Chia Seed Chocolate Mousse
Chia Seeds
Organic Cane Sugar
Chia Seed Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 4 tbs. organic chia seeds
- 1/2 cup organic raw cane sugar
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
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Blend the chia seeds and cane sugar in a blender until they turn into a powdery consistency.
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Now, add the coconut milk and cocoa powder to the blender, blend until smooth.
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Pour the chocolate mousse into small serving bowls and place in the refrigerator until thick. Usually for about 2-3 hours.
Boston Cream Pie
Hey everyone! Happy weekend- FINALLY, amirite?
Today we’re on Boston Cream Pie, and listen, it’s a great recipe. I used to live in Boston- that’s where I went to college- and I have had many a Boston Cream Pie. And here’s the thing- it’s not super easy to make one at home.
The problem is the filling. It’s just not sturdy enough to hold up most cakes, which is why when you buy them they sometimes come with that plastic ring around the outside. And that’s nifty and all, but we’re not about to do it at home. At least not most of us.
So, the goal is to make a very thick custard filling here. You want it to be like the thickest vanilla pudding you’ve ever made, but not in a gross way. Don’t worry, we’ve got other goals too. We still need the cream to be smooth and super flavorful and basically something you’d want to jump right into.
As for the cake, I’m kind of picky. A lot of Boston Cream Pies are made with super light sponge cakes because of the structure issues when it comes to stacking it all up. But sponge cakes are just a bit more chewy, and I think they don’t fit as well with the end product as a classic yellow cake.
So for this recipe, I’m using a classic yellow cake. It’s super easy, tender, and it tastes fantastic. You can find the recipe for the yellow cake here.
As for the ganache, there’s honestly not a lot needed here. I like to make mine a bit more flavorful by adding vanilla extract and salt to the mix, but you can absolutely go without and just use chocolate and cream. The important thing is consistency- you want the ganache to be fairly thick so that it holds up on top of that pretty yellow cake.
And that’s everything you guys! You start with one layer of yellow cake, and pile on that silky, thick, vanilla cream. Gently stack your next layer of cake on top, and smooth out the edges of the cream. Then, pour over your chocolate ganache, and chill the whole thing for a few hours before serving.
MAGIC you guys, I promise.
Boston Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 2 8 inch yellow cakes, baked, cooled, and with the tops trimmed off
For the pastry cream:
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tbs. butter
For the ganache:
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
For the pastry cream:
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In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, cream, vanilla, salt, and 1/2 cup of the sugar over medium heat until simmering.
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Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch until smooth. Once the milk mixture is simmering, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Then, pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat until it is very thick, about 5 minutes.
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Pour the custard into a heat-safe bowl through a mesh siv to remove any lumps. Cover the custard with plastic wrap placed directly on top of the mixture, and chill for several hours until completely chilled and firm.
For the ganache:
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Heat the heavy cream in the microwave in a medium bowl until boiling. Stir in the chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is thick and smooth.
For the cake:
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First, place one of your yellow cake layers on your plate. Then, spoon the cold custard on top of this layer, and smooth out with a knife or spatula until smooth. The layer of custard will be fairly thick, and should reach all the way to the edges of your cake.
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Then, gently place the next yellow cake on top, and press gently to adhere it to the custard. Use a spatula to smooth out any custard that starts to bulge out slightly.
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Pour your still-warm ganache over the top of the cake, and smooth it out so that it drips down the edges slightly. Chill the entire cake for at least an hour before serving!
Classic Berry Trifle
Hi everyone!
I’ll just be over here stuffing my face with the leftovers of this giant dessert. Seriously, it’s huge. It’s the perfect crowd pleaser. I made this one for a big 4th of July party we went to, and we still get to enjoy leftovers man!
Trifles are layered desserts, and you can pretty much dress them up with whatever you want. Fruit, chocolate, cake, brownies, cream of any kind or flavor- it’s all up for grabs. It’s kind of like a combination of other recipes that we know and love.
