{Sweet Treats} Dessert Truck Works

After our visiting friends shopped 'til they dropped in Soho, they were craving sweet treats and a good cup of coffee.  As we were heading eastward anyway, we knew just the NYC spot:  DessertTruck Works.  The last time we were there, DessertTruck Works had just opened.  Now, the menu has grown to include smaller desserts and tasty, yet sustainable, coffee from Counter Culture. 

My friend and I took one look at that Loaded Brownie ($3.50) and knew we had to try it! Not only did we enjoy the rich, chocolate brownie, but we also got the bonus homemade airy marshmallows, chocolate covered pretzels, and caramel popcorn on top.

Black Sesame and Passion fruit macaron ($2) - This was an interesting flavor combination between the nutty black sesame and sweet passion fruit filling.

Warm Brioche Donut Holes with Nutella filling (or the most decadent donut holes ever!!) ($6):  These sweet pillows with chocolate hazelnut filling come hot straight from the oven.  My friends would fly back to NYC just for these desserts!

DT Works is located at 6 Clinton St (btwn E Houston St and Stanton St) in NYC.

{Easy Recipes} Dark Chocolate Guinness Gelato

Anyone who has followed our blog, Twitter feed, or Facebook page knows how much my husband loves beer.  And because he's half-Irish, I've made him Guinness chocolate cupcakes and Guinness ice cream floats.  So with the summery weather, I knew I had to make him a Dark Chocolate Guinness Gelato. 

If you're a Guinness beer drinker, you'll love this easy gelato. The dark chocolate and Guinness beer mixes together to make a rich and deep flavor. The taste of the beer is definitely pronounced. You could also serve the gelato with whipped cream for the frothy beer head effect.

Dark Chocolate Guinness Gelato

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate

3/4 cup sugar

1 bottle of Guinness stout (or any dark stout beer)

Directions:

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it begins to bubble.

2. Remove milk from the heat and stir in the chocolate and sugar until melted.

3. Slowly stir in the stout beer. Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled.

4. Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. 

5. After freezing for a few hours, the gelato is ready to be served.

{Easy Recipes} Chocolate Peanut Butter Gelato

The upside to not having a working oven at the moment is coming up with no-bake desserts.  With NYC's recent 100F/40C muggy weather, I've been craving frozen treats like ice cream and gelato.  I decided to make gelato since I only had whole milk on hand.  (Gelato contains less fat than ice cream as it's made with more whole milk and less cream).  The rest of the ingredients came from whatever I had in our pantry (making gelato one of my favorite pantry-clearing items!)

This was my first time making Chocolate Peanut Butter gelato and I was so happy with how it came out!  I based my recipe on one of Giada's, but used less sugar, added a touch of salt, and didn't add cream at all.  Instead of Nutella (which I also love), I used Dark Chocolate Dreams from Peanut Butter & Co. The gelato had that addictive sweet and salty intense flavor that we both love.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Gelato (adapted from Giada de Laurentis' Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato recipe)
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk (I used whole milk from Organic Valley)
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
sea salt
Chopped peanuts (optional for garnish)

Directions:
1. In a saucepan combine the milk and 1/3 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow.

3. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and sugar mixture into the egg mixture and stir. (This will ensure that the eggs don't become scrambled!)

4. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

5. Pour the warm custard into another medium bowl and stir in the chocolate peanut butter until it dissolves.  Add a little bit of sea salt to enhance the chocolate flavor.

6. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with peanuts.

What's your favorite frozen treat to make at home?

{Easy Recipes} Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Though not as glamorous as my Burger Cupcakes and Cookie Fries, the Chocolate Pistachio biscotti I made did help raise some money for the Share our Strength Bake Sale.  Don't tell the cupcakes, but I actually prefer the taste of the biscottis because they're not very sweet. They also go well with a hot cup of tea or coffee.  These biscottis are easy to make and are perfect for people like my husband who doesn't have a big sweet tooth.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti (adapted from SkinnyTastes)
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
    1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Trader Joe's unsweetened cocoa)
    1 1/2 t baking powder
    pinch of salt
    3/4 cup whole pistachios
    1/4 cup butter, softened
    3/4 cup granulated sugar
    2 large eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with baking mat (I love my silpat) or parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt). Add pistachios, and mix.

3. In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (butter, sugar, and eggs, one at a time).

4. Slowly and gradually, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined to make a dough.

5. Remove the dough and using your hands, divide the dough into three pieces and form into long flat shapes about 8 inches long x 1-1/2 inches wide. Place on the lined baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.

6. When cool enough to handle, gently cut the loaves on the angle into 1/2 inch slices (I used my new favorite orange knife).

7. Return to the baking sheet fitting as many as you can on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti for another 3-4 minutes on each side, less if you like it softer. Makes about 24-30 pieces.

When the biscottis have cooled, they're ready to serve!

Or you can package them up for a bake sale or as favors at a party!

{Sweet Treats} Mexican Chocolate Flan for Cinco de Mayo

I welcome any excuse for a party. So while I've never celebrated Cinco de Mayo growing up in Toronto, I absolutely embraced the idea of margaritas and Mexican food after I moved to the U.S. When one of my gal pals invited me over for an informal Cinco de Mayo dinner tonight, I knew that was just the right excuse I needed to try making something new.

I decided to make a Mexican Chocolate Flan (with Kahlua!) based on a couple of recipes, including one by Chef Rick Bayless (from his signed cookbook that we bought when we dined at Frontera Grill).  I actually had these hot Mexican chocolate tablets on hand (bought them at Tehuitzingo), which inspired this dish.  This chocolate isn't as sweet as milk chocolate. It has a higher cocoa content and it also contains cinnamon, which lends itself to a nice spicy taste.  (Had I had cayenne pepper on hand, I may have added some more heat to this dessert!)  This recipe does take a few steps and can be made a day or two before any event. Enjoy!

