Make your home smell like Christmas with this flavorful vegan speculaas cake with candied oranges and caramel sauce.
I’m so excited to share this recipe today. I made it together with my dear friend Vita from Little Kitchen Vibes !!!
Vita and I have met at one of my workshops and we’ve been friends since then, sharing our love of food and photography. She’s been helping me with some of my projects and so I figured why not make a personal project together. And we came up with this delicious vegan speculaas cake that literally smells like Christmas.
If I had my smell completely back from Covid, it would be even more Christmasy, but even with that, it’s just incredible. So I invite you to try the recipe, even if you’re not vegan. The cake is absolutely soft and moist and most of all have that nice crumb a good cake should have.
If you’ve been here reading my posts before, you know how much I love simple recipes. Even though it seems like a lot of ingredients the process is in fact super simple and straightforward. Like with every other butter cake, you whip butter and sugar together, then mix apples, oat milk and coconut milk in a blender and mix it in the butter together with the rest of the ingredients.
Caramel is just as simple. Simply combine everything in a bowl and you’re good to go. This caramel, though!!! Best vegan caramel I’ve ever tried. It’s super sweet just like caramel should be (right?) and had a very deep rich flavor. So good!
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½TBSPcoconut milk (or more if the caramel is too thick)
Topping
200mlvegan whipping cream(coconut is the best)
Instructions
Vegan Speculaas Cake
Add vegan butter and sugar to a large bowl and whip it with an electric mixer until you get a fluffy and even cream.
To another large bowl, add all the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and spices. Mix well with a whisk.
Cut apples into pieces and blend them along with oat milk and coconut milk.
Now combine all the ingredients into an even batter. Fold in candied oranges.
Bake in a buttered long rectangular baking pan (usually used for bread loaves) and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 45 minutes.
Once your cake is baked well, let it cool down completely.
Vegan Caramel
While your cake is baking, make caramel sauce. Add all the ingredients for caramel sauce to a blender and blend well or add them to a bowl and mix with an electric mixer.
Finishing the cake
Whip your whipping cream in a tall bowl until it's firm and holds its shape.
Before you serve it, spread whipped cream on top and pour some caramel sauce over it. You can decorate it with fresh oranges, too.
Prepare to dazzle your guests with this savory gingerbread house shaped as a holiday cabin. Add it to your charcuterie board and it will be a perfect match!
The holidays are almost here! Can you believe it?
Every year, I’m dreaming about making a gingerbread house, but then there’s always so much candy and I don’t want to end up with waste. Because there’s no way we can eat all of it. And that’s why I decided that this year I’m gonna make a savory gingerbread house. Something small, that we can eat immediately.
Making a savory house is a bit different because creating savory icing that doesn’t contain water is very hard. When the icing has water it’s going to make the cookie (or in this case cracker) become soft after a while. That’s why this is a house that needs to be eaten within an hour of making it.
Why two differet kinds of crackers in the savory gingerbread house?
I made the house with two different types of crackers, simply for variety when people eat it. If you don’t feel like making two different crackers, don’t worry. You can make just one. Each of the two cracker recipes in this article is enough to make a house. This means that if you make two, you have enough crackers to make two houses!
I imagined a cabin made of stone with a wooden roof and that’s why I baked crackers with lots of seeds to mimic that stone appearance. And I used the regular rye crackers to make the door and the roof.
To make the house stand I used processed cheese and I used cream cheese to frost the roof to make the salty sticks adhere to the roof. I also used cream cheese to decorate the house. The same way as I would if I used royal icing – with a piping bag.
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cream cheese for frosting the roof and decorating the house
salty sticks
peanuts
olives
rosemary
transparent jelly
Instructions
Wholegrain Rye Crackers
Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently bring together. Do not knead too much or else the crackers won't be as crunchy.
Add more water if necessary. The dough should be pretty firm and not overly stiky.
Place the dough onto baking paper and roll out 3-4 mm thick.
Cut out the house using paper template (you can get the template below the recipe)
Make sure the cuts are pretty significant, but don't move any parts of the house. Everything should be close together to prevent the shapes to change.
Transfer the paper gently onto a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes.
When the crackers are baked remove them from the oven but leave them on the baking tray to cool down completely, before transfering them off the tray. They will harden as they cook.
Wholegrain seed crackers
Mix flax seeds with water and leave them to soak for 30 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring them together in a dough. Don't overmix.
Place the dough onto baking paper and roll out 3-4 mm thick.
Cut out the house using a paper template (you can get the template below the recipe)
Make sure the cuts are pretty significant but don't move any parts of the house. Everything should be close together to prevent the shapes to change.
Transfer the paper gently onto a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes.
When the crackers are baked remove them from the oven but leave them on the baking tray to cool down completely, before transfering them off the tray. They will harden as they cook.
Decorating the house
Use cream cheese to frost the roof and add salty sticks on top, to create a wooden look.
Once the roof is done use processed cheese to glue all the pieces of the house together.
Place the chimney on top.
Use cream cheese to pipe snow on the house and to decorate as you like.
