Café Chocolada

Happy Holiday Baking!

2011-12-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

Dear foodie friends,

Holiday baking has started in my house, and it smells soooo good. So gingery, warm and comforting.

I though of my blog, and how much I love and miss blogging, and I though of all my foodies. One of them is Shelby of The Life & Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch. I got an email from her, that just melted my heart; never though she would remember… We started blogging around the same time, and I was one of her first readers, as she was mine. I loved her blog instantly because it is so full of life, love, and good food, and the author is so engaging with her beautiful personality. I am yet to email her back, more on that some other time… Thank you Shelby!

I have had the blog set to private because I was being overwhelmed with questions about recipes, and I never had time to answer them, so I felt like it would be best to close the blog because I am so unavailable. I have also had my fair share of mean comments, anonymous of course, and I guess I got tired of that.

However lots of people also emailed me asking to be added as readers, or to simply make the blog public again, so here it goes. I am so grateful for your wonderful emails, and kind words. Thank you!

With the blog open again, I just cannot promise I will email back responses to your questions as promptly as active food bloggers would. Nature of my job is complicated, I work a lot, sleep very little, never know what the next day will be like, and never can commit to anything but work… I do miss you all, and I miss my kitchen…

I am happy there is still a day here and there when I can actually bake, like this morning, I made these gingerbread cookies with my kids (well I made the dough the day before). Yes, we love Gingy from Shrek! They are now adorning our Christmas tree, and they are also delicious. You can find the recipe here.

Happy Holiday baking!

Cold Cubes

2011-05-24T09:50:00.001-04:00

For Lydia! Thank you for emailing me, glad you like this cake! I have made this cake so many times, I don‘t even look for the recipe any more. It is simple, delicious, juicy, classic, and a real good dessert for summer, because we don’t always feel like eating fruity stuff just because it‘s berries season! I wanted to share how to make it with as much detail as possible.

For the biscuit:
6 eggs
6 tbs flour
6 tbs sugar
1 heaping tbs cocoa powder (or a bit more for a darker & more flavorful result)
2 tsp baking powder

To soak:
3 cups water
1 ½ - 2 cups sugar (however sweet you want the cake to be, filling is not too sweet because this is supposed to be)

For vanilla/banana filling:

2 (50g/1.75oz) vanilla puddings, cook 7 serve kind (or 1 vanilla, 1 banana)
You can substitute pudding for corn starch, same measurements, and add vanilla extract, or banana extract
3 2/3 cup milk
8-10 tbs sugar
8oz/ 2 sticks of unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature

Chocolate glaze:
100g/3.5 oz dark chocolate (I used Dove dark chocolate silky smooth promises)
3 tbs oil
(or use your own chocolate glaze or ganache recipe)

First make the filling/custard. Mix pudding mix/corn starch with sugar and some of the milk, like ¾ cup, until there are no more lumps. Set the remainder of the milk to boil, reduce the heat, and gradually stir in pudding mix, but mixing fast, until it thickens, and starts erupting. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and cool to room temperature. Cover the pudding so the skin wouldn’t form on top, and mix occasionally too.

When cooled to room temperature, add the butter or margarine (very important that its room temperature, both butter and the custard/filling), and mix well with a hand mixer. I normally add few drops of banana extract no matter how I made the filling,

While you’re waiting for the pudding to cool, make the biscuit. Preheat oven to 400° F. In one bowl mix egg whites until stiff enough that it wouldn’t fall out of the bowl if you flipped it upside down :)

Mix egg yolks with sugar until frothy, then add the egg whites, and fold in, then mix only a little just till it’s all incorporated nicely. Mix flour with baking powder and coca powder, and gradually add it to the eggs. Mix well, but don’t over mix.

Pour it into a baking dish. I use 15”x10” glass baking dish, no need to line it, or grease and flour it. Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. One trick to have the biscuit come out nice and even is to slightly raise the baking dish from the countertop and then let it fall (have a kitchen towel on the countertop for a smooth landing :) ), several times, this releases the air out of the batter, works like a charm.

When it’s baked, it will be quite dry, but should be nicely risen, and even. Cool completely, poke with a toothpick all over, then boil sugar and water, and pour it over the biscuit. This will create a bit of mess on top, because the top skin with mush up, for the lack of a better word, but you can very easily remove that by scraping it with a spoon. Let it cool again, then spread the custard/filling over it, and even it out. You do all this in a baking dish, no need to take it out of the dish. I normally get the exact same height of the filling and biscuit, but this time that didn’t happen. No worries, still equally delicious.

In a double boiler melt the chocolate, and mix in 3 tbs of oil, or you can do this in a microwave if you’re skilled enough. Pour the chocolate as evenly as possible all over the cake, then even it out with a spoon or spatula, whatever works.

Cool in a fridge at least over night, and before serving cool in a freezer for a short time, just until it’s very cold, but not frozen. First piece of cake is impossible to cut out perfectly because the cake is in the dish, you’ll need to scoop it out with a spoon, so the first one goes to you! So make it a big one!!! :) After that cut as usual, and also cut or use fork to raise each cube from the bottom. Once you’re done with about 2 rows of cubes, you can slide the knife under the rest of it for an easier/cleaner bottom cut. Enjoy on a hot summer day!

Kate By Gayle

2011-04-24T14:36:00.004-04:00

This post is a special thanks to Gayle from Gayle’s Chocolates, a Royal Oak, Michigan chocolate company, who was so kind to send me a sample of her sweet work, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled when I received the package, and got my very own “Kate”! Why Kate? Keep reading…

My 11-year-old daughter’s eyes were as wide as they can get, as she starred at my beautiful chocolate shoe, and I was battling with my mother’s instinct; I just couldn’t say the words “you can have it”, I needed to own it at least until the photo shoot was over, and maybe some time spent in a display for everyone to see : )
No worries, it is now her “Kate”, along with all the bragging rights! I love you baby!

This beautiful chocolate high heel shoe was designed in honor of the British Royal Wedding, and is respectively named "The Kate". It’s made of premium white chocolate, with dark chocolate jewel, and dusted with non-toxic edible pearl and sapphire dust, and it measures 7 inches long and 5-1/2 inches tall. Look how beautifully packaged it is!

I know that in order to provide you with a full review, I should say what it tastes like, but I can’t bring myself to bite into it, it’s to adorable. I can say this though, it’s smells sooooo good, and soooo creamy, I simply know it’s delicious! As soon as I get a replacement for Kate, and I have my eyes set on a few beautiful creations by Gayle, I will update this post, and tell you all about it.

I am so proud to have been invited by a local Michigan company to sample their work, it’s a great honor. Whether you live in Michigan, or not, be sure to visit Gayle’s Chocolates, and surprise your loved one with one of many beautiful creations Gayle makes, or a box of her handmade truffles or chocolates.

Apple Cake

2011-04-22T08:12:00.002-04:00

There is still no spring in sight, at least here in Michigan; we get a teaser here and there, but the heat is still running, and the birds are still hiding in the trees, confused… Well, at least I managed to get some spring on my table, by making a fruit cake with some spring tone to it. I got the recipe for this cake from my late mother in law, and it’s my husband’s favorite. Happy Easter to all who celebrate this weekend!

Apple Cake
5-6 medium apples (Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Red Rome, McIntosh)
Some ground walnuts to fill the apples
Some vanilla sugar to sprinkle

Biscuit:
4 eggs
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp oil
4 heaping tbsp flour
2 tsp baking powder

Cream:
1 1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 fruit pudding powder (cook & serve kind), strawberry or some other kind
4 oz (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature

Make the cream first. Mix pudding powder, sugar, and some milk (out of those 1 1/3 cups) until there are no lumps. Boil rest of the milk, reduce heat, and gradually, but quickly add the pudding mixture, stir fast, and cook for a minute until it thickens. It will be very thick. Transfer to a mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap so the skin wouldn’t form on the top. Cool to room temperature, then with a hand mixer, mix in the butter (or margarine) with some powdered sugar ( I have added only about 1 ½ tbsp).

While waiting for pudding to cool, preheat oven to 395° F. Peel, and core apples, and trim them if necessary so they fit nicely in a 9 inch spring form pan. You can use 5 in a circle, or 6 with one in the middle, depending how big the apples are. Fill them with ground walnuts, just as much can fit, don’t over pack, then sprinkle the tops with vanilla sugar. No worries if some walnuts fall into the pan, it’s all good, and it will be baked in for a better cake.

Bake apples for about 15-20 minutes, really depends on which apples you picked; just don’t over bake them, they have some more baking to do when you pour the biscuit mixture over them. So, when they just started softening in the oven (check often), pour the biscuit mixture over them, and do it slowly, making sure you coated each apple. Reduce the heat to 375° F. The biscuit will rise to the height of apples. Bake for about 20 minutes. When it’s nice golden color, check with a toothpick to see if it’s done. Let it cool to room temperature.

When cooled, flip it upside down onto a cake platter, spread the cream evenly over the top, and frost generously with whipped cream. I use powdered whipped cream, because I can control the consistency of it, and I prefer it’s taste over heavy whipping cream. Cool in fridge, and enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

2011-04-18T15:35:00.003-04:00

Woke up this morning to another round of snow! Yes, it didn’t stick around, however it has managed to ruin my day…well, for a while anyway... I have decided to make something comforting, something simple, something I could enjoy within 30 minutes of mixing it up…and who doesn’t like muffins? Blueberry are my favorite. It was a joy watching them rise in the oven, and a real nice way to start, and improve what was to be a bad day.

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter (no substitutes)
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
Coarse sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin pan cups (obviously, I have used stand alone paper muffin cups). Set aside.
Stir together flour, the 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside.

Combine eggs, milk, butter, and orange peel; add all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each almost full. If desired, sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until golden. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups. Makes 12.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Esterhazy Torte

2011-04-09T12:44:00.003-04:00

It’s been a while yet again, but here I am, found some time to make a cake, yeah!!! Couple of weeks ago my kids’ godmother asked me if I ever made Esterhazy Cake. I didn’t until now, and I remembered my dear foodie friend Marija of Palachinka Blog (this links to recipe) did, so I paid her blog a visit, and promised myself I would make it.

Toasted almonds, and vanilla cream sounded heavenly, and I can’t believe I never made this cake before. I was a bit hesitant to commit myself to making 6-7 biscuit layers, but I just bought a pretty large Amish table, so I had no excuse, had plenty of surface to work on.

I was intimidated with making the white cake mirror with raw egg white; don’t really trust the eggs from the grocery store, so I opted for plain powdered sugar with orange juice instead (200g powdered sugar + 5 tbs freshly squeezed lemon/orange juice), and of course it gave me different results, and the cake isn’t as pretty as Marija’s. However, I am pretty sure that my impatience had a lot to do with it as well, as I hurried to make the net, and the whole thing started running down the sides; that was the moment I have instructed everyone to move out of the kitchen/dining area!!!!

All was great though, the next morning, when I finally tasted the darn thing, and decided I have found another favorite! The whole family loved it, and that’s rare, usually someone stays reserved.
Please consider making this cake, it is absolutely scrumptious!!!

Bohemian Cake

2011-01-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

Lots of eggs makes for lots of cause for concern, but it also makes a great cake, with a smooth, and silky filling. Thin slices is all you need to enjoy this rich cake, and it’s very presentable, and pretty. Only I don’t like thin slices; instead I have indulged, and dusted off my treadmill to make up for it. Dusting takes care of the extra calories --- my treadmill is actually out of order : )
For all of you adventurous souls out there. Enjoy!

Bohemian Cake

For the filling:
15 egg yolks
4 tbs corn starch
7 ½ dl milk
300g sugar
4 tsp vanilla sugar
200g unsalted butter or margarine (room temperature)
100g dark chocolate
2 dl heavy whipping cream
1 whipping cream stabilizer
Powdered sugar (to taste) to sweeten the whipping cream

For the cake layers:
15 egg whites
300g sugar
350g ground walnuts
3 tbs all purpose flour

To make the filling:
Cook 7 dl milk, sugar and vanilla sugar in a pan, until it starts boiling. Mix egg yolks, ½ dl of milk, and corn starch until well combined, and there are no lumps. Mix it into boiling milk, reduce heat, and stir quickly. Cook for few minutes until thick. Let it cool to room temperature.
When cooled mix in the butter until nice and silky. Divide into two, and add melted chocolate into one part. Let it cool for a while in the fridge until you make the cake layers.

To make the cake layers:
Preheat oven to 395° F. Mix egg whites and sugar on a high speed until stiff meringue forms. Add walnuts and flour, and combine, but don’t over mix. Divide into three, and bake three cake layers. Cool the layers before applying the filling. I have used 9” spring form pans.
　
To assemble:
Divide the two fillings into 2 parts each. Arrange in the following order: cake layer, one part vanilla filling spread evenly over the cake layer. Then place one part of the chocolate filling in a ziploc bag, make a hole in one corner, and squeeze over the vanilla filling evenly in a circular motion starting from the middle. Repeat with another cake layer, vanilla filling, then chocolate filling, then top with the last cake layer. Apply whipped cream all over the cake, and decorate as you wish.

Adapted from magazine “Gurman” with minor modifications.

Chocolate Charlotte with Bananas

2011-01-16T14:13:00.002-05:00

Hello my dear food bloggers, followers, and friends. It’s been a while, and I’m very appreciative that a lot of you still visit, and ask about my whereabouts. I miss blogging, and discovering what you’ve made every day.
Except for working too much, not much is new with me. I’m still holding on to my 20s, which is proving harder every day, esp. first thing in the morning before I apply layers of makeup : )

Like many of you, I’m enjoying the serene winter scenery, minus the morning car troubles, and huge winter heating bills. I have a had a great Holiday season, with December 31st being my busiest work day, and for the first time in my adult life I fell asleep and woke up next year without my share of New Years Champagne.
My family petitioned yesterday that I reclaim my throne in the kitchen and finally make something homemade. Well, I cheated a little, but it’s almost completely home made.

I decided to go though the whole usual works of making them wait for dessert till I snap a few images to share with you. Hope you like it, and hope you are all having a great New Year!

Chocolate Charlotte with Bananas

1 package lady fingers
Some milk to soak the ladyfingers

Filling:
2 packs Dr. Oetker pudding (available at ethnic stores, Italian fruit markets, or Meijer if you have one)
3 1/3 cup milk
9 tbs sugar
1 stick unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature

Set 2,5 cups milk to boil. Use the remainder of milk to mix pudding powder and sugar, the add to boiling milk, reduce heat, and stir quickly for few minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Combine with butter (or margarine).

For the biscuit:
3 eggs
6 tbs sugar
0.5 dcl/ 1.7 oz milk
0.5 dcl/ 1.7 oz oil
7 tbs flour
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Mix eggs with sugar, add oil, milk, then flour mixed with baking powder. Bake until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I have used the 8” pan.

To assemble:
Line a glass bowl with clear plastic wrap. Dip lady fingers into lukewarm milk, but don’t soak them too much, just quickly, and arrange them around the bowl wall. Add 1/3 filling to the bottom, then add a layer of lady fingers on top of it (not soaked), then 1/3 of filling, then 2 whole bananas bent a little to make a circle, then remainder of the filling, and close it all up with a biscuit. Let cool in the fridge over night, then flip it onto a cake stand. Serve with whipped cream and enjoy.
Note: It is very important to have the pudding and the butter at the same temperature, or it won’t combine nicely. Mine was not so perfect because I was impatient, or shall I say the entire family was : )

Thumbprint Cookie Craze

2010-06-16T14:13:00.003-04:00

It was just one of those days, when the weather is gorgeous, and you have all the time on your hands, and you crave sugar! Just had to make something quick, so I pulled out my "Baking from my home to yours" book by Dorie Greenspan, and landed my eyes on thumbprint cookies.

Actually never made them before, and it sounded like they would taste like vanilla crescents, which I LOVE! They do, with a bonus of fruity marmalade/jam.
I have more than enjoyed these cookies, and I have really gone crazy with varieties of jams/marmalades. Worked well with all of the flavors, though for my taste Red cornel aka European cornel, was just perfect.

Is there someone out there who never had these cookies? If yes, you better hurry up, it’s way to simple, and way too melt-in-your-mouth delicious to pass up!

Thumbprints for us big guys
From “Baking: From My Home To Yours” by Dorie Greenspan

1 3/4 cups finely ground hazelnuts
(I have used walnuts, almonds are fine too)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flower
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
About 1 cup raspberry jam (or the jam or marmalade of your choice)

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Whisk together ground nuts and flour.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the extracts and beat to blend. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the nut-flower mixture, mixing only until it is incorporated into the dough.

Working with a teaspoonful of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form small balls and place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Steadying each cookie with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, use the pinkie of your other hand (or the end of a wooden spoon) to poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Be careful not to go all the way down to the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be only slightly colored–they may even look underdone, which is fine: they should not be overbaked. When the cookies are baked, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula and sifting confectioner’s sugar over them.
Repeat with the remaining dough, remembering to cool the baking sheets before baking the next batch.

Bring jam to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat, or bring to a boil in a microwave oven; remove from the heat. Fill the indentations of all the cookies with enough of the hot jam to come level with the tops. Cool to room temperature.
Enjoy! Share!

No Bake Butter Biscuits Cake

2010-06-11T08:48:00.002-04:00

This cake is always on demand in my house, and it’s not just simple to make, but it’s really good. You can make it in so many variations, and flavors. There is simply no excuse not make this one. I can bake all day, making the most extravagant cake ever, but I know it will not be swept clean off the platter as quickly as this one. Makes my life easy :)

To make it you’ll need:

about 2 lb (more or less) butter biscuits (rectangular butter cookies, crunchy, see here)

2 (1.7 oz each) chocolate pudding powder (not the instant one)

2 ½ cups milk, for pudding

6 tbsp of sugar

2 tbsp (or more if you like sweeter) powdered, confectioners sugar

2 sticks butter or margarine, unsalted, room temperature
Whipped cream
2 cups (or as needed) milk, warm, to soak the biscuits

* If you don’t have chocolate pudding powder, for this recipe you can substitute with 2.7 oz corn starch, and 2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder (depends how chocolaty you want it).
* The pudding will be quite stiff, esp. when cooled to room temperature, but with butter added, it will be a very nice filling.

Make pudding by mixing pudding powder, sugar, and about a cup of lukewarm milk in a smaller bowl. Set the rest of the milk (1 ½ cup) to boil, reduce heat, then add the pudding mix, mix constantly, and cook for about a minute. Let it cool to room temperature, stirring often, so the skin wouldn’t form on the top.

With a mixer, on medium speed, mix pudding mix, and butter (or margarine), both at room temperature, until blended nicely. Add powdered sugar to sweeten it more, if desired.

Line the square deeper dish, or square baking pan, (the smaller, but deeper dish will make for a taller cake) with foil or plastic wrap, and start arranging butter biscuits on the bottom, soaked in warm milk for about 5-10 seconds each, soak several at the time. Don’t over soak the biscuits or the cake will be too moist, and it won’t cut nicely. The biscuits will get moisture from the butter cream too.

Layer like that, one layer biscuits, one layer butter cream (about as thick as the biscuits), until all buttercream is used, and biscuits are on the top. Cover top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for few hours at least. Remove plastic wrap from top, place square platter over it, and flip the cake onto it. Top with lots of whipping cream, and chill some more. Cut, serve, share, enjoy!

This simple dessert is my entry to Magic Bullet To Go Giveaway, for which you can find details @ Fun and Food Cafe. You could win a Magic Bullet Food processor, and it's really simple.

Thank you for the invite Mansi!

Open wide :)

Hi Hat Cupcakes

2010-06-06T17:40:00.001-04:00

What better to do on a rainy day, but make cupcakes?!

