Chestnut financiers

Chestnuts are so underrated, and they shouldn’t be because they are delicious! Boiled, roasted or candied, chestnuts taste amazing, with their soft, creamy and delicate texture. If you want to make me happy over the holidays (or any time, really), get me a box of candied chestnuts! They are to die for!

I’ve been wanting to make a dessert out of chestnut spreads for some time now, but never really got to it. Last year, I made all these plans for a homemade Mont-Blanc. Spent weeks researching for the perfect recipe, planning, buying all the right ingredients, and everything. In the end, I got lazy and my plans went nowhere…

This year, I stumbled on a few cans of chestnut spread while grocery shopping and took it as a sign that I should pull through, this time. Not with the Mont-Blanc, though. That’s way too time consuming. I wanted to bake something simple but tasty. My personnal favorite snacks are financiers, so I decided to give chestnut financiers a try, to see what they taste like. I must say, the result is more than satisfactory! It also helps that this cake is beyond easy to prepare!

Chestnut financiers

Makes approx. 15

ingredients

• 2 cups ground almonds

• 500gr chestnut spread (1 can)

• 4 eggs

• 6 tbsp butter

• salt

directions

1. Preheat oven at 320.

2. Prepare muffin pan with liners.

3. Melt the butter and set aside.

4. Separate eggs yolks from the egg whites.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, and set aside.

6. Still with the electric mixer, mix the egg yolks with the chestnut spread until combined.

7. Add the butter, then the ground almond, mixing well after each addition.

8. Incorporate the egg whites to the mixture, and mix delicately with a spatula.

9. Fill the muffin cases 2/3 full and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

10. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

And that’s it! How simple was that? The cakes are moist, slightly crumbly, with a sweet but delicate chestnut taste. I dusted the cakes with some icing sugar only to make them pretty, but that’s what I like about financiers (aside from being super easy to make) : they don’t need icing or frosting.

Enjoy!

Frangipane

I am obsessed with almond flavors and that is why Frangipane is one of my favorite fillings in the world. What is frangipane? Simply put, it’s a creamy almond filling made with butter, sugar, almond flour and eggs that’s often used in pastries like croissant and tarts. And unlike marzipan, frangipane cannot be eaten raw and must be baked to be enjoyed, because there’s egg in it.

I always assumed something so delicious must be very difficult to make but I quickly realized how wrong I was. Frangipane is super easy to prepare and in no time, no less!

This is the sort of recipe that is always useful to have handy if you want to make a quick but flavorful dessert or just want to elevate your croissant experience.

Frangipane

Makes 1 cup

ingredients

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional)

• 1 tbsp flour

directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix almond flour, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl if necessary.

2. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the almond extract if using.

3. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

And that’s it! You now have frangipane! Scoop a spoonful on you puff pastry sheet or pour it in your pie crust, bake according to their respective recipes and there you go! A delicious almond flavored dessert! I know it doesn’t look appetizing in my picture but trust me, when baked, it’s amazing!

Variation

For something different, use ground pistachios instead of ground almonds. In this case, I highly recommend that you use the almond extract to enhance the flavors a bit.

Enjoy!

Biscuit breton

The simplest things in life are usually the best, and this also applies to cookies. My favorites are plain butter cookies, also known as “biscuit Breton” in French. Crunchy, buttery, with a mouthwatering almond aroma. That’s all you need for a deeply satisfying experience.

What I like most about biscuits breton, aside from the fact that they are addictively delicious, is that they can also be used as pie crusts! Pie crusts (pâte brisée) have been my Achilles heel for a long time. Aside from the fact that my kitchen lacks the proper counter space to roll out dough, I have never been able to produce a decent pie crust. More frustratingly is the fact that every one around me keep insisting on how easy it is to make a pie crust… mine are always too soft or too hard, or just plain awful. Then, one day, I remembered that I used to buy little raspberry/custard tartlets not far from my workplace, and they were made with a biscuit breton and not traditional pie crust. I made tiny lemon tarts with biscuit breton over last year’s holidays and they were a huge success! This has since become my go-to pie crust recipe as well as my quick fix anytime I’m in the midst a cookie craving.

This recipe is so simple and takes no time to prepare.

Biscuit breton

Makes approx. 16

ingredients

• 1 cup flour

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2/3 cup icing sugar

• 1 egg yolk

• 1/3 cup ground almonds

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/8 tsp almond extract

• 1/4 salt

• optional : a few sliced almond

directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix sugar and butter at medium speed, until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.

2. Add egg yolk, vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined.

3. Add the ground almonds, and mix until combined.

4. Add the flour and salt, and mix until combined.

5. Place the dough in a wrapper and roll it into a sausage shape of the size of your choice. I usually like a diameter of approx. 4 or 5 cm.

6. Refrigerate the dough for about 2 hours.

7. Preheat the oven at 325 and place parchment paper on a large cookie sheet.

8. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, place it on a cutting board and cut into slices of equal thickness. I find that 5 mm (1/4 inch) is what I prefer.

9. Put the slices on the prepared cookie sheet. If you find that the dough has softened quite a bit because you kitchen is too hot, you can put the sheet in the fridge for about half an hour. Optional step : you can put an almond slice in the middle of each cookie before putting them in the oven.

10. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown.

11. Let the cookies cool down on the sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.

And that’s it! You now have delicious, buttery, almondy, crunchy cookies in no time, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll end up gobbling them down in no time.

Enjoy!

Pistachio/ almond cupcakes

I love pistachios. I love almonds. And it’s only a matter of time before I incorporated my two favorite nuts into a single cake and the result exceeded my expectations! Full of flavor, nutty, a bit crunchy, dense but moist… And instead of a regular frosting, I opted for icing in this case. A thick, almond-flavored icing. The simplicity of the cake only adds to its appeal. The cake is so pretty it can be served for special occasions and dazzle your guests, or it can be a quick snack and/or breakfast. I chose to bake cupcakes but you can easily bake the batter in a loaf pan if you prefer it that way. In that case, bake for up to 50 minutes.

