Black Forest self-saucing pudding to start 2018

Happy New Year, everyone! :)

I haven’t posted anything new on the blog for quite a while, even though I have several great recipes to share with you: my workload last December tripled and I was working like crazy in order to get things done before taking a few vacation days. I had also promised myself that on those vacation days I would not seat in front of a computer and I am proud to have kept the promise – I really needed the time off. Of course I am only human and used my mobile to post and check Instagram and Twitter, but that was kept to a minimum and it was a lot less than I had expected.

I got back to work and because we still have some amazing cherries around I thought I’d share this self-saucing pudding with you: it is delicious and easy to put together. Here in Brazil cherries are easier to be found in the summer, but if you are facing winter don’t worry: this recipe is also great using frozen raspberries instead of the cherries – it will no longer be a Black Forest pudding, but it will taste great all the same.

Black Forest self-saucing pudding
own recipe

Batter:
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) all purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of table salt
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cognac – use kirsch if you have it at home; or omit alcohol all together
1 cup (150g) fresh cherries, pitted and halved
¼ cup (42g) dark chocolate chips or chunks – I used one with 53% cocoa solids

Topping:
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (120ml) boiling water
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter four 1-cup (240ml) capacity heatproof ramekins.

Start with the batter: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, egg, vanilla and cognac. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until a thick batter forms. Stir in the cherries and chocolate. Divide batter evenly among the ramekins.

Topping: in a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle over the batter. Place the ramekins in a baking sheet, then pour 2 tablespoons boiling water over each ramekin, gently pouring it over the topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture rises and a crust forms. Serve immediately with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 4

Cherry Eton Mess

The traditional Eton Mess, made with strawberries, is my husband’s favorite dessert (and I like it very much too). :) I took advantage of the amazing cherries we have here in Sao Paulo by the end of the year to give the dessert a new twist.

The recipe is easy, especially because I use store bought meringues – turning the oven on in December and January here in Brazil is a terrible idea. The hard part of making this dessert is refraining from eating all the cherries before even gathering the other ingredients. :D

Cherry Eton Mess
own recipe

Cherry compote:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 star anise
3 tablespoons cold water
500g fresh cherries, pitted and halved

To assemble the dessert:
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, cold
½ tablespoon icing sugar
2 ½ cups mini meringues – if they are large ones, break them into smaller pieces
100g fresh cherries, pitted and halved

Start by making the compote: place the sugar, water and star anise in a large, heavy saucepan over médium-high heat. Cook until caramelized, without stirring – just swirl the pan occasionally. Stir in the cherries and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a heatproof bowl and discard the star anise. Cool completely.

To assemble the dessert: beat the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside 4 large glasses (the ones on the photo are 400-ml capacity glasses). In each glass alternate layers of meringues, cherry compote and whipped cream, placing a few fresh cherries in between the layers as well. Serve cold.

Serves 4

Peanut butter panna cotta with oat praliné

Months ago, when the doctor told me I was lactose intolerant I felt quite sad: I immediately thought of my deep love for cheese and how that would impact my food habits. However, days after that, it hit me really hard: many of the desserts I love so much are cream based, not to mention the ice creams…

I felt miserable.

Now I have learned to deal with it and it is not as bad as I thought it would be: I can replace some of the ingredients with lactose free versions, plus I always have located pills in my purse – they are not foolproof, but it is indeed better than nothing. I have yet to try making a panna cotta with lactose free heavy cream, and I might start with the one I bring you today: it is absolutely delicious and one of my favorite recipes from the times I was working on recipes for the cookbook.

Peanut butter panna cotta with oat praliné
panna cotta: own recipe, oat praliné adapted from this book

Panna cotta:
½ tablespoon powdered unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
½ cup (150g) smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons demerara sugar – I used demerata to enhance the caramel flavor; can be replaced by granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk

Oat praliné:
½ cup (45g) rolled oats
1/3 cup (67g) demerara sugar – I used demerara to enhance the caramel flavor; can be replaced by granulated sugar

Set aside four ½-cup capacity (120ml) glasses or ramekins.

