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Whiskey Photography – Case Study

July 12, 2024

Take a look at how I approached whiskey photography for a personal project to build my photography portfolio.

‘Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.’

With almost nine years of experience in food and drink photography, I’ve built a reputation for helping national and international brands showcase their products.

Today, I’m thrilled to share the behind-the-scenes details of creating a striking image featuring a glass of whiskey. These insights highlight how the right expertise can captivate potential clients. Join me as I walk you through the process behind this spectacular photograph!

This was a personal project I did earlier this year. Personal projects are great ways to show your potential clients your skills and the way you can serve them.

For this particular photoshoot, I wanted to create a mysterious look, which I wanted to add to my portfolio.

1. Pre-production

The idea for this shot was to focus on mood and the space where whiskey might be served. I created a moodboard to help me hone in on the final look.

2. Setup and execution

I immediately knew this was going to be a photo created with multiple light sources because I needed to emphasize smoke with backlight but also light up the glass from the side to show the drink and garnishes better.

This is also a topic we will more deeply dive into at the Mix, Snap, Sip Retreat in September 2024, a retreat designed to upscale your drink photography, videography, editing, and mixology skills.

To create smoke, I used a fog machine (the ones that are used for events), which I really love because it creates a lot of smoke and operates on a remote control (which is very helpful on a set!).

3. Fixing and adjusting

At first, my idea was to add some ‘room-related’ objects in the back, but just a little. I did not want the frame to be too crammed. However, once I tried a few different setups, I felt like the one with more elements had more soul. This just goes to show, that an idea can evolve during a photoshoot and you need to be alert of the things that are working or not working.

Then, it came to creating the perfect smoke. I took over 30 photos, to make sure I had options. I actually like to take a few photos even after I already feel like I got the right one, just in case. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

I ended up creating an extra photo where the garnish on the whiskey was lit separately (with the addition of a white reflector) and then combined with the original photo in post-production. And an additional photo where I focused more towards the front of the glass, so ice at the front would be in focus.

4. Post-Production

I edited the photos in Lightroom using my personal presets and some tweaks and adjustments. Then, I used Photoshop to merge the original photo with the two extra photos of ice and orange peel, which would then make the final photo.

5. Conclusion

When creating a personal project like this one, I like to focus on what is missing in my portfolio, but also what are the skills that I can showcase, so that future clients can see what I can offer them.

I find it very important to do planned projects like this whiskey photography one on top of more relaxing personal projects because they will not only give you awesome photos to showcase but also keep you up-to-date with how your portfolio is looking.

Spooky Chocolate & Meringue Ghost Cupcakes

October 24, 2022

A spooky Halloween recipe – chocolate & meringue ghost cupcakes! Learn how to make these easy and fun decorated cupcakes with a meringue topping and make the spookiest treat of the season.

Super excited to be sharing this recipe with you, guys. I got a ton of requests last year when I posted them on Instagram in collaboration with Kenwood Slovenija. Back then, the recipe was posted in Slovene.

And now I get to share it in English, and I can’t wait to see you make it!

I’m always fascinated by beautiful Halloween designs, so I thought I’d try making meringue ghost cupcakes. We’re big fans of meringue in my family. Yeah, I know it’s too sweet, but to be honest, we don’t have it all that often!

We get to splurge every now and then, right?

You know I’m all about simple recipes, and this one is no exception. The sponge is made in one bowl, so you have minimal cleaning. You’re only left with a bowl where you beat the meringue and a few extras, and that’s it. I’ve been very lazy with my cleaning lately, so I’m trying to make recipes that require less cleaning.

The recipe makes 12 middle-sized ghost cupcakes, but I assure you they will be gone fast. So if you’re making it for a party, I suggest doubling or tripling the recipe.

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Spooky Chocolate & Meringue Ghost Cupcakes

Course Dessert

Keyword cake, chocolate cake, halloween, muffins

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Rest Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 43 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Chocolate Sponge

150 g all-purpose flour
50 g ground hazelnuts
50 g unsweetened cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150 g sugar
1/2 cup + 5 TBSP milk
⅕ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
60 g chocolate chips

Meringue Ghost Topping

3 egg whites
140 g white sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar

Decoration

chocolate chips

Instructions

Chocolate Sponge

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F)
Mix flour, hazelnuts, cocoa, cinnamon, and baking powder in a bowl.
Beat the eggs and sugar with a stand mixer for 1-2 minutes to get a fluffy batter.
Add milk and oil and mix again to get a uniform mixture.
Add the dry flour mixture and fold it with a spatula, just enough for the ingredients to combine.
Add chocolate chips and gently fold in.
Pour the batter into 12 muffin molds ¾ high and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Leave to cool entirely before decorating.

Meringue Ghost Topping

Pour egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pot with simmering water (a double boiler).
Whisk for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy, and all sugar is dissolved.
Add the egg whites mixture to a clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer and whisk for 5-7 minutes to get stiff peaks, the mixture is silky, and all the sugar has dissolved.
Use a round piping nozzle to decorate cooled-down cupcakes in ghost shapes.
Use chocolate chips to create eyes.

Looking for other delicious chocolate recipes?

