Cardamom thumbprints for days when you're pressed for time

As much as I love slice and bake cookies, there are times I’m in a hurry and in need of a cookie recipe that doesn’t call for time in the fridge or freezer – sometimes one just wants cookies ASAP.

I was in a situation like that last week, but every recipe I had seen lately needed to be made way in advance – don’t get me wrong, I understand that many cookies benefit from time in the fridge, but I rarely have that kind of time: I can’t wait 24 hours to bake a batch of cookies (that is why I haven’t, to this day, tried Jacques Torres’ super famous chocolate chip cookies).

I found these lovely thumbprint cookies on Food & Wine magazine and not only were they quick to make, but they were the perfect use for a delicious apple jelly I had in the fridge – the flavor of the jelly paired beautifully with the cardamom and the almond in the dough.

Cardamom thumbprints
from the always delicious Food & Wine magazine

1 cup (100g) fine almond meal
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
finely ground seeds of 10 cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
about ½ cup apple jelly – or use your favorite preserve/jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

In a small bowl, whisk the flours with the cardamom and salt. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients, then turn the mixer on low speed and mix just until combined. Using a spatula, form dough into a ball – at this stage, my dough was a bit too soft, so I stirred in 2 ½ tablespoons (25g) all purpose flour.

Using 2 leveled teaspoons of dough per cookie, form dough into balls and place onto prepared sheets 2.5cm (1in) apart. Using the back of a teaspoon, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until slightly firm. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and press the indentations again. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes longer, until lightly golden and dry but not hard. Remove from the oven and fill the indentations with the jelly. Cool completely on the sheets over a wire rack.

Makes about 38

Cardamom and hazelnut snowballs and another goodbye

These past few days have been about more than Christmas baking: yesterday I said goodbye to a bunch of criminals that I held close to my heart for seven seasons.

It was the perfect ending for the perfect ride – nothing less than what I expect. Great acting, great writing, and it is a pity that Sons of Anarchy was never on the radar of the big award shows, except for the Golden Globe that Katey Sagal took home in 2011 (and she really deserved it).

I cried like a baby while watching the episode, so much that my husband grabbed me a tissue (“what are you watching that is making you cry like that?”, he asked) – I guess I wasn’t ready for another goodbye so soon.

Baking is such therapy for me that I usually go to the kitchen when I’m feeling a little blue, but to be honest I was so devastated after watching the finale of one of my all time favorite TV shows that I did not feel like cooking at all, not even dinner – luckily I had baked these delicious cookies the day before and now I can share them with you.

Cardamom and hazelnut snowballs
slightly adapted from Bon Appétit magazine

2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
finely ground seeds of 12 cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 ½ cups (210g) powdered sugar, divided use
generous 1 cup (110g) sliced hazelnuts
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine ½ cup (70g) sugar and hazelnuts in a food processor; pulse until coarse meal forms. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy, 2–3 minutes. Add nut mixture; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients; blend well (dough will be moist but still crumbly). Transfer to a work surface; knead to form a ball, about 4 turns.

Measure 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and form into a ball. Place 2.5cm (1in) apart on prepared sheets.
Bake, one sheet at a time, until bottoms are golden, 12–15 minutes. Sift remaining 1 cup powdered sugar into a shallow wide bowl. Working in batches of about 8 cookies each, roll warm cookies gently in powdered sugar to coat. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool. Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.

These cookies can be store in an airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 50

Spiced chocolate fudge

It is always a joy for me to do the Christmas series here on the blog: the baked goods are delicious and they make my apartment smell wonderful, too. :)

There is, however, a problem: there are so many great recipes I have a hard time choosing what to prepare. On top of the cookbooks, the Christmas themed magazines start to arrive packed with beautiful suggestions for the holidays and it becomes even more difficult for me to decide which recipes – let’s not forget the time when I saved a recipe for almost a year so I could feature it on the following Xmas series (yes, I am that crazy). :D

I already had a list of recipes to prep this year and wasn’t planning on changing it, but when the Christmas edition of Donna Hay magazine arrived I had to add this fudge to the list: everyone loves chocolate and it goes so well with spices – not to mention the recipe yields a ton, which is fantastic when there are many people to feed.

