Donnerstag, 10. Dezember 2015

Hazelnut Kisses

As Christmas is quickly coming closer, baking climbs up and up on the to-do-list. I personally get my baking done on one weekend, but that's more to get it done because I'm working full-time and normally am too tired to bake in the evening. My grandmother on the other hand told me she'd bake one type of cookies a day. She is 89 years old, but still wants to please all of her grandchildren, so baking Christmas cookies is a must for her.

The recipe I am introducing you to today is my dad's personal favourite and a very traditional German Christmas cookie recipe. My mum wouldn't bake these for a few years so I didn't have them on my list when I took over the Christmas baking, but my dad asked for them two years ago and ever since I've been making them. They're nice and easy and still full of flavor. It's definitely a nice change from the rolling and cutting. 

Here's the recipe:
200g (a little under 2 cups) ground hazelnuts
2 eggwhites
210g (1 cup) granulated white sugar
edible paper rounds / communion wafers (Backoblate)
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts, for decorating

1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Place the whole hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast them for 8 minutes.

2) Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold in the ground hazelnuts and sugar.

3) Put tablespoonfuls of the dough on the paper rounds so they form small domes. In Germany, you can get small rounds of edible paper that are especially for baking. Press one whole hazelnuts on top of each dome.

4) Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 15-20 minutes. They should still feel a little soft to touch when you take them out of the oven.

Yield: about 30 cookies
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes

Here's how they look:


I like the way these bring a bright and nutty flavor and I love how easy they are to make. I also love how the whole hazelnuts make these look a little like a crown. 

Have fun trying!!

Montag, 7. Dezember 2015

Love wreaths

Finally winter is here! The temperatures have started to drop a little bit and we've had our first snow in Switzerland. It came right on time for the first Advent which was perfect timing to get me into the Christmas cookie baking mood. I simply don't feel like baking for Christmas when it's almost autumnally warm outside. 

I've introduced you to a few of my favourite Christmas cookie recipes a while ago, but I've still got some up my sleeve. Today's recipe might be my sister's all-time favourite. It comes from a my grandmother who's been baking these for decades. I've never met anyone who didn't fall in love with the buttery crumbly melt-in-you-mouth cookies. 
These cookies demand some attention and are not the fastest, but it's worth the effort. And after a few wreaths, you will get the hang of it.  

Here's the recipe:

6 egg yolks (whites reserved, for brushing)
120g (1/2 cup + 1 leveled tablespoon) granulated sugar
250g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
450g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
decorating sugar, for sprinkling

1) Beat the egg yolks and granulated sugar for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

2) Cut the butter into small pieces, then add to the sugar and egg yolks along with the flour and vanilla sugar.

3) Let the dough sit over night.

4) Take 1/2 teaspoon of dough and roll it into a 1/2 cm thick string, about 10 cm (4 inches long). Repeat with another 1/2 teaspoon of dough. Take the two strings and carefully twist them, then make a wreath of them and slightly press the ends together. Place the wreaths on a baking tray lined with baking paper. The dough has to be rather cold, so if you're noticing that you can't roll the dough into strings as well anymore, put the dough back in the fridge for 30 minutes, then continue.

5) Brush the wreaths with egg white and sprinkle with the decorating sugar. Let them sit in a cold space for 15-20 minutes before baking.

6) Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Bake for 10-15 minutes, carefully watching them so they turn golden, but not brown.

Yield: 90-100 wreaths
Active preparation time: about 1 hour and 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 2 hours + overnight resting

Here's how they look:


These wreaths are wonderfully buttery and crumbly and they absolutely melt in your mouth. Every year I am debating over whether or not I should be baking them, because the dough makes a ton of wreaths and it is a lot of work, I'm not gonna lie. But I love how the wreaths can conjure a smile on every one of my family members' faces at any time.

Have fun trying and getting into the Christmas spirit!

Dienstag, 17. November 2015

Dark & Sumptuous Chocolate Cake

I am a little late for meat free monday but therefore today's recipe is a must. If you try this cake you would never guess it's vegan. It is dark, rich, chocolatey - everything you're dreaming of in a chocolate cake. And maybe the best thing? You can lick the bowl with no concerns whatever about catching salmonella from raw eggs or similar things. 

