Almond Cookies

This recipe was in my “to do” list for at least two years. It is the kind of recipe, that you know that you want to make right when you open your brand new cookbook. There was something about this recipe, although it is not sophisticated, that attracted me. I`m happy to say that this was a great success, and I would defiantly make these again.

These are lovely cookies. I can`t think of any other description for them. They have the most delicious lemony taste, and the crispy almond coating, really gives it this extra something.

You`ll be surprised of the quantity of the cookies that this recipe makes (don`t worry about that, they`ll disappear before you even notice). Just  make kind of tiny rolls, even if it may look a bit small, trust me on that one. Also, make sure to bake the cookies until golden, you want the almond coating to be very crispy.

Tiramisu

I`ve made this delicious dessert while my brother was here, and we looked for some kind of cake to make. After much thinking, we laid our eye on this dessert, and we decided to make it. We did not, in any we regret it.

This recipe, unlike may other tiramisu recipes that I saw, does not include soft white cheese, white chocolate, or any other ingredients that have nothing to do with a good tiramisu.

Tiramisu, as you may know is a traditional Italian dessert, which is made of mascarpone cheese and zabaglione. As any dessert with very high percentage of fat, this was delicious, and fairly easy to make. The only catch about this one, at least in israel, is the price of the mascaropne cheese: it is quite expensive here, so making proper tiramisu may cost you a bit.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

This recipe does not require any explanations – It is very very simple to make, and the final result is very delicate, and very tasty (and may I add- very addictive!).

A few words about poppy seed- this recipe requires using ground poppy seed. I didn`t have any, but if you an get it, please make sure to use poppy seed that was grounded in the same day, or that was grounded and then frozen, at the same day. Be very careful with store bought poppy seed, since they tend to be bitter, and may ruin whatever you cook.

Also, if you would like to add a bit more lemon to these cookies, you could roll the unbaked cookie log with granulated sugar with a lot of lemon zest. Then, simply slice into rounds and bake as written in the recipe.

Hamantashen

It`s so weird to call these “Hamantashen” since I`m used to their Hebrew name, Ozney Haman (which literally means- the ears of haman). These crisp and filled cookies are made especially for Purim, the happiest holiday (to my humble opinion…). I won`t bother you with the full history background of these cookies, but if this interest you, you could find nice explanations in many sites.

These cookies are basically circles short pastry filled with all sorts of fillings (usually poppy seed filling, chocolate, or dates), which are folded to triangle shape and baked until crisp. You really don`t need Purim as an excuse to make these.

One of the most complicated things about these cookies is getting the cookies to remain at their original shape while baking. I found that if you chill the filled and shaped cookies before you bake them, they generally  tend to lose their shape, the solution is to chill the shaped and filled cookies before baking (preferably overnight).

Happy Purim!

Daring Bakers- Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

 

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

 When I first saw this recipe, I was really looking forward to make it. This turned out to be a bit ironic – The recipe’s name is “Chocolate Valentino” and it is supposed to be a great recipe for valentines day, but I decided to make it in one of the most depressing days, the elections day.  Now, without getting into politics, let me just say that that day was not only rainy and gray, the result were also very much depressing. Certainly not a day to make a nice cake like this one. That day could also explain the poor photos this time, it was so gray outside, that I just couldn`t get any nice pictures, sorry!

Making the cake was quite easy. I halved the recipe, and baked it in a buttered muffins tin. The texture of the cake was a bit sandy, but the flavor was very nice. Since we are not patient people, we ate the cake while it was still a bit warm, and it later turned out that this cake is best when completely chilled.

Because I don’t own an ice cream machine, I decided to make vanilla semifreddo instead. I choose a recipe by Jamie Oliver, and it turned to be delicious, and it had quite a nice texture.

Torta Di Ricotta

I`ve got to admit that I had doubts when I made this cake. When thinking of Ricotta, you usually imagine a flavorless cheese with a not-so-rich texture. This cake surly proved me wrong. Though this in not the creamiest cheesecake, it is certainly a very good one. This cake is quite dense, and has the most delicious combination of the citrus taste alongside with the crust and the cheese.