Donna’s recipe was a bit fiddly, so I borrowed her idea of adding spices to fudge and used a much simpler recipe with great results.

Spiced chocolate fudge
adapted from here and Donna Hay Magazine

335g (120oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon freshly ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
seeds of 4 cardamom pods finely ground
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt

Line a square 20cm (8in) baking pan with baking paper; set aside. Place chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and water in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, spices and salt. Pour mixture onto prepared pan and smooth the surface. Chill fudge about 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into small squares.

Makes 64

Cardamom, lemon and olive oil madeleines

Madeleines are small cakes, therefore I guess it was just a matter of time until I went for a version made with olive oil after using the ingredient in so many cakes.

I found some recipes online (I’ve told you I love the Internet, haven’t I?), but what really caught my attention was the combination of cardamom and lemon: it sounded delicious and Russell’s madeleines looked super cute.

Cardamom and lemon are indeed great together, and madeleines made with olive oil are as fantastic as the ones made with butter (and they stay moist and tender on the following day).

I do like making things from scratch but I’m all for shortcuts when they’re good and feasible; however, one thing I don’t use is pre-ground cardamom – I bought it once, ages ago, but did not like it. I started buying the pods and grinding the seeds myself and I never looked back. If I may, I recommend you do the same, not only for these madeleines but for all sorts of cardamom recipes (click here for some inspiration).

For completely dairy-free madeleines, the molds should be brushed with oil instead of butter – I haven’t tried that yet, so if anyone tries it I would love to hear about it.

Cardamom, lemon and olive oil madeleines
slightly adapted from here

80g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
110g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Place sugar, lemon zest and cardamom in a large bowl and rub together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the eggs and vanilla and using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attached, beat for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes light and thick.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt over mixture and fold to combine. Fold in the olive oil.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Brush twenty 2-tablespoon capacity madeleine molds with melted butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Brush the molds again and refrigerate for another 10 minutes. Divide the mixture between the molds (do not spread it out). Bake until golden and cooked through (8-10 minutes), then immediately unmold onto a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 20

Scandinavian cardamom cake with Frangelico glaze and the World Cup

The 2014 World Cup has begun and apparently it is already a hit. :)

I have been able to watch a couple of matches so far (but not as many as I would have liked to), Italy vs. England being my favorite up to this moment. I thought Argentina was going to crush Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the 2x1 score wasn’t fair: the Argentinian team wasn’t all that good, a draw would have been a better reflect of what the game really was.

There are people from all around the world walking the streets of my country as I type, and I hope they have a lovely time here. Because of the multicultural days we’ve been having, I bring you a multicultural recipe: a Scandinavian cake – packed with cardamom and cinnamon, obviously – with a Frangelico glaze, a nod to my Italian heritage, even though I feel my German blood a lot stronger most of the time, like this morning, when I saw this. :D

Scandinavian cardamom cake with Frangelico glaze
cake slightly adapted from the delicious World Class Cakes: 250 Classic Recipes from Boston Cream Pie to Madeleines and Muffins

Cake:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom (if using pre -round cardamom that amount might be too much)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (120ml) sour cream*

Glaze:
100g icing sugar
½ tablespoon Frangelico
1 tablespoon whole milk (more if necessary)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 9-cup capacity Bundt pan (I used a 10-cup capacity pan).
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream (start and end with the dry ingredients). Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for about 45 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool completely.

Glaze: sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the Frangelico e 1 tablespoon of the milk, stir until you get a drizzable consistency (add more milk if necessary). Drizzle over cooled cake. Set aside for 15 minutes.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 10-12

Plum and marzipan torta with cardamom sugar for the end of the summer

I cannot wait for fall to come – I never liked hot days and have had enough with the high temperatures around here. Summer was never a favorite of mine, not even when I was a kid, so you can imagine how uncomfortable these past months have been for me.

There is one good thing about summer: the delicious produce we have at this time of the year. Corn, tomatoes and stone fruits – my favorites. However, while flipping some cookbooks weeks ago, it suddenly hit me: summer is almost over and I haven’t baked or cooked much with stone fruit. I love them so much yet I keep baking recipes with citrus or chocolate or peanut butter – I should enjoy these beauties while there’s still time.