Take a look at these:

Holiday Cabin (Savory Gingerbread House)

December 9, 2021

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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Holiday Cabin (Savory Gingerbread House)

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 hours

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Wholegrain Rye Crackers

2½ cups wholegrain rye flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
5 TBSP olive oil

Wholegrain seed crackers

80 g wholegrain rye flour
250 ml water
50 g flax seeds
40 g sunflower seeds
40 g sesame seeds
40 g black sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP olive oil

Icing and decorations

processed cheese for gluing the crackers together
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!

Persimmon Panna Cotta

November 24, 2021

Feeling all cozy with a persimmon panna cotta – spiced panna cotta with a delicious a surprising persimmon jelly.

Time for a cozy and comforting dessert.

I find panna cotta to be such an easy dessert for whenever you have guests coming over and you don’t have much time to do some proper baking. Plus I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like panna cotta.

This one today is inspired by the cool autumn weather we are having these days. I added a bit of cinnamon and vanilla into panna cotta. And then topped the panna cotta with homemade persimmon jelly, which basically requires only two ingredients.

Did you know that persimmons contain very high amounts of pectin? This means that they can be used as a hardening agent for homemade jams and you can use this knowledge to create a persimmon jam. And you don’t need any gelatine or agar. The persimmon pulp will harden on its own. I have used this in one of my very old recipes for persimmon coffee pudding.

So I just added a bit of sugar to make the process of solidifying even more pronounced. And that’s it, a very simple homemade persimmon jelly.

One word of caution though. Make sure that the persimmons you are using are ripe otherwise the tannins in the fruit will make your mouth dry. And that’s not a pleasant thing to feel.

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Persimmon Panna Cotta

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Resting time 3 hours

Servings 6 servings

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Panna Cotta

2½ cups heavy cream (600 ml)
2 TBSP caster suagr (30 g)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
3 gelatine leaves (5 g)

Persimmon Jelly

2 hachiya persimmons
2 TBSP caster sugar (30 g)

Instructions

Panna Cotta

Place gelatine leaves into a bowl with cold water to soften.
Place heavy cream, caster sugar, ground cinnamon and vanilla beans (or vanilla extract) into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. The mixture should not boil.
Remove from heat immediately and stir in the softened gelatine leaves and whisk to combine.
Pour the mixture into serving cups and keep refrigerated until it sets. This should take an hour or two.

Persimmon Jelly

Scoop out the flesh of the persimmon and discard the skin. Remove seeds, if any.
Place it in a food processor and add caster sugar.
Mix until smooth.
Pour over the chilled panna cotta.
Place into the fridge for an hour, which will let the pectin do its magic and create a jelly.

Pumpkin Dalgona Coffee

October 7, 2021

Pumpkin dalgona coffee – a seasonal twist to the oh-so-delicious dalgona coffee. With pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice this will become your favorite drink of the month!

If there’s anything that says Autumn it’s pumpkins! Do you agree?

I find pumpkins so very versatile. You can make savory dishes such as soup, gnocchi, or risotto, or even something sweet such as cupcakes. But today we’re making a drink with pumpkins. Yes, you heard me, pumpkins inside a drink and not just any drink. We’re using them in dalgona coffee.

Even if it sounds strange, trust me it tastes so delicious.

This is the drink you make for your friends to give them a special coffee experience.

How do you make pumpkin dalgona coffee aka whipped coffee with pumpkin?

Making dalgona is extremely simple. All you need to do is mix equal parts instant coffee, sugar and boiling water (and in the case of this pumpkin dalgona coffee, also a bit of pumpkin spice). Then whip everything for a few minutes until the cream becomes fluffy.

You can make it a smooth cream, like the one on these photos or whip a little bit longer and make the cream stiffer.

Then just pour a glass of milk over a tablespoon or two of pumpkin puree and add top that with the whipped coffee. And you’re done! Simple 🙂

I’m already imagining drinking this under a blanket next to a fireplace. Unbelievable, last week it felt like Summer and this week it’s cold and windy, just like true Autumn.

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Pumpkin Dalgona Coffee

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 drinks

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

2 TBSP instant coffee
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice (recipe for homemade pumpkin spice in the notes)
2 TBSP boiling water
3-4 TBSP pumpkin purée
2 cups milk or plant milk

Instructions

In a small mixing bowl add instant coffee, sugar, pumpkin spice and boiling water.
Using an electric mixer whisk for two to three minutes or until you get a fluffy cream. The more you whisk the stiffer the dalgona.
Onto the bottom of two coffee cups place pumpkin puree, pour over the milk (either hot or cold) and top with the whipped coffee / dalgona.
Serve immediately and enjoy.

Notes

Homemade pumpkin spice:

3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice

White chocolate & matcha chia pudding with figs

September 1, 2021

This deliciously rich white chocolate and matcha chia pudding with a homemade fig jam is such a wonderful dessert for late Summer.

Even though it has been around for a while, I’ve just recently discovered chia pudding. For whatever reason, I steered away from it for so long, even though I live chia seeds.

So during the lockdowns, we were making puddings in all shapes and sizes so I said why not try one with chia seeds. And it was amazing. The first one I made was with dark chocolate and peanut butter, which is also a recipe I need to share one day.

However this Summer I felt like making something just slightly brighter so I made a white chocolate and matcha chia pudding and some freshly made fig jam for that extra punch in flavor.

What I loved about pairing figs with chia pudding is the fact that they both have a crunch to them.

