Tiramisu Tarts

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a sucker for desserts, more so if they are small and in individual serving sizes... Anything to get away from the guilt ;) When I came across this fun recipe on the Tre Stelle website, I tweaked it a little for what I had in the cupboards that day and brought it with me to a family party during the long weekend. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was very easy to put together that morning.

Tiramisu Tarts

Ingredients:

1 ½ pkg (255 g) frozen sweetened mini tart shells
2 cups (500 ml) Mascarpone cheese
1 ½ tbsp strong brewed coffee or coffee liqueur (Kahlùa or Tia Maria)
3 tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar
100g P.C. dark chocolate, melted
cocoa for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Bake unfilled tart shells in an oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

In a medium bowl combine Mascarpone, coffee liqueur and brown sugar; stir until combined and set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Spoon teaspoonfuls of melted chocolate into the bottom of each baked tart shell. Swirl around to ensure a taste of chocolate in every bite.

Place Mascarpone mixture into a Ziploc bag. Close the bag and cut a hole out of one end of the bag. Pipe out mixture into each tart shell. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Sift cocoa over each just before serving.

Makes 18 tarts

Enjoy!

My Baked Treat of the Week...

...a caramelized pear tart recipe I had found in last week's grocery flyers... At a cost of less than $5.00 to make as I had many of the ingredients already at home, it was going to help me stay on budget too... but was it yummy??? oh yes, it was heard over Easter dinner as I had taken the tart to my in-laws for dessert.

The original recipe can be found on the Loblaws website. I didn't find that 3 pears was sufficient for this recipe so next time I will double it and use 6 pears. I also added 2 apples and substituted a tablespoon of vanilla extract for the pear brandy, as I didn't have any handy.

Caramelized Pear Tart

Ingredients:

3 pears, peeled and quartered (next time use 6 pears)
2 apples, peeled and quartered, optional
2 tbsp unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
1 pie shell
2 eggs
2/3 cup 15% table cream
5 tbsp powdered almonds
1 tbsp vanilla extract (or pear brandy)
vanilla ice cream, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to (350°C)

2. Caramelize pear and apple sections in butter with sugar, approximately 10 minutes.

3. Arrange pears in pie shell. Mix together eggs with remaining sugar, cream, powdered almonds and vanilla extract, if using. Pour mixture over pears and apples.

4. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes. Let rest 3 minutes prior to serving with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Bananas in a brownie...

I love bananas as much as the next guy but with bananas ripening by the minute in our dry and hot apartment, the thought of making another banana bread or breakfast shake just didn't get me going. So when I came across this recipe that used bananas in a "brownie" on meals.com, I jumped right in... Gosh these were delicious!! I wonder if these bars count as an extra serving of a fruit ;)

Banana Mini Morsel Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium mashed ripe bananas
1 large egg
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
Powdered sugar

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.

COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in bananas and egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture; stir in morsels. Spread into prepared jelly-roll pan.

BAKE for 20 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

My tips: The variations made to the original recipe above included using butterscotch chips instead of the mini morsels (I really enjoy that combination) and eliminating the powdered sugar altogether. Next time, I will line my baking sheet with parchment paper to add an extra element of protection from the bottom of the bars burning.

Enjoy!

Nutella Frosted Brownies

This brownies were quite the hit at my husband's birthday party. I don't remember where I found this recipe but we're lovers of Nutella so I knew I had to try it... The only change I made to the recipe was instead of swirling the Nutella with a toothpick, I placed batter into the muffin tin, added the spoonful of Nutella as is and then added more muffin batter on top... It was quite the chocolate-y suprise when you bit into the cupcake...


Nutella Frosted Cupcakes

Ingredients:

10 tbsp (140 grams) butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted ap flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don't worry if the batter doesn't look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you're not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12

Enjoy!

