In a way, I guess I’m lucky that I married a guy who doesn’t really care for sweets – at the end of a meal in a restaurant I’m almost certain not to order dessert since I’d be the only one eating it, so I’m at least grateful that he helps me eat healthier! He…
My job is technically located in the Middle East, and so whenever I travel to my company’s head office I am guaranteed to gain at least five pounds, largely because the office break room is always stocked with a large jar filled to the brim with ma’amoul. I am not generally a sweets person, but…
Sugary iced drinks and pine nuts are two of my daughter’s favourite things in this world and jallab, a fruity punch made with syrups and water over ice and topped with pine nuts is as perfect a summer beverage as she could wish for. While commercial jallab syrups are available they’re not easily found in…
I am not typically a fried doughnut person, I generally find them too greasy or overly sweet, and so I figure my fried food intake should be best utilised for other things (helloooo, fries!). If I’m feeling the doughnut urge, a good cake doughnut is my choice – alongside a mug of black coffee, of…
As a child growing up in Yorkshire, one of my favourite treats was an individual Mr. Kipling’s bakewell tart, with a glossy candied cherry in the centre. While I’d probably not say no to one if I found them in the United States (where I live now), I didn’t realise until adulthood how truly fantastic…
Cherries are one of my favourite things about summer, and right now the cherries at my local supermarket are fresh, super sweet (and on sale!) Clafoutis is a French dessert that is relatively simple to make, and you can use nearly any fruit in it. Typically when making clafoutis aux cerises you include the pits…
Ashta is a pastry cream common throughout the Middle East and the Levant, similar to English clotted cream; it’s usually used to fill qatayef, or added into other pastries, but in summer it’s lovely just with a simple fruit tray, or topped with a little orange blossom syrup and some chopped nuts (like a pudding)….
Ghraybeh (pronounced sort of like ‘gr’eye-bee’) are one of those recipes that I have memorised, mostly because they are so simple to make, and because they contain (just four!) ingredients most people already have on hand. I’ve even been over at a friend’s house prepping for a dinner and whipped up a quick batch of…
Namoura (or basbousa, as it is known in Egypt) is a traditional dessert made from semolina (the flour one typically thinks of for making pasta). It’s a relatively simple dessert with only a few ingredients, but it’s soaked in syrup fragranced with orange blossom water, and includes a little bit of shredded coconut, which gives…
My husband and I attended an Easter gathering at a friend’s house, which happened to fall during Passover. I brought these kosher for Passover macaroons (mostly for me, so I’d have something for dessert) but also in case anyone else happened to be sensitive to gluten or dairy (as this recipe contains neither). A few…