For me anything with small seeds paired with something very smooth is annoying (maybe that’s just me). But here both the pudding and the jam have actual seed in so it’s just a perfect combo texture-wise as well.

So we’re just enjoying the last days of Summer. It’s getting pretty cold here these days in the morning so I’m bringing my warm clothes out and dreaming about pumpkins and apple pies. Is this too soon?

Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. Let me know in the comments if you try it.

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White chocolate & matcha chia pudding with figs

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Resting Time 5 hours

Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

½ cup chia seeds
2 cups plant-based milk (animal milk works okay too if you're not vegan)
100 g vegan white chocolate (regular white chocolate works too, if you're not vegan)
1 TBSP matcha powder
chopped nuts

Fig jam

200 g fresh ripe figs
3 TBSP white sugar
1 tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
2 TBSP water
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Chia Pudding

Place a small pot over medium heat.
Chop white chocolate in small chunks and place them in a heat-proof bowl.
Place the bowl over the pot and stir the chocolate constantly and remove from heat as soon as it completely melts.
In a medium-size bowl mix milk, matcha powder and chia seeds using a whisk.
Pour in white chocolate slowly whisking quickly to incorporate it into the pudding mixture.
Place in the fridge for at least 5 hours, but preferably overnight, to set.

Fig jam

Remove hard parts of the fig stem and cut figs into small pieces.
Place them in a small pot and add all other jam ingredients.
Cook for five to ten minutes or until figs become really soft.
Move to a food processor and mix until you get a smooth jam.
Jam will become thicker when it sets.

Assembly

Once the jam and the pudding have set place the pudding into two glasses halfway up. Then add the jam and finish with the rest of the pudding. If you wish, you can add some fresh figs into the glass and on top and top everything with chopped nuts.

If you’re into pudding recipes you might also like:

Honey Poached Apricots

June 17, 2021

A light Summer dessert with ton of flavor – honey poached apricots. This soft and tender desserts melts in your mouth.

Summer is perfect for light refreshing desserts, don’ you agree?

This year Summer came extremely late, we were already anxiously waiting for it. And it came with a ton of beautiful local apricots. It would be a shame not to make something sweet with them.

So for today I have a very simple recipe. It doesn’t require many ingredients, but when the flavors combine, the most delicious treat comes to life.

If you never tried poaching anything, then you are in luck because these are seriously amazing!

In order to poach these apricots, you need to find a quality dry wine. I like to cook the wine for 15 minutes to remove some of the alcohol before poaching the apricots. And after the apricots are done, I cook the sauce a little more to make it a bit more syrupy and sweet.

Once everything is nice and cooled down, you can serve it with some Greek-style yogurt or I sometimes add crème fraîche instead. And you can top everything with some chopped nuts, like pistachios.

And that’s it! Super easy, right? Not to mention how beautiful these poached apricots look!

If you are a fan of paoched fruits I have another delicious recipes – hibiscus poached pears.

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Honey Poached Apricots

Course Dessert

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings 5 people

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

10 apricots halved and depitted
2½ cup dry white wine (600ml)
¼ cup honey (4 TBSP)
6 thyme springs
5 TBSP Greek-style yogurt
chopped pistachios

Instructions

Combine wine, honey and thyme in a large pot and bring to simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes (longer if you want more alcohol to evaporate).
Add halved and depitted apricots and cook for about 5 minutes or until just tender. The apricots shouldn't be too soft, so remove them when they are still holding their shape. Once they get tender remove them from the pot immediately onto a cool plate and let cool.
Cook the sauce for another 10-15 minutes until it slightly thickens.
Let cool to room temperature.
Serve the cooled apricots with some cooled sauce, a dollop of Greek-style yogurt and some chopped pistachios.

Strawberry Gin and Tonic

April 29, 2021

Learn this easy recipe for a fruity strawberry gin and tonic with homemade strawberry simple syrup. Only a few simple ingredients but so much flavor!

When it comes to cocktails nothing beats a good gin and tonic if you ask me. If you’ve scrolled through this page a bit, you’ve noticed I have a thing for this lovely refreshing cocktail. For further ideas, you can check my Pink Grapefruit Gin and Tonic or Elderflower And Passion Fruit Gin And Tonic. This time I have a delicious Spring gin and tonic with a homemade strawberry simple syrup.

Before trying to make my first homemade syrup, I was a bit scared to try, but these are extremely simple to make. Hence the name ‘simple’. Literally, just bring everything to a boil, let simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, and chill. That’s it! You can really go crazy with flavors here and invent your new flavor combos.

Once you have the syrup, you can use it for this cocktail, some other cocktail, dilute it with water and drink like that, use in desserts or pour over your favorite ice cream. So many choices!

If you’re going to make this gin and tonic, you can mix the syrup with gin and a regular tonic or you can make it a bit extra and choose pink tonic water. It will really enhance the flavor of your gin and tonic and add a little more color as well.

Before we go on with the recipe, I want to give you an update on one of the projects me and my hubby are working on lately. It’s fermenting our own ginger beer. We’ve had lots of success and now we’re experimenting with different flavors. We’re gonna do a bit more experimanting and testing and then I will also share some recipes and tips about fermenting your own drinks. How would you like that?

Anyhoo, let’s make the cocktail!

