Stay Cool And Make Truffles

Chocolate truffles are easy to make and don't heat up the kitchen!

Don't get me wrong, I love and always will love baking — it's just that heating up the oven isn't quite as appealing in an 85-degree kitchen without air conditioning.

Good thing there is still a way to stay cool while whipping up some killer sweet treats. Homemade truffles are a great summer dessert alternative because you can use a microwave to heat the heavy cream for the ganache and you can get creative with the use of different flavorings and coatings.

For my recent batch of truffles, I added espresso powder to a dark chocolate ganache and rolled them in three different coatings — toasted walnuts, toasted coconut and dark cocoa powder.

Another option is to coat the truffles in melted chocolate and sprinkle the tops with nuts, candied fruit, colorful sugars, crushed espresso beans or fine sea salt...just about anything works.

The only hard rule is that if you want to add a flavoring the ganache, be certain to use alcohol-based extracts, not water-based, or your chocolate will seize. Flavorful alcohols like Kahlua, Amaretto, Grand Marnier and Kirsch work really well.

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Truffles 
1 pound of chocolate, chopped or in chip form (My favorite is dark chocolate but milk or a combination of dark and milk also works.)
1 cup of heavy cream
alcohol based flavoring or 1 tablespoon espresso powder, optional

Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it is simmering, stirring between intervals. Watch the cream closely so that it doesn't boil over. In my microwave the cream was simmering in just 90 seconds.

Pour the simmering cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. This is the time if you choose, to add flavorings to the ganache, just make sure the flavoring is alcohol-based. Water and chocolate do not mix! Set the mixture aside to cool until it's firm and scoopable. This takes about 1 hour. You can put the mixture in the fridge to speed the process.

When it's ready, scoop portions of the ganache onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I used a 1-inch ball scoop for the task. Place the scoops of ganache in the refrigerator on a parchement lined sheetpan to chill for 20 to 30 minutes to firm them up enough so that you can use your hands to roll them into balls.

The scoops of ganache before chilling.

After the chilling, the scoops of ganache were easy to roll into balls.

After rolling the truffles into balls, roll them in the coating of your choice or dip them into melted chocolate.  I chose to roll them dark cocoa powder, chopped toasted walnuts and shredded coconut.

Rolling a truffle in chopped walnuts. You have to work quickly and get the truffle back into the fridge as soon as possible. Once chilled, place the truffles in candy papers and keep them stored in the refrigerator  until you are ready to serve.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

This Strawberry Buttermilk Cake is one of my all time favorites.

It's so fresh tasting and a breeze to make and serve, making it the perfect cake for potlucks and parties. Just know that you need to make it at least a day in advance since the cake needs to chill for 6 hours before adding the cream cheese icing.

My preference is to make this cake when strawberries are in season but frozen strawberries work well too.

Here's the recipe:

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
(Serves 16 to 20)

1/2 cup butter, unsalted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 (3 oz.) package strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water

1 pound sliced strawberries (I prefer fresh but thawed frozen berries work well too.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

Beat the butter with the vanilla extract. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Mix well.

Add the baking powder and salt and mix again. Finally, add the flour and beat until thoroughly combined.

The finished batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As the cake is baking, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water and add the sliced strawberries. Set this mixture aside until the cake comes out of the oven.

The strawberry mixture.

Slash the hot, just out of the oven, cake in a diagonal pattern and pour the gelatin strawberry mixture over it. Let the cake cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator to cool for at least 6 hours before icing.

The hot slashed cake is ready for the strawberry mixture.

Let the cake cool at room temperature and then chill it in the fridge for at least 6 hours before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream

In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and whip again until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Gradually add the cream, whipping after each addition. Don't add to much at once or it will splash. Once all the cream is added, whip the icing on high speed until it is light and spreadable.

Ice the top of the cake and that's it. Keep the cake covered in refrigerator until serving. 

Icing the cake.

The finished cake.

Puff Pastry Tarts

No baking experience is required to make these delicious puff pastry apple tarts. These come together quickly and are a perfect last-minute dessert that will wow and amaze your guests.

I filled the tarts with diced apples tossed with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a bit of flour but you could really any fruit and even preserves would work.

The main ingredient is store bought puff pastry. Just lay out the pastry, cut rounds and then with the extra dough cut strips, to add a border on top of the rounds that will rise and hold in the filling.

Cut rounds of puff pastry and then cup strips to add a border.

