Ingredients for the pastry cream:
400 ml.(13.5 fl. oz)  + 200 ml. (7 fl. oz) heavy cream
100 grams (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
6 large yolks
60 grams (2 oz) cornstarch
40 grams (1.5 oz) or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Ingredients for the meringue:
6 medium egg whites (180 grams/6 oz)
350 grams (12 oz) sugar
A pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Ingredients for the strawberry sauce:
200 grams (7 oz) strawberries
75 grams (2.5 oz) sugar
a pinch of salt
Extra strawberries for decoration

To make the pastry cream, place the cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.
Once the cream has come to a simmer remove from the stove and start pouring it slowly to the egg yolk mixture as you whisk continuously to temper the yolks. Add a little bit of the cream then add the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve, then add the rest of the cream. Once it’s all combined transfer the whole mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture has thickened. ***Make sure to whisk the mixture all the time to avoid curdling the eggs.
Remove from heat, whisk for another minute to cool slightly, then add the butter and whisk until combined.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Let it cool off a bit then place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours or overnight. Once it has cooled, whip up the rest of the cream to stiff peaks and gently fold into the pastry cream. Cover in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until needed.
While pastry cream is chilling in the fridge prepare the meringue.
Preheat your oven to 100-110C (230F), fan-forced.
Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a regular bowl if using hand-held mixer.
Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar while mixer is running until it’s​ all incorporated. Add cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Beat until meringue is smooth, thick and glossy. ***Sugar should be completely dissolved. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add cornstarch and beat for another minute, not more, just to combine.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a round plate/ring and draw three circles on the paper, using a pencil (16cm/6 inch each).
Distribute meringue among the circles and even the tops out as much as possible.**No need to be very precise here.
Bake 75 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door of the oven. Leave meringue to cool to room temperature in the oven.
In the meantime prepare the strawberry sauce:
In a small saucepan add strawberries and puree finely or chop up into very small pieces. Add sugar and a pinch of salt and heat over medium high heat. Strawberries will release their juices from the heat and sugar will dissolve. Cook stiring almost constantly until sauce is thickened and most of the juices evaporate. Keep in mind that sauce will thicken additionally when chilled.
Let is cool to room temperature.
To assemble the cake:
Place one meringue layer on a platter, spread one layer of the pastry cream and sprinkle some of the strawberry sauce on top. Repeat steps with all three layers.
Top with fresh strawberries.

Makes 4 mini mousse cakes, diameter 8 cm. or 1 large cake x16cm
Ingredients for the biscuit base:
150 grams biscuits, finely processed
75 grams butter, melted
1 tablespoon powder sugar (optional)
Ingredients for the chestnut mousse:
160 grams (3,5 oz) dark eating chocolate
40 ml.sweetened heavy whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
80 grams (0,7 oz) sugar
1/2 tea spoon vanilla extract
250 grams chestnut puree
1 tablespoon rum
Ingredients for the chocolate ganache:
100 grams dark chocolate
30 ml. heavy whipping cream
**Sweetened heavy whipping cream for decoration

You have a few options for serving here:
1) you can make mini cakes if you own cooking rings – either grease 4 rings generously with butter or line with acetate paper. Place all rings on a large serving plate lined with parchment paper.
2) serve this dessert in a glass/jar – no preparation needed
3) make one larger cake, using a cake springform with removable sides – grease 6 inch (15-16 cm) springform generously with butter and line with parchment paper

To make the crust:
Combine biscuits and butter in a large bowl. Add powder sugar if biscuits are not sweet enough. Stir to combine then distribute evenly between your chosen serving dish (glasses, rings or springform). Use a flat-bottomed glass or a spoon to press the biscuit mixture and even it out. Place in the fridge to firm up.
To make the chestnut mousse:
In a medium bowl combine the chocolate and 60 ml. of heavy whipping cream. Heat in а microwave oven until cream is so hot that chocolate starts melting. Stir with a small spoon until chocolate melts and the mixture is glossy and smooth. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add vanilla extract and start cooking on medium / medium-low heat (depending on how strong your stove is). Whisk almost constantly until sugar dissolves and the egg yolk mixture is hot to the touch. Cook egg yolks on medium low heat until you temper them, then you can turn the heat up a bit and continue cooking until the mixture thickens. Make sure to whisk often to avoid curdling the eggs.
*** This is a pretty quick process, so once sugar is dissolved watch those egg yolks closely, cause they will cook really fast.
Once sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add to the chocolate-cream mixture. Stir until all combines and the mixture is smooth. Add chestnut puree and rum and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium-size bowl whip 80 ml. of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Don’t over-beat the cream, you need it with soft peaks in order to get a smoother mousse.
Add 1/3rd of whipped cream to the chocolate/chestnut mixture and gently stir with rubber spatula until combined. Then fold in the rest of the whipped cream part by part until smooth and nice.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared dishes/glasses and place in the fridge.
In the meantime combine chocolate and cream in a small bowl and heat in a microwave or over a water bath until chocolate melts. Stir to combine completely then let cool off a bit. Distribute chocolate evenly between your serving dishes. Decorate with whipped cream.