You can use peanut halves to create a stone path, make firm jelly using water and gelatine to create icecubes, halve olives and add rosemary inside to create flower pots or use rosemary as decorations. Imagination is the limit. Be creative!
I love it when you can make the most chocolaty fudge brownie cake with the simplest of ingredients. And to top it all, make a simple and most delicious chocolate ganache.
Anyone else here dreaming about chocolate desserts now that it’s become moodier and cooler?
I’m not normally the one dreaming about anything chocolate (many desserts come before chocolate!) but this year I can’t help myself 🙂
So the other day I made a chocolate fudge brownie cake and it was utterly drool-worthy. It would be a shame not to share the recipe with you guys. And I actually added a simple chocolate ganache recipe to use on the cake. Because more chocolate is just better (again, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I guess times are changing!).
Here I used a bunch of fruits from the garden (I shot these a while ago when we still had some blueberries and raspberries in the garden). You can add any fruit you like such as banana, figs, pears and similar or just keep it a simple chocolate cake. Be creative!
Like I’ve said here probably a million times, the best recipes are simple ones that don’t require a bunch of ingredients and equipment. This is a recipe just like that. And that’s why I’m such a huge fan of brownies. So simple and everyone always likes them. Win-win!
If you’re not into fudgy brownies and prefer a cakier one, I have another amazing recipe here.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and butter the sides and bottom of a 6-inch cake pan.
Place chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water. Stir often until chocolate and butter have melted completely.
Remove from the stove and add sugar and salt. Mix well.
Once the mixture is not anymore, add eggs one at a time and use a whisk to mix them in well. The mixture should not be too slimy.
Finally, add flour and mix it in to get a uniform batter.
Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. You can do a toothpick test, however you will see it be brown and sticky even when the cake is done. Just make sure the toothpick shows the sticky inside and not a runny inside.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Cool it to room temperature or keep in the fridge before decorating with chocolate ganache.
Chocolate ganache
While the cake is cooling, prepare the chocolate ganache.
Pour heavy cream into a pot and heat until steaming but DO NOT LET IT BOIL!
Pour the steaming hot heavy cream over the finely chopped chocolate and let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until the chocolate has completely melted. Stir with a spatula to create a smooth cream.
The cream will be pretty runny and it's okay to use it like this if you prefer.
To create a cream like in the photos, wait until the cream cools down to room temperature to become thicker and spreadable. If it still feels too runny, place it in the fridge until it gets the right consistency.
You can prepare the cream in advance and store it in the fridge, then take it out an hour before using it.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/Fudge_Brownie_Cake_Chocolate_Ganache-21.jpg15001000Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2021-09-24 02:58:002021-10-07 13:47:41Fudge Brownie Cake with Chocolate Ganache
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and the soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on their own.
Today, I’m sharing a dish we’ve been making a lot this Winter. And it’s honoring the deliciousness of sauerkraut, which we have on the menu at least once a week during the cold months.
What is sauerkraut?
Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, that is usually cut finely, but you can also get the whole cabbage heads. I’m not sure if these can be purchased everywhere, but they are quite common in the Balkans.
The name sauerkraut comes form German and means sour cabbage.
While sauerkraut is not a traditional filling for börek, we can’t stop making it after tasting the sauerkraut börek. It is created with very simple ingredients, and the process is straightforward.
This recipe also includes the recipe for homemade phyllo dough, although the storebought is just as fine. Whenever I use the storebought, I prefer finding phyllo dough that’s very thin. It creates a very crispy and flaky skin on the börek.
How do you make the homemade phyllo dough?
Although it might sound intimidating to make your own phyllo dough, it’s actually not that difficult. Take it from me, I’m by no means an expert. If you ever stop by YouTube and check the professionals, you might easily be discouraged, but it really only takes a gentle hand while stretching the dough.
The dough is basically just flour, water, and salt. Optionally you can a little oil for flavor. I used olive oil for this sauerkraut börek, however, I don’t even put oil every time I make phyllo dough. The dough is very soft and is very easy to knead by hand. It might stick a bit at first, but once you get the gluten going you’re good!
Then all it takes is to rest the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with some foil, so it doesn’t dry out. After you’ve left the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes, you roll the dough just a little bit, oil the surface, and let it rest covered for about 20 minutes. This lets the gluten relax. After that, the dough is ready to be stretched. Gently slide your fingers under the dough, right to the center, and gently stretch towards yourself. Move around the dough and stretch. Always make sure you stretch the thicker parts and not the parts that are already very thin.
Some people also use the rolling method, however, I don’t own a long thin rolling pin, so I use this method, which is very common for the Balkans anyway. Here’s a nice video to show you how this method works.
While you can stretch the entire dough in one go and get one huge piece of dough, I find it easier to divide my dough into smaller doughs right before resting and then stretch each one separately.
Time to fill the börek
After you’ve stretched the dough you can fill it with the most delicious sauerkraut filling. I have to be honest with you. The person who actually created the filling recipe for this sauerkraut börek is my husband with a bit of help of my son. I’m usually responsible for making the dough and they get to do the fillings when we make any kind of börek.
