Rugelach - the cookie nightmare of perfectionists

I guess that this recipe tried to teach me a lesson: nothing worse for a perfectionist/control freak like me to realize that no, I won’t be able to shape all the cookies the same way and yes, some will be tiny and others will be huge. At least I waited for a cold day to make these (after the other rugelach fiasco) and despite the problems with the rolling and shaping of the cookies they turned

Dulce de leche cheesecake squares + some great villains

I’ve already told you how much I adore Christian Bale and I think he’s a perfect Batman but after watching the trailers for “The Dark Knight Rises” – cannot wait for July to come! – I have the feeling that he’ll be eclipsed by Tom Hardy on the movie just as he was eclipsed by Cillian Murphy and Heath Ledger on “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”, respectively. I love it when great actors are

Vanilla bean and blueberry mini cheesecakes

My initial idea was to make Nigella’s peanut butter cheesecake – that was why I bought several packages of cream cheese after all. Peanut butter cheesecake with a milk chocolate glaze... Yum, yum. But I had a surprise after opening the peanut butter jar: it was almost empty; I was furious for a couple of seconds then remembered that I’d had several spoonfuls of peanut butter lately. Too many, I

White chocolate cupcakes with candied kumquats and a big thank you

Thank you for your book suggestions – you guys are wonderful! I’m about to decide which book I’ll read first and thanks to you I have enough ideas to choose from now and in the months to come.

Since I’m inclined to choose a classic book, I bring you something classic, too: cupcakes. But I mean classic, not plain: the candied kumquats add not only a splash of color but also a delicious and

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream and a very, very scary movie

I’ve come to the conclusion that my courage, these days, is pretty much having ice cream (the one on the photo, delicious) in very cold days.

My sister wanted to watch “Insidious” and since I cannot say “no” to her I went along. I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed and that did not stop me from having nightmares about it for days. She left the theater laughing and told me the movie

Lime cupcakes and a crazy dream I had the other night

I had one crazy dream a couple of nights ago: I dreamt that people were planning a remake of “Blade Runner” (can’t tell you how much I adore that movie) and Daniel Craig had been chosen to play Roy Batty. Don’t know about you, but in my dream it seemed to be a very smart decision. :D

I guess that the only thing I love as much as movies are citrus flavors. So there you have it, lime cupcakes. :

Plum tray bake with a cheesecake ripple

There was a rumor on Twitter last month saying that delicious would end – I was in complete panic because I find the tool extremely useful; luckily, it appears to be just that: a rumor.

How else would I have “remembered” this delicious cake – I mean, extremely delicious – bookmarked on Oct, 7, 2008? ;)



Plum tray bake with a cheesecake ripple
adapted from here

Cheesecake ripple:
200g cream

Cheesecake swirl chocolate brownies

I’ve been on a White Rabbit vibe these days – feeling terrible late with lots of things to do before I’m officially on vacation.

I’ll leave you with these brownies while I try to deal with my chaotic day. :)

Cheesecake swirl chocolate brownies
from Donna Hay magazine

200g dark chocolate, chopped
250g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
1 ¾ cups (306g) brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
1 ½

Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting and 4 years of blogging

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! You guys are the best! ♥

I turned 32 a couple of days ago, and this blog turns 4 today – for this double celebration I baked a lemon cake (and please let’s pretend you are surprised with the flavor choice). :D



Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting
slightly adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Cake:
3 cups (420g)

Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce

I told you I had an addiction – if you did not believe me then, you might start believing me now. :D

There is one thing different, however: this time I went for blueberries instead of blackberries, as in Natalie’s recipe. Just don’t ask me which one I like more – you know I have trouble picking favorites. :D

Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce
from Donna Hay magazine and here

Base:

Cheesecake ice cream with blackberry lemon swirl

After very cold weeks we’ve been having 30°C (86°F) days here in Sao Paulo – not very wintery, I admit it, but perfect for ice cream. :)

I bookmarked this delicious recipe last year but never made it during summer – that’s what happens when one has too many recipes on their “to try” list: lots of wonderful ideas to try, but not enough time to do it. :)

I tweaked Natalie’s recipe just a little

Fresh strawberry tart with lemon cream

I fear that you’ll probably start thinking of me as the lady whose tart crusts all go wrong – after the shrinking problem, I made another tart and this crust sounded very promising, with the combination of butter and cream cheese. It was easy to put together, I must admit it, but in terms of both flavor and texture I’ve had many, many better ones.

Before you reach for the red square with an “x

Vanilla and macadamia crumble mini cheesecakes

Let me start today’s post by ashamedly confessing that I doubted Donna Hay. I did, I must admit it. I made these cheesecakes and they looked so cute in the oven, I thought that adding the crumble topping would ruin them. But I’d already melted the butter, so I carried on with the recipe.
The topping is delicious and goes perfectly well with the smooth, creamy cheesecakes.

Donna, my dear, I

Lemon coconut mini cheesecakes

I’ve read that “Monk” is about to end – its last season is about to start here in Brazil. Can’t say I’m sad – I’ve tried watching the show several times, but it’s really not my cup of tea; I don’t see what all the fuss is about – or all the awards, for that matter.

I used to feel the same way about cheesecakes, until I made this recipe – now I want to try each and every cheesecake flavor out

Walnut, cranberry and cinnamon rugelach

I told you once that I can be quite stubborn sometimes – and I wasn’t kidding. :D

Kate Zuckerman’s pretty rugelach cookies had been on my mind forever, but I never had all the ingredients on hand. Well, I finally did – on a 30ºC (86ºF) day. I knew it was too hot and that the dough sounded too delicate for such temperature, but I insisted on making it anyway.
All I can say is that the cookies

Passion fruit cheesecake squares

To me, passion fruit is such a magical ingredient – I love its color, taste, smell... Slice one passion fruit in half and in a couple of seconds your kitchen will be completely taken by that delicious aroma. So revigorating.

In a gray day like today – and by gray I don’t mean only the color of the sky – I wish I still had some of those cheesecake squares around.



Passion fruit cheesecake