In a small bowl, mix together the gelatin and water. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream and milk together until they start to boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the gelatin, whisking well to dissolve it. Pour this over the peanut butter mixture and whisk well until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and divide the liquid among the four glasses. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours – the panna cotta can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, just keep it covered with plastic wrap so it does not dry out.

Now, make the praliné: line a baking sheet with a piece of foil. Spread the sugar in a medium frying pan and cook over medium heat, without stirring. When sugar starts to melt and get golden around the edges, stir gently using a rubber spatula until all the sugar is melted. As soon as that happens, remove the pan from the heat and add the oats, stirring to cover it well with the caramel. Quickly pour the mixture on top of the foil and spread as much as possible, creating a thin layer. Set aside to cool completely. When it is time to serve the panna cotta, break the praline into smaller pieces and place on top of the the panna cotta – do not do this ahead of time for the moisture in the panna cotta can dissolve the caramel of the praliné.

Serves 4

Coconut apple galette - coconut, again :)

Even though it is a controversial ingredient/flavor, I do love coconut and when I was working on the book project I tried to include it in several different recipes – not only I got delicious results out of it, but it was much cheaper than my lemon frenzy. :)

I made muffins, cakes, crumbles, popsicles and cookies using coconut, and I cannot wait to share more with you: today I bring you a galette, in which I replaced part of the flour with desiccated coconut. I paired the lovely coconutty pastry with apples and added a touch of both lime (in zest and juice form) and cinnamon to the fruit – it tasted and smelled delicious.

This galette is wonderful either warm or at room temperature, but I urge you to try it warm with vanilla ice cream on the side – it is truly heavenly.

Coconut apple galette
own recipe

Pastry:
1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (33g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch of salt
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1/3 cup (80ml) iced water

Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples (about 700g/1 ½ pounds), peeled, cored, cut in half then thinly sliced
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lime
freshly squeezed juice of ½ lime
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon whole milk, room temperature, whisked well together in a small bowl

Start by making the pastry: in a food processor, pulse flour, coconut, sugar and salt until well combined. Add the butter and pulse a few times until mixture resemble coarse breadcrumbs. With the motor running, gradually add the water and mix just until a dough forms. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the dough onto large piece of baking paper, cover with another piece of paper and roll into a rough 30cm (12in) circle. Slide the paper into a baking sheet.

Place the apples in a bowl with the sugar, lime zest and juice and cinnamon and toss to combine. Arrange the apple slices on the center of the dough – arrange them as you please. I prefer to put them side by side, that way the heat can circulate better through the fruit and tart bakes more evenly. Carefully fold one edge in towards the center of the fruit and continue folding all the way round, bringing the edge of the pastry towards and over the apple slices. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and bake for about 40 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Baked figs with streusel topping and Marsala whipped cream and the reason why we like certain things

Do you ever wonder why you like certain things?

I was making lunch the other day and listening to some music – Toto’s Rosanna was playing. My husband said “I did not know you liked Toto”. I replied “I like this song, because I had an English teacher that loved it, for her name was Rosana”. She was one of the best teachers I had, and on top of that I found her so, so beautiful: she was a redhead and covered with freckles – it was then, at the age of 15, that I started liking my own freckles for until that moment I felt completely awkward with them (no one else in my family, at school or at my street had freckles).

Because of my teacher Rosana I stopped covering my arms in long sleeves even when it was insanely hot. Because of her I stopped hating the way my face looked with freckles everywhere – she never knew that, but she had a big part in my acceptance of my own features. That is why I think of her when I listen to “Rosanna” and my heart is filled with joy.

Now, the figs… I like figs because I first tried them in my godmother’s house, maybe at around 7 or so. The smell of the fruit takes me back to the days I spent with her – figs and peppermint tea, it is impossible for me to try these things without thinking of my godmother. She died a long time ago, however I have lots of fond memories of her.

