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

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

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

Cranberry and Lemon-Ginger Parfaits

I am a hurry up and wait person by nature.  I'm constantly in a rush for absolutely no reason.  Example: throwing pots and bowls around the kitchen in attempt to get everything done as soon as possible.  Why?  Just because I'm in a hurry.  I speed all the way to work and am 20 minutes early, every single day.  Why?  What if there was traffic?  I rush my husband out the door on our way to meetings and appointments, I can't be a minute late.  Instead we sit in the car for ten minutes twiddling our thumbs almost every time.  I don't know why it's ingrained in me to rush to and through everything, (I'm blaming this one on my mother.)  I found myself rushing through this recipe, getting my arms crossed in an attempt to speed through it.  Again, it was for no reason, I had no excuse.  So I slowed down, took my time and enjoyed the process.  In return the recipe worked beautifully and later that night Shane and I slowly savored our dessert.  (Well he ate it slowly, I plowed through mine like someone was going to steal it away.)

The layers in this parfait are mousse.  Parfait is a useless descriptive word in this case, it doesn't tell you very much at all.  They are light and airy, like munching on little clouds.  The dessert is perfectly balanced between lightly sweetened and naturally tart, neither one overbearing.  The ginger wonderfully compliments the lemon and gives a tiny bit of texture to the mousse.  Though the picture shows very little lemon mousse, there is actually a nearly equal amount. (Apparently I need to work on my layering skills!)  The layers are both lightened with whip cream and stabilized with gelatin.  I've found in my experience that though mousse made with gelatin set heavier, they last much longer and give the mousse a more luscious feel.  The results were terrific, I was very pleased.

Baking notes:
-Once again I made a half recipe.  This one was a little trickier due to the splitting of one egg yolk, but it's no matter if you make a full recipe.
-I thought the serving size was much too big!  I would cut down the portion by 1/3 for the dessert to be eaten comfortably.
-I didn't use cranberry liqueur in the recipe (though that sounds great!) and just substituted water instead.

The recipe for Cranberry and Lemon-Ginger Parfaits is not currently available online. (I always hate that.)

40/569

Chai Pots de Creme

You can think of these pots de creme as the sequel to the chocolate pudding of the day before.  I needed more cold and creamy treats to soothe my aching mouth so I turned again to the book.  Feeling more alive later that night I yakked to my dear sister on the phone while I steeped milk, strained custard and baked these.  The process is definitely more involved than a simple pudding, but the results are dessert worthy.  I've indulged in two already, and given their richness I feel eating more would be a little too decadent, even for myself.  The pots de creme are smooth as silk and wonderfully rich.  A beautiful blend of spice would elicit a quiet murmur of appreciation from even the most picky.  They are seriously good.  But be sure to share!

Baking notes:
-I used four Earl Grey tea bags in this recipe.
-I didn't have any whole cloves on hand so I used 1/16 tsp of ground cloves instead, which worked very well.
-I didn't have an orange so I substituted lemon zest instead.
-I baked the custard in one cup mason jars.  Filled 3/4 full the recipe made four jars.
-I find cold cream coats my mouth in a layer of fat I find unappetizing.  Both the baked custard and the whipped cream have the cold fatty layer, so that might not appeal to you either.
-My custard baked perfectly in 30 minutes.

The recipe for Chai Pots de Creme can be found on the epicurious website.

27/569

Double Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is the perfect antidote to tooth extraction, or well anything that requires comfort by the bucketful.  It was the dessert I remember most about my childhood, the treat that most passed my lips.  It was pudding of the box variety of course, what else could it be?  If we are going for pure nostalgia the flavour would be butterscotch instead of chocolate, and had this cookbook had that recipe I most certainly would have used it.  But alas chocolate pudding is a fine prize in any regard and almost made getting all four wisdom teeth pulled worth it.  There was some serious rationing going on yesterday.  And please, given my drug induced haze I would appreciate some leniency with my humble pudding-on-the-lap pictures, any pictures at all seems like a small miracle.

