Angel food cake with cacao nibs and orange freckles + two new addictions

As happens with “Top Chef”, I can’t keep up with all the great TV shows out there – that is why I’m in love with Netflix right now: I’m able to watch entire seasons, beginning with the first episode, without missing anything. \0/ That is how I got completely hooked on “Mad Men”, a show I’d wanted to watch forever, and now I cannot wait for the 5th season to be available on Netflix – while that doesn’t happen, I’ve started watching “Breaking Bad”, which is absolutely fantastic, too. There you go, another TV show addiction. :)

And speaking of another addiction – ice cream making – all the egg whites I had in my freezer were used in this über tender cake; the original recipe called for finely shaved dark chocolate, but I had the idea of using cacao nibs instead – it turned out good in terms of flavor but I believe the texture of the nibs was too coarse for the delicate cake.

Angel food cake with cacao nibs and orange freckles
slightly adapted from the absolutely gorgeous Vintage Cakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt, Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today's Sweet Tooth

Cake:
1 cup (120g) cake flour (homemade: 100g all purpose flour + 20g corn starch)
120g confectioners’ sugar
12 egg whites (336g), room temperature
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
85g (3oz) cacao nibs, mixed with ½ tablespoon all purpose flour

Icing:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar
juice of 1 orange
water, if necessary

Adjust a rack to the bottom third of the oven; preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Have ready a 25cm (10in) straight-sided metal tube pan, ungreased*.
Whisk together the cake flour and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl, then sift the mixture three times.
In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and salt on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and whip on high speed. Gradually add the granulated sugar in a steady stream. On high, whip until firm (not stiff) peaks form. Reduce the mixer to low speed, add the vanilla and orange zest and mix until incorporated.
Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whites and gently fold. Do the same with the remaining mixture in 2 additions, adding the cacao nibs with the last one. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, place it on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and cool completely.
To remove the cake from the pan, loosen the sides of the cake with a thin, long knife or spatula. Invert onto a plate.
Glaze: sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the orange juice, mixing until desired consistency. Add the water if necessary. Pour over the cooled cake.

* I used a nonstick pan because that’s the one I have; the cake tasted delicious and had a very light, feathery texture

Serves 8-10

Cranberry apricot oatmeal cookies and a question

I do love cookies – and you know that – and oatmeal cookies are really favorites of mine: besides being delicious there’s a whole “I’m eating something healthy” vibe behind them. :D
These, from one of my latest cookbook acquisitions (a very good one, by the way), have a touch of spices (yum) and three kinds of dried fruit (yum, yum): the cinnamon, ginger and cloves turn them into an even tastier kind of oatmeal cookie and the addition of cranberries, apricots and raisins is a good way to use up the dried fruit left from the holidays.

On a different note: have you watched “Cosmopolis”? I’ve started watching it last night but gave up after 30 minutes of the movie: as much as I love Cronenberg (he’s one of my favorite directors) watching Robert Pattinson act like a robot is oh, so tedious. Do you think I should go on and watch it till the end or should I spare one hour of my life and ignore it completely? :S

Cranberry apricot oatmeal cookies
slightly adapted from the beautiful The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle

145g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon table salt
130g rolled oats
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
150g light brown sugar
85g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
85g diced dried apricots
45g golden raisins
45g dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Stir in the oats.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugars and vanilla until light and creamy. Add the egg and mix to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. In low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in the apricots, raisins and cranberries.
Roll 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie into a ball and place onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool in the sheets over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen

No churn dulce de leche ice cream

Besides being a cookbook junkie, I'm also addicted to kitchen gadgets (in my defence, I use them all the time, both the books and the gadgets). :) One of my favorite gadgets is my ice cream maker, which I keep in the freezer for whenever the feel for ice cream strikes, but knowing that not everyone has one I decided to try this recipe found in Nigella's latest book; not only was it dead easy to make but I think you can go wild and adapt it accordingly to your taste - for instance, Nigella used chestnut purée but I went for dulce de leche instead.

No churn dulce de leche ice cream
adapted from the gorgeous Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes (I bought mine here)

300ml heavy cream
200g dulce de leche + a bit extra swirl into the ice cream (optional)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon dark rum

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the dulce de leche, salt and rum. Transfer to an airtight container and swirl in the extra dulce de leche (if using). Freeze for at least 6 hours.

