Slovenian Recipes

These days I try my best not to miss a Daring Bakers challenge. March has been full of so many emotions with Spring and the sunny weather making an appearance every now and then. Baking brioche is such a nice addition to a cup of tea in the afternoon. This recipe is wonderful. Thanks Jamie and Ria! The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast . Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. For the yeast coffee cake dough: 4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour ¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar ¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast ¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature) ½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature 2 large eggs at room temperature For the meringue: 3 large egg whites at room temperature ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sug...

It has been a while since I wrote here for the last time. Life has been hectic over the past months. I still find a little time to blog but I've done it in Portuguese . No time for the english corner, which I miss a lot. Better days will come, I'm sure. In the meanwhile, here is my Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Jelly , and just the smell of Florentine Cookies that didn't last enough to be caught on camera! The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies. Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk 1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin 3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat) 1/3 cup (80 ml) honey 1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar pinch of salt Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the ...

Again I'm late with my season's greetings. Let me start wishing you all a delicious 2011! Now on to the cake. Stollen is a traditional Christmas cake made with mixed peel, fruit and citrus zest. It was on my to do list for a while, just waiting for the opportunity. This Christmas I finally baked Stollen, and we all enjoyed it very much. The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking . She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration . Stollen Wreath Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people ¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C) 2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast 1 cup (240 ml) milk 10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter) 5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) ...

It's getting chilly in Lisbon. Autumn has been nice, sunny and warm but it's now behind us. Winter is making its way calling for a blanket. When the weather gets cold, I crave nice warm sweet consolation in fruity tarts and crumbles. A crostata di marmellata is the perfect treat with a nice cup of tea. Grazie, Simona! The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Pasta frolla 1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar 1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour a pinch of salt 1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar...

Where did time go this Summer and Autumn? I'm not sure. I'll be back soon with the news on what I've been doing lately. But today is Daring Baker's day! The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious. Thanks, Lori! Yeast doughnuts Recipe adapted from Alton Brown Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard) Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C) Eggs, Large, beaten 2 White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you ...

August means holidays, seaside, picnics and being away from home. It also means very needed rest and time to do nothing except walk, read and sleep after such a stressing school year. This August wasn't very different with a getaway in between to check some exhibitions and see some dear friends . Petit fours make the perfect little treat for hot weather like we had this Summer, and I absolutely love brown butter pound cake! Thanks for choosing such a yummy theme, Elissa! The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”. Brown Butter Pound Cake Ad...

I wished days could be longer when June comes by... Every year, this month arrives with tons of things to be done at work, short nights and very long hours. If only there could be more time for the good things of life. In between I've watched a few Wimbledon matches, cheered for Portugal at the World Cup and shared a lovely chocolate pavlova with dear friends. All in all, not a bad month! The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious . Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard Chocolate Pavlova Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova): 3 large egg whites ½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar ¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar 1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or...

I have a thing for choux . I love everything made from choux pastry - savoury or sweet, filled or simply dusted with icing sugar, with a glaze or on its own. I've made choux before but never dared to think of a pièce montée ... Unfortunately we didn't have any celebration this month, and a croquembouche is a bit too much for the two of us. So I made a mini pièce montée with a passionfruit vanilla filling + a chocolate glaze. The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake . Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée , or croquembouche , based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri. Patê a Choux makes about 28 ¾ cup (175 ml.) water 6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter ¼ Tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour 4 large eggs For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan ov...

In my opinion British Cuisine is sometimes underrated. I love the simple approach to food, both savoury and sweet. Perhaps because I tend to think of some British traditional puddings when I'm craving something sweet as comfort food: a warm crumble, a splash of custard or a spoonful of sponge pudding. And Britons know their way around puddings, that's for sure! The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen . She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet. I've decided for a butter based version of steamed pudding with a fruit base. Apple Cinnamon Steamed Pudding Adapted from BBC Good Food 350g apples, sliced 200g caster sugar 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 125g unsalted butter few drops natural vanilla extract 2 medium eggs, beaten 175g self-raising flour Cook the sliced apples with 75g of the sugar and the spices over a gentle heat for 2-3 minu...