I know, you’re probably waiting anxiously for the recipe, so let’s just dive in! If you’re interested in making another similar dish with phyllo dough, I also have a recipe for Chicken Spanakopita.
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homemade phyllo dough (recipe below)or 500g store bought phyllo dough
1kgthinly cut sauerkraut
4bay leaves
1TBSPpaprika
1TBSPturmeric
crushed black pepper to taste
1/4tspanis seeds
1/4tspground carraway seeds
1shallot
2red onion
5garlic cloves
cooking oil for frying the filling, brushing the pan and top the börek
1 small egg + 1 tsp water for egg wash(optional)
Instructions
Finely slice shallots and red onions and fry them on a tablespoon of cooking oil for a few minutes until translucent.
Finely slice or crush the garlic. Add to the pan and fry for an extra two to three minutes.
Add all the spices and fry for another minute.
Drain the sauerkraut. Taste the sauerkraut to see how sour it is. If you find it too sour for your liking, you can wash it quickly under running water and then leave it to drain.
Add drained sauerkraut to the pan and fry on medium heat for about 20 minutes. It should become a bit dryer and softer.
Divide the filling phyllo dough into the same amount of parts as you have phyllo dough sheets.
Spread one part of the filling onto one sheet of phyllo dough, but cover only one third starting from the edge. Start rolling from the side, where he filling is, then roll it.
Shape it into a snail shape and continue filling another sheet of phyllo pastry. You can either add it to the snail, to ultimately create a large börek or create small separate böreks. If you create separate böreks, reduce baking time for 5-10 minutes.
Generously oil the pan you'll be using to bake and place the börek onto the pan.
Brush some oil on top of the börek. If you're doing an egg-wash, brush it over oiled börek.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes.
500ghigh protein white flour(all-purpose flour works as well)
300gwater
1tspsalt
2 TBSPolive oil(omit if you're using all-purpose flour)
Instructions
Sift flour into a large bowl.
Make a well and pour in the water. Add salt and oil to the water.
Start mixing from the center with your fingers. It will be sticky, but once it all comes together it will go off your hands easily.
Mix until you can see the dough coming together a bit, then you can start kneading to incorporate the flour in. Every flour needs a different amount of water, so you might end up adding more flour or leaving some flour in the bowl at the end.
When the dough starts to become uniform transfer (this will usually take somewhere from 3-4 minutes) it to the bench and continue kneading for another 8 minutes. The dough should be soft and uniform. It will stick to your hands just a little bit, that's okay. If it sticks too much add a little more flour and knead it in.
You can either leave the dough whole and end up creating a large piece of phyllo. I prefer dividing it into three parts, to make it easier when I'm stretching.
Whatever method you use. Place the dough into an oiled bowl (or three oiled bowls) brush a little oil over the dough and cover with plastic wrap right on the dough. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes. You can prepare the dough a day before, and store it in the fridge, then take it out and leave it at room temperature for at least an hour before proceeding.
After resting, place a large sheet onto the table and generously sprinkle it with flour. Place the dough onto the floured sheet and roll it out a little bit. If I'm making one large dough I like to roll it out to about 40 cm (15 inches) or 20 cm (8 inches) if I divide the dough into three parts. The precise measurements don't really matter, just to give you a rough idea. Generously pour oil over the rolled dough and brush all over the surface. Be sure to cover the edges too. This will prevent the dough from drying out. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 20 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
After that, you can start stretching. Make sure you cover a large area of the sheet with flour, so the dough will not stick.
Place your hands under the dough and gently pull towards yourself. You will immediately see stretching happening. Move around the dough and to the same. Make sure, that you don't stretch the parts that are already very thin and continue stretching the thicker parts. In the end, you will end with edges that are a little bit thicker. You can continue stretching them for as long as the dough can handle it.
Leave the dough to dry for a minute or two then you can start adding the filling.
This dried fruits and chocolate chip bundt cake is packed with Winter flavors and rich chocolate, topped with a quick and simple glaze. It’s the most delicious Christmas bundt cake!
I tried not to bake too much this year, since we’re in a lockdown and we have no one to share the sweets with. But I couldn’t resist baking another Christmas bundt cake. Do you remember the chocolate hazelnut bundt cake from last year?
I had the idea of making a bundt cake and then my son insisted on us baking a cake. He’s not very friendly with bundt cakes, since they don’t usually include any cream filling. So I tried to find a way to make him love it. And found the perfect solution.
Adding lots of chocolate and dried fruits did the job. He’s a big fan of both! And I love how they made the cake a bit juicier and creamier. We also added some orange zest, because it’s almost Christmas and you can’t have Christmas without some orange zest, right? For me, it’s one of the most distinct flavors of Christmas.
It’s super easy to make this dried fruits and chocolate chip bundt cake!
One of the reasons I love bundt cakes is how easy they are to make and how well they usually last in terms of freshness. Definitely not in terms of not-eating them, because we finished it in a day!
All you need to do to make a perfect bundt cake is beat sugar and butter together. There’s not so much butter in this recipe, so don’t get scared if the mixture is not as fluffy as for example a buttercream. It still needs to get airy and brighter, though. You add the eggs one at a time and finish with flour and milk. At the very end, you add chocolate chips and dried fruits and pour it all in a bundt pan.