Another good thing in this cake is that it is fairly simple to make, compared with other cheesecakes. Here, you just have to make the crust, and then make the batter (and the only thing that is required is a stand mixer). In this one, you don’t need to whip egg whites, or to use all sort of tricks that the cake wont fall.

Oh, something about the citrus. If, like me, you are not the biggest fans of oranges, I suggest you put a zest from one orange rather than two as written in the recipe. This will give a slight taste of orange, which is perfect to my taste.

Kadaif pastry filled with whipped cream and strawberries

This dessert is so delicious because of its simplicity. There are only handful of ingredients, but the the combination of the crispy kadaif, cream and the slightly tang of the strawberries make this an ideal dessert.

In case that this is the first time that you hear the word ”kadaif “, here`s a short explanation: Kadaif is the name of a very thin shredded pastry which is used to make dessert and pastries.  It is sometimes known as shredded phyllo. After dipped into melted fat (usually melted butter) and baked, it gets a very crispy texture. I think that you could find this in Mediterranean stores, in Israel this is usually found in specialty stores.

This dessert is one of many things that you can make with Kadaif: from filling it with mousses to wrapping salmon. There are endless possibilities, and If you are able to find this product, grab it right away, and I promise that you won`t regret it.

Some tips for working with Kadaif:

• Kadaif usually comes frozen. Before using it, make sure to defrost it, either in the fridge, on in a sealed plastic bad in room temperature for about half an hour.
• Be very gentle when working with it. It tends to crumble.
• After dipping it with the butter (or any other fat), form it into the required shape, and press it to get an even layer.

Chocolate Stout Cake

This cake is the perfect chocolate cake. It has anything you would want to find in one: moist, with a great chocolatey flavor, not oily, and has a delicious ganache topping. I loved this cake so much that I`ve made it twice in the same weekend (and the fact the one bottle of Guinnes was enough to make exactly 1.5 batches was also very helpful).

I strongly suggest that you make the cake with the ganache, without it the cake is delicious, but the addition af the ganache makes it extra extra delicious. Besides of that, this cake is simple to make (though the baking time may be longer, as it was in my oven), and there is not one good reason why you would not go and buy a bottle of Guinnes right now, and run to make this cake.

Jacques Torres’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted to make these recipe from the moment I saw it. I must say that this situation happens to me quite a lot; I see some recipe, and suddenly I must make it as soon as possible, no matter what.  As I said, this recipe was on my to do list for quite some time, and finally, I made it a few days ago.

I wont lie and say that this is the best mind blowing chocolate chip cookie recipe ever (though I was hoping to say that…), but this is a nice recipe, that makes nice cookies: crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside. My problem with the recipe was the slightly eggy taste that it had, though not something very noticeable, but still (and on that matter, are there any differences between the Martha’s recipe and the NY times recipe?).

I halved the recipe, since the  amount of cookies that come out of this recipe could feed a small village. Also, I used grams instead of ounces and pounds, the measurement are written brackets in case you should need it.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

This cake automatically gives you an appointment to the nearest cardiologist. Just take a quick look: this cake contains: 9 eggs, almost half a kilo of chocolate and heavy whipping cream, not something you`ll eat very often.

But, lets look on the brighter side, shall we? although the cake has enough eggs and chocolate to feed a small village, it has only 120 gr. of butter, and only 70 gr. of sugar, such small amounts probably delete all the calories of the chocolate and the eggs, right??

Now, seriously, you must make this cake at least once. Though my picky brother may not agree with me, I think that this cake is the perfect combination between the baked base and the mousse. The base is basically baked chocolate mousse that is a kind of “melt in your mouth” kind of cake. The mousse is perfectly rich and dreamy, with a slight (slight!) taste of the rum and the amaretto. All in all, this cake simply wroth the calories, and if you are feeling a little bit guilty, eat a small slice, and after couple of  hours, eat another one. I promise you the the guilt will just fade away!

A few bit a pieces to make this cake perfect: first, make sure to use only fresh eggs. This cake contains uncooked eggs, so be very careful with that. Second, after baking the base, it will fall, so be ready for that.

