Spiced Chocolate Torte Wrapped in Chocolate Ribbons

My sister Steph is a character.  She's a dreamer, a planner, a doer and the most adventurous free spirit I'm lucky enough to know.  She's one of those stubborn, loyal, gregarious sisters you are glad to have.  Steph definitely knows what she wants, and she demands grand cakes.  Last year I made her this chocolate cake, but this year I needed to up the anti.  I tried to roll in her twentieth birthday in style, with this over the top chocolate monstrosity.  It's a cake wrapped with a bow, could you make a better birthday gift?  Steph, I can report, loved the cake!  I received multiple pictures over the next few days of what meal the leftover cake was substituting for.  It's a show stopper for sure.

The cake was overwhelming, both in it's making and consuming.  I find with huge decadent cakes their denseness and sweetness always overdo it on my poor stomach, which makes them a better idea than reality.  I had a great time spending a day making this cake, each step was a project in it's own right. Although it's not perfect I'm very pleased with the results.

Angel Food Cake with Strawberry-Blueberry Sauce

This cake was wonderful in every way! To make because it was for my mother-in-law's birthday. To bake because it's a great recipe. To eat because well...ditto, it's a great recipe!  I made it in the few hours I was home that day (after a fantastic hike and before eating dinner out with the 'rents).  It was such a breeze to make and an excellent use of the accumulating egg whites in my freezer.  I think it wins as the nicest angel food cake I've eaten.  It was light and tender,  had a great flavour, light on the sugar and the perfect amount of almond. There isn't much more to say, it was brilliant!  And that sauce! I subbed out raspberries for strawberries since there is a surplus flowing through my kitchen right now.  The flavours are fresh and bright, and luckily for me, one of her favourite desserts!

Buttermilk Sorbet with Fresh Strawberries

Strawberry season is in full swing now.  We've been eating them like they're going out of style. Shortcakes, yogurt, drinks, jam, anything you can think of really, we're doing it.  We had this dessert with friends after what was supposed to be an outdoor BBQ, and was instead us huddled around on the couch with our plates on our laps while it poured down rain. Again.  Anyway, I churned the sorbet after dinner, so it would be as smooth as possible.  It was loud (again, we weren't supposed to be inside), and a tad bit embarrassing, not only that, but the ice cream bowl wasn't fully frozen, so it was more of a buttermilk soup.  Whoomp whooomp.  Another disappointing recipe.  I personally didn't care for the buttermilk sorbet.  I guess I don't love buttermilk enough to make it center stage.  The strawberries were fine, but why wouldn't they be, they're in their prime right now!  This recipe is very simple; five ingredients and about 20 minutes start to finish, I just wish it was better.

Strawberry Shortcakes with White Chocolate Mousse

It's a rare day that I can resist strawberry shortcake, which is why I was so excited to make this one.  It sounds terrific doesn't it? Shortcakes dotted with chocolate, a light and wonderful white chocolate mousse and macerated strawberries in their peak season.  What's not to love?  If you offered me that dessert tonight though, I would turn you down.  My experience was entirely unpleasant. My oven (or I, if you consider that denial) burned the shortcakes after only a few minutes in the oven (at decreased temperature).  The white chocolate mousse was grainy like a bowl of millet, and to top it off, it separated, with the whole underbelly of the bowl a liquid-y mess.  The best component of the dessert; the too-sweet strawberries.  Overall I was so disappointed! Burned, grainy, and over-sweetened to the point I had to stop. Whomp Whoomp!  This time last year I was also indulging in strawberry shortcake, but with far more favorable results.

Sesame-Almond Macaroons

A funny thing happened as I brought those three bowls of cookies over to the table to take pictures of them, I dumped them all over the floor.  Stranger still was that I picked them all up and places them all back into the bowls, reasoning that you weren't going to eat them anyway.  But then I did! Because they were too good keep a little dog hair from me eating them (and Shane too evidently, since he stuffed about eight in his mouth as he got home).  They're simple to make, except for the almond paste flying in chunks all over my kitchen.  Sugar, almond paste, toasted sesame seeds and two egg whites, they're ready to go in no time at all.  I had a harder time with baking them.  One batch I baked for 10 minutes, the next 13, but I'm still not sure what I like better.  All I know is, 14, like the book asks, is too long.  I think 12 minutes would be perfect.

These cookies are delicious.  The toasted sesame and almond is such a unique combination it keeps me coming back over and over again. The chewy macaroon is delectable, and if you have the ever elusive almond paste on hand, I suggest a batch of these. (I found mine at Ikea and snapped it up).

Baking notes:
-The almond and sugar are quite difficult to combine.  I've read that maybe heating the almond paste a little could help, but I don't have a microwave, so I couldn't test that theory.
-Be sure to avoid making the cookies too big, so they have a chance to cook evenly.  I used a heaping teaspoon and tried a few different baking lengths.
-I toasted the sesame seeds in a pan on the stove instead of the oven because my oven burns everything.  Keep a very close eye on them either way.

The recipe for Sesame-Almond Cookies can be found on the epicurious website.

83/569

Baklava Cheesecake

This cheesecake was a celebration.  A celebration with family, and of cheesecake (Shane's favourite) and baklava (my favourite).  We had our first entertaining barbecue of the season the other evening, on a gloriously hot day.  The candles twinkled, the sun set, the air was warm with laughter.  Our bellies were full, the dishes were done and I brought out this dessert in it's full cheesecake-y glory.  Technically this recipe was rated with four whisks (maximum difficulty) in the book, but I found it quite simple, as long as one could follow directions.  Now anything with a pie crust...automatic four whisks.

