Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

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Wild Blueberry Sauce Recipe

In Other Desserts on May 16, 2012 at am

Wild blueberries will forever remind me of the trip that my sister and I took to New England (East coast of Canada and USA).  (See my New England clam chowder recipe and review here and my review of a New England restaurant that Barack Obama ate at here.)  I was feeling nostalgic when I discovered that President’s Choice sells frozen Canadian wild blueberries, so I purchased a very large bag and have been making this simple wild blueberry sauce ever since.  (On a side note, I really like the quality of this PC product and have since purchased another large bag.  I’m hoping to come up with a recipe that uses frozen blueberries to make a good wild blueberry pie.  I’ve had a failed attempt so far.  I’ll keep you posted.)  I have made this sauce for family, friends, and Ed, and everyone has loved it.  It’s subtly sweet and natural tasting and is versatile for a range of simple and delicious desserts.  For example, you could serve it warm over ice cream (photo below) or a slice of pound cake (recipe here) with a dollop of whipped cream.  I’ve also used this sauce (cooled) in trifle (photo above).  I don’t recommend making this sauce with regular blueberries, because they’re not as flavourful, they’re more tart, and they don’t hold their shape as well as wild blueberries.

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Favourite Lemon Tart Recipe

In Pies & Tarts on March 31, 2012 at am

I love this lemon dessert.  As you can probably tell from the picture below, I over baked my tart a little bit, and it was still delicious.  I made it for Thanksgiving last year and it was the perfect finish to a hearty prime rib dinner.  When I was making the tart crust, I was doubtful of the recipe, because it was more crumbly and dry than any other crust I’d ever made, but it turned out beautifully crispy!  The crispy crust is the perfect compliment to the tart filling.  I love that the filling is so fresh and natural tasting; it’s not too tart and it’s not too sweet.  This is simple to make and elegant enough to serve for a special occasion.  Note that although the crust only stays crispy for the first day, it’s still very good the next day.  In fact, my mom loved the crust and she didn’t try it until the second day.  The word she used was “success” in Chinese.

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Chocolate Malt Cake Recipe

In Cakes on February 9, 2012 at am

As a child, my favourite comfort drink was the malted milk drink, Horlicks.  When I grew up, it became hot chocolate.  Now I am revisiting malted milk by baking with it, and everyone around me is falling in love with it all over again (or for the first time).  (See my malted chocolate chip cookies recipe here.)  I made this delicious, 3-layer, chocolate malt cake for my sister’s birthday.  My family really liked it even though they’re not normally fans of chocolate cake.  My mom kept picking the Maltesers off the cake and my sister kept stealing them from other peoples’ plates, so the next time I make this cake, I may cover the entire top of it with Maltesers.  :)

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Best Jien Duy Recipe (Chinese Deep Fried Sesame Balls with Red Bean Paste)

In Asian Desserts on January 27, 2012 at pm

Jien duy are deep fried, sesame seed coated, glutinous rice balls with a sweet red bean paste filling.  These homemade jien duy are the best that I have ever had and I’ve even tried the jien duy in China.  These are crispy on the outside, light and airy on the inside, and they have a perfectly thin layer of sticky and chewy glutinous rice flour.  These are best when served warm and the day that they were made.  They’re surprisingly easy to make, but getting the oil to the right temperature can be a bit tricky.

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Baked Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Cake Variation)

In Asian Desserts on January 22, 2012 at am

Happy Chinese New Year!  “Nian gao” or “leen go” (translation: year cake) is a cake that is traditionally eaten at Chinese New Year.  It has a soft, dense, sticky and chewy texture and is not meant to be very sweet.  Traditionally, it is vegan and steamed.  See the traditional recipe here.  However, the non-traditional, non-vegan baked variation tastes even better (in my opinion).  This baked version combines a Western cake-like crust with the traditional sticky and chewy middle.  Traditional nian gao / leen go is usually made in 9″ or 10″ pie plates, but for the baked version, I prefer to make small individual sized cakes, because the crispy edges are the best part.  These make cute gifts for Chinese new year and are great for introducing people to Chinese new year cake, because nian gao could be considered an acquired taste.  Baked nian gao tastes best when served hot.

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How to Make a Gingerbread House (Ours Won 1st Place!)

In How To, Other Desserts on December 21, 2011 at pm

For our company’s gingerbread house decorating contest, I teamed up with my friends, Erin and Andrea.  Thanks to Erin, who has a family tradition of making gingerbread houses, we won first place by most popular vote!  I had such a great time making my first gingerbread house, so I’ve shared what I learned about how to make and decorate a gingerbread house.  For some inspiration, see some amazing and elaborate gingerbread houses here.  Happy holidays everyone!

