Sucré By Kate London

Golabki!

2017-01-27T12:53:00.003-08:00

Its finally Winter! My favorite season! It's the best time to eat all the comfort food, wear super cozy pajamas and just relax and watch the snow from your window and not feel guilty about it for one second.

Here is my recipe for Golabki also known as stuffed cabbage (the ultimate winter meal), with pictures taken from my kitchen in Prague. Enjoy!

1) In a bowl mix 1 cup cooked and cooled rice, 1lb ground meat of your choice (sometimes I do turkey and sometimes beef). Add in 1/2 of a sautéed onion and 1 clove of sautéed garlic along with some parsley. Mix in 1 egg with 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, 2 tsp Thyme and a little paprika. Cover and put mixture in fridge until cabbage is prepared.

2) Boil your cabbage leaves until tender. Trim the thick stem if needed. (It will help with folding them later on)

3) Lay cabbage on flat surface and spoon 2 tbsp of meat mixture inside. Fold cabbage into little packages. Lay cabbage in lined pan with tinfoil with seams facing downward.

4) For the sauce I usually make a basic tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes. I also prefer my tomato sauce to be a little on the sweet side. Canned tomato sauce will also do the trick if you don't feel like making your own. Simply pour tomato sauce over cabbage and bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 350. It is a good idea to cover it with tinfoil before baking so the tops of the leaves don't burn.

I hope you love it!

The meat mixed all together

I see London...!

2017-01-19T17:29:00.001-08:00

I think its now time after multiple trips to London to share my favorite places and hang out spots! I have always felt comfortable when visiting even as a small child. I guess it is because my grandmother being born there and taking me to visit family would have a lot to do with my strong love and feelings for this city. Not to mention my parents giving me the middle name of "London."

The first time my grandmother took me to London to visit my cousins it was Christmas time. I remember it snowing and being the most magical experience walking down the decorated streets. I heard that it is rare for there to be snow so I feel so lucky I got to experience a real white Christmas.

1. Borough Market

This market is completely unexpected! It is under a busy bridge right on the south bank of London. It has everything a food lover could dream of. I was so hungry by the time I arrived that I bought a jelly filled donut and Egyptian street food from one of the stands.

2. Somerset House

I went during the holiday season so just be aware that the somerset house is always changing its venues. I was lucky enough to see the gorgeous skating rink. Inside each door there is something special, a coffee shop, book store, and many other surprises!

3. Unico Gelato & Caffé

This is outside of central London but definitely worth the trip! I am not a huge ice cream/gelato lover and
even I dream about their delicious assortment of flavors not to mention the most rich milky lattes! I can't
function without hopping over to get my daily latte from their shop!

4. Primrose Bakery

5. Bills Restaurant

6. Monmouth

Amazing coffee and cozy shop

7. Victoria & Albert Museum Cafe

This cannot be missed when you visit the museum. Whats better than drinking your tea and coffee in such a stunning room?

I hope this makes you want to hop on a plane tomorrow and visit these great places!

Apple Pancakes!

2015-05-07T12:32:00.001-07:00

These are the ingredients you will need. Can you guess what all of these are in English?!

Extra Cinnamon!

Beat your egg whites until stiff :)

Almost done!

Ready for Breki!

Root Beer Floats Over To Poland

2014-04-09T08:12:00.001-07:00

It has started to become somewhat spring-like outside! As soon as I feel warm weather coming it always makes me think of the day that my dad showed my how to make a Root Beer float one summer day. However he used a Coke instead. I was hooked! I was also about 18 years old and wondered why my dad had been holding out on me for all these years about such a delicious drink. I decided to make this drink at home. I first made it using a Coca-Cola and adding Grycan (the best Polish ice cream) Vanilla ice cream in it. It was because I didn't think I could find Root Beer here in Poland. I was wrong! I went to an international store and they had it. I made the real deal today and it was too good. Start out by filling a glass 3/4 of the way with Root Beer or Coca-Cola. Than add one scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. My dad specifically instructed me to add the ice cream at the end because it fizzes more and just seems to be a lot better this way. Smacznego

Spring Day!