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's latest book "Simply Nigella", but she posted it to her website as well so all of you can take a look at it and bake it along with me. Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/dark-and-sumptuous-chocolate-cake


Here's the recipe: 

Icing:
60ml (1/4 cup) cold water
75g (5 tablespoons) coconut butter (not the same as oil, made from the flesh of a coconut)
50g (1/4 cup) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
150g (6 oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Cake:
225g (1 1/2 cups) plain all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
75g (3/4 cup) cocoa powder, unsweetened
300g (1 1/2 cups) dark brown sugar
375ml (1 1/2 cups) hot water
75g (90ml) coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
edible rose petals and chopped pistachios, to decorate

1) First things first: I had no time searching for a shop in Berne where I could buy coconut butter, so I made it myself. I am an avid user of my food processor and it is soon easy. Put 200g shredded coconut in a food processor and process for about 10 minutes until a paste forms. That's your coconut butter. You just do the same as with any other homemade nut butter.

2) Preheat the oven to 180°C (350° F).

3) Place all ingredient for the icing in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring continuously until the coconut butter has melted and everything is smooth. Turn the stove off, but let the saucepan sit on the hot hob. Add the chocolate in pieces, then - still stirring - let the chocolate melt form the heat until all the chocolate has melted and everything's combined. Set aside to cool.

4) Line the bottom of a springform tin (I used a 24cm round tin) with baking paper. Grease the sides with butter. 

5) Add the flour, bicarb, salt, cocoa and instant espresso powder to a bowl and mix with a fork.

6) Mix the hot water, sugar, coconut oil and vinegar and stir until the oil has melted. Then, stir into the dry ingredients and pour the dough into the prepared tin. Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

7) Let the cake cool in the tin. Meanwhile, beat the icing with an electric mixer until it's starting to become a little fluffy. This will help you when spreading it on the cake.

8) Ice the cake with the icing, then decorate with the rose petals and chopped pistachios, if you wish to.

Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 1 24cm round cake (12-16 slices)

Here's how mine looks:

I really love this recipe. It is fast and really easy. It's basically as simple as melt and mix for the dough and the icing is super easily made as well. I found that my icing was too hard as that I could've poured it over the cake, but whisking it with an electric mixer makes it soft enough so it is easy to spread. 
I didn't have any pistachios at home and the only rose petals I could have used were fresh ones from our garden which I didn't want to pick since the purpose of baking was to make my dad happy on a sunday afternoon not winning an award for best decorated cake.

This cake is wonderfully fudgy, moist and incredibly chocolatey. If you don't like chocolate a lot, you're probably not going to love this recipe as much but for every chocolate lover, this is going to be heaven.

Have fun trying and enjoy!

Montag, 9. November 2015

Pumpkin, saffron and orange soup

Meat Free Monday. Three words, yet they can make such a difference. I know I've told you this before and I certainly don't want to judge you for making a different choice, but let's face it: meat is certainly healthy, but not if consumed daily in a huge amount. We've become a world full of meat eaters and we tend to forget about vegetables and fruit, grains and beans. If you're trying to put something vegetarian on the table just once a week, you're not only going to help reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, but you're giving yourself the opportunity to discover new recipes and new ingredients.

I have made it a habit eating soup for dinner. It's easy, it's fast and there are endless combination possibilities. Do you want your soup sweeter? Try carrot or sweet potato? Something heartier? Maybe broccoli and rocket sounds good that day. I know Halloween has passed, but that's not an excuse for me to forget about pumpkin. It is one of my absolute favorite winter vegetables. Whether it's in a salad, in a stew, in a soup, baked and puréed. Again, the possibilities are infinite. 

I was browsing websites lately and ended up on Yotam Ottolenghi's site. Normally, his recipes seem to be too much work with the tons of spices, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the following recipe for a pumpkin, saffron and orange soup. It is fast, yet offers a variety of flavours and is wonderfully creamy and satisfying - without the cream. 
Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/soups/pumpkin-saffron-orange-soup-with-caramelised-pumpkin-seeds-shop

Here's my way:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion
550g pumpkin flesh
2 medium carrots
1 teaspoon saffron fronds
1 litre vegetable stock
2 teaspoons grated zest from 1 organic orange
(6 tablespoons crème fraîche)
salt and white pepper

Optional:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
60g pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon golden syrup or maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon soft brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 big pinch cayenne pepper

1) Prepare the seeds first. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an oven tray with baking paper and brush with sunflower oil. Put the pumpkin seeds and all the other ingredients in a bowl. Mix, then spread over the tray and bake for 12-15 minutes, until a nice, golden color. 

2) For the soup, cut the onion into cubes. Cut the pumpkin into 1-inch cubes. I used a Hokkaido pumpkin and used the skin, because it's the only pumpkin with edible skin. Peel the carrots, then cut them into medium slices. Grate the zest from the orange.

3) Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onion, season and sauté for a minute, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and slightly golden.

4) Add the pumpkin and carrot and roast for 2 minutes, turning the heat to medium. Then add the saffron and the water or stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the pumpkin and carrots are almost tender. Add the orange zest and simmer for five minutes longer. 

