Peanut butter granola + Woody Allen and Larry David

A couple of nights ago I was on my couch, watching “House M.D.” and being horrified by the fact that a child almost as tall as me was wearing diapers on that episode when the reminder for "Whatever Works" appeared on my screen; after watching the movie I thanked the Universe for putting Woody Allen and Larry David together – the witty text, perfectly performed by the fantastic David and a very sharp and talented Evan Rachel Woods, with the addition of a divine, funny and gorgeous Patricia Clarkson made me laugh so hard I was afraid my neighbors would think I’m crazy. :)
There are hundreds of great lines throughout the movie – you can find some of them here – and one of them is absolutely real: “The human race. They've had to install automatic toilets in public restrooms, because people can't be entrusted to flush a toilet.” – it always amazes me – in a very bad way – that the Man has walked on the moon but some people seem incapable of flushing a freaking toilet. Go figure. :D

This die-hard fan of "Mighty Aphrodite" loved the movie and if you like Allen’s sense of humor I’m sure you’ll love it too – watch it and then let me know what you think. Can I ask for one more thing? Make this granola – it’s the best granola I’ve ever eaten and the real challenge here was stop eating it right out of the oven so there would be at least half of it left to store in an airtight container. :D
The recipe comes from a website I adore so much I cannot wait to buy their book.

Peanut butter granola
slightly adapted from the always amazing Food52

250g rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup (44g) lightly brown sugar, packed
¼ cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (110g) dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F.
Combine oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter, oil, brown sugar, honey and vanilla. Pour mixture over granola and stir until oats are fully coated.
Spread gently in an ungreased 22x32cm (13x9in) pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until granola is toasted, stirring gently every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan.
Stir in fruit, if using, and store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a month.

Serves 8-10

Salmon with hot, sweet and sour Asian sauce + a new favorite TV show

Joao was watching TV the other day and discovered, completely unintentionally, Martin Dorey’s “One Man and His Campervan” – he rushed me to the living room and I instantly fell in love with the show: not only the places he visits are beautiful but he also cooks delicious recipes in a very small space, using just a few utensils – I wish the people who tell me that they don’t cook because their kitchen is too tiny could watch this show, too. :)
After watching a handful of episodes I placed his cookbook on my wish list – let’s see how long it will take me to buy it (heaven knows I have no sense of self control when it comes to cookbooks). :)

From a very new TV favorite of mine to the eternal #1: Nigella. This salmon is so quick to prepare and tastes so amazing that I am sure you’ll get addicted to it as I have. Make the rice way before starting with the salmon because it will take you less than 10 minutes to take it from the fridge to the table.

Salmon with hot, sweet and sour Asian sauce
slightly adapted from the fantastic Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 red or green chilies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 spring onions, white part only, finely sliced
¼ cup (60ml) fish sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 x 600g skinless salmon fillet

Make the sauce: place the garlic, chilies, ginger, spring onion, fish sauce, sake, mirin, lime juice and water in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
Sear the salmon on a flat griddle or frying pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on one side and 1-2 minutes on the other. The salmon should be opaque and cooked in the center. Remove from heat and transfer the fish to a plate. Flake the fish slightly and drizzle with some of the sauce.
Serve at once, with the remaining sauce on the side.

Serves 4

Cinnamon pound cake with macadamia spice ribbon + "A Single Man"

Keeping up with my 2012 film goal, I watched “A Single Man” last night and what a surprise it was for me: I already expected something good – Colin Firth and Julianne Moore can do no wrong – but the movie is so visually striking that I felt like writing Tom Ford an email, asking him to make another movie soon.