Serves 6-8

Ginger plum muffins

Quite a while ago I made some peach muffins spiked with ginger and they turned out absolutely delicious; now I've learned that ginger goes really well with plums, too, again in muffin form (but please don't ask me to pick a favorite). ;)

Ginger plum muffins
slightly adapted from the delicious Tate's Bake Shop: Baking For Friends

150ml whole milk
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (65g) light brown sugar, packed
½ tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup diced plums (about 4 small)
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°. Generously butter 8 cavities of a 12-hole muffin pan – 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity each.
In a small bowl whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg, vanilla and lemon zest.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add the liquids. Stir with a just until combined; do not overmix. Fold in the plums and crystallized ginger. Divide the batter among the prepared muffins pans. Fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on wire rack for 5-7 minutes; carefully remove muffins from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 8

Milk chocolate cookies with malted cream

If I’m not mistaken – and over 6 years of blogging can play tricks on one’s mind, trust me – I first heard of “Food and Wine” magazine while watching season 1 of “Top Chef” when Gail Simmons was introduced. I’ve been using recipes from the magazine quite regularly lately, and if you’re not familiar with their website you should definitely check it out: there are tons of great recipes there, and these cookies are one of them – just be careful not to eat all the filling before putting the sandwich cookies together. ;)

Milk chocolate cookies with malted cream
slightly adapted from the always delicious Food and Wine

Cookies:
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
170g (6oz) milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (245g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup chocolate malt powder, such as Ovaltine
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (245g) confectioners' sugar, sifted

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and beat at low speed just until incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a 6mm (¼in) thickness and freeze for about 7 minutes. Using a 5cm (2in) round cookie cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible and transfer to the baking sheets, 2.5cm (1in) apart. Gather the scraps and chill, with the cut-out rounds, for 10 minutes. Reroll the scraps and stamp out more rounds.
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time (keep the other in the fridge) for about 10 minutes, until dry and set. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet over a wire rack.
Filling: in a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the chocolate malt powder at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes – my mixture was a bit dry so I added 1 tablespoon sour cream to it (I would have used heavy cream if I had any). Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip. Arrange half of the cookies on a work surface, bottom side up, and pipe a 1-inch mound of filling onto each. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing to spread the filling to the edges – I used a small cookie scoop instead of a pastry bag and placed rounded mounds of filling on the center of each cookie, topping with another cookie and pressing down gently to squish the filling.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookie sandwiches – I used a 4cm square cookie cutter and got 28 sandwich cookies

Marbled sour cream pound cake with white chocolate icing

A while ago I nominated Flo Braker and Lisa Yockelson the Queens of Pound Cakes but now I have to add another name to that fabulous list: Alisa Huntsman, who to me was already the Queen of Layer Cakes, kicks ass in other fields, too, and her pound cakes have become favorites of mine, not only because they are insanely tender and delicious but also because her pound cake recipes from this wonderful book make more than one cake, and to me that is always a bonus. :)

I’ve had my share of marbled cakes and always felt that the chocolate part was usually a bit on the dry side, but not here: this cake is sheer perfection and to be honest with you the icing is not even necessary.

Marbled sour cream pound cake with white chocolate icing
cake from the absolutely delicious Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe and icing from the equally wonderful Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Cake:
1 ¾ sticks (200g) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 ¼ cups (315g) unbleached all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2/3 cup sour cream*
85g (3oz) dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

Icing:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
65g (2¼ oz) best-quality white chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter two 20x10x5cm (8x4x2in) loaf pans, line with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and egg yolks in 2 or 3 additions, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat to incorporate. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into the batter, add the sour cream and fold with a rubber spatula until batter is evenly blended.
Measure out 2 cups of the batter into another bowl. Add the chocolate and mix to combine. Spoon both vanilla and chocolate batters into prepared pans in layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the pans over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then very carefully unmold, remove the paper and let cool completely on the rack.

