Honey Poached Apricots

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

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!

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

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

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

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
  • cup dry white wine (600ml)
  • ¼ cup honey (4 TBSP)
  • 6 thyme springs
  • 5 TBSP Greek-style yogurt
  • chopped pistachios

Instructions

  1. 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).

  2. 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.

  3. Cook the sauce for another 10-15 minutes until it slightly thickens.

  4. Let cool to room temperature.

  5. Serve the cooled apricots with some cooled sauce, a dollop of Greek-style yogurt and some chopped pistachios.

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

Spicy Pineapple Roasted Chickpea Tacos (Vegan)

The best homemade chickpea tacos – filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.

The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.

Tacos are something I could eat every day. They are so versatile and you can make them extremely healthy. While we love tacos with some meat, we also change it up a notch every now and then. And these spicy pineapple roasted chickpea tacos are just the perfect recipe for these kinds of days.

I like to make our own taco shells, just because they are so easy to make and much better than the ones I can find in the stores here. But you know, if you’re in a hurry or feeling lazy, those are completely fine 🙂 If you feel like making your own, I have a recipe for them here.

The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.
The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.

Summer is just around the corner, although it’s feeling more like the beginning of Spring over here with a ton of rain, wind and temperature much lower than I’d like right now. But, I’m looking forward to warmer weather and I’m keeping my fingers crossed they come sooner rather than later. When they do I’m ready with these recipes.

We like to make really easy and quick dinners in the Summer because we tend to hang out outside most of the day and want to stay out as long as possible. And this recipe is extremely quick. While you’re roasting the chickpeas in the oven you can prepare the avocado spread takes a minute or two and then a few minutes to chop up pineapple, peppers, and onions, and parsley for the salsa.

The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.
The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Spicy Pineapple Roasted Chickpea Tacos (Vegan)

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, brunch, Main Course
Keyword mexican, tortilla
Prep Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 tacos
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 6 taco shells (recipe to homemade tortillas in the description)

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

  • 1 can (400g or 14 oz) cooked chickpeas
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp ground dried garlic
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 TBSP olive oil

Avocado Spread

  • 1 large avocado
  • juice of one lime
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • pepper to taste

Pineapple salsa

  • 1 cup finelly diced pineapple
  • 1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
  • 1/4 cup finelly diced red onions
  • 1/4 cup finelly chopped parsley
  • juice of one lime

Instructions

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

  2. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a bowl, together with all other ingredients for the chickpea and mix well.

  3. Place the marinated chickpeas onto a baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they get golden and crisp.

Avocado Spread

  1. While the chickpeas are roasting peel and deseed avocado and place it in a bowl together with the rest of the ingredients for the spread. Use a fork to make a lumpy spread. You can make it as smooth or lumpy as you like.

Pineapple salsa

  1. Dice pineapple, peppers and onions finely and chop the parsley nicely as well. Add the juice of one lime and mix well.

Serving

  1. Once the chickpeas are done, heat the taco shells in a clean pan.

  2. Fill the shells with avocado spread on the bottom, then add some roasted chickpeas and top with fresh pineapple salsa.

The best homemade chickpea tacos - filled with a creamy avocado spread, spicy roasted chickpeas and a vibrant fresh pineapple salsa.

Strawberry Gin and Tonic

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!

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!

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!
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!
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!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

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

  1. 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.

  2. Strain the syrup through a mesh sieve making sure not to press down the strawberries.

  3. 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

  1. 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.

  2. Serve immediately.

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!
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!

Vegan Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

Enjoy these refreshing and delicious tofu spring rolls filled with crisp vegetables, creamy avocado, and flavorful marinated tofu.

When it comes to fresh veggies there’s nothing better than spring rolls. And what is more, I’m not focusing on anything too traditional here. And that’s the fun part because you can use whatever veggies you have on hand and whatever is in season.

For this recipe, I’ve joined forces with my dear friend Kristina from Story on a plate. I have provided the recipe and food and together we’ve created this beautiful scene and photos! So credit for those to her as well and if you’re not following her on IG yet, go ahead and do that right now.

Whenever I make spring rolls I make sure to use veggies of different colors because that’s how we get different vitamins, right? And it’s just so pretty to see a beautiful rainbow of colors.

