desserts recipes
A summery Bastille Day (France’s national holiday on the 14th of July) amaretti version with a whole candied cherry in the middle in which there is also a whole roasted hazelnut inside the candied cherry; yes, layered fillings ! The cookie dough is still as easy to make, with one part egg white + two parts sugar + three parts ground...
Leftovers, even when dried out and stale or overripe and mushy are ingredients with potential that can be transformed into nourishing treasures and I’m quite certain that after all the winter holidaying and feasting, that you too have all the ingredients handy for this custardy bread pudding, crunchy on the top and creamy on the bottom...
You know those Portuguese puff-pastry & sweetened custard tartlets that we all love and buy when we can find them, but never make at home ? Well maybe we all can all give it a try now finally ! I’m not saying that this is the traditional way, but it might be the only way to kindly & encouragingly nudge you into making them soon,...
Another PEAR dessert, yes again, or rather an assembly of poached pears, meringues, creamy whipped topping, pear & citrus syrup and a sprinkling of crunchy garnishes for a wintery PAVLOVA dessert and since it really isn’t strawberry season yet, and life has pushed us all to become more responsible, ecological and thrifty, despite what...
Portokalópita (from “portokáli or orange and “pita” or cake) is a typical Greek cake whose main ingredient is sweet orange, dried shredded filo as well as yogurt, eggs, sugar and vegetable oil. It belongs to the family of desserts called “siropiasta”, which are sweets that are bathed...
Crumbly orbs of nuts, butter and sugar, each representing half of a kiss, with the chocolate uniting and sealing their love. Tiny “baci di dama” or “lady’s kisses” take long to make but are so satisfying and exquisite to eat and, like toasted hazelnuts, they don’t last long ! The “baci di dama”...
Making a traditional walnut BAKLAVA even better is easier than you think because it’s all about the choice of the complementary flavors that will be added to accentuate and simultaneously brighten up this very sweet, buttery and crunchy holiday dessert ! It’s true that I do have a preference for hand-held or individual format...
Here are little squares of nourishing morning comfort food with no need to add little side plates of butter and/or jam or anything else that is sweet and creamy, because these hearty and pre-filled dried fruits and nuts and seeds scones are all that you’ll need to get you through your day, at least until lunch time. I obviously know that...
This perfect and simple wintery dessert transports me back to a very happy, spontaneous and magical day, probably about 30 years ago. It was in Montreal and I was visiting my family on my birthday weekend, from Ottawa or Paris, I really can’t remember. We were just planning an intimate family evening dinner for 4 which, right after...
A French-style apple cake is another example of simplified and humble perfection, because it’s like a pound cake (already perfect) with apples. This version uses equal weights but double the volume of apples to the batter to create a huge cake that keeps fresh for over one week in the fridge and is so moist and tasty that it can be...
As the weather slowly gets warmer, I prefer wholesome foods for breakfast which are at room temperature and not hot from the toaster, like these cookies, filled with good things and easy to prepare and with only one requirement, chilling the cookie dough balls before baking them ! According to me, oatmeal cookies should be prepared with rolled...
A long time ago, I read a wonderful book given to me by a friend and in this book was a recipe from the 1900’s for a “groaning cake” to be prepared by a future mother when her first labor pangs appeared and completed and baked by the accompanying women; I hope my modern-day reinterpretation of this spicy, fruity, spongey and...
A simple and delightfully sweet and crispy cookie, that crossed the Mediterranean from Oran in Algeria to Sète (near Montpellier) in the south of France in the 70’s and whose official invention and evocative naming only came about at the end of the 90’s ! The French and/or Europeans who were born and raised in Algeria, until...
The memories of my family’s new year’s VASILOPITA cake (celebrating Saint Basil) were it’s density and compactness, with the occasional large air bubbles appearing throughout its crumb, it’s tenderness and its moistness and the magical intermingling aromas of mastic resin, mahlab kernels, orange zests, nutmeg and...
Poor little raisins, so often forgotten and considered much less interesting or fancier than other red or blue dried fruits. And yet, at home, we often had an after dinner ritual, instead of eating overly sweet desserts (which was rare in our home after dinner), we enjoyed eating freshly peeled or sliced fruits or the other option, which was to...