*spoilers*

I love the way Ford works with the colors: a friend of mine called it “obvious” but I honestly disagree – I think it sets the moods in the movie in a very interesting way. The music is equally great – especially in the very beginning of the movie, with such beautiful takes under water – and though it hasn’t blown me away like the music in “Tron Legacy” and “Drive”, I thought it fit the movie like a glove. What a joy it is to see a young actor like Nicholas Hoult taking another risky character – several others his age would be afraid of taking this road, and he does it brilliantly. Julianne Moore doesn’t have much time onscreen, which is a shame, since she’s an amazing actress and looks glorious in 1960s fashion (being pale and freckled like her I was wishing I had that hair color) :). And Firth... Perfect would be the only way to describe his performance. All the pain shown through every muscle in his face (which reminds me of Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” and how much she could tell us by how her face looked, by the movement of her eyebrows). I believe the amazement is even bigger when we think of Firth in movies like “Bridget Jones” or “Love Actually” – how he can go from funny/silly to such a profound character. I was in awe at the end of the movie and strongly believe that the Oscars were given in an inverse order: Firth should have won in 2010 for “A Single Man” while Jeff Bridges should have won in 2011 for “True Grit”.

***

When it comes to pound cakes no one can beat Flo Braker and Lisa Yockelson – the fabulous recipe below comes from Yockelson’s always delicious "Baking by Flavor" and if you do not have macadamias around please, do not let that stop you from making the cake: I believe that walnuts, pecans and even peanuts would be great substitutes here.

Cinnamon pound cake with macadamia spice ribbon
from the always delicious and fantastic Baking by Flavor

Macadamia ribbon:
¾ cup (105g) macadamia nuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Cake:
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups sour cream*
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a plain 25cm (10in) tube pan and line the bottom with a circle of baking paper. Butter the paper as well then dust everything with flour.
In a small bowl, mix together the macadamia nuts, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside.
Make the cake batter: sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves into a medium bowl.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed for 2-3minutes. Add the granulated sugar in two additions, beating well after each addition. Add the brown sugar and then beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Blend in the vanilla.
On low speed, alternately add the sifted ingredients in three additions and the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Spoon about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle with half of the macadamia mixture. Cover with half of the remaining batter, followed by the remaining macadamia mixture. Cover with the remaining cake batter. Using a palette knife gently swirl the layer together – do not scrape the sides of the pan. Smooth the surface and bake for 1 hour/1 hour and 10 minutes or until the cake is risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes then, carefully invert onto the rack. Peel off the paper circle then invert again onto another rack. Cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Serves 20

Pecan praliné brownies + "Drive" - one of the best movies I've seen in my entire life

I watched the trailer for “Drive” many, many months ago and after that I just could not stop thinking about it: the movie had an aura similar to some classic movies from the 1970s I deeply love – “The French Connection”, “Taxi Driver”, and “The Godfather” instantly came to my mind – while its pink neon letters and music had a 1980s feel. I had a good feeling about this movie and the award received in Cannes made me even more curious. So for months I patiently waited until two nights ago, when I was rewarded with a 100-minute masterpiece.

*spoilers*

Seconds after the movie started I was in awe already with how perfectly the first chords of the music fit the scene, and a few minutes into the movie I was holding my breath without even noticing – how many movies can make you feel that way right in its initial scenes? When Ryan Gosling appeared in his car for the first time with that powerful music and the city being seen from the air at night I knew, I just knew I was in for a treat (the soundtrack is so fantastic I haven’t been able to stop listening to it up until this moment). By the end of the movie I had tears in my eyes, overwhelmed by something so beautiful and so perfect, that I wished for more movies like “Drive” to come my way in the future, because it made me feel exactly like Friedkin, Coppola and Scorsese did back when I was a teenager. I’d been waiting to be taken by surprise in a good way for so long that I left the theater feeling ecstatic.

