dessert Archives - LunaCafe

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Honey Crème Brulee

February 16, 2013 by Susan S. Bradley 4 Comments

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Honey Creme Bruleee

Who doesn’t love Creme Brulee? Or better yet, Chocolate Creme Brulee? And February is all about love and chocolate at LunaCafe. But, there are so many formulas for Chocolate Crème Brulee, I hardly knew where to begin. After some initial testing, I figured that the important thing was to first get the perfect proportion of egg yolks to cream, then the perfect types and amount of chocolate, and finally the perfect process. The romantic flavor pairing was added after I worked out the basic formula.

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Valentine's Day Tagged With: Chocolate, creme brulee, custard, dessert, Recipes, Valentine's Day

Chinese Cracker Jacks

December 31, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 9 Comments

Many moons ago, as director of the Yankee Kitchen Cooking Schools, I had the opportunity to work with the inestimable Barbra Tropp of the China Moon Café in San Francisco. She came to Seattle to teach a series of classes for the school and the first thing she wanted when she arrived was a whirlwind shopping tour of Chinatown.

Filed Under: All Season, Asia, Holiday, Snacks | Treats Tagged With: Asia, Asian Five Spice, caramel syrup, Chinese, cracker jacks, crackerjacks, dessert, popcorn, snack, treat

The Sticky Gingerbread of My Dreams

December 20, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 3 Comments

I began this exploration with a question. “What is the difference between sticky and regular gingerbread?” Put another way, “What makes sticky gingerbread, well, sticky?” A couple of rounds of baking later, I had identified the differences. Namely, sticky gingerbread starts with a fluid, molasses-heavy batter, which, if not over baked, creates a beautifully moist cake, which if wrapped and refrigerated for a day or two and then brought back to room temperature, has a dense, chewy, somewhat sticky texture.

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, Holiday, Let It Snow, Silver Moon Tagged With: cake, Christmas, dessert, ginger, holiday, quickbread, Recipes, sticky gingerbread

Dreamy, Creamy, No-Bake Pumpkin Butter Cheesecake

December 6, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley Leave a Comment

I have developed dozens of cheesecakes over the years. At one point, I even launched a cheesecake company.

But a recent request from a reader made me realize that my focus has been almost exclusively on baked cheesecakes. A quick scan of my files shows only two no-bake cheesecakes. This post is one small and very tasty step toward correcting that omission.

Filed Under: Cheesecake, Desserts, Holiday, Pumpkin, Recipes, Thanksgiving Tagged With: cheesecake, dessert, holiday, no-bake, pie, pumpkin butter, Recipes

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows (Angel Kisses)

November 24, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 2 Comments

Okay, I know there are a zillion recipes for homemade marshmallows on the web, each claiming to be the lightest, fluffiest, springiest, tastiest, BEST marshmallows in the entire universe. But I’m giving you a marshmallow post this holiday season anyway for the following reasons.

Filed Under: Confections, Holiday, Silver Moon Tagged With: Christmas, confection, dessert, holiday, homemade marshmallows, Let It Snow, Recipes

Marbled Spiced Cranberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

November 11, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

I am very fortunate that the newest member of our family, Christopher Weaver, LOVES cheesecake. Because I love to create endless variations, and can’t afford all those calories hanging out in the fridge taunting me. Chris is a workout machine, so he doesn’t worry a fig about calories. If there are a few slices of cheesecake left after a family dinner, he saves me by taking them home.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Cheesecake, Cranberries, Desserts, Holiday, Let It Snow, Recipes, Thanksgiving Tagged With: cheesecake, Cranberries, dessert, holiday, recipe, Thanksgiving, white chocolate

Decidedly Different Cranberry, Walnut & Currant Tart

November 5, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

Every fall about this time, I am sitting cross-legged on the flour, surrounded by stacks of dessert cookbooks and culinary magazines. I’m looking for a cranberry tart for Thanksgiving. A UNIQUE, MEMORABLE, WOW-INDUCING tart worthy of the most spectacular meal of the year. And I’m willing (okay, eager) to try (okay, eat) several cranberry tart contenders before making the final cut.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Cranberries, Desserts, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, cranberry tart, currants, dessert, Fall, holiday, recipe, spiced walnut pastry crust, Thanksgiving, walnuts

Sweet Corn & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

September 29, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 5 Comments

Never heard of sweet corn ice cream? Well then, you’re in for an ice cream flavor revelation. As my collection of American Southwest and Mexican cookbooks grew over the years, I occasionally encountered this “oddity” in one or another of the dessert chapters. Finally, I searched the web and lo and behold, the word is out.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: autumn, dessert, Fall, ginger crumble, ice cream, recipe, spiced caramel apple sauce, sweet corn

Spiced Caramel Apple Sauce

September 29, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 5 Comments

You know the flavor contrast you get when you bite into a perfect caramel apple—first rich, creamy, sweet caramel, and then bracingly tart, juicy apple? Add half a dozen spices and that’s what this caramel sauce tastes like. At first, you think, “Oh yeah, luxuriously rich, wonderfully spiced caramel,” and then POW, the acidity of the reduced apple cider kicks in and your mouth goes, “Hey, whoa, what’s happening here?” I love this double-punch effect.

