Mocha Ricotta Pie with Strawberries

This pie is one of my absolute favorite desserts. It's in my top three of all time, right up there with almond butter thumbprints and salted caramel brownies.

What makes it so fabulous is the trifecta of a lightly sweetened, crunchy shortbread crust, a rich and creamy ricotta filling with chocolate, coffee, and a hint of lemon (yes, lemon!), and a topping of juicy strawberries. It reminds me of the amazing Southern-style chocolate pie I always used to eat at the now-defunct Marimont Cafeteria in Austin, Texas, but with a mature Italian twist and bright berries to lighten things up.

Really good dark chocolate and high quality, full-fat ricotta are important for this pie. (Good coffee won't hurt either, but I love my Café Bustelo.) I was so excited about having a tub of Narragansett Creamery ricotta in my fridge that I proceeded to completely forget I'd bought it to make zucchini lasagna, and dumped all of it into the filling for this pie.

Chocolate Doughnuts with Cherry Cheesecake Glaze

It's Friday! Paleo chocolate doughnuts with naturally-colored magenta glaze, anyone?

I, for one, am super pumped about the color here. It's all about eating the rainbow, and aside from red cabbage, those purple hues can be kind of hard to find!

You may be surprised that this vibrant shade is all thanks to a mere handful of SIX frozen cherries (and, full disclosure, a tiiiiny bit of post-processing in Lightroom).

When I came up with the idea of a cherry cheesecake glaze for doughnuts, I was excited for it be pink. I was really surprised, though, when I ended up with this lovely shade of fuschia! The color may depend on the kind of cherries you use--I always buy frozen dark sweet cherries at Whole Foods (even though they're called sweet cherries, there's no sugar added) because I love to put them in smoothies, but my new favorite use for them is this delicious glaze.

Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake Pie (Gluten-free, No-bake)

This pie is so easy, and so good!  If you already have your caramel sauce made (try salted caramel, salted maple caramel, or even store-bought), there is no cooking required--just a few rounds of food processing.  And, in case you need another reason to make this, there's pumpkin involved!  There's also caramel, whipped cream, and a delicious two-ingredient crust.  The cheesecake layer is rich, but not overpowering--I think even people who don't love cheesecake will probably love this.  

The recipe has several components, but they are all easy to whip up in the food processor.  You don't even really need to wash it in between layers.  Also, it's so much fun to press the crust into the pan, smooth all these amazing things on top, swirl in some caramel, and sprinkle on a few pepitas.  It's almost as much fun to make this pie as it is to eat it!

I made this for two hungry podcasters, and they both loved it.  Even though Ben at first insisted he "didn't want a piece right now", he changed his tune as soon as he laid eyes on my slice.  Basically, this pie is irresistible!

Lemon Cheesecake Truffles

***Note: The recipe below is NOT paleo--it was published before I discovered the paleo diet!  However, you can see an index of all my paleo recipes here.  Thank you for stopping by!*** 

Truffles are the perfect summer dessert, especially when there's lemon involved.  You can make these without even using your stove, and since they're kept in the fridge, they're refreshing on a hot day.  These truffles have a rich and creamy cheesecake interior with lemony undertones, a snappy chocolate shell, and crunchy, zesty lemon sugar on top.  They are so rich that I feel satisfied with just one or two for dessert.

You should make these because they are much easier, cuter, and smaller than cheesecake.  You can impress your friends by presenting all the delicious flavors of cheesecake in a small, round, chocolate-dipped form.  And in case you're wondering, lemon and chocolate DO go together well.  It's like orange and chocolate, but punchier and more summery.  Try it.  Try it today!

Ingredients (makes about 15 truffles):

For the cheesecake filling:

1 lemon
8 ounces cream cheese
Pinch of salt
1 cup powdered sugar
A few drops of vanilla

For the topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the chocolate coating:

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
A few drops of vanilla

Zest the lemon.  Set aside half the zest and toss it to coat with the granulated sugar to make the topping.  Spread the lemon sugar out on a plate in a thin layer so it can dry out a little.  You definitely don't want to skip this part, because the crunchy, zesty sugar is going to take these truffles from delicious to ridiculous.

Place the other half of the zest in a medium bowl with the cream cheese, salt, sugar, and vanilla.  Juice the lemon to obtain three tablespoons of juice, and add them to the bowl, making sure to strain out any seeds.  Use a fork to cream this mixture until well combined.  Cover the mixture and place it in the freezer for half an hour or so to firm up.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.  Use a spoon and your fingers to form rounded teaspoon-sized balls of cheesecake mixture and place them on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Don't worry if the balls aren't perfect, because you will have a chance to smooth them out later.  Freeze the balls for at least two hours so they're totally firm.

When your truffles are almost frozen, it's time to melt the chocolate.  Place the chopped chocolate, oil, and vanilla in a microwaveable bowl.  The oil is just there to help make the chocolate coating a little bit shiny.  Microwave the bowl in thirty-second intervals, stirring in between, until almost melted.  Stir until the chocolate is completely smooth.  Set the chocolate aside to cool for a few minutes before you dip your truffles.

Line another baking sheet with parchment or wax paper so you'll have a spot for your dipped truffles.  Take the truffles out of the freezer.  Working with one ball at a time, roll it quickly between your palms to round it out, then drop it in the chocolate, turning it a little to fully coat it.  Use a fork to carefully fish the truffle out of the chocolate.  Let the excess chocolate drip off, then carefully transfer the truffle to the parchment paper.  Sprinkle the top of the truffle with a little lemon sugar right away.  You don't want to wait until you've dipped all the truffles because once the chocolate is hardened the lemon sugar won't stick.

Once you've dipped all the truffles, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about half an hour so the chocolate can set.  When the truffles are set, they are ready to eat.  If you won't be enjoying them right away, store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

No-Bake Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

So, the other day I had a brilliant idea:  I put a big dollop of strawberry curd on top of some plain Greek yogurt.  It tasted amazing.  It didn't even taste like strawberry yogurt; it tasted like strawberry CHEESECAKE.  What?!?

It was clear that this idea needed to be explored.  However, due to feeling a bit lazy, I decided to explore without turning on the oven.  Thus, these strawberry swirl cheesecake bars were born.

(At the last minute, I added chocolate ganache to the top.  I didn't put it in the name because No-Bake Strawberry Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars seemed like to much of a mouthful.  The chocolate definitely adds to the appeal, but its flavor doesn't overwhelm the strawberry.)

If you are into frozen cheesecake, you can totally freeze these.  After multiple taste tests, I decided I have a slight preference for the non-frozen, but well-chilled, variety.

Ingredients (makes 12-16 bars):

For the crust:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup powdered sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

8 ounces Neufchatel cheese (or use cream cheese)
3/4 cup Greek yogurt (I used full-fat, but 2% or 0% would probably work)
Seeds from half a vanilla bean
2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the topping:

1/3 cup strawberry curd
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon milk or cream

To make the crust, grind the pecans in a food processor until finely chopped.  Mix with the graham cracker crumbs and sugar.  Add the melted butter and stir to combine.  Press the crust into an even layer in the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients.  Beat on high speed until smooth.  Dollop the filling on top of the crust and smooth into an even layer with a spatula.

To make the chocolate ganache, melt the chocolate with the oil and milk and stir until smooth (you can microwave it in 20 second intervals).

Dollop the strawberry curd and chocolate ganache on top of the filling.  Using a knife, swirl the toppings into the filling.

Refrigerate or freeze for at least an hour, then cut into squares and serve.