Dessert Recipes

Desserts, wow, even recalling the name is so alluring. Desserts are the favorite of one and all. No doubt, desserts are a course that generally comes after the climax of the meal but this course is much awaited throughout the meal. People feel anxious to finish their meals so that they can take the joy of those delectable desserts in yummy flavors. Desserts are generally sweet food but sometimes they also come in strong flavors like that of a cheese. There are several desserts that can be enjoyed after the meal. Some of them are cakes, fruits, cookies, custard, ice creams, candies, etc. These are the dishes that are generally served. Every place has its own types of sweet dishes and deserts that they usually consume. Northern part is in love with desserts prepared from rice and milk, which they usually eat. On the other hand Southern part basically prepare desserts with diversified components but all involving coconut. Every place has its own dessert variety to make their meal absolute and enriched with excitement. Desserts take the credit of making the meals interesting. Not only this, people often celebrate their festivals, occasions and happy moments with these desserts. Desserts thus have become another name and sign of cheerfulness. People prepare their favorite dishes, usually sweet dishes, on the occasion of pleasure. It is believed that consuming sweet dishes is good in happy moments and it reflects the joy. Also, sweets can also be served to family members and friends meeting after a long time as it increases the sweetness in relationships and friendships. Despite all benefits and numerous benefits people should shun these desserts and sweet dishes as much as they can. These dishes can be consumed rarely but should be certainly avoided on regular basis. The reason is that if taken in excess amount, causes the abnormal increase of sugar level in the blood. This disease often termed as diabetes in medical language, has several ill effects accompanied with it. The common victims of this disease are generally professionals. Even the legendary Atlanta Plumbers(Need one?click here!), Oceanside Electricians (Need one? click here!) and Gladewater Roofers are affected with this disease.

Some old friends stopped by without calling first not long ago. We had a good talk with them, reminiscing old times, catching up on current events, and discussing politics. As the night progressed, I realized I needed to serve refreshments. This would be a difficult task, as I haven’t been to the store lately and my supply of food was dwindling. I surveyed the cupboard, trying to find a suitable choicebut couldn’t find anything appropriate. I refused to serve these people stale crackers, moldy cheese, or overripe fruit. I quickly scanned the contents of my refrigerator and freezer. How lucky could I be? Wedged between the fish sticks and popsicles in my freezer was a wonderful option…cheesecake.

Cheesecake is a truly delightful treat, I like to keep a few around for just these sorts of occasions. It is so versatile, it freezes well, is easy to serve, and can be used for just about any occasion. Whether it is a sweet snack, a handy dessert, or a covered-dish item for pot-luck dinners, cheesecake is an unforgettable and appropriate choice. I’ve even been known to give cheesecake to others as gifts.

Cheesecake can be stored for several days in the refrigerator or frozen for months. It tastes as fresh as the day you purchase it. It thaws in just a few minutes, is easy to slice into serving portions and simple to serve. Its creamy texture makes it easy to swallow, as well.

Cheesecake has a flavorful originality all its own, with the perfect combination of tartness and sweetness. There are a number of types of cheesecake from which to choose, making each a completely different dessert. Of these different choices, fruit-topped cheesecake offers a healthy and colorful option. Consider juicy, red strawberries, firm blueberries, or sweet peaches ladled generously over a slice of New York Style cheesecake and feel your mouth celebrate the complimentary flavors. For that extra-tart, exotic pleaser, try Key Lime cheesecake. Turtle cheesecake has that decadently rich taste that is simply scrumptious.

The cheesecake flavor I found in my freezer to serve my guests was chocolate cheesecake. I brewed coffee as the chocolate cheesecake easily thawed to a slightly thicker than ice-cream texture. As we enjoyed each flavorful bite, we continued to visit and converse and joke, as my friend exclaimed: “Chocolate cheesecake makes my clothes shrink!” What delightfully clever friends we have.

Cheesecake is a handy and impressive treat to keep on hand for those surprise visitors who you know are going to be arriving sometime. A well stocked freezer with those emergency supplies turns what could have been a stressful time into a celebration. Sometimes I think my friends come whenever they get hungry for this sweet treat!

Are you a professional baker who wants to master the latest pastry recipes or baking trends, a home baker who wants to improve your baking skills, or are you looking for a new career?  Whatever situation or stage of life you are in attending one of the many accredited culinary arts baking educations would advance your career and increase your knowledge of baking techniques and equipment.