Bake the tarts on a parchment lined sheetpan in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is crisp and golden brown and that's all there is to it.

These are especially good topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Trust me, your guests will think they went to the fanciest restaurant in town.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I made these cute Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies because I had a leftover Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream that I wanted to put to good use. The leftover buttercream was from the anniversary cake I recently made and I had at least four cups that I just had to save and use, especially with butter being so expensive these days.

The batter for the Whoopie Pies comes together easily by hand and contains olive oil and good doses of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. I also added cinnamon to the Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream to change it up a bit and compliment the pumpkin cakes.

Because I had a lot of buttercream to use up, my recipe makes four dozen mini pies but it can be halved for a smaller batch.

If you don't have leftover filling and don't want to go to the trouble of making a fresh batch of buttecream, plain cream cheese with a bit of butter, sweetened to taste with powdered sugar and flavored with vanilla and cinnamon works just fine too. Experimenting and getting creative is for me what's most fun about baking.

Filling the Whoopie Pies

Here are the recipes:

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
(makes enough cakes for four dozen filled pies) 

2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup olive oil
2 eggs
2 (15oz) cans pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nugmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Line four sheetpans with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, olive oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.

Wet ingredients.

In another large bowl whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.

Dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Use a 1-inch scoop to drop mounds of batter onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2-inches apart.

The dough before baking.

Bake the cakes for 10 to 13 minutes or until done and springy to the touch. Let the baked cakes cool for a bit on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Sort the cakes into pairs and fill with the cinnamon flavored filling of your choice.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the milk and half of the sugar until simmering.

In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the cream, the other half of the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well with a whisk.

When the milk is simmering,  pour about half of it into the cream mixture and whisk well. Add it back to the milk in the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Put the mixture into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the mixture cool completely.

When the buttercream base is cool, transfer it to a mixer and whip until smooth, add the butter and the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time and whip until light and fluffy. Finally, add the cinnamon and whip again.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

12 oz. (1 1/2 pkg.) cream cheese 

1/4 cup softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Whip cream cheese and butter thoroughly. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and then the sugar, a little at a time and whip until smooth.

Mini Tirimisu

Over the last few months I've been testing dessert recipes for a summer wedding I am catering.  I say desserts because in lieu of a wedding cake, the couple wants to serve an assortment of mini desserts to their guests. I love the idea of a mini dessert buffet and I have a feeling so will the guests.

Lately, I've been working on a recipe for Mini Tirimisu. Because it's a summer wedding and I'm assuming it will be hot, I need to be conscientious of coming up with desserts that can survive the heat.  For these tirimisus,  I substituted cream cheese for the traditional mascarpone because it will hold up better on a hot day and allows me to make the tirimisus, minus the whipped cream and cocoa powder topping, a full two days in advance.

I found the mini dessert cups I am using online and love that you can see all the layers through the clear hard plastic. I also like that the cups are not throw aways because they are sturdy enough to be washed and reused.

If you don't want to make tirimisu in mini form, just use a bigger glass. The recipe serves four if you use  8-oz wine glasses.

It's also really helpful if you use piping bags to add the cheese and whipping cream layers. That way you can add these layers quickly and neatly. 

This recipe is also great because there is no cooking involved. Truly perfect for a hot summer day.

Mini Tirimisu 
(makes 10 using 2.7-oz cups)
1 cup heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, divieded
1 7-oz. package ladyfingers
1 cup strong black coffee
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Make the coffee and let it cool to room temperature.

Whip 3/4 of the cream with 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form. Chill the whipping cream until you are ready to use it.

Whip together the cream cheese, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and remaining teaspoon of vanilla. Whip until smooth then add the remaining 1/4 cup of cream and whip again until it's light and smooth.

To assemble:
Transfer the cream cheese mixture and the whipping cream to piping bags fitted with a #5 tip or if you are using disposable bags, just cut off a 1/4-inch opening.

Cut a ladyfinger in half and dip each half into the coffee. Do this quickly or else the ladyfinger will fall apart. Place the halves in the bottom of a mini cup. Repeat for all 10 cups.

Pipe a layer of the cream cheese mixture into each cup.

Repeat with a layer of ladyfingers in each cup.

Repeat with a layer of the cream cheese mixture in each cup.

Repeat with a layer of ladyfingers in each cup.

Using a piping bag for adding the cheese mixture makes assembling these very easy. And, there's no messy smears on the inside of the cups.