How can such a violent story be told in such a poetic way? It’s impossible for me not to worship this kind of movie making nowadays because it is so rare. The scene in which the Driver carries little Benicio being seen from behind by the boy’s mother is so beautiful it made my heart stop. Refn surely knows how to move the camera around and gives us hundreds of interesting shots throughout the movie (like the car "flying" through the air behind Christina Hendricks).
The cast is superb and Albert Brooks should have been included in the Oscar race this year – I think he is absolutely fabulous as Bernie and his character and Gosling’s have the best dialogue in the whole movie (“my hands are a little dirty / so are mine”). Ron Pearlman and Bryan Cranston – impossible not to love. And, to finish off, Gosling: anyone who watched “The Ides of March” can attest how much depth his eyes have – he pours down tons of emotions without even opening his mouth. “Drive” is here to prove that this young actor is a very, very talented one – how many good-looking actors with the means to become heartthrobs and make lots of money in romantic comedies are willing to play a character like this? Or this one? Not many. And a bold actor like Gosling was exactly what “Drive” needed. He is the movie, and it seems to me that he put himself in the director’s hands completely, with a deep feeling of trust – which makes me think of Viggo and the sauna scene in “Eastern Promises”: one has to fully trust their director to be able to deliver such performance in such a difficult scene – I believe that is the kind of relationship “Drive” has started between Gosling and Refn and after reading that they’re making another movie together all I can say is “amen”.

***

Before I forget: make these brownies – they’re to die for.

Pecan praliné brownies
from a wonderful book I should and will use more often

Praliné:
1 cup (110g) pecans, lightly toasted and cooled
2/3 cup (133g) granulated or superfine sugar
½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Brownie batter:
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
140g (5oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
56g (2oz) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Start by making the praliné: lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside. Place the sugar and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to combine – the mixture will resemble wet sand. Melt the mixture over medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally – do not stir. Brush the sides of the pan with a wet brush to remove any sugar crystals. When the sugar is completely melted and reaches a rich amber color remove it from the heat and immediately add the pecans to the saucepan – carefully for caramel may spit. Return mixture do low heat and stir to combine just until the mixture barely starts to bubble. Immediately pour it over the prepared sheet, spreading it as much as possible. Set aside to cool completely.
Now, the brownie layer: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22x32cm (13x9in) baking pan and line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.
Chop the praliné into 1cm (½in) pieces and set aside.
Place the butter in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. When the butter is melted, remove the bowl from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes then stir gently until the chocolate is melted. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla until blended. Add the sugar and stir only to combine. Blend in the warm chocolate mixture, mixing only to incorporate. Sift the flour and salt over the mixture in two additions, stirring only until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the top is just set – the brownies should barely be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the praline over the brownie surface – do not press the praline onto the brownie. Return to the oven for 8-9 minutes or until the praline just begins to melt. Remove from the oven and cool completely over a wire rack before cutting and serving.

Makes 24 bars – I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan; since it has a removable bottom I did not line it with foil

Little fig and blackberry pies + "Sid & Nancy"

One of my goals for last year was to use my cookbooks more often and I am very pleased with how it turned out – I did use them a lot and intend to keep doing that. For 2012 I have a new goal: to watch more movies, especially the ones I, for some reason, did not watch in the theater.
I started off with “Sid & Nancy” – because of my Oldman-being-nominated frenzy – and well, one could say I started with the right foot: not only is the movie really good – deals in a very raw way with a very raw subject – but it also shows that this man was born to be an actor; he develops the character in such way that I had mixed feelings about him throughout the movie, and he adds, very subtly, a layer of frailty to Sid Vicious that one probably wouldn’t expect to see on a punk. I don’t need to tell you about the perfection of his visual transformation because that is something he’s done in every single movie he’s made so far. I really liked “Sid & Nancy” but drama is always my first movie option; if you’re a comedy kind of person think twice before watching it.

***

I live in an apartment and (unfortunately) do not own an orchard like Nigel Slater, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy his delicious recipes – these wonderful pie recipe comes from “Tender II”; the pastry is so good and easy to work with that figs and blackberries do not need to be your first option for the filling – apples with a sprinkling of cinnamon is what I have in mind for the fall. :)

Little fig and blackberry pies
slightly adapted from the absolutely beautiful Tender, Volume 2 (mine was bought here)

Pastry:
1 2/3 cups (233g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (46g) icing sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
pinch of salt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
200g blackberries – I used frozen, slightly thawed
4 large figs
2 tablespoons honey
juice of 1 lime
2/3 cup (66g) almond meal