For that reason I decided to make at least one of the plum recipes I saw on the latest issue of Gourmet Traveller (and I plan on making another next weekend): this torta, or cake, beautifully presented with gleaming plum halves. The addition of marzipan was my idea because anything almond always pairs wonderfully with anything stone fruit – this time was no different and I’m very proud of that. ;)

Plum and marzipan torta with cardamom sugar
slightly adapted from the always stunning Gourmet Traveller

Poached plums:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
200ml water
5 plums, halved and stones removed

Cake:
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
130g granulated sugar
225g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
60g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100g marzipan, in small pieces – I used homemade
2 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing the cake

Cardamom sugar topping:
1 tablespoon icing sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom

For poached plums, stir sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat to dissolve sugar, then bring to the simmer. Reduce heat to low, add plums and poach until tender (10-12 minutes). Cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Combine milk and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg and sugar in a separate bowl to combine, then add milk mixture, flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest, whisk until smooth, then pour into prepared pan. Drain plums (discard poaching liquid) and press gently into cake batter. Scatter with marzipan pieces and press them lightly into the cake batter. Bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean (25-30 minutes). Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Turn right way up again (carefully), then brush with melted butter.
For cardamom sugar, combine sugar and cardamom, scatter on top of warm cake and serve warm or at room temperature. The torta is best eaten on the day it’s made.

Serves 6-8 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20x28cm tart pan with a removable bottom

Skillingsboller - a delicious project for a rainy day + something to go with it

I love baking with nuts and usually have at least one kind of them around – I keep them in the freezer so they’ll last longer without going rancid. Sometimes I go crazy and buy too much of a certain kind of nut and then, even with the help of the freezer, I have to find a way to use the precious ingredients.

The small package of flaked almonds in my freezer begging to be used coincided with the arrival of this adorable cookbook, and being a huge fan of cinnamon rolls only added to the equation – it was easy to pick the first recipe to be tried. The buns turned out delicious, ridiculously tender and perfumed with the cinnamon, with some crunch added by the almonds. They do take some time to be put together, I admit it, but it was a cloudy day and I had no intention to go out, therefore it was a perfect project.

Freshly baked buns + the couch on a rainy day = pure bliss. And if there is something interesting to watch, even better. \0/

Skillingsboller
from the delicious The Book of Buns

Dough:
500g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
75g granulated sugar
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, heated up to just below boiling point, then cooled to room temperature
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 egg
½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped

Filling:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g granulated sugar
50g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
150g flaked almonds

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
pinch of granulated sugar
demerara sugar, for sprinkling the buns

Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, make a well in the center and put the yeast and sugar into the well. Pour the milk over the well, toss some flour over the milk to cover it, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Add the salt, egg, cardamom and vanilla to the rested mixture and mix at low speed to combine (or mix with a wooden spoon). Mix on low-medium speed for 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10). Add the butter and mix for another 5 minutes (or 10 by hand), until you get a smooth, elastic dough – at this point my dough was too wet from the butter, so I added 20g all purpose flour and it became smooth and soft. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.
For the filling, mix the butter, sugars and cinnamon until incorporated. Set aside. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.

Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll it to a 60x30cm (24x12in) rectangle. Spread the dough evenly with the cinnamon butter, then sprinkle with the almonds. Starting from the longest side of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly into a cylinder and pinch the seams to seal. Cut the cylinder into 12 equal slices and place them, cut side up, into prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the buns prove for 45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
In a small bowl, beat together with a fork the egg, water, salt and granulated sugar. Brush the buns with the glaze and sprinkle generously with the demerara sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold and place upside up on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

Chewy speculaas blondies and one of the most beautiful trailers I've ever seen

My sister and I love watching the trailers when we go to the movies, and after each one we turn to each other and say “yes” or “no” (if we will or will not watch that movie once it premieres). Weeks ago, on the Catching Fire session, we saw the trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and I must confess that when Ben Stiller’s face first appeared onscreen I was more than ready to say “no” – I really can’t stand his movies – but by the end of the trailer we were both enthusiastically saying “yes”. :)