I wanted to make these New York gems for a long time, and finally time has come for me to do so! I am not a big fan of dark chocolate coating, or glaze, so I have used milk chocolate, and also I have added another twist by making the meringue with banana flavor.
Awesome decision, for my taste buds anyway ;) Kids have stuck to frosting their cupcakes with store bought frosting, and tons of sprinkles, and they are now running around on a sugar high :)
I made these cupcakes following a recipe from "Cupcakes", by Elinor Klivans (great book, esp. for novice cupcake bakers), and I have followed it precisely. They don't look as fancy as hers, but for a first time, I think they turned out excellent.
I had just a tiny problem, once I got them out of the oven, they did sink a little bit. Texture was stil fine, very moist, and they taste wonderful, just wondering if that had anything to do with a bit cooler weather, and a draft I have created in the kitchen with two open windows? Probably...

For 18 regular, 12 big-top, or 12 extra large, or 60 mini cupcakes:
Chocolate sour cream cupcake batter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup unbleached AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or in microwave if you are experienced to do so.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, incorporate well, and set aside for later.
Beat the sugar and butter on high speed until creamy. Add the melted chocolate on low speed, and beat until combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix until batter lightens in color, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until there is no more white spots.
Add half of the flour mixture, combine, then add water, mix well, and add the rest of the flour mixtrue, and mix until nicely combined.
Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full, then bake for about 20 minutes, more or less, depends, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool.

Filling
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup water
3 large egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
(I have used only banana extract)

Coating
2 cups (12 oz0 semisweet chocolate (chips or chopped)
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Mix sugar, egg whites, water, and cream of tartar in a top of a double boiler (or heat proof bowl) with at least 2 quart capacity and beat with a hand held electric mixer (watch that mixer cord next to the heater) on high speed until opaque, white and foamy, about 1 minute. Put the bowl over, but not touching, a saucepan of a barely simmering water. Beat on high speed for about 12 minutes, or until it registers 160°F on a thermometer. Remove the container from water, add vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 more minutes to thicken it some more. It will get thicker as it cools on the cupcakes.

Pipe the spirals of filling into a 2 inch cone on top of the cupcakes, using a freezer bag, or pastry bag fitted with plain pastry tip. Place cupcakes on a platter, and put the in the refrigerator until coating is done.

To make the coating melt the chocolate with oil until melted and smooth, in a double boiler, or microwave (if experienced). Scrape it into a small bowl for easier coating. Cool slightly, about 15 min.

Hold each cupcake by its bottom, and dip the tops into chocolate until all the white is covered, you can also use a small spoon for any missed areas. Let the cupcakes sit ar room temperature until coating slightly firms. Remove paper liners (optional), and return cupcakes to a platter, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes until set, then cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. They can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Adapted from “Cupcakes, by Elinor Klivans.

Donauwellen ("Danube Waves")

2010-06-02T23:29:00.009-04:00

I have made this cake many times, there are so many recipes out there, but now I got the Dr. Oetker German Baking Today cookbook, and decided to try this recipe. It is really great! Very rich cake, interesting, and delicious. I love how the batter turned out, just perfect!

I have used a 9 inch round spring form pan, normally this cake is made in a rectangular shape, and served as slices, or cubes. Because of that I have used less chocolate topping.
Also, I make the chocolate topping by melting chopped chocolate pieces with heavy cream. I just keep adding heavy cream (not whipped) until I am pleased with the texture.
I only had frozen tart cherries, fresh (jarred or canned) would make for much nicer appearance, and create perfect waves between the two batter layers. Google it for better images of what it should look like.

My family was very pleased, the only critique they had was that perhaps more butter cream would make it even better : )

Donauwellen (“Danube waves”)

Makes about 20 pieces

For a baking sheet (40 x 30 cm) which is about 16 x12 inches:
some fat
aluminum foil (if using a baking sheet, not pan)

Batter:
2 jars or cans of sour cherries (drained weight approx. 350 g each), or fresh, pitted
250 g/9 oz soft margarine or butter
200 g/7 oz sugar
3 drops vanilla extract in 1 tbsp sugar
1 pinch salt
5 medium eggs
375 g/13/½ oz AP flour
3 level tsp baking powder
20 g / ¾ oz cocoa
2 tsp milk

Butter Cream:
40g/ 1 ½ oz custard powder 9or 1 packet Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding)
100 g/ 3 ½ oz sugar
500 ml/ 17 fl oz milk
250 g/ 9 oz soft butter

Topping:
200 g/ 7 oz plain chocolate
4 tsp oil (cooking)

Preheat oven to about 180° C/ 350 °F. Grease the baking sheet. Thoroughly drain the cherries. To make the cake mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with a whisk, until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt, stir until mixture thickens. Add 1 egg at a time, whisking each one for about ½ minute at the highest setting.

Mix together the flour and baking powder, sift and add to margarine or butter mixture in two stages, briefly stirring with a mixer at the medium setting. Spread 2/3 of the mixture on the greased baking sheet. Sift the cocoa powder and add with the milk to the rest of the batter, and spread it on top of the light batter. Place a strip of aluminum foil along the open end of the baking sheet to form and edge (no need for this if you are using a pan). Dry the sour cherries quickly on kitchen paper, then arrange them on the dark colored cake mixture, pressing them lightly into place. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Take the cake of the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack, or if using a pan, just cool it in a pan.
Make the butter cream filling, make the custard with the custard powder, sugar and milk, following the instructions on a packet. Leave the custard to cool down (don’t refrigerate), and stir occasionally.
Stir the softened butter with a hand mixer with whisk until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Stir in the cooled custard, by the spoonful, making sure that the butter and the custard are both at room temperature because the butter cream could curdle otherwise. Spread the butter cream on the cooled cake, and smooth out the surface. Refrigerate for about an hour.

To make the chocolate topping, coarsely chop the plain chocolate and melt it with the oil in a double boiler, or however you usually do so ( I did it in microwave). Pour the chocolate coating over the set butter cream, and decorate with a baking comb or a fork, creating waves. Enjoy!

Nameless Berry Cake

2010-05-27T12:49:00.005-04:00

Haven’t been able to post at all, and what’s even worse I haven’t had much time to bake either.

I really missed the homemade baked goods, so the other day I caught a little time to make something simple.

No time to browse through never-ending collection of books, and magazines, or Internet, so I just whipped up a dessert from some recipes that I know by heart.

This no name berry studded cake is made of following:
1 recipe cocoa sponge you can find here
1 recipe vanilla cream you can find here
Whipped cream and fresh berries
Orange juice for soaking

I have made one sponge, in a 9 x 13 inch pan, and cut it in half lengthwise.

I find that this way I can make desserts more often, and it’s just enough for entire family, with possibility of some leftovers too.

I have soaked the sponge (when cool) with fresh squeezed orange juice, but you can soak it with other juices, or even alcoholic beverages, as long as you don't serve it to little ones.
Spread with about half of cream, top with berries, and a little bit more cream so the other half of sponge would stick nicely, then spread again with leftover vanilla cream, whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Possibilities are endless, other fruit, no fruit, chocolate cream, etc.

Chill well, and enjoy!

Cheers my dear foodies, and thank you for your continued loyalty, and support!

Torte Reform

2009-12-01T19:32:00.005-05:00

I couldn’t find anything on this fabulous cake, it’s history, and where it gets it’s name from, but that didn’t stop me from trying to make this delicious cake loaded with walnuts, and chocolate cream.

Torte Reform

For the layers:
10 egg whites
300g (10.14oz) fine sugar
300g (10.14oz)ground walnuts
2 tbsp flour

For the cream:
10 egg yolks
200g (6.76oz) sugar
100g (3.38oz) baking or dark chocolate,
(Chocolate can be increased/decreased to one’s own liking)
250g (8.45oz) unsalted butter or margarine,
3 tbsp very strong coffee (optional)

Beat egg whites, and sugar until firm, and then gradually add walnuts and flour. Divide this batter into 4-5 parts, and bake each in an 8 inch spring form pan in the preheated oven @ 355° F (180° C) for about 20 minutes.

To make the cream mix egg yolks with sugar and cook in a double boiler, mixing constantly. Add chocolate, and cook and mix some more until it starts to thicken.
Remove form the heat, and add the coffee. Let cool completely, and then mix in butter.

I recommend first making the cream, and set it in fridge to cool until you’re done with the layers. The cream is quite stiff, so to spread it over the layers, divide it in how ever many sections you’ll need to spread over each layer, and put the entire amount needed for one layer in the middle, then spread towards the edges.
This is a really delicious, rich, and satisfying torte!

Recipe adapted from Coolinarika.

Kugelhopf

2009-11-19T20:49:00.007-05:00

Lately I have been trying hard to make time for my passion for baking, and I dusted off my cookbooks and found Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.
The book opened up on Kugelhopf, and I remembered I have been meaning to try it long ago.

From Wikipedia: "A Gugelhupf or Kugelhupf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a type of cake. As with the Jewish dish kugel, the name "Gugelhupf" is related to the Middle High German word Kugel meaning "ball" or "globe". In Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia, it is called kuglof, in the Czech Republic it is called bábovka, and in Poland it is called babka. In Republic of Macedonia the cake is known as "куглоф".

In the book, and in many other references it is spelled Kugelhopf, but to say the least, I'd say pronunciation is quite irrelevant, what's relevant is how delicious the cake is, and well loved across the globe.

So, here we are, it took a whole morning, and I was finished late in the afternoon. Simple recipe, just so many steps for the dough to properly rise, but oh so well worth it. I have followed the recipe religiously, and it was a major success. Kids couldn't wait to try it, and we are now down to just a few crumbs, just enough to accompany my morning coffee.

The crust is not hard at all, but rather crunchy in a soft way, really delicious. I would love to add a zest of orange next time, and perhaps soak the raisins in rum. Definitely a recipe I am sticking with, thank you Dorie!

Chocolate Cream Pie

2009-11-12T14:46:00.004-05:00

For upcoming Holidays, Martha Stewart has assembled a really nice magazine/publication "Holiday Sweets", and I got stuck on the page with this delicious Chocolate cream pie. I am so happy with the results, it's simple, elegant, and the cream is delicious. I am not normally a big fan of the meringue, but it just goes so well, and adds that magic touch.
The magazine is filled with beautiful creations, and I can't wait to try some more. It's very inspiring!
I had a little trouble with the lighting, so my pictures don't give it proper justice, you should see Martha's! Also, I have used regular wafers, and added melted chocolate to the crumb, the recipe calls for chocolate wafers, and they are much more dark, making the pie even better looking.

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-31T10:58:00.009-04:00

Just popping by to say Happy Halloween to all my food lovers! Boo!

Inside this Witch’s cauldron is a chocolate hazelnut cake with chocolate filling. I am not a big fan of food colors, so I used just a bit for the fire effect, and a tint of green for the whipped cream stew. Gummy eyes were a perfect addition.

It’s been at least 6 months since I have baked something, and since I had a time to, and the kids wanted something spooky for the occasion. Haven’t tried it yet, but cake baked excellent, and just as soon as I can, I will share the recipe.
Thank you again for visiting, and all your wonderful comments! :)

Chocolate hazelnut cake

For the batter:
5 eggs
100g (3.5 oz) baking chocolate, melted
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
100g (3.5 oz) butter, unsalted
100g (3.5 oz) sugar
100g (3.5 oz) finely ground hazelnuts
2 tbsp vanilla sugar

Separate yolks from whites. Mix yolks with sugar, and vanilla sugar un till nice and creamy. Add hazelnuts, melted chocolate, and flour mixed with baking powder. Mix butter until creamy, and add it to the batter.
Mix egg whites until nice and stiff, and fold those in, and incorporate well, but don’t over mix.
Separate batter into 3 portions, and bake 3 separate layers in a 8 inch spring form pan. I haven’t separated it at all, but baked one cake, and then cut it into three layers.

I have used a recipe for cake layers from Podravka, and their very popular cooking site (in Croatian), Coolinarika. I didn’t make the filling from the recipe because it asks for some things not available to me. You can use pretty much any filling you like.

I have used this one:
2 packages of Chocolate pudding mix
(Like Dr.Oetker, or if not available use 6 Tbsp of corn starch , 1 tsp vanilla extract)
0.7l (about 23 oz) of milk
6 Tbsp of sugar
2 ticks, 16 tbsp of unsalted butter or margarine
100g (3.5 oz) baking chocolate, melted (or half of that if you have chocolate pudding)

Take some milk from the 0.7 l, a bit less than half a cup, and mix in pudding mixes with sugar (or corn starch, and vanilla extract). Put the remainder of milk to boil over medium heat, and then add pudding mix, reduce heat a bit, and mix well and fast, so not to get lumps.
Cool down completely, I usually put it in a fridge a bit, and then freezer, to speed up the process. Do cover the bowl, so you don’t get the “skin” on your pudding. When cold it will be very firm, don’t get alarmed, it should be.
Now cream the butter sticks and mix it with the pudding, mixing on high speed. Add melted chocolate, and mix in well. Spread evenly over cake layers, and a little bit all over the outside of the cake. Now you can top it with some nice chocolate glaze, or decorate any way you like.

Tiramisu - Light as Air

2009-03-15T12:52:00.008-04:00

October 05, 2009:
Thank you so much for visiting, and your continued support, even in my absence!
I have taken on a career that requires a lot of work, and a lot of time, so I am still unable to return to the scene, and mix something up... I do, from time to time, check in to see what you all are doing, and I miss being part of your world actively.
Hope to return soon, at least on a monthly basis, till then, please enjoy Cafe Chocolada!
-Melita-

I have recently made this awesome light as air Tiramisu, based on a recipe from Masatera of “Recepti iz moje biljeznice” (Recipes from my notebook), and just slightly edited to what I had available here. It is not based on a traditionally used mascarpone cheese, but rather I have used Philadelphia whipped cream cheese, and got this luscious cream, which make you feel like you are eating sweet delicious air!

Tiramisu

2 packages of lady fingers, the soft kind
Strong coffee to soak them, but not over soak
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 packet whip it, whipped cream stabilizer
200g of Philadelphia whipped cream cheese
150g, or as much as you like, powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
About 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Mix whipped cream, with powdered sugar, and whipped cream stabilizer until whipped, then add cream cheese, vanilla extract, and mix well. You may also add like 1 or 2 drops of yellow food color, but that is completely optional.

On a plate, rectangular or however you like, arrange a layer of lady fingers soaked gently in strong coffee (unsweetened), then spread half of the cream, then a layer of lady fingers again, and then rest of the cream, and spread that cream all over the sides too, if you wish. Dust with cocoa powder, and you are all set. Refrigerate for couple of hours, or put in a freezer for about half an hour, to serve sooner :)

Spicy Pizza (or not)

2009-03-04T12:55:00.012-05:00

The pizza pictured here is not for sissies!!!! I love spicy, and this pizza packs an insult of great proportions! That’s how I like it, and I don’t need to worry about sharing! :)
However, you don’t have to make it spicy, and if you are in search of a really good pizza crust, then you are at the right place.

My family often enjoys Farida’s Tandir (Tandoori) Bread, and then we thought about using that bread dough as pizza dough (just take out few steps at the end, the egg wash, and seeds), and how successful are we? Well, everyone says I now make the best pizza in the world! I guess that summarizes it pretty well. Seriously, I don’t even give ordering pizza a thought any more. It is easy to make your own, it’s fun, and it doesn’t take long. Kids love making their own pizza!!!

From Farida’s recipe for Tandori Bread, I get 2 medium pizzas, 10” round pan. Also, you can easily make 3-4 personal sized pizzas, depending how big you make them.

Here is a recipe for one 10“ round pizza

Dough:
1 ½ cup flour, plus extra for kneading
¾ cup warm water
1 tsp dry yeast, fast rising is best
½ tsp salt

Other material:
Olive oil
Corn meal
Pizza sauce
Oregano
Cheese and toppings you like
I have used: Grated mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, extra spicy long peppers, crushed red hot pepper, cajun seasoning for crust, ham, bacon bits, onions, mushrooms, and when done I sprinkle with parmesan.

Mix yeast and water in a small bowl, until dissolved completely. Then gradually add it to flour mixed with salt. Make a dough, and then transfer on a floured work surface, and knead for about 5 minutes at least, until it’s nice and elastic. Collect the dough into a ball, and place in a glass bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and leave let it rise until in a warm place until doubled, I usually leave it in a microwave (not turned on of course).

Then you punch the air out of the dough, and shape it into a ball, and stretch to the size of the baking pan. Grease the pan with olive oil, and sprinkle all over with corn meal. Shake it to get it all nice and evenly coated.

Set the oven to 400° F, it will be ready just in time you are done with making the pizza. Place the dough in the pan, and then press with your fingers towards the edges so you get a pizza that is a bit more thin with a little bit raised edges. If you like to season your edges with anything, like I do with cajun, first brush the edges with some olive oil, and then sprinkle with whatever you like. The rest is like any other pizza: pizza sauce, cheese, seasonings, toppings. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until done; also you can turn the broiler on for a minute or two for toppings to brown. Enjoy!

I am sending this to Branka, this month’s host to Ajme koliko nas je , a food blog event created by Monsoon for food bloggers from ex YU territories. She chose this months main ingredient to be spicy peppers, and I might just go crazy on that one! :) Evo i recept na nasem!

Awards!!!

2009-03-03T13:45:00.004-05:00

It’s been a while that I got these awards, and I actually made a post for them, but it got lost in a hungry browser incident, so I postponed, and finally I am back to it!
These awards remind us of appreciation we get from our foodie friends, and we forward them in same fashion. Thank you Navita for the lovely Lemonade Award, and thank you conunpocodizucchero for the sweet One Lovely Blog Award!!! : )

I don’t know if I am braking the rules, but I would like to forward both awards to the following food bloggers, which caught my eye with their delicious creations, and also some of my favorites, which I visit often, may not be in English but so worth the translation. My dear nominees, you can chose to accept both, or just one award which you like!
Nominees:
Amalia, My Culinary World, Recepti Iz Moje Biljeznice, Sweet Sensation, La Dalmatia Gourmande, Pan y Varios, Maya’s World, The Chef and The Photographer, Delicious For Kids, Cuina Banateana, and Via Delle Rose.

Rules for the Lemonade award:
Add the logo to your blog
Link to the person who awarded you
Nominate and link to 10 other blogs
Leave a message to your nominees

Rules for the One Lovely Blog Award:
Add the logo to your blog
Link to the person who awarded you
Nominate and link to 7 other blogs
Leave a message to your nominees

To all who may have already gotten the awards above, just take it as a nice though, and you don’t have to follow through : )

Lika Pie - Licka Pita

2009-03-03T11:26:00.005-05:00

This recipe was given to me long ago, during my refugee years spent in a refuge center in Kosovo. Life was not easy in a center like that, however, you sure can learn a lot about life, and appreciate it more forever when you have to rebuild it. Also, I have gained a great friend, who was a refugee from Lika, Croatia. I have lost contact with her, now that I am here in the States, but I cherish this recipe, as it is a great reminder of the good days we were able to make out of those tough times.

This is a traditional, old recipe from Lika. Simple sponge cake layers, with vanilla butter cream. I always add some citrus aroma to the sponges, which makes for a real nice touch.

Lika Pie - Licka Pita

You’ll need 3x this for three sponges:
3 eggs
7 tbsp sugar
100 ml oil
100 ml milk
8 tbsp flour
2 tsp baking powder
Couple of citrus fruit for sprinkling the sponges
1 tbsp cocoa, just for one of the sponges

For the filling:
500 ml/ 2 cups milk
9 scant tbsp flour
10 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar
250g unsalted butter or margarine
Some powdered sugar at the end if you want it sweeter

For the sponges, mix 3 egg yolks with sugar, then add egg whites which you have mixed until stiff.
Mix well, then add oil, milk, and flour mixed with baking powder. Do this three times, and add 1 tbsp cocoa powder into one of them, or two if you like two dark, and one yellow sponge.
Bake them in a parchment paper lined pan, or oiled and greased pan ( this is normally done in a square baking pan about 10x14 inches in size, but you can also make the cake round) at 395°F for about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

For the filling, heat milk a little, and take some of it to mix flour with it, and do so with a hand held mixer, by hand you‘ll get too many lumps. I also strain the mixture to avoid any lumps.
The remainder of milk, set to boil with sugar and vanilla sugar in it. When it reaches boiling point, remove from heat, and reduce heat to medium low, mix in flour mixture, and stir constantly. Place back on the stove, and cook for a few minutes, until it thickens. Careful not to burn it. Really doesn’t take long, plus as it cools it will thicken more. Cool, then chill in the fridge, and when completely cooled down, mix in the butter cut into thin slices. Do this in a mixer, I use a stand mixer.

