Yummy light almond wafers with powdered sugar — fantastic by themselves or with ice cream! And this little powdered sugar dusting wand is awesome! It's made by Oxo and available at Sur la Table. A twist of the handle opens the ball part and in goes the powdered sugar. Then shake, shake, shake! Check it out.
Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
Fresh strawberries are stuffed with a cheesecake filling and topped with little bunny graham crackers. Well, they're actually upside down bears, but I needed bunnies for a party and couldn't find any. It works... sort of. This super simple fresh treat makes a great party sweet!
How to Make It:
Prepare Strawberries:
Trim off the tip of the strawberry so it stands up in a little muffin cup. Use a melon baller to carve out the strawberry hull, plus a little extra, making room for the cheesecake filling. Chill the strawberries until just before party time or they will get soggy.
Cheesecake Filling:
8 oz. package softened cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Use a mixer to thoroughly blend the above ingredients. Use a piping bag (or trim the tip off of a plastic bag) to fill the strawberries. Top with your choice of graham cracker. Or get creative and use a different type of cookie!
Easy Easter Brownies
These Easter brownies couldn't be easier. Grab your favorite brownie mix and ready made frosting from your grocery store, along with a decorative topper (I used Easter color jelly beans). These easy treats were a big hit after Easter dinner!
How to Make It:
Follow the instructions on your brownie mix and poor into a mini cupcake pan with liners. Pipe on some ready made frosting (add a little pastel coloring if you like). And top with a pretty little jelly bean.
Pistachio Caramel Candies
I made 2 flavors of caramel candies: 1. Pistachio, and 2. Espresso Infused Salt. Caramel is so difficult to get to just the right consistency. I was very pleased these turned out just right — just a little soft and gooey. We took these out with some friends and they disappeared pronto! What a treat!
Quatre Quarts Breakfast Cake
I learned to make this cake on a visit to Paris a few years ago. It’s commonly served as a breakfast cake and you can find it in most Parisian cafes. I made it for Ryan on his last day at work. Best of luck, Ryan!
How to Make It
The basic version of this cake is four equal parts each of eggs, flour, sugar and butter; which is how it gets its name. For a nine inch round cake pan, like I did, use the following quantities:
The Cake:
6 oz. sugar
6 oz. salted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
3 large eggs should be about 2 oz. each for a total of 6 oz., separated
6 oz. flour, sifted
Preheat oven to 350 (f). Mix the sugar and melted butter together in a large mixing bowl. Add one yolk at a time, mixing thoroughly after each yolk is added. Add the flour a little bit at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they are stiff and then gradually fold into the batter. Don’t over-mix this, as the air in the whites will help the cake be somewhat fluffy (although it is decidedly a dense cake, which I love for breakfast). Pour the batter into a buttered cake pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes up clean.
This cake is delicious plain or jazz it up by adding a syrup and glaze, like I did here.
Lemon Syrup:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Cook the sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar is completely melted. Once the cake has cooled a little (about 10-15 minutes), remove it from the pan and place it on a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Drizzle the syrup over the cake. The cake will absorb the syrup. Nice, right?
Lemon Glaze:
¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Place the cake on a serving plate. Mix the sugar and lemon juice together thoroughly and then drizzle over the cake allowing the glaze to run down the sides.