The pudding is velvety and thick, unadorned it coats the tongue just like it should.  It's dark and super flavourful, more so than the boxed type.  You can think of it as an adult's pudding, but I think a non-box initiated child would be as over the moon about it as I am.  I promise you this: my children will know this pudding as well as I knew the little square boxes.  Enjoy a new favourite!

Baking notes:
-I made this recipe exactly as the directed, but on a slow and temperamental stove, so it took a bit longer.
-I specifically used a 70% dark chocolate and it was perfect, though I'm sure nearly any chocolate would be.
-I did not require use of the freezer as stated in the recipe, I left the pudding in the fridge overnight, with saran wrap clinging to the tops of the pudding to avoid the dreaded pudding skin. Belch!

The recipe for Double Chocolate Pudding is available on the epicurious website.

26/569

Warm Jasmine Rice Puddings with Passion Fruit

Hello,
3 months later.

I'm not a great blogger I know, I haven't cooked out of the book in two months!  I have looked in it plenty of times though, if that counts for anything.  Often times I'll crave something from the book, like rice pudding, for example, but the recipe won't be to my tastes, so I find sources elsewhere to accommodate me.  With this rice pudding however, I changed the recipe slightly, so that I'd finally be able to report back to you on another dessert.

Rice Pudding: delicious.  Though this wasn't the best rice pudding I've ever had, it certainly far from the worst.  It was creamy, intoxicating and sweet.  Coconut kisses, vanilla wafts and cinnamon sighs, harmoniously mingling like a couples party in a thick, cozy wood-smoked room.  Maybe not the best for the first of June, but since the weather was grey and passive, pudding and showers prevailed.

Baking notes:
-Firstly, I made a half batch, which always affects cooking times, consistency etc.
-In place of coconut rum I used a spiced rum and didn't drain it from the raisins as the recipe states, instead adding the liquid to the pudding.
-My vanilla beans are old and not as flavourful as they used to be, I added about 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.  Ditto on the cinnamon.
-I added a few extra Tbsp of coconut milk because my rice wasn't cooked enough by the time the liquid cooked out.
-As you can tell I didn't use passionfruit, or the lime for that matter.  (See the comment about accommodating my tastes)
-I did try to get a caramelized crust on top of the pudding, but obviously my broiler wasn't up to the task.  What little solid sugar did form was very, very good.  (Just when will I make the blow torch purchase?)

You can find the Warm Jasmine Rice Puddings with Passion Fruit recipe on the Bon Appetit website.

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Right off the bat I apologize for the atrocious photography.  We've been a busy pair these past few days, only home when the sun is down.  Luckily for us our hard work has been rewarded with dessert, unfortunately for my photographs it's been at night.  No matter, the bread pudding in question was delicious.  It all started with two unfortunate loaves of dry brioche bread and one can of dulce de leche half price at the store.  Wanting to use these two together I turned to my Dessert cookbook and here is what I found: Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding.  I prepared the recipe with great care, indulging in far to many sweets this week as it were, slowly mixing, stirring and cooking.  In the end the bread pudding came out rather dry, we bought (gasp!) vanilla ice cream to top the pudding which made it much nicer.  The dulce de leche flavour was more or less indiscernible, it came across as sweet more than anything, which was a bit of a disappointment.  Though I wouldn't make this recipe again, I would still encourage you to try it.

Baking notes:
-I didn't have the full amount of cream on hand so I substituted 3/4 cup of cream for milk.
-I didn't have any rum, so I used bourbon.  I also had some bourbon vanilla on hand so I used that as well.
-I increased the chocolate from 3oz to 4oz.  It was an improvement for sure.
-The pudding was a tad dry, but I used a 9x13 inch pan instead of a 7x11 asked for.  Try decreasing the baking time by a few minutes if you use the bigger pan because the layer will be thinner.

You can find the recipe for Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding on the Epicurious website.

4/569