Date Syrup

I am a huge fan of dates. No, I don’t mean the kind of dates where you sit awkwardly across from a stranger. That’s not the kind of date I’m referring to. I’m talking about the deliciously sweet fruit of the date palm tree. So good. It’s practically candy. It should come as no surprise then that I did a little happy dance when I first saw this date syrup, which is commonly used in the middle east, but is used less widely in other parts of the world. It’s such a great idea and I love the idea of using it in place of other sweeteners like honey and caramel. Speaking of caramel, Date Lady also offers a caramel sauce that is made from organic dates (date syrup), organic caramel extract and sea salt. Yum! I love how these two items really encourage you to explore different flavors and baking ideas. I can’t wait to try them! For more info and to shop online, click here. --Erin

Sweet Testing: Pumpkin and Bee Pollen Cake

I almost didn’t make this cake. I went back and forth, and back and forth, over and over and over again. Yes! No. Yes! No. It went on like this for days! All because I couldn’t decide whether bee pollen + cake was a good combination! You see, this is the first bee pollen recipe that I have ever come across and, at first, I couldn’t wait to try it! Then, after doing a bit of research, I discovered that some people have extreme reactions to bee pollen supplements. Oh, no! What if someone has to be rushed to the hospital after eating my cake! None of party guests seemed all that concerned about bee pollen side effects, though, so, in the end, I finally decided that I would go ahead and make the cake, and I’m sooo glad that I did. This is a really tasty cake. Really. The coconut and the pumpkin go really well together and the date crust is simply wonderful! It’s also very easy to assemble and it is, visually speaking, so bright and sunny that you’ll feel better just by looking at! As far as the bee pollen is concerned, I don’t really think it’s a necessary ingredient, although the creator of this recipe, artist Kirra Jamison, considers it to be an essential element. Perhaps, I just didn’t use it correctly. It makes a good story, but it didn’t add much in my opinion. If you do use it, you may want to warn your guests beforehand, in case they are allergic to bees or have problems with asthma. You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

The Mixing Bowl: Crème brûlée by Marina Ekroos

This is the first ever “proud mama” style post that I ever written here on dessert girl. It concerns the hugely talented photographer Marina Ekroos and her new cookbook, Silmänruokaa (Visual Recipes). You may remember that a couple of years ago Marina contributed a Mixing Bowl recipe for chocolate macarons that was one of our most popular posts! Well, as it turns out, making those macarons really inspired and encouraged Marina to do more recipes and continue working on her concept of single shot recipes. For those of you who are not familiar with Marina’s work, her photographs capture the development of a recipe (ingredients, process, finished product) in a single frame, so that you get a complete recipe in one image. How cool is that? She now has an entire cookbook filled with gorgeous photos, including the macaron recipe that she created for dg, and I couldn’t be prouder! It was such a treat for me to see a dessert girl recipe in a real live book and I’m so happy to hear that Marina’s experience here was a good one. The finished product is really lovely and even though the recipes are in Finnish, I would still recommend checking it out. The photographs alone make it a great coffee table book.

To help celebrate this momentous occasion, Marina is back, sharing with us her delicious recipe for crème brûlée (see image at the top of this post), which is also featured in her book. I'm so excited that someone is finally tackling crème brûlée for this site! There is something so fun about a dessert that you have to crack open. Who doesn’t love the feeling of whacking the hard, caramelized top of a crème brûlée with a spoon? It’s such a satisfying feeling, almost as if you are excavating a cave wall, on a search for buried treasure. It’s also a great dessert for this time of year. Quite wintery and wonderful! And the perfect way to impress your friends this holiday season.

