Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

I tried this lovely mousse cake out as a dessert to serve to some guests. It was a little time intensive, as each layer required some time to set, but the result was beautiful, and I will definitely be making it again. I used this recipe for inspiration, but didn't make the vanilla layer, as I thought the dark chocolate and raspberry layers complimented each other perfectly. The dessert was a hit and tasted even more amazing than it looked. The mousse was light and fluffy, and the brownie and ganache tied the dish together perfectly. Even though it took some time to put together, the dessert was easy to make, and definitely worth the effort.

Here's the recipe:

Brownie Layer:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Mousse:

• 9 oz. dark chocolate (I used 72%)
• 1 + 3/4 cup heavy cream, use divided
• 1 packet (2 tsp) unflavored powdered gelatin
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup sugar

Raspberry Mousse:

• 1 cup raspberries, plus additional for garnish
• 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 packet (2 tsp) unflavored powdered gelatin
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/3 cup sugar

Ganache:

• 4 oz dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp sugar

Brownie Layer

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2.  Grease a 9" springform cake pan. You may also line the sides of the cake pan with parchment paper for ease of removal, if you like. 
3. Sift together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 
4. Melt butter in a suacepan over low heat. Stir in sugar until it dissolves. Remove from heat, and let cool.
5. Beat eggs, and slowly add the cooled butter and sugar mixture. 
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in thirds, and mix to combine. 
7. Pour the batter into a greased springform pan, and bake for about 25 minutes. Start testing at 20 minutes to check if it's done. Leave out to cool - the brownie layer can be refrigerated after it reaches room temperature

Chocolate Mousse Layer

1. On top of a double boiler, combine 9 oz. dark chocolate and 3/4 c heavy cream. Add in sugar and stir until smooth and creamy. 
2. Whisk gelatin and water together to combine.
3. Once chocolate mixture is cooled, microwave the gelatin for about 15-20 seconds until it is melted, and stir into the chocolate. Set aside to cool. 
4. Whip remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into stiff peaks. When the chocolate mixture is completely cooled, fold in half of the whipped cream until fully combined, then fold in the remaining half. 
5. Spread chocolate mouse on top of the cold brownie layer, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, to set.

Raspberry Mousse Layer

1. Puree the raspberries in a blender and then press the mixture through a sieve. You should be left with about 1/3 cup of raspberry puree. Discard the seeds.
2. Add sugar to puree, and mix. 
3. Whisk gelatin and water together to combine.
4. Whip 1 and 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream into stiff peaks. 
5. Microwave the gelatin for about 15-20 seconds until it is melted, and stir into the raspberries. 
6. Allow raspberry mixture to cool to room temperature, then fold in whipped cream in two parts, as detailed in step 11. 
7. Spread on top of the chocolate mousse mixture once the chocolate layer is completely set. 
8. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Ganache Topping

1. Combine chocolate, heavy cream, and sugar in the top of a double boiler, and stir until completely melted. The ganache should have a nice sheen to it. 
2. Remove the cake and mousse layers from the spring form pan and place over a cooling rack. Spoon the warm ganache mixture over the cake. You can choose to use the glaze to cover the sides, or leave them open to reveal the layers. 
3. Refrigerate after topping with ganache until set.
4. Top with raspberry decoration of your choice, and serve the cake once it has been sitting at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Danish Pastry Braid

I found this recipe for a Danish pastry braid in the cookbook "Baking with Julia," by Dorie Greenspan. I've made the recipe twice, since I made enough pastry dough for two braids, and the practice certainly made it look a lot better the second time around. I found it helpful to watch the "Baking with Julia" episode where Beatrice Ojakangas demonstrated how she makes the braid to get an idea of technique. I found the trick is to be careful not to overfill the dough, so that the jam and cream don't spill out as you braid the dough together. If you make the dough in advance, you can make this pastry in just about an hour, as it takes very little time to bake. It tastes delicious with coffee for dessert, or even a luxurious breakfast. You can also glaze the pastry (with regular or coffee glaze) but I found that it was sweet enough without, so I chose to omit that step. If you're looking for a fun challenge, I recommend giving this recipe a try. Enjoy!

