S’mores Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

It’s been so hot for the last couple of days here in the valley!! Today I went for my hike and it was super hard to get to the top of the hill, I really should go earlier before the heat hits hard! I have good news about my dog Pom Pom, she was tested for Addison’s disease (super expensive test) and she does not have it! We’re so happy! She just needs to stay with her special diet and hope she doesn’t feel sicky anymore.

Sunny and hot days make me want to eat s’mores!! Who doesn’t like chocolate, graham crackers and toasted marshmallow combo? I love it! This recipe will take a couple of hours but it’s worth it! First, you have to make the crust with graham crackers, then the cake part which is a soft chocolate cake and finally the marshmallow frosting (do not be afraid of making this!).

Also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram! I post pictures of all the stuff I cook and bake! Follow : Pastry_Tales

 

Continue reading →

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Port Wine and Cherries

by // // Comments off

Last weekend we visited a couple of wineries in Placerville (California) and we got the chance to taste some great wines from that area. Today, I was in the mood for brownies, so I thought why not using some of the port wine we got  to infuse some cherries to add it to my brownie batter. The result of this experiment was amazing so here I am to share the recipe with you!

For this recipe I used my favorite chocolate for wine: Brix Chocolate, if you haven’t tried them yet, I recommend that next time you have a “wine tasting day/night” with your friends, you get some Brix chocolates and indulge yourself.

Let’s start with the recipe!

Continue reading →

Strawberry Cream Tarts

by // // Comments off

 

Happy June everyone! I’ve not been posting much for the last days because I had bad headaches (plus my right eye was twitching – still is a bit and it’s kinda annoying) so I wasn’t baking at all. I think allergies are kicking in but I’m feeling way better. On the other hand, one of my dogs Pom Pom is sick. I’m kinda worried because tomorrow she is going to be tested for Addison’s disease, we really need to do that test because she has had this on and off vomiting for the last year . At the beginning, we thought it was a stomach issue, so she was on a special diet and stuff, but last week she had a bad episode of vomiting so our vet told us that it’s time to see if it’s Addison’s disease. Pom Pom will be 3 years old next month and we got her from a rescue place. She is a sweet and loving girl. I just want her to be happy and healthy. Please, cross your fingers for Pom Pom and that everything turns out ok.

Changing subjects… I always go to Napa Valley for wine tasting but last weekend we met my husband’s brother and his girlfriend in Placerville to visit a couple of their wineries around Apple Hill. Apple Hill is a very touristic spot around Fall time because as the name says they have everything apple from pies to cider and other stuff. Also, they have a cool pumpkin patch and other activities. If you live in Northern California, I suggest you visit and enjoy a big apple fritter!  We visited Boeger and Jodar wineries. Both wineries have excellent wine! We agreed that his brother was going to bring some snacks (like a cheese platter) and I made dessert. I wanted something with fruit so I baked strawberry and cream tarts, everyone loved them.

This recipe is about a shortbread crust filled with a luscious pastry cream and topped with strawberries.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Continue reading →

Rosato Wine Raspberry Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

I’m very excited about this recipe because I think it has all you want for Spring and Summer : Cupcakes and a glass of rosé. I’m a super fan of berries and wine. If you haven’t tried raspberries and rosé, I think you are missing out and you need to fix that immediately. This recipe is really easy if you follow all the steps : It has a soft and delicate yellow cake ( you’ll taste rosé and almond), filled with  a little bit of a raspberry compote, topped with a rosé and raspberry buttercream frosting.

I chose a wonderful rosé from my favorite winery Castello Di Amorosa. Rosato is a dry rosé of Pinot Noir with hints of fresh berries and rose petals, very refreshing for this time of the year. If you would like to know more about this winery and their wine visit: www.castellodiamorosa.com

Ready for the recipe? Here it goes!

Continue reading →

Black Forest Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

Happy Monday!! Did you watch the Royal Wedding? I did. I woke up around 3 am on Saturday to start watching the whole thing but by 5.30 am I was all tired and ready to sleep. It was worth it though, I loved it! Meghan looked gorgeous and Harry sweet as always! Hope they live happily ever after! (BTW if you haven’t looked at my Royal Wedding themed cake, you should take a look, it tasted really really good).

I was craving something with chocolate but I just didn’t want to go to the grocery store and buy a chocolate bar, I got cherries and guess what! Black Forest Cupcakes it was!

Chocolate cake + Cherry Compote + Vanilla Whipped Cream = HEAVEN!

Let’s start with the recipe ….

