France - Dessert - Chocolate Macarons

Macarons are my obsession. My friends constantly send me pictures if they ever see something macaron related in a store (and tease me about my emphasizing the difference between macarons and macaroons, which are a completely different, traditional Jewish pastry). My family has caught onto it too and since then I have received macaron pajamas, macaron baking kits, macaron phone cases and pretty much anything else you can think of. I don't know where this obsession came from. I can't even remember the first time I had a macaron. When I went to Paris, I had only a couple minutes on the Champs-Elysées to shop, so I dragged my friend to Ladurée. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in in time and we had to turn around. I was morbidly upset, but luckily got to spend the rest of my euros at the Ladurée in the Paris airport. I bought a box of 16, and it was the best decision ever. They were gone in a couple days. I was in heaven. I have tried making macarons before sophomore year, but they didn't turn out all too well. Here is my attempt to make them again, of course chocolate using this recipe. Enjoy!

Japan - Dessert - Green Tea Crêpe Cake

In all honesty, I've never really liked green tea at all. I tried my friend's green tea latté once and fought the desire to spit it out. For me, the green tea flavor was way too strong and having it iced made it even worse. That's why I was so hesitant to try out this green tea crêpe cake. Matcha powder (which is flipping expensive from Whole Foods) is present in both the pastry creme filling and the actual crêpe, so I was scared to have that overwhelming green tea flavor. Boy was I wrong. I found myself slabbing the pastry creme onto the flopped crêpes and having them as a mini dessert. The texture is so light and airy, as is the green tea flavor, so you get the essence and not a punch of matcha powder to the face. This recipe made the process super easy, and I've adapted it below to how I worked it out.

Japan - Dessert - Japanese Cheesecake

I have a lot of friends and family who are gluten free, whether by necessity or by choice, and I always make sure to find gluten free recipes that are also delicious. Gluten free creations are often seen as flat, tough and sometimes inedible. In my experience, if you do a little research and buy the right ingredients, gluten free can be just as good or even better as recipes that use gluten products. This gluten free recipe that I followed is for Japanese cheesecake. Japanese cheesecake is a combination of the classic New York style cheesecake and sponge cake, using a meringue base to create a fluffy yet creamy cake. I hope this satisfies your tastebuds, whether you're gluten free or not!

France - Dessert - Gâteau Chocolat

When I was in Paris, I had the most amazing chocolate cake for dessert. Since then, I have been searching for recipes to try and recreate it. This recipe is one of my attempts, taken from a cooking blog of a French mother and cook. Classic chocolate cake is my go to birthday cake or pick me up food. It's amazing just by itself, or topped with whipped cream and fruit or powdered sugar. As you can tell, most of my dessert recipes are chocolate. I was born loving chocolate, and I don't see myself changing anytime soon. There's more to come, but for now try this one!

India - Dessert - Strawberry Kulfi with Chocolate Shell

Before researching for this senior project, I didn't even know what kulfi was. Honestly, I had never really had much Indian food at all, but anything with the word ice cream in it sounded good to me. I wasn't sure how this recipe would turn out, but I'm so happy with it. Traditional kulfi calls for cardamom pods and pistachio, but because my dad is allergic to nuts and I couldn't find any cardamom pods and don't have a mortar and pestle to crush them, I omitted them from the recipe I followed. I chose a strawberry recipe because my favorite flavor, chocolate, goes perfectly with it. I made this healthier, self hardening chocolate shell I've made countless times before to harden on top of the kulfi, and it worked perfectly and tasted delicious. Here is my recipe!

Spain - Dessert - Flan de Café

I've never had flan before, but I've always wanted to try it, so my senior project provided the perfect opportunity. After following this recipe, I had coffee flan! Coffee is one of my favorite flavors to incorporate into baking, and it's so easy. Just add a little bit of instant coffee or espresso, or Kahlua, and your final product will have a little kick to it.

Italy - Dessert - Chocolate Gelato / Affogato al Caffè

In my hometown in Connecticut, there used to be this little gelato shop right next to our favorite Italian restaurant. When I was little, I went there and had gelato for the first time! Needless to say, my life was changed forever. Being a chocoholic (it runs in the family), I got chocolate gelato. I've always wanted to make my own, but having no ice cream maker discouraged me to try. I found this recipe from food.com and decided to give it a try for my senior project. To finish, I made my gelato into affogato al caffè, which is espresso poured over a scoop of gelato. When I was in Washington D.C. this fall, I had affogato for the first time and fell in love. I hope you do too!

France - Dessert - Chocolate Meringue Cookies

I added this recipe to my repertoire after making the gelato. I had 5 eggs worth left of egg whites, and my mom said I could make meringue cookies. Growing up, we always had coffee meringue cookies lying around the house, and once in a while my mom would give me one as a treat. You can make any flavor out of the meringue base, but because I am a chocoholic, I decided to do chocolate (adapted from this recipe). If you want, add some espresso powder for mocha, chocolate chips or just have them as plain vanilla! I'm sure lemon juice would make a nice lemon meringue, along with other fruit extracts. Meringue cookies are so, so easy to make and super fun to. I love whipping them up and seeing the peaks form. The photos don't do them justice!