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Strawberry Gin and Tonic

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Cooling time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Servings 1 serving

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Cocktail

30 ml gin chilled
90 ml tonic water (regular or pink) chilled
30 ml strawberry simple syrup chilled

Strawberry Simple Syrup

250 g strawberries (½ lb)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Instructions

Strawberry Simple Syrup

Place all syrup ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 15-20 minutes until strawberries are very soft and the lliquid has become deep red.
Strain the syrup through a mesh sieve making sure not to press down the strawberries.
Leave the syrup to cool to room temperature then move to the fridge and wait at least an hour to chill. You can use the leftover strawberries as ice cream garnish.

Cocktail

Place 30 ml of the strawberry simple syrup into the bottom of a cocktail glass. Add a handful of ice. Then pour over the gin and finish with regular or pink tonic water.
Serve immediately.

Vegan Peanut Butter And Strawberry Ice Pops

March 19, 2021

Brining Spring vibes with these delicious creamy peanut butter and strawberry ice pops. Super easy and super flavourful!

Are you just as excited about warmer weather as I am? Although I’m a big Winter person, I’m already dreaming about green meadows and walks across blooming fields. Being able to walk barefoot and eat a ton of strawberries!

With my mind already heading towards these warm days, I’m bringing this very simple strawberry ice pops recipe. I can’t wait for fresh homegrown strawberries. And I start craving them every March.

This ice pops are completely vegan and extremely easy to make. Plus, who doesn’t love ice pops. My son thinks they are the most fun form of ice cream there is.

What do you need for these peanut butter and strawberry ice pops?

All you need is some fresh strawberries, although frozen ones work too. I just prefer to use fresh ones if I can get them to be sweet and flavorful enough. Right now, they’re not in season so not all of them will be good. If you can’t get good fresh ones, then frozen are a better option. Frozen strawberries are frozen in their ripe state so they have plenty of flavor!

Next you need some quality peanut butter. I always make sure I get a 100% peanut butter and avoid using peanut butters with added palm oil, sugar or atrificial ingredients.

You will also need some form of a plant-based milk. I like my creamy oat milk, but you can use any that you like. Just keep in mind that if you use any milk that has very strong flavor, such as coconut milk, you will probably end up tasting it in the final ice pops.

You also need some Medjool dates to sweeten the ice pops and make them nice and creamy. I like to soak them in hot water before I blend them together with milk and peanut butter, because I find it a bit easier for a blender (especially a not-so-powerful one) to make a smooth purée.

If you feel like decorating your ice pops, you can add some melted vegan chocolate and a sprinkle of freeze-dried strawberries once they firm up in the freezer.

Let’s make them!

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Vegan Peanut Butter And Strawberry Ice Pops

Course Dessert

Keyword ice cream

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Cooling Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes

Servings 10 1/3 cup ice pop mold

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

400 g fresh or frozen strawberries
3 TBSP sugar
10 medjool dates de-pitted
1 cup plant-based milk of choice
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
hot water for soaking
vegan chocolate for decoration
freeze-dried strawberries for sprinkling

Instructions

Clean the strawberries and remove the greens. Cut into small chunks and place in a saucepan. add sugar and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the stove and leave to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, soak de-pitted Medjool dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes, then drain and place in a blender. Add plant-based milk of choice and peanut butter and blend into a fine paste. Leave in the blender until the strawberries are cooled.
Add cooled strawberries to the blender and blend until smooth.
Divide into ice pop molds and pop a stick into each.
Place in the freezer until solid.
Once they are firm, take them out of the molds and sprinkle with melted chocolate and freeze-dried strawberries.

The Softest Sourdough Doughnuts

February 18, 2021

Once you’ve tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you’ll never try any other! This one-and-a-half-day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

Here in Slovenia, we’ve had our carnival festival these past few days. And there is no carnival without some soft and fluffy doughnuts. Just like last year, I’ve made my sourdough doughnuts. While the ones from last year were okay considering I made them just a month after making my first sourdough starter or ever baking anything sourdough. However, the ones that I made this year were to die for!

I’m not exaggerating. The perfect size, the perfect shape, the softerst texture and the sweetest flavor. So good!

Lessons I’ve learned about sourdough in a year have paid off.

So if this is the first time making sourdough doughnuts, my number one advice is to be patient. There’s a lot of waiting involved and it’s easy to get very excited and not leaving the dough to rest or rise long enough. You just wanna go in there and work, right? However, it is really important to just watch your dough and wait, without really looking at the clock. This is also the reason there’s no very specific time frame in my recipe. The fermentation works very differently at different temperatures.

I will share my times and temperatures just so you can have some ideas of how long you should really wait.

One more thing. Be gentle with your dough. The more gentle you’ll be the more air will stay inside your dough, creating the sof center.

And the second thing, make sure to create enough dough strength so it can hold its shape. This is especially important when you’re shaping doughnuts into small balls. Take your time!

Note: if you’re not the sourdough type, I also have a very delicious yeast doughnut recipe here.

Okay scroll down for my timetable 🙂

My sourdough doughnuts making timetable:

9 am – First Levain Feeding

9 am – 3 pm levain fermenting at a variable temperature from 23-25 °C until doubled in size

3 pm – Second Levain Feeding

3 pm – 8:30 pm levain fermenting at a variable temperature from 23-25 °C until doubled in size

8:30 pm – Making the dough (first mixing, resting, kneading, first coil fold)

9 pm – 10 pm – Bulk ferment at 23-25°C (I did a coil fold at 9:30 pm and 10 pm)

10 pm – Transfering the dough into the fridge (with around 8°C)

10 pm – 8 am – Bulk ferment in the fridge

8 am – Moving the dough back to room temperature

8 am – 11 am – Bulk ferment at 23-25°C (I waited for the dough to get to room temperature)

11 am – Shaping

11 am – 9 pm – Proofing at 23-26°C (I waited for the doughnuts to double in size!)

