Chocolate Bat Cookies (Halloween Breakfast Recipe)

Halloween is a few days away and I've been preparing little sweet treats in anticipation of the event. For breakfast, I baked bat-shaped chocolate wafers that I paired with sweetened yogurt and fresh figs from our garden. The result is divine; the crunch from the cookies balances out the smooth texture of the yogurt, and chocolate and figs work beautifully together.

I'm going to be baking a lot more scary-looking pastries until Halloween, including my witch's fingers, funny-looking sunny side up eggs and ghost-shaped pancakes. If you have other suggestions, feel free to send me a message!

Carrot Chocolate Pudding Recipe

Today, I felt an urge to make chocolate pudding. By itself it can be a bit boring, so I spiced it up with cardamom and carrots. The idea is to obtain a gooey melted center with crackly edges. I love the contrast of hot and cold, so I paired the baked dessert with Indian cardamom ice cream I bought at a local Indian store.

I made the dessert in individual ramekins, which can help with portion control (assuming you stop at just one). This dessert might be a little high in calories, but what’s life without a little decadence? You won't be able to resist!

Gluten Free Cardamom and Chocolate Napoleon Pastry Recipe

Our friend Carol came to visit the other day to see how much our daughter Aria has changed. I always make sure that I serve her special dishes because of her celiac diet. Since sweets are Carol's guilty pleasure. I made gluten free chocolate wafers and layered them with cardamom-flavored cream. Chocolate and cardamom are two of my favorite flavors, and I love using them together. 

If you're thinking that gluten free means sacrificing flavor or texture, you have to try this recipe. It tastes just as good as it looks.

Chocolate Ganache Tart (Halloween Ghost Dessert)

The girls have reached the end of the first quarter, so their school gave them a day off. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun for all of us to work on ideas for spooky desserts that they'll be able to share with their friends. It didn't take a lot of arm twisting to convince them!

I decided that we should make a simple chocolate tart and decorate it with ghosts. The tart shell is a shortbread crust that I topped with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. To enhance the flavor of the chocolate, I added a little coffee. I let the girls pipe the top with vanilla buttercream frosting and create faces using chocolate sprinkles. As an added bonus, this dessert is egg and nut-free. We'll make smaller versions at the end of the month for when they share them with friends.

Mexican Chocolate Flan Recipe

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces in 1862. The celebrations here in the Bay Area are always fun and I wanted to get in on the festivities. I love chocolate desserts, so I made a spiced chocolate flan.

I flavored the custard with Mexican chocolate, cinnamon and a small amount of cayenne pepper for a pleasant warmth at the end. Enjoy!