desserts recipes
… with a mix of stone fruits like bright orange APRICOTS, FLAT VINE PEACHES, WHITE NECTARINES and YELLOW PEACHES (but you could add some PLUMS too), all bathing and lolling around in their sweetened syrupy juices, topped by a nutty cake that rises as it bakes on top, almost floating (until it cools and settles down again) and then some...
RAVANI or REVANI or both ?! And why not RAEVANI then ?! This is one of those old-fashioned and traditional Greek and Turkish cakes, that has practically disappeared from circulation and almost stopped gracing our tables for decades. Why ? Because creamier and more complicated, layered and somewhat more sophisticated creations took their place. It...
Are they chocolate MI-CUIT (which means half-baked) cakes ? Chocolate LAVA or MOLTEN cakes (as we like to say in North America) ? Or GATEAUX AU COEUR COULANT (which means cakes with a runny & flowing center) ? Chocolate MOELLEUX (which means soft & tender) cakes ? But they’re not really chocolate FONDANT (which means quite...
It’s as easy as 1-2-3, or to be more precise 3-2-1. It’s all MATH, 3 PARTS prepared (boiled & peeled) CHESTNUTS (from a jar or a can) + 2 PARTS SUGAR + 1 PART WATER or 1 PART CHESTNUTS + 1 PART CHESTNUT SYRUP (instead of the sugar & water) … I’ve decided to take it easier this year by using canned or jarred...
A.K.A. the "SPY-PIE". . . but please let me explain ! I'm sure you're all familiar with the 1977 British fictional Bond movie called "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME", right ? But are you familiar with the 2009 French movie and non-fictional spy story called “FAREWELL” or "THE FAREWELL AFFAIR"...
It’s an early morning reward, a breakfast pastry just for you. You’ve gotten up and readied yourself to brave the new day. It’s a sweetened milk & egg dish in its own crispy carrying case, still slightly warm and ever-so-gently spiced, to rock your heart and soul and body as you walk yourself to work or maybe a stroll...
They’re ADDICTIVE and addiction is quite BAD, so just listen up : All you folks who are DRINKING & SMOKING TOO MUCH & EATING BADLY & MISBEHAVING ALL THE TIME & GOD-KNOWS-WHAT-ELSE, please don’t make these ! They’re too deliciously sweet, salty, crunchy, spongy, creamy, gooey & decadent … Okay, go...
TICK-TOCK because I’m running late ! TICK-TOCK because the beauty of these strawberries (pretending to be roses) is fleeting and with a very short lifespan, before just re-melting and disappearing ! I love their “ephemeral” aspect, almost like real roses fading (but at super fast-forward) … but I hope your...
It’s nevery easy trying to describe a new kind of autumnal THANKSGIVING celebratory recipe or any newer kind of thing, for that matter. The title could have actually been longer like “butter, sugar and apple juice poached apples, stuffed with dried fruits and nuts and then crusted (or coated) in crushed spiced cookies and then...
LAST CHANCE to save those LAST FIGS ! You began by eating them whole and fresh in August, then a few weeks later you probably sliced them in half and added them to salads or to accompany sweet and savory preparations, then you went a step further and baked them in different preparations and maybe you made some jams too at the beginning of...
That sneaky and fickle and ever so demanding FILO / PHYLLO, always letting itself dry out in under 10-15 minutes, and crumbling to pieces if exposed to the hot summer air and if not meticulously covered up with another sheet of baking paper and also a damp cloth, when you unroll it and lay it out. And sometimes it’s just ripped here and...
The “NEW & IMPROVED” 2.0 VERSION … or just a better and more intense version of my rolled baklava fingers (renamed as “cigars” here) ! Why ? Because I realized that regular baklava that is usually prepared as a flat & multi-layered dish, and then sliced in squares and served was almost always more...
That CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ? How can we re-kindle that ? Sometimes that ‘holiday thought’ is just hanging around (or hiding) in the back of your mind and maybe in your heart, (because you still have one, you know, even when you’re too busy to remember). If you’re like most people, the holiday spirit is most often directly...
Need a new idea for HALLOWEEN ? Who doesn’t ? Here’s a home-made chilled treat for everyone, young and/or old or just not so young. This year it’s gonna be a combination mini “reese’s peanut butter cup” and “ice-cream sandwich” all-in-one number because I’m all...
THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT . . . because even though I do not claim to have imagined nor invented this yogurt-version of a traditional well-known dessert, it seemed like an “intervention” was necessary (even when on my vacation) because all the existing versions that were brought to my attention by my friends were wrong ! Why ? Because one...