zebrastreifen.{ zebra gugelhupf }

Looking for the perfect slice of cake for your cup of coffee? No frosting, no fillings, just a nice slice of a simple cake? Simple cakes don't have to be plain or boring, and this zebra bundt cake definitely makes a point of it: it's efortlessly gorgeous! Easy in the kitchen, makes an huge impression at the table. My recipe delivers the perfect crumb, caramelized edges and a delicious flavour that is not too overwhelming - perfect to couple with your coffee or tea. Get your stripes on and los geht's! 

you smell like love. { dark chocolate sugar cookies with tender rose hearts }

These vibrant coloured cookies are super fun to make, it feels like playing with play-doh! They take some time, but they are tremendoulsy easy to make and I love how everything worked out so well, especially since I made up the recipe from scratch! They are perfect for Valentine's Day, or for any other occasion, and you can dye and flavour them according to your preferences or what you have on your pantry. And hey, I had chocolate and roses - what a cliché! Isn't it such a coincidence? If you're looking for something pretty, original and fun for this Valentine's, you've come to the right place!

bite sized frosted babies with golden sparkles. { gluten-free vegan devil's food mini cupcakes }

How could one guess these decadent looking tiny beauties would hide such a secret under their golden shimmer? They are healthy, packed with good stuff, vegan, gluten-free and not any less delicious than their regular counterpart! Wanna bake something you can eat without any bit of guilt yet still looks sexy and sinful as heck? This is it!

floresta negra. { schwarzwälder kirschtorte: black forest cherry cake }

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, or Black Forest cherry cake, is a layered bliss in many levels, let it be flavour or texturewise. Just you imagine a chocolate cake as light as a meringue, drenched with juicy and boozy cherries and layered between fluffy clouds of whipped cream. Got your attention already? I've taken this German classic and I've given it a delicious twist!

they'll melt in your mouth and they're oh-so-addictive { apricot, almond and white chocolate brown butter blondies }

Melt-in-your-mouth summer blondies, with the irresistible taste of brown butter, packed with gooey white chocolate chunks, thinly sliced almond and fruity fresh apricot pieces. They are so wasy and quick to make, plus they take little time in the oven, which makes them the perfect comfort treat for when it is hot outside, yet the heart still asks for some warm pick-me-up. One warning though: they are extremely addictive!

Munich is a terribly moody city when it comes to the weather. Maybe someone has forgotten to explain this city how seasons should work, or maybe it's them who have forgotten the city at some point over the ages. Fact is: once more, spring has come and gone, summer is supposed to be back, yet, looking outside, nothing quite seem to prove it. That's fine for me now, I've grown fonder of this crazy weather, even if I miss our west coast summer and sea a little bit too much. Nonetheless, sunny days and good weather usually mean more smiles, more energy, and an overall better mood. If the weather and emotions are connected, one can definitely acknowledge Munich as a bipolar city.

it's THAT chocolate cake! { chocolate-cherry cake with mascarpone-blueberry filling and brigadeiro frosting }

It happens that, sometimes, I find myself in the need of baking or cooking something for some special occasion, and yet I have absolutely no clue of what I intend to do exactly, or even the desire to do anything at all. I know... coming from me, it may sound a bit odd. But, even if seldom, it happens.

happy third! { snickers 'klimt' pie }

Cheers! So it's been three years since I finally decided this thing was for real, threw all my fears and doubts out of the window, ignored all the discouraging voices around me and started working my ass off on improving. Not that it was that hard - there's nothing I'll take more gladly than a good challenge and holding an adventurous journey against all odds definitely thrills me.

I am absolutely amazed at how I have managed to hold on to this page, which feels, in a way, as much of a home as every other place I could once call mine. I have a clue, though, about how I was able to do it. I have to thank it all to my family, especially my brothers, to all of you who visit this page and keep on spoiling me with sweet comments, but, on top of all, to all the amazing people I have met along this 'between kitchens' journey - and that I am now lucky to call friends. To all my awesome friends around the world, to my family and to my followers, I here state my most deep gratitude. None of this would have been possible without each one of you! ♥

Not all that is gold glitters, or do you? ;)

no butter, no cake? no way. { olive oil lemon bundt cake with white chocolate and berries }

this cake has a very funny story.

(no fuss, no muss) delicious and moist gluten-free brownies. { moist buckwheat brownies with cherries and white chocolate chunks }

I think I may be falling for buckwheat flour!

can you believe these are some of the healthiest brownies I've ever made?

gluten-free, much lower in sugar than usual and with less butter,

yet still surprisingly delicious!?

I came up with this recipe from scratch, and I'm quite proud of it!

they are a delicious combo of moist and chewy, packed with flavour

 and really easy and quick to make, hence perfect for any chocolate cake cravings.

to stir things up a bit, I loaded my batter with cherries and white chocolate chunks.

wait no longer - they're here and they're a handful. { three takes on the perfect thin, chewy and crisp cookie }

i know you've been waiting for this.

not one, not two, but THREE flavours of COOKIES.

and today i'm not even going to say much.

i am just going to say that you should definitely grab this recipe,

run to the kitchen, turn on your favourite music

- for me it was Hozier all along -

grab all the things you need

and just get your hands dirty with loads of butter and flour.

it will take a while, but it is, indeed,

totally worth it.

soothing my soul { spiced rum irish cream }

i find it utterly fascinating when things line up in life,
caughting me startled in an unexpected sequence of coincidences.