Icing: in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk. The mixture should have the consistency of thin sour cream. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until glaze is smooth. If it is too thin, add more sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; if too thick, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Immediately pour over the cake.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 2 cakes, each serving 6

Lemon-and-cinnamon-scented flan

Some recipes catch my attention for its ingredients and/or an unusual combination of those, and this is one of them: the idea of mixing cinnamon and lemon to flavor a creamy dessert sounded delicious! But there was also something nostalgic involved in my decision to make this dessert: my mom used to make flans all the time when I was a kid. :)

Lemon-and-cinnamon-scented flan
from the always delicious Food & Wine

2 ½ cups (600ml) whole milk
peel of half a lemon (removed with a vegetable peeler – avoid the white pith)
1 medium cinnamon stick, broken
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
5 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F. Set six 150 to 180ml (5- to 6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups in a medium baking pan.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, lemon peel and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes; discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick pieces.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook ½ cup (100g) of the sugar with the water over moderately high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to moderate and let the sugar syrup simmer, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, about 15 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel into the ramekins, tilting them as necessary to evenly coat the bottoms.
Warm the milk mixture. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining ½ cup of sugar. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, then strain through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup or a bowl. Pour the custard into the ramekins. Pour enough hot water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a knife inserted into a flan comes out clean. Transfer the ramekins to a rack and let the flans cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the flans for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, run a thin knife around each flan. Top each flan with an inverted dessert plate and unmold, letting the caramel run over the flans. Serve at once.

The flans can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in the ramekins.

Serves 6

Blueberry crumb muffins

I was reading the trivias on IMDb – which is something I love doing – when I got to the trivia for “A Simple Plan” – which is a movie I deeply adore – and read the following: “Between 1994 and 1996, Ben Stiller was set to direct this film with Nicolas Cage to star”; a couple of minutes of shock later I thought of what a wonderful idea it was to replace both gentlemen, and what a dreadful movie “A Simple Plan” would have been on the hands of those two.

And speaking of wonderful ideas, adding a streusel topping to blueberry muffins is definitely one of them. :)

Blueberry crumb muffins
slightly adapted from the absolutely gorgeous and delicious Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours

Streusel topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup (50g) almond meal
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Muffins:
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
finely grated zest + juice of ½ large lemon
1 large egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
½ tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (100g) blueberries, fresh or frozen – I used fresh
1 tablespoon all purpose flour, extra, for dusting the berries

Position a rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 200°C/400°. Generously butter 8 cavities of a 12-hole muffin pan – 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity each.
Make the streusel: combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, mixing with a fork until crumbs form. Refrigerate while you make the batter.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, lemon zest and juice, egg and vanilla.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the liquids. Stir with a just until combined; do not overmix. Lightly dust the berries with the extra flour, then fold them into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared muffins pans and generously sprinkle with the streusel, lightly packing it with your hands so the crumbs adhere to the batter. Fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake for 10 minutes; decrease oven temperature to 190°C/375°F and continue baking until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes more.
Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully remove muffins from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 8

Orange almond cake - a great cake + more great music

One of the best movies I watched last year was “Like Crazy” – Anton Yelchin is such a dear (I first saw him on the excellent “Huff”, if I’m not mistaken) and I got really moved by the portrayed love story; on top of that, the music on that movie is absolutely beautiful, and I can’t stop listening to these tracks – not to mention that the latter has one of the most beautiful video clips I’ve seen. See? I don’t always discover new great music while shoe shopping – sometimes it happens in more traditional ways. :)

From one of the best movies to one of the best cakes: this orange cake, though simple, is really, really delicious: tender beyond words, moist from the almond meal, and citrusy in a perfect way, it has become one of my all-time favorites – I wasn’t too pleased with all the washing up, but a slice of it convinced me it was all for a very good cause. :D
You can use any orange juice left to make an icing for the cake but I really don’t think it’s necessary here.

Orange almond cake
slightly adapted from the beautiful Italian Home Cooking: 125 Recipes to Comfort Your Soul

1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups (175g) almond meal
3 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar, divided
2 whole eggs
½ cup (120ml) canola oil
finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
¾ cup (180ml) freshly squeezed orange juice, with pulp, room temperature
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and then flour a 12-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the almond meal.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, place the 3 egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip until the whites are foamy, then gradually add ¾ cup (150g) of the sugar. Whip until thick and shiny, then transfer to another bowl. In the previously used mixer bowl, combined the 3 yolks and the whole eggs, the oil, the remaining ¾ cup (150g) sugar, the orange zest and both the extracts. Beat on high for 3 minutes, until pale in color. With the mixer on low speed, add the juice and beat for another minute. With a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites in three additions.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool completely. Dust with icing sugar, to serve.

