Dolce & Italian Chocolate Block

Having started reading "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes made me almost obsessively think of all imaginable Italian food. As if I could magically transfer myself for a weekend in Italy or compensate for the lack of sun and fight the winter away, my weekly menu was full of Italian dishes like risotto and pizza. (I do hope to write about all of them soon!) For the weekend though I was planning to prepare something special. And sweet :) I made my hard choice and decided to indulge myself with dark chocolate block, full of almonds, dried apricots and amaretti cookies.
To my surprise and joy, after a long week of grey sky, Saturday welcomed us with sun, yet still no trams*. As our classes were starting just in the afternoon, we went for a beautiful walk in search of the only one missing ingredient for the chocolate block - amaretti cookies- ending up eating freshly baked pizza in a cozy Italian store Dolce**. Of course, I bought the cookies as well and therefore, I started my Sunday not with a long shower or some yummy breakfast but with preparing the chocolate block. It was worth it though! :)



Italian Chocolate Block
Original recipe comes from "Kuchnia włoska" by Penny Stephens. 

Fits a rectangular pan 11cm wide and 23cm long.

75g almonds, chopped
150g good quality chocolate (I used dark one, 70% cocoa)
75g butter
210g condensed milk (sweetened)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
75g amaretti cookies, crushed into big pieces
70g dried apricots, chopped

1. Line the pan with aluminium foil.
2. Put butter, condensed milk and cinnamon into a saucepan with a thick bottom. Cook over low heat, constantly stirring until butter melts, for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the chocolate cut into pieces and stir constantly until chocolate melts. Turn the heat off.
3. Mix in almonds, amaretti cookies and dried apricots. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and set aside in a cool place or refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set. Cut into big slices and enjoy with good latte macchiato :)

*BKV (Budapest public transportation company) was striking...
**Király u. 57., 1077 Budapest

New Year resolution

This year is going to be really challenging for me. Two important things are awaiting us: we are moving to a different country and travelling to Buenos Aires for 3 months with the focus on developing as a teacher and dancer. My mind's already very busy and that's why I decided not to challenge myself anymore with numerous New Year resolutions. I commited only to one - I decided to bake sweet things (cakes, pastries etc.) only once a week. Inspired (among others) by Patrycja's blog and her post on sugar I felt there's too much sugar in my diet and I didn't feel well with it. I'm far away from any extreme - I'm not going to resign from sugar, the goal is simply to cut back on the quantity. I cook daily with lots of vegetables and non-refined products, and in general, I think that our diet is very healthy apart from the sweets I'm baking. Some time ago I started to cut the amount of sugar in the recipes and it turned out that you usually need half the amount of sugar in the recipe to enjoy the sweetness and without any harm to the taste. Still, I'm a crazy baker and I could bake daily, so even with the lower amount of sugar it was still quite a lot in terms of frequency...

To sum up: In 2010, for the sake of my wellbeing I'm going to bake sweets only once a week.
Observation no 1: This makes choosing the recipe more exciting and baking the cake even more enjoyable...
Observation no 2:  I had to find a vent for my baking passion so instead I will bake bread and savoury tarts - planning to bake a tart with beetroots and Russian bread this weekend :)

Today I would like to share with you the triple-almond cheesecake that I baked last weekend. I barely managed to save this one piece to take a picture of it :)

Italian Baked Almond Cheesecake
Recipe comes from a special edition of "Delicious" magazine - "Wicked Desserts".

Serves 8. One 20cm non-stick springform cake tin.
Preparation: 15 minutes.
Baking: 45 - 50 minutes.
Chilling: over 1 hour.

