dacquoise with mandarins

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a good start into the new year. We were invited to a lovely new years party at our good friends home. For this special and festive occasion I wanted to surprise my husband and friends with a delicious and nice looking dessert. A few month ago, I made a Dacquoise with mixed berries and it was a big hit on my summer party, so I decided to make this dessert – cake again, but instead of berries I took some refreshing and sweet mandarins.

dacquoise with summer fruits

A  Dacquoise is a kind of dessert cake made with layers of almond or hazelnut meringue, filled with pastry cream, buttercream or whipped cream and topped with seasonal fruits. The texture of this classic french cake is soft and creamy, crisp and crunchy and will satisfy everyone. It will take some time to prepare this heavenly dessert but it is worth it.

cheesecake with peach sauce

This refreshing and fruity peach sauce goes great with the rich and creamy consistency of cheesecakes and makes it an ideal and delicious summer treat.

strawberry trifle flavored with tonka beans

I’ve never made a Trifle before or even has eaten one. So, when I saw this Trifle recipe by Jamie Oliver I knew, this would be the ideal finish for my next summer party. Instead of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract I used a Tonka bean. The Tonka beans tastes like a cross between vanilla, almond and cinnamon and are used particularly in the French kitchen for desserts and in perfumes.

The fresh strawberries with the sparkling Prosecco and topped with pastry cream and the unique flavor of the Tonka bean makes it one of  the most decadent desserts ever.

crème bavaroise with strawberry sauce

Crème bavaroise is a classic dessert from Germany. The cream is similar to a French crème pâtissière, but thickened with gelatin instead of cornstarch, flavoured with liqueur and lightened with whipped cream. The texture is very smooth and it is not too sweet. It’s a simple but elegant dessert to finish off your dinner.

caramel pastry cream

This caramel pastry cream is one of my all time favorite dessert. It’s simple and smooth and while it’s creamy, it’s not overly rich. The caramel is made by boiling together sugar and water to form a caramel syrup. Depending on what you like, your syrup can be a light amber color or a deep, rich golden hue which makes for a richer contrast in flavors.

crêpes à la crème

These very thin pancakes may be delicate, but they are surprisingly easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. An exquisite dessert after a good meal.

tiramisu

This classic dessert is one of my favorite. For an italian dinner-party at a good friends home, I made this delicious Italian dolce. It should be made the night before you intend to serve it.