Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry dessert. It is made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios) and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. Filo is a simple flour-and-water dough that is stretched to paper thinness and cut into sheets, a process so exacting that … Read more
Fruitcakes are cakes made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. They are typically served in celebration of weddings and Christmas. Given their rich nature, fruitcakes are most often consumed on their own, as opposed to with condiments (such as butter or cream). Fruitcakes have very long history. Ancient … Read more
Compote made of fruit and syrup of sugar and other flavorings. It can be made from fresh, canned or dried fruit. The fruit can be cooked whole or cut into pieces and almost anything can be used – apples, pears, apricots, peaches, plums, figs, and berries. When a compote is made with dried fruit, the fruit is … Read more
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry – this pastry is made up of flour, fat and a liquid to bind, the fat generally being about half the amount to flour. The tart filling … Read more
Custard is a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and flavorings which attains its consistency by the coagulation of the egg protein by heat. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise) to the thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière). The difficulty with custard is that they can be … Read more
Cannoli are sweet Italian pastries. They originated from the provinces of Palermo and Messina on the island of Sicily. Cannoli were historically prepared as a treat during Carnevale season, possibly as a fertility symbol. The dessert eventually became a year-round staple in Sicily. Cannoli are also popular in Italian-American cuisine. Most cannoli consist of tube-shaped … Read more
Crème brûlée meaning “burnt cream,” is a dessert. It consists of a rich custard base made of heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla is topped with a texturally contrasting layer of hardened caramelized sugar. The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla, but can have a variety of other flavorings including chocolate, orange liqueur … Read more
Praline is a form of confection containing at a minimum culinary nuts and sugar; cream is a common third ingredient. There are three main types: • Belgian pralines • French pralines • American pralines Belgian pralines are also known as “(soft-center) Belgian chocolates”, “Belgian chocolate fondants” and “chocolate bonbons” in English-speaking countries. They were first … Read more
Sachertorte is a famous Viennese cake. It is the most famous chocolate cake in the world. Sachertorte was invented by Austrian Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna, Austria. The sweet masterpiece consists of 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake with thickly spread apricot jam in between and on the top. … Read more