Pistachio Ferrero Rocher
I know, it’s kinda late now, but this homemade Ferrero Rocher was perfect as a Valentine’s Day gift. In the spirit of the holiday, Natalie from Lil’ Cookie and I made this Ferrero Rocher with pistachios instead of hazelnuts. Natalie suggested this genius idea a day before our date to make my mom’s basbousa. We decided to try it out. To be honest, we didn’t expect it to turn out so well.
Christmas Tree Chocolate Mousse
Last Christmas I prepared gingerbread cookies in the holiday spirit and decorated my plastic Christmas tree with them. That same week I traveled with the whole family to Turkey and celebrated Christmas there.
Chocolate & Chestnut Pots de Crème
Last week I got a pretty awesome gift, a pastry cookbook from close, yet ever so far, Lebanon. In her book, Sweet Levantine, Lara Ariss writes about baking with an emphasis on local ingredients, like olive oil, halva and mastic, which she combines in both her Middle Eastern recipes and her classic European recipes.
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.
Gianduja Chocolate Mousse Cake
Two years ago I had a little breakdown. Not that I actually had anything to complain about, but I felt like something in my life was missing. Something small to complete a smile at the end of the day. One day, on my way to visit the family in Jaffa, I was listening on repeat to Lane Boy by Twenty One Pilot. Suddenly it struck me why I love this song so much.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cake
One of my cool aunts asked me to make a birthday cake for her daughter. When I asked her what kind of cake she was thinking about, she sent me a picture of a Reese’s cake decorated with the peanut butter cups themselves. I took the challenge under one condition: the family must act as my guinea pigs and provide me with constructive criticism. There was another tiny condition: that they would leave me a small piece of cake to try, but somehow all the evidence disappeared after the knife started cutting the cake.
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!
Chocolate Meringue Tartlets
Last year my American friends invited me to their Thanksgiving dinner. I baked these chocolate meringue tartlets for the event, in addition to a pistachio tart I brought as back-up. I’m pretty sure the other guests enjoyed these tartlets, you could see it on their faces. Literally, there were traces of meringue all over their beards and noses!
