dessert Archives - Just J.Faye

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

July 18, 2017 by Jenna

A quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It’s a moist, chocolaty cake that is studded with fresh zucchini – a delicious summertime dessert!

On Sunday I was going to go hike a 14er, but for a variety of reasons and factors I ended up not doing it. This meant that I had an entire free day to myself. No people to see. No things to do. No commitments. It ended up being quite luxurious.

After some strength training at the gym, a walk to the farmer’s market, and a little reading outside on the patio I decided to dig out The Duesterhoeft Café cookbook and whip up something from my family’s collection of recipes.

Since it’s the time of year when my fridge is stocked with zucchini I landed on the chocolate zucchini cake. Also, chocolate cake on a Sunday (or any other day, really) is never a bad idea. Ever.

The cake comes together very quickly. First, cream together the butter, oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Next, stir in the zucchini and finally, mix in the dry ingredients. The batter is a little bit looser compared normal cake batter, due to the moisture from all the zucchini.

Pour the batter into a 9×9 baking dish and sprinkle it with chocolate chips and brown sugar. The chocolate chips and brown sugar melt together in the oven and form a sort of caramely, crispy layer on top.

I hope that doesn’t sound gross/weird. I just don’t know how else to explain it!

The cake has a nice, light crumb and the perfect amount of chocolaty flavor.

Cut a generous slice and top it with a dollop of ice cream. Grab a glass of wine and a good book. Then take everything outside to enjoy.

If that’s not a lovely summer evening, I don’t know what is!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

A quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It's a moist, chocolaty cake that is studded with fresh zucchini - a delicious summertime dessert!

Serves: 16 pieces

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
heaping ¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grate zucchini and set aside in a strainer to drain excess water. You will need one cup.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, add the oil, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the zucchini.
Add in the buttermilk, baking soda, flour, and cinnamon and mix on low until everything is combined.
Pour batter into an ungreased 9x9 cake pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and brown sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

Notes

Try to drain most of the water from the zucchini. I’ll usually let mine sit in a strainer for a few minutes and then soak up some moisture with a couple paper towels.

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (do people normally?) replace it with ¼ cup milk (dairy, almond, soy, whatever) mixed with 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice. Stir it up and let it sit for a minute or two before using.

Adding ¼ cup chopped walnuts on top with the chocolate chips and brown sugar would be a delicious idea.

This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 9x13 pan.

My mom likes to store it in the fridge, but it's delicious stored at room temperature as well!

My mom’s personal notes on the recipe in the cookbook: “I love zucchini from the garden; raw, sauteed, roasted, baked into breads and muffins, and especially baked into this cake recipe. My mom would make this often in the summer. I like to keep it in the fridge… no reason, I just like it that way. This recipe is in honor of my mother’s good friend Marlys Stockman from Plato.”

More The Duesterhoeft Cafe cookbook recipes: Coconut Coffee Cake, Rhubarb Cake, and Basic Banana Bread.

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Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

January 26, 2016 by Jenna

I’m really into these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars right now.

They are basically all of my favorite flavors combined into one delicious treat: chocolate, almonds, coconut. Then there’s the fact that these are healthy, so I love them even more. I’ve been eating them morning, noon, and night and I don’t feel bad about it at all.

There is no butter, flour, eggs, oil, or refined sugar in this recipe. They are gluten-free and vegan (if you use vegan chocolate chips). The surprise ingredient is chickpeas. I get that it sounds weird. It’s like that time I told you to put cannellini beans in your blondies. But hey! That worked and so does this.

Trust me.

In these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars we have the obvious ingredients: chocolate chips, roasted chopped almonds, and unsweetened coconut flakes. However, those are just the mix-ins. The base of the bars are built with chickpeas, almond butter, almond meal, and coconut sugar with a little vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder. The batter comes together in a food processor within minutes.

It’s ridiculously simple.

This was my first time using coconut sugar. I’ve read about it quite a bit, so when I saw it on sale at the grocery store I decided to finally buy some and try it out. Coconut sugar is basically boiled and dehydrated sap from coconut palm and has a caramel-y flavor like brown sugar. It is similar to granulated sugar, but offers a lower glycemic index, less fructose, more vitamins and minerals, and some prebiotics. I wouldn’t say it’s good for you, but is a worthy refined-sugar replacement, like honey.

With that said, if you don’t feel like splurging (because it is a tad more expensive) on coconut sugar, you can replace it with honey in this recipe.

