Category Archives: Dessert

Polish Babka

April 6, 2011 admin Leave a comment

I have been searching for a recipe that would turn out my Grandma’s babka, but, alas, I cannot find one that compares. After years of Grandma’s being passed around, something is surely missing as it just does not turn out the right product. This one is close – it has most of the right ingredients and it turns out a really nice tasting babka that is quite traditional (like many of the Polish delis sell), but it is not my Grandma’s babka. Hers was much flatter and less dense – it was drier and airier. It was more a cross between a cake and a bread (she even cooked it in a 9×13 pan rather than a bundt or in bread pans) whereas this one is more the traditional heavier bread. So if you’re looking for a traditional babka recipe, this is a great one to try.

If anyone out there knows of how to get the babka tasting more like I remember, please let me know !!

20 servings
239 calories per serving

6 c flour
1 t salt
1 package of yeast
½ c warm water
¾ c sugar
1 ½ c skim milk
1 stick unsalted butter
¾ c golden raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1 egg yolk
2 T water
Pam

Soak raisins in some warm water to plump them up a little then drain before adding to dough. Heat milk in a saucepan then add the butter and cook on low until the butter is melted. Pour into a mixing bowl and add sugar and salt and cool for 20 minutes. Mix the yeast and ½ c water and let sit 5 minutes then add it to the milk and sugar mix. Add in the 2 beaten eggs and then gradually add the flour and mix. Then knead the dough ½ hour by hand or 10-12 minutes in a mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add the raisins during the last couple minutes of kneading.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. Then punch down, re-cover and let it rise another hour.

Then take dough and place in a 13×9 pan (or in 2 bread pans). Mix the egg yolk and 2 T water and brush onto the top of the bread dough. Spray foil with Pam and cover pan and let rise again until doubled – again, about an hour.

Then uncover and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour for a 9×13 pan or 45 minutes for a large pan or bread pans. It’s done when you tape on it and it makes a hollow sound. Let cool and then cut into slices.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Strawberry Tarts

March 31, 2011 admin Leave a comment

These are such a hit and it’s no wonder why ! The pastry filled with strawberries and cream is perfect – then you add some drizzled chocolate and you have a heavenly dessert.

152 calories per serving
24 servings

1 box (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
24 large strawberries, sliced
1 8 oz. container Light Cool Whip
Chocolate Syrup
Pam

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or the temperature your puff pastry box instructs). Spray a baking sheet with Pam. Unfold each pastry sheet and cut into 12 pieces (making a total of 24 pieces). Bake 15 minutes or according to package instructions. Let cool and then gently split each in half so you can make a ‘sandwich’. Spread 2 T of Cool Whip in each, then top with 1 sliced strawberry. Close up the ‘sandwich’. Make all sandwiches and then drizzle each with 2 t of chocolate syrup.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Fudge Pops with Bananas

March 25, 2011 admin 4 Comments

I recently got a Zoku Quick Pop Maker. BEST THING EVER ! I love making pops but hate the wait time. Now I have ‘em in 7-9 minutes 🙂 This is one of the recipes I pulled from the Zoku book – of course, I’ve tweaked many of the recipes to suit my own tastes, bring down calories, and to get creative with the pops, but some are in their original goodness.

You can make any of these recipes in traditional pop makers – each pop here is 2 oz. so adjust accordingly. And if you love pops like me, then do yourself a favor and get a Zoku 🙂

6 servings
132 calories per serving

1 c water
2 1/3 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli bittersweet morsels)
1/3 c sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 c skim milk
1 T fat free half and half
½ c very thin banana slices

In a saucepan whisk chocolate, sugar, water and salt and cook until completely melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes in the fridge and then whisk in the milk and half and half. Then return to the fridge and cool completely (about ½ hour).

Working in 2 batches – Place bananas on the sides of the maker molds then pour in the mix. In 7-9 minutes you’ll have creamy, fudgy goodness with a bit of banana thrown in for interest 🙂

If you are using traditional molds, you can suspend the bananas by filling the molds half way, freezing a bit, then adding the bananas and the rest of the mix. Or you can just let the drop to the bottom – it will still taste dandy ! Freeze 6 hours.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chocolate Cheesecake

March 18, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Rich, decadent, creamy goodness – this has a great cream cheese / cheesecake flavor while screaming CHOCOLATE !! It makes a great special occasion dessert.

10 servings
265 calories per serving

1 Oreo crust
1 c nonfat cottage cheese
½ c Egg Beaters
12 oz. Nefchatel (low fat cream cheese) at room temperature
1 c sugar
½ c unsweetened cocoa
¼ c flour
1 t vanilla
¾ c powdered sugar
¾ c nonfat sour cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a blender or food processor, mix cottage cheese and eggs until smooth. In another beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until smooth and then add the cottage cheese mix, cocoa, flour and vanilla. When smooth pour into the prepared pan. Bake 60-65 minutes or until set. Cool 15 minutes and then cover and chill 4 hours. Just before serving, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the cake.

