Orange blossom water semifreddo with almonds, honey and strawberries

I was a tad emotional this weekend. I cried when I heard that Paul Newman had passed away, then I cried again watching “Juno”. I did laugh out loud in some parts, too, that’s true. Isn’t Michael Cera just the most adorable thing ever?

Cooking and baking made me feel so much better. And so did this semifreddo. Especially because I kept thinking of Joao mimicking Bill while we were watching his show the other day. :)

Orange blossom water semifreddo with almonds, honey and strawberries
adapted from here

6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons honey
250ml cream, whipped
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
about 150g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
extra honey, to serve
flaked almonds, to serve (to taste) – you might want to toast them before using

Beat the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons honey together with electric beaters for 10 minutes, or until thick, pale, creamy and doubled in volume. Fold in the whipped cream and orange blossom water until just combined.
Line the base and the sides of a 1 liter (35 fl oz/4 cup) loaf pan with a piece of plastic wrap, leaving the wrap hanging over the sides of the pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan, fold the plastic over the top to cover the semifreddo and freeze for 3-4 hours, or until completely frozen.
Before serving, leave to soften in the fridge for 20 minutes – I did not have any trouble slicing my semifreddo right out of the freezer.
Turn out of the pan, remove the plastic wrap, cut into slices and place onto serving plates. Place the strawberries on the side, sprinkle wit the almonds and drizzle with the extra honey. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Olive gnocchi with parsley garlic sauce

Thank you all for being so supportive about my disastrous bread. I learned that KJ and Jenjen, two of my favorite bloggers, did not have any luck with this recipe either. And Syrie, tks for the suggestion of leaving Jamie a message – it had crossed my mind, but I thought I was being too childish... :)

With all the info I have received from you and from the people who read my blog in Portuguese, I ended up thinking that Jamie’s cooking recipes are great, but his baking recipes might not be all that. I say that because the complaints are about cakes and bread and not about pasta and salads.
Anyway, my new book has arrived and I am sure I’ll be baking some amazing bread this weekend. :)

I’ll offer you something savory today: a recipe adapted from here. I omitted the mushrooms just because I wasn’t in the mood for a grocery store trip. But even with this very simple sauce it was a good pasta dish – Joao had his gnocchi with tomato sauce and loved it.

I did have to use more flour than the amount called for in the recipe, but I believe it was the potatoes’ fault. Make sure you use potatoes that are suitable for gnocchi.

Olive gnocchi with parsley garlic sauce
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Gnocchi:
800g (about 3) large desiree potatoes
3 egg yolks
80g (½ cup) black olives, pitted and finely chopped
110g plain flour*
salt

Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
50g butter
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced**
1/3 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
grated parmesan, to serve – I took the photo before adding the cheese, duh!

For gnocchi, bring potatoes to boil in a large saucepan, cook until tender (25-30 minutes). Drain, peel and pass through a potato ricer into a bowl while still hot. Beat in egg yolks and salt, add olives and flour and gently work mixture together. Turn onto a floured work surface and, using your hands, roll into 2cm-thick logs. Cut logs widthways into 1½cm pieces, pinch in the sides of each piece slightly and set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add gnocchi and simmer over medium heat until they float to the surface (2-3 minutes). Transfer to a tray to keep warm.
Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan, when butter starts to foam, add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (2-3 minutes). Add gnocchi, gently toss until coated, scatter with parsley, sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately.

* I ended up using more flour because the dough was extremely soft
** I used garlic infused olive oil instead

Serves 6

Jamie Oliver gone bad - a weird banana and honey bread

I wasn’t much inspired to post today, since it is about a recipe that did not work out, but that changed after I read Pea’s text.

I bookmarked the recipe last week and couldn’t wait to try it – I love baking with yeast and the idea of a banana honey roll seemed amazing. And that roll was one of Jamie’s recipes. I was sure it would be delicious.
Well, I wouldn’t know about that – the bread came out so weird I did not feel like putting it in my mouth. It was far too moist and dense, heavy... It did not look like bread to me. I’m no expert, but I have baked yeasted breads hundreds of times and the results were pretty good. And Jamie’s bread was anything but good (I’m glad I halved the recipe).

