No traditional Jewish-Italian hamantashen exists. But don’t worry. One thing I learned early on and I see played out every year in recipe compilations is that these triangle-shaped pastries, like kids in their Purim holiday costumes, can be just about anything. Even deliciously Italian-themed. Hundreds of years ago, that would Read more…
This cheesecake really is as luscious as it looks here. It’s just the right balance between sweetness, creaminess, and hazelnut-chocolatey goodness. It’s so creamy that I added “mousse” to the title. And even better? This is a no-bake cheesecake, making it especially friendly to the warm weather season when you Read more…
Passover, let me introduce you to my newest sweet friend, the chocolate lava cake…wait, what? You know chocolate lava cake’s Italian grandmother? Seriously? Yes, that’s right. Lava, molten, or pudding cakes with that luscious liquid chocolate center might seem like a hot, hot, hot contemporary fad, but the concept has Read more…
Years ago, I found a recipe for a clementine cake made with ground almonds. This sponge-style cake (getting most of its body from beaten egg whites) enticed me as a contrast to a Christmas dessert buffet of heavy, creamy, and chocolate-y confections. The way my imagination rendered the recipe, it Read more…
Chocolate babka caught my eye, well, first because of the chocolate, of course. But it also intrigued me because it keeps company this time of year with other sweet yeast breads stuffed with more sweets—the German stollen and especially the Italian panettone usually scented with citrus and filled with dried Read more…
If you’re lucky enough to be bringing dessert (my favorite assignment) to Thanksgiving or another holiday gathering this season, you’ll likely be making or buying a pumpkin pie. And that’s one pie that truly benefits from a dollop of homemade whipped cream (if dairy will be permissible). This year I Read more…
Although I never need an excuse to enjoy cheesecake, now the time’s especially ripe for it. If you’re minding the Jewish calendar, you know the holiday of Shavuot (commemorating the spring harvest and the giving of the Torah) is coming up June 3-5. And for this holiday, we typically roll out our Read more…
Ah, cookies. Oh, Passover. I’m ever in search of ways to get you two to get along. But the holiday’s prohibition on wheat leaves me without the main body builder of many cookies—white or any other kind of grain flour. Many bakers turn to almond or coconut macaroons or even Read more…
Although I love hamantaschen for Purim, I do think Italy’s Jews have a pretty fabulous take on the tradition of filled foods for the holiday. Their approach? Buricche, or puff pastry turnovers. As the name implies, these are related to the boreka, a turnover of Turkish origin that is now Read more…
With Thanksgiving’s pies safely and satisfyingly behind me, my dessert-loving brain turns immediately to cookies … lots of cookies. Not that I don’t love cookies year round, especially a good old hot-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie. But the Thanksgiving to New Year’s stretch makes me fall in love all over again Read more…
“Thanksgivukkah,” this year’s overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, won’t happen again in our lifetimes. So if you enjoy blending traditions, this is a unique opportunity. One friend of mine plans to make my brisket with cranberries and mushrooms (from Meatballs and Matzah Balls) to serve alongside her turkey. Other families’ Read more…