Nutella Marshmallow Mousse

Mmmmmmmm.....Nutella. Just uttering the word makes me wanna grab a big spoon and dig into a jar of chocolate-hazelnut goodness. Aaaaaah...HAPPINESS. I'm telling you, if you haven't had the pleasure of eating this heavenly treat, you're missing out.



I remember the first time I ate Nutella. It was eight years ago while Hubby and I were on our honeymoon in Paris. Ooh la la. We were as giddy as two young newlyweds could be. I mean, come on now. How can we not be? We were in the most romantic city in the whole wide world. And to top it all off, we got to eat our way through Paris. Well, we were on a budget so we didn't go crazy but, nonetheless, we still had a good time. We practically lived on bread and cheese for eight days. On occasion, we splurged and had dinner at a nearby cafe or bistrot. And on our way back to our hotel, we got dessert.

I think it was our first or second day in Paris when we stopped by a crepe stand for a bite to eat. They had sooo many choices for fillings but we decided to get one savory crepe and one sweet crepe. I got a ham and cheese while Hubby got a Nutella and banana. As we were walking, we switched crepes and as soon as I had that first bite from the Nutella and banana crepe, I was hooked. Wow! As you might have guessed, Hubby never got his crepe back.

The day before we left Paris, we went to the nearby supermarche and bought eight or ten jars of Nutella and packed them in my suitcase. In the airport, I remember the customs person asking me,"Do you have anything to declare?," and for some insane reason I blurted out "Nutella?" Oh, you should've seen Hubby's face when I said that. I'm sorry, but at the risk of sounding like an idiot, I had no idea if I was supposed to declare my suitcase full of Nutella or not, so I just did. Thankfully, the customs person had a sense of humor and said I was okay. And little did I know that when we returned home, I could've easily bought a jar of Nutella in my local grocery store. Good grief!



So in honor of World Nutella Day, I've created this simple yet amazing little dessert. This Nutella Marshmallow Mousse only has four ingredients and takes just minutes to prepare. It's a smooth and silky way to eat Nutella and I'm so happy to share this with you on this special day :-)



Thank you Sara from Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso for solemnly declaring February 5th as "a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella." As if I had to have a reason to eat Nutella, but it's nice to know that today is a day for Nutella lovers all over the world.

Happy World Nutella Day Everyone!



Nutella Marshmallow Mousse
Makes 4 servings
Allergy Note: contains nut and dairy ingredients

4 ounces marshmallows (about 2 cups of mini marshmallows or 16 large marshmallows)
1/4 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Using a strainer, rinse the mini marshmallows over cold running water. (Why rinse the marshmallows? It removes the cornstarch and powdered sugar on the outside. Skip this step and you won't have a smooth and silky mousse. Trust me.) In a microwave-safe bowl, combine marshmallows, milk and Nutella. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In another mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream to soft peaks. Take 1/4 of the whipped cream and mix it into the Nutella mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Transfer into margarita glasses, goblets or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate or fruit.

To make the chocolate filigree heart:
Draw the heart design on a piece of parchment paper. Turn the parchment paper over and place it on a flat surface. Melt some dark chocolate and pour it into a pastry bag with a small round tip or a cornet (parchment paper cone). Pipe the chocolate onto the heart design and let it set.

Egg-Free Blueberry Muffins

My son has these books written by Laura Numeroff and one of them is called "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." It's such a sweet and silly story about a boy who gives a moose a muffin and the adventures that ensue. We have so much fun reading it and I always kept it in the back of my mind that someday I will come up with an awesome egg-free muffin for him.

After fine-tuning this recipe a few times, I think I finally got a winner. The proof? My son gave me two thumbs up after gobbling up a muffin. And another. And another. These muffins are so delicious fresh out of the oven. They're practically bursting with wild blueberries and I'm pretty sure they would taste great with some blackberry jam on top :-)



Egg-Free Blueberry Muffins
Makes about a dozen muffins
Allergy Note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberry yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries *

*I recommend wild blueberries. They're smaller but more flavorful. You can find frozen organic blueberries in the freezer section of most grocery stores or supermarkets.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and mix till combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Using an ice cream scooper, divide the batter equally into the muffin pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Quick and Easy Crema de Fruta

My dad asked me if I could come up with a quick and easy recipe for Crema de Fruta so he could try his hand at making it. He's gotten the baking bug recently and wanted to start out with some simple recipes first then work his way up to more challenging ones. So I experimented with a few ingredients and came up with an incredibly effortless version.

As I mentioned on a previous post, crema de fruta is a Filipino dessert that is very popular around the holidays. The traditional version that I posted last year was made with sponge cake and stirred custard. This quick and easy version that I created for my dad is made with vanilla cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix. Yes, you read that right. Now how can you get any simpler than that?

A lot of my friends and family have quickly embraced this easy recipe because it's pretty much foolproof to make. I have a feeling a lot of them will be making this for their family gatherings in the next couple of weeks. The best part about this recipe is that it will fill two party trays. Hooray!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Quick and Easy Crema de Fruta
Makes about 24 servings
Allergy note: contains eggs, wheat and dairy

cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
4 large eggs

crema:
2 boxes Jello instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream

fruta:
2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin (1/4 ounce each)
1/2 cup water
2 30-oz. cans fruit cocktail in heavy syrup (DO NOT drain the syrup)


cake:
Mix together cake mix, milk, oil and eggs. Pour into two rectangular aluminum pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

crema:
Using an electric mixer, whisk together instant pudding mix, milk and whipping cream together until thickened. Pour over cake and spread evenly.

fruta:
Sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin absorb the water and expand. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the gelatin melts. Mix into the fruit cocktail and pour over the crema.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Cobblestone Fudge

Back in pastry school, I learned how to make cobblestone chocolates, which were little discs of chocolate topped with dried fruit and nuts. They were a bit tricky to make but they looked so amazing and they tasted absolutely divine.

I remember it took two people to make them because you had to place the toppings just at the right moment after piping the chocolate. Timing was everything. If you placed them too early, the fruits and nuts would sink; if you wait too long, the chocolate would set and the toppings won't stick at all. As if that wasn't enough work for you, chocolate is very temperamental. If you don't temper the chocolate just right (heating and cooling it), it will "bloom" (white streaks or spots) or it will not set.

Come holiday time, I always think about wanting to make these beautiful chocolates but I wondered if there was an easier way to make them. Maybe fudge? Oh yes, fudge would be perfect! It won't set as quickly and they will taste creamy and, well, fudgy. I decided to take Rachel Ray's Five Minute Fudge Recipe and tweak it for my cobblestone fudge. The result: an edible and festive work of art.

It is a little bit time-consuming to place the dried fruit and nuts on top of each candy, so you can either round up some help or just mix the dried fruit and nuts into the fudge before portioning them out. You can also pour the fudge in a rectangular baking pan, top with dried fruits and nuts, let it set and then cut into bite-size squares. Whichever way you decide to make them, they will surely be enjoyed by your friends and family.

Happy Holidays Everyone!



Cobblestone Fudge
Makes about 130 candies
Allergy Note: contains dairy and nuts

12 oz. package semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz. package white chocolate chips
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon butter
6 oz. slivered almonds *
6 oz. pistachios, shelled *
6 oz. dried cranberries
6 oz. golden raisins

* For nut-free alternatives, you can replace the tree nuts with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, soy nuts, or other dried fruits (apricots, cherries, pineapple, etc.)

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter. Microwave for 1 minute on HIGH. Stir together until smooth.

Drop a teaspoonful of fudge onto the baking sheet (I used a round measuring spoon and it shaped the fudge really nicely). Top the fudge with an almond, a pistachio, a dried cranberry and a golden raisin. Repeat until all the candies have been formed. If the fudge fudge starts to set and harden in the bowl, just pop it in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds and stir it until smooth. Let the fudge set and be solid before transferring.

Keep candies in a airtight container in the refrigerator.

Mini Wedding Cake

My friend Jaycee contacted me recently and asked if I could make a cake for his parents. He and his sister Lyn didn't get a chance to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary earlier this year, so they wanted to surprise them with a mini wedding cake. Now, is that just the sweetest thing ever or what?

Jaycee hasn't tried my red velvet cake so of course I just had to recommend it, especially since it's the holidays. As far as the design of the cake, I asked him what he had in mind and he said, "I'll let you surprise me...You have complete creative control over this two-tiered cake." Oooooh...I like that! So with my mind all aflutter with ideas, I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw.

What I came up with was a two-tiered wedding cake with a scrollwork band and floral medallions. Jaycee asked if I could incorporate some yellow into design since it's his mother's favorite color. I went ahead and used it as the main color of the cake and accented it with brown and gold.



After I covered the cake in rolled fondant, I mixed yellow food color gel with some vodka. I took a paper towel and dabbed the color onto the fondant, creating a beautiful textured effect on the cake. When it dried, I mixed gold luster dust with some vodka and dabbed it over the yellow color. If anyone's wondering, I use vodka (or lemon extract) with food coloring to paint the cake because it dries much faster than water. And don't worry, the alcohol evaporates so it will not make anyone intoxicated.



To make the scrollwork band, I used some rolled fondant and an FMM textured lace set. I cut the band into individual pieces because I thought it would be easier to attach to the cake. I let them dry a little bit so it will hold the color better. I made some brown paint by mixing together cocoa powder and vodka. I used a stiff paint brush (like a stencil brush) to gently tap the color onto the scrollwork pieces. When it dried, I painted it with gold luster to highlight the details.



I attached the scrollwork pieces onto the cake by brushing a little bit of vodka on the back of each piece and gently pressing it onto the cake.



For the floral decorations, I used a small flower cutter and rolled fondant. I attached a tiny piece of rolled fondant in the center and painted the flower gold.



The finished cake was absolutely breathtaking, even in its miniature scale. I really fell in love with it and I'm pretty sure Jaycee's parents did too.