It’s a very simple cake and you can eat it as is or make a simple glaze with icing sugar and milk.
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Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease a 6-cup bundt cake pan with butter.
In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, and make sure to incorporate the first fully, before adding the second.
Add vanilla and orange zest and mix quickly.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Then add 1/2 of the milk and mix on low speed. Continue with 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the milk, and finishing with the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture.
Add chocolate chips and dried fruits and use a spatula to gently incorporate them in the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased bundt cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. If you're doubling the recipe add 10-15 minutes to the bake.
The bundt cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean.
Wait for 10-15 minutes before removing the bundt cake from the pan.
Simple glaze
For the glaze mix together icing sugar and milk to get a smooth paste. First, start with 1 TBSP of milk and add more, little by little, until you get the consistency you like.
This mandarin upside-down cake with vanilla and cardamom will bring joy and coziness to these gloomy fall days. It’s super simple to make!
I just love the season of mandarins! They take me back to my childhood when we spent afternoons with my family eating them and having a good time. They come at the perfect time when the autumn is getting moodier and cooler. So we get to hang out together, talking and playing games over healthy snacks, and also add have some extra vitamins.
I feel like this is even more important this year than any other. An extra dose of vitamins is super important. I hope you’re doing well! Please take care of yourself and the people around you. One way to do that is also by baking this delicious mandarin upside-down cake.
This mandarin upside-down cake is super simple!
I know I say this with most of my recipes, but this is probably the simplest cake ever. You can make it in only one mixing bowl. This means less cleaning, and this is a big win for me already 🙂
It’s a little denser and moister than a regular sponge cake, which I find perfect for colder days. Together with some warm tea or mulled mandarin juice, it makes for a perfect afternoon dessert.
I used some yogurt, which I use a lot when I want to make a sponge a bit juicier and when I want to add that milky flavor. Because yogurt already makes it a bit denser and heavier, I used oil instead of butter. And the end result was amazing.
Imagine baked caramelized mandarins on top of a delightful cake. I can’t imagine anything better to have right now. I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it just as much as we did.
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This homemade wild garlic pasta dough recipe is easy to follow and tastes incredible. With a gentle herbal flavor and the most amazing color, it’s going to freshen up these early Spring days!
It’s that time of the year again. Yeah, it’s wild garlic time!
Despite what’s happening in the world right now, I can still go to the nearby forest and pick some wild garlic and for that, I’m so so grateful. If you’ve seen my wild garlic sandwiches or wild garlic risotto recipes, you know I’m obsessed with wild garlic. I can’t get enough.
So this year I’ve tried making wild garlic pasta. Although I love pasta that actually has herb particles inside, I wanted to make pasta that has a very uniform color, while still having that delicious wild garlic flavor.
And it turned out amazing. Mildly herbal and so incredibly tender.
Since the wild garlic flavor is very mild and delicate I suggest a very mild sauce. We made rosemary butter and added some parmesan cheese and some chopped fresh wild garlic and that’s it. It makes a perfect light Spring lunch.
What if I can’t find wild garlic?
I hope you have access to forest and wild garlic these days. If not, this recipe would also work with spinach or some other baby greens.
The most important thing is to keep the flour to water ratio and you’ll be fine 😀
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Keyword
homemade pasta, pasta, wild garlic, wild garlic pasta
Prep Time30minutes
Resting time30minutes
Total Time1hour
Servings4people
AuthorAnja Burgar
Ingredients
250gall-purpose flour
150gwild garlic
pinch of salt
Instructions
Cook wild garlic in boiling water for around 30 seconds until it gets soft. Drain the wild garlic, but keep some of the liquid.
Use a food processor to mix wild garlic finely. If necessary add some leftover water from cooking one tablespoon at a time.
Use a strainer to squeeze out the liquid from the wild garlic paste. You should be left with 120g of strained liquid. If you don't have enough you can add some leftover water from cooking wild garlic.
Mix flour, salt and strained green liquid and mix with a fork. When it starts coming together start kneading. At first, the dough will feel very dry, but after about 10 minutes of kneading it will become softer.
When the dough is soft wrap it in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After resting it is ready to shape. You can use it for any kind of pasta.
If you're making noodles…
Cut the dough in half or quarters.
Use your hands or a rolling pin to just slightly flatten the dough, then use a pasta machine on the widest setting (usually marked as '1') to roll it out.
Fold the dough into thirds lengthwise and run it through the machine two more times, doing the folding each time. Then continue rolling the pasta gradually through narrower settings, until you've come to the desired thickness. I like my pasta to be rolled to thickness number '5'.
Use the same machine to cut the pasta into noodles. Alternatively, you can lightly flour the pasta, roll it and cut into strips with a knife.
Once you have your pasta cut, lightly flour it and make noodle nests. Leave them to dry for 30 minutes or longer if you want to dry them completely.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/wild-garlic-pasta-dough-52.jpg15001000Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2020-03-26 14:11:452020-03-26 14:16:25Homemade Wild Garlic Pasta Dough
This Mediterranean style mussels recipe is the easiest and super delicious! With just a few simple ingredients you get maximum flavors. Wine, garlic, and parsley make the most delicious sauce.
