Cappuccino-Mascarpone Cakes

French patisserie, especially entremets always hold a fascination for me. They are so delicate, so elegant, so perfect. When you run your dessert fork through it, you can see those different layers, each with a unique taste and texture. They take some time to make, but it's well worth it. In the end even the serving temperature can affect the tasting experience. So I have decided to try making these beauties more often, starting with some cappuccino mousse cakes.

The cakes consist of four parts: a coffee flavored sponge, a mascarpone mousse, cappuccino core, and a coffee glaze.  It flavors are similar to tiramisu. I had some problems with putting the glaze on the cakes. It was either too thick, or too hot, that the cakes started to melt right away. I didn't really like how they looked. Well, they still tasted great, and so I hope to be able to make them look better next time. If you have any tips how to perfectly apply a thin glaze, I would be very happy to hear them.

BAKED Chocolate Brownies and a wedding gift idea

I made Brownies, not any kind of brownies, the famous BAKED Chocolate Brownies. Praises for them are all over the internet. Lots of people have called them the best brownies ever. So, this was the best recipe for the occasion.

The occasion was my cousin's wedding in December. No, I didn't make them as a wedding cake, even though they taste great. And here comes the idea. My cousin's best friend collected recipes from each wedding guest before the wedding and made a cookbook out of it. It wasn't just written up pages, each guest designed their own page, with pictures or drawings of their favorite recipe. All the pages, ranging from soups, pasta, Sunday dinners, cakes to desserts, were then bound as a book. I think this was a really great gift, since it's a very personal collection, which they will enjoy and look back to for many years.

I chose the brownies, because it's a classic dish, not too complicated and is loved by everybody. You can also dress them up as a fancy dessert, maybe for Valentine's Day. Cut out shapes using a round or heart cookie cutter, serve them warm with some vanilla ice-cream and hot cherry sauce. Lovely!