tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76807921410736963052024-03-16T13:53:19.006-05:00Chocolate dustLjiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-66958586890725915032014-05-10T10:07:00.000-05:002014-06-14T13:36:10.487-05:00Lemon bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I really love lemon desserts. They are so fresh, summery, and full of flavor. When I need piece of summer, of sunshine, I make lemon desserts. I made these few weeks ago, before tulips and daffodils started to bloom, when there were no signs of spring. This year summer is long overdue in Chicago. Winter was brutally cold, long. On top of everything, everyone I know is sick. My dear workout buddy is not feeling well either, and she could not eat. She lost few pounds in a week, and I was joking with her that I now need to fatten her up :)</div>
We have many things in common, and sometimes we say that we were related in a previous life. Lemon desserts are one of the loves we share. So I made her lemon bars. She loves them, they will cheer her up, and with all lemon juice and vitamin C, we could consider them healthy ;) At least for a day :)<br />
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Crust:</div>
2 cups flour<br />
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1/2 cup powder sugar</div>
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2 sticks butter (226 gr.)</div>
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1 tablespoon vodka or water, but with vodka, dough will not develop gluten</div>
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Cut cold butter in small peaces. Combine it with flour and sugar, and process it in food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of vodka or water to it. Press it lightly onto the bottom of baking pan. Bake at 350/180C for 20 min. </div>
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For the filling:</div>
1 can condensed milk (396 gr.)<br />
4 eggs,<br />
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2/3 cups lemon juice</div>
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zest of one lemon</div>
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1 tablespoon flour</div>
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1 teaspoon of vanilla</div>
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Beat together condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and zest of one lemon. Sift tablespoon of flour and add it to the mixture. Pour over crust, and bake for 20-25 more minutes, until filling is set, and crust is golden brown. Cool in the pan and refrigerate for 2 hours. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powder sugar.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-70087594091410713752014-05-04T00:55:00.001-05:002014-05-04T00:55:41.715-05:00Tres leches cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Under this whipped cream cloud with strawberries is a Mexican and South Americas favorite, tres leches cake. Basically, this is a really nice butter cake, but the magic happens after you take it out of the oven. After cake is cooled, its soaked with three kinds of milk. Evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk. I added rum and vanilla to give it some kick. And this cake drinks it up like a sponge. That's why its so juicy, creamy, rich and flavorful. And it so easy to make. If you are used to complicated layered cakes, this is a breeze.<br />
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For the cake:<br />
180 gr butter<br />
100 gr sugar<br />
5 eggs<br />
200 gr flour<br />
12 gr. baking powder<br />
pinch of salt<br />
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C.<br />
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour that you sifted with baking powder and pinch of salt. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm pan lined with baking paper. Bake for 40 min. Take it out of the oven, and flip the pan on the cooling rack. When completely cooled, make holes using a skewer or toothpick.<br />
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Mix 250 ml of whole milk, 250 ml evaporated milk, 1 can of condensed milk (397 gr), one tablespoon of rum, and one teaspoon of vanilla. Pour the milk mixture over the cake and put it in the refrigerator overnight.<br />
Transfer it into the serving plate, decorate with whipped cream and strawberries.<br />
Serve cold.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-45968235209440664092014-04-25T09:58:00.001-05:002014-04-25T09:58:20.931-05:00French crullers<br />
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When I tried french crullers for the first time, they became my favorite doughnuts. For some reason, I thought it will be hard to make them, so I avoided them for years. I was also trying to avoid buying them, because I always worry about fried food and that black oil they use endlessly.<br />
So, recently, I saw the recipe that looked so much easier than I thought, and I decided to give them a try. They were great, and much faster than regular yeast doughnuts. There is no need to wait for the dough to rise. Just make pate a choux, and fry. They are lighter than air, with crannies to hold sweet glaze.<br />
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For the pate de choux:<br />
250 ml water<br />
85 gr butter<br />
150 gr. flour<br />
4 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
pinch of salt<br />
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Bring water, and butter to boil. Add flour, salt, and keep stirring until flour is completely incorporated. When thin film starts to coat the bottom of the pan, dough is ready. Let the dough cool down for a few minutes. Transfer it to food processor, and start adding eggs one by one. Dough should be glossy and smooth, and it should hold shape. Transfer it to the fridge, until you prepare the rest.<br />
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Cut out 12 8x8 cm squares of parchment paper. Grease squares on one side, and pipe the ring of dough with <a href="http://www.cheftools.com/images/02-0670-853.jpg" target="_blank">star tip</a>. Warm up the oil in heavy bottom pan. Place a cruller paper side up into the hot oil. Use tongs to peel the parchment of the cruller. Recommended temperature for oil in the recipe was 370F/ 187C. For me, that temperature did not work. My doughnuts popped like popcorn, and completely lost their shape. I lowered the temperature to 310-320F, and they came out beautiful. Try it with one cruller, see what works best for you. When cruller turns golden, flip it, and let it fry on the other side. Transfer them to paper towels or cooling rack.<br />
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While crullers cool, make the glaze.<br />
Mix 150 gr powder sugar, with 3 tablespoons of milk, tablespoon of honey, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.<br />
Dip the top of each cruller into the glaze, and let the drippings run of.<br />
Glaze will set very quickly, and crullers will be ready for you to enjoy.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-4853072294088408982014-03-19T23:25:00.000-05:002014-03-19T23:25:19.405-05:00Chocolate caramel banana mousse cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was one of my sons birthday cakes. He loves bananas, and he especially loves them in desserts. One of his favorite is Banoffee pie. And although I am not a big fan of bananas, I cant argue on this one. I eat it too, and I love it. Its so hard to resist the gooey caramel, bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.<br />
So, I decided to make him a cake that will have similar ingredients, but that will be more elegant and sophisticated. And I was so happy with the result. Its two layers of chocolate sponge cake with pecans, that I soaked with rum syrup, chocolate mousse, dulce de leche mousse, and banana slices.<br />
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For sponge cake:<br />
6 egg yolks<br />
125 gr sugar<br />
3 egg whites<br />
50 gr flour<br />
25 gr cocoa powder<br />
50 gr pecans + 50 gr sugar (grinned together in food processor until fine powder)<br />
50 gr hot melted butter<br />
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Combine the egg yolks with half of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.<br />
Using clean bowl whip the egg whites with other half of sugar until stiff peeks. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together over egg yolk mixture. Scoop about one third of the meringue on top and quickly and thoroughly mix it with a rubber spatula. Add remaining meringue and gently fold it into the batter. When almost completely incorporated, add pecan and sugar powder, and fold until completely mixed. Slowly pour the melted butter over the batter and fold it in. Bake in two 9 inch / 23 cm pans lined with parchment paper for 20-25 min until spongy.<br />
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Brushing syrup:<br />
6 tablespoons water<br />
1 tablespoon sugar<br />
3 tablespoons rum<br />
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6 bananas<br />
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Chocolate mousse:<br />
350 gr heavy cream<br />
1 tablespoon sugar<br />
100 gr chocolate<br />
3 egg yolks<br />
1 teaspoon gelatin<br />
2 tablespoons cold water<br />
First bloom gelatin in cold water. When its ready melt it in a microwave or in the hot water bath.<br />
To make the mousse, bring 100 ml of cream to a boil. Add chocolate and stir as it melts. Add melted gelatin.<br />
Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until frothy and fold into the chocolate mixture. Cool to 95F/35C.<br />
Whip the remaining cream until stiff and fold in the chocolate mixture.<br />
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Dulce de leche mousse:<br />
350 ml heavy cream<br />
1 egg<br />
150 gr dulce de leche<br />
1 teaspoon gelatin<br />
2 tablespoons water<br />
vanilla<br />
Bloom gelatin in water, and dissolve in microwave or in hot water bath.<br />
Heat 150 ml of cream with the lightly beaten egg for 10 min to 158F/70C. Mix constantly. Add dissolved gelatin, dulche de leche and mix until incorporated. Whip the remaining cream until stiff, and fold in the chocolate mixture.<br />
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To assemble the cake, brush chocolate sponge layer with brushing syrup. Put it in the spring form cake pan. Layer it with sliced bananas ( I needed 3 smaller bananas per layer, and mixed them with few drops of lemon juice to prevent them from discoloring ). Pour the chocolate mousse over bananas, and put it in the freezer until you make dulce de leche mousse.<br />
Soak second sponge layer with brushing syrup. Put it on the top of the chocolate mousse. Layer it with sliced bananas, and pour dulce de leche mousse on top. Put it in the fridge overnight to set.<br />