Serves 8-10

Cherry brownie bites

I've just finished watching "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (probably for then 15th time) and it's possible that I'll watch it a couple more times in the years to come: the movie is so much fun and an absolut classic. I love classic movies (most of them) and I love classic desserts like brownies, which are an American classic and nowadays are extremely popular here in Brasil, and this bite-sized version not only is delicious with the bits of dried cherry but also they're so cute! And they pop out of the molds so easily you don't have to worry about making perfect slices or squares.

Cherry brownie bites
from the delicious Rose's Heavenly Cakes

55g (2oz) dried cherries, roughly chopped
½ tablespoon dark rum
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter
55g (2oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1/3 cup (33g) cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
55g (2oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup (47g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Place the cherries in a small bowl and mix in the rum. Let steep for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. You’ll need fourteen lightly buttered ¼ cup capacity silicon molds or mini muffin pans – I used silicon molds and the brownies were easy to unmold; they’re very moist so I guess it would be difficult to unmold them from metal pans.
Place butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the cocoa, beat in medium speed to incorporate, then beat in the sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. When incorporated, beat in the cream cheese until only small bits remain. Add the flour and salt and mix only until the flour is fully moistened. Drain the cherries and stir them into the batter.
Fill the molds about ¾ full and smooth the tops. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the batter has set. The batter will puff and rise a little above the top of the cavities but sinks slightly on cooling - if pressed lightly with a finger tip they will spring back.

Makes 14 – I made the exact recipe above, used 3 tablespoon-capacity molds and got 19

Brioche with brie and some Oscar ranting

The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday and, as usual, there’s something really wrong with them: Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the most talented actors I’ve seen onscreen got ignored once again, since the Academy preferred to pull a Judi Dench circa 1999 and nominate Alan Arkin instead of Leo – don’t get me wrong, I loved “Argo” but I don’t even have to watch “Django Unchained” (it opens here on the 18th) to know that DiCaprio’s performance is a deeper and better one than Arkin’s – and to comment on movies I have seen Javier Bardem’s 007 villain deserves that Best Supporting Actor spot infinitely more than Arkin.

Well, me and my Oscar ranting – that will never change. :) There’s something I could never complain about, though: Paul Hollywood’s recipes – they’re all fabulous. This brioche is so tender and delicious you wouldn’t believe it – and don’t worry if you don’t have brie or any other cheese around to stuff the buns with: this brioche is so fantastic it’s worth making it plain – and you can always spread some jam on it while still warm from the oven, you know. :)

Brioche with brie
slightly adapted from the absolutely wonderful How to Bake (I bought mine here)

500g strong white bread flour + extra for dusting (I used all purpose flour)
1 ¼ teaspoons table salt
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
10g dried yeast
140ml whole milk, warm
5 medium eggs*
250g unsalted butter, very soft
250g brie, cut into 12 equal pieces
1 egg, extra, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing

Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the milk and eggs and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then on a medium speed for a further 6–8 minutes, until you have a soft, glossy, elastic dough. Add the softened butter and continue to mix for a further 4–5 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically to ensure that the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be very soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 7 hours, until it is firm and you are able to shape it.
Line a very large baking sheet with foil.
Take your brioche dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead 3-4 four times, then divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball by placing it into a cage formed by your hand and the table and moving your hand around in a circular motion, rotating the ball rapidly. Make an indentation in each ball and insert a piece of brie, then bring the edges of dough around the cheese to enclose it. Roll the ball in your hand to seal it – try to do the whole process quickly because once the dough starts to come to room temperature it gets really sticky.
Place the balls onto the prepared sheet leaving some room between them for rising. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
When the brioche is proved, brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake for 15-20 minutes or until brioche is golden brown. Serve warm.

* I only had large eggs at home, so I used 4; noticing that the dough was a bit dry, I added the 5th egg

Makes 12

White chocolate and macadamia bars

Great songs are everywhere to be found, don’t you think? As I was trying on some shoes a couple of weeks ago when a song playing at the store caught my attention – I reached for my phone and Shazam showed me that it was “Boy”, by Ra Ra Riot, which is a band I’d never heard of; I just love discovering things this way – it’s the kind of simple thing that makes my days ever better.
I feel that great recipes are just the same – as much as I try to use my books constantly, I keep my eyes open because one never knows where the next tasty treat might come from – in this case, these delicious and ridiculously simple to make bars come from the Australian Women Weekly’s website.

A quick note before the recipe: I still haven’t heard from all the giveaway winners, and I have to send the info to Zinio as soon as possible – please, send me the info by email urgently or unfortunately you’ll no longer receive your digital magazine subscription.

