Lavender Honey Macarons
Happy blogiversary to Cake Lab! My little blog is 2 years old. Two! It’s my favorite age. I mean, I don’t remember it myself, but my nephews and nieces are doing a great job showing me. I have so much fun with them at this age. It’s the age where they have already discovered how to walk and they start running. They already know how to talk and start asking questions non-stop. There are so curious, warm and full of life. And that’s what I wish for my blog this year. That it’ll behave just like my nephews and nieces at this age, just without all that crying.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting
Cupcakes. That’s actually what we also call them in this part of the world. In Arabic, we call them “cupcakes.” In Hebrew, we call them “cupcakes.” However, recently, the Hebrew Language Academy came up with a Hebrew term for cupcakes, Oogonit, which sounds like the equivalent of “little cake”. That’s actually better than the other option they were considering, Moofin Mekushat, which simply means, “decorated muffin”.
Pistachio Tiramisu Cake
I’m having an unlucky week. I have been waiting for it to end since it started. From terrible backaches that don’t go away, to yet another annoying virus, to a non-stop leak from the ceiling and to electrical appliances that die out on you in the middle of a cold and stormy day. But here comes the redemption at last. The sun is shining and the weekend is here. In a little while I’ll be on my way to my family in Jaffa. I’m going to carry this tiramisu cake with me to celebrate my little brother’s birthday. Apparently, he really likes pistachios, just like his big brother. I guess the pistachio doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Birthday Macarons
Last week I traveled with my family to Turkey. While having breakfast at the hotel, my niece Jasmine brought a cake with her to the table. It was a piece of mousse cake decorated with a macaron on top. Jasmine picked the macaron off the cake, put the cake aside, and looked at the macaron. “Can you make me this for my birthday?” she asked. I had waited for that moment a long time. Finally one of my nieces or nephews asks for macarons for their birthday! In my mind, I started imagining festive birthday macarons with a fun flavor. A flavor that my nephews would sacrifice my mom’s stuffed grape leaves for: Kinder chocolate.
Pistachio Cake with Mascarpone and Strawberries
Ever since I started my little blog, Natalie, blogger superstar, hasn’t stopped showing love and support. I discovered her wonderful blog, Lil’ Cookie, about 5 years ago when I started taking interest in the baking world. An intern at the pharmacy where I work noticed my sudden love of cakes. She asked if I knew the blog Lil’ Cookie. I didn’t. When I saw it, I was captivated by its charm.
Gingerbread Cookies with Pistachio Brittle
I’ve already written here about my Christmas obsession. True, it’s not a holiday I’m supposed to celebrate, but the grass is always greener on the other side, and the tree is so much more colorful. When I was a kid, I saved up my pocket money and bought a tiny Christmas tree. I was so in love with it that I left it standing on my bedside table all year round.
Christmas Tree Tartlets
I still remember how my siblings and I used to hear the bells approaching our neighborhood on Christmas Eve as kids. We would immediately run to the windows, hoping to get a glimpse of Santa Claus riding his reindeer-drawn sleigh his car with a huge inflatable reindeer on top. How we used to wish he’d stop by our house too, until mom got the idea eventually and invited him in!
Pistachio Muffins
What can I say about pistachios that I haven’t already said? Oh… you can also bake pistachio muffins! During my trip to Sicily, I came by these pistachio muffins in Bronte. The whole city idolizes pistachios, and grows them, but when I arrived to buy some, it seemed like the whole city was closed for the month of August. Then I stumbled upon a bakery and ordered these muffins. The muffins looked completely innocent at first, with a ground pistachio layer on top. After only one bite, a luscious green filling revealed itself at the muffin’s core and made me smile from ear to ear.
