I love dessert crêpes (they’re on my top 3 favourite desserts list).  They’re easy to make at home and you can use any combination of toppings and fillings that you like.  There are several different ways to fold a crêpe, so I suggest doing a google search to choose a method you like.  I usually copy my favourite dessert place, Demetre’s, Toronto, ON, by making large crêpes and folding them in half over ice cream and fresh fruit.  I also love crêpes that have been filled with a layer of nutella and sliced bananas.  And the next time I indulge, I’ll post a recipe for crêpes suzette. [The Tibos electric crêpe maker (made in Germany) is on my wish list.]

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We have the chip shops in Scotland to thank for the deep fried Mars bar.  I still remember the first time I saw one of these.  Several years ago, I was watching a news segment about the unhealthy eating habits in Scotland.  I knew that it was meant to turn people off but I remember thinking, “Deep fried Mars bars?  Oh my goodness, that’s the best idea ever!  That would taste sooo good!  I can’t wait to try it!”  And for some reason, I waited this long.  Maybe because my pile of recipes to try is taller than I am  🙂  When I came up with the idea to throw a deep fried food party, I knew I had to make these.  They were everyone’s favourite at the party.

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When I moved into my apartment in 2008, I got a Rival chocolate fountain (and a poker table) before I even had living / dining room furniture or curtains in my bedroom.  I had to go through the hassle of returning 2 machines that did not work before I finally brought one home that did.  As you can tell from my persistence, I was really set on owning one of these things  🙂  Clearly, the Rival model isn’t of the best quality, but I’ve used mine more times than I can remember, so I still recommend it.  The motor is just now finally starting to die.  It’s perfect for parties of Any occasion and you can dip strawberries, banana slices, pear slices, shortbread cookies, marshmallows, cookies, large pretzels, rice krispies squares (recipe here), etc.  To make the chocolate, I buy bags of Hershey’s chocolate chips from Costco and follow the instructions that came with the machine.  I tried using this as a cheese fountain too but it didn’t work as advertised.

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I’ve made these twice now and I love them.  I love their chewy texture and I love that they’re not the standard chocolate brownie.  Note that these come out thin.  If you prefer them thicker, you could try baking this in a 9 x 9 inch pan and adding a few minutes to the baking time.  (See my favourite chocolate brownies recipe here and brownie cookies recipe here.)

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I was invited to a friend’s house for a spontaneous weeknight dinner with very short notice.  So the challenge was to use ingredients that I already had to make dessert in under an hour.  Luckily I had a bag of Kraft Jet Puffed marshmallows leftover from making fondant (recipe here) and I almost always have a box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal because I love Rice Krispies squares so much.  Whenever I make them, I eat them until my mouth hurts…. and then I eat some more.

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My new (as of October 2009), and first ever, kitchenaid stand mixer came with a recipe for cinnamon buns.  I tried it and they were pretty good.  I especially like the icing.  But, like all cinnamon buns, they were only good for the first day.

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I googled the price of fruit bouquets once and I couldn’t believe how much they were charging for a few slices of pineapple, grapes, wedges of melon and a handful of strawberries.  So I decided to see if I could make my own fruit bouquet.  I convinced Ed to make one too for our mothers’ day gifts.  In the beginning, Ed was grumbling about doing “arts & crafts” but then he really got into it and had a lot of fun with it.  It was really cute to watch him try very hard to be delicate with the fruits and thoughtful of the placement of them  🙂  Both of our moms Loved it.  It was so easy that I made one for my friend’s bridal shower too.

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At a recent dinner party, a friend of mine brought brownies that had been made from the Ghirardelli brownie mix (she bought it at Costco).  They were good and chocolatey but they were closer to cake than I prefer my brownies to be.  So I was inspired (more like obsessed) to search for the best chewy and dense brownie recipe that is halfway between cakey and fudgy.  I focused on recipes for plain brownies only, because I believe that it’s important to find the best base recipe first.  Then you can make it even better by experimenting with all sorts of variations (ie. icing, nuts, cream cheese, etc.).

I tried more than 15 different brownie recipes and my favourite is adapted from http://www.instructables.com/.  I especially like this recipe because with just a tiny change in the number of eggs, you can choose between a texture that’s in the middle of cakey and fudgy or a texture that’s closer to cakey between the two extremes.  Personally, I prefer the denser version.  Also, I discovered that brownies freeze really really well.  I cut my brownies before freezing them.

One of the brownie recipes that I tried was that of Julia Child’s.  Even though I don’t consider it to be a true brownie (too cakey for me), I absolutely Love her recipe.  I serve it warm as a gooey, slightly chewy chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream.  I will forever be grateful for discovering her recipe (link here).

Below Right:  Variation of this brownie recipe with cheesecake.

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