My godmother was a very sophisticated woman who had travelled the world, so I believe she would like this dessert very much – the figs sort of turn into a creamy jam while in the oven and the Marsala whipped cream pairs beautifully with them. I don’t think the fruit skin benefits from the heat, though, therefore I recommend you eat the pulp and the crumble topping using a spoon and consider the skin a vessel for the deliciousness only. :)

Baked figs with streusel topping and Marsala whipped cream
own creation

For the figs:
6 small figs
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
3 tablespoons demerara sugar
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Marsala whipped cream:
½ heavy cream, very cold
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Marsala

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a small baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and rub ingredients with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Cut figs in half lengthwise and place them cut side up on top of the foil. Sprinkle the crumble topping over each fig half, packing it slightly with your fingers to make it adhere to the fruit. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crumble is golden.

In the meantime, place the cream, sugar and Marsala in a small bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Serve the figs warm with the whipped cream.

Serves 4

Yogurt panna cotta with strawberry gelatin and killing classics (or not)

Every time I hear about movie remakes I feel a pang in my heart – why mess with the classics and ruin what is great already?

When I first read that Hollywood was working on a remake of Blade Runner I thought: “they are going to destroy such an amazing movie”. Weeks ago I saw the first trailer and it was actually a thing of beauty – it is not actually a remake, it is a sequel. We know sequels and prequels don’t always work – right, Mr. Scott? – but this time Denis Villeneuve is directing it, which makes me hopeful already – Arrival should have won Best Picture last February, even though I did love Moonlight. As of now, it seems they are not killing a classic – let’s wait until October to be sure.

And speaking of classics, I know that some people turn their noses up at panna cottas made with yogurt for they are not “the real deal”, however I love them: you still get richness from the cream, with a nice tang from the yogurt, which for me is a perfect combination – and the texture is amazing. To make the panna cotta even more interesting, I added a layer of strawberry gelatin – homemade, of course – and it is so delicious you can even skip the panna cotta, make only the gelatin and serve it on its own: truly delicious.

Yogurt panna cotta with strawberry gelatin
own creation

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons cold water
1 ½ teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (195g plain yogurt, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Strawberry gelatin:
600g fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) cold water, divided use
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin

Start by making the panna cotta: set aside six 200-ml glasses.
Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water – in the meantime, in a small saucepan, heat together the cream and sugar over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt, milk, vanilla and salt. Whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and divide between the glasses. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until firm.

Now the gelatin: in a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the cold water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft and release their juices, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Add ½ cup (120ml) of the cold water and the lemon juice. Blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve back into the saucepan.
Place the remaining cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water.
Heat the strawberry juice in the saucepan over medium heat until it starts to boil - remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Stir through a sieve again, let cool to room temperature, then carefully pour over the set panna cotta, dividing the strawberry mixture among the 6 cups. Refrigerate again for about 4 hours or until jelly is set.

The dessert can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, covered with plastic wrap.

Serves 6

Plum and almond crumble and the end of "Girls"

After I binge-watched Girls while sick with the flu last year I could not help but continue watching the show even though Hannah got on my nerves most of the time – I sometimes wonder if the writers are trying to create the most stupid character in the world of the TV shows.

On the other hand, Elijah and Ray were my favorite characters of the show. :)

So I watched all the seasons, up to the series finale, and at the end I felt that the actual finale was episode 9 – there were several beautiful scenes, and I felt that the story could have ended right there. To be fair, I felt that the whole final season was much better than the others – and it moved me a lot more, too.

I am no stranger to making crumbles to go with my dear TV shows, and this time I made again the plum and almond crumble I had made months before, when I had last found good plums at the grocery store: plums and almonds complement each other perfectly. With my almond crumble and a nice, soft blanket and I was more than ready for Girls – and even though I was never a huge fan of Hannah and the ladies I shed a few tears at the end of the episode.

