While originally referred to as a petit four, Sarah Bernhardts can be a cookie or a dessert depending upon the size. I have seen the various things used as fillings from buttercream to ganache. I have used the truffle filling I made at the bakery. Every fall, we would make these melt in your mouth Chocolate Chocolate Truffles with their rich, velvety filling, only to take them off as the weather warmed. Continue reading
This Chocolate Creamsicle Cake is an updated version of one of the first cakes I made….a lot! As you’ll see this recipe was atypical for me but being self-taught it took me a bit to build my confidence before I was able to get into scratch baking and pastry. Continue reading
This Sky High Salted Caramel Chocolate Pie is a make-ahead, no-bake chocolate pie that came to me while I was making the special dessert for Valentine’s Day this year at the restaurant. It’s super easy with intensely deep, layered flavors of coffee and brandy which enhance the chocolate. It can be frozen in part or as a finished dessert. The really neat thing about this pie is that, when cut, it forms its own sauce as the salted caramel layer slowly oozes out to form a puddle around the base. Continue reading
Zuccotto has everything going for it so I’m not sure why it isn’t up there in the ranks of famous Italian desserts. But I have rarely come across it. Not exactly a cake, although it includes sponge cake, not exactly not a cake so we’ll settle on dessert.
My first attempt at Zuccotto left me unimpressed. Perhaps because I am not a fan of ricotta cheese. Adding whipped cream and mascarpone simply made three neutral flavors predominant. So I went about using the flavors of Italy – amaretto, hazelnuts, cherries, candied orange, cinnamon, and chocolate to amp up the flavor and give it a lot of character. As with many European desserts, this is not overly sweet. Continue reading
As promised, here is the Danish Butter Cake. This is good any time of the day from breakfast as a coffeecake, to evening as a dessert or, if you’re like us, any time of the day. How can you possibly go wrong with almond filling, pastry cream, remonce, and chocolate? If you are not fond of almond paste, omit it from the remonce.
Last week I posted the Quick Danish Pastry and suggested you make the pastry cream. If you did and thawed it Tuesday or, at the latest, Wednesday, you’re all set to make this extraordinary Danish Butter Cake. Continue reading