Base:*
200g amaretti biscuits, crushed
50g unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
500g ricotta
250g tub mascarpone
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped or sugar with real vanilla
125g golden caster sugar
100g ground almonds
2 tablespoons cornflour
3 large free-range eggs
grated zest of one lemon

Decoration:
handful of flaked almonds
icing sugar for dusting
whipped cream

1. Preaheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter, tip into the base of a 20cm non-stick springform cake tin lined with baking paper. Press down firmly in an even layer with a spoon. Chill for 10 - 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, beat the ricotta, vanilla seeds, sugar, mascarpone, almonds, cornflour, eggs and lemon zest together in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into the prepared tin and scatter with the part of the flaked almonds.
3. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until golden, set in the center but still a bit wobbly. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave the cheesecake inside to cool completely. Chill for a further hour or more. Remove from the tin and serve with icing sugar, remaining flaked almonds and some cream, if you like.

* In case you don't have amaretti biscuits you can do the base with these ingredients:
200g wholegrain Digestive biscuits
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon Dutch cocoa
2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur or almond aroma

Rose, first snow and travelling

This post was meant to be published few days ago, yet, it comes to light right now, once I reached my destination, unpacked and I can sit down and finish writing it at a leisurely pace.
The days before my leaving Budapest for Poland (and Christmas) were pretty busy - we were teaching weekend workshops (so great atmosphere we had!), DJing Friday and Sunday, taking part in the amazing Global milonga, baking bread for my parents... At the same time I tried to pack myself which was more than a challenge, given that I wanted to take my new huge cookbook, one kg of fresh walnuts, a jar with sourdough* and other crazy things that you normally take with you for Christmas ;)
I don't know how I did, but I managed to bake a tart on the top of all those things. Again, I don't know how this happened but I had to choose an elaborate one ;) The reward for my effort was very high though - delicious vanilla cream mixed with cherries and a delicate walnut merengue top... Three different textures, three different flavours closed in the form of a tart.
When I went out to the balcony to photograph the tart, it just started snowing for the first time with big big snowflakes... Magical. I tried to capture the moment, but the snow was so elusive...** So I focused on the tart... It's beauty called for something more than just a white background so I photographed it with the red rose I got from P. A special rose that in the middle of winter kept its head upright for a whole week and when I was leaving it still looked gorgeous.
The cake is so rich and yet delicate, that I'm going to repeat it for Christmas. It's definitely not a typical Christmas cake, but it has something special in it, which definitely makes it a good festive idea.

Walnut Tart with Cherries 
(recipe by Stephan Franz from "The Cook's Book")

Makes a 26cm (10 1/2 inch) tart.

For pâte brisée:
188g butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
250g plain white flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 scant teaspoon caster sugar
50ml full fat milk at room temperature

For the vanilla cream:
300ml milk
5 medium egg yolks (100g in total)
75g caster sugar
15g cornflour
100ml double cream
seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod or sugar with real vanilla

For the filling:
400g whole black cherries - stoned.***

For the walnut layer:
100g cake crumbs or toasted breadcrumbs, finely ground
90g walnuts, toasted and finely ground
pinch of ground cinnamon
100g unsalted butter, diced and softened
100g caster sugar
3 medium egg yolks (60g in total)
seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod or sugar with real vanilla
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
4 medium egg whites (120g in total)

1. Prepare pâte brisée. Check for detailed instructions here.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Use a round cake tin with 4cm (1 1/2in) high sloping sides or springform cake tin, any of them 26cm (10 1/2in) in diameter. Lightly grease the tin with butter.
3. Roll out half the pastry to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness and cut out a circle to fit the bottom of the tin. Lay in the bottom of the tin and prick all over with a fork so that no air bubbles occurs during baking. Bake for 10 minutes. The pastry should be set and only very slightly coloured.
4. Let the pastry cool and lower the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F). Roll out the remaining pastry into two equal strips, around 4cm wide. Use them to line the sides of the tin.
5. Prepare vanilla cream:
Pour 90ml of the milk into a bowl, blend with the egg yolks, 45g of the sugar and the cornflour. Pour the rest of the milk into a pan and add the cream, remaining sugar and vanilla seeds/sugar. Bring to the boil and add the egg yolk mixture. Stir continously and bring to boil, then remove from the heat immediately.
6. Pass the vanilla cream through a fine sieve and spread evenly over the pastry base.
7. Arrange the cherries onto the vanilla cream surface.
8. Prepare the hazelnut layer:
Lightly mix together the cake or breadcrumbs, walnuts and cinnamon. In another bowl beat the butter and 30g of the sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and combine well. In another bowl whisk the egg whites, remaining sugar and a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Add one third to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Carefully fold in the remaining whites using a large spatula. Fold in the nut mixture in batches.
9. Fit a piping bag with a large plain nozzle, spoon in the nut mixture, and pipe in a spiral onto the cherries. Bake in the oven at 175°C (350°F) for 45 minutes. Let it cool down and dust with incing sugar before serving.

