Sweets

Less Guilt Dessert: Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake

by liz · May 3, 2020

If you’re trying to cut calories and fat, you can always adapt dessert to be better for you! One of my favorites is this recipe for chocolate brownies with zucchini, and the other one that’s great for cookouts, birthday parties and even Cinco de Mayo, is this Coconut Lime Tres Leches Cake.

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake

Recipe by El Mejor Nido

Ingredients for 12 servings:

1 box (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
3 limes
1 can (13.5 fluid ounces) light coconut milk
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 cup (5 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Fat Free Milk
1/3 cup light rum (or to taste)
2 cups light whipped topping, thawed, or 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut, lightly toasted (optional)

Directions:

PREPARE cake mix according to package directions using egg whites; fold in grated peel from 1 lime. Bake in 13 x 9-inch baking pan for duration listed on package. Meanwhile, prepare tres leches mixture.

COMBINE coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and grated peel from 1 lime in large bowl; stir well. When cake tests done, remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

POKE holes in cake with a long-tined fork every ½ inch. Carefully pour milk mixture over cake, spooning any pooled mixture along the sides over the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

CUT the cake; top with dollop of whipped topping. Grate peel from remaining lime over cake; sprinkle with toasted coconut (or to achieve look in picture, use round biscuit cutters to cut cake, transfer to serving plate, then add toppings).

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 12 servings

With the end of summer heat kicking up and Hispanic heritage month (September) just around the corner, this makes this the perfect less-guilt dessert for Labor Day weekend's cookouts and celebrations. Especially if you love tres leches cake!

Ingredients

1 box (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
3 limes
1 can (13.5 fluid ounces) light coconut milk
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk
⅔ cup (5 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Fat Free Milk
⅓ cup light rum (or to taste)
2 cups light whipped topping, thawed, or 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
½ cup shredded or flaked coconut, lightly toasted (optional)

Instructions

PREPARE cake mix according to package directions using egg whites; fold in grated peel from 1 lime. Bake in 13 x 9-inch baking pan for duration listed on package. Meanwhile, prepare tres leches mixture.
COMBINE coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and grated peel from 1 lime in large bowl; stir well. When cake tests done, remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
POKE holes in cake with a long-tined fork every ½ inch. Carefully pour milk mixture over cake, spooning any pooled mixture along the sides over the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
CUT the cake; top with dollop of whipped topping. Grate peel from remaining lime over cake; sprinkle with toasted coconut (or to achieve look in picture, use round biscuit cutters to cut cake, transfer to serving plate, then add toppings).

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Baked Alaska Cups: Remaking a Classic 1950s Dessert

by liz · May 2, 2020

Baked Alaska Cups recipe — Photo by Meals.com

If you’re like me, you have nostalgic taste buds and you remember Baked Alaska being a fancy dessert your mom only made for special dinner parties. It went very well with an Old Fashioned cocktail, Beef Wellington and brightly colored polyester pantsuits. She probably learned how to make this dessert from her mom, who impressed her 1950s dinner guests even more than her daughter did.

This dessert is a version of ice cream cake that’s finished by flash-baking it in a very hot oven to brown the outside, keeping the inside frozen. It has Swiss and French origins, then migrated to America with several modifications, like replacing the outer pastry crust with whipped egg-whites with sugar — otherwise known as meringue. The dessert picked up its current name by a pastry chef in New York, who made it famous during the time the U.S. acquired the Alaska territory.

This Baked Alaska Cups recipe uses brownies for the cake portion, strawberry ice cream, then classic meringue in individual serving cups — canning jars work very well for this! And it’s easier than you think. You can make them ahead of time, then store the cups in the freezer until dessert time. Just pop them in a 500-degree oven for 2 minutes and your guests can enjoy their own retro-chic treat. (And don’t worry; canning jars were made to withstand extreme cold and heat, as well as going in between.) The combination of frozen ice cream and brownie with hot meringue is sublime.

Baked Alaska Cups from Meals.com

Ingredients for 6 servings:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 box (18.3 ounces) brownie mix or your favorite brownie recipe
3 cups Strawberry Ice Cream, slightly softened
3/4 cup pasteurized egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

PLACE six 8-ounce custard cups on baking sheet; set aside.

SPRAY 11 x 7-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; line pan with foil, allowing foil to hang over edges of pan. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

PREPARE brownie mix (or your favorite brownie recipe) according to package directions; spread in prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Cool completely in pan; lift brownie from pan using foil overhang. Cut into six rounds with a 3-inch diameter cookie or biscuit cutter. (If you’re using canning jars, you can use the jar to cut the brownies to correct size: turn jar upside down, press into brownies, turn back over and press brownie down with spoon, as shown above).