Back Again... :)

The last couple of weeks have not seen the arrival of our new baby yet but at the same time neither did my desire to start cooking too! But having started mat leave, its about time to stat getting back into the swing of things... So I start with something close to my heart and especially sweet. I was offered a recipe from my cousin, tweaked it with some others I found on websites and came up with the following:

Chocolate Macaroon Brownie

Brownie:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup baking cocoa
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
½ cup chopped nuts

Filling:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups flaked/shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)
½ cup baking cocoa
¼ cup milk
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa until smooth. Blend in eggs, sugar and extracts. Stir in flour mixture and nuts.

Pour into a parchment lined 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking pan.

In small bowl, combine condensed milk, coconut and vanilla. Spoon over brownie base.

Bake at 350o for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.

For icing, in small bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, butter, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency.

Spread over filling. Sprinkle with nuts (optional). Cool in pan. Cut into bars.

Enjoy! (I know we did!)

My Ice Cream Machine is on overload....

My ice cream machine is on overload and I'm loving it... Having recently purchased a case of mangoes and not being able to finish eating all of them, decided to put them to good use especially for the upcoming hot summery days... What better way to enjoy them than in a refreshing sorbet!!

Mango Sorbet

Ingredients

3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
5 cups of ripe mango
1 lemon, juiced
1 large egg white

Directions

Bring sugar, water and lemon zest up to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a boil for just 1 minute. Cool liquid before chilling.

Purée mango and lemon juice with a hand blender. Stir sugar syrup into purée and pour into an ice cream maker. Once sorbet has thickened slightly (about 8 minutes), whisk egg white lightly and pour into ice cream maker. Continue to thicken in ice cream maker for about 20 minutes and then transfer sorbet to a container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

Enjoy!

Frozen, creamy and it needs Nutella...yummy!

Original recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and I have to admit this may be the best homemade gelato that I've ever had. Soooooooo creamy. What a keeper!

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup Nutella spread (recommended: Nutella

Directions

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour ½ cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the almond, cocoa powder and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with chopped/toasted hazelnuts.

Please note: I’ve incorporated some of the changes I made to the recipe including lowering the sugar from ½ cup to a 1/3 cup, using almond extract instead of vanilla extract, adding 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and omitting the ½ cup of hazelnuts. For the original recipe please visit the www.foodnetwork.com website.

Our Canada Day Picnic (...cont'd)

I know that most people are advised to not try new recipes while entertaining but I always find its the perfect opportunity to try something new and get a cross-section of feedback. So although the following tart recipe didn't look the prettiest as the filling had caved in quite dramatically after being cooled, guests seemed to really enjoy this treat. I'll have to work on getting it to retain its shape in the future :)

Rum Butter Tarts with Toasted Pecans
LCBO Spring 2007 Issue
By: Marilyn Bentz Crowley

Pastry
1¼ cups (300 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ cup (50 mL) cold butter
2 tbsp (25 mL) cold lard or shortening
½ tsp (2 mL) lemon juice
2 to 3 tbsp (20 to 45 mL) ice cold water

Filling
1 egg
½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
¼ cup (50 mL) corn syrup
2 tbsp (25 mL) dark rum (I used regular white rum)
½ tsp (2 mL) pure vanilla extract
¼ cup (50 mL) melted butter
¼ cup (50 mL) coarsely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

Directions

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter and lard until butter pieces are about the size of small peas. Stir lemon juice into 2 tbsp (25 mL) water. Stir into flour mixture, adding up to 1 tbsp (15 mL) more water if needed to just moisten. Press together to form a ball of dough; then flatten, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Coat cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan generously with cooking spray or lightly butter. Roll out pastry until thinner than usual for pie crust, about 1/8-inch (0.5-cm) thick. Use a 3-inch (8- cm) cookie cutter (or upturned glass) to cut into rounds. Press into cups forcing dough two-thirds to three-quarters up sides. Use scraps to fill in any breaks, low sides or thin parts. Freeze 10 minutes while making filling.

3. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).

4. Beat egg lightly with a fork. Gradually add brown sugar, corn syrup, rum, vanilla and melted butter. Stir until smooth. Divide ¼ cup (50 mL) nuts among homemade shells or ½ cup (125 mL) among frozen purchased shells; spoon in filling. Bake 15 minutes or until filling is bubbly and browned. Cool in pans on racks; then run a knife around edges of tarts. Remove tarts from pans. Covered tarts keep for a day or 2 at room temperature and freeze well.

Makes 12 tarts

Enjoy!

Note: I was pressed for time, so for the pastry I purchased frozen sweetened tart shells and then proceeded directly to step 3.

Our Canada Day Picnic (...cont'd)

This recipe was passed to me by hubby's cousin Leslie and what a hit it was... It was also my first time at making any type of yummy square. So glad I tried it... Next time after baking and cooling, I'll put it in the fridge for about an hour before serving to settle the caramel into a more firmer consistency.

Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels
¼ cup caramel chip morsels
1 bag (340 g) caramels (about 43 caramels), unwrapped
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line 15x10x3/4-inch baking pan with foil. with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour; beat on low speed until mixture is well blended and crumbly. Press dough firmly into prepared pan.

BAKE 15 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate and caramel morsels ; cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes or until chocolate is melted. Spread evenly over crust.

MICROWAVE caramels and cream in microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM 4 minutes or until caramels begin to melt. Stir until caramels are completely melted. Spread evenly over chocolate layer; sprinkle with walnuts. Cool on pan on wire rack. Remove dessert from pan, using foil handles. Cut into bars.

Makes 2 dozen squares.

Enjoy!

Having a Chocolate Craving?

Had a craving for something chocolate-y and with a few things in my cupboard, I was able to make this recipe I found on http://www.meals.com/ Boy, they weren’t kidding when they said, “You haven't had a real chocolate chocolate chip cookie until you've tried this one! “ I made a few variations to accommodate for what I had so you will have to visit the site to get the original recipe.

Ultimate Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

6 triangle pieces of Toblerone chocolate
1 cup mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

MELT Toblerone pieces in a double broiler over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 8 to 9 minutes or until cookies are puffed. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

So much bread leftovers...

...is that even possible? In our household, yes! So I decided to try another cooking challenge combining all my leftovers with cinnamon and ended up with french toast for dessert...

Dessert French Toast with Fresh Berries and Cinnamon Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients

4 large eggs

1/2 cup evaporated Milk

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1 French baguette

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch 2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup evaporated Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pint fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries and/or blackberries)

Powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream (optional)

Directions

FOR FRENCH TOAST:

WHISK together eggs, evaporated milk, butter, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt in a medium bowl. Slice bread 1-inch thick on the diagonal. Place bread in a flat-bottomed shallow dish. Pour egg mixture over bread and turn bread to coat evenly. Let soak for 2 minutes. Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add bread and cook on each side until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

FOR CINNAMON VANILLA SAUCE:

COMBINE sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon sticks in a double boiler. Bring water to a boil and then gradually stir in evaporated milk into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes just to a boil and slightly thickens. Remove from heat and remove cinnamon sticks; stir in vanilla extract.PLACE 2 slices of French toast on plates. Arrange berries on top of each slice; spoon sauce over berries. Garnish with cinnamon, powdered sugar, ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. Serve immediately.

Hope it warms your tummy like it did ours. Enjoy!

Chocolate fondue...yummy!

After a long week of many assignments and college open houses, we wanted to treat my little sister to a fun evening.... So chocolate, cake and strawberries was on the menu (actually it was the only thing on the menu...oops). Not the healthiest but oh so yummy!

Having never used my fondue pot, I was a little worried but this couldn't have been any easier.

