Finally strawberry season is upon us. I thought I would introduce cute little strawberry cupcakes to you guys shortly before Mother’s Day. They are easily prepared and would be such a sweet gift. If you transport the cupcakes without the forsting, you can even travel a bit. I recommend swirling on the frosting shortly before serving. I mean, who wouldn’t love a lemon cupcake with strawberry-jam filling and whipped cream that is infused with freeze-dried strawberries?
Has this ever happened to you? You want to make a specific recipe from your grandma. In my instance this was paska, the Ukrainian Easter bread. She even has two handwritten recipes in her tiny booklet. However, not even all ingredients are listed (such as flour) and there are no instructions. There is no oven temperature or even baking time. I did pull my hair when I realized that because my grandma passed away so I couldn’t ask her anymore. How am I supposed to make paska if there are no instructions and not even all ingredients listed? I remember that I confronted her on several occasions when she was still alive. Her reply was simple, you “feel” when the dough is right, you “know” how much sugar to add. Well, you may do if you make the recipe ten million times, but grandma, I am not you, I don’t feel or know anything! So instead I turned to Instagram and asked you guys if you knew of any good recipe. I was so astonished how many people actually replied and provided recipes to me. Thank you so much for that! I am so excited I got to make paska in the end, I had the chance of eating it during my childhood. My grandmother was born in the Ukraine in Odessa and she always served it for Easter.
Pavlova, a meringue nest with whipped cream and mango filling, who wants a piece? I am going to introduce this recipe from Australia/New Zealand to you. Reason for this being my hubby, who requested pavlova for our 12-year anniversary. There is a similar recipe in Colombia, called merengón with berries, whipped cream and meringue. No wonder that he wanted something similar. Pavlova is, compared to meringue, slightly different. You do have a crunchy outside, yet since you fold in a bit of cornstarch and vingear, the inside remains creamy (see picture below) which is similar to marshmallows. Does this sound like something you are into? Then you should give pavlova a try.
Finally, today I am going to show you a basic yeast dough recipe, this is a raspberry yeast wreath, which is a wonderful treat for breakfast or if you want something nice with your coffee.
It’s about high time for another sponge roll. This time I am offering a refreshing lemon sponge roll, which is perfect for winter days. The vanilla sponge contains lemon zest as well as lemon juice and obiously the same holds true to the filling as well. For the extra kick, we will brush the roll with some lemon syrup.
Today you will get a simple, yet extra moist and very lemony lemon loaf or lemon pound cake. If my hubby were to decide, I am sure I would be making cakes with citrus fruits all the time. It is by no accident that my first published recipe is a French tarte au citron oder lemon tart. I made it for Valentine’s Day and published it shortly afterwards. My list can go on and on, I do have double lemon cupcakes, blueberry lemon cake, American lemon pie and (key) lime pie on the blog, I think it is endless. All of these baked goods were for him, of course. He just loves this tart flavor and I won’t say no to lemons and limes either. Especially in winter when fruits are harder to get and the options limited. So I decided to make a simple lemon loaf. The recipe I found used tons of lemons so I gave it a go and the result is full of lemon flavor.
Are you looking for inspiration for Easter? I’ve got you covered. Below you will find lots of recipes either for brunch or breakfast, but also if you wish to serve some special cupcakes or treats or even a cake. Check the links below the pictures, I always start from left to right. You will find all recipes from the featured picture in this blog post.
Traditional braided bread from Germany
Waffle cake with rhubarb and strawberries
Sourdough pancakes with blueberry sauce,
Thick Belgian waffles with caramelized bananas,
Broken-up pancakes with rhubarb compote
Cheesecake with rhubarb and strawberries
This fluffy and soft braided bread is traditionally served for breakfast on Easter in Germany. I made it the first time last year in 2020 when Europe was in heavy lockdown due to COVID19 and it was hard to get flour and yeast. I was grateful I always have active-dry yeast on hand, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make this delicious bread. I have tried many different types of this bread, but this one is by far the fluffiest and softest and for that reason I am confident to present it here.
This is a fairy dream come true. I made this fruity raspberry sponge roll the first time for our ten-year anniversary. Sooo good. This is a light and fluffy sponge base, filled with lots of raspberries and whipping cream infused with raspberry jam. This recipe is so delicious, I felt like filming it. So far there is only one more recipe video on my blog, if you would like to check out my brownie cookies, it has been the most popular recipe for a long time now. But let’s get back to this fruity raspberry sponge roll. I love sponge rolls because they only need between 8-9 minutes to bake. I find them perfect if you have company coming over. If you are a seasoned baker, you will be able to present a super delicious sponge roll in no time.
Is it OK to say “Happy Easter”? I do believe so. To be “happy” also means to be relaxed and baking definitely relaxes me. Baking is my way of dealing with the crisis, it is a wonderful method to beat depression and sadness. Yes, I also know people who got fired or are now working part-time. But regardless, I do see Easter as the feast of hope despite all the horrible things currently happening. And for that reason I decided to make macarons according to the Italian method. I already have a few macarons recipes on my blog, my very first try, strawberry macarons with no food coloring as well as coffee macarons with dulce de leche filling. But all of the listed recipes follow the French method. This is the very first recipe according to the Italian method. I will explain below what this entails.
