Pistachio Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
Lately I’ve baked a lot of different variations of pistachio cakes. The kitchen was filled with a wonderful aroma of roasted pistachio (and also an endless amount of dishes). I baked and I baked, and then I baked a little bit more… until finally, I came upon the perfect recipe. I gave my mom a piece to taste and she gave me her most sincere opinion, that it was almost perfect. Thanks mom, but “almost” perfect isn’t good enough for a wedding cake.
Apple & Honey Tart
This is one of my favorite tarts that I leaned to make at baking school. They did not give us the pleasure of baking it on our own during class, so I started baking it annually at this time of year. However, I replaced the layer of jam with honey, to better fit the holiday tradition. Although I do eat apples in honey all year long. Apples in salt too, that’s delicious. What can I say, I’m an apple boy. (Although I hate anything made by Apple.)
Blueberry Chiffon Cake
I didn’t imagine I would write another post about berries so soon (particularly blueberries), but I did. A few days ago, I discovered that my youngest niece, Aline, would be celebrating her 3rd birthday this week. True, I should remember my nieces and nephews’ birthdays, but after the sixth one I just stopped trying (Thank God for Google Calendar). So I made her a light chiffon cake with blueberry frosting.
Ilana & Romy’s Wedding Cake
When my friends Ilana and Romy asked me to make the cake for their wedding on the Italian island of Sicily, I hesitated. Traveling overseas to make a cake in an unknown kitchen is not easy. When Ilana told me her vision, a naked cake with classic Sicilian flavors like pistachio, lemons and figs – wait, pistachio? Of course I’m going to make this wedding cake. And so I traveled to Sicily last week and made a pistachio and lemon mascarpone cream wedding cake.
Coffee Gianduja Chocolate Mousse Cake
** The post was updated and revised in a new post with a more pronounced coffee flavor, an espresso brownies base and a better preparation method. You can find the update in this link ** It’s not every day you celebrate a birthday. It’s not every day you eat a birthday cake. A festive event calls for a festive cake. And what’s more festive than brownies with hazelnuts, topped with a layer of dark chocolate & coffee mousse, topped with a second layer of gianduja chocolate mousse. Three layers of pure joy.
Lemon Berry Tartlets
Sometimes I like to combine elements from previous posts to create something new. For this post, I used the crust I baked for the lemon-lime pistachio tartlets. I filled the crust with the lemon cream I prepared for the Crembo’s lemon core. I decorated the top with leftover raspberries and blueberries from the mousse cheesecake. And here’s what I came up with, a lemon berry tartlet.
Lemon Crembo
Last week, Lauren & her family came to visit Jerusalem. They used to be very close neighbors once upon a time. When we met I asked Dekel, one of the kids, if he’s enjoying his trip. He said he’s having a lot of fun here, but is bummed that Crembo isn’t sold here during summer. An idea came to my mind. I went straight back home to the kitchen and started making Crembo as a little surprise for his visit the next day. He was happy, and so was I.
Mousse Cheesecake with Berries
Last weekend, my sister-in-law, Iman, celebrated her birthday. When I asked her what cake would she like me to make for the occasion, she refused to say so as not to bother me. I asked her again and she refused kindly yet again. So I asked her what kinds of cake she liked and finally she answered me. That’s how it works in my family. We don’t hear “No”. We only hear the “Yes” hiding somewhere between “No thanks” and “Absolutely not”.
