The two weeks of my yearly Japanese trip felt like barely two days… but going back to the “normal” life took me much longer than usually and the cold, dark winter days really made me feel lazy, sad and not motivated to carry out such activities as imaginative cooking, blogging or even visiting my beloved…Continue Reading “Snacks, Dips and Finger Food for New Year’s Eve”
If most of your Christmas dishes are time-consuming or difficult, the last thing you need to complicate your life with is an elaborate dessert. Leafing through my old hand-written copy book and browsing through my blog, I realised most sweets I prepare got easier and quicker throughout the years. Thanks to this, the dessert is the part of the meal I am least…Continue Reading “Easy Festive Sweet Treats and Desserts”
Before you start yawning, seeing a second truffle recipe in a row, I must assure you I have a very good reason for that. These truffles are perhaps not very spectacular, perhaps they will not please crowds, but for me they count among the most successful culinary experiments of recent years. Slightly tangy, slightly bitter,…Continue Reading “Chocolate Truffles with Prunes and Walnuts”
Last days have been particularly cold and all I crave are soups and chocolate treats. Truffles are among the easiest chocolate snacks I know. The possibilities are endless, the process is very easy, so it’s not difficult to invent at least one new version every year. My usual basis is ganache (a mixture of chocolate…Continue Reading “Chocolate Truffles with Hazelnuts and Coffee”
Wonton Cups, or Edible Snack Containers Zsuzsa, my blogging friend from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen, has recently invited me to join her and other bloggers (Eva from Takarékos Konyha, Elisabeth from Food and Thrift and Eva from Kitchen Inspirations) and, just like them, post my Easter menu suggestions. I was honoured, but at first I…Continue Reading “Easter Party Ideas”
As soon as I think about the approaching Christmas, I feel like making truffles. I am always planning to offer them as edible presents and… finally end up eating most of them on my own (although I did manage to offer some Prunes in Chocolate last year!). Last week I was looking for something new…Continue Reading “Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles (Bounty Truffles)”
Yeast hates me. This is all I can say after another failure with this capricious baking ingredient. I love good home-made yeast cakes, but whenever I try making them at least one in three ends up in the bin, just like my yesterday’s attempt. I do not give up, of course, but such an incident…Continue Reading “Matcha, White Chocolate and Oat Truffles”
Prunes in chocolate are the easiest sweet snacks I know. They are also the quickest to prepare (and probably to eat). I wrote about them last year, but I thought they deserved one more chance, especially in the pre-Christmas period, where they fit perfectly as potential edible presents or even Christmas tree decorations. These…Continue Reading “Prunes in Chocolate”
Today I am blog-sitting for Nami! In other words I have the honour of guest posting on Nami’s Just One Cookbook. Nami is a constant inspiration in my exploration of Japanese cuisine and a dear friend I look up to for her culinary and photographic skills, so I am very proud she has left today…Continue Reading “Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles”
I have been making puffed rice chocolate truffles since I was a child and it was probably the first sweet treat I was able to make completely on my own. My childhood version of the oval truffles – called “hedgehogs” or “pine cones” because of their form – contained only cocoa, butter and rice, but…Continue Reading “Puffed Rice and Chocolate Unbaked Bars”