9pm – Frying and eating two hot doughnuts 🙂

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The Softest Sourdough Doughnuts

Adapted from sourdoughmania.com

Servings 20 small doughnuts

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Sweet Levain – First Feeding

20 g water at room temperature
50 g strong white flour (all-purpose flour works as well)
10 g sourdough starter (100% hydration)
10 g white sugar

Sweet Levain – Second Feeding

40 g water at room temperature
90 g strong white flour
20 g white sugar

Dough

400 g strong white flour
120 g milk room temperature
2 larger eggs room temperature
70 g white sugar
4 g salt
1 tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
60 g softened unsalted butter room temperature

Instructions

Levain Feedings

First Feeding: Mix all ingredients for the first levain feeding. Mix just enough for all ingredients to bind. No need for kneading.
Let sit at room temperature until the levain doubles in size. Anywhere from 21-28°C or 60-82°F is okay, but keep in mind that the levain will mature quicker at higher temperatures. This stage should take anywhere from 3-10 hours.
Second Feeding: After the levain has doubled in size, it is time to feed it the second time. Add water to a bowl and shred in your levain. Mix a little to dissolve the levain. It won't dissolve entirely. Add all other feeding ingredients and knead just enough to make the levain come together in a dough.
Let sit at room temperature until the levain doubles in size. Anywhere from 21-28°C or 70-82°F is okay, but keep in mind that the levain will mature quicker at higher temperatures. This stage should take anywhere from 3-10 hours.

Dough

For the times and temperatures I used for this recipe, check the article!
Making the dough: After the levain has doubled in size the second time, it's time to mix our dough.
Dissolve the levain in milk.
Add flour, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds or vanilla extract.
Using a stand mixer, mix the dough just enough to bring the ingredients together. Leave covered for 10-15 minutes.
After resting, add salt and knead the dough in a stand mixer for 8 minutes.
Then add softened butter and knead until the dough can pass the windowpane test (link to see how the windowpane test works in the recipe notes). The dough will separate at first, but will come back together quickly.
Bulk ferment: Transfer the dough to your bulk ferment container and do a coil fold (link to the coil fold method in the recipe notes).
Cover the container and leave to ferment until doubled in size. This should take anywhere from 4-10 hours at room temperature. You can do a part of the bulk ferment in the fridge to slow the ferment. Do a coil fold every 30 minutes for the first two hours.
Shaping: After the dough has risen about 50% in size, transfer it to your counter, but be very gentle to not release too much air from the dough.
Divide the dough into 50g pieces and roll them into small balls. Make sure to create enough tension on the balls so they keep a nice shape.
Proofing: Leave the doughnuts to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. This stage will take anywhere from 8-12 hours depending on the temperature.
Frying: After the doughnuts have doubled in size, prepare the oil for frying.
Use about 1 inch or 2.5 cm of oil and fry at a temperature between 160-170°C (320-340°F). A good indicator the temperature is perfect is to check with a wooden spoon. If little bubbles start to form around the spoon handle the oil is ready to go.
Place doughnuts top side down in hot oil, but prior to that brush away the flour. A lot of flour will burn your oil and it will not be re-usable. Fry the doughnuts for about 3 minutes covered. When they turn golden, turn them around away from yourself, so you don’t burn yourself! Fry for about 3 more minutes on the other side uncovered.
Transfer the doughnuts to a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
Fill and decorate to your liking. Enjoy!

Notes

Link to the windowpane test here.

Link to the coil fold method here.

Gingerbread Spiced Tiramisu

December 4, 2020

If you’re craving a non-traditional Christmas dessert this gingerbread spiced tiramisu will be the perfect treat.

We’ve got our first snowfall of the season. And it’s already more than the previous season all-together. So I’m feeling happy.

Me and snow are big buddies, I turn into a kid when I see it. What about you?

My dream is to have a big closed terrace in my home one day and observe snow falling outside while I sip on a warm drink under a blankie. All calm and peaceful.

If I had a piece of this gingerbread spiced tiramisu, I definitely wouldn’t mind. Or the whole tray, while I’m at it 🙂

So I thought since Christmas is approaching I’d try and make tiramisu and add some spices to make it more seasonal. And it turned out to be such a good idea. We ate it a snap and I had to make another one again immediately the next day.

And that’s why I’m sharing it with you today.

What do you need to make this gingerbread spiced tiramisu?

Cookies

You need some ladyfinger cookies. I know some people make sponges for tiramisu, but I’ve never eaten one without the ladyfingers. Ladyfingers are the original cookies used in tiramisu and for a good reason. They turn into such delicious almost sponge-like goodness when you soak them. I used store-bought cookies since I’ve never tried making them at home (my mission for next time I make tiramisu!).

But I found a good recipe for ladyfingers from Kayley from The Kitchen McKabe in case you want to make your own or don’t have access to any in your store.