M&M`s Chocolate cookies

I promise you that you will fall in love with this recipe, not only because it will put a foolish smile on your face, but because of its taste.  Sure, these cookies are very sweet, nothing sophisticated here, just a great taste of fudgy cookies with an add of delicious M&M (Yes, I said delicious. Sometimes a bag of M&M is better than the any fancy  bittersweet chocolate.). Another reason to make these is the simplicity of the making, it takes about 5 minutes (if you are really slow…), and all the time goes on the baking.

I know that many people dislike very sweet cookies, but if you are planning on making these ones, don`t omit any amount of sugar, trust me on this one. This recipe is perfect as it is. Also, to make sure that you will get a perfectly baked cookie, make sure not to over bake the cookies, and take them out from the oven even before they look ready (they should be a bit firm on the sides, and very soft in the middle).

So if you are in a gloomy mood, or  just want to make someone happy, make these ones, they will do the job.

Cinnamon Cookies With Pistachio Frosting

This recipe is the kind of recipe that you find yourself making over and over again simply because that these has something extra about them. These have a lovely flavor, and  a bit of  character, thanks to the tangy frosting and the delicious pistachios.

If you are a bit tight at time, or you just dont have the patience to wait, you could always put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, and than make the cookies. Also, the frosting is totally optional. Sure, it adds quite a lot, but you could manage without it.

About the size- you could certainly make these in any size, from monster cookies to tiny ones, it really does`nt matter. I usually make these about 4 cm. diameter, so they are nice and easy to eat, and could be finished in two bites.

One more thing to notice is the frosting. Make sure to make it thick enough, so it will remain firm. Don`t be afraid to add more sugar. Oh, please use freash lemon juice if you can. I know it`s only one teaspoon, but freash juice really makes a difference.

Mini Brioches Filled With Chocolate Truffle

Brioche is a very rich eggy bread, in the fine line between bread and sweet yeast cake. This is not very sweet, but the texture us so rich, and full of rich butter flavot (but not greasy!), that you will find yourself ignoring all the calories, and eating one after the other.

You may think that the brioche dough may be time consuming and hard to make, but, in fact, the mixer does all of your hard work, and after one night in the fridge, the dough is very easy to work with.

The thing that may be time consuming is making the chocolate truffles, but you can easily replace them with easier fillings like jam or Nutella spread.

Note: The recipe does not call for any liquids except the yolks. When I made the dough it did not form into a ball, but remained crumbly. I added about 1\4 cup of water, until the dough was a little sticky. I suggest that you make the recipe as it is, and if you see that you need to add liquids, add them, but do it slowly, just until you get a dough at the right texture.

Chocolate Marble Cake

This is a very simple cake, this is what you may call a “coffee cake” (not a cake made of coffee, but a cake to accompany one).

The chocolate marble is totally optional. You can omit the chocolate and make this cake with fresh fruits, or with all kinds of nuts.

The look of the cake in the picture may look strange, and that`s because I made this specific one using a rose shaped tin (which looks great when the cake is whole, but looks rather weird when you slice the cake).

Triple-Layer Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

This carrot cake is utterly different than the other carrot cake that appears just a few posts below. This one is all about the frosting, and I promise you that while you start eating this cake, you will soon forget that you are eating a mixture of sugar, butter and cream cheese (in fact, you would probably go and have another slice…). 

This recipe demand quite a lot of preparation and time, but the final result is so good, that it is worth it. I make this cake only for special occasions (this one was for my father`s birthday), but you could skip the frosting and make this cake as cupcakes, or just as a regular cake without the layers and the frosting. It will be just fine.

If you don`t want to use the 1 1/2 cups of oil as suggested in the recipe, you could easily repalce it with 3/4 cup of applesauce and 3/4 cup of oil, as suggested in the recipe reviews at epicurious. Frankly, you wouldn`t tell the difference.

Mini Pavlovas

What would you make when you have leftover egg whites, one pomegranate waiting on the tree, and some whipping cream? (well, obviously food… and something sweet, right?). I decides to make pavlovas, which are these perfect little desserts, full of different textures and flavors, and just at the right size.

The nice thing about these little beauties is that you can make the meringue the night before, or just make these a few days ahead and keep them in an airtight container, by doing that you could assemble them just before serving, and save a lot of time.

One small note: in order to get whiter meringues, I bake them overnight (about 8-9 hours) in 80 degrees C. and in the morning I just turn the oven off and let them cool until I use them.

