This lemon poppy seed cake falls in the category of simple cakes, of the “mix everything together and bake in the oven” kind, which are my favorites. The lemon scent is however intense and the poppy seeds give texture and look beautiful, small bluish spots dotted on the pale batter.
When I saw this saffron star bread I knew right away that I wanted to do something similar to share with you this Christmas. In this recipe, only the dough is similar. I kept the saffron, because it gives the most beautiful golden color to the dough, but I changed…
Quinces are a fruit that can rarely be eaten raw because it is hard and rough. But boiled or baked they completely transform and become sweet and soft. Baked in a Port wine and spices syrup it’s a dessert that celebrates the delights of autumn.
To welcome the season that starts today, I suggest you turn on the oven and make some apple muffins, sprinkled with almond streusel. Apples slightly cooked in a syrup of sugar and spices leave the interior moist, while the almond streusel gives a crunchy texture on the outside. Cinnamon, cardamom…
With the end of summer quickly approaching it’s time to save its aromas and memories in a jar to remember later, while huddled between warm blankets and steaming mugs of tea. Thyme adds a very pleasant herbaceous aroma and makes this compote ideal for savoring, for example, with cheese. In…
A popsicle is a summer classic. I remember being a girl and my mother giving me some money to go to and buy a popsicle from the pastry shop on the street. It was a special moment that marked some of the days of my childhood endless summer vacations. Today,…
In a spring that so quickly gives us a beach day as, in the next one, puts us back looking for socks again, I took advantage of one of the good days to make a fresher dessert, a tiramisu ice cream cake, with layers of cream and mascarpone cheese ice…
This week I should be publishing another recipe, something savory in which fava beans would be the star. But a relatively serious episode of allergic rhinitis, I suspect related to the fact that I live on a street lined with jacaranda trees in early spring, has led to the fava…
Among the many Easter bread traditions that are found all over Portugal, I especially like three: one from the northeast region of Trás-os-Montes, savory and proudly displaying the good sausages from that region; the one from the southern city of Olhão, rolled and stuffed with a lot of cinnamon and…
Cheesecake is a dessert in which the main layer consists of a mixture of soft cheese (usually cream cheese or ricotta), eggs and sugar. It can have a bottom layer, made from crushed cookies or biscuits, and can even be topped with fruit, whipped cream, jam, chocolate or whatever the…
Another simple cake, a banana cake with raw chocolate, a useful recipe for using those bananas that remain in the fruit bowl and that nobody wants because they’re too ripe. And it’s really important to use those poor forgotten bananas because they are sweeter and that is why this banana…
Today I leave you a recipe, poached pears with spices and hot chocolate sauce, and also a couple of thoughts on the passage of time. I love my birthday, in this matter I’m like a child. Not because of the gifts, although I take them with pleasure and gratitude, but…
If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I’ve been in Turkey for a few days, almost a whole week, divided between work and tourism, with a great weather and some amazing food. As soon as possible, I promise to share with you some of the photographs…
When I was little pastry cakes were the exception. Chocolate, yogurt or marble cake were lovingly made at home and, on special days, decorated with egg white frosting and sprinkled with little colored confettis. And, for me, these continue to be the best cakes in the world.
Pavlova is a dessert shaped like a cake with a meringue base, invented after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova trip to Australia and New Zealand, and today both countries still argue about which of them invented such a delicacy. The meringue basis is crisp on the outside and soft on…
Today I will write about simple things. Three mills recovered on the Ovil river. The silence is only interrupted by the crackling of the wood on the fireplace or by the sound of the river that runs under the porch, magnified by the rain that continues to fall after some…
We are entering the bustle of preparations for Christmas. Bolo-rei (literally “King Cake” in English) is a traditional Portuguese cake that is a staple dessert in any home between Christmas and January 6 (Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day). The base for the recipe came from France during the 19th century…
This dessert is a good way to brighten your afternoon on a rainy day like today. It’s easy to do, combines the season apples and nuts and it tastes intensely like chocolate, not being, overall, a very sweet dessert. You can serve it after cooling, if you manage to wait,…
