Orange and carrot cake

I was asked to make this cake by someone I know. It was her boyfriend's birthday, and she wanted to surprise him with a cake. He doesn't like chocolate or cakes with creamy fillings, which limits the field somewhat. I was told that he likes cakes with fruit such as apples or carrots. So, here is the cake that I created. It is a light and zesty-flavoured cake, thanks to the two whole oranges, but the carrot and almond meal keeps it moist. I made the icing with orange juice and zest to give it a real orange flavour punch. 

The feedback was that it was 'excellent'. Just what I like to hear.

Apple caramel tart

Delish dinner party recipe - caramel and apple tart with a shortcrust pastry base. Oh my Lord, how absolutely wonderful! We had some friends over for dinner on the weekend and I served this up for dessert. Neither of our friends had ever eaten caramel or Dulce de Leche before, and the looks on their faces when they tasted this was priceless.

I picked up a very large jar of Dulce de Leche earlier in the day at a Mexican food store just up the street, so I had plenty of caramel to make this. If you have never tried Dulce de Leche, do yourself a favour and get some. It is so delicious and addictive. It is basically vanilla-flavoured caramel, just like the caramel you get from boiling condensed milk in the can for a few hours.

Donna Hay's dark chocolate and coconut cheesecakes

Donna Hay strikes again. Here are her dark chocolate and coconut cheesecakes from the April May 2013 magazine. Just slightly divine I must say. Visit Donna Hay's website for lots more beautiful recipes.

I made these cheesecakes in mini and medium size, using mini muffin and traditional muffin tins for the bases. The mini size were great for a quick bite, the medium-sized great as a special dessert for our family.

Salmon and potato cakes

Lunch, snack or dinner idea today. These salmon cakes were baked in the oven, basically because I was a bit pressed for time and didn't want the mess of crumbing. Although oven-baking the cakes doesn't give you the crispy coating that crumbing would, at a guess I'd say there would be much less fat as there is no shallow-frying in oil or butter.

Eggs Benedict

This recipe is for my friend - he who went to London recently, ate Eggs Benedict and fell in love with it, but cannot find a cafe that serves it in Vienna.

Cherry tomato and goat's cheese tart tatin

Aaawww, look that this little tomato tart. Isn't it so pretty! The colours are so vibrant. I enjoy food that looks good, as well as tastes great. I am definitely a person who eats with my eyes, as well as my mouth. If a meal doesn't look so good, or isn't presented well, then for me, it is not going to taste as good as it could.