Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

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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.  You could even use the guidelines provided below to make mini gingerbread houses as mug decorations (see 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

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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.  😉  Update: I recently made these again using mango nectar instead of 100% mango juice, and everyone agreed that it was the best mango pudding they had ever had.

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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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Fondant Recipe

In Cake Decorating, Cakes, Cookie Decorating, Cookies, Cupcakes on September 16, 2011 at am

Fondant is used for decorating cakes (especially wedding cakes), cupcakes, and fancy cookies.  It creates a beautiful and smooth covering that makes your homemade desserts look professionally made.  Fondant is actually quite easy to work with, but store bought fondant is expensive and, in my opinion, doesn’t taste good.  Homemade marshmallow fondant, however, is easy to make, is much more affordable, and tastes good.  Thanks to the step-by-step photo instructions from this website, I was able to make my first wedding cake.

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Swiss Meringue Buttercream with Flavour Variations

In Cake Decorating, Cakes, Cupcakes, Other Desserts on September 15, 2011 at am

Swiss merginue buttercream is so good and versatile that it truly deserves its own post.  Think of it in this way:  swiss meringue buttercream is to buttercream frosting as Egyptian cotton is to 200 thread count bed sheets.  Swiss meringue buttercream is stiff enough for piping and cake decorating, but it feels and tastes light, satiny, smooth, elegant, and luxurious.  I love it when people taste it for the first time and turn to me with wide, adoring eyes, to ask, “What is this?”.  🙂  This is the stuff that the professionals use and you can easily make it yourself.  It will take your baking to a whole new level.  Although swiss meringue buttercream is slightly tedious and time consuming to make, it is definitely worth the effort.  You can make a large batch and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

I have used swiss meringue buttercream for strawberry cupcakes, mini chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake, and a wedding cake with great success.  I originally shared the recipes for strawberry and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream in my yellow cupcakes and favourite moist chocolate cake posts, respectively.  I recently made chocolate swiss meringue buttercream for my dad’s chocolate birthday cake and it instantly became my new favourite chocolate frosting.

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Favourite Moist Chocolate Cake or Cupcakes Recipe (using buttermilk)

In Cupcakes on September 8, 2011 at am

Update:  I discovered a similar chocolate cupcake recipe (see here) that I like a bit more than this one.  The difference is very slight and the two recipes differ mainly in the ingredient, cornstarch.  I still recommend this original favourite below, too, as it is delicious and has never failed me.

I have tried many chocolate cake recipes, but this is only the second recipe that I have posted so far.  Can you tell I’m picky when it comes to chocolate cake?  The first one posted is my favourite casual chocolate cake recipe that incorporates mayonnaise (recipe here).  The recipe I’m sharing now uses buttermilk and vegetable oil and yields a fantastic chocolate cake that is very moist and chocolatey.  Through recipe testing, I discovered that making cake with vegetable oil results in a better moistness than making cake with melted butter.  This recipe is very quick and easy to make and I’ve used it successfully many times for cupcakes, mini cupcakes and even a wedding layer cake (see here).  As a layer cake, this cake has the perfect texture; it isn’t too dense and it slices beautifully because it holds its shape well.  In my opinion, this recipe makes the best mini cupcakes.  I made mini chocolate cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream for coworkers to celebrate an engagement and everyone loved them.  The compliments were endless and people loved the ratio of cake to frosting, so resist the temptation to frost your cupcakes too heavily.  I’ve also included a recipe below for a simple, spreadable chocolate frosting if you don’t have the time or the ingredients to make swiss meringue buttercream.  Update:  I recently made a chocolate layer cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream and the chocolate swiss meringue buttercream was amazing.  I highly recommend you try it.  See here for instructions.

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Coconut or Macaroon Popsicles Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on September 6, 2011 at am

Before I knew it, summer was almost over and I hadn’t made any popsicles yet.  I fully plan on enjoying homemade popsicles well into fall this year.  This sophisticated, coconut popsicle is creamy and has a lovely chewy texture.  The toasted, shredded coconut floats to the top (which then becomes the bottom of your popsicle) and creates a macaroon like texture.  If you want the whole popsicle to taste like a macaroon, then you might want to add an extra pinch of salt and use up to 1 cup of toasted, shredded coconut.

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Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

In Cookies on August 23, 2011 at am

Malted milk powder is probably most commonly known as being an ingredient in malts (malted milk shakes) and in the chocolates, Maltesers or Whoppers.  It can also be used in homemade pancakes, waffles, ice cream or gelato, hot chocolate, cake, and cookies, etc.  In our home, we grew up with the malted milk drink, Horlicks.  As an infrequent treat before bed time, my dad would make it for us with boiling water or hot milk and sugar.  Once in a blue moon, he would randomly call out, “Who wants Horlicks?”, and we would all yell, very excitedly, “I do! I do!”.  You see, we lived in, for the most part, a junk food and sugar free home.  To this day, I still get a little bit excited every time I decide that I deserve a hot cup of Horlicks, but it never tastes as good as when my dad makes it.  I associate malt drinks with comfort and I’m loving experimenting with malted milk in baked goods.

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