Almond Tea Cake Recipe

I don't make these sweet treats too often, because in my opinion (being from France where pastries are subtly sweetened), they're a tad too sweet. But they're perfect with a hot of cup of tea and I know my husband Lulu loves them. The concept of these cookies is to create an absolute overload of almonds. The cookie dough is made of chopped almonds, marzipan (honey and almond meal), almond extract, powdered sugar and a strong, floral honey.

I got the girls involved in rolling the cookies into balls and coating them in powdered sugar prior to baking. And once the cookies were baked, the girls dunked them one more time in powdered sugar to resemble snowballs. 

Chocolate Almond Drink Recipe

Since I started working out intensely, I sometimes feel a little low on energy especially after my early morning workout before my infant daughter Aria wakes up. I've tried some of the commercially available protein drinks, and a few are ok, but when I have the time I make an almond chocolate drink. It's made of homemade toasted red rice powder (I've mentioned it in the past), ground almonds, almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder and a natural sweetener. I usually pour it in a travel mug and enjoy it in the car later in the morning.  It's thick, nutritious and extremely filling. I'm usually less hungry at lunch time so a light salad is more than enough to stay satisfied until dinner.

I'll share more of the flavors I've developed soon. These drinks have become my grab-and-go "breakfast," once my little Aria wakes up and keeps me busy for the rest of the day. I'm no dietitian or medical expert, but I've noticed a boost of energy and I eat a lot less when lunch time comes.

Cherry Almond Tart Recipe

I mentioned recently that my husband Lulu surprised me with a celebratory trip to the Napa Valley. We felt it was well deserved after completing the manuscript of my first cookbook (available for pre-order). We stayed at the Vintage Inn. We've been there  before and we've never been disappointed. The hotel is located in the heart of Yountville, within 3 blocks of what seems like the highest concentration of Michelin Star Restaurants in the world. The service was exquisite as usual with complimentary champagne breakfast buffet daily and a lovely afternoon tea service to boot. It's by far the best hotel breakfast I've ever had, ranging from petite pastries, freshly-made omelets, goat cheese walnut puffs and chocolate tartlets. What truly caught my attention was the delicious almond tart with seasonal fruit. I couldn't resist making the same dessert today to remind us of our trip, and as a huge thank you to Lulu for such a fabulous, memorable vacation. Of course, the restaurants were out of this world and the scenery was beautiful; but the highlight of the trip was relaxing with my husband and baby at this lovely hotel. If you visit Yountville, without a doubt, stay at the Vintage Inn!

The tart is made with a dense, almond filling and a large quantity of fresh cherries and blueberries. I made the crust with powdered sugar, toasted rice flour and regular all-purpose flour. The result is a wonderful fruit tart oozing with sweet fruits and a crunchy crust.

Caramelized Banana Tart with Hazelnut Cream

It's Persian New Year! I was at my local Persian grocery store today and I noticed an abundance of whole hazelnuts being sold. They looked beautiful, so I bought a large bag of nuts, which were eaten fairly quickly by all the family. I turned the remaining nuts into a fine mill and made frangipane tarts in the evening.

To make the dessert look ultra fancy without being too complicated, I topped the hazelnut cream with bruléed bananas. Caramelizing the bananas brought out additional flavors that really complemented the hazelnut cream and the flaky puff pastry.

My cousin's husband Hoss from Ohio is Persian, so we called him to send him our best wishes. But unfortunately, he changed his number and didn't tell us. The person who picked up was utterly confused. So Hoss, if you're reading this, "Happy Nowruz"!

Blueberry Almond Tart Recipe

I love blueberries. I usually serve them fresh with yogurt but this time, I made a change and baked them in a delicious almond cream tart. I filled puff pastry dough with homemade buttery almond cream and topped it with fresh blueberries.

When blueberries are baked, they release a beautiful deep blue color onto the almond cream. I didn't want the puff pastry to turn soggy, so instead of using regular tart molds, I placed them into brioche molds that could hold more cream as the cavity is much deeper. The tarts were not overly sweet; I really wanted the blueberries to shine in this wonderful French dessert.