Today’s easy dessert recipe post is a chocolate trifle recipe that you can quickly make with little effort, as always. Feel free to experiment by swapping the ingredients like heath bars or brownies with anything else you may desire. You could even buy ready made brownies…

Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
½ bag of heath bar crumbles

Directions:

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.

In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Sprinkle heath crumbles onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Prep Time 30 Min
Cook Time 25 Min
Ready In 8 Hr 55 Min

*Recipe and photo from Examiner

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Gelatin is derived from partially hydrolyzed collagen, which is a protein that is found in animal skin and bones. It is used as a thickening agent in many different desserts that are normally served cold. These desserts include jellies, mousses, and other such popular delights. This article gives you the basic tips and techniques that you will need to know when using gelatin in making gelatin desserts.

1. Types of Gelatin

Gelatin can commonly be found in two forms, namely powdered or granulated gelatin and sheet or leaf gelatin. Both of these different forms of gelatins can be substituted into each other in a recipe, weight for weight. Granulated gelatin, as the name mentions, is found in the form of small granules. Sheet gelatin is in the form of thin, transparent gelatin sheets. Sheet gelatin is more popularly used than granulated gelatin, though it is the more expensive.

2. Preparing the Gelatin

Before using any type of gelatin, it is necessary to let them sit in cold water first for several minutes. This is in order to let the gelatin molecules be separated so that they do not clump together later on when placed in a warm liquid, and this process is commonly called the ‘blooming’.

When using granulated gelatin, let it sit in about four time its weight in cold water. After it has bloomed, which may take five or ten minutes, you will notice the water will have been absorbed and the granulated gelatin will appear to have expanded in size. Then you need to melt the gelatin over a double boiler. It is important to use a double boiler, as you should never bring it to a boil or the gelatin will scorch.

When using sheet gelatin, separate the sheets and let them sit in a large bowl of cold water. They may take longer to bloom, so make sure you soak them in the cold water until they are very soft. After they have bloomed, squeeze out all the water, and then place them into your warm liquid. It is not necessary to melt the sheet gelatin beforehand like you do for the granulated gelatin, as the sheet gelatin melts much more easily.

3. Precautions

It is important to make sure all your molds and other equipment are prepared beforehand. You don’t want your mixture to set while you are busy getting out the mold and pans.

As mentioned before, gelatin is derived from protein. It is important that you be careful of using certain fruits that contain the enzyme protease, which is a protein cutting enzyme. If your gelatin comes into contact with this enzyme, its molecules will be cut down until they are far too small for your mixture to set. Fruits which contain this enzyme include the kiwi, pineapple, papaya, pawpaw, and figs. When using such fruits, it is important that they are cooked or canned, as this will cause the enzymes to be denatured and thus rendered inactive.

Conclusion

These are the basic tips and techniques which you need to know when making your gelatin dessert. If you follow these rules, then you’ll have no problem whipping up a jelly delight.

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Running into the problem of seized chocolate is something that happens quite often in the kitchen. Especially if you are rushing to prepare a delicious chocolate dessert for your guests, and do not take enough care to handle your chocolate well. This article explains a bit about the seizing process, and how you can bring your seized chocolate back to life.

Why chocolate seizing happens

Apart from the cocoa butter that is known to be found in chocolate, other dry ingredients such as cocoa solids and sugar are also present. When melted chocolate is exposed to water, these dry ingredients start to clump to each other, resulting in your chocolate becoming seized. It doesn’t take a lot of water to cause seizing to occur. Just a tiny drop will be enough to cause your chocolate to start clumping together in grainy masses. Even water in the form of steam shouldn’t go near your chocolate.

Seizing isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes the seizing process can be taken advantage of to reduce the fluidity of the chocolate, such as when you need to do some piping with the chocolate. But for most purposes, the occurrence of seizing is a bad thing. So how can you cure your chocolate of this calamity and bring it back?

Bringing back seized chocolate

First, take your chocolate off the heat. In order to bring back seized chocolate, you will need some fat in the form of vegetable oil or shortening, cocoa butter, or clarified butter. Add slowly in small amounts and keep stirring until your chocolate eventually comes back to normal… Well, almost normal. After this process your chocolate will probably be too soft for dipping, but you can still use it for other baking purposes that require melted chocolate.

Prevention is better than cure

In order to avoid the troubles that come with seized chocolate, it is best to follow some basic measures so that you can prevent it from happening in the first place. Before melting your chocolate, ensure that all your utensils and equipment are as dry as can be. Avoid using wooden spoons or other wooden tools, as their porous nature means that they are likely to retain moisture between their tiny cracks.

When melting chocolate, it is important that you never cover it with a lid, as moisture can condense on the lid and drop into your chocolate. When using a double boiler, be especially careful that the water in the lower container does not come into contact with the upper container that is holding your chocolate. When taking off the container holding the chocolate, always remember to wipe off the moisture underneath it using a cloth. If you do not do this, you run the risk of water getting into your chocolate.

