Pineapple Mimosa Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream

Posted on June 3, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

It’s true.

I’m in love. Complete and utter love.

GUYS, I’ve never felt this way before.

Do you know about granita? ‘Cause it just walked into my life. And, I know this may be soon, but I’m never letting it go.

Never, ever, EVER.

I know, how clingy of me.

I don’t know how I survived this long without knowing about it. It’s so simple. It’s so genius. It’s so damn delicious.

Quick lesson for those that may not know about it. It’s a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water, and flavoring of your choice. Think snow-cones here. Except, you don’t have to leave your house to get it. All you need is a freezer. Pretty simple huh?

But wait, it doesn’t stop there.

Think boozy snow-cones. Then think boozy shaved ice on top of ice cream.

Can you imagine anything better?

Neither can I.

I really owe Honestly Yum a huge thank you. That’s how I met granita. When I saw the recipe for Red Wine Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream, I knew I had to make it. Except not with red wine. Fun fact: I’m not a red wine fan.

But, the good thing about granita is that it’s versatile. You can match any flavors you want and it’ll still taste good.

Now that’s a recipe that caters to your tastes. See, why I’m in love?

I’m really into mimosas. It’s my go-to drink at brunch. What’s not to love about them? ~~A little~~ a lot of bubbly, a little orange juice, and ta-da you have a drink. Except, I like my mimosas with pineapple juice. Please tell me you’ve tried it. It’s absolutely life changing.

Seriously, try it.

In fact, drink one while you wait for your granita to freeze up. That’s the one thing about making granita. There is a lot of waiting time. The whole process takes about 4 to 5 hours. Don’t let that be the reason you don’t make this though. It’s honestly one of the simplest and easiest recipes I’ve ever shared on the blog. And, as of now, it’s also my favorite recipe.

So, Pineapple Mimosa Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream. What does that mean exactly?

It means at the bottom you have a layer of vanilla ice cream, in the middle you have a layer of pineapple granita, and on the top you have a layer of champagne granita.

Oh, lets not forget the little pineapple wedge.

It’s trying to look nice for you.

How sweet, huh?

Pineapple Mimosa Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from Honestly Yum

Ingredients:
Pineapple Granita
18 oz of pineapple juice (I used 2 pineapple juice cans from Trader Joe’s)

Champagne Granita
1/2 bottle champagne (I used a brut)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup water

For Assembly
1 pint of vanilla ice cream
pineapple, for garnish

Directions:
Pineapple Granita
Pour pineapple juice in a shallow baking dish. Place in the freezer and after one hour scrape the ice crystals forming on the side of the pan with a fork towards the center. Repeat every hour until flaky (think shaved ice consistency). Should take about 3 to 4 hours total–it’ll vary based on your freezer.

Champagne Granita
Pour 1/2 bottle of champagne in a shallow baking dish. In a small pot, heat water and sugar, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved. Add sugar-water mixture to the baking dish and combine with the champagne. Place in the freezer and after one hour scrape the ice crystals forming on the side of the pan with a fork towards the center. Repeat every hour until flaky (again, think shaved ice consistency). Should take about 4 to 5 hours total.

Assembling Dessert
Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a small glass and top with a heaping layer of the pineapple granita, followed by a heaping layer of champagne granita. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

In sum, pineapple + champagne + shaved ice + ice cream =

TRUE LOVE.

No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake with a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust

Posted on February 23, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

Umm, guys, I can’t stop ~~eating~~ ~~dreaming~~ wanting nutella. Well, nutella and peanut butter that is. I can’t have one without the other. I use to just eat spoonfuls of peanut butter, and be perfectly happy, but now my peanut-butter-smothered spoon demands to be dunked into nutella. I don’t know if you’ve ever dealt with peanut butter smothered spoons, but they can be quite persuasive when they want to be. Real sweet talkers. You just can’t say no to them.

It could also be that I don’t want to say no. Fine, I’ll admit it. I’m a peanutbutternutellaaholic.

And, as a pbnaholic, I accept a few things to be true. The first being that peanut butter and nutella are having their moment and I shouldn’t try to stop them. The second thing is that I accept that my spoon will now have to be dunked in both creamy substances before I can eat it. And, lastly, I accept the fact that both my jar of peanut butter and nutella are cross contaminated with each other. Surprise surprise, I can’t really find it in me to be bothered by this fact either. Really, it means less mixing for me, which means, more spoonfuls finding their way into my mouth.

Tell me how that sounds like a problem?

Exactly, my wonderful friends, it doesn’t.

I know, I know, I’m fashionably late to the nutella party. My bad. I just wasn’t into it before. At all. I didn’t even want to try it. How ridiculous of me, right? But, then I finally bought a jar, had a tentative spoonful, decided it needed some peanut butter, and the rest is history. Well, maybe not, considering I can’t forget it.

Like I can’t forget these Peanut Butter & Nutella Pastry Puffs I made last week.

Like I won’t forget to buy a new nutella jar at target.

Like I’ll never forget about this cheesecake.

This cheesecake. I. LITERALLY. CAN’T. EVEN.