Finally, add a layer of whipped cream to each cup and using a small sieve, add a sprinkling of cocoa powder to the top of the whipped cream.

For a size comparison, I assembled one large tirimisu in an 8-oz. wine glass.

Refrigerate the tirimisu for at least 1 hour before serving.

Mini Cheesecakes

One recipe makes 60 mini cheesecakes. Serve them as is or add your choice of toppings like a dollop of lemon curd, chocolate or sweetened strawberries.

These mini cheesecakes are perfect for a potluck or party. Just be sure to bake them a day in advance so that they have plenty of time to chill before serving.

They taste delicious as is but look especially nice with pretty toppings like a drizzle of melted chocolate, lemon curd, sweetened diced strawberries or cherry pie filling.

Mini cheesecakes topped with melted chocolate and chopped Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. These may look fancy but they are so easy to make.

If you would rather make one large cheesecake, use a 10-inch nonstick springform pan and increase the baking time to one hour.

Here's the recipe:

Mini Cheesecakes
(makes 60)
2 1/2 cups graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softenened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Line 60 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium sized bowl mix the graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs with the sugar and melted butter. Press a teaspoon of this mixture into the bottom of each of the mini muffin cups.

Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk and whip again until smooth.

In a small bowl combine the eggs, flour, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mixture and whip again until smooth and well combined.

Fill each of the muffin cups with cream cheese filling.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until the center of each cheesecake is set.

Let the cheesecakes cool at room temperature for one hour and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before removing from the papers and serving with your choice of toppings.


Topping ideas:

Melted chocolate drizzle and chopped peanut butter cups

Sweetened diced strawberries

A dollop of lemon curd and a fresh raspberry

Cherry pie filling

Blueberry Custard Tart

The tart slices beautifully and shows off the thick layer of blueberries over the creamy custard base.

For a recent last minute dinner party I devised this Blueberry Custard Tart and it was a huge hit. Good thing I took notes as I literally threw it together because I definitely want to make it again.

This tart comes together really quickly so you still have plenty of time to make it for tonight's New Year's Eve celebration. It has a custard base and a fruit topping made with a full two pounds of frozen blueberries. If you don't want to use blueberries you could substitute them with just about any other berry but you might have to add a bit more sugar. Blueberries are naturally the sweetest berry. A combination of berries would also be good.

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Custard Tart


For the berry topping:
2 lbs. of frozen blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup heavy cream

Dissolve the cornstarch in the cream and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and heat over medium high heat until simmering. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring it back to a simmer, stirring constantly. Keep cooking until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the crust:
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
pinch sea salt
1 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the shortening and using your fingertips break in into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Add the water, a bit at a time until the dough comes together into a ball. Roll the dough into a round large enough to fill a 10-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is set and par-baked. Set the crust aside and prepare the custard filling.

For the custard filling:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, sugar and sour cream and beat again. Finally, add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the filling into the par-baked crust and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the custard is firm and set and the crust is fully cooked and golden brown.

To assemble:
Simply spread the cooled berry topping over the custard and place the tart in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.







 
 

Rosemary Apple Tarts

These Rosemary Apple Tarts are elegant comfort food. The earthy flavor of the rosemary compliments the apples and is a pleasant and unexpected change from the usual cinnamon flavored apple dessert.

These tarts are also easy to eat. You can pick them up and eat them with your hands or serve them on a pretty plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Rosemary Apple Tarts
(makes 6 individual tarts)

Crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cups shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
cold water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the shortening and using your hands, break it up into small pea sized pieces.

Add the cold water, a few tablespoons at a time, until a soft dough forms. Try to handle the dough as little as possible.

Roll the dough on a floured board until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Using a cutter or a knife, cut into 6 6-inch rounds. Crimp the edges and set them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

I used a small baking pan to cut 6-inch rounds.

After crimping the edges, set the rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Rosemary Sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2/3 cup sugar
In a bowl, combine the sugar and rosemary. Divide the sugar into three parts.

After mixing the fresh rosemary with the sugar, divide it into three equal parts.

To assemble:
2 medium sized apples, thinly sliced with the skin still on

Toss the apples with 1/3 of the sugar and set aside.

Toss 1/3 of the sugar with your thinly sliced apples.

Evenly sprinkle each pastry round with another 1/3 of the sugar.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the sugar evenly onto the pastry rounds.

Assemble a mound of sliced apples on each pastry round, 6 to 8 slices on each.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of sugar on top of the tarts.

