Quick peek at latest recipes posted - questions, comments invited! Looking forward to hearing from you!
To welcome in 2021, I decided to resurrect a dessert recipe that we have not made for years - Chestnut Purée. For years, this was a traditional dessert on Xmas Eve, and I thought it was a Hungarian dish.
Turns out it has Italian roots and is popular in many countries.
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I’m sure there’s some technical difference between a crisp and a crumble, but right now I don’t care.
All I know is that I can’t stop making/eating this. It’s similar to the crumble recipe already on this blog, but uses a bit less fruit and somehow feels faster.
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For years, this appeared every Xmas, made by my mother-in-law. Once she stopped baking, it was missed, so I made it my business to figure it out. Maybe one day someone else in the family will join me in carrying on the tradition.
There’s quite a story about this 125 year old confection. If you have ever been to Budapest, you undoubtedly went to the famous Cafe Gerbeaud. This is one of their signature desserts.
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This is a recipe I used to make in the last century.
Now it's updated to a divine dessert. The luscious chilled rice pudding can be layered with any seasonal (or frozen) fruit.
Everyone will agree that is is a refreshing treat at the end of a summer meal!
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This is not a new recipe. Once I realized that this great cake could be the base for almost any fruit, the sky was the limit.
A fellow blogger just posted that the BC cherry crop is rolling in, but not yet here in Niagara. Instead I used frozen tart cherries from a local farm to make this treat that looks and tastes fab!
The recipe is directly from ‘More Food That Really Schmecks’ by Edna Staebler, 1979. This is an absolute favourite in the KB kitchen.
Click here for the recipe page (which is technically for Party Plum Cake), which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question.
Do you like ricotta?
Do you have three cups worth that you need to use up? Do you want a light cake that can serve as a canvas for any / all kinds of accompaniments?
Then look no further. This lightly textured, light tasting cake with a hint of lemon is only about two hours away from your tummy.
I garnished it with the extravagance of Amarena Fabbri Cherries, but there are endless options.
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The Food52 headline for this recipe was "This Super-Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake Has a Genius Star Ingredient". Yup. Click-bait, but it worked and I clicked, and read with interest the popularity of this (Passover-friendly) cake from Paula Shoyer’s newest cookbook The Healthy Jewish Kitchen.
If that wasn't interesting enough, it turns out that she took her inspiration from Canada's own Quinoa Sisters. Made in a food processor, baked in a Bundt pan, the unique texture is mysterious and satisfying.
I'll be making this again and again - how about you?
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It's Spring - not apple season, but local growers now have fancy winter warehouses that keep supplying us with fruit that seems as fresh as the day it was picked. When there are leftovers after "an apple a day", throw together this easy and lower calorie Apple Tart.
I call this a "legacy" recipe because it seems to have already been passed down / along several times. I've made my own adaptations - which includes easy food processor pastry. This works with a pie plate, a tart pan, a springform or you can go free-form / galette style.
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Despite my love for the pleasant ritual of scones with cream and jam and tea (oh my) - not a lot of scones have come out of my kitchen.
These are described as British-Style - meaning they are less sweet, and use less butter than the typical American scones served with tea. Given that the goal is to smother them with clotted cream and jam - a less sweet scone sounds fine to me - and indeed they were!
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Quinoa is considered to be an ancient grain - though experts hasten to point out that it is actually a seed. They are considered to be a protein and are gluten-free.
This "Moroccan" Quinoa pictured here is perhaps unusual for a side dish accompanying chicken. It is enhanced by the use of butter, honey, cinnamon and pistachios - almost sounds like a dessert, right? In truth, I think it would be a great breakfast!
If you haven't yet added quinoa to your menus - for breakfast, salads, dinner or desserts - read on.
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Yes, it's after Xmas and there have been enough sweets, but it's also "resolution" time, and I invite you to resolve to make this beauty sometime in 2018.
There are "secret" ingredients in this cake which is now at the top of my favourites list.
I have already made this more than once and ask people to guess the secret after tasting - though so far no one has quite pinned down the source of this glorious cake's distinctive, addictive flavour explosion.
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Here's what you get - a crisp sugary exterior and a soft chewy interior that will remind you of marzipan.
Some have described Amaretti as the Italian version of the French Macaron - both featuring almond flour and egg whites as the main ingredients. I have taken a course to learn how to make Macaron (and have had success making them).
No course needed for Amaretti - it's crazy easy and pretty much foolproof to make.
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It's family birthday time, and since 1985, "Chocolate Heaven" from the (now defunct) Chocolatier Magazine has brought good cheer to my birthday boys.
It is light with a heavenly, creamy experience of chocolate. I think of this as easy to make - a treat that avoids the hassle of baking.
This will sound silly, but I had not always realized that this recipe is essentially a chocolate mousse with bits of angel food cake added. I offer all the tips you need to make this a success!
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Here's a Kitchen Bliss recipe that is K.I.S.S. You know... Keep It Simple Stupid - and this recipe also gives you a chance to "go nuts" with creative combos. The Whipped Ricotta takes minutes to prepare, so use it for unexpected company or a quick week-night treat - that can be more or less healthy depending on how you enhance it.
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Who can resist a "shortbread" layer topped with chocolate, toffee and hazelnuts? Bliss, right?
This recipe is ridiculously easy to make - there's no rolling out pastry or fancy tricks. You get a lot out of it - depending on how you cut it - about 4 dozen.
Because it stores well in a tin, in a cool place, it is often one of the first Xmas cookie recipes I make in December.
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Here's a recipe that has been appearing at the family Xmas table for about 30 years!
While some pizzelle can be thicker and softer - we like these because they are thin and crisp - and flavoured with orange, lemon, vanilla and anise.
You will need a pizzelle maker / iron. It can be a one person project or invite a friend or family to help make memories while making yummy treats!
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When is an Apple Cake not really a cake? When it's mostly apples! That's what I love about this recipe which I have made countless times. Unless you have pie crusts ready in your freezer - this is the fastest way to get a stunning apple treat on the table.
The cake is mainly thinly sliced apples that emerge from the oven almost as a set custard. It's described as "French-style".
Use (almost) any apples you have on hand - and the recent trend is to combine different apples.
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Hungarians use sour cherries (called meggye) in several dishes - including in a cold cherry soup - and there are several ways in which sour cherries appear in desserts. Here they adorn a low rise sheet cake which is perfect with coffee - and some people even love it for breakfast!
You'll notice that this recipe uses Kirsch aka Kirschwasser. Though made from morello cherries "kirschwassers have a refined taste with subtle flavors of cherry and a slight bitter-almond taste that derives from the stones." [Source]
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Rhubarb season sometimes arrives unexpectedly. It can make an appearance during that period when it is officially Spring, and yet there are days so chilly that you wish for your Winter coat.
And so it was this year. My phone's weather app is sending me frost warnings in May, but a friendly local farmer gifts me free rhubarb, so I head to the kitchen.
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Do you have a favourite rhubarb recipe?
Whether you call them Palmiers, ears, butterflies or French hearts, this light, crispy indulgence just might be the highlight of your well deserved coffee / tea break.
They are a favourite in my increasing repertoire of easy treats using puff pastry sheets. You'll be surprised how quickly they come together - which is good because they'll disappear quickly and you'll be making them again and again!
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