Assemble the cake by sprinkling each of the sponges with some citrus fruit juice (fresh, just squeeze straight from the fruit), like oranges lemons, Meyer lemons, and spread filling evenly in between, if you made two yellow sponges, then put the dark one in the middle, and vice versa.
Decorate as you wish, the original recipe just calls for some filling on the outside, and some chopped nuts all over.

Now, what I did for the cake pictured: I used jelly roll pan, and made only 2 sponges, one yellow, and one brown. Then I cut each of the sponges into four, and voila, I got a small, but pretty tall cake. The rest is same, I used Meyer lemons to sprinkle each sponge. Then I decorated with inspiration I got from a Family Fun magazine, The Princess and the Pea Cake. I didn’t follow their instructions, just sort of played with what I had readily available at home. Not at all happy with the looks, but then again I am famous for my inability to decorate, and take on big projects like this!!! :))) Kids liked it, and I think I’ll try this one again. I won’t be using many colors though, as I really like to keep it simple.

Bacon Potato

2009-02-28T12:11:00.005-05:00

Now, this is how I want my potatoes from now on! Do you really need a recipe? All you do is peel whole potatoes, cut them all across, not too thin, and not all the way through, sprinkle with some salt, but not too much, the bacon is salty. Then fill with small bacon slices in between. Bake in a pan with some oil until potatoes are fully cooked, and serve!

In the original recipe, the potatoes are first cooked half way, and I guess this is done to cut the baking time, which I didn’t do, and they took a while to be completely baked, but I didn’t mind waiting.

Also, you can incorporate some cheese too, as well as let you imagination loose as to how you want to season them, among other options you chose. Please your taste buds, and keep them quiet!

Blueberry Crumb by HoneyB

2009-02-27T13:26:00.006-05:00

Yet another rainy day, it started out warm though, I even turned my heating off (save a few dimes), and opened the door wide… Dropped the kids off to school, and then it was momma’s time! Sipping coffee, and reading HoneyB’s posts, always a good way to start a day! Her blog is filled with life, her personal stories, so heartfelt, and real, in addition to great recipes which she shares with all of us.

This morning before work she made this Blueberry Crumb Cake (wish I was her co-worker ), and I just wanted a slice right then and there, with my coffee. I read the recipe, and realized I had all the ingredients, even blueberries, no need to run to the store, just got up, and I made it.

The recipe is simple, just get everything prepared, and mix away. I was done in a flash, and it was baked just in time for my husband to try it before my highness did!!! He was back home from a pick up, walked in with a grin on his face, like :“Perfect timing!“, and then kept snatching away my photo subject. So, I just snapped couple of photos, before it was all gone. He ate like a third of the cake!!!

It is delicious, just look at those crumbs, and blueberries, which have that magic power to become more flavorful when baked. The whole house smelled just like a bakery, so we poured another cup of coffee, and enjoyed the warmth indoors, as the temperature dropped, and snow started frosting the grounds again!!! Thank you HoneyB! I had you in my kitchen today : ) Really enjoyed this cake! Again, you can find the recipe here.

Torte Egyptian

2009-02-26T15:21:00.005-05:00

It was a rainy day today, and luckily I made this cake last night, it can cheer the rainiest day! It is not so hard to make, and is worth every minute spent. One bite will make you feel so proud, it feels like you just got served at a fancy restaurant. Check out Marija’s blog, Palachinka, for recipe, and many more great recipes! She has also done this recipe as part of investigating of another great blog, Gaga's blog Iz moje kuhinje.

There is no guilty feeling, and hitting the treadmill later, I was too busy enjoying it to think about what it will do to my waistline. I just kept going back to the fridge to get just another “thin” slice : )

Love the crunch part, with praline, and toasted nuts, it gives such a character to the cake.
I have followed the recipe step by step, except I used whipping cream, because I had no powdered one. I guess that next time I will double the amount of whipping cream to get more of the crunchy filling, for this time I used ½ pint. Also, instead of my beloved hazelnuts, I have used a mixture of walnuts, and almonds.
Can’t say enough about it, my results were great, the recipe is easy, will definitely make this cake again!

What a delicious investigation, as part of February edition of a food blog event, FBI Rukavice, created by Maja of Cooks and Bakes in which we try out recipes from a chosen blog, and for this month we are investigating Palachinka. There is also an English version of the game available for all food bloggers, FBI Gloves.

Homemade Kinder Surprise

2009-02-24T14:47:00.006-05:00

Kinder surprise egg was definitely my favorite treat when I was growing up, and I sometimes manage to buy them for my kids here in the USA, at my local ethnic food stores! There are other versions too. You can read more about it here, and here is the Canadian website for Kinder egg Surprise.

It’s a chocolate egg with shell made out of two thin layers of chocolate. One with regular milk chocolate, and another with white chocolate. Inside is a little plastic container, containing a toy.

I couldn’t take the picture of the making process (will add those for Easter), but it’s not so complicated. To make them, I bought some plastic eggs which can open, washed them, separated them in half, aligned each half with foil inside, and placed them onto an empty egg cartoon. I am sure there are special molds for this, but didn’t even want to go there, I live far from such stores :)

Then I coated the inside (of course) with chocolate. First with regular, the I put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, then I carefully added a layer of white chocolate over the first layer. Back in the freezer, then simply got it out of the plastic shell, peeled the foil, and voila, I got chocolate egg halves. Sure, it’s not as smooth as store bought, but good enough for me, until I get hold of some molds.

Then I just placed the corresponding halves over a heated stove top for few seconds so I can seal the halves into a whole egg. Inside I placed my kids’ favorite little toys, The Littlest Pet Shop animals. Whatever fits, and it depends on what plastic egg you get. Back in the freezer for seal to harden.

After that I wrapped them with foil, and decorated with stickers. That is the beauty of making these, you get to use whatever chocolate you, or shall I say, your kids like, and you and them can decorate together, personalize with their names, or names of their friends and family.

I think it’s a great idea for Easter. It’s making a treat, and crafts all in one! Possibilities are endless. You can use just one kind of chocolate, and also you can fill it with whatever you want.
So, all you need is some plastic eggs, chocolate, and proper tempering, and for tempering the chocolate I have followed these directions.

This is my contribution to Sugar High Friday #52, a monthly food blogging event created by Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess, and hosted this month by lovely Marija @ Palachinka blog. She chose a theme copycat, and what a great idea that is!

Luscious Creme Brulee

2009-02-23T09:41:00.005-05:00

Life was but a shallow river before our rivers met

And our summer love gave birth to a timeless one
I shall love you more every new dawn, every sunset
I shall love you only more, never less, till I’m gone.

From my heart, to my husband, my best friend, and true love, who says I never say it enough :)

You are my creme brulee!

Luscious Crème Brulee

2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup half-and-half
6 large egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300° F. Have ready a flame proof 1-quart shallow baking or gratin dish ( I have used smaller ramekins) and a roasting pan. Put on a kettle of water to boil for the water bath.
Heat the cream, and half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot. Remove from the heat.

Whisk together the yolks, ½ cup of the sugar, and the salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add the cream mixture, whisking constantly until blended and smooth. Do not over mix it. Add the vanilla. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer set over a medium glass measure or a bowl.

Pour the custard into the baking dish, and skim any foam from the top. Transfer to a roasting pan, place in the oven, and pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until custard is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center. Do not over bake--the custard will set further as it cools. Remove the baking dish from the water bath and let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate the crème brulee, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled and set, or for up to 1 day.

Preheat the broiler. Have the roasting pan ready, and fill bowl with ice water. Gently blot the surface of the custard with the edge of a paper towel to remove any condensation. Sift the remaining ¼ cup sugar evenly over the custard. Place the baking dish in the roasting pan and carefully pour enough ice water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

Broil custard about 3 inches from heat for 2-3 minutes, until sugar has melted and turned a dark amber color; carefully move or rotate the dish if necessary so the sugar caramelizes evenly. Remove from the broiler, and cool the custard in the ice water for 5 minutes.
Carefully remove the baking dish from the pan. Serve right away, or refrigirate, uncovered for no longer than 1 hour before serving-- or the topping will soften.

Recipe adapted from Luscious Creamy Dessertsby Lori Longbotham and France Ruffenach. I love this book, I have my eyes on many more recipes to try.

Poem by me :)

Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

2009-02-16T19:48:00.007-05:00

I have jotted down this recipe from a Family Fun magazine, while waiting at the dentists office. I actually am not a big fan of tomato soups, but my husband is, and it sounded delicious for me too, with tomatoes being roasted, and it is! I love it! The recipe is actually from a cookbook 300 Sensational Soups, by Carla Snyder, and Meredith Deeds.

Roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons

6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup whipping cream

Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.

In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.

Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.

Grilled cheese croutons:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon thyme
6 thin slices of bread
3 ounces Cheddar, thinly sliced

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine the butter and thyme. Spread one side of each bread slice with the butter mixture. Place 3 slices in the pan, buttered side down. Top with the cheese, then with the remaining 3 bread slices, buttered side up. Cook, turning once, until toasted on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the sandwiches from the pan. Let them cool slightly, then cut them into 1-inch squares. Makes about 60 croutons.

I am sending this to Aparna, who is this month's host for Food In Colors, a food blog event created by Harini (better known as the Sunshinemom) of Tongue Ticklers. This month's color is orange.

Banana Pudding

2009-02-16T13:07:00.002-05:00

Southern comfort food in all it’s glory, banana pudding served in jars, topped with meringue hats! Just delicious! Kids couldn't wait to get their hands on it!!!

I have discovered this recipe in a cookbook Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook. Definitely a great buy!

Banana pudding

Pudding:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
Vanilla wafer cookies (good quality) or a tea cake recipe included in the book
4 medium bananas, peeled and sliced

Topping:
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pudding: Bring 2 cups of water to boil in heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. In large stainless steel bowl, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in egg yolks, followed by milk, vanilla bean, nutmeg and cinnamon. Place bowl over pan of water and cook, stirring until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon and vanilla bean. Rinse vanilla bean and reserve for another use. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now.

While pudding is still warm, layer cookies, bananas and pudding in 1/2 pint canning jars or ramekins. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Topping: Whisk egg whites in electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and slowly increase speed as egg whites become opaque. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla extract. Whip until whites form a soft peak. Spoon meringue over warm puddings, sealing it to sides of jars.

Bake puddings for 4 minutes or until meringue is puffed and brown. Cool on rack for 20 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

Tulumbe

2009-02-12T13:40:00.006-05:00

As part of February edition of a food blog event, FBI Rukavice ,created for food bloggers from formerly Yugoslavia (but open to others who speak the language) by Maja of Cooks and Bakes, we are investigating Palachinka. There is also an English version of the game available for all food bloggers, FBI Gloves, and coincidentally, for that event this month I am under investigation : )

If you don’t already know Marija, and her blog Palachinka then I am shocked!!!
She is an inspiration to so many, and my dear friend, whom I can’t wait to meet personally. Her blog is filled with such wonderful recipes, and amazing photography in which she seems to adopt her own personal style, as I can now easily distinguish her photos from others. She never seizes to astonish us with culinary creations from the Balkans, and countries from all over the world, and of course is a great presenter of her own country’s cuisine, Serbian cuisine.

I am probably her greatest fan, as I cannot imagine a day without satisfying my eyes with her wonderful presentations, I simply love her work, and she has helped me personally so much with tips on food photography, and blogging. Thank you Marija!

With so many recipes, it is hard to try just one, but for starters, I have tried one of my favorite sweets, Tulumbe. One of the favorite, and oldest desserts in the Balkans, and Marija’s recipe is special because they are not fried, as they traditionally are, but baked.
I have followed her recipe fully, and only step I skipped was caramelizing sugar, and that’s because when I saw how beautiful they are turning up to be in the oven, I have decided to go the faster route, and just make simple syrup, like she suggested, by boiling sugar, and vanilla sugar with water.

I must also admit that I couldn’t possibly wait for them to sit overnight, I wanted them ASAP, and they have soaked pretty fast since I have made them a bit smaller.
From now on I am never frying my tulumbe again, they are much puffier, and evenly baked in the oven as oppose to fried ones, and it’s also easier, and I didn’t sacrifice my hands to burns as much as when I fry them. Also, not to mention, saving the oil.
I didn’t have the proper piping tools, so the shape of my tulumbe is not exactly perfect, but that doesn’t change the great taste. Simply delightful!

Fritule

2009-02-08T18:25:00.005-05:00

Fritule (fritters) are doughnut-like Dalmatian treat with raisins, and since I was born, and grew up in Dalmatia they have a special place in my heart, and bring back fond memories. My kids prefer them to donuts, they put on a great disappearing act every time I make them.
Tons of recipes out there, but basic ingredients are the same. Instead of brandy, I use rum, just my preference.

Fritule

For the starter:
1 packet/ ¼ oz/ 7g yeast
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp sugar
About 4 tbsp warm milk
Mix it all in a cup, and let it rise for a while

For the dough:
400g/ 2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp sugar, or less
1 packet / ¼ oz/ 7 g vanilla sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp spiced rum, or brandy
1 tbsp lemon rind
1 cup warm milk
About a cup of golden raisins, soaked previously

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, except for milk, then add the starter, and start mixing, gradually adding milk, until it’s all well combined, and starts separating form the wooden spoon or hand, if you prefer mixing with a hand. Add raisins, and mix them in, you can add raisins after rising too. Let it rise in a warm place, until it doubles, or triples really, in bulk.

In a pan, heat oil, not too hot, like medium low, and maintain it that way. Spoon out spoonfuls of dough, and slide it off the spoon with your fingers. You can also dip the spoon into some oil (not hot, in a cup) to get more round fritule, but I don’t do this, I like the edges they get by not using the oiled spoon, that’s my favorite part of fritule : )

Fry them for few minutes on each side, until golden brown, turning them over with a fork. Allow them to drain for a while on a paper towel, and then dust with powdered sugar.

Russian fruit cake - refreshing

2009-02-08T12:46:00.005-05:00

This cake is simple to make, really refreshing, excellent to make ahead. I have been craving tart cherries like crazy lately. 10 years ago, I have craved dried apricots, and sometime later I got a baby girl... I think now, with snow melting away, I just felt like eating something which reminds me of warmer days!

Russian fruit cake

For the base:
4 egg whites
150 g sugar
100 g ground walnuts
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 360 F. Mix egg whites with sugar, then add flour with baking powder, and walnuts, and combine well. Transfer into a spring form pan (8inch) with base aligned with parchment paper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Cool, and transfer onto a cake plate; return the spring form ring around it.

For the filling:
500 ml heavy whipping cream
1 packet whipping cream stabilizer
1 packet/ 7g vanilla sugar
Powdered sugar to taste
250 g red tart cherries, fresh or frozen
250 g pineapple cut chopped up into small pieces, fresh or canned
Some whipped cream to decorate

Mix whipped cream with vanilla sugar, and powdered sugar, fold in cherries. Spread over cake base with spring form ring around it, then top with pineapple chunks. Chill well for few hours in a refrigerator, or about 30 minutes in a freezer. Decorate with whipped cream, and enjoy!

Credits: I have adapted this recipe, and adjusted it to my liking from "Kuhinjica"(Little kitchen), a Serbian cooking magazine.

Chocolate Cream Puffs

2009-01-27T20:42:00.004-05:00

Everyone likes cream puffs, and for the first time I meet the chocolate version! I really liked this recipe, they were gone in a flash, and chocolate cream is just delightful! Vanilla cream is equally delicious, and looks awesome against dark puffs.

Chocolate cream puffs

For the choux pastry:
115g/4 oz/1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
250 ml /8 oz/1 cup water
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
115 g/4 oz/ ½ cup unsalted (sweet) butter
4 eggs

For the chocolate pastry cream:
450 ml/2 cups milk
6 egg yolks
115g/4 oz/½ cup granulated sugar
50g/2 oz/½ cup all purpose flour
150g/5oz plain semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
115 ml/4 fl oz/ ½ cup whipping cream
I have added ½ tsp vanilla extract because I decided to make half vanilla, half chocolate

First, I make the pastry cream. Mix egg yolks with sugar. Add vanilla, if you will make vanilla cream. Set milk to boil, before it does, take some hot milk (like ½ cup) and add it in the egg yolk mixture, mixing it in fast. Add flour to the mixture, then stir it in the boiling milk. Mix for few minutes, remove from heat, and immediately add chocolate, and mix it well. If you like you can make half chocolate, half vanilla, then you need only half of the amount of chocolate. Let it cool down, later chill in the fridge, while making pastry. When cooled, add whipped whipping cream.

For the choux pastry, it’s same old procedure. Preheat oven to 425 F. Set water, butter, salt, and sugar to boil, then remove from heat, add flour mixed with cocoa powder, and mix well. Return to heat, and cook for another minute. Remove from heat again, and add one by one, 4 eggs, working fast with a hand mixer.
Transfer mixture into piping bag, and pipe puffs about 3 inches across (or what size you like), and 2 inches apart onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Baker for about 30-40 minutes, take them out, cut of about top third of each puff, and return them to the oven for another 5-10 minutes to dry them out. Cool, and fill with cream.

Drizzle tops with chocolate glaze. There is a recipe for one, but I didn’t like it, so just use any chocolate glaze you like, or like I prefer, just dust with some powdered sugar.

Recipe adapted from The Chocolate and Coffee Bible.

Recept na Srpskom.

Raffaello slice

2009-01-22T12:14:00.003-05:00

If you love Raffaello treats, then this is a cake for you! Desiccated coconut has much more flavor then regular shredded coconut, and it’s a winning combination with vanilla flavor. Easy to make too. I am thinking to incorporate almonds next time, like maybe add them in between layers or as a topping.

Raffaello slice

For the cake:
5 egg whites
250 g sugar
100 g sweetened desiccated coconut

100 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk to soak after baking

Mix egg whites with sugar until stiff, then add coconut, and flour with baking powder. Bake in a 9x13 inch pan for about 20 minutes on 350F, making sure it doesn’t brown too much, it should be just lightly golden. Cool it down slightly, and then evenly pour heated milk over it. Cool completely before putting the cream on.

Vanilla cream:
5 egg yolks
150 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp corn starch
4 cups milk
250 g/ 18 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine

Mix egg yolks with sugar, then add some of the milk, flour, and vanilla sugar. Let remainder of the milk to boil, reduce heat, and then add the egg mixture, stirring constantly for few minutes until it thickens. Transfer into a mixing bowl, and cool completely. When cool, add butter or margarine cut into thin slices, and mix well.
Spread over cake, and decorate with either some shredded coconut, or whipped cream. Cut into squares or slices. Chill well before serving.

Recipe adapted from “Fat but Happy” magazine, Serbian edition of Macedonian food and wine publication.

Tunnel Cake

2009-01-21T20:37:00.005-05:00

I wanted to make this cake for so long, and finally I did. It is a luscious dessert, fit for royalty, and I am not talking about it’s original look, but rich nutty taste with tons of cream!

