3 must-try dessert recipes to treat yourself this Women's Day

With Women’s Day around the corner, indulge your sweet tooth and treat yourself to your favourite dessert

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 150 gm unsalted butter

• 150 gm light brown sugar

• 3 medium eggs

• 125 gm self-raising flour

• 25 gm cocoa powder

• 12 Ferrero Rocher

Nutella Buttercream

• 150 gm unsalted butter (at room temp.)

• 300 gm icing sugar

• 150 gm Nutella

Decoration

• 12 Ferrero Rocher

Steps

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan, and prep your cupcake cases.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and then add in the flour, cocoa powder, and eggs.

Beat again until smooth, then split evenly between the cases.

Pop a Ferrero Rocher on top of each cupcake, and push it in ever so slightly.

Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes, or until baked. Cool completely.

Buttercream

Beat the unsalted butter (best at room temperature), for a couple of minutes until smooth.

Add in the Nutella and beat again briefly.

Add in half of the icing sugar and beat it, and then the other half and beat it.

If its too thick, add in 1tbsp of boiling water at a time till it becomes pipeable.

Fill your icing bag with an open flower tip (or any tip that you have available) and pipe the Nutella Buttercream on, then sprinkled on some hazelnuts, and add another Ferrero Rocher on top!

Vanilla Cakepops

Ingredients

• One box of Vanilla cake mix or your favourite home-made vanilla cake.

• Other ingredients called for on the box including water/oil/eggs

• Make the cake following the instructions on the box

• Cakepop sticks or straws

For frosting

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature

• 1 ¾ cup icing sugar

• 2-3 teaspoons heavy cream or milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coating

• 2 cups of white candy melts or white chocolate (make sure to use the best quality)

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

White sprinkles

• Yellow food colour — optional (add to melted chocolate and drizzle over the cakepops)

Steps

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cake pan or baking dish.

Prepare the cake batter according to the instructions on the package.

Bake according to the instructions (30-35 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Let the cake cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Keep a flat baking tray (you can use a plate too) lined with baking paper / parchment paper

Frosting

Add softened butter into a large bowl, and beat the butter with a handheld mixer on medium speed until creamy

While the mixer is running, add 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar. Mix until combined. Add heavy cream, vanilla, candy the rest of confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time.

Increase the speed to high and beat for 3 more minutes.

Make the frosting by beating the unsalted butter in a stand mixer or use a handmixer. Beat the butter till its pale yellow in colour and then gradually add the icing sugar. If the icing is too thick, add a 2 - 3 tsp of milk or heavy cream.

Once the cake has cooled down, put in a large bowl. Use your hands to crumble the cake and then add the frosting (little at a time as you may not need all of it. Mix well till you get a dough like consistency ( it takes 2-3 mins)

Make small balls out of the cake mix. Place them on the lined baking tray. Place them in the fridge to cool down for 20 mins

Meanwhile melt 2 tbsp of the candy melts / chocolate (50 gm) in the microwave at 30 second intervals and stirring in-between (be careful as it can burn easily).

Dip the tip of the cakepop sticks into the melted candy melts/chocolate. Then insert each stick into a call ball about half-way.

Freeze for about 30 minutes.

Cake Balls

Right before they are ready to be taken out of the freezer, melt the rest of the candy melts / chocolate. Add the oil and mix well. Pour the mix in a tall glass.

Dip the cake ball into the coating until it’s completely covered. Gently tap the stick against the edge of the glass to allow excess coating to drop off.

Decorate the top of the ball with white sprinkles and place upright into a box. Repeat with the remaining cake balls.

Rasmalai Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

For the crust/base :

• Digestive biscuits (crushed) 2 1/2 cups

• Unsalted butter (melted) 150 gm

For the batter :

• Philadelphia cream cheese (room temperature) 500 gm

• 1 tin (370 gm) sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup (220 ml) whipping cream (cold)

• 10-12 pieces/500 gm rasmalai

• 1 cup rasmalai liquid (the same syrup in which you get the rasmalai)

• 20 gm gelatin

• 1/4 cup water (to bloom gelatin)

• Saffron (few strands)

• Pistachio sliced for garnish

• Rose petals for garnish (optional)

METHOD

Brush a 10 inch springform baking pan with butter and keep aside.

Mix the crushed biscuits and butter, transfer the mix to your greased baking pan. Press the mix down with the back of a spoon and level it. (I like to push the spread up onto the sides of the pan). Chill for 30 minutes.

In a stand mixer or a hand mixer, add the cream cheese and mix for a minute. Now add the condensed milk and mix well. (scrape the bottom of your bowl if using a stand mixer)

Add the whipping cream, rasmalai water and saffron strands.

Bloom gelatin by adding 1/4 cup water, mix well and keep aside for 5 minutes.

Then microwave for 30 seconds.

Add the gelatin to the cheesecake batter.

By now the biscuit base will be firm and chilled.

Take the rasmalai pieces, squeeze a little and add on top of the biscuit base.

Gently pour the cheesecake batter over the rasmalai pieces and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or preferably overnight.

Garnish with rose petals and pistachios.

To remove the cheesecake from the pan, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and gently open the springform pan.

• Lifestyle
• Dubai