Filed Under: All Season, Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes, Sauces Tagged With: Apple Cider, autumn, caramel sauce, dessert, Fall, recipe, sauce, spices

Blackberry Lime Syrup with Star Anise

September 12, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 1 Comment

This sweet-tart sauce is the essence of late summer. It transports me back to the country roads and beaches of Vashon Island, where I spent so many Septembers foraging for blackberries, baking for hours in the wilting sun, trying to get enough ripe berries for JUST ONE PIE.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, berries, blackberries, blackberry syrup, dessert, Fall, Recipes

Ginger-Lime Peach & Blueberry Crisp with Toasted Hazelnut Streusel

September 4, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 2 Comments

Northwest farmers markets were overflowing with fresh peaches this past weekend. And the selection is just beginning.

So far, I’ve seen Red Rose, Suncrest, Angelus, August Lady, Blushing Star, Snow Giant, Hale, Red Gold, Regina, September Snow, Summer Lady, and Yukon varieties. There are so many choices that making a decision is difficult. I sampled peaches at the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday and then again at the Hillsdale Farmers Market on Sunday.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, blueberries, dessert, fruit crisp, hazelnut streusel, peaches, recipe

Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding (with Butterscotch Pudding Variation)

April 8, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 24 Comments

Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding with Caramel Sauce, Whipped Cream & Cocoa Nibs

This post began as a response to repeated requests from a tenacious reader for The Best Ever Butterscotch Pudding (her words). She was impressed with Ultimate Vanilla Pudding (Perfect Stovetop Custard) and Ultimate Chocolate Pudding and wanted the same perfect results with a butterscotch flavor. She had tried a few recipes on the web but was disappointed in the results.

Filed Under: All Season, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: butterscotch pudding, dessert, perfect pudding, Recipes, salted caramel pie fillng, salted caramel pudding

Warm-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake

February 21, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 9 Comments

I know, I know! Molten Chocolate Cake, or Lava Cake, as it is sometimes called, is so YESTERDAY. I am almost perturbed today when I see one on a dessert menu.

I mean, really, can’t the pastry chef think of SOMETHING ELSE? Haven’t we moved beyond warm, fragrant, oozing, fudgy chocolate soufflé cakes and their requisite ice cream accompaniments?

Filed Under: All Season, cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: cake, Chocolate, dessert, lava cake, molten cake, recipe, souffle cake, volcano cake

Spicy Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

February 12, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 5 Comments

It’s All Chocolate! All Month! in the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. As usual during the Month of Love, I am covered in chocolate: milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and unsweetened cocoa powder. All in an effort to come up with the most delectable, memorable Valentine’s Day dessert ever.

Filed Under: All Season, Chocolate, Desserts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: banana, cake, Chocolate, dessert, recipe, tea bread, tea loaf, Valentine's Day

Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers (Aebleskivers)

February 7, 2012 by Susan S. Bradley 7 Comments

The first time I bit into the airy pillow of dough known as ebelskiver (pronounced ay bil skee ver), I could not quite categorize it. Was it donut, beignet, popover? Or something else entirely? The only thing I knew for sure was that I loved them—whatever they were.

Filed Under: All Season, Chocolate, Desserts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: aebleskivers, breakfast, brunch, Chocolate, dessert, donuts, ebelskivers, fritters

Holiday Gifts from the LunaCafe Kitchen

December 6, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 2 Comments

Christmas is the season of giving, and no gift is more welcome than something personal from your own kitchen. Pack your creation in a pretty holiday tin, canister, or gift jar, and you’re ready to make merry. The following are some of my favorite holiday treats, all perfect for giving.

Filed Under: Confections, Desserts, Holiday, Roundup Tagged With: Christmas, dessert, gifts from the kitchen, holiday, Recipes

Spicy Pumpkin Butter Gingerbread Beignets

November 4, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 9 Comments

This concept should have been a cinch. After all, I developed White Chocolate, Cardamom & Coconut Beignet and they’re wonderful—ethereally light, tender, moist, and beautifully flavored.

But I made a classic mistake at the onset. I tried to pattern the new beignets after the earlier success. And that, my friends, was a disaster. I threw batch after batch of beignets in the trash after just one taste.

