Elderflower cake with whipped chocolate ganache - perfect for spring! | in my Red Kitchen #elderflower #cake #chocolate #ganache

Elderflower cake with whipped chocolate ganache

Elderflower cake with whipped chocolate ganache - perfect for spring! | in my Red Kitchen #elderflower #cake #chocolate #ganache

– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Vlierbloesem cake met chocolade ganache

It’s been a while since I made this cake for a meeting of the LA Cake Club. I wanted to keep it really simple and was thinking about making a Dutch apple pie, but it started to itch so I popped in to the kitchen to experiment with new recipes.

Dutch butter cake - yes, you read that right: BUTTER cake! | in my Red Kitchen #butter #cake #buttercake #recipe

Dutch butter cake

Dutch butter cake - yes, you read that right: BUTTER cake! | in my Red Kitchen #butter #cake #buttercake #recipe

– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Boterkoek

It’s my party and I can eat what I want to…

No wait a minute… TWO parties today because it’s my birthday ánd exactly two years ago today I married the most amazing man on earth.

But yet today is just an ordinary Wednesday. The older I get, the less I value my birthday. This year is also the first time that I’m not going to celebrate it.

My contribution to the LA Cake Club: a Stroopwafel cheesecake! | in my Red Kitchen #stroopwafel #cheesecake #Dutch #caramel #treat

Cheesecake with Dutch stroopwafels

My contribution to the LA Cake Club: a Stroopwafel cheesecake! | in my Red Kitchen #stroopwafel #cheesecake #Dutch #caramel #treat

– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Stroopwafel cheesecake

Oh boy … you must think I’m a little schizophrenic. Or at least a little crazy. A bit bipolar with here and there an identity crisis.

For a month I lived without sugar (except for the natural sugars in fruit) and refined carbohydrates, and so I ate super healthy. As pure and whole as possible, just to get some healthy eating habits again. And you could see that on in my Red Kitchen. All the recipes that I shared for the past 1.5 month were sugar and refined carbohydrates free.

And now I’m here again, with a cheesecake with Dutch stroopwafels.
Yeah… a stroopwafel CHEESECAKE. Oh dear… Millions of calories and lots of cream, sugar and butter. And typical Dutch ‘stroopwafels’, caramel waffles a.k.a. the BEST cookies in the whole world. And yes, you can buy those cookies at the American supermarket. Trader Joe’s sells them, and of course Cost Plus World Market too. And look how beautiful this cheesecake came out. Can you blame me?

Okay, time for some explanation

Pistachio cake with chocolate cream for the #LACakeClub | in my Red Kitchen #pistachios #cake #chocolate #losangeles

Pistachio cake with chocolate cream

Pistachio cake with chocolate cream for the #LACakeClub | in my Red Kitchen #pistachios #cake #chocolate #losangeles – Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Pistache cake met chocolade crème

“The cake I made for the LA Cake Club and the cake I was supposed to make for the LA Cake Club”

Starting next Monday I’m avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates for a month, quite exciting! But that doesn’t mean I can’t have sugar and carbs right now, right? 😉

So when last Sunday the LA Cake Club took place again, I just had to join. The LA Cake Club is a

Rose sponge cake with meringue, strawberries, raspberries and pistachios for the LA Cake Club | in my Red Kitchen

Rose sponge cake with strawberries and pistachios

Rose sponge cake with meringue, strawberries, raspberries and pistachios for the LA Cake Club | in my Red Kitchen

I love social media. Okay I’ll admit it: I’m a social media junkie. The moment I wake up you’ll find me checking Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (in no particular order) with still one eye closed.

I wanna know what happened while I was sleeping and I want to know what’s going on in the world. It’s my coffee – the only way to start the day properly.

And the best part about social media? Meeting new people! And that’s a very welcome thing if you just moved to LA. Well ‘just’…

Lemon meringue cupcakes - it's my favorite pie turned into cupcakes! | in my Red Kitchen

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Lemon meringue cupcakes - it's my favorite pie turned into cupcakes! | in my Red Kitchen When life gives you lemons… you make lemonade, or lemon curd, or lemon meringue pie, or limoncello.

So many ideas what to do with the variegated pink lemons Frieda’s sent me! I was really hoping to receive some Meyer Lemons as I have never tried them before. They don’t exist in the Netherlands and even after living in Los Angeles for almost a year now, I still haven’t had them. But the Meyer Lemons weren’t available so Frieda’s made sure I would get my lemon-fix with these beautiful lemons that are pink-ish on the inside.

If you love lemon meringue pie and you find yourself being in Paris at one point in your life:

Traditional Dutch Apple Pie for my birthday! | in my Red Kitchen

Dutch apple pie for my Birthday!

Traditional Dutch Apple Pie for my birthday! | in my Red Kitchen

– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Appeltaart

Yes! It’s my birthday today! I’m getting old you guys, 32 already! I used to get really excited, weeks before my birthday. But this year everything feels different, I really have to remind myself it’s my birthday and I don’t really care about it. Of course, it’s a good opportuniy to eat cake for breakfast,