Tunnel Cake

For the filling:
6 egg yolks
300 g sugar (I only used 150g, don’t like it too sweet)
2 powdered vanilla puddings + 6 tbsp of flour
(if no such pudding available then 6 tbsp of corn starch + 6 tbsp of flour+ 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1 liter/4 cups milk
250 g /18 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine

White cake layer:
6 egg whites
6 tbsp of sugar
6 tbsp of flour
1 tsp baking powder

Brown cake layer:
5 eggs
5 tbsp of sugar
100 g ground walnuts
2 tbsp plain bread crumbs

For the base/roll:
250g ground walnuts/walnut meal
150g ground biscuits/butter cookies
1 cup milk
4 oz semi-sweet baker’s chocolate
9 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
9 tbsp powdered sugar

To decorate:
Whipped cream with stabilizer, nuts to make it look like rocks on the side
Also chocolate can be drizzled all over, just play with it

Prepare to make the cake in the order above, starting with the filling. Mix egg yolks with pudding and flour, or corn starch and flour, sugar, and some milk from the one liter. Let remainder of the milk boil, reduce heat, and mix in the pudding mixture, stirring constantly, and cooking for few minutes.
Let it cool completely, stirring it often so it doesn’t get skin on the top. Once cooled, mix in previously mixed butter or margarine. This will reduce clumps of butter/margarine, and you’ll have a smoother filling.

When the cream is cooling, you can start with cake layers. For both layers I have used a jelly roll pan, because there were no instructions, but I think 9x13 inch baking pan would do better.
For the white one, mix egg whites with sugar until stiff, then add flour with baking powder. Bake on medium heat, about 380 F, making sure it doesn’t brown. Didn’t track time, so just test with toothpick.

For brown cake layer, mix eggs with sugar until nice and smooth, then add walnuts, and bread crumbs. Bake at same temperature, also until toothpick comes out clean.
Now make the base, which will allow for tunnel look, because of it’s cylinder shape. Mix walnuts, cookie crumbs, butter, powdered sugar, adding milk gradually, because you might not need the whole cup.
Once you get a workable mass, add melted chocolate, and mix well. You do all this with hands.
Then make a cylinder shape out of the cookie/walnut mass on a long platter. Top it evenly with about half of the filling, place the white cake layer over it(cut the excess, if any), top with about another half of filling, then place the brown layer over it (cut excess, if any), remember to leave just enough filling to spread over the last/brown layer so whipped cream would hold better. Decorate, cool well, and enjoy!

Recipe source:
My aunt from Serbia sent me a “Fat and happy” magazine, originally Macedonian publication, formerly known as “Food and wine” (hope I got all that right; also printed in few other Balkan countries. Thank you auntie Ljubica!

Recept na Srpskom.

Potato Pie with Leeks, and Feta Cheese

2009-01-15T21:15:00.004-05:00

Potato pie with leeks, and feta cheese

For the dough:
1 medium sized potato
1 cup flour
5 tbsp margarine, melted and cooled a bit
2 tsp baking powder
½ smaller leek, chopped up
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp black pepper

For the filling:
5-6 medium sized potatoes
½ leek chopped up
½ cup sour cream
3 eggs
½ cup crumbled feta cheese, or cubed
Pinch of salt

First wash, and cook potatoes with their skin. Peel, and mash one immediately, and let the rest (for the filling) cool down.Preheat oven to 390 F. In a bowl with mashed potato, add margarine, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and knead with hands to get a smooth dough. Add half of chopped up leek, knead it in, then transfer the dough to a medium sized spring form pan, spread it around to cover pan bottom with it.

Peel and slice the remaining potatoes, or chop them up, and place them on top of the dough, along with half of chopped up leek. Sprinkle with some salt (you be the judge as to how much), and pepper.

Mix eggs with sour cream, add a pinch of salt, and feta cheese. Pour this over the potatoes, and place the pie in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, depending on the oven. Cool a little, then remove the spring form, and serve. Best if eaten right away, as most potato dishes.

Recipe adapted from a special edition of a Serbian culinary magazine Carobni Lonac - Slane Torte(Magic pot -Savory cakes)

Vanilla Crescents

2008-12-22T13:00:00.004-05:00

There is still time for more cookies, they taste awesome, and don’t require too much time from start to finish. These cookies are popular all over Europe, and are also known as vanilla kipfel. I remember them fondly, as they were always part of a Holiday menu when I was growing up. Thank you Bilja for sharing a recipe!

Vanilla Crescents

For the cookies:
170g butter
50g powdered sugar
70g blanched almond meal
270g flour
4 tsp vanilla sugar

For dusting:
150g powdered sugar
6 tsp vanilla sugar

Mix all ingredients until a dough is formed, much like shortbread cookie dough, kind of crumbly. Seal it in a piece of plastic wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour. Preheat oven to 350 F, form crescents out of dough, and bake them for about 10 minutes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet . They should still remain white.

Forming crescents may be a bit challenging, but not to hard; if you go for the walnut meal, instead of almonds you will find it a bit easier because walnuts release more oil. Also, you can make it more like half moon shape, it's easier.
Cool them just a little bit before dusting them with powdered sugar mixed with vanilla sugar. Coat them all evenly on both sides. They are best when left at least overnight. The ones in a photo are with walnuts; alond ones are snowy white...

Lamingtons filled with vanilla custard

2008-12-18T13:11:00.004-05:00

Lamingtons filled with vanilla custard

For the sponge cake:
3 eggs
15 Tbsp sugar
15 Tbsp oil
15 Tbsp milk
15 Tbsp flour
2 Tsp baking powder

For the vanilla custard, or pastry cream:
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tsp vanilla extract
You can also cook one of those powdered puddings, which is what I do, pretty much the same.

For the chocolate coating:
4 oz baking chocolate
1 ½ cups milk

Also needed:
100 g / about 4 oz sweetened desiccated coconut to roll them in

First make the pastry cream, to allow it to cool before you make the sponge cake. Mix yolks with sugar, then add corn starch, vanilla extract, and mix until smooth and silky. Bring milk to boil, then add the yolk mixture, reduce heat to low, and cook for few minutes, stirring until it thickens. Cool completely before using!

To make the sponge cake: Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix eggs with sugar until pale and creamy, add the rest of the ingredients in the order given. Pour into rectangular baking dish (9x13“), and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the cake looks golden.

Cool completely, and cut into cubes, however big you like. Heat milk and chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted, and you get a creamy mixture. Start with 1/2 cup of milk, and add the rest gradually, because the need depends on chocolate you use, and you don't want it to be too runny. Allow it to cool so it’s easy to handle. Cut each sponge cube across the middle, and fill it with about a tablespoon of custard, coat it with chocolate on all sides, and then roll it into coconut. Lamingtons are best after you leave them rest for a while, and let those flavors marry each other.

Honey Cake

2008-12-18T08:40:00.004-05:00

This cake brings back so many memories of a happy childhood, the times when I could fly, I was a princess, and I could talk to animals!

I spent my summers in the beautiful piece of heaven on earth, my father’s birthplace, and I have always felt special just for being able to grow up there. I spent so much time in the outdoors which was studded with green fields scented with chamomile flowers, waterfalls, creeks, woods, and woodland creatures; that in a sense I felt like the nature raised me. My uncle had a lot of bees, thus a lot of honey, and my aunt would make this cake often, it was so delicious….had to go back, so here it is!

Honey cake - Medena pita

Cake layers:

150 g / 5 1/3 oz of vegetable shortening
150 g/ 5 1/3 oz of sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp of baking cocoa (optional)
3 Tbsp of honey
1 Tsp of baking soda
Mix all of the above and then add:
400 g/ 14 oz + 1 Tbsp of flour

You should get rather hard dough, mix it really well, and then divide into 2 or 3 balls, depending on the size of the pan. If you do 9x13”, then 3. Preheat oven to 355 F.
Roll out each layer into the size of a pan, and bake on the back of a large cookie sheet or a jelly roll pan (greased slightly with shortening), for about 10 minutes, it should still be sort of soft, and hard to deal with, so worth it though : )

Let it cool a bit, then transfer onto a kitchen towel (kind of slide it off), and repeat with other 2. When they cool completely they should be very hard, like cookies. That is how it’s supposed to be, the cream will make it soft overnight, and it will all get incorporated into soft, delicious bites.

For the cream:
500 ml/ about 17 fl oz of milk
2 Tbsp AP flour
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 tsp vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g / 8 ¾ oz of butter or margarine, unsalted
200 g / about 7 oz powdered sugar (add or substract to please your sweet tooth)
1 Tbsp of spiced rum

Take some milk out of those 500 ml (like half a cup), and mix it with flour and corn starch until you have no lumps. Set the remainder of milk to boil with vanilla. When it boils, mix in the flour mixture and stir for a minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and cool, and then chill in the fridge until completely cooled.

Then mix in butter or margarine with powdered sugar, and add it to the cream, and mix until all well incorporated. You can also add a few tbsp of spiced rum, if you like.
Spread cream over first and second cake layer, evenly, and put the third on the top. Do this on a cookie sheet, or jelly roll pan. Then wrap it with foil or something, and put some weight on top, like baking pans, and let it sit overnight.

Next day, when it’s nice and soft, spread the chocolate ganache on top( you can do any ganache if you have one you already like), and cut into cubes when cooled.

For the ganache:
100 g / 3 1/3 oz baking chocolate and 100 ml / 3.4 fl oz of whipping cream. Heat whipping cream until it starts boiling, then add chopped up chocolate, and mix until smooth.

Peaches revisited

2008-12-17T14:17:00.004-05:00

My friend Biserka allowed me to publish this absolutely best recipe for these delicious, beautiful cookies. She makes them even prettier, and the look just depends on colors and amount of color you use.

I have tried so many recipes for these cookies, as I do have another recipe here on my blog,(for now you can use it to see the process) however now I stick to this one because the biscuit is so soft, and so “cake-like”, especially after you let them sit for a day or two in an airtight plastic bag. I am speechless, let me just tell you that I have made them 3 times in the past 10 days for my friends and family, and we just can’t get enough!!!
Thank you so much my friend!

Peaches cookies

I’ll just write the recipe in metrics, and you can use online converters , but most scales have the option of measuring in grams, as most measuring cups have milliliter option too.

4 eggs
250 ml oil
250 g sugar (granulated
2 tsp of vanilla sugar, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
4 Tbs flour
Later add:
500 g flour

First mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add oil, and then add 4 tbsp flour, and baking powder, and mix well. Let it sit for 1 hour, and then mix in 500g flour. Do this with your hands, it’s quite sticky, but once you get it all mixed well, wash your hands, and you’ll find it rather easy to make little balls.

Preheat oven to 355 F, and make little balls size of a smaller walnut. Arrange on a baking sheet, about an inch apart, and bake for about 15-20 minutes, and they should still remain white.

Cool each batch, (I get about 4 cookie sheets out of this, you can double if you want more, but this is plenty), and core them on the bottom part, to make the room for the filling. Leave those crumbs you get from coring for the filling.
I then fill them with combination of Nutella, crumbs from the cookies, and ground walnuts. No measure, I just start by about a cup of Nutella, then I add just enough crumbs and ground walnuts to make nice filling that is not runny, but just perfect for sticking the cookies together.

You fill one cookie half, then connect with another, and you have a peach. To color them, I pour about half a cup of milk into two separate bowl, and add a drop or two of color red into one, and yellow into another. You dip them really quickly into each colored milk, so you don’t end up soaking them, and then you roll them in sugar. Once you are done with all it is best to place them in Ziploc bags, and keep them in there at least overnight. They get so soft, and melt in the mouth. Enjoy

I shall try to include recipe for her filling which is different, as soon as I get time…really busy now! I am sending these delicious peaches as my entry to Cookie Baking Event created by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

Bring on the cookies!

2008-12-09T12:26:00.005-05:00

These cookies are best when you let them sit for few days in an airtight container, or a plastic bag. They get softer/chewier, and are sooooooo delicious! Don’t be afraid to put more jam than I did, it is sticky, but after they sit for 2 days the jam hardens, and you will regret you didn’t put more : )

Jam filled shortbread cookies

500 g flour
250 g sugar
300 g vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2 Tsp baking powder
50 g dark chocolate, melted and cooled a bit
Raspberry jam for filling (or any other, but this one works the best)

Mix flour, vegetable shortening, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and baking powder, and work the dough for at least 7-8 minutes, to get it smooth and workable. Then divide into two, and add melted, slightly cooled chocolate to one half, and mix and incorporate it well.

Roll out each dough to a ¼ inch thickness, and cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Bake each batch for about 7-8 minutes or longer @ 375 F, just don’t over bake them, white ones should still remain fairly white. Once all are baked, sandwich them with jam. Use one chocolate cookie, one vanilla, and raspberry jam, about 1 ½ Tsp of jam for each. Don’t press too hard.

Store in an airtight container or Ziploc type bag for few days. You can also dip the edges in melted milk chocolate after they sat for few days, if it's too much work all at once :)

Tip: I would suggest making plain old round cookies as it is a bit challenging to lift them off the work surface and transfer to a cookie sheet in delicate shapes.

Apple Torte With Pine Nuts and Raisins

2008-12-01T14:08:00.003-05:00

This cake may be a little camera shy, or perhaps not so photogenic, but apples, vanilla, and lemon, in fresh baked buttery sponge cake, along with pine nuts, and raisins, fill the kitchen with the aroma capable of taking you straight to Tuscany, where this cake originates from.

Apple Torte With Pine Nuts and Raisins
Torta di Mele con Pinoli e Uvetta

Ingredients:
2 large Golden Delicious apples
Juice of ½ lemon
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar, plus some for dusting
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup raisins, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
¼ cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly butter spring form pan (10 inch), dust with flour, and tap out the excess.Peel, halve, and core apples; slice them thinly, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, and sugar, until creamy. Then add milk, butter, vanilla extract. In a separate bowl sift flour, add salt, baking powder, and lemon zest, and combine. Add the egg and butter mixture to the flour, using a wooden spoon, and incorporate well. Drain the raisins, and add them to the batter, along with pine nuts.

Pour the batter into the pan, and arrange apple slices on the top in concentric circles. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, for about 45 min. Transfer to wire rack, and cool completely before removing pan sides, and serving. Dust with sugar, and serve cut into wedges.

Recipe adapted from a Williams-Sonoma book “Savoring Tuscany”, by Lori de Mori
You might also like to indulge into this Tuscan favorite.

Intercontinental Cake - Two Birthdays

2008-11-30T15:54:00.007-05:00

Saturday was my son's, and my birthday! We had a lot of fun with family, and friends! Even though I haven't planned on having a party, getting together at my house always turns into one!

For my son, and myself, I have made this truly rich cake, perfect for celebrations, with layers, and layers of cake and cream! Bound to get some compliments! Honestly, with some organization before hand it is not hard to make at all; it took me less than two hours to complete, and I have decorated it the next day, just few hours before guests arrived. We also got one fantastic cake as a gift, so you can imagine we were all pretty sugar high, and still are! :)

I am not much of a decorator, I got so much to learn in that department, but a slice itself is pretty enough. Make cream first, because cake part is easy , and cake layers cool pretty fast.

Intercontinental cake
adapted form SerbianCafe

For the filling:
15 egg yolks
1 liter milk
20 Tbsp sugar
5 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp corn starch
4 Tsp vanilla sugar
1 cup powdered, confectioners sugar
4 sticks / about 450g margarine or butter, unsalted,
200 g chocolate, dark
Whipped cream, and cream stabilizer to decorate
Some ground walnuts to decorate

Mix egg yolks with sugar, and vanilla sugar, until nicely combined, and frothy. Add 1 cup milk (from one liter), flour, and corn starch. Set the rest of the milk to boil. When it starts boiling, add the yolk mixture gradually, mixing well, so not to get lumps; reduce heat, and cook for few minutes, mixing constantly.

Transfer cream to a bowl, and let it cool a little before placing it in the fridge to cool completely. Once it’s cool mix in margarine or butter, which you first mixed with powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar, if you like it sweeter.

Now you can either divide into three, and add 200 g of chocolate (melted, and cooled slightly) into one third, 200 g fine shredded coconut into the second third, and 200 g walnut meal into the last third.
I have just separated one third, and left it as it is, and added 200 g chocolate into two thirds, and thus got more light chocolate filling, and one plain vanilla.

For the cake layers:
15 egg whites
15 Tbsp sugar
15 Tbsp flour
30 Tbsp ground walnuts, walnut meal
3 Tsp baking powder

In a stand mixer, mix egg whites, gradually adding sugar, until stiff. Slowly add flour mixed with baking powder, then fold in walnuts, and combine well. Divide into three, and bake each layer in a 8” round, spring form pan. Cool each layer, and soak each evenly, with ¼ cup warm milk.
If you got three flavor creams, then spread each layer with a different cream, in any order you like.

To assemble:
Here is my order, since I only did chocolate and vanilla:
Cake layer, chocolate cream, cake layer, vanilla cream, cake layer, chocolate cream, and some chocolate all around. Then I used whipped cream all over and for decoration, and sprinkled with ground walnuts. Yummy!

My son, waiting to grab his heart! One for mommy, one for him! This beautiful creation, called "King's Cake", was done by a friend! I guess I know now where to turn for decorating classes! :) Delicious! Thank you, Edita!

Chess Roll

2008-11-25T10:25:00.002-05:00

I love making this for the Holidays, because of the quantity, and everyone loves it. Sponge cakes rolled into wafer sheets, and tied together with caramel cream! Yum!
Never mind that my husband can down one whole roll in one evening, and not gain an ounce!!! Skeleton! This w/e is a big one for my family, not only because of the Thanksgiving, but also my son and I share a birthday on Saturday!

Chess Roll

You'll need:
Wafer sheets- Oblatne, they’re about 9x13”
For the sponge:
5 eggs
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 395 F. Mix eggs with sugar, then add oil, combine, then add milk, gradually add flour mixed with baking powder. Divide into two, and in one half add cocoa powder.
Bake both cake mixes in a 9x13” square pan, separately, of course. I usually make 3 rolls, which means I need 6 brown, and 6 yellow stripes of the sponge cakes. So, cut the cooled cakes into 6 stripes each, and trim them, if necessary to get nice, even stripes.

For the caramel cream:
400g /13.5 oz sugar
0.9 l / 30 oz milk
6 Tbsp corn starch
1 stick margarine or butter, about 125g
2 tsp vanilla sugar, or some vanilla extract

Caramelize the sugar (don’t burn it), then add milk, minus one cup, and add vanilla sugar. The other cup of milk you mix with corn starch, and then add to boiling caramel milk. Mix well, and fast, not to get lumps. When it thickens, remove, cool down a little, and while still quite warm, mix in the margarine, or butter.

To assemble:
Take 3 wafer sheets, and spread with warm caramel cream on the sides with larger ridges. Remember to save some cream for filling in between cake stripes. Somewhere in the middle of each wafer sheet start placing the cake stripes, lengthwise, one yellow, one brown, and spread some caramel cream in between, and on top. Then place two on top of those two, just switch the order to get the checkered look. Now roll the wafer around it, and tighten with kitchen towels, or plastic wrap. Chill, and serve!

Tips: I have read that they can also be frozen, and taste just as good as fresh made, when thawed. If you get bigger wafers, they come in different sizes, then you double everything, and bake in a larger pan. Meaning you would make one yellow cake according to directions above, and one brown one.

Wish I could give credit to a particular author, but I have adapted it to my own liking from so many different authors, and since it’s such a traditional cake in the former Yugoslavia, there is no way in knowing who is the originator.

Makes a great gift for Holiday season! You keep some, you give some :)

French Macarons - First Attempt

2008-11-24T12:17:00.001-05:00

Finally! I gathered all my courage, and gave these beautiful French macarons a try! I wanted to make them for so long, they are so pretty, and I always wondered what it would be like to bite into one.

Even though I don’t think I was quite successful, they are amazing!
I never tried them before, so I have no idea how good mine are, but I believe they should have been more “cake-like” soft. The taste is great, I like it!

For the crispiness I think weather had something to do with it. Also, I think I have beaten them at the end a little bit more than needed, and finally, maybe even baked them a minute or two too long because I was scared to take them out too soon. In any event I am so making them again, and hopefully they will turn out a bit more moist, and less crunchy. Recipe is truly wonderful, easy to follow, and they are pretty, and glossy! I filled them with chocolate butter cream from this recipe (cut ingredients in half).