What I like about this recipe is that the quantities for the dry ingredients can vary depending on what’s available in your pantry. Ideally, you need a total of 2 cups of flour mixture (3/4 cup ground almonds, 3/4 cup ground pistachios and 1/2 cup flour). But, as it turned out, I did not have enough pistachios at the time I wanted to bake the cakes, and I really didn’t feel like going to the grocery store just to purchase that single item. So, I compensated with more ground almonds. The recipe below is the one I made when I didn’t have enough pistachios.

Even though I used less pistachios than almonds, the pistachios’ flavor is strong enough for it to stand out. It also helped that I did not grind the pistachios into a fine flour. Since I like a little bit of crunch, I coarsely ground them so that chunks are in the mix.

Pistachio/ almond cupcakes

Makes approx. 16

ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1 cup ground almonds

• 1/2 cup coarsely ground pistachios

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• Zest from 1 lemon

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• 3 tbsp milk

For the icing

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

• 3 tbsp heavy cream

• 1 tsp almond extract

• toasted sliced almond for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 and put cupcake liners in a muffin pan.

2. In a bowl, sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix in ground almonds, pistachios and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix sugar and butter at medium speed, until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.

4. Add eggs and lemon zest. Mix well until smooth.

5. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts and milk. If the mixture looks a bit curdled, don’t worry.

6. With a spatula, fold in the flour mixture until well incorporated.

7. Scoop batter equally into cupcake liners and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

9. While the cakes cool, prepare the icing.

10. In a bowl, mix together the sifted confectioners’ sugar, cream and almond extract until the mixture is smooth. The result should be thick but pourable.

11. Pour the icing on the cooled cakes with a spoon, until icing reaches the border of the liner, and decorate with sliced almonds on top.

And that’s it! The whole process did not take over an hour to prepare and that’s what I like about this recipe. You crave something, you make it in no time and then you eat it. Should not be any harder than that.

Little note : it goes without saying but you must wait until the cakes have cooled completely before pouring the icing on top. If the cakes are still warm, the sugar will melt and the icing will lose some of its texture.

Enjoy!

Easy brownies

Brownies are uncontestedly the best comfort food out there. And for that reason, they should not require much time not effort to prepare, because the comfort is needed NOW!

I have tried and tested numerous recipes over the years, and to be frank, almost most of them are great. This one is still my favorite because it requires only one egg, not much flour and can quickly be made in one bowl before being sent in the oven. If you like chewy and crunchy brownies, this recipe is for you.

Easy brownies

Makes 16 2” squares

ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 3/4 to 1 cup packed brown sugar (the quantity depends on how much of a sweet tooth you are)

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

directions

1. Preheat oven at 350.

2. Line a 8” x 8” baking pan with parchment paper.

3. In a bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and salt until combined.

4. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix well.

5. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Stir until incorporated. If not using an electric mixer, use a spatula for this step, it’ll be easier to mix.

6. Fold in the chocolate chunks and pecan.

7. Pour batter in the pan, spread it evenly into an even layer.

8. Bake for 18 minutes.

Let cool a bit on a rack, slice and enjoy!

The cake should be soft and chewy. I prefer by far chocolate chunks to chips because they add some crunch to the dessert but you don’t have any or prefer melted chocolate, use chips. I also use dark chocolate but semi sweet will also do but personally, I find them too sweet. The pecans are there for more crunch and to add some nutty flavor as well.

The resulting brownies are a bit thin but I like that!

It took less than half an hour from beginning to end, to make these brownies, and that’s perfect.

Enjoy!

Raspberry spread

I love raspberries. They are beautiful to look at and they taste amazing. In desserts, they play the crucial role of adding some tanginess and freshness, thus preventing the sweetness from being overwhelming. So when ever I make a rich dessert, I tend to try to incorporate raspberries if flavor combos permit it, usually as a spread or coulis.

Since the raspberries are not supposed to be the highlight of the dessert, I never want to waste too much time preparing the spread. This recipe is my favorite because it requires very little effort and time to make. I just prepare it first and set it aside until it’s needed. And, if you have some left over, use it over breakfast, on toast. With peanut butter or salted butter, it is absolutely heavenly.

Raspberry spread

ingredients

• 400g raspberries (thawed if you only have frozen ones)

• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/3 cup sugar

directions

1. Puree the raspberries in a food processor. I like to keep the seeds because I enjoy their crunchiness but if that’s not your cup of tea, pour the puree in a sieve, over a bowl, and press down on the raspberries with the back of a spoon.

2. In a saucepan, add raspberry puree, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened.

3. Transfer in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

That’s it!

Now use it over peanut butter or butter and toast, a cheese cake, panna cotta… it’s there to make what ever you eating pop!

I recently received an order for chocolate cupcakes but with a fruity twist. I immediately thought of raspberries. I baked my usual chocolate cakes, scooped out a tiny hole on top, inserted some of the raspberry spread and piped dark chocolate frosting on top. The cupcakes were dense, moist and rich, which balances well with the raspberries.

Banana bread muffins : the easiest cake in the world

Times are weird and stressful. I’m currently working from home but at the same time I’m trying to keep myself sane and busy with baking, my personal form of therapy. We had a few overripe bananas on our kitchen counter, and since we didn’t want to waste any food, I decided to make banana bread muffins.

This is the sort of recipe that can really be whipped up in no time, requires very little ingredients and is pretty healthy! Whenever I’m tired of eating bananas but don’t want to waste them, I immediately turn them into a cake. They’re naturally sweet and are the perfect breakfast, snack or late night indulgence! No effort whatsoever was put into these muffins, everything was mixed into one bowl, no electric mixer was required, and in a matter of a few minutes, everything was in the over, baking. That, as well as how delicious the cakes are, is what I like about them. So here it is, the recipe for the easiest cake in the world!

