If there is one place in the world that I must travel to some day it is Switzerland. I dream often of this gorgeous land with snowy peaks, cows with bells, stunning farmland, warm people and of course the food! Thankfully I feel like I am whisked to destinations around Europe every time I visit my friends blog, Rosa’s Yummy Yums. I picture Rosa May & I touring cafes with cameras and treats in hand ~ discussing art, fine food, color, light and life. She feels like a kindred spirit. Rosa has a beatnik, Betty Page edge that makes her unique and fabulous! She travels often, her wanderings & musings always entertain!
Please welcome my guest today, Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums…
*All of the stunning photography in this post is ©Rosa Mayland Photography
Hi! My name is Rosa and I am a quirky Anglo-Swiss food enthusiast who lives in a small Geneva countryside village situated in the French speaking part of Switzerland – a few meters away from the French border – and who loves to play with words, delve into the culinary spheres and the world of photography with a load of passion and a good dose of Rock ‘n’ Roll attitude.
My blog “Rosa’s Yummy Yums” offers witty articles that go against the tide (I despise trends, like to question established behavior patterns or assumptions and have an independent personality), unique recipes, droolworthy pictures of my dishes as well as mesmerizing photos of the landscapes that surround me, a lot of food for thought and eerily atmospheric sounds to soothe your soul. Besides, when I’m not writing for my site, you’ll also find me over at The Rambling Epicure, a daily international food chronicle and online newspaper to which I contribute as a freelance columnist (list of my articles: part I & part II).
I have been reading MarlaMeridith.com since 2010 and have witnessed how Marla has developped her cooking, baking and photography skills over the years. Every time I visit her refreshing and unique blog, I feel inspired and take a virtual vacation. This dazzling woman’s healthy, yet indulgent recipes never fail to make me drool and her brilliant pictures (dishes, landscapes as well as sweet family portraits) always delight me to the highest point.
So, when she kindly asked me to write a guest post for her and share some of my favorite Valentine’s Day desserts with her readers, I accepted her gracious proposition without a moment of hesitation as it is a true honor for me to be featured on her wonderful space. A wish come true, as a matter of fact…
Today, I am extremely thrilled to present you with my fetish romantic recipes and I wish to warmly thank Marla for opening the doors of her platform to me. It is an honor to know this perky lady and to have my work hosted by such a fabulous and friendly blogger like her!
“Eplepai“ is a wintery Norwegian apple cake which is ridiculously simple and fast to put together, nonetheless it is far from being characterless, boring or bland gustatively speaking. The warm spices (cardamom & cinnamon) pair admirably with the sweet tartness of the fruits and the toasted almonds add a gorgeously nutty note to the whole. A tantalizing and morish treat that is sticky, extra humid, super smooth in texture, mighty gratifying and which somehow reminds me of pudding. A slice of Scandinavian heaven!
Those “Chocolate & Salted Vanilla Whoopie Pies” are pleasantly crispy on the outside and superbly spongy as well as moist on the inside. The ever so slightly salty-tasting vanilla filling that can be compared to frosting pairs terribly well with the faint bitterness of the cocoa-based shells. Sensational! No matter how hip or “out” those old-fashioned, delicious and cute sandwiched cookies are, they deserve a lot of attention as I’ve rarely come across something that orgasmic and terrifyingly addictive.
“LemonCurd” makes me feel closer to England, reminds me of my English grandparents and of the Sunday morning breakfasts I used to have when I was a child. I have many of positive memories linked to that speciality, so when I’m feeling down, there’s nothing more therapeutic than to whip up a pot or two of that irresistible spread. I am so happy to be in possession of my sadly missed grandmother’s 1971 recipe for this lusciously buttery, exquisitely tangy, divinely citrusy and blissfully silky cream that pairs perfectly well with fresh homemade bread.
“Sachertorte” is the ultimate culinary symbol of Vienna (Austria) and a typical Kaffeehaus delicacy. Rick Rodger’s version is just perfect both in taste and texture. The sponge layers are soft, yet a little compact (in an titillating way), the chocolate topping is marvelously gooey and the aromas blend particularly well together. A real poem and ode to ambrosialness!
Without a doubt, Coffee Kisses are the cookies that come to my mind when thinking of England and my grandparents. As a child, every time I visited them I begged my grandmother to bake a batch of them with me. She accepted very reluctantly as she hated having people “in her legs” while she was busy in the kitchen and was not to hot at the thought of baking with a messy and energy-ladden kid. Anyway, for my greatest pleasure I always won after a few hours of supplicating and haggling! Those little bites of paradise have such an wonderful coffee aroma and are just to-die-for. It is impossible not to fall in love with those whoopie pie-like sandwich cookies and be totally addicted to their crisp crust, softish interior and lipsmackingly buttercream filling.