I’ve been scared of cooking mussels for a very very long time. In fact, I’ve just recently discovered how easy they are to make.
So how did I even get started?
We took our son out to eat some seafood and we ordered mussels after years of not eating them. He loved them so so much and we did as well. After that, I felt inspired and wanted to try them out. There’s one recipe that excites me the most and it’s this recipe. I’ve tested a few over a few months and wrote my own, like I make it.
The recipe is really a very popular way of cooking mussels in this part of the Mediterranean, where I’m from. This is just a variation and there’s also one with tomatoes, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried that one. Note to myself: make the tomato version!
Okay, so this Mediterranean style mussels recipe is literally the simplest dish you’ll ever make. And also one of the most delicious ones. Just imagine the flavors of the sea mixing with some good wine, garlic, and parsley. Doesn’t it already sound so delicious?
It only takes you a few minutes to prep and a few minutes to cook. The only thing that requires a bit more work is cleaning them, but it’s actually really easy.
So how do you clean the mussels?
First, make sure you buy fresh mussels. They should smell like the sea. I tried googling how long the mussels really last but the answers are so different. Since I don’t live next to the sea, I can’t get them straight from the water. This would be amazing and if you have that chance, I recommend buying them the same day they were harvested.
For the unfortunate ones: I tend to buy them if they are a day old and no more. Then I prepare them the same day or in the worst-case scenario the next day.
When it comes to cleaning the mussels, first you need to throw away dead or damaged mussels. Toss the mussels with a broken shell. If the shell is open tap it lightly against the counter and if the mussel starts to close after a few seconds, then it’s alive and you can keep it, if not, toss it. If the mussel is closed and the shell is not damaged it’s good to go.
After you’ve tossed away the bad ones, pour some water in a bowl and add a bit of salt. Place mussels in the salted water and wait for 30 minutes so they can release all the dirt which has accumulated inside the shells.
And that’s it. It’s very easy and so worth the extra few minutes of cleaning them.
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Before cleaning the mussels be sure to only keep the ones that are alive. If the mussel is closed and the shell is intact, keep it. If the shell is open tap the mussel lightly against the counter and wait a few seconds. If it starts closing, this means the mussel is alive. If nothing happens toss it.
Scrub the mussels to remove any debris or mud. Remove the "beard" of a mussel, which is the thick cluster of hair on one side of the mussel.
Place mussels in cold lightly salted water for thirty minutes. In this time they will release the grit and dirt from inside the shell.
After thirty minutes remove the mussels from the water and give them a quick rinse.
Cooking the mussels
In a large pot, fry chopped garlic in olive oil for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add wine, chopped parsley and breadcrumbs to the pot and wait until it boils. Add cleaned mussels. Cover and lower the heat. Let steam for 10 minutes. Only eat the mussels that have opened. Toss the closed ones.
Serve warm with some bread or pasta.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/mediterranian_style_mussels_wine-sauce-24.jpg15001000Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2020-02-26 15:16:262020-02-26 15:16:28Mediterranean Style Mussels In Wine Sauce
This luscious blackberry almond sponge cake is easy to make for any family occasion. Very easy delicious almond sponge and fresh summer blackberries are a winner combo!
Are you enjoying the Summer berries? It feels like each week a new sort of berries is ripe and ready to be eaten or turned into delicious dishes and desserts. Right now, we’re drowning in blackberries.
The forests are full of those tiny sweet and tart berries. I love using blackberries in desserts because they add some tartness and therefore make the dessert taste fresh and not too sweet.
I realize I’ve never posted a berry sponge cake like this here yet, but I actually make this kind of cake all the time, probably more than any other. Why? Mostly because they are so easy and quick. If there are friends coming over and I have to bake in the last minute it’s either something like this or some brownies. And the simple desserts usually end up being the ones that people like the most.
So don’t get scared because there’s cake in the name of this recipe. It’s foolproof, I promise!
I just remembered I haven’t talked about what’s happening in my life for a while. Lots of photography work and some vacations in between 🙂 I had my first wedding photography gig this past Saturday and I really enjoyed it, especially because everyone was amazing and so nice. I found myself forgetting that I’m actually working sometimes.
And now I have 3000 photos to go through and find the best of the best. The worst part of being a photographer, in my opinion, is culling… omg, I hate it, but it needs to be done.
If you have any berries growing right now, not only blackberries, you can use them in this sponge cake. Please let me know if you do!
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Strawberry yogurt cupcakes with whipped cream frosting and balsamic strawberries. One bite of these and you will agree, these are the best!
Hey guys! I’m ready. For strawberry season!
Okay, I’ve been ready for months, but it’s finally a week or two away. Do you already have strawberries where you live?
The ones in our garden are just starting to grow the little green strawberries so we won’t have them for a while, but there’s a plantation right out of town where they grow the most delicious strawberries. I’m stalking their Facebook page so I can go there immediately. I know, crazy!
