Tag: Mother’s Day desserts

Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

These Mini Baklava Cheesecakes are so cute and incredibly delicious. They’re much quicker and easier to make than a full size cheesecake. I par-baked the buttered phyllo dough, then topped it with a nut mixture. I used a combination of pistachios and almonds, but you can use any combination of pistachios, almonds or walnuts of your choice. After I baked the cheesecakes, I soaked the phyllo shells with honey syrup.Yum!

I topped them with little nests made of kataifi, which are so cute and perfect for Easter. Kataifi is thinly shredded phyllo pastry. You can find it in the freezer section of supermarkets and international markets. You will have some left over, but it’s perfect for using in any Dubai chocolate recipe. Toasted coconut makes a good substitute if you can’t find kataifi. These cute cheesecakes are also pretty topped with edible flowers or rose petals, which would be perfect for Mother’s Day or any springtime celebration.

Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

by Mari Vasseur
Mini cheesecakes with a baklava base, topped with kataifi nests
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients
  

Honey Syrup

  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup (177ml) water
  • 3 tablespoons (63g) honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mini Cheesecakes

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, melted and divided
  • 10 9 x 14-inch phyllo dough sheets, thawed
  • ½ cup (57g) finely chopped toasted pistachios, almonds or walnuts or a combination of nuts of your choice (I used pistachios and almonds.)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 8 ounces (227g) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature

Kataifi Nests

  • 1 16 ounce (454g) package kataifi phyllo pastry, thawed You'll need about 1/4 of the package.
  • â…“ cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 18-24 candy eggs I used Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Instructions
 

Honey Syrup

  • In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, water, honey and lemon juice, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Mini Cheesecakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush the insides of a 12-serving muffin pan with melted butter.
  • Place a sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface. Brush it lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet on top of the first one and brush it lightly with melted butter. Repeat this process until you have 5 sheets. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 6 squares, measuring about 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches each. Repeat this process with the five remaining phyllo sheets. Make sure to keep your unused phyllo sheets covered while you work to prevent them from drying out.
  • Place the phyllo squares into the cups of the muffin pan. Press them in with a pastry tamper or with the flat bottom of a small shot glass. Prick the bottoms of the phyllo with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 14-17 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, place the nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix until well combined.
  • Turn the oven heat down to 325ºF (165ºF). Place about a tablespoon of the nut mixture into the baked pyllo shells and press down lightly with the back of a spoon.
  • To make the cheesecake filling, in a large bowl, stir the cream cheese with a spatula until it's smooth and lump-free. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and well combined, but do not over beat.
  • Ladle the cheesecake mixture into the phyllo shells over the nuts. Fill them almost to the top. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, but still slightly jiggly in the centers, about 13-15 minutes.
  • Using a small offset spatula, gently loosen the cheesecakes from the muffin pan. Drizzle honey syrup generously along the perimeter of the outside of the cheesecakes, letting the syrup drip down the sides of the phyllo pastry. Let the cheesecakes cool in the pan. When the cheesecakes have cooled and the syrup has absorbed, transfer the cheesecakes to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

Kataifi Nests

  • Turn the oven temperature up to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush an 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 7-inch baking dish with melted butter. Roll clusters of kataifi stands into twelve 2-inch wide spiral shapes to form the nests. Place them in the baking dish. Drizzle the nests with melted butter. Gently brush more melted butter over the surface of the nests. Bake until golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. Immediately drizzle with honey syrup. Let the nests cool in the baking pan.
  • Place the nests onto the cheesecakes. Fill the nests with candy eggs.

Notes

To find the muffin pan I used, click here.
Keyword baklava, cheesecake

Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles

Imagine you’re in a beautiful room, reclining on a plush velvet chaise lounge. There’s a dainty table nearby. On the table is a cake pedestal with a little pyramid of small, perfectly plump, pink pastries. They’re filled with sweet, luscious strawberry cream. And they’re all yours. This Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles recipe can make that dream come true. Maybe not the velvet chaise lounge, but really any comfortable chair will do while you indulge in these delicious little gems. Profiteroles have a way of making you feel regal and majestic. I think princesses and princes snack on them. Most of us don’t have a personal pastry chef or the budget to order from a French bakery every day, but we can certainly follow a recipe and make one of the easiest pastry doughs there is. Choux pastry or pate à choux is used to make profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, churros and other pastries. Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless.

