Kiwi, lime & cardamom sorbet

in Desserts, Taste -

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One of the reasons why I love cooking with vegetables and fruits so much is the endless variety in colours and shapes. Case in point, kiwis. When you first look at one, all you see is a small, bland, hairy potato. But… Cutting through it and it’s a whole different story: the most gorgeous, soft yet vibrant green appears, paired with a pale yellow centre and decorated with perfectly placed black little spots. I mean, if this is not a thing of beauty, I don’t know what is. Gorgeous AND bursting with vitamins C and K- we’ve got a winner here. [READ MORE]

Perfect tiramisu

in Desserts, Taste -

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Easter holidays signify many different things for me- most of which are associated with family and I will be sharing them next week, just in time for Orthodox Easter, the one I was brought up celebrating. For the past couple of years however, Easter in London has been all about spending time with friends over barbeques and impromptu walks, wishing for warm weather and consuming copious amounts of chocolate. [READ MORE]

Carrot & mango cake with cream cheese lime frosting

in Desserts, Taste -

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Even though I love all desserts almost equally, I tend to play favourites: cookies are usually my go-to, followed by pies and little fruity and chocolatey bites. Cakes are not at the top of my list; I think that’s probably because they are often associated with childhood baking memories, of which I don’t have that many. My mom rarely made any cakes (safe for this delicious, festive one), and when she did, usually in our house in the country, she had to fight our super temperamental oven: all desserts that went in there would come out almost always half burned- but we almost always ate them (apart from that one time, when she accidentally sprinkled a whole cake with corn flour, instead of icing sugar. I think we held off on that one). [READ MORE]

Very chocolatey hazelnut brownies

in Desserts, Taste -

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It really doesn’t take much to throw a successful dinner party; as I’ve shared on Monday’s post, as long as you get a bit organised with the prep required, being surrounded by good friends alone is a guarantee for a fun night in. Even though preparing and plating appetisers is my favourite ‘before’ step, the part of the meal I always anticipate the most is the dessert. [READ MORE]

Peanut butter & cream cheese chocolate balls

in Desserts, Taste -

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I think everyone will agree that a day which includes chocolate is a better day (I should know- most of my days do). I’m not a snob when it comes to chocolate, although I do prefer the darker varieties, especially the ones with sea salt (damn, even thinking about it, my day gets better). I’m even less of a snob when it comes to cooking with it: I often go classic and just add it in cakes and cookies, I’ve dunked fruit in there, I’ve mixed it with nuts and spread it on brioches and croissants. There’s also a pretty cool beef stew I like to make, with just a touch of cocoa in the sauce, which always makes me want to eat meat more often. [READ MORE]

Quince paste with lemon & ginger

in Desserts, Small bites, Taste -

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Here’s the story of the quince and I: my parents dine out quite a bit and when I was in college,  when I’d come home for the holidays, we’d often all go for dinner at my parents’ favourite local restaurant. Everything about it was old school: the decor, the grumpy-looking, yet surprisingly friendly staff, the customers (mostly bachelors in their 50s, journalists, artists and writers, wolfing down their dinner, while reading the paper or spying at other diners) and, mostly, the food: simple, old fashioned one pot meat dishes, casseroles and seasonal salads served with red and white house wine. For dessert, my parents almost always ordered the baked quince, cooked with a sweet wine sauce and flavoured with cinnamon and cloves- or at least that’s how I remember it. [READ MORE]