I’ve created this recipe a while ago for a magazine I was featured in and I’m so happy that I’m sharing it with you today. These are strawberry yogurt cupcakes with whipped cream and balsamic strawberries on top. They have a delicious little surprise in the middles also. A yummy dollop of strawberry jam.
When it comes to cupcakes, I don’t like heavy
frostings like buttercream. Whipped cream or cream cheese is what I love most.
To be honest, I usually make them without frosting anyway, but strawberries
need cream. These are the two thing I think go oh so great together.
So, why did I choose yogurt. When it comes to dessert,
I like them fresh and just a tiny bit acidic. I think it adds to the flavor and
makes it a lighter dessert in general. Yogurt is in my opinion one of the best ingredients
that adds such nice flavor and freshness to desserts.
If you’ve been following me, you know I love recipes that are easy but look like million dollars. I mean, just look at how elegant this looks. And trust me, it doesn’t take any special skill to make them. These strawberry yogurt cupcakes are so simple and I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to stop eating them. Guilty! I ate A LOT 😀
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4strawberriesgreens removed and cut into quarters lengthwise
1/2tspwhite balsamic vinegar
1/2tsphoney
Other Ingredients
1/2cupwhipping cream
1/2tspicing sugar
3TBSPstrawberry jam
Instructions
Balsamic Strawberries
Place strawberries in a small bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and honey. Mix well and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and prepare a muffin tin with liners
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla seeds. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add yogurt, sunflower oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix on medium speed to combine all ingredients. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture one spoon at a time.
Fill the muffin tins to ¾ volume and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once the cupcakes are cooled to room temperature, use a knife or a round piping tip to cut a 2-3 cm deep hole in the middle of the cupcakes. Drizzle some of the liquid from the balsamic strawberries into the holes, then fill them with strawberry jam.
In a bowl, whisk whipping cream and icing sugar until firm.
Frost the cupcakes with whipped cream. Top them with 2 strawberry quarters each and drizzle with the remaining liquid from strawberries.
Tender roasted orange chicken marinated in orange juice and soy sauce served with roasted potatoes is a quick and easy dinner recipe everyone will love.
Hello guys! I have an exciting new recipe
A lot of people have told me lately that they look for quick lunch and
dinner recipes that are healthy as well. I always loved anything roasted, more
so lately with my son keeping me busy. Anything that can be prepared in advance
and doesn’t take a lot of my time is super handy.
I made this roasted orange chicken last week and I love how it turned out. I
need to make something quickly with a few ingredients I had in the fridge. You
really don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients to make a fancy meal. Doesn’t this
look fancy? Trust me, no fancy ingredients were added. Oranges are the
not-so-secret ingredients that add such a nice color and make it looks like you
worked your but for the meal 🙂
The marinade ends up making the most delicious sauce and adds so much flavor to he chicken. Wanna know the best part? I took me less than 10 minutes to prepare before tossing into the oven and relaxing!
The whole family was sick the past month and a half. It’s been only a few
days since we’re actually all okay and we’re hoping it ended. There’s nothing
less fun but being home with a sick kid or being sick yourself or even worst
both of you sick. We weren’t able to go out for more than a few minutes a day
and we were FREAKING OUT!
We were drinking lots of elderflower
turmeric tea and eating a ton of soup! And finally got better…
fingers crossed.
To be honest, a lot of the time I wasn’t even able to cook anything even slightly decent. Thank god for my mum, we were crashing her lunches a lot. Parents rock, right? I hope my son says that about me some day!
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Combine together soy sauce, orange juice, ground garlic, crushed black pepper, cayenne pepper, and 1 TBSP olive oil. Pour over the chicken thighs and let sit until you prepare the potatoes.
Cut potatoes in 2 cm chunks and drizzle with 1 TBSP olive oil and add salt to taste. Mix well.
Place potatoes in a baking tray and add chicken thighs skin side up. Add orange slices and thyme springs.
These shredded chicken enchiladas are my absolutely favorite enciladas. The recipe is super easy and it even includes a homemade enchilada sauce that’s made with little effort in only 15 minutes.
I can’t believe tomorrow’s Christmas already. Hasn’t December just begun??
I had plans to do some thorough house cleaning plus some more baking and decorating, but my son’s been home all week long with a cold and an ear infection. Although I can do some cleaning with him around and helping, there’s just no way I can do it in detail. Still, it was fun having him at home, we haven’t had the whole day to ourselves since he started kindergarten.
We’re making plans what to eat during holidays. Me and my husband are huge fans of Mexican food. So I’ve made a recipe for chicken enchiladas with a homemade enchilada sauce. The recipe is very easy! We usually end up making too many so we eat them again next day for breakfast. Okay, I admit, maybe we make too many on purpose 😛
We have a favorite Mexican restaurant and we used to only order beef enchiladas there. We’re crazy about beef! Then one evening we decided to try chicken enchiladas. I guess we always order them with chicken ever since. They use cabbage in the filling and it just goes so well with chicken and the tomato sauce. So that was the inspiration behind this recipe.