This recipe features fresh strawberries, but frozen strawberries will work too. You can also substitute raspberries or peaches. To find the recipe for Peaches & Cream Profiteroles, click here. The strawberry purée can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator. To make it easy on myself, I like to make the strawberry purée on day one, the pastry cream on day two, then make the profiteroles and strawberry icing and assemble on day three. It’s also helpful to practice the French culinary style of prep, mise en place, which means to have all of your ingredients and equipment in place before you begin. Everything will go much smoother and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

 

Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles

Mari Vasseur
Bite sized choux pastry puffs filled with fresh strawberries and cream filling and topped with fresh strawberry icing
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 18 profiteroles

Ingredients
  

Strawberry Pureé

  • 12 ounces (340g) strawberries, hulled and sliced About 2 1/2 cups after hulling and slicing
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry extract

Strawberries and Cream Filling

  • 1 cup (237ml) whole milk
  • â…“ cup (66g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (17g) cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Strawberry puree recipe above
  • â…” cup (156ml) heavy whipping cream

Profiteroles

  • ½ cup (118ml) water
  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (64g) all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs room temperature

Strawberry Icing

  • ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) reserved strawberry purée
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon strawberry extract

Instructions
 

Strawberry Purée

  • Purée the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Strain the puréed strawberries through a sieve into a small saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice.
  • Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the strawberry purée is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Stir in the strawberry extract. Set aside to cool completely

Strawberries and Cream Filling

  • Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  • Meanwhile, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the egg and whisk until smooth.
  • When the milk starts to boil, remove from heat and pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
  • Pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
  • Remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture through a sieve placed over a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and let cool completely.
  • Set aside 2 tablespoons (30ml) of strawberry purée. Add the remaining strawberry purée to the cooled pastry cream and stir until well combined. Cover strawberry pastry cream and chill in refrigerator.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whip the heavy cream, with an electric mixer at high speed, until stiff peaks begin to form. Fold the whipped cream into cooled strawberry pastry cream. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Profiteroles

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Combine the water, butter and salt in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball.
  • Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until steam dissipates and mixture cools to lukewarm. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl.
  • Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. (I used Ateco tip 808.*) Pipe 1 1/4-inch mounds, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Smooth the tops lightly with a wet finger.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven heat to 350ºF (180ºC) and continue baking until golden brown, about 8-10 more minutes. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick a small hole in each profiterole to allow steam to escape. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Use the tip of a paring knife to make a pilot hole in the bottom of each profiterole.
  • Place strawberries and cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip. (I used Wilton tip 12**) Place the tip into the pilot holes and fill each profiterole with filling.

Strawberry Icing

  • In a medium -sized bowl, whisk all of the icing ingredients together until smooth. Spoon over the filled profiteroles. Refrigerate profiteroles until ready to serve.

Notes

*To find Ateco tip 808 click here.
**To find Wilton tip 12 click here.
Keyword profiteroles, strawberry

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Strawberries & Cream Tarts

May is when I get to pull out all of my summery recipes. These pretty little Strawberries & Cream Tarts remind me of a summer day. The kind of day when you’re outside enjoying the sunshine and you’re craving a cool, refreshing dessert. This strawberry cream filling alone is so delicious that I could just eat the entire bowl with a spoon. But since I’m extra, I had to create an aesthetic dessert with it.

I used my favorite tart shells for this recipe, but this would also be delicious with those little pre-made graham cracker pie crusts if you want to take a shortcut. The reason I love this tart crust recipe so much though, is that it actually tastes delicious. Once, a few years ago, I purchased a beautiful, small fruit tart from a famous bakery. The fruit was vibrant and glistening and the pastry cream filling was sweet and silky. Now we need the sound of a mic drop, because the tart crust was hard and flavorless, like cardboard! Ever since then, I knew I would settle for nothing less than a delicious tart crust.

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 6 4-inch tarts

Ingredients
  

Tart Crust

  • 1 ½ cups (6.75 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoons ice water

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • 2 cups (16 ounces) strawberry puree Plus more for garnish
  • ½ cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold heavy whipping cream

Instructions
 

Tart Crust

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
  • Work in butter and egg yolk with a pastry blender or with your fingers, until pea size pieces are formed.
  • Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together.
  • Form dough into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness
  • Cut dough into six 5-inch rounds. Press rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans.*
  • Dock the bottoms of pie crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 375ºF. Place tart pans on a large baking sheet.
  • Line tart shells with six 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights.)
  • Bake tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.
  • Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • Pass the strawberry purée through a mesh sieve to remove large seeds.
  • In a medium saucepan, simmer the strawberry purée until it's reduced by half. Stir in the sugar and continue cooking over medium heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Meanwhile, place 3 tablespoons of water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin powder over the top of water. Let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour the gelatin mixture into the warm strawberry reduction mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Add extracts and beat until combined.
  • Add the strawberry reduction mixture to the cream cheese a little at time. Beat until well combined.
  • In a medium bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
  • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture.
  • Spoon into cooled tart shells. Smooth tops with a small offset spatula. Refrigerate for two hours. Garnish with sliced, fresh strawberries.

Notes

*To find the tart pans I used, click here.
Keyword strawberry, tarts