Here is the incredibly delicate and gluten-free almond cake. This is the “Amandier” recipe by renowned French Pastry chef Christophe Michalak with minor modifications. The main ingredients are almond flour and mascarpone.
If you enjoy this recipe, check out my other gluten-free desserts, such as the delicious banana muffins!

Gluten-free almond cake
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 180 g sugar
- 40 g honey
- 300 g almond flour
- 140 g softened salted or unsalted butter
- 100 g mascarpone cheese
- Some orange zest
- 1 Tbsp liquid vanilla (or 1 packet of vanilla sugar) (optional)
- 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
- Some powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 330°F (150°С). Grease baking pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
- In a mixer bowl, put eggs, sugar, and honey.

- Mix together.

- Add almond flour and mix again.

- In another bowl, mush the butter and mascarpone cheese together using a fork.

- Add the mascarpone and butter to the egg-sugar mixture and mix again.

- Add orange zest and vanilla to the batter. Mix well for the last time.

- Pour the batter into baking pan.

- Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

- Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 45 minutes. Allow the almond cake to cool before removing it from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Vanilla Creme Brulee
Absolutely amazing what a little cream, a little sugar and couple of eggs can turn into…. Perfect restaurant quality dessert. A rich custard topped with a hard layer of caramel. This Vanilla creme brulee is very easy to make if you follow all the steps correctly.
It will perfectly complete your cafe gourmand if the crème brûlée is served in small ramekins.
Look at this short video ! 🙂

Vanilla Crème brûlée
Ingredients
- 8 egg yolks
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 640 ml whipping cream
- 6 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the cream. In a medium bowl, combine together sugar, eggs yolks, vanilla and whisk.

- Add the cream a little at a time and stir. Remove the scum with a tea spoon.

- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into the ramekins. Divide cream mixture among ramekins (about 6 ramekins).

- Arrange the ramekins in a baking pan with deep sides. And carefully pour water around ramekins so that the water level must reach about 2/3 of the ramekins.

- Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You will know its ready when the custard is wobbly and jiggle from side to side when nudged (it looks like jello).
- Remove the custard from the water bath and let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours (overnight).

- Before serving, cover each cold creme brulee evenly with sugar (1 tsp). Caramelize using a propane torch. If you don’t have one propane torch, use the broiler: put the oven rack about 6 inches away from the broiler. Place the custards on the baking sheet and broil for about 3-5 minutes, or until sugar bubbles and turns golden brown. (Keep a close eye on them, they can burn quickly)

Notes
Tuna Quiche
This French open-faced pie with canned tuna, egg & cream filling seems completely simple, but it is so delicious. Don’t forget to add mustard to this Tuna Quiche, it will give a charm to it.

Tuna Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 200 g tuna in water (drained)
- 1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp mustard
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tomato
- 30 g cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the puff pastry out on a baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork.

- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust starts to turn light gold. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, if it puffed up a bit.

- Meanwhile mix tuna and mayonnaise with fork. Season with salt and pepper.

- Spread the mustard across centre. (I use mustard “a l’ancienne).

- Spoon the tuna mix on top.

- Combine eggs with sour cream and mix together. Season with salt and pepper.

- Pour over tuna.

- Slice tomato and arrange them on top of your quiche. Sprinkle with cheese.

- Bake for 30 minutes or until quiche is golden brown.

Cheese and Garlic Stuffed Tomatoes
You can serve this Cheese and garlic stuffed tomatoes as a starter or as a salad.

Cheese and Garlic Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 18 large cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup grated cheese american, cheddar, etc.
- fresh herbs chives, parsley, basil leaves
- 2-3 Tbs mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut off the top of cherry tomatoes. Keep the tops for presentation.

- Using a small spoon, scoop out the insides of the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes upside-down on a paper towel.

- Remove juice and seeds from the pulp. Mince the pulp.
- Press garlic using a garlic press. Mix the cheese and garlic together.
- Add mayonnaise, finely chopped herbs and tomato pulp. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
- Using a spoon, add cheese filling to the tomatoes and place the tops back on top of your cherry tomatoes.

- Refrigerate tomatoes before serving.
Tomato Tart
Who said that tarts are only for dessert? Fill a square of puff pastry with colorful mosaic of tomatoes, cheese, Dijon mustard, herbs de Provence. Then surprise your friends or family with this savory piece of artwork.

Tomato Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1-2 Tblsp Dijion mustard
- 5-6 tomatoes
- 30 g shreaded cheese (parmesan)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- herbs de provence (optional)
- couple basil leaf (optional)
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into thin (0.5 cm) slices. Put them in a single layer on paper towel. Pat dry with paper towel.

- Preheat the oven to 375°F. On the floured piece of parchment paper roll out the puff pastry and poke all over with a fork, to release the steam while baking.

- Evenly spread with dijon mustard.

- Arrange the tomatoes on top. Fold the edges of dough.

- Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with cheese and herbs.

- Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and the cheese is softening and colouring at the edges.

- Cut the tart into quarters, garnish with fresh basil and serve.

Cherry clafoutis
This is my favorite cherry clafoutis recipe — a delightful take from the classic version that I’ve adapted with my own twist. With cherry season in full swing, this simple yet irresistible dessert is the perfect way to enjoy summer’s sweet bounty!

Cherry clafoutis
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 110 g flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 450 ml liquid cream (35%)
- 150 ml milk
- 1 cuillère a soupe liquid vanilla
- 600 g pitted cherries (griottes)
- Bit of sugar for the mold
- Bit of butter for the mold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven (210°С/ 410°F).
- Mix the eggs and the sugar

- Add milk and liquid cream. Mix.

- Add vanilla.

- Add flour and salt. Mix well one more time.

- Generously butter the baking dish(es) and sprinkle them with sugar.

- Spread the pitted cherries over the bottom of the molds.

- Pour in the clafoutis batter. The cherries should remain visible.

- Bake for 30-40 minutes. Baking time depends on the size of the molds.

- Serve warm or cold. In my opinion, it tastes better cold.

Ice Cream Cake Iceberg
I don’t mean to brag, but as far as homemade ice cream cake recipes go, this one is the winner. The red berry coulis topping is the perfect balance between sweet and sour. This No-Bake Ice Cream Cake Iceberg is the ideal dessert to serve at your next party on a hot summer day.

Ice Cream Cake Iceberg
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar (50 + 50)
- 1-2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 300 ml sour cream
- 100 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%)
- 1 pinch salt
- 300 g red berries (blueberry, huckleberry, boysenberry, raspberry…) fresh or frozen
- Some Fresh berries for garnish
Instructions
- Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Whisk egg yolks with sugar (50 g).

- When the sugar is dissolved add vanilla extract and mix well.

- In a mixer bowl, whisk together very cold sour cream and heavy cream together until fluffy. Add sugar and continue whisking until firm (don’t over whip).

- Using a spatula, combine egg yolks with whipped cream together.

- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.

- With a spatula, carefully combine egg whites with whipped cream.

- You should get a nice fluffy cream.

- Spread the cream evenly into a silicone pan or salad bowl.

- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

- Rinse and drain fresh berries and puree until smooth. If you are using a frozen berries, place them in a leak-proof container and set the container in cold water for 10-15 minutes, then puree them.

- Pass the puree through a fine sieve to remove all tiny seeds. Coulis is ready.

- Remove it from the silicone pan and return it back to freezer until serving. (If you used a salad bowl, place it into hot water for a couple seconds). Prepare fresh berries for garnish.
- Right before serving, pour the coulis over the ice cream cake and garnish with fresh berries.

Ground Beef Hardshell Tacos
These are to die for tacos. I’ve made it so many times and each time, it turns out so great. It goes awesome with Virgin Mojito.

Ground beef hardshell tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 5 Tbsp cold water
- 1/2 cup cheese shredded
- 2 cups lettuce shredded
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 10 taco shells hard
Instructions
- Fully cook the ground beef. Drain extra grease. Add water and taco seasoning then cook for 3 more minutes.

- Dice tomatoes.

- Cut avocado into small cubes.

- Shred lettuce.

- Finely chop cilantro.

- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place empty taco shells on a cooking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

- Assemble each taco with meat mixture, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and lettuce. Top it with sour cream and salsa. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve immediately.

Spring Egg Salad With Green Onion
Perfect simple and plain salad, of which I think every time I see bunch of green onion. You will only need 3 ingredients to make this salad. I normally use mayonnaise as a dressing, but you can use sour cream as well, or mix of sour cream with mayonnaise (50/50).

Spring Egg Salad With Green Onion
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1/3 bunch green onion finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pinch paprika (optional)
Instructions
- Stir eggs, mayonnaise and green onion in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with some paprika if desire.

Easy Walnut Cake
There are quite a few nut cake recipes; but this one, which my mother-in-law is preparing is a little different. With that easy walnut cake, you can really taste the taste of nuts thanks to the small pieces that crunch under your teeth!

Easy Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 220 g sugar
- 100 ml milk
- 90 ml olive oil
- 200 g sifted flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 300 g walnuts
- 40 g butter
- Some confectioner’s sugar
- Few walnuts halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Grease and flour a round cake pan or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Using a mixer, beat eggs with sugar.

- Add milk, olive oil, flour, and baking powder. Mix well.

- Place the walnuts in the zip-lock and cruch them using a pastry pin.

- Pour the batter in the cake pan (mould). Lay walnuts halves on top of the cake.

- Bake for 20 minutes. The cake should be well raised with a thin crust but not fully baked. Place the pieces of butter on top of the cake.

- Continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool before removing it from the mold.

- Dust it with powdered sugar before serving.