5) When the vegetables are cooked completely, purée the soup with a hand held blender. Add water or vegetable stock if the soup is too thick. Season to taste.

6) Serve with the roasted pumpkin seeds and crème fraîche. 

Serves: 6
Active preparation time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes

Here's how my soup looks:


I only had very few seeds, because I forgot buying pumpkin seeds, but they were delicious in the soup and added a little crunch. But they didn't last until I took the picture. I didn't use the crème fraîche, because the pumpkin lends the soup more than enough creaminess. 

I particularly loved the depth the saffron adds. Pumpkin and carrots are slightly sweet, and the saffron balances the sweetness with its distinct, earthy flavor. The orange zest lends this soup a hint of fruitiness. 

Have fun trying and have a great week!

Freitag, 6. November 2015

Nutella and Hazelnut Babka

I'm back with a little weekend baking project for you. I don't know about you but I love to carve some time out of the weekend to bake. It always brings me in a good mood - and usually everybody else who's getting to eat the finished project as well. 

I have a couple of die-hard Nutella fans at home. My boyfriend loves it, my sister's boyfriend as well and I myself have very fond memories of spooning Nutella directly out of the glass whenever nobody else was at home. I know I know healthy is different but sometimes I just needed that. 

I discovered the following recipe for a Halvah and Nutella Babka on the food52.com website a while ago while browsing through new recipes. I fell in love with it at first sight. The babka looked absolutely beautiful and seemed to have the perfect amount of chocolate. And it's practical! You can enjoy your bread and you don't even have to spread Nutella on it anymore, because it comes with it. I changed the recipe a little bit, by added roasted chopped hazelnuts instead of the halvah. Mostly, because I don't know where I'd have to start searching to get ahold of halvah in Switzerland. So I decided to take the safe step and add hazelnuts which are already in the Nutella.  

Here's the link to the recipe: http://food52.com/recipes/37134-halvah-and-nutella-babka



And here's the recipe:

600g (4 cups; 21 oz) all-purpose flour
110g (1/2 cup) superfine sugar (I only had granulated on hand, which is a fine substitute)
2 teaspoons instant yeast (about 1 sachet with 7g in it)
3 large eggs
125ml (1/2 cup) water, at room temperature or hand-hot
1 teaspoon salt
140g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, cubed

2/3 cup Nutella (I used probably double, but forgot to keep track with the measuring)
100g (3.5 oz) hazelnuts
80ml (1/3 cup) water
90g (6 tablespoons) granulated sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (395°F). Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

2) For the dough add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast to a stand mixer with a dough hook or use a hand-held mixer with dough hooks. 

3) Add the eggs and water and mix on low speed for a few seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes, until the dough comes together. Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, mixing until incorporated into the dough. 

4) Continue mixing for about 10 minutes on medium speed until the dough is completely smooth, elastic and shiny. Don't worry, the butter will smudge all over the bowl at first, but it slowly will ease into the dough. If the dough keeps sticking to the sides, add a little bit of flour until the dough comes off the sides of your bowl.

5) Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight. 

6) Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into two rectangles of 40 x 30 cm (15 x 11 inches). Trim the sides to make your rectangle even. Using a spatula, spread the rectangles evenly with the Nutella, until everything is thinly or thickly (depends on what you like) covered. Chop the your roasted hazelnuts and sprinkle them over the top.

7) Using both hands roll the dough into a long log. Brush a little water along the long side to seal. 

8) Transfer the dough to a cutting board or sheet pan and freeze the dough for 15 minutes to make the next step easier. 

9) Working with one roll at a time, use a serrated knife to trim 1/2 inch off both ends of the roll. Use the knife to gently saw the roll into half lengthwise. With the cut sides facing up, gently pinch one end of each half together, then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, so you end up twisting both half. Try keeping the cut sides facing up. When you get to the end, gently squeeze the tow halves together. Repeat with the remaining roll. Grease two loaf pans, lift the cakes into the prepared tins and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1,5 hours. The dough will rise slowly, because the dough is cool and it has butter in it and grease slows the yeast down. 

10) Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Remove the tea towels, place the cakes on the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. When the cakes are turning a little dark, cover them with a paper towel.

11) While the cakes are in the oven, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, brush them liberally with the syrup. Use all of it. 

12) Let the loaves cool for about 30 minutes before removing from the pans to cool completely. 

