Easy and Slightly Impressive Make Ahead Dessert - Lemon Posset

Ingredient and process-wise, it's hard to be simpler than lemon posset for dessert. I mean, besides the extra berries on top, you only need three ingredients for this recipe. You can even make it a bit fancier by using the actual lemon as container. Make ahead is not a problem too, which can be a time saver on the day of whatever party or event going on. Take a look and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Lemon posset - 

Ingredients (about 8 servings using lemon cups plus 2 with small ramekins)?

• 5 yellow lemons
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• Some fresh berries (optional)

How?

Halve 4 lemons lengthwise and scoop out the inside. Don't scoop too deep if possible, since the inner lemon skin can have a tiny wee bit bitter taste to it. However, some like it especially when eating together with quite sweet custard though.

Don't discard the pulp and flesh just yet. Squeeze that and collect the juice to a cup. We will use some for the cream, and you can save the remaining for other use later on.

Pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream to a medium pot. Switch to medium heat and wait till warm but not boiling at all. Add 2/3 cup of sugar and whisk till dissolved.

Remove the pot from heat and add 5 tablespoons of lemon juice. You'll notice the cream starts to coagulate after introducing the lemon juice. Whisk again, then take the remaining one lemon and zest it. Add the zest of that one lemon to the pot too. 

Whisk till evenly blended one last time. Set the pot aside to cool down for about 15 minutes. After that, carefully pour the thickened cream mixture to hollowed lemon cups, you can use ramekins too.

Transfer these filled cups to the fridge and wait for at least 4 hours. You can definitely store them overnight, but in that case, better cover with a lid or something to secure the aroma from other stuff in the fridge.

When ready to serve, garnish the top with some fresh berries if desired. 

I would love to use both blueberries and raspberries for a brighter color pop, but raspberry is a super hard-find in Taiwan. In fact, come to think of it, I haven't even seen raspberries in high-end supermarkets for a long time.

Extended reading:

• No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu (quality eggs will do)

One Way to Utilize Leftover Lady Fingers - Coffee and Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

I made some tiramisu a while back, the non-alcoholic version. So I got a pack of lady fingers but ended up with more than half of the portion unused. That's why this ice cream cake recipe was born, just a simply way to use up all the leftover lady fingers that's been sitting in the shelf for weeks.

Coffee and chocolate ice cream cake using lady fingers - 

Ingredients?

• 18 to 22 lady fingers
• 2/3 cup coffee (black or milky kind)
• 400ml cookie and cream ice cream (just pick something you like)
• 400ml milk ice cream (just pick something you like)
• Some dark chocolate shavings
• Some cocoa powder

How? 

Brew the coffee of your liking, let it be black coffee or the milky kind, both work find. We need about 2/3 cup. Once done, pour over to a dish with some depth, a dish wide enough to soak in the entire lady finger. Set aside and let cool.

Line a meatloaf pan with cling foil. It doesn't have to be pretty, just helps pulling out the cake in the end.

Remove one of the ice cream from the freezer and wait till soften enough to scoop and reshape, but not too watery or soggy.

When ready to assemble, dip the lady finger to the coffee both sides, then arrange one single layer on the bottom of the pan.

Scoop the softened ice cream all over and try to smooth out the surface. I used cookie and cream ice cream to begin with, but my optimal choice was coconut milk, no luck finding that.

Shave some dark chocolate all over the surface.

Loosely cover the pan with cling foil and into the freezer till set. At least semi-set, that'll be a minimum of 30 minutes just to be safe. Meanwhile, remove the second ice cream choice from the freezer and wait to be softened.

Once ready, take out the pan, uncover, and add another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers. Scoop the second ice cream flavor all over and smooth out the surface.

Loosely cover with cling foil again and into the freezer till fully set this time. I waited 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer and invert to a cutting board. Take out the cling coil. Dust some cocoa powder all over the top. Slice and serve right away.

I took too long setting up the plate and table, so by the time I'm ready to take some pictures, the bottom ice cream nearly all melted.