We come to the best part of these tofu spring rolls and that’s the marinated tofu. This marinated tofu is gold and this is coming from not such a huge tofu fan. Once I tried tofu marinated like that, I was hooked. And from now on I’ll be experimenting with flavoring tofu heaps more. What about you? What’s your favorite tofu recipe? I really wanna know!

If you’re a fan of tofu, I have a recipe for a Vegan Asparagus Quiche with tofu as well or Vegan roasted pumpkin curry with tofu.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Vegan Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Tofu Marinade

  • 3 TBSP thai sweet soy sauce
  • 1 TBSP fresh or dried lemongrass chopped very finelly
  • 1/2 TBSP chili flakes

Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

  • 350 g medium or firm tofu drained and thoroughly dried/pressed
  • 8-10 sheets of 22cm/8.5" round rice paper 
  • 8-10 small letuce leaves
  • 5-7 radishes
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 small piece red cabbage
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • juice of 1 lime for preventing avocado to brown

Dipping Sauce

  • 2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 TBSP thai sweet soy sauce
  • 1 TBSP hoisin sauce
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

  1. In a rather large bowl mix all tofu marinade ingredients.

  2. After your tofu has beed drained and dried cut tofu into rectangles about 1 cm (0.5 inch wide).

  3. Place the tofu into the marinade and carefully toss to coat all sides.

  4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a TBSP of cooking oil to the pan and cook tofu for 4-5 minutes or until all sides are golden.

Dipping Sauce

  1. Bring all the ingredients together mix well to combine.

Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

  1. Cut carrots into shin sticks (julienne) and red cabage into thin slices. Also thinly slice the radishes.

  2. Thinly slice avocado and as soon as you cut it squeeze some lime juice over the avocado to prevent it from oxidizing.

  3. Prepare your lettuce leaf and place some carrots, red cabbage and tofu inside and roll it into a tight roll.

  4. Prepare a large bowl with cold water for 2-3 seconds then drain for a second and place it on the counter smooth side down.

  5. Add the lettuce roll to the center of the soaked rice paper. Then add radishes in a row above the lettuce roll. This will be your outer side of the roll. Place some avocado on top of the radishes.

  6. Begin rolling your spring rolls. First, bring in the left and right sides. Then bring in the bottom side of the rice paper and begin rolling while maintaining some pressure. Be sure not to be too firm, otherwise, the rice papers might break.

  7. Serve immediately.

Shaved Asparagus Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette

A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!

A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!

I love my salads to be very flavorful and exciting. There I said it!

Slovenia is a country where green leafy salad is eaten at every lunch. There’s no way any Slovenian will make lunch and not serve it! But it can get boring after eating a plain old green salad that for years. So I like to add my little twists to make a green salad a little extra.

For this shaved asparagus salad, I’ve added, well… obviously some asparagus. Asparagus is extremely delicious and nutritious. It is loaded with fibers, folate, and vitamins. And if you didn’t know you can eat them raw, you now know! They are amazing raw, just as they are cooked.

A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!
A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!

For this recipe we are going to shave them with a vegetable peeler, so we get very thin strips of asparagus that are very delicate and still incredibly flavorful. You are going to end up with some leftover asparagus parts, and you can easily use them to make a delicious soup or use it to make vegetable broth.

I’ve added some extra stuff in there as well, to add some more flavor and crunch. We’ve got some pancetta, radishes, pine nuts and optionally you can add a hard-boiled egg on top. What a delicious combo.

For the vinaigrette, we only need a few simple ingredients and I can’t stress enough how only a couple of simple ingredients can make an explosion of flavor. So for this vinaigrette, you only need extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemons, garlic, salt, and pepper. This is such a versatile dressing. Very simple and it goes with almost any salad!

A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!
A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Shaved Asparagus Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Course Salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 400 g fresh green asparagus
  • 100 g fresh baby leaf salad (any kind you like or a mix of salads)
  • 4 radishes
  • 70 g pancetta cubed finelly
  • 2 TBSP pine nuts

Lemon Vinaigrette

  • cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • a generous pinch of crushed black pepper

Extra topping (optional)

  • 2 hard-boiled eggs

Instructions

  1. First, prepare the vinaigrette. Finely chop or crush garlic in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

  2. Use a vegetable peeler to make thin slices of fresh asparagus. There will be some leftover asparagus, which you can't shave. You can set those aside and use them for soup or some other recipe.

  3. Finely slice radishes.

  4. Chop pancetta into small cubes. Place them in a skillet and cook over low-medium heat until the fat has rendered out and the pancetta has crispen and got some color.

