tagged ‘cake’

Beer, bacon & fennel seed bread

in Savoury, Taste -

In celebration of baking, picnics and all things summer, a beer, bacon & fennel seed bread I’ve been in love with for quite some time now.

beer-bacon-fennel-seed-bread

In my mind, I love baking; going through my fridge and cupboards, flipping through recipes or eyeing fresh produce of the season. Then slowly, sometimes reluctantly, others barely containing my self, forming a plan; it is often in the form of a challenge, but mostly I’m a slave to my own appetites and even more so to the people I have in mind when baking. I made these cookies for a friend leaving London for Portugal via Berlin and five different cakes for another friend’s birthday. There needs to be a reason, even if it’s just an overwhelming desire for pie or the juiciest tomatoes I could get my hands on. [READ MORE]

Cardamom & cocoa nib banana bread with coconut frosting

in Desserts, Taste -

Celebrating International Women’s Day with a cardamom & cocoa nib banana bread with coconut frosting. Sweet, powerful and perfect just the way it is.

Cardamom & cocoa nib banana bread with coconut frosting

Days designated specifically for celebrating anything tend to make cringe; be it grilled cheese or Valentine’s Day, my first instinct is to revolt and mock relentlessly. Yet, I have made my peace with Valentine’s Day, mostly because I love any excuse for a decadent dessert; and I have occasionally hoorayed for other, food related, days. Today, on International Women’s Day, my first instinct is to celebrate. [READ MORE]

Chocolate & coconut spider cakes

in Desserts, Taste -

Chocolate & coconut spider cakes

Less than a week. That’s how long there’s left before Halloween- not that I’m counting. For the past few years, this time in October I get all excited and giddy and spend a ridiculous amount of time decorating the house, testing recipes (this candied salty cashew popcorn and these fruity and spicy cookies are among my favourites) and doing research for my costume. Last year, Halloween was admittedly a bit of a bust. No matter how excited I was, not matter how many bat-shaped things I’d eat make, not matter how spookily dreary London was, the happy/haunted feeling I so love was just not there. [READ MORE]

Molten chocolate cake

in Desserts, Taste -

Mamita Cake-5

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. For the past ten years or so, I’m not around to celebrate with her, but I always try to mark the occasion by making her a delicious dessert. Even though she’s not around to enjoy it, I’m always very happy to do it (and eat it, of course). Last year it was this airy, crunchy and fruity cookie & raspberry tart, but this time, I went the crowd-pleasing  molten chocolate way. [READ MORE]

Mango & passion fruit vanilla bundt cake

in Desserts, Taste -

Mango & passion fruit vanilla bundt cake

I’m coming back with a bang, back with this mango & passion fruit vanilla bundt cake. But let me first explain my absence. Remember how in my last post I mentioned how kinda crazy my week had been? Boy, was I about to get schooled. The one that just passed was hands down the definition of crazy. Like, Mike up on the stage of Dolby Theatre, accepting an Academy Award for Best Short film, along with the director and producers of Stutterer, the most beautiful short ever, one that stole my heart from the first time I saw it- that kinda crazy. And staying up with friends till 4 in the morning, celebrating with too much bubbly and too much happy cursing and hugs and spending a couple days trying to reply to congratulatory messages- additional kinda crazy. [READ MORE]

Orange & tangerine Greek semolina cake with pistachios & honey

in Desserts, Taste -

Orange & tangerine Greek semolina cake with pistachios & honey

One of the greatest pleasures I had over the past holidays was spending time with my Zoe. Zoe is one of my closest friends; she is a force of nature, a gorgeous teeny tiny ball of energy, charming and sweet, ballsy and witty. She studied History, she works at LSE and her cooking game is seriously strong. She can ace pretty much any traditional Greek recipe, knows her ingredients, techniques and history and, most impressively for me, she has the most balanced diet of anyone I know. [READ MORE]

Banana bread with mascarpone, maple & lime cream

in Desserts, Taste -

BananaBread-620-4

Banana bread was one of the first successful desserts I ever made. I started off with some almost-black, sad looking bananas, some sugar, butter and flour. It was a no-brainer, really. I chopped up whatever was left from a dark chocolate bar (chocolate bars can always be found in my kitchen- black chocolate, so it’s all good, right?) and, in a moment of culinary inspiration, I decided to also include some crushed cardamom in the mix. I felt proud and grown up. [READ MORE]

Boozy pear & lime olive oil cake

in Desserts, Taste -

PearOliveOilCake- 620-4

Tomorrow is Bonfire Night; I find the story behind this anniversary fascinating and I can think of few things as exciting and pretty as a mid-week firework-filled night. This year, the mild weather makes me anticipate the 5th of November even more: it means that I can watch the fireworks dressed nicely and looking cool and collected- as opposed to previous years, where I looked like a shivering, grumpy overstuffed sausage. [READ MORE]

Spicy apple cake

in Desserts, Taste -

AppleCake-620-4

With September well underway, I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that summer is gone. It took me a while. Just two weeks ago, I was still in flip flops and light summers dresses, sunglasses almost permanently on, no watch, just suncream. It feels like I’ve blinked and found myself wearing layers again and trying assume a happy back-to-school attitude. [READ MORE]