Sweet-Endings

“I want to have a great body, but not as much
as I want a great dessert.”

–Totie Fields

Did you know that STRESSED spelled backwards is DESSERTS? What can relieve tensions of the day better than a homemade sweet treat? I just love sugar…and when you combine it with some real butter and flour – well, that’s just pure heaven from the oven.

Our desserts are made from the freshest and finest ingredients in the world’s marketplace. For instance, we use only pure Madagascar Vanilla; and in our chocolate desserts, only the world’s best, Valhrona Chocolate.

We have literally hundreds of sweet desserts we can offer you, but these are a few of our favorites. Some are extravagant, and some are just plain down-home country, but all are decadently luxurious to the palate. Hopefully too, you won’t mind a few of the personal notes included – I thought you might like to hear the history behind some of them. And by the way, we are most happy to share any of our recipes with you.

Our desserts are designed as a Sweet-Ending to one of our fine catered experiences. Hence, we don’t provide just desserts – unless it is of course, a dessert soirée.

Most all of our desserts can be made as individualized portions; and many of the cakes can be made into oversized cupcakes for a fun presentation. Some of the recipes are in my humor book: “The North Beach Diet – How To Gain 10lbs In 2-Days…which can be found at all bookstores, or on our website: www.NorthBeachDietOnline.com.

Many cooks have said, that a failed meal can be overlooked with a TREMENDOUS dessert. They are so right. The ending of the meal must always be SPECTACULAR!!! Always.

The samplings included herein, are only the “Tip Of The Pastry Bag” as far as our dessert repertoire. We recommend that you serve four to six different desserts at all your Fine Dining gatherings. But certainly, never, ever, serve less than two desserts at any given meal…Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt would just keel over. Your guests will love to taste a bit of everything…and we sure do love to create and serve great tasting desserts…and smile with delight as we watch them fill themselves beyond capacity, all while saying: “I’ll diet tomorrow.”

CAKES

Fresh Strawberry Lush Cake w/ Strawberry Couli
It’s called Lush Cake because it is so luscious. Made with layers of our buttermilk yellow cake, fresh sliced strawberries, and whipped cream.
Try it with Fresh Georgia Peaches and Peach Nectar,
or Fresh Raspberries and Raspberry Couli

Valhrona Flourless Chocolate Cake w/ Crème Anglaise Drizzle
We toast and grind almonds with flourless Amerriti cookies
into a fine powder for the base of this cake

Tiramisu
Tiramisu means “Pick Me Up” – and ours will really provide the kick you are looking for. We use fine Starbucks Espresso, Sweet Marsala, Grand Mariner and Cognac to help make this rich dessert…dusted with Valhrona Cocoa

Valhrona Chocolate Bites
The most decadent brownie you’ll ever experience

Boston Cream Pie
Really a cake – made the traditional Boston way, with the Bailey’s touch

Fresh Pear, Mango & Kiwi Upside Down Cake
Unlike any other upside down cake you’ve ever had –
served with Crème Anglaise and Raspberry Couli
NOTE: Try Our Strawberry Upside Down Cake (served with Strawberry Sorbet), or even traditional Fresh Pineapple Upside Down Cake (served with Caramelized Rum Pineapple Sauce & Raspberry Couli)

Incredible Cheesecake
In 1985, I begged (yes begged) the pasty chef at the quaint Algonquin Hotel in New York City, for his recipe – he gave it to me…it is the finest I’ve ever had. While he added nothing to his creation but a few berries, I top our cheesecake with AWESOME Lime Curd & Fresh Raspberries – or try our Blackberry-Lime Curd

Godiva Truffle Cheesecake
13 Different Truffles are used – a different taste sensation in every bite

Lime Cake with Lime Buttercream Icing
Served with Homemade Mango Sorbet & Raspberry Couli

Coconut Cake(s)
Coconut cakes are so good. The typical coconut cake is made with a delicious cooked 7-minute fluffy icing layered between a yellow cake, smothered with coconut. This is perfectly good…but for the adventurous, may we suggest any one of the following variations: 1) Homemade Raspberry Preserves between the layers, iced with 7-minute icing, and served with a dollop of Homemade Raspberry Sorbet on the side, 2) Valhrona Chocolate Devil Foods Cake, iced with an incredible Madagascar Vanilla Buttercream, and smothered in coconut. My mom made this cake for our family, and it was my dad’s favorite…one of mine too. 3) Lime or Lemon Curd between layers. Try it with toasted coconut

PIES, COBBLERS, & CRISPS

Banana Cream Pie w/ Caramel Sauce & Whipped Cream You won’t believe the incredible taste of this thick pie – unlike any you’ve ever had Decadent Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie Actually, this is my favorite dessert of all – isn’t that crazy – but it just is

4-Apple – Apple Pie
Ok, Ok, this might be my favorite – Aw Go Ahead –
Try both the Lemon Meringue and the Apple.
Served with Homemade Country Vanilla Ice Cream –
or sliced Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese

“If God had intended us to follow recipes, he wouldn’t have given us grandmothers.”

