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.

Why You’ll Love This Christmas Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

This recipe is the same as my regular chocolate and vanilla pinwheels, but with a touch more flour to offset the lack of chocolate being added, and the added coloring. The process is the same and the flavor is very similar to the vanilla layer of my chocolate pinwheels, they’re just a bit more festive and colorful!

• Fun & festive. Gel icing color adds bright red and green colors to these Christmas pinwheel cookies, while sprinkles add an extra fun touch. The colorful pinwheel design will stand out on any cookie tray or in any gift box.
• Made with simple ingredients. Besides the gel icing color and the sprinkles, the ingredients in this recipe are all very basic. Ingredients that you very likely already have on hand!
• Perfect texture. One thing that was very important to me when developing these pinwheel Christmas cookies was the texture. Many pinwheel cookies are very dry or dense to avoid the dough spreading during baking, which I’m not a fan of. These cookies spread just a touch, but still maintain their shape, so they are soft and tender!

Cranberry Orange For The Win!

These two flavors aren’t always what first comes to mind for the holiday. Eggnog, gingerbread, peppermint – those are the more common ones. But every time I make something with orange flavor, I’m reminded of just how bright and tasty it is. And when you add cranberry, it’s instantly holiday ready. The flavor of these shortbread cookies is truly wonderful. And let’s be honest, there are so many of the same cookies at Christmas, why not add in the unexpected? These truly will be a HUGE hit!

Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Orange Shortbread Recipe

• Perfect flavor combination. These cookies are so yummy! The combination of the lightly tart and sweet cranberries with the pop of the bright, refreshing orange is hard to resist. I’m totally in love with it right now. It’s such an awesome flavor combination and so light.
• Topped with white chocolate. I like to drizzle melted white chocolate over the top of my cranberry orange shortbread, though this is an optional step. I think it really adds to the overall flavor and balances out the tart and citrusy flavors. Plus, it’s pretty!
• Great for the holidays. The combination of cranberry and orange makes this shortbread recipe great for the winter season and especially for the holidays. I think these are a nice change from many of the super sweet classic Christmas cookie recipes.

If you love this recipe, be sure to check out my classic shortbread and peppermint chocolate shortbread recipes too!