Don’t worry, these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars don’t taste like chickpeas. And if they did, would that be so bad? Chickpeas are delicious! The chickpeas, however, do give these bars an almost butter-y texture. They are soft, not too sweet, and have hints of chocolate, almond, and coconut. I added a sprinkle of sea salt over the top for a nice contrasting flavor.

These are great for those moments you need a sweet treat and don’t want to feel guilty about it. I recommend baking up a batch and storing them in the freezer, so that you are prepared for when your sweet teeth wants control.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

These healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars are made with a secret ingredient - chickpeas! They are a delicious, guilt-free treat to help satisfy your sweet tooth.

Serves: 12 bars

Ingredients

15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
⅓ cup creamy almond butter
¼ cup almond meal
¼ cup coconut sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup dark chocolate chips (vegan, if needed)
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and line with parchment paper
Add the base ingredients (chickpeas -> baking powder) into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped almonds, dark chocolate chips, and coconut flakes and pulse a few times until everything is combined.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and sea salt, then bake for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely before slicing. These will last a few days in the refrigerator and a few months in the freezer.

Notes

*The coconut sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or honey.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

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chocolate pistachio meringues

October 20, 2015 by Jenna

So I made meringues for the first time.

I never really had the urge to make them before. I like meringue when it comes on top of pie (because, pie), but otherwise it is just kind of meh for me. I’ve never been super impressed, you know?

These chocolate pistachio meringues, though. I’m converted. I’d make them again and again and again.

I’ve been following along with The Kitchn’s Baking School series. The first week was all about eggs and after reading a little more about meringues I decided to give them a shot. I had the afternoon free and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Because that’s what I do when I have free afternoons.

Bake and drink a lot of coffee.

At first glance meringues seem a little intimidating. I think it’s all the whipping and the watching for the peaks to progress.

Is it to the ‘stiff peak stage’ yet?!

However, they are actually quite simple. Don’t be scared. Remain calm. Be patient.

You probably already have all the ingredients on hand, which is essentially just egg whites and sugar. We do add some cream of tartar for structure and some vanilla and salt for taste. If you don’t already have cream of tartar in your pantry, get some so that you can make dozens upon dozens of snickerdoodles to go with your meringues. I added chopped pistachios and chocolate to these, because I had both in my cupboard and this flavor combination makes my heart glad.

To make meringues you basically just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them until the mixture gets super smooth and glossy with stiff peaks.

That’s the very simplified way to put it. I would recommend reading this first.

I wasn’t really expecting much from these and made them just for the sake of trying something new. However, I was totally blown away by how much I liked them!

And by how cute they looked.

They aren’t like the dry store-bought meringues that I’ve tasted before. These are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with just the right amount of sweetness.

I brought them into work and received high praise. I even got an “I don’t normally like meringues, but someone told me I had to try one. I did and then I ended up eating 4.”

This was a feeling of which I was well aware.

This recipe was inspired by The Kitchn. Try them out and let me know what you think!

chocolate pistachio meringues

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

90 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

These chocolate pistachio meringues are less intimidating to bake than you would think, making for a very simple, impressive, and delicious dessert!

Author: Recipe inspired by The Kitchn

Serves: 20 cookies

Ingredients

3 large eggs whites, room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup unsalted pistachios, chopped
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 215 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
Add the eggs whites to a medium bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer). Using the whisk attachment, whisk eggs on low speed. They should start to foam.
Add the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla.
Increase speed to medium. Begin to add the sugar, a little bit at a time whisking well between each addition. The mixture will start to form soft peaks. Gradually increase the speed to medium-high and continue to slowly add the sugar. Be patient. The mixture will continue to stiffen.
Once the mixture has formed stiff peaks (where you dip a spoon in an the peak is able to stay sticking straight up), gently fold in the chopped pistachios and chocolate, saving a little bit of each to sprinkle on the top.
Dollop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared pan. The larger they are, the longer they will need to bake. Sprinkle the remaining pistachios and chocolate on top of the meringues.
Bake for 60-90 minutes depending on the size of the meringues. I was able to get about 20 meringues out of the batter and baked them for 85 minutes. When fully baked, you should be able to lift the meringue off of the baking pan without it breaking.
Turn off the oven, crack open the door, and let the meringues cool in the oven completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

And if you love baking (as I do) you should follow along with The Kitchn’s Baking School. Last week was all about butter and this week is about yeast. Yay learning!