Carrot Cake

First, some good news- my father bought a brand new, and very very amazing camera- Nikon D90. let me tell you- this is one hell of a camera! This camera is so good that I found myself taking pictures of (almost) everything that was around me (including a billion of my poor cat, bless him). So, I don`t think that there is any difference, but the picture above was taken with the new camera.

Now, lets focus on the reason we are here for- the cake. I truly love this cake, and I have managed to make it three times since the beginning of the month, which is quite an unusual thing.

I only make a cake that often (well the term “often” is relative, at least for me, since there`s not a lot of demand here…) when it is really good. I have a few signs when a cake is going to be a favorite (please don`t laugh, this is the honest truth!):

1. I eat at least four slices in about an hour.
2. After about tow hours, there is about 1/4 cake left.
3. The cake doesn’t last for more than a day and a half.

This cake certainly replied to all of the above. The cake is note a fancy one, but it is so good, and has such a nice texture, that it is almost the perfect cake to accompany a nice cup of coffee. Now, I know that most of you are used to making carrot cakes with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting (And that`s not a bad thing at all!) but, this cake is so good as it is, that you really don’t need frosting.

Crunchy Granola

This is a great granola recipe, and you should try making it since it is relatively simple to make, and it turns out really well.

As you can see in the pictures, I didn’t add any nuts in this granola. Instead, after baking the granola, I added about 250 gr. Of dried cranberries, that gives the granola a great delicate tart taste.

Chocolate Coffee Cookies

This chocolate coffee cookie recipe has a very strong chocolate flavor that combines wonderfully with the coffee flavor. If you don’t like coffee in your cookies, or if you’re just not in the mood, omit the coffee, and still get lovely cookies.

Dark and White Chocolate Mousse Cake

This is the cake that I made for my brother, before he left to his (very) long trip overseas.
Oddly enough, this is the only mousse cake that I made for my brother that came out decent looking! You see, every time I tried to make him a nice cake for any special occasion, something would do wrong (well, kind of…), so I’m happy that it turned out ok this time.

Now, as for the cake- This is not the simplest cake, but it is not hard to make as you may think. Yes, it takes some time, but believe me, it is so worth it, this is THE cake if you want to impress someone, and the taste is really good as well.

So, if you have some kind of special occasion that requires a nice looking (and nice tasting…) cake, give this one a chance.

A fruit cake to remember

I think that the fact that I have made this cake 3 times this past month speaks for itself. I just love making this cake, it is a great cake for days that you don’t have time, but still want a great cake.

This is a fairly easy cake, it is not the kind of cake that requires a lot of tools, a lot of special ingredient or a lot of time. The other thing that is great about this cake, is that you can use almost any kind of fruit, or what you have in the house. for my taste, this cake is perfect for a nice treat after dinner, or if you are looking for a not-so-heavy kind of cake,

The only important thing that you should be aware about this cake, is that it can only hold up for one day. This cake simply doesn’t last for more than that. so, if your making this, just keep in mind to eat it on the same day.

Cinnamon Rolls

There are endless variations for cinnamon rolls. I like this one especially because of the dough. This dough recipe is not too sweet with a slight hint of the salt, and a great texture.

Overall, this is a good recipe, and the greatest thing about it, is that the rolls can be frozen, and if you defrost them properly, they will taste like they just came out of the oven.

Surprise Pudding (aka Jamie Oliver’s Beetroot Cake)

This very special recipe is taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, and the only cookbook I have that has the authentic signature of the author- Jamie’s Kitchen by Jamie Oliver. If you get a chance, take a look at this book (I know he has a lot of books…), it is a big and heavy book, with many many pictures of Mr. Oliver himself. But still, The book is full of great pictures, and has a lot of very interesting recipes.

This recipe for example, for beetroot cake, include a list of ingredients that may sound very weird one next to another (olive oil, vanilla, orange, ginger…). But it comes out as a very interesting and tasty cake.

I guess that if you like simple flavors, this may not be the cake for you, but if you are looking for an interesting new cake recipe, this one is for you.

The recipe is brought as it is written in the cookbook, since Jamie’s cookbooks have a unique style.