a day in the life of a latvian mom

I didn’t plan to make three desserts over the holidays… I planned to make one.

It all started innocently enough with crème brûlée. The kind that feels festive but calm. Nothing extravagant — just a proper, classic dessert for the holidays.

And then I counted the eggs. Sixteen egg yolks. Which meant sixteen egg whites sitting there, staring at me from the bowl.

I don’t waste food. It’s not a rule I’ve written down anywhere — it’s just how I live. So suddenly, one dessert quietly turned into a responsibility. The crème brûlée came first, of course. Silky, comforting, exactly what it’s meant to be. No drama there. But once it was done, the real question appeared:

What now?

Egg whites don’t wait patiently. They demand a decision.

Chocolate mousse felt like the logical next step. Something soft and indulgent, easy to spoon, easy to love. It used up a good portion of those whites and felt like a gift rather than a solution. A dessert that didn’t need an occasion — it became one.

And still… There were six whites left.

At that point, there was only one path left. Pavlova. Light, crisp, and completely unapologetic about using egg whites in bulk. It wasn’t planned, but somehow it fit the moment perfectly — airy after heavy meals, sweet without being too much, festive in its own quiet way.

By the time I got to the pavlova stage, I was so tired that I completely forgot to take any photos of the process.

Over the days, we ate all the desserts!

Ilze