A big thanks to foodie1 for being such a great host at another fabulous dessert exchange! While all the offerings were great, it's funny how there are certain things you really enjoy during the exchange and certain things you enjoy more the next day. At the exchange, I loved the flavor of happy_stomach's dulce de leche gelato, the gooey richness of Cinny's Mom's caramel peanut-topped brownie cake, the sugar-spice hit of Cathy2's candied ginger and the delicacy of eli's macarons. The next day, so far, I'm enjoying the two pound cakes -- figmolly's banana and Hellodali's butter versions -- with coffee.

Stayed tuned for pics . . .

Some pics from the dessert exchange . . .

First, the candies. . .


Pucca's marshmallows


Cathy2's candied ginger (front) and orange peel (back)


Sponge Candy brought by Cathy2

Then, cookies. . .


Pucca's Pocky


eli's un-sandwiched lime macarons


Mado's shortbread by aschie30

[Missing picture of eli's un-sandwiched chocolate macarons ]

On to ice cream . . .


happy_stomach's dulce de leche gelato with pecans

And the cakes . . .


Cinny's Mom's Caramel Peanut-topped Brownie Cake


Hellodali's butter poundcake


Ymas' Rosemary-Lemon cupcakes


foodie1's Tiramisu cake

[Missing individual pic of figmolly's banana pound cake ]


Dessert spread (figmolly's banana poundcake, pictured, upper left, behind fondue pot)


foodie1's white chocolate fondue [Not pictured: cheesecake, caramel & chocolate fondues]


Cinco de Mayo-themed snacks provided by foodie1

Thank you, Joelen and Luis, for opening up your home and hosting us so warmly. It was another fantastic, sugar coma-inducing night. I am an absolute sucker for macarons and candied ginger, so those were my favorite, but I also very much enjoyed the shortbread and poundcakes. I didn't get to everything last night, but thanks to my overfilled tupperware, I have now tried everything from the dessert table--not a dud in the spread.

As my co-workers happily scarf down my take home treats from last night, I want to add my thanks to foodie1 and Luis for being such gracious hosts and to all of the treat-makers for such delicious goodies. I'll be posting for next month's exchange in the next few minutes, so look soon to sign up.

Boy, am I sorry I missed this installment. I hope to make it to the June party!

joelen and louis - thanks for your generous hospitality and had a great time as always!
my family can't wait to try all the wonderful sweets

Thanks to foodie1 for hosting last night and to everyone for the awesome desserts. Everything was great as always. (And I'm still yo-yo-ing from hyper to crashed from all the sugar.) I really loved the candied orange and lemon peel Cathy2 brought and aschie30's Mado shortbread was excellent as well. I was surprised by just how similar pucca's homemade pocky were to the commercial version. Definitely one to try at home.

Everything was excellent (as usual) and it was my pleasure to host this time around! Thank you all for the opportunity! I was impressed with all the wonderful offerings especially...

HappyStomach's extreme effort to make dulce de leche from scratch involving over 5 hours... not to mention the time it took to use the said dulce de leche into a homemade gelato/ice cream and freezing time!

Cathy2's amazing sugared citrus peels... I can only imagine how wonderful her kitchen smelled while preparing all the citrus...

Cinny's Mom's decadent caramel peanut topped brownie cake. It was like a snickers bar in cake form and way better than the candy bar itself...

Pucca's homemade pocky sticks and marshmallows... 2 delicious reasons why homemade is better than store bought...

Eli's macaroons... and he's inspired me to make macaroons with all the egg whites I have leftover from baking other things...

Hellodali's rich and decadent, artery clogging cake, which was so worth every buttery bite...

Aschie's shortbread, which she skillfully cut into bars and were so great on their own, they didn't need any help from the dessert sauces...

Ymas's rosemary & lemon cupcakes that were a nice balance of sweet and fragrant...

FigMolly's banana pound cake, that were so moist and went wonderfully with the caramel sauce.

And to wash it all down, thank you to qofu2 for the champagne she brought in to share!

Thanks again everyone... I can't wait until next month!

I want to echo everyone's sentiment and give a big thanks to foodie1 for not only hosting, but for making wonderful "snacks" that were really more like dinner.

I tried to avoid taking anything home because I don't have coworkers to share with like Hellodali, but I couldn't avoid the shortbread which I absolutely loved! Everything was great and I absolutely concur that it's a great event to share. Cathy2 - I was truly impressed with your candied citrus (mine never turns out that good) and I need to get the recipe.

I hope I make it to the June event!

Thanks foodie1 for your generous hospitality. I had a great time. The Mado shortbread by aschie30 were so good - they just melted in my mouth.

Here are the pictures that were missing from above.

Hi,

Since Pucca's pictures are not opening (for me):

Eli's Chocolate Macaroons


FigMolly's Banana Pound Cake


Interior of a sponge candy from Parkside Candy, Buffalo, NY, courtesy of Josephine


The dessert table just prior to its demise


It was a wonderful evening filled with interesting conversation and delicious food! Thanks for again to foodie1 for hosting and allowing me in at the last minute.

Best wishes,

Cathy2 wrote:Since Pucca's pictures are not opening (for me):

Annoying! They were working before. Fixed now.