Cafe Liz

Trendy western baked goods meet traditional local flavors in these rose-scented cupcakes – a delicate whiff of rose gives these cupcakes a dreamy, Middle Eastern flavor where you least expect it. Rose and pistachio, a combo frequently found in baklava, mesh seamlessly with the buttery crumb, and create an elegant dessert that’s food-coloring free.

“If you show me how to make a cheesecake, I’ll show you how to make a Spanish yogurt cake,” my friend Arturo said. After his first Shavuot in Israel, he’d developed cheesecake envy. And how could I refuse an offer like that?

One of our friends, Gil, contributed 4 liters of fresh juice to our Rosh Hashanah meal — a great solution for a person with a juicer who doesn’t cook. The side effect? Massive, massive amounts of leftover fruit pulp — those 4 liters took about 15 kilos of fresh fruit to make. I have a hard time seeing food being thrown out, so we asked him to bring us the pulp. We’d find something to do with it.

Spot the impostor: It’s not a plant, it’s a cake. It only looks like a plant. (OK, a fake plant. But still.) I got this recipe from my mom, who’s been playing it for laughs since I was a child. This is my second year making it myself (for a different crowd each time, of course), and it gets a good response, even once the “dirt” cover is broken and people start digging into the cake. There’s just something about [...]

This cheesecake has a fabulous, tangy flavor, thanks to the passion fruit, orange and lemon. It also almost ended in complete and total disaster due to my impatience. It’s been quite a while since I’ve made a cheesecake — about 51 weeks, right around last year’s Shavuot, to be precise — and I kind of forgot the importance of letting the cheesecake take its dear sweet time to cool down. In my haste, I removed the baking ring a few [...]

It’s Saturday again, and time for another Saturday brunch. I usually spend several days in eager anticipation, and when I woke up this morning, I decided to turn to my “Muffin Lady” cookbook for inspiration.

One of my favorite dessert recipes is Martha Stewart’s chocolate gingerbread cake.