This deluxe “Earl Grey & Dark Chocolate Mousse” is intensely chocolaty, sinfully calorific, highly sensuous, mindblowingly decadent, delectably fudgy, truffle-like and has ethereal notes of earl grey. The basic recipe (without extra flavoring) comes from my Swiss grandmother who passed away long ago and whom I will never forget.
These pretty “Tea Caramel Flans” are smooth and creamy, have a subtly spicy flavor and are dazzlingly caramelly (both aromas meld really well together) and look terrific, especially when decorated with jewel-like pomegranate seeds. A refined dessert.
“Victoria Sandwich” is a traditional British sponge cake that is easy to bake, incredibly soft, fluffy and very versatile. Named after Queen Victoria, this baked good is part of my heritage (I have Swiss and English blood running through my veins). Instead of sandwiching mine the traditional way, with raspberry jam, I decided to replace the preserves with a much healthier and tastier filling made of plum compote which I have flavored with ground cinnamon and to which I have added an itsy bitsy amount of sugar. The result was just out-of-this-world.
My “Engadiner Crostata” is a cross between an Italian tart and a Swiss classic known as ”Engadiner Nusstorte“. This tart is composed of pasta frolla (sweet Italian shortcrust pastry), walnuts and toffee. The buttery and flaky shortcrust pastry combines perfectly with the strongly caramelly, intoxicatingly nutty and moreish filling. That pairing is so wickedly delish that it’ll make you grow devil horns!
You can also stay in touch with Rosa on Twitter, Rosa.J.May Facebook, Rosa’s Yummy Yums Facebook, Pinterest and StumbleUpon too.
Thank you so much for visiting me here at MarlaMeridith.com Rosa! xoxo
Guest Posts On MarlaMeridith.com
Great guest feature…loved seeing more of Rosa’s goodies!
These are excellent dessert ideas for Valentine’s by Rosa, and what a variety!!
Thanks for featuring, Marla!! 🙂
Thank you for the kind words and for inviting me on FFC! I hope you’ll soon be able to travel to Switzerland. I’d love to show you around Geneva…
Cheers,
Rosa
One day girl! Thankfully for now I can enjoy all of these treats & dreams through the internet. Brings me one step closer! Thanks again for bringing the pages of Family Fresh Cooking alive with such beauty ~xo
Wow, so lovely and choc-full of ideas for Valentine’s.
Great guest post!
xo
Wow, beautiful photos and I’m SO hungry now!
Everything sounds absolutely splendid! So nice to meet you Rosa! For the past two summers I lived in Switzerland to work (near Basel) and completely fell in love with the country. I ran my frist marathon in Davos this summer too! 🙂
Congrats on that marathon Katrina & lucky you to live in such a wonderful country. Now I have 2 pals to visit over there!
LOVE Rosa…thanks for the beautiful guest post!
I’ve been to Switzerland a couple times and I have a friend that lives there. It’s certainly a place never to forget and to always be thinking of.
Allison, that is what I always hear. All great stuff about such a stunning country. You are so lucky that you have been 🙂
Love Rosa. Such a great guest post. Wish I could try a bite of each.
I love Rose’s blog and I love these photos. Desserts look pretty fabulous as well!
What gorgeous shots, Rosa – of both the countryside as well as your lovely treats. That apple cake looks to-die-for!
I love Rosa and her amazing photos and treats. She has such talent!
Thank you for the wonderful Valentine’s Day dessert inspiration. Being from Austria I was excited to see Sachertorte but all of the treats look amazing and mouthwatering. The photography is absolutely beautiful!
Hi Antonia! So glad you stopped by. That Sachertorte is unbelievable. My kids were about to claw their way through my computer screen when they were looking at Rosa’s desserts!
Just a few of my favorite things!!! Marla you would so love Switzerland – I see you as a snow bunny zipping down the alps!
Bunny up! I gotta ski those Alps some day in the near future!
Well, now I am between a rock and a hard place. There will only be one Valentine’s Day dessert – just one! How will I ever choose?
Claudia ~ now that is a very good question!
What a great guest feature! All the goodies look wonderful. I really would love to have the Coffee Kisses!
Jennifer, not only do those little coffee kisses look great ~ but I am in love with the name 🙂
Her photography is stunning! Every time I visit her site I become more and more convinced that I was born on the wrong continent!
Ha! Me too! They are so classy over there in Europe huh. These days I am much more inspired by the fashions, food and style trends from the magazines & publications abroad. A visit over there is one overdue.