Mexican Chocolate Flan (adapted from this recipe and Rick Bayless' cookbook)

Ingredients (serves 4):
For caramel topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
For the chocolate flan:
2 tablets of Nestle Abuelita 
1 cup milk
4 oz (half a package) of cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
 1 T Kahlua
4 large eggs
1/2 t vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325F.

2. Caramel topping: Set 4 custard cups (I didn't have any so I used ramekins which were 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches tall. This made my flan more of a fudge-like consistency rather than a silky custard consistency) in a baking pan (use an oven-safe glass pan if you have it) deep enough to hold 2 inches of water.

Pour 1/2 cup of sugar into a small saucepan. Add in 1/4 cup of water and stir several times. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat without stirring until the syrup begins to color.  Swirl the pan until you get a deep amber color. Pour the syrup evenly between the 4 containers (I found it easier to pour a bit in one container, swirl it around so the entire bottom is covered, and then move on to the next container).

3. Custard: Pour the milk and cream cheese into a medium size saucepan. Add the Mexican hot chocolate tablets and let it melt over medium heat.  Let the mixture simmer and add the 1/3 cup of sugar.  Stir occasionally until everything is mixed together and remove from heat.

Whisk the eggs, Kahlua, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot Mexican chocolate/milk mixture.

4. Baking the flan: Evenly fill the molds with the mixture. Pour about 2 inches of very hot water into the pan around the filled molds. Lay a sheet of foil on top of the pan (don't seal it) and bake in the middle level of the oven until the flan is barely set.  Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean.  Let the flan cool in the water bath, and then refrigerate the flan to cool completely.

5. Serve:  Remove the flan from the refrigerator and run a nonserrated knife around the edge of each mold. Flip the mold upside down onto a small plate. (I had to do this a few times before the flan came out!) Scrape out any caramel in the container onto the flan and serve.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

{Cheers} Chocolate Cocktails

Photo courtesy of Chambord

Happy Friday everyone!  With the weekend finally here, it's the perfect time to treat ourselves to a drink. I love my sweet treats and chocolate is no exception.  So a couple of chocolate cocktails sounded like the perfect way to end a meal and to start the weekend! The first drink (Chambord French Kiss) is like a dessert and will satisfy anyone's sweet tooth, while the second drink (Tuaca Hot Chocolate) is less sweet, but more chocolatey (due to the chocolate syrup in it).  Cheers to a sweet and spicy weekend everyone!

Chambord French Kiss

1 1/2 oz. Vodka

1 oz. Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur

3/4 oz. white chocolate liqueur

3/4 oz. heavy cream

Combine ingredients in shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass.  To add a special touch, garnish with chocolate.  The photo shows a chocolate kiss, which can be difficult to float.  I like to add one of my easy-to-make chocolate stars (that I made for my New Year's Eve party) as a twist or just floating in the drink.

Photo courtesy of Tuaca

Tuaca is a strong brandy liqueur with vanilla and citrus flavors.  I find it too strong to drink on its own, but it works well in cocktails.

Tuaca Hot Chocolate

1 1/2 oz Tuaca

2 dashes hot sauce ( I used a jalapeno hot sauce)

1 bar spoon chocolate sauce (I used a dark chocolate sauce)

Chili pepper

Drizzle chocolate syrup into a shot glass. Shake Tuaca and hot sauce with ice and strain over syrup. Garnish with a chili pepper. 

{Sweet Treats} Hot Chocolate Tour of NYC

While my husband is the coffee fanatic (leading our coffee tour of NYC), I love a hot mug of hot chocolate to warm me up on a cold, wintry day.  With NYC hoping to reach the high 20'sF (or just below 0 C) today, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite hot chocolate spots.

Amongst the pretty and tempting gelato pops at PopBar sits small boxes of hot chocolate on a stick ($3.75, comes in dark chocolate and caramel flavors).  I chose the dark chocolate, and let the square of Belgium chocolate melt into my light and frothy milk.  The hot chocolate is creamy, but not too sweet.  And it warms me right up! (PopBar is located at 5 Carmine Street at Avenue of the Americas)

The most decadent (and at $8, the priciest) hot chocolate I recently enjoyed was at the elegant La Maison du Chocolat (my favorite spot for macarons too).  There are two options:  the Caracas (full bodied, stronger dark chocolate) and the Guayaquil (sweeter and richer semi sweet dark chocolate infused with vanilla).  Both are thick and luxurious...and can come with a dollop of whipped cream.  I prefer the Caracas because I like darker, more bitter chocolate but both should satisfy any sweet tooth! (La Maison du Chocolat has various locations throughout NYC, I visited the cafe at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)

Another decadent favorite is the hot chocolate at LA Burdick ($5+, available in milk, white, or dark chocolate flavors).  It's silky and rich, with a frothy foam and spice sprinkled on top.  (LA Burdick is located at 5 E 20th between 5th and Broadway)

Lastly, Jacques Torres offers hot chocolate in all of his stores (try his subtly spicy Wicked one).  But at Sweetleaf in Long Island City, they take the classic Jacques Torres hot chocolate up a notch with their homemade coconut marshmallows ($4).  The marshmallows are so good - little clouds of subtle coconut flavor add a slight tropical taste to my creamy hot chocolate.  And with icy cold days here in NYC, who doesn't need a little warm taste of island paradise?  (Sweetleaf Coffee & Tea is located at 10-93 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, NY)