I decorated it with chocolate colar and with whipped chocolate cream.Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-56758716420481747482014-03-13T16:46:00.000-05:002014-03-14T09:27:26.394-05:00Nicoise salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I really love salads. And this one is not just a salad, its a filling meal. It originated in Provence, and it became very popular all over the world. When I make it, I make a lot, its a full bowl that can easily serve 6 people. I eat it guilt free, knowing that every bite of it is healthy. Its light, refreshing, delicious and filling meal. The best thing would be to make it in summer, when veggies are fresh and abundant, but I make it during winter also, when I find ripe and sweet tomatoes. If you are in hurry, caned tuna is perfect, but buy good quality Italian tuna. Fresh tuna will do also, and that is what I do most of the time. You will need measurements only for the first time, afterwards, you can make it the way you like it best. This one is the best adjusted to your own taste.<br />
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3 cans olive oil packed tuna drained (180 gr. each)</div>
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400 gr red potatoes</div>
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2 carrots </div>
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1 red bell pepper</div>
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1 small red onion</div>
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1/2 cup Nicoise olives</div>
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2 tablespoons capers</div>
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300 gr cherry tomatoes</div>
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450 gr green beans </div>
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3 hard boiled eggs</div>
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2 tablespoons basil</div>
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Cook potatoes until tender, but dont overcook, they will fall apart. Drain potatoes and let cool. Cut julienne and place in a large bowl. </div>
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Boil green beans for 5 min, until tender but slightly crisp. Drain the beans, then plunge them in ice water to stop cooking. Drain well and place in the bowl with potatoes.</div>
Boil carrots shortly, and cut julienne. Cut bell peeper, red onion, tomatoes and add all vegetables to the bowl with the beans and potatoes. Add chunks of tuna and make the dressing.<br />
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80 ml lemon juice<br />
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120 ml olive oil</div>
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salt and pper</div>
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2 teaspoons dijon mustard</div>
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2 cloves minced garlic </div>
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Whisk together all of the ingredients, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to combine, but be careful not to mash the potatoes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and garnish the salad with egg quarters and basil leaves. </div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-36665337247014043822014-03-08T09:37:00.000-06:002014-03-15T19:36:22.850-05:00Parmesan dinner rolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wish you could smell these while they were baking. They smelled like pizza, and I could not wait to get them out of the oven. I had a dinner to go with it, but we did not even get to it. We had so many of these, that my dinner went to the fridge. They are so soft and fluffy, you can eat them on their own. But, they are also great for sandwiches, and my son says they are perfect with prosciutto:)</div>
The good thing is, you can freeze them, and take them out of the freezer when you need them. Just warm them up for 10 min in 350/180C oven, and you will have fresh, warm dinner rolls whenever you need them.<br />
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For 12 rolls you will need:<br />
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320 gr flour<br />
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1 teaspoon dry yeast</div>
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1 teaspoon sugar</div>
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160 ml. warm milk</div>
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2 lightly beaten eggs</div>
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1 cup parmesan</div>
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70 gr butter</div>
1 teaspoon salt<br />
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Stir together warm milk, yeast, sugar, and 2-3 teaspoons of flour. Let it stand for 5 min until foamy.<br />
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Whisk together flour, parmesan, salt, yeast mixture, and eggs. Beat for about 3 min. Beat in the butter, 1 tablespoons at the time, until dough is elastic, about 2 min. Dough will be soft, but it should not be sticky. If its sticky add tablespoon by tablespoon of flour at the time. Cover with plastic, and let the dough rise until doubled. Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 12 pieces, and roll each into a ball. Arrange rolls 2 cm apart in a buttered round cake pan and cover kitchen towel. Let it rise until it fills pan.</div>
Brush with 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water.<br />
Bake in 375F/190C for 20-25 min.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-49119915990311359852014-03-05T10:31:00.001-06:002014-03-05T15:03:05.590-06:00Chocolate berry jello cake<div style="text-align: justify;">
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For my sons birthday party, we had few cakes, and this one was one of them. Kids loved it. It looks very festive and elegant, and it tastes great too. Chocolate base is creamy, like milder version of brownie, so its not overpowering, and top is made with cherry jello, fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.<br />
A burst of flavor in every bite.<br />
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For the cake:<br />
2 eggs<br />
150 gr flour<br />
50 gr cocoa<br />
3/4 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon baking soda<br />
175 gr brown sugar<br />
100 gr butter<br />
50 gr chocolate<br />
1 cup yogurt<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1 tablespoon rum<br />
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Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.<br />
Melt butter and chocolate, and cool for a few minutes.<br />
Mix eggs with sugar until thick. Add yogurt, melted butter with chocolate, vanilla and rum. Mix until incorporated. Add sifted dry ingredients. Whisk to combine. Line 24 cm baking pan with parchment paper, pour cake mixture and bake at 325F/165C for about 20 min. Test with toothpick, it should come out clean.<br />
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For fruit jelly:<br />
2 pack c<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Jello-Cherry-Box-Small.jpg" target="_blank">herry jello</a><br />
700 ml water (to dissolve jello)<br />
150 gr strawberries<br />
150 gr blueberries<br />
150 gr. raspberries<br />
To dissolve jello, follow the instructions on a package, but use 700 ml of water. Add fruit when jello cools down, and do not pour it on the cake until it starts to solidify. If jello is to thin, it will soak into the batter.<br />
Cool in the fridge for few hours. Pop the cake ring open, and carefully remove it from the cake.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-74445380212719333142014-02-28T00:05:00.000-06:002014-03-01T17:05:07.927-06:00Ferrero crepe cake <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every year for my sons birthday, I would make Nutella crepes for breakfast. Yesterday was his 18th birthday, and he is entering the world of adults. As every mom, I am very emotional, and I could tell you story after story about him as a baby, toddler, and a teenager. I could tell you that he was cutest and most precious baby. But every mom would say that. So, I will not talk much, I will take you straight to the recipe.</div>
This one was made just for him, with Ferrero like cream, and chocolate crepes. Its very rich and flavorful. Mascarpone cheese, Nutella, and roasted hazelnuts. Dig in :)<br />
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Chocolate crepes - Pierre Herme's recipe<br />
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190 gr. flour</div>
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7 tablespoons cocoa powder</div>
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3 tablespoons sugar</div>
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4 eggs room temperature</div>
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500 ml milk</div>
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6 tablespoons beer</div>
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4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter</div>
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Sift the flour and cocao powder together. Whisk in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk eggs and milk together just to blend. Whisk in the beer, and melted butter.</div>
Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients and whisk to blend well. You will have a very tin bather. You can also make it in a blender of food processor. Do not overmix. Refrigerate overnight.<br />
Rub a seasoned or nonstick 19cm pan and put it over medium-high heat. As soon as pan is hot, pour in about 3 tablespoons of batter, and swirl the pan so batter spreads across it in an even, thin-as-possible-ever layer.<br />
When the batter has set, run a knife or spatula around the edges, and flip it. Cook until other side is lightly browned.<br />
I made double doze of batter, so I had about 24 crepes.<br />
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For the filling:<br />
(recipe inspired by <a href="https://www.coolinarika.com/recept/a-la-ferrero/" target="_blank">Una's </a>Ferrero cake)</div>
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350 gr nutella</div>
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450 gr mascarpone cheese</div>
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150 gr. roasted peeled hazelnuts</div>
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1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur (optional)</div>
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First roast and peel your hazelnuts. Heat the oven to 350F/180C.<br />
Put your hazelnuts in one layer on the baking pan, and roast them for about 10 min, until they are blistery. Take them out, transfer them to the kitchen towel ( chose old or dark, because it will stain your kitchen towel). Close the towel up into a bundle, and rub energetically until their skin comes off in flakes. Processes them in food processor.<br />
Mix room temperature mascarpone cheese with nutella. You don't need mixer, just do it with spatula. Add processed hazelnuts and hazelnut liqueur (if you don't have it, plain old vanilla is fine)</div>
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Put one tablespoon of filling on each crepe, and spread evenly. Layer the cake until you use up all of the ingredients. Decorate with grated chocolate, and chocolate whipped cream.<br />
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For the chocolate cream you will need:<br />
250 ml heavy cream</div>
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50 gr chocolate</div>
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1 tablespoon sugar</div>
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Heat the cream and sugar until boil. Pour it over the chocolate, let it melt for a few minutes, and mix energetically, so the chocolate is completely blended into the cream.<br />
