Pumpkin Cake Bars

by // // Comments off

Happy Friday everybody! Hope everyone is doing great and if you are in the Carolinas I hope you are safe, I just read the news and Florence has submerged homes, you’re all in my thoughts are prayers.

With Fall just around the corner, I’ll be baking lots of pumpkin desserts. Last night my husband told me that he already feels it’s Thanksgiving time. He eats all the things I bake and he likes it, but he’s not a big fan of pumpkin as I am. We both love Halloween though, we’re still trying to figure out what costumes we will wear for a big party in my favorite winery Castello Di Amorosa.

This recipe is about Pumpkin Bars, they are not as chewy as a brownie, they have more cake texture. I added chocolate chunks and walnuts of course!

Let’s start with the recipe.

Continue reading →

Mini Chocolate Cake

by // // Comments off

I’ve been thinking of using cacao powder to make a chocolate cake and finally I baked a small one, the result was just perfect. This 2 layers 6 inch cake is the perfect treat you want for a date night or just to enjoy with a nice glass of wine . This cake is moist and you can store it for a couple of days with no problem!

Let’s start with the recipe.

Continue reading →

Dutch Apple Pie Muffins

by // // Comments off

Happy Tuesday everybody!! I’m finally back from my trip to Peru. As some of you might know, I am from Lima-Peru and moved to California because of my husband. All my family lives in Peru so I try to go visit twice a year (my parents are getting older with some health issues so it’s harder for them to get on a plane like they used to). Also, my brother got married so I was very happy to attend his wedding, it was such a beautiful event! I was there for 15 days and came home to catch up with things so it took me a little bit to start baking again.

I made these muffins a month ago, I know! I’ve been so busy with stuff and I didn’t have the chance to sit down and type down the recipe. These apple muffins will remind you of a Dutch apple pie because of the crunchy topping. Are you ready for the recipe? Let’s get started!

Continue reading →

Apple Fritter Cake

by // // Comments off

Happy August! Hope everyone is doing great. I’m sorry I did not post that much on July. The heat and the smoke from the fires made baking a little bit unpleasant. I am back to the kitchen with a couple of new recipes and I decided to start FALL BAKING!!

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I just love everything about it! Can’t wait to start decorating my house and also I hope that this crazy hot muggy weather stops.

There is a magical place called Apple Hill (Placerville, CA)  where you can find freshly picked apples, pears, ciders, pumpkins, pies, pumpkin patch, wine, etc. One of my favorite things to do there is to eat a big apple fritter with a nice cup of joe while enjoying the nice crisp weather. Here are a couple of pics of the awesome apples they have and the huge apple fritter I got last year. Can’t wait to go back this season!

Continue reading →

Chocolate Espresso Biscoff Cake

by // // Comments off

The first time I tried Biscoff cookies was on a Delta flight about 8 years ago. I found them really interesting, something that I had never tasted before, crunchy texture with a caramelized flavor. Later on, I found out that the proper name for those cookies were Lotus Biscoff (the American version is Speculoos).  It’s derived from the combination of words Biscuit and Coffee, simply because their caramel flavor and crisp texture make these cookies the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or espresso drink.

When you visit Pier 39 (San Francisco) you can find  “The Biscoff Corner in Pier 39” , so every time I visit, I grab a cup of coffee and cookies! Biscoff cookies and spread aren’t hard to find, you can find them in many grocery stores and I’m sure you can get them online too.

This recipe is about a chocolate espresso cake, soaked with an espresso syrup and filled with a light biscoff buttercream. Oh, I sprinkled some cookies too.

Let’s make this cake!

Continue reading →

Tiramisu Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

Happy Thursday! How are you my friends? Hope everyone is doing good enjoying Summer (well here up north). I’ve been enjoying it a lot because we are going boating at Lake Berryessa, it’s been fun! I haven’t baked so much in the last couple of days because the heat is not a very good friend for that (I have my AC on almost all the time but I love to have my windows open when I cook/bake). Also, I’m excited because I bought plane tickets to visit my family next month, one of my brothers is getting married so I’ll be there to spend time with family and friends.

Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts. I love the combo of coffee, chocolate and mascarpone cheese. It’s just perfect.

