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