You can find the complete crème brûlée recipe after the jump. For purchasing info on the cookbook, along with information on how to buy limited edition prints from the book, click here. Thanks, Marina! ~Erin

Sweet Testing: Vegan, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Just Like Mom Used to Make

No, my mom didn't make vegan or gluten-free cookies when I was growing up, let alone a cookie that was both free of dairy AND gluten, but, if she did, they would have tasted like these cookies! Vegan and/or gluten-free baking isn't always easy. Not every dessert holds up to the conversion, but the classic, hard to screw up, chocolate chip cookies, seems to have survived the transition effortlessly. Okay, there was some effort involved, on the part of BabyCakes, who created this recipe, but believe me when I tell you that you will not be able to tell the difference between this cookie and the white flour/dairy version.

You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

The Mixing Bowl: Eton Mess (Strawberries and Cream) by Dicky Bird

Liz Wells from Dicky Bird just sent over this super cute illustration with a super cute title, Eton Mess, for her Mixing Bowl recipe, which is not surprising given all the super cute images on her Web site. That’s a lot of super cutes, but what can I say? It’s friggin super cute! The recipe itself, a version of the classic strawberries and cream combo, is a cinch to make and could easily be mixed and matched with all the different fruits available during the spring/summer season. Just buy your favorite fruit, whip up some meringue, and dig in!

From Liz: Strawberries & Cream - the best combo ever created, mixed up with crunchy-on-the-outside and squishy-on-the-inside homemade meringue - it’s just so delicious.

Dicky Bird is a fantastic greeting card company based in London. Influenced by nature, mid-century design, and Japanese culture, Liz creates whimsical and colorful designs that are completely delightful. I'm especially fond of the "fairy tale" cards, like the Goldilocks card pictured below. Love those! To check out the full collection and to shop online, click here. Thank you, Liz, for sharing this wonderful sweet treat!

You can find the complete recipe for  Eton Mess after the jump.

Sweet Testing: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust (Gluten Free)

I was seriously considering not posting this recipe because the photos I took turned out to be a little too Country Living for my tastes, but, after much debate, I decided to bite the bullet and post it because

A) The cheesecake was mighty delicious and I’m not even a huge cheesecake fan.

B) There is a cool visible layer on the outside of the cheesecake, which I love!

C) I wanted to show everyone that I do, occasionally, make desserts that aren’t from Baked!

D) This recipe can easily be made gluten free and I know that everyone appreciates a good gluten-free dessert!

I am also excited to be sharing this recipe because it is, in fact, a really cinchy one. Although, I am not happy that I still, somehow, managed to make not one, but two mistakes while preparing it! It was fifty percent my fault and fifty percent the fault of a missing step in the original recipe, but still . . . two mistakes! Oy vey. It actually turned out to be super yummy despite my errors, and I am thus posting my slightly altered version of the recipe, instead of the original.

Oh, and please note, the pomegranate seeds have nothing to do with the recipe, but were part of delicious pomegranate/orange juice/champagne concoction that was served before dinner. You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

Sweet Testing: Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

I have had a craving for a Peanut Butter and Banana Creme Pie for a long time, ever since I first heard about it last year, so I was really happy when my father picked this as his dessert of choice during a recent visit. I was doubly happy when I searched the internet for a recipe and discovered that my favorite bakery, Baked, has their own version of this delicious treat! And let me tell you . . . it was soooo good!! I cheated a little bit and used a Whole Foods brand gluten-free pie crust, which I highly recommend for people with gluten allergies. Usually, I don't really care for store bought pie crust, but this one is a definite winner AND it's gluten free! So, because I wanted to make the pie edible for people with gluten allergies and because I was short on time, I didn't end of making the vanilla wafer crust that goes with this recipe, but I'm sure the pie would be even more amazing with that added element, although it was pretty damn good without it! For that reason, I can't really speak to the ease of the crust preparation, but the filling was super easy to assemble and came together quite quickly. Easy and a total crowd pleaser. What's better than that?

(p.s. For Baked fans, another teaser video for the new cookbook has been released. It features one of my favorite things: baked goods with miniatures. To watch it, click here.)

(p.p.s. Sometimes I feel like every recipe I make is from Baked. Someone seriously needs to hide their cookbooks from me!)

