Brown butter blondies with salted frosting
As far as chocolate goes, white variety is severely underappreciated. Somehow, the darker blends are considered to be more indulgent and exquisite. The higher the cocoa content – the more sophisticated it is. Some could even argue that white chocolate is not chocolate at all. I know, because I used to be of a similar opinion. It felt like a waste of perfectly good cocoa butter that could be much improved by a heavy addition of some dark cocoa mass. I did not understand how anyone could willingly enjoy that taste. And I was certain that white chocolate would never be anything more than a decorative item, purely for its colour. But then I stumbled upon these brown butter blondies and I understood I was wrong.S’more mascarpone cheesecake
I had no cheesecakes in my childhood. Doubtless they were out there but the closest thing to a cheesecake we had where I grew up was a tvorozhnik. As the name suggests, it was made out of tvorog (white soft cheese, something between cottage cheese, ricotta and yogurt). Back then it tasted wonderful. For anyone who didn’t know better, that is. Otherwise imagine a cold dense grainy cheese pie with no crust and you might get the gist of it. S’more is another combination that has come into my life fairly recently. I wasn’t even aware of its existence until I was old enough to watch and remember movies where s’mores were somehow referenced. In fact, I only probably fully developed my liking for s’mores after meeting my husband, who loves everything chocolate. So to honour these two discoveries, I give you s’more mascarpone cheesecake.Basic butter cookies
Have you ever been in a situation where you urgently needed some cookies? Perhaps solely for yourself because you simply crave something sweet and comforting. Or maybe to casually impress someone without having to spend too much time and energy. Or possibly because you are nearly off to a social gathering and require a small but personal host gift. I have just the thing. These butter cookies take less than 30 minutes to make, which in most cases is quicker than going to a store and buying ready-made ones. There is also no need to chill them prior to baking. These butter cookies are impossibly simple yet still rich and indulgent without being overly sweet. They are soft and crumbly at the same time; they make you want to have more yet they are quite filling. The best carrot cake
Few years ago my mother has cheerfully requested a carrot cake for her birthday. It seemed simple enough and it always helps when it’s narrowed down. Not something abstract and vague like “a cake”, which leaves you wondering exactly what type of a cake would be preferred. Specifying a flavour is tremendously useful when the possibilities are essentially endless. Still, after researching carrot cake recipes for about half an hour, I was not entirely happy with a single one. It seemed the only way out of that dilemma was to make up a recipe of my own. Right now I don’t even recall how many various recipes I had to combine, but it magically worked out. Everyone loved it. Including my brother, who is generally not a fan of carrots, particularly cooked ones.