Halloween!

vanilla sponge with sugar dough

fried platano

before

platano is similar to banana but is harder and color is different (inside caramel, outside black) this morning we bougth some at Versailles market and we bake it Bolivia style.. very very good, and even if is not "traditional" I add some pastry cream to my fried platano.. so good!

after

 

 

crostata di fragole

ancora fragole? ebbene si al mercato le vendono ancora e sono anche buone! questa volta ho fatto tante monoporzioni, bella e simmetrica.. ma soprattutto buona:)

raspberry bars

similar to lemon bars but filled with fresh raspberry, base really soft and raspberry cream has a lemon touch that gives a fresh idea to this dessert:)

Halloween gingerbread

 

Here we are! some new friends came to visit me today… oh oh they look quite scary.. I hope I could sleep tonight..

something to eat.. pumpkin again!

we can't miss Mr Ghost

all you need is a cat with a big heart:)

grrrrrr!!!

ahhhhh!!!

Pumpkin tarte or pumpkin pie !

 

It’s a tarte or a pie? I don’t know. Its not a long time that I discovered this cake, someone told me that is very popular in U.S. during thanksgiving period, and even if I don’t celebrate it because I’m Italian I love to bake some special U.S. food:)

Its tasty, delicately spiced with cinnamon, ginger and cloves, but sweet like a pumpkin, I added a personal touch.. a spoon of mascarpone, is it allowed?

Pumpkin cupcake with mascarpone frosting

This is favorite cake of my friend Antoine, he can eat many of them in a really short time:) actually is one of my favorite too, pumpkin base is moist and delicately perfumed with cinnamon and frosting is creamy and gorgeous! We love pumpkin!!

Pecan nuts tarte

So rich and confortable this tarte ! is a perfect treat for a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea:-)

rose loukoum

My turkish sister sent me this sweet box full of rose loukoum, the turkish  jelly candy made with fresh rose water. Turkish roses are so famous, they use it to prepare jam, syrup, loukoum.. if you travel to magic town of Istanbul don’t miss this ancient loukoum shop.. its just great!

Double chocolate cookies

 

This cookie is so good! Between crunchy and softy, melty and spongy you can’t really resist! Non dico che lo farai innamorare con questi biscottoni.. ma se non altro ti seguirà fino a quando non li avrà mangiati tutti!

 

Chestnut crêpes

Ah.. chestnut reminds me life in Genova Nervi… I use to pick up chestnuts in this period during weekends.. it was so nice to spend all day in forest and come back home with kilos and kilos of fresh chestnuts.. we use to roast them, make chestnut puree, cakes.. we were so happy:-)

 

This is first time that I use chestnut flour to make crepes and I love them. Follow same procedure of regular crepes but substitute half flour with chestnut flour (organic is better)

with chestnut spread

with chestnut honey

 

caramel ice-cream

This ice-cream has two versions: with or without eclats de caramel on it. Base is similar to vanilla ice-cream (crème anglaise base) but sugar is not mixed with egg yolks, is melted on fire with some water, you just have to be careful to not overcook your sugar or final taste will be burned and not caramelled!

frozen, before pacossage

caramel

 

chocolate fudge cake

My friend Federica for my birthday gave me a wonderful cooking book from a famous bakery of London; as soon as I receive it I baked a new chocolate cake! to be more precise a chocolate fudge cake.. result is not as cute as picture in the book, but taste is amazing! Welcome new British recipes! thanks Fede:)

Are you ready for it? Halloween is coming!

 

He is ready actually.. what about you? Are you thinking about a crazy scary Halloween haunted house? Last year I was wondering about an ants invasion.. this year.. we’ll see:)

blondie

And after brownie and raspie its time to eat a slice of blondie now! With white chocolate and pecan nuts is the perfect treat for those gourmands who loves white chocolate! mmm I love it too:)

New York cheesecake

Tips for a perfect cheesecake?

- Silicone mould

- Long baking (1 hour) low temperature (160°C)

- In the oven put your mould in a larger pan filled with hot water, this step will make your cake creamy and not dry!

- Keep it always in fridge

Caramel cupcakes with peanut butter chips