For the filling you can use leftover chicken, because we all know big Christmas dinners leave us with a ton of leftovers. I hate throwing food away and love recipes that transform those into something very delicious.
I hope you are having wonderful holidays and I wish you peaceful and loving moments with the ones you love!
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Shredded Chicken Enchiladas With Homemade Enchilada Sauce
The BEST chicken enchiladas, hearty but full of veggies!
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Mexican
Keyword
chicken enchiladas
Prep Time20minutes
Cook Time30minutes
Total Time50minutes
Servings4people
Ingredients
Chicken enchiladas
8corn tortillas(20cm/8inch)
1cooked and chopped chicken breast(leftovers can be used)
1/4cabbage head
1carrot
1red bell pepper
1onion
2cloves garlic
400gmozzarella(shredded)
1/3cuppomegranate arils
1 lime
1avocado(cut into thin slices)
chopped coriander
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
800gcanned tomatoes
1/2cuppomegranate juice(or cranberry juice)
juice of half a lime
1 TBSPpeanut butter
2cloves garlic
2bay leaves
1/2tspcayenne pepper
1tspsmoked paprika
1fresh chilli
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it thickens a bit.
Use a blender to make a smooth sauce.
Chicken enchiladas
Thinly slice cabbage and onions. Cut red bell pepper in small chunks and grate carrots.
In a skillet sauté onions, cabbage, carrots, and red bell peppers. When they soften add garlic and sauté for another minute.
Place the sauteed vegetables in a big bowl and add shredded chicken breast, half of the shredded mozzarella and 1/3 of enchilada sauce (or more if the mixture seems too dry). Mix well and divide into eight parts. Use each part to fill one tortilla and roll them o keep all ingredients inside.
Add 1/3 of enchilada sauce to the bottom of the baking pan. Place rolled tortillas on top and pour the remaining 1/3 of enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Add the other half of mozzarella on top and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden.
Use pomegranate arils, avocado, lime and coriander as garnish. Serve warm.
Mini lemon balm rhubarb bundt cakes are amazing. No other words to describe them. They are delicious melt-in-your-mouth mini treats.
Folks, it’s officially summer! We’ve been having unbelievably sunny and hot weather for weeks so it feels like it’s already mid-summer. I’m keeping myself cool with loads of strawberry drinks like roasted peach and strawberry fizz and strawberry vanilla iced tea. Thank god for our garden, producing all those delicious fruits. And thank god for the mini rhubarb bundt cakes. They make these hot June days so much easier!
I’m spending so much time outside in the shade with my little baby. I love dressing him in the cute summer clothes and seing his bare feet. I could eat them up! He’s growing so fast, I can hardly keep up. He’s becoming more aware of the world and things around him, giving us the most precios smiles and giggles. I could watch those all day long.
Okay, back to the recipe.
I swear guys, these mini bundt cakes are incredibly tender and light. Rhubarb gives them such a nice sour note and the lemon balm makes them deliciously citrusy. I added a lemon drizzle to make those flavors stand out even more and make it super light and refreshing. They are my new summer crush. Sorry hubby, you’ll just have to deal 😛
The recipe is not a dense sponge recipe like for a regular bundt cake. It is more of a cupcake type of sponge. I should maybe call them cupcakes, but I love my new mini bundt cake molds which my mum gave me, that I just had to use those for the shoot. Call them cupcakes if you want 🙂
I feel like I’m being real brief these past few posts. I’m still ajusting to the fact that my free time is pretty scarce these days.
I hope you all have the best start of the summer!
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Preheat the oven to 170°C. Lightly grease mini bundt cake molds. I used 12 80ml bundt cake molds.
In a stand mixer beat together sugar, eggs and oil.
In a bowl mix flour, vanilla seeds, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and baking powder.
Add flour mix to the egg mixture spoon by spoon.
Add yogurt, chopped lemon balm and mix until the mixture is smooth and even.
Add rhubarb and use a spatula or a big spoon to mix it in.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the molds to about 3/4 full.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the molds
Lemon Drizzle
In a mortar bash the lemon balm with 1 TBSP of lemon juice to get out as much lemon balm juice as you can. Use a fine sieve or gauze to squeeze out the liquid. Discard the solids.
Add 1 TBSP lemon juice and the lemon balm liquid to the icing sugar and whisk until smooth.
Decoration
When bundt cakes are cooled to room temperature, remove them from molds and decorate with lemon drizzle.
Looking forward to spring but also looking back to autumn with these moist pumpkin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting made of cashews.
Aaaah cupcakes!
And pumpkin!
And frosting!
… And crumbs!
I’m doing a second pumpkin recipe in a row. That’s because I had a big pumpkin waiting for me in the basement. My relatives from Croatia gave it to me to try it out. It is a big pumpkin with a blue-ish skin and a deep yellow-orange sweet meat. They call it Turkinja in Croatia. I’m a sucker for pumpkins with very sweet meat, so this one is going to the top of my list, right next to hokkaido pumpkin.
We’re having pretty depressing days here. Like, really depressing. And these pretty pumpkin cupcakes are all gone. So I’ll be testing some new dessert recipes today, to cheer myself up. If you’re feeling down I suggest you start baking immediately!
