We weren’t sure if the monkey cake(s) were going to be enough to feed the crowd at the party, so on the same night, the dream team also made these monkey cupcakes from the blog yanowhatimean. To keep things simple, we used the exact same cake batter and frosting mix. Of course, my Mom still had to visit several stores to find the mini-Nilla wafers.

It took us a few tries to get things right, but then we were on a roll and formed an assembly line. We found it best to apply a relatively thick layer of frosting in order to embed the cookies. Plus, has anyone ever complained that a cupcake had too much frosting? Then, we used decorating gel to make the ears, nose, and mouth. The final product was cute, and the cupcakes were a hit with the kids at the party.

Dear Connor,

Every good birthday meal must end with cake. And this time, it was mocha ice cream cake! I must admit, I have not spent that much time in the cookie aisle of the grocery store in a long time. I couldn’t find chocolate wafers, so I used chocolate graham crackers instead. As suggested in the recipe reviews, I increased the crust ingredients by 50%, which seemed about right.

My sister reminded me the other day that it had been ages since I posted a dessert recipe. And I’ve certainly eaten plenty of dessert lately, but I guess I haven’t been the one making it. For example, when I had dinner at a friend’s house a few weeks ago, she made a gorgeous dish of fresh blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and whipped cream over pound cake. With friends like that, who needs to make dessert herself?

Who remembers the Banana Ice Cream I made last year? It’s not really ice cream, but frozen chunks of banana blended in the food processor. There is a striking resemblance to soft serve ice cream though! One very hot summer night, I was craving ice cream, and remembered that I had stashed an overripe banana in the freezer a few weeks before. I threw it into the food processor, added a spoonful of peanut butter, and in just a few minutes I had a fantastic frozen treat. But don’t linger, this stuff melts quickly!

I made absolutely no changes to Alton Brown’s carrot cake, and it was spectacular. Grating the carrots was the grunt work (thanks, Dad) but otherwise, this cake came together very easily. It popped right out of the spring form pan once it had cooled for a few minutes, and then we got to work on the frosting. Because really, it’s the frosting that makes the cake.

My sister put together these cannoli quesadillas with strawberries for Easter dessert. The filling was excellent, but the tortillas just didn’t work. Since we’re family and all, it’s not considered impolite to deconstruct your plate and just eat the filling and strawberries. Next time, we’ll use won ton wrappers like these to make them more like cannoli.

I won’t hold it against you if you’d like to use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to make a dessert that isn’t exactly Irish but still festive. And trust me, these are so good that your family/guests/cupcake beneficiaries won’t be asking too many questions. Except maybe if they can have another one. Although these are flourless cakes, they are not dense like fudge. They have a perfectly light and fluffy texture, and the mint cream adds a sweet touch.

This recipe may look a little complicated, but if you can separate eggs, you can do this. I followed the recipe as instructed, and made an even dozen. Next time though, I’d make a little bit more of the mint cream (to which we added green food coloring for that festive flair.) I would recommend you enlist some help washing the dishes, as you need to clean the beaters three times. Not to mention that you’ll use 3 bowls, 2 pots, and a muffin tin. But it’s worth it, I promise.

I love watching Roni’s videos on Green Lite Bites, mostly because they’re so real. She’s not surrounded by a flurry of production assistants; she shows you that you can do this on your own. And there is my first goal of 2010, to make a video for the blog that aims to inspire readers to try something new.

So I was really excited when I saw this video and recipe for Chocolate Ricotta Rolls, because they are just so darn cute! Making the shells from won ton wrappers was not too difficult, a few fell over and caved in, but most of the them came out quite well. The filling was easy too, although next time I will definitely make it sweeter, and maybe use a real liquor instead of almond extract. Filling the shells was a snap with the homemade pastry bag, and after a dusting of powdered sugar, they were done. I filled them about 3-4 hours before they were served, and they definitely softened up quite a bit, so don’t make these too far in advance. But do make them, even if it’s just for yourself.

By Christmas dinner, we’ve had our share of cookies, and chocolate, and whiskey cake, and are ready for a simpler dessert. This parfait fit the bill with equal parts mascarpone and ricotta cheese mixed with a bit of confectioner’s sugar, then layered with almonds and blueberries. I can’t say this dessert was light, but it was a great way to end the holiday.