those times i feel that maybe my mind has the same beat as the universe.
it works on randomness and on chaotic thoughts
and it slightly shivers with excitement when it all lines up,
as when i am able to sum up my messy thoughts through precise words.

i'll admit i am a bit of a perfectionist, but i'm definitely not obsessed with order.
i have seen the way some people like to plan and control everything.
i cherish the happenstances of life and i like to wander through life with wide open eyes,
trying to unleash myself from the dogmatic and from soulless certainties.

i am extremely picky with words, those who have worked with me know it,
i spend quite a long time trying to find the perfect words
- and they must absolutely fit together too -
but i've learned to appreciate the purity of raw thoughts.

maybe this attempt to pick up the slightest connections, the smallest details,
makes me feel like i have the power to invent an alternative world,
or maybe it is just further proof that we live in a paradoxal world,
where randomness is the only possible state of order,
for it all fits like a puzzle in some sort of magical way.

maybe i do pick up fortuitous connections, or maybe i just make these things up in my mind,
but i've always been captivated by the allure of chance and happenstances.

weil manchmal bin ich in lebkuchen verliebt. { lebkuchen }

so you thought Christmas was over!?

well... not with me!

you know me, I still have loads of recipes to share - and I am not keeping them until next Christmas -the end.

especially not with such one handsome model as my middle brother!

about a birthday cake. { ombre chocolate cake with orange marmalade curd, frosted with ganache, pistachio and vanila-caramel buttercream }

i mostly like to talk, but is it okay if sometimes i don't feel like saying anything?

it was a really exhausting (though great) weekend!

made this cake for my birthday while watching my favourite series

and i had so much fun planning, baking and assembling the whole thing!

hope you enjoy it!

love, xoxo,

inês.

birthday celebration challenges | the outcome

we've got a winner!
it's Susana, from basta cheio, and you can check her post here too

schwarzwälder. { black forest cheesecake }

i don't always bake cake every other day

or even once a week.

but when i do

i feel this urge to expand myself

in terms of kind, composition and flavour.

took this cake to the office today

♥

the eternal trilogy mac. { neapolitan macarons }

guess what: i got a job!

(no... not cooking... as an architect...)

this comes out as a little menacing to the blog,

maybe i'll have less time to bake/cook/post...

but don't worry. i'm not going anywhere.

i'll keep bringing you goodies ♥

definitely.

fondant au chocolat. { chocolate fondant }

it's dark. raw. gooey and turning to fudgy. gorgeous.

it's like a chocolate mousse baked bar.

you may eat it straight out of the oven... like a lava cake.

and after that, it's an heavenly gorgeous chocolate fudge.

p.s.: dust with cocoa.

blurred lines. { brigadeiros }

Some specific foods have the power to bring us back to our childhood.

Well, this one certainly does it for a lot of people.

It is probably one of the first recipes kids learn to make on their own, as it is quite easy and envolves no harmful appliances - except for the stovetop, a step that I immagine many parents would supervise.
This was the most likely item to be present at any kid's birthday party in the 90s. And all kids loved this thing!

I didn't really ever care for them... I don't know why, but at the sight of a table full with different stuff, this was something I would rarely go for. Maybe because they are overpoweringly sweet, so they would make anything else taste like nothing after - what a smart palate, if that's the case!
Plus we would never have them at home, I don't know why, but I never bothered to wonder
Hence, this is something I had never made at home, even though I had watched many friends preparing them.

For some awkward reason, being here has awaken some eccentric desires and cravings I didn't even knew I could have - as in even for some things that I kind of didn't like before. For you prents here, if you want your kids to like any traditional dish they hate back home, just send them abroad for a couple of months, it will totally solve the problem! (...just not to Portugal or Italy, as they may stay there for the food haha ;) )

One thing they don't have here in a regular supermarket is what we call 'regular' condensed milk back home... they sell this thin, cream-like mixture that I don't even understand what it is. Suddenly, I had an urge to make all condensed milk things I could think off. So I bought some at the portuguese shop.

In the end there was one can left in my pantry.

Last week, I really needed to eat chocolate, but it was ten in the evening and I only had cocoa. So I did what I had to do.

Get rid of that can.

overnight oats ♥ dessert { tiramisu overnight oats }

Is it breakfast? ...afternoon snack? ...is it dessert?

I don't care, it's awesome ♥

Start improving your breakfast today! And tomorrow is saturday... what better day to have dessert for breakfast?

(For dessert, maybe add some coffee licquor ;) )

overnight oats... oh, whatever, overafternoon too. { chocolate, coconut and blueberry overnight oats }

This kitchen will be moving soon... so the aim now is to get rid of as much stuff as I can from my pantry.

This also means that I have to get crazy creative in the kitchen.
Which is challenging and, hence, good.

Running out of my favourite daily-consumption stuff, I remembered I had a practically full bag of oatmeal - that I can't even remember why I bought! Plus, I remembered how much I treasure these muslis they make at fancy-brunch-places around here. Well... look no further, here they are!
So I'm in a oatmeal haze these days: breakfast, afternoon snack and, who knows..., dinner?

I guess I'll be posting further ideas soon ;)

Overnight Oats #1
The Dreamer. Chocolate, Coconut and Blueberry Blend
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup 0.8% milk
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp light muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp blueberries
- 1 tsp shredded coconut

1) Mix everything well in a jar, close and refrigerate overnight (around 4-8 hours will do),
2) When serving, shake well before opening. If desired, warm up in the microwave. Sprinkle with extra shredded coconut and/or chocolate chips or shavings.