Chill the chocolate cream for few hours. Whip the cream with a whisk until it is almost firm. Be careful not to over-whip. Decorate the cake and sprinkle with chocolate curls.</div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-26158244648470984182014-02-23T13:38:00.002-06:002014-03-04T07:39:35.395-06:00Pierre Herme's croissants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><i>Za recept na srpskom, odite na dno stranice</i> :)</span></div>
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If someone tells you that you can make fast version of croissants, that you can mix from scratch and bake in an hour, do not waste your time. They will look like play-dough crescents. <br />
Croissants are a buttery perfection that require patience and time, but resting time in the fridge, not hard work. Active preparation time is not more than hour and a half. But, I was making mine for 5 days. And here's why.<br />
First day, I prepared the dough. I let it rise, punched it, and put it in the fridge. The next day, I prepared the butter, and laminated it for the first time. I put it in the fridge, and the next day, rolled it for the second time. It takes you 10 min to roll and fold it. Then back to the fridge. I let the dough rest in the fridge until Friday night, and Friday night I shaped them. Back to the fridge again. Saturday morning I let them rise, and baked them.<br />
You can make them in a day, but you really do not need to rush. The dough can't be rushed, it won't like it, and you are not going to like it ether. When you rest it between folding, it has time to relax its gluten, and it will be easier for you to roll. For me, making them is a big pleasure that its very rewarding. Is there anything better on a cold Sunday morning than fresh croissants out of the oven and cup of coffee or hot chocolate?<br />
I made them many, many times, using different recipes. But as you may know, I received Pierre Hermes cookbook for my birthday, and his croissant recipe was something I had to try. I adore good croissants, and his looked like pure perfection. So I decided to give them a try. I made a double dose. I always do that when I make danishes, puff pastry, or croissants. I bake half, and I freeze other half.<br />
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Croissants</div>
12 gr compressed fresh yeast<br />
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100 ml whole milk warmed to 68F/20C</div>
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500 gr flour</div>
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12 gr salt</div>
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75 gr fine sugar</div>
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35 gr very soft unsalted butter</div>
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15 gr dry whole milk powder</div>
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145 ml still mineral water warmed to 68F/20C (I used regular tap water)</div>
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325 gr cold unsalted butter (do not use margarine)</div>
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Glaze:</div>
1 egg yolk<br />
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2 whole eggs</div>
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pinch of fine salt</div>
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Prepare the croissants. Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Sift the flour, then incorporate the salt, sugar, butter, milk powder, two-thirds of water, and the yeast dissolved in milk. Knead the mixture briefly. Add more of the remaining water if the dough appears too firm (I used all of the water). Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and keep it at 72F/20C for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in volume. (It took me 3 hours for the dough to double at that temperature).<br />
Punch down the dough to its original volume and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. (I refrigerated it until the next day). Punch it down again, wrap in plastic, and place it in the freezer for 30 min. <br />
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Remove the dough from the freezer. Pound half the cold butter with a rolling pin to soften, then kneed the butter by hand to form rectangle. (I put my butter in the zip lock bag, rolled it until thin, cooled it in the fridge. Before placing it on the dough I just cut the bag to take it out).<br />
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Sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll out a long rectangle of the dough. It should be three times longer than it is wide. Mine was abotu 17cm wide, and 52-53cm long. Place the butter against the lower edge of the dough. With the palm of your hand, pull the butter over the dough until it covers two-thirds of it. ( I just placed two pieces of butter that I took out of my zip lock bag).<br />
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Wrap the remaining third of the dough over the two-thirds of it. Fold the lowest third of the buttered part over the other third. Place the dough in the freezer for 30 min, then refrigerate for 1 hour. ( Mine was in the fridge until the next day).<br />
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Roll out the dough into a long rectangle as before, and proceed in the same way with the other half of the butter. Place the dough in the freezer again for 30 min, than refrigerate for 1 hour. (I left mine in the fridge until the next day again, and I did 3 folds total).</div>
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Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle a work surface with all purpose flour and roll out the dough to a thickens of 3 mm. Using a sharp knife, cut out isosceles triangles 20 cm high and with a base measuring 12 cm. (My width was 12cm, but they were longer). Place each triangle on the work surface with the base toward you. Roll it up on itself, then curve the ends into a crescent, shape. ( I cut the middle of each triangle, and I left mine straight, french style).</div>
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As you finish shaping the croissants, place them on the lined baking sheets spacing them 5 cm apart. Set them aside at room temperature to proof for about 1 1/2 hours. ( I shaped mine Friday night, wrapped the pan really well, and put them in the fridge overnight. I took them out in the morning, and let them rise for 3 hours. They should be jiggly when you shake the pan, if they are ready. The temperature in the room should be around 25 C )<br />
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Preheat a convection oven to 400F/200C.<br />
Prepare the glaze. Whisk together the egg yolk, whole eggs, and salt in a bowl ( I just used 1/2 of the egg white, 1 egg yolk, and teaspoon of water, but i glazed them twice).<br />
Using a pastry brush, coat the croissants with the glaze. Place the croissants in the oven and <b>immediately </b>reduce the oven temperature to 350F/180C. Bake for 20 min. (I baked mine 25, but that really depends on your oven).<br />
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Remove from the oven and transfer the croissants to wire rack to cool. You will have perfect croissants.<br />
We enjoyed ours with jams, and Pierre Hermes hot chocolate.<br />
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Za testo vam je potrebno:<br />
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12 gr svezeg kvasca<br />
100 ml punomasnog mleka ugrejanog na 20C<br />
500 gr brasna<br />
12 gr soli<br />
75 gr secera<br />
35 gr omeksalog neslanog putera<br />
15 gr punomasnog mleka u prahu<br />
145 gr negazirane mineralne vode ugrejane na 20C (ili obicne)<br />
325 gr. neslanog putera (nikako margarina)<br />
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Za glazuru:<br />
1 zumance<br />
2 cela jaja<br />
prstohvat soli<br />
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Napisacu vam recept iz knjige, i u zagradi cu dodati promene koje sam ja radila. Vi pratite ono sto vama najvise odgovara.<br />
Ugrejte mleko na 20C i rastopite kvasac u njemu.<br />
Prosejte brasno, dodajte so, secer, mleko u prahu, vodu, rastopljeni kvasac i omeksali puter. Kratko mesite testo dok se ne sjedini (ne treba dugo mesiti). Dobicete tvrdje testo.<br />
Prebacite testo u posudu u kojoj ce narastati, pokrijte prozirnom folijom i ostavite na 20C dok se ne udvostruci. U knjizi kazu 1 - 1 1/2 sati, meni je uzelo duplo vise vremena.<br />
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Pritisnite testo rukama da ispusti vazduh i prebacite ga u frizider na sat vremena. (meni je odlezalo u frizideru do sutradan)<br />
Izvadite testo iz frizidera, ponovo ga pritisnite da ispusti vazduh i prebacite u zamrzivac na 30 minuta. Za to vreme pripremite puter. Puter treba istanjiti na sirinu trake na koju cete tanjiti testo. Testo treba da bude tri puta duze, nego sto je siroko. Ja sam puter stavila u 4 zip kesice i istanjila. Dve su bile za prvo preklapanje, dve za drugo.<br />
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Testo izvadite iz zamrzivaca, istanjite u dugacku traku (debljina testa bi trebala biti 3-4 mm, duzina mi je bila oko 52-53 cm, sirina 17-18cm). Po testu rasporedite ocvrsli puter (vidi sliku gore). Puterom trebate pokriti 2/3 testa, 1/3 ostaje nenamazana. Tu jednu nenamazanu trecinu preklopite preko namazanog dela. Znaci, ako je puter na levoj strani, nenamazan deo testa na desnoj, preklopite sa desna na levo. Nakon toga, preklopite sa leva na desno, tako da vam strana sa puterom dodje preko gornjeg dela testa koje je nenamazano. Uvijte testo u prozirnu foliju i stavite u zamrzivac na 30 min, pa nakon 60 min u frizider. (Moje testo je odmaralo do sutradan).<br />
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Testo opet istanjite u dugacku traku, i po njemu rasporedite drugi deo putera, na isti nacin kao prvi put i preklopite na isti nacin. Ovog puta testo ce biti glatkije. Opet ga uvijte u prozirnu foliju, i stavite u zamrzivac na 30 min, pa u frizider na sat vremena. (Moje testo je odmaralo do sutradan, i tanjila sam ga i preklapala jos jednom pre nego sto sam oblikovala krosane).<br />
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Izvadite testo iz frizidera, i opet istanjite dugu pravougaonu traku na 3 mm debljine. Ostrim nozem secite trouglove koji su 12 cm siroki i 20 cm visoki. Zasecite sredinu svakog trougla (vidi sliku gore). Uvijte kao kiflicu. Poredjajte na pleh, ostavljajuci dovoljno razmaka da mogu nesmetano da narastu, oko 2 sata. Premazite lagano glazurom.<br />
Rernu ugrejte na 200C. Cim stavite kroasane, smanjite tempreraturu na 180C.<br />
Pecite oko 20 min. Korasani trebaju biti res peceni.<br />
<b><br /><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Vazne napomene</span></b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">:</span><br />
* Kroasane<b> nikako</b> ne pravite sa margarinom. <br />
* Testo obavezno odmarajte da bi se opustio gluten i da bi se ujednacila temperatura testa i putera.<br />
* Prostorija u kojoj radite kroasane mora biti hladna. U toploj prostoriji ce se puter topiti, curiti i necete dobiti slojeve.<br />
* Puter i testo moraju biti iste temperautre. Mekano testo i hladan puter se ne mogu ravnomerno valjati, puter ce pucati i kroasani se nece dobro listati.<br />