Plum and almond crumble
own creation

1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup (66g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
¼ cup (50g) demerara sugar
4 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
1/3 cup flaked almonds
4 large plums
2 tablespoons granulated sugar – if plums are very sweet, omit the sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Have ready four 1-cup capacity (240ml) heatproof bowls – you can also bake this crumble family style, using a shallow 1-liter capacity heatproof dish.

Make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix with a fork the all purpose flour, the almond meal, baking powder, salt and demerara sugar. Add butter and rub ingredients together with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Using a fork, stir in the flaked almonds – do not overmix. Freeze for 5 minutes while you prep the fruit.

Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Cut each half in 0.5cm slices, then transfer a medium bowl. Add the granulated sugar (if using) and stir to combine – if not using the sugar, transfer the plum slices to the heatproof dishes. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake for about 25 minutes or until topping is golden and crispy.

Serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 4

Chocolate and banana clafoutis to celebrate Easter

We are a couple of days away from Easter and to celebrate it I have brought you a delicious dessert I created months ago – I love, love, love clafloutis and I wanted to add a tropical twist to this traditional French dessert. Passion fruit and white chocolate came to my mind – it is a beautiful flavor combination – but since the pulp is too moist it would not work. So I switched to bananas and changed the white chocolate for a dark one so the combination would not be too sweet.

It was absolutely delicious! I have made this recipe several times since then for it is so simple to put together and the result is so wonderful.

I wish you all a beautiful Easter break! xx

Chocolate and banana clafoutis
own creation

2 large eggs
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa poder, sifted
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
2 bananas (about 250g in total), sliced
¼ cup (42g) dark chocolate chips – the one I used has 53% cocoa solids
1 colher (sopa) demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 1-liter capacity heatproof baking dish – the one on the photo is 20cm wide and 3.5cm deep.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt and whisk until smooth again. Whisk in milk and heavy cream. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Spread the banana slices and the chocolate chips over the mixture. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed, golden and a nice crust forms from the demerara sugar. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-5

Clementine posset

As much as I try to make new things in the kitchen, I have another priority: not to waste food, not even 1 ounce, if possible at all. It is not always possible, and I fail miserably sometimes, but I keep on trying.

Last week, when I placed the tangerine cookie dough logs in the fridge, I looked at the zested clementines and decided to make something tasty with them. I also had some cream in the fridge, so a posset immediately came to mind – it is such a ridiculously easy to make dessert I feel ashamed of even calling this a recipe, but the result is so delicious, velvety and delicate I had to share it with you.

Clementine posset
slightly adapted from the always great BBC Good Food

300ml heavy cream
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) clementine juice, freshly squeezed
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the cream and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn up the heat and bubble for 2 minutes exactly. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the juice – mixture will being to thicken slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Sieve the mixture into a jug, wait for it to cool slightly, then divide between 4 glasses. Chill for at least 4 hours or until set.

Serves 4

Eggnog rice pudding with roasted cherries and the reason why I love Christmas so much

I think it is fair to say that the main reason why I love Christmas so much is because it reminds me of my mom: she loved it and I can’t forget all the preparation around the house while the holiday songs were playing on the record player. Because of that, I decided to finish my Christmas series this year with a recipe that I make every time I miss her more than my heart can bear: rice pudding.

Unfortunately this is not her recipe – once my father got married again his wife made sure everything related to my mother got destroyed and tossed away, and the recipe notebooks were then gone forever – but it doesn’t matter: it reminds me a lot of rainy afternoons with piping hot rice pudding and cartoons on TV.

This time I served it cold because of the delicious roasted cherries I paired with it, and I added nutmeg and brandy to evoke the flavors of eggnog – it was delicious and it filled my heart with joy.

I wish you all a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year – thank you for keeping me company all this time! xx

Eggnog rice pudding with roasted cherries
own creation

Roasted cherries:
150g fresh cherries
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
juice of ½ large orange, freshly squeezed
1 small cinnamon stick

Rice pudding:
½ cup (110g) long grain rice
3 cups (720ml) whole milk
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start with the cherries: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Cut cherries in half and remove the pits. Place them in a 4-cup shallow heatproof dish, stir in the sugar, orange juice and cinnamon stick, then roast for 20 minutes or until fruit is bubbly. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate.