Banana bread muffins

Makes 12 cakes

ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas

• 1 1/2 cup flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 and put cupcake liners in the muffin pan.

2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they reach the desired consistency (I like chunks).

3. Mix in the vegetable oil and vanilla.

4. Add the egg and whisk until well blended.

5. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a spatula.

6. Optional : the cake should be naturally sweet thank to the bananas, but if you have an especially sweet tooth, you could add 1/4 cup of sugar and mix well.

7. With an ice cream scoop, fill the liners equally.

8. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

That’s it! In less than half an hour, I was already snacking on delicious, super moist banana muffins! This recipe is the most basic one, but of course, you could add anything to it that you like, such as chocolate chips, dried fruits or nuts! Do you like cinnamon? Add some! Love, love, love chocolate? Sure, replace 1/2 cup of flour with good cocoa powder! This is what’s so great about this recipe : you could let go and create or customize as you wish!

Look how yummy the cake looks!

So next time, don’t throw your bananas away; turn them into a super nutritious snack or breakfast or dessert!

Enjoy!

Lemon/blueberry mille-feuilles and pistachio/raspberry tartlets

I made a few little pastries for our office Christmas party, and since a lot of people have since asked me for the recipes, I decided to share them in a blog post.

I wanted to make something easy, but pretty, and most importantly tasty! I usually do not have that much time to whip something up after work and supper, so these desserts were just perfect! I made mille-feuilles with lemon curd and glazed blueberries on top, as well as little tartlets with pistachio frosting and raspberries. Ideally, the lemon curd and the pistachio frosting should be made in advance, so that all you’re left to do is bake the puff pastry and assemble everything! Both mille-feuilles and tartlets were made with sheets of puff pastry to save time. To save even more time, I bought sheets of frozen puff pastry. Yes, I could make my own, but when it comes to puff pastry, I prefer to buy it for 2 reasons : I save tons of time because puff pastry is a hassle to make and most importantly, home-made puff pastry requires A LOT of butter, and that stuff is super expensive! So store-bought it is

Anyways, here are the instructions !

Lemon/blueberry mille-feuilles and pistachio/raspberry tartlets

Makes around 20 mini pastries

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh raspberries

• 1 box of 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed

• 4 tbsp sugar

Glazed blueberries

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Lemon curd

• Click here for recipe

Pistachio frosting

• Click here for recipe

directions

Puff pastry

1. Preheat oven at 375.

2. Unroll a sheet of puff pastry and cover evenly the surface with 1 tbsp of sugar.

3. Turn the sheet over and cover the other surface with 1 tbsp of sugar.

4. Proceed the same way with the other sheet of thawed puff pastry.

5. Put the sheets in the freezer for 10 minutes.

6. Cut the sheets into the desired shapes. I chose 2”x5” rectangles, 2”x2” squares and 2” circles.

7. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet and transfer the cut puff pastry onto the cookie sheet.

8. To prevent the puff pastry from puffing up to much (we want them to stay super thin), put parchment paper on top of the puff pastry, and place at least another baking sheet on top. In my case, I bought a set of 3 baking sheets of 3 different sizes. I used the biggest one for the puff pastry and put the 2 smaller ones on top.

9. Bake for 20 minutes.

10. Remove the cookie sheets and parchment from the top of the puff pastry and continue baking for approximately 10 minutes. This step allows for the sugar on top of the puff pastry to caramelize a bit.

11. Keep an eye on the puff pastry because each shape will bake at different speed. Have a cooling rack ready, and remove each piece one by one as they appear done and uniformly brown.

12. Let the puff pastry cool down completely before assembling.

Berries

1. Wash the berries thoroughly and dry them.

2. Set the raspberries aside.

3. Put the blueberries in a large bowl and cover them with lemon juice.

4. Mix them carefully with the powdered sugar, making sure that all the berries are completely covered with sugar.

5. Set them aside, either on the counter or uncovered in the fridge.

Assembling the lemon/blueberry mille-feuilles

1. Transfer the lemon curd into a piping bag, with a round tip (I used a Wilton W5569).

2. Take 2 pieces of puff pastry, making sure they are the same size. I used the square shape in this case.

3. Pipe the curd on one pastry sheet, and spread a tiny bit of curd at the enter of the other.

4. So now you have a sheet of puff pastry with piped lemon curd on top (sheet A) and a sheet of puff pastry with a little bit of lemon curd spread on its center (sheet B).

5. Place sheet B on top of sheet A, curd side up.

6. Carefully place blueberries on top of sheet B. The spread lemon curd ensures that the blueberries don’t move and stay in place.

Assembling the pistachio/raspberry tartlets

1. Transfer the pistachio frosting in a piping bag. I don’t really remember which piping tip was used, but a star-shaped tip like a Wilton 4B or a Wilton 6B will do the trick.

2. In this case, I used the rectangular and the round puff pastry.

3. Apply frosting on one surface and then decorate with raspberries.

And that’s it! Of course, you could make lemon/blueberry tartlets and pistachio/raspberry mille-feuilles as well! Which I did, a bit, since I had some leftover ingredients afterwards. I had fun mixing things up a bit!

The pastries were a hit at the office Christmas party, and their colors were on point also! They’re great because they are not too heavy or too filling, and the lemon as well as the raspberries provide a much needed freshness in the palate!

This is a super easy dessert to prepare, as long as you plan ahead!

Enjoy!

Pistachio frosting

As I have very often mentioned, I love, love, love pistachios! If I want a fancy dessert, chances are that I will resort to using pistachios because not only do they taste amazing, but they also provide a beautiful dash of green color. This works particularly well if I want to make something special for Christmas. Add cranberries or raspberries, and you are set!