Danish Pastry Braid Dough

• 1 recipe Danish pastry dough 
• 1 egg yolk

Raspberry Jam Filling

• 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2/3 cup sugar

Confectioner's Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough into a 10" x 16" rectangle.
3. Mentally section the dough into thirds, and cut 1" strips of the dough slanted away from the center on both the left and right sides. A video with the proper technique can be found here.
4. Spoon the jam filling down the center of the braid, being careful to stay away from the edges where the strips have been cut. 
5. Soon confectioner's cream over the jam in dollops.
6. Braid the dough strips (as shown in video) over the filling. 

 

   7. Brush the braid with egg white

   8. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve cool. Enjoy!

Blueberry Brunch Cake

This simple, yet gorgeous, blueberry brunch cake is the first recipe I ever was able to complete on my own. Over the years I've tweaked the recipe a bit, but the original can be found here.  It tastes great with either fresh or frozen berries (I used a bit of both since we ran out of fresh ones). Enjoy!

Cake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• rind of 1/2 lemon
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk

Filling: 

• 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Grease a 9" springform pan. 

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

4. Add in zest of 1/2 lemon (approx. 1 tsp) and 1 egg.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in order to combine and sift.

5. Combine yogurt and milk until smooth.

6. Add dry ingredients and yogurt mixture alternately to large bowl with butter. Combine.

7. Spread batter on the bottom of the springform pan, and about 1/2" up the sides of the pan.

8. Combine blueberries, sugar, flour, and nutmeg for filling.

9. Spoon filling over the center of the cake, making sure filling doesn't spread over the sides.
10. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, and serve warm. Enjoy!

Mixed Berry Pie

We had a long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself outside in the beautiful weather. I made this recipe for us to enjoy after a lovely day at the beach, and it was quite a hit! This wonderful pie was the perfect dessert for the occasion: red, white, and blue, with a delicious summery filling. I didn't take process pictures, but the filling is a breeze - just mix the fruit with a few ingredients, and allow it to sit to macerate. The lattice top was a really nice touch, although it isn't absolutely necessary. As you can see, I made a few thick strips and tossed it together quickly because I was running short on time, but you can easily go for thinner strips for a more sophisticated look. Either way, the woven effect yielded by the top crust is absolutely gorgeous. However, feel free to cover the pie with a single layer top crust, or get creative and use cookie cutters (star shaped ones would be cute!) to decorate the top of this pie. Lastly, fair warning - the berries make this pie especially juicy. If you are planning on bringing this to an event, it might be a good idea to bake the pies in individual, smaller servings.  Serve this warm with ice cream, or chilled. Enjoy!

• 3 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 3 1/2 cups blueberries
• 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (adjust according to sweetness of  berries)
• dash salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 2 pie crusts (for homemade, I use this recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice, and berries in a bowl. Allow to macerate for 30 - 45 minutes.
3. Roll out first pie crust until it forms a 1/2" overhang when placed in pie dish. I like to roll out the pie crusts between two sheets of wax paper in order to keep my counter from getting too messy. Place pie crust in dish, press lightly into sides to avoid air bubbles, and mold the crust as desired. Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Take out chilled pie crust and pour in berry filling.
5. Roll out second pie crust until it also forms a 1/2" overhang when placed over the pie dish. Cut crust into several strips of even thickness (1/2" - 3/4"). Start to assemble the lattice crust from the center outwards. The slideshow on this site is especially helpful to visualize the process.
5. Bake pie for 1 hour and 20 minutes, tenting with foil if the crust starts to darken.
6. Allow to cool, then serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Trifle

Trifle is a very easy dessert to pull together once you've assembled the different components, and is especially delicious on a hot summer's day. We've been getting a lot of perfectly ripened berries at the grocery store lately, and I thought this trifle would be a wonderful way to showcase the sweet bounty of the summer. You can certainly use any combination of fruit that you'd like. I tried to stay with red berries because the alternating red and white layers look gorgeous in a glass dish. This recipe makes enough for 3 large servings of trifle - adapt it to make as many as you'd like. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup of strawberries, sliced
• 3 tbsp sugar (more if fruit is tart)
• Angel's Food cake (as necessary)
• 2 pints of raspberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Take strawberries and dust with 2 tbsp of sugar in a bowl. Mix together and set aside to macerate.

2. Take 1/3 of a pint of raspberries and heat in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes until a thickened, slightly jammy syrup has formed. Add sugar if necessary. Set aside. 

3. Take 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat with 1 tbsp of sugar until whipped cream forms (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside. 

