Chocolate Mousse

I love an easy recipe and this one only has 2 ingredients!  There is no egg or gelatin like most mousse recipes, just heavy cream and chocolate.  This mousse is definitely lighter in texture, but has the same great creamy taste as your classic French mousse.  This can also be made 2 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator or frozen for up to a month.  I made this for a luncheon in March and will put this dessert on repeat for my annual Spring Luncheon in April.  I used mini shot glasses, tied a ribbon around a mini spoon, added a raspberry and chocolate garnish for presentation.

INGREDIENTS: 

4 ounces chocolate
1 1/2  cup heavy whipping cream
Microwave 1/2 cup heavy cream for 50 second
In a double boiler melt chocolate
Once melted add warm cream and mix until combined
Remove from heat and let chocolate cool slightly
In a chilled bowl, beat remaining heavy cream until medium peaks form
One tablespoon at a time gently fold in chocolate 
Pipe into cups. 
Add desired garnish.
Refrigerate until serving

MY TIP:  I put my bowl and mixing beaters in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.

MY OTHER TIP:  By varying the chocolates and cream ratio,  you can also make ganache (1 to 1 ratio) or mirror glaze (2 to 1 ratio).

Chocolate Covered Oreos

                                                                           .

I made these chocolate covered oreos for two holiday get togethers that we attended last month.  These were super easy to make and looked really pretty.  I also liked that these could be make in advance.


Recipe:
 
Melt 1 pound chocolate in a double boiler
Spoon 1 tablespoon chocolate in the bottom of an oreo candy mold
Press oreo cookie gently into the mold (16 total)
Spoon chocolate on top to cover the cookie
Tap the mold gently to remove any air bubbles and to smooth out the chocolate 
Refrigerate until firm 

Makes 16     T                                                                                                                 

MY TIP:  These were very, very rich.  The next time I make these I will use just enough chocolate on the top to cover the cookie.

Raspberry Bumblers

Ok, I have to admit, I made up this recipe.  I was at World Market looking for some Belgium Thins to top with raspberries and white chocolate (a Pinterest Recipe I wanted to try) and they were out of them. I was determined not to leave empty handed so I searched for something, anything that I could use instead and found Bumblers. Bumblers (according to the package) are a "favorite" Australian chocolate candy with a honeycomb center. They are very similar to an American sponge candy.  Since, I  have never had sponge candy, I was not sure what to expect.  I tried them and I found the sponge candy disappointing and dry.  I have to admit I did not like these.  But if sponge candy is a favorite of yours, then you will like them even better with a drizzle of chocolate and a raspberry!

Recipe:
one bag Bumblers (24 pieces)
24 raspberries washed
melted white chocolate to drizzle

MY TIP:  Make sure the raspberries are completely dry before topping them on the chocolate.  Water and chocolate do not mix well together.

MY OTHER TIP:  I would make these again, just not with Bumblers.  I would use a brownie bite instead.

Fall for easy entertaining!

Entertaining does not have to be hard.  When I am looking for easy appetizers I usually choose a charcuterie board. Simple and no cooking!   Just go to the grocery find an assortment of meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits, chutneys, mustard, pickles, olives or anything you like and display them on a cutting board.  Remember to search your pantry first as you probably have some of these ingredients already.  I also like to have some desserts already made and in the freezer so all I have to do is thaw them out.

For ease, I knew I would be serving wine and beer, but wanted to make it a little more special.  A quick look at Pintrest and I found these simple recipes for cider wine sangria and cider beer shanty.  Just mix cider into beer or wine.  Can it get any easier than that?  Instead of making a batch of either, I decided to simply fill a pitcher with cider and garnished it with slices of granny smith apples (for the green color) and honeycrisp apples (for the red color).  I tossed in some cranberries just to give it a more fall festive look.

Cider Sangria or Cider Shanty

Mix 1/3 cup apple cider with beer or wine.
For the wine, use Riesling or a dryer wine as the cider is naturally sweet.

MY TIP:  Instead of ice cubes, freeze the main liquid of your drink so it doesn't become diluted as it sits out.  In this recipe, I just froze the cider in my ice cube trays.

Strawberry Mousse Cups

When I saw this mouse recipe in the summer, I fell in love with the color and knew this would make a festive dessert for the holidays! I thought putting it in these chocolate cups would make the perfect presentation and I  liked that I could make this ahead of time and freeze it.  The mousse was light and a nice change from the many chocolate desserts that I make every year.  The hardest part of this dessert was finding the already made chocolate cups!  I had looked everywhere and finally found them in a small gourmet Italian market in the neighboring town.

Merry Christmas!!!

