Category: Desserts

Buche de Noel (or Chocolate Roll)

Buche de Noel (or Chocolate Roll)
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Buche de Noel (or Chocolate Roll)

Recipe by La Bellitude
Servings

4

servings

This delicious Christmas favorite is just as delicious at any time with the “log stripes” and holly removed. The cake roll can be any type you like, and the outer frosting can also be changed. Have fun experimenting!

Ingredients

  • 5 eggs, separated
    ⅔ cup sugar
    3 tbsp cocoa powder
    2 tbsp flour
    1 tub chocolate frosting
    1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions

  • Grease a jelly roll pan and line the bottom with waxed paper. Grease and flour the top of the paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Beat egg yolks in a large bowl until fluffy; gradually beat in sugar until light and thick. Beat in the cocoa and flour at low speed.
  • Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into yolk mixture until smooth and then spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Turn out on to clean dish cloth sprinkled with confectioners sugar.
  • Cut a 1/4 inch strip from one short side. Roll up the cake and towel together and cool on a wire rack.
  • When cake is completely cooled, unroll and spread with 3 tablespoons of the frosting. Spread the cake with whipped cream and re-roll. Frost roll with remaining chocolate frosting. Draw a fork down the frosting for the bark effect and sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Refrigerate until serving.

Notes


    Bouchons – The French Chocolate “Thimble”

    Bouchons - The French Chocolate "Thimble"
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    Bouchons – The French Chocolate “Thimble”

    Recipe by La Bellitude from Thomas Keller
    Servings

    24

    servings

    This recipe from genius chef Thomas Keller is simple to make but difficult to describe. The perfect bite of chocolate. Brownie-esque but lighter. The density of a flourless cake but firmer. Impossibly rich with the exact right amount of sweetness. Just make it yourself and find out.

    The very best way is to buy the flexible bouchon molds which require no preparation. Next best would be a small popover or timbale pan.

    Ingredients

    • 3/4 cup flour

    • 1 cup dark cocoa

    • 1 tsp kosher salt

    • 3 large eggs

    • 1½ cup plus 3 tbsp granulated sugar

    • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract (or paste)

    • 24 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and just slightly warm

    • 6 oz semisweet chocolate mini chips

    • confectioners’ suga

    Directions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°.
    • Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
    • Mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until thick and pale. Mix in the vanilla. On low speed, add about one-third of the dry ingredients, then one-third of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to a day.)
    • Put the molds on a baking sheet and fill each about ⅔ full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When the tops look shiny and set (like a brownie), test. Pick should come out clean but not dry. Transfer to a cooling rack. After a couple of minutes, invert the molds and let the bouchons cool upside down. Lift off the molds.
    • To serve, dust them with confectioners’ sugar. The bouchons are best eaten the day they are baked.

    Doughnut Holes

    Doughnut Holes
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    Doughnut Holes

    Recipe by La Bellitude
    Servings

    4

    servings

    Everyone loves these doughnut holes. That’s not an exaggeration. They are so popular, I turned them into a “croquembouche” cake for my daughter’s birthday. Easy to make and they freeze well. Not that you’re likely to have any to freeze!

    Ingredients

    • 2 eggs

    • 1 cup sugar

    • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

    • 1 tsp vanilla

    • 4 cups flour

    • 4 tsp baking powder

    • 3/4 tsp salt

    • 1/4 tsp baking soda

    • 1 cup buttermilk

    • oil for deep frying

    • cinnamon and sugar for coating

    Directions

    • Beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Thoroughly stir together dry ingredients. Add to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry doughnuts by large spoonfuls in oil until golden brown and cooked through, turning once while cooking. Drain and cool. Roll in cinnamon-sugar and serve.

    Notes

    • The right temperature is critical. If it’s too hot, the outside will be dark brown before the inside is fully cooked. Too cool and they will be greasy and heavy instead of light and crisp.

    Coffee Panna Cotta

    Coffee Panna Cotta
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    Coffee Panna Cotta

    Recipe by La Bellitude
    Servings

    12

    servings

    Creamy and delicious. A cool summer desert that doesn’t melt in the heat.