Southern Pecan Pie
We toast the pecans, and make the filling twice as thick of any other

Fresh Blueberry Pie
My Aunt Hilda would have either a fresh warm blueberry pie (or cake) waiting for our family when we arrived at her dairy farm in Buckfield, Maine. Coming down the mountain, just yards away from the farmhouse, we could see the blueberry fields, and smell that pie. One summer, after a month stay, the car was all packed, and us kids were crying because we didn’t want to leave --- well, the last thing my aunt said to us while we were driving away was…”If you stay another night, I’ll make you a blueberry pie.” My dad got no more than a block from the farmhouse before he turned the car around, and headed back. We stayed another night, and ate our pie. That was 40 years ago – but we remember it as though it was yesterday

Sweet Potato Pie
This pie is as southern as it gets, and one of the best tasting pies ever

Pumpkin Pie
Made from fresh pumpkin (yes fresh pumpkin); and we only make them from late October to Christmas Day. This is my mom’s recipes. She would make dozen’s of these 10” pies between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and give them to the neighbors every year. She had a very giving spirit

Chocolate Pecan Toffee Mousse Pie
With Toffee Sauce and Cream Anglaise

Flossie’s Strawberry Cream Pie
My mom made this for us every Christmas, and it remains one of our family favorites – traditional baked pie crust, homemade pastry cream (like what you might find in an éclair), fresh sugar macerated strawberries,
and sweetened whipped cream with a touch of Madagascar Vanilla.
It’s simply AWESOME!!!!

Warm Fresh Plum Torte
Served with Homemade Candied Ginger & Toasted Almond Ice Cream

Fresh Mango & Raspberry Crisp
Served with Homemade Lemon Honey Ice Cream

Asian Pear and Bing Cherry Crisp
Also Served with Homemade Lemon Honey Ice Cream

ICE CREAMS & SORBETS

All our Ice Creams and Sorbets are Homemade –
and served with our homemade Sugar Snap Cookies

Some of our favorites are:
Country Vanilla
Simply Smooth and Elegant – made with just five ingredients:
farm fresh eggs, cane sugar, full cream,
half & half and Madagascar Vanilla

Valhrona Chocolate Made with or without hand-grated Milk Chocolate shavings Fresh Plant City Strawberry Served with Strawberry Nectar Fresh Georgia Peach Served with Peach Nectar – This by far, is my favorite ice cream (only made during summer)

Navel Orange Crush
Remember the Orange Push-Ups we use to get from
the ice cream man during summer vacation,
when we were kids? Well, this is even better. We serve this in
frozen orange shells – which have been hollowed out, then we top the orange ice cream with whipped cream, and dust it with cocoa

Butter Toasted Pecan
Only fresh Georgia Pecans are used for this one – chopped and toasted. Yes, this too, is one of my favorites

A FEW OTHER NOTABLE OLD FAVORITES

Chocolate Mousse
The French word for Mousse is Foam. Mousse should be rich, light, and airy. Chocolate Mousse is probably my favorite dessert of all time (you’ve heard that before). The first time I ever tasted this sumptuous delight was at the Tour D’Agent in Paris at the ripe age of 20. While studying the French language at the University of Dijon, I took the EURAIL to Paris one weekend, and spent all my extra money on a great meal, which included the Mousse. We go an extra step by serving it in handmade, edible, chocolate cups with a dollop of whipped cream. We make our Mousse the traditional French way - with Valhrona Chocolate, Grand Mariner, and a hint of fine Brandy

French Market Beignets
My true favorite. Fried on-site – covered in confectioners sugar
– served hot – Beats Café Du Monde of New Orleans

New Orleans Bread Pudding with Raisins
I like mine served cold with a warm strong Maker’s Mark Whiskey Icing
– or a Warm Caramel Sauce

Banana Bread
I know, I know, it doesn’t sound elegant – but it is so darn tasty, I can’t help but add this to my all time favorites. This recipe is more cake than bread like – it’s so delicious, especially served with
cold whipped cream and chilled banana’s

Fresh Apple, Date & Pecan Cake
Oh my, another simple but amazingly tasty cake – it’s perfect unfrosted, which is how it is enjoyed most often. But, I kept teetering with it in my quest to copy the Spanish Bar Cake, from the A&P Grocery chain. When our family would load up and drive from Tampa to Boston to see my mom’s family, my Dad would buy about 10 of them to take with us. They were so incredible, they’d all be gone by Virginia. Our trips up north were an eating extravaganza. We stopped in Georgia to buy, peel, and sugar a bushel of peaches to eat along the way, all while visiting Stucky’s Road Stops to buy Chocolate Coconut Patties. My mom would be so embarrassed about letting the family gluttony out of the bag. Nevertheless, you’ll enjoy this cake too – with or without icing made with a bit of cream cheese

Carrot Cake
Lots of decadent Cream Cheese Icing & Topped w/Grand Mariner Carrots - Great as an OVERSIZED CUPCAKE too

Extremely Moist Rum Cake
Made with 100 Proof Fine Dark Rum - I hate dry Rum Cake with so little rum, you can hardly taste it – Rum Cake should have plenty of sweet tasting rum throughout every single bite - and this one does

CONFECTIONS

Valhrona Chocolate Truffles Some dusted with Valhrona Coco, and some dusted with Powdered Sugar Pecan Pralines Learned how to make these from a chef at the Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, Louisiana – they are so delicious

Chocolate Covered Bing Cherries
A friend of mine made these one day for a party – I would not relent until she gave me the recipe – while they take a long time to make, they are well worth the wait, for they are better than any fine European Chocolatier sells

PRESERVES

We make all our own preserves, many you’ll find in our savory catered offerings, as well as our desserts. For instance, we add a bit of cayenne pepper to our finished peach preserves, and spread a dollop on one side of our miniature Cheddar Cheese Biscuits, and top it with country ham.
Boy, are they good.

Each year, during the various seasons, we make the
following preserves and jellies:
Plant City Strawberry, Red Raspberry, Blackberry,
Georgia Peach, Guava Jelly