Also I guess the consistency of the milk flavored ice cream I chose had something to do with it too. It was a bit softer than the cookie and cream one, making it harder to hold up the shape once removed from the fridge. 

Oh well, still not too bad in the end especially I didn't get to use my top choice coconut milk ice cream. What would you use instead? I suppose a bit exotic matcha flavored ice cream should tastes pretty good too.

Extended reading:

• No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu (quality eggs will do)

No Alcohol No Heavy Cream Tiramisu (Quality Eggs Will Do)

Two things worth celebrating. First, I can finally make a tiramisu without alcohol nor heavy whipping cream. The result was still creamy and luscious. Second thing that makes me happy is there's no leftover mascarpone.

Most of the time when I'm working with recipe using mascarpone, I always ended with some unused portion. However, this time I was able to find just the right package and a perfect recipe calling for the exact amount, so I get to used every last bits of mascarpone. No more leftover mascarpone.

No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu - 

Ingredients?

• 4 medium or 3 large eggs
• 500 grams mascarpone
• 16 to 20 lady fingers
• 1 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Some cocoa powder

How?

Remove the eggs and mascarpone from the fridge and rest under room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before using them. 

Brew the coffee first then pour into a wider surfaced container, at least wide enough that you can dip in the whole lady finger.

Separate the egg yolk and the egg white. For the yolks, also add in 500 grams of mascarpone and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix till blended.

As for the egg white, beat till frothy. I used stand mixer with medium high speed, took about 4 minutes to achieve that consistency.

Gradually add in the sugar while mixing/beating the egg white at the same time. Once all the sugar has been added, keep mixing/beating till the egg white can keep a soft peak form, should take few more minutes.

Introduce the yolk mixture to the white. Gently fold them together till evenly blended.

Have your tiramisu container ready. I used glass container just so I can see the layers from the side, kind of amusing and satisfying doing so. 

Dip the lady fingers in coffee till semi-soaked, it'll happen really quickly, shouldn't need to soak more than three seconds on each side. You'll know when the lady fingers turn all soggy and start to fall apart. Lay down one single layer of coffee dipped lady fingers on the bottom of the chosen container.

Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top, also slightly even it out.

Do another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers on top of the mascarpone then spread the remaining mascarpone all over. Even out and cover with lid or foil. Into the fridge for few hours, preferably overnight.

Just right before serving, sift some cocoa powder on top, then the no alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu will be ready to serve. 

I'm never a fan of tiramisu with coffee liqueur in it, so this no alcohol recipe just fits my need. And the no heavy cream part kind of make the whole process easier too. 

And look at that creamy layer! Even without heavy whipping cream, this tiramisu still turned out quite nice.

By the way, it's normal if you see some liquid on the bottom of the remaining tiramisu. I simply treated it as extra sauce when enjoying the tiramisu, still luscious and satisfying.

Extra recipe using mascarpone:

• Whipped brie with mascarpone, honey, and pink peppercorn

Mini Sweet Potato Casserole Topped with shredded cheese 起司地瓜燒

Regular sweet potato or the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato (murasaki imo), I was literally standing in front of these two options at the supermarket for a minute. Both can yield a sweet and smooth casserole for my little afternoon treat. What persuaded me in the end is that there was this one chunky sweet potato, just the right size, and that means I only need to peel this one single sweet potato only instead of many smaller purple variety.

Mini sweet potato casserole topped with shredded cheese - 

Ingredients (for 2 big or 4 small servings)?

• 560 grams sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 to 4 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 100 grams shredded cheese (mozzarella and Cheddar preferred)

How?

Peel and slice the sweet potato into chunks.

Steam the sweet potato till fork tender. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Once ready, use a fork to mash the steamed sweet potato, just like what you'd do with mashed potato.

After this first round of mashing, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, 2 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Also start with 2 teaspoons of heavy whipping cream and mash till evenly blended with the sweet potato. 

Check the consistency, if seemed too thick, blend in more heavy whipping cream, up to 4 teaspoons total. Also do a quick taste test and see if more sugar is needed for your preference. Once all set, mash again through a wire sieve if not too troublesome. This will give you an even smoother texture in the end.

Spread the sweet potato paste to ramekins, filled up to 80% full then top the remaining space with shredded cheese.

Into the oven and switch to high heat. Bake till the cheese has been melted and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve right away.

So on top of my initial hesitation between the regular sweet potato and the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato, I also had a hard time picking shredded cheese. My best choice would be mozzarella and Cheddar blend. However, I also have to look closer to the label and trying to get the most natural product as possible.

That left me with only one option, shredded mozzarella. Even though milky and satisfying, but I definitely think with additional salty Cheddar, the sweetness from the sweet potato will become more pronounced. So it's up to you, I would still choose whatever healthier product as possible. Just keep in mind that if you can find great mozzarella and Cheddar blend, that's the way to go.

Savory way to enjoy sweet potato:

• Sweet potato congee 地瓜粥

Chocolate and Sea Salt Popcorn - Do You Know That the Corn Used for Popcorn Can Actually Germinate?

Do you know? I only recently found out that the corn kernels used for popcorn can actually germinate and grow into corn plant. Before that, I always thought corn kernels packaged for making popcorn is at the end of the journey for these tiny yellow bits. How fun?

However, as for my pack of corn kernels, this indeed might be the end of their journey. Well, perhaps a couple steps further of turning into sweet and savory afternoon snack.

Chocolate and sea salt popcorn - 

Ingredients?

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 100 grams 70% dark chocolate
• 2 small pinches sea salt flakes
• 3 tablespoons oil (I used avocado oil)

How?

Add 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan or a deep pot, it needs to come with a lid too. Add in 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels and mix a little with the oil.

Don't get skeptical regarding the small amount of popcorn kernels here. They'll start to pop and your big pot might not even be able to hold all of them.

Turn to medium heat and cover with lid. Wait till you start to hear popping noises. Keep waiting and do not remove the lid. However, you can swirl the pot to ensure even popping. Once the popping noise dies down, the popcorn should be ready.

Remove the lid. Pour out the popcorn onto a baking sheet. Aim for one single layer for these popcorn.

Prepare a double broiler or something works like a double broiler. Break the chocolate to smaller pieces and melt till velvety. 

Drizzle melted chocolate all over the popcorn.

Sprinkle with sea salt flakes here and there. Wait till the chocolate has been cooled off then you can break the popcorn to smaller pieces and store in a container.

The 70% dark chocolate used here will give you a not so sweet result popcorn. So if you're looking for that sugary satisfaction, use 50% chocolate or even milk chocolate instead.

Other popcorn recipes:

• Caramel popcorn with pecans
• Lightly sweetened popcorn sprinkled with salt flakes

Simple Crêpes with Maple Syrup and Blueberries

For first timers, I highly recommend using non-stick pan and perhaps wear some type of thin but heat resistant gloves when making crêpes. It'll make sure the batter won't stick onto the pan. Also you'll find it much easier flipping the crêpes with your hands instead of using a spatula.

Simple crêpes with maple syrup and blueberries - 

Ingredients (about 7 to 9 medium large sized crêpes)?

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup drinkable water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Small pinch salt
• Some powdered sugar
• Some maple syrup or honey
• Some fresh berries (optional)

How?

Melt the butter or wait till it softened naturally in room temperature. Aim for melted but not hot butter. 

Once butter reaches desired consistency and temperature, transfer the butter to a big mixing bowl. Break and beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl then add to the butter. Also add 1 1/3 cups of milk, 1 cup of room temperature water, and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix till blended.

Don't worry about the consistency of the batter yet. The batter might look lumpy here and there but once adding in the dry ingredients it'll look way better.

So sift in the flour along with small pinch of salt. Whisk till evenly blended. The batter should look quite smooth now and almost as liquidy as heavy cream. You can adjust by adding more milk or flour if needed. 

Bring out a non-stick pan and turn to medium heat. Once the pan turns warm, use a ladle and scoop some batter to the pan. Quickly swirl the pan to even out the batter before the bottom starts to set. You might have to remove the pan from heat while doing it. 

