dessert
No bake s’more cake
So, as you must have gathered by now, we really like s’mores around here. Which is ironic since we currently live in a climate where most of the year you wouldn’t even want to step outside, let alone light a fire to toast some marshmallows. Perhaps that’s why we have so many alternatives to the traditional s’more in various dessert forms. It’s lucky that this is such a winning combination and the presentation possibilities are almost endless. This no bake s’more cake is just one more interpretation of the classic. And if you are still not convinced, then keep in mind that my husband, who constantly complains about being “sugared and caked out” – as if such a state even exists, claimed this entire cake for himself.
Passion fruit curd
When baking a lot, you inevitably end up with a surplus of various egg parts. A great way to use up egg whites would be something like a meringue roll. As for the extra egg yolks, there is always ice cream. But, for some variety and an even less time-consuming process, curd is always an option. The best thing about it is that you can pretty much turn anything into a curd with only a handful of ingredients. Aside from using up leftover yolks, it’s also a great way to preserve an abundance of fruit about to go off. And since I love passion fruit, then passion fruit curd it is.
Matcha ice cream
You might have observed that lately – or during the past few years at least – there has been somewhat of a matcha green tea craze. It obviously started with the traditional hot beverage but then quickly escalated and crept into everything else. Desserts, appetizers, even main courses – matcha has successfully invaded the food world. I personally find the taste of matcha tea too strong, though it has to be because I prefer all my caffeinated teas on the weaker side. But matcha-flavoured desserts? Absolutely fantastic. It’s everything you need to feel playful yet sophisticated at the same time. So after a recent trip to Thailand, where matcha ice cream was consumed at minimum once daily, I brought back a load of matcha powder and eventually came up with this recipe.
Black Forest cake
After blogging for about a year, I can safely say that this is the most difficult part of it. Coming up with some light conversational preamble smoothly integrating into the recipe. In fact, it feels so challenging that it’s often been the main reason the updates have been so scarce. Somehow, finding the time to photograph and write up a recipe seems easier than having to briefly lead up to it in a paragraph or two. While I have possibly hundreds of recipes I would happily share, I dread needing to introduce them with some sort of non-committal banter. Frankly I am not sure it’s even a necessity to begin with. I personally tend to skip right to the actual recipe because if I wanted to read, I would normally get a book (apologies, fellow bloggers). This is also why I have been trying to keep introductions brief and to the point. So then, here is a Black Forest cake recipe.
Orange cranberry scones
Let’s imagine for a second that we live in a world where “what if” scenarios are somewhat realistic. And if in that world someone posed a question “what if you can only bake one thing for the rest of your life?” then scones would be pretty high on the list of contestants. The flavour combinations are essentially endless. The individual and optional add-ons are adaptable according to everyone’s taste. And most importantly the entire process of putting them together from scratch rarely takes more than 30 minutes. This is of course largely because there is no need to get the ingredients to room temperature. Scones are one of the perfect answers to spontaneous baking. So orange cranberry scones this time, with hopefully many more variations to follow later.