Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

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Happy May! How is everyone doing? I’m doing ok trying to catch up with my hikes and somewhat eating a bit healthier. I suffer from high blood pressure and cholesterol (it’s in my genes, everyone in my family has the same stuff). Hiking makes me really happy, I enjoy just climbing the hill and relaxing, it’s my happy place.

Like I mentioned before, I have a lemon tree so when life gives you lemons … you bake Lemon Meringue Cupcakes! (I know, I know I was going to make lemons bars, but I completely forgot!)

In this recipe you have to accomplish 3 steps:  the cake part, lemon curd and frosting. I would suggest you make the lemon curd the night before so you don’t feel too tired at the end of the day.

I hope you enjoy the recipe . Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/Pastry_Tales/

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Olive Oil Citrus Cake

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Happy Wednesday everyone!! I love sunny days like today, so I decided to write this post before I go for my hike. Yesterday, I was wondering what dessert to make, I was between lemon bars (which I’ll make soon) OR some kind of lemon cake. I have an orange and lemon tree. Lemon tree is awesome but my oranges are just ok (kinda sour). Anyway, I chose to mix lemon and orange in a cake plus some olive oil and the result was great.

I think this cake is super light and it goes perfect for an afternoon tea or after a heavy meal. Maybe you can try this recipe for Mother’s Day!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and don’t forget to let me know if you make it.

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Apple Crisp

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We were so busy last Sunday with house chores and also worried because one of my dogs was stung by a bee and had a horrible reaction . After a long day, my husband grilled some turkey burgers and I wanted to make dessert but it had to be quick, easy and with stuff I already had (grocery shopping was not in my mind).

I looked around and saw I had some apples so I decided to make an apple crisp. I know it’s not Fall but come on …. who doesn’t love the smell of cinnamon and apples around their house?

This is a recipe of an Apple Crips with a crunchy oats topping. Don’t forget to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. Enjoy!!

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Brix Chocolate Bourbon Brownies

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It’s been cold for the last couple of days here in Northern California. We had rain, wind and hail, it really got super crazy! I was craving brownies so I decided to bake some and I added bourbon to it (hubby loves Bourbon and he thought it was a great idea!).

Also, you know that I love love Brix which is chocolate for wine. Brix is always part of my party cheese trays and wine nights with my husband. Brix offers 4 types of chocolate: Milk Chocolate, Smooth Dark, Medium Dark and Extra Dark.

I like to use Brix chocolate for my baked goods too. For this recipe, I used Smooth Dark Brix chocolate and the result was really good.

You should try to make this! Grab a glass of wine or a cup of tea and enjoy. Believe me, you won’t regret it.

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Strawberry Fantasia Cake

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My husband and I like to go wine tasting around the Napa Valley area. A couple of years ago, we discovered a beautiful winery called Castello Di Amorosa which is in Calistoga. After visiting a few times, we decided to become Club Members and we like to go wine tasting quite frequently bringing friends and family. The winery is a beautiful castle and has great views plus the wine is really awesome. My favorites are La Castellana, Chardonnay Reserve, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Zingaro and… well I think I like many of them.

One of their most popular wines is La Fantasia which is a sweet sparkling wine with a very delicious berry flavor. I enjoy drinking it during summertime or when I get together with my girlfriends. I think this wine is perfect for any occasion specially if you know somebody who likes sweet wines.

I’ve been thinking to bake with wine and finally I decided to make my first attempt. This is a vanilla cake filled with La Fantasia wine infused strawberries and topped with La Fantasia whipped cream.

I hope you enjoy baking this cake. Cheers!

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Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

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Happy April!!

How did I come up with this post? Well, a couple of days ago I had breakfast at a coffee shop so I ordered my regular soy latte and a slice of their version of chocolate cherry banana bread and I was surprised by it. Banana and chocolate is a yes and if you add cherries to that …. omg you’ll love it!

I went to Trader Joe’s and bought everything to make my own version which actually turned out pretty good. Hope you like it too!

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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Hi everybody! I can’t believe March is almost over  and Easter is just around the corner which we won’t celebrate this year because my husband’s family is traveling to LA to attend their uncle’s “Celebration of Life” who passed away a couple of weeks ago.

When I was a kid the chocolate egg/bunny thing was not a big deal (in Peru), but I remember my dad always gave me a hollow chocolate bunny which I did not like because it was a dark chocolate one lol but I enjoyed tearing it apart so I could find the tiny toy inside. Now… I love dark chocolate!

Anyway, hope everyone is doing alright and that you are planning some Easter baking! Something I really like to bake during Spring is  “Carrot Cake” but this year I used the same recipe and turned it into a cupcakes . I know some people don’t like to add nuts, pineapple, coconut, etc but I really enjoy all of it so please feel free to add or not add any ingredient.

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Irish Apple Cake

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Hi everyone! Today is the first day of Spring but it’s rainy and windy here in Northern California. Hopefully we’ll have more sunny days so I can go back to my hikes.
As some of you may know, I love hiking. I used to go for a 5 mile hike (5 times per week) to a very nice park called Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville, California. It really helped me to lose some weight and release some stress. But, my left knee started hurting (I guess because I overdid it due to the hill being very steep) . Now that the pain is almost gone, I’ve started  walking and hiking twice a week but as soon as the weather gets nicer I plan to go back to my 5 days a week.
Anyway, I had some apples to use so I decided to make an apple cake and add some booze to it. I looked around for recipes and some of them inspired me to make an apple cake with whiskey and walnuts.
I baked this cake last Thursday and it was still really good for Monday breakfast.
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Wish you a happy baking day!

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Guinness Jameson Cupcakes

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Hey everyone! I’m back with a new recipe for Saint Patrick’s Day. I’m not Irish but I love to celebrate it. Maybe I’ll go to Tahoe this weekend with my husband to enjoy the cold weather and have a couple of beers for St. Paddy’s Day!

Here is a recipe of “Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes” which is an Irish cocktail shot transformed into cupcakes. For this recipe you’ll need 3 important things : Guinness, Irish Cream and Jameson whiskey. Guinness for the chocolate cake, Jameson whiskey for the chocolate ganache and Irish cream for the buttercream.

For the Irish cream I did not use Baileys, I got one at Trader Joe’s called Carolans, it worked pretty good (I think it’s less heavier than Baileys).

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Best Banana Bread

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Happy March everybody! I can’t believe Spring is just around the corner and I’ll start baking for Saint Patrick’s Day and Easter, time flies!

It has been kinda rainy here in Northern California which is nice because we really need it. It’s super scary to have everything dry during Summertime because of the big fire danger we usually have around the area. The more rain, the better.

Who doesn’t like banana bread? I love it! Just plain or with nuts or with chocolate chips or maybe with some peanut butter.

This is a basic recipe where you can add whatever you want to it. In this case, I added walnuts and chocolate chips.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you like it, leave me a comment!

If you want to see more recipes, don’t forget to visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales

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