If you plan to use a microwave instead of a double-boiler, then be careful that the container you use for microwaving it in does not retain a lot of heat after few minutes of microwaving. If not, it could be too hot for the chocolate. Set the heating level on your microwave to low, and occasionally stop to stir in between.

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This article contains several tips for preparing diet-friendly desserts while still satisfying your sweet tooth. After reading this, you will be able to cut the calories you consume by half or even more.

1. Choosing your dessert recipe

A good way to start off with getting a diet-friendly dessert on the table is to choose a dessert recipe that is geared toward health or diet conscious people. This saves you the trouble of having to substitute ingredients here and there if you are not too confident about doing so. The creators of such recipes have already taken the trouble and consideration of matters related to diet while trying their best to keep the dessert recipe delicious.

Look for specific dessert recipes that are categorized as being low-fat, sugar-free, guilt-free, light, or healthy. You might also want to consider looking for dessert recipes that are for diabetics, people with milk allergies, and so on.

Additionally, recent studies have shown that as cookbook editions evolve, the number of calories for the recipes in the book increase by almost half. This may be attributed to adjustments for the current trends in consuming extra sweet, extra heavy, unhealthy foods. In general, when looking for a dessert recipe, go for older edition cookbooks, as they will be much better for your weight.

2. Substituting ingredients

Where possible, use low-fat or fat-free ingredients. When not possible, in most recipes, there are several ingredients which can easily be substituted with more diet-friendly alternatives. These commonly include butter, sugar, egg yolks, milk, flour, and several others. When in doubt, replace only half of the ingredient amount.

Yogurt can easily be used as a substitute for high-fat baking ingredients such as butter, shortening, oil, sour cream, or even milk. Of course, you will want to choose low-fat or fat-free varieties of yogurt.

White flour can often be substituted with whole-wheat flour for a recipe with fewer calories, much more fiber, and you also get more calcium and protein too. It is probably best to only replace half of the white flour with the whole-wheat flour if you are unsure whether the recipe will turn out right.

Sugar can often be replaced with sugar substitutes such as Splenda or stevia for sweetening foods. I generally prefer stevia, as it is a natural herb which has shown very promising results in medicinal use throughout history. In comparison, Splenda is an artificially developed sweetener which has shown remote possibilities of causing health side-effects.

Search for stevia or Splenda dessert recipes to find recipes specifically made for these sugar substitutes. Another popular alternative to sugar is using fruit purees. If you do need to use sugar, then it is much better to use natural cane sugar, then the refined and processed white sugar.

Egg yolks can easily be replaced with egg whites in most recipes. One egg yolk can be substituted with two egg whites.

When making chocolate dessert, it is better to use dark chocolate in place of the other types of chocolate. Other than the fact that dark chocolate contains antioxidants, it contains less sugar than milk and white chocolate, giving it that rich and intense taste that also fills you up quicker.

3. Additional ingredients

Most of the time we think that the best way to make our desserts more diet-friendly is to cut down on everything. Well, that does help, but you can improve your desserts by adding certain ingredients too.

It is common for people to add oats to their recipes to increase the amount of fiber present. Fiber in a recipe helps to cleanse fat from the body and also prevents constipation. For best results, look for recipes that already contain ingredients with lots of fiber, such as oatmeal cookies.

Many people also enjoy adding ground flaxseed to their recipes to improve the nutritional benefits of their meal.

4. Size of the recipe

Making smaller portions of a dessert can help you to eat less and feel full sooner. In general, just a few mouthfuls of the sweets should be enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. So, divide your recipe in half, make your portions small, and you will lower the chances of over-eating. Eat a small portion, satisfy your sweet tooth, and that’s enough.

Remember that moderation is the key. Eating one small piece of chocolate dessert won’t make you fat. It’s eating twenty small pieces of chocolate dessert that will make you fat.

5. Use lots of fruits

In the old days, people used to eat fresh, stewed, or cooked fruits for dessert, as they did not have the luxury of sweet, delicious pastries that we have today. Just having fruits for dessert, prepared in various ways, can be enough to satisfy you. The natural sugars present in fruits are good for satisfying a sweet tooth and they are healthy for your body too.

Prepare fruits in different ways, and use them extensively as toppings on cakes and pies instead of whipped cream or icing. Serve fresh fruit with low fat yogurt for an amazingly light dessert experience. You can serve fruit juices for dessert too, or even freeze them into popsicles.