When applying for the job of baker most institutions require a minimum of a high school diploma.  With so many competing for the same job the more training certification and experience one has the better.

Specialty bakers and pastry chefs have become more of a necessity today to keep restaurants and bakeries a cut above their neighbor.  It seems there is a new bread or pastry shop opening in local neighborhoods each day.  It has also become more common for local markets and cafes to have a baker on site to offer fresh baked items each day.

Many bakers have begun their careers as apprentices under the guidance of an experienced baker.  They learn the baking craft with on the job training which can take several years.  If you want more jobs to open up for you, it would be much better to enroll in a formal training program that is offered at a nearby two year community college, a culinary arts institution  or professional-tech school or baking schools..

Through these creative cooking centers you will gain a wide range of information and learn the basics of menu planning and food prep as well as specialty gourmet bread and pastry techniques.  Other technical knowledge in nutrition, ingredients, icing and decorating trends will also be taught.  Each of these schools also have the latest mixing and baking machines, tools and other equipment that you will become proficient at operating and maintaining.  There are many health and sanitation laws and requirements that you will need to be familiar with as well.  Applied chemistry will demonstrate how baking ingredients are changed through heat and mixing methods.

Working in a restaurant or bakery may seem like an exciting profession, which it truly can be, but it also is a lot of work.  Through your culinary education at one of the many accredited Baking Schools you will soon discover what a typical day in the life of a baker would include.

Each day a baker must check the baking schedule; Weigh, measure and mix ingredients to make dough, batter, fillings and icings; Work with huge and possibly complicated mixing and blending machines;  Knead, roll twist, and form dough into a variety of shapes for cookies, tarts, pies and more; Pare and cut fruits for pies and pastries; Have knowledge of the correct tools, pans and cooking sheets for each job; Setting proper oven temps and closely watching the goods as they bake; and most importantly, checking the baking equipment each day to be sure that they are up to local safety and health regulations and standards.

There are a myriad of Baking Schools listed on the internet so you will want to check on their qualifications.  You may want to travel to a location that is known for their specialty breads and pastries such as Seattle, Washington or San Francisco or even Paris or Italy.  In each of these areas you can learn about the regional trends and techniques which you can also add to your resume of baking knowledge.

If you were to ask a group of 100 people for their definition of a delicious dessert recipe, you’d probably get very few definitions and plenty of specific dessert names. You may say “The most delicious dessert in the world is chocolate cheesecake!” Then you’ve got lemon meringue pie, apple pie, ice cream cakes, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting … oh, truly, you could write a small dictionary of delicious dessert recipes! ‘Dictionary of the Delicious Dessert’ has a nice ring.

Every family has a little stash of recipes, handed down from generation to generation. Every family claims there’s nothing quite like their own secret family treasure, particularly when it comes to tasty dessert recipes. It may well be that just a teaspoon of this or that ingredient can make that lemon meringue pie recipe unique and your family just wouldn’t have it any other way.

My Mom had her own little stash of wonderful dessert recipe cards, which she kept on index cards in a cute little painted metal box. Most were handed down from her Mom and Aunts. Three of my very favorite and most delicious dessert recipes are still in my possession: one is for fresh strawberry pie, a summer delight all the neighborhood kids looked forward to eating for the other three seasons of the year. The second is her Mom’s secret, to-die-for lemon meringue pie. The third is her Mom’s famous Norwegian butter cookies.

Now these are the benchmarks against which I measure any other dessert. Although these delicious dessert recipes must be duplicated – almost - in millions of other households, even Marie Callendar’s pies don’t measure up to those pies. As for my Grandma’s cookies, well, they are like a little visit to Heaven on a plate.

The pastry I have yet to master is the fresh strawberry pie that had me closing my eyes, savoring the sweet delights of a mouthful of fresh strawberries. My grandma, mom, and all the kids would pile up into grandma’s car and drive for many miles just to buy strawberries from the farm when it was strawberry season.

I think what made that delicious dessert recipe an all-time favorite is the fresh smell of a lot of fresh strawberries or the fact that it took all day to gather all the ingredients.

The lemon meringue pie made with fresh lemon and lemon zest is very lemony. The graham cracker crust added to its perfection.

