Christmas is long gone and a new year is in motion, however I have 1 last gift to share.  Friends of ours threw a holiday party right before we all went our separate ways for Christmas and instead of a bottle of wine or something wrapped in a box, Mike and I showed up to the party with a pitcher of egg nog and a dessert table.  These friends of ours are always so generous whenever they have us over for dinner and we were happy to be apart of their holiday soiree and set up the sweets.

O N  D E S S E R T  M E N U

• red velvet macarons filled with a cream cheese buttercream 
• dark chocolate + mint After Eight macarons
• chocolate + vanilla butter cream + burnt caramel mini cakes
• croquembouche [made with eggnog pastry cream filled profiteroles]
• sparkling wine marshmallows
• cherry + oreo + mascarpone cheese cake cups

With each baking project I take on, I try to do something new so that I can learn something new.  This time around, I wanted to try the ‘naked iced’ cake.   Verdict…this cake style was much less fussy than fondant or any other cake I’ve done thus far.  However, the 1 challenge I came across laid in the caramel sauce.  I couldn’t get the caramel to stop dripping; I suppose its the nature of its viscosity.  Perhaps next time, I’ll go easy on the sauce.

Though baking and constructing the elements of the table was fun, shopping for decorative greenery was funner!  I’ve yet to dabble in decorating with real florals or greens so finding the perfect workable elements turned out to be quite the adventure.  After stopping in a couple flower shops, I decided on some seasonally appropriate and organically farmed greens, berries, and flowers from British Columbia.  They added the perfect festive finishing touch to the dessert table!

M A S C A R P O N E  C H E E S E  C A K E  C U P S

to make this dessert, I [actually, my friend Maddy made these cups while I worked on macarons + cakes] followed, June Darville’s, No Bake Oreo Cheesecake, recipe.

i n g r e d i e n t s :

• 9 oz (200 g) mascarpone
• 7 oz (200 g) Oreo cookies
• 3 oz (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp canned cherries and juice
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• salt

For further instructions, check out her recipe –>here<–

To create individual servings,  line each serving cup with a layer of crumbled Oreos | gently pack down and chill in the fridge
Transfer the mascarpone/cream cheese mixture into a piping bag | pipe a layer of this mix atop the Oreo bottom.   Gently tap the bottom of the glass to smooth and level out the mixture
Lastly, carefully spoon on the last layer of the cherry sauce
Chill in the fridge until ready to serve

I am happy to have rounded out my 2016 baking projects with this dessert table.  I got to add a new cake decorating technique to my repertoire and am excited to build upon it in this new year.  Let’s see what 2017 has in store for me on the baking front.

Hope every one had a great holiday.

Happy New Year!