These cake hearts are so cute and real easy and quick to make. This recipe is basically just cutting, opening a jar, and melting to make a beautiful and tasty dessert. You can get all the ingredients premade, like I did this time, or you can make any or all of them from scratch…but if you are already making other things for a Valentine’s Day meal, or other special meal, for your sweetheart then having one piece come together quickly makes your life easier.

I use white chocolate for the coating because I love the flavor. If you want the cakes to be a purer white then you can use candy melts…but the flavor of the chocolate is a lot better and I love the off white look, gives it a shabby chic look 🙂 .

You can even make these the day before, just do everything up to the plating (yes, add the cleaned raspberry on top too) and then refrigerate in a sealable container until the next day.

You can also use chocolate pound cake and fill it with the raspberry or even a peanut butter filling. Just warm some creamy peanut butter and brush the peanut butter on them instead of the fruit jam. If you do chocolate pound cake you can also just substitute milk or dark chocolate to make the ganache.

After cutting your shapes, use the scraps in a small trifle or just eat them as a snack…so good!

You will need:

• 1 butter pound cake (or flavor of your choice), about 12 ounces
• 1/4 cup of seedless raspberry jam (or flavor of your choice)
• 2 bars of white chocolate, 4 ounces each
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried well, for topping and plating
• Homemade or store bought whipped cream, for plating
• Heart cookie cutters

Steps:

1. Place pound cake in the refrigerator for an hour before cutting, or freezer for 30 minutes.
2. Take pound cake out of frig and cut into about 1/2 inch slices then using a cookie cutter that fits the size of the cake, cut out your hearts and lay on a small sheet pan. You can use a couple of sizes to make different sized cakes, and to make use of some of the bigger scraps.
3. Gently heat the raspberry jam in a small pot until it melts down.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush the jam onto the top of each heart piece. When done, brush a second coat onto the top.
5. Gently sandwich two cake pieces together, jam sides together, and store on the small sheet pan and put in the refrigerator to cool while you wash and dry the raspberries and make the white chocolate ganache.
6. Chop your white chocolate into small shards and put in a medium sized glass bowl.
7. Heat the heavy cream in a small pot until hot, but not boiling, and then pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes before mixing.
8. Using a whisk, mix the chocolate and heavy cream mixture well until it is nice and creamy, it may take a minute or two.
9. Remove cakes from frig and put on a cooling rack and set rack over your sheet pan to catch the ganache.
10. Using a large spoon, drizzle the ganache over the cakes to cover all sides. After you have finished all of them go back and drizzle more on top or in places where you can still see some of the cake. You can get more ganache that feel on the pan to drizzle back on the cakes. Don’t worry if it looks rustic, it’s supposed to.
11. Let dry at room temperature for 30 minutes then top with a washed and dried raspberry. You can refrigerate it at this point in a closed container for a later time, but eat within a couple days for best flavor.
12. Serve on a plate smeared with more melted raspberry jam, in any style you want, whipped cream, and more raspberries.

Kali Orexi!

These potatoes make a wonderful side dish. Just with a few ingredients you can make a tasty side to serve with steak, chicken, fish or just on their own. You can use any type of potato you like, I love the flavor of gold potatoes and sweet potatoes so that is what I used in this recipe, but if sweet potatoes are not your thing just make more of the other type 🙂 .

The gold potatoes I season with garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and olive oil…and the sweet potatoes with cinnamon, two kinds of sugar, and butter. You get sweet and savory on the same plate!

The below recipe makes 4 to 6 servings, depending on how big your potatoes are.

