The first time I tasted this Basque cheesecake, or “Tarta de queso,” was in London at “Cakes and Bubbles,” run by the Spanish chef Albert Adria Acosta, one of the best chefs in the world known for his illusion desserts (trompe l’œil). His most famous dish is a cheesecake made with “Baron Bigod” Brie cheese, hazelnuts, and white chocolate, and it’s a real delight. I’ve never had a cheesecake that was so mousse-like, light, delicious, and complex at the same time, with a sweet yet subtly salty flavor and a strong nutty taste. It’s just perfect. It was, in fact,…
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Continue readingNo comment, honestly these spinach & lime butter pancakes that Ottolenghi calls “green pancakes” are sooo good.And as the end-of-year holidays approach, you can make them like blinis and serve them with smoked salmon, a small quenelle of sour cream or not, “red caviar” salmon eggs and to finish with a green touch add dill leaves. Trust me, it will look like an aperitif coming from a luxurious restaurant .You can prepare the pancake batter the day before without the egg whites. The next day, whisk the egg white to soft peaks, then gently add it to the pancake batter…
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Continue readingAs we say « when life gives you lemon make lemonade », but not for today, I present you the most delicious, fluffy, moist and fragrant lemon and poppy seed cake ever. So you know what to do, if you have lemon forget about the lemonade and make this amazing cake. The recipe of this lemon and poppy seed cake is from « Sweet » Ottolenghi and Helen Goh book. All details and tricks to get the most beautiful dome like a professional pastry chef are in the recipe bellow. you can also try this delicious « lemon and olive oil cake » from the french…
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Continue readingI have always been a big lover of cakes. And that probably explains why I have a lot of cake recipes in my blog. But seriously, what’s better than a slice or two of a delicious cake waiting to be enjoyed with your morning coffee or afternoon tea. This recipe is from one of my favourite French pastry chef “Christophe Michalak “. I already shared with you some of his recipes : “ chocolate cake “ and “Gianduja – orange blossom cake”. This citrus – almond cake is definitely one of the easiest cakes I have made and also one…
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Continue reading« Bienenstich » is the German word for bee sting. There are several stories about how this honey-almond cake was named. The story that comes up most often, is the baker who created the cake was stung by the bee which was attracted to the sweet honey topping. This popular, classic German dessert, reminds me « The Tropezienne ». It has also two layers of brioche, a vanilla cream filling, but the difference is the Bienenstich is topped with a buttery honey almond topping. It’s crunchy, gooey and has an amazing caramelisation once baked. In fact the topping is what makes this cake so delicious and takes it to the next level. The Bee sting cake looks complicated and impressive, but…
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Continue readingCertain recipes only call for egg whites, like this Gianduja & orange blossom cake or this amazing amaretti from Ottolenghi, to name few recipes that I already shared with you, so it will be great to use up egg yolks. You may think to make a lemon curd or crème brûlée, which is perfect when you have 2 or 4 egg yolks leftover. But , what do you do when you end up with 11 or 12 egg yolks ? That was my case last week, when I had made a lot of hazelnut friands and amaretti for charity organised…
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Continue readingUsually I would say that I love summer days. But since I live in Dubai, autumn starts being the long awaited season which brings back a little freshness. It’s the season too for pumpkin soup, apple or pear tart, and of course chestnuts. So it’s the perfect time to make this delicious chestnut cake, recipe from my favourite french chef “Pierre Hermé”. The cake is quite dense but also fluffy, full of autumnal flavours. It’s very simple to make and requires few ingredients. As you can already imagine you’ll need chestnut spread, ou crème de marron, translated in chestnut cream in French, even…