Jan 14

Jan 14 Dessert for Two

Delicious Desserts, Smaller Portions

Desserts can present a unique challenge when cooking for one or two people. Often portioned for 8-12, many desert recipes can be quite tricky to scale down. Or, if they are easy to scale, you still have to write down the conversions. And … I don’t know about you… but I really don’t print recipes anymore, so where do I write the conversions?

Personally, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, tending to craving savory appetizers far more often than I dream of dessert. My husband, on the other hand, loves dessert. During the lockdown, and the ensuing months, when we saw less and less of our friends and family I found myself wanting to make dessert just for us. So I’ve been working on a collection of smaller portion desserts perfect for two adults. And I am excited to share these with you today!

Dessert Recipes for Two

Cheesecake Bites | Cheesecake is one dessert that I do dream about. Especially when topped with sour cherries. Mini cheesecake bites are perfectly portioned for dessert. Easy to make, you can top these with whatever your favorite cheesecake is: crumbled Oreos, bananas and caramel, pumpkin butter, raspberry jam, etc.
Crème Brûlée | As written, this recipe features Irish Cream flavored Crème Brûlée. But see the tips for additional flavor combinations including London Fog, Pumpkin Pie, and Peach. The Hubs and I love to make these as a special treat and bought an affordable brûlée torch from Amazon, making it easy to enjoy these whenever we want. Pro tip: Use granulated sugar and add just before hitting it with a brûlée torch to get the crunchy caramelized topping (if you add the sugar too far in advance it will get soggy and just won’t crisp).
Coffee Cake | Perfect with an after dinner cappuccino, this lighter coffee crumble cake has a portion of whole wheat and less sugar than most cake recipes. This cake is about half the size of a normal coffee cake. If it is still more than we would like, we tend to deliver a few slices to neighbors. No complaints yet!
Chocolate Pecan Cookies | How about ooey, gooey chocolate chunk cookies fresh from the oven? This recipe explains how to batch prep cookie dough and save the extra in the freezer so you can make just enough fresh cookies for two.
Dessert Cocktail, Chocolate Orange Martini | Some nights you want to end the meal with a cocktail for dessert. This is a family favorite. Natural clementine honey simple syrup balances the sweet chocolatey Creme de Cacao and makes for a sweet digestif.