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Daring Bakers Challenge: Chocolate Sans Rival Cake

By Jeanne, on November 27th, 2011

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.
Chocolate Sans Rival Cake

It may be ambitious to title a cake “Sans Rival”, meaning “without rival”. But with four layers of gluten-free dacquoise (nut meringue) cake, slathered in French buttercream, there aren’t very many cakes that come close to this one in decadence and taste. The Sans Rival cake is a popular dessert in the Philippines though its origin is French. The many Filipinos who went abroad to study in the early 20th century brought back the French cooking techniques that would make this cake a Filipino favorite.

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Daring Bakers Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

By Jeanne, on January 27th, 2011

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.
Joconde Imprime Entremets

The purpose of this challenge was to create a beautifully molded dessert with a pattern baked into the side – which it is, in this picture. So, technically, I completed the challenge. However, upon cutting the cake it all fell apart – literally.

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Roasted Banana Cheesecake With Maple Rum Sauce

By Jeanne, on January 1st, 2011

Roasted Banana Cheesecake

Or, the cheesecake that was almost vegan…

Happy New Year! Since I’m not one for resolutions or year-in-review posts, I decided to start the new year with a new baking challenge: vegan cheesecake. I’ve never made a cheesecake before but Leinana’s roasted banana cheesecake has been calling my name for months now. If you’re a peanut butter and banana junkie, it’ll soon be calling your name too.

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Olive Oil Brownies

By Jeanne, on February 28th, 2010

Stack of Three Olive Oil Brownies

Every time I try a new brownie recipe, the resulting brownies taste like the best brownies I’ve ever made. This could mean one of two things: either my baking skills are improving, or I just love any type of brownies I can get my hands on.

So when I found this recipe for olive oil brownies, I was intrigued. No butter? That makes these brownies healthier than their butter-laden counterparts. Right? And yes, these are the best brownies I’ve ever made.

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Daring Bakers Challenge: O Canada! How I Love Nanaimo Bars!

By Jeanne, on January 27th, 2010

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

Check this out: I made gluten-free Nanaimo bars! This was my first attempt at gluten-free baking, and I’m very pleased with the results. So pleased that I ate the whole batch (with a little help, of course).

I had never even heard of Nanaimo bars, but now I’m a huge fan. Curious about these unique dessert bars? Read on.

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