My Fresh Raspberry & Basil Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

Luscious, juicy, fresh ruby-red raspberries, and the sweet taste of fresh basil ~ the flavours I used in one of my latest creations, a scrumptious, rich (but NOT heavy!), coffee cake.

♥ This is one of the most delicious coffee cakes I’ve ever made ♥ The marriage of fresh raspberries and basil is perfect! It was inspired by a delicious raspberry-basil jam I purchased from a lovely auberge in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. To make it even more special, I made a rich cream-cheese frosting which I flavoured with fresh lemon zest and vanilla.

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea in the garden!

Just to tempt you, here are a few more photos:



The fresh tastes of summer! Juicy, ruby-red raspberries, and fresh basil.

 The cake is easy to make. It has a wonderful texture, somewhere between a cake and a buttermilk muffin, which is divine when it's warm from the oven. It you want to serve it warm, then serve the cream cheese buttercream in a bowl on the side.



Impossible to resist with a perfect cup of tea or a delicious latte!

Here is the link to the recipe on my gourmet webzine: EpicureanPiranha.com.

Take my lips ...

Take my lips ...
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… I want to lose them

I wanted to create a scrumptious, romantic dessert for Valentine’s Day. After tasting these wonderful little cakes, I christened them Melt Your Heart Pistachio Cupcakes. Rich and tender, flavoured with a large proportion of ground, roasted pistachios and blue curaçao (a bitter orange flavoured liqueur), they are crowned with a cloud of silky, white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream ~ flavours and taste sensations that melt your heart!

Perfect for ♥ Valentine’s Day ♥, especially when decorated with lots of tiny, red lips :-)

Note ♥ Actually, these aren't very sweet ~ the beauty of Swiss meringue buttercream is that it's made from a cooked meringue to which you add butter - so, no raw sugar taste, and very little sugar compared to simple buttercreams made from powdered sugar which can be overly sweet and heavy. Just silky buttery cream, light as a cloud because of the meringue. And the delicate, moist cupcakes really taste of pistachio and butter :-)

Coming soon on my gourmet webzine ♥

Hazelnut broyage layered with cream, fresh peaches & blueberries

Hazelnut broyage layered with cream, fresh peaches & blueberries
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"Meringue gateaux are wonderful concoctions based on layers or pieces of meringue to which ground nuts may have been added, which once baked, are layered with one or more preparations of flavoured whipped cream, light buttercream, pastry cream, ganache, fresh fruit, fruit compotes, or a multitude of other fillings and filling combinations.

If ground nuts have been added to the meringue, the mixture is then known as ~ depending on the recipe’s origin and the type of filling(s) used ~ success, progress, japonais, grillage, broyage, dacquoise, or russe. These delicious types of meringue range from very crisp to very chewy, depending on the proportion of nuts, sugar, and egg whites used, as well as how they are baked."

~ the ©EpicureanPiranha


I had leftover egg whites I needed to use the other day, so I decided to make some toasted hazelnut meringues. The delicious flavour of hazelnuts, gently toasted then finely ground, makes the meringue rich and just slightly chewy in the centre. Whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and a little brown sugar to give it a delicate caramel flavour, blueberries and thinly sliced fresh peaches are a lovely compliment to the hazelnuts.

Lovely with an espresso or perfect to end a meal :-)

MYTH: "Making Bread the Traditional Way Takes Too Long"

MYTH: "Making Bread the Traditional Way Takes Too Long"
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"...making bread takes very little actual time on your part - about 15 minutes at the start, to measure, mix, and knead the ingredients is all that's needed, plus a few minutes time and attention to punch the dough down and knead once or twice between provings, then to place the dough into the greased tins. The dough itself and the oven take care of the rest, leaving you plenty of time to do whatever you wish in between!" ~ ©EpicureanPiranha

Next time it’s raining or stormy outside, why not try this delicious recipe for oatmeal bread. I’ve detailed and photographed each step. Creating something so delicious and satisfying from simple ingredients using one’s own hands, without the need for more than a few measuring cups and spoons, is unbelievably satisfying and therapeutic!

I hope you'll have a look at the recipe and be tempted to try it - it's actually very simple if you follow the steps I've fully illustrated. Here is a direct link: Step-By-Step Instuctions for Making Great Bread"

Emergency Cake Fix!

Emergency Cake Fix!
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Muffins are a great emergency fixe when you have a craving for cake! They’re quick and easy to prepare, bake quickly, and taste best warm from the oven so there’s no waiting :-)

I created these Butterscotch Pecan Bites today for my brother-in-law Ron – he loves having sweet pastries or cake for dessert and is arriving from Alaska with my sister this evening to visit. They’re made with rich 10% fat yogurt, brown sugar, loads of tiny butterscotch bits wrapped in milk chocolate (a recent discovery ♥), and my favourite nuts, pecans.

The recipe is coming up soon on EpicureanPiranha.com, my epicurean webzine ♥

The ©EpicureanPiranha ♥

All rights reserved. ©2010 EpicureanPiranha. All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. Use without permission is ILLEGAL.

Hello everyone! My blog is hosted by WordPress on my own servers, but I have many friends whose blogs are here on Blogger. So, I decided to create a page here on Blogger, using my ©EpicureanPiranha name, and I did so for two main reasons:

1. So I can easily follow all my friends who are on Blogger, as well as other blogs I like, just by clicking on "follow" - then the blog's URL address is added to the list of blogs I follow and voila! I can come back and have a look at the latest posts anytime I want :-)
2. And also, so that you will be able to easily find my blog, even though it's not on Blogger.

To visit my real blog, please click here  ::   ©EpicureanPiranha

Hope to see you there!