You’ll notice that I’m separating eggs, whipping eggwhites and adding them at the end. I’ve been using this technique for a long time now. The basic cupcake recipe has been handed down to me by my mother in law. An it has never failed me.
I’m a mess sometimes. I forget key ingredients so often. Unsalted bread is a constant at our house. Not to mention the cupcakes! I’ve made them without oil and even without baking soda. But since I’m whisking the eggwhites separately, this doesn’t really seem to be such a big a problem. They rise a bit more with the baking soda, but it’s not a drastic change.
If you prefer the easier version (wet ingredients together, dry ingredients together, no eggwhite whisking), do it! I haven’t done it, but I’m pretty sure it will turn out just fine. Let me know if you try that.
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PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH CASHEW CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Course
Dessert
Keyword
cream cheese frosting, cupcakes, muffins
Total Time1hour30minutes
Servings12cupcakes
Ingredients
PUMPKIN CUPCAKES
2cupswhole grain spelt flour
1tspbaking soda
4tspground cinnamon
1tspground ginger
1tspallspice
1tspground cloves
1/2tspground nutmeg
4eggs
2/3cupssugar
1/2cupsunflower oil
2cupspumpkin puree
2TBSPlemon juice
pinchof salt
FROSTING
2cupspre-soaked cashewsat least 5 hours
juice of 2 lemons
1/2tspsalt
6TBSPhoney
1-2TBSPwater
TOPPINGS
pumpkin seeds
lemon zest
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg using a whisk.
In the bowl of the electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the egg yolks, sugar and sunflower oil on medium speed until well combined.
Add pumpkin puree and lemon juice and blend again.
Keep your mixer on medium speed and slowly add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture.
In a separate bowl (using a clean whisk attachment or a hand mixer) whip egg whites and a pinch of salt until it is stiff.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter until well combined.
Divide the batter among 12 paper-lined muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 – 25 minutes, until the toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in the baking pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, take cashews, lemon juice, salt, and honey and blend in a blender until it has a smooth cream-like texture. If necessary add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water.
When the cupcakes have cooled completely frost them with the cashew cream cheese frosting and top with pumpkin seeds and lemon zest.
Notes
The smoothness of the frosting will actually depend on the quality of the blender you have. My blender is not top quality, so it’s quite difficult getting a perfectly smooth frosting
This creamy and wobbly coffee pudding is seriously the best pudding I’ve ever had. It’s made only with bananas, persimmon, cocoa powder and coffee. It’s like having your morning shot of coffee together with a dose of fruit. Not that I know how morning coffee looks like. I don’t even drink coffee!
I can’t have caffeine. Seriously! As I’m writing this I’m shaking, because my body got an unusal amount of caffeine. I’ve been testing this recipe and you can imagine how much coffee I’ve had. You’ll probably be surprised to hear I’ve had decaffeinated coffee and I’m shaking anyway. Then why am I making coffee pudding you ask? Because I love the smell and taste of coffee. Very rarely I treat myself with a warm cup of decaffeinated cappuccino and it’s enough for a while.
It used to be better, when I drank coffee more often, but even then it happened sometimes. The fast heartbeat. So I stopped and now I have it only when I really really feel like it. And this week I had coffee pudding. A lot!
My coffee pudding is actually a very thick smoothie. It contains bananas, persimmons, cocoa powder and coffee. Nothing else. Super simple and quick. No fancy tricks, but very yummy. I’m almost sad that I can’t have it every day. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
I’d love to hear from you. What is your favourite coffee recipe and how do you handle caffeine intake?
Now let’s get down to business!
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It takes 60 min for the refrigerated version, that gives a real pudding consistency.
Course
Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword
vegan, vegan puding
Prep Time5minutes
Resting time1hour
Total Time1hour5minutes
Servings2
Ingredients
PUDDING
1/2cupswatercold or room temperature
3-4tspinstant coffee
1persimmonkeep in the fridge for an hour or two before making coffee pudding
2bananaskeep in the fridge for an hour or two before making coffee pudding
3TBSPunsweetened cocoa powder
TOPPINGS
persimmon slices or chunks
cocoa nibs
coconut shavings
pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Dissolve the coffee in the water. Don’t worry if it doesn’t dissolve completely.
Chop persimmons and bananas into chunks and put them in the blender.
Add cocoa powder and coffee and mix until it is smooth.
Serve in a bowl and top with your favorite toppings.
Now you can decide to eat it immediately or wait for about an hour (or more), until the pudding has cooled down in the fridge. This will give it the jelly-like consistency.
Notes
The pudding should be thick as a regular pudding. But if you prefer a smoothie, you can add extra liquid (coffee, milk, nut milk). That’s also super delicious. Dissolved coffee should be quite strong. Preferably you should add an amount you usually use for 2 people. You can use any kind of persimmon. I’m using a firm vanilla persimmon, but you can use the gooey hachiya persimmons too, just make sure it’s ripe enough.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/coffepudding_2-Custom.jpg15001000Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2016-01-14 12:12:212020-08-26 13:16:41Coffee Pudding – Not a typical one!
