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Chocolate Filo Purses with Late-Harvest Sémillon Sabayon
Filo pastry became a staple in our kitchen in the 1980s and has been there ever since. Once you feel confident with it, you'll appreciate its versatility. The key is to keep a damp cloth over the filo you aren't working with. You can't leave it sitting uncovered for more than a couple of minutes or it starts to dry out and crumble. For other sexy, impressive variations, serve them with a berry coulis, crème fraîche or ice cream instead of the sabayon.

Caramelized Apple and Rosemary Bread Pudding
This recipe was developed for a food and wine grazing event in Vancouver. To say it was a hit would be an understatement. I think most people were drawn to the comforting quality of this dessert and the interesting combination of rosemary, apple and ginger. Actually, the pairing of rosemary and apples comes from medieval times, when savoury and sweet often crossed over.

Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Crisp
I'm a sucker for cobblers and crisps - homey, comforting desserts that remind me of growing up. My mother often made these types of desserts for our family, although this crisp puts a spin on the traditional version with pepper added to the fruit. You can also add fresh mint or candied ginger. Once you have the basic recipe down, let your imagination run wild.

Eggnog Crème Brûlée
Crème brûlée is such a classic it is nice to throw a seasonal twist to it.

Lesley’s Pecan Shortbread with Valrhona Chunks
This shortbread is the to die for 'melt in your mouth' variety, made extra decadent with the addition of very good bittersweet chocolate. Skip the nuts if you like or try another type such as almonds, pinenuts, hazelnuts or macademia nuts. This batter freezes well. If you pre-scoop and freeze the balls, you can bake them as you need them.

Chocolate Bombes with Black Pepper Beaujolais Sauce
This chocolate creation is easy to make. It just takes a little prep time, but is well worth the indulgence. You can also serve it with ice cream, crème fraîche or raspberry coulis and receive rave reviews from the audience.

Dried Cranberry & Candied Orange Semifreddo with Red Wine Sauce
A fabulous dessert for Christmas Dinner because it can easily made up to 2 weeks in advance and kept well wrapped in the freezer. Serve this along side your traditional plum pudding and everyone will be happy.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart
This chocolate dessert adds an elegant touch to the end of any evening; you can leave it plain or decorate with more chocolate. Try serving it with a fresh berry coulis for an irresistible flavour combination!

Chocolate Mocha Pot-de-Crème
This simple French dessert is now all the rage at trendy restaurants from San Francisco to New York.

Belgian Chocolate & Dried Tart Cherry Scones
These are our most popular scones with dried cherries and lovely chunks of melted chocolate.
They can be made into mini scones, perfect as an afternoon treat.