Coffee

You also need some coffee. Typically you’d use espresso. I used Turkish-style coffee and strained the coffee afterward. I also tried cold brewing, but I felt like the taste was a bit too mild and sour for my liking. If you like that, then that’s also an option.

I can’t have caffeine and if you have the same issues, decaf is perfectly fine.

Spices

You also need gingerbread spices. I have a recipe for the mix down below, but if you have your own, go for it.

Cream

Italians traditionally make the cream with raw eggs and mascarpone.

I’ve made this cream many many times and it’s amazing. However, since we have a kid and in the midst of a pandemic I certainly don’t want anyone, let alone a kid, to get food poisoning, I decided to do a pasteurized version.

For my cream, you need egg yolks, mascarpone, and whipping cream. The cream is going to substitute the egg whites from the traditional recipe. I included the recipe for pasteurizing the egg yolks in the recipe below.

Dusting

Traditionally that’s cocoa. But I mixed it with some gingerbread spices to add more of the Christmasy feel.

Jump to Recipe

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Gingerbread Spiced Tiramisu

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Gingerbread Spice Mix

2 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 TBSP ground ginger
1½ TBSP ground allspice
½ TBSP ground cloves
½ TBSP ground nutmeg
TBSP a pinch of ground black pepper

Cream

3 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese (about 250 g or 8 oz)
¾ cup whipping cream

Other

20 ladyfinger cookies
3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cup coffee room temperature
1 TBSP rum

Instructions

Gingerbread Spice Mix

Mix all spice mix ingredients together. Set aside.

Cream

Place eggyolks in a heat-proof (non-metal) bowl and place it over a sausepan with simmering water.
Use a whisk to constantly stir the eggs. They should heat very slowly, so they don't get cooked. They are done when they reach 60°C (138°F). If you don't have a termometer, you can either use raw eggs and skip this step or see how you can troubleshoot in the notes.
Place the pasteurized eggs into a mixing bowl, add sugar and whip for 5 minutes, until slightly lighter (the pasteurized eggs don't get as fluffy as the raw eggs).
Add mascarpone and mix on medium speed.
In a separate bowl whip the whipping cream and fold it gently into the egg mixture.

Assembly

Pour room temperature coffee onto a soup plate. Add rum and 3/4 of the spice mix.
Soak ladyfinger cookies on both sides in the coffee and rum mix. Less if you want less soaked tiramisu and more if you want a more soaked tiramisu.
Place ladyfinger cookies in a serving dish in one layer, covering the entire dish.
Spread half of the cream over.
Add a second layer of ladyfinger cookies on top and then spread the remaining cream over the cookies.
In a small bowl mix the remaining 1/4 of the spice mix with cocoa and sprinkle it on top of the tiramisu.
Place in the fridge to set for a few hours.

Notes

No termometer?

You can substitute the egg yolks with a chocolate spread like Nutella. You can add 2-3 TBSP, but omit the sugar.

This is also a nice kid-friendly version.

Simple Rustic Plum Pie

September 14, 2020

This delicious plum pie is made with fresh plums, a flaky pie pastry, and optional some spices for the cozy cooler days.

Okay, so I’m this crazy pie lady and I know it. I just love them so much, and late Summer/Autumn is for sure my favorite pie season. All because I get to make a ton of plum pies. Probably much more than I should, if there even is such a thing.

Plum pie is my absolute favorite. It has that perfect amount of sweetness, acidity, and creaminess. So it’s surprising to me that I’ve never posted a baked plum pie here, yet. I have a no-bake recipe and an apple pie with plum jam (YUM!) but no cozy baked pie. Until now!

So here it is!

I’ve tried a new kind of pastry that includes some baking powder and I love it. It’s a bit different from the pastry I normally use. The baking powder makes it a bit softer and just a bit cake-like. It’s amazing straight from the oven (because warm pie is YUMMY) but it gets even better the second day. So if can manage to keep your hands off for a few hours, then you’re in for a treat. I know it’s hard, but trust me, you’ll thank me later.

The filling is really simple, no fancy stuff, just simple plums, and a tiny bit of sugar. But if you have very tasty and sweet plums, you don’t even need that! Just plum with nothing on is amazing. I love simple pies!

So if you are ready to ride into Autumn with this delicious plum pie, here’s the recipe.

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Rustic Plum Pie

Course Dessert

Keyword pie crust, pie pastry, plum pie

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Resting time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 1 10 inch (25 cm) pie

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
½ cup fine sugar (110g) You can use any kind (white, cane, coconut…) but make sure it's fine, not too coarse
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 stick of butter (115g) cubed and chilled
1 tsp vanila extract or vanilla seeds
4-6 TBSP cold milk or water (alternatively you can add two egg yolks and reduce the liquid)
500-600 g plums
some sugar for dusting

Instructions

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a food processor and mix shortly to combine all ingredients.
Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Add the liquid (water, milk, and/or egg yolks) one tablespoon at a time and vanilla extract (or seeds). Pulse until the pastry comes together.
Wrap the pastry in a plastic foil and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, cut plums in half (or into quarters for larger plums).
After 30 minutes divide the dough into 1/3 and 2/3. Use the bigger piece to roll out the bottom of the pie. I only cover the bottom, but you can cover the sides as well, only the crust will be a bit thinner.
Place plums on top so they cover the entire surface.
Use the remaining 1/3 of the pastry to decorate the top.
Sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (355°F) for 55-60 minutes.