PLACE each brownie round in the bottom of the custard cups. Top with ½ cup of slightly softened ice cream and smooth to sides of cup, as shown above. Place on baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

BEAT egg whites in an electric mixer with whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar; continue to beat until soft peaks form, as shown above. Slowly add sugar and vanilla; continue beating until glossy peaks form.

REMOVE cups from freezer. Spoon the meringue evenly over the top of each cup (roughly ½-3/4 cup each), covering the top completely and swirling the meringue into a high dome, as shown above.

PREHEAT oven to 500° F.

BAKE for 2 minutes or until meringue is browned, as shown above. Serve immediately.

Baked Alaska Cups

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6 servings

This Baked Alaska Cups recipe uses brownies for the cake portion, strawberry ice cream, then classic meringue in individual serving cups — canning jars work very well for this! And it's easier than you think. You can make them ahead of time, then store the cups in the freezer until dessert time. Just pop them in a 500-degree oven for 2 minutes and your guests can enjoy their own retro-chic treat. The combination of frozen ice cream and brownie with hot meringue is sublime.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1 box (18.3 ounces) brownie mix or your favorite brownie recipe
3 cups Strawberry Ice Cream, slightly softened
¾ cup pasteurized egg whites, at room temperature
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
⅔ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

PLACE six 8-ounce custard cups on baking sheet; set aside.
SPRAY 11 x 7-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; line pan with foil, allowing foil to hang over edges of pan. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
PREPARE brownie mix according to package directions; spread in prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Cool completely in pan; lift brownie from pan using foil overhang. Cut into six rounds with a 3-inch diameter cookie or biscuit cutter.
PLACE each brownie round in the bottom of the custard cups. Top with ½ cup of slightly softened ice cream and smooth to sides of cup. Place on baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
BEAT egg whites in an electric mixer with whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar; continue to beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and vanilla extract; continue beating until glossy peaks form.
REMOVE cups from freezer. Spoon the meringue evenly over the top of each cup (roughly ½-3/4 cup each), covering the top completely and swirling the meringue into a high dome.
PREHEAT oven to 500° F.
BAKE for 2 minutes or until meringue is browned. Serve immediately.

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Easter Sweets: Butterfinger Panna Cotta with Easter Egg Nests

by liz · Mar 1, 2019

One of my favorite Easter sweets is panna cotta, or Italian “cooked cream.” It’s an eggless custard that is silky-smooth and so easy to make. In fact, David Lebovitz writes that if it takes you more than 5 minutes to put it together, you’re doing something wrong. If you haven’t yet tried to make custard, crème brulée or flan, panna cotta is the recipe to try first.

Our easy version for Easter, Butterfinger Panna Cotta Nests, uses items you already have in your pantry, since it replaces the cream with evaporated milk. That also lowers the fat and increases the nutrients! This dish has to be made in advance so it can set in the refrigerator, leaving you free on the day of the meal to entertain or cook other dishes. Putting the ingredients together and warming them in a pan are a snap, and the shredded coconut egg nests on top are perfect for a pretty Easter table.

Panna cotta is also an extremely versatile recipe. You can experiment and make your own version by adding lemon or orange zest, almond extract or even spices like saffron, pepper or rosemary. Here are some panna cotta recipes we love using chocolate and amaretto, as well as pumpkin spice and chocolate pistachio.

Happy Easter!

Butterfinger Panna Cotta Nests

Ingredients for 4 servings:

PANNA COTTA

3 tablespoons water
1 envelope (7 grams) unflavored gelatin
1 can (12 fluid ounces) Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup crushed BUTTERFINGER BITES Candy

NESTS

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
4 drops green liquid food coloring
2 drops yellow liquid food coloring
BUTTERFINGER NestEggs

Directions:

FOR PANNA COTTA:
GREASE four 6-ounce or six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups.

PLACE water in a small bowl; add gelatin and let stand to soften.

PLACE evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat. Add gelatin mixture; stir gently to dissolve gelatin.

POUR into prepared ramekins; sprinkle with crushed Butterfinger.

REFRIGERATE for 2 hours or until panna cottas are firm.

FOR NESTS:
PLACE coconut in a resealable bag. Add green and yellow food coloring; seal bag and shake to thoroughly mix. If necessary, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water to help color mix.

TOP panna cottas with coconut “grass”; top with 1 to 2 unwrapped Nestlé NestEggs.

Butterfinger Panna Cotta with Easter Egg Nests

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 4

Scrumptious Italian dessert with chocolate for spring or Easter!