One of the most beautiful trailers I’ve seen and the equally amazing music (the song has been in my head ever since) have made me want to watch a movie starring Ben Stiller – I could barely believe it. :D

It was also hard to believe I could have speculaas without all the rolling and chilling and cutting (and then more chilling) of dough – one roll out cookie in this heat is enough already. :) Edd Kimber’s blondies do deliver all the speculaas delicious flavors and with chocolate to boot – what’s not to love? :D

The blondies turned out flavorsome and thin, but to me that’s not a problem: I became fan of thin bar cookies after being introduced to Alice Medrich’s brownies.

Chewy speculaas blondies
slightly adapted from the delicious The Boy Who Bakes

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
200g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
30g white chocolate, in chips or chopped
30g dark chocolate, in chips or chopped
60g almonds, lightly toasted, cooled and chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium high heat, add the spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the white and dark chocolates and almonds, then pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (like a brownie). Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then slice into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Zesty oaty cookies + the book I have finished reading

It took me a while to start reading "Gone Girl" but when I did I found it impossible to put the book down: I’d be reading it every chance I got, even if it was for five minutes while waiting for the elevator. I got seriously hooked on Gillian Flynn’s story and how well written it is. While reading the book I kept thinking of how perfect Rosamund Pike is for playing Amy and how wrong Ben Affleck is for the movie – I might have liked “Argo” a lot, but I don’t think he can pull the part of Nick Dunne off – or Bruce Wayne, for that matter. :S

If you, like me, are diehard fans of the amazing Millennium trilogy and are looking for a book that will keep you up till 3 in the morning go ahead and give “Gone Girl” a try. And if you like baking like I do and not a weekend goes by without you making a cake take a look at Amber Rose’s beautiful book – I have tried several recipes from her and the results were always a hit, like these soft oaty cookies, packed with citrus zest and spices – I take them as a more delicious and healthier version of granola bars.

Zesty oaty cookies
slightly adapted from the absolutely gorgeous Love, Bake, Nourish (I bought mine here)

220g unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
90g all purpose flour
150g honey
70g demerara sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 orange
70g golden raisins
80g dried apricots, finely chopped
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
140g rolled oats

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, then scrape the side of the bowl. If the mixture looks curdled, beat in 1-2 tablespoons of the flour, then beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Gently fold in the rest of the flour along with all the other ingredients – do not overmix; the dough will be soft. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Roll 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie into balls and place 5cm apart onto prepared baking sheets. Press each ball slightly with the back of a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool completely on the sheets over a wire rack.

Makes about 25

Cardamom yogurt cake

Some plain yogurt in the fridge that had to be used within a few days and no idea what to do with it - that usually happens around here. I love yogurt based cakes because they turn out really moist and tender, but I'd baked a yogurt cinnamon cake a couples of week before that was too sweet and kind of rubbery - a complete disappointment. Therefore, I decided to go to a cookbook that hasn't failed me yet, and the result was a delicious cake, perfumed with cardamom. This is a very nice cake recipe and I am sure that several other flavors can be used instead of cardamom: cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon or orange zest... Delicious.

Cardamom yogurt cake
slightly adapted from the gorgeous Cake (I bought mine here)

Cake:
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small orange
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose plain flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Icing:
½ cup (70g) icing sugar, sifted
about 1 tablespoon plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Next, beat in the orange zest and juice, ground cardamom and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, then mix in the yogurt. Next sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, folding in just until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 50–55 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold onto rack. Cool completely.