  5. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

  6. Place shaved asparagus, fresh baby leaf salad, and sliced radishes into a big salad bowl. Pour over the vinaigrette and mix well. Add crisp pancetta, pine nuts, and sliced eggs on top.

  7. Serve immediately.

Serching for more asparagus recipes?

A refreshing salad like this shaved asparagus salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette is a healthy delicious early Spring treat!

Vegan Peanut Butter And Strawberry Ice Pops

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

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.

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

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!

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

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Add cooled strawberries to the blender and blend until smooth.

  4. Divide into ice pop molds and pop a stick into each.

  5. Place in the freezer until solid.

  6. Once they are firm, take them out of the molds and sprinkle with melted chocolate and freeze-dried strawberries.

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

Sauerkraut Börek

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.

These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its 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.

These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.

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.

These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.

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.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Sauerkraut Börek

Course Appetizer, brunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Baking Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • homemade phyllo dough (recipe below) or 500g store bought phyllo dough
  • 1 kg thinly cut sauerkraut
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 TBSP paprika
  • 1 TBSP turmeric
  • crushed black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 tsp anis seeds
  • 1/4 tsp ground carraway seeds
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 red onion
  • 5 garlic 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

  1. Finely slice shallots and red onions and fry them on a tablespoon of cooking oil for a few minutes until translucent.

  2. Finely slice or crush the garlic. Add to the pan and fry for an extra two to three minutes.

  3. Add all the spices and fry for another minute.

  4. 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.

  5. Add drained sauerkraut to the pan and fry on medium heat for about 20 minutes. It should become a bit dryer and softer.

  6. Divide the filling phyllo dough into the same amount of parts as you have phyllo dough sheets.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Generously oil the pan you'll be using to bake and place the börek onto the pan.

  10. Brush some oil on top of the börek. If you're doing an egg-wash, brush it over oiled börek.

  11. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes.

Homemade Phyllo Dough

Prep Time 15 minutes
Resting + Stereching Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500 g high protein white flour (all-purpose flour works as well)
  • 300 g water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBSP olive oil (omit if you're using all-purpose flour)

Instructions

  1. Sift flour into a large bowl.

  2. Make a well and pour in the water. Add salt and oil to the water.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. After that, you can start stretching. Make sure you cover a large area of the sheet with flour, so the dough will not stick.

  10. 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.

  11. Leave the dough to dry for a minute or two then you can start adding the filling.

These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.
These delicious layers of crispy phyllo dough and soft fragrant sauerkraut flavor of this sauerkraut börek are a perfect side dish or a meal on its own.

The Softest Sourdough Doughnuts

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.

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 🙂

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.
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.
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.

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 🙂

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.
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.
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.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

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

  1. First Feeding: Mix all ingredients for the first levain feeding. Mix just enough for all ingredients to bind. No need for kneading.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  1. For the times and temperatures I used for this recipe, check the article!

  2. Making the dough: After the levain has doubled in size the second time, it's time to mix our dough.

  3. Dissolve the levain in milk.

  4. Add flour, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds or vanilla extract.

  5. Using a stand mixer, mix the dough just enough to bring the ingredients together. Leave covered for 10-15 minutes.

  6. After resting, add salt and knead the dough in a stand mixer for 8 minutes.

  7. 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.

  8. 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).

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. Frying: After the doughnuts have doubled in size, prepare the oil for frying.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. Transfer the doughnuts to a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

  17. Fill and decorate to your liking. Enjoy!

Notes

Link to the windowpane test here.

Link to the coil fold method here.

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.

Elderflower And Passion Fruit Gin And Tonic

Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine’s day twist.

Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.

Did you notice that Valentine’s day is next week!!!??

Luckily I have a lovely cocktail ready for a romantic dinner. Even though most of the world is still in one or another form of lockdown, we still deserve some splurging, right?

A nice dinner with the best dessert ever. And of course this elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic!

I love gin and tonic because it’s so easy to make. Basically, all you need to do is add some ice in your cocktail glass, add all the ingredients and enjoy 🙂

This time, I’ve given it a bit sweeter twist with fresh passion fruit, which I absolutely love, and homemade elderflower syrup. However, if you don’t have a homemade one, a storebought is just as fine.

This combination of flavors and sweetness with the biterness of gin and tonic is in my opinion the biggest selling point of this cocktail.