Toblerone Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients

300 grams of Toblerone chocolate
½ cup of heavy (whipping) cream, room temperature
1 ½ tablespoons of Blue Curacao (orange flavoured) liqueur

Directions

1. Over a double boiler melt Toblerone chocolate.
2. Slowly stir in heavy cream and the liqueur.
3. Add to fondue pot (over low heat) and serve with pound cake and strawberries.

Enjoy!

Cake... and its better than sex??? Well almost :)

I tried this cake for a baby shower we went to and everyone really seemed to like it... Nothing was left behind... Gotta like those days :)

Almost Better Than Sex Cake



Ingredients

1 marble cake mix
1 cup semisweet butterscotch chips
¾ cup to 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
Caramel topping
12 ounces Cool Whip
1 bag of toffee candy bits, crushed

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour 9 x 13 inch pan. Prepare cake mix as directed on package; pour into prepared pan. After 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle with chips. Continue baking until cake is done.

Do not remove cake from pan. While cake is still hot, poke holes in it with handle of wooden spoon. (I made slits in the cake - careful not to go all the way through or else it becomes to difficult to serve) In a separate saucepan over low heat (or microwave), heat the caramel sauce with the sweetened condensed milk. Pour over the cake so it runs into the slits/holes. Let cool.

Frost the cake with the whipped topping and sprinkle with candy bits to decorate the top.

Serves 16

Enjoy!

Mexican Birthday Party...

Hubby’s Mexican birthday party was a success and here are some of the dessert recipes that made it a hit...

Mini white chocolate and raspberry tarts

Ingredients

1 ½ boxes of frozen tart shells
1 package cream cheese, softened
½ cup sweetened Condensed Milk
1 large egg
¼ cup white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can raspberry pie filling

Directions

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Place tart shells on a cookie sheet with one teaspoon of pie filling in each tart. BAKE for approximately 10 minutes or until shell is golden.

Remove from oven and lower heat to 350° F

In bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; gradually add condensed milk. Add egg, beating well. Blend in vanilla. In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt chocolate. Slowly stir into cream cheese mixture.

Spoon about 1 tbsp (15 mL) cream cheese mixture over each filled tart shell.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until puffed and set. Do not overcook or else your cheesecake will crack (like mine did above). Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Makes: 18 tart shells

Mini Pecan Pies

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup pecan halves
3 eggs beaten
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 box of frozen tart shells

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Combine corn syrup, sugar, pecans, beaten eggs, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Pour into frozen tart shells and bake for 5-10 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of pie. Cool on wire rack and top with a tsp of Cool Whip before serving.

Makes: 12 tart shells

Mini Leche Flans

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1 big can Evaporated Milk
6 large egg yolks
2 eggs
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp of grated lime rind

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Heat sugar in small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until dissolved and caramel colored. Quickly pour onto bottom of small muffin/custard containers; swirl around bottom and sides to coat. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients. Strain. Pour into prepared containers. Place containers in large roasting pan; fill roasting pan with warm water to about 1-inch depth.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove flan from water. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

To Serve: run small spatula around edge of container. Invert serving plate over container. Turn over; shake gently to release. Caramelized sugar forms sauce.

Serves: 16

Some mini desserts...

Ever have frozen tarts in the back of the fridge and not sure what to do with them? Here are some great tart recipes that can be made as pies but since we're portion conscious, we find the mini tarts really help us to stick to our meal plan.

Butterscotch Cheesecake Nibbles

Ingredients
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6 frozen tart shells
1/2 cup Butterscotch morsels
1/2 pkg (4 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Place tart shells on a cookie sheet with 5-6 morsels in each tart. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until shell is golden.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add egg and vanilla extract; beat well. Spoon heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into each tart shell.

Remove from oven and lower heat to 350° F

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until just set and not browned. Remove from oven to wire rack. While still warm, top cheesecakes with remaining morsels. Morsels will soften but will retain shape. Cool completely. Refrigerate.