Something different went wrong with each batch: too dry, too wet, not sweet enough, not pumpkin enough, not spicy enough, and finally, just okay but nothing special. I almost gave up. Where was I going wrong?

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Pumpkin, Recipes Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, dessert, Fall, gingerbread, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, recipe, tips and tricks

Lime & Vanilla Scented Rhubarb Clafouti

July 6, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

Clafouti (pronounced klah-foo-tee), a simple French custard-cake, is the perfect foil for the fresh fruit and berries of summer. Formulas vary wildly from one end of the spectrum (custard) to the other (cake). I love trying them all, and I’ve shared two of them with you already. What I am sharing with you today is a chewy, cake-style clafouti with a sweet-tart topping of lime and vanilla-scented fresh rhubarb.

Filed Under: Breakfast & Brunch, cakes, Desserts, Rhubarb, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: brunch, cake, clafouti, custard, dessert, recipe, Rhubarb, Summer Sizzle

Rhubarb Rose Petal Caramel Syrup + 4 Variations

June 25, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 4 Comments

One of the easiest and most effective ways to elevate a simple dessert to epicurean heights is to add a brightly colored, brightly flavored dessert syrup. You can serve a dessert syrup over ice cream or gelato, alongside panna cotta or baked custard, with tea cakes, or as the key flavoring of an Italian soda, lemonade, or limeade (recipe below).

Filed Under: Desserts, Rhubarb Tagged With: burnt sugar, caramel, dessert, dessert syrup, limeade, Recipes, Rhubarb, rose petal, Spring Fever, Strawberries, Summer Sizzle

Mastering Panna Cotta – with Six Variations

June 19, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 5 Comments

Fresh Chevre Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Sauce, Basil Syrup, and Almond Praline_Closeup

To my palate, this is the perfect Panna Cotta. It is lightly set and lightly sweetened with a good balance between fat and lean dairy ingredients.

To develop this master recipe for panna cotta, I created a recipe grid that compares key ingredients across examples from 20+ respected cooks. As you might imagine, the key proportion of gelatin to total amount of liquid is all over the place in these examples. You should not be overtly aware that there is gelatin in this dessert when you are eating it. That aspect should be quite subtle.

This article includes tips & tricks for creating the most wonderul Panna Cotta imaginable, plus six inspired variations.

Filed Under: All Season, Desserts Tagged With: custard, dessert, gelatin, panna cotta, Recipes, tips and tricks

Heavenly Almond Yogurt Cake with Fresh Strawberries, Strawberry Caramel Sauce & Basil Sauce

June 3, 2011 by Susan S. Bradley 3 Comments

Almond Yogurt Olive Oil Cake with Fresh Strawberries, Fresh Basil Syrup & Cream Cheese Crema

When I happened upon the inspiration for this cake (Gourmet Traveler Magazine, Yoghurt & Almond Cake with Orange-Caramel Peaches & Vanilla Yoghurt), I puzzled over the ingredient proportions and procedure. Was there enough fat to produce a moist cake? Was there enough flour to produce a cake that could carry its own weight? Was the egg proportion too high?

Filed Under: All Season, Cakes, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: almond cake, almond meal, cake, dessert, olive oil cake, recipe, sponge cake, yogurt cake

Spiced Green Apple Lemon Clafouti

September 25, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

I ran into an interesting clafouti (pronounced klah-foo-tee) formula in an old magazine in a box in the garage recently and almost dismissed it because there can be no better clafouti than Fresh Apricot Ginger Peasant Cake.

As you may recall from that post, clafouti, an earthy cake from the region of Limousin in France, is comprised of a layer of cake-custard, topped with a layer of juicy fruit. The result can be rather more like cake or rather more like custard, depending on the proportions in the batter.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: apples, cake, clafouti, custard, dessert, Dutch Baby, pancake, recipe

Ultimate Vanilla Pudding (Perfect Stove-Top Custard)

September 7, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 29 Comments

Ultimate Vanilla Pudding with Coconut Crumble & Whipped Cream

I intended to do a quick pudding post but, well, one thing led to another, and now I’ve done a mountain of research instead. The exploration began with a simple hankering for Caramel Pudding. I grabbed a standard formula from somewhere, went straight to the kitchen, and whipped it up in less than 10 minutes.