White chocolate and macadamia bars
slightly adapted from here

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped coarsely
180g white chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
¾ cup (105g) unsalted roasted macadamias, coarsely chopped*
150g white chocolate, extra, in chips or chunks

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan, line it with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.
Combine butter and chocolate (180g) in a medium saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes.
Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Sift flour, baking powder and salt over batter and mix to combine. Mix in the macadamias and chocolate chips/chunks. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until set and golden around the edges. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into bars to serve.

* the macadamias I had at home were salted, so I rinsed them in cold water and dried them in paper towels before using; I also omitted the pinch of salt from the recipe

Makes 20

Coconut and passion fruit thumbprints

I’ve been a good girl and have taken the inventory idea very seriously – I have to say I’m really proud of myself. :) However, when I saw a jar of passion fruit jam at the grocery store I had to buy it – it looked so beautiful, all golden and freckled with seeds! – but in my defense I only brought it home because I already knew what I was going to make with it: the coconut thumbprints I’d seen on "Food & Wine" magazine; coconut and passion fruit is such a lovely combo of flavors and something that to me is very Brazilian. I have a very dear friend who would certainly love these cookies – she’s as crazy for passion fruit as I am. :)

Coconut and passion fruit thumbprints
slightly adapted from the wonderful Food & Wine

2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (75g) sweetened flaked coconut
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
about 150g passion fruit jam – or use raspberry as the original recipes calls for

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the coconut, baking soda and salt. In a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle, or using a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the dry ingredients at low speed. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Roll the dough into 2.5cm (1in) balls, place onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart and bake for 14 minutes. Make a dent in the cookies; fill with jam and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 6 ½ dozen – I used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 57

Torta caprese al limone

That I can’t resist lemon desserts you already know, so it’s no surprise this lemon cake caught my attention the minute I saw it: not only because I wanted to use the white chocolate in my pantry, but also because cakes made with the addition of almond meal always turn out really moist and tender, and this is no exception – and since the almond meal replaces the all purpose flour in this recipe the cake is, besides delicious, gluten free, too.

Torta caprese al limone
slightly adapted from the usual suspect Delicious - Australia

160g unsalted butter, chopped
160g white chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
170g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 large lemons
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
280g almond meal
pinch of salt
icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°C. Butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer with the wire whisk, beat egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale. Add zest, juice and vanilla. Beat until combined. Stir in almond meal and chocolate mixture. Set aside.
Using a clean and dry whisk, beat the egg whites and salt in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Fold half of the egg white into the batter until just combined. Fold in the remaining egg white until just combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 160°C/320°F. Bake for a further 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Carefully unmold, remove the paper, and transfer to a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Serves 6-8

Roast onion tart and giveaway winners

Hello, everyone!

A new year has begun and to kick things off in a great way I have the list of the giveaway winners! The comments were drawn using Random.com. Please send me an email (patricia [dot] scarpin [at] gmail.com) with your first and last names and your magazine of choice until January, 10th, 2013:

- Silvana
- KJB
- Kyrsten
- Laura (Tutti Dolci)
- Isla Bonita

Congratulations!

***

I don’t know about you, but year beginnings are pretty busy to me – therefore, I’ll leave you with an easy and delicious tart, a recipe I’ve made twice already.

Roast onion tart
from the always yummy and beautiful Australian Gourmet Traveller

¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 red onions, thinly sliced horizontally
2 onions, thinly sliced horizontally
350g puff pastry sheet
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing
85g creamy goat’s cheese*

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Combine oil, vinegar, thyme and lemon zest in a small bowl and season to taste. Place onion slices in a single layer on prepared sheet, keeping slices intact (don't separate into rings). Drizzle over half the oil mixture and roast until very tender and lightly browned (20-25 minutes), cool to room temperature.
Turn oven temperature to 200°C/400°C.
Trim pastry to a 20x25cm (8x10in) rectangle and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Score a 1cm border partway through pastry, prick inside border with a fork, brush edges with the beaten egg. Spread goat's cheese within border, arrange roast onions on top, bake until pastry is risen, golden and cooked through (about 20 minutes). Drizzle over remaining oil mixture, serve hot with a leaf salad.

* I’ve made this tart twice, and once I used homemade ricotta seasoned with salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice – it worked out fine

Serves 4