* Premekan puter ce se upiti u testo, i kroasani ce biti masni i teski.<br />
* Ako kroasani narastaju na previsokoj temeraturi, puter ce iscuriti iz njih pre pecenja.<br />
* Kada zatresete pleh, kroasani trebaju da "zaigraju" kao zelatinozna smesa. To znaci da su dovoljno narasli i da su spremni za pecenja.<br />
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Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-39026376559414859292014-02-19T06:44:00.000-06:002014-02-19T06:44:13.610-06:00Bagels <br />
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For me, bagels are something that I would eat in a hurry, when there is not time to make anything else for breakfast. We like onion, cheese and sesame ones. And you could tell I went crazy with sesame here :)</div>
A nicely toasted and crunchy bagel is a good vehicle for cream cheese. With the cream cheese I could be creative, because you can literary put anything you like in there. Herbs, jalapeno peppers, vegetables, salmon...I would even put dips. Guacamole with cream cheese, egg salad with celery, and my latest favorite, radish salad with olives and cheese. You can check out the<a href="http://gagasrce.blogspot.com/2014/01/salata-od-rotkve.html" target="_blank"> recipe</a> for it in Serbian at my friends blog. So, if I could make all these good toppings, why couldn't I make good bagels also?<br />
I decided to try. It is much easier and less time consuming than I thought.<br />
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For the dough you will need:</div>
500 gr. flour<br />
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1 teaspoon yeast</div>
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1 tablespoon sugar</div>
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1 tablespoon salt</div>
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350 ml water</div>
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You can make your bagels in food processor, mixer, or by hand.<br />
Start the yeast by mixing warm water, sugar, yeast, and 2-3 tablespoons of flour. When it foams, mix it with dry ingredients, and kneed or mix until dough becomes satiny and elastic. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it double.<br />
Before you divide and shape your dough, prepare our water bath. You should have pot big enough to boil few bagels at the time (I did 5), and at least 4 inches (10cm) of water. Some recipes call for malt syrup that I could not find in grocery store, some are using sugar, I used 2 tablespoons of molasses. Let the water come to a boil, and preheat the oven to 400F/200C.<br />
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Divide the dough in 10 peaces. Ball each peace, than roll it into the rope. Wrap the dough around the back of your hand, overlapping the ends in your palm. Place your hand palm down on the work surface and roll dough back and forth until ends seal together. At this point, you can place your bagels in the fridge overnight which helps them develop better flavor, or you can boil and bake them in 10 min.</div>
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Gently lower each bagel into simmering poaching water with molasses. They should float to the surface within 15 seconds. Turn each bagel after 20 seconds, poach for another 20 seconds, and with slotted spoon transfer it back to the wire rack. Lightly oil parchment paper, brush each bagel with beaten egg mixture (I forgot, so my seeds were falling of), dip them into the bowl with sesame (or just sprinkle), and bake them for about 15-20 min until there are golden. They freeze very well if you wrap them while they are still warm.</div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-36255897671872901292014-02-12T18:15:00.000-06:002014-02-13T07:09:55.534-06:00Raspberry truffles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am in love with these truffles. Is double chocolate truffle with creamy, fresh tasting raspberry center, surrounded with chocolate. Over the years I have made many different kinds of chocolate candies, but these knocked me of my feet. To make them, I used fresh raspberries puree which pairs so well with the chocolate, framboise liqueur to enhance raspberry flavor, Lindt chocolate which is great on its own, and coconut oil. Everything tastes rich, smooth and luxurious. Its the perfect Valentines day dessert :)</div>
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To make them you will need:</div>
200 ml of raspberry puree<br />
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40 gr powder sugar</div>
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150 gr extra virgin coconut oil</div>
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200 gr dark chocolate</div>
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30 ml framboise liqueur </div>
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First make the raspberry puree. Wash and drain raspberries well, and mash the with the fork. Add sugar, and let them stand for a few minutes. Process the in a blender and strain trough a sieve to remove seeds. You should have 200ml of raspberry puree. Add liquer to it and set aside. </div>
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Melt the chocolate with coconut oil until mixture is smooth. Add raspberry pure and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours. Using melon baller scoop chocolate mixture onto the sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Shape truffles into balls by rolling them between the palms of your hands. They do tend to melt fast when they are in your hands. I chilled my hands few times during rolling under cold water. </div>
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You have few options for decorating truffles. If you dont have time, you can just roll them into the cocoa powder, powder sugar, or nuts. I glazed them with tempered chocolate, and decorated them with milk chocolate.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-13304411223354744412014-02-06T15:36:00.000-06:002014-04-01T14:55:31.069-05:00French apple cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lately, I really like simple cakes that you can make with few good ingredients. This is one of them. Creamy, refreshing, melt in your mouth cake. I read the recipe a few times, but I was afraid it may be gummy because the apples are watery. So, I decided to to try two options. One, with semolina, and the other one with regular flour. It was fantastic both times, but the texture was a little bit different, and the one you are going to like more, depends not on its quality, but on your taste.<br />
Taking pictures is hard lately, because its really cloudy and snowy in Chicago, so I don have the one with regular flour,<a href="http://www.lapetitetable.net/francuska-torta-od-jabuka/#comment-37" target="_blank"> <span style="color: red;">but in the original recipe you can see the texture</span></a>. Its a little bit creamier. So, when you decide to make it, chose the option that would work best for you.</div>
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680 gr granny smith apples<br />
1 tablespoon Calvados (I used rum)<br />
1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1/2 teaspsoon grated lemon peel</div>
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1 cup of flour (or semolina) +2 tablespoons flour</div>
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1 cup sugar +1 tablespoon</div>
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2 teaspoons baking powder</div>
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1/2 teaspoon salt</div>
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1 egg</div>
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2 egg yolks</div>
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1 cup oil</div>
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1 cup milk</div>
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1 teaspoon vanilla</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">Preheat oven to 350F.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;"> Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the base of the pan in aluminum foil.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">Slice the apples into 1/8-inch thick slices, then cut all of the slices in half so. Place apples into microwave-save dish or bowl and cover. Cook on high heat for 3 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool. Add calvados and lemon juice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, oil, milk and vanilla and lemon peel.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">Pour into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Transfer 1 cup of batter back into the medium bowl. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">Add apple slices to the cake batter in the large bowl and fold in. Pour into prepared cake pan.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; line-height: 22.5px;">Whisk remaining 2 tbsp flour and 2 egg yolks into the medium bowl with the batter that was set aside. Drizzle the batter evenly over the apple batter already in the pan. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">Bake cake for 70-75 minutes, on the bottom rack until cake is dark golden brown. Serve when completely cool.</span></span></div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-58720130471319031982014-02-02T14:14:00.000-06:002014-02-07T20:35:02.207-06:00Cranberry pate de fruit <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you ever tried pate de fruit?</div>
They are elegant, small, vibrant fruit jellies bursting with rich fruity flavors. They are tart and sweet, and feel like a fruit explosion in your mouth. I made them during my cranberry craze phase in November, and I forgot to post them. During my childhood, pate de fruit was something I loved even more than a chocolate. My love for them continues until today. So, I decided to make them. How hard could it be?<br />
Well, my first attempt <a href="http://www.sallypasleyvargas.com/2011/12/sweet-memories-cranberry-fruit-jellies.html" target="_blank">using this recipe</a> was not so successful. I followed the recipe to a tee, and it would not jell. So, i used it up for the cranberry coffee cake. The cooking time was a problem. So, while I was troubleshooting the recipe, I found <a href="http://userealbutter.com/2013/11/20/cranberry-pate-de-fruits-recipe/" target="_blank">another one</a>, and it worked<br />
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For this recipe, you will need:</div>
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1 small organic lemon<br />
340 gr cranberries<br />
75 ml water<br />
500 gr sugar<br />
170 gr Certo liquid pectin<br />
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Line an 8x8 inch square pan with sheet of parchment so that side and base of the pan are lined with it. Place the lemon slices, cranberries, and water in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Combine the cranberry puree with sugar. Cook stirring, until mixture reaches 235F/112C. Stir the pectin into the mixture and bring to a boil for a minute, stirring constantly. Pour the fruit into the pan, and cool to a room temperature.<br />
Turn the block out on a cutting surface and pat dry excess moisture. Cut the pate de fruit with cutters or knife. Set on a cooling rack and let dry for hour or longer. Roll in sugar before serving.<br />