Summer Berry Pavlova

July 7, 2020

The best Summer berry pavlova is when fresh summer berries meet a crisp and chewy meringue and some fresh whipped cream.

We’re super excited here because of all the Summer berries. We only grow strawberries, blueberries, and red currants at home, but our family, friends, and neighbors have others as well, so we go pick them up almost on a daily basis. This year is a very good year for all kinds of berries. There are so so many of them everywhere and I’m not complaining 🙂

So last week I had this huge amount of all the colorful berries so I made pavlova. Because there’s no dessert that screams summer like a pavlova. Don’t you agree?

Although I really love a chocolate pavlova, Summer screams for a more refreshing version like this berry pavlova. Just a little bit of cream, fresh summer berries, and quick homemade berry syrup. I mean, aren’t berries and cream the best flavors of Summer?

This recipe makes more syrup than is necessary, because it’ very hard to make syrup from a very small amount of berries. But you can store it in the fridge and use on ice creams, fruit salads, coctails or simly make a refreshing drink by diluting it in some cold water 🙂

So is this berry pavlova hard to make?

The good thing about Pavlova is that it’s actually pretty easy to make, once you know a few basics:

Know your oven. I was baking it in my mom’s oven (since my oven is dying and the temps are all over the place). I almost never bake in her oven so I’m not used to it and the first pavlova came out too baked on the outside (brown). Nothing wrong with that actually, it still tastes good, but I wanted a nice snow-white pavlova (we ate the brown one too, of course)
Humidity. Very humid weather can mess with your pavlova. If your pavlova fails, this could be the reason.
Timing. Timing really depends on how thick your pavlova is and also the temperature you’re baking at. Since you shouldn’t open the oven while baking, you should do some research on timing or follow the recipe 🙂
Really beat in the sugar. The sugar needs to completely dissolve otherwise the eggwhites will turn liquid and you’ll end up with a weeping pavlova.

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Summer Berry Pavlova

Course Dessert

Keyword berry pavlova, meringues, pavlova, summer pavlova

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Resting time 5 hours

Total Time 6 hours 40 minutes

Servings 8 slices

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Meringue

3 large egg whites (100g)
3/4 cup caster sugar (150g)
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of salt

Berry Syrup

2 cups strawberries cubed (250g)
½ cup sugar (100g)
2 TBSP lemon juice or white vinegar

Other ingredients

1 cup whipping cream (250ml), use coconut cream for a non-dairy version
2 cups fresh Summer berries

Instructions

Meringue

Preheat the oven to 130°C. If you're using a fan oven, shut off the fan. Draw a 18cm circle on a baking paper and place it on a baking tray.
Beat eggwhites and a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Then add caster sugar a tablespoon at a time. At the end add the lemon juice or vinegar and cornstarch. Beat gently until thick and glossy. You can make a test if the meringue is done: place a bit of the meringue between two fingers and see if you can feel the sugar. If you can still feel some sugar, then you need to beat them a little longer until you can't feel the sugar no more.
Spread the meringue evenly into a circle, making the edge a little higher that the center. Alternatively, you can pipe the meringue onto the paper for a different look.
Move into the oven and reduce the temperature to 100°C. Bake for about 90 minutes. It should look crisp on top and feel dry, but when you press it you should feel soft in the centre.
Turn the oven off, open the door slightly and leave in the oven to cool overnight.

Berry Syrup

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook for 15-20 minutes until the syrup starts to thinken. Leave to cool completely, befor pouring it over pavlova. The syrup will thicken more as it cools down.

Assembling the cake

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the heavy whipping cream and whip until soft or stiff peaks form (depending on your taste).
Top the cooled meringue with cream right before serving. Top with berries and pour over a little berry syrup.
If you're not eating the entire pavlova at once, it's better to pour syrup on cut pieces separately, otherwise the pavlova will get soggy. If you store an assebled pavlova, take into consideration that it will get softer.
Store a non-assembled pavlove covered on the counter (not air-tight) for 1-2 days before assembilng.

Cherry Pistachio Pound Cake

June 16, 2020

Soft and fluffy pistachio pound cake with a sweet cherry glaze. Just what you need for the afternoon tea!

Hello sweet cherries!

While I still mourn our cherry tree that we had to cut last year, I got some very delicious ones from the farmers market and even though we ate almost the entire bunch in a day, I managed to save some to make a delicious pistachio pound cake with a cherry glaze and some fresh cherries on top.

Since most pound cakes I’ve made so far were buttery and a bit denser, I decided to try a fluffier and more delicate one. I switched a part of the butter for oil which creates a different texture since the oil doesn’t firm as it cools, while the butter provides a nice milky taste.

I don’t have pistachios on hand, can I use something else?

In this recipe, I’ve used ground pistachios, since I’m a huge fan of pistachios in sweets. You can replace them with some other nuts like almonds or hazelnuts with no problem.

I prefer grinding nuts myself, since the only storebought I can find, usually contain some larger particles and are not really very fine. These work great too, but I prefer no particles for this cake in particular. But if you can’t find a well ground nuts or you don’t have a grinder at home, that’s fine too 🙂

How to make cherry glaze?

The cherry glaze is very simple to make. Like any icing glaze, you need icing sugar and a tiny amount of liquid. With glaze, you really need just a teeny-tiny amount, less than you’d think.