The dessert was a clever blend of cheesecake and baklava.  The cheesecake was wrapped inside layers of phyllo and then baked.  After a two day chill in the fridge it was topped with another layer of phyllo and nuts that was baked off separately.  Once that was in place the entire cheesecake got dumped with a honey syrup that was left to soak in.  Three days later, once it was all said and done it was gobbled up in no time at all.  The mark of a true dessert.

Baking notes:
-I followed the recipe to a T and everything was delicious.
-I thought personally that the cheesecake layer might have been a little grainy, but I used a lower quality cream cheese due to the price, which can often be grainer than I like.
-I didn't have enough phyllo sheets, so I folded them in half and made ten circles out of five sheets.  (Much less waste this way anyways).
-When I was baking the phyllo/nut layer I split the nuts into two layer rather than all in the middle layer.  It was a smart move.
-I also baked the phyllo circles for 15 minutes instead of 30 and they were already a little too toasty.

The recipe for Baklava Cheesecake can't be found online.

82/569

Coconut Pavlova with Chocolate Mousse and Bananas

I spent this morning tearing apart the house, certain that Shane had brought my passport with him to school.  I had plans to do some shopping in the states with my mom and sister, and for whatever reason the passports weren't in the place we always leave them.  I noticed Shane's passport on top of the fridge and just figured that he had taken mine by accident, which would place it in Burnaby during a government exam (because that's how he was spending his Friday morning).  After a few too many tears, a few choice words and a phone call to my mom that there was no way I could go along, and for them to have fun without me (oh, whoa is me), I hung up the phone and checked the one place left to check, the purse I had used last time we crossed the boarder.  A few sheepish "I'm sorry" texts and a quick "I feel so stupid" phone call later we were back on track, only an hour behind schedule.  Jeeze, do I ever feel dumb!  What better to do than wolf down a few bites of this feel good-smile in my tummy-angels in my mouth dessert, while the tears dried on my cheeks? Note to self, put passports away immediately.

This little pavlova was a serious slice of heaven.  It's light and crunchy, with soft squishy insides that melt in your mouth.  There is crunch from the shell, creaminess from the mousse, and a light airy finish from the whip cream.  This was an instant favourite at our place.  Some reviews I've read say that the pavlova is way too sweet, but I personally loved that!  It's a heart stopping, eye-widening dessert that I'll be happy to whip out at almost any dinner party.  (What's pictured here is a half recipe, I can't begin to imagine how big a full recipe is.)

Baking notes:
-I was sure to use parchment paper instead of the tin-foil called for in the baking of the pavlova.  It would stick like crazy otherwise.
-Be careful with toasted the coconut, my oven nearly burned it at 6 minutes, never mind 15.
-I used white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar and everything turned out fine.
-When making the mousse, I didn't cook the egg mixture over simmering water for 6 minutes.  I kept whisking it until it was good and thick, but I couldn't be bothered to check the temperature (my thermometer seems to be way off anyways).
-As I said, I made a half batch which I cooked for half the time.  I think that I could have baked it a little longer and left it in the oven a little longer to dry it out more.  But not too much more because I wouldn't want it too much drier.

The recipe for Coconut Pavlova with Chocolate Mousse and Bananas can be found on the epicurious website.

81/569

Lemon Macaroon Pie

I'm in flux, a lot like May's weather.  There is sun and showers, often in the same day.  But the days are consistently warm and the flowers are oh so happy with the weather. It's just about time to plant the basil and the tomatoes, any week now.  The stress of exams has been wearing on both of us.  My mood is hot and cold, always changing.  Shane finished his first year of school this week and with it I certainly hope goes all the stress.  To go with the sunshine I made this lemon macaroon pie.  Lemon, coconut and almond, it's a quirky combination.  I can't say we totally enjoyed it, there was pie leftover at the end of the week.  The texture threw us off, with it's stringy coconut and the almond didn't blend in as seamlessly as it should.  The pie crust stuck like crazy to my glass pie pan, which made getting it out a total mess.  In the end it wasn't something I'd find myself craving and I'm happy to move on to the next thing.

Baking notes:
-I used a pre-made pie crust, which you could say was my first mistake (though I am terrible at making them, so my results would have been less than satisfactory too).
-I did not bake the pie as long as the recipe stated, but my oven tends to burn everything, so it may not have been ready to come out on the inside.  I baked a total for 30 minutes.

80/569

The recipe for Lemon Macaroon Pie can be found on the epicurious website.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Jalousie

Mother's Day 2013 has to go down as the best mother's day so far.  Not for me of course, that's about...well a long way off, but for my mother.  We planned a surprise for my mother, got her out of the house first thing and went gangbusters decorating her back porch patio.  While we sped through assembly I whipped up a delicious brunch for seven and the dish that got the most praise? This rhubarb jam jalousie.  When I saw this dish in the book I thought to myself, it's a perfect brunch food!  It's like a grownup pop tart! The only person who didn't love this dessert? My thirteen year old brother, go figure.  It's crisp and bright, with a superb crunchy crust and a gorgeous rhubarb-apricot-cherry jam filling. It was super easy to put together and a really fun treat for a spring brunch.