I have looked long and hard for a frosting recipe that will not diminish in any way the color nor the taste of this amazing nut, and I think I’ve found it! It requires some pistachio paste, so I recommend that you make it before hand to save some time. For how to prepare pistachio paste, click here.

Pistachio frosting

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (more if needed)

• 3/4 cup pistachio paste

• Pinch of salt

directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and powdered sugar at medium/high speed, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. About 2 or 3 minutes.

2. Add the pistachio paste and a pinch of salt, and continue mixing at medium speed. Add more powdered sugar if the mixture is not as sweet as you would have liked or if it doesn’t have the consistence that you desire.

3. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula if needed, and mix at high speed for a minute or two.

And that’s it! Your pistachio frosting is done and it should have kept its green color! If you don’t need right away, you can store it in an air-tight container, in the fridge, for up to a week. What’s great with this frosting is that it’s not too sweet, and you don’t lose any of the pistachio’s flavor.

Enjoy!

Pistachio paste

I’m going to quickly go over pistachio paste here because it serves an integral part of several desserts, including ice creams and frosting.

Pistachios are my favorite nuts. They are beautiful and super tasty! But sooo expensive! Anyways, as mentioned above, pistachio paste acts as a base for pistachio ice cream but also for frosting. So before I write about either one of them, I’ll share a recipe for making the paste. You could purchase ready-made pistachio paste but if you need it right away, you can make it yourself in no time at all, and really, it’s really not that hard. By the way, this recipe works for other nuts as well. If you want hazelnut paste, just follow the recipe below and, of course, substitute the pistachios for hazelnut! The paste could also be used as a spread if you are tired of the good old peanut butter!

Pistachio paste

Makes about 2 cups

ingredients

• 2 cups pistachios (preferably blanched and peeled, for a brighter, greener color)

• 3 tbsp water

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds

• Pinch of salt

• 1/8 tsp almond extract

directions

1. In a food processor, grind the blanched and peeled pistachios until you obtain an oily and pasty substance. This step may require a few minutes.

2. Add the powdered sugar, ground almonds and pinch of salt, and continue processing.

3. Add the water and almond extract, and continue running the food processor until the mixture is creamy and soft.

And that’s it! You’ve got pistachio paste! If you don’t need it right away, you can store it in an air-tight container, in the fridge for up to 2 or 3 weeks, but seriously, it never lasts that long!

Lemon curd

I love lemons. To me, they are synonym to brightness and freshness. They alleviate any meal and/or desserts they are added to. So, when I want to make a light and not too sweet dessert, I always turn to lemons. And lemon custards are my favorite things to prepare because they can be eaten alone, with a simple cookie or wafer on the side, or they can be added to tarts, creams, cakes, and the list goes on and on! Lemon curd is super easy to whip up and is a life-saver!

My favorite recipe comes from Patrice Demers, one of the best pastry chefs around, and certainly the best one in Montreal. If you speak French, I highly recommend that you check out his books, La Carte des Desserts, Les Desserts de Patrice and Parcours Sucré. The recipes look intimidating at first but don’t let appearances discourage you! Individually, each recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare and the chef makes clear and concise instructions as to how to assemble the desserts so they look original professionally made. His books, among others, have become my baking bible.

Back to the topic at hand, lemon curd. The important thing to know here, is that it must be prepared at least one day before. So plan ahead and accordingly!

Lemon curd

ingredients

• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup sugar

• 4 eggs

• lemon zest (2 or 3 lemons)

• 1 cup non-salted butter, cubed

directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat lemon juice, zest and 1/2 sugar until boiling.

2. In a bowl, whip the remaining sugar with the 4 eggs until well combined.

3. While whisking constantly, pour the hot lemon mixture into the sugar/egg mixture.

4. Pour everything back into the pan and heat at medium/high heat. Continually whisk the mixture.

5. Put the cubed butter in the bowl on an electric mixer.

6. When bubbles start appearing in the lemon mixture, take it off the heat and pour it on top of the butter.

7. Turn the electric mixer on at medium speed and whip until the butter has melted and is fully incorporated into the lemon mixture.

8. Press a plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate over night.

And that’s it! The next day, you have a delicious, creamy lemon curd that can be used for any dessert! Seriously, I could just sit and eat spoonfuls of this stuff.

Mini baked sour cream donuts

I woke up the other day with a crazy craving for donuts. Unfortunately, there are no proper donut places nearby and since we are in the dead of winter, I really did not want to dress up and trek almost across town for the sole purpose of satisfying my cravings. It was easier to make them myself. That way, I get the flavor I want and I get to stay in pajamas!

The downside, though, is that I am absolutely terrified of deep frying! So, I had to resort to baking, which means that texture-wise, I would not get exactly what I had a hankering for. But that’s ok.

I’ve never really been into those extravagant, super colorful, hyper decorated donuts to begin with, so I was looking for something pretty simple and easy to make. I went for sour cream donuts. And, of course, me being me, I made them bite-size because a) they are way cuter than regular size donuts! and b) they take up twice as less time to bake!

Mini baked sour cream donuts

Makes about 48 mini donuts

ingredients

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/8 tsp almond extract

• 1/4 cup canola oil (+ more to grease the mold)

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• a pinch of cinnamon (optional)

For the glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/8 almond extract

directions

1. Preheat oven at 350.

2. Grease your mini donut mold.

3. In a bowl, mix together sour cream, egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, canola oil and sugar, until combined. No need to use an electric mixer here. I mixed everything together using a spatula and it worked out fine!

4. Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until combined.

5. Fill the mold only half-way. I used a piping bag with a small round tip to make filling the mold easier.

6. Bake for 10 minutes or until the donuts are slightly golden on top.

7. Let the donuts rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

8. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and almond extracts in a large bowl until well combined.

