Just because you might not be able to have dairy, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the fun.  I have a great recipe for non-dairy cheesecake that I have been making for so long that I don’t even know where I got it from.  All I know is that it is yummy; and I can use it as a base for many variations of non-dairy desserts including this speculoos cheesecake with a speculoos cookie crust.

This recipe starts with ground speculoos cookies mixed with margarine pressed into the bottom of a springform pan.  Then some delicious homemade speculoos spread gets mixed into the cheesecake batter.  If you think a cookie filled cheesecake with a cookie crust is cookie overload, you can just choose one; but I think you might be missing out. You can go with a straight graham cracker crust and just swirl your spread inside the batter, or just make the cookie crust with a classic cheesecake filling, but why would you want to when you can have both!

If you have been following food trends you have definitely heard of hazelnut spread such as Nutella.  You have also come across millions of ways to use it from cookies to cakes, pies, tarts…you name it, and you can find it.  The newest food trend to hit involves speculoos cookies.  These crispy cinnamon spice cookies, or caramelised bisuits are similar to gingersnaps and are usually served around the holiday season.  They originated in Belgium and are the official cookie of Delta Airlines.  Needless to say, they are amazing and every blogger seems to be getting in on this trend including my friend Melinda of Kitchen Tested, and Chanie of Busy in Brooklyn.  Melinda made her own speculoos cookies and then turned that into a cookie spread (she also made vegan speculoos ice cream).  Chanie took the ready made packaged cookies and used them to make Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting.  I am going somewhere in between, using the store bought cookies to create my own non-dairy spread.  I used the Lotus Brand Biscoff Cookies since they are aaaahmazing.  They are sweet, salty, crispy, and perfectly spiced.  I tried to make my own cookies; they tasted good, but didn’t come close to the original.   And since the cookie spreads I have seen are not yet kosher certified, I made my own.  It is probably not quite as smooth as the original secret recipe, but it definitely does the trick!

To celebrate Maxwell’s first birthday, his parents wanted to present him with an awesome cake at his party.  His favorite toy is actually a musical, light up set of bongos.  So his parents thought it would be cool if I replicated them out of cake!

The bongos were really fun to make!  The toy actually leans like that, so instead of stacking the cakes straight, I stacked each layer slightly off center to get the right look. One drum is slightly larger than the other so I baked one cake 6 inch round and the other in a 5 inch round.

I had this great idea for the bottom tier to look like sheet music, but I wasn’t sure if it would work.  I used my clay extruder to create the black fondant ropes and attached them playfully around the cake using clear piping gel.  Then I attached black fondant lettering to the ropes using black royal icing.  To add a little sparkle, I dusted the letters in glittery luster dust.

Here is the back of the cake, I really like how the musical notes look around the bottom tier!  Happy 1st Birthday Maxwell!

I made the wood platform and boxes out of fondant that I scored with an x-acto knife before letting them dry out for a few days.  One all the wood was hard, I glued it all together using royal icing.  The slingshot is also made of fondant, but I inserted a lollipop stick inside before allowing it to dry.  That is how I got it to stand on its own.

I made the sunshine cake topper out of gum paste so it would be really strong.  I mounted it onto a lollipop stick using stiff royal icing.  The birthday boy turned 4 years old!  I cut his name and age out of white gum paste using an angry birds inspired font and detailed it in black using a black food coloring marker.  I  know that Aviv loved the cake because he was carrying the cake topper around all afternoon!  Happy 4th Birthday Aviv!

I love hot chocolate cake. I’m not sure when this fad in restaurant desserts began but I’m sure it is here to stay. Almost every restaurant will offer some sort of delicious hot and gooey chocolate dessert and that is what I always order; even if I’m not hungry. I somehow manage to make room for this sweet and decadent delight.

I don’t often make this dessert at home, but whenever I do, I use a super simple recipe I adapted from Hershey’s Classic Recipe cookbook. Not only is it easy to make, but it is non-dairy and vegan! It’s baked in a plain old square pan. Once it comes out of the oven it can be spooned into any fancy serving dishes. No need to buy special ramekins or bakeware! This recipe could not be easier and it is so easy to dress up. Just add some fresh fruit, whipped cream, your favorite ice cream and you are sure to look like a pro. The hot chocolate pudding forms underneath the cake as the cake is baking, so just be sure to drizzle plenty of it over the top. Hot chocolate pudding cake is definitely one of the best things I have ever eaten. Treat yourself to some today!