Baking notes:
-Instead of a raspberry jam (which was all used up from my pantry) I substituted a cherry-apricot jam from last summer.  It was a bright and super flavourful substitute.
-I only had to bake the pastry for 20 minutes, or it would have started to burn.
-There was a lot of leftover jam (about half), which would be great on toast, or as a topping for ice cream.

The recipe for Rhubarb-Raspberry Jalousie can be found on the epicurious website.

79/569

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

It was her birthday and she asked me two weeks ago to bring cupcakes.  I checked and double checked the schedule.  I made the cupcakes after dinner and brought them to work. At 11pm do I see her walking down the hallway towards me? No, she called in sick.  Whooomp whooooomp.  I fed the cupcakes to my co-workers who did show up, but I certainly felt silly for my efforts.  Luckily, the reviews I got were rave!  I set myself a challenge on Sunday not to go to the store for five days, for anything.  And so far I've succeeded!  The challenge with the cupcakes was that the options in the book are so limited and most of the recipes are quite different, so I didn't have six limes on hand, or cans of sweetened coconut.  I settled on this lemon cupcake with secret pockets of jam, and everyone was happy.

Baking notes:
-I made a half batch of the recipe, which made 7 cupcakes.
-Instead of raspberry jam I used a fruit punch jam I made last year.
-Instead of the glaze frosting in the recipe (not much worth celebrating with a glaze frosting if you ask me), I used a simple cream cheese lemon frosting.  It was the icing on the cake.
-I think the cupcakes might have been a little over baked at 20 minutes, I recommend checking on them at 18 minutes.

The recipe for Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes can be found on the epicurious website.

78/569

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie in Toasted Pecan Crust

Oh man, nothing says summer to me like ice cream and lemon meringue pie. Separately of course, on a normal day, but today we're eating the best of both worlds.  I didn't mean to get here, to ice cream and lemon, this early in the season I promise that, so let me explain.  I had 2/3 of a carton of vanilla ice cream and a package of pecans in the cupboard (very rare around these parts).  I wondered what I could make that would combine the two.  When I stumbled upon this recipe I knew I hit the jackpot, because like, for real?! It was calling to me.  Summer is all up on my fork and dancing on my taste buds!  This pie is redonk. Seriously, it's got a super bright puckery lemon flavour, and the calm soothing vanilla ice cream.  It's got a crunchy, buttery, delicious pecan crust and best of all it's topped with a cloud of meringue, the ideal contrast to all those other textures. Nevermind textural contrast, after you leave the pie out for a few minutes the meringue and lemon curd come to room temp and there is a whole other layer of temperature contrast. Warm and frozen, and cold and warm!   Shane has eaten about half the pie in just two slices, though to be fair, I've done some serious damage to it, because dang is it good!

Baking notes:
-To "finely chop" the pecans I threw them in the food processor for a few seconds until the were uniform in size, then added the other ingredients for a quick blend.
-The pecan crust shrunk down quite a bit, but I didn't worry about it.  The crust doesn't come out of the pan gracefully anyway, so it looks a little sloppy.  Maybe I could have greased the pan for easier removal, but I think the oils and a frozen glass pan would have bound together no matter what, so I'm not sure it would have helped.
-My lemon curd never got to 178 F, or maybe it did but all of my three thermometers reported wrong.  After about twenty minutes of stirring and cooking the curd was nice and thick.  Thick enough to hold it's shape, so I considered it done. (It absolutely was).
-Be sure to fully chill your lemon curd.  I was in a hurry and only let it cool down for about half an hour, so it was still warm when I spread it on top of the ice cream.  As a result the curd warmed the ice cream and the bottom layer then froze with water crystals and was ice-y.
-I had three egg whites in the fridge, so I used those instead of making a spare yolk.  The fourth egg white would have been nice, but obviously it didn't make any difference to the flavour.
-I don't have a torch (I would really like one), so I had to use my broiler.  The directions say to broil for three minutes, but I smelled burning after thirty seconds, watch your pie carefully.

The recipe for Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie in Toasted Pecan Crust can be found on the epicurious website.

77/569

Coconut Macaroon Bars

We had some car trouble that started late last night.  It was 10:35 and I was on my way to work.  I put the key in the ignition and turned it, the engine turned over once and it died out.  Each subsequent turn was weaker, until finally nothing happened.  I went back inside to wake Shane.  He came out heard it once and declared it a loss for the night, it was to late to do anything.  I, being as awesome as I am, had a breakdown complete with sobbing uncontrollably and a few "tell me what to dooooooo's".  Ten minutes before my shift was to start I called in, saying I couldn't come.  I felt awful.

This morning, still in her pajamas, my landlady gave me a jump and I drove up the hill to our mechanic (her dad).  He confirmed that our battery was shot and after I bought a new one, he installed it for me (and sent me home with some moose steaks).  After all those shenanigans I owed a lot of people a thank-you.  So I baked my favourite chocolate chip cookies and these delicious coconut macaroon bars.  I made my rounds dropping these off, for my landlord, our mechanic, Shane and when I go to work tonight, the last of them will be for my co-workers whom I so royally screwed over last night.  Sorry and thank you!