By the way, there's no need to butter the pan since we added melted butter to the batter, and preferably using a non-stick pan here especially for first timers.

It'll only take about 45 seconds or so, flip the crêpe to the other side and cook for another 40 to 45 seconds. You'll know it's time to flip when the crêpe can be picked up without breaking apart. After a first couple tries you'll get braver and start to cook the batter longer, perhaps even till the center starts to turn slightly golden.

I prefer to work with my hands with gloves. It's much easier to pick up the crêpe and flip it compared to using any type of spatula. When the crêpe is ready, simply move it to a big plate and continue with the next one.

Repeat the steps for the remaining batter. Just stack up cooked crêpes on top of one another, they won't stick so don't worry. In fact, the heat will help the crêpes to keep a bit moisture instead of drying up.

To serve the crêpes, I fold each crêpe in half, then in half again to get triangles. But of course you can roll or fold them into other shapes.

I chose to drizzle some maple syrup then dust with powdered sugar, and served with fresh blueberries. It's more like a refreshing way to enjoy the crêpes. 

However before folding, I think spreading nutella all over one side of the crêpe then roll it up sounds super delicious. Especially once you level up with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries. 

These are two ideas for sweet crêpes, but I think I'll try something savory next time. If you got any great flavor combo for savory crêpes, don't be shy, just leave a comment and let me know. I'll be much appreciated. 

Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce All Over

I've got this wonderful recipe from RecipeTin Eats. Link over if you would like to see the original post. I basically followed exactly what she instructed on the website, and I think it's nice to see how the original recipe turned out from a regular housewife's hands.

Hot chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce all over - 

Ingredients (about one 8-inch/20-centimeter round pan)? 

Dry:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet:

• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup whole milk (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup drinkable hot water (boiling ok)
• 75 grams unsalted butter (melted but not too hot)
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate sauce:

• 125ml heavy whipping cream
• 100 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips (dark chocolate ok)

Other:

• Some vanilla ice cream (green tea sounds good too)

How?

Try to find something close to 8-inch/20-centimeter round baking pan. I used a bit larger sized pan and later on had to fix up another smaller pan, otherwise I'll end up with a thin layer of cake, too thin to enjoy.

Line the bottom of the baking pan with parchment paper. You can fold the paper and give it a rough measure. 

I also line up the side too, just in case the cake won't unmold nicely after all that hard word. Better safe than sorry.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt the butter first. Also remove one egg and 1/2 cup of milk from the fridge, so both of them can come close to room temperature when needed.

Whisk all the ingredients listed under the "dry" section to a big container. 

Add in all the ingredients listed under the "wet" section except the hot water.

Mix till evenly blended. I used a plastic spatula for that purpose. Lastly, pour in hot water and mix till incorporated again.

Pour the batter to the round pan. 

Into the oven for 40 minutes. Once ready, turn-off the heat and let the cake sit in the oven for another 10 minutes. After that, remove the baking pan from heat, let it rest in room temperate for 10 minutes before unmolding.

While the cake is still baking, it's a good time to start making the chocolate sauce. Pour the heavy whipping cream to a medium pot and slowly heating it up using low heat. Wait till the cream is hot and just about to bubble, turn-off the heat immediately.

Add in the chocolate chips and let it sit untouched for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, start folding the chocolate into the cream. Keep folding till all the chocolate has been melted and blended together with the cream. 

Put the chocolate sauce aside. Only need to fold again when about to drizzle onto the cake.

So when the cake is finally ready, slice and serve with some ice cream. I'd say vanilla works the best, but green tea brings in a fun twist too. Drizzle the chocolate sauce all over then hurry and dig in.

The cake was wonderful, though not as moist as I would hoped, but still very delicious. Since it's just me and Mister, we can't finish all the cake at once, and it's hard to keep the chocolate sauce under room temperature for extended period of time.

So I simply poured all the chocolate sauce to the sliced cake and stored in the fridge. The sauce will harden just a wee bit, but overall still velvety. 

Other dessert recipes:

• Manuka honey cookies 
• Foolproof rustic lemon cookies
• Caramel popcorn with pecans