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Who doesn’t love pie, right? Strawberries and peaches is probably one of my favorite fruit combinations. When you wrap these juicy fruits in buttery sweet pastry you get this amazing pie, that no one could resist. Although strawberry season is long gone, there is no need to wait for next year to bake a pie. You can make this pie right away, using frozen strawberries. And if you are like me and stock up your freezer on delicious seasonal fruits, you will be able to make pie all year long, whenever you feel like it.

I always use my classic sweet pastry recipe when preparing pie, but in case you don’t feel like making the pie pastry yourself, just use a package of commercial pie pastry.

Don’t give this recipe a lot of thought, it’s amazing and I am sure you will love it!

Ingredients for the sweet pastry dough (makes 1x26cm round pie, top and bottom):
280 grams (10 oz) flour
60 grams (2 oz) powder sugar
1/3 tea spoon salt
130 grams (4,5 oz) butter, at room temperature
2 medium egg yolks
4 table spoons (20 ml.) cold water or milk

Ingredients for the filling:
400 grams (14 oz) fresh strawberries, washed & halved
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 peaches, chopped
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
1 egg for brushing the top of the pie

To make the dough:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the soften butter (chopped into small pieces) and start mixing with your fingers (or pulse briefly in a food processor) until coarse crumbs form (butter pieces should be about the size of a pea). Add the egg yolk and quickly knead until the dough comes together. If dough is too dry and doesn’t come together add one or two table spoons of water or milk, one by one, until dough is wet enough to form a ball, but not too sticky. Do NOT overwork the dough, just pulse a few times and then shape it using your hands. Shape dough into a ball, divide it into two parts and shape both parts into disks – 1/3rd (to use to cover the pie) and 2/3rd (to use for the bottom of the pie) and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

**If you want to use the strawberry juices to make a sauce, just combine juices with a tablespoon cornstarch (add sugar if necessary) and cook over medium heat until it thickens, stirring constantly.

Ingredients for the cake:
190 grams (6,7 oz) butter
150 grams (5,3 oz) chocolate
20 grams (0,70 oz) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
300 grams (10,5 oz) sugar
200 ml. (7 fl oz) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons baileys
200 grams (7 oz) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Chocolate buttercream:
80 grams (3 oz) dark chocolate (60%), melted and cooled to room temperature
2 tablespoons baileys
125 grams (4,5 oz) butter, at room temperature
85 grams (3 oz) powdered sugar

To make the cake:
Preheat your oven to 170C (340F). Grease an 8-inch springform and line with parchment paper.
In a large saucepan add butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, sugar, milk, baileys and vanilla extract. Cook over medium temperature until chocolate, butter and sugar melt and you have a nice smooth mixture. Set aside to cool off a bit.
In the meantime combine flour and baking powder in another bowl and stir to distribute the baking powder evenly.
Add flour to the chocolate mixture and stir gently with a rubber spatula to combine. Add eggs, one by one, stirring after each egg.
Pour mixture into prepared springform and bake for about 60 minutes. If you see that top of the cake is cracking soon after you put in the oven, just lower the temperature to 160C (320F) and continue baking.
Check if cake is ready by inserting a toothpick in the center. It should come out clean but without crumbs. This cake should be moist on the inside with a nice crust on the outside.
Let cake cool to room temperature.
In the meantime prepare the chocolate buttercream:
Melt chocolate and let cool to room temperature as you stir it occasionally.
In the meantime beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt, cooled chocolate and baileys, and beat for a minute or so to combine.

Assembling the cake:
Even the top of the cake layer by cutting out the dome. Place the cake on a large platter and spread the buttercream on top. Cover the sides if you like.