Let me explain.

A homemade peanut butter cookie crust. I won’t even deny the fact that I made peanut butter cookies for the sole purpose of crumbling them up and using them as a crust. Or, that I made three different batches of varying sizes (large, small, and mini) just so that I would have the perfect sized peanut butter cookie as a topping for my cheesecake. What, you don’t think that’s normal? Awkward.

The peanut butter cookie crust is then topped with the most decadent and velvety no-bake nutella cheesecake in the world. Two words here people: rich and nutellaly—let’s pretend that’s a real word. Can I say one more word? Creamy. So, so, creamy. The ricotta cheese is to thank for that one. Yes, you heard right, ricotta cheese. Funny story, I had intended to add mascarpone cheese to this cheesecake, but accidentally grabbed ricotta instead. I got distracted by samples at Trader Joe’s. Can you blame me? It turned out to be a glorious mistake anyways. And, then of course, there’s whipped cream and the {perfect sized} mini peanut butter cookie on top.

I repeat, I. CAN’T. EVEN.

No-bake Nutella Cheesecake with a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust
Yields: 4 large servings

Ingredients:
20 mini (or, about 9 larger) peanut butter cookie crumbs (I used this cookie recipe)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 (8 oz.) blocks of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups Nutella
4 to 5 tablespoons ricotta cheese (depending on texture and taste use more or less)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream & mini peanut butter cookies, for garnish

Directions:
Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs, until just combined. Divide the crumb mixture equally between serving glasses, lightly pressing into the bottom of the glass. Set aside.
In the bowl of the stand mixer with whisk attachment whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla, to taste, beating until just combined. Scrape into a separate bowl and set aside.
Using the same bowl you whipped the heavy cream in, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add nutella, mixing until incorporated, and then the ricotta cheese–add more or less depending on how velvety you want it. Using a spatula fold in the whipped cream mixture until just incorporate. Taste your cheesecake as you go and alter the taste for your preference, if you think its to rich add more whipped cream to lighten it up.
Spoon or pipe nutella cheesecake evenly into serving glasses, making sure to smooth the tops. Let chill for about two hours in the fridge.
Top cheesecakes with fresh whipped cream and a mini peanut butter cookie. Enjoy!

{No-Bake} Eggnog Pudding Pie With A Rum Drizzle

Posted on December 12, 2014 by HintofNutmegg

So,

I don’t know exactly what to say.

I don’t even know how it happened, really.

It just did.

Christmas miracle?

Maybe.

This is the second year that I’m posting an eggnog themed dessert to kick off the holiday season. And, yes, I know I’m about two weeks late for the kick off. It’s been busy for me. Very, very busy.

Two things I need to point out here.

ONE. This is the second holiday season we are spending together. Awhhhh guys, have I told you lately that I love you? Cause, I totally do. And, I’m really happy you’re all apart of my life. Seriously. Thank you.

TWO. For those of you that didn’t know, I don’t like eggnog. I know, how ridiculous. Or, not really, because I’ve met quite a few anti-eggnoggers over the years. It’s just not my thing. And yet, here I am, making another eggnog related dessert. What can I say? I’m complicated like that.

What I really wanted to make was something with gingerbread. I had been dreaming of gingerbread filled desserts—cronuts, mini pies, candies, truffles—but for some reason I kept circling back to eggnog pudding pie. It could be that I love pudding or even that I’m a huge fan of pie. But, I really think it comes down to this: there are currently three containers of eggnog sitting on the top shelf of my fridge. It’s the first thing I see any time I open the door. Those cartons, just staring at me, giving me the stink eye.

I was over it.

So, naturally, I made eggnog pudding pie.

Each glass (aren’t these glasses the cutest things?) has a generous layer of graham cracker crust that is topped with a creamy, nutmegy (have I told you I constantly have the desire to add two g’s to nutmeg every time I write it?) eggnog flavored pudding, which is then topped with an excessive amount of whipped cream and drizzled with a rum sauce. I repeat, rum sauce.

Basically it’s a party in glass. A really, really, festively tasty party.

You know, I may knock on eggnog by itself, but it seems eggnog desserts aren’t half bad. It may have something to do with the rum.

Okay, fine, you got me, it has a lot to do with the rum.

And, come on, is there really anything wrong with that?

No-Bake Eggnog Pudding Pie with a Rum Drizzle
Yields: About 3 cups

Ingredients:
Eggnog Pudding Pie
2 cups light (or, regular) eggnog
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

Rum Drizzle & Topping
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter
whipped cream, optional

Directions:
Eggnog Pudding Pie
In a small bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and butter until moistened. Spoon crumbs into the bottom of the glasses (or, the container of choice) and set aside.
Combine the eggnog, cornstarch, sugar, and nutmeg in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a bubble and whisk constantly. When the mixture thickens–it’ll be the consistency of country gravy–remove it from the heat and transfer pudding into a bowl.
Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap and let chill for about 35-40 minutes or until set.
Once set, spoon or pipe the pudding on top of the graham cracker crumbs.

