This past weekend I had a Christmas party at my place and I wanted to make a dessert that was festive and easy for people to grab and eat. These adorable brownie trees are perfect for placing on a platter. The brownies are rich and fudgy, with chocolate chips and miniature marshmallows to take them to a 10 out of 10. The green swirl is created using candy melts, sprinkles are the trees decorations, and the candy cane serves as the trees trunk.
baking
Spiked Eggnog Cake with Rum Glaze
A cake that not only has rum in it, but rum in the glaze also? Yes please! Plus eggnog? Sign me up! I’m a huge eggnog fan. Which wasn’t always the case, as you can’t buy it in New Zealand, and I never knew anyone who made their own. Now that I’m living in New York, I’ve really gotten a taste for eggnog during the holidays, and I like to have it as a treat after dinner. Or whenever I want something sweet. I was very surprised when buying the eggnog at my local supermarket, that 5 out of 6 varieties contained high-fructose corn syrup. This is a nasty replacement for sugar, but it’s cheap so that’s why companies use it. I had to pay a bit extra to get the natural eggnog that has real sugar & no artificial ingredients, but at least I feel better about drinking it. The brand I got is called Organic Valley, and I can highly recommend it as one of the best tasting eggnogs I’ve tried. Of course, one of these days I’ll have to make my own.
Pecan Pie
Pecan Pie. I first tried this special dessert when I came to New York a few years ago. I fell in love with the strong flavor of the toasted nuts, mixed with the deliciously rich, sweet, chewy filling. But let me tell you: I am no expert when it comes to making pies! Pies and cakes are two totally different animals. But for anyone out there who, like me, is more accustomed to making cakes than pies, this pie crust recipe is great for beginners. It contains cream cheese, which gives the crust a slightly tangy flavor and rolls out quickly and smoothly. I think this pie is best made with a mixture of chopped pecans for the filling and halved pecans for the top of the pie. It is even more decadent served with a side of whipped cream or ice cream. You can also add maple syrup (1 & 1/2 tablespoons) to your whipped cream for a taste sensation. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!
Fudgy Halloween Cookies
Happy Halloween everyone! I love Halloween. Over the years I’ve always had a lot of fun dressing up in different costumes and baking Halloween treats. This year is going to be a bit more subdued: no costume party but a pumpkin carving party instead. I’ve actually never carved a pumpkin in my life, so it…
Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I recently got my work visa (after a lot of hard work and determination), and I’m now back in New York City. It feels fantastic to be back after such a long absence (1.5 years!), although slightly strange too. For the first week back, I felt like I was in a dream. Now, after a…
Triple Layer Carrot Cake
I’ve been making carrot cakes for years, it’s my Mum’s favourite cake and it’s one of mine. I say ‘one’ because nothing can come between me and my chocolate cake. Since I’ve made so many carrot cakes over the years, I’ve experimented with different ingredients and quantities, and in this recipe I believe I’ve nailed…
Easter Macaroon Nests
Happy Easter everyone! This year I really wanted to make some macaroon nests and fill them with chocolate eggs. They just look so cute and I love pretty much anything with coconut! I experimented with the egg whites. The first batch was a runny disaster, as I didn’t beat the egg whites enough and added…
Southern Caramel Cake
I have been wanting to try my hand at making a caramel cake for quite some time, and after some research I decided to go with this recipe from Grandbaby Cakes. It’s an authentic, true Southern recipe and everything is done from scratch with no shortcuts, including the caramel. So you definitely don’t want to…
Snow Capped Gingerbread Cookies
I love gingerbread so much. I am one of those strange beings who loves all ginger spice flavoured treats, but truly can’t stand ginger in it’s natural form or crystallized. Every time I have sushi I always leave the ginger on the plate and if some mistakenly makes it’s way into my mouth it’s not…
Chocolate Cake with Coconut Oil
I’ve been using coconut oil for a while now, I originally bought it as I heard it made a great face cleanser and I’ve recently starting including it in recipes. Chocolate cake is and always will be my favourite cake and I had a thought the other day when I went to make one, that…