Last week was a great week. The upside was that I celebrated not only one, but three, special occasions: wedding anniversary, birthday and mother's day. The downside was that all my celebrations come together within a few days.
It was also a time for a lot of desserts. Now we all know how I feel about desserts - everything in moderation. If you're feeling moderate, why not try out one of these gems.
Chocolate Cake served with Ganache Sauce
This was my birthday treat, because it looks really well decorated with chocolate ganache. The chocolate ganache when cooled can be whipped to use as a thick topping or poured on and left to set for a few hours. Serve sliced and when warmed (in the microwave for 30 - 60 seconds), the ganache will melt making a warm sauce. Yummy.
We all remember lemon meringue pie, well these are the pots without the pastry base. This is very pretty served in small glasses. They have a deliciously sour sweet taste, particularly refreshing after a meal with strong spicy flavour like a curry. I'm had this dessert with my larger gatherings of friends and family, served in shot glasses, mainly because it's very generous in the sugar department. Why try one of the sugar replacements like Xylitol or coconut palm sugar.
This is a standard dessert that I would serve to the family quite often. It's relatively healthy and I always use fruit in season, plums or apples, but I also managed to get my hands on some sticks of rhubarb, my favourite fruit. Serve with hot custard or Greek yoghurt.
Doesn't this dessert sound challenging. Surprise surprise, it's probably one of the easiest but yet impressive desserts to serve at a party. In advance, I usually prepare and cook the apples according to the recipe and roll out the pastry. Just before serving the main course, I'll place the pastry onto the apples and pop it into the oven to cook while we enjoy the mains. Serve hot with cream or natural yoghurt.
And following the theme of store cupboard recipes, you can't go far wrong with a basic dessert made from eggs, milk and flour. Really thin pancakes make the best dessert and while I'm a traditionalist, preferring lemon and sugar, chocolate or maple syrup and bananas are equally as good.