You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

Blast From the Past: Pistachio Cake

I have been fixated on all things pistachio ever since I had a delicious pistachio cupcake at Sugar Sweet Sunshine last month. I always loved pistachio-flavored treats as kid (pistachio ice cream was my favorite flavor!), but somewhere along the line I stopped eating it. This may be, in part, because I grew up and started to become interested in trying new things, but also, I think, maybe, pistachio fell off the flavor charts in the dessert world. You really don't see pistachio ice cream that much anymore. Anyhoo, ever since I had that cupcake, I am all about the pistachio again! The mere thought of it makes me drool! Not pretty. So, in order to help curb my pistachio cravings, I decided to make an old school pistachio cake. You know, the kind that requires one box of cake mix and one box of instant Jello pudding mix.

The ingredients and the simplicity of the recipe totally brought me back to being a kid, especially when I smelled that pudding mix for the first time in ages. Such a wonderful, heavenly scent. It was definitely one of those scent/memory moments for me. I will say that making this cake was a bit surreal, not only because of the pistachio flashbacks, but because it required a boxed mix. I really, really, really, don't like boxed mixes. Don't get me wrong. They're yummy and all, but there are just too many ingredients in those things for my taste. I did manage to find a relatively harmless cake mix though, that was also gluten free: Betty Crocker's Gluten-free Cake Mix. The ingredient list on the box is short and recognizable and it was really good! You wouldn't even have known that it was gluten free! So moist and yummy! There could have been a bit more pistachio flavor in my opinion, although everyone else liked it. I've heard that you can buy pistachio paste for more intense flavor. Has anyone tried that?


You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

Popbar

Holy popsicle, Batman. Have you ever seen such beautiful popsicles in your entire life?? Me neither. You may have guessed already, but these cold treats from Popbar in NYC aren't any ordinary chin covering, corn syrup laden popsicles. Nope. These babies are made out of frozen gelato and sorbetto! While the ingredients are imported from Italy, all popsicles are made with real fruit and hormone-free milk at the store, and each and every one is Kosher certified, gluten free (except for the toppings, which may or may not contain gluten), and preservative free. Here's how it works: pick your flavor, dip in chocolate (dark, white, or milk), and add toppings (Almonds, Hazelnuts, Pistachios, Shredded Coconut, Coffee Grains, Granola, Biscotti, Brownie Chunks.) You get to mix and match flavors and toppings from among 25 rotating flavors. I don't know about you, but that pistachio PopGelato has my name written all over it!


Oh, and for those of you who think this all sounds vaguely familiar, Popbar is the American version of the Stick House chain in Italy. Click here for more info.

Edible Art: Ticings

What am I going completely gaga over at this very moment? These adorable cake decorations from Ticings! Boring old cakes, cookies, and cupcakes are completely transformed into something fun and interesting simply by adding one of these pieces of edible icing. It's such a great way to turn everyday treats into something unique. I'm already thinking about which one I want to try first! Oh, and they're totally gluten free and kosher! Click here to check out all the designs online.

Chocolate Chips

Generally speaking, I'm not much of a chip eater. Chips have gotten more appetizing over the years, but I don't really like greasy foods, so classic potato chips just really aren't my thing. Don't get me wrong; I'll eat them, but they're not on my list of food obsessions. I'll have to admit, though, that when I saw these Food Should Taste Good chips at Whole Foods I was intrigued enough to stop and browse the flavors. Sweet potato, lime, olive, potato and chive, chocolate…chocolate?? Chocolate tortilla chips?? Oh, my gosh!! Once again, the possibility of discovering a sweet and salty masterpiece took hold of me.