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Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-17964185291812816622014-01-29T20:46:00.000-06:002014-05-27T13:35:00.361-05:00Blackened chipotle tilapia with black bean salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qIcH-kzxtes/UrDjy35sptI/AAAAAAAABLo/4T16yFf223A/s1600/Tilapia.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qIcH-kzxtes/UrDjy35sptI/AAAAAAAABLo/4T16yFf223A/s640/Tilapia.PNG" height="428" width="640" /></a><br />
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When it comes to fish, I am not that adventurous. I have a few recipes that I make, and that I know my son loves, so I stick to them. But this summer I made chipotle chicken a lot, and we loved it, so, I was really hoping tilapia would get the same response. And luckily it did. I tried a few sides with it, but this one goes really well, so I will be posting both recipes, for the fish, and for the salad. These are colors of summer, and it is a perfect summer dish, but I would never refuse it any month of the year.<br />
The salad is really healthy, easy to make, and while you are cooking the fish, the salad is already done. Its the perfect lunch in less than an hour.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gAd8hBH3vh0/UrEghZwG17I/AAAAAAAABMQ/enOGOj167_M/s1600/IMG_1641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gAd8hBH3vh0/UrEghZwG17I/AAAAAAAABMQ/enOGOj167_M/s640/IMG_1641.JPG" height="640" width="438" /></a></div>
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For the fish you will need:<br />
4 tilapia filets</div>
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4 cloves of garlic</div>
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5 tablespoons chopotle seasoning</div>
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2 tablespoons paprika powder</div>
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1 tablespoon thyme<br />
salt and peeper to taste<br />
Press garlic through garlic press. Spreed it on tilapia filets, and set aside. Combine chipotle seasoning, paprika powder, crushed thyme, salt and paper, and coat both sides of the fish with it. Let it rest for 15 min.<br />
Warm cast iron pan to medium high heat. Add a little bit of oil, and add fish. Do not overcrowd your pan. Fry 3-4 min per side. Fish is done when the center is white, and not translucent. Transfer it carefully on the plate with fish spatula. It will be very fragile. </div>
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For the salad, you will need:<br />
1 (440gr) can black beans<br />
300 gr. corn<br />
1 avocado<br />
400 gr cherry tomatoes<br />
3 scallions<br />
1/2 lemon juice<br />
1 tablespoon parsley<br />
1 tablespoon cilantro<br />
4 tablespoons olive oil<br />
salt and pepper to taste<br />
Rinse and drain can of beans. Combine it with corn, chopped cherry tomatoes, scallions, parsley, cilantro, olive oil, salt and peeper.<br />
Peel avocado, chop into small cubes, and mix with lemon juice until you coat all sides of avocado with it. Add avocado to the veggies. Mix well, and try a little bit, and adjust seasoning if you need. You can add more lime juice if you like.<br />
You can make the salad day ahead, but add avocado with lime juice right before serving.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-88741822005786123502014-01-27T23:21:00.000-06:002014-01-29T20:48:22.983-06:00Chestnut cream cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXj7u0h0hdE/UuWiBMR0FgI/AAAAAAAABR4/jX3MPOrbuMI/s1600/24cmqxb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXj7u0h0hdE/UuWiBMR0FgI/AAAAAAAABR4/jX3MPOrbuMI/s1600/24cmqxb.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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For some reason, chestnuts are not that popular in U.S. And to me, nothing says winter like chestnuts. I grew up in a town that had street vendors selling fire roasted chestnuts during winter. To me they are nostalgic street food. Just the smell of them brings back so many memories for me. Snowflakes, roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, fireplace, friends...<br />
With record breaking low temperatures in Chicago, this cake was my first choice. Its so light, aromatic, creamy, it's really wonderful. </div>
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The chocolate base is soaked with cherry jam that is mixed with cherry brandy. Its topped with a chocolate cream layer with chestnut puree, a white layer with whipped cream and baileys, and chestnut puree with rum.</div>
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For the chocolate base:<br />
85 gr. butter<br />
85 gr chocolate melted<br />
50 gr sugar<br />
4 eggs<br />
100 gr sugar<br />
60 gr flour<br />
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.<br />
Cream the butter with 50 gr. of sugar and melted chocolate. Add egg yolks one at the time. Whip the egg whites with 100 gr of sugar until stiff. Fold it into the chocolate mixture. When incorporated, add flour and fold gently. Scoop the batter onto prepared 9 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 25 min. Cool, and moisten the cake with 60 ml of cherry brandy mixed with 200 gr of cherry jam.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LYbANE52Ul4/UuWh_rIMh3I/AAAAAAAABRw/S1vJhRCTLrA/s1600/ol5prde.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LYbANE52Ul4/UuWh_rIMh3I/AAAAAAAABRw/S1vJhRCTLrA/s1600/ol5prde.JPG" height="640" width="448" /></a><br />
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For chocolate cream:<br />
100 ml. milk<br />
2 teaspoons sugar<br />
1 egg yolk<br />
2 teaspoons cornstarch<br />
5 teaspoons powder sugar<br />
100 gr chocolate<br />
500 ml. heavy cream<br />
250 gr. <a href="http://www.bende.com/images/3404%20001.jpg">chestnut puree</a><br />
1 tablespoon baileys<br />
To make the cream, bring the milk to a boil. Mix egg yolk with the cornstarch and sugar. Add 2 tablespoons hot milk to temper the egg. Add egg mixture to the boiling milk, stirring over medium heat to thicken it. Move it from the stove, add powder sugar and chocolate. Mix until everything incorporates nicely. While mixture is still warm, (if its chilled, it will be hard to incorporate into the whipped cream) whip the cream and stir gradually into the chocolate mixture. Spread immediately onto the cake and freeze.<br />
When chocolate cream is semi-frozen add white cream layer.<br />
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For white cream layer:<br />
500 ml. heavy cream<br />
3 tablespoons sugar<br />
2 tablespoon baileys<br />
2 <a href="http://scandinavianbutik.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Dr.-Oetker-Whip-It.jpg">bags whip it</a><br />
Whip the ingredients for the white cream layer and spreed over the chocolate cream.<br />
Decorate the cake with chestnut paste by mixing 350 gr of chestnut puree with 2 tablespoons of rum. I used potato press for it.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-62655614978413918202014-01-25T00:07:00.000-06:002014-01-25T00:07:11.052-06:00Pierre Herme's Cream puffs <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wish I had more photos of these cream puffs, but when you bake something and people are at the door, its too late for that. You are happy with the one that you have.<br />
These are Pierre Herme's cream puffs. It was my birthday in December, and I received two of his cookbooks as a gift.<br />
To be honest with you, I religiously looked at page after page wondering how his recipes really are. Are they that good? Are his cream puffs better then ones I make using my mom's recipe?</div>
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They are good, but they are different from what I am used to. My cream is firmer. This one is really soft, but that has its own advantages. It very light and creamy. I wish it was just a little bit ticker, but that could be easily done.<br />
So if you decide to make them, here is the recipe.<br />
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For Pate a Choux:<br />
125 ml cup still mineral water ( I used tap water)<br />
125 ml whole milk<br />
1 teaspoon sugar<br />
1 teaspoon salt (I used one pinch)<br />
110 gr butter<br />
140 gr flour<br />
250 gr eggs (5 eggs)<br />
Preheat oven to 400F/200C<br />
In a saucepan bring water, milk, sugar, salt and butter to a boil. Add the flour all at once. Beat hard until the paste is smooth and shiny. Transfer the paste to a bowl and incorporate eggs one at the time, beating constantly. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with plain #14 pastry tip.<br />
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe out balls of choux arranging them 5 cm apart. Place them in the oven and turn the oven off for 10 min.<br />
Turn the oven back to 350F/170C and continue baking. After 10 min slide a wooden spoon between the oven and its doors to keep it partly open. Bake for another 10 min, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.<br />
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For pastry cream:<br />
1 vanilla bean<br />
500 ml whole milk<br />
130 gr sugar<br />
35 gr pastry cream powder (2 1/2 tbs)<br />
15 gr flour (2 tbs)<br />
6 egg yolks (120 gr)<br />
50 gr softened butter<br />
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Whipped cream 590 ml<br />
2 tablespoons sugar<br />
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Split the vanilla bean and scrape seeds into a saucepan. Add milk, sugar, vanilla pod and bring to a boil. In a mixing bowl, beat the pastry cream powder and flour with egg yolks. Add one third of the hot milk mixture, beating constantly to temper the eggs. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Transfer the pastry cream to a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water to cool. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. When the pastry cream has cooled to 140F/60C, cut the butter into pieces and beat it into the cream. Remove 460 gr of pastry cream and reserve the remainder for use in another recipe.<br />
(I used all of the pastry cream)<br />
Whip the cream and sugar. Remove 90 gr of whipped cream and carefully fold it into the chilled pastry cream. Pour this mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain #14 pastry tip. Pour the remaining whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a plain pastry tip.<br />
Split each choux crosswise three-quarters of the way up the side. Pipe the pastry cream mixture into the bottom half of each choux. Top it with a swirl of whipped cream. Cover with the top half and dust with confectioners sugar.<br />
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Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-83521707938445411692014-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:002014-01-18T18:38:47.637-06:00Cranberry rolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6sQdmHiPVM/Utm_j2j8JCI/AAAAAAAABQk/JbNbkV9xoZg/s1600/b5d2fta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6sQdmHiPVM/Utm_j2j8JCI/AAAAAAAABQk/JbNbkV9xoZg/s1600/b5d2fta.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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I have so many draft recipes, and so little time to review and post them. But today I made these, and they were so good, I had to share them with you right away. </div>
