All posts filed under: Bakery

Gluten Free Thursday: Tahini Cookies with Honey and Sesame Seeds

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Hello from Istanbul! I just came to this very hot and already too noisy city about an hour ago (and I haven’t even left the airport!). I am waiting for my connecting, domestic flight in, let me see, 8 hours! And for some reason I opted for staying in the airport. One hour in, and i’m already regretting this decision.. And I forgot my carefully selected holiday books on my dining table at home!!! Luckily, I found that one blue, beautiful Zara dress that I (thought I) lost 2 years ago – apparently it was in the quite hidden front part of my suitcase all this time and I realised this just a few minutes ago when i was trying to take something from there… Arrgh..

Chocolate Chip Cookies With Roasted Pecans

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I watched the movie “Stranger Than Fiction” last night, about a millionth time probably. I love the whole movie but the scene where Harold brings Ana Pascal “flours” gets me every time. I told to myself, if a man ever brings me a box of “flours” like him, I will break my oath of not dating anyone anymore, and I will give this person a chance. Otherwise, my heart is locked. But that’s not all about the movie from last night. While watching it, I realised that I haven’t baked cookies for a while and I decided to get back to a very basic but majestic cookie: chocolate chip cookies! And this time, there is also roasted pecans added to it.

Rustic Fig Tart – Easiest One!

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Rustic fig tart.. Rustic fig tart.. Rustic – fig – tart.. If I repeat this more, maybe, just maybe, I can say it properly. Because for some reason I am unable to get my tongue around these words together, and I end up saying “rustic pig fart”. Not very appealing name for such a lovely, delicious tart, n’est-ce pas? Well anyway, here is a very easy and equally delicious tart recipe for you.

Suksesskake – Norwegian Delight

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Last year, in late February, I had a short weekend trip to beautiful Oslo. It stole my heart. I wished I could move there (I still do every now and then). I also wrote about the trip’s culinary side here. One of the Norwegian delicacies I tasted was “Suksesskake” aka “Success cake” in English. This almond based cake with a silky yellow cream on top was a bit sweeter than I expected but very delicious nonetheless (as everything else I tasted there). So I put it in my list to bake by myself, and after trying several different recipes online, I made the perfect one, which tasted like that one we ate in the Oslo cafe.

Cauliflower Cake – With Fresh Herbs, Turmeric And Onion

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I used to be very picky with food, when I was a kid. But I was picky in a weird way: I would eat veggies like okra and eggplant, which noone in the family except me and my mum loved, but skip easier-to-like stuff like cauliflower. I think I had a prejudice against cauliflower, I don’t even remember tasting it much. This was until I lived in Paris at the age of 24 – in the middle of an expensive city where tiny little euros were not flying easily into my wallet, I learned to appreciate this vegetable thanks to its affordability. And ever since, we have a loving relationship.

Gluten Free Thursday – A Refreshing Tangerine Cake

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I love making colourful food. But I don’t like colouring the food with chemicals. Don’t you think that the natural colours of ingredients are just the best thing you can find? So yes, it was the colour of this cake that attracted me, when I saw it in “The View From Great Island” blog. I followed the original recipe without any twists this time, and it is here if you want to see.

Imeretian Khachapuri, Georgian Bread With Cheese Filling – Expat Style

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As I grow older, I feel closer to Black Sea than Istanbul, even though I lived in Istanbul for most of my life. It is the people, the stories, the food and the nature that affect me. Most of my father’s family live in Sinop, my real home by the Black Sea coast, and my childhood is filled with stories about Circassians, Laz people and Georgians; I am half Circassian through my father, and I always loved those stories. So it felt only natural and familiar when I prepared this dish from Georgian cuisine today; Georgia, our next door neighbour. I ate this dish only once more than a decade ago in Istanbul when a Georgian friend made it for me. This one is a very “expat” version, as I cannot find the real cheese that should be used with it, but I tried to get as close as possible to the real thing. We can at least think that it is a delicious inspiration from Georgian cuisine if not 100% real thing!

Gluten Free Thursday – Coconut Macaroon

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I am so happy that after a bad flu attack and then a busy work schedule, I can write a new blog post now! And this one comes with a new video recipe! Yes, I have a YouTube Channel now and I already published one video there – the video for my last gluten free recipe. It will get better eventually, so please do not judge me too much for the quality of my videos!

Gluten Free Thursday – Raw Avocado Cake

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December 26th was my birthday. I prepared this cake for my birthday – the idea was to take it to Hietaniemi Beach in Töölö (Helsinki) with a bottle of sparkling wine and eat it there with some friends. But… Of course there had to be something like a storm that day – and then came snow towards the evening, the first real snow of this winter. So it was eaten indoors. This is my destiny – unless I move somewhere in Southern Hemisphere, I will always freeze in my birthday and never have a beach celebration.