Almond, vanilla and raspberry friands

The egg white saga goes on: what to do with all those poor egg whites left from the almost insane ice cream making going on in my kitchen? I did bake a batch of meringues last Saturday, but they ended up in the garbage can. I’m glad Julie Le Clerc’s adorable book was around – these friands are delicious.

Speaking of sagas, I don’t get all the hate towards “New Moon” – sure, it’s no “Raging Bull”, but that doesn’t mean it’s crap, either. I haven’t read the books but adored the movies, despite Bella’s annoying inferiority complex. Not to mention that Taylor Lautner is oh, so cute. :)

Almond, vanilla and raspberry friands
from Little Cafe Cakes

175g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (100g) ground almonds
6 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar, sifted
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup (105g) raspberries, fresh or frozen – I used frozen

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter well 10 mini cake or muffin pans.
Place the butter, ground almonds, egg whites, vanilla, icing sugar and flour in a large bowl and stir just until combined.
Spoon the mixture into prepared pans – they should be just over ½ full. Top each friand with 3-4 raspberries. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to stand in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 7 friands

Teriyaki chicken noodle salad

Having a little sister is a lot of fun but it also brings upon you a strong sense of responsibility.
One day, when she was 3, we were at McDonald’s – the horror, the horror – because she wanted a burger. While I was ordering the food, she told the clerk she wanted her burger without the beef! I’d recently stopped eating meat but did not even know she knew about it – until then, I’d never thought that I could actually influence someone else. And that’s why I try really hard to be a good role model for her.

I must confess I was never interested in Asian food – out of sheer ignorance – but that changed after spending time with my lovely friend Valentina; we had such delicious meals that I came home decided to add an Asian spin to my cooking. This salad was my first attempt – a wonderful influence by you, Tina. :)

Teriyaki chicken noodle salad
from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup (80ml) soy sauce
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar
½ cup (120ml) dry white wine
6 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed – I used breast
270g soba noodles, cooked and drained
2 Japanese cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
1 cup coriander leaves
¼ cup (60ml) rice vinegar
salt

Place the soy sauce, sugar and wine in a non-metallic bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the chicken and toss to coat.*
Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken, reserving the marinade, for 1-2 minutes each side. Add the marinade to the pan and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and sticky – add a little water, if necessary. Slice and set aside.
Place the noodles, cucumber, onion, coriander, vinegar and salt in a bowl and toss until well combined. Divide the noodle salad between bowls and top with the sliced chicken to serve.

* I recommend marinating the chicken for longer – 30 minutes or so – for a deeper flavor

Serves 4

Spiced brigadeiros

When I was little and heard people saying that “time flies”, I’d usually think “what are these people talking about?” – I guess it only started feeling that way to me after I turned 20. Now my baby sister is a year away from going to college... Well, you get the picture. :D

Holiday season is here again – even though sometimes it seems that Christmas was last month – and my tree is already decorated; time to start thinking about the food.
To me, spices are a synonym of holiday food and I thought that adding them to a Brazilian candy would make a wonderful combination – I was pretty glad with the result, especially after my last squashed brigadeiros. :)

I used Paula’s wonderful brigadeiro recipe as a guide and substituted the chocolate for cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Spiced brigadeiros

1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy (whipping) cream
½ heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter + a bit extra for buttering the plate
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
granulated sugar, for rolling the candy

Butter a large plate and set aside.
Mix the condensed milk, cream, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 15 minutes – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour into the prepared plate. Set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate to make rolling easier.
Roll small portions of candy into balls (lightly butter your palms to do it), roll through the granulated sugar and place into fluted paper cups.

Makes 32

Banana and dried cranberry tea cake

I know, I know... Another banana post in less than a month – please bear with me and my full-of-bananas-freezer. :D

This recipe comes from a book a bought several months ago but only recently became addicted to – and with a whole chapter devoted to bananas, I’ll be using it again soon. :D

Banana and dried cranberry tea cake
from Baking by Flavor

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (83g) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped if too large
8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons (28g) shortening, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas blended with ¼ cup sour cream – I used yogurt

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter the insides of a 22.5x12.5x7.5cm (9x5x3in) loaf pan* and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon onto a medium bowl. In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with 1 teaspoon of the sifted mixture.
Cream butter and shortening in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed for 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 2 minutes longer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured.
On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in three additions, with the mashed bananas-sour cream blend in two additions, beginning and ending with the sifted ingredients. Stir in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, mounding it slightly in the center.

Bake the tea cake for 55 minutes or until risen, set and golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached to it. Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, unmold it onto another rack and cool completely – turn the cake so the top is upwards. Dust with icing sugar.
Let the tea cake mellow for at least 2 hour before slicing it.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

* I halved the recipe, used a 8x19x5cm loaf pan and baked the cake for 30 minutes

Makes about 12 slices

Ovaltine thins with cinnamon sugar

After a visit to Lizzie’s beautiful blog – if you still don’t know it, stop reading me and go check her amazing cookies – I started feeling a little nostalgic: she posted a Calvin & Hobbes strip, and I absolutely love Calvin & Hobbes. It reminded me of when I worked as a teacher and one of my lovely students gave me two Calvin & Hobbes books as a gift - Ana Paula, if you’re reading this: xoxo. :)

Back then I did not bake as much as I do now – with two jobs and working Saturdays, it was a bit difficult – but my students were such special people I would gladly bring them cookies every day. And I’d start with these bars.

Ovaltine thins with cinnamon sugar
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (100g) Ovaltine
2 ½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (375g) all purpose flour, sifted
2 eggs
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (100g) caster sugar, extra
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; lightly butter a 30x40cm (12x16in) baking tray and line it with non-stick baking paper, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) overhang*.
Place the sugar, Ovaltine and flour in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the eggs, butter and vanilla and mix until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs – I used an electric mixer in low speed.
Press the dough into the prepared baking tray, filling it completely.
In a small bowl, combine extra sugar and cinnamon. Brush the cookie dough with the egg white and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden – mine baked for 35 minutes.
Allow to cool in the tray for 10 minutes, then carefully lift it out of the pan – I had trouble lifting the huge uncut cookie from the pan; after a few tries, I slid a thin metal removable bottom (from another baking pan) under the foil and removed the whole thing from the pan.
Cut into rectangles/bars.

* I used a 26x40cm pan, lined with generously buttered foil

Makes 24