If this floral flavor is not your jam, I have a more citrusy grapefruit gin and tonic recipe as well.

Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.
Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.

A good gin and tonic is made with quality gin and quality tonic as well. Keep in mind that your gin and tonic will only be as good as the ingredients put in. This doesn’t mean you need to go with the most expensive stuff. However, the cheapest plastic bottle drinks are probably lower quality than you want in a gin and tonic. So, I encourage you to explore, which flavors you like.

Most of simple gin and tonics include some amount of citrus flavor. For my Valentine’s day elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic, I passed on adding citruses. I used my elderflower syrup that already included some lemons. Most elderflower syrups do.

Plus, I really wanted to create a more feminine floral/tropical cocktail. But, if you feel like adding a hint of citrus go ahead and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice!

Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.
Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.
Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Elderflower And Passion Fruit Gin And Tonic

Course Cocktail, Drinks
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • ice
  • 2 ounces quality gin (1/4 cup / 60ml)
  • 4 ounces quality tonic water (1/2 cup / 120ml)
  • 1 fresh passion fruit
  • 1-2 tsp elderflower syrup

Instructions

  1. Fill the cocktail glass with ice.

  2. Add the flesh of fresh passion fruit and elderflower syrup to the glass.

  3. Pour over gin and finish with pouring over the tonic.

  4. Gently stir to combine.

Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.
Fresh passion fruit and delicious floral elderflower syrup give this refreshing elderflower and passion fruit gin and tonic recipe a sweet valentine's day twist.

Bacon & Radicchio Risotto

A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!

A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!

Hi guys!

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite risotto recipes. I’ve cooked and improved it over the years. Although it has some pretty basic ingredients it has so much flavor and attitude.

It’s the season of radicchio and we eat it almost every day. Mostly in salads, but now and then we love to cook this creamy delicious risotto.

And in case you’re wondering if risotto is hard to make, because it needs to be of a specific consistency, it’s not hard, you just need to keep an eye on your risotto.

A perfect risotto should have be a bit on the ofter side of al dente and have a little bit of a creamy, not too runny, sauce.

A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!
A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!
A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!
A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!

Does radicchio risotto taste bitter?

It does, a little. Certainly far less than the raw radicchio. With cooking it looses a lot of its bitterness and the flavor is enhanced.

All other flavors that are in this risotto help elevate the flavor of radicchio and they also tame the bitterness. So you shouldn’t worry about the risotto being bitter, you probably won’t even notice it.

I have been making this risotto using bacon for ages. The traditional Italian version doesn’t include any meats and if you’re not a fan of bacon, you can substitute it with pancetta. You would still get the meaty flavor without the smokiness. Or you can omit the meat and get a rather traditional risotto, which is also very delicious.

A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!
A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!

In case you love risottos as much as I do, I have some other amazing recipes:

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese

Wild Garlic Risotto

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Bacon & Radicchio Risotto

Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 servings as a side dish

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice (200 g)
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 celery stick finely chopped
  • 50 g bacon cubed into 0,5cm (1/4 inch) cubes
  • 150 g radicchio cut into small pieces (2.5 cm / 1 inch)
  • 2 TBSP pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 4 cups vegetable broth simmering
  • ground pepper
  • 1 TBSP butter or olive oil for finishing

Instructions

  1. Place bacon cubes into a frying pan and cook over medium-low heat until golden and crisp.

  2. Continuing cooking over medium-high heat, add finely chopped onions and celery. Cook until translucent.

  3. Add radicchio, pine nuts, and rice cook for a minute until the radicchio wilts a bit.

  4. Add wine and wait until it evaporates. Season with some black pepper and continue cooking by adding one ladle of simmering broth at a time, waiting to completely absorb into rice before adding another ladle. When rice is on the soft side of al dente, the risotto is done.

  5. Remove from the stove and add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil.

  6. Serve immediately.

A creamy and smokey radicchio risotto with bacon is a cozy winter dish that everyone will love! A traidtional Italian recipe with a twist!

Dried Fruits And Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

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!

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.

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!
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!
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!

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.

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!
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!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Dried Fruits And Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • cup all-purpose flour (180 g)
  • ¾ cup sugar (150 g)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (110 g)
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla seeds (or vanilla extract)
  • zest of half an orange
  • pinch of salt
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnammon
  • ½ cup chocolate chips (80 g)
  • ¼ cup raisins (35 g)
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries (35 g)

Simple glaze

  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1-2 TBSP milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease a 6-cup bundt cake pan with butter.

