savoury delights sweet delights

thyme & lemon – sweet & savory

Shortbread time: we are approaching sweet & savory shortbread today – both linked by the flavours of lemon & thyme. Twice we’ll get these wonderful crumbly texture of shortbread almost melting in our mouths … once together w/ coffee (or espresso!), once w/ wine or long drinks … The procedure doesn’t change: shortbread is shortbread is shortbread …

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what to do w/ homemade apricot jam?

I made lots of apricot jam during summer. Of course it’s absolutely delicious to have some homemade apricot jam on your fresh roll or croissant or crispy toast or soft French bread or … nevertheless what else can you do w/ the jam? So I started surfing … I thought about something like a cake or a tart or … whatever. It’s end of summer now, but there are still wonderful fresh apricots around us…

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sweet delights

a cake disaster … turning into a delicious butter-sugar-almond affair

I stumbled across the idea for this recipe in Mimi Thorissons’s cookbook A Kitchen in France. It sounded nice & delicious & I thought it would be fine w/ my espressos (you know that I’m addicted to espresso!). So for my next shopping I made a mental note to buy an organic lemon as well as dry yeast … & some almond flakes. The rest would be waiting in my fridge resp. pantry. Originally the…

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sweet little temptations

… I decided to create some cookies for my better half & me when taking a break in the afternoon (or whenever!) & having a coffee or espresso – summer with high temperatures doesn’t stop us from enjoying our coffee mania. … & I imagined some cookies w/ chocolate on top. I’m sure … we deserve some treats like these shortbread cookies I enriched w/ rosemary & orange zest – not to mention the dark…

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sweet delights

little cakes – type bundt

Once I happened to get a present: a small Bundt cake pan (∅ 18 cm). So I started baking little cakes. Little cakes are fine for 2 – 4 people for coffee, for dessert … I’m not talking about a real big Bundt cake that may lead up to 16 big slices! After having managed to define the proper amounts of the usual suspects (like butter, flour, sugar, eggs …) in order to achieve a…

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carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting

I remember my very 1st true carrot cake: it was during a USA holiday trip many years ago somewhere in Northern California in a small diner – rather late in the evening – when it turned out that only carrot cake was left for dessert. It wasn’t a simple cake it was a 3-layer structure w/ lots of frosting & minced walnuts … it was just delicious! To set the record straight from the beginning:This…

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savoury delights

happy hour shortbread in southern france

Imagining it’s happy hour: chilled white wine (or rosé wine) & smooth red wine are awaiting their destiny, gin tonics & vodka tonics are mixed or whatever else – in the very middle of all the drinks sits a plate w/ crispy crumbly cheesy spicy shortbread cookies … We are still in Southern France enjoying happy hour at times … so I started to make some savoury shortbread to enjoy w/ the wine – instead…

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sponge – jam – cream layer – fruit

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising. It’s summer. This year there is a real summer – seems so at least (until now). The sun is blazing, there is rain every now and then meaning that in the garden and anywhere else all is green and thriving. Sometimes it’s hot and humid – my better half & I are not so fond of it. Anyway … what to cook & bake? I suddenly remembered my sponge…

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2 bowls & 1 cake w/ ricotta cream

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising.   To make this cake I only used 2 bowls. Honestly, I hate dishwashing … especially when there is any china or bowls or pots or whatever which doesn’t fit in our dishwasher. (We only work w/ a slim 45 cm dishwasher.) So I always try to minimize the number of any equipment when cooking or baking. For this simple cake I was fine w/ only 2 bowls. The…

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my 1st galette (w/ rhubarb)!

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising.   I’m always looking for easy & fast dishes … also dishes which can be prepared w/o using too many pots & pans & other kitchen equipment which need to be cleaned excessively later. So I admired the easy way of galettes for rather a long time – & now I decided to give it a try. For my 1st approach I chose a very simple galette w/ few…

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cake & fruit & more

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising.   This is another recipe from my winter blues phase …   For the record: Now we are living in the Corona era feeding us w/ new challenges – so my winter blues phase seems null & void.   Coming back to the baking … It is a cheesecake, however, not the American style w/ cream cheese or the fluffy style w/ lots of whipped cream or the no-bake…

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savoury delights sweet delights

bread? sweet bread? cake?

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising.   I told you about Mastering Spice, a new book in my library. So I made the next try to recreate something out of the book. I stumbled over a recipe for an olive oil based loaf cake. The book is so organized that there is a main recipe & following there are some variations. I found the recipe for the olive oil cake loaf & a variation w/ additional…

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sweet delights

handmade german spritzgebäck (out of a moment)

Dieser Beitrag enthält Werbung – advertising.   German Spritzgebäck is part of Xmas – has always been. At least for me.   For the record: I know a trusted pastry shop making 1st class Spritzgebäck w/ & w/o chocolate. Full stop.   When roaming food blogs last week – which are full of Xmas baking ideas at the moment (it’s like an avalanche overwhelming you) – I suddenly stumbled over a recipe for straightforward Spritzgebäck ……

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