Baking notes:
-The bars are light and crisp, with a nice crunch from the coconut on top. The center is gooey and very sweet. The chocolate and the raspberry add something unique and make the flavour a little more special. They're so simple to make, I'll definitely bake these again.
-To the crust I added about one extra tablespoon of cream.
-In the coconut batter I used 9oz of coconut instead of 7oz.
-Between the bar and the coconut layer I spread 1/3 cup of raspberry jam over half and sprinkled chocolate chips over the other half. Then dumped the coconut on top and baked it. (They're both amazingly delicious)
-I only baked the bars for 20 minutes because they were getting quite dark, but this left the filling softer than it was supposed to be (it was still set).
-I am really glad I used a tin foil sling instead of only buttering the pan.  The bars are quite fragile and would have been very frustrating to get out otherwise.

The recipe for Coconut Macaroon Bars can be found on the epicurious website.

76/569

Coffee-Coconut Tart

The days around these parts have been getting longer.  The telltale signs of April are all around us.  Steady April showers, tulips ripe and vibrant, azaleas popping and on the rare occasion, blue skies and puffy clouds.  The warm sun on bare arms is the feeling in my dreams.  Gardens are being tidied from winters' storms and long decay.  Still weedless and small, the dirt in these plots is new and clean.  Later in the season flowers and plants will overtake the gardens with not a spot of dirt to be seen, but now the brown dwarfs the green.  A promise of a new and green season is in the air, and even the showers are more tolerable when May is so close by.

To celebrate all things new and fresh I made this tidy little tart with a unique and original flavour combination.  Coffee and coconut don't often marry, but here they come together in a fun little diddy.  While this tart had promise, I found I didn't really enjoy it.  The coconut crust shrunk like a wilted lily in the pan and I found it's coarse texture off putting.  The coffee filling was bitter and far too sweet all at once.  It tasted of straight instant coffee, which is nothing I want to snack on.  And since I didn't use enough whip cream the coconut cream layer never whipped up nice and just added to the overwhelming sweetness that held this tart.  Overall I wouldn't make this tart again, but that shouldn't stop you from trying.

Baking notes:
-I didn't pre-toast the coconut in the tart shell, but I don't think it mattered.  It took on a toasty hue during it's time in the oven.
-Next time I would decrease the instant coffee in the filling by two teaspoons to make the flavour a little more subtle, even though I'm sure it would still be at the forefront.
-In cooking the filling I thought for sure I'd overcooked it the way it looked so curdled even towards the end.  In fact I hadn't, you just need to whip the snot out of it with a whisk and it'll all come together smoothly.
-There has to be a way to decrease the sugar level in the middle and top layer, I found the Coco Lopez overwhelmingly sweet.  Decreasing the white sugar and leaving the coconut the same would be a start.
-I only used a half cup of whip cream in the top layer, so I couldn't achieve the stiff peaks I was looking for.  Of course it didn't change the flavour, it just left the whip cream a little floppy.

The recipe for Coffee-Coconut Tart can be found on the epicurious website.

75/569

Mexican Hot Fudge Sundaes

This hot fudge sundae was everything I wanted it to be and more!  I was looking for something with ice cream, but only one flavour.  I wanted the ice cream that night, so making it was out of the question.  I finally settled on this and it was such a breeze to make!  Everyone loves a good hot fudge sundae, and this one was better than most.  It had delicious creamy ice cream, a spice-y and unique hot fudge and instead of pine nuts, buttery decadent toasted pecans. You might think it a slightly odd combination, but it's one that works oh so well.  I've eaten far too many bowls of this in the past few days, and renewed my appreciation for the classic hot fudge sundae.  This dessert is seriously delicious!

Baking notes:
-The hot fudge takes only a few minutes to make, and toasting the pecans is by far the hardest part!
-Keep in mind the fudge recipe makes a lot.  So if you don't mind a seemingly bottomless jar of fudge sauce make the whole thing, otherwise go ahead and half it, you'll still have more than enough.
-Instead of pine nuts (which I don't care for and are very expensive) I toasted some pecans and chopped them up.  It was the right thing to do.

The recipe for Mexican Hot Fudge Sundaes can be found on the epicurious website.

74/569

Raspberry-Yogurt Cake

Easter weekend was a whirlwind.  There was my working the whole thing and trying to find time to sleep.  There was glorious sunshine and warm (even hot) temperatures.  We ate outside where the flowers were blooming and the mosquitoes were biting.  I think my face might have burnt my face on a very long training run on Saturday morning.  But the very best part of the weekend was the brunch-for-dinner we had on Sunday night.  I had a few contributions to the meal, but the main one was this cake.  Among the spread of waffles and sausage this cake held it's ground.

I was looking around for a sweet to bake for this "dinner".  I thought about ginger, or lemon or even carrot cake (a personal favorite).  But no, I decided there had to be berries involved this year, which I will directly attribute to the amazing weather we'd been having.  Once that was decided the decision was easy, berries + yogurt = breakfast.  And done.

This cake was wonderful, soft and moist.  I found it pleasantly tart, not too sweet.  It's is a great slice of cake to have with a cup of tea in the afternoon, or a indulgent breakfast in the morning.  The orange was a beautiful bright flavour, but the almond was truly wonderful.  I had a bunch of frozen raspberries that I layered (after I thawed and drained them) on the bottom, covered them with batter and then used fresh quartered strawberries on the top layer.  The strawberries cooked down into sweet gooey spring-y bites.  Now that the weather has turned back into it's dark, grey self, it's the bright spot in my morning, even without a garden and sun hat.