I have followed a recipe for these macarons by Helen of Tartlette; she has published a Step-by-Step French Macaron tutorial in the second issue of Desserts Magazine. Thank you Helen! I absolutely love them, and can’t wait to experiment with other flavors, and colors!

Moist Yogurt Cake With Tart Cherries

2008-11-19T14:07:00.007-05:00

My kitchen is infused with the aromas of vanilla, and fresh baked home goodness. Can’t wait for my kids to come home from school; this is a great after school bite! You have no excuse not to make this, it is rather simple, and it’s not time consuming. You’ll have it ready to serve within an hour, that is if you can’t wait for it to cool down. I should add that it is even better when completely cooled, and stored in a plastic bag, yummy!

Moist yogurt cake with tart cherries

You’ll need:
3 eggs
1 cup of plain yogurt
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup oil
2 Tsp baking powder
2 Tsp vanilla sugar
About 2 cups of tart cherries( no more, or everything will collapse, and will not bake evenly),I use the frozen ones (thawed, of course).

Get ready beforehand. Measure all ingredients in separate bowls, and have a baking dish ready; I use 9x13 inch square one. Preheat oven to 395 F.
Add baking powder to flour, and mix well, this will assure that it is evenly incorporated.
Place cherries in their own bowl, and add about 2 Tbsp of flour, and shake them, so they get coated with flour, this is very important.

Now, with a hand mixer, mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Then add yogurt, and oil, and mix well. Gradually add flour mixed with baking powder, and again, mix well. Now you have the base; nice, medium thick, kind of like muffin batter. Add the cherries, and fold them in gently, and as evenly as you can, don’t overdo it. Transfer to a baking dish, and gently even it out. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and it‘s nice and golden in color. Dust with powdered sugar.

Tip: I have never tried, but I am sure this cake can also be made in form of muffins, only I would think in that case, you would add cherries individually into each mold, but also coated in flour.

Here is another fruity goodness you might be interested in, from my dear foodie over at Palachinka blog.

Gingery, Garlicky, Potato Chicken Dish

2008-11-18T13:39:00.005-05:00

This was my favorite dinner served by my friend, who moved back to China, and I miss her, and her beautiful little girl so very much.
The dish has a very strong garlic, and ginger flavor that I just can’t get enough of. Certainly not something you want to make for a romantic evening, but definitely something you want to unleash your hunger on!
Thank you Jing for sharing the recipe with me! Hope to see you soon!

Gingery, Garlicky, Potato Chicken Dish

You’ll need:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 lb potatoes, cut into cubes
Ginger, about 1-2 oz, diced
7-8 garlic cloves, diced
Dash of sugar
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbs soy sauce
Black pepper
Oil

Heat some oil in the pan, when it gets hot, put chicken in, and stir a little bit, then add ginger and 2 garlic cloves. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce, stir for few minutes, and then add potatoes, the rest of garlic, another tablespoon of soy sauce, a dash of sugar, black pepper to taste, and then add about 4 oz of water. Stir, reduce to medium heat, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes.

Later add salt, and more water as necessary, and stir occasionally. Cook until potatoes are cooked. In the end you don’t want it to be like a stew, but rather for water to dehydrate, and potatoes very soft, and falling apart. Serve with rice. Yum!

This is my entry for the blog event, “ajme, koliko nas je” created by Monsoon, and hosted this month by Andrea.
Napravicu I link sa prevodom : )

Vanilla slice - Krempita

2008-11-16T17:04:00.005-05:00

Vanilla slice - Krempita

2 sheets of puff pastry
1,5 l / 6 1/3 cups milk
150 g / 5 ¼ oz corn starch
3 packets (9g each) vanilla sugar
8 egg yolks
200 g / 7 oz sugar
8 oz whipping cream + 1 stabilizer

Let the puff pastry sheets thaw, the roll them out on a lightly floured surface, and bake according to directions on a jelly roll pan. Let them cool, and then cut out the shape according to the size of the square pan you will use. I used 9 inch x 13 inch. Once you cut them to the shape of the pan, cut one sheet into squares (I made 12); that will be the top of the cake.

Cream: Mix egg yolks with sugar, until frothy. Add a cup of milk (out of the 6 1/3 cups), and corn starch, and mix well. Set the reminder of milk with vanilla sugar added, to boil, and when it comes to a boil, slowly mix in the yolk mixture, and stir constantly for a minute. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, and let cool completely. When cooled, add the whipped whipping cream, whipped with a stabilizer.

Now put the whole sheet on the bottom of the pan, and spread the filling over it. Arrange the cut out sheet on top. Refrigerate for few hours before serving. Dust with powdered sugar.
Instead of the top sheet of puff pastry, you can put whipped cream, and so on. Suit yourself, and enjoy : )

Ladybug Bread

2008-11-11T12:43:00.006-05:00

Bread

500g/1.1 lb flour
1 egg +1 egg yolk
¼ cup oil
7g/¼ oz, 1 packet, yeast
1 Tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
About 1 ½ cup milk and water mix, warm

Start the yeast in a small bowl with a tsp of sugar, and a little bit of warm milk. Mix all ingredients, adding milk/water mixture as needed, more or less than the recipe calls to get medium soft dough. If you like sweet bread, add more sugar.

Let it rise, until it doubles, then work it on a floured surface, and shape one small ball, one large ball to get a ladybug (or something else). Cut the large ball of dough through the middle to get the wings look. Decorate with poppy seeds or something else. As you do this, preheat oven to 395F, and then bake the bread for about 30 minutes or more if necessary. Enjoy watching your kids, or other kids in your life tear it apart! :)

Tip: Once it's baked, and after all the awes, you can shake of some of the poppy seeds, if you don't like that many. I think next time I'll make the ladybug spots with pieces of bread, and just stick them on with egg yolk wash. Might even look cuter...

Hazelnut Torte - Paganini

2008-11-10T10:48:00.007-05:00

Hello, my dear foodies! Thank you for all your kind words, and support in my time of absence. I am very busy, but will be dropping by more, hopefully! Today is my daughter's B-Day, and I wanted to share with you this wonderful cake I made for her. Happy Birthday baby!

Hazelnut Torte (Paganini)

First make the two fillings.
Chocolate filling:
5 egg yolks, and 1 whole egg
50 g/1.75 oz dark chocolate
150g/ 5.25 oz sugar
250g/ about 9 oz butter or margarine, unsalted

Mix egg yolks, egg, and sugar until nicely incorporated, and then cook, with chocolate, in a double boiler. Cool down completely, and then add butter, or margarine cut into thin slices, and mix until smooth. Let it sit in the fridge until needed.

Vanilla filling:
4 egg yolks
5 Tbs corn starch
1 vanilla sugar (9g/0.32 oz)
6 Tbs sugar
0.7 l/ 3 cups milk
0.5l/2 cups whipped cream, whipped + 1 stabilizer
(I use the whipped cream powder, 3 x (40g/1.41oz) with about 1 ½ cups milk)

Mix egg yolks, vanilla sugar, sugar, and corn starch with about half cup milk (taken from the 3 cups). Let the remainder of milk boil, and when it comes to boil, pour in the mixture, and stir constantly until nice and thick. Cool down completely, and then gradually add the whipped cream, whipped with stabilizer. Vanilla cream, when cooled may be very tough to mix, and blending the whipped cream in can be a bit challenging, so add the whipped cream, mix a little, then cool again, and mix some more until smooth. If you mix it in one round, you will find that it can heat up, and become runny! Thanks to Jenn, I am making these corrections.

For the base:
10 egg whites
280g/ about 10 oz sugar
280g/ about 10 oz roasted, finely ground hazelnuts
2 Tbsp baking cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 395 F. Mix egg whites until stiff, slowly adding sugar, then hazelnuts with cocoa powder. Bake in a large spring form pan (8"), or a square 9”x13” baking pan. Either use parchment paper, or grease the dish before baking. Baking time depends on your oven, check often. As usual, it is done when the toothpick comes out clean.

Cool down the cake, then poke it all over, and soak (but not to much) with milk. Put the cake on a stand of your choice, then put the spring form ring part back on (or around it, you know), and then put the fillings, that’s how you get perfect layers, and everything is kept in place, and evenly spread. When ready to serve, or giveaway (yeah, right), you just do the finishing touch. Fist top it with the chocolate filling, then vanilla, then decorate as you wish; whipped cream on the top works the best, but you can also sprinkle the top with coarse ground hazelnuts.

This cake is a true bite of heaven, prepare it to compliment a simple dinner! Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Coolinarika.

Summer Fruit Brûlée Tartlets

2008-09-08T19:32:00.004-04:00

Hello my dear foodies!!! I have missed you all, and thank you for visiting my blog!
I’m back! Tired, and busy, but kitchen is back in business, and I hope I can win you all back with these creamy, dreamy, delicious tartlets!

Ingredients for 4 tartlets:
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4cup caster sugar
A few drops of vanilla extract
¼ cups creamy milk
2 cups mixed summer fruits (or just one kind)
½ cup confectioners sugar

For the pastry (this is for 8 tartlets, so freeze half):
2 ¼ cups plain flour
Pinch of salt
¼ cup ground almonds
1 tbsp confectioners sugar
2/3cup chilled butter, diced
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp chilled water

First make the pastry by combining flour, almonds, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add butter, and rub it in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the yolk, and enough water to form the dough, I ended up adding 5 tbsp; depends, so add little by little. Knead the dough, cut in half. Freeze half, wrapped tightly in a plastic wrap for some other time. I love the way this pastry tastes --- yummy!

Cut the other half into four pieces, and line four tartlet tins, using your fingers to mold it in. Let the excess pastry hang over the edges. Chill for 30 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 400 F, or 200 C. Line the pastries with parchment paper, and baking beans. Bake for about 10 minutes, let them cool, and then trim the edges carefully, if necessary.

For the custard, beat the yolks with cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla essence in a bowl. Warm the milk in a small pan, and add it to the yolk mixture, mixing constantly. Then put it back into the cleaned pan, and heat until it thickens, stirring constantly, but don’t let it boil. Remove from heat, and press a circle parchment paper to prevent skin from forming on the top. Leave to cool.

Now assemble the tartlets. Sprinkle the fruits evenly into each case, and spoon over the custard. Chill tartlets for 2 hours. Preheat the broiler to the highest setting. Sift the confectioners sugar over the tops of the tartlets, and place them under the broiler until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Allow them to cool about 10 minutes, to harden before serving. Enjoy!

Source: “Best Ever Pastry Cookbook”, by Catherine Atkinson

My First Daring Bakers Challenge - Sherry Yard’s "Danish Braid"

2008-06-29T00:01:00.003-04:00

My first Daring Bakers challenge hosted this month by Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? , and I have enjoyed it so very much! I loved the braid, it is aromatic, and delicious. Can't wait for next challenge!

I have made two braids, one with pastry cream, one with plum jam. Here is the process to making Danish braid, and it is not half as hard as you think, and every bit enjoyable, especially when your whole house smells like heaven, and then you get to bite into it!!! :)

Right now I am somewhere on my way to Florida for some much deserved "me time"! Well, as much as the kids will alow it! :)

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Dough, and braid B4 oven...

Danish with pastry cream, then plum jam, and jam itself :)

Plum jam cooked by reduction:

Cook washed and pitted plums with sugar over medium to high heat until it starts boiling (your choice how much, I don't put much, they are sweet already). Later reduce to low, and cook until thick. Can as usual. Simple as that! :)

Pastry cream:

2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn startch
1 Tsp vanilla extract

Mix yolks with sugar, thenh add corn startch, vanilla extract, and mix until smooth and silky. Bring milk to boil, then add the yolk mixture, reduce heat to low, and cook for few minutes, stiring until it thickens. Cool completely before using!

Beef Stew - Goulash

2008-06-27T15:39:00.004-04:00

I only wish I could deliver to you the awesome aromas that are hugging my kitchen now, as well as the taste of this wonderful stew! Mhmmmm, mhmmmm! Yum!!!

Beef Stew - Goulash

1 ½ lb beef for stew, cut up into cubes
5-6 medium to large onions
1 bay leaf
Salt, ground black pepper, favorite seasoning
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp flour
Oil for sautéing
1 ½ to 2 lb potatoes

Put beef into cold water, until needed. Chop onions, and sauté them in a pot, in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Sauté them only until they are wilted, then add drained beef, and water to about an inch above the beef. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. As it losses water, keep adding boiling hot water to same height, just about an inch above the meat.

Peel potatoes, cut into quarters, and cook in a separate pan, then drain. In the meantime, finish the stew. Add bay leaf, salt, pepper, tomato paste, seasonings to taste. Let it come to a boil while you make the thickening agent.

In a frying pan heat some oil, just to cover the bottom, add 1 ½ Tbsp flour, and mix it well. Then add 1 Tbsp paprika seasoning, mix well, and transfer to stew. Mix well, remove from heat, let it set for a while, then add cooked potato quarters to it. Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin

2008-06-27T14:07:00.006-04:00

I have been meaning to make this for quite some time now, and now I know I will be making it again. You know I’m a sucker for simple, and a major sucker for apples! : )

Tarte Tatin
(adapted from Desserts, 500 delicious recipes)

8 oz/ one sheet puff pastry
10-12 large apples
Lemon juice
½ cup butter
½ cup caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Crème fraiche or whipped cream to serve

Thaw pastry according to directions, then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to the size of the pan in which you will be making the tarte (11 inch round). Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet (parchment paper is great), and chill until needed.

Peel, core and cut apples in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
In the pan which you will use for tarte, cook butter with sugar and cinnamon, until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for 6-8 minutes, or until the mixture starts resembling caramel.

Remove from heat, arange apples tightly in the pan(they will shrink), and return to medium heat to simmer the apples in the pan for 20-25 minutes or until they start to brown. In the meantime, preheat oven to 450 F. Remove apples from heat, and cool down slightly.

Place pastry on top of the apple filled pan, and tuck the edges of the pastry inside the edge of the pan. Pierce pastry in 2-3 places, then bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden. Cool for 15 minutes.

Cover the pan with a serving plate, and carefully invert the pan, and the plate together over a sink (in case some caramel drips), and then lift the pan. Serve warm as is, or with some cream. Enjoy!
More apple recipes available here:
Apple cake with whole apples
Apple bundt cake
Apple dumplings
Batter fried apple rings

Carob Cubes

2008-06-26T17:28:00.003-04:00

My dear foodies. I am sorry I have been absent for a while, but I have checked some of your blogs, and have tried to keep up with the latest developments in our foodie world!

I have had a lot on my plate lately, and I am now getting ready for a Florida vacation! Yeah!!! Finally!

I will stay for about 2 weeks, or so I hope, but I will have my laptop with me, so keep in touch, and I will too. I have rented a house, so kitchen will still be available to me, you never know, maybe I whip up something while having fun on Marco Island!

Thanks for visiting, and here is a cake made of ground carob, which I loved to snack on when I was little. It is great, next time I am thinking about making an entire torte out of it, with cream, and the whole nine yards… : )

Carob Cubes
(Recipe adapted from Franck d.d. ground carob package)

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup ground carob
5 Tbsp oil
5 Tbsp spiced rum
2 Tsp baking powder
Grated rind of one lemon

Preheat oven to 405 F. Mix egg yolks with sugar, adding sugar little by little. Add milk, flour mixed with baking powder, ground carob, oil, rum, and lemon rind. Mix well.
Mix egg whites until stiff, fold them in the mixture. Pour into regular rectangular cake pan (11x7x2), and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool down, cut into cubes, and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Yellow for Bri

2008-06-16T10:27:00.007-04:00

This is my entry for this month’s Click special event is - Click Yellow for Bri!
Briana Brownlow is about my age, and reading about her struggle with breast cancer so young, and learning that at a very young age of 15 she has lost her mother to the disease, has saddened me deeply. You are in my prayers Bri!

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.
Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.
She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.
The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.
CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri
Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.
The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.
The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.
There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.
Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.
This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.
You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

GET WELL SOON DEAR BRI. OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.
Pineapple (fruit) Torte

For the cake:
7 eggs
7 tbsp of sugar
5 tbsp of flour
10 tbsp ground walnuts
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 395 F. Mix egg whites with sugar until stiff. Add yolks, walnuts, flour with baking powder. Bake in a round spring form pan, for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool down, and then cut into two layers. Sprinkle cake layers (generously) with juice from the pineapple can. Spread about half the cream, then fruit, then cream again. Leave some cream for the outside of the cake. Optionally, spread whipped cream all around, and decorate as you wish.

Cream:
3 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 ¼ cups milk
6 tsp vanilla sugar
1 ½ sticks butter or margarine, unsalted
1 can of sliced pineapple or fresh pineapple slices, or some other fruit, can be just cut up fruit, anything works : )

To make the cream:
Mix eggs with sugar, add corn starch and flour, and add to boiling milk. Reduce heat, and mix well until thickens. Cool completely down, then mix in butter or margarine cut up into slices. Mix until nice and creamy.

Six word memoir

2008-06-08T20:02:00.003-04:00

I got tagged for this one some time ago by Farida from Farida’s Azerbaijani Cookbook, but couldn’t get to it, and then I forgot all about it. I should add forgetful, in the list below : )))
Now I got tagged again, by Chriesi of Almond Corner, and I thought I must find time to do it, so here it is ladies, me in six words:

Honest
Artistic
Perfectionist
Impulsive
Kind
Restless (Sagittarius:)

I am very just, and honest, and it is hard for me to live in the world today where there is not much justice…

I am restless; yes, I love being home, cooking, baking, all that, but when the nice weather is here, the highway is calling me, and I love to travel, and get away!

I'm a perfectionist, but not extreme kind. As much as I can be with 2 kids and a big baby husband! I do love organizing, and constantly changing stuff around the house, never pleased with one display/layout for a long time. Constantly changing!

Very impulsive, which is sometimes good, but most of the times makes me jump to conclusions…
OK, this was supposed to be a “6” word memoir!!!!! Sorry! Have a fun day!

Now, I am supposed to tag 6 fellow food bloggers, and the lucky 6 are:

Marija from Palachinka
Cathy from Noble Pig
Susan from Food Blogga
Antonio from Olive Juice
Familia Bencomo from Familia Bencomo
Kate from Aaplemint

If you have already been tagged, do excuse me, I cannot go through so many pages, and check, and if you have done it, maybe just provide a link, if you want to, no biggie, so you need not do it again, but we (me) still get to read... :)

Rainbow Trout - Potato Pancakes - Summer Feta Salad

2008-06-08T18:13:00.003-04:00

Quick, and easy summer Sunday dinner. For fish, sometimes I use regular flour, sometimes cornmeal; I guess in the moment it depends on which one is closer.

Rainbow trout

If I do cornmeal, I use:
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tsp paprika
1 Tsp black pepper

Cut, and salt the fish to taste. Coat in cornmeal mixture, and fry on medium heat for few minutes on each side, or until desired doneness. Transfer onto paper towel, and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Italian style potato pancakes
(adapted from Gemma’ homestyle Italian cooking, November 2002 issue)

3 medium/large potatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1egg, slightly beaten
Salt to taste
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
A handful of parsley, finely chopped up
½ cup canola oil for frying

Cook potatoes, and mash them, Add the egg, corn, and some salt, and mix well.
Add parsley to breadcrumbs (optional, but I like it). Now, spoon out some mixture into the crumbs, and coat well, take it with your hands, and fry few at a time, over medium heat.
Flatten them, as they fry, but let fry 2 minutes before turning, and turn very carefully, to retain the shape. Fry 2 minutes on other side, and as they are done, transfer onto baking sheet, into the oven (200F) to keep warm, until they are all done.

Summer Feta Salad

Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Onions
Cucumbers ( I didn’t have any, works fine without them)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Some salt, and black pepper
Oil, and vinegar

Cut up the veggies into small cubes, about equal amount of each, salt to taste. Sprinkle with black pepper, oil, and vinegar, all to taste. Top with crumbled feta cheese. No kissing after this, but Yum!!!!!!

