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Tag: desserts (Page 2 of 2)

Pasquier Macarons – Ooh La la

August 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I’ve finally found a brand of macarons worth the hype

My oldest daughter loves macarons – which really the only reason I ever buy them, or eat them. I’ve tried a few here and there: frozen and fresh ones from the supermarket or specialty stores, gourmet ones from French bakeries, both in the US and in Paris, and I’ve even made them myself – but I never have really gotten the point of them. They usually consist of a too-dry-cookie with an underwhelming filling. I’ve never been impressed, until now.

I’m pleased to say that Pasquier makes the best macarons that I’ve ever had and that they are easily available and not too expensive (as far as macarons go, these are very expensive pastries to begin with). The cookies are moist while still having a bit of crunch, and the flavors of both the cookie and the filling are explosive. They are just delicious.

The macarons come in six flavors: vanilla, pistachio, caramel, raspberry, lemon and chocolate, and I can’t say I have a favorite (OK, maybe pistachio, but maybe lemon). They all hit the right spot, albeit with a tiny bit too much sweetness. They are tiny, I’d say the size of a silver dollar if I remembered just how big those were. But if you can resist not emptying the box, you do get a lot of flavor for your buck. They are made in France, they are refrigerated and you must consume them within 2 days of opening the box. I don’t think you’ll have trouble.


I found them at Grocery Outlet for $5 for a box of 12 (5.6 oz total), but they also seem to be available at Sprouts and Good Eggs for $7-8 and at Target for $11.

Goya Platanos Maduros – Fried Plantains Review

October 3, 2021 / / 4 Comments

Good, quick dessert from an evil company

As a matter of course, I try to avoid buying Goya products, but I needed to get a few things to meet the minimum for deliver through Instacart, and I figure I might as well tried these. I was pleasantly surprised. The frozen fried plantains are heated up in the microwave for a couple of minutes, so it’s basically an instant dessert. They are quite sweet, and not too mushy, and they pair well with either ice cream or whipped cream. It’s a rather rich dessert, so though the 11 oz package (pictured above after microwaving) doesn’t seem like much, it should be able to feed 3-4 people. It was on sale through Instacart for $3 at Cardenas market. I’m going to look to see if there is a similar product from a manufacturer other than Goya.

Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe

November 29, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I made this recipe for vegan pecan pie for Thanksgiving, and my vegan daughter was quite happy with it. Unlike most vegan pie recipes this one didn’t use corn syrup and it wasn’t too sweet. It had the right consistency, however, and the pie set perfectly – no need for eggs.

I was cheap and made it using a Safeway refrigerated pie shell and it was horrible! There are far better vegan pie shells out there. The filling, though, was good:

Ingredients

  • 1 pie shell
  • 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
  • 3 Tbsp cup corn starch
  • 2 Tbsp vegan butter
  • 6 oz pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pie crust for 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl. whisk together the coconut milk and corn starch until dissolved. Set aside.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it melts. Add the pecans and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Whisk in the coconut milk mixture, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.

Pour the mixture onto the pie crust. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Cool on the counter for two hours and then let cool completely on the fridge.

Adapted from Ana’s recipe at Making thyme for health

Easy Pear Tart

February 27, 2019 / / 0 Comments
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“These pears are getting soft,” my daughter announced from the kitchen.

I sighed. I buy so many produce that goes bad because the child that requested it forgets about it. Indeed, I buy so much food that goes bad before anyone uses it. As it happened, at that very moment I had a two or three week old puff pastry sheet in my fridge. I’d bought a package to make mushroom empanadas for my vegan daughter and only used one sheet.

The softening pears I knew I could use – but the puff pastry? I searched online and found people asking if they could use it a few days to a week after putting it in the fridge – but two to three weeks? That seemed crazy! Still, my pastry sheets did not smell bad, they had no hint of mold in them (I do keep my fridge very cold), they were not slimy and they only had a couple of spots were they’d dried out and even then, not too much. So what the heck! I figured I’d use them.

I placed the puff pastry on a cutting board and rolled it a bit with a rolling pin. Then I transferred it to a lined cookie sheet. I sliced the pears somewhat thinly (I used the two large ones I had) and placed the pear slices on the puff pastry. I mixed some raw sugar with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and sprinkled it on the pears. Then I ground some almonds and sprinkled these on top.

I put the baking sheet in the fridge and turn on the oven to 400F. Once it was preheated, I put the baking sheet in the oven and baked it for about 20 minutes.

The results were great. Really, really delicious. And vegan!