Icing: beat together the icing sugar and yogurt, adding a tiny bit more yogurt if the mixture seems too stiff. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Serves 8-10

Maple-iced fruity Advent bread

Trying the lime and coconut flavor combo both in cookie and cake form was not the end of my testing around: the apricot, cranberry and golden raisin trio worked out so beautifully in oatmeal cookie form that I thought it would be wonderful to use it again, this time in a yeasted treat: this delicious bread, with a hint of cardamom, comes from one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever bought – and let’s just say that means a lot! – and my husband, after trying a slice of bread, could not believe how tender it was – I did not keep track but I’m pretty sure he said that more than five times. :D

Maple-iced fruity Advent bread
slightly adapted from the beautiful, beautiful Scandilicious Baking

Bread:
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) whole wheat flour
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (72g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 ¾ teaspoons dried yeast
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) Marsala wine
150g mixed dried fruit (I used 50g each of golden raisins, chopped apricots and dried cranberries)
1 egg, beaten with a fork, to glaze

Icing:
½ cup (70g) icing sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Bread: scald the milk by heating it in a small pan with the butter until it is almost boiling and then leave to cool while you assemble the other ingredients. Scalding the milk makes the finished bread softer.
Place the flours, sugar, cardamom, salt and yeast in the large bowl of an electric mixer (place salt in one side of the bowl and yeast in another, so they’re not close). Add the egg and vanilla, then the warm milk mixture (make sure it’s not hot) and, using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until a soft and sticky dough forms. Mix for 5-6 minutes or until elastic. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or so until doubled in size and springy to the touch.
While the dough is rising, pour the Marsala over the dried fruit in a small bowl. Leave to soak for 30-40 minutes, turning the fruit occasionally so they’re all soaked in the wine. Drain the fruit right before adding it to the dough, discarding the wine.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, than add the fruit and knead a couple of times to incorporate and evenly distribute. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a rough loaf shape. Place them about 10cm (4in) apart onto a large baking sheet lined with foiled. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove in a warm place for a further 45-60 minutes of so, until the dough no longer springs back: you can test it by gently poking it with your little finger – the indentation should stay put – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Brush the loaves with the beaten egg, then bake for 30-35 minutes until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on the sheet for about 20 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil and transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.
When the bread is cool, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and whisk in the maple syrup until thick but still drizzable – add water if necessary. Drizzle over the cooled loaves and set aside for 15 minutes to dry.

Makes 2 loaves

Orange cardamom madeleines with Cointreau glaze

These madeleines were a sort of a baking accident: I grabbed Martha's gorgeous book to pick a Christmas cookie (to start off this year's Christmas series) but when I started flipping through it the first recipe I saw was the one for these madeleines: they looked so beautiful! I had all the ingredients at home so to the kitchen I went to make the madeleines, and since the batter needed some time in the fridge I had time to bake other cookie recipe.

Orange cardamom madeleines with Cointreau glaze
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Cookies (with inspiration from the beautiful Scandilicious Baking, too)

Madeleines:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter + melted butter extra, for the pan
1 tablespoon good-quality honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 small orange
¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon Cointreau – or to taste
½ tablespoon hot water, more if necessary

Batter: melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, and stir in honey, vanilla and orange zest. Let cool 10 minutes.
Whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Stir together sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Gently fold in flour mixture until combined. Add butter mixture, and fold until combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (up to overnight).
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Brush molds of a madeleine pan with the extra melted butter, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each mold halfway. Bake until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, cool for 1 minute. Unmold madeleines onto rack, and let cool completely.
Make the glaze: sift the sugar into a small bowl. Stir in the Cointreau and water, mixing until you get a pourable consistency. Using a small pastry brush, coat ridged side of each cookie with glaze. Let set 15 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Makes 2 dozen – I used a pan with ½ tablespoon capacity cavities and got 48

Santa Lucia sour cherry and saffron buns

Usually it takes me some time to consider a cookbook a top favorite – I love beautiful books and they certainly get my instant attention, but I like to try some of the recipes first to be sure they actually work. However, Signe Johansen’s Scandilicious Baking is so pretty and everything in it sounds so delicious I came to the conclusion that it was the best cookbook I purchased in the last 11 months. Absolutely gorgeous.
Picking the first recipe to try was hard – I actually feel like making all the recipes in this book! – so I settled for one that reminded me of my mom: when I was little, she had a small statue of St. Lucy at home, and I was very intrigued and even a bit scared by the image of a woman holding a tray with two eyes in it. Later on in life, when I was 8 or so, I found out that my dad had had an accident in the late 70s and lost one of his eyes in it – that is why mom had St. Lucy around the house.
I don’t believe in God or in saints but could not resist making these buns just because of my mom.