Asparagus cheese bake

2008-06-02T16:02:00.007-04:00

One of the first things I baked, when I was about maybe 10 years old, was an oven baked French omelet from an old cookbook. It included flour, 1 tablespoon for each egg, and same amount of sugar. That was easy for starters, and I would make it for my brothers, and I can never forget how happy that made me! I have served it with our homemade jams.

Now, my husband likes asparagus with eggs ( and I grew up on asparagus), and I thought why not make savory bake with cheese too? Normally I just cook asparagus, and serve them as a salad/side sort of thing with hard-boiled eggs, or grilled, so it’s about time to give it a try with some other method.

So many recipes out there, but I thought of my easy omelet, and thought to make it like that, savory of course, and burden it with cheese.
Well, I have presented you with how great it looks, here is the recipe should you decide to give it a try, it is nothing special, and every bit yummy!: )

Asparagus cheese bake

½ lb asparagus approx. (1 bunch)
Butter to grease the baking dish
2 eggs
2 tbsp of flour
¼ Tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese ( or other kind)

Boil asparagus till just slightly tender, do not overcook. Drain. Preheat oven to 425 F.
Lightly grease the baking dish (small casserole kind) with butter.

Mix egg whites until stiff, then add yolks, and then flour, one by one tablespoon, some salt, and baking powder. Arrange asparagus any way you like in the baking dish, then pour the egg mixture in. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese melts. Enjoy! Simple, and yummy, just the way I like it!

Walnut chocolate torte

2008-05-31T17:26:00.011-04:00

There is no story with this one, it is simply delicious!!! Walnuts, chocolate buttercream, what else do you need? Just ask my neighbor. This one is for you my friend! :)

Walnut chocolate torte
(Adapted from coolinarika.com)

For the butter cream:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 oz of baking chocolate
2 sticks, plus 2tbs of unsalted butter, or margarine (250 g)
juice of one lemon

Mix eggs and sugar until creamy, and sugar has dissolved. Cook in a pot over another pot with boiling water in it, or double boiler. Mix constantly, and cook until it starts thickening; add chocolate, and mix well. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and let it cool down completely. Then add butter (or margarine), juice of one lemon, and mix to get silky, nice buttercream.

For the cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
250 g (3 cups ground walnuts)

Preheat oven to 390 F. In one bowl mix egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl mix egg yolks with sugar for few minutes, until creamy. Add ground walnuts, and bread crumbs. It will be quite dry, then fold in egg whites. Mix until all is blended nicely, but don’t over mix.
Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes.

Let it cool, and then cut into two and sprinkle with a little milk, just couple of tablespoons each.
Now fill the cake layers with buttercream inside, and spread all around the outside. Sprinkle generously with ground walnuts, and decorate if you wish. Enjoy!

Any time is...

2008-05-29T20:31:00.009-04:00

Call it an entrée, a side dish, a salad! Whatever! Just don’t touch my plate, make your own! : )
You can try new things, like the new things, change your taste, and preferences, but when it comes to food, one is for sure, you never let go of your childhood favorites. This was another one of mine…

I was a picky eater, NO, scratch that! I was a pain in a you know what!!! I was not only picky, but I barely ate. Well, you can’t blame me, I had too much work building a school for chicken, trying to raise few dozen bunnies, and saving, and bringing home any animal that needed to (or not) be helped.

Chicken Elementary School was closed soon after my mother realized that in order to keep the chicken in the classroom, the corn was being used up very fast… : )

…anyway, back to pasta. I simply love this dish, and even as picky as I was, I was sure to clean up my plate. The onions and paprika give this pasta/potato dish a really nice flavor, and beautiful color too.

There is a dish almost identical to this one called “Granadir marsh”, only the pasta part is sort of like gnocchi, and it is widely popular in the Balkans, so I guess what was done in part where I grew up, someone simplified it. In any case, flavorful, colorful, and my favorite!

Simple potato pasta dish

1 lb pasta (like mostaccioli, rigatoni, rotini, elbows, penne, you get the idea)
1 lb potatoes, peeled, cut up
2 medium onions
3-4 Tbs of oil, or enough to caramelize the onions
2 Tbsp of paprika seasoning
Salt to taste
Parsley to garnish

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, and set aside.

Boil potatoes, and mash them (just potatoes, no butter or anything).

Salt pasta and potatoes, and combine them now into one bowl.

Chop, and then caramelize the onions, add paprika, and then pasta/potato mixture.

Mix gently, but thoroughly. Best served immediately - garnish with parsley, and enjoy!

I usually serve it with chicken strips, but it works alone for me too. Feel free to add some other seasonings as well.

For end result, refer to top :)

Blogging with purpose :)

2008-05-28T18:54:00.006-04:00

I can’t believe I have lived a walking distance from this farm, and missed out on these great farm fresh eggs for almost 3 years! Well, now that I have discovered them, I am buying like there is no tomorrow.

Baking with fresh eggs is way better. I have recently gotten a “Baking, from my home to yours” book, by Dorie Greenspan, and just the following week, when I finally got Madeline molds from Marshalls, Madelines were all the buzz all over the foodie community. Well, I made them too, and my kids loved them! We are hooked! I just used orange peel instead of lemon, as I know that is usually my preference with citrus.

I must not forget!
It’s been a while now that I was awarded this awesome award by TM girl of Taste Memory! Blogging with purpose! I like to think that I am serving some purpose in this foodie world of ours, and being recognized inspires me to contribute more, and be part of this great community! Thank you TM Girl!!! I am honored!

Now I am baffled as to whom to pass it on, as really there are so many of you out there who blog with purpose, and love, and it’s hard to keep track who has already received which award.

So I will use a strategy that I believe HoneyB from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has used once; the award goes to all of my dear foodies on my list to the right. Those are the blogs/sites I frequently visit, and enjoy! Please pay them a visit, lots of taste to be discovered, great recipes, posts, and fun!

Citrus Love!

2008-05-09T16:10:00.022-04:00

This month Tartlette is hosting Sugar High Friday #43, which is a monthly event created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess.Tartlette chose citrus theme, which is sure to produce yummy posts!!!

Just like Tartelette has mentioned, citrus, after chocolate, is her favorite flavor---well, I am sure it is for many people. I find myself always squeezing that lemon/orange juice over my cakes, regardless the recipe. It adds magic!

I chose this roll because it is my favorite roll/cake when it comes to taste (thanks to orange juice), and I love that it is simple to make. The first delicacy I thought of when thought about participating for this event was this roll, because of the aroma that orange gives it, with chocolate butter cream, it’s a winner!

You can dress it up many different ways, use it for other cake creations, and so on. I make it often; my husband loves it, his mom used to make it a lot (what a way to score points with my hubby, ha? Hahaha!)

Orange Infused Chocolate Buttercream Roll

For the jelly roll:
(this recipe can also be found here)

6 eggs

6 Tbsp of AP flour

6 Tbsp of sugar

½ Tsp of baking powder

Chocolate butter cream:

(I use this one in many cakes, love it! Like Dobos Torte)

4 eggs

5 oz granulated sugar

3 ½ oz bakers chocolate

1 ½ stick (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter

Mix eggs and sugar until frothy, then cook in a double boiler , stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. Then add chocolate, and mix it in. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and let it cool down, later put it in the fridge. When completely add butter cut up into pieces, and mix well with a mixer, until you get a silky textured butter cream.

Unroll the roll, sprinkle generously with freshly squeezed juice of 2-3 oranges, or about 1 cup or orange juice. In the event you don’t have oranges, you can use orange flavored juice box. Roll it up, and decorate any way you like, and enjoy!

To contribute a little more, I have also made some fruit made out of almond meal/flour.
It is so easy, seriously. You feel like a kid while you are making them, and it’s so much fun!!!

Fast too, so if you want to ad flare to your creations quickly, here is your solution, and you can make all kinds of fruit. I have learned a technique from a lovely cook from Canada, goes by name Cipelica, and she post on a Croatian cooking website (Coolinarika).

Fruit

125 g (4.41 oz)almond flour/meal
125 sugar (4.41 oz)
50 ml (1.69 fl. oz.) water (Updated, not 100ml, it's 50ml)
½ Tsp of margarine

Food colors (yellow, red, green)

(this is how much I have used this time, you can increase accordingly, if you need more)

Boil water and sugar, then add almond flour, and mix well. Add margarine, and let it cool down. Divide into parts, and color each part any color you want by adding drops of food colors slowly.

Play with it, every time you will get better.
For citrus fruit, I have shaped it, and then poked the fruit with a toothpick to create more authentic look.
For more citrus cravings you might like Torta della Nonna!

For Beautiful Bones

2008-05-08T12:35:00.016-04:00

On my visit to Familia Bencomo blog the other day, I have found out about Susan from Food Blogga, and she’s got a great blog with awesome recipes, accompanied with mouthwatering photos, and great posts!

I read her post about osteoporosis, and I was amazed to find out that age has nothing to do with osteoporosis. Unfortunately Susan is one of those young women who struggle with osteoporosis.
She has decided to host a food blogging event to promote osteoporosis awareness, and since May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention M onth, it is perfect timing as well.

To find out more about Osteoporosis, the disease of fragile and more likely to break bones, and for great resources, just go to National Osteoporosis Foundation website.

For Susan’s Beautiful Bones: An Osteoporosis Food Event, I have decided to share a cup of coffee with all of you! I can’t imagine starting my day with out that morning cup of coffee, and why not drink one that helps take care of your bones?!: )

Nescafe Late

1 ½ Tbsp of Nescafe Classic Instant Coffee
4 Tbsp of cold milk
2 Tbsp of sugar (or as much as you like)
(that's how much of those ingredients I use;
you adjust it to your own taste, as I do like it strong)

Mix with a hand mixer until frothy, transfer to a coffee cup, then add
1 cup boiling milk, wait a few seconds, and then burden it with tons of whipped cream: ))))))
Sprinkle with chocolate shavings (optional--- yeah, right! *hahaha*), and enjoy!

Apple Pudding Cake

2008-05-07T21:10:00.021-04:00

This cake is rather simple. I know, I know, I always say that! But it is, really! You don’t even need a recipe, just use your favorite yellowcake/sponge cake recipe. Then you cook apples ( like 3 medium/large ) in 2 cups of water, and you thicken it all with corn starch, sugar, food color if you like, and maybe even some strawberry extract. Usually, I just buy one bag Dr. Oetker strawberry pudding powder, and it’s all in there, except sugar. I use 5 Tbsp. I’m just saying---it is easy!

My friends, and I have made this one a lot in refugee camp over a decade ago, and it brings back some good memories. Yes, good memories! : ) Memories of friendship, and fun, because it was our teenage years, and sharing one stove between 7 families was not stopping us from having our cake, and eating it too!!! Minus the whipped cream : )

Ok, if you want to try, this time I have used a recipe for the yellow cake from one of my cook books, and instead of just store bought pudding (starch), I have used starch and so on...

It is approved by my six year old to be yummy, and pretty too :)

For the Yellow Cake
(adapted from The Ultimate Book of Baking, Martha Day)

½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
Mix it until nice and fluffy, then add 2eggs,and mix well.
Fold in previously mixed:
1 cup flour
1Tsp baking powder
1/8 Tsp of salt
Grease the spring form pan, and spoon the batter in. Bake @350 F until just right : )

Apple Pudding:

Cook apples (3 medium/large, peeled, cored, and cut up into cubes) in a 1 ¾ cups water. Mix ¼ cup water with 3 Tbsp of starch, 5 Tbsp of sugar (or more if you like it really sweet, I like it just refreshing), couple of drops of red food color, and about 1/4 Tsp strawberry or raspberry extract. Mix it in boiling apples, after they have cooked for like 10 min.
With that done, sprinkle your cake with some milk, to make it more moist, pour the apple pudding over, and cool it down completely.
Serve with whipped cream please! :)

Walnut Roll

2008-05-06T14:42:00.014-04:00

Nice and cooled down ;)
Very popular all over Eastern Europe, and very popular in my house. We go nuts for nuts, and this roll is perfect for that!!!
I add another cup of nuts on top of the recipe, to make it more nutty! :)
Walnuts, cinnamon, and rum are a very happy gang together, and they create this crazy aroma that invites your neighbors over! Be cautious!

In this photo it is still hot, that's how much we love it:)

Walnut roll
adapted from http://www.strmec.250x.com/orehnjaca.htm, (in Serbo-Croatian)years ago, and it appears the link doesn't work anymore... just wanted to give credit ;)

For the dough:
1 kg ( 2.20 Pounds) flour
1 package dry (quick rise) yeast (7g)
6 dl (20.28 fl.oz milk
6 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ stick butter (12Tbsp)
1 Teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
3 yolks

Mix together as you would for any bread - start the yeast separately, and add all the ingredients to a bowl, and let it rise until it doubles in bulk. Transfer to a floured surface, knead, divide into two balls. Roll out each ball into a square about the size of the medium baking pan, to approx. ½ inch thickness. So, when you roll it up, it’s just about wide as the pan.

Walnut filling:
4 cups ground walnuts
4-5 Tbsp of sugar (the original recipe called for 1, but that’s not enough for me : )
¼ Tsp of cinnamon
200 ml (6.76fl.oz.) boiling milk
2-3 tbsp of spiced rum
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff (save the yolks for brushing)

Mix walnuts with sugar, cinnamon, and rum, and then pour the boiling milk over it, and mix together. Add the egg whites, and spread the filling over the rolled out dough. Repeat with other dough, and place the rolls side by side into a baking pan, or 2 loaf pans. Brush with egg yolks, and bake @ 305 F for about50minutes, then increase the heat to about 350for another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Farida's Tandoori Bread ~ I made it!

2008-05-04T18:50:00.010-04:00

Look what I made! YUMMY!!!

It's Farida's Tandoori Bread! This bread was on my mind everyday since I first saw it on Farida’s blog. I love bread(who doesn’t), and I am always trying out breads from all over the world, and I am so delighted to report, and I am not surprised, that his bread is awesome. It was literally gone like a snack in 10 minutes. I have followed the recipe faithfully, and it sure paid off, it looks awesome, and tastes like heaven. Certainly a must try!

Farida, thank you so much for sharing, my family loves this bread, and it will certainly be on my table often! My daughter literally walked around the house talking to herself ”mhmm, this bread is good”, ”this is delicious!”, and so on. When my husband and I sat down to eat, and we were slicing the bread away she looked at us like :”that’s enough”, and then she just claimed the last piece like a lion!!!

It is so simple to make, I must make double next time! Delicious bread!
Greetings to your daughter, and your whole family!

Nutella Rolls

2008-05-02T12:58:00.020-04:00

Believe it or not, it is very hard for me to prepare the food that would appeal to my 8 and 6 year old kids! No matter how much they love spending time with me in the kitchen, and they admire my creations, I can’t have them eat everything I make. I have quoted him already, but once again, my son once told me that I am better “than the chefs at the fancy restaurants”, and that was a huge compliment for me, even though he really just wanted me to give in into buying him something! :))))

The best time to trick them into homemade food is when they come from school, after a long “no fun” day! : ) I try my best to always have something special on the table, and these rolls are one of those things they cannot resist. Nutella is the key, but you can also fill them with your favorite jams, or even cream cheese. For cheese you exclude the 1/4 cup sugar, and increase salt a bit.

I like to keep their minds of BK of McDs by making something special for right after school that will hold them until dinner. They love to take these rolls to school, for a snack too. I try to limit their fast food to a once or twice a month occasion., that’s it!

Nutella Rolls:

½ cup milk
½ cup water
1 Tsp sugar + ¼ cup sugar
½ Tsp dry active yeast
½ cup oil
½ Tsp of salt
Enough flour to mix the dough (Approx. 3 cups)
There really is no measure, you just add until you have a nice bread sort of dough texture

Mix together water and milk, and warm it up a little. Pour into mixing bowl, add 1 Tsp of sugar, and yeast. Let sit for few minutes, then add the oil, ¼ cup sugar, salt, and start adding flour a little by little until you have bread like dough. Cover, and let it rise until doubled.

Now knead and transfer to a floured surface. I do this on my linen tablecloth that I have just for these things, so that I don’t cut or scratch my table when I cut the dough.

Divide the dough into 2 balls, and roll each of them into a diner plate sized circle : ) Now, that’s a funny way to put it! Cut into quarters, and then cut each quarter into 3 rolls to be : ) You get 12, of course! Repeat with the other ball of dough.

Put a little Nutella in each, and roll it up. Bruch each with egg yolk wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds or some other seeds (optional), and place a little bit(like ½ Tsp) of butter or margarine on top of each roll. Bake @ 380 F for about20-25 minutes, or until golden.

If this is not enough, just double everything! :)
For another great recipe for rolls, visit Marija’s blog!

Presnac & Cheese Pita

2008-04-29T18:23:00.016-04:00

This dish has a very special meaning to me, it brings back memories, and it is very, very old…Only few women I have ever known have made this, and I myself don’t know the true recipe, but have recreated it to the best of my ability.
I grew up in Dalmatia (yes, I’m a Dalmatian, but not one of the 101 or 102 : ) in a little village nested at the feet of mount Velebit, the largest mountain range in Croatia.

Growing up there, it was just a blast, and I am so proud of my memories, and my enchanted childhood. People were so hardworking, honest, and although seemingly poor, really and truly, they were very, very rich, because they were happy with what they had, and happy with simpler things life had to offer. A word and a firm handshake was still the best form of contract, homes were never locked, and crime was read about in newspapers from elsewhere…

Women were strong, hard working as well, blessed with new age technology, but still each house had their own smokehouse, and bread was still made old world style. One of the treasured dishes made was this “sort of cheese cornbread in fillo sort of dough”, we called it presnac. I can only remember few women ever made it, and one of them was my dad’s cousin, who sadly died last year, so I can’t get the right recipe, but I have recreated it to the best of my taste memory, and ability. It sure turned out delicious, and almost exactly how she used to make it. The only ingredient I didn’t have was good Kačkavalj cheese, which is aged semi-hard cheese, that wouldn’t lose it’s shape when baked in the dish. I know she used to layer slices of it in between fillo, and the cheese/cornmeal filling.

I can find it here in the USA, only it’s a 40 minute ride, one way. Marija, you probably have it sitting in the fridge right now : ) It’s very popular in Serbia, as well as all of the Balkans.

So, here is how I have made Presnac( and cheese pita or burek with cheese as well)

For fillo dough:
500 g AP flour(a bit more than a lb)
Salt to taste, small handful
Enough hot water(as much as you can handle hot)to make the dough, not to hard but not soft

For the filling:
1lbcottage cheese
1 lb cream cheese (I make my own, you can use Farmers cheese)
3 eggs
Salt, to taste
Mix all well, divide into two bowls, and add 6 Tbsp of cornmeal into one of them ---that’s for Presnac.
½ Tsp of baking powder to add later.

Make fillo dough, knead it well, transfer to a floured work surface, and divide into two balls. Now place the dough balls onto a clean kitchen towel, flatten them with your hands, put a Tbsp of oil on each and flatten them again to spread the oil all over the dough.
Now, mix ½ Tsp of baking powder into the cheese mixture with cornbread.
Take one dough like a pizza dough, and work the middle a bit, then place it on a clean table linen (I have one just for these dishes), and from the middle stretch it with your hands gently, and keep stretching away until it’s all done. If it starts ripping you stop.
Cut off the edges, and put about a third of cheese/cornmeal filling down the middle of fillo dough.

This is when you would be layering slices of hard cheese. Cover with one side of fillo, put another third of filling, cover again with other side of fillo.

Put some more filling, and then sort of make an envelope to close it all up and form it into a baking dish shape, and transfer to an oiled baking dish, and brush with egg yolk. Bake @ 405 F for about 25mintues, then you raise the temperature to about 450 F, and bake until golden brown.