* Sourdough's first plane journey was successful :) I fed it straight away I got home and it appeared that it likes Polish flour pretty well ;)
** If you know how to photograph falling snow - let me know :)
*** I used pickled cherries in a light sugar syrup.

It's brownie time...

Do you know the story of brownie? Supposedly, a librarian - Miss Brown - from Maine (USA) forgot to use baking powder in her chocolate cake mixture which she was preparing for the visit of her friends. The cake came out of the oven totally flat. Despite that she served it and her friends loved it...
Brownie is a cake you either love or not. It's not too known in Poland and usually it's eaten with a bit of suspicion and questioning facial expresion: "was this cake really baked?". I love chocolate, I love dense and moist cake, I love walnuts... consequently, I couldn't not love brownie. The quality of chocolate is crucial for me - the one that we serve in Tango Cafe and the one I like most (from Nigella's recipe of course) is from Jedyna chocolate by Wedel. There has to be a dollop of whipped cream and preferably - some fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries. The problem with serving brownie in a cafe is that cut into squares it doesn't look particularly appealing in a refrigerated display case no matter how delicious it is. Having this in mind, I was looking different chocolate cakes recipes that would taste equally good to brownie and present themselves well. And I found a great one on Joy of Baking - a bit modified brownie put into a tart pan with addition of ganache... The result: rich chocolaty indulgence!

Brownie Chocolate Tart

Makes one 28cm in diameter tart.

165g (1 1/2 cup) toasted and chopped walnuts*
300g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
90g semi-sweet / bittersweet chocolate, good quality
40g milk chocolate
65g unsweetened Dutch cocoa
375g granulated white sugar
4 large eggs or 5 medium/small eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
130g regular cream cheese like Philadelfia or Turek (don't use low fat)
110g all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

for ganache:
80g semisweet chocolate
100ml heavy whipping cream

1. Grease the tart pan with butter or oil. Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F).
2. In a metal bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter & chocolate.
3. Using a hand mixer beat together the melted chocolate & butter with cocoa, then sugar. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, cream cheese. Add the flour, salt and mix with a wooden spoon just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the nuts.
4. Pour the batter into the tart pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula. The batter will fill the pan almost to the top. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the batter has set. If you insert a toothpick about 3cm from the side of the pan, it should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down on a rack for about 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime prepare the ganache: heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
6. With the end of a wooden spoon (1,5cm in diameter) that is well greased with oil or butter, make holes, spacing them evenly, into a top of the brownie tart.** You can make from 10 to 20 small holes.  With a small spoon fill the holes with the ganache. The ganache will sink as it cools so add more ganache, as needed.
7.  Let the tart cool completely and then cover the refrigerate. It is best to make this tart the day before serving to allow all flavours to blend. You can decorate it with grated chocolate. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

* Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and toast nuts for 8 minutes until lightly brown and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces.
** As you insert the end of wooden spoon into the tart, twist the spoon to prevent the tart from tearing. 

"C is for Cookie..."

