Nutmeg butter cake - perfect with a cup of tea

As much as I love gooey, chocolatey baked goods like last week’s rocky road brownies my Achilles' heel is, really, the simple cakes (as you already know). This butter cake, perfumed with freshly ground nutmeg is the kind of cake I crave most of my days, and even more in cold ones like today because it goes perfectly well with a cup of tea. I’d thought of skipping the glaze all together but at

Cinnamon pound cake with macadamia spice ribbon + "A Single Man"

Keeping up with my 2012 film goal, I watched “A Single Man” last night and what a surprise it was for me: I already expected something good – Colin Firth and Julianne Moore can do no wrong – but the movie is so visually striking that I felt like writing Tom Ford an email, asking him to make another movie soon.

*spoilers*

I love the way Ford works with the colors: a friend of mine called it “

Spiced brown sugar cookies

As much as I love cooking and baking I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – so you can imagine how happy I felt when I noticed that my sister loved cooking and baking, too – I swear I never pushed her towards it: it all began with her passion for brownies and cookies. :)

After tasting some of these cookies she told me they were delicious and she needed the recipe “asap”; she also told

Eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze

I told you I was going to make Flo Braker’s eggnog pound cake, didn’t I? I am so glad I did – this cake is delicious! Very tender, with a crunchy glaze and a boozy touch – perfect.

I finally watched “TRON: Legacy” this weekend – I hate 3D movies, that is why I did not watch it in the theaters; up to this moment I still haven’t decided what I love the most about the movie: the creative plot,

Eggnog truffles

The eggnog flavor, here transformed into truffles (a very easy recipe that does not call for many ingredients) has already been around my kitchen in cookie, crème brûlée and ice cream form; I loved each and every one of the twists on that classic holiday flavor and maybe, if there’s still time, I will also try Flo Braker’s eggnog pound cake.

Another twist on a classic I adore is Eric Prydz’s “

Almond spice wafers

Last Saturday I set out to bake a batch of cookies for my coworkers – after all, I needed to use one of my birthday gifts for the first time; being in a Christmas mood I chose these almond spice wafers. After making the dough – quite quickly, I might add – I placed the cylinder in the freezer and went to the movies. As usual, a visit to IMDb was made upon returning home and what a surprise it

Lavish cinnamon brunch cake

Now that the fear of emptying the pantry with crumb cake recipes is long gone I can gladly present you this cake: delicious, full of cinnamon flavor – and I do love cinnamon, you know that – and super tender, to the point of being difficult to slice. The streusel is tasty, crunchy and smells so good you’ll be glad that there’s a very generous layer of it.

Bake the cake today and thank me

Spice muffins

It’s wonderful to see my little sister become an adult but being around her certainly reminds me that time really flies. I don’t have a problem with that – at least not yet – and the age gap between us sometimes delivers funny moments: when we watched “The Social Network” together last year I had to explain to her what Napster was. :D

Another sign I’m getting old: there are days that the

Strawberry and rose hazelnut tart, music and a baking bonus

When I was 10 years old I got the Arena album as a gift from a cousin I deeply love. I used to listen to it nonstop, 24/7. I still have the album but since I no longer have a record player I bought the CD a while ago – I love listening to it while I drive to/from work. So good.
The CD version has two bonus tracks, but unfortunately “Girls on Film” and “Rio” are songs I never cared about (and

Buttered rum meltaways

One of my readers – hi, Angelica! – left me a comment about the amount of recipes calling for rum around here – there’s another one today!
I don’t like rum for drinking, but I certainly love baking with it – and if you try these cookies I am sure you will, too. :)

I’ve slightly adapted the recipe from Lizzie, who got it from a book I’ve been meaning to buy.

Buttered rum meltaways
from

President Clinton’s oatmeal cookies

I swear I’m not trying to get a job as an oatmeal poster girl, and I’d already decided on which oatmeal cookies were my favorite, but tell me: would you resist making a recipe with such great reputation? :)

These cookies are so delicious I regretted halving the recipe. Mr. Clinton’s taste in cookies is far superior to his taste in... Never mind. :D



President Clinton’s oatmeal cookies
from

Venetian carrot cake

I’m not one of those people who think that one has to love everything about their country just because they were born there – no, definitely not my style. There are lots and lots of things about Brazil I’m not fond of, lots of things that need to change.

That said, I have to be honest with you: Nigella’s Venetian carrot cake is good, but our Brazilian carrot cake wins by a landslide. ;)

Spiced banana breakfast loaf

Sometimes when I’m going through my cookbooks I say things out loud: things like “I am so making this”, or “I’ll make this next weekend”, and so on; just so you know it, the hubby doesn't find it weird. :)

A couple of weeks ago I was “talking” to my books again when I said I was going to make a banana cake. “Another one?” Joao asked. I smiled back at him and said nothing, but thought “hey, don

Gingerbread caramels

My friend Ana Elisa’s adventure in making torrone reminded me of how much work these caramels were: it took forever for the mixture to achieve the desired temperature, and I was melting in my kitchen while stirring it; after that, another century went by before I finished cutting them, oiled knife and all. Not to mention they were super soft and hard to wrap, too.

You’ll probably ask me why

Cinnamon-chocolate fruit mince tarts

I’d been meaning to make mincemeat pies forever, because I think they look absolutely adorable! But I always gave up at the idea of using suet, or anything similar to it.

That is why this recipe is perfect: besides being suet-free, both the pastry and the filling are delicious, with a not-very-Christmas-but-yummy hint of chocolate.



Cinnamon-chocolate fruit mince tarts
slightly adapted from

Eggnog ice cream

Is there a better way to start something than starting it with ice cream? I thought so. ;)

My Christmas series has begun and I hope you enjoy the ideas for your holidays; David Lebovitz says that this ice cream goes wonderful with holiday desserts – and I believe him – but you must know that it goes well with just a sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg, too.

Just make sure you read the

Honey and gingerbread cakes

A couple of days ago I was talking here about how the holiday season brings me down - I saw panettones at the supermarket and realized that Christmas is just around the corner. On the other hand, I love holiday food – I’ve been planning a special series of holiday posts, like the one I did last year, but luckily with more recipes this time.

It’s too soon to start the holiday series around

Old fashioned apple pandowdy

From the food-with-irresistible-names series: pandowdy. :)You already know I choose recipes because of their unusual names, so no secrets here. And just to prove you I’m not that shallow, I can’t wait to try all the other desserts on the link the pandowdy came from. If you want to know more about pandowdies, Elle has a great post here, with a delicious recipe on the side.Old fashioned apple

Pear friands

Many of you have asked me if I eat everything I post here – not really, otherwise I’d be the size of a house. :) I do eat a little of each recipe I cook/bake and then decide if it is good enough to be shared with you, but the amounts are very modest: 2-3 cookies, 1 slice of cake, and so on. At first I did not think I’d be able to do that - because I love eating - but so far, so good. :)

These

Apple yogurt muffins

So I did what I told you I’d do: I’ve started baking more bread. And it feels great. But the absent minded here forgot to buy more yeast and used the last teaspoon in the sachet to make our Saturday night pizza. :(

Luckily I had some baking powder around – and a very lonely apple in the fridge. :)

Apple yogurt muffins
adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins

2 cups (280g) all