Ingredients

1 quart fresh strawberries
1 package (1.4 ounces) 4 serving-size strawberry gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Whole strawberries and whipped cream for garnish

Directions

1. Wash and hull strawberries. Cut each in half and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, pour boiling water over gelatin and sugar. Stir until dissolved.
3. Pour pureed strawberries into gelatin and stir until combined. The mixture should be room temperature at this point. If not, refrigerate until cool.
4. Whip cream until stiff and fold into gelatin and strawberry mixture until well blended.
5. Spoon into individual serving dishes or keep in bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.

MY TIP:  I left the chocolate in their original plastic holder which made it easier for piping in the mousse and made it convenient for freezing. 
MY OTHER TIP:  Garnish with whipped cream and strawberries right before serving.

Caramel Apples

Oh how I love fall!!! 

This year for my fall hostess gifts, I decided to make caramel apples.  I simply made the caramel apples, then attached a free printable that I found on "Celebrations at Home" blog, tied a ribbon on them and put them in a basket filled with raffia!  They turned out adorable, even though the picture below does not do them justice!

The recipe could not be simpler!  All you have to do is melt a 14 ounce package of caramels for 12 apples, stir constantly and insert a sucker stick to the apple and dip the apples!  Yes, so very easy  if you follow directions... which I didn't!!!!  Do you really need to stir constantly???  Apparently you do as I burnt my first batch!  So on my second attempt, I put the caramels in a double boiler to avoid any possibility of burning the caramels.  This worked perfectly!  I then sprinkled them with fall color sprinkles to add a fall-like touch!

MY TIP:  Obviously, either stir constantly or use a double broiler!!!

MY OTHER TIP:  You must work extremely quick to add the sprinkles because the caramel sets very quickly!

Brownie Shooters

I am always looking for new desserts to add to our annual holiday party. This year brownie shooters made their debut with much success!

For the base:
Use your favorite brownie recipe

For the mousse:
(I found this recipe in the Chicago Cooks Cookbook) and I love it's simplicity and ease.)

1 1/2 heavy whipping cream
12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons amaretto

In a small sauce pan, heat the cream just to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate chips, egg yolks and liquor in a food processor or blender. With the motor running, slowly add the hot cream to the chocolate minuter. Blend for one to 2 minutes.

For whip cream topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a chilled small mixing bowl and with chilled beaters, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Store in the refrigerator.

Garnish with fresh raspberries.

MY TIP: Use the leftover egg whites to make a low calorie white egg omelet.

MY OTHER TIP: Brandy or rum or your favorite liquor can be substituted.

Easy Baklava

You all know that phyllo dough and I have this thing--it hates me and I am not happy with it. However, those cute little phyllo cups and I get along fine. I put everything in them and they never disappoint and make a great presentation. This year I stumbled upon this recipe and knew I was going to make it for our annual holiday party. They were super simple and isn't that what you need this time of year??

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/4 cup, plus 3Tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 boxes mini filo shells, 15 shells each
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1/4 cup honey
• (12-cup) mini cupcake pans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange the pistachios,walnuts, and almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let nuts cool slightly and add to a food processor along with the lemon zest, 3 tablespoons of sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and pulse to combine.

Place mini phyllo shells in wells of 2 mini cupcake pans. Add 1 teaspoon of the nut mixture into each shell. Bake until filling is hot, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat add the water, 1/4 cup sugar and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour 1 teaspoon syrup into each cup and allow it to soak in, then repeat with another teaspoon. Refrigerate at least 5 hours, or overnight.

MY TIP: I made these a month before our holiday party and they froze nicely!

Oreo Cheesecake

(Picture from Royal Bakers blog)

Aren't these gorgeous??? When I first laid eyes on this dessert on the internet, I knew that it had to adorn my holiday party table. But first, I had to order the $26 specialty pan that was required to make these. Oh, 7 to 10 business days to ship seemed endless and than finally UPS delivered!!! I could not wait to duplicate this recipe..how could it go wrong...it was a no bake recipe...what could be simpler?? or so I thought.

I followed the recipe exactly and then waited in anticipation as it sat in the refrigerator to set up. Then, six hours later... I became totally frustrated that it did not appear as beautiful, as simple and as elegant as the internet picture, in fact they looked horrible!!

Despite it's looks it tasted great! I was determined not to throw it out. I decided to roll it into balls, thinking that I would then dip it in chocolate (hey, everything is better in chocolate right?), but they were too soft to roll. So then I decided to put it into small bite size glasses, but it looked sad, ok not sad... BAD!!! So, I garnished it with graham cracker crumbs...and then it looked sad and bad!!! Then, I decided to make chocolate garnishes (like a crowned jewel--okay, maybe, that is being a little dramatic, but you get the point!!) Turned out they looked good (certainly not anywhere near the gorgeous internet picture!) and the recipe tasted great, very light and fluffy!! Better than that everyone loved them at our holiday party!

