Apple Pie à la Mode :)

Autumn is here with its best seasonal fruit :D What better way to celebrate this than by baking a traditional American apple pie;)

Ingredients

3 Tbsps of water

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1 cup of all-purpose flour

125g butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp of salt

Filling

3 large apples

1 package of bought apple pie spices 

2 tsps of lemon juice

Directions

Chop the apples into small cubes and coat them in the spice mixture and lemon juice. Set aside and prepare the dough. 

Mix the flour with butter, add salt and water. The combined ingredients divide into 2 bowls and roll out. Put one piece at the bottom of a tart tin, spread the filling and cover it with the second piece. Put the cake into a preheated oven (250°C) and bake for an hour. 

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream;D

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies :)

Today I finally managed to buy macadamia nuts - which, believe me, is not an easy task in my country...
Of course I instantly set my mind on baking some delicious macadamia cookies:) In this post I present you with the result of my white chocolate macadamia nut cookie adventure :D

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cups ground almonds 

1 tsp baking soda
1 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/2 bar of white chocolate, chopped
1 cup blueberries
some brown sugar for sprinkling the cookies



Directions

Combine the melted margarine with 1 tbsp vanilla. Add whole wheat flour, ground almonds and baking soda. Mix until combined and add white chocolate. Make round cookies on a peace of parchment paper, gently fold in the blueberries  into the cookies and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in 180°C for about 8 minutes or until golden, enjoy - as always;)

I dedicate this recipe to all those cookie monsters around the world!:D

Crepes...Need I say more ;)

This time a come bearing a savoury brunch recipe :) One of my favourite dishes are crepes, mainly because they can be eaten in a variety of ways - both sweet and savoury. Today I prepared the healthier savoury alternative: whole wheat crepes with chanterelle sauce :)

Ingredients

Crepes

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tbsps butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt

Chanterelle sauce

2 tbsps canola oil

1 cup chanterelle

parsley

1/2 small onion

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

First, prepare the crepe mixture by mixing all the ingredients together. Put the mixture in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Prepare the crepes - pan-fry in canola oil until golden. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Saute the chanterelle in oil with the chopped onion for about 8 minutes or until brown.

Decorate the crepes with the sauce and sprinkle with parsley, enjoy :)

The afternoon indulgence ;)

Hello again!:) The last few days were so hot that I decided to make something refreshing and I came up with an Italian Shakerato. I hope that it will bring you some comfort in this sizzling weather :)


Recipe

1 cup ice (crushed)
1 cup espresso
2 tbsps Baileys (for each portion)

*optional chocolate for decoration

Directions
First, crush the prepared ice cubes and put them in a cocktail shaker. Pour the prepared cup of espresso coffee into the shaker and shake vigorously. Pour 2 tbs of Baileys into cocktail glasses and add the prepared coffee mixture. Serve separately or with a dessert*;)

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*For the tart recipe go here :)

Raspberry Tiramisu goodies :)

Hello everyone! It's weekend time and I have decided to make something special ;) I'm still very much under the influence of my Italian adventure and my head is full of Italian style desserts :) For today I prepared a special recipe for a classic tiramisu dessert.

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

250g mascarpone

1tbs vanilla extract

1 vanilla pod
espresso powder
Baileys
1 glass heavy whipping cream
cocoa powder
ladyfingers
50 g sugar
1 cup raspberry sauce

Directions

First, beat the egg yolks with 25g sugar. Add mascarpone, 1tbs vanilla extract, the seeds from 1 vanilla pod  and mix everything.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites with 25g of sugar. In the third bowl whip the creama and then add it to the mascarpone mixture along with the egg whites. Mix everything with a spoon until combined.
The prepared mixture put in a fridge for at least 3 hours.
Next, soak few sponge fingers in the dissolved espresso and others in Baileys. The amount of the soaked sponge fingers depends on how many layers of tiramisu you want to have. I used 6 sponge fingers for two layers per portion.
Pour the raspberry sauce evenly to the 4 bowls, add the first layer of the ladyfingers, cover with a bit of the Mascarpone mixture, add another layer of  To the prepared bowls and pour the remaining mascarpone mixture. decorate the bowls with cocao powder and raspberries and put it in a refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving (the best option is to leave it in a refridgerator overnight). Enjoy :D

Fruit tart in Italy :D

I'm in Italy now and I have decided to bake a fruit tart for my friends :)

Tarts are one of those desserts which are probably the easiest and fastest to prepare. I've already tried so many variations and so far they have always come out perfectly :)

Ingredients

Crust

2 tbsps heavy cream

150 g chilled butter, chopped

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsps brown/white sugar

2 egg yolks

1 egg

Filling

1 bar of white chocolate

1 cup mascarpone

1 vanilla pod

2 tbsps honey

seasonal fruit of your choice:)

Directions

Place all the ingredients for the crust together and knead until fully incorporated. Form a ball, wrap it up in foil and put in a refrigerator for at least two hours. In the meantime, using a mixer, combine all the ingredients for the filling and place the mixture in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Take out the dough ball and spread it evenly on a 30 cm round baking tin (greased with butter). Prickle the centre of the pastry with a fork and bake for about 25-30 minutes. When the pastry shell is ready, you can spread the melted chocolate and set aside to cool. When the crust and chocolate have cooled, put the pastry shell for at least an hour in a refrigerator to chill. Finally, spread the previously prepared cream and decorate it with seasonal fruit of your choice (I used grapes and a kiwi).

As I said I'm in Italy and thus I just couldn't resist capturing the beautiful view from my window along with my sweet dessert ;P

Carrot cupcakes with raspberry sauce

This is my first post ever and I have decided to celebrate it by sharing with you my all-time favourite cupcake recipe which is...

a carrot cupcake with raspberry filling and mascarpone topping :D 

Here are the details on the process of making these absolutely lovely carrot treats ;) 

Ingredients

 

cupcake base

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsps vanilla extract

3 grated carrots                     
1 cup natural yoghurt

raspberry sauce

1 cup raspberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

1tsp lemon juice

topping

250g mascarpone

2 tbsps honey

2 tbsp milk

Directions

First, combine the dry ingredients in the separate bowl (flour, sugar, baking soda) and the wet ingredients in another (milk, canola oil vanilla extract, yoghurt). Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture and add the grated carrots.

Bake in 150°C for about 15 minutes. 
Next, prepare the sauce on a pan combine all the ingredients and stir until the raspberries melt. Sieve the seeds and set aside. Mix the ingredients for the topping and set aside in the fridge for about an hour or two. 
When the cupcakes are ready cut off the tops and spoon in the raspberry sauce. Top the cupcakes with the mascarpone mixture and decorate with caramelized heart-shaped carrots*, chocolate and roasted almond slices, enjoy! :)   

*For the caramelized heart-shaped carrots dissolve 1 glass of sugar in one glass
of water and boil for 15-20 minutes.
When ready, soak them in the mixture
for another 10 minutes. Let them dry on
a paper towel and then decorate
the cupcakes.