Yield: 2 loaves
Active preparation time: about 40 minutes
Total preparation time: at least 5 hours

Here's how my babkas look:


I love how beautiful these twists look. The butter in the dough lends these babkas an almost brioche-like taste and the Nutella perfectly complements this. Freezing the dough before sawing it is just genius! Had I been anywhere near Yossi Arefi - this recipe's author - I would have given her the biggest hug. It makes the job soooooo much easier! I promise everyone can do this. All you have to do roll the dough, spread some chocolatey goodness on it, roll it up, freeze and cut. It's that easy. 

This recipe takes time which is why I'm introducing you to it before the weekend. It's not your "It a weeknight and I am really craving brioche with Nutella" recipe. Give the dough the time it needs to develop its flavor and let it rise. Your patience will be rewarded. I promise!

I took one loaf to the office on Monday. It was gone in no time. 

Have fun trying and have a sunny weekend!

Montag, 2. November 2015

Mac'n'Cheese

It's monday and time for a new meat-free recipe coming your way. We've had rather chilly weather and I have been craving more comfort food. Anything rustic, hearty and cheese sounds good to me at the moment. I am in full fall mode, I guess. 
I have had mac'n'cheese while visiting the U.S. after high school graduation and have started to love it back then. I know the dish doesn't have the healthiest reputation, but this recipe from Jamie Oliver uses skim milk for the béchamel sauce base and not as much cheese as other recipes so the recipe clocks in at less calories than most of the sandwiches you're buying for lunch every day. I also like the addition of tomatoes. They add sweetness, a slight fruitiness and lighten the cheese base. 

The recipe is originally from Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's America" but has been published online as well. Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/a-killer-mac-n-cheese/#XIoU7V3gjtAHFZhI.97

Here's how I do it:
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
45g (1/3 stick) unsalted butter
3 heaped tablespoons all-purpose flour
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced (optional)
6 bay leaves 
1 litre (4 cups; 32 fl.oz) skimmed milk
600g (21 oz) dried macaroni
8 tomatoes
150g (5.3 oz) grated cheddar 
100g (3.5 oz; 1 1/4 cups) grated parmesan
leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
2 splashes worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 grating nutmeg (optional)
3 handfuls fresh breadcrumbs

1) Bring a large pan of water to the boil. 

2) Melt the butter in a large pan on low heat, then add the flour and turn the heat of to medium, stirring the whole time, until you get a paste. If you use the garlic, add it to the paste and cook until golden and the garlic is nice and sticky. Add the bay leaves and slowly whisk in the milk little at a time to ensure a smooth sauce. Bring the sauce to the boil, then leave it on low heat to simmer away and thicken for about 5 minutes. 

3) Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to packet directions. 

4) While your pasta is cooking, roughly chop the tomatoes and season them generously with salt and pepper. Grate the cheeses.

5) When your pasta is ready, drain it. Add the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted. Immediately mix the pasta with the sauce and add the tomatoes and thyme leaves. Season again with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg or Worcestershire sauce, until it has reached your liking. 

6) Pour the whole paste and sauce into a large oven-proof baking dish. Bake it for 30 minutes in the oven until golden, bubbling and crispy.

7) While the pasta is cooking, make the breadcrumbs. Put the breadcrumbs with a drizzle of olive oil and a few thyme leaves in a pan and roast until golden and crunchy all over. Serve with the macaroni.

Serves: 8
Active preparation time: 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour

Here's how mine turned out:


I love the warm cheesy sauce, the fruitiness from the tomatoes. A deep, creamy pasta dish hits the spot on any given fall day and helps end the day perfectly. 

The recipe worked really nicely. It is super easy and doesn't take hours to prepare. You'll do half of the work, the oven will do the rest of it for you. Is there anything else you need?

Have fun trying and keep cosy during the longer, darker fall nights!

Freitag, 30. Oktober 2015

Fig and Hazelnut Biscotti

And here goes the weekend baking. I love nothing more than a good baking project for the weekend, because usually it makes everybody happy. 
My god mother's birthday was last week and because it was a big one I wanted to surprise her by sending her a package. I have learned from my experience with boyfriends and best friends in military service that biscotti or cantuccini as they're called in Italy work great for sending, because they keep well for a long time and won't break easily. Perfect to send them on a long trip. 


This recipe is from Cynthia Barcomi's latest book "Cookies". She introduces four new recipes for cantuccini all of which are delicious and super easy. 

Here's the recipe: 
100g (3.5 oz) hazelnuts
270g (2 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon; 9.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
150g (5.3 oz) dried figs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, for the figs
100g (a little more than 3/4 stick; 3.5 oz) unsalted butter
40g (2 slightly heaping tablespoons) granulated sugar
40g (2 slightly heaping tablespoons) dark brown sugar
zest of 1 organic orange, grated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roast the hazelnuts for 6 minutes in the oven, then let them cool. Chop them roughly. 

2) Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sprinkle the figs with the extra tablespoon of flour, then chop them roughly. Mix with the nuts.

3) Grate the zest from the orange. In a kitchen machine or a hand held blender, whisk the butter and both sugars along with the orange zest for 6 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract and mix everything. 

4) Mix with the flour-mixture, then add the figs and nuts until everything is just coming together. The dough is a little sticky, but that is just right.

5) Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a loaf of 22cm (9 inches) length. 

6) Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden. Let cool slightly on the baking tray, then take a large serrated knife and cut the loafs into 1cm thick slices. Place cut-side up on the baking tray. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the biscotti with the cinnamon sugar.

7) Reduce the oven temperature to 170° (340°F). Bake the biscotti for 8 minutes, then take the tray out of the oven, turn the biscotti and sprinkle the other side with cinnamon sugar as well. Bake for another 8 minutes. 

8) Let the biscotti cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes. 
© Cynthia Barcomi "Cookies", p. 134.

Yield: about 24 pieces
Active preparation time: 25 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Here's how mine turned out:




I love how you can stack them in a glass and keep them on the countertop - they'll be gone like the wind. 

These cantuccini come with a wide range of flavors. There's zesty orange flavor, slightly tangy, the hazelnuts add warmth and earthiness, the figs crackle beautifully in your mouth when you take a bite and the cinnamon sugar sprinkle adds warmth and brings the different flavors together.

Don't be taken aback by the number of steps. The steps in itself are simple and easy and you will be rewarded with beautiful homemade biscotti in no time.

Have fun trying and have a great weekend!

Montag, 26. Oktober 2015

Oven-baked risotto with basil, lemon and parmesan

It's monday and this is the first meat-free monday post I've written in a while. Fall is in a full swing here in Switzerland and the sun has worked up the force to beat the fog, so I decided to make something easy and fast that didn't need a lot of work and soak up the nice weather as much as possible. I still wanted some comfort food though, which is why I turned to a risotto recipe from Donna Hay. Her oven-baked risottos are fool-proof and absolutely delicious. It's like magic - throw all ingredients into a oven-proof tin, give them a quick stir and let your oven cook the rice for 30 minutes until it's perfectly creamy and cooked. And you're free to do whatever you like in the meantime. 

This recipe is from Donna Hay's latest book "the new easy" which features a ton of new, fast recipes that need little prep, but nevertheless offer a ton of flavor. The recipe happens to be vegetarian and can be tweaked into being vegan, so it's a perfect meat-free alternative.

Here's the recipe:
30g (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 onion
2 tablespoon lemon thyme
2 cloves of garlic (optional, as always)
250g (8.8 oz; 1 1/4 cups) arborio rice (or any risotto rice you have on hand)
1l (32 fl.oz; 4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock 
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 medium organic lemon)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
80g (2.8 oz; 1 cup) grated parmesan (or a vegan cheese substitute)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls fresh basil (1 package of 20g)

1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (395°F). Dice the onion finely. Press the garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and thyme for 5 minutes until the onions has softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

2) Add the onion-garlic mixture to your oven-proof baking dish. Add the rice and stock, give it a stir and cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

3) If you didn't buy grated parmesan, grate the parmesan while the risotto is baking. Grate the lemon zest as well. Cut the basil leaves into thin strips.

4) When the risotto has cooked, stir through the parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest and basil and season with salt and pepper. 
© Donna Hay "the new easy", p. 133.

Yield: 4 portions 
Active preparation time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes

Here's how mine turned out:


I love how quick and easy you can assemble this risotto. I also adore the flavors. If you're looking for a risotto that's suitable for fall, try Donna's version with sweet potato and bacon. 
This risotto has just the right amount of freshness from the lemon while the basil and parmesan round the flavor and take you straight to a sun-filled day in Italy - in your mind at least. You can perfectly eat this on its own or serve it along some saltimbocca (if you're not on meat-free monday). 

Have fun trying and have a lovely, sunny, golden fall week!

Freitag, 23. Oktober 2015

My favorite pancakes

I know what you want to say. There's soo many pancake recipes out there, every family has its own favorite recipe or recipes they've been making for a long long time. I have had my own fair share of searching for the perfect recipe. I finally found my favorite recipe about two years ago, by accident. I had tried countless recipes by that time but had never been completely satisfied. Either the pancakes weren't fluffy enough or they wouldn't hold their shape well, but the dough would be so runny, you'd end up with a thin, large pancake and I like smaller pancakes that hold their shape well and end up fluffy and perfect.

