Blueberry white chocolate mousse

 It's blueberry season! Plump, juicy, huge blueberries are overflowing in the markets...and in my fridge. Oh, the things we can make....I've been busy making blueberry milkshakes, sorbets, muffins, madeleines, loaf cakes and the like. But when it scorching hot outside, the last thing anyone wants to do is turn on the oven.  Here's a refreshing dessert: keeps you cool and no baking involved!

Mini Donuts with lavender, rose and hibiscus glazes

These cute little donuts remind me of The Simpsons cartoon donuts!  Tiny and perfectly round with bright glazes and sprinkles. By making a few different glazes, this basic vanilla recipe can be transformed into many different flavors and vibrant colors. This time, I have decided to add a feminine, floral spin to these miniature cuties by making three different glazes: lavender, rose and hibiscus.

Ice Cream Dorayaki

A beloved Japanese sweet. So easily made at home.  Dorayaki is a Japanese style pancake, much like its American counterpart, but slightly more dense,  sweeter and stickier, thanks to the honey added to the batter.  It also creates a deep, even caramel color when cooked.  Sandwiched between two pancakes is traditionally sweet red bean paste, known as anko paste.  Though as it has been unseasonably hot in Vancouver, what better way to cool it down than with a little ice cream added to this yummy dorayaki?

Dark Chocolate Cookie

This is a very satisfying cookie.  This little morsel has everything you can ask for: crunchy hazelnuts, rich dark chocolate pieces, tiny intense cocoa nibs, a pinch of fleur de sel, all encased in a soft chocolate, not-too-sweet cookie dough. The bonus is that it can be whipped up very quickly!  This is my go-to recipe for after dinner sweet cravings...

Mango cheesecake

Spring is in the air! Flower buds and new green leaves are sprouting everywhere!  I found lemon balm mint, miniature pansies and thyme flowers survived the winter and peered their heads out from my patio last week.  And what better way to capture these pretty little petals than using them to adorn something sweet??  I used them immediately to decorate a mango cheesecake that I was about to make. 

Black Sesame Panna Cotta

Reasons to make panna cotta NOW:

1. It's fast. It takes 15 minutes to put together. The time it takes you make a drive-thru run at Dairy Queen, you could have made panna cotta for 6 people.
2. It's no-fail. 1 tablespoon of gelatin will set 2 cups of liquid. No if's, and's or but's. It will ALWAYS work.  It is not rocket science, or souffle.
3. It can be made ahead. Panna cotta will sit nicely in the fridge for up to 4 days. When you're ready for dessert, all there is to do is open the fridge, et voila, dessert is served.
4. It's versatile. Panna cotta is like a blank canvas, as long as you've got the basics of milk, cream and gelatin, you can take it any direction you please.

So, make it today!

Vanilla Cake Roll with Raspberry Mascarpone Cream

Cake rolls are adaptable little things.  Aside from the obvious egg, flour and sugar trio, it can be filled with whatever your heart desire (or what's available in your pantry!)  - jams, nut butters, creams, cream cheeses, fruits and whatever else in between.  Cake rolls are easy to put together with almost no prep work.  Just the thing to make on a whim!  Or in my case, just the thing to make when there's no bread for breakfast tomorrow.  Let us eat cake!

Dark chocolate mousse

Everyone makes impulsive purchases. I admittedly do...not all the time...but...sometimes. There are occasions when you come across something so irresistible that you have no choice but to take it home. Like when I spotted a set of Le Creuset heart-shaped mini cocottes last month, I knew I had to buy it. I had to. It was calling my name. Even though I couldn't at all fathom what I could possibly use them for. But I refuse to be a remorseful shopper.  I am determined to find a way to put them to good use...and here it is: