What is a kolache? The Lone Star State loves this pillowy, fruit-filled treat brought over to rural Texas by Czech settlers during the mid-to-late 1800s. Here's where to get your fix.
Condensed milk and retro puddings are a match made in heaven - add this delight to your dessert recipe repertoire.
Louise Cake is a classic New Zealand Baking recipe, with a buttery shortbread base, a layer of raspberry jam, and a coconut meringue topping.
Oma's German Blitz Torte is so quick & easy to make. Looks amazing. Tastes amazing. It's great for holidays 'cause Blitz means lightning & this IS lightning fast to make!
Andrea Slonecker demonstrates how to make kolaches with a cream cheese filling and various jams.
With choc ripple biscuit bases, these cheat's custard tarts have a Caramilk twist no-one will be able to resist.
A grown up dessert perfect for impressing at a dinner party, this rich and intense chocolate cake from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat has a light pudding-like texture and is any chocoholic's dream.
Dream layers of flaky phyllo dough are filled with a vanilla custard and topped off with pistachios and honey for a new take on an elegant Greek pastry.
This cake is not like any other. It has no flour and no oil or butter. Very light and fluffy. It is low in calories and high in protein. It tastes like a cheesecake.
My favorite Filipino dessert by far is Bigingka. It’s a thin, unfrosted cake made with sweet rice flour and cream of coconut.
Karidopita is a delicious melt in the mouth cake using breadcrumbs instead of flour to keep it super light and moist. This cake will be, as the ancient Greeks would have said; 'awesome'. Preheat oven to 170c FAN Baking tray about 12x8 inches - you want the mixture to be about 3inches deep.
Looking for a traditional Greek Ravani recipe? This locally sourced recipe with step by step instructions will help you make the most syrupy, fluffy, tasty ravani cake!
Here is how to make Croatian Mađarica - a chocolate layered slice. Mađarica is always a hit, especially with the kids.
Make your holidays extra special with these traditional Italian homemade panettone, in a small and fun muffin shape
This light and fluffy cinnamon tea cake is unbelievably quick and easy. All you have to do is mix everything together and bake! This divine cake is rich and buttery with a crunchy cinnamon topping.
Flan parisien
Portokalopita is an orange cake with yogurt, phyllo dough and syrup very popular in Greece. Full of orange flavor is the ultimate dessert for every occasion.
This simple condensed milk cake recipe uses flour, eggs, and butter for a delicious cake. Serve with fruit or a berry sauce for a gorgeous dessert!
Recipe reproduced with permission from Modern Jewish Baker by Shannon Sarna, published by Countryman Press.
Lovely comfort food for a cold night in.
Andrea Slonecker demonstrates how to make kolaches with a cream cheese filling and various jams.
A Gluten Free Flourless Almond and Coconut Cake that’s moist, tender and incredibly delicious. It takes just few minutes to whip up this recipe, best for busy days. I love this cake, the texture of this cake is ethereal – it’s so moist and buttery with the rich flavor from the almonds and coconut. ItsRead more
My family’s secret baklava recipe combines layers of honey-soaked crisp phyllo pastry and a cinnamon-scented nut mixture with pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnut. Baklava is the perfect make-ahead dessert because it’s even better the next day! Be sure to read through for tips and watch the video to make it.
The perfect royal teatime treat!
One simple batter turns into a 3 layered cake with a top layer of sponge, a middle layer of custard and a fudge-like base. It's like....magic! Adapted from Magic Cake by Jo Cooks.
Bougatsa is a Greek pastry that ranks among the highest of any treats we've tried the world over. So next time you find yourself in Greece, try it!
This is a delicious version of a traditional Greek Bougatsa recipe. What is Bougatsa? Bougatsa is a traditional Greek dessert made with filo pastry and custard. It is traditionally enjoyed for breakfast or dessert. The combination of creamy custard and crispy filo pastry is heavenly. Watch our boug
You knew it was coming. I warned you. And now it's here. It was a smashing, delightful success that I must share. Soooooo good. First, I must admit this is a decidedly untraditional cake. It's light, moist, creamy, and dreamy. It is the opposite of rich. Which is just crazy, because I was afraid the cake was going to be insanely rich. Not so. The cake is just perfect, airy but moist. The pastry cream is also surprisingly light. Together, they make a delicious combination. This is a very un-Southern cake, meaning when the hubby's Southern relatives tell me this cake would go excellent with coffee, I know it's a low-sugar cake. While I didn't set out to make a lighter cake, I was pretty happy with the final results. Not every cake has to be heavy. Or rich. Or have so much sugar you can taste the granules between your teeth. There's a place in the world for every cake, and this cake is for the person who wants to eat a whole slice of cake without struggling because the cake is so indulgently rich. I am one of those people who can struggle with a rich dessert, only eating half or maybe a third. I did not struggle with this cake, however. Is that caramelization wonderful or what? So, here's how it happened. The yellow cake recipe I chose was the sponge recipe from my Pecan Pie Cake. It was an insanely popular recipe and everyone loved the cake, so I thought, why not? As for the custard, I took my recipe for Vanilla Bean Custard Bars and doubled the custard. It was perfect. Look at all that pastry cream. Yummmmmmm. I never found a recipe to model mine after on Google. But my idea ended up working out. We put a thick layer of custard in between the layers, ensuring there was also a thick layer on top of the cake. We then sprinkled bakers sugar (i.e. extremely fine sugar) all over the top of the cake, and then the hubby lit it up. The sugar on top began to caramelize immediately, and turn the most lovely brown color. One of my favorite parts of the cake is that some of the sugar (after it's been caramelized) starts to drip down the sides of the cake oh-so-decoratively. And deliciously! My one note on the cake- that wonderful brown caramelization. It doesn't really stay like that overnight. We fired up the cake to serve everyone for the hubby's birthday, and the top looked great. It stayed crackly and crunchy the whole time we had people over. I put the cake in the fridge overnight though, and by the next day, the custard had absorbed the sugar layer. Basically the same thing real creme brûlée does if you fire it up and put it in the fridge. Here's my advice: if you are serving for a big group that's going to eat the whole cake, then by all means, fire the top of the whole cake. If you are serving a small group, I recommend toasting individual slices before serving. However, if you do have a sugar layer get absorbed overnight, just take a butter knife and scrape that layer off. Then you can put new sugar on top of the custard, and re-fire all over again. We actually did this on the 2nd day, and it worked perfectly. Make this today. You will love it. And then love it some more. And you might find yourself eating way more cake than you intended. It's true, this happened to me. I mean, someone has to eat that piece of cake that I take pictures of. Om nom nom. Well, it's Monday again. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was low-key, the hubby was working the night shift this weekend. Yes, another night shift. Supposably, this was the last one but they said that the last time too. We'll see how that works out. The hubby is supposed to be shifting to a normal schedule sometime within the next couple of months. As in, working 6:30 am to 4 pm Monday-Friday. We can't wait. But it doesn't seem to be happening just yet. In other news, the hubby and I have challenged ourselves to clean out our freezer and pantry. We want to start the new year fresh, plus the freezer is out of control right now. I was going through everything, taking an inventory, and in general, just astounded at how much I've crammed in there. Needless to say, I've made dinner the last 3 nights without having to pick up anything from the store except for small things, like a bunch of cilantro or a container of sour cream. It's been pretty amazing. We'll see what kind of meals I can come up with for the blog :-) Happy Monday everyone! Ingredients: Cake- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 2 cups sugar 5 eggs, room temp, separated 1 tbsp vanilla extract 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup whole milk Custard- 5 1/2 cups whole milk 1 whole vanilla bean 4 eggs + 4 egg yolks 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup cake flour 1/2 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup bakers sugar garnish- raspberries, mint leaves (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat 2 (9 inch) cake pans with cooking spray, set aside. 2. Prepare the cake- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg yolks. Beat in vanilla extract. In a separate small bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Alternating between milk and flour, slowly mix both into butter mixture. In a separate large bowl, whip egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into cake batter. Distribute cake batter between two cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Remove from oven, and cool in pans for 20 minutes. Remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. 3. Prepare the custard- Place milk in a small sauce pan. Slice vanilla bean in half. Scrape seeds into milk. Throw pods into the pot as well. Heat over medium heat, until small bubbles form around the edges. Remove milk from heat, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, discard the vanilla bean pods. In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks until combined. Add sugar, and beat until almost white. This will take some time, about 10 minutes. And cake flour and cornstarch, and mix well. Add egg mixture to the milk mixture and place saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk constantly until mixture first begins to thicken. Immediately remove from heat, but continue whisking until mixture is completely smooth. Pour custard into a bowl, and immediately place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the custard. This will keep it from forming a skin. Chill custard for at least 4 hours, or overnight. 4. Construct the cake- Cut the tops off the cakes to make them even. Place half the custard on top of one of the cakes, then sandwich with the other cake. Place the rest of the custard on the top of the second cake. Chill cake until ready to serve. 5. Sprinkle an even layer of sugar over the top of the custard. Using a kitchen torch, brown the top of the cake. Garnish with raspberries and/or mint, if using. Slice, and serve immediately. Cake can be served with vanilla ice cream or whip cream, based on preference. Store leftovers in the fridge. Printable Recipe If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these- Vanilla Bean Custard Bars Boston Cream Pie Cookies Creme Brûlée Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesday, Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday
This decadent cookie starts with a cream cheese-based dough and whatever filling you can dream up. Honey-walnut or chocolate are good places to start!
Your guests will be in awe after tasting these nut and honey pastry rolls coming from Greece. Made with Kataifi dough, they are sweet, rich, and beautiful!
Simple and easy to make Lebanese Mahalepi (milk pudding) with orange blossom syrup - bursting with flavor!
Sweet Yogurt Burek - a filo pastry pie layered with a sweet yogurt based cream.
Golden, crispy and extra syrupy. A no fuss, three step Galaktoboureko recipe to make the best traditional Greek custard pie on your first try!
A rich buttery cake, Boterkoek means Butter Cake in Dutch. This delciouse treat is so simple to make and great for serving to guests or for afternoon tea!
These cardamom shortbread cookies are supremely tender and flavorful. With this recipe, you’ll get a soft, buttery shortbread cookie infused with the rich aroma of ground cardamom.
Pistachio Maamoul Cookies are very famous traditional Middle Eastern cookies that have been around for generations. They are stuffed with ground pistachios and dusted with powdered sugar.
This is the recipe for the softest, fluffy and most delicate mamon. Buttery with a hint of cheese, these moist little cakes will truly delight you.
If you want this delicate custard wrapped up by layers of thin, crunchy phyllo bathed in delicious, succulent syrup, you should make galaktoboureko, the famous Greek custard pie.
Karpatka, one of the most popular Polish cakes, has two layers of choux pastry sandwiched with a decadent vanilla cream filling. A dusting of powdered sugar on top resembles the Carpathian Mountains.
Flour, milk, eggs, salt, and butter: what a simple combination of ingredients for such a sublime treat! These popovers don't require a special pan and can be mixed by hand (or a blender or mixer, if you prefer). In under 30 minutes, you'll have a dozen gorgeous popovers. They're especially tasty when served with a smear of salted honey or maple syrup butter.
This limoncello ricotta cake, pairing limoncello with rich, luscious ricotta cheese, makes for a truly decadent and delicious cake.
