Easy Chocolate Croissants

My parents took a trip to Europe when I was fairly young and returned with all sorts of fun souvenirs- dolls in lederhosen, cowbells from Switzerland, t-shirts and all kinds of chocolate. My mom also brought home many pieces of the most beautiful blue and white china. They've been on display in the china cabinet ever since and I've always admired them, so when I took my own trip to Europe I was determined to buy some of my own. I had intended to find a similar but different pattern, but in the end, nothing could compare (I suppose this is just one way I am turning into my mother). I found four large plates on a china factory clearance shelf and proudly brought them home. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you've seen them from time to time displaying my baked goods.

I was at T.J.Maxx over the weekend and stopped dead in my tracks when I came across a shelf of the same blue and white china. Right here in Salt Lake City! I couldn't believe it. I snatched up some teacups with saucers and a couple small bowls, they didn't have much left to chose from. I made some chocolate croissants the next morning and served them with the china. It was perfect.

These chocolate croissants are ridiculously easy to make and as soon as I tell you how you'll be sorry you haven't made them before. You need exactly two things to make these croissants: puff pastry dough and chocolate. Seriously. And no one has to know, it will be our little secret.

The chocolate croissants take only thirty minutes from start to finish and are great for breakfast with a cup of coffee. I always love to have a little chocolate with breakfast, don't you? And these are delicious, the flakiness of the puff pastry and the melted chocolate go very well together.

British Flapjacks

While flipping through my most recent Bon Apetit magazine I audibly gasped when I came upon Molly Wizenberg's article on British Flapjacks. I had almost forgotten about this delicious treat from across the pond. I had them several times during my summers in London but haven't seen anything like them in America. I knew I'd have to make them immediately.

They may not look like much, but trust me, they are very addictive. They're kind of like a cross between a cookie and a granola bar. The first bite is all about the texture but by the time you're on to the second bite the flavor takes over. The chewiness gives way to a rich buttery flavor with an undertone of sweetness. Like a lot British desserts, it doesn't need a lot of sugar to be delicious. They're very hearty, for sure, but are a perfect treat on the go. One bite of these takes me back to days of walking the streets of London with a flapjack in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Strawberry Chocolate Tiramisu

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Voila, here is my completed Daring Bakers challenge for February. This month we were challenged to make tiramisu and since I'm itching for spring I decided to put a spin on the regular recipe and add fresh strawberries and chocolate.

I struggled somewhat with this challenge. First of all, I was feeling very lazy the day I made the tiramisu and even though the challenge called for making my own mascarpone cheese, I bought mine instead (Shh, don't tell anyone!). Second of all, I completely suck at folding. The recipe calls for gently folding the egg whites into the batter for the lady fingers. I did my best and I made a good attempt, but just as it usually does, the batter turned out flat and seriously lacking in volume. The recipe was supposed to make several dozen lady fingers and I ended up with about ten. I suppose that's something I can work on.

Lacking a large enough supply of ladyfingers to make the large cake I had planned on, even after I made two batches, I had to get creative. I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do and so I ended up with two presentations of my tiramisu. The first was a miniature version of my original plan. I used a ramekin to layer the lady fingers with strawberries, chocolate, and a filling made from mascarpone cheese, zabaglione, and vanilla pastry cream.

The second was a quicker assembly, layering all the components in a martini glass. I actually preferred the tiramisu this way as it was a better-sized individual portion. But both were fun and looked beautiful. And they tasted delicious! The zabaglione filling paired very well with the strawberries and chocolate. The taste of the fresh strawberries brightened my day and now I'm looking forward to warmer weather and more fresh berries than I know what to do with.

More details of the challenge and the recipe can be found on the Daring Bakers website.

The Crepe Cake

Birthdays are always fun. I love a day that's all about me, where friends and family pamper me with attention and, best of all, birthday cake! That alone is reason enough for me to get excited about my birthday. I do a lot of baking and people often ask if I'd like to give myself a break and have one made fore me. But honestly, I can make a much better cake than most bakeries. It's not because I think of myself as a superior baker (which I'm certainly not), it's just that everything tastes better when it's homemade.

So for my birthday this year I made my own cake, which I often do. It's actually a lot of fun because I can make exactly what I want. I don't have to worry about others' tastes and preferences, just my own. I've known for quite a while that this year I wanted a crepe cake. I first heard about the crepe cake from my family. They had made one for some occasion and couldn't stop raving about it- how simple it was, yet so very delicious. And then I started noticing them in cookbooks and on food blogs and I knew I had to make one. I mean, come on, a cake made from crepes and pastry cream piled together? Sign me up!

I love crepes. The best crepe I ever had was from a street vendor in Paris and came with nutella and bananas. It was the stuff dreams are made of. The crepes in this recipe come the closest to those Parisian crepes as any I've ever tasted. As I was making them it was very difficult to not devour them all right then and there. The crepes are very thin and delicate and my biggest fear was that I wouldn't have twenty intact crepes to make a cake out of, but I only had one tear on me and the rest held up beautifully.

The crepe cake does take some time to make because some elements need to be prepared and chilled, but it really wasn't that complicated or difficult to put together. If you have a stove top, you can make this cake. The finished product looked absolutely stunning and tasted divine. I had two large slices and would have had more (it was my birthday after all) but it was too rich to go on. If you're planning on making a crepe cake of your own, and I suggest that you do, I would highly recommend using this recipe. However, you could probably make one with any crepe recipe and filling of your choice.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Butterscotch Sauce

 

It doesn't get much better than a bowl of homemade ice cream with butterscotch sauce on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's rich and creamy. And absolutely delicious.

One of the gifts I received from Steve for Christmas was an ice cream machine, something I really wanted. I love ice cream and I love the idea of making my own. The possibilities are endless! I've started simple with a few batches of vanilla and I think I've figured out how the whole process works. I might have a little fun now and add all sorts of things like chocolate, berries, candies, and more. But seriously, sometimes nothing beats the creamy goodness of plain vanilla.

Especially with this butterscotch sauce. It's practically a staple ice cream topping for me now and I cannot believe how incredibly good it is. Try it for yourself, you'll see what I'm talking about.

One spoonful of this and I was in heaven. My weekend was complete. And one more thing that made this dish perfect for a lazy day- with the ice cream machine, making ice cream is a cinch. And the butterscotch sauce comes together on the stove in just minutes. Never settle for the store-bought stuff again, this cooks up with basic ingredients faster than a trip to the grocery store and tastes a whole lot better.