Continue reading →

Elderflower and Lemon Cake

by // // Comments off

Happy Friday! The Royal Wedding is tomorrow and I wanted to bake something British. I was going to make a Battenberg cake which I baked about 4 years ago (it was not that pretty but tasted good), but then I read an article about the baker who is going to make the cake for Meghan and Harry and she mentioned the 2 flavors that are going to shine that day : Elderflower and Lemon. I was ok with lemon (plus I have a lemon tree at home), but… elderflower… what is that? where do I buy it? I have never tasted it. I searched online and I found out that my local World Market had a couple of bottles left. I went over to buy  a bottle and guess what…. they couldn’t find the product, it was super nice that a couple of employees spent like 15 minutes or more trying to locate the box (the manager told me someone already called asking if they had it too… maybe a baker? ).

I came home super happy with my elderflower bottle (Belvoir Fruit Farms Elderflower Cordial), opened and smelled it… Spring was inside that bottle! Citrus, flowers… perfect match!

Anyway, this recipe is about an elderflower lemon cake with a elderflower mascarpone frosting. Why mascarpone? I’m not a big fan of buttercream (I know.. crazy, right?). Plus, I wanted something lighter, mascarpone and heavy whipping cream it is!

Hope you like this recipe! Cheers!

Continue reading →

Passion Fruit Cheesecake

by // // Comments off

Growing up I didn’t drink sodas that much. I always had homemade lemonade, orange juice,  apple and passion fruit juice. We even made homemade ice pops called “marcianos” , one of my favorite parts of Summer.

Passion Fruit is native to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru (South American countries). I think this fruit is pretty popular in the Philippines too . The list of health benefits commonly attributed to passion fruit is due to the nutrient, mineral, and vitamin content of the fruit, which includes antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, fiber, and protein.

I always find passion fruit at Hispanic supermarkets. I buy it frozen, you can get the pulp with/without the seeds. Other names for passion fruit are : maracuya, parcha,  lilikoʻi , etc.

This cheesecake is perfect for warm days, it’s not very sweet and the fruity flavor makes you want to spend the day in a tropical beach.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @Pastry_Tales . I always post all the videos of the desserts I make. If you make this recipe, let me know!

Ready to bake? Let’s start with the recipe!

Continue reading →

Crema Volteada or Peruvian Flan

by // // Comments off

 

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I thought it would be nice to bake a couple of desserts that remind me of my mom. As you might know, I’m from Lima-Peru and I moved to California because of my husband. All my family is in Peru, so I miss my parents for sure. They don’t travel to visit me anymore because of their health conditions, but I try to visit them twice a year.

My mother’s name is Ana and she is 71 years old. She has always been a wonderful person, very caring and loving. She used to bake a lot (maybe I got the baking skill from her). I remember that every time we celebrated birthdays, Christmas, special dinners, etc. she always cooked and made dessert, everything from scratch, paying attention to every little detail. One of the desserts she used to make a lot was Crema Volteada (Upside-Down Cream = Peruvian version of Flan), everyone who tried it, loved it!

My mom now suffers from an early stage of Alzheimer’s, a terrible disease that there is no cure for. She was diagnosed 3 years ago and it really was super hard on me. I call her everyday and we see each other on camera ( My husband is always finding good and easy devices for video calls and right now we’re using Amazon Show, works great). With her early diagnosis she has been treated with medicine that makes the disease to not progress fast, I’m happy to say that it hasn’t got awfully bad yet. She knows who I am but she can forget what she had for lunch, but that’s ok, we all make mistakes, right? I try to entertain her every day when I call, I love our conversations. I told her I baked this Peruvian flan and she got all excited about it, she was giving me some tips too and those things make me soo happy!

Here is a picture of her with some orange muffins she made right before she was diagnosed. She doesn’t bake anymore but I’ll keep her legacy.

Hope so you like my little story. Let’s start with the recipe!

If you would like to see how I made this flan, visit my Instagram page @pastry_tales

Continue reading →

Best Margarita Cupcakes

by // // Comments off

 

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing great. Today is National Margarita day so I decided to make something special to celebrate. After our 2 trips to Mexico (so much fun!!), my husband likes to have a bottle of tequila at home, just to sip it or for margaritas. This recipe is really good to celebrate Cinco de Mayo too! I made these cupcakes 2 years ago, but now I have improved the recipe and it has a tequila-lime curd inside which is the bomb! This recipe has 3 parts: the cake, the filling and the frosting.

For the tequila, I used Magave Anejo (You can find it at Costco). Let’s get started and hope you like! Cheers Amigos!

Continue reading →

« Older posts
Newer posts »