Crust
1 1/2 cup crushed graham cracker
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter(melted)

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar.
2. Add melted butter and blend until combined.
3. Press into pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake

2 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon vanilla powder

¾ cups Oreo Cookies, crushed

Instructions:

1. Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form. Set aside.

2. Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla powder, lemon juice to a bowl and beat with a paddle attachment until smooth (approximately 3-5 mins). If you do not have a stand mixer or a paddle attachment a hand beater will work as well, but will take twice as long to achieve a smooth consistency.

3. Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and beat until incorporated.

4. Gently fold in Oreo cookies.

5. Fill chosen pan with a slight mound at the center, as the cheesecake will become slightly sunken at the center.

6. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set or overnight for best results.

7. Layer crust in the bottom of small glasses and pack down, scoop cheesecake mixture next and garnish with chocolate. Makes 16 mini desserts.

Strawberry Granita

The perfect ending to a perfect night!

This was a refreshing dessert for our recent end of summer get together with friends!

I bought an ice cream maker on an impulse buy, rarely do I impulse buy, but this was calling me to take it home. Perhaps it was all those 95 degree days we had this summer! My intention is not to make ice cream ( just like the popover pans that I bought to make fancy mini chocolate cakes!), but to make healthy sorbets and frozen yogurt!

This recipe is a taste of summer!

2 quarts fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar (scant)
2 tablespoons lemon (fresh squeezed)
2 cups water

Follow directions of your ice cream maker.

MY TIP: This is the perfect make ahead recipe!

Cranberry Walnut Bars

I found this recipe in our newspaper way back in October and since the ingredients are staples in my pantry, I decided to give it a try. I served this at our annual holiday party and this is one of those desserts that received a lot of compliments and disappeared fast.

The walnuts and cranberries are a great combination, plus the cranberries add a freshness and festive color to this dessert. I even liked this and I rarely eat sweets!

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
• Spread into a parchment lined 9in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into 2 inch bars.

Ruby Jewel Cookies

This recipe is from William and Sonoma, and with most of their recipes you can't go wrong. This "cookie" although made in a mini muffin tin has a shortbread base and is topped with raspberry jam.

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam or 1/3 cup other thick jam powdered sugar
• powdered sugar

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together, set aside.

Combine the flour and granulated sugar in a food processor/mixer and process just to blend. With the machine running, add the butter 2-3 pieces at a time and process until the mixture looks crumbly. With the machine still running, add the egg yolk mixture and process until blended and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape or roll it into a flat disk about 3/4 in thick. Wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about one hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F Line a miniature muffin pan with paper liners.

With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into ¾ inch balls and flatten a little then place the balls into the muffin liners about 1 in apart.

Using the end of a wooden spoon dipped in flour, make an indentation in the center of each cookie, but do not press all the way through the dough. Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, fill each indentation with about ¼ teaspoon jam.

Bake the cookies until the edges are golden, 14 minutes.

Let the cookies cool completely in the pans on wire racks. Transfer the cooled cookies to wire racks and dust with powdered sugar.

Holiday Party

Tis the season...to have fun!!!

We have enjoyed 5 festive holiday parties in the past week!! One of which was our own. Oh, how I love spending time with friends and celebrating the most wonderful time of the year! And the season is just beginning with 2 more party's to attend!!! Then off to spend it with our family which I cherish the most!

Every year we enjoy hosting a holiday party for 50-60 friends. These are some of the sweets which we served at our party....





My "signature" Decadent Chocolate Cake with a twist. Instead of tiny chucks of chocolate throughout this cake, I ended up topping this with ganache. This was totally by accident! After the cake came out of the oven, I realized that I forgot a key ingredient!--the tiny chocolate chunks! Frustrating!!! So for the added sweetness I topped it with ganache, it tasted wonderful and now I have two "signature cakes"!!

I also forgot to add sugar, a somewhat important ingredient, to a sugar cookie recipe I decided to try. Unfortunately, I couldn't salvage those!!


Ruby Jewel Cookies


Petite French Vanilla Cakes


Cranberry and Walnut Bars


Raspberry Brownie Torte


Amaretto Brownie Bites

I also made over 15 pounds of assorted chocolates, oreo truffles, toffee candy, biscotti, phllo cups filled with custard, Mexican wedding cakes and cherry, raspberry and apricot kolache. The kolache is a traditional Czech recipe that my husband makes each year with my daughter--their much appreciated contribution to the holiday party!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Time to celebrate the best country in the world!

