #3 (cake scrap circle) inside the acetate-lined ring.

*Does that sound hard?  If so, cut your rectangular cake into three equal-sized sections and voila – you will have a 3-layer rectangle cake.

2. Mix together your milk soak, and scrape your frosting into a large gallon-size resealable plastic bag or pastry bag.  Cut a ½-inch off the corner of the bag for piping the frosting.

3.  Soak your cake
3.1  Using a pastry brush, generously brush your cake-scrap layer with ⅓ of the cake soak mixture.

4. Layer and frost your cake
4.1  Use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to spread the first ⅕ of frosting evenly on the cake.
4.2  Sprinkle the desired amount of the crumbs (up to ⅓ of crumb mixture)  evenly over the frosted cake layer.

*Tip: If you have smaller crumbs your cake will cut more easily when it’s time for slicing

4.3  Here is the tricky part – Now you have to frost on top of cake crumbs.

Pipe frosting in a spiral or grid pattern across the top of your cake.  I was a bit heavy-handed on this so you might want to make sure you only use ⅕ of the frosting here… or make extra frosting if you’re worried about it.  A little extra frosting never hurt anyone.

Use the back of a spoon to spread your lines of frosting evenly over the crumbs.  If you’re confused, please refer to Shannon’s beautiful confetti cake post, as it got me through my Momofuku cake experience.

4.4  Gently tuck your second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼-inch of the first strip of acetate, so you have a clear ring of acetate 5-6 inches tall-high enough to support the height of the finished cake.

5.  Assemble Layer #2:
5.1  Set Circle #2 on top of the completed layer.  Don’t worry that the acetate strips tend to scrape a bit off of the edges, just fanangle the cake into the ring and then gently press it all together with firm, even pressure.  Be gentle but firm.
5.2  Repeat step 4.1 – 4.3, frosting on top of the cake, then sprinkling the crumb, then frosting on top of the crumb.

6.  Repeat again for the 3rd and final layer.  Frost the top of the cake and sprinkle the top with crumb however you think is most pretty.

7.  You should have a little bit of empty space between the top of your cake and the top of your acetate strip.  Cover with plastic wrap and/or foil and transfer the cake and its base to your freezer.
7.1 Chill for 12 hours (or up to 2 weeks) to set the cake and filling.

momo confetti 2

8.  When ready to serve the cake, remove the cake ring and place on your desired serving piece (this is easiest to do when still frozen).
8.1  Thaw at room temperature at least 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  The cake is best served at room temperature so please let it sit at room temperature at least a few hours before serving.  I left mine wrapped in acetate to protect the sides of the cake layers from drying out.  When ready to serve, remove the acetate strips and slice as desired.

Finished cake can be stored, wrapped in plastic, up to 5 days in the fridge.  After slicing my cake, I very carefully laid each piece on a plastic-wrap-lined baking sheet and put it in the freezer to chill for a few hours.  Once hardened, I wrapped each piece individually in plastic wrap and then foil, and placed them in a freezer-safe gallon-sized bag for future consumption.  God bless whoever invented the freezer. 

 

[ Adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook & A Periodic Table ]