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Peach Almond Butter Shortbread Bars

September 1, 2015 by Jenna

I know it’s September, but it’s still summer and it’s still hot. We should still be eating peaches every single day for every single meal: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert.

Are we on the same page with this? I hope so, because I have a dessert for you. These beauts are peach almond butter shortbread bars.

Let’s dissect.

On the bottom is buttery shortbread acting as a strong base to hold the other delicious layers. It’s a simple crust made of butter, powdered sugar, flour, just a little bit of vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt.

Next is a layer of almond butter. This acts as a shield to protect the shortbread from getting soggy from the peaches. Not to mention, almond butter is amazing on approximately everything. I made my own by pulverizing almonds with a little bit of sea salt and maple syrup in my food processor, but you could totally use store-bought almond butter here.

Finally, we pile on peaches that have been roasted with maple syrup and brandy. They are juicy and delicious and perfect in every way; the real stars of this recipe. The brandy is totally optional, but really why would you skip it?

And hey, let’s just add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on there as well. It’s summer and we should live a little before settling into fall.

I kept these bars in the fridge and the shortbread crust stayed strong and crispy for days (3 to be exact). There was no sogginess in sight, which is excellent, because I’m sure we can all agree that soggy crust is the worst. The mix of the shortbread with the creamy almond butter and the juicy peaches is a textural experience for your mouth. Your taste buds won’t be sad about it.

They tasted good cold and they tasted good heated up. They tasted good morning, afternoon, and night. I can say this all with confidence, because I did all the research.

So go run to the grocery store and buy all the peaches and enjoy every single last minute of summer.

Oh and while you’re at it, a few more peach recipes: browned butter ginger peach blondies, bourbon peach crisp, and fruit & coconut water ice pops.

Peach Almond Butter Shortbread Bars

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

50 mins

Serves: 9 bars

Ingredients

3 medium ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons maple syrup (separated)
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
⅓ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup dry roasted almonds
½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the bars can easily be lifted out of the pan.
Place the sliced peaches on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and one of brandy (optional), then sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and the flour. Mix until incorporated. Then press dough into the prepared pan.
Place both the shortbread and the peaches in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The rim of the shortbread should be lightly browned.
While the peaches and shortbread are baking, add the almonds, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and the sea salt to a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Be patient as this can take up to 10-15 minutes depending on the strength of your processor. You can also use store bought almond butter.
Allow the shortbread and peaches to cool slightly, then spread a layer of almond butter on the shortbread. You’ll want to make sure everything is covered. Then add the peaches.
Cut, serve, and enjoy! I added a dollop of sweetened whipped cream to mine, because yum.

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Pear Gorgonzola Tart

August 4, 2015 by Jenna

I have a quick and easy dessert for you: Pear Gorgonzola Tart.

On Friday my friend Katie and I had a going away party.

PAUSE.

Did I mention I’m moving to Denver with one of my best friends? Because I am. On Saturday. I’m a little stressed about packing and saying goodbye to too many amazing people. I’m also overwhelmed with excitement. It’s weird. I don’t know what to feel, but at this point I don’t have enough time to think about feeling anything other than stress and excitement. Plus, I’m bad with feelings and being emotional, so….

Ignoring.

Then there is the fact that I need to sell my condo (here’s the listing!!) and find a job. I’m sure that will all work out though?

UNPAUSE.

I originally made this tart to pair with a bottle of sauternes and a couple of girlfriends pre-party, but the plan didn’t go as planned. Not a problem. This was gobbled up along with a variety of other tasty treats at the party -> watermelon salsa, mint spinach dip, chicken enchilada dip, ricotta arugula prosciutto bruschetta. Obviously, Katie knows how to put together a spread.

Then there was wine, beer, cocktails, and a room full of some of my favorite people. Magical.

Ok, but this tart. It’s easy! Seriously, so super simple. All you need to do is put fruit and cheese on a puff pastry and place it in the oven.

I mean, there are more steps (see below), but that is the basic idea.

There is something about the combination of cheese and fruit that screams politely exclaims with a loud voice, sophistication. Don’t you think?

Look:

So fancy.

As you can see from the picture I used both green and red pears. I cut up four (two red, two green), but probably only used the equivalent of 3. I ate the leftover slices while the tart was baking in the oven.

You could use all the same type of pears and/or only cut up three, but then what would you snack on while this is baking??

The tart was hanging out for a few hours before it got to the party and it still tasted good; however, fresh out of the oven is best. Just give it a few minutes, because: hot.