3. Gather 3 glasses - wineglasses work well for this desert - and cut a 1/2" thick slice of angel's food cake to place in the bottom of each glass. 

4. Divide the raspberry jam among the three glasses of trifle, and spread over the cake. 

5. Arrange strawberry slices on top of the jam. Add raspberries along the edges. 

6. Spread ~1/6 of the whipping cream over the fruit and flatten with a spoon. Make sure to keep the sides of the glass clean above this layer.

7. Continues building layers with one more slice of cake, strawberries, raspberries, and whipped cream. 

8. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Rosewater Raspberry Pound Cake

This raspberry rosewater pound cake is loosely based on this pound cake recipe by Martha Stewart. The unconventional flavors of this cake are a refreshing treat that makes this cake good enough to eat all by itself, although it's certainly delicious with vanilla ice cream. Rose water can be found at most Middle Eastern and Indian supermarkets - just make sure to get the water, and not rose syrup. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp rose water
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• approx. 1/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

3. Add eggs in one by one, and beat together until combined.

4. Add 3-4 tablespoons of rosewater depending on your preference and beat again until just combined.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour and 1/4 tsp. of salt so that the dry ingredients are sifted. Add to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, beating until just combined after each addition. 

6. Grease a 9" by 4" loaf pan with butter and spread the batter into the pan evenly.

7. Decorate the top with raspberries as shown below. 

8. Bake for 1 hour, tenting with foil if necessary to prevent the top of the cake from browning. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast & Blueberry Compote

Cheesecake stuffed french toast makes a decadent and easy breakfast. I made this with a blueberry compote for Mother's Day and it was an immediate hit. It takes only a few minutes longer than french toast would. I pulled this together in the morning and, again, forgot to take process photos, but luckily it's a very simple recipe. The blueberry compote is completely optional - I just enjoy the fruity taste to offset the creaminess of the filling, but you could certainly go without, or use different fruit. This recipe yields about 4 stuffed toast pieces. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 8 slices white bread
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 -1/2  cup of milk (depending on consistency you prefer)
• pinch ground cinnamon
• dash ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. butter 
• 4 tbsp. sugar plus more for compote if necessary
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• blueberries

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until it has a decent consistency. Whisk in 1 tbsp. of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. Heat a pan on medium, and grease with some butter. Dip bread in mixture, coat completely and cook on the pan until golden brown with a custard-like center. Repeat for all 8 slices of bread.

3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese with sour cream until fully combined. Add in 3 tbsp. of sugar and beat for about 1 minute.

4. Spread about 3/4 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture on top of one piece of warm french toast. Press another piece of toast on top

5. Heat blueberries in a saucepan until reduced to a compote. Add sugar to taste if necessary. 

6. Serve toast warm with a heaping spoonful of blueberry compote. Enjoy!

Mango Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don't normally bake cakes with tropical fruit, but I decided to try this recipe out for a Mother's Day surprise (with a few tweaks). Unfortunately, I whipped it together in the afternoon and forgot to take pictures, but it was super easy to make! The cake was moist and delicious, and the flavor of the fruit really shined through. I was afraid the brown sugar on the bottom would overpower the fruit and become syrupy, but to my surprise the flavors complemented each other perfectly. You can use either frozen or fresh fruit for the cake, but if the fruit is particularly sour, you may want to adjust the amount of brown sugar you use. This cake is delicious served warm by itself, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 2 medium mangoes (about 1 cup), diced 
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp. whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat 2 tbsp. of softened butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper, grease it with softened butted, and then spread the brown sugar mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. 

3. Mix the diced fruit together. This should yield about 2 cups of fruit. Spread over the brown sugar mixture in the baking pan.

4. In a large bowl, whisk in flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder so that it is sifted and well combined. 

5. In another bowl, beat the remaining 6 tbsp. of butter with 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy - for about 3 minutes.

6. Add in eggs, one by one, and beat until combined.

7. Add in half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until fully combined. Next, add sour cream, the second half of the flour mixture, and the whole milk, beating to combine between each addition. 

8. Pour batter over fruit and brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, rotating pan at 25 minutes to ensure that the cake bakes evenly. 

9. Allow the cake to cool for about 10-15 minutes, and then invert onto a serving platter. Peel parchment paper away and serve warm. Enjoy!

