vietnamese iced coffee granita sundae

Did you know that only EIGHT percent of New Year's resolutions actually get achieved? Crazy right? Remember that time I made an epic New Year's resolution to post a blog every week? Well.... I'm definitely not part of that 8%. 

So where have I been you ask? Suffering the miserable life of an undergraduate college student taking two too many classes, working one too many jobs and having the joy of commuting between two equally as dysfunctional households on different sides of one giant lake. Woe is me, lol. But it's over with. Finally!!! Somehow, I even managed to do well in school (after announcing that "everybody has a bad semester, and I'm okay that this one is mine") and even won an award for it! Oh, I went to a freezing cold New York, bleached my entire scalp, and drunk texted Molly Yeh about cheese fries in Texas in this period, too. 

Rest assured, I'm not leaving again. I've missed all of my lovely internet friends way too much and will spending the next few days cooped up in bed post-wisdom teeth surgery being paranoid about dry sockets and making the rounds visiting all of your pretty blogs. :)  Let's celebrate with some dessert! 

A few days ago, French Market Coffee sent me a giant box of coffee and challenged me to create a killer New Orleans-themed recipe. I obviously obliged, because coffee is the sole reason why I got through this semester from hell and coffee plus dessert is the greatest combination like.... ever. 

Now I know what you're thinking, Vietnamese iced coffee .... New Orleans??? Did you know that New Orleans has thriving Vietnamese population and a killer Viet restaurant scene? Did you know that my diet pretty much consists of nothing but banh mi and spring rolls? Did you know that Vietnamese is the fourth most spoken language in the entire state of Louisiana? Did you know that I just looked that up on Wikipedia? Bam. 

Because Vietnamese iced coffee is the delicious marriage of chicory coffee and condensed milk, I figured I would deconstruct it and turn it into something even more delicious than the drink itself.

The result: granita sundaes. Granitas are generally served alone or with a bit of whipped cream, but I truly believe in calorie-loading so I covered mine in layers upon layers of ice cream. Condensed milk ice cream, to be exact. On top of all of that, I covered the whole deal in even more condensed milk, because why not? 

I know this all sounds potentially stressful, but this dessert is super easy! The granita is literally just coffee and sugar, mixed, frozen, and sloshed around with a fork a few times. The ice cream is a no-churn situation, with only three ingredients and a quick freeze. You can even lie and act like you broke out that fancy Cuisinart ice cream maker that you've never used, I won't tell! Promise!

Brb, I'll be eating the leftover granita for the rest of my summer.

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Chicory Coffee Granita 

• 2 cups hot brewed French Market Coffee & Chicory chicory coffee 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

make: 

In a medium-sized bowl, dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee. Once dissolved, stir in vanilla. Transfer the mixture into an 8-inch metal baking pan. Freeze the mixture, making sure to stir the mixture vigorously with a fork every 30 minutes until slushy, about 2 hours. 

Condensed Milk Ice Cream 

• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream 
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or extract 
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk, plus extra for drizzling

make: 

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream and vanilla on high until soft peaks form. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue whipping until high peaks form. Transfer the mixture into a bowl or loaf pan and freeze until set, at least four hours or overnight. 

When ready to serve, layer the granita and ice cream in a bowl or coffee mug. Drizzle with extra condensed milk! 

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This post is sponsored by French Market Coffee. All opinions are my own and this sundae is literally amazing so don't be fooled. 

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Satsuma Dark Chocolate Tart

So it's November? It seems like just yesterday I was making my yearly list of resolutions and all that jazz and BAM — we're back in the holidays! Now that Halloween is out of the way, we can focus on Christmas. And trust me, I've been feeling the Christmas spirit for weeks now. (#MariahCarey) Yeah, I know I'm just a little bit premature, but Christmas is my favorite thing ever and we all know that Thanksgiving is just Christmas Lite, so I will listen to all of the Destiny's Child Christmas I want. 

Alas, y'all probably all think I'm crazy for pulling out the peppermint extract this early, so I'll give into November-ness for now. (Three weeks from now, that'll be a different story. You've been warned.) Aside from Thanksgiving and all of pre-Christmas hype, November is pretty damn great. The nights are darker, the air is considerably colder, I can wear scarves and coats without sweating to death. 

Here in Louisiana, November is also pretty damn great considering that the local satsuma trees are bursting with fruits just reaching maximum deliciousness. In case you're unfamiliar with satsumas, they're a deliciously petite citrus with an easy peel, much like a tangerine. Satsumas are native to Japan, but have made their way stateside via California and the Gulf Coast. 

