Kahlua Ricotta Cheese Charlotte Recipe

Tweet
Welcome to the first Monday, Mmm ... Dessert, where you can share dessert recipes.  It's brand new, so "Tell a Friend" as Alan Hamel of the old Alpha Beta and Acme commercials used to say.  He's Suzanne Somers' husband in case these didn't air in your state.

I'm sharing with you one of my easiest dessert recipes.  I make it when I invite guests because it's very quick to fix, and it needs to be prepared the day before, so there's no last minute rush.  Everyone always raves too, which is very important, not so much for the ego, but because happy guests will want to come back again.

Leave your recipe in the linky below, and tell a friend.

Kahlua Ricotta Cheese Charlotte Recipe
1 1/2 lbs. ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cup finest granulated sugar
1/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup candied fruits, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, blanched
24 ladyfinger cookies

Beat ricotta, sugar, and Kahlua until smooth.  Mix in fruits and nuts.  Butter a round 1 1/2 quart springform cake pan.  Line bottom and sides with ladyfingers.  Pour in cheese mixture, and cover top with remaining ladyfingers.  Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.  Turn out on cake stand.





 

***********************

Giveaway

The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti and Lisa Weiss

Click to go to giveaway post

***********************

Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling

Sometimes the best desserts are some of the easiest and least complicated ones.  Simplicity is heavenly.

I just made some Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling at a friend's house, and of course, it reminded me of the Brie En Croute with Apple Compote Filling Recipe I had posted for you.

Flickr/Like_the_Grand_Canyon
Brie En Croute can be served as
a dessert or as an appetizer too.

In just a couple of minutes I laid out the store-bought puff pastry sheet, placed the small French brie wheel on top, poured out a small jar of organic Michigan cherry jam and tossed in a handful of chopped nuts.

Then I folded the pastry sheet corners over the top in a decorative flower-like fashion and popped it in the oven at 375F.  About 15 minutes later it was a beautiful golden brown and smelled heavenly.

Instant presto dessert.  Super fast and super tasty.  We all dug in and the mmmmms ... yum ... mmm ... sounds started.  And the compliments.  There were only 5 of us, but there were no leftovers because everyone went for seconds.

But as you can see it's not so much what I did.  There were only four ingredients and all were store-bought.  I didn't even slave all day over a stove.  I let the oven do all the work and for a mere 15 minutes.

Simplicity.  Works every time.

How to pair desserts and wines

Flickr/Taigatrommelchen
Business class airline lunch dessert:
Selection of cheese with grapes
(Greyerzer, Appenzeller and Camembert)
Roll with butter
Yogurt creme with fruits of the forest
compote and fresh berries
Wine: Cuvee of Pinot Noir, Gamaret,
De Chaunac - Kloster Einsiedeln,
Schwyz, Switzerland 2008

The sweetness of a dessert should not be overpowering or cloying, detracting from the flavors of the dessert itself.  This is particularly important when pairing with a dessert wine.

Dessert wines must be sweeter than the dessert.  Otherwise, the wine's acidity will become too prominent and taste bitter.

You'll notice that in Europe, cheeses and fruit out of hand are usually part of the dessert course.  In this picture, a yogurt cream is also added -- a good pairing with wine since yogurt is more tangy than sweet.

Submitted to Works For Me Wednesday