Amaranth cantuccini - no butter, no olive oil

So far I’ve made several delicious recipes replacing butter with olive oil, but how about baking cookies without neither? That is what made me curious about these cantuccini: the fat in them comes from the almonds and the eggs – no butter, no olive or canola oil – and the eggs, combined with the fruit juices, are also responsible for the moisture in the dough.

Just for the record: I have nothing against fat, much to the opposite – I feel lost without butter in my fridge and I use olive oil for cooking all the time – but I find it interesting to learn how to make delicious things without it.

This is a fairly simple recipe – no electric devices involved – and the cantuccini turned out very flavorsome from all the fruit zest and juice. These are not rock-hard and they benefit from some time in the cookie jar: the citrus flavor becomes more evident with time, making the cantuccini even tastier days after they were baked (if they last that long). ;)

Amaranth cantuccini
slightly adapted from the delicious Do-Ahead Dinners: How to Feed Friends and Family Without the Frenzy

200g all-purpose flour
50g amaranth flour
150g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange and juice of ½
zest and juice of ½ lemon
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
150g almonds (skin on)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Mix the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Throw in the orange and lemon juice and zest, eggs and vanilla, and mix together thoroughly. Stir in the almonds – the dough will be sticky.

With lightly floured hands, divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into slightly flattened sausage shapes, about 30cm (12in) long each. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil.
Using a sharp knife and one firm cut, slice each log diagonally into 1cm slices, place them onto the sheet, side by side, and bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Turn the biscotti and bake until golden on the other side as well, about 8 minutes.

Cool completely, then store in airtight containers.

Makes about 35

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

Olive oil brownies and feeling nostalgic

You’ve probably noticed by now that I’ve been using olive oil in my baking quite regularly and with great results – it makes the cakes flavorsome and oh, so moist. That is why I couldn’t wait to try using olive oil in brownies – I was curious to find out if the ingredient paired beautifully with chocolate as it does with apples, coconut and citrus.

I found this simple, yet wonderful recipe online and it comes from one of the first food blogs I ever read, the beautiful The Traveler’s Lunchbox – it made me feel very nostalgic, but in a very good way. It reminded me of my discovery of food blogs, how eager I was to read them and how amazing it was to see so many people passionate about cooking and baking as I was. It was a first for me to see people actually enjoying making dinner or baking a cake, for up until that day I had never met anyone who felt what I did towards food – I knew tons of people who loved eating, but I knew no one who took pleasure at the act of making it as I did.

All of a sudden all those strangers felt a lot closer to my heart than many people I knew in “real life” – I guess that is what happens when you finally find people with something in common, for my friends did not like the kind of movies I watched back then and for sure did not feel that making dinner for a family of five was fun at all (we became six when my sister was born). They were so lazy that if their moms didn’t make any food on a given day they would feed on bread and butter, and some of them wouldn’t even eat on a plate to avoid washing up. I got older, my love for the kitchen became bigger, and my friends continued to believe that cooking was a stupid thing to learn.

Now you can imagine how I felt when I bumped into the first food blog. :)

It’s been a while since Melissa last updated the blog, but I recommend reading the archive – there are plenty of great recipes there, such as the one for these brownies; she calls for dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, but since I did not have any I used the one I had and added one tablespoon of cocoa to boost the chocolate flavor.

Olive oil brownies
slightly adapted from the beautiful The Traveller’s Lunchbox

115g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids*
1/3 cup (80ml) fruity extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (70g) all-purpose
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Brush a 20cm (8in) square baking pan lightly with canola oil, line it with a piece of foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, and lightly oil the foil as well.
Place the chocolate in a small bowl and melt it over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk in the oil, then cool.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour, cocoa and salt. Stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is dry and crackly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out a little wet. Cool completely, then cut into squares.

*the original recipe called for 70% cocoa solids, I didn’t have any, so I used the one I had (53% cocoa solids) and added cocoa for a deeper chocolate flavor

Makes 16

Coconut olive oil cake

These past weeks, in which I have been experimenting with my baking and adding more vegetables to my cooking, have been a lot of fun: once you start trying new things (with both good and bad results because well, that’s life) it’s like a blindfold being lifted from the eyes, I guess – you just want to discover more and more.

It is such a joy to open the fridge and know that you are moments away from a delicious and nutritious meal. It is a great feeling to watch a courgette and some cheese get transformed into fritters (that tasted really good with a few drops of Tabasco), or to make a flavorsome sauce with eggplants, tomatoes, peppers and ricotta while a pot of pasta boils away. I used to cringe at the thought of whole wheat pasta, but after buying Di Cecco’s linguine and cooking it twice with different sauces I’ve come to the conclusion that my past bad experiences with the ingredient were caused either by poor quality pasta or poor recipes.

Being out of the comfort zone is a good thing.

As my butter supply was running low and I needed the 100g left to make cookies (more on that soon), I decided to bake the cake I had in mind with olive and canola oil, and the result was a tender and delicious cake – no icing, no frills, just simple, good cake to be eaten with freshly brewed coffee (I had my slice with a glass of wine because watching Brazil’s ridiculous soccer team embarrass themselves twice in a row requires alcohol).

Coconut olive oil cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Under the Walnut Tree: 400 Recipes Inspired by Seasonal Ingredients

4 medium eggs*
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lime
1 cup (100g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
50ml canola oil
120g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly oil a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper and oil the paper as well. Dust everything with flour and remove the excess.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Stir in the lime zest, juice, desiccated coconut, canola oil and olive oil. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until risen, golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely in the pan. Unmold, carefully peel off the paper and place onto a serving plate.

* I had only large eggs at home, so I chose the smallest four to use in the cake

Serves 8-10

Apple olive oil cake and things that work

Another trailer for Gone Girl has been released, and it is fantastic – one can count on David Fincher to set that kind of dark mood in a two-minute trailer, for sure, and if I already was looking forward to watching the movie now I just hope time flies. :D

I’m not too keen on Ben Affleck portraying Nick Dunne – let’s just wait to see what happens – but, on the other hand, could there be anyone more perfect to play Desi Collings than Neil Patrick Harris? \0/

The music fits the atmosphere of the story really well and when the trailer ended I could read that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the ones behind it – these two have already have already given us two amazing and innovative soundtracks (and deservedly took home the Oscar for The Social Network). It is great news that they’re once again working with Fincher – what a great combo. And the same way Fincher is sticking with Reznor and Ross for another job because he knows for sure they will perform amazingly, I’m back to baking with olive oil.

After the success of the orange olive oil cake I baked the other day – two colleagues told me they baked the cake, too, and they loved it – I was thrilled to see an apple cake made with olive oil on Anna Jones’ beautiful book. Without much thought, it was the first recipe I tried from the book and the result was a tender, moist and flavorsome cake, with a nice hint of spices. Really, really good. This cake is dairy-free and can be made with spelt flour – I can’t find it in my neck of the woods (such a shame!), so I used all purpose flour instead.

Apple olive oil cake
slightly adapted from the amazing A Modern Way to Eat: Over 200 Satisfying, Everyday Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)

250g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground allspice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon honey
150g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Granny Smith apples
handful sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly oil 20x10cm (4x8in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and lightly oil the paper as well.
Sift flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, mix the honey, sugar, eggs, olive oil and vanilla until you have an even mixture. Stir in the flour mixture and mix again, until evenly combined. The mixture should be quite thick. Grate in the apples and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the almonds.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until risen and golden 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 the rack. Cool completely, then peel off the paper.

Serves 8-10