While the cherries are roasting, make the rice: place the rice in a colander and wash it under the tap with cold water, rubbing the grains with your fingers until water runs clear. Set aside to drain for 10 minutes.
Place the rice, milk, sweetened condensed milk and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring, until mixture starts to boil. Turn down the heat, add the nutmeg, brandy and vanilla and cook, stirring so mixture doesn’t catch in the bottom of the saucepan, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, then cover and refrigerate.

Serve the rice pudding with the cherries on the side.

Serves 4

Dulce de leche molten cakes - an easy peasy recipe + a fantastic movie

I have a terrible habit that I think some of you might share: even though there are thousands of great movies out there I sometimes ended up watching the same ones over and over again. :)

There are times, however, when watching movies more than once is necessary: my husband hadn’t watched Whiplash yet, and since this was the best movie I saw last year I was more than willing to watch it again, this time with him. He absolutely loved it – Whiplash is, to me, the kind of fantastic movie which almost impossible to describe without using four letter words. :D
I got to watch J.K. Simmons being beyond fantastic again – he pulled a Cate Blanchett and won each and every award with that role, not to mention one of the most deserved Oscars in History.

I liked J.K. Simmons before – I am a Law and Order devotee, after all – but I really did not think he could be that great. What a pleasant surprise.

A surprise similar to the one I had with the recipe I bring you today: with so few ingredients and put together in a matter of moments, I did not expect these cakes to be so good – well, I was wrong, very wrong: they are delicious and so easy to make I see myself repeating this recipe to exhaustion – the same way I see myself watching Whiplash at least once a year from now on. :D

Dulce de leche molten cakes
from the always gorgeous and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (300g) dulce de leche
4 tablespoons (40g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Generously butter six 120ml capacity muffin pans or mini cake pans.

Place the eggs, yolks and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 4–5 minutes or until very thick and pale. Add the dulce de leche and whisk on low speed until just combined.
Add the flour and salt and carefully fold through the mixture. Divide the mixture between the prepared pans.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or puffed and still slightly soft in the middle. Allow to stand in the pan for 1 minute, then very carefully run a knife around the edges to release the cakes from the pan and invert them onto a plate. Serve immediately with ice-cream.

Serves 6

Chocohotopots - quick, easy and delicious

Sometimes it takes me forever to share certain recipes with you here because they’re gone before I can take any pictures – these chocolate pots, from the lovely Nigella Lawson, are one of those recipes: they are so easy to put together (you probably have all the ingredients at hand) and are ready in a matter of moments, so it is the perfect dessert for me to share with you here, but they are always gone so quickly that I was able to bring the recipe to you only now only now.

Last time I made them, I stashed one of the pots in the fridge, tightly covered with plastic wrap. Two days later I baked it and managed to take the picture before I gladly ate it. :)

So next time you have people over for a meal, make these for dessert: prep them in advance and stash them in the fridge, then take them out for 30 minutes and pop them in the oven for 15-20 – I am sure your guests will love it (and so will you). ;)

Chocohotopots
slightly adapted from the wonderful and foolproof Feast: Food to Celebrate Life

100g unsalted butter, chopped
100g dark chocolate – 53% cocoa solids – finely chopped
2 eggs
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat to 200°C/400°F.Lightly butter four ¾-cup (180ml) ovenproof ramekins.

Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Cool.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, salt and vanilla. Beat in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Divide the mixture between the prepared ramekins. Bake for about 15 minutes, by which time the tops will be cooked and cracked and the chocolate gooey underneath (I don't wait for the top to crack, I underbake it a little for more fluid centers).

Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve. Make sure to warn people that these desserts will be HOT!

