Monday, October 12, 2015

Is There Any Dessert?

Yes, I am using my old iPhone 4s, and it doesn't take great pics.



I've been taking care of my parents full-time since June, and there were certain rituals established by their former caregiver that I've had to keep going, one of which is nightly dessert.

It seems like a simple thing, and my parents really, really, really look forward to it.  But I have failed in this task many times.  Each time I comforted myself by remembering that said former caregiver, a true sweetheart, was not also taking my parents to all their doctors' appointments, doing the grocery shopping, paying their monthly bills, doing all the housework, or managing home maintenance.  That thought worked great until suppertime came, and I would see the crestfallen looks on my parents' faces when my dad would invariably ask, "Is there any dessert?" and I did not produce the longed-for treat.  I don't think he cares if his toilet gets cleaned, but no dessert?  Tragedy!

With those sad mugs in mind, I hit upon the happy mug solution--mug cakes.  They take about 4 minutes to mix up and two minutes each to cook in the microwave.  The first one I tried was a coconut flour one by EverydayMaven.  It was absolutely prepared in a whirlwind of desperation.  After I dumped them out of the coffee mugs, I turned them on their sides, sliced them into thirds, and then popped them in the freezer to cool while I whipped some heavy cream and threw frozen strawberries in a pan on the stove with a little water and honey.  Once the cakes were cooled off, I spread them with some St. Dalfour's strawberry jam, then stacked them with whipped cream and strawberries between each layer.  It made a stupendous tower.  Mom's face lit up when she saw hers, and she dug right in.  Dad was late coming to the table, and all of a sudden his tower leaned, and the top third slid off onto the plate.  I didn't let the strawberries cool enough.  Drat and double drat!  So I stuck it back together the best I could.  He didn't care one bit, but I was disappointed because I didn't think to get a picture until Mom's was half eaten and Dad's was a mess.

Dad's Slippery Slope Strawberry Shortcake

The next night I made EverydayMaven's chocolate mug cake.  While they were cooking, I melted some chocolate chips with butter and stirred in some heavy cream and a handful of chopped up frozen cherries.  I spooned this concoction in between the layers and topped each cake with whipped cream and a whole cherry.  See picture at top.  

Another night I repeated the vanilla (coconut flour) cakes and stirred chocolate chips into the batter, then squirted Ah-laska chocolate syrup on top when they came out of the microwave.  No pic, use your imagination.

Last night I made the chocolate ones again, spread chocolate syrup on the layers and served it with Emma's amazing homemade peppermint chocolate-chip ice cream, which has like a gazillion egg yolks, all heavy cream, and tons of Kerry Gold butter in it.  Yeah, it will satisfy your ice cream craving.

Chocolate mug cake topped with chocolate syrup and served with peppermint chocolate-chip ice cream

So I am officially out of the dessert dog house, but I need to get off this blog and go make a big pan of something, peach cobbler maybe, so I can face suppertime stress-free.


4 comments:

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I am glad you found a solution. I'll bet that is one of the highlights of their day!

Emily said...

Aw. Your parents sound sweet (although I am sure you do not always think so:)). The desserts are beautiful! Very gourmet looking and I'm sure they taste wonderful.

What about baking some brownies and freezing them in portions for the two of them? On busy days you'd have something to start with. My children love those no-bake cookies. With cocoa powder, butter, real PB, and oats they are not the worst thing in the world. Most cookies freeze well also. Fruit topped with whipped cream could be fancied up with a shortbread cooky from the freezer.

Emma's ice cream sounds so good! But Kerrygold-where is Fiona?

Wendy Haught said...

Hi, Kathy! Yes, dessert is definitely one of the highlights of their day. I just didn't fully appreciate how much until recently. That's one thing I like about the mug cakes. It's easy to make them look special. I think I got some points for that. ;-) Hopefully that string of mug cakes made up for any neglect they felt when I didn't make any treats!

Hope you are well. I need to get over to your blog and catch up.

Thanks for commenting. It's so good to be in contact again!

May God bless you and yours.

Wendy Haught said...

Hey, Emily! Thanks for all the great ideas. I'll make a note of them. My biggest problem is poor planning. I do so much better when I take my vitamins...

Fiona is not in milk, and we haven't had her bred. She is enjoying pet status. Emma is in school, though she talks about wanting to get Fiona bred and start milking again. But then Emma also talks about getting an apartment with some girlfriends...so there you go. Thank goodness for the dependability of Kerrygold. Lol!

It's so good to hear from you again, Emily. I hope Mr. G has been behaving himself. I think of him whenever we have possums in the garage. Hug all your sweet children for me.