I love how festive my cupcake wrappers and cake toppers make my cupcakes look! To make the cupcake toppers, design your own on your computer or download the many free printables that are available online. Print on heavy card stock and cut them with a 2 inch round or scallop paper punch and attached them to a toothpick.

Cupcake Wrappers

When I first saw the fancy wrappers for cupcakes I fell in love! I love presentation and when I realized that I could make them for a fraction of the cost, I thought of the possibilities!!



MY TIP: I searched online "how to make a cupcake wrapper" and got directions. To buy them online, they wanted $1 each which is $12 for a dozen and that seemed really pricey to me! (Come on ....these are.... cupcake wrappers!!!) So for a mere 75 cents (and a quick trip to Hobby Lobby which was having a sale on scrapbook paper), I was able to make 12 and it took me less than 10 minutes to make!

Angel Food Cake with Mango Sauce

Our Easter dessert

We had a wonderful Easter filled with so much fun, laughter and family time. It was not only filled with Easter baskets but with countless examples of the love in our family. This was definitely a time and memory to cherish.

2 medium-ripe mangoes
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T sugar
1 store bought angel food cake
fresh mint for garnish

In a blender process one mango, sugar and fresh lemon juice. Dice the other mango. Slice the cake, add 1 T of pureed mango and top with diced mango, garnish with mint.

Candied Walnuts

This recipe could not be simpler...

Ingredients:
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (you can substitute pecans if you prefer)
2 cups sugar

Butter a baking sheet, set aside. In a medium-size skillet over medium high heat, with a wooden spoon, stir sugar until it melts and turns into a golden syrup (careful because if it turns brown it is burnt and will taste bitter). Add nuts to hot syrup, stirring until nuts are well coated. Pour in a prepared pan to cool. When completely cool, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

MY TIP: This recipe is versatile-- adds a nice crunch to a fall or winter salad or can be used to top ice cream.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate garnishes dress up any dessert from ice cream to cakes! They look gourmet-like and artistic but are very simple to make. Per my husband's request, I used strawberry cheesecake ice cream. This dessert is also pretty made with vanilla ice cream with a splash of amaretto, topped with candied walnuts. What I like about this dessert is that it can be assembled the day before and kept in the freezer until you are ready to serve it.

To make the chocolate garnish:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, making sure that the baking sheet will fit in the freezer.

2. Melt 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler.

3. Pour melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle.

4. Squeeze chocolate over the paper, making abstract shapes. Leave a bit of space between each shape, for easy removal.

5. Place the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once the chocolate is set, use a spatula to remove it from the parchment.

MY TIP: The garnishes can also be made a couple days ahead of time and stored in the freezer between wax paper.

Cherry and Walnut Biscotti

Most everyone makes New Year's resolutions and I am no (well, maybe a little) exception! My plan for sticking with resolutions is to make lots of them! That way by the end of the year I can say I stuck with my resolutions (omitting the fact that I had so many, some were bound to stick!). So I have the typical ones--eat healthy, exercise more, etc. Then I have the not so traditional ones like make biscotti, master puff pastry (okay... I know I will never MASTER puff pastry, just make something... anything that turns out!!!), and make a recipe that uses yeast! (another stupid ingredient that fails me!) So here's to 2010!!!

Who would have thought that exercising would be the easy resolution?!?

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
  
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in dried cherries and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees.
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 minutes, or until dry; cool.
6. Drizzle with white chocolate.

These turned out delicious! I did use Mexican Vanilla, (which a friend gave me for Christmas) which may have added to the flavor of this cookie.

MY TIP: The base of this biscotti was very flavorful. Any combination of dried fruit and nut would work well with this: raisins/almond, cranberry/pistachio, etc.

Holiday Party

We have had a holiday party every year since we have been married. We typically have 50 -6o friends join us despite the tradition of a snowstorm on the evening of the party. This year the terrible weather hit the night before but still left our friends braving 8 degree frigid weather the night of our party.

My favorite part of the evening is towards the end, when some of our closest friends gather in a large circle in the living room, sipping wine and laughing. And as tradition has it, two of my friends present me with their wrapped joke gifts giggling with anticipation of my response!







These are some of the desserts at our holiday party:


decadent chocolate cake


and 15 pounds of assorted homemade chocolates


Chocolate raspberry walnut torte

french vanilla petite cakes with coconut



New York style cheesecake


a white chocolate sliegh filled with white chocolates snowflakes surrounded by petite vanilla cakes with whipped cream frosting




Apricot and Raspberry Kolacke


Chocolate torte with chopped walnuts and chocolate chunks

I also made Mexican wedding cookies, Italian pizzelles, Oreo truffles, Bavarian nuts, candied walnuts and phyllo cups with custard and topped with a raspberry.