Happy Friday!!  Do you like chocolate?  Would you like a light fluffy dessert that is super easy to make?  I suggest you give zesty-in law’s chocolate mousse a try!  When I consumed this around 11:00pm and it was excellent.  I could have had at least 3 bowls of this goodness but I stuck to just one.  I am so polite!

If you ever need a great light dessert after a large meal – this is a great simple recipe to try.  Let me hear of other mousse’s you have tried.  I love to hear your ideas.

Ingredients

• 5 Oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 Large eggs, separated
• 1/2 Tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 6 Tbsp icing sugar

Method

1. Melt chocolate over double boiler then  prior to being fully melted add butter and stir to mix.





2. Add egg yolks as well as the vanilla and granulated sugar and in whip until thick and glistening.
3. Mix yolk mixture and the chocolate mixture by whisking together.
4. In clean bowl beat cream until thick and firm peaks and then fold into the chocolate yolk mix.
5. In clean bowl beat egg whites and the confectioners sugar in until firm peaks, but do not beat until dry.



6. Add 1/3 egg whites to the chocolate mix and then add the remained through careful folding.





7. Chill at least 2 hours prior to serving.
8. Cover well to protect from fridge odors.



9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you are worried about crowding in the fridge, chuck this in the garage or outside on the patio/deck if you live in a cool climate.  It doesn’t have to be in the fridge if you are tight on real estate.

What do you have on the go for the weekend?  I am sticking to house work at the new place and spending some much deserved time with the fam.  I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Anyone Up For Some Mousse?

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Happy Friday! The end of the week has arrived. It threw me off that it was Friday already since we had a holiday in the middle of the week. As you remember on the holiday, I went over to my sister and brother in laws for a baking day! With that being said, you can guess what is coming up for today’s sweet treat.

Sugar Topped Rhubarb Cup Cakes. Now as you know I am high on the rhubarb kick as you can tell from my rhubarb pie. These muffins have a nice flavor of almond as well as the tartness of the rhubarb.

Tell me what you think of these and be honest!  I love them!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1/4 Cup White Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Diced Rhubarb
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Oil
• 1 Tsp. Almond Extract
• White Sugar for Topping

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.







2. Mix dry ingredients.



3. Beat egg, add milk, oil and almond extract.



4. Pour egg mixture over dry ingredients and stir to moisten.



5. Fold in Rhubarb.



6. Bake for 20 minutes.





7. Dip tops while hot in sugar.



8. Enjoy!

Zesty Tip: This recipe is very versatile. Using peaches or other fruit in season are just as delicious.

In honor of all my US readers,  I would like to wish you an early Happy Independence Day.  Have a great weekend and you have the rest of the day until 5:00PM EST to enter the great POM giveaway.  I will announce the winners on Monday.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Kicked Up Sugar Topped Rhubarb Cupcakes

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We made it!  Friday is here and I am super excited.  Why you might ask?  I am so tired that I could sleep standing up!  I am looking forward to relaxing on the weekend as well as doing a little blogging.

However today, I bring you the final installment of zesty’s catering week.  I do though have a couple of other dishes that were served that I will likely fold into the mix next week.  So stay tuned for that.

What surprise do I have for you today?  A Brie Bake – my first time ever making this beauty!  I was thumbing through a magazine where someone was talking about a Brie Bake which got me so excited that I had to try it out.  This all comes back to the fact that I am a huge bread baby and I am always attracted to pastry.

For ease of time I opted to go for the puff pastry as I did with the Beef Mushroom Pastries from yesterday.  This bake might be the easiest show stopper appetizer I’ve ever made.  The look of this dish as it came out of the oven was pure bliss.  I could almost taste the warm jam melted with warm soft cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 Pkg. Puff Pastry
• 1 Brie Wheel (1lb)
• 1 Egg
• Sprinkle Sugar and Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp.  Fruit Spread ( strawberry)

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 325°.
2. Thaw the pastry and put a couple of spoonfuls of the fruit spread in the middle.
3. Cut one side of the rind off the brie and put it face up in the fruit spread.
4. Wrap the fruit and brie with the pastry.
5. Cover with egg wash (egg and a bit of water) and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°. You’ll be able to tell when it’s done!



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  For the filling, avoid the pastry from getting too wet from the spread by choosing what I call a tight spread (not too runny).

Before leaving for the weekend, I want to announce that the e-book will be ready for download early next week.  I am really excited to have put this together.  As well I am happy to have included some of the top food bloggers out there.  I cannot wait to share with you the list of foodies that are featured in the book.  Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Fruit Filled, Sugar Topped Brie Bake

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Saturday past was slated as family day in the orchard! We had a blast. The weather was really nice, sun shining, birds chirping and apples a plenty. I don’t often attend the apple orchard events but I must say that I was impressed. The focus at this particular orchard were Cortland and McIntosh Apples. It was somewhat crowded in the parking aisles but the orchard was so big – it felt like you were picking by yourselves.  The following days will likely contain many more apple baked goodness and I may even try the apple crisp version from a while ago.

A quick shot in the orchard…

Just getting a closer look at all the apples in the tree… Can you tell that I don’t come to the orchard very often?

Checking out the Cortland up close…

The finished product… Not too mention we had 47 lb. in total we just threw some in a basket to make the picture look good!

When we got home from the orchard I wanted to whip up a quick snack for everyone and test out these apples (even though I knew they were tasty because i inhaled two at the orchard). I came up with some of my favorite ways to eat an apple besides the old fashion way of washing it off and chomping in.

Below are three quick ways to prepare apples that are usually fan favorites with the younger crowd:

1. Apple Peanut Butter

2. Apple Brown Sugar

3. Apple Chocolate

Thank you so much for reading about my apple orchard day.  Now because I am super curious about almost everything.  I want to know what everyone loves on their apples?

Happy Thanksgiving to all fellow Canadians!!  Enjoy the turkey!

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Apples: A Day in the Orchard

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I have had a lot of people ask me – How do you make such great boiled icing?

So I thought I would share my simple yet effective technique.  As mentioned boiled icing does taste great especially with the older generation and it is very simple to make.

When you are making your next cake… give the following a try for your icing and let me know what you think.

I would love to hear other variations of the popular boiled icing.

Ingredients

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla

Method

Step 1

Combine the sugar, corn syrup and the water in a quart pot.

Step 2

In a separate mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until they are stiff and hold a peak. Set aside.

Step 3

Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and then to 238 degrees F.

Step 4

Pour the hot syrup over the egg whites in a steady thin stream, beating constantly.

Step 5

Add the vanilla and beat until cool and of spreading consistency. If icing does not seem stiff enough, beat in 2 or 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff enough to hold its shape. Spread over your next cake and enjoy!

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

How to Make Boiled Icing

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