He Cooks, She Cooks

For years, whenever I smelled almond extract, I thought of these chocolate-cherry cookies my mom used to make for Christmas. Michael bought me a Burt’s Bees almond milk hand cream a while ago, and every time I use it, I start thinking of chocolate and Christmas.

Now that it’s actually Christmastime, I pulled out the cookie recipe only to find that it doesn’t call for almond extract. And my mom doesn’t think she ever added it. I guess the smell of maraschino cherry syrup is similar to almond extract, and the whole thing got mixed up in my memory.

Nonetheless, I added almond extract to the cookie dough this time around.

The cookies are brownie-like and best made small enough to be eaten in one or two bites. We served them to guests last night with vanilla ice cream.
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These cookies need a milk chaser, and that’s a good thing. I prefer desserts that demand a cold glass of milk.

By that I mean, rich, dense and chocolatey. For me, there is definitely such a thing as “too sweet” — many commercially made desserts fit this category — but there is no chocolate “too rich.”

The cookies are bittersweet with subtle cinnamon and cayenne pepper. They’re okay on their own, but the dulce de leche adds a needed creaminess. I have had the recipe bookmarked for two years, but you shouldn’t wait anywhere near that long to make a version of these.

Chocolate and dulce de leche previously: Chocolate and Dulce de Leche Layer Cake and Chocolate Dulce de Leche Custard Puffs

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People laughed when they found out I packed an immersion blender for my stay in Buenos Aires. Well, I’m happy to report that it has been getting plenty of use. Pureeing butternut squash and whipping cardamom cream, but most often to make banana milkshakes.

Now, I wouldn’t normally consider a banana and half a glass of milk to be dessert. In fact, I would have scoffed at the idea two months ago. But, folks, it’s just like ice cream! When you blend a frozen banana with milk, it comes out thick and creamy like any great shake. Many others have probably learned this before me, but in case you haven’t tried it, get some bananas in the freezer, stat!

Sometimes I put a spoonful of dulce de leche in it, and it’s still the healthiest dessert I love to eat.

The immersion blender, by the way, has been a great thing to have. It makes frozen drinks easily and without the mess of a larger appliance. And if you’ve ever tried to puree soup in batches using a regular blender, as I did once, you know it’s not a fun process. My immersion blender has a whisk attachment and another attachment for chopping. It’s pretty snazzy, and doesn’t take up much room in your suitcase, you know, should you ever have the need…

(And no, this isn’t a paid endorsement. If anything it’s an extra thank you to my mom for last year’s Christmas gift.)

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Today is my friend Marissa’s birthday, and in her honor I created this dessert: chocolate choux pastry filled with dulce de leche custard.

Marissa lives in Kansas now, but our nightly chats on Skype have kept me from feeling lonely while I am on my own in Buenos Aires. She deserves something spectacular, and I think this dessert qualifies. The pastry is light, the custard is thick and creamy, and it’s all covered with chocolate and dulce de leche. Totally decadent without being overly sweet.

I wasn’t able to make these look refined, but I think they match our friendship more this way. Marissa and I write silly raps, wear hats while we do Mad-Libs and generally cause a playful ruckus wherever we go

I’ve already enjoyed a few of these on the birthday girl’s behalf, but I’ve got some in the freezer for when she comes to visit in two weeks. So Marissa, if you weren’t looking forward to your trip enough already…here’s one more thing to get excited about. I can’t wait to share this with you. Happy Birthday!

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Sometimes you just want cake.

Last week I randomly got an intense craving for cake. Well, maybe one of the 50-or-so food blogs I read had something to do with it. Regardless, I needed get baking.

I browsed through my bookmarked recipes and saw the LA Times’ Celestial Chocolate Cake — chocolate with a whipped cream center and chocolate frosting. It made me think to do a chocolate cake with whipped cream both in the center and coating the entire thing.

Then as I was walking to the store to get cream, I thought I smelled strawberry shortcake. It is unlikely there was any strawberry shortcake in the vicinity, but whether there was the faint scent of another cake in the air or just in my head, it was enough to change my plans.

So chocolate cake with whipped cream and strawberries it was. And it absolutely hit the spot. Continue reading »

I wish I could call it my secret ingredient, but I’ve never been able to keep my own secrets. I put ground cardamom in most things I bake. Pumpkin chocolate chip cake, oatmeal cookies, carrot cake, granola…

Then I found a recipe where the cardamom would be far from hidden.

I saw something called chocolate con leche y naraja y nata al cardamomo in a book about chocolate in a Buenos Aires bookstore. I didn’t buy the book, nor could I full understand the Spanish, but I got the gist of the drink and decided to improvise my own at home.

Orange and chocolate isn’t typically a combination I love, but in this drink with cardamom and cream, it’s very welcome. I’ve made this a few times already for dessert. If there’s anything more comforting than hot chocolate, it’s this version.

(Which was difficult to photograph, by the way. Here I let the cocoa cool first so it wouldn’t melt the whipped cream, but then the cream didn’t all stay at the top of the drink, and some got covered in chocolate. A whipped cream dispenser would have helped, but it’s not a gadget I would ever actually need.)

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