9. Before covering the donuts with glaze, prepare your work area: put parchment paper on a big cookie sheet, then put a wire cooling rack on top. This prevents the glaze from trickling down on your counter top, and the parchment paper prevents you from having to wash the cookie sheet!

10. Once you’re set up, dip the mini donuts in the glaze using a fork (see photo below). Let the donut rest on the fork a while to let the excess glaze drip down and back into the bowl before putting it on the rack.

11. If you have some left-over glaze, dip the donuts back in for a double-glaze!

12. Let the glaze set completely before enjoying the mini donuts.

That’s it! How easy was that? The hardest part was waiting for the glaze to set. This recipe makes about 48 mini donuts but they’re so tasty that you’ll gulp them down in no time! I was afraid I would only get donut-shaped cakes, but the result is actually pretty close to what I was craving! Texture-wise, they are quite close to old-fashioned donuts : a bit dense, but still moist. Needless to say that my hankering was completely satisfied!

This made me confident enough to explore more baked donuts recipes. I’ll keep you updated!

Lemons and Poppy Seeds

So I woke up this morning craving something sweet and lemony. Of course, the first thought that crossed my mind was poppy seeds. Why? Because lemons and poppy seeds, for some reason, make one hell of a team. I honestly cannot explain why I love this pairing so much. Is it the added texture that the poppy provides, or its subtle nutty flavor? I don’t know and I don’t plan on dwelling too much on the matter. Bottom line is, these two ingredients work together and help elevate each other.

Fortunately, I had everything I needed in my pantry so no need to change and go out. What is great here is that this recipe is really simple and doesn’t require too many ingredients (or too much effort for that matter!). I chose to make mini cakes because I love everything bite-size, and because baking time is reduced to only 15 minutes!

So is it a muffin or a cake that I’m making? Personally, I find that the only difference between cake and muffin is the presence of icing or frosting, or their lack thereof. If there’s icing or frosting, it’s a cupcake or a cake, depending on the size of your dessert. No icing or frosting means that it’s a muffin so you can eat it for breakfast without feeling judged. In this case, I used a thick lemony glaze. My point here is that you could use this recipe to make muffins or cakes, which is why I omitted mentioning either one of them in the title.

Lemon/ poppy seed cakes

Makes 24 mini cakes or 6 muffin size cakes

ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup whole milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

• Lemon zest (2 lemons)

• 1/2 sour cream

glaze (optional)

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 1/2 tbsp whole milk

• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp poppy seeds

directions

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

2. Place liners in muffin tin.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix sugar, egg, milk, oil and vanilla until well combined, about 2 minutes.

4. Add poppy seeds and lemon zest. Continue mixing for a minute.

5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

6. Incorporate flour mixture into wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until everything is well combined.

7. Add the sour cream and stir until incorporated.

8. Spoon the batter evenly in the muffin tin.

9. Bake for 15 minutes for mini cake, and 22 minutes for muffin size cakes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

10. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

11. While the cakes cool, prepare the glaze (optional).

12. Mix all 4 ingredients (powdered sugar, poppy seeds, milk and lemon juice) in a bowl. Mix well until the mixture is no longer lumpy. Add more powdered sugar or liquid (lemon juice or milk) for the desired consistency.

13. Pour a dollop of lemon glaze on cooled cakes.

The cakes are super moist, with a crunchy top which is the best! The lemon zest came through and each bite is full of flavor, while the poppy provides some added crunch. And, because I made mini cakes, they are bite=size and can be eaten like pop corn!!!

Variations

Instead of the glaze, you could also insert some lemon custard into the cakes. I opted for a glaze because I was feeling lazy, but the custard is definitely my preferred option.

If you’re not a fan of poppy seeds, you could make the same recipe with ground almonds. I personally find that lemon cakes taste better when there’s a contrasting nutty flavor that’s added. So mix together 1 cup of flour with 5 tbsp of ground almonds, and add 1/4 almond extract in the wet ingredients.

Also, the cakes are also packed with flavor so technically, they don’t really need anything else to improve their taste. You could eat them as they are and be completely satisfied. The up-side here is that if you choose to exclude any form of icing, frosting or custard, you could eat the cakes straight out of the oven!

Enjoy!

Easy and versatile chocolate cake

Chocolate cake is the ultimate comfort food, next to ice cream. Feeling down? There’s nothing better to drown your sorrows in than one of those two desserts. Even better, eat a chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on top! But I digress.

I have 2 chocolate cake recipes in my arsenal and they are both awesome and super easy to prepare, which is perfect because they allow me to rapidly whip up a dessert in no time, in case of emergency (surprise guests, a birthday I forgot about, or simply because I want to eat something chocolaty). The first recipe is Ina Garten’s Beatty chocolate cake, and like all of Ina Garten’s recipes, it’s strait forward, no-fail and fabulous! My other recipe is coconut milk-based. Though I adore Ina Garten’s chocolate cake, the coconut milk recipe is the one I go back to the most. It depends on what you feel like. If you prefer fluffy and moist chocolate cakes, go for Beatty’s. If you crave something a bit more dense, go for that coconut milk cake. Since I have a preference for denser cakes, I tend to lean towards the second recipe. It’s also very versatile so it allows me to make lots of variations of chocolaty desserts.

Easy and versatile chocolate cake

Makes approx. 12-16 muffin-size cakes or lots of mini cakes

ingredients

• 2 oz dark or semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3/4 cup boiling water

• 6 tbsp butter, melted

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup coconut milk

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• Optional: 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, chocolate chips and/or nuts

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter muffin pan or line with paper liners.

3. Put chocolate and cocoa powder in a bowl and pour boiling water on top. Let the mixture stand a while, only stirring occasionally. Continue stirring every now and then until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

4. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on, beat butter and sugar until combined, about 2-3 minutes.

6. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

7. Add chocolate mixture and mix well, about 2 minutes.

8. Add the flour and the coconut milk to the mixture in alternative steps, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.