Serves 4

Moist coconut cake - a recipe straight from the 80s

I was a kid in the 80s and back then there was a time when every birthday cake was the same here in São Paulo (I’m not sure it happened in other parts of the country): it was a very moist coconut cake, drenched in sweetened condensed milk – Brazilian desserts tend to be very sweet and we are crazy about sweetened condensed milk – cut into squares and wrapped individually in a piece of foil; the pieces would then go into a large Styrofoam box, decorated accordingly to the theme of the party.

I know that might sound a bit weird for non-Brazilians, but that kind of cake was all the rage here for years. And if you think that is strange, wait till you hear how the cake is called: toalha felpuda, something that can be translated like “fluffy towel”.

:D

My sister-in-law was talking about this cake the other day, of how much she wanted to eat it and all, and since I’m more than willing to make sweets for people I like I told her I would make a toalha felpuda especially for her: it turned out moist and fluffy, just as I remembered from my childhood, but I ditched the foil wrapping and placed the cake squares in an airtight container – it can be served at room temperature or chilled, like in the good old days.

Moist coconut cake (toalha felpuda)
slightly adapted from Nestlé’s Brazilian website

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
200ml coconut milk
pinch of salt

Topping:
1 cup (100g) desiccated unsweetened coconut
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk

Cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 23x32cm (13x9in) metal pan*.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the sifted ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk and coconut milk (one addition each). In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until firm peaks form. Fold the egg whites gently into the cake batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, start making the topping: in a medium bowl, stir together the coconut and the milk and leave to hydrate. When the cake is baked, add the sweetened condensed milk to the coconut and milk mixture and stir to combine. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, prick it all over with a fork and pour over the topping, gradually, until the cake absorbs all of it. Cool completely, then cut into squares to serve.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan and baked the cake for 55 minutes

Makes 24

St. Clement’s posset

I try to eat in a healthy way most of my days, with a brownie or a cookie here and there, and even though it doesn’t look like it I don’t eat dessert every day, and when I do I try not to go overboard with it.

I adore possets for I’m a big fan of citrus flavors, but I don’t make them frequently because well, they’re not exactly lean: the dessert is purely heavy cream flavored with something (I’m aware of that, people). ;) There are, however, occasions that call for something special and easy to put together, and those are the days when a posset is most welcome.

Today’s recipe is something I saw on a Jamie Oliver magazine and it was the dessert I served for New Year’s Eve dinner – I made the posset in a matter of moments! The glasses sat beautifully in the fridge while I focused on the savory side of my dinner.

I love both oranges and lemons, they’re delicious together – in cake form as well – and the posset was a very refreshing finish to a delicious and celebratory meal in a very hot night.

St. Clement’s posset
from the always delicious Jamie Oliver magazine

400ml heavy cream
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 orange
¼ cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Put the cream, sugar and lemon and orange zests in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. Add all the juices, bring back to the boil and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and let it cool slightly (to avoid cracking the glasses in which you’ll serve the posset). Pour it straight into 4 small wine glasses. Allow it to set for at least 3 hours in the fridge, or overnight.

Serves 4

Dark chocolate and dulce de leche puddings

By your comments and emails I think you’ve been enjoying the healthier recipes I’ve been posting here in the past few months, and that makes me really glad – I believe that eating better food has increasingly become important to many people, even to young people like my sister.

However, I’m sure I’m not alone here when I say that certain situations call for decadent sweets: a celebration, friends coming over for dinner, a broken heart – these are not the time to think of nutritional values, these are the times for butter, cream, chocolate, or all of them together.

You can go ahead and add dulce de leche to that mix, too – why not? :D

All those ingredients are combined in these puddings, and they are delicious, but very, very rich, so be warned; they also work well for entertaining because they can be assembled in advance and be placed in the refrigerator – when you want to serve them, pop them in the oven, they are ready in no time at all.

Dark chocolate and dulce de leche puddings
slightly adapted from the always amazing Donna Hay magazine

1 can (380g) dulce de leche
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
200g dark chocolate, chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 eggs
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (50g) almond meal
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the dulce de leche in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the cream and mix well to combine. Divide the mixture among eight 1 cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof cups or ramekins.