Lightly butter four 10x5cm (4x2in) deep tartlet or mini cake pans. Set aside.
Place flour, icing sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to combine and remove any lumps. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the yolk and the vanilla and process just until the dough starts to come together. Transfer dough to a large piece of plastic wrap and bring it together into a disk, then into a fat cylinder. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Rinse the fruit, roughly chop the figs, and toss with the blackberries, honey, lime juice and almond meal.
Cut the pastry into four, then flatten each piece on a floured board and use to line the tart pans, leaving the excess pastry overhanging the edges. Pile the filling into the tart cases, then loosely fold over the pastry – it should not meet in the center, but instead leave a gap through which the fruit is visible.
Place the tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the pastry is very golden and the fruit is bubbling. Dust with a little icing sugar and eat warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 – I made the tartlets using these mini cake pans (with removable bottoms)

Le gibassier

I was just searching for a recipe to use some of the candied orange peel left in my fridge from making the almost mother-in-law cake, but what I found was the most beautiful bread I’d ever seen, a type of bread I’d never heard of before. I adore it when certain things lead to great discoveries, and I felt this way again a week ago, when after watching the fantastic "The Fall" I made my usual trip to IMDb: going through Lee Pace’s profile I found this movie, which I’d never heard of before and looks exactly like the type of drama I love.

Le gibassier
from the always glorious and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

1/3 cup (80ml) lukewarm whole milk
14g (2 sachets/4 ½ teaspoons) dried yeast
6 tablespoons (72g) granulated sugar, divided use
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons orange-blossom water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) softened unsalted butter
100g candied orange peel, drained and finely chopped – I used homemade, recipe here
icing sugar, sifted, for dusting

Stir milk, yeast and 3 ½ tablespoons of the sugar in a small bowl and stand until foamy (10 minutes).
Combine flour and remaining sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add eggs, oil, orange-blossom water, vanilla and yeast mixture and mix until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes), then, mixing continuously, gradually add softened butter until incorporated. Add candied peel, knead to incorporate, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (1½-2 hours).
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Knock back dough and divide in half. Roll out each half into a rough leaf shape, cut slits in bread, gently pull slits slightly open, and set onto the prepared sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen tower and place in a draught-free place until doubled in size (1 hour) – after this period of time the slits I’d previously made on the breads were almost invisible, so I cut the breads again before baking them.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Bake gibassier until dark golden and cooked through (10-12 minutes). Dust with icing sugar and serve warm (I thought it tasted great at room temperature, too).

Serves 8

In the kitchen with: Design*Sponge

Today the lovely and talented Kristina Gill has posted my mother's carrot cake on the fantastic Design*Sponge - it's a Brazilian take on carrot cake, with no raisins or nuts and drizzled with a delicious chocolate glaze - I hope you all like it!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Butterscotch banana cake

And just when I thought that Flo Braker’s banana cake would hold the title of “best banana cake ever baked in my kitchen” forever Mr. Dan Lepard showed up with the idea of caramelizing the bananas before adding them to the cake batter – how great is that? The cake turned out absolutely tender, with a deep, beautiful golden hue and a delicious, strong banana flavor.

Inspired by one of my favorite performances by Robert DeNiro I’ve been thinking of Dan Lepard’s cake topped with Flo Braker’s streusel – if there’s anyone out there willing to try that combination I would love to know how it turns out. :D

Butterscotch banana cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Short and Sweet (mine was bought here)

Butterscotch bananas:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
250g bananas, chopped into 2cm pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (180ml) canola oil
2 large eggs
¼ cup (65g) plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Make the butterscotch bananas: tip the sugar into a frying pan with the water and cook over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved – after that, do not stir again. Bring to the boil then cook over high heat until the sugar turns to a dark reddish caramel. Add the banana pieces, butter and vanilla – carefully, caramel may spit – and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bananas break up in the caramel and the mixture is thick. Spoon on to a plate and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm square pan and line the base with baking paper. Butter the paper as well*.
Beat the sugar with the oil and eggs until thick and slightly aerated, then beat in the bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Sift the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together over the bowl, then fold this through the banana mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until golden, risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* I used a pan with a removable bottom and did not line it with baking paper – just buttered it really well, especially in the corners