For this recipe you need 2/3 cup icing sugar and only about 2 TBSP cherry juice.

You can make the juice two ways:

with a blender: Just pop deseeded cherries in and mix until you get a very fine purée and then run it through a mesh strainer to remove the particles.
with a juicer: pop cherries with seeds in the juicer and let it work its magic.

I have to sneak in the third option: You can use a store bought juice as well, but I prefer the taste of freshly squeezed juice 🙂

More cherry recipes:

Vegan Almond Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cherry Braised Beef Brisket With Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Cherry, Brie & Bacon Grilled Quesadilla

I hope you enjoy this cherry pistachio pound cake just as much as I (and my neighbours) did 🙂

5 from 1 vote

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Cherry Pistachio Pound Cake

Course Dessert

Keyword cherry glaze, pistachio cake, pistachio pound cake, pound cake

Servings 1 4-cup pound cake tin

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Pistachio Pound Cake

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pistachios
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
seeds of 1 vanila pod
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk room temperature

Cherry Glaze

2/3 cup icing sugar
2 TBSP cherry juice (instructions for making homemade cherry juice in notes)

Instructions

Pistachio Pound Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 4-cup loaf pan with baking paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together softened butter and sugar for one minute then add oil and mix for a few minutes until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined before adding the next.
In a separate bowl mix together the rest of the flour, ground pistachios, baking powder and vanilla seeds.
Add flour and milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
Pour the batter into a prepared baking tin and bake for 45-55 minutes. Check after 30-35 minutes and if you see the top browning too quickly, cover with alluminum foil or the rest of the bake.
The cake is ready when the toothepick comes out clean.
Let cool completely befor adding the glaze.

Cherry Glaze

Mix icing sugar and half of the cherry juice and mix well. Add more juice ½ TBSP at a time to reach a desired consistency.
For instructions on making homemade cherry juice check notes.

Notes

How to make cherry juice:

with a blender: Just pop deseeded cherries in and mix until you get a very fine purée and then run it through a mesh strainer to remove the particles.
with a juicer: pop cherries with seeds in the juicer and let it work its magic.

Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger

March 5, 2020

This Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger recipe is all about smoky flavors and freshness. These vegan burgers include the most delicious vegan mushroom bacon and quick homemade pickled radishes.

Here we go with another burger recipe!

I love my beef burgers but today I have a special plant-based recipe for you.

When Nataša from The Amaze burgers wrote to me and asked if I wanna try their pea-protein burger patties I felt really excited to try them out. And I was excited to make an entirely plant-based burger.

My first thought was it needs to have a smoky taste and something that resembles bacon. So after a bit of testing, I decided on making my own mushroom bacon. And it tastes delicious. Why haven’t I tried this before? I’m pretty sure this is going to be my favorite topping form now on.

And to add some tang, I made quick-pickled radishes. Super easy and so so delicious. It adds some nice freshness and crunch to the burger.

As far as the patty goes I used the Amaze patty but you can use any patty you like such as bean or chickpea patty.

So what’s in this delicious plant-based cheeseburger?

Nothing but the best 😀 And it’s all about color, smoky flavor and freshness. Just like I love my burgers. So here’s what’s in these burgers:

a delicious soft burger bun,
some baby spinach or arugula,
plant-based burger patty,
vegan cheese,
vegan mushroom bacon,
homemade pickled radishes,
and smoky BBQ sauce.

Okay, I know you’re probably hungry by now, so let’s just head to the recipe.

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Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger

Course Main Course

Keyword mushroom bacon, plant-based burger, vegan burger

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4 burgers

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Mushroom Bacon

250 g mushrooms (button mushrooms, shitake…)
2 ½ TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP soy sauce
½ TBSP maple syrup
½ TBSP smoky BBQ sauce
½ TBSP smoked paprika (or additional BBQ sauce)

Quick home-pickled radishes

100 g radishes
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
3 TBSP unrefined cane sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Other ingredients

4 burger buns
4 plant-based burger patties
8 vegan cheese slices
½ cup smoky BBQ sauce
a bunch of fresh baby spinach

Instructions

Mushroom Bacon

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
To prepare the marinade, place all mushroom bacon ingredients except mushrooms in a small bowl and mix until well combined.
Clean mushrooms with a brush and remove stems. Cut mushroom tops into thin slices, about 3-4 mm.
Place mushroom slices in the marinade and gently toss to cover all mushrooms from both sides.
Transfer mushroom slices to the lined baking sheet making sure there's not too much excess marinade on the mushrooms.
Roast in the preheated oven for ten minutes then flip the mushrooms and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms should be a bit crunchy on the edges and they will firm more after they cool. If you see mushrooms burning, lower the heat and bake for a longer time.

Quick home-pickled radishes

Wash radishes and remove the greens.
Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, stir well and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 more minutes over medium heat, then let cool to room temperature.

Making the burgers

Cook your vegan burger patty as per instructions, adding two slices of vegan cheese two minutes before finishing, covering the skillet to help melt the cheese if necessary.
To assemble the burgers, cut burger buns in half. Spread a tablespoon of BBQ sauce on each half of the buns.
Place some spinach leaves on the bottom bun. Place burger patty with melted cheese on top. Add mushroom bacon, pickled radishes, and some more spinach. Top with the other half of the bun and serve immediately.