Las Vegas Dessert Tour: World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain October 10, 2009
Posted by Dorothy in bars, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, dessert tour, ice cream, information, sweet eats.Tags: bellagio, chocolate, crepes, jean philippe patiserrie, las vegas dessert tour, las vegas desserts
8 comments
Let’s continue on my Las Vegas Dessert Tour with a stop at the delicious Jean Philippe Patisserie inside the Bellagio:
Berry Crepe
Chocolate Crepe with Dark Chocolate Fudge
Not only is the Jean Philippe Patisserie famous for their Chocolate Waterfall, they are also known for their French style crepes. There are all sorts of crepes – sweet, indulgent, fruity, and savory – to satisfy everyone. We tried three different crepes:
Veggie Crepe: Crepe filled with Mediterrenean vegetable mix and a side of field greens. Good, but not amazing. Tasted a little bit like marinara pasta and salad.
Chocolate Crepe: Crepe with chocolate syrup, intense chocolate fudge, brownie bites, chocolate shavings, powdered sugar and mint garnish (comes with whipped cream if you like). I LOVED this crepe – Very indulgent and SO delicious! Extremely chocolate-y; a must for chocoholics!
Berry Crepe: Crepe with berry (strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry) compote, powdered sugar, and whipped cream – my favorite one of the three! Sweet and berry delicious! I loved the chunks of fruit and the perfect balance of sweet and tangy fruit. Very light and leaves you craving more.
Pastries
The dessert paradise that is Jean Philippe Patiserrie has a never-ending supply of pastries, candy, cakes, and gelato. There are giant almond brioches, fancy eclaires, a variety of sandwhiches, baguettes, hazelnut spread, opera cake, slabs of chocolate from the chocolate fountain, Sponge Bob birthday cakes, Hello Kitty cupcakes… you name it! I could barely take it all in with my eyes. Can’t wait to go back!
Jean Philippe Gelato
Outdoor Picnic (Vanilla Banana) Cupcakes September 9, 2009
Posted by Dorothy in cake, cupcakes.Tags: banana cupcakes, squirrels, ucla squirrels, vanilla frosting
12 comments
Fall is my favorite season for picnics and outdoor eating, even though most people tend to prefer summer or spring for picnicking. But I just like sitting under golden leaves and breathing crisp air while enjoying a Vanilla Banana Cupcake.
Vanilla Banana Cupcakes
Here is a supermoist cupcake recipe which makes me happy to have way overripe bananas lying around the kitchen. And I’ve reduced the amount of sugar and fat here (since I used so many bananas) so enjoy without guilt! Delightful topped with Vanilla Frosting or unfrosted as a warm muffin with some butter.
Vanilla Banana Cupcakes (makes 12)
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c butter (1/2 of a stick of butter)
1/4 c applesauce
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c mashed bananas (about 5 medium sized bananas)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, mix together butter, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in mashed bananas. Fill muffin cups until 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 20-24 minutes.
Vanilla Frosting
1 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 – 2 Tbsp milk
Beat butter with mixer until very soft and fluffy. Add sugar and combine. Mix in vanilla and milk until the frosting is light and fluffy.
By the way, these cupcakes are quite the hit, with both humans and squirrels:
Squirrel skulking towards the remains of our picnic
Enjoying our picnic...
Squirrel devouring Vanilla Banana Cupcake
Los Angeles Dessert Tour: (I strongly strongly recommend) Porto’s Bakery August 25, 2009
Posted by Dorothy in bread, cake, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, dessert tour, information, sweet eats.Tags: burbank desserts, cheap bakeries, cuban cuisine, cuban desserts, glendale desserts, los angeles bakery, los angeles dessert tour, los angeles desserts, porto's bakery
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- Dulche de Leche Napoleon
Porto’s Bakery is my newest love and obsession! This place is so super wonderful; I have no idea why it took me so long to find it! Located in the heart of Burbank or Glendale (there are two locations), Porto’s is just a quick (and very worthy) drive away from L.A., and a definite dessert stop in Los Angeles. I recently visited the location in Burbank, and had the time of my life. The place is almost as big as a Whole Foods store, and packed to the max with cakes, pastries, desserts, and customers! This dessert heaven is completely family-owned and operated, and all the goods are made fresh at the premises.
Exotic Red Velvet Cupcakes
Surprisingly, Porto’s is actually a Cuban restaurant and features a wide variety of (delicious) Cuban sandwiches, snacks, and drinks along with traditional Cuban desserts and exotic pastries. Even though they are a Cuban bakery, they still have a great selection of the regular cakes/pastries/desserts we are used to. There is also a huge selection of fresh baked breads and rolls, too. I’ve never had real Cuban cuisine myself, but a customer standing in front of me in line told me Porto’s had the most authentic Cuban cuisine she had ever had in California – and yes, she was Cuban.
Delicious Banana Chips
Now, I never write about real food because I don’t really eat it, as I just live off dessert, but the real food at Porto’s was SO good that I am going to mention it. I had a vegetable sandwhich which was perfectly cheesy and delicious, but the thing I really want to talk about are the banana chips that came with the sandwhich. These are supersuperthin slices of banana that are freshly fried into crispy banana chips – also know as plantain chips. Soooooogood! They are the perfect thinness and perfect crispiness and they even come with a delicious dipping sauce. I suggest you order a large side and enjoy!