Baking notes:
-I followed the recipe exactly as it instructed, except for the type of berries I used.
-I thawed some of last years raspberries in a strainer, leaving the juices behind.  I dolloped some batter in the very bottom of the bundt pan, added a layer of raspberries (about a cup), dolloped another layer of batter, smoothed it out, tossed about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of quartered strawberries with 2 Tbsp of flour and layered them in and then finished with the remaining batter, smoothing the top nicely.
-My cake took only one hour to bake, watch that you don't overcook it.
-To get the slightly sticky cake out of the pan I took a skewer and pushed it down the sides jiggling it loose all the way around, but carefully so it didn't tear the cake.  The same for the inside tube.  (Be careful!)

The recipe for Raspberry-Yogurt Cake can be found on the epicurious website.

73/569

The Perfect Flan

The air was warm (always the give away of a tropical vacation) and the night was getting older.  We had just finished a wonderful meal at a restaurant hut six doors down when we sauntered slowly in the restaurant and plopped down into two chairs by the front entrance. Flan is such a common Puerto Rican dessert that it can be found on any menu, so I'm not sure what our exact criteria was, but eventually we settled in at a little place with tile floors and no walls.  We sat in our chairs, waited for our coffee (which showed up after our flan) and dug into a curious looking version of a dessert we knew.  It was flan, but with air bubbles and many of them.  Flan with air bubbles? The texture of the flan was something more akin to quiche than the soft smooth custard that we knew. But this, we were assured, was how the Puerto Rican's loved their flan.  Later on in our trip we tried a smooth, soft flan, which we loved, and on our last night we got a cheese flan, which is also very popular in Puerto Rico, but we really didn't like that one.  It was more like a thick cream cheese custard.

Firstly, you need to know flan and creme caramel are the same thing. You probably don't believe me, no one has yet.  That's alright, but go and check, so you know.  Secondly I believe the Puerto Rican's might use evaporated milk in the making of their flans, which is neither bad nor good, just different.  Puerto Ricans also incorporate a lot of air into their flans, on purpose.  So where my recipe says to mix the eggs into the cream until it is just together, they would whip the snot out of it.  You can do either.  'll try not to judge.  I think this recipe holds true to it's name, it's the perfect flan.

Baking notes:
-I made exactly 2/3s of this recipe, since I only had 4 ramekin cups, not the 6 called for.  Which made this recipe a huge pain in the butt to measure out.  But it was still very simple to throw together.  Like seriously easy.
-Three steps: steep milk, make caramel, bake custard.  It's hard to screw up.
-I thought I might have overcooked these at 38 minutes, but after they chilled they came out perfectly.

The recipe for The Perfect Flan can be found on the epicurious website.

72/569

Mocha Crunch Ice Cream Cake

This time it was ice cream cake.  The day started early, like it always does (or did, anyway), in his pack I packed away a tidy special breakfast, something different then the same old oatmeal.  Blueberry muffins and glazed bacon.  That ought to get him off on the right foot.  I drove the hour and a half to have lunch with him, I gave him his gift.  There was buckets of rain and plenty of mushy I-love-you-happy-birthdays.  We had dinner later that night with friends, at a far-to-dimly-lit place not to far from us.  We had coffee and dessert at our place afterwards and like I said, this time it was ice cream cake.

I was more than happy to make this ice cream cake.  Under the directions of the recipe I used store bought ice cream, (infinitely easier than making my own, but so much more expensive!) and what a relief that was.  I can be mother of the ice cream cakes if I can use store bought ice cream!  Of course the cake was very sweet, but there was more to it.  I loved the hint of coconut in the chocolate glaze, and how fast it melted when it was at room temperature.  I loved that the crust wasn't baked, just frozen, which made things so simple.  The entire thing was delicious, crunchy and smooth, coffee and chocolate, we were totally impressed.  My only gripe (and it's a small one) is that the glaze got grainy once it froze and frustratingly I'm not sure why.  Happily my husband loved the cake, it was a happy birthday.

Baking notes:
-I made the chocolate glaze/fudge with only 1 cup of water instead of 1.5 cups.  I think this was a perfect consistency, I can't imagine how much runnier it would have been.
-I used approximately half the amount of coffee ice cream I should have (that Haagen dazs is expensive!)
-Each layer of ice cream took around 30 minutes to freeze adequately. The layer of fudge in the middle needed an extra half an hour to get semi-solid.
-I used one package of Oreos instead of the shortbread it called for.  I didn't have enough by weight of the crushed Oreos, but I thought it was just the right amount.  I used 1/3 of the crumbs for the middle layer and 2/3 for the bottom (and just a little less butter). Perfect.
-In Canada Heath bars are the same as Skor bars.  I used four.

The recipe for Mocha Crunch Ice Cream Cake can be found on the epicurious website.

71/569

Chocolate Pudding with Espresso Whipped Cream

I have a thing for pudding. I don't necessarily have a thing for dark rainy nights, but I have a solution for them.  All winter long I have been craving the comfort of puddings, just like a warm sweater you slip into, pudding caresses my belly into childlike happiness.  I spent many evenings at the supper table, with a cool bowl of pudding in my paws, a reward for eating my vegetables.  It's one of my fondest dessert memories, and the one that calls the loudest when I think of my very youngest years. Recently we've been in need for some real comfort.  Shane has been studying hard for exams, and dealing with having shingles, while I've just started a full-time night line.  These things are hard, and demand real heart helping nourishment.  Unlike this one, my childhood pudding came straight from a 5x4 inch box, the directions were straight forward: add milk.  While there are a few more steps involved with this recipe, the effort is hardly significant.  After the fourth time I found my head in the fridge and a spoonful of pudding in my hand I realized this treat is the ideal grownup version of my favourite dessert memory.