Other fillo you use to make cheese pita, or burek with cheese. You stretch the dough, cut the edges off, sprinkle with oil, and cut into three (look at the 3rd picture, cut into 3), spread each third carefully with cheese filling and then just roll it up by lifting the table linen. Didn’t take pictures of that, I was all alone, really needed help : )

It’s simple, just lift the one edge of the table linen, and let the dough start rolling itself, you might need to start with hands if it’s stuck to the linen, then you just roll away. Once rolled up, you connect the edges towards the middle, like in the picture, and transfer to an oiled dish, repeat with other two thirds, and then sprinkle all with some more oil, very lightly. Bake @450Funtil golden brown. Fillo can be filled with many different fillings, like ground meat, potatoes, apples, and much more.

Cheese pita- burek with cheese

Easter Eggs

2008-04-25T12:12:00.017-04:00

Before we came up with food coloring, Easter eggs were traditionally colored by use of onion peel. There are other natural resources of color, but this is how my ancestors did it, and I continue to do it every year, at least half a dozen for my own enjoyment.
Kids, of course get to mess up my porch and color with food colors, and stick the stickers where you didn’t think they would : )
For me Easter is this Sunday (Orthodox), and I color the eggs on Good Friday, which is today. It’s very simple, all you need is some stockings (need I say new- c'mon they're cheap), cut up into pieces, fresh leaves which should be available by now, onion peel, and water.
The more onion peel you have the deeper red the color will be, but of course if you have a husband who threw away your onion peel (by mistake : ), which you have collected for months, than you will have to settle with the peel of maybe 10 onions, urgh!!!

First you position your leaf, then you secure it with a piece of stocking, tying it in the back, and you boil the eggs as usual, only with addition of onion peels. When done, and cooled down, reveal your art!

Here is the process in few pictures:

Choco Vanilla Cookies

2008-04-24T21:47:00.010-04:00

Craving chocolate!? I do --- every day. I also love vanilla, and these cookies comfirm that chocolate and vanilla are a match made in heaven.

I got this recipe from Coolinarika (in Croatian), and have done it a few times, and my kids love it. Tonight they were sad and missed their dad (he‘s on the road), so I made them these cookies for comfort.

Also, on Sunday I am having a ton of people coming over because it’s Easter for me, and I need to cook and bake for days to have enough for everyone.

I made peaches cookies again, and combined the cookies for my kids---choco vanilla, and peach halves to create cute little hats, which I got inspired to do by my friend from Canada. I just played around a bit, and I love the ideas that were coming to me. Well, need to buy some decorating material first...

This can be done with many different versions of cookies, and decorated even nicer, just check my friends’ little hats out.

Chocolate cookies with vanilla frosting - Išleri

For the cookies:
10 Tbsp of unsalted butter
200 g flour
70 g powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp of baking cocoa

Mix butter (room temperature) with egg yolk and sugar, then gradually add flour. Roll it out to about 1/3 of an inch, and cut with cookie cutters. Bake @ 355 F for 15 minutes, then lower it to 300 F for another 5 minutes. Let them cool, and then cover half of them with melted chocolate (I use 100 g baking chocolate with 3 Tbsp of oil). Spread the butter cream on the halves with no chocolate, and put chocolate coated ones on the top.

For the vanilla buttercream:
3 eggs
150 g sugar
1 vanilla sugar (2 Tsp)
7 Tbsp of unsalted butter

Mix eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar, then cook in a double boiler, mixing continuously until it thickens. Let it cool completely, and then add butter.
Cookies are best the next day, to let them sort of soak the moisture from the cream in.

Happy Mother's Day!

Banana roll cake

2008-04-21T21:00:00.006-04:00

This is my sons favorite, and one of my favorite cakes to eat and make! It’s delicious and pretty too, yet all it takes is decorative assembly of a simple jelly roll, vanilla butter cream, bananas and whipped cream on the top. The recipe is used in many places, so I cannot give credit to one particular person, or site, and it varies a bit. Some people put some eggs in the filling, I don’t, and so on.
It’s a crowd pleaser, so I made it this w/e for a christening I was attending! The ceremony was beautiful, and baby is sooooooooo cute! Congratulations to my cousin and his wife again!

I had a great time with family and friends, and I totally forgot to take pictures of the cake in it’s final state, or cut up. I did take pictures of the process, and luckily, just for now, I have these old pictures, a little bad in quality, and with different jelly, but nonetheless you can get the idea of how pretty it is, and what it looks like when it’s sliced.
First you need to make a jelly roll, and I always make it the same way, the way my late mother in law taught me.

Never fail jelly roll...

For the jelly roll:

6 eggs
6 Tbsp of AP flour
6 Tbsp of sugar
½ Tsp of baking powder

Mix the egg whites with sugar until stiff, then add the yolks, one by one, then flour mixed with baking power. Bake in a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper, @ 385 F until lightly golden. Transfer onto damp kitchen towel, along with the parchment paper, and roll it up. Let it cool down completely, unroll it, and as you do it peel off the parchment paper, spread your favorite jam or jelly on (not too much, you don’t want it oozing out), and then cut it up into slices.

Now, you make the vanilla butter cream. You’ll need:

1 liter milk
2 packages Dr.Oetker (or some other kind) vanilla pudding
7 Tbsp of finest flour
6 Tbsp of sugar
2 ½ stick of unsalted butter or margarine
Powdered sugar to taste
4-5 bananas

Alternative filling
Instead of vanilla pudding use 5 Tbsp of corn starch and some vanilla extract, and instead of 7, use 5 Tbsp of flour.

Mix all the dry ingredients with some milk (that you take from 1 liter), and put the rest of the milk to boil. Make sure you beat the mixture with the mixer to ensure there are no lumps. Add the mixture to boiling milk, stir for a minute, don’t let it burn, and then transfer to a bowl and cool down completely. When cool, add the butter cut into slices, and as much powdered sugar as you like, adding it little by little until sweet enough o taste. I don’t like it too sweet…

Now, to assemble the cake. Place some jelly roll slices on the bottom of the spring form pan (I did it directly on the plate this time) to create a cake layer. Then put jelly roll slices around the spring form pan, and as you do this you can start adding the cream, because the slices won’t stick to the form.

So, you need to fill half of the cream, then you place bananas in circle, cutting them appropriately to fit them and bending them a little if needed to make the nice circles. In the middle you can put a little piece of banana. Do this fairly quickly, you don’t want the bananas to turn brown, and then put the remainder of the cream on top of bananas. Top with whipped cream.

Once they are stuck in all that cream, they won’t brown, and will be fresh when you cut the cake the next day. I say the next day because this cake is the best next day, as bananas sort of release their flavor, and it smells so good, mhmmmmm, yummy! Enjoy!

Old photo of same cake with plum jam...

Here's what else we were doing these days --- loving some cup cakes :))))

Baron Trenk Cutlets

2008-04-08T17:19:00.007-04:00

May not be the real deal, but the concept is great, and so is the taste!

I love meals like this, and most of you already know that : )
Just look at my other food photos, right? It just has to have that artistic touch, must be interesting, and of course, taste great! I can’t get the right salami for this cutlet here, the recipe calls for Slavonian kulen, so I hope I am not offending the Croatian traditional dish by substituting it with country ham slices. I wish I didn’t have to. I have other meats in mind for next time. For those interested more in who this Baron was, you can get that info here. Interesting, he is considered to be the father of military music…

Baron Trenk Cutlets

For 4 cutlets you’ll need:

4 pork cutlets (beat them until thin)
1 hard boiled egg, cut into quarters
4 Tbsp of Ajvar (Red pepper spread, I make my own)
8 slices of Slavonian kulen, or something like that
Salt to taste
2-3 Garlic cloves
Some oil for frying
1 hot pepper (optional)
½ lb mushrooms
1 Tsp of Vegeta seasoning
2 Tbsp of sour cream
1 Tsp of corn starch
Some parsley
Some vine if you like at the end

On each cutlet spread a Tbsp of Ajvar, put 2 slices of Slavonian kulen (or what I did, I put the slice of country ham), and a quarter of egg. Roll it up, secure with a toothpick. Season with salt a bit, and fry, turning often to ensure they’re cooked evenly. Add diced hot pepper, and continue to fry adding some water occasionally, until done.

Take the cutlets out on a plate, and in the same pan stir in minced garlic, add Vegeta seasoning, mushrooms, and if necessary more water. Now put the cutlets back in the pan, and stir for a minute or so all together. You can now add some vine, if you like, and then combine it all with sour cream mixed with corn starch. Garnish with parsley - if you like. Serve with mashed potatoes (traditionally served with them), or rice. It is delicious! Enjoy!

Hamburger buns

2008-04-08T17:10:00.003-04:00

I was so right, "Welsh clay pot loaves" recipe does make a great dough to be used for hamburger/sandwich buns. To make them, follow the recipe for "Welsh clay pot loaves", and then at the end shape them into little buns, and bake on a baking sheet, instead of baking them in the pots.
Spring is (sort of) here, and with summer to follow, I can see lots of BBQ in the future! :)

Corn bread with cheese - Projara

2008-04-08T16:58:00.008-04:00

Projara is a corn bread with cheese in it (can also be with spinach), and it is widely consumed in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and the rest of the formerly Yugoslavia. Here in the United States I make it with feta, and cottage cheese. It is prepared with yogurt and oil, so you get a real nice, yummy, moist corn bread. As with many traditional recipes, ingredients vary from region to region, and so there are many recipes to choose from. I love it because it’s delicious, quick, and easy!

To try it out, you’ll need to mix (with the mixer) the following ingredients in the order given:

5 eggs
¾ of cup oil
¾ of cup plain yogurt
Pinch of salt (feta is salty, don’t over salt)
16 Tbsp of AP flour mixed with 1 Tsp of baking powder
16 Tbsp of corn meal

You’ll get a nice compact mixture, sort of like cake batter, quite thick.

Now, fold in the cheeses. Don’t mix, or you’ll compromise the texture of the cheeses:

1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese

Transfer to the greased and floured baking dish, or lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven @ 385 F until lightly golden. Enjoy!

The E Award!

2008-04-07T16:33:00.012-04:00

Last week, lovely HoneyB of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has awarded me with an E award. Thank you so much HoneyB, you have made me so happy, and proud. I love food, and love sharing my experience and results with all of you, and to get awarded for my work feels so great!
I am not sure of the rules to this award, and from what I understand reading HoneyB’s post, I am supposed to award 10 people. That is not hard with so many wonderful food blogs out there, but I’ll be adding them several at the time, as not to wait till I post 10 at once. (kind of busy lately ;)
So, for starters, I am delighted to pass on the award to the following yummy blogs, be sure to check them out, if you already haven’t.

Marija of Palachinka! I love reading her blog, and she doesn’t fail to surprise me, week after week. You are sure to find recipes of delicious ethnic food from Serbia, as well as intriguing dishes with equally intriguing ingredients from her participation in various food blogger events, all presented with beautiful photos. Great job Marija!

Kate of AAplemint! I am sure most of you have been there, and those of you who are about to click on the link BEWARE, you might just get a heart attack by looking at her delicious photography!!!
I love her blog! It combines food, travel, recipes, an a passion for it all. Great job Kate!

Paola of Diario di cucina! A while back I was mesmerized with her Torta della nonna, and I made it myself, and of course it now falls into my favorite cakes! Since then I am her faithful reader. It’s in Italian, but with Google translate you can get a great translation, just use the common sense with translation that is to literal. Great job Paola!

Chriesi of Almond Corner! Hard working food blogger, with delicious Hungarian food, as well as other cuisines, as she loves to try something new every day.
You will find something in every category, from entrées to desserts, and even for our precious pets! Great job Chriesi!

Tea of Live, Love, and Eat Desserts! Following her ‘living her sweetest dreams’ as a student of the Culinary Institute of America, I have found myself drooling over her beautiful work presented in mouthwatering photos. She has amazing posts; travel, food, recipes, her experience with Baking and Pastry arts school, her country (Croatia), interesting history of many delicacies we enjoy, and much, much more… Great job Tea!

Taste Memory Girl of Taste Memory! My faithful reader, and a wonderful blogger, just check out her blog, it's so heartfelt. I can't wait to see those interviews (she will be interviewing chefs, and blog about it). How creative! Great job Taste Memory Girl!

Tartelette of Tartelette! Probably known to most of you! Delicious recipes, and addictive food photography! Usually it takes me a while to start reading because I catch myself drooling over my monitor for quite while when looking at her food photography! Amazing! Great job Tartelette!

Joe of Culinary in The (Desert) Country! I was inspired to make their Three cheese polenta pie, and loved it, and I kept going back, and saving their recipes to my computer. I am so glad Joe has decided to start cooking, as he seems to have a taste very similar to mine, so it’s like having a personal tester! ; ) Great Job Joe!

More to come...

Polenta pie

2008-04-04T12:25:00.006-04:00

Delicious!

A while back I took note of this great polenta pie @ Culinary in the (desert) country, and I just had to try it.
I have tailored it to my taste a little bit, and made a smaller one ( just for 2 : ), and I love it!
(Great job Joe!!! Thanks for sharing! )
Can’t wait to try it with different cheeses, and spinach. So many different ingredients can be played with, in this polenta pie. There are no limits. I thought of adding eggs for the appearance, and eggs can be added like this to many dishes, as they go well with just about anything. Can’t wait to present this on my next diner party!

Here is how I made it (adapted from Culinary in the (desert) country )

Crust:
1 ½ cup water
1 Tbsp oil
½ cup corn meal
¼ Tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp parmesan

Preheat oven to 405 F, make polenta on stove top as usual, mix all ingredients in a pot, bring to boil while constantly mixing, reduce heat and keep mixing until it just about starts separating from the pot.

Transfer to a baking dish ( I have used small spring form pan, just love baking in them). Even it out and bake for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime make the filling by combining following ingredients in no particular order.

Filling:
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
¼ Tsp basil
¼ Tsp salt (or to taste)
Ground black pepper, to taste, I just sprinkled a bit
I have added chopped scallions, this is an option you can change.

Next time I am going to add spinach.

Reduce heat to 350 F, transfer filling into crust, even it out, if you like, embed 5 or so hard-boiled eggs in circle into the pie, sprinkle with some mozzarella, and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Broil for a minute to get a golden top! Enjoy!

Profiterole or Cream Puffs

2008-03-20T07:33:00.017-04:00

Profiterole, or cream puffs if you make them biger, are delectable French pastries made out of choux pastry and pastry cream(or some other filling).
Cut them, or fill them with a filling tool without cutting them, fill them any way you like, but you are always bound to have an ellegant dessert, and one much loved by kids! OK, kids all ages! Fine!!! :)))

I have been making these beauties since I was 14 years old. I started out with a recipe that called for oil, to then switch to margarine, and now to butter, so the choice is yours, you can substitute butter in the following recipe with margarine, or oil.

For the pastry:
½ cup water
½ cup milk
100 g butter (7 Tbsp) (if you chose oil, put 1/3 cup)
½ Tsp salt
1 Tsp of sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
½ Tsp of baking powder

For the pastry cream (updated):
1 liter milk
5 egg yolks
4 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 Tbsp corn starch
10 Tbsp of sugar
½ Tsp vanilla extract
1 stick of unsalted butter or margarine

Combine water, milk, butter, salt and sugar, and bring to a boil. Take it off heat, quickly add baking powder, and flour, return to heat, and mix it vigorously. Lower the heat, and mix for a minute, no more.

Transfer to a bowl, add 2 eggs, and mix until well blended then add, one by one, the other two eggs, and mix until you get nice, silky texture. Now it’s ready to use, so you can pipe it onto a baking sheet, making sure they are separated about 1 1/4 inch, and bake @ 400 F until golden.

To make the cream, take 150 ml of the liter of milk, and mix it well with egg yolks, sugar, flour, corn starch, and vanilla extract. Bring remainder of the milk (850 ml) to boil, and then add the cream mixture to it, stirring continuously for few minutes. When it is separating from the sauce pan, transfer to a bowl, and let it cool down mixing it occasionally. Mix in butter, fill the pastries, and serve them cooled, dusted with sugar or drizzled with chocolate.
Note: Most other recipes I have seen don’t call for baking powder, but I have been doing it this way for soooo long, and I hate to exclude it, because I always get great results : )

Easter basket

2008-03-18T21:38:00.019-04:00

Make your Easter basket and eat it too! I have seen this several times online, and in print. Particularly inspiring is the work of the lady that goes by the nickname Strufna, and she posts recipes and pictures on Podravka's website! She really is both, the artist, and a chef--- just love her creations!

This year a friend asked me to make her the Easter bread I always make, and I thought of making it special. I love baking so much, and I always try to make it look as good as it tastes! :)

Basically all you need is your favorite bread recipe, good will, and folk to eat it!!! :)
This is my first try, and I am making it again on Saturday (for the friend ---this one is for me, mhmmm, for breakfast). I am sure it will turn out even better, and then I'll post in detail about the process, and with better pictures of course, because I will do it in daylight :)
In the meantime, here are the pictures of how I did it tonight.
Happy Easter!

Torta della Nonna- A Slice of Tuscan Sun

2008-03-15T00:43:00.009-04:00

Torta della Nonna(grandmother's cake) truly is a slice of Tuscan sun!!! I was restless since I first saw a slice of it from Diario di Cucina on TasteSpotting. Then , days later @ fior dizucca also featured on TasteSpotting, and that was it; I knew the first chance I get, I will bite into it! :)))
I have googled it, and there are two versions out there, the one with ricotta cheese (mhmmm), and this one, with lemony, vanilla dream in a torta!
It is everything I have expected, and much more!!! Just enough lemon flavor, the right touch of vanilla, and crowned with pine nuts! Just delectable! I love it!

Both blogs, 'Diario di Cucina', and 'fior dizucca' have similar recipes, almost identical for the pastry, and for the cream I have followed the Diario di Cucina one. I might just post a recipe later, so that those of you who are interested in making it, wouldn't have to run back and forth from one blog to another.
I am just going to add a tablespoon or two of corn starch to make sure I get that really thick filling next time, because even though I have faithfully followed the recipe , I can't make a clean cut through the cream.

I love how easy, and fulfilling it is to make it, and how beautiful it looks; cheerful, and yellow; just perfect "show off" dessert!

UPDATE!
Here is how I made it, almost entirely from Diario di Cucina , but with a lot of help from fior dizucca, because I couldn’t translate properly, and there is an English version on ‘fior dizucca’, and that helped to fill in what Google Translate has missed.

For pastry:
300 g flour 00
1 / 2 baking powder (8 g)
120 g butter
170 g of sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
rind of a lemon

For the cream:
3 / 4 liter fresh whole milk
rind of ½ a lemon
200 g of sugar
8 egg yolks
50 g flour 00
1 packet vanilla sugar (14g)
(Other recipe called for vanilla pod)

I have made the cream first; I always do that. So, put the milk, along with lemon rind, and vanilla sugar (or vanilla pod) in a large sauce pan, and bring to boil. In the meantime mix egg yolks with sugar until it’s white, and frothy, then add flour to it (I really would add at least a Tablespoon of cornstarch just to be sure you get a really think cream; I guess not having 00 flour meant a lot).

Stir the egg mixture to boiling milk, reduce heat, and continue mixing for a little longer than 10 minutes, making sure you don’t get lumps. Now take it of the stovetop, and transfer to a different bowl, and let it cool down, mixing it occasionally, as you are doing cleanup, and making pastry. When the cream is cooled down, put it in the refrigerator; the pastry should be sitting next to it! : )

So, when you were done cooking your cream, you made pastry basically by following the shortcrust pastry routine. Sift together flour and baking powder, and then mix in softened butter, lemon rind, then egg and egg yolk, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Form into a ball, and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

After an hour, roll out about 2/3 of pastry into a pan; pour in the filling, and remainder of pastry you arrange around the edges on the top. I have done flowers; I love to decorate my cakes. Sprinkle with pine nuts and bake for about 40 minutes @ 180 C (356 F)!
When completely cooled down, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Raining apples...

