Archive for the 'chocolate & sweets' Category

Goodbye Brownies with Passion Fruit and Toffee

Aside from being a little homesick, it’s also been hard saying goodbye to all the people I met during this past year.  Most of the friends I made are fellow students and/or similar globetrotters like myself, so leaving France has inevitably been around the corner.  Expected as it may be, goodbyes are always sad and a bit melancholy.  But to make the most of it for two friends, I decided to make some goodbye brownies for our farewell picnic.
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August 04 2011 | chocolate & sweets and recipe and thoughts | 11 Comments »

Cheers to 2011 with Chocolates

It’s been quite an extraordinary year.  Being in Paris and learning patisserie has been like living a dream that I never even dared to dream.  I have so much to be thankful for and even more to look forward to in the next year.  I have no idea what’s to come, where I’m going, or what I’ll be doing, but I’m excited to see how all those answers unfold!

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December 31 2010 | chocolate & sweets and paris and recipe and thoughts | 11 Comments »

Dessert First: Green Tea Layer Cake and Ginger Brownies

When it comes to dinner parties, I like to make dessert first.  In general, baking takes more time and careful precision than cooking.  So, before the kitchen becomes loud with banging pots and chopping knives, I like to have dessert completed.  The great thing about cakes is that it can be started a day in advance.  Usually, cake layers taste better the next day because the flavors are given time to rest and settle.  While baking is done the day before, I always frost and assemble my cakes in the morning of the day of the party.  I think frosting always tastes best the day it’s made.

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April 03 2010 | cake and chocolate & sweets and dessert and recipe and thoughts | 24 Comments »

Tiramisu Black Forest Cake

Even since it has been made known that I love to bake I have been getting a few birthday cake requests.  I am by no means a professional (yet!) and my skills quite limited that I was shocked that someone would ask me to perform such a task!  However, I felt very flattered and was most of all excited to have the opportunity to play-ette the role of “baker” to a “client.”  I had so much fun planning and researching recipes that I think I probably enjoyed making the cake more than everyone who ended up eating it.

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January 26 2010 | cake and chocolate & sweets and dessert and thoughts | 12 Comments »