I used to be scared of pralines or anything caramel. In Paris I wanted to buy jars of praliné paste to take home to Barcelona. But I couldn’t – the suitcase was too full of other baking stuff. And that’s how I learnt it’s surprisingly […]
All posts tagged: Patisserie
Healthier Fraisier – a take on the classic French strawberry cake
Pâtisserie can be healthier and delicious! There’s a trend towards superfoods and clean living but why not compromise and have desserts with both healthy and ‘decadent’ ingredients? We’ll whip up a genoise sponge with flour, ground almonds, cornflour and xylitol (a birch sugar substitute) then […]
Dreamy chocolate and hazelnut dacquoise mini cakes
Would you like an incredibly yummy chocolate treat? These cakes are for you! There’s a chewy meringue dacquoise base covered in a praliné or Nutella layer combined with crispy wafer and toasted hazelnut. Then there’s a milk chocolate cream mousse topped with a slim chocolate […]
Easy blood orange frangipane tart
Have you tried blood oranges? They’re amazing but only come out certain times of the year and in some countries. So when you see some grab them while you can! Grab loads. Even if they’re imported they’ll be worth it. It’s hard to describe this […]
Matcha white chocolate and chestnut millefeuilles recipe (puff pastry) and a cake accident!
Millefeuilles are absolutely heavenly. Imagine light flaky layers of puff pastry interspersed with clouds of creams. These little inventions have a layer of crème pâtissière flavoured with matcha green tea balanced with creamy white chocolate. Then there’s chestnut cream in the second delicious layer lightened […]
Baked gingery fruit and quark tart recipe – with homemade inverted puff pastry or shop-bought :)
This can be a very quick tart if you buy the pastry but perhaps you’d like to experiment with homemade inverted puff? It’s totally worth it, beautiful, light and flaky with very little actual work. After you’ve baked the pastry base lather on a thin […]
Passionfruit or St Clement’s raspberry tarts with gluten-free, sugar-free options
Fresh, fruity, creamy and delicious! The original passionfruit and raspberry tart has two layers of soft fresh raspberry jelly and passion fruit cream covered with a simple passion fruit glaze. We took it to my brother’s place in Birmingham on Boxing Day and it was […]
Pithiviers, galette des rois (French king cake) recipe for Epiphany, danger and Johnny Depp in a box!
Do you want to be king or queen for the day? Just bake this easy galette and make sure you find the fève hidden in there. What’s a fève? A bean or porcelaine trinket and I’ll be showing you some cute ones. On January 6 or […]
Cakes from le Cordon Bleu pâtisserie course in Paris! Please vote! :)
Last week’s cake production was a little crazy, even by my standards! I gave some away to my landlord for his family and friends and to the homeless in the street, who looked happy to be given cake. One started eating a macaron immediately. This […]
Savoury goats’ cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame!
Well these are as savoury as a dessert with macaron shells of sugar, ground almonds and egg white can be! They were created in response to a Daring Kitchen macaron challenge. I’d made Italian meringue macaron shells many times so challenged myself to create an […]
Salted caramel and milk chocolate mousse tart with low-gluten pastry! And the great Mr Aoki!
Another creation from my ‘partially-healthy’ series. Ahem. Buttery, crumbly and delicious low-gluten pastry perfectly complements the heavenly salted caramel and milk chocolate mousse. The steps are surprisingly short and simple from minimalist Sadaharu Aoki, famous in Japan and considered one of the great pâtissiers in […]
Salted caramel choux buns recipe and the marvellous Michalak (who?)
Would you like a little choux bun filled with delicious creamy salted caramel? Of course you would. Go on, just one or two. Tested on various friends, including one with slight intolerance to both gluten and dairy products yet even she could not resist and […]
Pink grapefruit and kirsch savarin recipe, refined sugar-free!
Once baked and golden brown allow the savarins to cool at least half an hour before the next stage. Last week on the phone mum said she’d like a rum baba for her birthday cake next month. I guess they’ll always be considered as treats […]
Special chocolate mendiants recipe
Did you know traditional French mendiants represent the colours of monastic orders in the Middle Ages? And in Spain they’re known as bombones músicos? More chocolate history later. For now I’ll just say these traditional Christmas treats are delicious, creative and adorable! You’ll find chocolate […]
La fondante recipe – mini genoise sponge cakes with kirsch mousseline cream
Sometimes you need a little shot of pâtisserie magic and light pillowy cakes with a heavenly touch of kirsch. Irresistible. So I pushed aside my resolution to avoid sugar or flour and just reduced my daily ration – hurray for freezers! The genoise sponge layers […]
lili's cakes 