Gooey Chocolate Coconut Bars

These are the rich delicious treats I hinted about in my chocolate chip cookie dough truffles post, and I promise you they were definitely worth the wait! Even though my photos are atrociously bad at the moment it doesn't really matter here as no photo would adequately show you how gooey, moist and how much depth of flavour these little bars had. I have made them twice already and will certainly be making them again :)

These went down a total storm, more so than I expected, and even a friend that admitted to being less than fond of coconut said they thought they were absolutely gorgeous. I recently applied to a waitressing job in a patisserie and, out of the 7 people that were at our house sampling these lovely treats, every one said I should take them along if I managed to get an interview to try and bribe the owners to hire me!

Oreo Cheesecake-Pie

 Firstly, just to clear up the kind of funny name, this lovely dessert was originally called (Creamy) Oreo Pie. Apart from being made in a pie dish this was, in my opinion, in no way a pie..it was a cheesecake! A delicious refreshing no-bake cheesecake..in a pie dish. I got too many people asking/cheekily mocking about this being a 'pie' to not make a little change of name :)

Now thats over! On to the important stuff. This by FAR exceeded my expectations. I like Oreos as much as the next person but, as you might do, wondered how such a simple recipe with so few ingredients could make anything particularly noteworthy, nice maybe..but not very memorable. How wrong I was! This was definitely noteworthy, and so so easy that I will not hesitate to make it again in the future if I need a last minute impressive dessert that looks like it took hours to make :)

Blueberry Cheese Danish Cake

Let me begin by saying this didn't turn out quitteee like it was meant to...I mean if you check out the original recipe's photos it's an absolute beauty! Mine isn't HALF as pretty, but I ain't complaining my friends 'cos the taste is alllll there :) It is a recipe who's aim is to simulate the flavours of a danish cream-cheese pastry...in a cake...yes please!

The noises my Mum made when she first started eating this cake were, well to put it bluntly, noises i'd rather not hear my mother making. There was so much ooh-ing and aah-ing going on I didn't know whether to just be flattered or to take the cake away from her to save my innocent ears. Quote: 'mmmmm, it's so melt in your mouth! This is definitely to be put on the make again list!' Like I need asking to make this again, I only made it 7 hours ago and half of it has gone...woops

Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

I've had my eye on this little gem of a recipe for a crazziiilyy long time. I'd never made a cheesecake in any form (unless cheesecake stuffed cookies count :) ) and was dying to pop my cheesecake cherry. The Brown Eyed Baker is one of my favourite food blogs to get lost in with page after page of pure temptation and gorgeous recipes, so when this torte was featured for a second time, now in her Top 10 Favourite Cake list, I knew I just had to make it. Sadly I did not own the correct pan or a springform in any shape or size so simply sat pining after it for far too long. Big news...my house is a springform free zone NO LONGER! I finally went out and invested in my new love, I get irrationally excited about kitchen purchases...I hope this isn't just me and you arn't reading this thinking I'm a total weirdo

Onto the torte, its good. Reaaaalll good. A thick buttery shortbread crust with a fruity jam layer spread over the top which blends into a generous amount of smooth cream cheese filling. There's no skimping in this recipe and that's just my cuppa tea :) However it isn't as sinful as you may think, low fat cream cheese and low fat cottage cheese cut the dreaded calorie count (life's too short to think about such things, but it's always nice if that 3rd hunk of a slice is a little less guilt ridden)

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

That's one lengthy name huh! I think they should just be called delicious, or spectacular, or maybe more suitably 'pain in the behind cookies'...because life has a cruel sense of humour and these cookies are so scrummy but I have never before cursed at cookie dough balls so much in all my life! I'm not going to lie to you, if you are looking for a quick fix treat to quash that niggling need for something sweet, this most certainly ain't it! But what you do get for all your hard work is the love child of a deeply chocolatey cookie with a fruity creamy cheesecake, thats one sexy offspring.

Imagine the smile on unsuspecting guests faces as they take their first bite, the initial sensation is of the crisper sugar-coated cookie edges and an unexpectedly intense chocolatey rush. Then you sink into a soft, smoooooth, subtly berry tinted filling that contrasts beautifully. Truly addicting let me tell you! Oh and they are just so pretty :)

Sadly these really are the most fiddly sticky downright stubborn things to make that I have ever experienced, kinda backwards as I was expecting the Almond Tart to be the pain in the derriere not these cute innocent looking things! I learnt some tricks along the way to make the process a little less expletive-inducing and will include these in the recipe/notes below. The problem is the dough really is not made for stuffing, it's a pretty soft mix that does set up alright after a good chill but as soon as you start to roll it in your mitts it attaches itself to everything! Then try locking in a blob of liquidy filling in the middle of a squished sticky ball, its a learning curve I can tell you!

Scrumptious Carrot Cake

Using vegetables in cakes shouldn't work, my brain fights against the idea, but this cake just proves otherwise. It is A-MAZ-ING, and I don't say this lightly as I am a self confessed cake snob. Snobs a bad choice of word i think...i love all cake! But for something to be worth remaking it has to have that extra something that this one truly 100% does

I realise most people probably have a go-to carrot cake recipe, but if you don't already then please do give this one a go! It is delectably moist (that word is one of my cringe words..moist..ew..but as far as cakes are concerned, moist = yummmm) due to having an obscene amount of carrots in it, I did so much research before choosing this one and that was really the winning factor, too many carrot cake recipes have only 2 cups or so shredded carrot, thats not enough! This one is basically a health food in its own right. It has a wonderful texture studded with plump little raisins, a shed load'a nuts and a bit of coconut thrown in for good measure :) Result is that every bite has that little something special that means it never gets boring, rather a dangerous attribute when you have this 3 tiered, cream cheese slathered, utterly irresistible deliciousness in the vicinity.

Are we getting the fact I like this cake? I think I have probably made my point :)

Another wonderful thing about carrot cake is that it is so versatile as everyone has their different preferances, for example I really adore the juicy pop of the raisins so probably would opt for 50:50 raisins to nuts. Whereas my mum, although liking the raisins, would rather have a higher nut content. If you don't like either, leave them out! Not a coconut fan, same thing goes. A can of crushed pineapple is a nice addition too. Really just play around and find your perfect balance, or just try mine out and revel in its moorish scrumminess