Anyone who knows me knows how much I like to experiment in the kitchen. At the moment, it’s mainly sweet delicacies that are created in my kitchen on long weekends. Sweet strawberries, fresh yoghurt creams and fluffy biscuit cake base mean summer is here for me. Fruity strawberry yoghurt tart, creamy cheesecake with berry topping, French tarte au citron, or a light pavlova: I can rely on the classics in my repertoire. However, I love new inspiration and creative challenges. Without a doubt, the best new ideas for excellent desserts and patisserie are offered by the sweet temptations served daily in our Falkensteiner hotels.
The classics – always a success:
Cheesecake and brownies always go and suit every occasion. They also go very well together as a combination (for a large number of guests). The chocolatey sweetness of the brownies is balanced by the fresh cream in the cheesecake. A berry topping goes perfectly with both.
Cheesecake with strawberry mirror
The cheesecake is served with a strawberry mirror at our Falkensteiner Resort Punta Skala in Dalmatia. Recipes for the creamy “cheesecake” are a dime a dozen (Croatian), but I have a favourite. Hard to beat in creaminess and really super easy to prepare is the following recipe.
Ingredients:
- 800g cream cheese
- 400g whipped cream (cream)
- 6 eggs
- 300g granulated sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp flour, sifted
- 400g strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- some lemon juice and sugar (according to taste)
Preparation:
Bring the strawberries to the boil in a small saucepan with a little water and then purée. Season with lemon juice and sugar and bring to the boil again so that the sugar dissolves.
For the cheesecake, mix the cream cheese with the sugar until creamy. Then stir in the whipped cream. Gradually add the eggs and mix well. Add the lemon juice and vanilla. Finally, sieve in the flour and stir in carefully. Empty the mixture into a round cake tin (approx. 22cm, lined with baking paper) and bake for 40 minutes at 190° and then finish for another 20 minutes at 210°. The cheesecake caramelises slightly on the surface and can look burnt – that’s part of it. It is also still very soft when you take it out, but becomes firmer as it cools (preferably overnight in the fridge). Serve with strawberries and enjoy!
Styrian Brownies
The chocolate brownies at the Falkensteiner Hotel Schladming are made with Zotter chocolate (a classic in Austria!) and pumpkin seeds and served with homemade strawberry ice cream made from fresh strawberries. In the simplified version, the brownies are served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries 😉
Ingredients:
- 200g dark chocolate, preferably from Zotter
- 200g butter
- 300g brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 50g pumpkin seeds, grated
- 50g flour
- ½ packet baking powder
- Fresh strawberries
- Vanilla ice cream
Preparation:
Carefully melt the chocolate and butter together. Be careful here, because the chocolate should not burn under any circumstances! Then stir in the sugar and leave to cool for a few minutes. Stir in the eggs one by one, stirring well after each egg. Finally, fold in the pumpkin seeds, flour and baking powder and pour into a square mould. Bake at 180° for about 30 minutes. The brownies still seem a little “raw”, but that makes up for their fudgy consistency, the crowd will love it! Serve with ice cream and strawberries and taste the sweet temptation.
Oreo Cheesecake
At the Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade, the classic cheesecake is transformed into a creamy delicacy for Oreo lovers. Prepare the mixture from the classic and upgrade it with Oreo biscuits.
Ingredients:
For the biscuit base:
- 16 Oreo biscuits
- 50g butter, melted
- 16 Oreo biscuits, chopped up
Preparation:
For the biscuit base, crush the Oreos biscuits in a freezer bag so they crumble. Mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter to form a mixture and press into a cake tin. Then prepare the cheesecake mixture as in the first recipe. In the last step, mix in the remaining chopped biscuits. Bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes at 180°. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Tiramisù
Tiramisu is THE Italian dessert and nothing brings us a little closer to our Italian holiday than a slice full of flavours of mascarpone, cocoa and a hint of liqueur. Best of all, this recipe is the original from our Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Jesolo – real Italian dolci in your kitchen!
Ingredients (8-10 servings):
- 250 g mascarpone
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 400 g biscotti (savoiardi in Italian)
- 1 cup espresso coffee
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp Marsala (or brandy)
Preparation:
Mix the sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl with a hand mixer until the mixture is light and pale yellow.
Add the mascarpone and half of the marsala and mix well. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff and gently fold into the mascarpone cream until blended. Pour the espresso into a shallow bowl with the remaining Marsala and stir well. Briefly dip the biscuits into the espresso mixture, turning them for a few seconds until they are well soaked. Now place half of the biscuits on the bottom of a baking dish; spread half of the cream on top. Cover with the remaining biscuits and spread with the rest of the cream. Finally, sprinkle the tiramisu with the cocoa; this works particularly well with a sieve. Chill in the fridge for 4-5 hours or better overnight. Buon appetito!
Sweets for the advanced:
For all confectioners who crave even more sweetness at a particularly high level, the next desserts will do justice. The pastries so far are without question extremely good and a real hit, whether alone, with a partner or in a large group. But because we are also a bit “premium” here, I would like to inspire you with two very special highlights.
Semifreddo al mango con cuore morbido
Translated as “mango semifreddo with a core of yoghurt liquorice cream, Turkish honey and almonds”, you can tell from the name that there is more to this dessert. Just like the Falkensteiner Resort Capo Boi, this dessert is also premium, gets five stars and takes us (taste-wise) to Italian paradise. You can download the recipe HERE (it’s just too long to write down in this post and it’s in german).
Monkey Black Forest
Classics are transformed into something very special with a certain twist, something you won’t easily forget. This is true for the Monkey Black Forest dessert as well as for the house in which it is served: the Falkensteiner Hotel Prague. In this version of the Black Forest cake, the core of the cake consists of Amarena cherries cooked with cherry liqueur. Around this core is a light white chocolate mousse flavoured with semi-dried Amarena cherries. The outer layer is a delicate dark chocolate crust and the base of the cake is dark chocolate crumble. As stunning as the pie sounds, it looks too!
I wish you every success in preparing one or two sweet temptations and hope you don’t get too much of a sugar shock! …and if you prefer to indulge yourself, then simply try the desserts at the Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences.