9. If you want to add coconut flakes, chocolates chips and/or nuts, fold them in.

10. Pour batter into prepared pan.

11. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

12. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool down. Then, carefully remove the cakes from the pan and transfer them on a wire rack so they cool completely.

For the frosting, I almost always opt for chocolate mousse. I have a great recipe that I always use and you can find it here. I find the airy dark chocolate mousse pairs very well with the fudgy and coconutty chocolate cake.

Variations

This chocolate cake is the base for a lot of my other chocolaty desserts: I use it for muffins, loaf cakes and more! It’s so versatile, that you get a whole different dessert with one or two minor changes! How awesome is that?

Chocolate banana bran muffin: I used the coconut milk chocolate cake recipe, added nuts, ripe bananas, 1 cup of rolled oats. Dusted sugar on top of the mixture before putting it in the oven, for a caramelized crunch.

Chocolate loaf cake: basically the above recipe but baked in a loaf pan, with chocolate chips inside and on top.

The “Bounty” cake: the above recipe but with a coconut macaroon center, just like the chocolate bar. Simple chocolate glaze on top to make it more decadent!

I sometimes like to put vanilla frosting on my chocolate cake. My favorite vanilla frosting recipe is made with cream cheese and I find its tartness fits extremely well with the chocolate flavor.

You can simply add ingredients to the chocolate cake mixture and you can get a whole different dessert. So mix it up and have fun!

Enjoy!

Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

I haven’t baked much lately. There was a series of heat waves during summer, so I avoided turning my oven on at all cost, and then fall came and we took some time off to go on a much deserved vacation to Oahu. After we came back, it took us a while to get back into our regular routine…

However, the holidays are just around the corner and I am feeling energized again! I stumbled on Claire Ptak’s lovely friand recipe in her beautiful book The Violet Bakery Cookbook and had to try it right away. I love friands. They are packed with an intoxicating almond flavor and they are just so moist and delicious, not to forget, pretty easy to make!

If you are pressed for time during the holidays and need to impress with a dessert, these cakes are your solution: they are super tasty, easy and quick to make and the pistachio/raspberry green/red color combo couldn’t be any more christmas-y! Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and you’ve hit gold!

I had to adapt the recipe a little bit because I did not have everything on hand, and I did not exactly follow her exact instructions. Bellow is the recipe I made, but for Claire Ptak’s original recipe, check out her book!

Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

Makes approx. 10 muffin size cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, melted, plus more to grease the mold

• 5 egg whites

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup ground almond

• 1/2 cup ground pistachios

• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more to sprinkle the cakes

• About 30 fresh raspberries

• 3/4 cup slivered pistachios

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven at 320 degrees.

2. Grease the mold of your choice. In this case, I used a regular muffin tin.

3. Using In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy.

4. Switch to a paddle attachment and add the wet ingredients (melted butter, vanilla and almond extracts). Mix at medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.

5. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, ground almond and ground pistachio) and mix until incorporated, about 1 or 2 minutes.

6. Fill the muffin molds about 2/3 full with the batter.

7. Insert 2 or 3 raspberries into each mold. Be careful not to break the raspberries!

8. Sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Push them down a bit into the batter so they don’t fall out when the cakes rise.

9. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.

10. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

11. Sprinkle the cake with some powdered sugar.

That’s it! How easy was that?

Don’t like pistachios or raspberries? That’s fine! You can simply replace them with whatever you like: chocolate chips, another fruit like cranberries, nectarines, apple or pear, or another nut like hazelnut. Once you get the base of the recipe, you can pretty much adapt to your taste.

In this case, I find the colors of the cake very festive without being tacky. It’s simple, elegant and delicious!

Enjoy!

Apple crumble cake

Fall is, hopefully, just around the corner! It’s my favorite season: not too cold outside but just cool enough to wear warm cozy clothes, the air feels fresher and the tree leaves change color into a beautiful fiery red. And, most importantly, we can finally go outside and have fun without feeling like we are melting from under the scorching sun. You might have guessed that summer is probably not my favorite time of the year. The heat is too extreme and the sun is way too strong!

I digress. With fall comes apples. Because I hate apple sauce and don’t particularly enjoy most apple pies or apple turnovers, people tend to think that I do not like apples. That is not true. I eat one every day after lunch. It’s crunchy, sweet and tart at the same time. It’s awesome! What I do not enjoy with some apple based dessert is that they take away what makes the apple so great: its crunchiness. I want my apples to still have a bite! Also, there is something with apples that make people go crazy with the cinnamon. Personally, I find the taste of cinnamon to be overwhelming. If you use too much, you will not taste anything else but the cinnamon. Cinnamon is like bananas. If you put too much of it in a recipe, that’s all you’re going to taste afterwards. Then, what’s the point?

But, I digress again… My favorite dessert to bake during fall is the apple crumble cake. That cake is great because you can eat it guilt-free anytime during the day, from breakfast to late-night snack. Like most of my desserts, I prefer to make small individual portions rather than a big one. It’s a question of aesthetics and practicality. Big cakes are only pretty before you cut them. Afterward, they turn into a crumbling mess. Also, they take forever to bake. Smaller, individual portions not only stay pretty but also guaranty that everybody get an equal amount. So no jealousy.

It took a while to find the perfect recipe for my taste; I had to mix a few recipes together and, after a few trials and error, this one is my favorite so far.

Apple crumble cake

Makes 8 rectangular mini cakes or 14 to 16 muffin-size cakes

INGREDIENTS

Crumble

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream) room temperature

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

• 1/2 cup roasted pecans, chopped

• 2 green apples, peeled and cubed

• 1/2 a lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

2. Grease the tin of your choice (mine makes 8 individual 9 x 6 x 3.5 cm rectangular cakes) and coat it with granulated sugar.