Did the chips live up to my taste buds' expectations? Yes and no. The chocolate flavor is subtle. The chips are infused with chocolate and the flavor sort of creeps up on you after you've masticated the chip. The general response was hmmmm…interesting, but then you can't stop eating them! They're really tasty chips, but if you're expecting a tortilla chip covered in chocolate, that's not what you're going to get. So, no, these chips are not going to the top of my sweet and salty list, but I liked them so much that I bought some of there other chips (sweet potato, lime, multigrain) and I am now officially hooked! Next on my list? The cinnamon flavor! Oh, did I mention that they're gluten free and vegan?? Click here for more info and to shop online.

Brownies with Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse

Another take on my beloved salted caramel, but this time it's gluten free! The trickiest part is the caramel, which is easy to make and easy to screw up, all at the same time. Everyone has there own way of making caramel, but I've found it's best to take it off the burner as soon as it turns amber...and I mean immediately! It's not difficult, but you do have to time it right or it's a disaster! Luckily, there aren't that many ingredients involved, so, if if turns into a big candy ball, you can just try again.

Recipe after the jump.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Blondies

Last weekend, my sister, my mom, and I got our hands dirty, tackling another recipe from the Babycakes cookbook: gluten-free blondies. Actually, there wasn't much tackling going on because, as long as you have the ingredients, this recipe is actually really easy to make and the blondies turned out great! And I don't mean great for a vegan, gluten-free dessert. I mean great, period. I know that there are varying opinions of Babycakes out there and I'm not saying that all their recipes hit the spot, but these were good. More like mini chocolate chip muffins then blondies, but, hey, I like mini chocolate chip muffins, so that was okay by me. Besides, Zooey Deschanel likes them, so they must be good! :-)



You can find the complete recipe after the jump.

Crack Pie (again) and Gluten-free Brownies

My birthday was last month (yes, I can admit it) and my wonderful mother was kind enough to make me Momofuku's Crack Pie to help celebrate! Talk about pressure! I've pretty much been obsessed with the Crack Pie since I wrote about it back in July and have been longing to try it. I had such high expectations for this pie that I was sure that I would be disappointed and, to my surprise, I wasn't! It was sooo good!! And I wasn't the only one who thought so! I gave a piece to one of my coworkers and this is what she e-mailed me:

Oh my gosh. It is delicious. I can see how it got the name. I had to stop twice while writing this email to take another bite.

The best I can describe it is that it's sort of reminds me of pecan pie filling: buttery and sweet. It may be too sweet for some people (aka my sister), but I loved it. Supposedly, it's basically a take on the classic chess pie, but as I don't believe that I've ever had chess pie, I can't really compare the two.

Momofuku is coming out with a cookbook at the end of October, but while there will be sweets included in the book, the recipe for Crack Pie will not be one of them. You'll have to watch the video on Martha's Web site for the instructions. Click here for the complete show.

Also, available for tasting at my bday party: Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Brownies. Again, I wasn't really expecting much. Can Betty Crocker really make a good gluten-free brownie? Yep, they sure can! The brownies were yummy and chocolaty, just like a brownie should be. You would never know the difference. Also, the ingredient list was fairly short and I actually recognized all the words on the list, which is surprising given that this is a box mix.

Sweet Testing: Flourless Chocolate Cake

You can't go wrong with a flourless chocolate cake. It's pretty much a foolproof dessert and this version from Baked did not disappoint. It was rich and moist, just like a flourless chocolate cake should be. I suppose there are people who may find this and other flourless chocolate cakes too chocolaty, but that's just crazy talk. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too chocolaty! Besides, in addition to being totally delicious, and easy to make, the flourless chocolate cake manages to be totally gluten-free, without even trying! Yay! I did make one small change to the Baked recipe, though. I wanted to snazz things up a bit, so I added two tablespoons of cinnamon. That's right, two tablespoons! You can, of course, leave that part out. Also, Baked gives you an option of adding a chocolate glaze, but I was short on time, so I just made the cake and then dusted it with powdered sugar and cocoa.

More From Baked: Whoopie Pies, Sugar Cookies, Sweet and Salty Cake, Lemon Drop Cake, Coconut Snowball Cupcakes, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

You can find the complete recipe after the jump.