This is a fairly classic summer trifle. We’ve got chunks of vanilla pound cake, strawberries, blackberries, vanilla mousse, and whipped cream. I’ve also made banana trifles, which are kind of like a play on banana pudding, and these Oreo Brownie Parfaits, which are basically single-serve trifles.
So, we’re starting with a layer of cubed pound cake. I used this recipe, but baked it in two loaf pans to make it a bit easier to slice into cubes.
Next, the vanilla mousse. We’re doing a shortcut recipe here, find it below.
Comin’ in hot with the berries next. Sliced strawberries, whole blackberries, sprinkled all about.
Top it off with whipped cream, and do it all over again. A few times.
The options are wide open here. I will say, however, that you want to stick with fruit that isn’t too moist or juicy because that’s going to make your cream watery- it’s not a great combo. Otherwise though, any cake, brownies, pudding, fruit, nuts, cookies, whatever your heart desires.
You guys know I’m a big fan of desserts that can be flexible. That’s mostly because I like to go with whatever I have on hand, or whatever looks good at the grocery store. Right now strawberries are where it’s at, so this trifle has a lot of ’em.
The amount of layers that you have, as well as the thickness of cream between, will depend on your trifle dish. I’m using a pretty large dish here, a bit wider than a traditional trifle dish. I would say it served about 20, which is a lot! Serve it at a party, for real you guys. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 loaves vanilla pound cake
- 2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 4 cups heavy cream, separated
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 lbs. fresh strawberries, sliced
- 2 pints fresh blackberries
Instructions
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Cut your pound cake into 1 inch (ish) cubes. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the instant pudding mix, milk, and 2 cups of the heavy cream for several minutes until it becomes thick and fluffy. Set aside.
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In another large bowl, beat the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
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In your trifle dish, layer the ingredients, starting with a layer of pound cake cubes. Then add a layer of the pudding mixture, followed by a layer of the sliced strawberries and whole blackberries. Top that with a layer of whipped cream. Repeat the process until all the ingredients have been used- about 3-4 times.
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Chill the trifle, and serve cold. Enjoy!
Creamy Lemon Bars
Let’s swing things around to Spring today you guys, why wait?
I’m such a big fan of lemon bars. I love tart candy, and I love tart desserts too. One of my other fav recipes on this blog is for these Berry Crumb Lemon Bars, which are more of a traditional take.
So, speaking of traditional, these aren’t quite. Normal lemon bars are more of a jelly topping than a custard, but these ones are super creamy and smooth. PLUS, it’s actually a super short and easy recipe.
If you’ve ever made key lime pie before, you probably recognize the method here. Sweetened condensed milk takes away some of the measuring and dishes and ingredients here, making it super fast and easy to whip these babies up.
The crust is a lightly sweet, easy shortbread recipe- by the way, it’s a great recipe just as cookies too!
I’ve topped mine with a dusting of powdered sugar, but whipped cream would also be so awesome. Plus, they are fantastic on their own, you don’t even need to top them to find yourself eating two or three (or ten, whatever).
So anyways, these are one of my favorite things I’ve made in a long time. I’ve eaten a truly ridiculous amount of these bars during testing the last week, and it’s totally going to be weird now that they aren’t going to be a regular part of my diet.
Sometimes even when winter isn’t over, it’s nice to just brighten up the days with something like this. The lemon flavor really pops, and you’ll feel like it’s spring. I hope you guys make these- it’s a good one!
Ingredients
- For the shortbread crust:
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- For the filling:
- 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 5 egg yolks
- Powdered sugar or whipped cream to top (optional)
Instructions
- For the shortbread crust:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 square cake pan with foil, and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add in the salt, vanilla, and flour, and beat until completely incorporated. The mixture will be soft and crumbly.
- Press the dough into your prepared baking dish, and spread evenly. The layer will be pretty thin.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until it's just started to become lightly golden on the edges. Set aside, and leave the oven on.
- For the filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolks until smooth.
