Bakers Royale

Strawberry season is just beginning here in California, so of course I went strawberry wild and bought a flat. I’m so glad I did, they are perfect – sweet and ripe. For this strawberry dessert I paired it against a light and fluffy lemonade flavored whipping cream.

Strawberry Lemonade Trifles

I had planned on making this into a cake but I realized someone accidentally threw away my cake helpers-ahem, Matt.

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A Fall trifle that’s perfect for any Thanksgiving feast. Each layer comes together with minimal effort and fully assembled this trifle makes an impressive presentation. Caught in between the layers you will find a light and ethereal caramel mousse that’s been layered with a burnt caramel sauce to accompany the crisp apple crumble. Adding another dimension to the apple crumble are chopped raw apples for a tart and fruity bite. Together all these components create a symphonic collaboration of textures and flavors.

Caramel Apple Trifle

If you follow me on Facebook then you know I put out a query for a preference on easy elegance or fancy desserts that require a little more time. No surprise that easy elegance won. That being the case, I figured what could be easier than a trifle. Easy to make, full of flavor and always an attention grabber, I decided to dress up my latest trifle with a Fall profile.

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Time for a Baileys Friendsgiving! Okay, it’s really Friendsgiving all the time with me and my friends, but this Friendsgiving mini-soiree was a great excuse to play around with some Baileys. In fact we used this mini-soiree to sample some desserts and plan our bigger holiday party. Since its high holiday season and everyone’s busy with holiday planning and attending holiday plans, I wanted to create recipes for easy entertaining and one that you can even gift. How’s that for multi-tasking?

To start things off I made a truffle with one of my favorite flavors, mint. Let me start by saying I’m really particular about mint. Too much mint and things start to go bad because it can have an overpowering effect. To keep the mint as an enhancer rather than a dominator to the chocolate I used Baileys® Hint of Mint Chocolate. Its smooth mint flavor is set against a subtle chocolate undertone that makes it perfect for flavoring a dark chocolate truffle body.

Mint Chocolate Truffles

These turned out so great, I’m adding them to my holiday gift giving. Next up is the Café Au Lait Trifle. Folded into the body of the chocolate mousse is Baileys® with a Hint of Coffee. » Read the rest of this entry «