Ingredients

PANNA COTTA:
3 tablespoons water
1 envelope (7 grams) unflavored gelatin
1 can (12 fluid ounces) Evaporated Milk
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup crushed BUTTERFINGER BITES Candy
NESTS:
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
4 drops green liquid food coloring
2 drops yellow liquid food coloring
BUTTERFINGER NestEggs

Instructions

FOR PANNA COTTA:
GREASE four 6-ounce or six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups.
PLACE water in a small bowl; add gelatin and let stand to soften.
PLACE evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat. Add gelatin mixture; stir gently to dissolve gelatin.
POUR into prepared ramekins; sprinkle with crushed Butterfinger.
REFRIGERATE for 2 hours or until panna cottas are firm.
FOR NESTS:
PLACE coconut in a resealable bag. Add green and yellow food coloring; seal bag and shake to thoroughly mix. If necessary, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water to help color mix.
TOP panna cottas with coconut “grass”; top with 1 to 2 unwrapped Nestlé NestEggs.

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Top Ten Easter Sweets Recipes

by liz · Feb 28, 2019

1. Easter Eggs in a Nest

Get ready for the Easter Bunny’s visit with this unforgettable treat shown above. Nestled in delicious butterscotch or chocolate nests, the unforgettable taste of these elegantly wrapped candy eggs will leave kids hopping for more.

2. Premier White Lemony Cheesecakes

Premier white baking bars give this elegant and lemony cheesecake a smooth and creamy consistency. Try this in the Spring, Easter or a bridal shower—to rave reviews.

3. Carrot Patch Cupcakes

These are almost too cute to eat! Cultivate a crop of carrots with dollops of orange icing topped with fresh mint sprigs in mini 2 1/2-inch terra-cotta pots.

4. Peanut Butter and Candy Egg Blondies

If you love peanut butter, you’re in for a real treat with these amazing blondies above. Kids and adults alike will adore these peanut butter blondies that are both baked and topped with peanut butter candy eggs.

5. Classic Easter Cake with Coconut and Jelly Beans

This cake is nothing short of pure American ingenuity, in my mind — a sweet and sticky confection of angel food cake, marshmallow icing, and all the jelly beans you can handle. It’s a little bird’s nest for your Easter table, and its deep nostalgia for me is only matched by how easy it is to make and how fun it is to eat.

6. Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are lightly sweetened, mildly spiced rolls with a distinct image of a cross that runs across the top. They are specifically associated with Good Friday, and have been for almost a millennium. Over time, hot cross buns in the U.S. became extremely sweet, and today are often criss-crossed with a sugary icing, but that isn’t the recipe of yore; the original crossing mixture was more of a paste.

7. Warm Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Sauce

This warm mini carrot cake recipe is made in two tiny ramekins (the same size you use for creme brulee–6 ounces). Then, make the warm cream cheese sauce the moment the cakes come out of the oven. A sprinkling of toasted pecans on top is, well, the icing on the cake.

8. Egg-Ceptional Easter Cookies

These egg-shaped chocolate chip cookies can be festively decorated with colored frosting for a sweet Easter treat.

9. Mini Lemon Lime Tartlets

These cute Mini Lemon Lime Tartlets above give the fresh taste of spring and are the perfect way to celebrate any occasion.

10. Chocolate Chip Easter Baskets

These little Easter baskets above are sure to delight everyone in your Easter celebration.

No-Fail Sweet Potato Pie: Southern Charm on a Plate

by liz · Dec 13, 2018

Being from the South/Midwest/Above Texas, the thought of a sweet potato pie with a pecan pie topping really appealed to me. Plus, this one even had “No Fail” in the recipe title (thanks to Rene Garza for this recipe)!

After making the Roasted Banana Cream Pie with Butterscotch Ganache (so good!) in the Nestlé Kitchens during this summer’s pie contest, I was ready for something a little easier…a little slower, with a nice Southern drawl.

Watch the video above to see how easy it is.

No-Fail Sweet Potato Pie from Meals.com

Ingredients for 8 servings:

FILLING

3/4 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 small to medium)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk (fat free is ok)
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell or Homemade Pie Crust

TOPPING

1 large egg
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

FOR FILLING

PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Wash and wrap sweet potatoes in foil, as shown above.

BAKE for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Unwrap and rinse potatoes under cold water; remove skin. Break apart in large bowl. INCREASE oven temperature to 425° F.

POUR melted butter in bowl with sweet potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Blend in sweetened condensed milk, grated orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, salt and egg. Pour into unbaked pie shell.

BAKE at 425° F, as shown above, for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce temperature to 350° F.