The only problem was that the end result had hardly any caramel flavor, even though I started with burnt sugar, and the texture was a little lumpy after chilling. In other words, not the perfect pudding I’m going to pass on to YOU.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: custard, dessert, pudding, recipe, stove-top custard

Torta della Nonna for My Darling Lily

August 22, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 25 Comments

I was pondering how to introduce the newest member of our family to you, dear readers, when my fabuloso sister-in-law, Mary-beth, suggested tying in Torta della Nonna, which truthfully, I knew nothing about. She fell in love with this simple and rich Italian tart in Italy, during a 5-day cooking course, at the beautiful Capezzana Wine and Culinary Center. Mary-beth says she ate a small slice of this tart every day during that stay and wishes she could continue that ritual indefinitely. This is her kind of tart. Let it be known that Mary-beth, former cooking instructor and continuing culinary maven is no slouch in the kitchen. If she says this cake is to die for, I believe it. And I must try it.

However, still unable to utter the “G” word without grimacing, I have been more preoccupied with what my darling granddaughter is going to call me than with announcing to the world that she has, at long last, ARRIVED. Even if that announcement involves a wonderful tart.

Filed Under: Desserts, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: cheesecake, dessert, Grandmother's cake, Grandmother's tart, pie, ricotta custard pie, tart, toasted almond pastry, Torta della Nonna

Peanut Butter Caramel

July 26, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 26 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, in the post titled, Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie, I included a recipe for Caramel Blondies with a Peanut Butter Caramel Blondie variation. The post shows a layer of Blondie batter with dollops of Peanut Butter Caramel over the top and a second layer of batter being spread over the caramel. The lead photo also features the Peanut Butter Caramel Blondie variation.

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: caramel, dessert, frosting, peanut butter, peanuts, recipe, sauce

Strawberry Basil Sour Cream Gelato

July 26, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 7 Comments

Portland, Oregon is gelato country. Not ice cream country—jeh-lah-toh country. No matter which direction I set out on my walk each day from Northwest PDX, I pass at least one gelato shop along the way.

The challenge is to walk by without stopping in for “just a taste.” One taste always leads to another taste, which always leads to a scoop each of two complementary flavors–one tart fruit based, the other cream based (as in sweet cream, cream cheese, crème fraiche, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, or mascarpone). To my palate, it’s a perfect partnership.

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: basil, dessert, gelato, ice cream, sour cream, Strawberries, Summer Sizzle

Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf

July 11, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 32 Comments

Bless your heart if you are actually reading this post rather than running for cover to another food blog. Yes, I know this combination sounds a tad bit unusual, but I assure you it is Pure Genius.

Lest you think I’m being immodest here, the idea is not mine. The combination was recently featured in Gourmet Traveler, and that’s where I first encountered it.

Filed Under: Chocolate, Desserts, Quick Breads, Recipes, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: beets, cake, Chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate desserts, dessert, flavor pairing, recipe, tea loaf

Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie

July 6, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 48 Comments

If you are not yet familiar with that chewy, caramel goodness of a bar cookie known as a Blondie, you are in for a WOW taste experience. I can’t imagine how you missed it, however, considering it’s preeminence on the web. To see what I mean, check out the amazing collection of Blondies (with stunning photos) at TasteSpotting, FoodGawker, and DessertStalking. Holy cow!

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Cookies Tagged With: bar cookies, blondies, caramel, chewy, cookies, dessert, recipe

Peanut Butter & Garam Masala Cupcakes with Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Frosting, Peanut Praline & Caramelized Banana

June 22, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 17 Comments

I know it’s officially summertime in the Northwest, even though the weather has been cold, wet, and generally grey all month. Strawberries are ripe in the fields, but they look forlorn, and I am strangely uninterested.

It’s COLD, and there is this growing emotional need for something indulgent, nostalgic, and comforting. A strawberry isn’t going to do it. I should be eating sprightly salads bursting with all the freshness of early summer, but instead I want cupcakes—golden, tender, completely decadent–peanut butter cupcakes–loaded with swirls of, you guessed it, creamy, dreamy peanut butter frosting.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts Tagged With: caramelized banana, cupcakes, deconstructed dessert, dessert, frosting, peanut butter, peanut praline, recipe

Toasted Hazelnut & Browned Butter Friands

June 2, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 7 Comments

I first tasted the classic version of these small almond cakes many moons ago at Le Panier Very French Bakery in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. I liked them so much that I would make the trek to the market (about a 30-mile drive from our house in the Cascade foothills) mainly to buy a few friands and enjoy them with an espresso. Of course, strolling the market is its own reward, but the thought of those excellent little morsels still provides extra incentive to get me to Seattle.

When I began looking for recipes for this little French delicacy, I could find no reference to it in any of my French cookbooks. The web was in its infancy at that time and culinary sites and chats had not yet surfaced. Finally, I did locate a single recipe for friands in Gaston Lenotre’s Lenotre’s Desserts and Pastries.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Cookies, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: almond cake, dessert, financiers, friands, recipe, Summer Sizzle, tea cake