Cashew Apple Dessert, Dulce de Cajuil

En Español

Cashews are not just nuts ... their fruit is great for making a delicious marmalade like dessert. The cashew is a fruit that is mainly consumed for its nut, but its fruit is still coveted by many. This is the third time I prepare this cashew Dominican dessert. As I had said in this post, my aunt Fresa makes a delicious "dulce de cajuil".  She always make some for us, but this time she brought a bag full of this fruit and I decided to make some dulce to my taste ... with little sugar.

Did you know? The cashew, Anacardium occidentale, is a crop native to northeastern Brazil, where it is known as caju. It has great medicinal and nutritional properties. Despite having a unique flavor,
this fruit has a variety of names. A few of the names it is known as in countries that visit this blog are the following: in Spain it is known as anacardo, in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile as castaña de cajú, in Peru and Mexico, Colombia, and rest of Central America known as marañón, in Venezuela as merey, and Puerto Rico as pajuil.

Orchid Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I shared a photo on facebook of the dendrobium superbum orchids we have at home when they had just flourish. It is the first time that they bloom since my husband and I bought them last year. The beauty and aroma of these flowers inspire to enjoy nature, and to thank our Creator for their beautiful display which He gives to us freely. These also inspired me to create some orchid cupcakes. Below you'll also find a how to video on how I did each step. I thank my wonderful daughter, Crystal, for helping me with the video. THANK YOU Cookie :)


I am sure these cupcakes would have been nicer and neater if made with buttercream or fondant, but wanted to make it with our favorite frosting, Italian meringue to share with all friends who daily create awesome cakes and look for different options. It's the first time I do this type of flower, I know I can improve the technique, but for now I share it with you as is. I am sure that together we can learn from each other how to make prettier.  I hope you like the idea.

First we lightly frost the cakes with white or light green Italian meringue or frosting of your preference. I used tip #12 to do this.

Next we make the three sepals (tepals) using tip #104.

Then with tip #352 make the two curled petals.

Fill the pastry bag with a line of dark purple or burgundy. I recommend using a table knife or thin spatula when performing this step. If it get a bit do not worry, it will help to make it like the actual  veins that petals have.

Finish filling the pastry bag with purple or hot pink frosting. Squeeze a few times into a plate to blend in the two colors of frosting before working with it on the cupcake.

I see the lip petal (labellum) as a heart shape, so that's how I interpreted it. I used tip #61 with the two toned frosting pastry bag to form the center lip petal of the orchid. You can see how I make this step in the video below.

Have an awesome week :)


But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ~ Genesis 50:20

Cassava Bread, Pan de Yuca

En Español
My aunt makes a delicious cassava (mandioca) bread. I had asked her for the recipe and she gladly sent it to me  with my cousin Ucha. It's been over a year since I had this recipe waiting to be published. Last week I decided to make a couple of coconut desserts with coconuts from our farm, and it was the perfect opportunity to bake this pudding like, cassava bread to photograph and share.

Strangely, when I woke up my baked goody had a big triangle piece missing... Mr. M had served himself a delightful breakfast. This bread has a similar taste to the yuca fritters (arepitas de yuca) with the difference that this is a bit sweeter, has shredded coconut and it's baked. There are many variations of this bread, but this is my Aunt, Elena Paulino's recipe with some adaptations, I added an egg and more sugar.

I can not fail to mention that another loved aunt also made this recipe, Tia Maria Alvarez, who was my father's aunt. I remember when I used to visit her in Santiago, on two occasions she offered me this sweet yuca bread. While making this recipe I was filled with fond memories of her. I hope this recipe will be useful for any of her daughters or granddaughters that may not know how to prepare this bread. I am sure they will enjoy remembering their mother's/grandmother's cooking. God rest her soul.