I won’t let this recipe put me off my willing to make yeasted banana bread. So, if you have any suggestions or recipes to share, I’m all ears, oops, eyes. :)

No recipe today – but you can read the original here.

I think I'm obsessed... Double-lemon bars

We accidentally found out that there were more channels available for free on cable on the weekend. My first reaction was “I bet there won’t be anything good on” but I bit my tongue: last night, on Cinemax, several of Kubrick's films in a row. “The Shining” – which I have seen 5 times or so - followed by “Full Metal Jacket” (Vincent!) and “Barry Lyndon”.

I guess you’ve noticed my obsession for Mr. Kubrick... Sort of like the one I have for lemons. :)

Double-lemon bars
from here

Crust:
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (94g) powdered sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

Filling:
2 cups (400g) sugar
4 large eggs
7 tablespoons fresh lemon juice with pulp*
¼ cup finely grated lemon zest (from about 5 large lemons)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour

additional powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, beating until moist clumps form. Using back of fork (I preferred a spatula), press dough over bottom of nonstick 13x9x2-inch (32.5x22.5x5cm) metal baking pan – I used a regular 20x30cm pan and lined it with baking paper.
Bake crust until light golden, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat sugar and eggs in medium bowl until blended. Beat in fresh lemon juice with pulp, lemon zest, baking powder, then flour for filling.

Pour lemon filling over hot crust. Bake until filling is set in center and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Cut pastry into 24 bars. Transfer lemon bars to serving platter and dust with additional powdered sugar.

* to remove all juice and pulp for the lemon filling, cut lemons in half and use a spoon to scoop between the membranes; discard seeds.

Makes 24

Aunt Mary Dillon's praline cookies

“Funny Games” opens today here in Sao Paulo. I know it’s a frame by frame remake, like Gus Van Sant’s hugest mistake, and there are some harsh reviews about it going on here, but I don’t care – any movie with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts has my undivided attention. Have you seen this poster? It’s absolutely fantastic.

I can’t say the same about the photo of these cookies, though. It’s OK, but not as beautiful as the other pictures on Martha’s website.
I ended up making the recipe anyway. And the cookies turned out very tasty, even though I found the icing a bit too sweet.

One more lesson learned: don’t judge a recipe by its photograph. :)

Aunt Mary Dillon's praline cookies

Cookies:
1 2/3 cups (234g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (262g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Praline icing:
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, plus more if necessary
1 cup (140g) sifted confectioners' sugar
1 cup (about 100g) pecan halves, toasted and broken into large pieces

Start with the cookies: preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fully combined. Add dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.
Make balls using rounded teaspoons of dough and place onto prepared baking sheets about 5cm (2 in) apart. Bake until firm and barely golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies from pan to wire rack.

Now, make the icing: in a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add confectioners' sugar, and whisk until smooth. (If frosting thickens, thin with cream.) Add pecan pieces.

Place cookies on a cooling rack over a lined baking pan – I placed them on a large piece of baking paper on the counter. Spoon about 1 leveled teaspoon praline mixture onto each cookie. Let icing dry before storing the cookies.

Makes 3 dozen – I got 50 cookies

Roasted tomato and goat's cheese tart with fresh oregano

Apparently, it’s still winter here – after a week of 33ºC (91.4ºF) days, we’ve been having much colder ones.

I know that tomatoes are much tastier in the summer, but I would never be able to wait that long to make Pille’s wonderful tart. Would you? :)
The only change I made was to use fresh oregano instead of thyme - just because I happen to grow it.

I used to have a hard time digesting garlic but is all in the past now: my friend Clarice told me to remove the central root off the garlic cloves before using them and it has worked like a charm.

Oh, and a little side note: remember my sake panna cotta? It was the most voted recipe on the event I made it for! Yay! :D

Roasted tomato and goat's cheese tart with fresh oregano

500g puff pastry, rolled
150g soft and creamy goat cheese*
4 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
500g ripe plum tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

Roll out the puff pastry to 30x40 cm rectangle and place on a slightly oiled baking sheet. Carefully score a line about 1 cm from the edge along the pastry, but do not cut through! This will help the filling to stay inside the pastry and the edges to puff up nicely.

Mix the goat cheese, minced garlic, oregano leaves, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly on the puff pastry sheet (remaining inside the scored line).
Cut the tomatoes into 3-5mm slices and place nicely next to each other on top of the goat cheese. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle some olive oil on top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pasty is golden and tomatoes have dried up a little.
Before serving, scatter some more oregano leaves on top. Cut into squares and serve.

* my cheese was a bit crumbly, so I added a bit of olive oil and mixed it all with a fork

Serves 6-8

Lemon meringue cake

The fun, adorable and sweet Susan is celebrating her first blogiversary and she’s throwing a party to celebrate it!
I want to be a part of it, so this is what I’m bringing – a light (not as in “low fat”, of course), refreshing and very lemony dessert, that resembles a pavlova. I hope she likes it!

Meringues are “tricky little buggers” - as Jamie would say - so it’s really, really important to keep the oven temperature correct and stable. An oven thermometer is extremely useful here.

If you want to enter Susan’s Blogiversary Bash, too, there’s still time - she’s taking entries till midnight (details here). Did I mention she’s giving away lots of gifts? ;)

Lemon meringue cake
adapted from here

Meringue shell:
4 egg whites
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling:
1 egg
¼ cup (50g) sugar
3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¾ cups (180ml) whipping cream – it should be very cold
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Garnish:
½ cup shaved white chocolate – use a vegetable peeler to get the curls

Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until frothy. Slowly beat in sugar. Continue to beat until egg whites are thick and glossy and stand straight up when beaters are lifted out. Beat in lemon juice.
Draw a 10-inch (25cm) round on the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop mixture into round, spreading meringue mixture to the sides to make a shell. The sides will be about 2- inches (5-cm) high. It should look like a pie shell. Bake for 1½ to 2 hours or until lightly browned and dry – if the oven temperature rises too much, open its door and hold it a bit open using a wooden spoon. Close it again once the temperature gets right. Turn oven off and leave for about 4 hours to cool.
Whisk together the egg, sugar, lemon juice and zest together in a heavy pot to make filling. Combine cornstarch and water in another bowl then stir into lemon mixture.
Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. If lumpy, pour through a strainer into a separate bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the surface of the lemon filling to prevent a film from forming, and refrigerate until firm and cold.
Remove lemon mixture from the refrigerator and break it with a fork or metal whisk.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating until firm. Fold in lemon mixture.
Spoon lemon filling into meringue shell, spreading evenly. Scatter with white chocolate shavings.

Serves 8

Dark and white chocolate chunk cookies and your opinion about a magazine

Kristen left me a comment a while ago, asking my opinion about Bon Appétit’s new “look”. To be honest, I’m not so thrilled with the magazine anymore. The issues are getting thinner and thinner and each time there are more ads instead of interesting recipes and articles. Such a bummer. :(
Now I would love to hear your opinion, too – how do you like the magazine?

I did find something of my liking on their new website, though – you know me, I cannot resist a cookie recipe. Especially when the cookies are studded with big chunks of white chocolate. :)

Dark and white chocolate chunk cookies
from Bon Appetit magazine

2 2/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks, divided
¼ cup (½ stick/57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
½ cup (88g) packed golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) self-rising flour
3 ½ oz (98g) high-quality white chocolate, very coarsely chopped – there was some left

Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir 2 cups chocolate chunks with butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth; cool 10 minutes. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until well blended. In low speed, beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla, then flour. Stir in remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips; let stand 10 minutes – this is a very important step, since the dough is fluid and won’t set until the chocolate cools.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches (5cm) apart. Press white chocolate pieces into top of cookies, dividing equally. Bake until cookies look puffed and slightly dry on top, about 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets, then carefully peel them off the paper using a wide metal spatula.

Makes about 2 dozen - I got 17 large cookies

Cheese salad with hummus dressing and pitta crisps

Joao won’t eat queijo coalho (I know, he’s silly), so after making these there was still half a package of cheese in my fridge. With all the sweets and baked goods around the house, I felt like eating something light and fresh, like a salad. Let’s avoid food waste and waistline expansion!! :)

I slightly adapted this recipe, just adding a bit more flavor to the dressing and omitting the onions. It’s a very easy, simple dish and insanely quick to put together. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheese salad with hummus dressing and pitta crisps

2 whole meal pitta breads
2 tomatoes, cut into chunks – I used cherry tomatoes
½ cucumber, cut into chunks
extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime, divided
250g queijo coalho or halloumi, cut into chunks
dried oregano
2 tablespoons hummus (store-bought or homemade; recipe here)
75ml natural yogurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
To make the pitta crisps, separate the pittas into 2 halves, cut into triangles and bake for 5-10 minutes until crisp. Set aside.

For the salad: toss the tomatoes and cucumber with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the half the lime juice. Sprinkle the cheese with a little oregano then grill or fry until golden. Mix the hummus and yogurt in a small bowl, add a little of the remaining lime juice + a little olive oil (to taste), mix well and season with salt and pepper to make a dressing.
Toss the cheese with the salad, drizzle over the hummus dressing and serve with the pitta crisps.

Serves 2

Blueberry macarons

Making macarons – talk about a brave decision! And here I thought that chopping off 4 inches of hair, like I did a couple of months ago, had been a bold move.

I’d had an eye on these pink beauties for quite a while but it was Helen’s wonderful tutorial that gave me the courage to finally try making macarons. And even though they don’t look like hers or the Master’s – which I was lucky enough to try – I was very glad with the results. So glad that I intend to make a new batch next weekend. :)

Recipe adapted from here (shells) and here (filling).

Blueberry macarons

50g ground almonds
140g icing sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon caster sugar
violet food coloring paste

White chocolate blueberry ganache:
¾ cup chopped white chocolate
¼ cup cream
1 tablespoon blueberry jam

Start by making the macarons: grab two large pieces of baking paper and, using a cookie cutter, trace 4cm-circles, 3cm apart from each other, all over the paper. Turn the paper sheets around and line 2 large baking trays with them.
Sieve the ground almonds and icing sugar together into a large bowl. Put the egg whites into a separate bowl, and using an electric hand whisk, beat to soft peaks. Add the caster sugar, and whisk until glossy. Fold into the almond and icing sugar mixture, along with a very small amount of the food coloring – it’s easier to use a toothpick to remove coloring from the bottle. Mix until just combined and evenly violet – the mixture will reduce as the air bubbles in the meringue burst.
Put the mixture into a disposable piping bag, snip off 1cm from the end. Pipe blobs onto the circles on the baking paper so you have about 28-30 in total. Set aside for 30 minutes to dry – this is important as it gives the macaroons the correct texture.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the baking sheet and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Make the filling: pour the cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Remove from heat, add chocolate and jam and mix vigorously until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth. Set aside to cool until firm enough to be piped or spooned between macarons shells.

Peel off the baking paper from the macaroons, then sandwich 2 together with a blob of blueberry ganache in the center. Repeat to give you 14-15 in total.

Store the macaroons in an airtight container for up to 3 days – I kept mine in the fridge.

Makes about 15

Dark chocolate oatmeal cookies

Eating fibers and grains is a key element for one’s good health – I have no problem there, but know that many people can’t stand them, especially kids. And my husband. :S

One alternative is tricking the kids into eating oats by adding them to baked goods - I have already done that with my nieces, without much success.
It’s like Brad Pitt’s “rich” acting skills - they only become tolerable with these gentlemen I love so much.

So, for those who don’t like oats I recommend these cookies. They taste amazing and will be gone in no time – oats and all. :)

Dark chocolate oatmeal cookies
slightly adapted from here

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons thin rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Whisk first flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Mix in oats with spatula until evenly distributed (dough will be very firm). Add chocolate chips and white chocolate chips and knead gently to blend.

Using moistened palms or a cookie scoop, shape 1 generous tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared sheet; flatten to 5cm (2-inch) round. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing rounds about 5cm (2 in) apart.

Bake cookies until center is slightly firm and top is cracked, about 14 minutes – mine needed 16. Cool on sheets.

Makes about 2 dozen

Cinnamon apple cake

Moving can be quite stressful and tiring, but also good for finding things we don’t remember we own anymore.

After unpacking my cookbooks and magazines, I found a folder filled with very old print outs from other blogs and websites. There were some great recipes there and I did not recall them at all; The one I post today was among them – I printed it almost two years ago!

My dear coworker Gisele brought me some delicious tapioca pancakes last week, filled with flaked coconut and sweetened condensed milk – quite a decadent breakfast treat.
I’m not going to be the only one whose jeans no longer fit, so my revenge was to bring some of this cake to Gi. :)

Cinnamon apple cake
slightly adapted from here

185g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup (60ml) milk
1 ½ Gala apples, cored, in thin slices - don’t peel them
1/3 cup jam of your liking, slightly melted if necessary - you may want to use one that matches the fruit color*

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/392ºF; grease and line a 20x30cm rectangular cake pan.

In a medium bowl, sieve together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and the milk.
Transfer the batter to prepared pan and level the top. Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter. Brush the apples with jam and bake for 30-35 minutes, checking after 25.
Remove from the oven, brush the top of the cake again with jam and let cool in the pan.

* I used Dr. Oetker’s clear glaze, but the apples weren’t so shiny – I should have used apricot jam

Little hazelnut tartlets with caramel fudge icing

Bad hair days. Those merciless, cruel days when you look in the mirror and all you see is a member of some band from the 80s.
We can have bad hair days when it comes to cooking, can’t we? This recipe qualifies as one.

In some pans, the batter overflew and the ones that didn’t delivered funny-looking tartlets. To make me feel even worse, the icing wasn’t spoonable as the one on the original recipe.

Before you start thinking “what the heck is she posting this for?” and my friend gets mad at me again, let me tell you that these tartlets were delicious. Delicious. Worth all the hair I pulled out while they were in the oven. :)

I’m completely hooked on the Australian Gourmet Traveller’s website, so get ready to see lots of their recipes around here.

Little hazelnut tartlets with caramel fudge icing
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

100g cold butter, coarsely chopped
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
3 egg whites
180g pure icing sugar, sieved
70g hazelnut meal
50g plain flour
finely grated zest of 1 orange
crème fraîche, to serve

Caramel fudge icing:
330g light brown sugar
100ml pouring cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
20g butter, room temperature

Butter and flour 4 12cm-diameter fluted tart pans*; set aside.

Cook butter and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until dark nut brown in color (4-5 minutes), then set aside until completely cool.

Preheat oven to 170ºC/338ºF. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add icing sugar, whisking continuously until thick and glossy. Fold in hazelnut meal, flour and orange rind, then cooled butter. Divide among the prepared pans and bake until golden (20-25 minutes). Stand for 5 minutes, then remove from moulds and cool on a wire rack.

For caramel fudge icing, combine ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves (2-3 minutes). Bring to the boil and cook until mixture reaches 114ºC/237ºF on a candy thermometer (4-5 minutes).Transfer to an electric mixer, add 80ml of hot water and whisk until glossy. Working quickly, spoon onto tarts and stand until set. Serve with crème fraîche – I served it with whipped cream.

* I used 8.5cm pans and ended up with 8 tarts

Serves 4