Baking notes:
-I made this dessert exactly as indicated and it was spot on.  Nothing curdled, ideally flavoured. Basically perfect.

The recipe for Chocolate Pudding with Espresso Whipped Cream can be found on the epicurious website.

70/569

Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

So a few days ago a good friend of ours stopped by with her arms full of stuff.  She has a hobby farm where she raises chickens and tonnes of vegetables.  There were about 8 frozen chickens, one and a half dozen eggs and a pail full of dirty brown veggies she had just pulled from the garden before she drove over.  We are so blessed to have the friends we do.  In the pail were many things, but among them about 10 parsnips of varying size.  We ate a few roasted but with the surplus I decided to make a parsnip cake, which although it sounds weird, is only as strange as carrot cake!  The cake is an excellent snacking cake, it's warm with spice, fresh with ginger and toasty with walnuts.  It's not too sweet, and has a lovely light texture. I've been loving every slice. (Though I still prefer carrot cake).

Baking notes:
-I used only 10-11oz of powdered sugar in the icing and found it perfect.
-Watch the baking times very closely.  I took the cake out at only 18 minutes.

The recipe for Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting can be found on the epicurious website.

69/569

Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Yesterday was Valentine's day and while I don't wholeheartedly support such a consumeristic holiday (but aren't they all?) I do love an opportunity to remind my husband how much I love him.  February is a love month for us though, because his birthday is on the last day of the month, which is a whole other lovefest!  I wrote sweet notes and left little chocolates around the house for him in the two week leading up to V-day, so on the 14th I had to pull out a few extra stops, namely the book he'd be eyeing up recently and his favourite, fudgy brownies and peanut butter.  Together!  This recipe was absolutely perfect since it was a marriage of the two, a classic brownie with a peanut butter frosting.  He loved them, and so did everyone at my work who got half a pan of leftovers.  I thought these were especially good straight out of the fridge. Do what you like!

Baking notes:
-I thought the brownies were a tad dry even though I took them out at 18 minutes, rather than 20.  Next time I'd check them at 16.5 or 17 minutes.
-The peanut butter frosting was good, but a little boring.  Next time I would incorporate cream cheese into the frosting for a little extra interest.

The recipe for Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting can be found on the epicurious website.

68/569

Classic Tiramisu

There are plenty of reasons not to make tiramisu; where to find those damn ladyfingers, the fact that mascarpone costs an arm and a leg, and really, a $20 bottle of wine, that you mix with coffee?!  But there is one really great reason, it tastes amazing.  Luckily for us, this was the best tiramisu I've ever had.  It was worth every bit of work and worry, because when you eat a bite of tiramisu that tastes better than the stuff you had in Italy, you know it's over.  Shane picked out this dessert to finish off a dinner of pasta and wine, and even knowing how cost prohibitive it was, agreed to make it happen.  The ladyfingers, as it happens, were on my shelf, a box that I bought over a year ago (when I saw them in an Italian store in Vancouver and scooped them up).  Check one.  I went to the store aiming to buy mascarpone, money be damned.  But when I saw the $12 price tag my resolve fell away, I bought two cups of cream instead and went home to make my own. Check two.  Finally, I decided not to buy the Marsala wine, Shane and I don't like very sweet wines, and anyways, I knew we loved coffee liqueur with ours.  In the end I'd argue to anyone, this is the best tiramisu money can buy.

Baking notes:

-I used kahlua instead of marsala wine in the espresso mixture and frangelico in the egg yolk mixture.

-It took at least 15 minutes for the egg-frangelico mixture to reach 160 F, not 3 minutes as it states.

-I made my own mascarpone cheese, which worked wonderfully.

-The egg whites made the tiramisu so light and fluffy, I would not skip these!

The recipe for Classic Tiramisu can not be found online.

67/569

Ice Maple Cream with Berries

Being the good Canadian I am, I have a great fondness for maple syrup.  I would put it only one notch below honey on my sugar love scale (you're probably wondering how crazy I am). Yes, sugar love scale.  It's a thing, though I may have just made it up.  Maple syrup is incredibly expensive, I use it very sparingly, always with my oatmeal in the mornings and sometimes in the lattes I make, but I never skimp and buy the cheap stuff, it's just not worth it. This is how I feel about honey too, I buy local when it's available, the taste is always worth the extra dollars.  My sugar love scale looks something like this: honey, maple syrup, molasses, agave syrup and then the sugars.  (You'll never find me with things like aspartame, truvia or stevia in my cupboards!)

It is with great, indulgent pleasure that I bring you this dessert.  Now, I never thought about pairing maple syrup and summer berries, it didn't seem like the best idea.  But somehow it was! and the dessert works heavenly.  The maple cream was simple to put together and thankfully there was no ice cream maker required.  The downside to this of course, is that the cream only lasts around 24 hours before the quality starts to noticeably deteriorate, getting overly ice-y and hard.  Our batch was gone within 24 hours without any trouble!