Dessert, Snacks

Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps

March 7, 2011 admin Leave a comment

A perfect accompaniment to ice cream, perfect served alone, a great dipper for Fruit Salsa – these are super easy to prepare and great tasting.

Makes 96 crisps
24 servings (4 crisps per serving)
52 calories per serving

12 – 7 or 8 inch flour tortillas, cut into 8 wedges
Pam (butter flavored)
1 t cinnamon
½ c sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking pan with Pam. Place as many pieces as will fit on the pan and spray with Pam then sprinkle with a mix of the cinnamon and sugar. Bake 5-10 minutes or until crispy. Repeat with other tortillas. Let sit and cool a few minutes to finish crisping.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Coffee, Vanilla and Chocolate

February 23, 2011 admin 1 Comment

This is such a great dessert – so satisfying and definitely guilt free. The Cool Whip topping makes the ice cream sandwiches into something really special. If you don’t like coffee, try adding some vanilla or a flavored extract to the cool whip for some extra flavor.

6 servings
225 calories per serving

1 T instant coffee
2 t sugar
2 T hot water
8 oz. cool whip, thawed
6 low fat ice cream sandwiches
3 T shaved chocolate

Dissolve coffee and sugar in hot water and fold into the cool whip. Arrange ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan and spread with cool whip mix. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate, cover and freeze 2 hours.

Breakfast, Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chocolate Raspberry Delight

February 8, 2011 admin Leave a comment

You make it like a grilled cheese, only it is sweet and delicious and utterly decadent. Serve for a sweet treat breakfast, as a dessert, or for a snack !

4 servings
345 calories per serving

8 slices 45 calorie wheat bread
½ c Nutella
12 oz. fresh raspberries (or defrosted frozen berries work fine too)

Spread 4 slices of bread with Nutella. Lightly mash the raspberries and add to the sandwiches and top with the remaining slices of bread.

To make this a hot sandwich, just follow the directions below:
Spray a heated pan with Pam. Spray outsides of sandwich with a couple spritzes of butter spray and cook 2-3 minutes per side in a hot skillet or a total of 3-4 minutes in a Panini press. Top with berries. Optionally, sprinkle with a little powdered sugar before serving.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

January 29, 2011 admin Leave a comment

You won’t even miss the frosting when you make this awesome raspberry sauce – the extra flair is a nice touch to add to a holiday table.

8 servings
210 calories per serving

Cake:
9 oz. package devil’s food cake mix
1/3 c light sour cream
¼ c water
¼ c Egg Beaters
2 t powdered sugar

Pan prep:
Pam
1 T flour

Sauce:
10 oz. frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
3 T sugar
1 t cornstarch
¼ t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with Pam and then lightly flour it. (INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO) Combine all cake ingredients except the powdered sugar and beat 2 minutes at medium speed then spread into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool ½ hour and then invert onto a plate and sprinkle with sugar. In a blender puree berries until smooth and strain out the seeds by pushing the puree through a sieve. Combine puree, sugar and starch in a saucepan and cook on low heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm sauce over cake. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Dessert

Cranberry Nut Scones

January 23, 2011 admin Leave a comment

You either love scones or hate them – I am a lover 🙂 This is a great recipe that turns out a delicious fruit and nut scone. The cranberries are just sweet enough without making these too, too sweet. And the pistachios are a nice change from the typical walnuts or pecans found in baked goods.

14 servings
187 calories per serving

3 c flour
1 1/2 t cream of tartar
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 T orange zest
6 T butter
1/3 c Splenda
3/4 c skim milk
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c chopped pistachios (no salt)
Pam
Some extra water if dough is too dry.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam. Combine flour, tartar, baking soda, salt and zest in a large bowl and cut in butter with a pastry blender ( a hand held tool available at all kitchen goods stores) or pulse in a food processor.

Once crumbly, add Splenda and milk and stir just until moistened. Add cranberries and nuts and pat dough to a 3/4 inch thick circle on a lightly floured surface. If dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water but not too much – this is a very dry dough. Use a 2 1/2 round biscuit cutter to make scones (or any other shape – just adjust calories accordingly). Place on baking sheet and cook 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Dessert

Mocha Pound Cake

January 14, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Take an already rich pound cake and add a sour cream mocha frosting – then get your forks ready !

8 servings
279 calories per serving

10 oz. frozen low fat Sara Lee pound cake
1 t instant coffee powder
1 t hot water
8 oz. light sour cream
1 c semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Let cake thaw a bit and cut into 3 horizontal layers. Combine coffee and water and stir to dissolve the coffee, then add sour cream and whisk well. Gradually add melted chocolate and stir until all smooth. Place the bottom slice of cake on a platter and spread 1/4 c of chocolate mix over the cake. Cover with the next layer and repeat, and then do it once more ending with a layer of chocolate on the top. Spread this layer evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate 30 minutes or more.