Nothing beats warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven bread paired with a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee for breakfast. Now you do not need to live next to a bakery to get your fill of of fresh bread in the morning because this bread is super easy to make (I'm not exaggerating, I swear!) - no kneading or mixer required.
Easy last-minute nibbles for New Year's Eve? Salted chocolate brownie cookies. Crispy and slightly chewy around the edges, soft and moist brownie goodness in the center. YAS!
Wow, Christmas is literally less than two days away. Time does fly even though there have been many times this year when I thought otherwise, hah!
2015 has been tremendously wonderful: M and I got married in one of the best beaches in the world, we traveled to Europe, we moved into our own cozy apartment, I enrolled in yoga teacher training, met friends for keeps, and now I'm making my own espresso in my own little machine (oh joy!). Of course it hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies (duh, e.g. weddings bring out the crazy in people) but one of the things that I am most thankful for this year is the path of self-discovery that it led me to.
Christmas is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with crispy, fatty, tasty, mouthwatering lechon... unless you are not home in the Philippines for the holidays and in foreign land where authentic litson is nowhere to be found. In that case, SUPER crispy pork belly litson is the next best thing, which is exactly what we have on the blog today. YEY!
From Rome, we traveled to Florence. It is a more laid-back city with fewer tourists and I wish we had more time to stay longer. The entire city center, with all the tourist spots (except Piazzale Michelangelo which is 30 minutes away and not part of the city center anyway), is walkable. Not much gelato here since we only stayed a couple of days but there is an excellent Aglio e Olio 'round these parts.
OMG, where have you been Chas? It's been what, 3 months (?!), since your last post! I know, I know. <smacks self on the forehead> Sorry!
Last August, M and I went honeymooning in Italy and France. Yey! <cue fireworks and heart-eyed emojis> We waited (and saved up) a long time to go on a vacation to Europe so this was a much anticipated, much needed break. Of course I have to write about the glorious desserts we tried, right? First on the agenda is: GELATO. First stop: Rome.
... which translates to "Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dried Fish." Champorado is a classic Filipino breakfast dish traditionally made with tablea: cacao tablets made with ground cacao beans. A topping of crunchy fried dilis (anchovies) or tuyo (dried fish) usually accompanies champorado for a sweet-salty flavor contrast.
Layers of vanilla cake, dark salted caramel, and Swiss meringue buttercream, with tadaaaaa... Snickers! And cashew nuts! And more caramel! Aren't you excited about this cake yet? Well I am and I wish I still had some of it left in the fridge.
Happy 4th of July from The Elba Diaries on Vimeo.
Let's celebrate with a classic red, blue, and white dessert - cheesecake! But in ice cream form. Cheesecake ice cream with macerated berries and graham crackers. So get scooping, pop the bubbly, and let's see some fireworks.
Your daily dose of pretty comes in the form of petite vanilla layer cakes adorned with old rose buttercream roses. This was the first time I attempted to create a buttercream rose garden on top of my cakes and I was pretty chuffed with the outcome. These are still rough around the edges - I didn't get the clean lines I was looking for; nevertheless, a good attempt overall for a newbie.
Let's take a break from ice cream and talk about doughnuts! A few months ago, I craved Krispy Kreme doughnuts. There was no Krispy Kreme nearby (now that we've moved to a new apartment, there's a Krispy Kreme about 3 miles away) so I had to make some myself. Luckily, I found a Krispy Kreme copycat recipe online and it definitely delivered.
Chocolate ice cream - that's what I wanted to make. But as I was browsing through David Lebovitz's website, I saw his recipe of chocolate sherbet. Sherbet vs sorbet - wth is the difference?
After months of deliberation, we finally purchased an ice cream maker. Yey! Naturally, we had to test it right away and this frozen yogurt was the first frozen treat churned by the new member of our kitchen family.
I love banana bread so thank God I already found The Best Banana Bread Recipe on the planet! Banana bread though can be plain-looking especially if baked in a loaf pan so here are a few tips to make decadent rockstar banana bread. No diets allowed.
Watching Food Network has become a habit. 2pm to 4pm, Mondays to Thursdays. I especially love Giada's shows because I almost always find easy pasta and dessert ideas in her shows. This recipe is one of them.