Though they've got pretty great snacking potential, satsumas are perfect for baking. Last year, I made a satsuma yogurt cake that's as simple as it is delicious. This year, I wanted to try something a little bit different. After juggling between a few crazy options, I settled on a classic chocolate tart, but infused it with Bayou Rum's new satsuma blend and ensured that there would be plenty of zest action going on. Encased in a gingersnap crust and topped with a satsuma and black pepper whipped cream, this tart is perfectly balanced between rich and chocolatey, and sweet and well, tart. 

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Satsuma Dark Chocolate Tart

(recipe adapted from smitten kitchen)

for the gingersnap crust: 

• 8 ounces gingersnap cookies, processed into fine crumbs 
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

for the chocolate filling:

• 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 
• 2 tsp. satsuma zest
• 3 tablespoons Bayou satsuma rum 

for the satsuma whipped cream: 

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 satsumas, juiced and zested
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of black pepper
• sugar, to taste

Directions: 

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and crushed gingersnaps well. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Set aside.

In a saucepan, cook the chocolate and heavy cream over low heat. Once the chocolate hasmelted and combined to form a ganache, remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, pepper, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Gradually add the chocolate mixture, whisking to ensure that the eggs won't cook. Once the chocolate mixture is fully combined with the egg mixture, add the satsuma zest and rum. Pour filling into the prepared crust and bake for 30 minutes at 325. Once done, remove from the oven, cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove from the tart pan and serve at room temperature. 

To make the whipped cream, combine all ingredients and mix until soft peaks form. 

Bananas Foster Tiramisu

By the time you're reading this I'll either be either in or en route to New York City. Yes, I actually survived midterms and I'm finally on the fall break (!!!) I've been daydreaming of for weeks. I've got a crazy busy weekend planned, but I'll be recapping my trip once I get back next week. In the meantime, I wanted to round out this hectic with something extra sweet and special.

It's been a few weeks since the last installment in my Eating New Orleans series, so I'm tackling one of the most traditional local flavors today. Yep, you guessed it (or you know, you just read the title to this blog post): today is all about Bananas Foster. 

Bananas Foster was created in 1951 at the famed Brennan's in New Orleans' French Quarter, but has since gained status as New Orleans' unofficial dessert. And for good reason too, it's freaking delicious. Butter and brown sugar are melted down with sliced bananas and caramelized for a hot second, before rum and banana liqueur are added, flambéd tableside and served warm with vanilla ice cream. 

Bananas Foster is so simple that I knew I had to dress it up somehow for y'all, so the Bananas Foster Tiramisu was born. Rounds of moist banana bread are soaked in a brown sugar and rum mixture before being topped with a creamy banana mascarpone filling. On top of that goes a layer of bananas foster, then more filling. I topped my little tiramisus off with a banana chip dust and some bruléed bananas, because, let's face it, I'm always looking for a way to wreak havoc upon my kitchen with a blow torch. It only took one bite before I knew this one was a keeper; there's so many different textures going on that I was totally having a mouth party for a (couple) hot second(s). Creamy, chewy, moist, crunchy... it's all there. 

Even my parents, who resent the amount of sugar I bring into this house, were obsessed. I made my mom try them at 10am and the sound that left her mouth after a single taste totally sealed the deal. According to Ellen (hi mom!), these are one of the best desserts I've ever made. What more approval could I ask for?  

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Bananas Foster Tiramisu

Filling:

• 250g mascarpone
• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons creme de banane
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon instant banana pudding (just the powder, not the prepared pudding)

Soak:

• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Bananas Foster:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced 
• 2 tablespoons dark rum

Extras: 

• 1 loaf of banana bread (homemade or store-bought)
• bananas, for garnish

Cut out banana bread in circles the size of your serving glass, about 1/2-inch thick. Place in the bottom of glasses. 

To make the soak, mix together the brown sugar, confectioners' sugar, rum, and boiling water until smooth. Using a pastry brush, evenly distribute the mixture over banana bread pieces until soaked through. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, make the filling by mixing together the heavy cream, mascarpone, mashed banana, and pudding mix on low to combine. Increase the mixer to high speed and whip until thickened. Layer on top of the banana bread. 

To make the bananas foster, heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Once melted, add the brown sugar and stir until combined. Add in the banana slices and cook until caramelized. Remove from heat and mix in rum. Using a long lighter, flambe the mixture until the rum cooks away. Layer on top of the mascarpone filling, before repeating this step with more filling. 

Chill and serve.