Cheesecake Love

     I have been in search of the perfect romantic dessert. Valentines Day is just around the corner and I wanted to find a dessert that not only entices a couple’s sweet tooth but create an erotic moment. Now traditionally couples romance each other with hearts, flowers, chocolate, strawberries and champaign but I wanted something familiar but different.

    Then I realized that the perfect couple dessert is Cheesecake. We all love cheesecake. It is a thick and creamy dessert that can incorporate all of the traditional romantic taste and be sensual at the same time. Even though a basic cheesecake recipe is made up cream cheese, sugar, eggs, milk and butter you can add your favorite ingredients to change its texture, its thickness, and its sweetness.

   There are a plethora ways of fixing cheesecake and whether you choose the bake or no-bake method find a recipe that allows you to express your feelings, engage your sweet tooth and becomes a great tipping point for a romantic evening.

   For my romantic evening I chose to make a White Chocolate New York Cheesecake in which I combined two recipes from the folks at Kraft with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I chose to do this because it incorporates a little traditional romance but with a twist.

    Happy Valentines Day everyone!

            White Chocolate New York Cheesecake

            Ingredients

            1 cup crushed Honey Maid Honey Grahams Crackers

            3 Tbsp. Sugar

            3 Tbsp. Butter or margarine, melted

            1 Tbsp. Vanilla

            1 cup Sour Cream

            1-cup all-purpose flour

            5 pkg. (8 oz. Each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

            2 pkg. (6 squares each) Baker’s Premium White Baking Chocolate

            4 eggs

            1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

            Directions

            Preheat oven to 325° F. Mix crumbs, 3 Tbsp. Sugar an butter; press firmly onto bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.

            Beat cream cheese, 1-cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add the melted chocolate. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.

            Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool complete. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Top with pie filling before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

                                                                                Kraft Philadelphia (2008)

A Custard Kind of Love

Creme Brulee

      A few days ago I was organizing my planner and I realized that Valentines Day is just three weeks away. For many women this is a special day to be shown by their special love how much they care with flowers, chocolate or a special novelty “item.”

    But for others who don’t have a special someone I was wondering what dessert would be best to fix to show themselves a special kind of love while giving their taste buds a wonderful gift. Then it came to me one of my favorite desserts – Crème Brulee.

   Crème Brulee is awesome. It’s custard with a sugary topping and it melts in your mouth and it’s something you can enjoy whether you want to share it or not. I enjoy this dessert because I enjoy how it melts in your mouth and its one of those pleasurable dessert that has a “sinful” amount of calories but well worth the eating.
    Now Crème Brulee is a very rich dessert created with egg yolks, whipping cream, sugar, vanilla and some recipes call for brown sugar or add white or dark chocolate. However you like to make it is an enjoyable desserts that is fun and sensual.
   Remember, everyone is special and you don’t need a special day to celebrate you, but it’s fun to celebrate Valentines Day even when it’s just you. Enjoy!

            Crème Brulee

            Ingredients

            6 Egg Yolks

            1/3-cup Sugar

            21/2-tablespoon Vanilla Extract

            ½-cup Dark Brown Sugar

            Directions

            Beat Eggs and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Set aside.

            Bring whipping cream to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating at a low speed until blended; stir in vanilla. Pour into 8 (5- x 1-inch) round baking dishes. Place baking dishes in a 15- x10-inch pan. Add hot water to depth of ½ inch.

            Bake at 275 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until almost set. Remove custard cups from pan, and cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

            Sprinkle each custard with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and place in a pan.

            Broil 51/2 inches from heat (with electric oven door partially open) until sugar melts (about 2 to 3 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes to allow sugar to harden. Garnish, if desired with strawberries or fresh mint or your favorite garnish for desserts.

Yield: 8 servings

                                                                        Coastal Living (March-April 1999)

Wedding Season!

It's wedding season and we're glad about it!  While planning your grande occasion, I suggest you think mini.  There are no rules here when mixing a little tradition (wedding cake) in addition to a dessert table.  Guests are always excited to see dessert tables that have a variety of bite size sweet treats with that gleam in their eye.  One they don't feel guilty eating little desserts and two it gives them variety.  What makes our selection so great is that we not only offer whats on our menu, but we can customize just about any dessert into a mini creation.  We also work with your budget to create the most spectacular, eye popping table imaginable.  One suggestion we are posting is a mini pie bar.  If you're a lover of pie then you know there are many pies that can be offered to your guests.  So think outside the box and if you need help with creativity give us a call and I know for sure we can put something wonderful together that represents you!  Turning visions into reality is what we're all about at Sweet Petit Desserts!