Well, just like that, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Can you already smell the pie? Are you promising yourself you won't overindulge this year? I've got great news. You can still indulge and feel guilt-free! Bring or make this chai spiced pecan tart to Thanksgiving dinner and get your pecan pie fix with half the calories!  I don't know if it's exactly half the calories, so don't quote me on that. But what I do know, is this tart is raw and it's vegan and all the ingredients are wholesome and nutritious. For the crust, you're going to use pecans and dates, with a bit of shredded coconut in the mix. And for the filling, of course, we will be using soaked raw cashews. I love these babies, for real. They work so well in raw desserts, and even make an amazing mac and cheese sauce.  More on that in another post. So, you're going to blend the raw cashews with coconut cream, add in some maple syrup for a healthier sweetener, cocon...

One thing I really struggled with after getting married is downsizing my meals and more importantly, downsizing my baked goods. Going from a family of 7+ to a family of 2 was a big change. Especially when you factor in the fact that my husband is not a big eater and doesn't have as big a sweet tooth as I had hoped. That, combined with the fact that he doesn't eat leftovers at all, really threw me for a loop. Hence, ALL the weight gain. There I was, in the first few years of my marriage, going for seconds and eating leftovers so I wouldn't feel so guilty about throwing out food. And let's not discuss desserts. At the very least, single me could give desserts out to the neighbors, all my mom's friends, my dad's coworkers, etc. But married me was stuck with 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies in the house just calling my name. So, as much as I didn't want to do all the complicated math and halve my recipes, I knew it had to happen. I even started measuri...

So, I finally tried the Italian meringue macaron method and you guys, I don't think I am going to go back to my French ways. Not because I've found a way to get rid of hollows, that's certainly still a struggle. But, I like it. I like the extra step to ensure a stable meringue and I like that most macaron companies out there are using it. Yes, I've done my research. And I am confident that some day soon, I will be able to consistently make un-hollow macarons using this method. Now let's talk today's macaron flavor. I've heard caramel apples can be not so fun to bite into, so I'll tell you what is fun to bite into. A caramel apple macaron. More specifically, a salted caramel apple macaron. No mess, no fuss, and your teeth will be so grateful. Since macarons are already sweet, the saltiness of the caramel is the perfect touch. The buttercream, I flavored with apple butter, which I feel is truly the best way to get the taste of an apple. My taste-...

This weekend, I made salted caramel for the first time and aside from the fact that I'm shocked and elated that I got it right on the first try, I'm really trying to figure out why it's taken me so long to make it. Like seriously, this stuff is liquid gold. It's an abomination that up until now I've been using jarred salted caramel. I decided I'm going to put it in and on everything I possibly can and as you can see, I started with this pie. Caramel is just meant to be with apples, so adding it to apple pie was a no-brainer. I thought the pie might turn out super sweet, but it was honestly perfect. The crust was out of this world and I know I call a lot of things out of this world, but it really was. There was one small flaw and that was that it turned out a little runnier than other pies I've made and so I've adjusted the recipe to include a tablespoon of tapioca to firm up the filling. The only person more excited about this pie than I was is ...

Hi  there! Notice anything different about the blog today? Culinary Couture is now officially Confessions of a Confectionista! What do you guys think of the new name? The rebrand is only 50% underway since my redesign is not live yet, but I can't wait for you guys to see it! In  the meantime, do you SEE these ah-mer-zing pumpkin molten lava cakes? They are the epitome of Fall. The idea for these randomly came to me one night this week and I couldn't wait another second to test it out. Unfortunately, dulce de leche was harder to get my hands on than expected (boo Ohio!), but that's fine, because these were one hundred percent worth the wait! Literally, they were everything I expected them to be, plus so much more. Perfectly spiced, perfectly moist, and perfectly decadent. Just imagine taking a bite of a warm pumpkin pie and having it melt in your mouth. Need I say more?

Oh dear, where do I even begin to explain the whirlwind that was my life this past month. I guess I should start with the fact that... So..this just happened 🙊🙊🙊😍😍😍 A video posted by Meriem K (@culinaryc0uture) on Nov 19, 2015 at 11:57pm PST I got engaged!!!!! If you're on Instagram, you probably already heard the news. I shared this totally cliche video of me flashing my ring. Yup, I'm one of those people now. Although I will try my best to refrain from sharing any lovey dovey posts on Instagram, I can't make any promises. So yeah, I'm engaged. But that part was easy. Planning the party was not. Hence why I was MIA. I spent the first half of November party planning and the second half, recovering from the party planning. And now I'm here, sharing a recipe you all probably could have benefited from before Thanksgiving but of course, life got in the way again last week and this post is late. Forgive me? I made you apple pie m...