3. Start by making the crumble: in a bowl, combine the sugars, cinnamon and melted butter. Then stir in the flour, using a fork. Mix until all the ingredient are incorporated. The crumble will be dry and thick, and if big chunks are forming, good! They’re the best! Set the bowl aside.

4. Peel the apples and chop them into cubes. Most recipes will ask you to make sure that all the cubes are the same size. That allows you to make sure that all the apple pieces will bake equally. However, I don’t care for that. I just peel and cut the apples up. If the cubes are not the same size, what you will get is more texture! Some apple pieces will be softer while others will keep their crunch. Drizzle the juice of half a lemon over the apples and mix thoroughly so they don’t turn brown while you prepare the rest of the cake. Set aside.

5. Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars with a stand mixer, at medium-high speed until smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Scrape down the sides and add the eggs one at the time. Beat well after each addition.

7. Add the vanilla extract and yogurt. Beat at medium-high speed until incorporated, 2 minutes.

8. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

9. Add the flour and the milk to the mixture in alternative steps, starting with the flour. Mix until just combined.

10. Gently fold in the apples and the pecans.

11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

12. Spoon the crumble on top of the batter and slightly press it down into the batter with your hands. This step is important because it prevents the crumble from falling out of the cake while it bakes.

13. Bake until golden brown, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

14. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool down. Then, carefully remove the cakes from the pan and transfer them on a wire rack so they cool completely.

Look at that crumble on top! Doesn’t it look delicious? The big chunks are the best!

VARIATIONS

If you enjoy the taste of cinnamon, you could add more to the crumble and add a teaspoon into the batter mixture (or more to taste). What you could also do is, in step 2, mix some cinnamon with the granulated sugar and use that mixture to coat the pan!

If you want to add a little something to your cake, caramel sauce or a simple vanilla glaze (confectioners' sugar mixed with cream and vanilla extract) will do the trick. But if you’re tired or feel lazy, go for a generous scoop of good vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

The best carrot cake

A good carrot cake is very difficult to come by. Especially if you, like me, don't like cinnamon. I am not a fan of spices in general and never found the need to add them to my desserts. Personally, I find their taste a bit too strong and overwhelming, and that is why I tend to avoid using them when baking. The problem is, most carrot cake recipes require some amount of cinnamon, spices or raisins. Raisins. That's another thing I dislike. So, although I do love a good carrot cake, I seldom find one I actually enjoy or a recipe for one that doesn't require raisins and cinnamon or some other spice.

This recipe is my all-time favorite because it requires none of the ingredients I dislike and it tastes wonderful! I rarely make carrot cakes, though, because the amount of dishes I have to wash afterwards is depressing. So, I save this cake for special occasions and make it only once or twice a year. This year, I baked a batch over the Easter break.

If you are not a fan of cinnamon, spices and raisins but love carrot cake, this recipe is definitely for you. 

The best carrot cake

Makes 24 muffin size cakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups grated carrots (approx. 4 carrots)

• 1 cup chopped pecans

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

• 1 8oz can of crushed pineapple (drained)

• Vanilla frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla at medium speed until light colored and well combined. 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.

6. Fold the carrots into the mixture. This step and the next ones are delicate, so hand mix with a spatula.

7. Fold the pecans into the mixture.

8. Do the same for the coconut, and then the pineapple.

9. Fill each liners about 2/3 full with the batter.

10. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

11. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

For me, carrot cake comes with a good layer of frosting. Cream-cheese frosting to be precise. If there are none, I would get seriously upset. If you're looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe, click here. It also happens to be my go-to vanilla frosting for any type of desserts.

Optional

If you want to impress people, decorate your carrot cakes with little curls of candied carrots. They look fancy but are super easy to make. There seems to be a lot of steps, below, but rest assured that the curls really are easy to make!

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

2. Make carrot strips using a vegetable peeler. Only 1 carrot will be needed.

3. Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil, on high heat, and mix until all the sugar has dissolved.

4. Add the carrot strips and reduce heat.

5. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

6. Remove from heat an strain out the liquid. Let cool a few minutes.

7. Put parchment paper on a large baking sheet and spread the carrot strips on a single layer.

8. Bake for about 20 minutes, but do not turn off the oven.

9. The strips will be almost dry.

10. Working very quickly, wrap each carrot strips around a pencil to form curls and gently slide the curls off the pencil.

11. Put the curls back in the oven and continue baking for about 10-15 minutes, until completely dry.

12. Let the curls cool completely before decorating the cakes with them.

Variation

If you don't want to make cupcake size cakes and prefer a bigger one, just use 2 9-inch round pans. Line their bottom with parchment paper, and butter the bottom and sides of the pans. Then, bake for about 35 to 40 minutes.

My go-to vanilla frosting

Frosting should not be underestimated. If not done properly, you could ruin a whole cake. For that reason, you should find that one recipe that you really master so you have something to fall back on in case of emergency. For special occasions, I always try to find a new vanilla frosting recipe but generally, I always go back to this one. It's simple and easy to make.

Personally, I am not a fan of buttercream frosting. First, because it requires a lot of temperature control: if the butter or the room you're baking in is too cold, the cream will be too thick but if it's too hot, the cream will be curdled. Very frustrating. And the second reason why I don't like buttercream is that it requires so much butter and sugar! I mean, 2 sticks of butter and 4 cups of sugar is just too much! 

My favorite recipe only uses 1 cup of sugar and is made with cream cheese and whipping cream. Not only is cream cheese my favorite spread for my morning toasts, it is also perfect for frosting because it ads a bit of tanginess, thus providing some balance taste-wise for the cakes. The dessert will not be over sweet and the whip cream makes the frosting super light.