Ingredients for the cake:
130 grams butter, softened
130 grams sugar
2 large eggs
2 table spoons honey
100 ml. freshly brewed coffee, at room temperature
150 grams flour
1 tea spoon baking powder
50 grams cocoa powder
For the chocolate peanut butter frosting:
100 ml. sweetened heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
100 grams dark cooking chocolate
80 ml. sweetened heavy whipping cream
400 grams peanut butter
3 table spoons honey or maple syrup
For the coffee syrup:
100 ml. freshly brewed coffee
1 table spoon honey

To make the cake layers:
Preheat your oven to 170C fan-forced (340F). Grease 2x6inch (16cm) springforms and line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and honey and beat to combine.
Add coffee and beat to incorporate.
In another bowl mix flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir with a rubber spatula just to form a glossy and smooth batter, but don’t over-mix it.
Distribute the batter evenly between both springforms and bake 30 minutes.
Let both cake layers cool to room temperature (or pop in the fridge for quick cooling).
In the meantime prepare the frosting:
In a large bowl combine chocolate and 80ml. cream. Heat in a microwave oven until cream is hot and chocolate starts to melt. Stir until chocolate melts completely. Let it cool a bit and then add peanut butter and honey and beat with an electric mixer until nice and smooth.
Gently fold in the whipped cream.
To assemble the cake:
Combine coffee and honey and stir to dissolve. Let is cool to room temperature.
Place the first chocolate layer on a cake platter. Using a spoon, moisten the cake layer by gently pouring little bit of the coffee syrup all over the surface, letting it to absorb completely before you spread the frosting.
Spread one layer of the frosting, then place the second cake layer on top. Moisten that one with the coffee as well, and cover the cake with the rest of the frosting.

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For the filling:
300 grams (10, 5 oz) pumpkin puree (learn how to make pumpkin puree)
2 eggs
200 grams (7 oz) raw muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon rice flour
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
180 ml. (6 fl. oz) coconut milk, at room temperature

For serving: whipped cream with cinnamon

To prepare the dough:
Combine flour, sugar, xanthan gum (if using) and salt in a large bowl. Add the soften butter (chopped into small pieces) and start mixing with your hands and fingers (or in a food processor if you prefer) until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and knead until the dough comes together. If dough is too dry and doesn’t come together add one or two table spoons of water or milk, one by one, until dough is wet enough to form a ball, but not too sticky. Shape dough into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to firm up, about 30 minutes.
Once dough is set, remove it from the fridge and set over a floured wooden board or your counter top. Roll the dough into a large circle, enough to cover the bottom and sides of your pie baking dish. Transfer  rolled circle of dough into a greased baking dish, pressing it gently down to the sides and bottom and put in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

To prepare the filling:
Preheat your oven to 180C, 350F.
In a large bowl beat pumpkin puree and eggs until well combined. Add sugar and beat to combine. Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and coconut and mix again for a minute to combine.
Pour pumpkin filling over the pastry and bake for about 35-40 minutes or just until the edges of the dough start browning and the filling is set.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
Serve with whipped cream with cinnamon.

For the praline:
50 grams (1,8 oz) almonds
100 grams (3,5 oz) sugar
3-4 amaretti biscuits

For the millefeuille:
1 sheet of puff pastry
Powder sugar

For the mascarpone creme:
2 medium egg yolks
40 grams (1,40 oz) granulated sugar
A few drops of vanilla extract
250 grams (9 oz) mascarpone
50 grams (3,5 oz) powder sugar
To prepare praline:
Making the caramel for the praline is a very quick (takes about 6-7 minutes) but tricky business, so when you are ready to make it, stop doing whatever else you are doing and focus on the caramel, cause it could burn very quickly.
In a small heavy saucepan heat sugar over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once sugar dissolves and starts simmering, continue cooking it without stirring until the caramel starts to darken. You want your caramel to have dark amber color, but keep in mind that once the caramel starts to darken, you will need to watch it closely, because it could burn very easy and quick.
Once caramel is dark amber color remove from the heat and immediately put the saucepan in a cold bath – I use my sink, filled with a little bit of cold water. This will stop the cooking process – a very important step, because otherwise, caramel will continue to cook, even if it’s not on the stove and will burn.
Once you put the saucepan in the water bath, add the almonds and stir to coat all almonds with caramel. Keep in the water bath for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a small dish lined with baking paper. Put in the fridge to harden and cool completely.
Once the praline is cold and hard, transfer to a chopper and finely chop it, add amaretti and chop all together to combine. You want to have it as finely chopped as possible. Set aside until needed.