FOR TOPPING

MIX together egg, corn syrup, sugar, butter and nuts in small bowl; spread over pie.

BAKE for an additional 25 minutes or until set.

No-Fail Sweet Potato Pie: Southern Charm on a Plate

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Being from the South/Midwest/Above Texas, the thought of a sweet potato pie with a pecan pie topping really appealed to me. Plus, this one even had "No Fail" in the recipe title (thanks to Rene Garza for this recipe)!

Ingredients

FILLING
¾ pound sweet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 small to medium)
¼ cup melted butter
1 can (14 ounces) NESTLÉ LA LECHERA FAT FREE Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell or Homemade Pie Crust*
TOPPING
1 large egg
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

FOR FILLING:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Wash and wrap sweet potatoes in foil.
BAKE for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Unwrap and rinse potatoes under cold water; remove skin. Break apart in large bowl.
INCREASE oven temperature to 425° F.
POUR melted butter in bowl with sweet potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Blend in sweetened condensed milk, grated orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, salt and egg. Pour into unbaked pie shell.
BAKE at 425° F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce temperature to 350° F.
FOR TOPPING:
MIX together egg, corn syrup, sugar, butter and nuts in small bowl; spread over pie.
BAKE for an additional 25 minutes or until set.

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Homemade Eggnog Ice Cream

by liz · Dec 11, 2018

One thing I’ve learned through my attempts to cook from scratch is that I now love foods I used to hate. Asparagus, eggplant, brussels sprouts and bone marrow are just a few items on the long list of foods that taste better made by me. Another one is eggnog.

I’d only ever had pre-made store-bought eggnog before, and it was so thick with a strong and manufactured, sweet, eggy flavor. It tasted too-strong and fake, much the way Mrs. Butterworth’s maple flavored syrup compares to real maple syrup from trees in Canada or Vermont. It always made me slightly queasy.

This year, I was in such a holiday mood, that when I came across a recipe online for old-fashioned eggnog, it sounded frothy and merry and delicious. I also realized our ancestors knew how to cut the cream and make anyone love eggnog: with a lot of liquor.

Using the old-fashioned recipe, I created my eggnog with one difference. I used only Cognac and Cointreau as the potent ingredients – but I followed the same overall measurement of liquor. It took an awfully long time to whip the mixture into peaks, but I was committed. I did both sets of whipping with vigor, for an especially extended period of time. When it was ready, it was delicious…the best eggnog I’d ever tasted.

It was so airy and light, with a lovely delicate flavor. But it was a bit difficult to drink, as the froth that had been whipped so superbly now stuck to the side of the glass heroically. But I wanted that foam with the drink, much like a perfect cappuccino.

I knew what would fix this! Ice cream. Putting the whole thing in an ice cream machine would freeze the mixture while still keeping it slushy because of the alcohol. It would be the perfect homemade eggnog ice cream shake. And so I froze it. And then I ate it. And drank it. And spooned it into my coffee in the morning. And served it to everyone who came into my house. Then, we drank more. It was the perfect beginning to my holiday mornings and the perfect end to my holiday dinners.

I really do love eggnog, now just as much as my ancestors did.

Sea Salt Mania & Chocolate Dipped Caramels

by liz · Dec 11, 2018

Chocolate Dipped Caramels with Sea Salt Recipe — Photo by Meals.com

This season it seems everywhere I look, I see chocolate topped with sea salt, caramel made with fleur de sel, or salted candies of some kind. And it tastes so good; that combination of salt, sugar and chocolate! I looked through our holiday recipes, and found a really easy sea salt, chocolate and caramel version. It looked easy enough for a kid.

So I enlisted the help of a very savvy 9 year-old in the kitchen. And I was right. My Little Assistant followed the directions, melted chocolate, dipped caramels and consulted on salt-chocolate flavor combinations. We ended up with 3 kinds: dark & mint chocolate with black lava sea salt, semi-sweet chocolate with Hawaiian clay sea salt and cinnamon, and semi-sweet chocolate with bamboo sea salt and lemon zest.

They were all delicious, but the ones with lemon zest added a lovely citrus twang, and reminded me of summer. So they were my faves (shown above).

Chocolate Dipped Caramels with Sea Salt by Meals.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (6 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
1 pkg. (5.5 oz.) about 25 pieces, soft & chewy rectangular caramels, unwrapped*
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions:
LINE baking sheet with wax paper.

MICROWAVE morsels and vegetable shortening in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted; cool slightly.

DIP caramel pieces, using a fork, into melted chocolate. Shake off or scrape excess chocolate against side of bowl. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set.

* 25 square caramels can be substituted for the rectangular caramels.