Kawa I Szczescie (Coffee and Happiness)

2014-04-07T14:33:00.003-07:00

I have now been living in Poland for almost 7 months. I could stay here forever its so lovely! Of course many new photos have been taken, many coffees have been drunk, and of course lots of yummy pastries have been eaten! So enjoy the new photos of my latest adventures!

Bread in the shape of a rooster that I picked up in Kazmierz Dolny a sweet city a few hours outside of Warsaw

The best soup! Zurek!

My favorite Coffee shop in Warsaw Dwoch Takich

Rich hot chocolate with raspberries at the bottom

Because what is a great cafe without some randomness such as grumpy cat watching over customers?

I made this for breki one morning a nice change from eating chocolate pudding for breakfast.

Delicious farmers cheese grilled with Cranberry jelly on top! Perfect for Christmas!

Christmas time in Plac Zamkowy

Kogel Mogel a drink made with eggs and perfect for cold winter days!

Homemade Zurek

Livin La Vida POLSKA

2013-10-22T06:32:00.001-07:00

Well here I am living in Warsaw, Poland. Who would have thought? Let me first start off by saying that I absolutely love it here! Even though I may have encountered a bit of bad luck at the beginning by getting ticketed for j-walking on the very first day to being assaulted by a 14 year old girl at the bus stop to a man attempting to break into my flat (ya I know crazy, but now funny). I now can go for days without ridiculous things of that sort happening to me :). When I first arrived I had no idea what to expect. I literally packed up my suitcase and headed off to a country that I was extremely unfamiliar with. I could barely speak the language. I am happy to say that Warsaw is incredible. It is filled with beautiful parks, fashionable people, and the coziest cafes, and wow do they know how to make a good coffee here. The food is delicious and extremely flavorful. My favorite dish's so far are the baked sturgeon and Zurek soup. I have also noticed a lot of people have a bit of a sweet tooth here. Even though I am a pastry chef, I have had my fair share of desserts working at the cupcake shop back in DC so I try to overlook the beautiful and flaky desserts that are calling my name on every street corner. Overall Warsaw is a relaxed city with so much to offer and I am so happy that this city chose me. Enjoy the pictures from some of my adventures so far!

Nothing is better than to wake up to a breakfast like this.

Mmm Marshmallow spiced chai latte!

Beautiful and Delicious

My loving parents

The most important Polish word I have learned....LODY (ice cream)

Practicing my Polish skills

There is no caption needed for this.

The way to my heart=Poppy seed strudel

Cold day, cozy sweater, hot tea= Perfection

Absolute coziness

I feel that it is fair to say my job has the best view.

Tiger Chai Latte.....Roar

Star Fruit Beauty

This makes me so happy. Beautiful plum tarte straight out of the oven!

Incredible!

What is better than sitting at a cafe and people watching?

I love how I can walk home from work and see a little panda just chilling on the side of the street.

Mint-enade!

2013-07-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

So what is this concoction that I have put together?! It is.....LIMA-MINT-ENADE. Thats right, thats what i'm calling it and i'm sticking to it! ;) I must give credit to an old co-worker who showed me how to make this incredible drink.

Its made with fresh lime juice, water infused with mint leaves, and simple syrup (1cup water 1 cup sugar boiled into a syrupy consistency).

Definitely the most refreshing drink in this hot hot summer.

You can of course substitute the limes for lemons but hey its summer and its time to relax and mix things up a bit! ;D

Recipe:

10 limes (roughly)
1 cup simple syrup
2 cups water boiled with fresh mint leaves.

Mix all together add as much or as little of sugar syrup and water to dilute lime juice as you like.
Refrigerate until icy and drink up!

Enjoy the photos!

Enjoying the back yard right before leaving for Spain. So lovely for my last day!

Poppy Seed Strudel on a Rainy Day

2013-06-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to make this poppy seed strudel for months now!

This dessert brings back the most incredible memories from when I was growing up with my Mom always buying it for the Jewish Holidays and also from when I traveled to Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro last summer with my best friend. I may have literally eaten all the poppy seeds that ever existed while I was there. One amazing memory I have is driving through Bosnia and Herzegovina very late in the evening in our bright little yellow car. We happened to come upon a little bakery off the beaten path and next to it was a soccer game going on at a local field. My bestie and I went into the bakery where we bought our last taste of Mak or poppy seed strudel. We sat at the game and just watched and nibbled our little pastries while we giggled at how cute all the guys were. It was just so relaxing and out of the blue that it makes me smile and get goose bumps every time I think of how happy a moment that was of many fun happy times!