Santa Lucia sour cherry and saffron buns
from the absolutely beautiful Scandilicious Baking

375ml whole milk
pinch of saffron threads
2¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and warm
350g all purpose flour
150g whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
24 dried cherries (double the amount if they’re too small)
1 egg, extra, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing the buns

In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the saffron strands until it starts to come to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside until lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast in a large bowl, pour over the milk and mix with a fork. Stir through the melted butter. Add the flours, cardamom, sugar, salt, egg and vanilla to the milk mixture and mix with a spoon until a sticky dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough starts to feel smooth and elastic – the dough is quite wet so you may want to use a dough scraper during the early stages of kneading (I used the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook and added 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour to the dough because it was too liquid). Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise. Leave it for about 1-1½ hours until it has doubled in size.
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Punch the dough to remove the excess air then transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead it in to a log and then slice into 12 pieces of roughly equal size. Shape these into balls and then splay your hands to roll the bun into a sausage shape, then fold the ends into an S shape and carefully place them onto the prepared sheet. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove and double in size again. This should take 20-30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Once the buns have risen, stuff each crevice of the S shaped bun with a dried cherry (two each if they’re too small). Poke them into the dough so they don’t pop up during proving or baking. Lightly glaze each bun with a little beaten egg and bake for 20-30 minutes or until they’re golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Makes 12

Lemon and cardamom cake + "50/50"

I am always interested in great performances, especially when they’re delivered by actors and actresses I adore; that is the reason why I wanted to watch "50/50": Joseph Gordon-Levitt is absolutely amazing in this movie and Seth Rogen surprised the hell out of me too, I have to admit it.

*spoilers*

Cancer is not a subject I deal very well with and even though the movie made me cry in several moments it didn’t feel heavy, much to the contrary: it has a very optimistic feel. Several scenes made me think of my mom, especially the one when Levitt’s character finds out he has cancer: I can’t imagine what she must have felt hearing the news, being 28 and having two kids at home (my brother was 1 and I was 3). I felt so much sorrow deep inside my heart and thought of stopping watching the movie right then and there, but I’m glad I did not: knowing that on a daily basis people survive this awful disease brings me a sense of joy and hope.

Besides Levitt and Rogen, I loved, loved, loved Anjelica Houston as the mother: she’s not on screen much, but when she is... There is a ton of love and worry and pain coming from her character, which to me is really hard to pull off without going sappy and yet she does it so brilliantly, the way that only amazing actresses can (the green tea scene made me cry like a baby).

I’d never thought a movie about cancer would have such positive effect on me.

* end of spoilers*

I thought that a movie with that kind of connection with things I’ve been through should be paired with my favorite kind of cake: lemon. I had no idea cardamom worked so well with lemon as it does with orange.

Lemon and cardamom cake
slightly adapted from the absolutely wonderful Good Things to Eat (mine was bought here)

1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
175g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (175g) demerara sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 2 large lemons
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 21x10cm (8¼x4in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, demerara sugar, zest and cardamom until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time – mixture may curdle, do not worry. Beat in the vanilla.
Fold in the sifted ingredients, mixing just until absorbed, then quickly beat in half the lemon juice. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for about 40 minutes or until risen, golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
While the cake is still hot (still inside the pan, over a wire rack), pierce it all over with a toothpick. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining lemon juice with the granulated sugar, without letting it dissolve too much, and spoon over the cake. Cool completely in the pan.

Serves 6-8

Orange cardamom pound cake with candied orange peel + a question

I made this cake months ago but waited until now to publish it to avoid bothering you with my too-much-candied-orange-peel drama. The recipe was a simple orange cake – which is something I love – spiced with a bit of cardamom – which is something I’ve learned to love – and I just added the bits of candied peel because I no longer wanted to look at them every time I opened my fridge. So it is completely up to you to decide how you want to bake this cake – I just urge you to do it, because it is delicious and oh, so tender.

And speaking of pound cakes, I’m looking for a good 9x5in loaf pan and would love to know there’s a brand you would recommend; I’ve browsed some at Amazon but haven’t chosen yet – your opinion would be very useful to me. Thanks!

