Apple delicacies

Do not give up even if your try doesn't work.
Even if you follow the recipe carefully, but it doesn't work.
For a moment  (maybe also two or three) we get angry but we haven't to lose heart.

In my kitchen, there is always a Plan B.
Most of the time it works ( I don't know why but I don't care. It works, no questions).
And better of what I scheduled and studied with attention to the smallest detail but it has no more of working.

These apples cakes are the umpteenth ...well done plan B.

Ingredients for 6 cakes:

150 g spelt flour

50 g corn starch

100 g cold sparkling water

1 egg

100 g vegetable whipping cream

50 g fruit sugar

100 g cubed apples

2 tablespoons cinnamon powder

a pinch of salt

spelt flour to sprinkle

lemon juice

margarine as needed

Preparation:

I pour in a bowl the flour, the corn starch and the fruit sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon, a pinch of salt and I mix well.
I make a hole in the middle and I put an egg inside.
I beat it with a fork and I add the cream and later the sparkling water.
Little by little with a whisk and making round moving I mix powders around.
It must result a creamy batter , not liquid.
I cut an apple in cubes, soaking it with lemon juice.
I roll the cubes in the spelt flour and I sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon powder.
I oil with margarine and then covered with flour the moulders.
I pour some tablespoons of the dough in the bottom and I put some apples cubes, finishing with the same dough.
I bake these very tasty mini-sweet-cakes in pre-heated oven at 180° (low temperature) for 20 minutes.
 Thanks to sparkling water, they grow up as volume and the soft apple heart ...are an amazing surprise.

Mini-cakes with parmesan cheese and oregano

I come back  to plum cake but this time I try to make it savoury.

If an experiment works , why do not doing again in new versions, new matches?

One of the things that I miss more is bread...these mini-cakes comfort a lot and remind the softness of the guts meanwhile parmesan cheese adds more flavour.
  . 

Ingredients:

150 g spelt flour

50 g potato starch

3 eggs

70 ml corn oil

252 g unsweetened natural yogurt

a pinch of salt

a pinch of fruit sugar

100 g grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon oregano


Preparation:

I proceed as for a sweet plum cake, I beat the eggs as much as double with a pinch of fruit sugar.

Then with a cake slice, I mix slowly from down to up, the remaining ingredients.

I start with yogurt and oil, then the flour and the starch, salt, parmesan cheese and oregano.

The secret is stirring slowly and mixing a tablespoon at a time.

I know that requires more time than usual, but the result refund us of  labor and time-wasting.

I bake at 180° for 25-30 minutes around in mini-moulders for cakes.

The smell coming out the oven will swarm your house, your ladders... soon you 'll have to be ready to receive your neighbours!

Sponge-cake with strawberry mousse

It's Easter day and tables will be full of cakes and chocolate ...and I treat myself to a cake. And what a cake!Basic ingredients are strawberries, my favourite fruit.
What a colour and above all what taste ...

Ingredients per  2 cake pans of 19.5 cms:

Sponge-cake

300 g khorashan wheat flour

300 g fruit sugar

6 eggs

Strawberry Mousse

500 g strawberries

1 teaspoon grapefruit juice

2 egg whites

130 g  fruit sugar

12 g gelatin leaves

150 g lactose free whipping cream

Preparation:

I whip  with electric whisk, the room temperature eggs with fruit sugar for half an hour more or less.

When the volume is doubled I add the sift flour , a tablespoon at a time, always whipping with electric whisk.

I pour the knead in two cakes pans previously oiled with margarine and covered with flour.

I bake in pre-heated oven for 25 minutes about (depends on oven) at 180° (low temperature).

I begin preparing the gelatine.

I soak 2 g of gelatine leaves in cold water.

I blend strawberries and I pour it in a strainer.

I add to strained strawberries puree the grapefruit juice.

I take half glass of puree, I warm it up with 30 g of fruit sugar and I add the soaked gelatine.

I pour the strawberries gelatine in a baking pan covered  by baking paper.

I put it in the fridge.

Then I start preparing the mousse.

I put 10 g of gelatine leaves in cold water.

I warm the remaining fruit sugar with 40 g of water.

As it starts boiling, I switch off and I add the soaked gelatine leaves.

I beat until stiff the eggs whites and without stopping beating I drizzle the hot fruit sugar syrup in the eggs whites and I whip up doubling.

As the meringue is cold; I add with a cake slice, stirring softly from down to up, the strawberries puree, little by little.

The same operation to add the whipped cream.

I pour the strawberries mousse on the gelatine and I cover with sponge -cake (you can leave the real thickness of the cake , or as I make, reduce the thickness, cutting a layer).

I put the mousse-sponge cake into the fridge to cool down for 4 hours.

I turn upside down and I remove the baking paper softly, decorating with some strawberries slices.

It's an hard job, but believe me, it is worth.
Happy Easter to everybody!

Spelt flour quiche with artichokes and fennels

Ingredients :


Base pastry:

for salted shortcrust pastry

300 g spelt flour

100 g  potatoes starch

150 g margarine

a pinch of salt

cold sparkling water as needed

Filling:

100 g  lactose and gluten free cut in cubes speck( Italian Smoked ham)

1 fennel

2 artichokes hearts

half white onion

a tablespoon of marjoram

150 g lactose free mascarpone cheese ( I find it in an organic supermarket )

2 eggs

50 g grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:


I sift the spelt flour, the potato starch, a pinch of salt then make a hole in the middle and put the margarine inside.

