Guava Apple Sauce Recipe

As my husband Lulu's little 6-year-old sister was enjoying a cup of guava apple sauce I recently made, she asked: "The jar is almost finished. Jackie, have you put this recipe on PhamFatale?" I replied to her that apple sauce was very easy to make and that all you need is ripe and very sweet fruit.

The munchkin insisted and asked:
" How do you know when the fruits are ripe?
Well, remember, as soon as we picked the guavas, we placed them in a paper bag, along with a banana and the gas released from the banana made the guava so fragrant."

It got me thinking that maybe making apple sauce wasn't as obvious as I thought, so here's the detailed recipe. I actually prepared it with Daddy, my father-in-law. The guavas were peeled, chopped and boiled with unfiltered apple juice (we love our juicer!) until mushy. In a separate saucepan, the same method was used for sweet apples (I used Fuji apples). Once the seeds of the guava were strained, both the guava and apple sauce are combined, then sweetened with honey. Voilà!

Guava Cake Recipe

The girls are home this week because it's winter break. Lya has been spending a lot of time in the garden, and today she brought me a basket full of guavas. We made some preserves as usual, and I made some guava curd with the remaining fruit. The flavor was so intense and distinct that I thought it would make a wonderful flavoring for a cake.

I decorated the sides of the cake with candied pecans and topped it with a thin sheet of marzipan. The beautiful orchid in the picture that my husband Lulu had bought was unfortunately torn apart from its stem, so I used it as garnish for the cake. I think it adds something almost exotic to the picture, but I wouldn’t recommend destroying your houseplants to decorate your cakes!

Red Bean Pot de Creme Recipe

To me, Vietnamese desserts taste delicious. My husband Lulu, however, is not a big fan of either their taste or their aesthetics. Lulu has a serious sweet tooth, so for him, the very subtle use of sugar in Vietnamese desserts is not nearly satisfying enough. I love the flavors though, so I decided to make a French and Asian fusion dessert that would make us both smile.

After much deliberation, I decided to make red bean pots de crème. Red bean, in case you don’t know, is often found in Asian desserts. To incorporate the ingredient, I used the same technique as for making traditional pots de crème, but I also added mashed sweetened red beans. In addition, I substituted coconut milk for regular cow's milk. To make the dessert more attractive, I added a dollop of matcha-flavored whipped cream and garnished with green-colored sugar.

The visual is nice and the flavors and texture are intense and rich. Mission accomplished!

Lemon Tiramisu Recipe

Lemon tiramisu is a great dessert to end a very romantic dinner. Yesterday, I served my Valentine a dinner that is reminiscent of our recent trip to Rome. Instead of the traditional ladyfingers in between the layers of mascarpone cream, I used chocolate chip biscotti instead. I flavored the mascarpone cream with Meyer lemons, which paired wonderfully with theItalian chocolate cookies.

We looked at the photos of our trip to Italy, while feeding each other from the dessert cups. My favorite place was, of course, the Vatican (thanks for the link, Bill!) with its magnificent frescoed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. Oh so romantic!

Blackberry Cupcake Recipe

My husband Lulu is leaving for a 4-day business trip, so I packed a cupcake and a little message to satisfy his sweet tooth and let him know that his wife is thinking about him and misses him. What can I do, I'm a true romantic!

I flavored the cupcakes with blackberry frosting and decorated the top with sugar roses made from pandan-flavored marzipan and fresh blackberries. This might sound a little cheesy but I think the main ingredient is love. With that, even the worst disasters (I’ll tell you about mine some time) turn out ok. Have fun preparing for Valentine's Day!