Vegan Chocolate Tart

January 5, 2019 / / 0 Comments

This year, I made a beautiful chocolate tart for dessert for my Christmas Eve dinner – and that meant I had to make a vegan alternative for my vegan daughter. This recipe had great reviews, so I decided to make it for her. It took some doing, as the recipe called for Medjool dates and a specific brand/type of chocolate, which the recipe-maker insisted was just the best. Only after I’d searched for and found the chocolate (at Walgreen of all places) I realized that her post was actually sponsored by that chocolate brand. As it turned out, this chocolate was probably too dark for this cake. It would have probably worked best with 50-60% cocoa content chocolate. Just make sure you look at the ingredients to make sure it’s vegan.

Medjool dates are a particularly sweet type of dates that cannot be substituted by regular ones. Neither of my local supermarkets carried them but I was able to find them at Trader Joe’s (I think).

As other chocolate tart, this tart is beautiful when topped with fresh berries and mint leaves – which also provide a nice light tart contrast to the very rich chocolate.

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 8 pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 cup peeled almonds
  • 1 oz semisweet vegan chocolate, chopped and melted
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • pinch of salt

For the filling:

  • 3.5 oz semisweet vegan chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • 8 pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Put the dates and almonds in a food processor and process until the mixture is very fine. Add the melted chocolate, melted coconut oil and salt and process until they are fully incorporated.

Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of a tart pan. Place in the refrigerator and cool until the crust has set.

Meanwhile, make the filling.

In a small saucepan, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil. Mix in coconut cream. Transfer to a clean food processor bowl. Add dates and vanilla extract. Process until all ingredients are combined and have a smooth, pudding-like consistency.

Add the filling to the crust. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Top with berries, mint and whipped coconut cream, if desired.

Adapted from Regina’s recipe at Leelalicious

Banana Cream Pie and Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

April 22, 2018 / / 0 Comments

I had a couple of pie shells that I had to use today so I decided to make pies – I had bananas and coconut, so banana and coconut cream pies were the obvious choices.  The recipe for the custard on the pie is the same, I just doubled it and used half over bananas and half mixed with coconut.  The pies were simply delicious.  I used the egg whites to make a meringue topping – just so I I could do something with them – but you can serve the pie with whipped cream instead.  Unfortunately I don’t have a broiler in my oven, so it didn’t come out as well as it could.  The pie itself was delicious, however.

  • 1 9″ pie shell
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 large bananas, sliced OR 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
  • whipped cream

Topping

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 3 Tbsp sugar

Bake the pie shell according to instructions or your recipe. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350F

Beat egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.

Place sugar, flour and salt in a medium sauce pan and place on the stove over medium heat.  Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil, lower the temperature and cook for two minutes.  Scoop a ladle of custard from the sauce pan and transfer to the bowl with the egg yolks. Mix well.  Pour egg yolk mixture back into the sauce pan, mix and cook for two more minutes.  Mix in the butter and vanilla extract, stirring until they are incorporated.

If making a banana cream pie, place the banana slices on the bottom of the pie shell, then pour custard over it.

If making a coconut pie, stir the coconut into the custard.

Pour the custard into the pie shell.  Bake for 12′.  Cool and then transfer to the refrigerator for an hour.

If making the meringue, using the whisk attachment in an electric mixer, beat together the egg whites and cream and tartar until it becomes foamy.  Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until it forms stiff peaks.  Spoon meringue onto the cooled pie and put under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.

Adapted from Rudy Pfeffer’s recipe at Allrecipes.com

Marga’s Favorite Recipes

Trader Joe’s Classic Lemon Bars

December 29, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Lemon-BarsI got these to serve as the last course of my 13-course Xmas Eve dinner and they were perfect.  Indeed, these were very good lemon bars overall. They come frozen, and the curd is perhaps more cream-like and less sticky than that of a regular lemon bar, but it had the right degree of balance between sweetness and sourness, and they were the perfect size for an after dinner bite.  All in all very satisfying for anyone who likes lemon bars.

Peanut Butter Trifle – Recipe

January 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments

One of my Facebook friends posts pictures of beautiful desserts from time to time, and some time ago I chanced upon one of peanut butter trifle.  I loved the idea and immediately decided that I would make it for Christmas.  It was  a great success.  I loved it!  Note that this is a pretty rich dessert, but not particularly sweet (or it doesn’t have to be, how much sugar you put is up to you).

For my trifle I used this recipe from the how sweet it is blog, but you can pretty much layer anything you want.