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A bag of cranberries was sitting in my fridge for a few weeks. I wanted to make something else, but every time I went to grocery store I forget the main ingredient, so time was running out for cranberries, and I had to do something with them fast. Since my sons friends were coming today, I decided to try these out. I combined cranberry filling with my<u> <a href="http://finebaking.blogspot.com/2009/03/rolnice-sa-marcipanom.html"> marzipan roll </a></u> recipe, and I am glad I did. They were perfect.</div>
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For the dough you will need:<br />
125 ml warm milk<br />
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4 tablespoons sugar</div>
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1 1/2 teaspoon of yeast</div>
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1 whole egg</div>
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1 egg yolk</div>
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400 gr flour</div>
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100 gr softened butter</div>
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1 tablespoon rum</div>
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pinch of salt</div>
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Combine warm milk and sugar, and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and let it sit for 5-10 min until it foams. Add egg yolk, egg and rum and whisk until well blended. Stir in the pinch of salt, flour and knead on on low speed for 2 min. Increase the speed and knead for 1 min. Add soft butter, 1 tablespoon at the time, allowing each addition to blend in before adding the next. Decrease the speed an knead for 5-6 min longer, until the dough is soft and silky.</div>
Transfer the dough into the buttered bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled.<br />
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You can punch down the dough and refrigerate overnight, and just roll it out in the morning. </div>
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For the filling:</div>
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454 gr cranberries<br />
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100 gr sugar</div>
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50 ml orange juice</div>
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1/2 teaspoon cinnamon</div>
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1/4 teaspoon allspice</div>
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Stir berries, sugar, and orange juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and mash lightly. Cook, stirring more frequently as jam thickens, until it has the consistency of very loose jelly, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.</div>
Roll out the dough onto a work surface dusted with flour. Don't kneed the dough again. Dust it with flour and roll into an 11x15 inch. Spread cranberry filling in a thin layer over the dough, leaving 1 inch border along the long side. Roll it into a cylinder, gently tucking as you go. Cut the dough into 1 inch rolls. Place into the buttered pan, and let raise until doubled. Bake into 375 min for about 20 min, or until golden.<br />
Dust them with powder sugar and enjoy with a glass of milk.<br />
My son had them with a little bit of condensed milk drizzled on top.<br />
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xv6dvJfazLw/Utm_cwT2FYI/AAAAAAAABQU/PHqCjwZUBlU/s1600/ofwwsvq.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xv6dvJfazLw/Utm_cwT2FYI/AAAAAAAABQU/PHqCjwZUBlU/s1600/ofwwsvq.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-71924060227190802282014-01-11T00:02:00.000-06:002014-01-11T00:06:03.862-06:00S'mores cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know. I did not torch them :(<br />I made them for Forth of July, and they were sitting in my folder since then. We had bunch of kids coming over before fireworks, and I didn't check my torch. Everything was ready. BBQ was on the grill, watermelon in the fridge, firecrackers were ready, and bunch of kids were about to eat.<br />I baked cupcakes, made marshmallow meringue, and I could not wait for the fun part. Torching them, and looking how that snow white thick, glossy foam becomes caramelized, dramatic and amazing looking. And my torch was dead. I was so disappointed, I still am.<br />So please, before you make them, have your torch ready. Mine was empty, no gas left. Kids were staring with their eyes wide open, and I did not have time to go and get new one. I just snapped 2-3 pictures, and the cupcakes were gone.<br /><br />For the graham cracker base:</div>
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<br />1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs</div>
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5 tablespoons melted butter</div>
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2 tablespoons sugar</div>
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line muffin pan with 24 baking cups. Mix all of the ingredients, and place a tablespoon of mixture into each baking cup. Press down crumb mixture with the spoon until it forms a solid crust. Bake for 5 min, and cool.</div>
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<br />For chocolate cupcakes:<br /></div>
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1 3/4 cups flour</div>
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3/4 cup cocoa </div>
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1 1/4 cups sugar<br />2 teaspoons baking soda</div>
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1 teaspoon baking powder</div>
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2 lightly beaten eggs</div>
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1 cup yogurt </div>
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2/3 cup melted butter</div>
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1 cup strong coffee</div>
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1 teaspoon vanilla</div>
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Sift dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, and mix just until you break down the lumps. Batter will be liquidy. </div>
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Pour the batter over cooled graham cracker base. Fill the cups only 2/3. Bake for 25 min. Cool completely before frosting them.</div>
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Make chocolate glaze:<br />200 gr chocolate</div>
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100 ml heavy whipping cream</div>
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Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just bring it to a boil, and pour it immediately over chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes. Stir gently until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set it aside to cool.<br />When cupcakes are cooled, dip each one into the chocolate glaze. Let it harden a little bit.</div>
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For marshmallow meringue:<br />6 egg whites</div>
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1 1/2 cup sugar </div>
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1/2 teaspoon of gelatin</div>
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1 tablespoon water</div>
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Bloom gelatin in 1 tablespoon of water. Mix egg whites with sugar, and place in the top of the double boiler. Mix it constantly with the whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches 71C/160F. Add bloomed melted gelatin, and beat with your whisk attachment on medium high sped until mixture cools and doubles in volume. It should form stiff peaks, about 10 min.</div>
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Fill a pastry bag with the marshmallow meringue and pipe the meringue on top of the cupcake. <br />Lightly toast the marshmallow meringue using a kitchen torch.</div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-74313977544065643252014-01-04T18:58:00.001-06:002014-02-09T18:34:21.167-06:00Cookie dough cheesecake<a data-pin-config="above" data-pin-do="buttonPin" data-pin-height="28" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkentbrew%2F6851755809%2F&media=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7027%2F6851755809_df5b2051c9_z.jpg&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_28.png" /></a><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
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I never had cookie dough cheesecake before. So when my son asked me to make one for New Years party, i was reluctant to make it. But, we love all kinds of cheesecakes, and we love cookies, so I decide to give it a try. I combined my standard vanilla cheesecake recipe, with my <a href="http://finebaking.blogspot.com/2009/03/chocolate-chip-cookies.html">cookie recipe</a>, and hoped for the best. How bad could it be?<br />
Its buttery graham cracker crust, smooth, creamy cheesecake with chocolate morsels, cookie dough snuggled in, and garnished with whipped cream. Its comfort food, and my son loves it with a glass of milk. I prefer the cup of coffee with it.<br />
To make it, start with cookie dough.<br />
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For cookie dough:<br />
112 gr butter (1 stick)<br />
140 gr sugar<br />
150 gr flour<br />
1 egg<br />
1 teaspoon of vanilla<br />
150 gr. mini chocolate chips<br />
In a medium bowl, beat room temperature butter with sugar until creamy. Add vanilla, and egg. Mix few more minutes. Add flour, and chocolate chips, mix until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate for 15-20 min. Roll cookie dough into small balls. They should be the size of the walnut. Put them in refrigerator while you make the rest.<br />
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For the crust:<br />
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs<br />
6 tablespoons of melted butter<br />
2 tablespoons of brown sugar<br />
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Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar. Add melted butter, mix well and press onto the bottom and sides of 9 inch baking pan. Bake for 10 min, at 325F/162C. Cool.<br />
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For the cheesecake:<br />
3 packs (226 gr each)<b> room temperature</b> Philadelphia cream cheese<br />
4 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1 can (397 gr) condensed milk<br />
100 gr. mini chocolate chip cookies<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), on low speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add condensed milk and vanilla. Mix until everything is combined, but try not to incorporate to many bubbles. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Pour half of the filling over the crust, and place cookie dough balls in it. Add chocolate chip cookies to other half of the batter, mix, and pour over cookie dough. Bake in a 325F/160C oven for 45 min. The e</span><span style="background-color: white;">dges of the cheesecake should be puffed but the center still a little wet and jiggle when you gently shake the pan. Do not over bake it, it will crack.<br />Refrigerate until chilled, preferably overnight. Serve with whipped cream and vanilla.</span></div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-54083729581171733262013-12-30T16:50:00.000-06:002014-01-26T18:42:33.440-06:00Hazelnut cake with chestnut mousse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is only a day left in this year, so I wont keep you long since you probably have many things to do.</div>
