Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

As former cupcake princess, I felt it was necessary to make some cupcakes for DESSERT FEST 2010!  So I pulled out my trusty cupcake encylopedias (cupcakes galore and martha stewart cupcakes) and scoured for a yummy recipe.  I saw a Halloween themed cupcake, and, naturally, felt this would be a good fit for DESSERT FEST 2010!, which was falling the week right before Halloween.

DESSERT FEST 2010!

Well...Dessert Fest 2010 was absolutely amazing.  For those of you who don't know what it is, I was invited by my friend Mai to co-chef DESSERT FEST 2010!  Mai learned how much I loved desserts while we were in Namibia and I would squeal at the sight of a pink cookie at a german bakery, or ooh and ahhh over a passionfruit mousse in the middle of Sossusvlei.  Mai and her friend Josh hosted the party last year and it was a success.  I was very excited to be a part of TEAM DESSERT FEST 2010! this year.

Key Lime Cheesecake

My other go-to for recipe ideas and innovations?  Smitten Kitchen, of course.  So when I saw she had made a lovely key lime cheesecake, I quickly added it to my list for DESSERT FEST 2010! because it is one of my favorite desserts (shocking, I know...I'm a huge chocolate girl).  She adapted her recipe to make mini-tarts, but I took the original recipe from Gourmet to make one large cheesecake. 

And good thing.  This light, tangy tart was a huge hit amongst our DESSERT FEST 2010! crowd, right up there with Josh's Red Velvet!

Mississippi Mud Cake

I've heard about Mississippi Mud Cake before, but never tried it.  When I was flipping through my Serendipity cookbook, I came across this chocolately sticky sweet dish.  And, because it was basically diabetes in a cake pan, I had to make it. 

Chocolate Chip Pizza

Remember those cookie cakes from Mrs. Field's cookies?  Okay wait let me back track.  Ohhhh Emmm Geee I love Mrs. Field's cookies.  They were the highlight of any mall visit from age 4-26. With a carton of skim milk.  I loved the chocolate chip ones as a little girl.  Now I love the macademia nut chocolate chip ones.  But THEN...remember the COOKIE CAKES?  With the piped icing on the outside and phrases such as "Happy Birthday" or "Congratulations" on them?  I was in LOVE with those cookie cakes.  So when I saw this recipe, I HAD TO TRY IT!

Pedas, Round 2

Clearly I loved pedas enough to give them a second go-round when my first recipe didn't go as planned.  This time, I went straight to the source: Vidya Maushi.  I think the first peda I ever had was hers (probably when I was 13).  What better time to try this out then for DESSERT FEST 2010!

S'mores Brownies

Dessert Fest 2010!  WHAT SHOULD I MAKE?  Anything that is over the top sweet, chocolately and decadent, of course.  So where do I turn to for inspiration?  No other than Joy The Baker.  My sister introduced me to this blog because she too loves baking, but, unlike me, she gets all the chemistry stuff that goes on behind it. 

When I was around the age of 4, my mom would bring me those pre-made s'mores cookies that you heat for like 5 seconds in the microwave.  I loved those!  Well, at age 4 I loved anything with high fructose corn syrup and was nutritionally devoid (and...let's be honest here...nothing has really changed).  My favorite after-school snack.

When I'm at my parent's house, I always make s'mores over my mom's stovetop (yeah, yeah...I know...).  With graham crackers and bits of chocolate (whatever I can scrap from the pantry).  I usually do it when my sister is at school or doing her homework (and after I've eaten her halloween candy) so she can't steal my share of sticky melty sugar and chocolate (which is probably dripping down my chin, let's be real here).  And then I usually end up with graham cracker crumbs in my hair.  So I guess I don't do a good job of hiding my secret snack.

When I saw this recipe on Joy The Baker, I knew I had to try it out for the dessert party!

Rasamalai

My mom's signature dessert is rasamalai.  In fact, there may or may not have been an incident involving my younger sister where we fought, leap frog style, for the last piece of her rasamalai.  I probably won.