Mocha-Vanilla Krembo
Not every nephew or niece of mine gets an elaborate birthday cake. Sometimes there are constraints, and sometimes I’m just too tired. If I don’t make them a cake, their grandma usually does. But if I don’t make them a cake, I make them something else. This year for my eldest nephew’s birthday, I made mocha-vanilla krembo.
Coffee / Peanut Butter & Chocolate / Cinnamon-Banana Smoothie
Last summer I got a new blender as a gift from my parents, and since then I use it non-stop. Although I already managed to drop it and nick a corner, I can still use it. Until I get around to replacing the broken part, I had to post my favorite smoothie mixes inspired by Jerusalem’s Muffin Boutique, where I also happened to discover the yummiest pumpkin cream cheese muffin in town.
Oreo Mousse Cheesecake
In addition to the evil eye cookies I made for my dad’s birthday last month, I made him a small Oreo mousse cheesecake. Yup, small. It happens on every birthday. By the time we get to the cake, everyone is already full from the chocolates and sweets. So I made a small cake to fit our appetites. What a mistake. The cake was so delicious, it was gone in a matter of seconds.
Milky Way Tartlets
Lately I’ve felt like I’ve opened a tartlet factory. I can’t stop making them and it’s very fun. Before I move on to other desserts, I decided to write one final tartlet post (for now) with a bang… a big bang! Many years ago, before I got involved in baking, I studied geophysics and planetary sciences at university. So I’ve wanted to create a galactic dessert for a while now. I decided to make a tartlet with a half sphere covered in a galaxy glaze. (and later on a solar version of them!)
Geode Cake
I haven’t uploaded a blog post for more than a month now, because I tried to be dairy free for a while and the only result of that experiment was a decrease in my baking desire. The damned experiment ended last week on my birthday with a very dairy tiramisu cake. To go back to normal, I made a geode cake for little Eliora and Archie who came to visit from the States.
How to Caramelize White Chocolate & Make Dulce Spread
White chocolate is the most problematic of them all. Simply because it doesn’t contain cocoa solids. But that doesn’t mean it’s not chocolate. It contains enough cocoa butter to be respected and considered as chocolate. However, from the moment I tried caramelized chocolate, I realized it would be hard to go back to just “plain” old white chocolate.
Ruby Berry Pralines
Tempering chocolate to make pralines on hot summer days is doomed to fail. I was naïve enough to think that the AC would solve the problem. I mean, it’s cool and nice enough in the house with it turned on… for me, not for the chocolate. Tempering chocolate requires a specific room temperature. 18-20 °C / 64-68 °F to be exact.
Chocolate Passion Fruit Pralines
A while back, I met friends from France and we talked about macarons. (What else would you talk about with French people?) We didn’t just talk about any macarons, we talked about Pierre Hermé’s macarons. We all agreed that his best is without a doubt the “Mogador”, a macaron filled with passion fruit and milk chocolate ganache.