I had just taken it out of the oven here...The crust was a perfect buttery golden brown and oozing poppy seeds!

A little about my recipe....

I brought 2 cups of poppy seeds to a boil in a sauce pan with 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons of fig jam, and a dash of cinnamon. You can add in lemon zest and raisins if you like but I don't typically since I like to taste allllll the poppy seed flavor haha... Than you make your dough. Its best to make a puff pastry dough if possible. You then spread your poppy seed mixture on your rolled out dough and roll it into a long log shape. Brush the top with egg wash and put in the oven for 35 minutes. It is so good I couldn't even wait for it to cool off. Its best straight out of the oven warm and gooey!

Making the filling

I have a bit of fig jam obsession...can you tell?

Almost empty!

spreading the filling on top of the dough

Roll the dough into a log shape so when you cut it it looks beautiful like pin wheels.

Brush the top of the log with egg wash for a golden crust

Straight out of the oven! Seeds everywhere!

I still can't believe I waited this long to make such an incredible pastry!

Im really happy how it turned out!

Gigi's Secret Egg Salad Recipe

2013-06-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to hop on the metro and surprise my mom by coming home for the afternoon. When I walked in the front door my mom was hard at work making my Grandma Gigi's secret egg salad recipe. I started taking little crackers and dipping it into the bowl not to mention adding a heaping teaspoon of amazing caviar to each bite. In about 3 minutes I had eaten almost all of it. That is when she informed me it was for a party she was having that evening.......OOPS. Haha.

However, It actually turned out to be a great thing that I had accidentally decided to eat all of my moms egg salad and caviar, because she had to make a new bowl in order to feed all her guests so I was able to learn this secret secret family recipe!!

So Simple and So delicious Egg salad topped with Caviar

After you boil your eggs put it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process

Yes thats me helping peeling eggs. (It was the least I could do for eating it all in the first place)

The thing that makes our recipe so different is we chop the eggs super fine unlike a lot of other recipes out there.

Mom putting her special chopping touch to the eggs

Add in your spices and wet ingredients. Our special ones include Sour Cream, Mayonnaise, Onion Powder, Salt, White Pepper, and my own little twist is a dash of Sweet Paprika!

My Mom and Me just being silly together as usual!

The Caviar !!!

And finally the delicious finished product!

Its an Espresso, Pasta, Prosciutto kind of day!

2013-03-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

Eastern Market...

It is filled with fresh handmade pastas, Duck Pate, and the most succulent sausages, and prosciutto! After enjoying all of the lovely food I ended up at a tiny espresso bar around the corner. It was so nice to just sit outside at a little table and sip my cute cup of espresso while I people watch. Here are some pictures I took so that you don't have to use your imagination ;)

I ended up buying the butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli for dinner tonight!

I LOVE the simple things in life.

People watching through the little grapevine.

I almost feel like I could be in Egypt?...Maybe, not quite.

A snapshot on my way back home after a really great day of exploring!

Chocolate Madelines with White Chocolate and Sprinkles!

2013-02-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

It is obvious I have been slacking when it comes to posting all of my creations on this blog. I have been working hard at my job and it has left very little time to bake at home. So when I had the opportunity to bake last week I went with something that was easy but still very decadent. I made chocolate Madelines that I dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with colorful sugar. Not that chocolate Madelines alone wouldn't have been completely awesome. The trick to keep the shape of these light cookies is to refrigerate your batter before you bake it. I added fresh raspberries into the center of the cookies so when you bite into one it has a burst of freshness and a bit of a tart flavor. Enjoy the pictures!! Who knows when the next post will be keep an eye out ;)

Love,

Kate London.

New Desserts!

2012-10-24T21:27:00.002-07:00

New City, New Apartment, New Job, New Life = New Desserts and Pictures....Coming Soon!

Christmas Biscotti Dipped in White Chocolate!

2011-12-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

I start with 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

In another bowl I add 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup butter and mix. Than add 2 eggs, and salt.
Than incorporate the dry mixture into the wet and pour in chocolate chips at end.