To prepare pastry sheets:
Preheat your oven to 180C, fan-forced (350F).
Place the puff pastry sheet on a large piece of baking paper.
Roll extra thinly – you need the pastry rolled to 3mm thickness (1/8th inch), or as thinly as possible. Using round cookie cutters, cut as much circles as possible out of the puff pastry sheet. Lay them on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with powder sugar. Now, this is the important part – put a large piece of baking paper on top of the puff pastry circles and cover them with another cookie sheet, bottom side down. You need to keep the puff pastry from “puffing”, so using a heavy tray (cookie sheet) to press it down while baking should keep pastry flat (or use a baking sheet weighed down with an empty ceramic oven dish if your cookie sheets aren’t heavy).
Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until golden brown. About 20 minutes into the baking, remove puff pastry from the oven and sprinkle with powder sugar one more time. Then return to the oven.
I usually sprinkle them 2-3 times during baking, but this is up to whether you have time to do this as often. The more powder sugar the more caramelized your pastry circles will become. Believe me, they will be just irresistible! Bake until golden brown (about 45-60 min).
NOTE: you could prepare this dessert in any shape you like – you can cut it into rectangles, squares or whatever else you prefer.

Prepare mascarpone creme: In a small saucepan whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale. Add a few drops of vanilla extract and start cooking over medium / medium-low heat (depending on how strong your stove is). Whisk almost constantly until all sugar dissolves and the egg yolk mixture is hot to the touch. Cook egg yolks on medium low heat until you temper them, then you can turn the heat up a bit until the mixture thickens. Make sure to whisk often to avoid curdling the eggs.
Once the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thickened, remove from stove and set aside to cool completely as you stir the mixture once in a while. Once the mixture is cold to the touch (or at room temperature) whisk again by hand or with a mixer for a minute or so.
In a large bowl combine mascarpone and powder sugar and mix well with a rubber spatula or hand held mixer..
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the mascarpone mixture and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Put mascarpone creme in the fridge for a bit to chill, then stir again and transfer to a piping bag.

Assemble mille-feuilles:
Place a circle of puff pastry on a plate. Pipe one layer of mascarpone over, sprinkle a little bit of the praline and cover with another piece of puff pastry. Repeat the steps, as it’s up to you how many layers to add. Finish with a piece of puff pastry, sprinkled with powder sugar. Serve immediately.

Moist layers, filled with berries and flavor, topped with light and creamy white chocolate frosting. Decorate with extra berries and shredded chocolate on top and your cake will be a perfect gift or holiday dessert.

Ingredients (makes 2 x 6 inch thick cake layers):
60 grams (2 oz) butter, at room temperature
200 grams (7 oz) sugar
2 medium eggs
1 tea spoon vanilla extract
160 grams (5,5 oz) sour cream
250 grams (9 oz) all purpose flour
1 tea spoon baking powder
100 grams (3,5 oz) frozen or fresh blueberries

For the chocolate frosting:
130 grams (4,5 oz) white chocolate
90 ml. sweetened heavy whipping cream (*for the chocolate)
90 ml. sweetened heavy whipping cream

For the sugar syrup:
120 ml. water
60 grams (2 oz) sugar
1 table spoon bourbon
1 tea spoon vanilla extract

Decoration: All kinds of berries, shredded chocolate

To make the cake layers:
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
Grease 2×6 inch spring forms and line with parchment paper.
Beat butter in a large bowl until light, creamy and fluffy.
Add sugar and eggs and beat for about two minutes to combine.
Add vanilla extract and sour cream and mix well with a rubber spatula. Fold in flour and baking powder. Mix just to combine, don’t over-mix the batter, cause otherwise your cake layers might turn out hard, instead of soft and light. Add blueberries and gently mix with a rubber spatula.
Distribute the batter evenly between the spring forms and bake for about 40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake layer comes out clean.
Set aside to cool completely.

To make the chocolate frosting:
Melt chocolate and 90ml. of heavy whipping cream in a medium bowl. Set aside to cool completely and then beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
In another bowl beat the rest of the whipping cream until medium stiff peaks form. Add chocolate mixture to the cream and gently mix with a rubber spatula to combine. Set aside until needed.

To make the sugar syrup: heat water and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Add bourbon and vanilla and stir.

To assemble the cake:
You could cut each layer into two thin cake layers, and get total of four layers or you can assemble the cake as it is – with two thicker layer.
Either way, before spreading the frosting over the cake layers, make sure to moisten them with the sugar syrup. The more syrup you pour over them, the moister they would be, so it’s up to you how much syrup to add.
Spread one layer of the frosting over each cake layer.
Decorate with extra berries