Peppermint Bark Candy Recipe

Peppermint bark is my husband Lulu's favorite Christmas candies. We usually get it from the store, but this year I thought it would be a nice touch to make it at home. It’s an incredibly simple recipe and makes a great gift. I made a large batch and hid the most of it from Lulu so that I can distribute it to friends and family.

To prepare peppermint bark, all you need to do is melt two kinds of chocolate and add a sprinkle of crushed candy canes. I made this with the traditional candies, but you could be more creative and replace the peppermint candy canes with chopped nuts, crushed pretzels, crushed cookies (such as ginger snap cookies) or other candies such as M&Ms or even chopped peanut butter cups. The possibilities are endless.

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Recipe

I love the combination of chocolate and raspberries. I've paired them in multiple desserts such as trifles, tiramisu and custards. But raspberry chocolate mousse was missing from the list of desserts I've shared so far.

The last time, I made an eggless mousse, but this time, I decided to add eggs. To ensure an airy, fluffy consistency, the eggs should be beaten for a very long time, then gently folded in melted chocolate and whipped cream. I flavored the mousse with raspberry extract and repeated the same flavor by adding chopped fresh  raspberries to the whipped cream.

The dessert can be prepared two days in advance, which is ideal when we host dinner parties. Raspberry chocolate mousse never fails to satisfy the sweet tooth of my guests. No chocolate addict can resist!

Chocolate Pistachio Cream Pie (Easy Dessert Recipe)

I love the combination of pistachio and chocolate. These mini pies are made with a filling of pistachio pudding nestled in a chocolate-flavored graham cracker crust. To accentuate the chocolate flavor, I added a thin layer of Nutella in between.

For the pistachio cream, I made a hassle-free pudding using pistachio-flavored Jell-O instant pie filling. I've made pistachio pudding in the past using corn starch, half and half and pâte de pistache but the pistachio flavor doesn't come as well. So why go through the headache when the Jell-O product tastes better?

You could top the mini pies with meringue or whipped cream but I thought it wasn't necessary, so I decorated them with crushed pistachios. Voilà!

Lavender Creme Brulee Recipe

I've been waiting for the lavender in my garden to blossom to be able to make my own Herbes de Provence mix. I had so much extra lavender that I thought I'd make our family's favorite dessert. Yes, crème brulée strikes again! Lavender has a strong floral taste, so a little bit goes a long way. To enhance the lavender aroma, I added lavender extract that I bought at Sur La Table store in Palo Alto. I really thought that the unusual flavor would turn off the kids but my little munchkin loved the lavender dessert the most and kept saying "It tastes like a flower, I love it!"

It's the third season we're planting lavender in our garden and I've learned that the variety most commonly used for cooking is English lavender, not French! So be on the look-out English lavender the next time you stop at the nursery.

If you're searching for a fancy French dessert for your next dinner party, try this recipe! On the practical side, you can make the cup dessert 'way in advance and create the sugar crust at the last minute. That way you can focus on your guests instead of dessert while still serving something fabulous. Your guests will be in awe.

Blackberry Creme Brulee

Crèmes brulées are my mother-in-law's pêcher mignon, which literally translates to "cute fault" in French (which means guilty pleasure). I keep telling her that these custard desserts can be flavored with anything and she keeps challenging me. She brought home a whole case of blackberries from our local market and asked if I could make her favorite dessert cups with them.

So after flavoring crème brulée with lemon, cherry, butterscotch, matcha green tea and masala chai, I was able to prove to her that I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.  It has occurred to me though that maybe her "challenge" is just an excuse to get me to make more crèmes brulées. As long as I can come up with more flavors, I'll keep playing along. After that, she'll have to come up with a better reason!