The recipe is from Cynthia Barcomi's "Backbuch", her first book. I didn't buy the book for its pancake recipe - which I have done in the past, buying a book for a certain recipe. I have a slight cookbook addiction, I admit. But even though I discovered this recipe by accident, I have been making it ever since and never even tried a different pancake recipe. 

Here's the recipe:

180g (1 cup + 1 heaping tablespoon) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
30g (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
200ml (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) milk
30g (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
unsalted butter, for baking

1) Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. 

2) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk the milk and eggs in. 

3) Combine the wet with the dry ingredients and beat until the dough is smooth.

4) Preheat a large pan over medium-high heat and grease with a little butter. Add 1/8 cup of dough to the pan. Bake up to two pancakes at the same time. You know it's time to flip the pancakes when they are starting to form bubbles on the top. 

Yield: about 12 pancakes
Serves: 2 as a main breakfast, 4 as a "starter" breakfast
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 15 minutes

Here's how mine look:

I apologize for the quality of the picture.  It was such a grey day outside, I had to switch on a lamp to get enough light. 

I served the pancakes with maple syrup and a quick plum compote (that's 6 plums, cut into pieces, 125ml (1/2 cup water), 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, seeds from one vanilla pod and 1 cinnamon stick, brought to a boil and cooked for 6 minutes until the plums start breaking down). In summer, we usually go for a mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. But feel free to use whatever you love. You could easily sprinkle chocolate chips on the unbaked side before flipping for chocolate pancakes, for example. Let your creativity loose!

And here's the pancakes with a quick blueberry sauce (1 package frozen blueberries brought to a light boil and 1 tablespoon maple syrup added for a hint of sweetness).


Have fun trying and have a great start to the weekend spoiling your loved ones!

Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2015

Pita Bread

How was your weekend? Did you dig in to some baking? I did, if not cake for once, but bread. One of my boyfriend's most vivid memories is from a holiday he spent in Israel eating pita bread as a side for dinner almost every day. When he returned, he was raving about it so much, I decided to make it for him. Of course, I don't go out to buy some at the supermarket which you could obviously, but decided to try my hand at home-made pita bread. I was baffled by how easy it is and how amazing and satisfying the end result was. It is pretty fast as well. The best thing? You need 4 ingredients most of you will already have at home.

I got the recipe from Food52. They have a few recipes for pita bread on their site but I was drawn to the picture accompanying the recipe for a whole wheat pita. I used all all-purpose flour, because my boyfriend was skeptical as to how a whole wheat pita would taste, so I obeyed, but trust me, I won't stop until I've planted some whole wheat pita bread on him. 
Here's the link to the recipe: http://food52.com/recipes/20445-whole-wheat-pita-bread

And here's my adaptation:

1 tablespoon dry yeast (1 sachet of 7g)
375 ml (1.5 cups) warm water (lukewarm)
1 teaspoon salt
525g (3.5 cups) all-purpose flour

1) Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts bubbling up to see it's active. 

2) Add the salt and the flour. Knead with a kitchen machine or electric mixer until a forms. Continue kneading for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.

3) Turn the dough onto a lightly flour-dusted surface. Divide it into 8 equal portions. Roll into balls, then flatten them to 1 cm high disks. Place the breads on a baking tray lined with baking paper and set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes until slightly puffed.

4) Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden.

Yield: 8 pitas
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Now get creative! What we like to do is slice a little piece off the pita and cut a pouch on the inside. Then fill with whatever you like. I've hosted a pita evening where we served the pitas along small falafel balls, pan-fried chicken breast and pan-fried ground beef. For vegetables we served tomatoes, salad and corn. And as a sauce classic cocktail sauce along with sour cream that we tweaked with a little paprika powder, salt and pepper. This makes a great main course, but feel free to use the pitas on their own as a side dish for your next barbecue.


Here's how it looks:


I am sorry the lighting it a little bad. I was at my boyfriend's home but still wanted to take pictures of this to introduce you to. The first time we made these everything was gone so fast I didn't succeed taking a picture. But let me assure you, this is absolutely delicious and the pitas look beautiful all round and puffed. 

Have fun trying!

Freitag, 16. Oktober 2015

Pumpkin Maple Pies

I'll get back to what I promised last saturday. My sister's second birthday cake. Or cakes rather. I've been itching to try my hand with this recipe for a long time, but it is a little work (pie dough, filling) and I simply couldn't find the time or just wanted to relax on the weekends. But my indecisiveness with regard to what my sister could or would want for her birthday cake made it impossible to decide on one cake, so I ended up baking two. 

I know I've been introducing you to a ton of Donna Hay recipes and this is no exception. I will try to get back to other recipes as well, but this was too appealing to let it wait in the drawer for another year. 