- Pour the filling over the crust- it does not need to be cooled before you add the filling.
- Bake in your same preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the mixture has mostly set. It should still jiggle just a little bit in the middle.
- Cool on the counter for 30-45 minutes, and then cover in foil and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours.
- Top with your preferred topping, if desired. Cut the bars into 9 squares, and then cut each square into a triangle. Enjoy!
Chocolate Dipped Cream Puffs
Hey everyone! I hope your 2018 has gotten off to a wonderful start, and if not, I have just the thing.
Today we’re making cream puffs. I said we because honestly you guys, you have to make these. If you’re anything like me, cream puffs and eclairs and all that, it seems like some high-tech pastry stuff. But really, it’s so easy, and you’re gonna feel like a champ when it’s done.
I dipped mine in a thick, glossy chocolate ganache, which really blends well with this shortcut french vanilla filling.
So here’s the thing- this is actually a revamp of an old recipe of mine, and it deserved another look. The filling here is the real star, and it’s so flippin’ easy you won’t believe it. Sometimes I’m all for making everything from scratch and doing the whole pastry cream thing, and I promise I wouldn’t substitute if the results weren’t truly fantastic.
Turns out, if you whip up instant pudding mix with some milk AND some heavy cream, you end up with this mousse-like substance that will change your life. Use it to fill these babies, but also use it for pies and parfaits and anything else ever. Seriously.
Sidenote- I handwrite all recipes that I work on because I don’t want to dirty up my electronics in the kitchen, but it’s such a mess haha. Here’s what a recipe looks like while I’m working with it- all out of order, and used a drip catcher, and other nonsense included:
Anyways, back to the puffs themselves. The process for the dough is actually really simple and easy, and it just requires a few minutes on the stove, and another few in the stand mixer. On the other hand- you can totally do this by hand without a mixer, it’ll just take a little elbow grease. You got this.
Here’s what the dough looks like after you add the flour:
And here’s what it looks like after adding the eggs:
I do recommend that you use a piping bag and a wide tip to pipe out the dough, but you can also spoon it out. It’s just a bit easier to get the right shape if you pipe it. Regardless of your method here, you can wet your fingers with water to shape the dough or press down any pointy edges.
These are super pretty in the end, and I hope you make them and they knock the socks off of everyone you know (they will). Happy 2018 everyone!
Ingredients
- For the puffs:
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tbs. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 eggs (I always use large, and size matters here!)
- For the ganache topping:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- For the cream filling:
- 2 boxes of French Vanilla Instant Pudding
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- For the puffs:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.
- Add the water and vanilla into the melted butter, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Heat the mixture until boiling.
- Remove from the heat, and immediately stir in the flour mixture. Continue to work in the flour until it is completely incorporated- the dough will be very thick (see image above).
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer, or to a mixing bowl if you plan to do it by hand. Let the dough cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing fully between each addition. The dough will become smooth and stretchy (see image above).
- Transfer to a piping bag with a large tube tip on it (I use the Ateco 808 tip), and pipe the puffs onto your prepared baking sheet, about 2 tablespoons of dough per puff.
- You'll end up with some pointy tops or edges no matter how you pipe them. Wet your fingers with water to press down any pointy edges and further shape the puffs if needed.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they have puffed up, cracked, and are golden brown. Cool completely before filling.
- For the ganache topping:
- Heat the heavy cream in your microwave until boiling. Whisk in the chocolate chips, salt, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature while you prepare the filling and fill the puffs.
- For the cream filling:
- In a medium bowl, beat together the instant pudding, milk, and heavy cream until the mixture is thick and has soft peaks.
- To fill the puffs, you can either cut them in half and spoon the filling in, or use a piping bag with a small tube tip to fill them from the bottom or sides.
- Be generous with the filling, you'll have plenty!
- Once the ganache has come to room temperature and is fairly thick, dip each puff into it.
- Chill the puffs immediately, and serve and store cold.
- Enjoy!
