Sometimes a flavour combination works so well that you feel compelled to try it in as many versions as possible. The white chocolate and cranberry cookies that I made last year led me to one such discovery!
Since I am not a big fan of the super-sweet white chocolate, I find that the tart cranberries are the perfect balance. Add a little salt and reduce the sugar and you have the perfect combination! The cookies were so delicious that I had to make the cake version 🙂
My favourite fruit of all time is strawberry! Juicy, plump, tart, slightly sweet deliciousness 😍
It’s not that easy to find good quality strawberries so I make the most of it whenever they are available. Eat as many as I can! Makes sense to also find ways to bake with them right? This cake is super easy and every bite is moist,buttery and strawberry-filled. Happiness, indeed!
One of the first non chocolate, non vanilla cakes I ever had was a carrot cake, many many years ago. I was, and continue to be, amazed at how a vegetable can be added to cake! And be so delicious!
It’s been a cake I try wherever I find it and something I have made many times over the past few years. So moist, not too sweet, crunchy with the walnuts and a little tangy with the frosting. Perfection!
Do you know I love hosting people at home? It’s one of my favourite things to do for people I am close to. It doesn’t need to be any specific occasion, just a normal weekend or even weekday dinner (if work isn’t too crazy). I love to cook a nice meal for them and we usually end up having a super time eating, drinking, playing games and generally chattering non stop. Best way to spend a evening or even a lazy afternoon, don’t you think?
For New Year’s Eve last year (welcoming 2018), I decided it will just be much easier to call people home and avoid the usually NYE madness. I invited around 15 people and after much research and debating (with myself), decided on serving a mediterranean menu. Being the uber enthu cutlet I am, I planned an extensive menu : hummus, souvlaki, falafel, meatballs, moussaka, chicken wings and cake. It was a lot of food! I cooked for 2 whole days, but loved every minute of it! While the savoury courses were relatively easy to finalize, I struggled for a long time to come up with the dessert. I didn’t want to do traditional sweets like baklava because they are super tough and I’ve never made them before. Cakes are my strength and I figured it would be easy to go that route, given I figure out flavours that work. Much research later, I landed on pistachio as my hero ingredient for the cake. And what a cake!
Almonds are my favourite! They have this amazing nuttiness and aroma about them that make them suitable across cuisines and courses. You can use almonds in salads, in chicken dishes, have them as is, salt them, roast them etc etc. But my favourite way – almonds in dessert! Candied, pulsed, as garnish, in cookies – all such great ways to incorporate this healthy, delicious ingredient!
This cake recipe is a super easy way to bring almond to desserts. It is a simple sponge, with some almonds thrown in. Pretty much 🙂