I start adding cold (from the fridge) sparkling water and I stir well up the dough becomes soft.
I wrap it in a plastic wrap and I let it stand in the fridge for an hour.

Meanwhile I cut in strips the onion, the artichokes hearts and the fennel.

I sweat them with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and a pinch of salt.
Then I add some water and I let the vegetable cooking for 15 minutes.
I add the speck (Italian Smoked ham) in little cubes and marjoram and I stir out of flame.
I roll the shortcrust pastry in a cake pan with high edges, leaving a little piece of dough apart to make stripes.

I put the vegetables cooked with speck on the bottom and then I pour the batter made with two  beaten eggs and mascarpone cheese.

I sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
I fold the edges of the quiche towards inside and  I make some stripes with which I close it.

I bake at 200° (medium - high temperature) for 40 minutes.

It can be an idea to make it at Easter Monday for countryside picnic ( In Italy we are used to) !

Apple - love pie

Apple pie ..come  immediately to mind Grandma Duck ..or an American movie where there was a waitress who baked such so gorgeous pies...yummies looking at them only!
I like taking a classic recipe and reinvent it.
Often it doesn't work at first time.
But my love for cooking and the wish to see if the experiment works , push me to try and try always.
Making something good with your own hands it's one of the biggest satisfaction that you can have.
That seems an undertaking every time!
My husband, my friends, my cousin are like guinea pigs ...but don't worry they  dont' suffer so much.
They order indeed.
At Loretta's home, who helps me so much with this blog and with all those complicated  informatic things.
I took this apple pie and I put my heart on it to say thank you for her help.
It's great to count on friends!

Short crust pastry iingredients :

50 g medium fine corn flour (bramata type in Italy)
150 g superfine corn flour (fumetto type in Italy)
110 g rice starch
140 g chestnut flour
225 g margarine
75 ml cold sparkling water
a pinch of salt
1 egg for brushing

Filling ingredients :

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon rice flour
orange zest and juice
1 kg apple
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
100 g sugar fruit

Preparation:
I make the short crust pastry mixing flours and the starch with the margarine, the water and the pinch of salt.
I put the dough in the fridge to stand for 30 minutes.
Later I cut the apples in thin slices and I flavour them with orange zest and juice, the cinnamon, the nutmeg and the sugar fruit. I put on also a tablespoon of rice starch.
I roll the dough on an oiled and covered with flour baking pan.
I pour the apples and i close with the remaining dough.

I bake for 45° minuti a 180°.
If you serve it still warm is more tasty.

It is  just only an apple pie ...but it is hard to resist it. :-)

With this recipe I participate to contest La cucina del cuore 

Millet moons with pistachios

Months ago I had idea to create this blog and to publish my recipes, my experiments in the kitchen.
I'm amazed and happy of the result.
It makes me feel strange to have 10.000 visits to my blog ( I mean my Italian blog,  I should be so happy to have the same result with my  English version)
If this adventure  finishes tomorrow, I should be satisfied in any case.

Keep in mind that so many people come to visit and interest in what I'm doing, sounds incredible still now.

But this pushes me to go on...I'm having a great time!

What can I say? Thank you. From of the bottom of my heart.

To celebrate this event, here you are a simple but impressive recipe.

I'm back to the scene of crime, with these cookies.

My -father-in-law likes them and he doesn't love sweets usually.

I hope they like to you also.


Ingredients:

150 g millet flour

50 g corn flour (fumetto type in Italy)

25 g rice flour

100 g Bronte (a place in Sicily very famous for) pistachios flour

150 g margarine

125 g sugar fruit

50 g  extra pistachios flour

Preparation:

I pre-heat the oven at 180° (low temperature).

I sift the flours in a bowl and I stir the margarine with my fingers.
The dough seems sand but I continue adding fruit sugar and kneading by hand up the dough becomes soft.
on a surface covered in flour, I roll the dough 2,5 cms tick.

With a moon-shaped cookie cutter, I cut the cookies and I put on a baking pan covered by baking paper.

I take the extra pistachios flour and pinch by pinch I cover the surface of cookies with pistachios.

I bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, up making golden.

Greek stew

Ingredients:
450 g tomato pulp
200 ml vegetable stock made with yeast free stock cube
2 white onions
200 g scallions
1 clove of garlic
500 g veal thick flank cut in around 2 cm pieces
500 g cubed potatoes
a sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper

In a large pan I put to sweat the scallions, the chopped onion and the garlic over a low flame for some minutes.
Then I remove from the pan and put apart.
In the same pan I put the meat and I sweat with the remaining gravy for 10 minutes.
Later I add scallions, onion and garlic, tomato pulp, mixed herbs and I add a pinch of salt and pepper.
After a couple of minutes, I add stock and I let it cook over a low flame for 1 hour.
Thereafter I put also cubed potatoes and I let the stew cook for other 30 minutes.

Each bite of meat thanks to slow cooking is very soft and to the herbs it is aromatic and  embracing.