Fresh Fruit Tarts

Ingredients

6 frozen tart shells

Filling:
1/2 pkg (4 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberries or fruit in season

Glaze:
¼ cup water
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup sugar
¾ tbsp cornstarch
Dash of salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Place tart shells on a cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until shell is golden. Cool.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Spread over tart shells and place strawberries on cream cheese mixture.

Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook until bubbly and glaze thickens. Spoon over filled tarts. Garnish tarts with a tsp of Cool Whip when serving.

Enjoy!

Gelato...a great way to end the summer

Inspired by a recent tasting of Cherry Gelato at Moozoo, a local gelataria in the Old Port in Montreal, we couldn't wait to come home and try our hands at making Gelato. Not having made it before I wasn't really sure what to expect but this recipe was easy to make and oh so mouth watering...

Chocolate Gelato

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups skim milk (375 ml)
¼ cup whipping cream (35% MF)
150 grams of caster (superfine) sugar*
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp instant coffee granules
100 grams of grated Lindt dark chocolate (85% cocoa)

Directions

Put the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the milk is just about to boil. (Steam will begin to rise from the saucepan). Remove from the heat and stir in the coffee and chocolate. Continue to stir until the chocolate has melted. The mixture will become smooth, have a consistent colour but will be slightly runny. Cool slightly at room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.

Transfer to an ice cream machine for approximately 20 minutes and freeze for at least 5 hours. Soften in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

*I didn’t have superfine sugar so I placed 150g of granulated sugar into my food processor and ground the sugar for 15 seconds to create the superfine sugar.

Helena Tip I tend to keep the small 125 ml plastic containers that the baby food comes in and find them especially handy especially for treats like this gelato. Before freezing, I place the gelato into the individual containers. Once I'm ready to enjoy my dessert, I remove one container to soften. This ensures that I limit myself to one serving and I'm not so tempted to finish the entire bucket :)

Enjoy!

Off to a Beach Party...

What a beautiful and sunny day it is today and we're just heading out the door to our little niece's Beach Birthday Party. But no need to go empty handed so we'll take a Chocolate Rum Cake for the adults, these fun dice for the kids to play and some stale leftover bread for the birds ;)

For our honeymoon, hubby and I took the most beautiful Royal Caribbean cruise where one of our ports included Grand Cayman Island. During our tour we came across one of the island's specialities: rum cake. That day we brought back 10 cakes to share with our family and a bottle of Tortuga rum. Well, I've never been able to duplicate those cakes exactly but this recipe comes very damn close...

Rum Cake

Cake
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts
1 yellow cake mix package (today I used a Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix)
1 instant vanilla pudding mix package (chocolate pudding mix)
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Glaze
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan (although I didn't have any today). Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Invert on serving plate. Prick top with fork.

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. (this is a lot of glaze for this size of cake so you may want to half the glaze recipe)

Drizzle glaze over top of cake. Use brush or spoon to put extra dripping back on cake. The longer this cakes sits, the better the taste.

Enjoy!

Going to parties, I always like to arm myself with a kids game, just in case the children become bored or are to shy to introduce themselves to the others. There's something to be said when both children and the adults are kept entertained- I think it just becomes a better party.

Crazy Dice

I took 2 small square boxes - that were holding sample baby formula in my cupboards and covered them in white wrapping paper. On one dice, I wrote a different activity on each side, such as:

Do the Macarena/chicken dance
Do 5 pushups
Do 10 jumping jacks
Jump as high as you can
Walk holding a ball in between your knees
Do a cartwheel

On the On the other die, I had the following:

Say the alphabet
Count how many letters are in your name
Count from 1-20 backwards
Sing the Head & Shoulders game
Spell your name backwards
Say a nursery rhyme

I tailored my dice for the children attending the party whose ages range from 3-8. Each child then rolls the dice and does the two challenges at the same time, like 5 pushups while saying a nursery rhyme. Next time I'll take empty dice and have the children write in the different activities.

Have a great Sunday!