I’m a huge fan of Rosa’s photography/blog. I especially love her black and white photography and her gorgeous landscape photos. Would love to print some of her photos for my home! And that yummy looking Tea Caramel Flan looks amazing…WOWZA!
I admire and love both your blogs — beautiful collaboration.
Yvette, Rosa goes out on a creative limb with her black & white photos. They are such a nice diversion from all the color we see all the time. I keep telling myself to try some b/w but I never quite make the leap. When I was working on this post I wanted to pave my walls with Rosa’s photos. Truly inspiring gal. That flan is dreamy huh!
Those are some delicious-looking desserts. Thanks for sharing, Rosa, and thanks, Marla, for featuring her!
How could I possibly choose is the question
I’m only a recent fan of Rosa’s blog, but I’m so glad I stumbled onto her blog and yours Marla, both are stunning and mouthwatering. I especially love Rosa’s beautiful black and white photos. I don’t know what magic she works with them, but they are more stunning than most colour photos!
And all of those food photos are stunning. I have to say though, my favourite would be the Victoria Sponge. I’m a fan of the classics…and you can’t go wrong with cake, jam and cream!
each & every one of those pics looks tantalizing! perfect guest post for valentines day desserts… now im all hungry 🙁
Nice to meet you Marla. Rosa has been a friend for years and always drooling on her delicious desserts and admiring here beautiful photos,
Hi Marla! So happy to see Rosa here today! Rosa, your dessert recipes and photography are gorgeous! I can’t even pick which one is the best or my favorite because all look so good… I didn’t realize Valentine’s is coming up! Thanks for the reminder Marla!
What a great guest post, Marla and Rosa! These goodies for Valentine’s Day are so perfect, especially that Victorian Sandwich! Rosa’s blog is great and so is Switzerland; I’d love to return for a long visit! Nice post and gorgeous photos as always!
Did Rosa EVER give her ALL to you! What incredible images and beautiful food – and then more – and then more – a feast for the eyes and a delight to read!
🙂
V
Wonderful treats, offered here!
One of the best guest posts I have not seen for a long time! Good job!
And I have to tell you I am so going to try out those delicious dessert.
I adore Rosa!! Lovely guest post, pictures and food! I want to eat ALL the desserts!!
Very nice to meet you Marla. Oh the choices where to begin. The pictures are simply gorgeous but then so are each and every one of those tempting delectables!
Thanks for having us…
Great guest…I’ve been following Rosa since I started blogging 🙂
Hope you are having a wonderful week Marla, and nice meeting you!
Wow, these goodies by Rosa looked amazing. Oh, and I love her name!
Marly, funny you should say that! I love her name too. I had fun choosing a font that played well with “Rosa” 🙂
Stunning! What a fabulous post and absolutely beautiful recipes! I am truly inspired!
Jennifer, I am always inspired by Rosa. Wish I had her patience in the kitchen! Everything she does is filled with amazing effort and pride 🙂
I love rosa’s blog and her photos are stunning! I love her black and white shots, but her support is truly amazing! She never fails to leave a supportive comment. Great feature Marla!
That is so true. Rosa really supports our community. I always feel happy when she pops over for a visit. I am so glad you had fun with this post. We had a great time putting it together for you guys 🙂
First of all – Marla, you HAVE to get to Switzerland if only for skiing the Alps!
All of these treats are gorgeous and delectable. Yum!
Marina, I know it girl. Switzerland is essential in my life. Like now.
How fun! I want to go and hang out in Switzerland w/ Rosa too. Let’s go, Marla!! Beautiful photography Rosa!!
Lori, we would have a blast! Let’s book it. Ya think we can find a sponsor 😉
Visiting Rosa’s blog is always a such a treat, she has a way with words, and food!
Sylvie, she really does. Rosa has such an amazing outlook on life & a keen eye for food, style & photography!
Oh my goodness, I am drooling over here! I need a nibble of everything 😀 When you do get to Switzerland love you must visit Lugano. You’ll fall in love.
Red, Lugano. OK, it’s noted!! I trust your taste implicitly 🙂 ~xo~
Oh my goodness… eye candy at it’s finest!
My mother is from Switzerland also, btw, and I also really enjoyed seeing photos which reminded of similar places in Switzerland. This is an image of the home she grew up in… http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarhobby/2548491807/in/set-72157605376208417 A unique charm I can’t get enough of.
What a beautiful post to read and see. Thank you Rosa and Marla! You are both extremely talented!
Marian!! Thank you so much for sharing that beautiful photo with us. Your mom grew up in such a beautiful place. When the time comes for me to visit Switzerland I can tell there are a few of you that will set me on the right path 🙂
xo