strawberries and birthdays

i was back home during the past weekend and since my sis is gonna have her birthday soon and i wont be there, i made an early birthday cake for her :)
i love strawberries, i like to eaat them just by themselves, or with a bit of lemon juice, cane sugar and whipped cream.. even dipped in dark chocolate they're rather good to me eheh

this cake is very soft and delicious.. the cake itself melts in your mouth, matching the cream and strawberry filling perfectly.
i usually use a little bit more chili pepper for this recipe, but not everybody is mad about that so just try it with a little at first.

strawberry chocolate cake

85g softened butter
100g icing sugar
1egg
150g dark chocolate
1tbsp cointreau
170g flour
1tbsp cocoa powder
180ml milk
baking powder
1tsp ground chili pepper

filling:
250ml fresh cream
strawberries

icing:
200g dark chocolate
200ml milk
1tbsp butter
potato starch qs
strawberries

melt the chocolate in a bain marie and set aside. sift together flour, cocoa powder, chili pepper and baking powder. beat butter, sugar and egg till soft and creamy. stir in the melted chocolate and the cointreau.
mix the butter cream with the flour, alternating with milk. pour the batter in a baking tin and bake for about 30min in preheated oven at 180°C.

let cool the cake, then cut it in 2layers. spread the whipped cream (you can beat in a little sugar if the strawberries arent too sweet) and sprinkle with chopped strawberries.

mix the icing ingredients in a sauce pan and let it cook (low heat, bain marie) till creamy. spread onto the cake and spread a few straberries on top.

carrot principle #1

if you dont LOVE carrot cake, it's because you have not eaten a good one yet.

i've always been digging carrots. when i was a kid i used to crunch them, now i still eat them like that but i added some few variants eheh
at first i had to eat them because they told me to, it's good for your sight.. sure, i ate tons because of that. the result was that my sight kept on slowly worsening anyway and at school i got named bugs. ya know i have big teeth so, there you go LOL

at home we never got snacks.. i didnt like snacks myself to be honest, yea i was one of those nerdy kids eating fruit at school break and i enjoyed it.
but one day the parents came up with this new snack and i could eat it.. it was made of carrots so kinda apparently healthier according to mom, and i love carrots. so they bought me these camille.
i didnt have any idea about who this camilla was, but surely she had to be a lucky girl if she had these awesome treats named after her.. i was happy. they were so moist and carroty, not too sweet, wondefully crumbly.. i like everything about them, small delicious domes of orange, carrot and almond.

so thinking about a cake for mom's birthday i decided for carrot cake.. it's been a while since i made it last time and i'm looking forward to taste it :D

i make various versions of carrot cake.. and my two faves are with cream cheese filling and this one, with chocolate coating.

chocolate carrot cake

250g plain flour
120g butter, softened
175g sugar
300g carrots
120g almonds, peeled
3eggs
baking powder
1pinch of salt
orange flavor
- coating:
200g dark chocolate
50gbutter

mince almonds and carrots in the blender, set aside. beat the butter with sugar till creamy, add eggs and orange flavor.
stir in the flour mixed with salt and baking powder, then carrots. mix well and pour the batter in a baking tin (about 24cm diameter).
bake for about 45min in preheated oven at 180°C. let the cake cool.
melt butter with chocolate stirring. spread on the cake and keep in the fridge till serving.

wondrous pear cake

though pear and chocolate is a classic and a very good match, i found it hard to get a good recipe for a cake. this is my version of a recipe i tried once and i must admit the result is awesome :D

chocolate and pear soft cake

3big firm pears (williams)
200g dark chocolate
150ml milk
200g wheat flour
baking powder
170g butter
2egg yolks
3egg whites
100g sugar

melt 100g butter and the chocolate in a bain marie. whip sugar with egg yolks and mix with sifted flour and baking powder. add milk and melted chocolate, mix well. Blend with beaten egg whites.
peel and slice pears. Pour half of the dough in a baking tin and spread pear slices on it, then cover them pouring the remaining dough. bake in preheated oven at 200°C for 40minutes.

you can spread a simple icing on the cooled cake, made of milk and icing sugar, or a chocolate icing.

super delicious

so long i havent updated.. but september was very busy with moving and starting off in a new city.. so well, now i'm (almost) settled, still i'll move to a new flat as i find a better one.. but now i'll have a bit more time to update, i swear :D
i cooked though and i have a lot of food pics and recipes to write down and put here!

this cake was inspired supposedly to joanne harris' chocolat novel.. or better to its main character, vianne. i loved the movie and also the book, harris' one of my fav authors even if this is not my fav novel of hers ^^
so the cake is awesome.. slightly perfumed with orange (do i love cointreau), very soft, rich and chocolateous.. a super treat.. i like to make this cake specially for birthdays of the few people i love, because to me a gorgeous cake is the best present ever :)

i love specially the ganache.. i've tried many different recipes of it, changing doses, ingredients, process.. but in this one, i love the contrast between the dark rich cream and the crunchy crystals of sugar. i have to say i kinda "stole" the idea from some chocolate i like a lot, it's a very dark tablet with big sugar crystals in it (a bit too big sometimes though, but it's not industrial made so it depends on the confectioner ^^)
i like to use marine salt crystals too, but that's a bit more particular match that not everybody appreciates, so i try not to do that when the cake's gonna be eaten by many people eheh
(unfortunately i didnt have my own camera with me so the pic is not that good)

vianne cake

125g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
2eggs
230g dark chocolate, melted
1tsp cointreau
230g wheat flour
2tsp dark cocoa powder
baking powder qs
200ml milk topping