I served these trifle in 8-oz wine glasses, this recipe made 8 to 10

Ingredients for the Trifle

  • 1/2 batch brownies, cut in 1″ cubes
  • peanut butter cream (recipe below)
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cups
  • 3 cups chocolate pudding (you can use instant)
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 Tbsp. white sugar

Instructions

Place a layer of brownies at the bottom of the serving dish(es).  Then layer the peanut butter cream, peanut butter cups & chocolate pudding.  Top with whipped cream and brownie crumbs.

Refrigerate until serving.

Ingredients for the Peanut Butter Cream

  •  3/4 cup creamy unsalted natural peanut butter
  • 6 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 tsp. sugar

Instructions for the Peanut Butter Cream

Using an electric mixer, whip the peanut butter and cream cheese together until combined.  Add the sugar and mix until dissolved.  Add the milk and mix again.  Fold in the whipped cream into the mixture.

Marga’s 2012 Xmas Eve Dinner
Marga’s Best Recipes

Frozen sweets @ Grocery Outlet

November 4, 2009 / / 1 Comment

brickleroad.jpgThis week I found Ben & Jerry’s Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road ice cream at Grocery Outlet. This “limited edition” ice cream once again reminds us of the fact that without Ben and Jerry, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is completely lost. Indeed, how long has it been since they’ve come up with any ice cream flavors that have been successful? By now, all they seem to do is either randomly assemble flavors or play it safe and boringly. This ice cream, as most of its predecessors, is a complete failure. It mostly tastes of mediocre chocolate ice cream, sometimes of caramel, and never of anything special. No wonder it ended up at GO, for $1.50 a pint.
slcheesecake.jpgI haven’t had Sarah Lee Frozen Cheesecake (original or New York) for years, but if you’ve been craving some, GO has the little ones on sale for $2. Seems like a pretty good deal.

pastrydough.jpgOf greater interest to those of us planning holiday dinners and parties, GO is selling Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets for $2 a package! These usually sell for about $6 a package. Expiration is 12/23/09 – but I’m sure they’ll be fine for Xmas dinner.

Finally, GO has Cantare Mini Baked Brie en Croute on the refrigerated cabinets, by the diary products. A package of 12 brie/cranberry pastries is $2 and one of 12 brie/cranberry and 12 brie/jalapeno is $4. They expire in 1/10. The kids and I liked the cranberry kind quite a bit – they cook in 6 minutes, so they’re a great choice for your holiday parties.

Trader Joe’s goodies

August 8, 2004 / / 3 Comments

We just made another trip to Trader Joe’s so I figure I’ll write a few words about new products we’d bought. I’ll keep adding more items to this posting as we try them.
–Corinthians Chocolate Cream Wafers. These are very long cylinders filled with dark chocolate cream. They are very brittle and most of them seemed to have broken at least in two even before we open the can. They are good and addictive but not as good as others I’ve had. I probably shouldn’t buy them again.
–Think Thin Sugar Free Sour Citrus Slices. These are little soft candies in sour flavors. Mike bought then and didn’t like them as they weren’t very sweet, though he says they are growing on him.
–Piccolo Limone Italiano. This pre-squeezed lemon juice comes in a little plastic bottle in the shape of a lemon. Unlike other commercial lemon juice, it’s neither lemon juice from concentrate, or pure-lemon juice. Instead it’s a mixture of water, lemon juice, citric acid and lemon oil. It does need to be refrigerated after opening it. It was quite good, it had a distinctive lemon-oil flavor that I actually found quite pleasant on top of last nights milanesas. Of course, fresh lemon is better – but if you don’t have your own lemon tree it can be quite expensive.
–Kettle Corn. Though obviously not as freshly made as the kettle corn from the farmers market, it tasted quite fresh. It was very good, but much sweeter than the farmer’s market stuff. That’s not bad in itself, though a concern if you’re watching your sugar intake.
–Orange Chicken. This is a frozen product that has to be heated by baking or sauteeing (in 1/2 cup vegetable oil!). I was VERY dissapointed. The chicken was pretty tasteless without the sauce, and the sauce was too runny and not very good. It didn’t really taste much like orange and not at all like the sauces you get at Chinese restaurants. Given how much time it takes to make this dish, and how it’s not microwabable, it’s certainly not worth it. It probably wouldn’t be worth it either if it was microwabable.
–Chicken Curry. This is a frozen entree under TJ’s label. It was very disappointing, much worse than the other frozen Indian entrees that TJ sells under a different label. The “basmati rice” was long-grain and may have been basmati, but it was completely tasteless. The curry had very few pieces of chicken and the spicy sauce tasted mostly of cinnamon. It was edible but not enjoyable.

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