Champagne Desserts

When it comes to New Year’s Eve, I just can’t help myself. Bring on the desserts with champagne! I love them. There aren’t many other occasions where champagne gets highlighted as much, so it makes sense to bring it into a dessert for New Year’s. Plus, champagne lends great taste to desserts when done right. If you haven’t ever tried a dessert with champagne, you will love Strawberry Champagne Tart. For a few other favorites, don’t miss my Strawberry Champagne Tiramisu, Champagne Cupcakes or my Champagne Cheesecake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Sweet and light. I cannot express accurately through words just how delicious this tart is, but it is. The champagne and mascarpone compliment each other beautifully and give lovely light flavor to the creamy filling. And the fresh pop of fruit from the strawberries is both beautiful and delicious. The whole thing is just amazing.
• Easy and almost no bake. While you bake the crust, it’s for less than 10 minutes and then you’re done with the oven. There’s a little bit of cooking on the stove to help thicken the filling with cornstarch, but that’s it. Each part of the recipe is simple and it comes together quickly, which we all need this time of year.
• Elegant. Strawberries + champagne, in tart form? You really can’t make a more elegant dessert.

If you can’t tell by checking out my recipes, I love making desserts with champagne. I’ve got an amazing Strawberry Champagne Tiramisu, a delicious Champagne Cheesecake and some classic Champagne Cupcakes, to name a few. This champagne mousse is one that’s actually been on my site for a while, but is getting an upgrade today with some new and step-by-step photos. I love remaking older recipes and updating them, because it gives me a chance to try them again. This recipe was originally published in 2014, so it’s been a while since I made it. And I have to say, it’s even better than I remember.

Why You’ll Love This Champagne Mousse Recipe

This recipe is a modification of my chocolate mousse. Just like the chocolate mousse, it has a lovely smooth texture and rich creaminess, which comes from the egg yolks. It’s cooked the same way as the mousse, but since there’s no melted chocolate added in to this recipe (which helps things firm up as it cools), gelatin is used. Here are a few reasons why I think you need to make it – like, now.

• Light texture. This champagne mousse is airy and light but still creamy and luscious. It’s addicting and SO good! I just love the light texture of it.
• Perfect flavor. The champagne flavor most definitely comes through but isn’t overpowering or too much. It’s genuinely so darn good. Even those who aren’t huge champagne fans will likely love these.
• Easy to make. Mousse really is a lovely little dessert because it feels fancy and special, but there’s no baking required and it’s not hard to make. There’s just a little cooking over the stove and some time to let it set.
• Perfect for the holidays. This champagne mousse is great for New Year’s and celebrations. It’s festive, fun and delicious. Plus, at a busy time of year, you could easily make them a day or two ahead.

An Awesome Flavor Combination

I’m loving this new raspberry chocolate cake roll! It’s based on my popular Yule Log Cake. That one uses more of a vanilla filling and I’ve often been asked about a chocolate and raspberry filling, so I decided it was time to make a version with those flavors. I used the chocolate cake from that cake roll, the raspberry filling (but more of it) from my Raspberry Chocolate Layer Cake (another well-loved recipe), and then added in my chocolate whipped cream. The combination is a winner and would be perfect for just about any occasion.

Why You’ll Love This Raspberry Chocolate Swiss Roll

• Great flavor combo. Who doesn’t love raspberry and chocolate together?! It’s a classic! And if you’re not a fan of chocolate + raspberry, you will be after trying this recipe. This cake roll overall isn’t as sweet as some cake recipes, so just keep that in mind.
• Indulgent ganache topping. I used chocolate ganache as the topping and like the slightly denser texture with this, but you can also whip it, as I did with the yule log. Either way, it’s going to be SO good!
• Perfect for making ahead. I like to prepare this chocolate cake roll a day in advance and then just add the ganache before serving, though you can also store it for a day with the ganache before serving.

No Spread Chocolate Cut Out Cookies

I absolutely love cut out cookies for the holidays! The last longer through the season when you decorate them, which is perfect for gifting. They are great for pretty much any occasion, but there’s no doubt that Christmas is the top spot on the list. I already have two great options for vanilla cutout cookies – my original cutout sugar cookies and my newer soft and chewy cut out cookies. But it was time for some chocolate to change it up! I married the second of those two cut out cookies with my recipe for chocolate sugar cookies that are drop-style and came up with this amazing recipe.

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

• Soft & chewy. This recipe makes thick, tender cookies have that perfect soft and chewy texture. Exactly what I want from any sugar cookie.
• Quick & easy. The dough takes just a few minutes to prepare and they bake up in 8-12 minutes. I do recommend at least an hour of chill time, to make the cookie dough easier to roll and cut, or you can even make the dough up to 3 days in advance.
• Perfect for decorating. I’ve included lots of decorating ideas below and there are endless ways to decorate these cookies. Not to mention decorating them is a fun way to get kids involved in the kitchen!

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Mousse Recipe

This recipe is for the same chocolate mousse that’s in my chocolate mousse cake. It’s such a hit in that cake that I had to share how to make just the mousse.

• It’s the real deal. It’s not a “shortcut” chocolate mousse, it’s the real deal. It’s SO good, smooth, and creamy, not to mention incredibly rich and wonderfully silky.
• Easy to make. Even though this mousse is made from scratch, it’s actually really easy to make and goes quickly. The hardest part is waiting for it to firm up in the fridge!
• Perfect texture. This mousse is both silky smooth and light and airy, just the way a good mousse should be. My mouth is watering thinking about it.
• Great for nicer occasions. Mousse is one of those desserts that I like to whip up when I really want to impress guests or just have a “fancy” dessert, without spending hours in the kitchen. The fact I can make it the night before is a bonus!