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Favourite Apple Turnover Recipe

In Pies & Tarts on November 26, 2011 at am

Ed and I were craving apple pie really badly late one night, and I happened to have fresh apples and frozen puff pastry on hand, so I made apple turnovers.  (See my apple pie recipe here.) These were quick and easy to make and tasted much better than store bought turnovers.  We Loved them; anything else would have been a disappointment in comparison.  They were so good that Ed ate four large turnovers that night.  I wasn’t much better… stopping after three of them.  These are by far our new favourite apple turnovers.  They freeze beautifully, if you can resist from eating them all right away, that is.

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The Best Butter Tarts Recipe (Placed 3rd in a Baking Contest!)

In Pies & Tarts on November 14, 2011 at pm

Butter tarts are a wonderful Canadian dessert.  (Speaking of wonderful Canadian things, have you tried ice cider?)  Butter tarts are individually portion sized tarts that have a flaky pastry shell and a sweet and gooey filling.  If desired, the filling can include raisins or pecans.  I made both variations in the photo above.  If you like pecan pie (see my recipe here), you’ll probably like butter pecan tarts.  Personally, I prefer the tarts.  I made these butter tarts for the first time over Thanksgiving, 2011.  We were amazed by how good the pastry was.  This was the best, buttery and flaky pastry I have ever made and these were the best butter tarts we had ever had.  Although they can be a bit messy to eat, this pastry is the perfect compliment for this type and size of tart.  The filling is soft and gooey, you won’t get crystallized sugar, and it doesn’t drip.

I was so happy with this recipe that I made several batches for my sister’s company’s annual charity baking contest on November 14, 2011.  I was too busy to make these the weekend before the competition, so I made them weeks in advance and froze them.  Although they’re better when fresh, these were still good enough to win 3rd place in the baking contest.  There were a total of 14 entries.  (See my dessert that won 1st place in last year’s baking contest here.)

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Homemade Fudgesicles

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on October 25, 2011 at am

Despite my age, I still get a little excited whenever I treat myself to a popsicle.  Fudgesicles used to be my favourite frozen snack, but years ago, I turned my back on them when I started giving up unnaturally flavoured, processed foods.  So imagine how happy I was when I found recipes for homemade fudgesicles.  I love that I can now make adult fudgesicles that have a dark chocolate flavour without fructose or corn syrup.  I tested two highly rated recipes and have posted my favourite below.  I’ll never crave a processed fudgesicle again.  :)

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The Best Tiramisu Recipe

In Other Desserts on October 6, 2011 at am

Tiramisu is a very popular Italian, coffee flavoured, layered dessert made with lady fingers and a creamy filling.  I’ve always made it a point to try tiramisu from various restaurants, banquet halls, and bakeries – I even tested a few simple tiramisu recipes – but I never found one that blew me away, so I couldn’t understand why this dessert was so popular… until now.  I now know that the simpler tiramisu recipes just don’t cut it, and you really need to use the best quality mascarpone that you can get your hands on.  I realize that mascarpone cheese is a pricey ingredient, but if you spend just a few more dollars, it will make a world of difference to this dessert.

For my mother’s past birthday, I made a tiramisu cake.  Everyone loved it, even Ed and his family who don’t normally care for tiramisu.  My dad, who isn’t a fan of dessert in general, enthusiastically asked for a large second helping.  He kept saying, “I don’t like dessert, but I Need to eat more of this.”  Yes, the word he used was, “need”. :)   I loved it so much that I briefly contemplated not sharing the rest of it with Ed and his family (and that is Not like me)!

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Chinese Mango Pudding Recipe (Mango Bo Deen)

In Asian Desserts on September 26, 2011 at am

Unlike custardy or bread puddings, Chinese mango pudding (mango bo deen) is more like a fruity and creamy jello.  It is a popular dim sum (tea time) dessert that is best served cold with evaporated milk.  I believe it originated in Hong Kong.  It is one of my favourite Chinese desserts.  It is very easy to make and it is the perfect light and cool finish to a heavy or spicy meal.  I especially love having it in the summer time.  I was inspired to make it when my sister and I were served a very disappointing mango bo deen at an expensive and high class Chinese restaurant.  My sister, who doesn’t like mango puddings, said that my mango bo deen was good… for a mango bo deen.  ;)

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My First Wedding Cake (and the Sugar Shack that Anthony Bourdain went to in No Reservations)

In Cake Decorating, Cakes, Reviews on September 17, 2011 at am

Two of my good friends got married on September 10, 2011 at Sucrerie de la Montagne in Quebec, Canada.  On a side note, Chef Anthony Bourdain went to this very sugar shack for his television show, No Reservations.  My friends had an intimate wedding and invited their friends and family to bring cakes for dessert.  So I took this opportunity to make my first wedding cake.  It was a one-tier, two-layer chocolate cake with strawberry raspberry jam and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  It was covered with marshmallow fondant and topped with fresh, fall coloured flowers.  I was very happy with how it turned out and people loved the way that it tasted.  My cake decorating skills have come a LONG way since my Michael’s cake decorating course.  :)   This cake was surprisingly easy to make.  See below for the recipes and a few tips.

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