Sprinkle the final 1/3 of the sugar evenly over the apple topped pastry rounds.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tarts are golden brown and the apples are soft. Immediately transfer the tarts to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Note: A scoop of vanilla ice cream would take these over the top!
 

Individual Apple Tarts

These individual apple tarts are so easy to make. And no special baking pans are needed - just a couple of plain old sheet pans lined with parchment paper.

They are also a breeze to plate and look so pretty. A dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of mint or a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be nice accompaniments.

Individual Apple Tarts
(makes 8 6-inch tarts)

Filling:
4 to 5 large Granny Smith apples
1/2  cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons flour

Peel and dice the apples into 1/2 inch chunks. Toss with the remaining ingredients and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Diced apples tossed with sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla.

 
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice water


In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Divide dough into 8 portions.

Roll each portion into a round that is 8 to 9 inches in diameter. Put an eighth of the filling in the center of each round and pull up the edges towards the center.

Place the tarts on the parchment lined baking sheets and top with crumb topping.

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

With your fingers, break the soft butter into the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Keep mixing until it resembles coarse crumbs. Top the unbaked tarts evenly with the crumb topping and bake.

Bake the tarts for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. As soon as the tarts come out of the oven, drizzle the glaze over the top of them. Let cool before serving.

Glaze:
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
In a small bowl, combine the milk and sugar and stir until it becomes smooth and glossy.

Mini Berry Tarts

Homemade mini berry tarts are delicious, pretty and totable which makes them the perfect sweet to pack for summer picnics.

The tarts are simple to make. Heating the berries and thickening them with a bit of cornstarch before filling the tarts is the real trick in making these easy because it keeps the berry juice from running all over the place. A subtle pink glaze adds a nice touch.


Mini Berry Tarts
(makes 10 to 12 tarts)

Crust
 2 1/2  cups flour
3/4 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
 3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Roll dough on a floured board until it's 1/4 inch thick and use a 3-inch square cutter or a knife to cut squares to make an equal number of top and bottom crusts.

The mixture before adding the water.

Add just enough water to form a ball.

Filling
(You'll end up with extra filling but that's okay. Keep it in the fridge and use it instead of store bought jam on pancakes, toast and sandwiches.)


1 16 oz bag mixed berries, frozen
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a saucepan, heat berries, sugar, vanilla and sea salt until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice and add to berries, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely before assembling tarts.

Let the filling cool completely before assembling the tarts.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


Lay bottom crusts on a parchment lined sheet pan. Use your finger to dab a bit of milk or cream around the edges to help seal crust. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each bottom crust. Top with the top crust and press to seal edge. Use a fork to put indentations around crust and poke holes in top to allow steam to vent.

Bottom crust

The bottom crust with milk around the edges and filling in the center.

This tart is ready to bake!

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes and drizzle with glaze.

Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
The smallest drop of pink food coloring

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and stir until smooth and glossy. Drizzle over warm tarts.

Apricot and Almond Jalousie

Consider making an Apricot and Almond Jalousie the next time you want to impress but need a quick dessert.

Jalousie means "shutter" in French and that's why the slats in this dessert's puff pastry topping resemble the shutters outside a window.

This dessert comes together really fast. All you need is ready-made puff pastry (Look for it in the freezer section of your grocery store. It's usually next to the phyllo dough), some apricot preserves, sugar, sliced almonds and a little beaten egg. Oh, and some whipped cream isn't necessary but a nice accompaniment.

You could also change the recipe easily by using other flavors of preserves. Cherry and almond go very well together.

Don't you love it when the results make something look more difficult than it is —

C'est magnifique!

Apricot and Almond Jalousie
(Serves 4)
1/2 pound ready-made puff pastry, thawed (follow directions on package)
6 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 egg, beaten
Whipped cream to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board and cut into a 12-inch square. Cut in half to make two rectangles.

Place one piece of pastry on a wetted baking sheet and brush all around the edges with the beaten egg. Spread over the apricot preserves.

Fold the remaining rectangle in half lengthwise and cut about eight diagonal slits from the center fold to within about 1/2 inch of the edge all the way along.

Unfold the pastry and place it on top of the preserve-covered pastry on the baking sheet, matching each edge carefully to the base. Press the pastry edges together and using your fingers crimp them.

Brush the pastry top with a little water and sprinkle evenly with the sugar and sliced almonds.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Remove the jalousie from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream.