Tuesdays With Dorie 42: Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise

Ok, so I am a little late this week... No excuse really, other than just life getting in the way! This week's recipe was chosen by Andrea of Andrea In The Kitchen. To be honest, I really dislike coconut, white chocolate and pineapple! So when I saw this recipe was chosen, I wasn't really thrilled at all. BUT, Tuesdays with Dorie is all about trying out new things (and many I thought I wouldn't like, I loved), so I really didn't want to miss this week. Unfortunately, I didn't end up loving this at all, but like I said before, it's because I don't like the core ingredients! I know my mum would have loved it though.

Tuesdays With Dorie Rewind- French Chocolate Brownies

This week I am sitting out Tuesdays with Dorie due to seasonality. The majority of the group are from the Northern Hemisphere, meaning that our seasons are completely opposite! This week's recipe was chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior, which was Honey-Peach Ice Cream. I would have loved to make this recipe too, just because I love making ice cream (and I have an enormous amount of egg yolks in my fridge right now). I know I could have made the ice cream with tinned peaches, or chosen another fruit, but I decided to make a recipe from before my time with the group.

I have been on the hunt for a good brownie recipe for a while. I also love my brownies dense and chocolatey- no nuts or fruit for me thanks. These brownies turned out really delicious (obviously I omitted the sultanas) and I am sure I'll be baking these a lot in future. I have tried Dorie's Classic Brownie recipe before, but I prefer this one.

Tuesdays With Dorie 40: Parisian Apple Tartlet

Yes... I am returning with my head hanging in shame. I've been extremely neglectful of my poor little blog! I know it's a cliche, but life has just been really full on lately. I did actually get to make the Cinnamon Squares last week, but had no time to take photos. I quite enjoyed them, but next time I would leave out the coffee. My granules (yes, I probably should have used powder) didn't dissolve properly which wasn't that pleasant! Even though the past few weeks have been really busy, it's actually only going to get worse for me in the next few as I enter exam block. I will really try to keep up blogging though, especially since I missed Daring Bakers last month.

This week's recipe was chosen by Jessica of My Baking Heart, and was perfect for easing me back into blogging. The recipe is incredibly simple, but oh so delicious. It is perfect for those times when you feel like something sweet as a snack. The tartlet is also very quick to make, so also ideal for those times when your other half is hassling you for a dessert (very frequently in my case).

Tuesdays With Dorie 39: Tartest Lemon Tart

I'm so glad that we have a break from chocolate this week, and what better to have a break with than lemon? Not just any lemon either, it's a very tart lemon tart. You can find the recipe at Babette's blog, Babette Feasts.

This lemon tart is made from an entire lemon: rind, pith, pulp and juice. What? Yes, I too was afraid at first. I was extremely skeptical about including the pith, so naughtily, I omitted this. I simply zested my lemons, sliced the lemons into quarters, and cut away the pith and removed the seeds. So I know I didn't use the entire lemon, but honestly, I thought it was tart enough without it. Dorie recommends that you blitz the lemon into a smooth puree with a blender, but I randomly forgot I had one and attempted to do it with my food processor. It was clear that this simply wouldn't do, so I used my small blender attachment I usually use for spices. Even with this, I wasn't able to get the lemon really smooth, which ultimately affected my end results. I found the lemon to be quite stringy. It still tasted really delicious, but next time I'll know to keep on blitzing, blitzing, blitzing...

The Perfect Chocolate Mousse

The dessert that I most commonly crave is by far chocolate mousse. Oh it is just so perfect and delicious and chocolately and rich and inviting. I could eat chocolate mousse for the rest of my life. While I would probably devour any type you put in front of me, this is my favourite recipe of all time. Thanks Gordon Ramsay!

Well, the best things in life certainly aren't free... or easy in this case. This mousse is time consuming but very worth it. You start by making a pate a bomb, to which you add some of your favourite melted chocolate (Valrhona Caraibe for me thanks). This is followed by folding in some Italian Meringue, and then finally you gently fold in whipped cream. The texture of this mousse is amazing and it is incredibly stable, meaning you can make it well in advance. I dolloped on a pile of vanilla cream and added some Valrhona crunchy pearls for texture. Delicious.

You can find the recipe in Gordon Ramsay's book Just Desserts.

Tuesdays With Dorie 38: Tiramisu Cake

Strangely enough, I am pretty sure I have never had Tiramisu! How can that be? I am not entirely sure but I can only assume it is for the following reasons; 1) Coffee and me are certainly friends, but nothing more, and 2) I can't remember ever seeing it on a menu. I think this might be because it's more of a classic dessert that has been superseded by all these new fangled things. So thank you to Megan of My Baking Adventures for choosing this recipe.

When I think about it, what is there to be afraid of with Tiramisu? Tender cake soaked with a coffee flavoured simple syrup, billowing with luscious layers of coffee infused mascarpone and cream... I have more than once declared my love for creamy delicious desserts and this Tiramisu cake was perfect! It is incredibly dreamy and I am eagerly looking forward to devouring the rest of it after dinner. Dorie suggests a few different alcohols for the cake, but I went with Kahlua which was perfect.

Tuesdays With Dorie 37: Chocolate Cream Tart

You cannot begin to imagine how excited I was when I found out this week's recipe was a chocolate cream tart. I love tarts, especially creamy ones, and anything chocolate, so this literally was my perfect dessert. I actually hadn't really noticed the recipe before, but I think that's mainly because it wasn't accompanied by a delicious looking photo. So a huge thanks to Kim of Scrumptious Photography for picking it- look what I could have been missing out on!

With the chocolate pastry cream, it is really important that you choose a chocolate that you really like. If you don't like dark chocolate for example, then don't use it. The pastry cream comes out tasting exactly like the chocolate you have chosen, which is why I'm so glad I went with my favourite Valrhona Caraibe. The pastry cream was unbelievably delicious! So impossibly rich and smooth. I am honestly going to be making it again, just to eat out of little pots for dessert by itself. S particularly loved the tart shell- it was so delicate, it just shattered in your mouth. Paired with a big dollop of vanilla flavoured whipped cream, it was superb! All three elements worked together harmoniously. I am missing it, just thinking about it.