I'm sitting here trying to think of what to say to start this post but all I can really think of is how badly I need coffee right now. It is currently 15 minutes to midnight and I am baking up a storm for multiple orders this weekend. Fall is typically a slow occasion season, but every now and then you get hit with a weekend where everyone and their mother decides to have a party. #bakerproblems #overbooked #teamnosleep But since we're on the topic of coffee, let's talk these pumpkin spice latte macarons. (See what I did there?) I like these macarons, a latte. (See what I did there, again?) I think my lack of sleep is making me delirious and actually not as funny as I think I am right now. But really, we need to discuss these macarons. They are my newest favorite macaron, and yes I say that about every macaron I make. Honestly though, these are amazing. And definitely the best way to say goodbye to pumpkin recipes for the rest of this year. I guess you coul...

Alright everyone, so on a scale of one to ten, how done are we with pumpkin recipes for this year? Semi-done? Want more? Completely over it? I'd say I'm at an 8 right now, definitely well on the way to pumpkin-ing myself out. I've got one more pumpkin recipe scheduled for later this week and then I'm calling an end to the pumpkin madness! But let's keep the enthusiasm up for just a little longer because I've got a great recipe for you today! It's literally the greatest recipe for small batch cinnamon rolls, crafted by the amazing Christina of Dessert For Two . I just amped it up with pumpkin butter and a delicious Cinnabon-esque cream cheese frosting! I know I say I can't even a lot but I LITERALLY cannot even with how easy this dough was to put together and how phenomenal these rolls were. It's ridiculous. Come to think of it, it's actually a little dangerous to own a cinnamon roll recipe that's this simple. I completely se...

It's Friday PieDay everybody! Okay, I just made that up....although every Friday should definitely be pie day. My family would love that. They are all about pie, cream pies in particular. So, you know they just about died when they heard I was making one for the blog! That's how we refer to things in our house; for the blog or not for the blog. That lets them know whether or not they're allowed to dig in. It's a good system. Anyway! This particular cream pie features pumpkin and of course, white chocolate since this week I'm celebrating #Choctoberfest. Today will be my final recipe but the celebration will go on until Sunday and so will the giveaway , so make sure you go enter before then! Now back to the perfection that is this pie. It's got a flaky, crispy pie crust, a white chocolate cheesecake layer, a spiced pumpkin pudding layer, and finally a fresh whipped cream layer topped with delicious Lindt CLASSIC RECIPE white chocolate curls. ...

Happy 4th day of Choctoberfest everybody! Have you been keeping up with all the amazing recipes? More importantly, have you entered the giveaway ? Go go go! You still have a few days left to get those entries in. Today, I have for you a show-stopper, jaw-dropper, one of a kind cheesecake. It's Fall inspired, because even though this week is all about the chocolate, we still have to pay homage to the pumpkin. And since pumpkin and cream cheese go together so well already, I just made them into a cheesecake. Then, I sandwiched that cheesecake between a layer of chocolate ganache and a layer of crunchy melted sugar. Hoooolyyyy.

The other day I realized that it's been almost a year since I last posted a cupcake recipe...what?!! I had to change that immediately. I am the queen of cupcakes, don't let the macarons fool you. Cupcakes were my very first baking passion and will always hold a huge place in my heart. So, in true Fall fashion, I've made you pumpkin cupcakes...with an extraordinary caramelized white chocolate buttercream. First of all, let me just say, if someone caramelizes white chocolate for you, they definitely love you. Caramelizing white chocolate is a time-consuming process that requires your full attention and a decent amount of arm strength. And the fact that I did this right after having a tooth extraction at the dentist just goes to show how dedicated I am to you all....insert awwwws here.

T-minus 24 hours until Turkey Day y'all! But I for one, will not be waiting that long to devour these cupcakes. In fact, I am eating one as I write this post and I'll probably eat another one right after I'm done. Hey, sweet potatoes are a vegetable. And egg whites are a good source of protein, so this is technically health food. Alright alright, don't quote me on that. But seriously guys, these cupcakes are amazeballs. They are so incredibly fluffy, yet so moist at the same time, and I swear, they almost melt in your mouth when you bite into them. Their frosting is none other than a classic marshmallow frosting, only using brown sugar instead of granulated to create a caramelized flavor.