Baking notes:
-I was short half an egg yolk, but it didn't seems to make too much of a difference.
-The recipe states that the yolk-maple syrup mixture will come to 175 F within 3 minutes or so of cooking over the double broiler, but after 20 minutes my mixture had only hit 165 F.  Finally I took it off, scraped it into a cold bowl and beat the mixture to cool down (it took about 5 minutes).  The ice cream turned out wonderfully.
-I used raspberries and strawberries that I froze from last summer, so they had broken down and were sweet and soft.

The recipe for Ice Maple Cream with Berries can be found on the epicurious website.

66/569

Tres Leches Cake

It was for Natasha's 21st birthday that I made this cake last weekend, and it had some odd requirements.  Natasha lives 8 hours away, and my mom and I were driving half way north to meet her, she drove half way south.  In the middle we met, snowshoeing, drinking wine in front of a fireplace curled up with blankets, cross country skiing and laughing our butts off.  I sent Natasha a list of cakes to choose from and she sent me three options back.  Of the three there was only one that was a practical choice since the cake needed to be baked before we left and eaten two days later.  I assumed the caramel syrup would relieve any dryness that developed in the cake as it sat. The other requirement I had was that it also needed to be able to stay together in the back of the car for four hours, during the long drive. For which of course, this cake was suitable.

Now, I've had some awesome tres leche cake before, without the caramel component, so I only assumed this cake would be even better. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.  The cake was boring, bland, and after two days totally dry.  It was a very disappointing birthday cake if there ever was one.  Maybe this cake would be better if it was consumed on the same day it was baked.  I personally think the cake was too dry regardless, but I might have to try again, to give it a better chance.  Currently I believe there are far better recipes out there.

Baking notes:
-I did not cut the cake in half and layer it with whip cream, it seemed that it was already a doomed cake.
-I used only half the amount of whip cream called for in the frosting, it was enough.
-Watch the baking time closely, and start checking around 30 minutes.  Mine came out early.

The recipe for Tres Leches Cake can't be found online.

65/569

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

It's the dead of winter, where nothing seems to grow.  The only thing alive is the ever present falling rain, even the sky cries for us.  When it's been cold and dark for far too long I dream of warmer places.  My garden in June, the lake in July, and in particularly cold moments I remember the superheated Okanagan in August.  We've got a trip planned to a sunny warm place in March, and in the long five weeks before that I've got plenty of dreaming to do. To remind us of tropical locations there is coconut, warm toasty coconut.  These cookies hit the spot, absolutely every person who tried them, loved them.  They were a huge hit, and not one cookie survived.  I'd say these are one of my favourite cookies ever!  They're crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside, they're perfectly toasted and sweet.  My favourite part though, is the chocolate layer on the bottom, how it rounds out the cookies perfectly. These cookies hit the happy notes in my brain.  Ding! Ding!

Baking notes:
-I toasted the coconut for 8 minutes, 4 minutes less than asked for, and I stirred it three times.  Even after all that, I still had to pick out a few burnt strands of coconut.
-The cookies didn't stay together that well while I was putting them on the cookie sheet, but they baked up perfectly.
-I had to watch the cookies carefully, they only needed about 12 minutes, instead of 14.

The recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons can't be found online.

64/569

Black Pearl Layer Cake

Wow, I feel as though I've really been pumping out the birthday cakes! It's wonderful, as each cake brings me one step closer to mastering them.  You'd think someone who calls herself a baker would be better at pies and tarts and cakes.  Really, the only thing I can do reliably is make cookies and brownies and the odd candy concoction.  But I digress, it was my mother's birthday, and a big one at that. Forty, 40, the big 4 - 0.  So we celebrated with Indian food and wine, totally my mom's style. We sang an enthusiastic birthday tune to a candleless cake and capped off the night with large slices of this unique and titillating confection.

This cake kinda blew my mind.  When mom shortlisted it for her birthday options and left the rest up to me, I knew immediately that this was her cake.  It's unique and very interesting, while still maintaining a classic chocolate cake texture.  To look at it, there is nothing amiss.  But to taste it is totally different!  Ginger! Black Sesame! Wasabi!  It's crazy-town up in here.  All together you get a riot of flavour, hidden in an unassuming chocolate cake facade.  It's a rare and distinctive gem in the birthday cake world.  I must point out that the texture of this cake was incredible, in fact it was the best textured chocolate cake I've ever had.  If I wasn't in the mood for the asian flavours this cake could be adapted to a coffee, or mint, or just plain chocolate.  This is a winner in so many ways.

Baking notes:
-While making the chocolate ganache the instructions say to wait until the chocolate is room temperature to add the butter.  In my experience I added the butter as soon as the sesame seeds and syrup were added and the chocolate was already a little too cool to melt it, so don't wait until it "comes to room temperature" because it already is.
-Watch the baking times on the cakes closely, I monitored them by the minute after 20 minutes, and they took about 24-26 minutes to bake.

-Super easy and super delicious!

The recipe for Black Pearl Layer Cake can be found on the epicurious website.