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Today’s easy dessert recipe is a white chocolate strawberry pie recipe that can be made very easily. White chocolate and strawberry has always been an attractive combination…

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 8oz. can crushed pinapple
1 8oz. ctn. strawberry cheescake yogurt
1 small box instant white chocolate pudding mix
2/3 cup toasted coconut, divided
1 (9in.) shortbread cookie or graham cracker crust
6 to 8 fresh strawberries, sliced or chopped
whipped topping

Directions:

Combine pineapple, yogurt, pudding mix and 1/2 cup coconut, mixing will. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping and strawberries. Spoon mixture into crust. Top with remaining whipped topping and sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

*Recipe adapted from ‘From Bucks to The Farm’ by Liz Turner

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Chocolate-covered strawberries are a great choice for an elegant easy dessert if you are looking for something that can easily be made in large quantities, while still giving your guests that fresh, sweet sensation. This article covers several tips and ideas you can use while making these miniature delights.

1. Choosing your strawberries

In choosing your strawberries, ensure that the surface has a smooth and consistent red sheen all across. There should be no brown spots or mold on your strawberries. Sometimes the colour of a strawberry may vary in different shades of red across its surface and this is fine. However, look out for colours of green or white on the strawberries as this is an indicator that they are not fully ripe. Strawberries that are too dark red are overripe.

Also, make sure that the stem of the strawberry is not drying up. Store strawberries covered in the fridge when they are not in use. The sooner you use them the better.

2. Choosing your chocolate

In choosing you chocolate, go with the flavour you desire, whether it be dark, milk, or white chocolate. Use a combination of all three for variety and class. Many people find that the easiest type of chocolate to work with is the chocolate melting wafer, or chocolate chips. Alternatively, you can use chopped chocolate as well.

3. Preparing the strawberries

Wash the strawberries gently with cold water before using them. One way you may want to do it is to fill a bowl with cold water and rub your strawberries gently. If you see a lot of sand accumulating at the bottom of the bowl, you know that they are very sandy so ensure that they are thoroughly cleaned.

After cleaning is done, dry the strawberries very gently by patting with an absorbent paper towel, and then you may leave them to dry further on another towel. Always make sure they are dry enough before you start dipping them in chocolate or else the chocolate may not stick properly and the water will cause the chocolate to seize.

4. Preparing the chocolate

It is best to use tempered chocolate for dipping strawberries as it gives a crisp and glossy texture. Tempered chocolate also keeps for a longer time without the formation of white spots. However, if you are going to serve the strawberries soon after, then this may not be a problem that affects you.

An alternative to tempered chocolate for a smooth, shiny texture is to use a bit of butter, shortening, or vegetable oil with the chocolate. Melt the ingredients over a double boiler and stir well.

5. Putting everything together

Prepare a tray lined with parchment paper or waxed paper for putting your strawberries in. Place everything in a row, starting with the strawberries, then the chocolate, and lastly the tray. Go from left to right, or right to left, based on whether you are left or right-handed. This will make things easier for you.

Hold onto the strawberry stem and dip the strawberry into the chocolate until it is about three-quarters dipped. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, and then place your strawberry onto the tray with parchment or waxed paper. Let your chocolate-covered strawberries sit on the counter and dry.

6. Decorating ideas

Before the chocolate dries, you may cover it with nuts, sprinkles, coconut, or anything else your heart desires. You may even like to try dipping the chocolate-covered strawberry in another flavor of chocolate to give it two flavors and colors. Another thing you can do is to use a teaspoon, dip it into some chocolate and drizzle it over your strawberry to give it a drizzled effect. Putting some chocolate in a piping bag and piping something unique onto the strawberries can also be done.

7. Serving ideas

You may want to use the strawberries together with another dessert, or just serve them on their own. Serve them nicely arranged on dishes or on trays. You can have them served in paper doilies as well. You might even want to send them to friends as a gift.

A fun idea that you can try is instead of having premade chocolate-covered strawberries, prepare some chocolate fondue, along with bowls containing toppings like sprinkles and nuts. Let your guests dip the strawberries in themselves and choose to cover it in whatever they want.

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Everyone loves creme brulee. I think… Well if you do enjoy a good creme brulee now and then, then this easy dark chocolate creme brulee is just the right thing for you. Happy Valentine’s Day and enjoy:

Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces 53 percent dark chocolate, broken into small pieces, or 2/3 cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 6 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided

Directions:

Yield: 6 servings

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place cream, half-and-half and vanilla in large saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth.

Whisk egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar in large mixer bowl. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture.

Pour mixture through fine sieve into six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in 13-by-9-inch baking dish; fill pan with hot water to 1-inch depth.

Bake for 40 minutes or until custards jiggle slightly when pan is shaken. Cool custards in water until cool enough to handle. Remove custards from water; refrigerate for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap; continue to refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over top of each custard. Place custards on baking sheet. Broil for 3 minutes or until sugar is melted and caramelized (rotate pan as needed to prevent burning). Alternately, tops can be caramelized using kitchen torch. Refrigerate for 2 hours so that the topping can harden and the custard can cool and set.