On to the best part now – the desserts! Porto’s is super fun because it has two extremely long glass display cases that stretch the entire length of the store completely filled with all the sweets you are craving. A lot of the sweets feature the exotic flavors of guava, mango, pineapple, apricot, and coconut which you don’t usually see in desserts at traditional bakeries. Here’s a small sample of what they have to offer in those wonderful display cases: Opera Cake, Apricot Empanada, Cheese Roll (sweet cream cheese filled pastry; their best-seller), Tiramisu, Guava Pie, Napoleons, Mariner Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Tres Leches Cake, Raspberry Pudding…
Mango Turnover
admist all this wonder, I finally settled on six sweets to try:
Coconut Strudel: my favorite item from Porto’s! This was so coconutty and sweet, I ate half of my strudel and ran inside to buy more 
Dulche de Leche Pound Cake: good, like caramel pound cake from anywhere else. The only average-tasting item I had at Porto’s all day.
Dulche de Leche Napoleon (I was having a caramely day): soooo good! The layers were flaky perfection, the buttercream filling was delicious, and the dulche de leche definitely filled my caramel cravings.
Chocolate Eclair: this was pretty average as far as eclairs go.
Mango Turnover: delicious! Mango in a turnover is genius.
Refugiado (guava and cheese pastry): omg so good! I have never had guava in a pastry before, but I have totally been missing out! Similar to a raspberry and cheese strudel, but more tangy. The tang compliments the sweet cheese perfectly.
Refugiado (guava and cheese strudel)
Next time I go, I am definitely going to stock up on Coconut Strudels and Refugiados. I also want to try their Cinnamon Rolls, which are bigger than my head, their best-selling Cheese Pastry, and the Tres Leches Cake.
Doesn’t Porto’s sound amazing?! Well, I didn’t even tell you the best part yet – the PRICES! I have never been to a dessert place with prices this good. My favorite Coconut Strudels are only 85 cents each, and $7.40 for a dozen. The delicious Refugiadosare only 65 cents each! Most cheesecakes/sliced cakes/Napoleons are only $2.50. The cheapest I’ve ever had for a Napoleon outside of Porto’s was $6.50! The cinnamon rolls that are bigger than my head are $1.50! Everything is super worth it.
After that life altering dessert trip, I have added a new life goal to my list of life goals: to try every sweet at Porto’s Bakery! Yay, this is going to be so much fun! If you’re planning on going, be prepared to park far away and wait in long lines as the place is ridiculously popular and always packed and there is no such thing as big parking lots in or around LA. Porto’s Bakery has two locations to satisfy your sweet tooth:
Glendale Location
315 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
tel. (818) 956-5996
fax (818) 956-0696
Map it
Burbank Location
3614 W Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 846-9100
Map it
So if you live near LA, go! Now!! I’ll see you there
Dessert Obsessed Recipe Index is Up! August 18, 2009
Posted by Dorothy in bread, cake, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, vegan.Tags: banana cookies, brownies, chocolate chip cheesecake, dessert recipes, lemon pound cake
10 comments
I went through the entire blog and indexed all the recipes featured on the blog so far for your convience. Just click the ‘recipe index’ tab on top or click here. I’ve got everything from cupcakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, frostings, and even vegan dessert recipes there. I only post tried and true recipes here, so check them out!
Here are some of my personal favorites:
Coconut, Banana, and Chocolate - Tropical Brownies
Kahlua Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
Best Ever Banana Butterscotch Cookies
Lemon Sunday Pound Cake
Cinnamon Hazelnut Rolls
Super Chocolate Chippery Cheesecake
Martha’s a Genius. But we already knew that. May 5, 2009
Posted by Dorothy in chocolate, cupcakes, vegan.21 comments
Who loves Martha Stewart?!
I do! Most Dessert Obsessees I know have a love/hate relationship with Martha and her recipes, but I completely adore her! I believe anyone who can build a successful career and home empire, and then destroy said successful career (by lying and ending up in jail, in Martha’s case), and then rebuild that career and become even more successful after imprisonment and public humiliation is a Genius.
So of course, she came up with these Genius super easy one-bowl chocolate cake recipe! I can’t believe it took me so long to try this recipe, as dessert lovers everywhere have been raving about this recipe for awhile. I’ve been using this vegan recipe as my go-to chocolate cake recipe, but Martha’s are slightly better! (But the vegan ones are healthier!) And Martha’s cupcakes baked up gorgeously, with perfectly domed tops.
This recipe is supereasy and results in moist, chocolatey, cupcakes. Perfect! Top with some Cream Cheese Frosting or Cookies and Cream Frosting and you’re in cupcake heaven!
Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha’s One – Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely and then frost. Makes 24 cupcakes.
Cream Chese Frosting
1 8 0z. package cream cheese
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
2 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Beat all the ingredients together until creamy. Add in 1/2 C crushed Oreos for Cookies and Cream frosting.
And did you know Martha was a teenage model?
Martha the Model
So she’s been a model, chef, tv personality, publisher, author, decorator, actress, homemaker, stock broker, went to college on a scholarship, etc etc etc and still going! She’s done everything! That woman is amazing. If one day I could be even a smidge as successful as her, I would be beyond satisfied with myself.