  2. In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy.

  3. Add eggs one at a time, and make sure to incorporate the first fully, before adding the second.

  4. Add vanilla and orange zest and mix quickly.

  5. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

  6. 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.

  7. Add chocolate chips and dried fruits and use a spatula to gently incorporate them in the batter.

  8. 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.

  9. The bundt cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean.

  10. Wait for 10-15 minutes before removing the bundt cake from the pan.

Simple glaze

  1. 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.

You can find the recipe in Slovene here.

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!
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!

Gingerbread Spiced Tiramisu

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

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.

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

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

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

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
  • 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
  • cup coffee room temperature
  • 1 TBSP rum

Instructions

Gingerbread Spice Mix

  1. Mix all spice mix ingredients together. Set aside.

Cream

  1. Place eggyolks in a heat-proof (non-metal) bowl and place it over a sausepan with simmering water.

  2. 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.

  3. 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).

  4. Add mascarpone and mix on medium speed.

  5. In a separate bowl whip the whipping cream and fold it gently into the egg mixture.

Assembly

  1. Pour room temperature coffee onto a soup plate. Add rum and 3/4 of the spice mix.

  2. 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.

  3. Place ladyfinger cookies in a serving dish in one layer, covering the entire dish.

  4. Spread half of the cream over.

  5. Add a second layer of ladyfinger cookies on top and then spread the remaining cream over the cookies.

  6. In a small bowl mix the remaining 1/4 of the spice mix with cocoa and sprinkle it on top of the tiramisu.

  7. 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.

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

Persimmon Salad With Orange Dressing

When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.

When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.

Time for another hearty salad. I posted a recipe for a fruity winter salad in the winter and now I’m posting another recipe for a salad that uses delicious seasonal fruits. This time it is persimmons. One of my favorite fruits of the season. One other way I like preparing them is to make homemade pudding, with no starch whatsoever.

Okay, back to the salad. For this salad you can use any variety of persimmons that has a solid center when ripe, so you can cut it in slices or wedges. The varieties that are only ripe when gooey are not okay, since they won’t hold its shape and honestly the texture would probably feel awful in a salad. So let’s stick with a solid meat persimmon! But make sure they are ripe.

When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.
When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.

What other ingredients are in this persimmon salad?

Lots of green leafy lettuce. You can uuse any variety you like or have in your garden. I used endive in my salad. The other leafy lettuce I used is radicchio. I love it both for color and its flavor.

There’s also some thinly shaved carrots for bite and freshness. And I topped it all with some chopped almonds and goat cheese.

And now the best part…

The orange dressing. This persimmon salad wouldn’t be so delicious without the orange dressing. The orange adds a nice freshness to the salad and I also added a little turmeric, just because we all need to boost our immune systems right now, do you agree?

When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.
When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.
When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Persimmon Salad With Orange Dressing

Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Persimmon Salad

  • half of a green leafy lettuce chpped into bite sizes
  • half of a radicchio chopped into bite sizes
  • 1 small carrot sliced with a peeler
  • 2 small persimons cut into thin slices or small wedges
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese (100g)
  • 2 TBPS almonds chopped

Orange Dressing

  • 2 TBSP freshy squeezed orange juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • pinch of turmeric
  • pinch of black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add all dressing ingredients in a mason jar, close the lid and shake util well blended.

  2. Place all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl, pour over the dressing and toss to coat all the ingredients.

You can find the recipe in Slovene here.

When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.
When it comes to fall salads this persimmon salad is a winner. With the smoothest dressing made with olive oil and fresh orange juice this is a perfect fall lunch.

Spiced Mandarin Upside-Down Cake

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!

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 with vanilla and cardamom will bring joy and coziness to these gloomy fall days. It's super simple to make!
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!
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!

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.