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes or until doubled in size. Fold the chocolate mixture, almond meal and salt through the egg mixture. Divide between the cups, on top of the dulce de leche. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and the centers are soft – do not overbake or the mixture might overflow.
Stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

Serves 8

Chocolate self-saucing pudding - perfect to go with a soccer game

Warm desserts are something I crave even in hot days (I’m crazy, I know), and if I don’t make them when I have other things going on in the oven I think of them every time I sit on my couch to watch a movie or a TV show (there days those have been replaced by soccer games, actually). :)

I am not a chocoholic and will choose a fruit based dessert over chocolate any day, but while going through one of my old Donna Hay magazine issues searching for inspiration I saw these really pretty chocolate pots and having tried self-saucing puddings before (including chocolate ones) I could not resist them – to the kitchen I went to make these, especially for the Germany vs Ghana game. It is an easy recipe, quick to put together and that needs little over 10 minutes in the oven. Next time I want to give it a try using almond milk.

A really good match and a delicious dessert to go with it – what else could I ask for on a Saturday afternoon? ;)

Chocolate self-saucing pudding
from the always wonderful DH magazine

100g all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
45g brown sugar
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
35g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce:
90g brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup (240ml) boiling water

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Place flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa, brown sugar, milk, butter, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Divide the batter among four 1-cup capacity ovenproof bowls or cups and place them on a baking sheet.
Sauce: combine the brown sugar and coco in a small bowl and sprinkle over the puddings. Top each pudding with ¼ cup (60ml) boiling water. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top is firm, like a cake (the sauce will be underneath). Serve right away.

Serves 4

Lemon panna cotta with roasted strawberries - great for entertaining

I love having people over for dinner – feeding people fills me with joy, I could easily say it’s therapeutic. However, I usually get too anxious because I want to cook a fantastic meal, and I usually want to cook several different things, which is not a wise decision when entertaining unless you want to slave in the kitchen the whole time while your husband does the honors in the living room. :S

Since friends and family love my homemade pizza the main course has been a no-brainer lately, but when it comes to dessert I often have trouble making up my mind. I love warm desserts (like this absolutely divine citrus pudding or Bill Granger’s banana pudding), but with the pizzas in the oven I’ve been taking the made-ahead route, with things like mousses and pavlovas.

Panna cottas are another great idea and this one is no exception: you can make both the panna cotta and the roasted strawberries in advance and keep them in the fridge. This dessert has a light texture and is very refreshing – always a good thing after a lot of pizza and a lot of wine. :D

Lemon panna cotta with roasted strawberries
from Good Food magazine and Donna Hay magazine

Panna cotta:
2 ½ leaves of gelatin
600ml heavy/whipping cream
150ml whole milk
200g granulated sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
finely grated zest of 1 lime

roasted strawberries, made with 200g strawberries + ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

Panna cotta: Soak the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
Put the cream, milk and sugar into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. When the cream is boiling, add the lemon juice and the lemon and lime zest and whisk well. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat.
Scoop the softened gelatin out of the water and squeeze off any excess water. Stir into the hot cream, let cool to room temperature, then strain the cream into a jug. Carefully pour the mix into eight 120ml ramekins and refrigerate for at least 5 hours until completely set – overnight is ideal.

Before serving, top each panna cotta with the roasted strawberries.

Serves 8

Amaretto panna cotta with caramelized pears

A couple of pears that looked good but tasted really sour were the inspiration for this dessert: I thought of the delicious apples used in this cake, cooked in butter and honey, and gave the pears the same treatment, adding a pinch of cinnamon. They turned out really good and could have been part of a cake, too, but I already had something chocolaty in the oven. My idea then was to pair the fruit with something silky and refreshing, so a panna cotta with a touch of Amaretto (an addiction of mine) sounded perfect – and indeed, it was.

Amaretto panna cotta with caramelized pears
adapted from the always wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful, also inspired by the beautiful Love Bake Nourish

Panna cotta:
1 ½ tablespoons water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
75g granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) Amaretto
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Caramelized pears:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 small pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1cm pieces
pinch of ground cinnamon

Start with the panna cotta: place the water in a small bowl or cup and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set aside for 5 minutes or until gelatin absorbs the water. Combine the cream, sugar, Amaretto, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar has just dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture and cook, stirring, for further 1-2 minutes or until gelatin is dissolved. Strain into a jug and cool for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Divide mixture into six ½ cup (120ml) capacity glasses or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Pears: melt the butter and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and bubble until it caramelizes a little. Add the pears and cinnamon and cook over medium-high heat until the fruit pieces are golden and the syrup is sticky, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Serve the panna cotta with the pears on top.

Serves 6

Blueberry crumble and my love for crumbles

I’ve come to a conclusion: crumbles have become my favorite dessert. As much as I love ice cream and fruit tarts crumbles are now to me a synonym to feel-good-food. The flavors can vary from traditional to tropical, it doesn’t matter: crumbles make me happy. :)

I ate my first crumble in my late twenties and first made one myself in my early thirties, yet I feel that it could have easily become a childhood favorite had I been introduced to it earlier in life – it would have been perfect for all those afternoons watching "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao" over and over again. :D

Blueberry crumble
inspired by the gorgeous Tender, Volume 2: A Cook's Guide to the Fruit Garden

150g blueberries – I used frozen, unthawed
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
3 teaspoons granulated or caster (superfine) sugar
¼ teaspoon corn starch

Crumble topping:
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (50g) all purpose flour
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
2 ½ tablespoons granulated or caster (superfine) sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Have ready two 200ml capacity ovenproof ramekins or cups.
In a small bowl, mix the blueberries, lemon zest, sugar and corn starch. Divide equally between the ramekins.
In a medium bowl, place flour and butter and, using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the almond meal and sugar and mix. Sprinkle over the blueberries and bake for 30 minutes or until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling.
Serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2 – but I must confess that I ate both ramekins myself. ;)

Banana, caramel and raisin galette

A couple of days after watching Four Weddings And A Funeral I bought Wet Wet Wet’s "End of Part One: Their Greatest Hits" just because of one song: “Love is All Around” (it was a version of the CD released after the movie, with the theme song included). I had never heard of the band before and not only did I find the CD cover really cool – for the record, I was in my teens – but I ended up liking pretty much all the tracks.

After baking these cookies – which recipe I got on Nic’s old blog – I bought this book; that was a long time ago and it’d been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. I intend to use it more often, even if only for inspiration, because this galette turned out really delicious. I might as well end up liking lots of other recipes, right? ;)

Banana, caramel and raisin galette
adapted from The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookboook and from Modern Classics Book 2

Sweet shortcrust pastry:
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup (75g) cold unsalted butter, chopped
1 – 1½ tablespoons iced water
heavy cream, for brushing

Filling:
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 tablespoon rum
3 medium bananas, sliced in 6mm (¼ in) thick slices
½ cup (100g) superfine sugar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Start by making the pastry: process the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add enough iced water to form a smooth dough and process until just combined. Knead the dough lightly, form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Start the filling: soak the raisins in the rum for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Roll out the pastry between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper, until you have a 25cm (10in) circle. Carefully transfer the pastry circle to the foil lined sheet. Arrange the banana slices in the center of the pastry, leaving a 4cm (1½in) border. Gently fold the pastry edges over the filling. Brush edges of the galette with the heavy cream.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until pastry is golden – the banana slices may darken a little, but do not worry because you’ll spread caramel over them.
Towards the end of the oven time, make the caramel sauce: place sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, without stirring – just swirling the saucepan occasionally – until a golden caramel forms; remove from the heat and stir in the cream (very carefully because caramel will spit). Pour half the caramel sauce in a small jug and keep warm. Add the raisin mixture to the caramel sauce left in the saucepan and mix well.
As soon as the tart comes out of the oven pour the caramel raisin mixture over the banana filling – reheat the caramel mixture before pouring it over the filling if necessary.
Serve warm with the remaining caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2