(chocolate ganache):
230g dark chocolate
230ml fresh cream
1tsp cane sugar in crystals

whip butter and sugar till fluffy, beat in eggs one by one, the melted chocolate cooled and the cointreau. sift flour, baking powder and cocoa together, add stirring to the chocolate mixture alternating to milk.
pour in a baking tin (24cm diameter) and bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 min. let cool.
in the meanwhile prepare the ganache: bring cream to boil slightly, then pour it on the chocolate. when the chocolate is melted, stir well the mixure till it's creamy. let cool in the fridge for 15 to 45 min, stir in the sugar crystals then spread onto the cake.

i love berries

one of the things i liked of finland are berries for sure.. they have such a variety of those, in color, taste, shape. i love berries and for some reason i have a special liking for the dark ones.. blueberry, blackberry, mulberry, blackcurrant.
besides i love shortbread eheheh so buttery, slightly salty.. i like to use the basic shortbread mixture to make different kind of sweet food, from classic shortbread cookies to these bars.
i guess these reasons are enough to tell why this is one of my fav cakes ever.. in the recipe there's blueberry, but i actually make it with all the kinds of berry. yesterday for example i made it with a raspberry and blueberry mixed jam and fresh mashed blackberries.. awesome result :D

blueberry shortbread bars

150g butter
150g sugar
210g wheat flour
2egg yolks
1tsp baking powder
1pinch of salt
blueberry jam (i use more or less 100g)
fresh blueberries
vanilla flavor

Combine butter with sugar, then add yolks and vanilla flavor and beat well. Add sifted flour, baking powder and salt to the butter cream and make a soft dough. Halve the dough, wrap the pieces in food cellophane and let them stand in the fridge for 30minutes. Then put them in the freezer for 15minutes.
Wrap a square baking tin (about 20x20) with baking paper and grate (with large grater) a piece of dough in it, spreading the shreds around. Spread jam (as much as you like) onto the grated dough, then grate the other piece to cover the jam layer. Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for about 30minutes. Let it chill a bit and cut the cake into squares.

hazelnut choco cake

i made this cake yesterday since it was my dad's name's day, san lorenzo.. traditionally the night of the 10th of august should be the best for falling stars watching. too bad yesterday here the sky was not that clear ehehe well anyway i could see my annual amount of falling stars last week in agrigento :)

hazelnut choco cake

100g butter (softened)
120g caster sugar
2eggs
220g dark chocolate
1tbsp orange blossom flavor
50g hazelnut flour
220g wheat flour
2tbsp dark cocoa
baking powder
250ml milk

cocoa sauce:
50g dark cocoa
30g caster sugar
200ml milk

mix baking powder, hazelnut flour and dark cocoa, set aside. whip bitter with sugar, add eggs one by one and orange blossom flavor. whisk in milk, add hazelnut flour mixture and sifted wheat flour, mixing well. stir in dark chocolate, melted and cooled.
pour the batter in a baking tin and bake for 40-45min in preheated oven at 180°C.

prepare the cocoa sauce: mix well cocoa and sugar, stir in milk and heat till the sauce starts to boil. let cool and spread onto the cake.

apple crumble cake

i love the taste of apple mixed with cinnamon and allspice, so i'm always in search of a new apple cake recipe.. besides i like the texture of crumble mixtures :)

here it is a crumble cake recipe that gets on well with many firm fruits like apple and pear.

apple crumble cake

cake:
450g apples
75g hazelnut kernels, toasted and chopped
150g flour
1tsp baking powder
60g brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp mixed spices
2 eggs
60g melted butter

crumble:
60g sugar
60g softened butter
60g flour

peel and dice the apples, mix them with the hazelnuts and set aside.
mix together flour, baking powder, brown sugar and mixed spices. in a separate bowl whisk together eggs and melted butter, then mix in the flour mixture and the apples and stir well till combined.
pour the cake mixture in a buttered 20cm baking tin. in a small bowl mix together sugar, butter and flour till crumbly, then spred the crumble mixture over the cake mixture.
bake in pre heated oven at 200°C for 1hour, then lower heat to 160°C and bake for a further half an hour. serve warm.

died and went to heaven cake

This cake is simply wonderful.. soft, chocolatous, luscious ^^ i love the match coffee-chocolate and this is a good recipe for that

died and went to heaven cake

410ml wheat flour
230ml sugar
180ml cocoa powder
baking powder
a pinch of salt
350ml milk
230ml brown sugar
2beaten eggs
60ml olive oil
vanilla extract
230ml hot and strong coffee

Icing:
230ml icing sugar
orange blossom flavor
50ml milk

Whip together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add milk, brown sugar, eggs, olive oil and vanilla extract, mix very well. ncorporate hot coffee and whisk. Pour the batter in a baking tin.
Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 35minutes.

Prepare the icing: whisk together icing ingredients carefully. Spread on the cake when it's cooled.

lemon cheesecake

lemon cheesecake

crust:
3tbsp sugar
3tbsp softened butter
3/4 cup flour
3tbsp ground nuts
1pinch nutmeg
1pinch cardamom

filling:
1 1/2 cup fresh cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbps oil
3 lemon (juice and zest)

mix the crust ingredients (add milk if needed) till the mixture crumbles. spread it in the tin and bake for 5min in preheated oven at 200°C. let it cool.
beat egg whites till foaming and set aside. combine with a mixer egg yolks, sugar, fresh cheese, lemon juice and oil. stir in lemon zest. pour the cheese filling in the tin and bake at 200°C for 5 min, then reduce the heat to 150°C and bake for 1hour. let the cake cool in the oven, then chill. serve with icig sugar.

after making the cheesecake i had to finish some lemon juice so for dinner i had some sauteed zucchini and yellow pepper with basil and lemon bechamel :)