Cookie Monster: "COOOKIES!!!!!! OM NOM NOM NOM" (Eats everything, including plate)

Grey (not white unfortunately) December days make me feel like a Cookie Monster. Seriously. Actually, a very picky cookie monster as I've been making numerous cookies and only few of them I find really yummy and deserving "Om nom nom nom...". One of them are these Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunks Cookies. I've found them in Martha Stewart's Cookies and I started mouthwatering already when I was reading the recipe with lots of walnuts, chocolate and chocolate. Oh, and bananas of course. I find this combination sort of irresistible, add a gallon of caramel or chocolate rooibos, new Dr House episode... Heaven is here :D At least for me :)

Banana-Walnut  Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

Makes around 30 cookies.*

130g (1 cup) all purpose flour
80g (1/2 cup) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
170g (1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large or 2 small mashed bananas (the best are very ripe ones)
100g (1 cup) rolled oats
200g (around 8 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks
60g (1/2 cup) coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Whisk together both flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl.
2. Put butter and both sugars into a bowl. Mix (with a mixer) until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add egg and vanilla; mix until well combined. Mix in the mashed bananas. Add flour mixture and mix only until just combined. Stir in the oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.
3. Using a tablespoon or an ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 5cm apart. Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cook on sheets for 5 minutes. Then transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.** (if your will power is strong enough... mine wasn't ;) )

* Believe me: 30 of these cookies it's not much... it's actually too little to last for the second day.
**Cookies can be stored at room temperature, in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Orange Walnut Muffins with White Chocolate Topping

Uff... what a great weekend. A bit in a hurry, but still this type of hurry was positive. Only now - having come back from our milonga - I have found a moment to check my blog out and fulfil the promise of publishing the recipe for muffins. It will be my only one contribution to the Citrus Weekend... even though I was dreaming of preparing 7 other citrus delicacies. As a dancer and tango teacher, paradoxically I have plenty of free time on Monday mornings (I mean: after 11 a.m.) and during the weekdays before noon. Weekends are evenings are the busiest so I just simply didn't have enough time for a citrus frenzy (though I managed to bake two delicious loaves of bread, one of which was handed over to my friends, the other one was handed out partially and partially eaten by us).

Anyway, with a small delay (it's after midnight so theoretically it's already Monday) I would like to share with you the recipe for Orange Walnut Muffins with White Chocolate Topping. Sweet and fruity oranges and crunchy toasted walnuts make these muffins perfect for breakfast with a glass of milk. Yet, just a bit of white chocolate as a topping and you get an elegant afternoon treat. They smell  and taste very Christmassy and I have a feeling that you will be able to try them out very soon in Tango Cafe :)

Orange Walnut Muffins 

with White Chocolate Topping

(inspired by the recipe for Orange Muffins from the Ultimate Muffin Cookbook by Bruce Weinstein Mark Scarbrough)

Wet ingredients:
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup (125g) natural yogurt
85g (6 tablespoons, 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed out orange juice
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g walnuts, toasted (around 6min. in 200°C / 400°F) and chopped

Dry ingredients:
240 g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
185g (3/4 cup) sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
a pinch of cinnamon

Topping:
100g good quality white chocolate

Makes around 12 medium / standard size muffins (5cm in diameter).

1. Mix all wet ingredients together until uniform.
2. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Prepare the muffin tins: line them with paper muffin cups or cut pieces of baking paper.
3. Dry ingredients: whisk the dry ingredients in a second bowl until well uniform.
4. Add the dry ingredients bowl into wet ingredients bowl, stir in just until incorporated. Don't overmix! Fill the prepared tins (mine are pretty shallow and I filled them to the brim, instead of the usual three-quarters full). Bake for 22 minutes, until the muffins are light brown and have rounded tops. The muffins are ready when the toothpick or cake tester comes out almost clean (can be one or two crumbs attached). Set the pan onto the rack and let the muffins cool down for 10 minutes.
5. Chop the chocolate and put into a small pan. Place the small pan above a large pan with boiling water. Important: the pan with chocolate cannot touch the boiling water. Melt the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Spread the warm melted chocolate over the muffins with a tablespoon.

