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These snowflakes are a variation of the viennese delicate cookies. They are not so light and crisp as the viennese snowflakes, resemble a texture of simple sugar cookies, but with less density. Creaming method is used for making these, which develops the gluten in the flour and that is why they do not keep  perfectly their shape during baking. The snowflakes winter cookies are easier to make compared to the viennese ones.  Winter was quite generous to us this year. Not very many super cold days.  I love winter though, and I miss the real snowfalls that last for days, the super cold temperatures afterwords, that almost stop my breath, the bright sun rays that play with the blindingly white snow and bounce straight back into the pupils, making me see colourful circles. This is the time when you can see the true structure of a snowflake - just hold your hands open until a crispy lacy snowflake lays down and explore ... It is a magical moment! It ...

The most elegant way to declare your love to someone is with chocolate. The warmth and deliciousness of the chocolate has been never comparable to the diamonds. The chocolate is an art creation. Fine senses and strong feelings are needed for understanding this pure food of Heaven.  Self-made chocolate truffles are best present for St. Valentine. They are very easy to make - the only skill needed is ... love. for the truffles: 220 ml whipping cream 30 g sugar 250 g bittersweet chocolate 37 g unsalted butter for the coating: 250 g dark chocolate (72% cocoa solids), tempered cocoa powder (optional) prepare the molds: polish the mold with a clean soft cotton cloth prepare the truffles : Bring the cream and sugar to boil. Have the chocolate chopped in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stay for 5-7 min. Stir with a flexible spatula to homogenize well until glossy mixture of ganache is formed. Pour the...

This pear tart is a twist of the traditional 'Entremets Bourdeloue', created in mid XIX (th) century in Paris. The 'Entremets Bourdaloue' is a sweet pastry crust, filled with almond cream. A century later the tarts started being made with all kind of different fruit fillings. Some of them only have sweet crust and fruit with caramelized sugar or thick syrup, others are combination of cream and fruits. I made tart with almond cream few times already and I have to admit, I like a lot the traditional 'Entremets Bourdeloue'. I used the combination of almond cream and the fruit in the Peach Tart . And the tarts with the almond cream and fruit never disappoint.  In this case, I have decided to make the tart with poached pears and fresh vanilla. The result is just a majestic explosion of flavour - the pears, poached in vanilla infused sugar syrup are the queens of the delicacy. Enhance the senses by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream!  I hope you are ...

The whole house smells like Christmas - wood burning and spices.  The signature Christmas cookies are served - some hanging on the tree, some in a nicely decorated box. What I love the most about these cookies is not so much preparing them, not even baking them, although the heat helps all the aroma to gently fill every corner of the house. The strongest tease to all my senses is opening the cookie box. After few days of aging in the air tightly closed container, the cookies exude the most perfect aroma - the combination of the spices blooms the nicest smell. No need to have a bite even - so satisfying!  I kept the old tradition this year of making the old-fashioned Lebkuchen cookies . I am on a journey to make it a family tradition of baking these for every Christmas. While I was growing up in Bulgaria, they were simply called honey cookies. In North America a variation of these is popular under the name of gingerbread, or 'spicy bread' in France, but everywhere ...

The things we learn from people are amazing! How important is communication, how enriching! This cake was mentioned to me last week. After six years of visiting Ana's violin teacher, I got to learn that his heritage is Icelandic. The Icelanders had the tradition of making this cake for Christmas. I only received a rough description of the cake, but got inspired to look for it - many layers of cake and dried-fruit filling is something that is worth researching. My research led to a crossroad. It was like opening the Pandora box. Instead of finding out the information and sinking into reading, I had to choose what road to follow. Apparently there are different variations of this cake. The original recipe is from sometime of 1860. The most interesting fact is, that today's Icelanders themselves have not heard of this cake. I guess, the tradition got lost in Iceland through the centuries, but very well kept here, in Canada, in the families with Icelandic heritage.  Wha...

12 days till Christmas! And the snow has just arrived!!!  It is so clean out there...  It is white! It is quiet! Our every day running is slowing down - our hearts beat normal. Our worries got buried under the heavy blanket.  The Earth is moving at a normal pace. The air is so crisp and clean - the children's laughter is ringing, the tree branches are singing, the birds wings are drawing pictures in the clouds. The chimneys' smoke is knitting a sweater to the wind. The footprints are writing a poem. It is so white! Our souls are sparkling white! We are better people! It feels like rebirth and a white beginning. It feels like a fairytale. It feels like a miracle. 12 days till Christmas! The white canvas out there temptingly invite us to write our story, to make our wishes, because the magical season has started.  Happy Christmas, everyone! What did you wish for today? My seasonal Christmas cake - surely very much chocolaty, and garnished wi...

It is this time of year, when the fragrant spices are very popular in my kitchen. There are certain types of spices that I use only at Christmas time. I feel that I ignore them for the rest of the year, but this is something I am not forcing myself on doing, it just happens... I reach for the cinnamon from time to time (rarely) in a non-seasonal time, but definitely it is the queen of the spices at Christmas time. The nutmeg is present in my savoury cuisine through the year, but I do not touch the cloves and the cardamom in any other time of the year, but for Christmas. In this cake, all these spices meet together and really bloom the taste.  It is an easy and fast desert, baked in a bundt cake form and topped with a light cream cheese frosting. The apple caramel sauce makes it extraordinary and certainly delivers the warm and cosy sense of Christmas. for the cake: 225 g unsalted butter at room temperature 380 g custard sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla e...