Hello there, my name is Dani or Dessert Girlie.  I am happy to be your Dessert Goddess, Queen of Minis, or Brewtesta (a fun and more accurate spelling of barista,) to name a few names my family and friends have given me, since I started playing with coffees and desserts.

 

One of my early baking memories is making Banana Nut Bread. I can remember the first time I made the bread. I forgot to set the timer and over cooked my bread causing it to dry out.  Where many see an unsavable dessert my Nana (nah-nah) saw differently, she cut a piece and dunked it into her coffee.  I know not everyone will like their bread as toasty, so I made a mental note to set a timer and if I happened to make them dried out again that I could give them to her.

 

As I began to bake more, not only did I get better in setting my timers, but I started developing my taste buds, learning about many different flavors.  I also began to take more interest in watching cooking shows with my Mom.  I looked forward to the end and seeing what type of dessert they would make.

 

After working baking boxed cakes using different recipes from the various cook books my Mom had, I wanted to try something different. One day while I was shopping I saw some cute little parfait glasses. Quickly my mind raced with ideas and the possibilities seemed endless of the many flavor combos I could start to play with.  Since they were on sale I bought the last two boxes. One night I finally got my chance to test them out.  I made a Lemon Raspberry Parfait. From there, I began mixing fruit together with gelatin and puddings to make fun desserts.

 

Although I enjoy concocting the “mini deserts”, “dessert  shots”, or "sweet shots", as I have seen them called in nice sit-down restaurants, I still like to make full sized desserts from time to time.  Subsequently, I had started saving the regular sized desserts for special requests, because I was having too much fun making the minis.

 

I know a good chef is always looking to learn and try new things and one of the things I’d love to learn is other cultures’ types of desserts.  I don’t want to limit myself to my Italian heritage and the tips I’ve learned from my Nana and Mom.  At the same time, I also want to be mindful of the different food allergies that are out there and have an alternative for my guests.  

 

One thing I’ve learned while watching the different cooking shows is presentation.  To me, that is a key ingredient when making my desserts, because in my eyes each dessert is my own work of art.  They are my snowflakes, yes I know in the food industry everything needs to be the same, but the differences are small, plus  I pack lots of love, care and flavor in to each of them, because my goal is that you want to come back for more.  I’ve been honored by friends when they have told me, “its just too pretty to eat” and the biggest honor is having photos taken of them.  I have a girlfriend that would do that when we’d go out to eat. She explained it was a true compliment to the chef and a way to help her remember what desserts she enjoyed and from what places.

 

 

I see myself as a self taught foodie that took my Nana’s favorite food & drink, and decided to ‘treat’ the people around me with my ideas for desserts.  The dream of a café and it’s name are inspired by my Nana, who now watches the progress from Heaven...  and some days I can feel her cheering me on as I create.

​

​

​

As much as I love to baking I recently found another hobby I enjoy doing.  Making bouquets ... I made my first one for a Monster Wedding blog I wrote for SupaCute.  Ever since I've really enjoyed make them so feel free to check out my Forever Flower bouquets.  They are great for for weddings (from Brides to center pieces) and even useful for decor on the dessert table.