2008-03-11T17:14:00.008-04:00

Tired of apples yet? : ) Not me! You must think it has been raining apples here in MI! Almost!!! They have been my main ingredient in the past few desserts. I really love apples, and making apple dishes. See, I am just plain lazy when it comes to eating an apple, or in a way, I just forget. But, I do remember to bake, cook, fry them, and what not!

I use them in any way possible, and here is another recipe for an easy apple cake. I have being carrying this recipe around for over 10 years, and I forgot exactly who gave it to me.

It is a wonderful, aromatic, decadent cake; not dry at all, easy to make, and sure to please even those “first borns” in your family (I am reading “The Birth Order Book”, by Dr.Kevin Leman, courtesy of my lovely neighbor).
I now make it in a form of a bundt, and I see there are many similar recipes for this cake here in the USA, so it should really be called:

Apple Bundt Cake

You’ll need:
6-7 medium apples
4 eggs
For next 3 ingredients use the metric side of your measuring cup:
200 ml of sugar
200 ml of oil
½ liter of flour
1 Tsp of cinnamon
1 Tsp of unsweetened baking cocoa
1 ½ package of baking powder (21 grams)

Ok, so let’s get things moving! : )
Wash, peel, and grate apples, and set aside. Now, let’s start making the cake. First, divide yolks from whites, and mix the yolks with a mixer on high speed, slowly adding the sugar, till it’s nice and smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites until very stiff, and then add it to the yolks.

Now, mix in oil, then flour (which you have premixed with baking powder), and mix well. Add apples, but squeeze most of the juices out of them in your hands. Drink the juice (hopefully your hands were clean : )! Cheers!

Add cinnamon and cocoa, and keep folding until all well blended. Transfer to a greased, and floured bundt pan, and bake @ 405 F for about 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. You’ll know; you’ve baked before! ; )
Now, enjoy a piece! :)

Welsh Clay Pot Loaves

2008-03-11T16:37:00.009-04:00

I have been baking “The no knead bread” for over a year now, and I make other breads that rank as high as that one, and now I have yet another one. Welsh clay pot loaves!
Recipe is from one of my baking books, “The ultimate book of baking”, nonetheless, and even though I had to make it with no herbs, and no garlic (boo-ho, I love garlic), the bread itself (never mind the pots) is awesome. I can’t play with herbs, and garlic when baking for my kids. After I put the dough in pots, I remembered I could have made one flavored “pour moi”! Oh, well, next time; soon for sure!

This dough would be perfect for many uses, especially hamburger or sub buns.
I loved the idea of clay pots too; as you may have noticed, I love combining art with cooking! I do some pencil drawing from time to time, and I love art of any kind, with favorite being renaissance era.

Anyway, back to cooking! : ) Here, I will share the full recipe, and you can adjust the herbs, and other optional ingredients.

Welsh Clay Pot Loaves

You'll need:
1 cup whole-wheat bread flour
3 cups unbleached white bread flour
1 ½ Tsp salt
1 package quick rise yeast (7g) or ½ ounce fresh yeast
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
4 Tbsp butter, melted
Beaten egg, for glazing
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 garlic clove, crushed
Fennel or other kinds of seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Let’s make that awesome bread! Sift both flours, and salt into a large bowl, and make a well in the center. Mix yeast with a little bit of milk until blended, and then stir in the rest, and pour it all into the well, and sprinkle with some flour from the sides. Cover and let it sit in warm place for 15 minutes, to get things going : )

Now add water, and butter. This is also when you would add the herbs, and garlic. Mix it well, and knead for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Transfer into lightly oiled bowl, and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, or until doubled (in my case it quadrupled : )

Now, turn it out on a lightly floured surface, divide into 2 parts, and shape it into 2 clean, lightly greased clay flower pots (now, I wasn’t happy with this, I am going to line it with parchment paper next time, had trouble taking it out). Clay pots should be about 5 ½-inches in diameter, 4 ½-inches high. See, I am sure I could have made another one of those with the amount of dough I had, you be the judge when you make it, but have en extra clay pot handy.

OK, well, now that the dough is in the pots, let it rest, covered with lightly greased plastic wrap for another 30 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 400 F. Then brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with some seeds, and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy the bread and awes you will get when you present it to your friends and family! ;)

Oh, and DON’T WATER IT!!!! :)

Baked Apple Dumplings

2008-03-10T09:33:00.006-04:00

I have added a new cookbook to my collection, and I love it! It is called Best-ever pastry cookbook by Catherine Atkinson, and you know what, it certainly is my best pastry cookbook so far.

I love making pastry, and this book covers every kind, from shortcrust, to puff pastry, to pate a pate, as well as many sweet and savoury fillings in over 135 great recipes. It is nicely detailed, and rich with illustrations in all of its 251 pages, I just love it!

I can’t believe I got this great find for just $5.99, plus tax. Mouthwatering pictures just make you want to hit the cooking stage and make some edible art.

As soon as I turned to page 150 I knew that would be the first recipe to try; baked apple dumplings, mhmmm! It is as delicious as it is presentable; yet so simple!
Never mind my pictures, couldn't wait till daylight to make this great dessert!

What you’ll need for 8 dumplings:
Remember to adjust ingredients if you need less; I only made 3 dumplings.
8 firm cooking apples
1 egg white
2/3 cup caster sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
½ Tsp vanilla extract
1 cup maple syrup
Shortcrust pastry ingredients:
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ Tsp salt
1 ½ cups (or 350 g) butter or white vegetable fat, diced
¾ - 1 cup chilled water

First make the pastry by sifting flour and salt into a large bowl and “rub in” the butter until it all looks like breadcrumbs; then ad ¾ cup water, and mix until the dough holds together. Mix in a bit more water if necessary. Make a ball and wrap it up in a plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 20 min.

About 5 minutes before you are ready to take the dough out of the fridge, set the oven to 425 F (220 C), and prepare apples. Peel, and core them.

Roll out the pastry thinly, and cut squares large enough to almost enclose the apple, brush with egg white and place apple in the middle. Combine sugar, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl, and spoon it into each apple. Make pastry rounds to cover the tops of apples.

Bring the sides of the squares up to enclose the apples, and make a snug fit by pleating the larger piece of pastry, if not holding, moisten the overlaps.

Use the trimmings to create stalks, and leaves to decorate the dumplings. When all set, place them in a greased baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes @ 425 F (220 C), and then another 20 minutes @ 350 F(180 C).

When done, transfer to a serving plate, and add maple syrup to juices in the baking dish, mix it, and pour over dumplings. Enjoy while still hot! Serve with ice-cream, and/or whipped cream!

This is the ultimate treat and comfort food on a cold winter evening, after we had another snowfall. Scrumptious, inside and out!!!

Apple cake, with whole apples

2008-03-04T14:14:00.009-05:00

I have inherited this cake recipe from my late mother in law. She used to make this one often, and it’s one of my husband’s favorites. I have shared it with some other blogs/sites, but never in English. Really, it’s an apple turnover cake, but spruced up into a dessert that never fails to impress.
It is not too sweet, just enough for my taste, and it is rather refreshing, and perfect for hot summer days, although it seems to be disappearing just fine out of my fridge right now, and we have SNOW---AGAIN!!!

You’ll need:
5-6 medium apples (6 if you want one in the middle)
To stuff the apples:
A handful of ground walnuts
Some raisins

For the sponge cake:
4 eggs
4 Tbsp of sugar
4 Tbsp of oil
4 Tbsp of flour
1 package baking powder (13 g)

For the frosting:
2 packages of strawberry or rasberry pudding (Dr.Oetker or some other kind)
(or 6 Tbsp of corn starch with some red food coloring,
and strawberry flavor, or some other fruity flavor)
650 ml of milk (about 2 and 2/3 of a cup)
6 Tbsp of sugar
150 g of unsalted butter or margarine

Pudding I use.
Process:
First, make the frosting, because that way it will be cold by the time the cake is nice and chilled and ready for frosting. So, bring about 550 ml milk to boil. Use 100 ml to dissolve the pudding, and sugar, and then add it to the boiling milk. Reduce heat, and whisk fast for about a minute or two. Put in the fridge, or freezer, and let it cool down completely; mix every so often. When completely cold add butter, or margarine, cut up into slices, and mix it on high for about 5 minutes or until well incorporated. Put back to fridge until ready to frost the cake.

When your pudding is cooling, you start with the apples. First, preheat oven @ 405 F. Peel, core, and place apples in the round spring form pan, and stuff with walnuts and raisins (raisins optional). It doesn’t matter if you get walnuts and raisins all over the bottom of the pan, even better, it will all get baked into the cake, yummy!

Bake @ 405 F for about 20 minutes. In the meantime make sponge cake mix by mixing eggs with sugar, then oil, and flour with baking powder. Mix well and spread evenly over the apples, and put them back in the over and bake for another 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.

Now that the cake is done, let it cool down completely, then flip it over on a platter, frost it with yummy frosting, and top with whipped cream. Decorate as you like; I have added some color to some of my whipped cream, just for more character! : )

I wish I could post the aroma of this cake here, for all to sense, as it is amazing. I love this cake!

Chicken - dressed up!

2008-03-03T15:13:00.005-05:00

Dress up your whole chicken into totally stylish (yummy) “feathers” by wrapping it up in bacon slices!

I have this one issue of a Macedonian magazine called “Hrana I Vino” (Food and Vine), although I think now they changed it to “Debeli ama Srekni” (Fat but Happy), and in that issue was this chicken named “model out of the oven”.
Ever since I bought that magazine, I have been making my kitchen a runway for these yummy super models! : )

All you need is a whole chicken, seasoning you like, bacon slices, and potatoes, and maybe other veggies that you like.
Take the skin off the chicken, season (I have used Emeril’s Chicken Rub this time, delicious), arrange bacon slices nicely over chicken breast, and wrap a slice around each leg. Place in a pan with half cup oil.
Bake for about half hour @ 425 F, and then add potatoes (and veggies if you like), and bake for another hour or until done.
I season my potatoes with paprika, try it, you’ll love it! Enjoy your dinner!

Batter Fried Apple Rings

2008-02-29T01:42:00.014-05:00

Well, I am proud to join the “make your own dulce de leche” club!!! All thanks to Rivka of “not derby pie” ! Scrumptious! I can’t believe it was sitting in front of my nose all these years…

Winter is still not letting go; the weatherman actually announced more snow tomorrow, 2-3 inches, to be exact; for crying out loud, he almost enjoyed making that announcement--- I could see it in his eyes, hahaha…
So, to comfort myself, and to enjoy some dulce de leche in style, I made some:

Batter Fried Apple rings

Apples
For batter:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt
1 Tsp baking powder
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Oil to fry
For dusting:
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon

Prepare apples; peel, core, and cut them up in into rings, sprinkle them with fresh squeezed lemon juice. Set aside for a moment.
Now, make batter by mixing eggs and sugar, then milk, and flour in which you premixed 1 Tsp of baking powder.

Dip apple rings into batter, and fry to nice golden brown color. Let them sit for a minute on a paper towel to drain the excess oil, and then serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and enjoy with dulce de leche! : )

Baked lima beans

2008-02-27T17:09:00.010-05:00

It is a mystery to me as to how we came about this wonderful meat shop, but my family, and friends have been loyal customers of Ilowski Sausage Co., for years now. They have the best smoked bacon, and ribs, ever! For those of you in Michigan, if you are close enough visit them; you will definitely be back for more.

Growing up in Croatia, my family smoked meats every year, and we had awesome sausages, prosciuttio, ribs, and much more. I love smoked meats! We just had a big order @ Ilowski’s this w/e, and would you look at that bacon!

It's only in order, with such nice bacon, to share with you, one of my favorite dishes, and another favorite in the former countries of Yugoslavia, baked beans, better known as “prebranac” topped with sliced smoked bacon, definitely not for those who are trying to lose weight : )

Macedonians call it “gravce na tavce”, and it is traditionally prepared in clay pots, but I didn’t have one. Guess it’s time to update my shopping list because I have few more dishes that are just ment to be prepared in clay pots. Yeah, shopping! I do need some retail therapy; this winter has been nothing short of depressing with another blizzard yesterday afternoon…brrrr…

Basically, there is no true recipe; it’s one of those meals you just put together with key ingredients. You can exclude the bacon, or instead of bacon you can top it with some nice sausages. The flavor is just amazing, the garlic and bay leaf really are the key, and of course smell of baked smoked bacon doesn’t hurt : )

Baked beans (Prebranac or Gravce na Tavce)

1 lb large lima beans
2-3 medium onions, cut up
Approx. ¼ cup oil (to sauté the onions and carrots)
1 large carrot, cut up
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp paprika seasoning
Ground black pepper
Salt
1 Tbsp of flour

Boil beans for about 10-15 min., and then drain completely, and add fresh boiling water, bay leaf, salt to taste, and then cook beans for 2 – 2 ½ hours over low heat. By then it will be cooked, and most water will evaporate, check occasionally to make sure you don’t completely dry them out. Drain, but save the water, don’t discard.

In a separate pan, sauté onions and carrots, and when nice and caramelized add paprika seasoning, garlic, black pepper, and a tablespoon of flour, and mix it all into cooked beans. Carefully combine, and put in a baking dish of your choice. Pour the water you saved, over the beans, top with bacon or sausages, and bake. I bake it for about 20 minutes @ 425 F.

This little piggy...

2008-02-26T17:47:00.011-05:00

The fantastic cook that inspired my piggy mission, goes by username “oblakica” (with recipe in Croatian), says the recipe originates from an old Dr.Oetker cookbook. Her recipe calls for two different kinds of dough, and a filling, and it must be wonderful with cheese, oregano and tomato sauce. I am bound to make that next time.

In the meantime, I have only adapted the silly piglet form for my kids, and just to see if it would work, so I made some dough in my bread machine, just French white, and rolled it to about 1/3 inch thickness, cut out circles with coffee cups for faces, small ones for nose with a bottle cap, and cut a bunch of those small ones into quarters for the ears. Yeah, I know, I desperately need more kitchen gadgets, like cookie cutters : )

I did all that separately; also made small slits in the nose, used peppercorns for the eyes, and put some rosemary for each nostril for more authentic look. Helps to be an artist : )

With all pieces ready, I just “glued it” with egg yolk wash. Bake in a preheated oven @ 405 F, for about 15 minutes or so.

I am so happy with the results, and the kids love them, of course! I make bread often, almost every day, so these piglets are certainly coming back to the table!

My kids ate all those little pigs in no time! I managed to get only one, just to try, and even though it’s just plain bread dough, they have something extra to it!!! I only used like a third of my dough, the rest I baked as a loaf, I wish I made more little pigs… : )

UPDATE !!!
Translation of the original recipe by Oblakica (the best I could)
(link to Croatian version on top of this post)

Makes about 20 piglets:
Dough:
400 g (13 1/2 oz) all purpose flour
1 package instant dry yeast
1 egg
2 dcl (7 oz) plain yogurt
1 dcl (3 1/2 oz) warm milk
a pinch of salt
Puffed or flaky dough:
150 g (5 1/2 oz)flour
100 g (3 1/2 oz)magarine (unsalted)
pinch of salt
Filling:
As much as you like: cheese(she used Gouda), tomato (pizza) sauce, oregano;
or something else you would like for filling
Wash:
Egg white to use as «adhesive»
Egg yolk and some milk to brush @ the end

First, make first dough by mixing all ingrediens, and let it rise in a warm place. In the meantime, make puff dough with second batch of ingredients, and then mix it into the risen dough (yes, mix'em together), and work it well on a floured surface. Roll the dough and with a round cookie cutter or something else cut out circles about 3 inches in diametar or desired size. Leave some dough for ears and noses :)

Make filling with cheese, tomato sauce (pizza sauce), and oregano. You can be creative and use different kinds of ingredients to make a filling of your own. You can also add ham, or salami, or vegetables.

Place half of circles onto baking sheet (aligned with parchment paper), brush edges with egg white wash. Put some filling in the middle, cover with other half of circles, and press the edges to assure nothing will come out while baking.

Remainder of the dough use to make smaller circles for nose, and for ears by cutting them into quarters. Use egg whites wash as «adhesive» for ears and nose. For nose make somewhat smaller circles. For eyes and nostrils use a toothpick to make little lines and then inside, put cumin, pepper or something similar.

Now that you have little piglets, let them rise again for a little while, and then brush them with a little bit of egg yolk wash mixed with a little bit of milk. Bake for about 20-25 min. @ about 385-405 F.

My note: you can use something else for the eyes if you are concerened about kids biting into peppercorns. Oblakica didn'tuse peppercorns, but other herbs. My kids just took the peppercorns out. Enjoy! I am sure for whomever you make them, they will be a hit!!! :)

Peaches - Breskvice

2008-02-08T23:47:00.006-05:00

Breskvice (peaches) are very traditional in all the countries of formerly Yugoslavia, and are a must on weddings, holidays and any special occasion. Of course I would, from time to time, come up with a special occasion just to make them : )
There are many recipes out there, and really you can’t go wrong with any of them, the method is pretty much the same, and you can jazz up the filling any way you like, you‘ll see. I go traditional way, with peach jam (my homemade, and you can use whichever jam you like), walnuts, and crumbs from the cookies, as well as more kid friendly, or shall I say Chocoholic friendly version with Nutella instead of jam, mhmm….
I have adapted this version of bisquits from Croatian Herald, and I use a filling from a recipe of unknown source. The "styling" process is my own making :)

This is an older photo...

So, ready to give it a try? I present to you, with great pleasure, the recipe:

BRESKVICE (Peaches)

For the cookies (about 16):
300 grams of flour
150 grams of butter or margarine
100 grams of fine sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp of sour cream
½ package of baking powder (7 grams)
Now, if the above quantity is not enough for you, double it!

For the filling:
Crumbs from carving the peach halves
As needed peach jam (or some other jam)
Ground walnuts (or some other nuts)
Filling option 2:
Instead of jam, use Nutella, the rest is same
some rum, if you like

Also needed:
200 ml of milk
4 Tbsp of sugar
Yellow and red food dye
Vanilla extract, or strawberry and mint,
or banana, whatever suits you
Sugar for dipping peaches

In no particular order, mix all the ingredients until smooth. It may seem at the very beginning like that is just not going to happen, but just keep mixing.
Now wash your hand, and then oil them, and start making little balls a bit smaller than a walnut. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake them in the preheated oven, 385 ° F, for about 15 minutes.

They will still be white, so don’t think they are not done, don’t burn them, take them out, cool them for a bit, just enough to handle them in your hands, and with a small knife, or some other tool, carve holes in each of the halves, very carefully. C’mon, it’s so worth it! : )

Leave the crumbs you are getting, and when you are done, “grind” them through your fingers to get finer crumbs, and now add as needed, or to taste, jam, and walnuts, to make filling thick enough to fill the halves, and when sticking two together, to be able to hold it. Remember you can substitute jam with Nutella, for filling option 2.

Now that you have little pale peaches, prepare two cereal bowls, or some other bowls, with 100 ml of milk in each, mix in 2 Tbsp of sugar in each, and couple of drops of yellow food dye in one, and couple of drops of red food dye in the other bowl, and mix a bit. Add flavoring (I use vanilla), but you can also flavor the red with strawberry, and yellow with mint, or flavor both milk mixtures with banana or some other flavor, or you know what, just play with it!!! Also prepare sugar for dipping in a plate or something of that kind.

Quickly dip each peach in yellow milk, and then in red milk, but not one peach half in one color, and one peach half in other, rather dip them in the manner in which each half will get dipped in both colors, for more natural looking peaches : ) Now, I pat them with paper towel for a second or two, to make sure they are not to wet for the next step, rolling them in the sugar. I learned this over time, and you will get better every time, and they will look better, and better, and you will play with flavors.

When you are done with coloring all the peaches, and rolling them in sugar, let them sort of rest overnight , and enjoy!

Peaches in progress!