I just want to wish you happy, healthy and wonderful New Year. Enjoy the night with your family and friends.<br />
I have some cooking to do, but I made a cake yesterday, and I would love to share it with you. Its joconde with hazelnuts that is soaked with rum, and the filling is made with chestnut mousse and baileys liqueur. Sounds good, ha? Its a little bit booze, but its a New Years cake, so it should be like that :)))<br />
It light, and flavorful. I wanted to add a chocolate layer, but, I changed my mind at the last minute. Chestnut should be the star here, so I didn't want anything else to distract me from its taste.<br />
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You will need 3 joconde layers. These are the ingredients for 1. You can triple the recipe, and bake all three at once, or you can bake them separately.</div>
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2 large eggs</div>
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75 gr sugar</div>
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75 gr. roasted and peeled hazelnuts</div>
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25 gr flour</div>
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2 egg whites</div>
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3 tablespoons sugar </div>
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1 tablespoon melted butter</div>
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If your hazelnuts are already roasted and peeled, mix them with sugar and pulse them in food processor until you get fine powder. </div>
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Combine whole eggs with hazelnut sugar powder, and beat at medium speed until cream colored and light. Sift the flour over the beaten eggs.<br />
In separate bowl, whip the eggs whites with 3 tablespoons of sugar until medium peeks form. Scoop one third of the meringue into the bowl with eggs, hazelnuts, and flour, and mix quickly. Add remaining meringue and gently fold. Slowly pour the melted butter and fold until the butter is uniformly mixed. Scoop the batter onto prepared 9 inch baking pan that has parchment paper on the bottom. Bake until the cake is lightly browned and firm, but not dry. 6-8 min. Cool completely. </div>
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For brushing syrup mixture:<br />
1/4 cup dark Jamaican rum<br />
2 tablespoons water </div>
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2 tablespoons sugar<br />
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For the filling:<br />
3 tablespoons cold water</div>
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4 tablespoons sugar</div>
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1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin </div>
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540 ml heavy cream</div>
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3 tablespoons baileys liqueur </div>
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500 gr. <a href="http://www.bende.com/images/3404%20001.jpg">chestnut puree</a></div>
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Combine water and sugar in butter melter and stir in the gelatin. Set it soften, than warm over low heat, stirring constantly until dissolves. Remove from the heat.<br />
Pour the heavy cream into the mixer bowl and whip the cream until medium peaks.<br />
Stir the baileys liqueur into the chestnut spread, then stir in the dissolved gelatin with a wire whisk. Fold whipped cream into the chestnut puree. <br />
Place cake ring on a serving plate, put joconde on the bottom, brush with syrup, and put one third of the mousse on top. Repeat layering joconde, soaking syrup and chestnut filling.<br />
Chill overnight to set the mousse. Decorate as you wish.<br />
I did white chocolate collar and whipped cream.</div>
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Happy New Year everyone :)</div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-67812124319030943562013-12-25T23:13:00.001-06:002014-02-25T08:09:50.581-06:00Snowflake cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Merry Christmas everyone :)<br />
I hope you enjoyed the holidays with your family and friends, with good food, drink, and lots of laughter.<br />
You probably exchanged gifts with loved ones.<br />
I baked my gifts :)<br />
Many, many of them. I had so many snowflake cookies, that I did not know where to put them anymore. Thats why this will be a blog post with the most pictures you have ever seen.<br />
They are just adorable, and it was to hard for me to resist.<br />
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For these light sugar cookies, I used recipe from <a href="http://makebakecelebrate.com/lets-talk-about-rolled-sugar-cookies/">Make bake celebrate</a>. </div>
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3 cups flour</div>
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1 teaspoon baking powder</div>
1 cup butter<br />
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1 cup sugar</div>
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1 egg</div>
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract </div>
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Mix softened butter with sugar. Add an egg, and vanilla and beat a little bit longer. Start adding flour, and mix until you get nice, soft dough. </div>
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough between two peaces of parchment paper.</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Cut out cookies. I used snowflake cookie cutters, but you can do any shape. Just dust them with the flour, so they dont stick to the cutter. Gather the leftover dough, kneed a bit, and repeat the process, until you use it up. Transfer snowflakes gently to the baking sheet, and freeze them for a few minutes. Bake them for 7 min if you want them really light, and a 1-2 min longer for golden color.</span></div>
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Cool them completely before you start decorating them with the royal icing.</div>
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Recipe for dark chocolate sugar cookies comes from <a href="http://bakingamoment.com/simply-perfect-chocolate-sugar-cookies/">Baking a moment.</a> And for that cookie, you will need. </div>
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1 1/2 cups of flour</div>
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1/2 cup dark cocoa powder</div>
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1/2 cups butter</div>
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1 tablespoon of oil</div>
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1/2 cup sugar</div>
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1/4 cup cornstarch </div>
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1 egg</div>
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1 teaspoons vanilla </div>
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In large bowl, sift together flour and cocoa powder. Set aside. </div>
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Cream the butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy and pale, about 5 min. beat in the egg and vanilla.</div>
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Add flour and mix until thoroughly combined. </div>
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Roll the dough between two peaces of parchment paper. Cut shapes using the cutters of your choice, and place them on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 10 min at 375F</div>
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Cool completely before decorating. </div>
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To decorate cookies, you will need royal icing.<br />
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Mix 250 gr of powder sugar with 1 egg white, and few drops of lemon juice. You can use pasterised egg whites.<br />
It should have the consistency that is good for piping. If its to hard to pipe, you need to add few more drops of lemon juice. <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=418-2">I used Wilton tip #2 </a>, for these snowflakes. Make sure your icing is covered with wet cloth all the time, because it crusts easily. Decorate as desired. </div>
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Let the icing set for at least one hour. </div>
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Package them in cellophane bags for gifts, or use them as a decorations for Christmas tree :) </div>
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-30407413610561512852013-12-16T08:05:00.001-06:002013-12-16T10:14:03.310-06:00Candy cane melting moments<a data-pin-config="above" data-pin-do="buttonPin" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkentbrew%2F6851755809%2F&media=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7027%2F6851755809_df5b2051c9_z.jpg&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_20.png" /><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></a>
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Have you ever tried melting moments?<br />
They do literary melt in your mouth. Its a short bread cute name cookie, and its taste relies on a good butter. Please, do not make it with shortening or margarine, you will ruin it. They are elegant, refined, lovely, delicate, and for me they are the perfect Christmas cookies. Its not just tenderly melting cookie that I love. I love the filling. And you can really go crazy here. I cant decide which one I love the most.<br />
Nutella?<br />
Strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream?<br />
Lemon curd? Chocolate ganache? Raspberry, passion fruit?<br />
Possibilities are endless, whatever you like, goes well with it. These I made with crushed candy canes. Well its the season, so we are hoping that Santa would like them too ;)<br />
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For candy cane frosting:<br />
250 ml. heavy whipping cream<br />
250 gr. white chocolate<br />
1 tablespoon of butter<br />
6 peaces of crushed candy cane<br />
peppermint extract to your liking<br />
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Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just bring it to a boil, and pour it immediately over chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes. Stir gently until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add butter, stir until it melts and cool it in the fridge for two hours. You can even make it a day ahead.<br />
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For the cookie:<br />
350 gr. room temperature butter<br />
150 gr. sugar<br />
350 gr. flour<br />
1 tablespoon cornstarch<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
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Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour sifted with cornstarch and fold it into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star shaped piping nozzle. I used <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lO65oddOoxg/T2N1ZffXFEI/AAAAAAAADfA/wT46bkZlzvg/s1600/02-0313-04.jpg">Ateco tip 827</a>. Pipe rosettes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. You should be able to pipe it easily. If its hard, worm up piping bag with your hands for a min, to soften up the butter. Cool piped cookies in refrigerator for about 30 min before baking. You can skip this step, and bake them right away, but they will hold their shape better if cooled.<br />