*Recipe and photo from Nestle

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There are an unlimited number of common reasons why a person may fail at baking something. However, in general, all these reasons can be broken down into four common causes for failure in baking: your ingredients, your equipment, your environment, and yourself. If you understand these four key factors, which contribute to all common baking failures, and set measures to prevent them, you will find that your failing rate will go down. I guarantee it.

1. Your ingredients

One of the four most common causes of baking failure, your ingredients are the most important part of the baking process. Why? Because they make up the final product that you get, of course. It is all too often that people jump into baking without understanding what their ingredients are for, what their ingredients do, and how their ingredients affect the baking process. If you take some time to read up a bit about the ingredients you are using in your baking, and get to understand them better, then there is no doubt that you will definitely improve to the point of not making any mistakes.

Sometimes, you may have unluckily gotten a bad recipe. The recipe either gives you the wrong measurement for ingredients, or maybe it gives you the directions but not very clearly. The problems from this too can be avoided by better understanding of the ingredients, their combinations, and the methods required to mix them.

2. Your equipment

The equipment you use is a very essential part of the baking process, but it is so often overlooked. Just like with your ingredients, you have to understand your equipment well. I’m not saying that you have to be an electrician or mechanic, but at the very least you should know the ins and outs of the baking equipment you use in your own home, and the best equipment for the job. Every single thing you use, from the cake pan to the mixing bowl, can affect your baking and cause you to fail.

It would be impossible to mention every aspect, but just for the sake of illustration let us take the cake pan as an example. Different cake pans will lead to different outcomes for your cake. Dark-colored baking pans will require a lower baking temperature than shiny, light-colored ones. Some cakes require you to grease and flour your cake pans, and some do not.

3. Your environment

Your environment doesn’t cause you to fail as often as the other factors, but it does play tricks on you from time to time. Things like the weather and temperature of the air can affect your baking tremendously. The altitude in which you are baking will affect several factors too. Therefore, it is important that you understand how your environment affects the baking process.

4. Yourself

In the end, all the three factors above lead to the problem of ‘yourself’. It’s because you didn’t understand how your ingredients, your equipment, and your environment affect the baking process that you find yourself presented with the problem of failure. Sometimes you may have been careless, and not followed the directions specified in the recipe correctly. Other times you may have been in a hurry and done everything in a rush without thinking and preparation.

Conclusion

Once you cover these four bases, you will significantly lower your failure rate. And in the unlikely situation that you fail after that, you will probably understand why you failed, and know how to avoid it in the future.

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Hello everyone! And welcome to yet another easy dessert recipe. Things have been very busy here as a very special Valentines Day surprise is being planned for readers. Well, surprise might not be the right word to use in this case. Maybe you could call it a crazy Valentines idea and/or experiment? You might not even be surprised… Well, anyway if you want to be the first to know about what’s being planned in the coming days, just follow this blog on Twitter, or subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Back to our topic today, we have here a very delicious quick and easy dessert recipe from Dessert Express: 100 Sweet Treats You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less by Lauren Chattman. These chocolate marshmallow cookies are just the thing you need if an impressive dessert that doesn’t take much of your time is what you are looking for. Enjoy:

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Ingredients:

12 Carr’s whole wheat biscuits
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
8 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

Put biscuits on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Top each biscuit with a rounded heaping tablespoonful of marshmallow. Place baking sheet in freezer 10 minutes to firm up.

Combine chocolate and oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave oven on high power 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Spoon some chocolate over each biscuit to coat completely. Return baking sheet to freezer for another 10 minutes, until chocolate is set. Refrigerate up to 6 hours, until ready to serve. Makes 12 cookies.

*Recipe and photo from Dessert Express: 100 Sweet Treats You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less

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Today’s post is a mini version of the popular molten chocolate cake and it can easily be made at home. If you’ve never eaten one before, be careful, because it’s really very delicious. Believe me. You don’t want to eat too much of this easy dessert recipe. I remember once, while I was working, I accidentally ate too much of the molten chocolate cake I made and as a result, I felt so sick the whole day and was stumbling through the bakeshop:

Easy Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature; plus extra for muffin pan
1/3 cup granulated sugar plus extra for muffin pan
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all purpose-flour
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Garnish:
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 4 cups of a standard muffin pan. Dust the pan lightly with granulated sugar, flip over and tap out the excess sugar. Set the pan aside for now.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and 1/3 cup granulated sugar until its fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Set the mixer to low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in the chocolate but (do not over mix). Divide the batter evenly among the 4 prepared muffin cups.

Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, just until the tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken. Remove the muffin pan from the oven. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Turn the muffin pan over and gently tap the bottom, the cakes should pop out, place them on serving plate’s right side up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!

*Recipe and photo from Examiner.com

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