You will need:

• 1 large gold potato
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, plus a drizzle
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, plus an additional sprinkle
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 1 green onion, finely chopped (green part only)
• Heart cookie cutter to fit size of potato

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Start by peeling the potatoes, then slice them carefully on a mandolin. If you don’t have a mandolin then thinly slice with a knife, between 1/8th to 1/6th inches thick. If you will be free hand cutting your potato to look like a heart you can shape the whole potato like a heart first, then cut it on the mandolin or by hand.
3. If you are using a cookie cutter, take the cutter (shape of choice) and cut the shape into the round slices. The sweet potato slices are harder to cut so you may need to use a kitchen mallet or small wooden rolling pin to gently tap the top of the cutter so it easily penetrates the sweet potato.
4. Put gold potato slices in a mixing bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, enough to coat each slice, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper, to taste, then mix gently but well.
5. Stack 5 slices of potato to form each stack, until all used.
6. Set on parchment lined baking sheet, a couple of inches apart, and drizzle with a little more olive oil and top with a little more parmesan cheese. My stacks stayed together but if you feel like they may shift or slide off of each other in the oven stick a toothpick in the middle of each.
7. Next, cut the sweet potato the same way and place in the same mixing bowl you used for the gold potatoes.
8. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter, brown and white sugars, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and mix well.
9. Stack 5 slices to form each stack, until all used.
10. Set on the other side of the baking sheet, divide parchment so the juices don’t run into the other potatoes, and sprinkle with a little more granulated sugar and top with a small piece of non melted butter.
11. Cook for 15-20 minutes then check to see if done by piercing it with a tooth pick (or make a test stack for you to try 🙂 . If they need more time, roast for a few minutes at a time, until done. Doneness of potato depends on how thick it was cut.
12. Remove from oven and sprinkle green onions on the golden potatoes. Serve on there own or with a protein.

Kali Orexi!

These cookies are so pretty and real festive looking on your table during the holidays. Their pure white color, from the powdered sugar, make it look like snow has fallen onto them. These are also very pretty, and popular to have at weddings since the white color represents purity and innocence, and can symbolize a new beginning.

Not only are they pretty but they also pack a buttery goodness that melts in your mouth. The cookie itself isn’t very sweet so it relies on the powdered sugar to provide most of it’s sweetness. I have fond memories of inhaling these cookies (which isn’t a good thing to do) and choking on the powdered sugar if you breath in at the same time you bite down onto them. Anyone who has had one knows what I mean 🙂 .

You can make these with or without liquor. Some use mastiha, which is a liqueur made from the resin of a mastic tree and has a refreshingly sweet, light and aromatic woodiness, as well as a nutty flavor to it. If you can’t find that you can use cognac, brandy, grand Marnier, or just orange juice. I used grand Marnier this time to give it an orange flavored kick.

You will need:

• 4 sticks butter (2 cups), softened at room temperature
• 4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 tablespoon mastiha, cognac, brandy, Grand Marnier, or orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups blanched and toasted almonds, chopped
• Some orange blossom water (optional for topping)
• 2-3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted (for topping)

Steps:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until it’s pale white in color (about 5 minutes).
2. In the meantime mix the baking powder into the flour and set aside.
3. Add the granulated sugar, egg yolks, and orange zest to the butter and beat another minute until well combined.
4. Add the liquor, or OJ, and the vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Slowly add the flower and beat on low until combined. The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky to the touch. If it feels sticky, add a little more flour, about a tablespoon at a time.
5. Lastly, stir in the almonds until well incorporated.
6. Roll out into medium sized balls (a little over a tablespoon worth is a good two-bite size, I used a tablespoon sized scoop) and either leave them round and make a small thumb print in the middle or you can make half moons, or three leaf clover shaped ones, which is what I did since my mother used to make them like this, and it also makes it easy to pick up the cookie. Place them on 2-3 parchment lined baking sheets.
7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 20 minutes. The bottoms should be slightly golden.
8. When you take them out of the oven you can sprinkle/spritz/brush the top of the cookies with orange blossom water, if you want. I used a pastry brush and lightly brushed Grand Marnier on top of them for an added kick 🙂 .
9. Using a sifter or a fine mesh strainer, sift a coat of powdered sugar onto a platter or surface that you will be coating the cookies, and using a spatula to gently transfer the cookies onto the powdered sugar while still warm. If you try to pick them up when hot they may crumble, so be careful.
10. After you have transferred the warm cookies to the powdered sugar use the sifter/fine mesh strainer to sift more powdered sugar on top. If you are making these for a later date, after they have completely cooled store in a covered container in layers. When you are ready to serve on a platter, repeat the powdered sugar/sifting process and stack the cookies however high you want. I made a Christmas tree with them 🙂 .

Kali Orexi!