If you REALLY want to stun your dinner guests, this is the dessert to make. It is so different and the texture is unbelievable.
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 cups whole milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup cream)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup flour
- 8 tsp. Frangelico liqueur
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp. water
To start…
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt, mixing well and set aside.
Combine the butter and 1 cup sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy and light. Add the eggs and egg yolks, once at a time, and beat on low speed until well mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture, making sure it is well combined. Wrap 1/3 of this in plastic wrap and the larger portion in plastic wrap and tap each one slightly flat on top and refrigerate for about 3 hours (until firm). Now start the next step.
Filling
Combine 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, constantly stirring until it just begins to bubble around the edges.
Place 1 egg and 2 yolks and the remaining milk, whisking until well combined. Whisk in 1/2 cup flour until completely smooth. Now slowly add 3/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mix, continuously whisking and return it to the saucepan heating for another 5-7 minutes until thickened and bubbles begin to form. Do not boil. Remove from the heat, add the liqueur and mix together. Pour into a bowl and placing some plastic wrap over the top (touching) and refrigerate for about an hour .
Continue on…
Place the rack in your oven to the lowest position. Spray a 9″ springform pan with a no stick spray and set aside.
Roll out the larger portion to a 13 inch circle. CAREFULLY fold in half (like a pie crust) and place it in the springform pan, and unfold it, pressing it up the sides of the pan and bottom. Let any excess hang over the pan. Now spread the chilled filling into the dough. Roll out the smaller portion into an 8″ circle and set over the filling.
Before placing in the oven, mix the last egg yolk with the water and brush the top dough. If you have excess dough handing over the side, simply fold it onto the top. To make it look fancy, score a pattern on the top.
Bake for 45 minutes and then loosely cover with foil and bake for another 15-16 minutes until the top is a lovely golden colour. Cool for 10-15 minutes and remove the sides of the pan. Refrigerate over night and serve at room temperature. Any leftovers (I doubt it) cover and place in the refrigerator.
OMG! This, is awesome.
Berries Sabayon
With the bounty of fresh berries this time of year – take your pick: Raspberries, blackberries or strawberries- any one would be perfect with the sabayon sauce.
- 2 pints berries, washed and drained
Sabayan Sauce
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 cup Chambord or Creme de Framboise
- 1/3 cup heavy whipped cream
In the top of a double boiler with an electric mixer, on medium speed, beat the yolks until thick. Gradually beat in the sugar until light and soft peaks form.
Place the top of the double boiler over simmering water (not touching the bottom of the top pot) slowly beat in the liqueur until it becomes fluffy and the mixture forms mounds (about 5 minutes).
Remove from the heat and set the pot in ice water. Beat this mixture until it becomes cool. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
Refrigerate sauce, covered, until ready to serve.
In your prettiest dessert bowls, place berries (equally of course) . Take the sauce from the refrigerator and give it a stir. Pour over the fruit. To make up for the lack of calories – ha! serve with some shortbread cookies.
Oh, my goodness this is soooooo yummy!
Chocolate Fudge Cake
When ready to start, make sure you butter and dust a bundt pan with baking cocoa and not flour. The cocoa does a better job of allowing the cake to be released when baked than flour does. (lesson learned here).
- Dusting of baking cocoa
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1/4 cup chocolate liqueur or Bailey’s
- 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Butter a bundt pan and dust with baking cocoa. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. NO HIGHER!
Simmer the water, espresso coffee and liqueur together for 3 minutes. Now add the chocolate and butter and gently stir over medium heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and cool for l 3 minutes. Transfer this mixture to your electric mixer and be sure to scrape the bowl, as this is probably going to be the best chocolate cake you will ever eat….just sayin’.
Sift together the flour and baking soda. With the mixer on low, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time and continue beating another minute.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and when completely blended, add the vanilla. The batter will be thin, so don’t panic.
Pour into the bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes and check for doneness. If not done, bake a little longer.
Cool on a rack for 20 minutes. DO NOT REFRIGERATE THIS CAKE.
Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries and you will get only oohs and aaahs. So delicious, so moist, so yummy.
Irish Cream Truffles
Believe it or not, summer is almost over and thoughts sometimes jump ahead. When entertaining, these are to be considered a gift from heaven…..even your hips will agree!
- 8 oz. good quality milk chocolate
- 4 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur
- 1 glass for you (just kidding)
- 1/3 cup pure cocoa
- 1/3 cup icing sugar or finely chopped pistachios
Chop the chocolate and put in a food chopper, process until fine.
In a saucepan, combine the cream, salt and butter until boiling. Add the chocolate and stir until combined. Place in a plastic container and cover, putting in the refrigerataor to chill and become firm.
Use a fruit baller or tsp, drop onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet, gently roll until completely round and roll in the cocoa or icing sugar or nuts. Yumm.
You can only test 1……okay 2…..quality control calls for 3….get my drift? WOW!
** you can use any yummy liqueur you like – white chocolate, kahlua, whatever you prefer.
Chocolate Trifle with Mixed Berries
Alright, The holiday period is now over, all the ornaments have been packed away, thank you cards have been written (they have, right?) you deserve a special dessert and here it is. If you love chocolate and who doesn’t, this is just for you.
It is three steps and each one is a ‘make ahead’. You can make each step, place them in the fridge and they are ready to put together when you are ready to serve. No fuss at all. Oh, yes, the strain of it all. You should whip some cream up. Here goes.
Cake
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla
- 2 tbsp. melted butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To get the best volume when whipping eggs right out of the fridge, place the eggs (not yet cracked) in a bowl of warm water and cover. Mix together the flour, cocoa and salt. In an elelctric mixer beat the eggs and add the sugar, beating until very pale, four times the volume and will run off the beaters in a ribbon. Now beat in the vanilla. Slowly FOLD in one half of the flour until combined.
Now gently FOLD in the remaining flour. FOLD in the butter and pour into a prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and place on a rack to completely cool.
Custard
- 3 cups milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks
- 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 1 1/2 tsp, pure vanilla
Heat the milk and half the sugar until steaming. In small bowl whisk remaining sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until well blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10-12 minutes until slightly thickened and bubbles just rise to the surface. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve into a clean bowl over the chocolate. Add vanilla and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill completely.
Berries
- 4 cups of frozen mixed berries or fresh (if in summer)
- 1/2 cup framboise, or any fruit liqueur
- Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish
Place berries in a bowl and combine with the liqueur. Let stand, stirring occasionally until the berries are ‘melted’ and well flavoured with the liqueur. If large berries remain, cut up into smaller pieces.
In a pretty wine glass, put pieces of cake into glass, spoon 1 tbsp. of berries with juice on top of the cake. Spoon a generous tbsp. of custard over the berries and repeat each layer until the wine glass is full. Cover and chill these for at least 8 hours. When ready to serve, put a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.
Now, isn’t this the best way to pamper and be pampered? You bet it is. Yummy, I can taste it now. Let me see….yup I need pampering. Later.
Taste Rating: 8.9