{printable recipe}

If you’ve looked at the dessert section in my cookbook, you’ll know I’m really fond of very fast and simple sweets.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake; I’m my mother’s daughter.  But there’s something fine and easy about a really good tiny after-dinner something or other that doesn’t take a couple of hours to concoct.  To say nothing of being able to pawn off the dessert “chore” to children or the beauty of keeping the heat out of the kitchen on warm days.  Peach pie always sounds so wonderful until the peaches are ripe, filling the bushel basket in the mudroom with dripping goodness, and it’s 90-frigging degrees outside.  Who’s turning on that oven?  Not me.  Heat is not Alyce’s friend. On the other hand, I have a hub who adores a dessert and I like to make this guy happy.  I make a big cheesecake for him every third of July at 0’dark early for his birthday and he doles it out for himself a bit at a time to make it last a long week or more. I have one small piece and that’s about it.

But what about the rest of the time? The days when there isn’t a three-hour time frame for mixing,  baking, and cooling?  Or for folks who are never going to make that big cake no matter what? Or for sweet addicts who really would eat the whole cake if there weren’t individual portions? Enter these tiny bites of fruit-topped goodness that are done before you can say, “What’s for dessert?” Mixed very quickly with a hand-held or standing electric mixer or food processor (my preference), the cakes come together easily, cook for a minute in the microwave, and cool in just a few minutes as they’re so small.  Who doesn’t like individual desserts?  Easy to serve or transport; there’s no cutting or plates. It’s just you and your fork or spoon. Try this: Continue reading →