Chocolate ganache cream

This is the best cream I've ever made. Nothing went to waste, all the tools and bowls are cleaned up, so good.

Paradise cake

Torta Paradiso - in Italian, sounds good either way. This is one of the Italian classics. It is very popular with bambini, they like simple desserts.

Chocolate biscotti

I refuse to buy cookies any more. Unless in Italy. There, they have aisles of good cookies. They call them "breakfast cookies". Which means healthy, good for kids. Yeah, right, just like Nutella. Do you believe it?

Cranberry almond muffins

Hania came back from school yesterday and was disappointed there where no muffins nor cake. But she'll be happy today. I'm already!

Cranberry and apple cake

We loved it! I took it to my parents yesterday, even my Dad tried it and even took a second! It was gone in 15 minutes.

Plum butter

Plums, plums, plums. I happen to like them a lot. Specially the late season variety, the small, dark, almond shape. When it's season for plums, I can just eat plums.

Flours in my kitchen

Regular (white wheat) flour:

• 1 cup weighs 150 g
• the more I bake the more I experiment with using less and less

Whole spelt flour:

• 1 cup weighs 120 g; so it weighs less than regular flour
• I add to just about everything
• I play with proportions trying to squeeze in more spelt
• it doesn't affect the taste of the final product
• it is less strong than white wheat
• it's 3 times more expensive than regular flour, here in Poland

Whole rye flour:

• 1 cup weighs 110 g
• it's sweeter than regular flour
• in cookies, cakes, breads

About me

Hi, I'm Ela (or Elżbieta) Hester. I spend most of my days with family in Kołobrzeg, Poland, right on the beautiful Baltic coast. Before that, I'd lived, studied and worked in the USA and Europe. I feel at home in New York, Milan or Paris. I love my family, friends, Italy and lots of other people, things and places.

I started the blog to keep track of my cooking. And I figured, if I want to get better at it, I need to write it down. I do it in English so my Mom doesn't read it.


e-mail me at elzbietahester@gmail.com