Let’s start with the recipe!

Continue reading →

Rustic Limoncello Tart

by // // Comments off

Lemons, lemons, lemons… who doesn’t like lemons? I have a lemon tree which I really don’t use as much as I should, so yesterday while I was with my dogs in the backyard I picked a couple of lemons and decided to make the classic lemon bars, but then I thought… I want to make something different and because I’ve been baking with wine quite a bit lately I searched if there was any lemon drink that I could use to bake, and I found out Limoncello (which you could actually make at home but I didn’t have much time for that). So, I went to the store and got a bottle (around $20). Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestivo. Along the Amalfi Coast (Italy), it is usually served in small ceramic glasses that are also chilled. Limoncello is also used to make cocktails, ice cream, dessert, etc.

And because I got Limoncello which is from Italy, I wanted use Italian cookies for the crust. I found lady fingers, pizzelles, biscotti and amaretti. I went for amaretti cookies because they are made with almonds and I love love nutty flavor crusts.

This recipe is really simple, no tricks.

Let’s start!

Continue reading →

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

“Red, red wine, goes to my head

Makes me forget that I

Still need you so…”

-UB40-

This time I’m baking with red wine, I chose Barbera from my favorite winery Castello Di Amorosa. Barbera has aromas of dark fruits so I thought it would be perfect with blackberries.

The chocolate cake is super moist because of the wine and the olive oil (you can use other kind of oil if you want), but the olive oil pairs really good with this wine. The frosting is a silky blackberry buttercream, really good combination.

If you ever visit Napa Valley, don’t forget to visit Castello Di Amorosa Winery :  www.castellodiamorosa.com

If you would like to watch the video of how I made these, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @Pastry_Tales . If you make this recipe, let me know!

Let’s start with the recipe.

Continue reading →

Banana Pineapple Bread

by // // Comments off

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was really nice, actually I had an awesome experience “flying” over Napa Valley. My husband and I rode a hot air balloon early Saturday morning and it was such an adventure (bucket list for sure). We woke up super early because we had to be at Model Bakery at 5.30 am for coffee and pastries, then rode a van that took us super close to Domaine Chandon and we took the hot air balloon from there. I was a little scared about the idea to be “floating” in the air, BUT I think I have done scarier things like zip lining, paragliding and sky diving lol. Anyway, the flight was for about an hour, the views were breathtaking. I totally recommend it ! After the ride,they took us for brunch at Oxbow Market and then we went wine tasting at my favorite winery Castello Di Amorosa. I had a great day for sure!

I totally recommend the company “Balloons above the Valley” . Our pilot (Chad) was the best and they were super well organized. Here is the link in case you might want to try it someday https://balloonrides.com/

Now back to the recipe of today. I had bananas that were turning very dark, so I decided to make a banana bread but then I looked in my fridge and had some crushed pineapple (leftover from my pina colada cupcakes). So, I decided to make a banana-pineapple bread, interesting, uh? Problem was I had no eggs, so I decided to use flaxseed (which I always have for my smoothies) and apple sauce to add moisture to the bread and because this bread was kinda “tropical” I used coconut oil instead of canola oil, I think this bread turned out pretty healthy and vegan.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Continue reading →

Piña Colada Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

Happy Tuesday everyone! I haven’t been posting recipes for the last week (but you can still look at all the things I bake on my Instagram account, so don’t forget to follow me there). I’ve been a little bit busy with other things so I did not have the time to sit and write down all the recipes, but here I am!

Summer starts in a couple of days (it’s been super hot here in Northern California) and  we just joined a boat club at Lake Berryessa, so we might spend a good amount of our Summer at the lake having some fun. I’m sure I’ll make a post about it and be ready for all the pictures to come!

This recipe is about pina colada cupcakes! Who doesn’t love pina coladas in a hot day? I love them. I remember I had a lot of these tropical drinks when we were at Cancun relaxing by the pool…. ok… I really want to go back to one of those all inclusive Mexican resorts soon!

Pina colada cupcakes: soft pineapple cake (with a splash of rum) + pineapple coconut buttercream  (with a splash of rum too!)

Are you ready?

Continue reading →

« Older posts
Newer posts »