Jul 28, 2016

Wholewheat peach & basil oatmeal cookies (sugar-free)


Incredibly healthy, soft and delicious cookies filled with sweet peaches and fresh basil, which - I must say - is my favorite flavor combination of all times. 



Makes about 12 cookies:

- 100g (1 cup) rolled oats
- 90g (3/4 cup) wholewheat flour
- 1,5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 free-range egg
- 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 medium-size peach (about 150g), chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves 

1. In a large bowl stir the oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, butter, honey and mix until combined. Stir in chopped pach and basil. Refrigerate for 40 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.

3. Scoop the batter (about 1 heaping tablespoon for each cookie) onto the prepared baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. 








BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 25, 2016

Pineapple, kale & peach morning smoothie


Although my love for baking goods is absolute, I would never have a piece of cake for breakfast. Every morning something in my head keeps telling me to nourish instead of going for a guilty pleasure so I often decide to make myself a smoothie. Green one, with lots of fruit. 

Ingredients for 1 serving:

- 1 cup cold water
- 2 cups kale
- 1/4 chopped pineapple
- 1 peach, cubed
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- lemon juice (for taste)
- ice (optional)


1. Put all of the ingredients in your mixer and mix well. So simple.









BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 22, 2016

Almond crumb apricot muffins


Soft, delicate and not too sweet - these beauties are perfect for summer snack (or breakfast). They are this kind of express bakes which can save your life whenever you have less than 30 minutes for preparations. 



Makes about 15 muffins:

- 260g (2 cups) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 150g (3/4 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 2 free-range eggs
- 125ml (1/2 cup) canola oil
- 150ml (3/4 cup) milk
- 8 apricots, chopped

CRUMB

- 50g (1/2 cup) flour
- 50g (1/2 cup) almond flour
- 25g (2 tbsp) cold butter
- 3 tbsp sugar




1. Preheat the oven to 190C/374F.

2. Sift all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl, than add the eggs, oil and milk. Mix well to combine.

3. Make the crumb: in another bowl mix the flours, sugar and butter. Rub the mixture between your fingertips to get a crumbly consistency. 

4. Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter (about 3/4 of each) and spoon some chopped apricots on it. Top with a generous amount of crumb. 

5. Bake the muffins for about 25-30 minutes or until the crumb turns golden-brown. 







BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 19, 2016

Rosewater madeleines with maple syrup, chocolate & pistachios


Last week, I finally got myself a madeleine form and these little French cookies just had to be on my to-do list. They are incredibly soft, almost like a spong cake and also so easy to make. You can try on them as many flavor combinations you like and people will love you for serving them on tea parties. 



Makes about 30 mini madeleines:

COOKIES

- 70g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 100g (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 115g (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
- 70ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup 
- 2 tbsp rose water

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

- 100g semi-sweet chocolate 
- 100ml double cream
- handful crushed pistachios (optional)


1. Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in the flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter, maple syrup and rose water. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

2. Grease the madeleine forms and dust them evenly with flour. Using a teaspoon fill the molds with chilled batter. Set in the fridge for 1 hour. 

3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden-brown. Immediately remove from the molds and leave to cool completely. 

4. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and chocolate, stiring frequently until smooth. Take off the heat and let sit for couple minutes. 

5. Dip half of every cookie in chocolate and top with some crushed pistachios. Wait for about 30 minutes or refrigerate to help the ganache set faster. 







BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 14, 2016

Whole-wheat crumb & pear cake


It is the middle of July, high summer season, and here we are in Poland with possibly the worst weather you could imagine. It really feels like fall so I decided to turn the oven on and bake a hearty, old-fashioned cake to warm up the whole family. It has some juicy pears inside and lots of sweet crumb on top which means you can't stop with one bite. 



Ingredients for one 25cm (10-inch) cake pan:
adapted from Huckleberry by Zoe Nathan

TOPPING

- 70g (5 tbsp) cold, cubed butter
- 70g (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
- 50g (1/2 cup) almond flour
- 3 tbsp rolled oats
- 3 tbsp whole-wheat flour
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp buckwheat flakes, toasted
- pinch of salt

CAKE

- 160g (3/4 cup) butter, softened
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 160g (1¼ cup) all-purpose flour
- 50g (3/4 cup) buckwheat flakes, toasted
- 3 tbsp almond flour
- 3 tbsp rye flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 250ml (1 cup) plain yogurt
- 3 medium-size pears 
- 2-3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar (for sprinkling)


1. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.

2. In a small bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients and rub everything with your fingertips until it reaches a crumbly consistency. Leave in the fridge for the time you make the rest of the cake.

3. In another bowl, beat the butter with granulated sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add the eggs, one after another, mixing well after each one. Mix in the flours, baking powder, baking soda and yogurt. Tranfer to the lined cake pan. 

4. Wash, peel and slice the pears. Evenly cover the surface of the batter with fruits and sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Add the crumb topping you prepared earlier. 

5. Bake for an hour and 10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool completely. 






BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 8, 2016

Peanut butter & chocolate cookies II ( df / v )


My first ever post on this blog featured a recipe for chocolate & peanut butter cookies, which are - no doubt - my favourite combination of flavors. Today I had a special job to find a way of making these beauties dairy-free (for someone allergic to milk products) and still tasting as alike as possible. All in all, I guess they turned out pretty nice!


Makes about 20 small cookies:

- 200g (7 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 180g (6.3 oz) crunchy peanut butter
- 80g (1/3 cup) sugar
- 1 free-range egg*
- 100g (3/4 cup) flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- vanilla

*for vegan option: combine 1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 2 tbsp warm water and leave for 3-4 minutes to thicken. 


1. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.

2. Using a water bath, melt 100g of chocolate chips and leave to cool slightly.

3. Mix the sugar, peanut butter, egg, vanilla and melted chocolate until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix again to combine.

4. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips. If the dough seems dry and it is hard to incorporate the chocolate, try adding a tablespoon of water.

5. Form a walnut-size balls, tranfer to a baking tray and press gently with your hand. Bake for 10-12 minutes.





BON APPÉTIT !

Jul 5, 2016

Yogurt and mascarpone chocolate ice cream with red currant sauce (gf, no-churn)


I am back with another summer recipe! This time I have something special - chocolate ice cream made with yogurt and mascarpone cheese. Creamy, delicate and wonderfully easy! : )



Serves 5-6:

ICE CREAM

- 250g (9 oz) mascarpone cheese
- 200g (7 oz) plain greek yogurt
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) honey
- 6 tbsp good quality cocoa powder 
- 2 tsp chocolate liquor
- 1/2 tsp vanilla

SAUCE

- 200g red currants (fresh or frozen) 
- 2-3 tbsp xylitol 
- 1 tbsp water + 2 tsp potato starch 


1. In a large bowl, combine all of the ice cream ingredients and mix until fluffy. Transfer to a container and freeze for at least 6 hours. 

2. To make the sauce, heat the currants and xylitol. In a small glass, mix 1 tbsp of water with potato starch Wait until your fruits start to simmer and then add the starch mixture, stirring vigorously until thick. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. 

3. When your ice cream is ready, scoop into prepared bowls and top with the currant sauce. 






BON APPÉTIT !

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