Hazelnuts, Cocoa Nibs and Cardamom Cookies

Hazelnuts and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations, so it’s no wonder I’ve decided to use both in the form of cookies. To this, I added some cardamom powder, which enhanced the cookies with its wonderful, warm aroma.

Upside-down Pear and Cranberry Cake

Once again, I’m back to baking one of my favorite cakes – an upside-down cake. This time I chose Bosc pears to be the star of the fruit layer, to which I also added brown sugar and five spice powder. The powder, which is an aromatic blend mix of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns, paired beautifully with the pears, and deepened the brownish color of the topping.

Vanilla Scented Chouquettes

Chouquettes are the humble, no fuss, relatives of the more stylish Profiteroles, (or as they are known in the US, Cream Puffs); as they are made from the very same dough – Pâte à Choux. Éclair pastries are also made from this dough. Unlike both, Chouquettes are not filled with any cream and are meant to be eaten as a simple snack, soon after baking, or at least on the same day.

Freezer Butter Cookies: One dough, Three Flavors – Take 2

I posted the original recipe for these tasty cookies  almost three years ago (recipe can be found HERE). Since then, I’ve made various variations of the basic dough, but neglected to photograph these variations.

Sponge Cake with Cranberry Juice and Orange Juice

This tasty cake is yet another variation of my all time favorite sponge cake recipe (posted HERE). In this version, I substituted half of the orange juice with cranberry juice, which gave it another layer of both acidity and sweetens, and pinkish color.

Oatmeal, Coconut and Raisins Cookies

As rolled oats cookies are among my favorites, I make them often, and each time I try to come up with a new flavor. This time I decided on the combination of coconut and golden raisins, which resulted extra tasty cookies, well worth of documenting.

Pecan and Strawberry Jam Mini Bars

During strawberry season, I prepared a few batches of strawberry jam. As with any jam that is prepared with a fairly small amount of sugar, it doesn’t keep as well as the sugar loaded jams. So, instead of waiting for it to spoil, I’ve decided to use some of it to prepare the following tasty mini bars.

Apple, Ginger, Honey and Golden Raisins Cake

The Jewish New Year is celebrated today, and this brings back memories of traditional foods, even to an agnostic such as me. One of the culinary traditions for this event, is to dip a slice of apple in honey, and eat it as a symbol for a sweet New Year. Plenty other sweet dishes are added to the table as well, in order to emphasize this hope for a sweet New Year.

Yogurt Squares Variations with Fresh Fruits

I came up with my yogurt squares recipe almost four years ago (original post can be found HERE), and since then it became one of my favorite go-to recipes.
Created as a lighter alternative for cheese cake, it is made with yogurt and cornstarch as the main ingredients, making it also gluten free. It is very easy to prepare and makes for a great dessert anytime.

Upside Down Cake with Nectarines, Plums and Cherries

If you follow this blog for a while now, you’ve probably noticed my fondness for upside-down cakes. The combination of buttery, caramelized fruit layer, with the tasty cake on top, makes me want to bake it again and again.

Grape Galette with Almonds, Lavender and Maple

As much as grapes are popular in many areas of the world, they are not often used in baking. It is understandable when it comes to large, thick skinned grapes with seeds, but less so with smaller, thin skinned and seedless ones. When I found such ones, I knew I wanted to incorporate them in some kind of cake.