Her Majesty Pear & The Prince Walnut

I love pears - even more than apples. I love them because of their feminine shape, beautiful yellow color, juicy sweetnes and the fact that they go so well with another of my favourites - walnuts. Especially here, in Budapest, you can find them big, yet full of flavour, in many varieties. The best walnuts I've ever eaten are also from Budapest - on the Market Hall (Vasarcsarnok) starting in September/October you'll find them fresh, in a beautiful golden colour, with no hint of bitternes. Pear Walnut Muffins combine two of my favourites. Furthermore, they take so little time to prepare yet the taste is really amazing - these are the best muffins I've ever done. (Though P. says that the best were Apple Raisin Muffins.) You should try them out with cinnamon latte... and a good cooking book. Mmm.. indulgence... - a perfect way to spend a dark autumn afternoon or evening.

Pear Walnut Muffins
(inspired by the recipe for Pear Muffins from the Ultimate Muffin Cookbook by Bruce Weinstein Mark Scarbrough)

Wet ingredients:
3 medium pears (around 230g each/8 ounces)
160g (3/4 cup) light brown sugar
120g (1 cup) walnuts
1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 small natural yogurt (150g)
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:
250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Makes around 12 medium / standard size muffins (5cm in diameter).

1. Wet ingredients:
Peel and core the pears. Two of them mash with a blender, the third one cut into small cubes. Stir in the brown sugar, toss well and set aside for 15 - 30 minutes (depending how ripe your pears are, if a lot - then 15 minutes is plenty, if they're firm and not too ripe - then 30 minutes should be fine.) In the meantime, chop walnuts and toast them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. After that time, using a wooden spoon, stir the egg into the pears, then stir in the rest of the wet ingredients (including walnuts) until smooth.

2. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Prepare the muffin tins: line them with paper muffin cups or cut pieces of baking paper.

3. Dry ingredients:
Whisk the dry ingredients in a second bowl until well uniform.

4. Add the dry ingredients bowl into wet ingredients bowl, stir in just until incorporated. Don't overmix! Fill the prepared tins (mine are pretty shallow and I filled them to the brim, instead of the usual three-quarters full). Bake for 23 minutes, until the muffins are light brown and have rounded tops. The muffins are ready when the toothpick or cake tester comes out almost clean (can be one or two crumbs attached). Set the pan onto the rack and let the muffins cool down for 10 minutes before taking them out and serving.

Very Nutty Banana Bread

This simple, yet so rich and luscious bread is based on the recipe for Sophie Dahl's Banana Bread. I could call it my banana bread as it combines all my favourite qualities a cake should have: it's moist, full of natural flavours and has 'something crunchy' - in this case my favourite nuts. Honestly, I cannot resist it and never finish with only one or two pieces. I love it with a mug of rooibos tea or a glass of warm milk. Bon apétit!

Very Nutty Banana Bread

4 very ripe bananas
100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
75g butter, softened (1/3bar or 2/3stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rum extract
50g raisins
50g walnuts
50g cashew nuts
25g hazelnuts
25g almonds (can be whole or cut)
170g all purpose flour (1 1/3cup)
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Fits a rectangular loaf pan (30cm long, 11cm wide, 7cm deep).

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cover the baking form with a baking paper. Mash the bananas with a fork or a hand blender/mixer. Add sugar, egg, butter, vanilla & rum extract. Chop the nuts and scald the raisins. If you want a stronger nut taste you can toast the nuts in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes (in 180°C). Add the nuts and raisins to the banana mix. In a seperate bowl mix the flour with baking soda and salt. Add the flour, mix only until everything is combined, the batter doesn't need to be perfectly smooth - don't overmix it though! Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 50 - 60minutes. (In my oven it was 50minutes). The batter is not rising in the begining, but it will later. Wait for 10minutes to cool down a bit and then enjoy! :)