Makes 16 squares

Blackberry coconut oat bars

Last Sunday, for the first time since 1997, I watched the entire Academy Awards, from the very first minute until “The Artist” was announced as best movie. Back in 1997 what made me stay up until 2 a.m. was my love for “The English Patient” – I’d become obsessed with the film after reading the book and, to me, Anthony Minghella had done such a brilliant job that I really wanted the film to get as many Oscars as possible. Ralph Fiennes did not take the award home but I wasn’t so disappointed because he lost to the fabulous Geoffrey Rush – it wasn’t something unfair like losing to Tommy Lee Jones. :)

This year, I watched the ceremony wishing with all my heart for Gary Oldman, Rooney Mara (since Tilda did not get a very much deserved nomination) and Scorsese or Malick to take the awards home, but wasn’t disappointed by the way things turned out because I loved “The Artist” and losing to Meryl Streep is an honor – it’s not unfair like losing to Paltrow, Roberts, Witherspoon or Zellweger. :)

---

I’m still interested in recipes baked in 13x9in pans, that is why the first recipe I tried from this lovely book was these bars – they are every bit delicious as they are easy to make, and you can get away with the fact that there’s a huge amount of oats in them and call them “healthy”. :)

Blackberry coconut oat bars
slightly adapted from the adorable and delicious One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn's Beloved Bakery

¾ cup (75g) sweetened shredded coconut
1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (131g) light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 ½ cups (172g) old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup blackberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 32x22cm (13x9in) baking pan* and line it with foil. Butter the foil as well.
Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Cool completely (leave the oven on).
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Mix on low speed to combine. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Add the coconut and the oats. Mix on low for 1 minute until the dough has a crumbly texture.
Reserve ¾ cup of the mixture. Transfer the remaining dough to the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press it evenly over the bottom of the baking pan. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, for 14 minutes or until the crust is golden around the edges. Let the crust cool for 10 minutes (leave the oven on). Spread the blackberry preserves evenly over the crust, leaving a ½ in border.
Crumble the reserved dough over the preserves. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the preserves are bubbling and the topping is firm. Let cool completely then cut into bars.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan; I reserved 1 cup of the dough for the topping and used the rest for the base. Since my pan has a removable bottom I did not line it with foil

Makes 24 bars

Tomato, red onion and gorgonzola salad - simple and delicious

Ok, I’ll admit it: this is not a very romantic salad – all that raw garlic and onion (not to mention the gorgonzola!) won’t do your breath any good. But it is so simple – I put it together in a matter of moments – fresh and delicious, and it comes from such an amazing book, that I had to share it with you – even if, in the end, you make it for a solitary lunch/dinner (or some “me time”, as I like to call it). To wrap things up beautifully, a bowl of ice cream, the couch and one of those movies you have seen several times but make you cry you eyes out every single time. :)

My husband loved this dressing so much that he drizzled some over his steak and used it for dipping his fries, too. :)

Tomato, red onion and gorgonzola salad
slightly adapted from the fantastic Sunday Suppers at Lucques

Dressing:
1 ½ tablespoons marjoram leaves, packed + a few extra leaves for decorating
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon Maldon sea salt or fleur de sel, or 1/8 teaspoon regular table salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salad:
1 large red onion
4-5 ripe tomatoes
200g (7oz) cherry tomatoes
80g (3oz) gorgonzola cheese, coarsely crumbled

Pound the marjoram, garlic and salt in a mortar to a paste. Add the pepper, olive oil and lemon juice and mix to combine. Set aside.
Soak the onion rings in ice water for 5 minutes to mellow their strong flavor. In the meantime, quarter the tomatoes and arrange them on a plate. Halve some of the cherry tomatoes and arrange them all on the plate, too. Tuck in the gorgonzola pieces. Drain the onion slices and pat them dry with paper towels. Add them to the plate. Drizzle the salad with the dressing, sprikle with the extra marjoram leaves and serve.