Tips and Tricks:
*The recipe can be prepared ahead of time, just prepare up until adding the hot water. About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour the hot water over the top and bake as directed.
*The cake can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a 200 degree F oven.

 I already have delicious Passover recipes for double chocolate nut cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and banana chocolate chip muffins, but I wanted to offer something delicious without going into a chocolate coma.  I was convinced I could use Matzolah in place of oats to make Passover “oatmeal” raisin cookies, and I did!  These cookies are dense and moist with the right amount of crunch.  I like lots of raisins in my cookies so I added extra raisins but it’s totally optional since the Matzolah is already loaded with raisins.  These cookies do not taste like they should be Kosher for Passover which is exactly what I look for in a Passover dessert.  They are a nice change from all those desserts overloaded with chocolate.  If you see some Maple Nut Matzolah this year I urge you to pick some up and try these cookies!  

For more information about Matzolah such as where to purchase, check out their website: http://foodmannosh.com.

For more exciting Passover desserts check out the links below!

Hooray!  It’s my 2 year blogaversary!  I totally missed my first one.  Then one of my fellow blogging friends was celebrating hers so I figured I would look to see when I wrote my first ever post.  It happened to be March 6, 2011 and it was terrible!  While I was proud of it at the time, I definitely feel like I have improved my blogging skills since then.  I know that I am officially a week late to this celebration, but it was also just my birthday!  I wrote my first blog post 4 days before my birthday, so I guess I will be celebrating these momentous occasions together from here on out.

 To celebrate, I decided to make myself a cake I would love to receive.  I have been seeing this ombre ruffle trend, started by Maggie Austin, all over and immediately fell in love with it!  When I found out that Maggie was giving a Craftsy course on making this cake, I was so excited!  Ombre has been in style for quite some time now, and who doesn’t love girly and whimsical ruffles?  The cake would not be complete without some matching ombre ruffle cabbage roses.  I am absolutely in love with these flowers and might be making them quite often.  I learned all the secrets behind this gorgeous cake from the master herself.

I’m sure you are wondering what I was planning to do with a giant 2 tier cake all to myself.  Well it  just so happens that my sister-in-law had her bridal shower scheduled for this same weekend.  I figured I would make to bring to the bridal shower.  I chose the purple color scheme to pay tribute to the color of her bridal party.  The cake was a huge hit!  Happy birthaversary to me and happy bridal shower Miri!

For Donna’s 60th birthday, she was planning a big celebration and the cake needed to be fabulous.  She told me that she loves her designer handbag, as well as expensive jewelry and gorgeous makeup.  I was able to incorporate all her favorite things into one cake! This was my first handbag cake.  I can’t believe I was never asked to make one before!  When I was asked to make this one, I was so excited!  I stacked a few rectangular sheets of cake and carved them to achieve the right shape.  Once it was carved and covered in buttercream, I covered it in white fondant.  I then airbrushed the cake with brown and black airbrush color.  Normally, to build up the right color using an airbrush, you need to add a few coats of color, allowing the color to dry in between.  But for this handbag, I wanted an uneven almost splotchy look to mimic the look of leather.  So I just sprayed and sprayed until the cake looked really leathery.

It was important for me to replicate the logo onto the handbag.  Since the design is pretty detailed, it would be difficult and very time consuming to hand paint it.  Instead, I bought this stencil from Stencil Planet.  To apply the logo to the cake, first I mixed up my paint.  I mixed some gold luster dust with some bronze airbrush color.  I like this mix as opposed to mixing luster dust with vodka because the paint ends up much thicker and doesn’t usually require more than one coat.  Okay, time to paint.  I held the stencil up to the side of the cake, dipped a paintbrush into my paint and gently dabbed the color onto the openings in the stencil until each shape and symbol were filled in.  I really like how the pattern turned out!  With the pattern in place, it was time for the details.