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!
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!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Mandarin Upside-Down Cake

Course Dessert
Keyword cardamom, mandarins, spiced cake, sponge cake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 1 7-inch cake
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • ½ cup + 2 TBSP sugar
  • ¼ cup sunflower oil (olive oil is great too)
  • ½ cup Greek-style yogurt or crème fraîche
  • ¼ cup mandarin juice (you can cut slices first and use the ends to squeeze out the juice)
  • 2 medium-size eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • cup hazelnut flour (or finely gorund hazelnuts)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp powdered cardamom
  • pinch of salt
  • 3-4 mandarins
  • 2 TBSP sugar for sprinkling
  • butter for greasing the cake tin

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

  2. Cut mandarins into 0,5cm (1/5 inch slices). Save the ends and use them to sqeeze out the juice. Save it for later.

  3. Butter a 7-inch cake tin and place mandarin slices on the bottom in one layer.

  4. Mix sugar, oil, yogurt, and eggs at a high speed until well combined.

  5. Add mandarin juice and vanilla (if using vanilla extract) and mix again.

  6. In a separate bowl mix together flour, hazelnut flour, baking soda, cardammon, vanilla (if using vanilla seeds) and salt.

  7. Add flour mixture in two increments and mix on a low speed.

  8. Sprinkle the mandarins in the cake tin with sugar and add the cake batter.

  9. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

  10. Wait to cool completely, before removing the cake from the tin. If the cake has a big dome, cut it away, before turning the cake around.

You can find the recipe in Slovene here.

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!
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!

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage And Prosciutto

These soft nad pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!

These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!

What would fall be if we didn’t enjoy in some enjoy in a nice pumpkin dish. Today were’ making homemade pumpkin gnocchi with a some delicious goodies. There’s butter, there’s prosciutto, there’s sage and then there’s also some grated pecorino on top.

Can you think of anything better?

If no, then keep reading.

How to make homemade pumpkin gnocchi?

It all starts with cooked pumpkin. This is super easy and quick. Even though pumpkins are very tough when raw and sometimes a pain to cut, they get cooked very quickly. And what is more a lot of the pumpkins (the sweet varieties at least) have a skin which also gets soft and they don’t need to be peeled at all.

For these gnochi, I did peel them, to keep that smooth color look, but if the skin is soft, you dont need to peel it.

So to make the gnocchi you need to purée the cooked pumpkin add in flour and an egg, some salt, and mix it all up. Be careful not to overmix, otherwise, you might end up with rubbery gnocchi. When it starts holding together this is when you can stop mixing.

Shape the dough into long strips and roll them out, and cut into nice bite-size pieces. This is super important! Place them on a lightly floured sourface or they’ll stick.

They cook very quickly as any other gnocchi, so this is a super fast meal, which you know I love!

These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!
These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!
These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!

What about the sauce?

This is the best and simplest sauce there is! I mean, we’re talking butter, prosciutto and sage.

All you need to do is melt butter and quickly fry sage and prosciutto. Throw in the cooked pumpkin gnocchi and add some grated pecorino and you have a perfect fall meal.

These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!
These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Need some extra pumpkin recipe ideas. Here are some of my favorites:

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage And Prosciutto

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 400 g cooked pumpkin
  • 250 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • TBSP butter
  • 2 slices prosciutto cut into thin strips
  • 100 g grated pecorino cheese (a little less than 1/2 cup)
  • 8 sage leaves
  • 1 TBSP salt for cooking gnocchi
  • pumpkin seeds

Instructions

Pumpkin Gnocchi

  1. Puree cooked pumpkin in a food processor and add it into a mixing bowl.

  2. Add flour, egg and salt and knead everything together, but don't over-knead or the gnocchi will be rubbery.

  3. If the dough is too sticky to roll, add a litlle bit more flour. It also helps if you let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

  4. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each to about thumb width. then cut into thumb-size pieces.

  5. Place shaped gnocchi on a lightly floured surface until cooking.

Cooking Gnocchi

  1. Bring a large amount of salted water to a boil and add gnocchi. When the gnocchi float to the surface they are done. This should take around two minutes. If they don't float it's possible that they stuck to the floor or to one another. Use a wooden spoon and gently stir the water.

Butter Sauce

  1. Prepare the sauce before cooking the gnocchi.

  2. Melt butter in a large skillet.

  3. Add sage leaves and prosciutto strips. Roast for a few minutes until they get crisp.

  4. Turn off the heat.

  5. When the gnocchi are cooked drain them well and add to the skillet. Add grated pecorino and mix well.

  6. Serve immediately with some extra pecorino and chopped pumpkin seeds on top.

Notes

Pumpkin gnocchi can be frozen. Place them on a lightly floured baking tray and freeze. When they are frozen transfer them to a container of choice.

These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!
These soft and pillowy pumpkin gnocchi are one of my favorite fall comfort foods. And they are super easy and quick to make!