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  • Raspberry Macarons

    Raspberry Macarons

    For this week I’m baking raspberry macarons, another classic of French patisserie. It’s one of the most popular desserts among people in France and recently has gained popularity worldwide. If the recipe is followed thoroughly, macarons are not hard to make.

    For this recipe the Italian meringue was used because it leaves the macarons with a nice crisp on the top but still soft in the inside.

    I’m aware that baking macarons for your first time can be overwhelming, but I assure you that even if they don’t look perfect on the first time, they will on the second try.

    As long as the filling doesn’t contain egg yolk, the macarons can be kept refrigerated for a short week.

  • Galette des rois

    Galette des rois

    The ‘Galette des Rois’ is typically a French tradition that celebrates the Epiphany. This celebration derived from the night the three kings (wise men) Gaspard, Balthazar, and Melchior, voyaged to pay their tribute to one of the world’s most famous enfant born on earth, bringing with them gifts.

    This tradition has lost much of its religious significance over the years. For many French families, this tradition has become a day where the family gathers and shares a Galette des Rois (a puff pastry pie filled with a smooth mixture of frangipane, a mixture of both almond and pastry cream, and finished by hiding a small charm in the frangipane).

    The most important part of this tradition is the ritual that goes along with it. The youngest child of the family must hide underneath the table while an adult cuts the Galette. The hiding child must then call out which slice goes to whom, in order for it to be totally random. Whoever gets the charm in their slice is the King (or Queen) for the day and gets to wear the golden paper crown, that the Galette typically comes with. Also that person has to pick who will be their Queen or King for the day.

  • Brandy Snaps

    Brandy Snaps

    Brandy Snaps are a popular dessert in the UK. It doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and it is not very technical but they are so good.

    Having fresh ginger instead of powdered ginger makes a big difference.

    I would also recommend dark chocolate compare to white chocolate because the snaps are very sweets and a darker chocolate balance well.

    Adding brandy in this recipe is not a must. Brandy was supposed to come from branded that mean burned and not from the famous alcohol.

     

     

     

  • Orange Chocolate Shortbread

    Orange Chocolate Shortbread

    Oranges and chocolate are the biggest flavors of the festive season, so why not combining them into an orange chocolate shortbread.

    The chocolate really compliments the orange flavors, it mixes sweetness to the bitterness and leaves you with a very enjoyable aftertaste.

  • Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

    Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

    A cheesecake without dairy? Yes, it’s true! This Crème Brûlée Cheesecake is actually a New York cheeseless cheesecake, prepared with soy yogurt and soy cream in place of traditional ingredients.

    For the crust of the cake I used my recipe of cookies, so I’m sure about them being dairy free.

    There is little sugar in this recipe to balance with the topping of your choice that will be sweet, here there is a layer of caramelised sugar to mimic a ‘crème brûlée’, a fruit coulis/sauce would also be very sweet.

  • Banana and Peanut Butter Cookies

    Banana and Peanut Butter Cookies

    I wanted to make a 100% dairy free cheesecake but it is quite hard to find dairy free cookies at the supermarket so I decided to make my own banana and peanut butter cookies.

    For the best flavour, use the ripest bananas you have and for the peanut butter, use the one you like the most crunchy or soft. I do prefer the crunchy one because it add crunchiness to the cookies.

     

  • Mountain top Swiss Meringue

    Mountain top Swiss Meringue

    Why Swiss meringue ? Sometimes when you bake, you only use the yolk and you have many egg whites that would be wasted. The solution is to make meringues, it is very easy to make, requires the minimum amount of ingredients and always tastes nice.

    There are three types of meringues:
    • French meringue: egg whites and icing sugar. Makes crunchy shells.
    • Swiss meringue: egg whites and caster sugar. Makes softer shells.
    • Italian meringue: egg whites and syrup. Crisp and frothy, it lightens custards, covers lemon meringue pies, cakes…

    You can add any flavor or color to them.

     

  • Ecstatically Chocolate Éclair

    Ecstatically Chocolate Éclair

    Chocolate éclair is the pastry that you can find in any boulangerie in France. Commonly flavored with chocolate or coffee and situated close to the counter when you buy your daily bread, you can’t not see them.

    Éclair can be translated as ‘flash’, it is called like this because it can be eaten very fast.

    The beginning of the recipe is the to prepare the chocolate custard. Feel free to replace the chocolate custard by any flavor of your choice, vanilla, hazelnut …

     

     

  • Thick Chocolate Custard

    Thick Chocolate Custard

    The chocolate custard is part of my chocolate éclairs recipe but can be used as filling for any type puffs or cakes.

    It can be used to make any custard, only the step 8 needs to be change to the taste you want, pistachio, white chocolate, caramel, coffee …

    Vanilla pods is better than vanilla extract, it gives a stronger flavor to the custard.

  • Skinny Apple Cake

    Skinny Apple Cake