Frangipane is a cream of ground almonds with sugar, eggs, and butter, and is a common ingredient in cakes. In the Netherlands strawberry cakes are often made in an elongated shape, are made with frangipane, and then called “aardbeienslof”. They … Continue reading Strawberry Frangipane Cake
Since we love Thai food and many recipes require kaffir lime leaves and kaffir lime zest, I decided to put 2 kaffir lime trees in my garden. They are in pots, so I can move them inside in winter. Kaffir … Continue reading Kaffir Lime Tartlets
This orange cake is simple to make but has a special flavor because of the orange juice, orange zest, and orange syrup. I’ve made it using this Italian recipe, with some minor changes. It is great for breakfast (very Italian … Continue reading Orange Cake (Torta all’Arancia)
Clafoutis is a famous French pie with cherries. You can find my rendition of the classical version here. Since cherries work well with chocolate, I thought there must also be a variation with chocolate. Some googling did indeed confirm that … Continue reading Chocolate and Cherry Clafoutis (Clafoutis chocolaté aux cerises)
Strawberries are in season and this cake is a simple yet delicious way of serving them. It is an Italian recipe without whipped cream like in this strawberry cake and I reduced the amount of sugar, so it is quite … Continue reading Strawberry Cake (Torta di Fragole)
Baking seems to be popular when in lockdown, or at least the idea of baking must be, because flour, yeast, and other baking supplies are sold out everywhere. But pears were on sale and I had walnuts that needed to … Continue reading Pear and Walnut Cake (Torta di Pere e Noci)
Stefano of Italian Home Cooking, an Italian chef who lives in the UK, always has great authentic regional Italian recipes. When I saw this very unusual cake from Monferrato in Piemonte on his blog, I decided at once that I … Continue reading Italian Apple and Pumpkin Cake (Torta Monferrina di mele e zucca)
Scarpaccia is a zucchini cake from the northern coast of Tuscany. There are two versions: savory from the town of Camaiore, and sweet from Viareggio. I had already prepared and blogged about the savory version, so now it’s time for … Continue reading Scarpaccia di Viareggio (Zucchini Cake)
Tarte Tatin is a famous French tart that is often prepared with puff pastry, but the original is made with more of a shortcrust kind of pastry. In this variation I used pears instead of apple, and I used a … Continue reading Tarte Tatin aux Poires (Pear Tarte Tatin)
Pumpkin season has arrived. We did not have this pie during our recent trip to Italy, but the inspiration for it did come from Italy. Paola recently blogged about a pumpkin, gorgonzola, and pear tart. I have combined gorgonzola and … Continue reading Pumpkin, Pear, and Blue Cheese Pie (Crostata con zucca, gorgonzola e pere)
A sweet spinach tart? Yes, really. It is delicious. I have discovered this original dessert from the North-Italian town of Reggio Emilia thanks to Simona who is from that region and has the wonderful Italian food blog Grembiula da Cucina … Continue reading Erbazzone Dolce (Sweet Spinach and Almond Tart)
Stefano Arturi is an Italian food blogger who lives in the UK and has blogs in both Italian and English. He always has interesting traditional recipes and does a lot of research about the historical background of recipes. Recently he … Continue reading Scarpaccia Salata (Savory Zucchini Cake)
Nathan Myhrvold, known for the 2,500+ pages Modernist Cuisine, has done it again and has published Modernist Bread, another 2,500+ pages reference book. It consists of 5 volumes, 1 with history and fundamentals, 1 about ingredients, 1 about technique, and … Continue reading High Hydration Bread
I had never heard about Kräuterprinten until I noticed I would need them to prepare Sauerbraten. I googled them and found out they are German spiced cookies that are not available around here, so I decided to bake them myself. They … Continue reading Kräuterprinten (German Spiced Cookies)
Darya has a wonderful blog and I especially like her Middle-Eastern recipes as they are so new to me and always delicious. Last year she posted a recipe for Iraqi date cookies that I put on my list of recipes … Continue reading Iraqi Date Cookies (Kleichat tamur)
In the Netherlands it is customary to treat your co-workers to baked goods for your birthday. These are usually sweet, but can also be savory (in that case, it’s usually sausage rolls). The baked goods can be either store-bought or … Continue reading Wholemeal Stevia Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Happy New Year, everyone! That 2018 may bring you a lot of great food. I am not really a new year’s resolution kind of guy myself, as I believe you don’t have to wait until January 1 to make a … Continue reading Spelt Stevia Speculaas Madeleines
I am on a mission to gain lean body mass, and this involves a lot of nutritious but at the same time tasty meals that I can easily take with me to work. Meals should be high in protein and … Continue reading Red Lentil Muffins with Indian Spices
