My Big Fat Greek Dessert

Erica of Erica's Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker's June Challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make baklava.

Yep, Baklava.

I've never made Baklava before and I generally don't enjoy eating it that much, add that to the fact that I've made my own puff pastry before I wasn't too hip on this challenge at first. However, the homemade phyllo dough was super simple to make and much less time consuming than the puff pastry AND the baklava was DELICIOUS!!

Really, this picture is horrible and doesn't do it justice at all but it was really, really good. There was enough of the honey syrup that it stayed very most and the sugar and nut filling was very sweet and rich. A small bite was plenty.

My first ever attempt at baklava got rave reviews, so if you'd like to try it for yourself you can find the recipe at http://www.thedaringkitchen.com/ . Oooompah!

The Daring Baker's May Challenge

On the eve of the big reveal of the June Daring Baker's Challenge I suddenly realized that I never posted my May challenge.

It's a shame too because it was soooooo delicious.

Our May challenge was a marquis. Yeah, I'd never heard of it either. Basically it is a homemade chocolate mouse that you freeze. After it is frozen you cut it into cubes and then plate it in a bed of fluffy meringue that has been lightly torched. You then drizzle the whole works with some sort of caramel or sweet sauce and sprinkle it with nuts or chocolate nibs or coffee beans or something.

Sounds complicated, I know, but it really wasn't.

We had the freedom to use any flavor combinations we wanted as long as the mousse was chocolate. My first instinct is always to add raspberry but I've been there and done that so I decided to go a different direction.

Since we had to also do a sauce and some sort of nut I decided to do a Bananas Foster Peanut Marquis. Yep, I made bananas foster (bananas sauteed in butter, vanilla and brown sugar) and drizzled it over the top of the marquis and the torched meringue. Then I sprinkled on honey roasted peanuts.

It was a peanut butter banana chocolate extravaganza! The mousse thaws as it sits out but it retains its shape so it is a creamy decadent mousse on top of a crunchy meringue with gooey bananas and crispy nuts. Yummy!

Really, who doesn't like a dessert that requires a blow torch?