Orange cardamom pound cake with candied orange peel
slightly adapted from the great The Art and Soul of Baking

Cake:
2 cups (240g) cake flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream**
1/3 cup drained and chopped candied orange peel (optional – recipe here)

Glaze:
1 cup (140g) confectioners’ sugar
½ to 1 tablespoon orange juice, or more if necessary

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and position an oven rack in the center. Butter a 21x11cm (8½x4½ in) loaf pan and line with baking paper; butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, zest and cardamom until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with the spatula.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape the bowl occasionally. On low speed, add the sifted ingredients in three additions alternating with the sour cream in two additions (begin and end with the dry ingredients). Stir in the candied orange zest (if using). Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth the top then bake for 45-55 minutes, until firm to touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. When cool, remove from the pan and peel off the paper.

Glaze: sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl and gradually add the orange juice, stirring until desired consistency. Pour over the cooled cake. Set aside for 30 minutes before serving.

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

** homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 6-8

Simple cardamom sponge + Jason Reitman

I watched “Young Adult” last Saturday in an almost empty theater and at the end of the movie, to my surprise, most of the viewers were saying awful things about it; I understand that Jason Reitman’s kind of humor is not the very popular kind (thank heavens!) and I’ll admit that his movies should come with a bar of chocolate attached – a little mood enhancing for the end of the session – but to say that a movie sucks because you expected something different entirely... It’s not an argument I’ll buy. I loved the movie and its clever dialogues, found it very funny and sad at the same time – which is exactly how “Up in the Air” made me feel – and Charlize Theron is absolutely amazing in it: I’m glad that at least the Golden Globes gave her performance some recognition.

Maybe Jason Reitman is like cardamom – odd to some while others love it. This very simple cake is the one that was delicious served with the spiced plums.

Simple cardamom sponge
from the beautiful Piece of Cake (mine was bought here)

½ cup (120ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground in a pestle and mortar
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (224g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
breadcrumbs, for preparing the pan
icing sugar, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter an 8-cup capacity ring cake pan and dust with breadcrumbs, removing the excess.
Combine milk and cardamom in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir until melted.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add the milk mixture and mix. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the bowl and carefully fold to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until risen, golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Serves 8

Spiced plum pavlovas + a nice hint

You know well about my love for Donna Hay’s work: I have some of her cookbooks – cannot live without “Modern Classics 2” – and I’ve been a subscriber to her magazine since September 2006. But for the past year I’ve been having trouble receiving the magazines – last year’s winter issue never arrived and the same happened to this year’s summer issue. I do not know if they’ve changed the shipping method or something, because a friend of mine – who lives here in Brazil, too – has had the same problem. I’d been thinking (with a broken heart) of cancelling my subscription until yesterday, when I saw this on Donna’s website – I purchased the summer issue and now I have it on my computer. I printed one page as a test – wonderful. Since some of you love the magazine I thought you should know about its digital version. Hope you enjoy it!

These pavlovas were the dessert of choice for a dinner with friends last week – I made them because I wanted something pretty and fresh. But what really got my attention here was the plums: they were delicious and paired beautifully with a simple cake I’d baked, too. Just perfect.

Spiced plum pavlovas
slightly adapted from the most wonderful dessert book I own

Meringues:
4 large egg whites (112g)
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Plums:
450g plums, halved, pitted, sliced into eights
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

To assemble:
1 cup (240ml) chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted

Meringues: preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until whites are thick and resemble marshmallow creme, about 5 minutes. Beat in cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Drop meringue onto prepared sheet in 6 mounds, spaced 7cm (3in) apart. Using back of spoon, make depression in center of each.
Place meringues in oven. Immediately reduce temperature to 120°C/250°F. Bake until meringues are dry outside (but centers remain soft) and pale straw color and lift easily from parchment, about 50 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Plums: combine all ingredients in large frying pan; toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until plums are tender but still hold shape, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes longer; cool to room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to bowl. Cover and chill.)

Before assembling the pavlovas, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until medium peaks form.
Place meringues on plates. Spoon whipped cream into the center depression. Arrange plum slices on top of the cream and drizzle with the plum juices.

Serves 6