Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake

We are back from our wonderful vacation in Hong Kong. It was absolutely fabulous, but before I tell you more about the trip, I have to go through my many, many pictures. Going from tropical heat to frosty temperatures was a shocker for me, but I also like the bright colors of Autumn leaves.

While I am sorting out my photo collection, here is something that fits the season. Seeing all the pumpkins around, I made a chocolate-pumpkin marble cake. I used Hokkaido pumpkin, sliced it, baked it, and pureed it, but you can also used canned pumpkin. It gave a brilliant yellow color, which matches very well with the chocolate.

The cake was very flavorful, wonderful chocolaty, and moist even after a few days. I will definitely make this again.

Ispahan Cupcakes (Lychee-Raspberry-Rose)

Ispahan is a strain of pink rose named after the Iranian city of Isfahan. This flower was made famous in the patisseries' world by Pierre Herme, with his renowned Ispahan macaron. This floral-themed treat has two other ingredients: raspberry and lychee.

I have come across a number of recipes that puts these flavors in the settings of cupcakes. Even though I am a big fan of cupcakes, I often find the typical butter cream a little too heavy for my liking. In a number of occasions I substituted butter cream with a topping based on mascapone. Mixed with a fruit puree, it also stands very well, and can be piped in pretty swirls.

The cupcakes are not overly sweet, and the topping has a refreshing note due to the fresh raspberry puree. These are a real elegant treat for a fancy tea time.

By the way, I will be going to Hong Kong for holidays in a few days, so I will be signing off for the next couple weeks. This will be my first time there, and I definitely look forward to sampling local food, though I don't guarantee it will all be cakes and desserts. So until next time, I wish you are enjoying reading this, and making your own little creations in the mean time.

Apple Ricotta Tart

It is definitely fall. Leaves are changing color, the air is getting crisper, and apple trees all around carry their beautiful red fruits. We are lucky to have several apple trees in our garden, so there is no shortage of apple pie, apple compote, apple chips, and apple pancakes in our kitchen right now.

An apple tart looks a little more elegant than it's rustic cousin the good old apple pie. I love them both. This tart here has a delicious ricotta cream layer, seasoned with some lemon zest. It makes the tart very fresh and light tasting. Sprinkled with some brown sugar, the apples get a nice caramelized touch. It tastes best slightly warm with some freshly whipped cream.

Blackberry Ricotta Cheesecake

I haven't made cheesecake in a while, so it was about time. I didn't want to make a plain one, but one with a fruit topping. Since summer is coming to an end, the choices for fresh fruit are getting smaller. Luckily we still had some blackberries in the garden. We picked enough of them to pile them up high on the cake, drizzled with some maple syrup.

The cheesecake batter uses a combination of ricotta, yoghurt, as well as some quark. It's really creamy, but not as heavy as when made with cream cheese. I think it would also look very pretty with raspberries, but I guess this has to wait until next year.

Peach Rosemary Muffins

I love peaches. They are in season at the peak of summer. Unfortunately I developed some kind of allergy in recent years. I can't eat them raw more than one or two at a time, but if they're baked or cooked I'd do just fine. My favorite cake for peaches is still a galette I posted here three years ago. It's always the first thing I make when they are the season. This year I paired peaches with blackberries. It was a big hit.

Being such a summery fruit, I always associate them with the Mediterranean. Usually the peaches we get in Germany are grown in either Italy or Spain. These little muffins here convey this Mediterranean summer feeling perfectly, with the best this region has to offer. Juicy and sweet peaches are combined with rosemary, pine nuts and olive oil. They are perfect to be enjoyed for the last summery days. Instead of muffins, you can also bake them as mini loaves.