Perk Up with Coffee Jello

I've acquired a taste for coffee in the last year. Honestly before all I drank was tea and coffee made me think, bleh! but I've slowly moved towards coffee and as usual it's not just one thing that I begin to like.. it has to be everything in-between. Coffee flavored everything, like candies, ice cream, desserts and now jello. A caffeine fix in a jiggly format. This recipe is an Asian style dessert because it uses condensed milk which is popular in Vietnamese coffees and desserts. The popular jelly recipe is normally jello with the creme on top but to make things easier and more portable I've mixed it all together.   

 What you will need:
1 - Can sweetened condensed milk
3 - Packets Knox unflavoured gelatin
2 - Cups strong coffee, hot
1/2 - Cup cold water

1. Place 1/2 c cold water in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 unflavored gelatin packets over the water. Let sit until the gelatin blooms, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the hot coffee and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
4. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.
5. Pour into glass pan. Thickness of finished jello depends on the size of the pan. I used a 7 x 11 pan but a 9 x 13 pan will give you thinner pieces and an 8 x 8 pan will give you thicker pieces.

Recipe taken from Food Librarian

French Silk Chocolate Pie

I'm baking again! time for a celebration! Summer has never been the time that I baked. It usually has to be pretty gloomy and cold (obviously when it's warm, I'm outside) and well sorry to break the news to you but it's getting pretty darn cold out there. Now, I'm sure you lovely readers are wondering why didn't she make a pumpkin pie? it's October and Thanksgiving is on Monday and what the heck is French Silk pie?   

Well let me start off will the 101.. + pumpkin recipe out there and not to mention everything else that is pumpkin spiced flavoured... lattes, scones, cupcakes, gelato,... yadda yadda you get the picture. There is only so much pumpkin that is left for me to make at home that isn't a hundred times easier just to buy. So I've left that one to the mass markets and I'll sniff a pumpkin spice candle when i'm in the mood.

lets get the ball rolling, so what is silk pie you ask? well it's pretty much just chocolate pie. But whatever you call it, this French Silk Chocolate Pie is decadent, creamy, silky, and a definite crowd-pleaser. And it is filled with chocolate!

What you need is a simple pie crust, I use a standard recipe like this one. Using a smaller pan to weigh it down and scallop the edges. I bake it at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

See the perfectly golden edge, that is what you want for a tasty crust.

Now the filling recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 ounces, weight Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
• 1 cup Salted Butter, Softened
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 whole Eggs

Preparation Instructions

In small microwave safe bowl melt 4 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of regular (salted) butter and 1 ½ cups of white sugar until fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes). When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a Kitchen Aid mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).
Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes add in the three eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).
Plop a heap of whipped cream and garnish with a few chocolate curls if you’re feeling sassy.

Recipe taken and adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Sweet Little Tiramisu

Tiramisu is a dessert combo of espresso, rum, and mascarpone perfection. It's only second to creme brulee on my list of favorite desserts. Whenever I go to an Italian restaurant and see tiramisu on the menu my carb and wine stuffed body somehow can still make room for it. This was proven once again at Borgo on Saturday. Enjoying an evening with some great friends and fellow bloggers we filled ourselves with delicious food and desserts before heading to PARKSHOW.

The next post will be more on PARK. For now here are a few pictures of my own Tiramisu (recipe at the bottom) and the tasty dinner and dessert at Borgo.

   Recipe and directions:

Ingredients:

3 - Eggs

1/2 cup - Brown Sugar

1 - Tbsp Rum

1/2 Package Ladyfingers (Aprox. 12)

1 cup espresso coffee (I used instant coffee, it tastes the same!)

1 - Tbsp coco powder

4-5 mini glasses, small mason jars, or wine glasses 
250g Mascarpone

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites into two bowls

Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk hard until they become pale and a little fluffy. It should take about 5 minutes

Whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks, it shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes at a good steady pace. They will be ready when you can hold them above your head without them falling out. Blizzard style.

Next take a large metal spoonful of mascarpone and gently fold it into the egg yolk and sugar mix combining it with a gently figure of eight movement and once combined do the same with a large spoonful of egg white. Continue this until it's all used up and then add the rum and stir in gently.

Make up your coffee and dip your finger biscuits into it, they only need a very brief dip, then set aside

Now you want to begin the layering process. Start with a layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers which you can squish into the bottom of the glass, followed by a sprinkling of cocoa powder and a tablespoon of the fluffy egg mix, continue this way ending with a layer of fluffy egg mix.

Place the glasses into the fridge to set for at least 2 hours, then sprinkle the top with cocoa powder just before serving

Makes 4-5 serving and the recipe can be doubled for more or larger portions.