Goopy
This is for lazy people who love pumpkin pie, who also love to cut calories and fat while eating copious quantities of holiday-themed dessert. Sign me up. Yes, it’s great that it’s a gluten free option. And yes, it’s great that without a crust it’s way, way, way healthier (or at least way, way, way […]
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The Greeks knew what they were doing. In addition to a building a couple of buildings that some could call architecturally significant, they created the Greek salad (the real Greek salad, not the North Americanized version with lettuce that you get in a mall food court), and most important of all, they created baklava. (I assume it […]
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Holy Moses. Imagine a pecan pie, but in tart form, and without the pecans but with currents and pine nuts instead. Clear as mud? All you have to know is this: This. Dessert. Rocks. The pastry is flaky, light, and easy to make (i.e.: no rolling required! Just press into your tart pan and you’re […]
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Who needs crust? (Hold on. I need to temper that question, because we all know that crust is more than a want, it’s a need when it comes to pies like the Classic Key Lime Pie [think graham cookie crust], or the Proper Peach Pie [think buttery, flaky, lattice-topped crust]. To say that one doesn’t need crust borders on […]
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It’s been far too long. Is it even possible that I’ve gone without crème brûlée in my life for eight months? The shock, the horror. It’s somehow strangely true. (Candied Pistachio Crème Brûlée was my last foray into the intoxicating world of cream, sugar and yolk, and it was an unacceptably long time ago at that.) […]
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“Curd” sounds gross, so don’t judge this incredible dessert it by it’s nasty name. (Kind of like how you shouldn’t judge the Ugly But Good Bars just because they look fugly.) Nope, this dessert is a keeper. If you like lemon, then you’ll want to make a batch of it and not tell anyone and then eat it all […]
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When you think of St. Patrick’s Day do you feel the need to ingest Irish cream? (Please say yes to that question, and no to green beer. Please.) Are you looking for an excuse to build Irish cream into a dessert to be “festive”? You’ve found it. Technically you can skip the Irish cream, […]
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Don’t worry if you’re confused. The name says it’s a pudding, but the picture looks an awful lot like a cake, doesn’t it? Here’s the dealio: A pudding is basically a goopy, sticky cake. (I’m so sold already. Like in this particular pudding- the toffee sauce is poured into holes poked into the cake while […]
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Pudding can be a special thing when it’s not made from a box of questionable “pudding powder”. (Not that there’s anything wrong with Jello Instant Pudding. My Mom served the butterscotch and chocolate flavors on a regular basis, two flavors I’d be hard-pressed to choose between. Strangely, I enjoyed coming across a spoonful with a […]
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Crème brûlée is breathtaking, and one of those desserts that you’re a bit afraid to mess with. Why screw up a perfectly good thing, right? Because sometimes pistachio comes along and says “I want to mess around”, and pistachio is hard to turn down. (I fell hard for pistachio on a trip to Italy back in the […]
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Okay, so I didn’t just make these bars because I made homemade maraschino cherries (and therefore have a crapload of them hanging around- let’s face it- how many cocktails with maraschino cherries can a girl take in a two week window?)- I made these bars because any kind of dessert with a shortbread crust and […]
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Work with me on this one, okay?
There’s this heavenly dessert known as Banoffee Pie, and if you’ve heard of it you’re nodding your head right now because you agree that it was made in heaven. Picture the layers starting from the bottom: cookie crumb crust, thick layer of toffee, sliced bananas, fresh whipped cream, chocolate shavings. Now you understand.
I was introduced to this masterpiece on a trip to Ireland with my Dad and sister back in 2003… and I have no plausible reason as to why I haven’t made it since my sister and I wolfed down that inaugural piece in a pub somewhere around Waterford. Or maybe Wexford. I have denied The Husband (who was not on said trip) the pleasures of Banoffee Pie, and that makes me a shameful wife. Up until now.
I was made aware of some profoundly disturbing news the other day through a one-liner email from my friend Sharon:
“Did you hear about the world wide vanilla shortage?”
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t heard the news.
As a baker who goes through a significant amount of vanilla (the good vanilla, the Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bought by the quart), this was not a happy, smiley-face-emoticon kind of email to read. So what’s a girl with a penchant for the good stuff to do, when it’s on the brink of extinction? You do what they did during the days of prohibition- you go hogwild. You make the most special vanilla recipe you have, and celebrate every last tiny bean before the pasty chefs start bootlegging vanilla into the country (and carrying guns).
So- what special dessert to choose? Crème brûlée is special, and not just because it has three different accents in its title.
No, this dessert tops the favorite list for many (other than raging chocoholics) for many delectable reasons:
* It’s one part creamy, one part crunchy. This stunning juxtaposition of textures makes for some serious cravings.
* It’s fun. Breaking through the caramelized sugar crust with a spoon is unexplainably entertaining. (It helps that the custard waiting for you underneath the crunchy roof oozes a bit through the sugar shards that are left behind.)
* It tastes freaking amazing. That might be the only reason that matters, folks.
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