re: I suck at desserts but have to make one for a contest with my FiL next week...

Just hire a pro, you’re not good at DIY.

If you lose to you have to divorce his daughter?

Brulee some plantains.
Stick em in some home made mango mint ice cream.

Rice Krispie Cheesecake

Ingredients

FOR CRUST:
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
¼ cup salted butter
1 pkg miniature marshmallows

FOR FILLING:

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme/fluff
1 (8 oz) pkg Cool Whip, thawed

FOR GARNISH:

Whipped cream
Cubed & prepared Rice Krispy Treat Squares (Hayley uses the ones from the box)

Instructions

Liberally grease a 9? or 10? springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add in the Rice Krispies cereal. Set aside momentarily.

In a medium saucepan, melt the salted butter and marshmallows together over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.

Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the cereal and toss until totally combined. Pour the cereal into the prepared pan and, using a greased glass cup, press the cereal mixture into the pan, forming a base and sides. Put aside to set, about 20 minutes.

While crust sets, make your filling. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the marshmallow creme until smooth. Lastly, fold in the Cool Whip by hand until combined.

Spread the filling mixture into the crust, smoothing out the top. Garnish with whipped cream piped along the perimeter of the cheesecake and top with stacked prepared & cubed Rice Krispy Treats in the center.

Chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge before cutting into slices.

This has become my go to dessert for family events. If you want to be a little more fun, you can use fruity pebbles instead. You can do a version with cocoa krispies, etc.

A little more daring, but not as hard, would be to make homemade pralines.

I'm not a dessert maker, but this is one I've been looking at.

LINK





Toasted Coconut Tres Leches Bread Pudding from Louisiana Cookin' magazine.

Yields: 12 to 14 servings

Ingredients

2 (12-ounce) bags King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, cubed
3 cups whole milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
Crème Anglaise (recipe follows)
Garnish: raw shaved coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 8-ounce ramekins with cooking spray.
Arrange half of cubed bread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until toasted, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together milk, condensed milk, cream, and extracts. Gently fold in all cubed bread and coconut. Divide mixture among prepared ramekins.
Bake until puffed and browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving warm with a drizzle of Crème Anglaise. Garnish with coconut, if desired.

Crème Anglaise

Makes 2½ cups
Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
5 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, bring cream, milk, and vanilla bean to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until slightly pale yellow and sugar starts to dissolve. Discard vanilla bean. Slowly add cream mixture to yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in salt.
Return cream mixture to saucepan, and cook over low heat until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. Pour into an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Crème Anglaise can be made 2 to 3 days in advance.

quote:

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peanut butter pie

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Really easy and really good.


Probably won't win any contests though unless you jazz it up somehow.

I have been in mood for a chess cake

Some call it chess pie

My brother once won a family dessert competition with a dirt pie. He put chocolate pudding in a terra cotta pot, topped it with blended down oreos, and added a gummi worm on top. I forgot what I made, but it was just too fancy for my common folk. Still, I was mad as hell.

Any particular recipe for the bread pudding and bourbon sauce? How about the tres leche cake?

PS my FiL can't stand coconut so that knocks a few suggestions out.

Nutella marscapone banana grilled cheese. Easy and stupid good.