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup whole milk

    • 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin

    • 3 cup whipping cream

    • 1/3 cup honey

    • 1 tbsp sugar

    • 2 tbsp espresso powder

    • Pinch of cinnamon

    • Pinch of salt

    Directions

    • Place the milk in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Let it stand for 3-5 minutes to soften.
    • Pour milk mixture into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, honey, sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, 5- to 7 minutes.
    • Remove from the heat. Pour into 6 wine glasses or parfait dishes so that they are half to 3/4 full. Cool slightly, then refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Serve with dollop of cream, if desired.

    raspberry meringues

    Fresh Raspberry Meringues

    Fresh Raspberry Meringues
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    Fresh Raspberry Meringues

    Recipe by La Bellitude
    Servings

    4

    servings

    These can be charming when used as cupcake decorations, and they are also wonderful when topping our Sour Cream Cookies along with some fresh fruit. Add a dab of honey to hold them in place on the cookie tops if needed. (Recipe developed by La Bellitude for TABLE Magazine. Photography by Brooke Lark.)

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup fresh raspberries*

    • 1/2 cup sugar

    • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

    • 2 egg whites, room temp

    Directions

    • Cook raspberries and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring often and crushing the berries as they cook. A potato masher or muddler works well for this. Remove from the heat when the mixture is syrupy. Strain it through a sieve into a measuring cup, pressing down on the berries to get as much juice as possible. Cool sauce completely.
    • Put egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the cream of tartar over top. Beat the egg whites til they hold stiff peaks. Carefully fold the raspberry sauce into the egg whites.
    • Spoon meringue into a frosting bag or ziplock bag, forcing the mixture to one corner of the bag. Snip 1/4″ from the corner of the bag and pipe onto the prepared pan, using a decorative topi if desired. Pipe out circles onto baking sheet at least 1” apart.
    • Preheat oven to 170°F, or the lowest setting on your oven. Place oven rack in the top of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    • Bake for 2 hours at 170°F, rotating the baking sheet after 1 hour so they will dry evenly. The meringues should not brown at all. Turn off the oven and leave meringues
    • in the oven for 2-3 hours to finish drying.
    • Meringues can be frozen for up to one month. If frozen, allow to thaw to room temp before serving.
      * Frozen raspberries can be used in a pinch.

    raspberry truffle

    Raspberry Truffle Tartlets

    Raspberry Truffle Tartlets
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    Raspberry Truffle Tartlets

    Recipe by La Bellitude
    Servings

    6

    servings

    Don’t wait for a special occasion to make these beauties. Any day will become special because you made them. And they are soooo easy. (Recipe developed by La Bellitude for TABLE Magazine.)

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup dark semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

    • ½ cup heavy cream

    • 1 tbsp raspberry liqueur

    • Fresh raspberries

    Directions

    • Line a regular size muffin pan with unbleached parchment liners, two per cup.
    • To make the ganache, heat the cream just to a boil and then pour it over the chocolate slowly. Set aside to let chocolate soften. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the liqueur and pour into muffin cups, filling only ⅓ with the ganache.
    • Let ganache cool partially, then top with raspberries and refrigerate to complete cooling.
    • To serve, remove tartlets from the tin and remove the parchment cups.

    Hazelnut Avocado Semifreddo

    Hazelnut Avocado Semifreddo
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    Hazelnut Avocado Semifreddo

    Recipe by La Bellitude
    Servings

    6

    servings

    A light but delicious make-ahead dessert that is a real treat in the summer but easy to make and fun to eat at any time of year. Wait til you taste the first crunch of hazelnut!

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp butter

    • ½ cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped

    • 3 tbsp sugar

    • ⅛ tsp cinnamon

    • pinch of salt

    • Cooking spray

    • 1 large avocado

    • ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk

    • 1 tbsp lemon juice

    • 1 ½ cups heavy cream

    Directions

    • In a nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nuts and sugar mixture to the skillet. Stir constantly until sugar browns, 4-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
    • Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and line with plastic wrap, leaving at least a 3” overhang.
    • In food processor, puree avocado flesh, condensed milk, lemon juice, and a pinch salt. Whip cream to stiff peaks; fold in avocado puree. Break up cooled hazelnuts if clumped and add them to the avocado mix. Pour into prepared pan. Cover with plastic overhang and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours. Slice in the loaf pan or unmold to a platter and slice.

    Notes

    • Hazelnuts are tough to chop (and the processor doesn’t work for this) so I buy them already roasted and chopped from Freddie Guy Hazelnuts in Oregon. They keep well in the freezer and are great for salads and baking.