My go-to vanilla frosting

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high speed, until thick and fluffy. About 2 minutes. Be careful not to over whip! The cream should not be so thick that it looks like butter.
2. Transfer the cream into another bowl and store it in the refrigerator.
3. Now back to the stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and slowly add the powdered sugar, one 1/4 cup at a time. Beat at low speed. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium-high.
4. Add the vanilla extract and mix. I also like to add a little bit of vanilla paste for a fuller taste and also because the tiny little vanilla seeds make the frosting look so much better! 
5. Then, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. This step is delicate so it should be done by hand, with a spatula.
6. And that's it! Your frosting is ready to be piped or stored until ready to be used.

Coconut macaroon nests

This is probably the easiest and most fun dessert to make! And, it only requires very few ingredients, so how great is that? 

These coconut macaroon nests can be made all year round but I like to make them around Easter so I can use those tiny Cadbury chocolate eggs as decorations! The nests are perfect for family gatherings and/ or activities. Grownups and kids alike just love preparing them as much as they enjoy eating them! 

The macaroon nests are crunchy with a chewy center, and the coconut pairs perfectly with the chocolate ganache in the middle. Coconut and chocolate are among the best food pairings there are! Alone they are great but together? They are just awesome! 

Coconut macaroon nests

Makes 12 nests

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 2 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Ganache

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp salt

Optional

• Mini Cadbury chocolate eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease the muffin tin cups.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together egg whites, sugar, vanilla and salt until the mixture is frothy or foamy, 2 minutes.
4. Add the coconut to the egg white mixture and mix until the coconut is evenly moistened. 
5. Drop 2 tbsp of the mixture into each prepared liners or into each muffin tin cups.
6. Delicately press the mixture down and up the sides of each cups, so it looks like a nest.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Let the coconut nests cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. While the nests are cooling, prepare the ganache.
10. In a microwave safe bowl, add the semisweet chocolate and the cream and heat for 1 minute. 
11. Whisk together until completely combined.
12. Add the salt and whisk.
13. If there a still a few chunks of chocolate left, heat for 30 seconds. Then, whisk some more until smooth.
14. Once the nests are completely cool, fill each of them with the ganache. 
15. Decorate each coconut nest with a few chocolate eggs.

And voilà! The cutest little coconut nests ever! 

Variations

Instead of the ganache, you can also save time and use Nutella but personally, I find Nutella a bit too sweet. If you are not a fan of the chocolate ganache, you can just serve the coconut nests with only the chocolate eggs inside. Or, replace the ganache with jam!

Enjoy and have a very happy Easter!

The ultimate poundcake

Poundcakes are considerably underrated and underappreciated. They are plain enough that you can eat them at any moment of the day without being judged (yes, that means breakfast too!) and, dressed up with some berries, English cream or a coulis of some sort, they can very easily be elegant enough to impress dinner guests. Poundcakes are my go-to dessert to make when I feel like eating something sweet but do not want spend too much time or effort whipping something up. They are easy to make and amazing to eat: dense but moist, sweet but not overwhelmingly so and you can make countless variations from one single recipe just by adding stuff!

I have tried and tested a great deal of recipes and found that the one bellow is what works best for me. It is pretty much an adaptation of several recipes mashed into one. I am a huge almond fan, so I usually love adding almond flavors to a lot of my desserts. But, for my poundcake, I decided to splurge a little and used almond paste instead of almond extract. Personally, I find that the almond paste gives the cake an amazing depth of flavor but some people might find it a bit overwhelming. If you are not as big an almond fan as I am, you might want to replace the almond paste with half a teaspoon of almond extract. Or, you could just do the recipe without the almond paste, in which case, use a bit more vanilla. 

The Ultimate Poundcake

Makes one 5x9x3 inch cake or 12 to 14 cupcake size cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 7 ounces of almond paste, grated

•  1 cup granulated white sugar plus 3 tbsp, divided

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, plus 1 tbsp melted

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 tbsp lemon zest (approx. 1 lemon)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Grease the inside of a 5x9x3 inch loaf pan with 2 tbsp of butter. I like to line my pan with a sheet of parchment paper (9 inch long and 7 to 8 inch wide, so it sticks out on both sides of the pan). It just makes it easier to pull the cake out of the pan, when it's done. If using a parchment paper, butter the inside of the paper as well. Most recipes will tell you to flour the inside of the pan, but here's a little trick: coat the pan with granulated sugar instead. Approximately 3 tbsp of it. As the cake bakes, the sugar will caramelize, adding a nice little crunch to it. 

3. Beat the almond paste with a stand mixer, at low speed, using the paddle attachment. Slowly add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Continue beating at medium-low speed until incorporated, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add the butter and beat on high speed until smooth, 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Add the zest, vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat until incorporated, 2 minutes.

7. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

8. Slowly add the four mixture to the almond paste mixture, beating at medium speed, just until combined (do not overmix the batter).

9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 minutes up to an hour.

10. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down. Then, carefully remove the from the pan and put it on a wire rack so it cools completely.

 

VARIATIONS

If you are like me and do not like to wait an hour for the cake to bake, and if you also despise cutting a cake (no 2 slices are ever the same size and cutting creates crumbs everywhere!), you could pour the batter into a cupcake pan. That way, baking only takes 20 minutes and every portions is the same size! With this recipe, you could have 12 to 14 cupcake sized poundcakes.

I find that this poundcake doesn't need anything else to taste good. But, if you want, you could pour a glaze on top of it once it has cooled. Since there are lemon zests in the cake, use lemon juice for the glaze. Mix 3 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice with 1/3 cup of powdered sugar. Add more sugar if you prefer a thicker glaze. Slowly pour the glaze all over the cake. 

Instead of a glaze, you could also make a coulis. Raspberry is a personal favorite but any fruit would do. Even better: don't prepare a coulis and just decorate the cake with fruits!

From this recipe, you could pretty much make any type of poundcake you want. Just add ingredients! You like coconut? Just add a cup of shredded coconut! You prefer chocolate chips? Great! Add as many chocolate chips as you like! The possibilities could pretty much go on and on!