Bake at 350F/180C for about 12-13 min. They should be pale golden.<br />
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While your cookies are cooling, whip the ganache in which you have added peppermint extract. Whip until its frosting consistency. Be careful not to overwhip, it will turn into the butter. Add crushed candy cane, and pipe the frosting on one cookie. Gently sandwich it with another one. Sprinkle them with powder sugar, and enjoy.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-34811065598996271712013-12-11T20:39:00.000-06:002013-12-12T12:45:27.887-06:00Key lime pie<a data-pin-config="above" data-pin-do="buttonPin" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkentbrew%2F6851755809%2F&media=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7027%2F6851755809_df5b2051c9_z.jpg&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_20.png" /><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></a>
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It's really, really cold in Chicago. Temperatures are below 0<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.545454025268555px;">°C</span> for the past few days. Tonight's real feel is expected to be -31. I love winter, and I love snow, but now its brutally cold, and I need not just comfort food, but something that will remind me of summer. I made this pie somewhere in July and it was hidden in my draft folder for a while. But it screams summer to me, and I had to post it now, and make my day sunnier. Its tart, refreshing, creamy, and its my picks me up dessert every time I have it.<br />
Its a classic although I made it with graham cracker crust, and probably many of you have this recipe in their mothers and grandmothers handwritten notebooks. But I love it, and I need it in my virtual notebook. Especially today in this freezing cold.<br />
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For the crust:<br />
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs<br />
4 tablespoons powder sugar<br />
4 tablespoons melted butter<br />
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C<br />
Mix graham crackers with powder sugar and melted butter. Press firmly into pie pan. Bake it for 15 min, or until crust starts browning. Remove from oven and cool.<br />
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For the custard:<br />
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (396 gr each)<br />
3/4 cup lime juice<br />
6 egg yolks<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
grated organic lime peel (two limes or to your taste)<br />
Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, lime peel and egg yolks, vanilla. Pour into cooled pie shell, and bake it for 20-25 min at 350F. The edges should be set, and the center should jiggle slightly. Remove from the oven and cool for 2 hours. Serve it with whipped cream, and imagine you are in Florida ;)<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-58712988267173562122013-12-07T17:11:00.000-06:002013-12-19T09:37:00.031-06:00Quadruple Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake Cake<a data-pin-config="none" data-pin-do="buttonPin" data-pin-height="28" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkentbrew%2F6851755809%2F&media=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7027%2F6851755809_df5b2051c9_z.jpg&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_28.png" /><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></a><br />
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This cake should be considered dangerous. Its quadruple chocolate cake, with a flourless chocolate base, chocolate cheesecake layer, chocolate egg-less mousse, and chocolate ganache. Its chocolate explosion in your mouth, and far better than I expected. Not too sweet, rich, just a pure chocolate lover's heaven. I wanted to make it for my birthday, and although I am almost a week late, I am happy with the choice.<br />
Each layer is amazing, and I had hard time controlling myself not to eat them on their own. If you decide to make it, please use good chocolate, it really makes a difference. Chocolate is a star here.<br />
Cake has 4 components, but it's easy to make, don't get discouraged. I baked first and second layer together, so it saved me some time. I promise you wont be disappointed.<br />
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For this cake you will need.<br />
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<b>Flourless chocolate cake bottom</b><br />
6 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />
200 gr. bittersweet chocolate<br />
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder<br />
4 large eggs,<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
70 gr brown sugar<br />
Preheat the oven to 325F/162C<br />
Butter and line bottom and sides of 9 inch (22cm) pan with parchment paper. Over simmering water, melt the butter, chocolate and espresso powder, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Beat egg whites until frothy, start adding sugar, and beat on high speed until soft peeks form. Gently whisk egg whites with chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for about 25 min, until the cake has risen, and is firm around the edges, and the center has set but is still soft. Transfer the cake to wire rack to cool completely. <br />
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<b>Cheesecake layer:</b><br />
140 gr bittersseet chocolate<br />
453 gr cream cheese<br />
100 gr. sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 tablespoons cocoa powder<br />
2 tablespoons sour cream<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and line the bottom of 9 inch springform pan with parchment.<br />
Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Beat room temperature cream cheese. Add in the sugar, cocoa powder, and beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla. At low speed beat in the eggs, one at a time. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix until combined. Pour the filing into the prepared pan. Bake it for 30 min. and cool it.<br />
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<b>For the eggless mousse:</b><br />
375 ml heavy cream<br />
200 gr chocolate<br />
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
Melt the chocolate over simmering water. Remove and cool slightly.<br />
Whip the cold cream, add espresso powder and vanilla. Gently fold the chocolate into the whipped cream.<br />
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<b>Chocolate ganache:</b><br />
100 ml. heavy cream<br />
100 gr. dark chocolate<br />
Heat the heavy cream until just hot. Add chopped chocolate. Gently mix until mixture is nice and smooth.<br />
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<b>Assembly:</b><br />
Place the flour less chocolate cake layer on a plate that you will serve your cake on. Put springform ring around it. Place the cooled cheesecake layer over top. Spoon the mousse layer and smooth. Chill<br />
the cake, and pour the slightly cooled ganache over it. Cool it in the refrigerator.<br />
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Serve it at room temperature.
<a href="http://www.portuguesegirlcooks.com/2013/04/quadruple-chocolate-mousse-cheesecake/">Original recipe</a> is from www.portuguesegirlcooks.com , I just modified it a little bit.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680792141073696305.post-85393981949724129272013-12-01T13:13:00.000-06:002013-12-07T22:58:49.578-06:00Cranberry coffee cake<a href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkentbrew%2F6851755809%2F&media=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7027%2F6851755809_df5b2051c9_z.jpg&description=Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest" data-pin-do="buttonPin" data-pin-config="none" data-pin-height="28"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_28.png" /></a>
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If you have leftover cranberry sauce, or you just like cranberries the way I do, you are going to love this. Its a perfect Thanksgiving morning coffeecake, or for cold lazy weekend mornings, and fall or winter gatherings. Moist and flavorful, with the crunchy top, and the cranberries add their signature tart flavor of freshness. Its fruity, tender and moist. The ingredients are basic, and pretty much everyone has them in their pantry. </div>
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First, make the s<b style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">treusel.</b></div>
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6 tablespoons of butter</div>
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1/2 cup brown sugar</div>
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2 teaspoons of vanilla</div>
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1 tablespoon of cinnamon</div>
1 cup of flour<br />
In food processor, mix together cubed butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and flour. Pulls it until you get fine crumbs. Scoop the mixture into a smaller bowl, and set aside.<br />
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Cranberry sauce:</div>
If you don have leftover cranberry sauce, cook 1 bag of cranberries (340 gr) with 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/2 of water, until cranberries pop, and the mixture starts thickening. That will take 10-15 min.<br />
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1 stick of butter (113gr)</div>
1 cup brown sugar<br />
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3 eggs</div>
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1 cup greek yogurt</div>
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2 cups flour</div>
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1 teaspoon baking powder</div>
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1 teaspoon baking soda</div>
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1 teaspoon vanilla</div>
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1 teaspoon grated lemon peel</div>
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pinch of salt</div>
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Cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl and beating until smooth. Add yogurt, vanilla, lemon peel, salt, and flour that you sifted with baking powder and baking soda. Be careful not to over mix the dough because flour will activate gluten, and you will end up with firm elastic structure instead of tender and moist.</div>
Prepare 9 inch pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, and lightly grease sides with butter. Scoop the batter into prepared pan, and add 1 cup of cranberry sauce on top. Swirl it a little bit with the knife, and add s<b style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">treusel </b>on top. Bake in a 350F/180 C oven for about 50 min, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.<br />
Dust it with powder sugar and enjoy.<br />
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<br />Ljiljanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02482875670219666097noreply@blogger.com6