Favorite Desserts — by Guest Mom Stephanie Brubaker

A few readers recently requested a "top 10" list featuring my favorite desserts. It sounded like a yummy post to write so here it goes...for all to enjoy! Please note that most of these desserts can be made in one hour or less, some under 30 minutes, which I consider absolutely necessary :)

These recipes are my favorite "crowd-pleasers", in no particular order, with a few notes included. Bon appetit!

1. Lemon Cake...serve with Lemon Curd, whipped cream & fresh berries; the very similar but more low-fat Lemon Yogurt Cake is lovely too; make sure you sieve the lemon curd before chilling.

2. Banana Pillows...double the amount of sauce; also, you can stretch the puff pastry to 6 pillows instead of 4.

3. Frozen Key Lime Pie...for recipe notes on this one click here. There are more than a few :)

4. Tapioca Passion-Fruit Parfaits...great with an Asian-inspired meal.

5. Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes...use a high-quality chocolate for this one and serve with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond.

6. Glazed Chocolate Cake...garnish with whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts or fresh raspberries; use a high-quality chocolate with this one too.



7. Chocolate Pots de Cremes/Custards...before serving, cover the tops of the custards with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

8. Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake...a great way to use that delicious lemon curd that keeps for up to a week in your fridge! A few thoughts on other ways to use lemon curd here.

9. Croissant Bread Pudding...use half good quality croissants and half pain au chocolats; raisins can be omitted; serve with a warmed caramel, Bourbon or Rum sauce.

10. Peanut Butter Sandwiches...best a few hours after assembling; double the cookie recipe to put to use the extra filling you'll inevitably have on hand.

Find more of Stephanie at Stephmodo