Peach Ricotta Muffins

Muffins are a delicious and easy snack to whip up. I had some extra frozen peaches on hand, and decided to make a slightly healthier version with some almond flour and coconut sugar. The final product turned out moist and fluffy, and the substitutions were  impossible to detect. I used frozen peach chunks that we had on hand from a summer peach-picking trip - but this recipe will work just as well with fresh or canned peaches as long as you adjust the amount of sugar for the canned variety to account for the sugar syrup. This recipe yields 24 muffins. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups peaches, peeled and diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda with a whisk.

3, In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, coconut sugar, ricotta cheese, oil, eggs, and vanilla. 

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

5. Stir in peaches, diced, and combine. 

6. Grease a muffin tin and spoon batter into each mold. 

7. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Mixed Berry Cobbler

I love fresh berries - they're definitely one of the best parts of summer. I saw a recipe for blueberry cobbler in Cook's Illustrated's Baking Book, and thought it would be nice to change the recipe a little and add strawberries and raspberries as well. It tasted so delicious that I will be making it again for a 4th of July party this weekend! The recipe would really work with any mix of berries, as long as the weight of the fruit adds up to about 30 ounces. This cobbler is wonderful: sweet and juicy, with just the right amount of tart. I love serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

For the filling

• 16 ounces fresh strawberries
• 8 ounces blueberries
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1tbsp. lemon juice & zest of half a lemon

For the topping

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt.
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• zest of half a lemon

1. Place rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Wash and slice strawberries. Place them in a large bowl. 

3. Wash blueberries and raspberries as well. Add them to the strawberries, along with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and zest. Combine, and allow the berries to sit in the sugar mixture for about half an hour. 

Extra picture because the fruit looks absolutely gorgeous 

Ready to mix!

4. Add the fruit to a pie plate and bake for 25 minutes. 

5. While the fruit is baking, - start to work on the biscuit topping. Whisk flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. 

Whisking the dry ingredients actually works to sift them together!

6. Melt 4 tbsp. of butter fully. In a large bowl, whisk 1/3 cup of buttermilk, lemon zest, and vanilla extract with  melted butter.

7. One minute before the fruit comes out of the oven, combine wet and dry ingredients. Whisk quickly until just combined.

8. Once fruit has been taken out of the oven, increase the temperature to 425 degrees. Combine the dough into a large ball with your hands, then split into 8 roughly shaped even spheres.

9. Arrange balls of dough on the pie plate of baked fruit. Leave about an inch between each piece, as the dough will expand while baking.

10. Bake for about 18 minutes, turning the around halfway through to ensure even baking. The cobbler is done when the biscuits are a light golden brown on top, and the fruit is bubbling (as shown below). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Szilveszteri (Linzer Cookies)

I wanted to make cookies for a class party one time and thought it would be great fun to try out these lovely Linzer cookies! My Hungarian friend graciously translated this authentic family recipe for me, and the cookies turned out beautifully! The cookies bake VERY fast, so be sure to keep an eye on them when the first batch is in the oven to get a feel for how quickly they cook. The top cookies might even be done a minute earlier because they have less dough due to the cutout. They also require at least 12 hours to set after they are baked, so you'll have to make them about a day in advance of the event you want to serve them at.

Note: These do require linzer cookie cutters to get the shape of the top and bottom cookies. Mine are Wilton brand, and have a fun valentine themed cutout. You can even get ones with holiday themed center cutouts to make great Christmas cookies!

Here's the recipe:

• 5 1/4 cups of flour
• 2 ½ sticks of thoroughly softened butter
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar (I always blend granulated sugar until it's fine enough for me)
• sour cream as necessary
• Pinch of baking soda

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Knead the flour, butter, and lemon. Beat the yolks separately, and then knead into the dough, along with sugar and baking soda. Use sour cream to soften until is easy to work with. Roll out until the cookies are quite thin, about a ¼ inch thick – since you will need to layer them, and cut. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until the cookies are just barely golden brown. Let the cookies stay on the hot sheet for a minute longer, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely.

In a separate bowl, spoon out the jam and mix it with a fork until it gains a smooth consistency. With a knife, spoon a dollop of jam in the center of a bottom cookie and spread it so that there is more jam in the center (where the cutout of the top cookie will be) than the edges. Sandwich a top and bottom cookie, and allow it to harden overnight in open air. (If you choose to cover them with plastic wrap, the cookies will take longer to “set.”)