Voila! Super easy!

Ingredients:
200 grams (7 oz) sweet biscuits crushed (or graham cracker biscuits)
50 grams (2 oz) butter, melted
500 grams (17 oz) mascarpone cheese
Zest of 1 lime or orange
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
300 grams (10 oz) sweetened condensed milk
200 grams (7 oz) sour cream

In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix well.
Press into the bottom of your serving cups. Place in the fridge until your cream cheese mixture is ready.
Add the mascarpone in a large bowl. Beat with your mixer until fluffy (1 minute).
Add the zest, vanilla extract and condensed milk and beat the mixture until well incorporated.
Add the sour cream, as much as you prefer, and mix until smooth. If you want it less sweet, then add a bit more of the sour cream, or vice versa.
Pour mascarpone mixture into the chilled cups. Place the cups in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm up.
Serve cold with any kind of berries or other fruit on hand.

A couple of days ago I read about this “Dessert in a cup” contest …and as soon as I read the article, my grandma’s home-made chocolate pops up in my mind…..so delicious, creamy and sweet.

I can’t even explain all the feelings that overpowered me…. feelings of nostalgia, a childhood – so missed, the memory of endless summers, the sweet taste of just picked from the garden fruits, a peace of fresh baked country bread, coated with home-made chocolate! When I was little, I used to spent every summer with my grandparents… they would spoil me and treat me as if this would be our last summer together…

I took out the recipe, and started to think for additions to the chocolate. I knew it needs to be something to contrast the dark color of the chocolate – may be white crème, or pink… I saw the recipe for the peanut butter crème at this amazing food blog (http://www.citrusandcandy.com/), and I knew that was it. And of course I wanted to add some fruit taste, it is summer after all! I really love the combination of chocolate and bananas, but this time I wanted to try something different… Peaches!

So….make some chocolate, taste the “past”… and enjoy you best childhood memories!

The chocolate

400 grams full fat powdered milk

250 grams soft butter

300 ml. water

100 grams cocoa

300 grams granulated white sugar

1 tea s. pure vanilla extract

Place the water, butter and sugar in a double broiler, the heat set on medium-low. If you don’t have one, get a pot with a little water (1 inch). Place a heatproof/fireproof glass bowl over the pot. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the bottom of the pot, neither the water. Mix well until the sugar and the butter melt.

In another bowl mix the powdered milk with the cocoa.

Add the milk mixture to the melted sugar and butter, spoon by spoon, until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.

Cook a little bit more, while whisking in the double broiler, until the chocolate starts to thickens.

Take off the chocolate from the heat and let it cool for half an hour.

Then pour into your serving glasses and refrigerate until cold and thickened.

The peanut butter crème

200ml heavy cream

60g peanut butter

100g white chocolate, chopped

Combine the cream and the peanut butter in a pot and bring it gently to a simmer. When cream is ready, add the white chocolate. Leave to cool until it’s barely warm in temperature. Pour gently into your serving glasses on top of the chocolate layer.

Wash and dry the peaches. Cut them into thin slices and place on top of the peanut butter layer.