Taiyaki (Japanese fish-shaped pancake with sweet red bean or custard filling)

Taiyaki:  Japanese Fish-Shaped Pancakes with Custard or Sweetened Red Bean Filling

When I was 16 years old, my family took a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  This was a first for us… most of our family vacations revolved around Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains (about a 2 hour drive from our house in L.A.) – pretty much the farthest we had ever [...]

Fresh Strawberry Custard Cream Pie

Fresh Strawberry Custard Cream Pie

Yay, it’s strawberry season!  That means fresh juicy ripe strawberries are everywhere, on sale for as little as $0.88/lb.  When strawberries went on special at the market a few days ago, I thought this would be the perfect time to make a fresh strawberry custard cream pie! When making this pie, I find it easier [...]

Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme Copycat Recipe

Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme Pie Recipe

Happy Pi Day!  Yes… today is 3.14! Get it?  π?   3.14159265359? I actually have a funny story about π.  When we got married, we had the tables set up with numbers… and little cards indicating which table # people were to sit at.  Well, apparently as I was making the little number signs to go [...]

Italian Cheesecake made with Mascarpone and Ricotta cheese

Italian Cheesecake - made with mascarpone and ricotta cheese

In the town we grew up, there was this old Italian deli/bakery.  My parents used to buy this little cheesecake from there every once in awhile – it was very small (no more than 6″ in diameter) and came in an aluminum foil pan.  That little cheesecake was soooooo good – so rich, so creamy [...]

South African Fudge Recipe

Homemade South African Fudge

My husband isn’t much of a ‘foodie’.  He doesn’t get all crazy about food the way I do… unless… it’s something sweet.  He LOVES desserts.  One day, several years ago, he was reminiscing about the amazing fudge that he used to buy while in primary school in Capetown, South Africa; “It’s creamy, not chocolaty, and [...]

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Truffles

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Truffles

Do you still have some gifts to give out in the New Year?  Or, are you looking for a simple, yet elegant, treat to make for yourself and your family after all the hectic holidays?  I know for me, this was a CRAZY holiday season… too much work, organizing, and stuff to get done in [...]

Easy Microwave Candy: Chocolate Walnut Fudge & White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Easy microwave walnut fudge & white chocolate peppermint bark

Every Christmas, I like to make a big batch of Christmas Candy to give away to friends and neighbors.  The easiest to make are my Chocolate Walnut Fudge and my White Chocolate Peppermint Bark recipes… mainly because these two candy recipes are made entirely in the microwave.  It could not be any easier! For the [...]

Easy Pumpkin Pie Turnovers (How to make homemade turnovers)

Easy Pumpkin Pie Turnovers

With Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I would post one of my favorite (easy) recipes to make Pumpkin Pie Turnovers.  This recipe is pretty universal – you can actually use any kind of filling you want… apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, jam, nutella, custard… even sweetened red bean paste!  Just [...]

Mung Bean Mooncakes (Mooncakes made with press mold)

Mung Bean Mooncakes (Made with mooncake press/mold)

Last week, I made homemade Chinese Mooncakes… freeform style (basically just hand shaped, using a flat acrylic stamp on the top).  Those mooncakes were fun to make… but I wanted to figure out how to make them a little more intricate – so that they looked more like the ones at the bakery.  So, I [...]

Baked Mini Chocolate Cake Donuts

Mini Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Sprinkles

Do you ever get in that donut mood?  I try to eat healthy for the most part, but sometimes you really need a good donut!  A few months ago, I was craving Krispy Kreme glazed donuts… which motivated me to figure out the recipe.  I was shocked and excited when I was contacted by the [...]