Claudia&Julia's Blog

With these temperatures you need a lot of nerve (or a pastry-baker's willpower that ignores thermometers) to face a hot oven. Even so, so as not to discourage those who refuse to give up a sumptuous dessert despite the summer heat, today I bring you this S'mores Cake, a recipe that doesn't require an oven, yet will hardly find a rival among those that do.

I admit I'm a sweet-tooth, and desserts are my weakness — I like them all, really! But even so I have my favorites, and one of my top picks is fruit tarts, especially the Tatin tart, starting with the traditional apple one and ending with this one I'm bringing you today, the delicious pineapple Tatin tart.

The tray that Emile Henry has won our hearts with this year is extremely versatile. It’s a tray that serves both to present any appetizer, cheeses or cold cuts at the table, and to cook: it’s designed to go in the oven, with the great qualities of Emile Henry ceramic, so you can bake puff pastries, tartlets with brick pastry, cookies and everything your sweet side desires, or you can use it to bake delicious pizzas, roast vegetables, potatoes, make stuffed, gratinated onions or mushrooms... Whatever you can imagine! But with one great added benefit: you can take it from the oven straight to the table, and its presentation is sensational.

The days are coming when our kitchen will be in full swing, and it’s one of those times when knowing a simple recipe that can sort out a Christmas dessert or breakfast is welcomed with open arms.

Don't you love easy, showy recipes that make us look like real cooking pros with very little effort? I do. I adore them. Any recipe with minimal effort and maximum wow factor goes straight into the stash to be tried. And if I like it, it gets added to my cookbook ipso facto. That's what the ruffle milk pie recipe is like, pastel de leche arrugado or galatopita. The latter is the original name of the creation, of Greek origin, and it's to die for.

It's autumn, and it's the season for chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins; it seems like we’re starting to crave baking pies, tarts, cakes, and pastries with apples and pears. In a way we want to turn on the oven to fill our home with those intoxicating scents of butter, cinnamon, and sugar. If only we could keep that smell in a glass jar and open it every now and then!

The prospect of a good cheesecake homemade is always synonymous with a party and celebration at home, a favorite in practically any of its formats and varieties. And to the delight of everyone (including the writer), the latest happy discovery has been the acclaimed cheesecake Japanese, cotton cheesecake (in English) or soufflé Japanese (as it is known precisely in Japan): : a very smooth and incredibly fluffy cheesecake.

The monkey bread recipe (or pan de mono, as we call it here) is pure indulgence. A caramelized, cinnamon-flavored cake built patiently and lovingly, ball by ball. It's definitely worth it, especially when following the wise guidance of Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour, who shares the recipe here.

Patry, author of Sabores y Momentos, brings us the traditional carrot and raisin cake in mini and full cake versions: turn the mini-carrot cakes into a multi-tier cake covered in cream cheese and coconut. A tender, delicious cake that will surely be a hit if you give it that beautiful finish.

Lola, author of Loleta, Food Life&Market, brings us a recipe that, if you don’t watch out, will become an addiction at home. It’s the traditional banoffee recipe, with a cookie base and a heart of banana, caramel, and cream. I know, if you’re thinking about summer it’s not the most appropriate, but what the heck, summer is still a long way off and a day is a day!