Almond Orange Tea Cakes
Almond Orange Tea Cakes adapted from Patricia Well’s, A Food Lovers Guide to Paris INGREDIENTS: ` 2 tablespoons (30 g) room temperature butter for mini-cupcake mold 1 cup (140 g) finely ground almonds 1 2/3 cups (210 g) confectioners sugar 1/2 cup (70g) unbleached all-purpose flour Pinch of salt 3/4 cup (185 g) egg whites (5 to 6) 1 Tsp Orange Zest 3/4 cup (6 ounces; 185 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled ` PROCEDURE: ` Preheat... [Read More...]
Meyer Lemon Tart
I made this lemon tart using Meyer Lemons which are not as tart as standard lemons. Their skin is also deeper in shade which helps to make the tart a very bright yellow. I love this tart, its texture, its flavor, and its crust. I made it to bring to my sisters home for a visit. Her four year old son was at school while I was there, but as I was driving home, I got the sweetest little phone call from him… P.J.: ”Auntie Natie,... [Read More...]
Orange Blossom Macarons & Silk Meringue Buttercream
Its been a long time since I have last written. In fact its been well over six months. In defense, I should admit that my absence was not a cooking hiatus, it was actually a cooking intensive - A six month Classic Culinary Arts course at The French Culinary Institute in NYC. And what an exceptional experience it was. There is no comparison between the cook that I was before I took the course and the cook that I am now. My whole approach to cooking... [Read More...]
Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies
These were the most beautiful looking and fragrant strawberries at the market today. Spring is finally here! And the rhubarb were deep red and lovely. I didn’t want to make and entire pie so I decided to make hand pies with the fruit instead. The easy thing about hand pies is literally that you can take any pie crust recipe you use with any fruit filling recipe you use and make the hand-pies in their shapes instead of an entire pie. The pie... [Read More...]
Chocolate Caramel Tart
This was amazing… Just amazing. I absolutely loved this tart - perfect. I don’t know what the best part of this tart is. Was it the crust - soft, hard, and crumbly all at the same time. Chocolaty enough yet not too sweet for the caramel. Was it the caramel - just the perfect consistency, sweetness, and color. Was it the chocolate ganache - smooth, velvety and rich. Or yet was it the grey sea... [Read More...]
Chocolate Cake with Butterscotch Sauce
Ladies Lunch (cont…) So I have a recipe for a molten chocolate cake that I love. I have posted it on this site in the past. But my friend Christina has a different recipe for a molten chocolate cake and she makes a butterscotch sauce to top it off with… are you drooling yet? (I am) Christina took some cooking classes at Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco, CA. She speaks very highly of it as a place that is fun and offers... [Read More...]
Pear or Blueberry Crumb Top Muffins
Ladies Lunch… Pear Crumb Top Muffins I have been in the process of moving apartments over the past few weeks, and have been unable to have full access to a kitchen. Luckily, my friend Christina invited me and another friend over for a day of cooking and eating. She made a beautiful salmon nicoise salad for lunch followed by a delicious molten chocolate cake covered in butterscotch sauce. I made three batches of muffins. And then we made some... [Read More...]
Honey-Lavender Ice Cream
Orange Blossom Honey & Lavender Ricotta Ice Cream with Raspberry Sauce and Shortbread This is the second time that I have made this. Its a unique way of making ice-cream. The ricotta cheese base adds a really velvety texture to the ice cream. It also helps to lend a sweetness that is subtle but complimented by the lavender infused sugar syrup and orange blossom honey. The tart raspberries then contrast the sweet ice-cream wonderfully, and the... [Read More...]
Individual Molten Chocolate Cakes
This is my third time making this cake. The first time was when my oven was broken. Suffice to say, I couldn’t get the timing right. The second time I made this was when I was away on vacation in Costa Rica. It was my night for dinner and I was cooking for seven. Clearly being in paradise, I didn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. So I made Argentine Steak with Chimichurri and Papas Fritas for dinner and I made these individual cakes... [Read More...]
Cranberry Crumb Top Muffins
It was the first time since the season started that I went to the market and fresh cranberries were not there. Once again, that idea that I had been putting off finally hit me when the fresh fruit wasn’t available. So I made do with frozen cranberries. I learned my lesson - just do it when you see the fresh ingredients - why put it off? And with a recipe this easy, it didn’t take much time at all… lesson learned. These muffins... [Read More...]
