Category Archives: Desserts

simply awesome confections

A Sweetheart of a Dinner, Part 2

Yesterday I posted some highlights of the Sunday Dinner I recently prepared for my family.  Here are the desserts I promised to share. 

I started by making a few pralines.

The ingredients.

A little bubbling action going on while the candy cooks.  After it reached soft ball stage I removed the pan from the heat and stirred in pecan halves.

The candy was spooned onto parchment paper, and then set aside to cool.  I wish you could have smelled them….so intoxicating.

After they cooled, I chopped up a few pralines to be used with my Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.  The rest were individually wrapped and saved for later.

These strawberries were dipped in white chocolate and then drizzled with bittersweet chocolate, rolled in toasted pecans, and rolled in my homemade pralines.  Don’t worry…we didn’t eat them all at once.

Finally there were Molten Lava Cakes.  I received this recipe via a promotional email from the Metropolitan Cooking Show.  It seemed fairly simple so I tried it.

See that stream of melted chocolate getting all mixed up into the batter.  Miss A thought it was kinda cool.  Me too.

They’re all ready for the oven.

Now it’s ready to be eaten.

Mmmmm.  My family loves me now.  Let’s see what they think of me next week when I serve them salads, raw veggies and fresh fruit.  {laughing on the inside}.

Did you miss the dinner details?  Read about it here.

Thanks for stopping by!

by TLillian Posted on 02/16/2010
Posted in Desserts, Food & Beverage, Recipes and More, Sunday Dinner | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tiramisu Just Because

I have to admit that I have a little sweet tooth and I’ve been craving a taste of Tiramisu for quite some time.  I finally broke down and went to work on this…

toasted ladyfingers

I used two packages of ladyfingers…toasted one package and left the other plain.  They smell soooo good when they’re toasted.

Then I combined granulated sugar and egg yolks in a double boiler and placed it over simmering water for about 10 minutes.

Afterwards, I folded whipped heavy cream into the egg yolk/sugar mixture.

The plain ladyfingers were brushed gently with a mixture of strong coffee and amaretto and placed around the sides of a glass dish.  The toasted ladyfingers were quickly dipped into the same coffee mixture and layered in the dish with the cream.  Then I impatiently waited about four hours for it to set.

Before diving into it, I grated some bittersweet chocolate and sprinkled it generously over the top.

It was so totally worth the effort.  Mmmmm.

by TLillian Posted on 02/12/2010
Posted in Desserts, Food & Beverage, Recipes and More | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Vanilla Gooey Butter Cake

My husband and I were looking for a place to have lunch recently and passed a little coffee shop located a couple miles from my home.  I’ve always been curious to see what type of delectable treats they have and, fortunately, we had a few minutes to peek in and take a look.  While the display of baked goodies appeared ordinary, the confection I chose was absolutely amazing.

I had never heard of Vanilla Gooey Butter Cake and wasn’t sure it was for me.  I asked about the filling and was told that it contained cream cheese.  I was offered a sample and….  Oh oh oh!!  It was sweet, flavorful and oh so sinful!  Of course I purchased a generous slice to enjoy at home later.

Vanilla Gooey Butter Cake

 

As we enjoyed a late lunch, I thought about how good this special treat was going to be the entire time.  After returning home, we divied up the gooey slice of cake, grabbed our forks and savored each delicious bite in silence.  It was the type of silence that consumes you when you’re experiencing perfection.

Afterwards, my husband said “I bet you can make this”.  I was already on it.  I started searching online and immediately found several accounts of it’s true origins and numerous versions of the recipe.  As it turns out, the Vanilla Gooey Butter Cake originated in St. Louis and there’s even a Chocolate version.  You can read more about the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake here and here.

I’m going to make this dessert for Christmas and, if all goes well, will update this post with the delicious results including pictures and the recipe version I chose.

by TLillian Posted on 12/17/2009
Posted in Desserts, Dining Out, Food & Beverage | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off