It's All About the Eggnog!

I'm a bit late delivering this recipe to you but it's worth the wait. There is this eggnog from Honduras that is really popular during Christmas time and of course, impossible to get it here unless someone brings it from there. It is by far the best eggnog I've ever had. My goal this Christmas was to re-create that same flavor and texture. It was tough since I had no references other than the memories I have of it.

I don't know if theirs is made with cooked eggs, mine is!  So don't be afraid to try it. After few attempts, I finally came out with this super creamy, I repeat, super creamy recipe. I am so happy with the way it came out, the texture is so silky that stays in your mouth even after you drink it. Although it wasn't exactly the same, it really brought me back and I'm sticking to this recipe.

Since I already was in the eggnog mood, I was also inspired to make a tart, but this is not just any tart. It's a cheesecake eggnog tart so good, I had to make it twice last week. I have a feeling I'll be making it again on New Years Eve, but this time, I'll make individual servings to pass around. 

This year I'm making little chocolate cupcakes wrapped in doilies with a "Happy New Year" tag for my guests to take home. I think it's a cute idea, besides, what a better way to start the new year than with chocolate?  If you would like to download the tag just click HERE!

I hope all of you have a great New Year, filled with love and health! 

Happy New Year!   

Ingredients: 

For the Eggnog:

6 large egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoon

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup dark rum 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and beat until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the evaporated milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and carefully temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the saucepan and cook stirring until mixture thickens, about 8 minutes, do not let the mixture boil! Remove from the heat. Whisking constantly, let it cool over an ice bath. Once cooled, stir in the rum, pour into a serving bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill, preferably over night.

Eggnog Cheesecake:

For the crust:

8oz Graham crackers

4oz unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch spring-form pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. For the crust, finely grind the crackers in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs have moistened. Save 1/2 cup of crumbs to sprinkle over the cheesecake later when ready to serve. Press the rest of the crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

For the filling:

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup sugar

2 whole large eggs

2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

 a pinch salt

Beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add rum, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and mix on medium-high speed until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks and add it to the mixture. Mix until just combine, about 30 seconds.  Pour filling into the crust, place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool completely without cover. Once cooled, cover it and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs before serving. 

NOTE: I added 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the crumbs before sprinkle to cheesecake.

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Butternut Squash Soup and Free Greeting Cards

Butternut squash soup. This comforting fall/winter soup is one of my favorites. I love its sweetness; it almost makes me feel like I'm eating dessert.

I love to serve soup as a starter on my holiday dinners. My favorite way to serve it? Little shooters. It's a fantastic way to get people started. It's like a preview of what's coming next and of course, leaves plenty of room for the rest of the meal. I usually make a large batch of it the day before and just warm it up when i'm ready to serve it. 

The mascarpone cheese is a perfect addition. Instead of adding spices to the soup, I add them to the mascarpone cheese and it works beautifully. I also like to garnish it with fresh rosemary. It not only makes it look pretty and festive, but also adds some flavor to the mascarpone cheese. 

I have also designed some greeting cards for you to download for free! Just click HERE, download, print, cut and start writing! I made them in two colors, red and blue. They go perfect with the occasion especially if you are giving out baked goods. Also, there is still time to enter the giveaway from SneakPeeq, click HERE to read more!

Merry Christmas! 

Ingredients:

For the Spiced Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until well combined and smooth. 

For the soup

1 1/2 pound butternut squash, 

seeded, peeled and cut in 1-inch dice

2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch dice

2 shallot

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add shallots and carrots and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the squash and potatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the vegetables to coat them with the oil and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add enough hot water to just cover the veggies, cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and puree the vegetables with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with mascarpone cheese and garnish with rosemary.

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Bûche de Noël and a Giveaway!!

Bûche de Noël. You’ve probably heard of it before. A traditional French log-shaped Christmas cake. Everything about this cake is just delicious, beautiful and fun. If you've ever been curious about making this cake, hopefully this recipe will encourage you to go ahead and do it. Is it hard? well, not really. It just has several elements and also depends on the decoration. The crazier you go, the longer it will take. I do this cake once a year for Christmas so YES, I go crazy but what I do is I divide the work in 2 days. One day I make all the mushrooms and the snowman, which is really the most meticulous part and the next day I do the jelly roll and the filling.

 A lot of people like to fill it with ganache which is delicious but I choose to fill it and cover it with dulce de leche and chocolate buttercream. It came out really delicious and a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine goes really well with it!   

Now onto the giveaway! 

Sneakpeeq is giving away 20% off your next purchase just for entering, plus a chance at the Grand Prize: two winners will be picked to receive a $25 sneakpeeq gift card to use on your favorite food, style and home products. Five runners-up prize winners will receive a $10 gift card—that goes a long way in sneakpeeq’s amazingly low-priced boutiques!

Come see all the things you love but haven’t discovered.

Enter the giveaway by doing two simple things: click HERE and join sneakpeeq and answer the following question: What's your favorite dessert? 

All winners will be announced on 12/26/2011

Good Luck! 

Winners Announced  
$25 winners:

Nico Le
Kristen Seikaly $10 winners: Audris Lau Jesica Juventia Edisanto Kaylie Kinney Michaela Dunajská Kiko Hernandez

Congratulations! Please claim your prize at deliciousshots@gmail.com

For the cake:

4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar 

3/4 cup cake flour, sifted

2 once butter, melted and cooled slightly 

cocoa powder

Preheat the oven 350 F. Grease a jelly roll pan (17 by 12 inches) and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and flour the bottom and sides of the pan, knocking out the excess.  We first need to make a meringue. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whip attachment, beat the egg whites on low, gradually add the sugar and raise the speed to high, beat for about 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and using a rubber spatula, carefully fold them into the meringue. Fold the cake flour into the meringue and last fold the cooled melted butter. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out into an even layer. Bake the cake for 5 minutes, rotate the pan and continue to bake for another 7 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. While the cake is baking, place a clean kitchen towel on a work surface. Place coco power in a sieve and generously dust the kitchen towel evenly. 

When the cake is done, immediately flip it into the prepare kitchen towel. Remove the pan and gently peel off the parchment paper. Carefully start rolling the cake from the long end into a tight spiral. Keep the cake rolled until it's completely cooled and really to be filled.

Dulce de leche Buttercream:

1 sticks of butter, softened 

8oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup dulce de leche

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese together until creamed. Add the dulce the leche and mix until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and salt and mix for 3 minutes more.  

For the mushrooms find recipe HERE and for the snowman, just stack 3 mushroom meringue caps and insert a toothpick in the center to hold the three together. 

To assemble:

Gently unfold the cake and using an offset spatula, lightly coat the surface of the cake with a thin layer 

of buttercream. With the help of the kitchen towel, carefully re-roll the cake into a tight roll. Transfer the cake to a serving platter before continue with the decoration. Using a serrated knife, cut 1 inch off one of the ends of the log and place the end end piece cut side up on top of the log ("glue" it to the log with some buttercream) to resemble cut brunch. Using the offset spatula, cover the entire log including the ends with buttercream. With the help of a fork, score the log in long even lines to resemble tree bark. Decorate the cake with mushrooms meringues and the snowman (this is the fun part so enjoy it!) and last but not least, let it snow!! dust the cake with confectioners' sugar!!

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Delicious Christmas is Here!!!

Download File HERE!

It's finally here! The Christmas magazine I've been working on for the past couple of months is ready!!!!!!! I am so excited to share this with you because I put a lot of thought into it and as you might know, it's not easy to get carried away with projects when there is a 19 month old baby running around the house screaming for attention. But I did enjoy the process and I can already tell you, I would do it again.

Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More delicious

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