63/569

Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream

After a very disappointing end to a date we had planned, (read: it didn't happen) I knew dinner was going to have to be amazing to salvage the evening.  The fondue I made was fantastic (how couldn't it be?), but I think this dessert is what really blew me away.  Or maybe that was the extra large glass of wine talking.  I doubt it.  The cake was very easy to make the day before and stick in the fridge overnight.  After dinner was over I popped them in the oven for 18 minutes and voila! One amazing dessert that took very little effort.  These cakes were a perfect consistency, with a crackly crust and and oozing molten insides.  The ice cream paired wonderfully with the cakes and the spices were wonderfully winter-y.  My only complaint is that they were extremely sweet, I'd be happy with about a third less cake next time, which would not be hard to do.

Baking notes:

-I made a quarter of this recipe, which was very easy to do, that way there was no leftovers!

-Make this dessert!

The recipe for Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream can be found on the epicurious website.

62/569

Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans

I spend my long rainy winter mornings dreaming of leaving this place.  Just about anything around me can set off my wanderlust, and I'll spend hours pouring over flights and budgets.  I figure out how to milk our already squeezed budget dry, so there is not a penny to be pulled from it.  I look at pictures, and read accounts of travellers tales, and sometimes I have to go back and read my own blog to remind myself that I have travelled too.  It's easy to forget.  With spring break coming up you better believe my fingers are flying over the keyboard, watching the prices in airfare go up and down.  Just before the fiasco with the car my heart was set on Puerto Rico, and now my eye is on Turkey.  Those who know me realize it's all in my head, and I'll likely never acutally commit, but it's an escape from this poor and monatanous reality.  The student budget just doesn't really work for me.  (Not complaining, not complaing!)

While I made this tart I thought back to my times in Mexico and realized that I'd never actually tried a chocolate in, or from Mexico.  Is chocolate not a big thing in Mexico? Becuase they have their own type!  I chopped up the bar of Mexican chocolate I bought at Trader Joes in the States (the only place I've ever seen it) and tried a piece.  It was delightful!  The texture was grainy and light, and the term stone-ground comes to life in your mouth.  It's a totally unique texture, so next time you see some, buy it and have a try.  

Baking notes:
-First of all, I used walnuts, not pecans (our food budget is at an all time low with Christmas's credit card bills coming in).  Unfortunetly regardless of which nut you use they are disappointing, I didn't like them at all.  Poor texture on the egg white/sugar mixture and boring - overly spiced flavour.  I'd like the tart more without them.
-I had a leftover bag of graham crumbs in the perfect amount, which I used in place of chocolate wafer crumbs.  I'll admit that the tart may have been enchanced with chocolate crumbs instead, but I enjoyed it either way.
-The tart is very cinnamon-y, and I used Vietnamese cinnamon for all of it. I found the flavour to be just a little overwhelming, but it didn't turn me off entirely, I still enjoyed it very much!

The recipe for Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans can be found on the epicurious website.

61/569

Chocolate Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I do a little thing called stress baking.  The first thing my mind turns to in very stressful situations is getting into the kitchen.  Yesterday evening our car was totaled (at least that's what we've heard) in a hit and run, as a result I baked these brownies.  Everything about these brownies was perfect for our situation (that and a couple bottles of beer), they were quick, chocolate-y and comforting.  We sat on the couch after they baked, lamenting our suddenly car-less life, stuffing our mouths with fudgy brownies.  These brownies needed attention in the oven, and a bit of recalculating when I made them into a half batch.  My 8x8 inch pan was a little big, so I rigged a smaller pan out of tinfoil, and my ratios on the frosting were off.  But everything worked out, the brownies were delicious.

Baking notes:
-The directions say to whisk the egg-chocolate mixture for a minute before adding the flour, but I missed that step and everything was still good.
-I did think the brownies were very sweet, and in the reviews some commenters used a lot less sugar.  Let me know if it works for you.
-I only used 3.5oz (instead of 4oz in the half size recipe I made) of cream cheese, it's all I had and I didn't use butter in the frosting because I couldn't be bothered to soften 1 Tbsp.
-I did not bake the brownies in a disposable aluminum pan (who the heck would?!) but in a regular metal pan lined with tinfoil.
-I baked the brownies for only 15 or 20 minutes in a 8x6.5-7(ish) inch pan.  Keep a very close eye on them, they will over bake quickly.
-I left off the topping called for (toasted nuts or coconut) because I didn't feel like adding the extra step, and I personally don't miss it at all.

The recipe for Chocolate Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting can be found on the epicurious website.

60/569

Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart

Happy New Year! This isn't technically the first thing I baked this year, it's the last thing I baked last year.  But it's good enough I'd make it again this year! As with most people in our crazy part of the world, it's that time of year where we clean up our eating after weeks of gluttony.  It's nothing too drastic (we have an awesome fondue and chocolate cake date just next week), but sweets aren't on the menu for a short time, while we balance out.  This was the second dessert I made for our last Christmas dinner, and by far my favourite.  While I found the apple strudel I made a little underwhelming, this dessert had me going back for more and more.  The tart shell was crisp and light, the chocolate cream was decadent and flavourful and the crushed candy canes added the perfect crunch and flavour.  I could have eaten this for days if it weren't for that blasted New Years diet.  I'll be making this one for years to come!

Baking notes:

-The whipped cream layer I reduced by more than half.  Instead of 3.5 cups of whipped cream I used 1.5 and reduced the other ingredients by roughly half.  This was still more than enough whipped cream.

-My whipped cream topping was downright ugly, especially compared with the loveliness of the picture on the epicurious website.  But no matter, it tasted wonderful.

The recipe for Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart can be found on the epicurious website.

59/569