Pumpkin Chocolate Coffee Cake

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Pumpkin season is coming to an end next week after Halloween (well… at least for me), so I wanted to make sure that I use all the pumpkin cans I bought since July, I thought it would be good to make something to go with our morning coffee for the weekend. This coffee cake has 2 parts: the cake packed with spices, pumpkin, chocolate chips and walnuts. The crumb topping is a mixture of flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and walnuts.

What is a coffee cake?

Coffee cakes contain zero coffee itself. A common theme of coffee cakes is the addition of streusel on top.  Most of the time, it means a rich yellow cake spiced with cinnamon and topped with as much crumble as the cake can take. You can add different spices, extracts, nuts, chips, you can make your own version of coffee cake.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to see how I made it, watch my Reel on Instagram @pastry_tales

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Toblerone Chocolate Cookies

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It took me a while to start this new part of my blog. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I created a “sister page” called @grief_baking where I’ll share my experience with grief while I bake in my kitchen. And you might ask: Why grief? Well friends, grief is something we do not talk that much (death included). I know grief is a very personal process, but it can be very lonely too. If you have never experienced grief in your life specially with losing someone super close to you, you might not understand what I’m talking about and I’m not trying to make you feel bad about this. When my dad died almost 4 months ago, I got many messages from people I don’t even know from around the world sharing their experience with grief and shared stories and real kind words that have been helping me with this process. Yes, some family and friends have been there for me since my dad passed but a lot of them did not know how to act, what to say and sometimes even the things they said were hurtful for me, I am sure they did not mean to be disrespectful about my loss.  So, I decided to pay more attention to people who have been/are in my shoes, read books and allow me to do and feel whatever I think is right for me.

Why create another page? Because I want to keep my Instagram @pastry_tales about the fun, holiday, everyday baking while this new part @grief_baking will be for everyone who would like to join me or know about this grief process. All kinds of grief are welcome here. If you feel uncomfortable about me talking about death, grief and everything in between, you can just stay with the happy part of this blog. I think many people will relate with me and I just want to make them feel less lonely on this journey.

My first recipe is ” Toblerone Chocolate Cookies” because my dear father loved Toblerone. Since I moved to the states and every time, I went to Peru to visit my family, I asked if he would like something special from here and the first thing that came to his mind was chocolate specially Toblerone. He really enjoyed eating this chocolate. When we placed him in the geriatric clinic, I bought him Toblerone for special occasions but the last time I saw him last April, I brought a big Toblerone for him (those that are huge for Christmas season) but he could not eat it. He was already choking on solid foods, and I just had to keep the chocolate away from him. I felt terrible because he could not enjoy the chocolate, he liked the most, he could not enjoy anything special anymore. Prior to my visit, he had a very bad “choking” episode where he lost almost all the ability to swallow solids.  We even had to thicken everything he drank, which was hard because he really did not enjoy it, and he was ingesting less and less fluids. I tried to visit him every day and brought him homemade food chopped in little pieces and little by little during those 6 weeks I stayed in Peru, my dad started to eat more solids again, not like before but at least some.

Anyway, every time I go to the store and walk by the candy aisle and see Toblerone, I get this flashback of him eating chocolate and that is why today I’m sharing this story and recipe with you.

Also, I would like to mention that I got the idea for these cookies from Jane at Jane’s Patisserie

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to see the video of how I made them, visit me on Instagram @grief_baking

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Cinnamon Sugar Loaf

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This tasty quick bread is perfect for anyone who wants to get into the Fall spirit. And because I know that not everyone is a pumpkin fan like me, I decided to just use cinnamon to give the magical touch to this wonderful loaf.

The loaf batter is a vanilla flavor one, but it has a thick cinnamon sugar mixture in between and on top, which gives a nice flavor to the whole cake.

If you would like to watch the video of how I made this recipe, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

Let’s start baking!

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Super Simple Pumpkin Spice Latte Tiramisu

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Tiramisu is one of the most popular desserts around the world, one of my favorites for sure and because I love everything pumpkin during Fall season, I gave a little adjustment to my original recipe from a couple of years ago.

One thing you should know about this recipe is that I do not use eggs for the filling like you usually do for a real tiramisu. I have tested this recipe many times and when I used eggs, I did not like how it tasted with pumpkin and spices.

This recipe is easy and super fresh to serve after dinner or just to share with your family and friends during spooky season or Thanksgiving.

What do you need for this recipe?

* One of the most important things of making tiramisu is that you need Ladyfingers. Ladyfingers or Naples biscuits, in British English sponge fingers, also known by the Italian name savoiardi or by the French name boudoirs, are low-density, dry, egg-based, sweet sponge cake biscuits roughly shaped like large fingers. If you can’t find them at your regular grocery store, you can buy them on Amazon or try to make them at home.

