playing by the rules..

I have two big rules when designing a cake..


The first one is: "Flavor comes first".. You see, it's very easy to get all wrapped up in "design-world".  Not to give flavor the importance it has, is the same as sentencing the cake to be forgettable.. I know that first impressions always last, but insight beauty is a deal sealer!

...and the second one is: "less is DEFINITELY more".. For me, a cake should make a statement, but be subtle and delicate at the same time.. I love fireworks, but in the sky, not on a cake.

Have a sweet weekend!!

a spoonful of cake..

Although I absolutely love and treasure my Mom's recipes, and I even find them charming, they kind of unsettle me, since they are so "flexible".. a spoonful of this {and it can be any spoon that is closer to her at the moment}, a pinch of that {man, how I hate that!}, and a little bit of those... I mean, for me, that kind of recipes are like the "dark side" of the culinary world.. and that's the reason why I feel so comfortable baking, because it is so precise.  There is very little room for spontaneity, I mean, don't get me wrong, of course I can always improvise a bit, but any variation must be well calculated, so the recipe is not negatively affected.. because, at the end of the day, pastry is purely chemical.. that's where I find its beauty..

So there!.. one big difference between savory and sweet, is that people who enjoy cooking savory dishes, have this easiness to change any recipe however they feel like at that very second, I like to call this "freestyle-cooking".

I have this very dear friend, Sole, and she is for sure another perfect example of a "freestyle-chef", she does not only have this easiness to manipulate any recipe that lands in her hands, and I mean, ANY recipe... {she has even changed a lot of pastry recipes.. I still can't get over it!}, but she lives a totally freestyle life.. For her, there's no rush... EVER!!.. She doesn't plan almost anything.  Her days, just flow.. and what I love the most about her, is that this way of living her life, gives her an "everything's-alright" aura..

So, her birthday is here, {yes, freestyle Sole's b-day}, and I wanted to make her a cake, that was not only beautiful, and delicious, but also fun, since we love so much laughing together.. and that's how I came up with this.. I hope you find it fun too!!

She came up with this idea {of course it was HER  idea}, of eating the cake directly with a spoon.. yeap.. cake by the spoonful!!

Happy Birthday Sole de mi corazon!!!

For the cupcake case, I tempered dark chocolate, and molded it using the same pan where I baked the cake.. so it'd be a perfect fit..

That's a wrap... or an "unwrap" I guess...


Have a sweet weekend!!

I ♡ Macarons!!

If there is an untouchable French sweet, I have to say that it's hands down Macarons..

I don't know what it is about them, perhaps the fact that there are 32 steps to get a succesful macaron shell, as the almighty Pierre Hermé says.. or the fact that there are indeed 32 different ways in which these heavenly french cookies can go wrong.

The thing is that I made March the "Macaron month".. And the fun starts right now {even though it's still February, but that's how messy I can be sometimes!}

So, fasten your seatbelts.. We are driving through Macaron Lane!!

the most wonderful time of the year!!

i can hardly find a better way of living a truer christmas experience than taking part at a christmas market.  so, this year i set myself into a festive mood, and had my own stand at the christmas market here in baden, and let me tell you, it was the best thing i could have ever done. &nbsp

..we had all the components that make this the most wonderful time of the year.. we got snow; christmas lights; the lowest temperature of the year; and even a holy visit.. yeap.. the pictures speak for themselves..

have yourself a merry little christmas..

home, sweet home.. (part II)

there's no such thing as a christmas decoration without a gingerbread house.. This is my take on it.. 

have a sweet week,