Rum Drizzle & Assembly
While the pudding is setting, make the rum drizzle. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, rum, and butter. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1-2 minutes, or until the brown sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
Once cooled, pipe whipped cream on the pudding and then drizzle generously with the rum sauce.

*Eggnog pudding slightly adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake

Posted on October 11, 2014 by HintofNutmegg

I’d like to apologize.

I don’t know where my manners went.

How could I have forgotten to wish you a Happy National Coffee Day?

How selfish of me. And rude. And mean.

Okay, I’m just being dramatic here. But, seriously, Happy Belated National Coffee Day.

How belated exactly? Fourteen days. National Coffee Day was on September 29th. Better late than never, right?

If it makes you feel better, I didn’t really celebrate. In fact, I only had one cup of coffee that day, which is much smaller than my usual amount. Saddening, I know.

This is why we (yes, you and I…no one wants to celebrate alone) need to sit down, clink are forks together, and dig into some No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake.

Or, should I say some No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake with a Kona Coffee Shortbread Crust topped generously with homemade whipped cream and mocha syrup.

Try saying that five times fast. It’s a mouthful. A delicious mouthful. A coffee infused mouthful. But, still, a little long. Hence the shorter name for this dessert.

Let’s break this down.

Starting from the bottom, we have a Kona Coffee Shortbread Crust. Sounds like a lot of work to make, huh? It’s not. Trader Joe’s has these amazingggg Kona Coffee Creamy Half-dipped Shortbread Cookies, which you simply have to crush up and bam snap clap (just go with it) you have a crust for your cheesecake.

Next up, we have the Mocha Cheesecake. The mocha flavoring is very subtle and doesn’t overpower the creamy taste of the cheesecake in any way. In fact, you don’t taste the mocha until you swallow your first bite. The flavor is easily adaptable too—want more mocha? Add more of the mocha coffee. Need it to be sweeter? Add more sugar. Want a hint of vanilla? Add some vanilla extract. Play with the taste of the cheesecake until you love it.

Lastly, we have the optional, but highly recommended toppings of homemade whipped cream and mocha syrup. This isn’t a very sweet dessert, so adding the whipped cream definitely kicks up the sweetness a little bit. The syrup tastes exactly like mocha—a little chocolate, a little coffee, and a little bit bitter—and adds the perfect final touch to this dessert.
As a whole, you definitely taste the coffee in this sweet treat. Which, if you think about it, is the ideal way to honor National Coffee Day…no matter how belated we may be.

No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake
Yields: 5-6 servings

Ingredients:
Kona Coffee Shortbread Crust
9 Kona Coffee Shortbread Cookies (I bought these at Trader Joe’s)

Mocha Cheesecake
1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3-1/2 cup Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino Coffee
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, optional

Mocha Syrup & Whipped Cream (optional)
1/2 cup Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino Coffee
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream, for garnish

Directions:
Kona Coffee Shortbread Crust & Mocha Cheesecake
In a food processor, pulse the Kona Coffee Shortbread Cookies until finely crumbled–I added butter to help combine the crust, but it ended up getting a little hard (still delicious, but you had to stab it with your spoon for it to crumble) after the cheesecakes chilled in the fridge, so I suggest not to use butter, or if the crust needs help combining, add just a little bit of melted unsalted butter to help.
Divide the crumbles into each mason jar equally and press into the bottom. Set aside.
In a stand mixer with a whip attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Scrape into a separate bowl (you can reserve half a cup to use as a garnish on the cheesecakes or you can make fresh whipped cream after the cheesecakes have chilled, up to you!) and set aside.
Using the same bowl you whipped the heavy cream in, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the sugar, mocha, and vanilla (if you decide to use it) until combined–the taste is up to you, if you want it to be more mocha flavored add more of the mocha coffee, if you want it to be sweeter add more sugar, or if you want a hint of vanilla add some vanilla extract. Using a spatula fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture until just incorporated.
Spoon or pipe the cheesecake mixture evenly into the mason jars, make sure to smooth the tops. Let chill for two hours in the fridge.

Mocha Syrup & Whipped Cream
While the cheesecakes are chilling, make the mocha syrup. In a small saucepan, whisk together the mocha coffee, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until syrup begins to thicken.
Once thickened, remove saucepan from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let mixture cool down before pouring over the cheesecakes.
Top cheesecakes with reserved or fresh whipped cream and drizzle generously with mocha syrup.

*Mocha Syrup recipe adapted from Pastry Affair

Pineapple Mimosa Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe adapted from Honestly Yum

No-bake Nutella Cheesecake with a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust Yields: 4 large servings

No-Bake Eggnog Pudding Pie with a Rum Drizzle Yields: About 3 cups

No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake Yields: 5-6 servings

Pineapple Mimosa Granita with Vanilla Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from Honestly Yum

No-bake Nutella Cheesecake with a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust
Yields: 4 large servings

No-Bake Eggnog Pudding Pie with a Rum Drizzle
Yields: About 3 cups

No-Bake Mocha Cheesecake
Yields: 5-6 servings