Good morning, kids! I have to make this super quick, but you’ll forgive my ALACRITY (GRE word of the day!) after I share the following creation:
How to make a chocolate brownie sundae – in three steps
STEP ONE: Purchase the following
STEP TWO: Heat up a Vitatop
STEP THREE: Top with Mousse
I know, right? You can thank me later.
This morning I took some of my own advice and had a delightful snack! Pumpkin Muffin spread with CREAM CHEESE
Have you ever head the pleasure of enjoying pumpkin cheesecake? Yeah, it’s kinda like that.
You should make these muffins just so you can enjoy this flavor combo. Now if only I still had some Cacao Bliss left, as I’m sure that would make a decadent treat, as well!
What is your favorite “muffin top”per?
I’m getting my hair cut tonight – gaaaahhhhh – it always makes me a little nervous! I don’t think I’ve ever recovered from the mullet my mom gave me when I was little.
It’s no secret that I love frosting. I mean, come on! Must I bash you people over the head with it?
Well for those of you who read Kath’s blog (and who doesn’t?) you’ll know that she recently mentioned a healthy, wholesome product that “tastes just like frosting.” Ummmmm what? This cannot be! You mean all those hydrogenated oils were for NAUGHT? You mean the sugar laden treats I stuff my face with can be healthier? Get outta town.
As much as I love Kath, I wasn’t about to “just take her word for it.”
I’ll pull a Quentin Tarantino and just tell you the moral of this story upfront (SPOILER ALERT): Kath is always right.
See, the folks at Artisana must have heard my belly aching (literally and figuratively!) and sent me a jar – along with some other delicious samples!
My word.
I think the photos speak for themselves.
With the wave of my magic wand, er, knife, a simple vitatop was quickly transformed into chocolate cake/brownie with buttercream frosting! This spread is so chocolatey, so decadent, so RICH. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you did not BUY IT NOW. You bet your bottom dollar I’ve already ordered a replacement jar – heaven forbid I go one single day without this chocolatey goodness.
Have you tried Cacao Bliss yet? Do you know of any other healthy frosting alternatives (I doubt it, but figured I’d ask!)?
Last Friday I had a girl’s night. I don’t have them often, as I don’t have many close female friends in the area (all of them are far away!). But I am SO happy that I did and I see MANY MORE in my future 
My friend Jenn and I went out for dinner and dessert and then took in a chick flick. To wrap up the film: Dear John, your movie sucked.
But it was OK because I had some delicious food at NAYA, great conversation and many laughs. The highlight of our meal, of course, was the DESSERT. This was the first time I had ever ordered dessert at NAYA, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
We ordered the Peanut Butter Crunch and the Chocolate and Chili Bread Pudding.
They did not disappoint.
Peanut Butter Crunch - NAYA Bistro
This circle of heaven had a layer of crispy chocolate (cross between crunch bar, chocolate rice cake and rice krispie treat) with a layer of peanut butter mousse and was topped off with chocolate ganache. Seasoned with MORE chocolate ganache. Need I say more?
I had no idea what to expect with this dish! The waitress explained it as Chocolate Bread Pudding with a kick! That obviously made me very nervous (since I am such a whimp), but she assured me that my taste buds could handle it. She was right — this was so yummy! Tasted just like chocolate bread pudding, but definitely had that extra kick to excite your taste buds for more! While this quite tasty, I still preferred the peanut butter treat – shocking, I know!
Jenn — thanks for the fantastic evening! I look forward to many more! xo
Which of these treats do you think you would have preferred?
In case you haven’t noticed, I like to go all out for the holidays. Call it cheesy, sappy, whatever, I don’t care. It makes me happy and smile so wide I look like a jack-o-lantern, And that’s all that matters.
That being said, I wasn’t about to half ass it with out Valentine’s Day dessert (especially after our amazing dinner!). No siree. Instead, I decided to tackle a two-layer cherry almond cake with buttercream frosting. All made from scratch.
You’ll need:
For the cake
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix everything except the cherry filling. Add 3/4 of the cherry filling and mix. Fold in remaining cherry filling. Pour into two loaf pans (or one cake pan if you are making a single layer cake) and bake for 50 minutes- 1 hour.
Let cake cool completely and remove from pan.
To make a mini two-layer cake, I only used the cake from one loaf pan. I cut it in half and used each half for one of the layers.
But before we can get to layering, we need the ‘mortar’ to keep the together! ie FROSTING!
You’ll need:
First, beat the butter and almond extracts until softened. Next, slowly add the sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency (I added 4). Finally, add some food coloring to create a fun color! I added red to create PINK frosting, of course!
Now the fun begins! Top the first half of the cake with frosting and spread evenly. Set the other half on top.
Spread with the remaining frosting and decorate with slivered almonds.
Don’t worry about making it look perfect, it’ll be delish no matter what
With the remaining cake, I made some treats for my mom and dad.
This was NOT healthy by any means. But it was delicious…and the perfect way to indulge with my sweetie on Valentine’s Day.
In all honestly, this cake was SPECTACULAR. The frosting was out-of-this-world — and rivaled my favorite!
The mixed in cherries made the cake super moist and the flavor combination of the cherry and almond were perfect.
Make this!!!