Serves 2

Frangipane ripple chocolate pound cake

I love almonds – they’re my favorite nut. But for far too long I avoided recipes that called for almond paste because I’ve never seen the ingredient around here. Then it suddenly hit me: if I made eggnog from scratch for a pound cake recipe, why not almond paste? I do not know why it took my brain so long to come to that conclusion. :)

The homemade almond paste – recipe from this gorgeous book – is smooth, delicious and can be kept in the freezer for a good while. And if you’re not convinced of making your own almond paste yet, take a look at this chocolate cake. ;)

Speaking of avoiding things, I’ve heard some people are avoiding "The Artist" because it’s: a) a silent movie, b) a b&w movie, c) a silent and b&w movie. I feel sorry for those people, really do. Because they’re missing a spectacular film, so beautifully made, with fantastic performances – I left the theater completely in love with both Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin – and a great story. Something I’d never seen before, so moving and entertaining at the same time. But what do I know, right? I’m just a girl who likes to bake (frangipane ripple) cakes. :)

Frangipane ripple chocolate pound cake
from the always delicious and never failing Baking for All Occasions

Frangipane filling:
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe follows
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened

Cake:
260g cake flour*
¾ cup (68g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
280g (10oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature

Make the frangipane: in a food processor, combine the almond meal, almond paste and sugar and process until well mixed. Add the egg and butter and process until smoothly blended. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cake batter.
Make the cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C/325°F if the pan has a dark finish). Butter and flour a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl again.
Remove the frangipane from the refrigerator. Spoon about 2 cups of the cake batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Spoon half of the frangipane in dollops over the center of the batter, and then spread it over the cake batter avoiding the center tube and sides of the pan. Spoon about 1 ½ cups of the batter evenly over the filling. Spoon the remaining frangipane over the batter, spreading it evenly. Spread the remaining batter over the top and spread evenly.
Bake the cake for about 60 minutes or until risen, the top springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if desired.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-15

Homemade almond paste
from the beautiful Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World

1 cup (100g) ground almonds
1/3 cup (46g) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg white, lightly whisked
½ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let paste come to room temperature before using it.

Makes ¾ cup dense, smooth paste

Spiced brown sugar cookies

As much as I love cooking and baking I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – so you can imagine how happy I felt when I noticed that my sister loved cooking and baking, too – I swear I never pushed her towards it: it all began with her passion for brownies and cookies. :)

After tasting some of these cookies she told me they were delicious and she needed the recipe “asap”; she also told me she’d already imagined them covered in chocolate, which I thought sounded like an amazing idea – should I be proud of my sister or what? ;)

Spiced brown sugar cookies
from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Sugar coating:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cookies:
2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (335g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (120g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (175g) brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (80ml) golden syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Make the cookies: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
in the large bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup and beat in medium speed for 2 minutes or until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. In low speed, add the dry ingredients at once and beat until just combined – you might want to finish mixing by hand; the dough was too soft, so I added 1 ½ tablespoons of flour.
Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of dough into balls and place onto the prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 10 minutes. Toss the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat then set on the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 50

Almond and dulce de leche muffins

Besides being someone who watches the same movies over and over again I also purchase ingredients in excess, though I’ve been dealing with that a lot better lately (since the inventory decision). But when I saw some really good Argentinean dulce de leche for a great price at the supermarket I could not resist: I brought home three (very large) jars. After making the dulce de leche cake several times I still had some ddl left and it became the filling for these muffins, the same linzer muffins from the amazing Gourmet Today.

Almond and dulce de leche muffins
slightly adapted from the great Gourmet Today

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups (150g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
6 tablespoons (¾ stick/84g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
about 1/3 cup thick dulce de leche
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter a muffin pan with twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin cups.
Whisk together flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk together milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl, then stir into dry ingredients just until combined – do not overmix; batter should be lumpy.
Put 1 ½ tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. Top each with 1 teaspoon dulce de leche. Divide remaining batter among cups. Bake until risen and golden and muffins pull away from edges of cups, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 to 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Makes 12