Dessert

Chilled Key Lime Mousse

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:01:42 +0000

This refreshing chilled Key lime mousse is a perfect union of cream and foam, tangy lime and soft sweet custard. The method is simple but a little unusual—you make a custard with fresh Key lime juice rather than milk or cream. Key limes, which are about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, are wonderfully fragrant and more acidic than regular limes. They are available all year at well-stocked supermarkets. If you can’t find them, by all means use regular limes.

Lemon Pound Cake

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:23:55 +0000

Lemon Pound Cake

This wonderful rich, sweet lemon pound cake is downright zingy and the candied lemon slices are a beautiful bittersweet topping that’s better than frosting. The best part, though: when you taste it you won’t miss all the butter we cut out compared with a traditional pound cake recipe.

Easy Whole-Grain Crepes

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:50:50 +0000

Easy Whole-Grain Crepes

This basic recipe makes a tasty wrap for any type of filling. In this method, we fold the crepe into a square leaving a little “window” in the middle to show off what’s inside, but you can simply roll the crepe over a filling or fold it in half. Try lightly sweetened ricotta and a drizzle of apricot jam inside or, for a savory crepe, fill the crepes with sautéed spinach, mushrooms and garlic.

Sweetened Ricotta & Apricot Crepes

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:02:51 +0000

Sweetened Ricotta & Apricot Crepes

Lightly sweetened ricotta, toasted almonds and a drizzle of apricot jam give these crepes a sophisticated edge. Try them for brunch or dessert.

Banana-Caramel Crepes with Nutella

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:21:56 +0000

Banana-Caramel Crepes with Nutella

Try these banana and Nutella crepes for a special brunch or luscious dessert. In this method, we fold the crepe into a square leaving a little “window” in the middle to show off what’s inside. Feel free to roll or fold your crepes around your filling any way you choose.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap-Walnut Crust

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:36:40 +0000

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap-Walnut Crust

We pulled out a few of our favorite EatingWell tricks to achieve plenty of creaminess in our pumpkin cheesecake without all the saturated fat of a typical recipe: nutrient-packed canned pumpkin and pureed nonfat cottage cheese replace some of the cream cheese. A touch of pumpkin pie spice warms up the flavor. For the crust, shop the natural-foods section for gluten-free gingersnaps without any hydrogenated oil. Simple toasted walnuts are an elegant garnish. Or try making candied walnuts. Just be careful not to eat all of them before they make it to the cake!

Gluten-Free Mocha Yule Log

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:52:36 +0000

Gluten-Free Mocha Yule Log

A bûche de Noël—a cake decorated like a yule log—is a traditional dessert served around Christmastime in France, Belgium, Canada and some other French-speaking countries. Some bûche de Noël cakes can be as heavy as a real log when they are decked out with sugar and buttercream. Our gluten-free recipe, which is just as tasty served cold as it is at room temperature, is lighter than air. The chocolate brown-butter génoise cake is easy to roll up and it’s covered with a billowy espresso-spiked 7-minute frosting. We’ve substituted agave nectar for white sugar in the frosting. It’s pretty garnished with meringue mushrooms and sugared rosemary.

Sugared Rosemary

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:41:17 +0000

Sugared Rosemary

Use these festive-looking sugared fresh rosemary sprigs to decorate any holiday dessert platter. They look especially beautiful alongside a traditional yule log cake.

Candied Walnuts

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:29:52 +0000

Candied Walnuts

Use these pretty candied walnuts as a dessert garnish. Try them on top of a pumpkin cheesecake or your favorite holiday dessert.

Meringue Mushrooms

Sarah Hoff — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:07:50 +0000

Meringue Mushrooms

Use these meringue mushrooms to decorate any yule log cake. The recipe makes enough to decorate your serving platter and have plenty left over for each serving of cake.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Coconut Trifle

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:47:19 +0000

Gluten-Free Cranberry Coconut Trifle

No other dessert turns heads like a trifle. Festive in every way, this trifle recipe glows from within with scarlet layers of juicy cranberries. The filling is made from an astounding 6 cups of antioxidant-packed cranberries! We made the custard “skinny” with a combination of low-fat milk and light coconut milk. From-scratch brown-butter sponge cake (gluten-free!) stands in for store-bought ladyfingers.

Caramelized Spiced Pears

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:20:02 +0000

Caramelized Spiced Pears

Serve these caramelized pear slices over ice cream, stir into plain yogurt or enjoy as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Brown-skinned Bosc pears hold their shape during cooking, but any variety of pears tastes delicious.

Peppermint Pattie Pots de Crème

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:14:34 +0000

Peppermint Pattie Pots de Crème

We love York peppermint patties and the flavor of these festive pots de crème is a dead ringer for the candy. Unlike traditional über-rich custard recipes, this custard uses low-fat milk, only 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup of half-and-half for its creamy richness. Just 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract in the custard gives plenty of minty flavor, but if you want that icy mountain-breeze sensation, add a whole teaspoon instead.

Cranberry Coconut Trifle

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:03:32 +0000

Cranberry Coconut Trifle

No other dessert turns heads like a trifle. Festive in every way, this trifle recipe glows from within with scarlet layers of juicy cranberries. The filling is made from an astounding 6 cups of antioxidant-packed cranberries! We made the custard “skinny” with a combination of low-fat milk and light coconut milk. From-scratch brown-butter sponge cake, made with whole-wheat pastry flour, stands in for store-bought ladyfingers.

Apple, Pear & Dried Cranberry Crisp

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:52:07 +0000

Apple, Pear & Dried Cranberry Crisp

Apples, pears and dried cranberries fill this holiday crisp. It has all the fruit flavor and sweet streusel topping that you get in a pie, but without the need to fuss with a crust.