Every time I go to Peru to visit my family and friends, I have to buy a couple of boxes of these delicious treats that are originally from the Ica region of Peru. Choco Tejas are chocolate truffles filled with dulce de leche, nuts or dried fruit. My favorite combinations are the ones with dulce de leche and pecans or dulce de leche and rum raisins.  My best friend came from Peru to visit a couple of months ago and she brought me some molds so I could make these chocolate bom boms and guess what… they came out really really good. They are not hard to make, and they can be kept at r ..read more

Halloween is just around the corner, and I couldn’t be happier because after Christmas, Halloween is my favorite holiday! Here is a new recipe for you to make at home and maybe share some with your family and friends. Today, I’m hosting my monthly collab on Instagram so do not forget to look for #chocopumpkincollab so you can see all the delicious treats my baking friends made. Also, if you visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales, you can watch the video of how I made these cake truffles. Why making this recipe? *Pumpkin and chocolate are best friends. They both taste really good together. *I am ..read more

  It’s the time of the season…to make Alfajores… because why not? An alfajor is one of the most popular cookies in South America. Each South American country has their own version and today I’ll show you how to make Peruvian alfajores but Halloween theme ones (ghost shape).  No, you don’t need a ghost cookie cutter, just grab a heart shape one and I’ll you will get cute ghosts! Why making these cookies? *The cookie part is soft with a delicate taste of vanilla. The filling is a milk base caramel called dulce de leche. *You can make these cookies in advance; they keep really good for ..read more

Two years ago, I posted a recipe for pumpkin cookies with chocolate pieces, they were really good, but the texture was more of a cakey cookie which is pretty common for pumpkin cookies due to the moisture that pumpkin has. After a couple of tests, I finally came up with this recipe that will be your favorite chocolate chip cookie not just for Fall season but for the whole year. In this recipe, you will find interesting things like: *I just use light brown sugar (no granulated sugar). Light brown sugar will give a darker and a touch of caramel flavor. *I don’t use eggs, not even an egg white ..read more

  Today is the collab that I host monthly on Instagram, the theme is “apples” and I thought about this recipe I posted a couple of years ago which is one of my favorites during Fall season, but I think it did not get the right attention it should have. So, here it is again, my apple crumb cake. Why making this cake? * Fall is the perfect time to find different kinds of apples. You can use any kind of apples for this recipe, you can even mix 2 or 3 kinds. *The crumb part of this cake is a real crumb, not mushy or soft like other recipes. I have made this cake 3 days ago and the crumb is s ..read more

I haven’t posted for over a month and if you know me, you know that I have applied for my American citizenship last May and finally my exam was late July, so I had to prepare and study to take that test. I passed it and then my ceremony was last week, I finally can say that I’m an American citizen and I’m proud to be part of this country. So, yes… I have been busy with all this process plus if you have watched the news, Texas weather has been really hot, so yeah it is kinda hard to turn on the oven when it is over 100+ F degrees outside. With this dessert, I traveled back in time to my childh ..read more

I ordered some groceries from Amazon Fresh more than a week ago and the bananas they brought me were green like the Grinch. Then, I remember my husband told me that he ordered bananas a couple of months ago, they were green too and they NEVER turned yellow, they stayed green for about 2 months until we finally decided to get rid of them. But guess what, this time after about 10 days my bananas ripen so they were ready for my next recipe. I think banana bread is one of the bread/cakes that is a crowd pleaser on any occasion, there are many recipes out there because it’s such a popular cake to ..read more

            This classic dessert is always a favorite in my house. In my recipe, I give you all the tricks and tips to achieve the perfect caramel and custard. Smooth and silky perfect for any celebration. No more flans that won’t come out of the pan or broken side/edges or burnt caramel, this recipe is perfect! Also, check out my stories on Instagram so you can see the step by step of this flan. I decided to make this dessert in contribution for the collab i’m hosting today #cincodemayocollabfriends2023 . Don’t forget to click on the # so you can see all the del ..read more

Hello friends. I’m back! I know it has been a long time since my last post, but I have been super busy with my family in Peru. I traveled to help my mom move from her house (where she lived for almost 40 years) to her new apartment. It was a very exhausting process emotionally and physically. As you know, my mom has dementia, which is getting worse little by little, she does not have the capacity to remember anything anymore and living in such a big house for just her and her caregivers was too much for her to handle. Now, she has a smaller place where she feels happy and secure. Also, you mi ..read more

Happy Monday! I bought some oranges last week and last night they were looking a bit sad, so I decided to bake something quick before they turn bad. This cake is perfect if you want a quick and easy bake. It has orange juice and zest which give a nice citrus flavor. Also, I am showing you how to make that nice line on top that bakery loaves have: you just need melted butter and a knife. Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to watch how I made this loaf, visit me on Instagram @pastry_tales Yield one loaf pan Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup white granula ..read more