Puff Pastry Braid with Frangipane Almond Cream

My individual Pithivier pastries, with frangipane almond cream, are a dessert I make often. The combination of crispy, golden, buttery puff pastry, and a creamy, fragrant almond cream filling, is always delightful.
This time, I’ve decided to use the same ingredients, in a different way. The braided puff pastry cakes are the tasty result of this decision.

Chocolate, Banana and Red Wine Cake

As it often happens, I found a few very ripe bananas waiting on the kitchen counter. So, once again, I’ve decided it was time to bake yet another banana-based cake.
I also had some leftover red wine, and decided to use it in the recipe as well, along with chocolate, as they all pair so well together.

Spiced Pumpkin and Almond Cake

With quite a few leftover pumpkin puree cans in the pantry, I’ve started thinking about ways to use them, other than just add them to soups. The following fragrant and moist cake, is one of the recipes I came up with.

Carrot, Apple and Honey Cake

The Jewish New Year was celebrated this weekend, and this brings back memories of traditional foods. One of the culinary traditions for this festive 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.

Meyer Lemon and Spiced Rhubarb Coulis Heavy Cream Cake

Rhubarb season is here: the fresh stems are bright red and full of flavor, and just beg to be used in many ways.  At the same time, I also found some beautiful, extra fragrant Meyer lemons – so, it made perfect sense to pair them both into one tasty cake.

Blueberry Cobbler

 

Cobbler is the perfect dessert for anyone who loves stewed fruit, topped with a cake-like batter. While it is British in origin, cobbler is also one of the most popular American desserts as well.
Different types of fruit, or a combination of some, can be used for the fruit layer. The topping can also vary, from thin batter (as the one I have here), to heavier ones. All these versions are similar in how quick and easy they can be prepared.

Vanilla Cake with Apricot Jam and Chocolate Frosting

 

Whenever I want to bake a quick tasty cake, a heavy cream based one would be one of my first choices, as it requires only a few basic ingredients, and it can be mixed in a short time, in one bowl. Another important reason for choosing this type of cake is that it has a wonderful rich texture and flavor, that can be easily altered with just a few spices or ingredients.

Spiced Zucchini Cake with Golden Raisins and Walnuts

 

When the weather outside is getting colder, a simple homey cake. served with a hot beverage, is a good way to keep warm. The following zucchini cake is exactly that.

Banana, Marzipan and Dried Cherry Cake, with Chocolate Glaze

 

Cherries and almonds pair wonderfully well together, so, when I was planning on baking a banana cake, flavored with my homemade marzipan, it was an easy decision to add dried cherries to it. Belgium cherry beer, that I also had at hand, was the perfect way to enhance the cherry flavor, and give the cake a lighter texture.

Fresh Cranberry, Orange and Almond Cake

 

As I still had some orange marmalade, from last weeks’ chicken dish, I thought it could be a good idea to use it in a cake. With Thanksgiving around the corner, and with lots of fresh cranberries at the store, it was a no-brainer to mix these two ingredients into one tasty cake.

Chocolate Date Banana and Walnut Cake

After all the fruity cakes and desserts that I’ve made this summer, it felt it was time for a chocolate-based cake, using dark cocoa powder, along with chocolate chips.