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!

Chocolate Waffle Recipe

My husband Lulu has a sweet tooth, so I woke up early this morning and prepared a sweet breakfast. I made chocolate waffles, topped with kumquat whipped cream and strawberries. I served the waffles with a cup of soy milk. I placed everything on a tray and added a freshly picked rose from the garden. I knew Lulu was going to love it.

I'm sure you all know the saying "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" Well I might not say it enough how much I love seeing my husband happy. Nothing fills me with more joy that seeing his smile when I wake up in the morning. I might be wrong, but I think these little treats are part of the success of our 7 years of marriage. 

Clementine Chocolate Parfait Recipe

I made clementine mousse using fruits from our garden. The zest is amazingly fragrant. The exterior has such a deep orange color, I thought it would be perfect dressed as a parfait paired with French chocolate cookies we bought in Normandy.

My husband Lulu and I brought a lot of delicious French food back home from our recent trip to Europe. The cookies in the dish are called "La Mère Poulard" chocolatine cookies. They are specialty cookies from the Mont Saint Michel region of France. My parents took us there on New Year's Day. It's a rocky tidal island located in Normandy, topped with beautiful shops and a church. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

While we were there, we had the region’s typical crêpes and of course brought back a few packs of cookies. If you’re in France and you have time, I recommend taking a visit.

Almond Chocolate Cake Recipe (Moelleux au Chocolat)

Almond chocolate cake is a decadent chocolate dessert. The moist cake is made with blanched, ground almonds, semi-sweet chocolate and very little flour.

It's my best friend Alexia's favorite dessert. I remember one time visiting her in Düsseldorf, Germany, while she was finishing her masters. She picked me up at the train station and I surprised her with a still-warm almond cake. No joke, she finished the whole cake before we got back to her apartment; that's how scrumptious this cake is! Now that I'm back in Paris for the holidays, I can't wait to bake her favorite cake for her again. We haven't seen each other in almost two and a half years and she's getting married soon. While she's eating it again, I might try to embarrass her by re-telling the story to her fiancé. Am I not a wonderful friend?