Here's the link to the recipe: https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/recipe-entertaining/pumpkin-and-maple-pies-with-walnut-sugar

Here's how I worked:

1kg butternut pumpkin
250ml (1 cup) maple syrup
4 eggs
250ml (1 cup) single cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
450g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
250g (2 sticks) unsalted butter
160g (1 cup) icing sugar
6 egg yolks, whites reserved
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons iced water
55g (1/2 cup) walnuts
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1) Start by deseeding and peeling the pumpkin. I find this works easiest by cutting the pumpkin quarters in thin slices and using a peeler to remove the skin. Cut the pumpkin into one-inch (2.5cm) cubes.

2) Transfer the pumpkin pieces to a saucepan large enough to fit all pieces, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat until the pumpkin is soft. Drain and set aside.

3) Place the flour, butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor. Process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add the egg yolks and vanilla. Add the water, if the dough is too dry, until the dough just comes together. 

4) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring together. At this point, you can either flatten the dough into a disk or roll it, line the pie tins with it and freeze after. I followed the second. Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Cut rounds from the pastry (I have smaller pie tins, so I used 12cm rounds) and line your pie tins, after you've lightly greased them. 

5) Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to two hours. 

6) Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). If you have baking weights, linke the pastry cases with non-stick baking paper, fill with the weights and blind bake for 10 minutes or until light golden. If not, don't worry. The pastry will puff a little more while baking, but don't bother buying weights. 

7) While the pastry cases are baking, prepare the pumpkin filling. Purée the pumpkin along with the cream, maple syrup, eggs and nutmeg until smooth. 

8) Brush the inside of the pastry shells with egg white. Place the pie tins on a baking tray, fill with the pumpkin mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until just set.

9) While the pies are baking, make the walnut sugar. Place the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. 

10) Top the pies with the walnut sugar to serve

Yield: 8 according to Donna; I ended up with 15.
Active preparation time: about 45 minutes 
Total preparation time: 2 hours

Here's how mine look(ed):




I really love the fall colors of this beautiful dessert or pastry. 
The recipe is easy enough to follow, although I always tweak recipes for pastry dough, because I find it extremely hard to work with if you're cooling it first. Once you take it out of the fridge, you have to wait again for it to soften, but not let it get too soft or it'll crumble and you can't work with it. I find the dough turns out just as good if you're rolling and placing it in the baking tin before cooling. 

These pumpkin pies combine the distinct taste of pumpkin with the soft sweetness from the maple syrup. I love that these don't turn out overly sweet. They are sweet, but not with a sticky sweetness. The walnut sugar also adds a nice, slightly crunchy touch. 

These will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. 

Have fun trying and have a lovely weekend!

Dienstag, 13. Oktober 2015

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup

I'm a little late for meat free monday, but this recipe serves as your meat free any day recipe just as well.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed some baking or cooking - or both! I definitely enjoyed my piece(s) of cake. The apple pie I already told you about and - as I couldn't decide on one cake - I devoured pieces of something else. I promise I will tell you about that second cake soon enough. But today's post is about Donna Hay's new latest book "The new easy". I bought it a while ago, but only got around to try some of the recipes this week. The soup I would like to introduce you to today is a great fall or winter soup. It is creamy, rich, comforting, warming, using fall produce and healthy at the same time! 
As always, omit the garlic if you want to or use less. This soup is easily made vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the yoghurt. 

Here's the recipe:

1kg (35 oz) (1 large head) cauliflower 
1 400g (14 oz) can chickpeas
4 garlic cloves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of 1 medium organic lemon)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
sea salt 
black pepper
1 potato
1.5l (6 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sumach
natural yoghurt, to serve

1) Preheat your oven to 200°C (395°F). Cut the cauliflower into florets. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Grate the zest from the lemon. Peel the garlic cloves.

2) Place the cauliflower florets, chickpeas, lemon zest, thyme and garlic cloves on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Season with salt, pepper and cumin, drizzle with the oil and toss to combine. Place the tray in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

3) In the meantime, cut the potato into small cubes, place in a large saucepan with the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 8 minutes, until the potato is soft. 

4) Add 2/3 to all of the cauliflower mix and cook for 1-2 minutes. Blend with a handheld blender until smooth. 

5) Serve the soup in bowls, add the cauliflower-chickpea-mix and a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle with sumach. 

Yield: 2.5 litres soup (serves roughly 8)
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total prepration time: 50 minutes

Here's how mine looks:


I wanted a smooth soup for a change so I blended all of the cauliflower mix with the broth. I also ran out of potatoes, so I omitted them. And, of course, the garlic. My soup turned out rather thick, but feel free to add water until you reach your desired thickness.

