Welcome back!  Today, we have another way for you to use your key limes, this time with a cheesecake! It's like any normal cheesecake, just with key lime juice, and once again, we used an almond crust since we thought it fit so well with the key lime pie from before. We really like key limes, so it's good to have another way to use them, though to be honest, this is pretty similar to a traditional key lime pie, just creamier, and with no crust on the edge. Key Lime Cheesecake (with Almond Crust) Makes a 9" or 10" cheesecake Ingredients: One pie crust (we used an almond flour crust, but honestly, anything else will work) 3 8-ounce boxes of cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar (depends on how sour you want it) 1 cup Greek yogurt 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup key lime juice Directions: Prepare your crust. Follow the instructions here , and then put the crust into the pie pan. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Be sure to poke holes in the crust. Crea...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another classic French dessert: Clafoutis! This is actually a really simple recipe that brings out the flavor of your fresh cherries, while the batter supports the flavor and texture. It is traditionally made with black cherries, but many other varieties can be made with different fruits, depending on what you have. However, then it becomes a flaugnarde , which is basically the same thing. Clafoutis Makes a 9" tart Ingredients: 300 milliliters milk Half a vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract) 3 eggs 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 1 tablespoon kirschwasser (optional) 400 grams cherries, pitted Directions: Prepare the vanilla milk: Pour the milk into a pot Cut the vanilla pod half in half again, but lengthwise this time (so two long strips). Scrape the seeds into the milk, but also put the pods into the milk. Put this milk on the stove on low heat and stir gently until it starts to bubble around the edges of the pot. Cool to room temperature an...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a classic - perhaps even the most classic - Italian antipasto : bruschetta! This is an extremely simple dish that you can quickly whip together to start off a nice Italian meal. There are many, many different ways to prepare bruschetta - after all, it is just toasted bread with toppings - but the most common is this one, which features tomatoes. The way that the fresh tomatoes really pop with flavor and juiciness in contrast with the crunch of the bread is absolutely delightful! Tomato Bruschetta Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 4 large tomatoes, seeded and diced (you could also use 8 roma tomatoes) 1/4 cup basil, cut into ribbons (aka chiffonade) 2 cloves garlic, finely minced Salt and pepper to taste 1 large baguette, sliced about 1/2" thick More extra virgin olive oil for brushing 1 clove garlic, halved Directions: In a bowl, mix the olive oil, tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Lay the slices of the baguette on a baking pa...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a very special dessert: Black Forest Cake! This is something that, on the outside, perhaps does not seem too outstanding, but is actually a very intricate creation. The German cake has many specifications in terms of authenticity to preserve the culture and tradition around the recipe, and so we followed it as best as we could, using the right liquor, cocoa powder, and the sort. In the end, it's quite a lot of effort, but it is a really amazing and delicious cake!  Black Forest Cake Makes a 9" cake Ingredients: Crust: 180 grams cake flour 20 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder 50 grams powdered sugar Pinch of salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, chilled and cubed 1 egg yolk 2 tablespoons heavy cream Cake (you can also refer to our Chocolate Chiffon Cake recipe): 7 egg yolks 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 100 grams oil 80 grams milk 30 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder (regulations say the cake should be at least 3% cocoa powder) 1 teaspoo...

Welcome back!  Today, we have yet another chiffon cake! We made this initially for our Black Forest Cake , but afterwards, we thought it was so good we decided to make it again, this time, just the cake. By itself, it's a fairly light cake like other chiffon cakes and it's also pretty much the same process to make, just with some chocolate this time. Chocolate Chiffon Cake Makes a 9" cake Ingredients: 7 egg whites 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice/vinegar 7 egg yolks 2 tablespoons sugar 100 grams oil 80 grams milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 30 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional) 130 grams cake flour Pinch of salt Directions: In a bowl, beat the egg whites and lemon juice. Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar along the way, about a third at a time. Whisk this until it has stiff peaks. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Then add the oil and mix thoroughly. Add in the milk and the vanilla extract and mix unt...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another great side dish: this one is a quick recipe for roasted mini potatoes. This is something that can go with anything, and everyone likes potatoes, so everyone will like this dish! This dish also works with many different ingredients; you can use different types of potatoes or different seasonings on top. Quick Roasted Mini Potatoes/Smashed Potatoes Ingredients: 1 pound mini potatoes Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste To garnish: Herbs Parmesan/shredded cheese Directions: For standard roasted potatoes: Cut the mini potatoes to desired size (we usually cut them in half) Put a pot of water on the stove and put a little salt in it. Once at a boil, put the potatoes in the water. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until almost fully cooked. Put the potatoes on a baking pan and sprinkle with olive oil and your desired seasoning. Bake in the oven at 375°F until golden brown (maybe about 15 minutes). For smashed potatoes: Don't cut the potatoes - leave them whol...

Welcome back!  Today we have an interesting fruity dessert: an apricot crème fraîche tart! Honestly, we made this because we had these two main ingredients lying around, but the flavor combination is great, which goes to show that you can really just throw a couple things together to make something delicious. It's also quite easy to make, just a bowl and a whisk is enough! This recipe was adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe that used raspberries instead of apricots. Apricot Crème Fraîche Tart Makes an 11" tart Ingredients: Batter: 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoons salt 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup flour Custard: 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup crème fraîche And of course: 8 apricots, sliced Directions: Prepare the batter: Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and salt until smooth. One at a time, add in the eggs and mix until even. Add the vanilla and flour and mix until even. Prepare the ...