* When I make tiramisu, I use Kahlua which is a coffee liqueur, it gives it a nice flavor to the whole desert. But, if you do not want to use alcohol or want to keep your budget low, just replace Kahlua liqueur with more coffee in the recipe.

*Use mascarpone cheese and not cream cheese. They are totally different. In flavor, mascarpone cheese is way less tangy and has fatter content to make your filling creamier and more delicious.

*For this recipe, I recommend to use an 8*8 square dish. You can double the recipe for a bigger pan.

 

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to see how I made it, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

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Pumpkin Cocoa Almond Spread Muffins

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A couple of weeks ago, my husband went to California to visit family and when he came back, he told me that I should try this spread sold by Trader Joe’s called Cocoa Almond Spread. He mentioned his mom enjoyed eating thin bagels with a layer of this spread for breakfast. So you know me…I had to try it. Got my thin bagels and went to Trader Joes’s for this spread and let me tell you that is delicious!  BUT because it’s Fall season I thought about making pumpkin spice cupcakes and adding some of this spread on top.

The muffins are packed with pumpkin flavor, spices and other delicious things. I added a teaspoon of this cocoa spread on top and using a toothpick I swirled it gently.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to watch how I made this, visit me on Instagram.

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Best Chocolate Cupcakes

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If you want a break from pumpkin and want to make something delish and spooky, you should try this recipe for chocolate cupcakes. The cake is spongy, moist with an intense cocoa flavor and the frosting is not just a regular buttercream, this is a frosting made with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and cocoa, super fudgy and mouthwatering.

These treats are perfect for Halloween or any other occasion.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you want to watch how I made these cupcakes, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

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Banana Walnut Bread

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I know some of you don’t like to bake with pumpkin because yes, for some people the flavor of pumpkin/pumpkin spice is a bit weird. Growing up in Peru we really did not make/eat desserts from any kind of pumpkin/squash, so it took some time for me to get used to the flavor which I love now.  BUT, I want to give you some options for Fall baking season that does not include any kind of squash like this loaf packed with bananas, walnuts and maple syrup. It is really delicious and perfect to enjoy your favorite Netflix show or your cup of tea/coffee.

Why making this recipe?

* This loaf is not your usually super “wet” banana bread. It has a nice texture and not very moist which is something I do not like about recipes.

* Keeps very well even if you live in a humid place like me right now (Texas).

* Ingredients are easy to find (maybe you already have them all in your pantry right now).

* Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or any moment of your day. Are you going on a hike? This will be the perfect snack!

* Want to start baking something that gives you Fall “vibes”? Then, this is right for you!

Let’s start baking and if you would like to watch how I made this cake, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

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Apple Cinnamon Cake Loaf

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I know it has been a while since my last post. My dad passed away unexpectedly almost 2 months ago and as you might know I was very close to him. Grieving the loss of a parent is hard and I have been taking my time to assimilate what happened.

But, I’m trying to return to my regular baking and blogging. Thanks to everyone who have reached out to me during this difficult time.

So, let’s start baking and as you know Fall season is my favorite time of the year and being just around the corner, I decided to bake something to start celebrating. I had 2 sad apples and some leftover apple sauce in the fridge, there was no way I was going to toss it away so I made this delicious, quick and easy cake that is perfect for Fall or anytime of the year.

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Lemon Bliss Cake Truffles

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Hello everyone. Finally, I’m back to my regular baking after taking a “break” due to my trip to Peru. As always, it was not a fun trip but I got done everything that was on my list to help my elderly parents. I had to take a couple of weeks to catch up with my sleep and rest my mind and body, because I came back super exhausted. But, I know Mother’s Day is around the corner and many of you are asking me when will I be posting something fun to celebrate that special day.

This recipe came to my mind the other day because I saw at the store these lemon-flavored candy melts/coating which I thought they would work super good in cake balls/truffles and a will look pretty for Spring/Mother’s Day.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to see how I make these delicious treats, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

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ChocoTejas (Peruvian Truffles)

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Every time I go to Peru to visit my family and friends, I have to buy a couple of boxes of these delicious treats that are originally from the Ica region of Peru. Choco Tejas are chocolate truffles filled with dulce de leche, nuts or dried fruit. My favorite combinations are the ones with dulce de leche and pecans or dulce de leche and rum raisins. 

My best friend came from Peru to visit a couple of months ago and she brought me some molds so I could make these chocolate bom boms and guess what… they came out really really good. They are not hard to make, and they can be kept at room temperature or in the fridge for many many days.

If you are looking for some nice chocolate to give away for Valentine’s Day, you should give this recipe a try. Watch my video on Instagram @pastry_tales so you can see how I made them.

Let’s start with the recipe.

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