What I love is the depth of flavor the roasting lends the cauliflower. This soup has a rich and earthy flavor that is balanced by a very light brightness from the lemon zest. It might not look so pretty because the color is less attention-catching than the bright red of a tomato. 
But this soup is the perfect warming treat on a grey and rainy, cold fall day. The chickpeas add protein to help keep you full and make the soup creamy without any added cream.

What I love is that the recipe works and is little work. A small trick like roasting the produce before blending it into soup adds a ton of flavor. 

Have fun trying and keep warm on these chilly fall days!

Samstag, 10. Oktober 2015

Cider Caramel Apple Pie

It's October 10th which is my sister's birthday, so Happy Birthday Amelie! I asked her if she wanted cake and her answer was yes, but not necessarily our traditional birthday cake which is a marble cake covered in chocolate. As autumn is in full swing I decided to go with the season. I have a go-to apple pie recipe, but I was itching to try a different recipe I had come across some time in summer browsing the Food52 website. 
It's one of my favorite sites for their beautiful pictures and creative recipes. I am always looking for new quinoa salads and new combinations for my lunches and this site has been a great help a dozen times.

Here's the link to the recipe: http://food52.com/recipes/31911-cider-caramel-apple-pie

The recipe asks you to use your own favorite crust recipe, so I decided to play it safe and take the crust from my go-to apple pie which is from Cynthia Barcomi's first book "Backbuch". 

Here's the full recipe for the pie:

For the dough:
420g (3 cups minus 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
240g (2 sticks) unsalted butter
90g palm butter
160ml (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) cold water

For the filling:
1l (1 quart, 4 cups) apple cider
80g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 large apples (the recipe called for Honeycrisp, I used Elster, Granny Smith would work)
175g (1 cup) brown sugar
50g (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
pinch of cinnamon

1 egg, to brush
brown sugar for sprinkling if desired

1) Start by placing the apple cider into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it reduce until it has reached a caramel-like consistency. This will take 1-2 hours, depending on the size of your pan. It took a little over an hour for me. Be patient - the cider will almost be gone before you can add the butter and vanilla.  

Cut the butter for the dough in small pieces. I didn't use palm butter, but substituted regular butter which works just fine. Place the butter in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

2) While the butter is freezing, mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Then add the butter  and mix with an electric mixer until the dough gets crumbly. 

3) Add 1/2 cup of the water and mix again until the dough comes together. If it's a little dry, add one tablespoon at a time, if necessary. 

4) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 3mm thick. Divide the dough in half. Half of the dough will be to cover the pie. Grease a 26cm (10 inch) pie dish or springform tin and place the dough in it. The return to the fridge for chilling, at least 30 minutes. I like to roll the dough before chilling because it's easier to work it at that point.

5) While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Cut the apples into quarts. You can either slice them now. I like cut the apples into 8 pieces and slice sidewise, not lengthwise, because I like smaller pieces in the pie. Measure the flour, sugar and cinnamon (I used half a teaspoon) and mix with the apples. 

6) When the cider has reduced, stir through the butter and vanilla extract. Add to the apples and mix thoroughly. 

7) Fill the apples into your crust. For the top crust, you can get creative. You can try a traditional lattice, you can simply roll the dough to a large round and top the whole pie with it as is shown in the recipe. I wanted to make this pie a little more special - hey, it's supposed to be a birthday cake! - and tried my hand at a braided lattice. Here's the link to the Food52-direction: http://food52.com/blog/13572-master-the-traditional-lattice-top-pie-then-try-7-fun-riffs. Brush the lattice or top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

8) Preheat the oven to 225°C (437°F). When placing the pie in the oven, reduce the temperature to 210°C (410°F) and bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 190°C (375°F), cover lightly with aluminium foil and bake for 50 more minutes. 

Yield: 12-16 slices
Active preparation time: about 45 minutes
Total preparation time: a little over 3 hours.

Here's how mine turned out:



I really like how this turned out. Braiding the dough is a little tricky, because the dough can't be too cold or it will be too hard to work with and if it's too warm, the braids will easily tear.

The cider brings a very distinct, slightly bitter note to the pie balancing the sweetness from the sugar. Not so much form the apples, as they're already tart. The dough is not sweet, which helps balance the whole pie as well. The apples are baking softly, but still keep a little bit of bite. 

I really love this pie and will most likely make it again a few more times in autumn in winter. It is a nice variation if you want something other than "regular" apple pie without adding a ton of work. And it is great fun to keep your eaters guessing the "secret" ingredient, cider. 

Have fun trying and have a great weekend!