A Taste of Yellow: Orange Poppy Seed Madeleines

The lovely Barbara is hosting “A Taste of Yellow” for the second time and it’s an honor for me to take part in this event again.

Last year, my entry was a lime polenta cake; this time, I felt like making something with a Brazilian flair. I chose quindim but unfortunately it was a disaster. I don’t know if it was me or the usual lack of details in traditional, old Brazilian recipes, but my attempt didn’t work out. It was an eggy mess that I’d rather forget about.

Luckily, I had a plan B – these wonderful madeleines, a recipe from the Washington Post. I finally got the famous bumps but I thought I’d ruined the madeleines when I saw they were very dark on one side. There’s was no bitter flavor, thank heavens.

My mind was still on my quindim failure and I did not pay attention to the correct side before glazing the madeleines. I don’t think that’s much of a difference, anyway.



Please, join us in “A Taste of Yellow”. Cook or bake something containing an element of yellow food and send your entry to Barbara until April, 19.

Information about cancer can save lives – let’s kick this disease in the a**!

Orange Poppy Seed Madeleines

1 cup (140g) flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 medium orange
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (200g) sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 stick (4 oz/113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Glaze:
1 cup (150g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
¼ cup (60ml) juice of the reserved orange, strained

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Lightly grease two 15 ½-by-9-inch (38x22cm) nonstick madeleine pans.

In a separate small bowl, combine the sifted flour and baking powder. Set aside. Finely zest the orange, and set the zest and the orange aside.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and brown sugar. Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until just combined; the batter will be slightly stiff. Add the butter, honey, poppy seeds and half of the orange zest, mixing until just combined (do not overmix). Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Spread a heaping tablespoon of the batter evenly into each madeleine cup and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until a hunchback has formed on the cookies and they are golden brown. Unmold them immediately onto a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

While the madeleines are cooling, make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, the orange juice and the remaining half of the orange zest and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Brush some glaze onto the ridged side of each madeleine and let the glaze set for about 5 minutes before serving or storing – I dipped each madeleine into the glaze and shook off the excess.

Makes 2 dozen – I got 15 small madeleines + 24 large ones

Artichoke and lemon linguine and I've won a book!

Food bloggers are the best, aren’t they?

The talented Allen had his first book giveaway and I won! Yay!!
He’s sending me this amazing book, which comes with a DVD. I can’t wait to start making recipes from it!
Thank you, Allen!

I once tried a no-carb diet. Needless to say, it was a huge failure. I avoided rice and potato and bravely resisted cakes and cookies. But there are two things I can’t live without: bread and pasta.
Even those who are not that crazy about pasta will admit that, if you need a quick meal, that is the way to go. And to make it even faster, sometimes you don’t even need to cook the sauce.

If you decide to give this fabulous recipe a try, I promise you that dinner will be on the table in 10 minutes. Maybe 12, if you grill some bread with olive oil and serve along. :)

Recipe found on Fernanda’s beautiful blog – she used coriander in her pasta, but I did not have any around and went for parsley instead.



This will be my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Jai and Bee, from Jugalbandi.

Artichoke and lemon linguine

200g linguine
8 canned artichoke hearts – rapidly rinse them to remove any excess brine
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 large handful of parsley
fleur de sel
freshly ground black pepper
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
grated parmesan, to serve

Cook the linguine in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente; drain and set aside.While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: place the artichoke hearts, lemon zest and juice, parsley, fleur de sel, pepper and olive oil in a food processor and process until you get a smooth mixture. Stir the sauce through the pasta, top with the parmesan and serve at once.

Serves 2

Orange and Pecan Sugar Cookies

As much as I love my cookbooks and magazines, there are times when only a recipe posted by one of my favorite foodies will do - times when I need to be 100% sure about the result of my cooking adventure. My fellow food bloggers’ opinions mean a lot to me and I know I can rely on them.

I felt an urge to bake and that urge included oranges – I don’t even know what happened to me that day, since I’m never that specific. I usually think of a hundred different things to make, then I go back and forth with flavors.

When I saw Nic’s orange and pecan sugar cookies I knew my search was done. Her recipes are amazing and work out beautifully every time.

If you are a citrus lover like me, do yourself a favor and bake these. I mean, bake these NOW.

Orange and Pecan Sugar Cookies

1 medium orange (any kind)
½ cup (113g) butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (100g) pecans, toasted and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 190ºC/375ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Zest orange and add grated zest (about 1 tablespoon)* to butter mixture, along with 3-4 tablespoons fresh orange juice (squeeze from remaining orange). Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, blending it in at a low speed until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in pecan pieces.
Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet in rounded ½ tablespoon-portions, leaving about 2 inches/5cm between cookies. Bake for 9-12 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, until edges of the cookies are lightly browned.
Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen

*I halved the recipe and still added 1 tablespoon of zest; it yielded 32 cookies

Crispy sage and brown butter pasta

I love growing my own herbs. I have been doing that with basil and parsley for over 2years now, rosemary and chives for a little less time and a couple of months ago I started growing sage and oregano.
After cooking with sage for the first time, I felt like trying it again, using a recipe from the same article (DH magazine #32). One of the quickest pasta dishes I have ever put together, this is absolutely delicious. And Joey seems to think so, too. :)

There’s only a handful of ingredients here, so use the best and freshest you can find.

Crispy sage and brown butter pasta
from Donna Hay magazine

200g (7oz) spaghetti
50g (1 ¾oz) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sage leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan, to serve

Place the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook until al dente; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the sage and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sage is crispy and the butter is browned.
Stir through the lemon juice, drained pasta, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Top with the parmesan and serve.

Serves 2

Chocolate cola cake with toasted coconut-almond frosting

I usually write about my sister, Jessica, but rarely mention my brother, Joao Paulo – he’s the funniest person I have ever met. Even though sometimes I think he’s 12, he turned 27 last week, on the 26th.
Jessica’s brother from her mother’s first marriage (wow, that was complicated), Julio Cesar, celebrates his birthday a day before – it’s such a coincidence. He’s 29 now, like me, and is the sweetest guy one can possibly meet.
Both boys have a very special place in my heart, so I baked them a cake, made some finger food and we celebrated their birthdays at my place.

I chose a recipe from this beautiful book – as much as I love the idea of baking a 3-layer cake, our group was pretty small and I did not want cake lying around after my guests were gone; that’s just too dangerous. That’s why I halved the recipe and made a two layer cake, using two 20cm (8-in) round cake pans.
I was out of pecans and used flaked almonds instead. The cake turned out delicious – my dad had 3 slices and he doesn’t like birthday cakes – but I believe that it would have been better with the pecans.

I also used store-bought dulce de leche to speed things up, but I’m posting the complete recipe in case you want to make it like the book.

Chocolate cola cake with toasted coconut-almond frosting
adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Cake:
42g (1 ½ oz) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used 72% cocoa
2/3 cup (160ml) buttermilk*
3 eggs
1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (400g) sugar
2 ¾ cups cake flour**
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup (160ml) cherry cola or Dr Pepper – I used regular Coke

Frosting:
1 cup (90g) sweetened flaked coconut – I used unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup (about 4oz/112g) flaked almonds
2 cans (395g/14oz each) sweetened condensed milk

For the cake: preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans or coat with vegetable cooking spray. Line the bottom of each with parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.

Combine the chocolate and buttermilk in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring often, until the chocolate melts, about 7 minutes; do not let the buttermilk come near a boil, or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs lightly. Beat in the oil and vanilla. Gradually whisk in the sugar until well blended. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and homogenized.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set these dry ingredients aside. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, add the dry ingredients and cola to the chocolate mixture, beating well between additions. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes (mine baked for 35) or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the layers cool in their pans for 10 minutes then turn onto wire racks to cool completely, at least 1 hour.

Make the frosting: preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. On a baking sheet, spread out the coconut in an even layer. Toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, tossing once, until the coconut is very lightly browned. Transfer to a dish and let cool. Repeat the process with the almonds. Leave the oven on.
Spoon the condensed milk into a heatproof glass baking dish, cover tightly with foil and set the dish in a roasting pan or larger baking dish. Fill the pan with enough hot water to reach about halfway up the side of the smaller baking dish. Bake for 2 hours, stirring once or twice, until the milk is a light caramel color. Carefully remove the dish from the water bath and remove the foil with caution; the hot steam can burn.
Transfer the caramelized milk to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut and almonds (I saved a little to sprinkle the cake). Let cool slightly. Cover the frosting with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface, then refrigerate until cool but not set, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake plate or stand. Cover the top with about ¾ cup of the frosting, spreading evenly to the edge. Repeat with the second layer and another ¾ cup frosting. Finally, spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the excess to decoratively down the sides.

Refrigerate the cake, uncovered, for at least 1 hour, until the frosting sets. Then cover with a cake dome, large bowl or plastic wrap until ready to serve. This allows the moisture to even out and prevents the frosting from forming a crust. Chilling also makes the cake easier to cut, something that’s best done with a hot, wet serrated knife – this is an unbelievable tender cake.

* we can’t find buttermilk here in Brazil, so I used the following mixture instead: 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus enough milk to equal 1 cup for 1 cup of buttermilk; let stand 5 minutes.

** the same thing happens with cake flour, so I used the following: 1 cup cake flour = 7/8 cup all purpose flour + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 16-20