Dried Fruit and Nut Cake

These are basically fruit and nuts with a bit of flour and eggs to bind them together. Exceptionally easy to make, delicious and nutritious, this cake makes not just a fantastic snack, but also a perfect addition to the cheese platter. The fruits sure can be varied, and as long as they are natural, unsulfured and of a good quality, the end result will be terrific.

The recipe is from “Pure Dessert”

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Trompe L’oeil “Soft Boiled Egg”

This is the same lemon pudding I posted earlier, but presented differently. The illusion is very realistic due to the color and consistency of the pudding and a lemon curd “yolks”. For the toast, there’s an anise seed génoise-sort-of-cake, baked in a loaf pan and toasted before serving. The texture of these “toasts” is nice, not even close to hard or difficult to bite in; they don’t need to be dunked before eating – they melt in the mouth.

Adapted from the Gourmet magazine

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5-Spice Pumpkin and Date Loaf

5-Spice Pumpkin and Date Loaf

There are pumpkins everywhere, in all possible shapes and sizes. Aroma of autumn spices invades the kitchens. And even if this is not my favorite season (please, don’t throw anything in my head :), I do love this comfy smell, and the taste of a moist spicy pumpkin loaf. Speaking of spices, I love 5-spice powder here. In addition to the traditional set of autumn spices (cinnamon, cloves, and ginger) it also contains star anise and Szechuan pepper which adds some warmth. If you wish you can use a homemade pumpkin puree but I went with the store-bought this time. I usually make my puree a bit later, after the Halloween, putting all these poor organic Jack O’Lanterns to a good use.

Anita from the Dessert First is hosting this month SHF theme “Spices”, and there it goes.

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Chocolate and Grand Marnier Banana Cake

Chocolate and Grand Marnier Banana Cake

That’s what I’ve come up with after several attempts to produce a banana bread completely opposite in texture and flavor to the “traditional” banana bread - wet and sticking to your teeth, which is available, unfortunately, in almost every coffee shop throughout North America. My version is moist (don’t confuse with wet), fragrant, and chocolaty.

My close friend, who spent most of her life in Budapest and Zurich and has very sophisticated taste as well as her own conception of what a dessert should be like, approved this cake.

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Fresh Fig and Coconut Pound Cake

Fresh Fig and Coconut Pound Cake

This is probably my favorite pound cake and I baked them and ate them a lot… The cake is moist and very fragrant. It’s absolutely fantastic served with sour cream ice cream and warm raw sugar sauce. It freezes beautifully.

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