Form the dough into 2 log shapes and bake on 350 F. for 40 minutes

Let cool for 30 minutes and than cut them and place back into oven for 20 more minutes.

After cooling melt white chocolate

Dip biscotti into white chocolate

Sprinkle with colorful sprinkles!!

And enjoy the beautiful colors and delicious taste of these chocolate biscotti!

This is a tradition that I started 2 years ago for my family. I start by making Chocolate biscotti than dipping the ends in white chocolate and sprinkling them with colorful sugar. This is the best present to give people because its DELICIOUS! I can't wait to give these as gifts. I love the expression that people have on their faces when they receive them. It makes my day! These biscotti take a bit of time to prepare because you have to cook them half way, than wait for them to cool for 30 minutes and than bake them a second time to dry them out even more. But, good thing I have my lovely Christmas tree to admire to keep me occupied. I don't think I have barely left my apartment since I received the tree. The tree is just so warming and makes me love my little apartment even more, also listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas music makes it perfect! I may just have to keep the tree for the entire next year....although I wonder what all my Jewish relatives would say about that when they come to visit ;)

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips!!

2011-12-16T05:45:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips!

First start with pumpkin fresh pumpkin is always better, but who has time for all that work these days just go with a can and make your bread already! ;)

Eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, baking powder

Chocolate chips, and Pumpkin Puree

put it in a greased pan

And there you go! The most moist pumpkin spiced bread perfect for Fall!!

Fleur de Sel Butter Caramels

2011-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Taking a long deep breath of brisk fall air

mixed with the smell of wood burning chimneys,

and fallen dry leaves.

Drinking a cup of sweet hot chocolate

with Extra big marshmallows, while Sitting in front of the fireplace in your home

Putting a salted caramel in your mouth and letting it melt slowly while tasting both the sweetness and saltiness all while closing your eyes and enjoying every second until it has completely disintegrated on your tongue.

= Pure Happiness.

On that note, I am making salted butter caramels. I brought a bag of Fleur de Sel home with me from when I lived in Paris, ( Fleur de Sel is a delicate type of salt) and I only use it on the most special dishes since I only brought back one bag. I would say that these butter salted caramels deserve to be sprinkled with the most delicate French salt. I love how the salted caramels are rustically wrapped in parchment paper. It just gives it this cute and very home-made look :).

-J'espère que vous l'apprécierez !

Caramels sprinkled with delicate salt on top to give a nice sweet and salty mix

These are the caramels I made last night, I cut them into small rectangles and now they are just waiting to be wrapped in parchment paper

My homemade Fleur de Sel Caramel :)

It starts with 5 Tablespoons of European butter unsalted

Bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a boil with the butter and 1 teaspoon of your special salt
Once it is brought to a boil take it off the heat.

No add 1 and 1/2 cup sugar to a different saucepan

along with the sugar add in 1/4 cup light corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water.
Now you must wait until this turns into a light caramel

This is my one and only bag of Fleur de Sel that I bought in Paris

Once both the cream mixture and sugar mixture have been brought to a boil slowly pour the heavy cream mixture into the sugar stirring often.
you will now need to cook this until it reaches 148 degrees F.

Of course I have to test the caramel mixture to make sure it tastes very sweet ;)

Once the mixture has reached 148 degrees F. pour it into a pan covered with parchment and let sit over night before cutting and wrapping in parchment paper.

Cut Caramels into little rectangle shapes and wrap it into pieces of parchment.

There you go!! You have cute and amazingly ADDICTIVE Salted Caramel Candies!!! <3 <3 <3

My Jewish Cooking Extravaganza!!!!

2011-09-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

Haaaappy New YEAR!!!!! L'Shana Tovah!!!! !!!! שנה טובה

If you are wondering why I am wishing you a happy new year in the end of September it is not because I have lost too many brain cells here and there and can't remember what day it is. Its because its the Jewish New Year!

I decided to create a Huge Jewish Dinner tonight!!!! I actually have never cooked an all Jewish dinner before. I have made Matzoball soup a few times but besides that I am pretty new to this, anyways I usually let my Grandma handle all the Jewish cooking (since she is the best at it.) If you didn't know this Jewish Gma's are the best cooks/worriers/most kind people in the world!

So you are wondering whats on the menu for tonight!?

well let me write in fancy letters for you to set the mood :)

Jewish Noodle Kugel Pudding
Potato Latkes (served with a side of sour cream & Apple Sauce)
Matzo Ball Soup

My latke topped with apple sauce and sour cream MMmmmM!

For the Kugel Pudding Mix cottage cheese, cream cheese, apple sauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg first

add in golden raisins

stir a little

cook noodles until tender

let drain before adding to cheese mixture

Now for the potato latkes, peel them

grate the potato and onion than add a good pinch of salt and white pepper a whisked egg and 3 tablespoons of flour

golden latkes after cooked :)

Matzo Ball soup! aka Jewish Medecine for everything!

The Noodle Kugel Pudding after cooked!!
Shalom Out! (Peace Out for all the non-hebrew speakers out there :) )

Madeleine Cookies

2011-09-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Raspberry & Blueberry Madeleine Cookies!

This is before the cookies are baked :)

I added a bit of lemon zest

This isn't too much butter, just about 10 tablespoons

So simple and so Beautiful!

This was the raspberry one. So lovely!

I love drinking tea all day long. It is just a way of life that my family has instilled in me. I decided I needed something light and delicious to go with my tea. I remembered I had these madeleine cookie molds that I had bought about a year ago. I made these using fresh lemon zest along with raspberries and
blueberries. I finished them with a dusting of powdered sugar. I served them with Chai tea. I feel the thick milkiness of the tea soaks into the cookie really well so I felt it was the best kind of tea to serve with this cookie. <3 Recipe Below:

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (although I always put a bit extra ;) )
a pinch of salt
1 cup flour
10 tablespoons melted butter
powdered sugar
fresh fruit of your choice

set oven to 375 degrees F.
mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and lemon zest in a bowl
add flour and mix just until incorporated (don't over mix it will cause it to be chewy)
slowly pour in melted butter while mixing
pour into your molds make sure they are oiled up
add in your fruit
bake for about 10 to 15 minutes
once cooled dust with powdered sugar
and there you have wonderful Madeleine cookies!!!

Raspberry & Blueberry Pancakes!

2011-09-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

Want to come over for Breki?!

CANADIAN MAPLE SYRUP ROCKS MY WORLD!!!

I packed these with extra Blueberries & Raspberries!

Doesn't this make you so thirsty for a glass of milk?!

I know I have not posted for a very long time, but that is because I have been trying to be good and not indulging in the usual madness of desserts every second of every day, so I can at least still fit into my bathing suit. (I do live in Miami you know ;) ) I don't know what it is about raspberries and blueberries in pancakes but the colors are insane and so incredibly beautiful!! I am fascinated by little things of that sort. It gives it this freshness that you can't get from just anything. P.S. does this make you want to jump on a plane, train, car, skateboard, surfboard and come over for Breki?!! Make sure to wear pajamas and get ready to experience the coziest place on earth, in this little cute apartment in somewhereslandia.

Banana Topped French Toast

2011-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

My Lovely Mom

I woke up this morning to my Mom requesting that I make French Toast. It sounded like a good idea, but I didn't want to make just any old boring French Toast. I thought about it while lazily lying in my cozy bed, and came up with a sauce that consists of melted butter, brown sugar, banana's, cinnamon and Cream Cheese. I than cut up the most rich Challah bread and soaked it in an egg batter with a splash of Whiskey!! Yes we are getting wasted and its only 9am. Just kidding, obviously the alcohol gets cooked out when you boil the sauce and it just leaves the taste of the Whiskey. This French Toast was incredible! I only could eat one slice it was so filling. The banana sauce is a way better way to go than drowning your toast in unbearably sugary maple syrup. This breakfast was so delicious to the point you can't wait to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again!

Cold Chocolate Cake and a tall glass of milk

2011-07-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

Now, Here is a chocolate cake that I made which is iced with a chocolate espresso icing, and than put in the refrigerator to firm up a bit. I add espresso into the batter and the icing of this cake because it actually brings out the chocolate flavor, and anything that brings out chocolate flavor is OK in my book ;). This cake is super rich. You must have a tall glass of cold milk to go with this cake, otherwise when you smile you might have chocolatey teeth. (Not that thats a bad thing or anything.)

Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake!

