How many times have I mentioned that I am not a fan of sweets? And it is indeed the truth. If I ever had to go to a desert island, I would definitely prefer so many other (salty) things to take with me instead of sweets! Sugar is not my kind of “fuel”, for sure. And that explains why I’ve always been very thorough, taking care of every little detail whenever I prepared dinner, besides dessert. Dessert would be a last minute decision and in the end, I would probably just buy one from a pastry shop.

I had to dig deep within myself to find out why there’s such a big gap between me and sweets. Not an easy task but I managed to figure it all out! First and foremost, my mother wasn’t a fan of sweets either. They were almost nonexistent in our house and they would only appear once a week, at our Sunday table. Even then, there was only one particular kind of dessert that could make it to our table; apple pie from Terkenlis pastry shop. I believe it’s safe to assume that apple pie was the only dessert my mother liked. Therefore, when there’s nothing sweet around, you learn to live without it. That’s also a very wise thing to do if you want to cut down on something that you know is bad for you. That’s what I do with potato chips and trust me, it works! If you’re worried that your children consume larger quantities of sweets than they should just stop stocking your kitchen with them! That’s how I learned not to eat sweets, unconsciously but definitely for my benefit.

But there’s also one more reason. Desserts –at least the way I remember them to be- were just very, very sweet! One bite was enough to make me feel cloyed. Literally! In the past, there was this tendency to make extremely sweet desserts in Greece. At least that’s what I realized when I started travelling abroad. And that’s when I tried different kinds of desserts, and guess what; not only was I able to eat them but I actually enjoyed their taste as well! Those desserts were respectful of their ingredients’ flavors and aromas and weren’t drowning in sugar. In recent years, this has fortunately changed and we’ve replaced heavy, extra sweet cakes with wonderful, light creations!

After realizing what my problem with sugar was, I started experimenting. We’re still not the best of friends but we’ve built a trustful relationship. I started making my own desserts and even though discipline is very important in pastry making, I would always cheat and reduce the quantity of sugar. And later on, when my daughter was born, that became a much more conscious choice; no need for extra sugars! I was quite strict about that.

Now that I have a healthy relationship with sweets, I have selected some recipes that I really like and have become my staples within the years. It's true that pastry making is an art full of secrets. I don’t have high expectations for my career as a baker but I know that if you follow the instructions of your recipe, the result can be very rewarding.

Christmas is just around the corner. We’re all in a festive mood already, buying gifts, decorating and making preparations in anticipation of family and friends gathering around our Christmas table.

As I’m going through old and new ideas and recipes for our Christmas dinner, I’m thinking of our dessert. Today’s recipe is one of my staples and has been included in our menus for years. It’s also one of my favorites; white cake with dates and walnuts! It truly matches the Christmas Spirit and it is indeed delicious!

Perhaps this cake satisfies my taste buds simply because I absolutely love dates. They’re almost never missing from our house, flirting with our dishes and myself, and they often accompany my evening coffee when I feel like I need something sweet.

Most of the times when I make this recipe, I go for a two-tier cake, but today I want it to be even more impressive and steal the show, so I’m giving it extra height! It’s really easy, so you don’t need to be a magician or Pastry Masterchef’s winner to succeed –and the result is outstanding! Not too sweet either, despite the dates. Try it out and you won’t regret it. This cake –dressed up with a festive, white outfit of whipped cream- will definitely be the protagonist of our Christmas table this year.