My grandma (who was an excellent cook and a brilliant baker) didn't care much for what she'd call "fancy spoon desserts". Grandma would bake a pudding or a tart or even a layered cake but would pay no attention to such thing as a charlotte . When I was 15 years old I've lived for a few months in England without my family - it opened my mind in many different ways (some of which I'm not about to disclose, fear not!!). The first time I set eyes on a Tiramisu it looked pretty much like a trifle to me... A trifle without fruit! Tasting it made me think again how trifle-ish it was but the beautiful addition of cheese and coffee made it into something completely different. To this day I still have trouble adding fruit to a tiramisu, although nutty flavours make a perfect pairing to mascarpone. Back home, I've decided to make a Tiramisu for a family lunch. Not taking my eyes off grandma, I've seen her having a second helping without a blink! It became a fa...

I have a thing for cookbooks. You too? Good. I hate to be alone with my addictions. In my kitchen there are dozens of cookbooks with thousands of recipes (mainly in Portuguese, English and French) that I'm yet to read, not to mention try. Sometimes I grab one and pass my hand on the cover as if I could feel all the vibes... The shelves on top of my sink hold my Marabout collection of small books like this Trish Deseine ode to chocolate . The book features Nanaimo Bars on the cover . I couldn't tell how many times I've grabbed it, and felt compelled to look at those bars. Thanks Lauren for the challenge! The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen . Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca . Gluten-Free Graham Wafers 1 cup (138 g) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour) 3/4 cup (100 g) Tapioca Starch/Flour ...

House building has been on my plans since I was a little kid -- I wanted to be an architect whilst growing up! It didn't turn out that way, and although I made the arts my professional area, I've never went into the building business. Until this Christmas, that is! Thank you, Anna and Y! The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes. Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga) from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas 1 cup butter, room temperature [226g] 1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g] 2 tablespoons cinnamon 4 teaspoons ground ginger 3 teaspoons ground cloves 2 teaspoons baking soda ½ cup boiling water 5 cups all-purpose flour [875g] 1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar ...

I'm probably not the only one singing Alabama 3 today. I'm a lousy singer. For once I'm happy there's no way you can listen to me singing I woke up this morning / Got myself a gun, Mama always said I'd be / The Chosen One. Over and over. It's The Sopranos theme song , of course. My favourite version is actually sang by Leonard Cohen. The perfect soundtrack for this month DB challenge! The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives . She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book. Lidisano’s Cannoli Makes 22-24 cannoli CANNOLI SHELLS 2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour 2 table...

Lately I've been craving Paris. The symptoms are the usual: I miss walking the Seine and Boulevard Saint Michel , entering the bookshops and buying cookbooks eventually. I badly miss my favourite bistrots and the street vendors. I even miss the parisians! I daydream of crispy croissants , pain au raisins et café au lait , hot chocolate and... macarons . The perfect way to get me to Paris without leaving home is to bring Paris to me, all packed and arranged in a colourful and full flavoured macaron! Macarons were on my list for quite a while. For some reason, I felt a bit scared every time I'd come across Helen's recipes - bookmarked since always from Tartelette - so I never got to try them. The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S . She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. What a wonderful choice! Because I feared disaster (and after reading other fellow Daring Bakers ex...

Vol au Vent means literally 'windblown'. These little treats are so light and crisp you could almost make them fly with a whisper. And if you're using homemade puff pastry you're sure to have whispered a lot whilst making it, not to mention a little cursing! At least I did. September has been HOT in Lisbon. I'm not complaining about this - well, I actually am... It's not the weather itself but the weather when dealing with a block of butter that's suppose to be soft enough to flow freely and cold enough to layer properly. Meaning I had like 2 minutes to work my way with the turns. In the end, although my kitchen was a bit of a mess, the pastry was nice and the all process went smoother than expected. The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon . She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan. Vols au Vent You will...

This is a post that almost didn't make it. Also, don't have the posting date fooling you. I'm terribly late for this month Daring Bakers' challenge... Even considered it to give it a ago because time really has been an issue lately, with days finishing too quickly for my taste (or needs!). BUT today's Wednesday, and I don't like to give up things on Wednesdays. Or any other day of the week, for that matter. Enough ramblings! I made Milan cookies. Or sort of. And I really want to share those with you. The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network. Milan Cookies Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website Makes about 3 dozen cookies • 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened • 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar • 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs) • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract ...