Baklava muffins

When I began reading food blogs (many months before starting my own) I noticed that many people had a love/hate relationship with two ladies: Nigella and Martha Stewart. I did not know much about them but soon became a huge fan of both. That is why I chose a recipe by Nigella as the first recipe ever posted on my blog in Portuguese.

That was a long time ago and I felt like baking these muffins again – they are really good. I did not have this blog in English back then, that’s why I post these here right now.

Baklava muffins
from here

Filling:
scant ½ cup (50g) chopped walnuts
1/3 cup (67g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Muffins:
1 cup + 7 tablespoons (210g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup (50g) sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Topping:
about ½ cup honey

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.

Mix all the filling ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add sugar.
In a wide-mouthed measuring cup, whisk the egg, melted butter and buttermilk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Mix lightly and gently, remembering to keep it bumpy – I used a fork to mix it.
Fill the cups 1/3 full, add a scant tablespoon of filling, then cover with more muffin batter until 2/3 full.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack. Drizzle with honey.

Makes 12 – each well in my muffin pan holds 1/3 cup batter and I got 11 muffins

Butterscotch marble blondie drops

Watching “Zodiac” this week I found someone as addicted to cookies as I am.

These blondie drops would make Inspector David Toschi very happy, I’m sure. But I’d rather bake them for Detective Malloy. :D

Butterscotch marble blondie drops
from Big Fat Cookies

112g (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups (280g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (350g) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the eggs and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level tablespoons each) of dough 7.5cm (3in) apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Using a small sharp knife, gently swirl the chocolate once or twice through the cookie to marbleize it.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel soft but set and edges are lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 24 cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 ½ tablespoons dough per cookie and got 18

Lime fudge with macadamia nuts

Kitchen tools – those around here crazy about them please raise your hand. :D

Good cookware and tools can really help you get better results in cooking and baking – for instance, I can’t imagine my kitchen without my wonderful Kitchen Aid mixer; for a citrus lover like me, a Microplane zester is a must-have.
And to make it all perfect, gorgeous dinnerware to serve the food prepared with love – even people who don’t like/don’t know how to cook are pleased to eat at a beautifully set table.

Speaking of citrus, I’m still on a lime kick. And I would never have thought it would go so well with macadamias.

Lime fudge with macadamia nuts
slightly adapted from here

3 cups (465g) white chocolate, finely chopped
14-ounce (395g) can sweetened condensed milk
3 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons lime juice – freshly squeezed is better
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (toasted if desired)

Line a square 20cm (8in) baking pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of pan. Butter foil; set aside.

Stir white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a large heavy saucepan over low heat just until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in lime zest and juice. Stir in the macadamia nuts. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Cover and chill for two hours or until firm. Lift the fudge from pan using edges of foil. Peel off foil and use a knife to cut fudge into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Makes 64 small squares

Rose water meringue hearts

Can you resist heart-shaped food? I thought so - neither can I. It’s like watching a child eating ice cream or a very sticky chocolate cupcake and NOT do anything about it. :D

The recipe comes from DH magazine #36 – the only change I made was to use rosewater instead of orange blossom water.

Rose water meringue hearts
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

150ml egg whites (4-5 egg whites)
220g caster sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon rose water

Preheat the oven to 120ºC/248ºF. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, vinegar and rose water and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy – press a little of the mixture between your fingertips; when you no longer feel the sugar granules, the mixture is ready.
Place a lightly greased 6cm heart shaped cookie cutter on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper (if using regular baking paper, brush it with oil).
Spoon the meringue mixture inside the cutter and smooth over the top.
Carefully remove the cutter, clean it, brush it again with oil and repeat the process.
Bake for 25 minutes or until crisp, turn the oven off and allow to cool in it for 30 minutes.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe, used a 5cm (2in) cutter and still got 10

Rice fritters with nigella seeds

The same way one doesn’t need a velvety voice to sing fantastic songs - Dave Faulkner is there to prove it – food doesn’t have to be all fancy and complicated to be good. A simple salad, made with fresh ingredients, can be a wonderful meal. And these fritters, made of leftovers, are delicious snacks.

The original recipe calls for poppy seeds, but since I don’t have them here I used nigella seeds instead - they added a crunchy/earthy/nutty touch to something I ate on a regular basis as a child.

Rice fritters with nigella seeds
adapted from a Brazilian cookbook

2 cups rice, cooked
2 eggs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating:
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup nigella seeds
vegetable oil for deep frying

In a bowl, place the rice with the 2 eggs, parmesan, parsley, flour, salt and pepper. Using a fork or a potato masher, smash the ingredients together until well combined.
Take small portions (1 tablespoon) of the mixture and roll into balls.
Place the breadcrumbs in one bowl and mix in the nigella seeds. Place the other 2 eggs in another bowl and lightly beat them.
Dip each ball in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat.
Heat the oil in a small and deep saucepan over medium-high heat and fry the rice balls, 3 at a time, until evenly golden.
Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

Serve hot.

Makes about 20

Cocoa-chocolate chip pillows

Last night was a nightmare – there was a huge storm here in Sao Paulo and several places in the city were flooded. I left work at 6pm and got home at 11... It usually takes me 1 hour to do the same thing everyday. I was so tired that after a shower I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Being inside of a practically parked car for 5 hours is no fun, let me tell you, but at least I had some music to keep me company. I definitely wanted something cheerful – I love Smiths and Silverchair, but that is not the kind of music one needs in times of desperation; those are times for the Australian pint-sized diva.

Besides good music, there’s something else I crave in moments of tension: sweets. Can’t tell you how many times these cookies crossed my mind last night. :D

Cocoa-chocolate chip pillows
slightly adapted from Baking by Flavor

Cookie dough:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (30g) unsweetened Dutch processed (alkalized) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ cup (70g) unsifted confectioners’ sugar
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon ground almonds
2/3 cup (115g) semisweet chocolate chips

Cocoa rolling mixture*:
1 ¾ cups (245g) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened Dutch processed (alkalized) cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. (Cookie sheets need to be heavy to prevent bottoms of cookies from scorching. Use one sheet on top of another, if necessary.)

Make the dough: sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Place melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Sift over the confectioners’’ sugar and mix it in with a wooden spoon; the mixture will have small lumps of sugar. Blend in vanilla extract and almonds. Stir in half of sifted flour mixture and all the chocolate chips. Stir in half of the remaining flour mixture, then the rest. Dough will be malleable and workable.

Spoon up scant-tablespoon quantities of dough and roll into chubby balls. Place balls about 5cm (2in) apart on prepared sheets.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until set; tops will crack slightly here and there. Let cookies stand on sheets 1 minute, then carefully remove them to cooling racks, using an offset metal spatula. Cool 5 to 8 minutes.

Rolling mixture: sift together confectioners' sugar and cocoa into large bowl. While cookies are still warm, carefully dredge them, a few at a time, in sugar-cocoa mixture to coat, then transfer to a sheet of waxed paper to cool. Dredge them lightly again, if you wish – the cookies will look prettier.
Store airtight at room temperature up to 5 days.

* there was a lot of mixture left – I believe that half of it would be enough to coat all the cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies – I halved the recipe and got 19

Apple cake with toffee crust

Some food magazines have wonderful websites but I’d never considered Food & Wine’s to be one of them. After reading on a blog - sorry, I really can’t remember which one – about F&W’s new website I got really curious. A quick visit, a few clicks and I knew I’d be coming back for more. And I did, to get this great recipe.

The word toffee alone would be enough for me to try this cake, but pairing it with apples – the green ones I love so much – made it all perfect.

I guess many of you will be adding Food & Wine’s website to your bookmarks, too. And if you are responsible for my discovering it, please, speak up! :D

Apple cake with toffee crust
from Food & Wine magazine

3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups (300ml) vegetable oil
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 large Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1cm (½-inch) dice

Toffee crust:
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make the cake: preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform tube pan*.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda and whisk together. In a large bowl, whisk the oil with the granulated sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Fold in the diced apples with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream and brown sugar and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Remove the toffee glaze from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Place the warm cake (still in its pan) on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the hot glaze over the cake and let it seep into the cake, poking lightly with a toothpick or dried spaghetti. Let the cake cool completely, about 2 hours. Invert the cake onto a plate, and invert again onto another plate, right side up.

* I halved the recipe and used a 19cm ring pan

Serves 8

Homemade ricotta

I’ve heard many times that we get wiser as we get older. I’m not sure about getting wiser, but I’ve definitely gotten braver.

After making macarons for the first time, I had to try something completely new. Making cheese sounded like a good idea. It worked so well I’m ready for my next challenge – maybe watching "The Exorcist" without closing my eyes not even once. :D

Homemade ricotta
from Donna Hay magazine

6 cups full cream milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Place the milk and a candy thermometer in a saucepan over medium heat and heat to 80ºC/176ºF. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until curds form.
Line a colander with fine muslin and place over a deep bowl. Use a slotted spoon to carefully spoon the curds into the colander*. Allow to drain for 5 minutes.

Spoon the ricotta into a glass or ceramic dish and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

* the reason it needs to be spooned carefully is to ensure the curds hold their shape. Pouring them straight into the colander will result in the cheese becoming dry and grainy.

Makes 1 ¼ cups – after removing the curds and placing them in the colander, I added more vinegar to the remaining milk and got more curds. I made 1/3 of the recipe and got almost 1 cup ricotta.

Yogurt and passion fruit syrup mini cakes

Certain actors have a very special place in my heart –they are so talented that I’m always interested in watching their movies.
Christian Bale, for example - I have seen him in several different movies and he continues to make me curious about what’s coming.

It’s like baking with yogurt – the more I do it (like last month’s lime cake), the more I enjoy it.

Yogurt and passion fruit syrup mini cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

150g unsalted butter, softened
220g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup thick Greek-style natural yogurt
300g self raising flour, sifted

Passion fruit syrup:
1 cup (240ml) passion fruit syrup
½ cup (120ml) water
110g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. To make the passion fruit syrup, place passion fruit pulp, water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes or until syrupy. Set aside.

Make the cake: place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 10-15 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt and beat until well combined.
Fold through flour. Spoon mixture into lightly greased 24cm bundt or ring pan* and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove cake from the pan and place on a serving plate (I left the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes and then unmolded them).
Spike cake all over with a thin skewer or toothpick, drizzle with syrup and serve while still warm – it tastes delicious at room temperature, too.

* I halved the recipe, used a muffin pan (each well holds 1/3 cup batter) and got 9 small cakes

Serves 8

Super lime ice cream

There are simple things in life that have the power of lighting up our day – like arriving home and finding a package or your favorite magazine waiting for you in the mailbox. I love that.

My copy of David Lebovitz’s ice cream bible was delivered Friday and Saturday morning I was in the kitchen, preparing a recipe from it. Are you surprised my first choice was a citrus flavor?? Didn’t think so. :D

Super lime ice cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

2 large limes
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 3 large limes)
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt

Zest the limes directly into a food processor or blender. Add the sugar and lime juice and blend until the sugar is dissolved. Blend in the milk and heavy cream.
Chill for 1 hour, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

Basil and parmesan madeleines

Even though I have my pride – I’m a Scorpio, after all – I will admit it when I’m wrong and apologize.

After telling you that I wasn’t in the mood for Mr. Benjamin Button, I changed my mind and decided to watch it – with a little push from my good friend C. I’m so glad I did - what a beautiful movie. It touched my heart like very few have. David Fincher really gets the best out of Brad Pitt, every time.

Something similar happened here. I wasn’t so sure savory madeleines would work. So I kept postponing making them. And now, a year after bookmarking the recipe, I finally tried it. And it’s good. I was wrong.

My only thought here is that both flavor and texture are much better when the madeleines are hot/warm. But let me know if you disagree.

Basil and parmesan madeleines

8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (140g) cake flour – I used all purpose flour
3 teaspoons finely minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 eggs
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 190ºC/375ºF (I preferred to bake them in the higher part of the oven so they would not burn).
Brush the molds of two 12-well madeleine pans with 2 tablespoons of the butter and dust with all-purpose flour; tap out the excess.

Sift the cake flour into a bowl and gently stir in the basil, the 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and the pepper. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and sugar and beat until the mixture drops from the whisk in ribbons, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture and the 1 cup cheese, then fold in the remaining 6 tablespoons butter*.

Spoon the batter into the prepared molds so the batter is even with the rims. Bake until the madeleines spring back when pressed lightly, about 12 minutes. Immediately remove them from the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel and cheese and serve.

* the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I refrigerated the batter overnight

Makes 18 madeleines – I halved the recipe and got 15 madeleines (I used a 15-well pan and each well holds 1 tablespoon batter)

Vanilla butter rounds

It’s been such a while since I last posted cookies I almost did not recognize my own blog – Technicolor Kitchen without cookie recipes is like a Tim Burton movie without Johnny Depp. :D

These are deadly simple to make and, aside from the nuts, only simple ingredients are involved – I’m sure there’s a little butter and a couple of eggs in your fridge.

Vanilla butter rounds
slightly adapted from Big Fat Cookies

2 ¾ cups (385g) flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (340g/3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar – I used vanilla infused sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
18 whole unblanched (with skins) almonds or pecan halves

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large howl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. The dough will be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is cold and firm enough to roll into balls with your hands without sticking, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop out mounds of dough. Roll each mound between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball, flatten it into a 7.5cm (3-in) circle, and place the cookies 5cm (2 in) apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a nut into the center of each cookie.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are light brown, about 22 minutes – mine needed 30.
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes 18 cookies - I halved the recipe, shaped 5cm (2in) cookies using 1 ½ tablespoons of dough and got 18

Very berry meringues

After so many batches of custard based ice creams – there are recipes I’ve made three or four times – I had several egg whites left. I did freeze some but there were a couple of whites still in the fridge – that seemed like the perfect excuse to make meringues.

I’d bookmarked this recipe ages ago – I just love Delicious. magazine’s website – and it called for only 5 ingredients, all of them in my pantry/fridge... The perfect treat for those moments when you are feeling much too lazy/tired for a trip to the grocery store.

Very berry meringues

4 large egg whites, room temperature
225g caster sugar
75g mixed dried berries, coarsely chopped – I used dried cherries and cranberries
20g shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
140ml double cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 140ºC/284ºF. In a large, grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Using a large metal spoon, briefly fold in the mixed dried berries to evenly distribute through the meringue.

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper, fixing the paper in place with a tiny blob of meringue in each corner. Using 2 large metal spoons, take a spoonful of the meringue and scoop it from 1 spoon to the other to shape it into an oval ‘quenelle’ shape; alternatively, just dollop large, craggy spoonfuls of the meringue onto the baking sheets.
Drop onto the baking paper, then repeat to make 8 large meringues, spacing them 5cm (2in) apart as they will expand as they cook. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.
Bake the meringues in the oven for 1h15min for mallowy centers, or 1h30min for crisper meringues – swap the trays halfway to ensure even cooking. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside to dry out for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
To serve, transfer the meringues to serving plates. Whip the cream to soft peaks and serve a dollop with each berry meringue.

The cooked meringues will keep in an airtight box in a cool place for up to 4 days.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe and got 5 large meringues