There must be some Norwegian secret as for the Norwegian butter cookies because I cannot duplicate the plain butter cookie, with its ever so delicately browned edges, no matter how hard I tried.

Let’s hear your vote for the incomparably delicious dessert recipe or you can submit your own mouth-watering recipe. There should be a lot out there waiting to be exposed.

Article by Van T, you can learn more about him at his profile

It is certainly not time to declare the elegant cocktail party of the mid-twentieth century is a thing of the past, but there is a clear trend in entertaining toward more casual events. Think of Clark Gable or Fred Astaire, dressed in their tuxedos; or picture Ginger Rogers in her swirling gown. They gathered in an opulent estate, sipped martinis and danced throughout the night. Can you honestly dream of your family, friends or neighbors relaxing in that kind of atmosphere and actually being thrilled about it?

Most of us don’t have friends with opulent mansions; neither do we have the budgets that allow us to stock up on many bottles of imported gin and tin after tin of beluga caviar. Furthermore, we not as happy (or romantic) in tuxedos as in open shirts. Specialty coffee and a luscious dessert may be more appropriate ingredients for the relaxed social evenings of our times.

The bakery around the corner has perfectly acceptable cheesecake, perhaps purchased from a local distributor, but you might want to opt for something a bit more interesting for the taste buds of your guests. You can have unique cheesecake delivered to your door the day before your party from as far away as across the country.

Consider a selection of cheesecakes to meet the varied tastes of your guests. You might want to include a turtle cheesecake for the people who enjoy a bit of chocolate in any dessert. You can decorate with just a few shavings of dark chocolate, and all the people can pretend that they are eating a health food.

A nice alternative would be a strawberry or blueberry cheesecake for your friends who enjoy a fruitier taste. You might want to venture to one of the more unusual berries such as Marionberry, unique to the Pacific Northwest. If you opt for the tarter flavors, you can decorate with a mint sprig.

Some of your guests might have some dietary restrictions (or have more self discipline than many of us). For those friends, include a gourmet low carb, sugar free cheesecake alternative. While that might not be considered a health food, it allows splurging within acceptable limits. An orange wedge makes a healthy addition to this plate.

Create some labels for each of your alternatives, so your guests can make informed decisions.

Of course, you’ll want to include a robust decaf option. In addition choose to present just one interestingly flavored coffee. Add to that a bold roast from Jamaica or Columbia.

Keep the cream, non-fat milk and non-dairy creamer in an ice bath in a shallow, decorative bowl. Throw in some cubed sugar with sterling silver tongs, for a decorative touch.

A casual and delicious evening such as this can be the twenty-first century equivalent of the cocktail party. Cheesecake and coffee do not require a tux, and the absence of alcohol allows for safe travel for all of your departing guests.

1. Do you love pie? Well find me a Pharaoh that doesn’t!

Pies are no spring chickens! They’ve been being devoured for thousands of years. It’s suspected that the first pies were created in Egypt and were filled with honey, fruits and nuts… much like the pecan, coconut and chocolate pies that we know and love today. Greek merchants embraced the pie movement and helped it cross the ocean to Europe where it was a huge hit with the Romans, the Spaniards, the British and ultimately found it’s way to my plate here in Jackson, TN!

1. How Much Pie is Too Much PIe!

On average, every adult American will eat 6 slices of pie this year.According to Wikipedia, the most recent survey has the current population at 306 Million of which 73% are adults. That means 223,380,000 people who are munching down 6 pieces of pie each.. that’s like… um.. well…. a lot of pie! Pie has become so much of an American tradition that the phrase “As American as Apple Pie” has become a common expression. Citing a 2008 survey by Crisco, America’s pie preferences are as follows. Starting with the most popular, Apple, pumpkin, pecan, banana cream and cherry. 18% of men say their wife cooks the best pie while only 2% of women are willing to admit their husband’s pie is superior!

1. The Upper Crust

Pie is one of the few foods that can lay claim to its own official organization! You don’t hear much about the vegemite committee of America, but sure enough The American Pie Council is alive and well. “Designed to raise awareness, enjoyment and consumption of pies”, the APC organizes several annual events including the National Pie Championships and National Pie Day (which by the way is January 23^rd – mark your calendars!) Membership has 3 levels – Amateur, Professional and Commercial and entitles you to a tart shell full of benefits not least of which is the official newsletter – Pie Times (of course it is…)

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