I wanted a realistic looking zipper and I didn’t have a mold; I wonder if they even sell a zipper mold.  Anyway, I rolled out a thick strip of fondant and pressed an actual  clean plastic zipper (attached to one of my sons tiny sweatshirts) into the fondant.  I cut the extra fondant from the sides of the zipper off, and applied the zipper to the cake.  I shaped the zipper pull out of fondant, but that part was just done freehand.  Then I painted the whole piece with my gold/bronze paint.

I shaped the handles of the handbag out of some tan colored gumpaste.  I made them a few days in advance so they would have time to dry.  I made the buckles in advance as well to allow them to harden and keep their shape.  I really wanted the handles to be standing up, but I was terrified that they would rip the edges of the cake off during transit, so I just attached them to the sides.  After all is said and done, I actually like this look better and I’m glad I made this decision!
The final touches were the cutest part of the cake.  I draped scraps of white fondant on top of the exposed cake board to soften the overall look.  Then I arranged the handmade fondant makeup and pearls!  I painted the pearls with pearl colored airbrush color to get them looking realistic.  Donna loved her cake!  Happy 60th birthday and many more!

I made the royal icing swirl roses in advance and once they were dry, I was able to apply them to the cookies.  I followed the tutorial I found on The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle to make them.  With a little practice and a lot of patience, they come out great!  Now, if you have followed my blog for a while you will notice that I use a lot of this Tiffany inspired blue color in my cookie and cake decorating.  I just love it!  It is so elegant but not too girly; perfect for an engagement or wedding celebration!  Mazel Tov on your big day!  Let’s celebrate with wedding cake…er…cookies…wedding cake cookies! Check out what my talented friends brought to the party, below!

It is customary on the Jewish holiday of Purim for every family to give a food related gift basket to family and friends.  I always try to be innovative and creative and keep my treats small and sweet.  Last year I made these popcorn cupcakes.  They were so adorable that I didn’t think I would come across a better idea; ever.  Until… I came across this gorgeous treat on Cookie Crazie almost a year ago.  I knew that I had to make these for my Purim treats (shalach manot).  Keeping this idea in my back pocket for so long was a struggle, but I did it!  You don’t have to wait, there is still time for you to make them!  These would also be fun for a children’s birthday party on a dessert table, or as a fun project to do with the kids!

I arranged flat bottomed ice cream cones in a mini cupcake pan.  Then I mixed up my favorite vanilla cake batter.  You can also use cake mix.  I filled each cone about halfway up the cone and baked them at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.  I baked the cones on the bottom rack of my oven so the cones wouldn’t get too dark.  Once the cones were baked it was on to the ice cream scoop cookies!

I mixed up my perfect sugar cookie dough.  You can use my recipe which is ready to use straight from the mixer, there is no chilling required!  Then I used my large cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbs. size OXO Brand) and filled it with cookie dough.  Then I held it scoop side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet and squeezed the scoop until dough popped out.

Next I took my smaller sized cookie scoop (2 tsp. size OXO Brand) and pressed the scoop down into the center of the cookie scoop.  Then, holding the scoop down on the dough, I squeezed the scoop to pop the dough out of the small scoop.  And voila! A perfectly formed cookie dough ice cream scoop!

My favorite part of this project is coming up with the ice cream “flavors”.  You can definitely keep the cookies simple and elegant and go with vanilla.  The vanilla cookies are cute as is, but adding some rainbow sprinkles to the top before baking makes the cookies super cute!  For some of the scoops, like the mint, I mixed the gel paste in all the way to get a uniform color.  For others, like the blueberry or strawberry, I mixed the color in until it looked marbleized like an ice cream swirl.

Bake the frozen cookies at 350 degrees F for 13 minutes.  If you want to add chocolate chips to the scoops, press chocolate chips into the scoops as soon as they come out of the oven.  This will ensure that the chips keep their shape and don’t melt all over in the oven. Once the cookies are cool, attach them to the cake filled cones using your favorite buttercream frosting or royal icing.  Stack them up for a double or triple scoop!

Wrap them up in simple clear treat bags and share them with your sweetest family and friends!

Here are some more fun ideas for you from some of my blogging buddies, enjoy!