2011-07-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

At this very moment it is very ~~warm~~ HOT in D.C., and if you must think of the perfect dessert to go with hot weather I think of something lemony!

This Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake is light and moist with the incorporation of yogurt into the batter, and a drizzle of lemon syrup and glaze on top not to mention served with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea on the side and inviting your friends over = A PeRFeCt SumMeR DaY!

Make Baklava like the Greek Grandmother you never had!

2011-07-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

So you want to make the best Baklava any Greek YiaYia has ever seen!? Ok well I will give you my special recipe of how to out do any Grandmothers Baklava even if she isn't Greek ;)

First off make sure you have these ingredients:

Phyllo dough
Butter
Walnuts/Pistachios (unsalted)
Honey
Cinnamon stick
Cardamom seeds
Sugar
Pastry Brush
Sheet pan

Method of Preparation:

On your sheet pan line one piece of Phyllo
Brush with melted butter
Keep alternating Phyllo with melted butter until you have layered 5 sheets
Sprinkle crushed Walnuts/Pistachios on top
Layer 5 more sheets of Phyllo while still alternating with brushing each sheet with melted butter
Sprinkle another layer of the nuts
Layer 5 more sheets Phyllo and melted butter
Than cut your Baklava into whatever shape you want before you bake it.
Make sure the top layer has melted butter on it
Bake in oven until golden brown.
While baking in a saucepan bring to a boil these following ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
1 1/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
A few Cardamom seeds

Let mixture cool and when Baklava is ready pour the syrup over the hot baklava (Make sure your syrup realllly has cooled before you do this last step because it will cause your Baklava to stay soggy)
Let Baklava sit over night.
Than invite all the old Greek ladies you can find in your neighbourhood and have them try your Baklava to see if you pass the test...and if they think your Baklava is good enough maybe they will find you a nice Greek boy to set you up with! ;)

Iced BanBan Muffins

2011-07-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am going home soon since it is summer now and I need to pay a visit to not only my home but the best place on earth.....Washington D.C.!!!! I have 4 days to use up all the perishable ingredients here in my Miami apartment kitchen since I of course wouldn't want anything to go to waste. So first on the list, Banana Muffins topped with the yummiest lightest icing that consists of Marscapone cheese, Cream Cheese, and Honey. While the muffins were baking in the oven it made the whole apartment smell of Christmas/Cozy snowy days. I had sprinkled a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter to create this aroma. Hopefully you like that smell as much as I do ;)

Cardamom Pear Cake

2011-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Pears are the kind of fruit that I always forget about. Poor pears...I actually just spelled pears wrong before I edited this paragraph. Thats how long it has been since I have thought of this fruit...pares, pairs, yes yes I remembered, pears ;) After I was asked to make a pear cake I took a bite of an extra pear for snacking that I had bought and it reminded me how delicious it is and how could I forget about such a juicy and sweet fruit. Do you think I could be a representative of the pear association with so many wonderful things I have just said about pears? No, I think I will just stick to my life as a Pastry chef.

This pear cake starts with a caramel, made with brown sugar and butter. It is layered with pear slices and than a moist cardamom vanilla flavored cake batter encompasses it all. When it bakes in the oven the brown sugar caramel melts into the cake and truly it is heaven! Not to mention with tea it is the perfect snack/breakfast/whenever you decide to eat it kind of meal.

Sugar Cookie Bars Sprinkled with Toffee Bits & Shmeared with Chocolate Marscapone Icing!

2011-05-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

If the title isn't a mouth full than this cookie bar for sure will be! I was feeling a bit inspired by one of my favourite chefs to watch on tele Giada. I saw that she made this and my mouth was watering so much that I ran to the grocery store and made it that night. It is sugar cookie dough (either homemade or store bought) pressed down into a pan mixed with toffee candy bits and baked until golden brown. Than you melt down your favourite baking chocolate and let it cool than mix marscapone cheese into the chocolate. Spread the chocolate icing all over the cooled cookie bar and refrigerate for 2 hours. This is super easy and it tastes so delicious I have been snacking on it all day for the last 2 days ;) I wish you could taste the pictures that I am posting because I am so in love with this creation, although I don't recommend licking your computer screen, especially if you haven't cleaned it since the day you bought it 3 years ago...not that I am guilty of that or anything ;)