And be careful, those pear juices can leak.

My original plan was to use Roquefort cheese, but I couldn’t find it at the grocery store and the regular cheese lady wasn’t there to help me. Apparently cheese isn’t a hot selling item at 7:45am on a Friday. Go figure.

It’s ok though, because the Gorgonzola tasted wonderful. I think blue cheese would be good too and I strongly recommend giving Roquefort a try. You could even go all out and do a little bit of each, but that may be excessive.

Grab a bottle of sauternes and share this quick, easy, delicious dessert with some people that you love. While you do that, I’m going to go pack some more boxes.

Pear Gorgonzola Tart

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour

This puff pastry tart is an impressive and delicious dessert that is so easy to pull together.

Serves: 10 slices

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry
3-4 pears
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 teaspoon water beaten)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled

Instructions

Set the frozen puff pastry out in room temperature for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Slice the pears.
Place the puff pastry sheet on the baking pan and roll out into a rectangle.
Using a paring knife draw a rectangle about 1-inch in from the edge. Be careful not to cut all the way through the pastry, just about half-way. It should look like a picture frame. Then use a fork to score the inside of the rectangle.
Brush the egg wash on the entire puff pastry then sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.
Line the sliced pears on the inside rectangle of the puff pastry, flat side on the pastry, curved side up. I did mine in two rows alternating between green and red slices.
Drizzle with honey then sprinkle on the Gorgonzola.
Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are nicely browned.
Let cool slightly, then cut and serve. It’s best when served immediately.

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Bacon Nut Bourbon Brownies

June 13, 2015 by Jenna

After a few weeks of posting recipes for healthier treats (like almond butter trail mix cookies, triple berry almond oat bars, and coconut cashew butter) I decided to go the opposite direction.

I made brownies.

And I put bacon in them. And then I added a lot of nuts and a little bit of bourbon.

I’m not upset with the situation. These bacon nut bourbon brownies are totally worth it.

The base of the brownie itself is amazing. They bake up nice and thick with just the right texture ranging somewhere between gooey and cakey. With three types of chocolate – bittersweet, unsweetened, and cocoa powder – they aren’t too chocolatey or too tooth-achingly sweet. They are juuuuuust right. Plus, these have that little crust on top that is just perfect. This will be my new go-to brownie base going forward.

Then there are the nuts. Nuts always belong in brownies, so I feel like I don’t need to explain this further.

But the bourbon and bacon? That one I’ll explain.

Explanation: bourbon and bacon belong in everything.

I kid.

(But really I’m not kidding)

To be honest, I added the bacon because I had a half-full (optimist!) package of bacon in my fridge leftover from another recipe. I didn’t know what to use it for, because I already had my lunches and dinners planned for the rest of the week. I needed to use it for something and I happened to be making brownies to bring to dinner at a friend’s house, so I just decided to throw bacon into the batter.

And since I was already trashing these brownies up by adding bacon, I figured what the heck, might as well add bourbon.

Does that make sense?

I’ll tell you this: no one complained about it. I don’t think you would either.

And remember when I put bacon in scotcheroos? Yeah, those were good too.

Bacon Nut Bourbon Brownies

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

These brownies are a little bit gooey, but a little bit cakey. They are a little bit sweet, but a little bit salty. They have bourbon, bacon, and lots of nuts. What's not to love?!

Serves: 9 brownies

Ingredients

6-8 slices bacon
½ cup butter
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons bourbon
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon course sea salt, plus extra for topping
¾ cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, peanuts, and pecans)

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the brownies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil.
Fry the bacon in a pan until crisp, a few minutes on each side. Chop into small pieces then set aside to cool.
Melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler (a saucepan over a larger saucepan of boiling water) or in the microwave.
Stir in the cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon until thoroughly combined. The sugar should be completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Whisk in the chocolate mixture.
Stir in the flour and sea salt.
Fold in ¾ of the bacon and chopped nuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with remaining bacon, nuts, and a little bit of sea salt.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake! Brownies can be slightly underdone and gooey.
Let them cool completely before removing from the pan. Cut into 9 large (or 16 small) brownies. Enjoy!

Now I’m off to go do my last long run before Grandma’s Marathon, which is next Saturday! *insert panic attack * But afterwards I’m headed to go explore Stillwater with some friends. I’ll post Instagrams and take notes and tell you about it later. Enjoy your Saturday! I hope you go for a nice, long walk (or run) and then eat some brownies.

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