Strawberry Hand Pies

The first time I attempted to make a pie, the results were a little mixed. As good as the berry pie tasted, the filling came out a bit runny and the crust was not at all flaky. But with company coming for dinner, I decided to give pie another shot, but with a twist this time. Rather than make one large pie, I opted for more conveniently sized strawberry hand pies, with a nutella cream dipping sauce on the side.

This time, things turned out very differently than my first pie attempt. These came out perfectly crispy and flaky, and the strawberry filling was sufficiently thick rather than runny. You can practically SEE how flaky they are just by looking at them! I won't lie to you, though, this perfect flakiness comes at a cost - this is not an easy recipe to prepare, with many steps to perform and long periods of waiting for things to freeze or chill. Of course, I'll walk you through it step by step as always, but just know that it isn't for the lazy or faint of heart. They are, however, well worth the effort, and I consider them one of my most resounding dessert success stories to date.

Chocolate Pavlova

And now for something completely different! That picturesque beauty you see above is a Pavlova, a dessert created in either New Zealand or Australia (there has been some debate as to the actual country of origin) in honor of the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavolva. It's a meringue-based cake with a crispy shell and a soft, airy interior, and I topped mine with homemade whipped cream, nectarine puree, strawberry, kiwi, and mini chocolate chips.

If you're going to attempt this recipe, you absolutely MUST have a stand mixer, otherwise whipping up meringue could take an exceedingly long time. It also turns out that I'm a bit on the clumsy side when it comes to separating egg whites from their yolk, and I wasted more than a few eggs in failed attempts here. What I'm saying is, make sure you've got some spare eggs available just in case.

As a side note, I've been having some computer issues lately, so I'm posting this from my tablet. There could be some formatting issues, so just bear with me while I get it all ironed out.

Strawberry and Mascarpone Swiss Roll

For my latest baking adventure, I wanted to try something a little different, and preferably a little easier than a fruit pie. When I stumbled upon a picture of a delicious looking strawberry Swiss roll, however, I knew. It was love at first sight, I didn’t care whether or not it was simpler to make than a pie, I only knew I had to have it.

It called for a couple of ingredients I don’t typically keep on hand, however – mascarpone cheese and Marsala wine – so after a quick trip to the market, I set about the task of creating that glorious dessert you see above. It’s not especially difficult, but it definitely requires a bit of…finesse.