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Friday, December 28, 2012

Gingerbread cakes (reindeers, Santas, hearts)

Gingerbread:

100 g melted butter
5 Tbsp honey
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
      (egg-white will be
      needed for decoration)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground or grated ginger
400 g flour
0.5 tsp baking soda
1 small pinch salt
(1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder can be added to get browner pastry)


Combine melted butter, honey, 2 eggs + 1 yolk (1 egg-white should be set aside in a bowl, it will be used for decoration).
Stir well and add the flour (mixed with baking soda, cocoa powder and salt).
You should get a very soft dough which is needed to be covered with foil and set aside for minimum 2 hours (better for 1 whole day).
Roll out the dough on a floured surface until a thickness of 3-4 mm.
You need to cut hearts, stars and reindeer heads and bake them in pre-heated 160°C warm oven for 8-10 mins.
(For reindeers you need bigger dark brown circles, smaller light brown circles and reindeer horns to shape)

Icing sugar decoration:
1 egg-white
5 drops of lemon juice
powdered sugar (200-300 g)
Stir them well till the sugar will be hardly fluid and put it into a small plastic sachet
You can add food colourant to the sugar and use it for decoration and 'glue' of pastries

Bright red coating (for Santas and hearts):

1egg yolk
Red food colourant

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and use a flat paint brush to apply the coating

For reindeer noses use 'm&m’s'.

Filled cakes:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 small pinch salt
Mascarpone cream:
250 g mascarpone
200 ml whipped cream (sweet)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp honey
1 egg yolk

Combine the honey, sugar, butter, egg then add the flour (mixed with cinnamon, baking powder and salt)
Set this soft dough into the fridge for an hour, then fill muffin baking forms with it shaping small baskets.
Bake them in pre-heated oven for 10-15 mins.

Fill them with the mascarpone cream (combine the mascarpone with cinnamon, honey and yolk, stir well, then add whipped cream and stir carefully)

Doughnut (whole grain flour)

100 ml milk (or rice milk)
20 g yeast
1 Tbsp vanillin sugar
1 Tbsp honey (or sugar)
50 g melted butter
1 egg yolk
1 small pinch salt
250 g whole grain spelt flour (or any other flour)

Get the milk lukewarm and add the vanillin sugar and the yeast
When the yeast is dissolved add honey, butter, egg yolk and salt
Stir them and put the flour into the mix and knead well.
Leave it 30 mins in a warm place (it will double itself) and then form small balls first, then small doughnuts from the balls. Leave them on the table for 10 additional minutes to raise and fry them in hot oil.
Can be served with powdered sugar or/and marmalade

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Prosciutto Pasta with tomato and avocado




For 2 people
150 g pasta to be cooked
for the sauce:
4-5 fine slices prosciutto (sliced into thin ribbons)
1 small avocado
8-10 cherry tomatos (cut them in half)
8-10 basil leaves
a handful braised (with garlic and vinegar) julienne carrots
150 ml cream (20%)
1 Tbsp oil
salt and lemon juice

Cook the pasta al dente
Fry the prosciutto and the julienne carrots for some minutes on the oil in a big pan then add the tomatos and give them some minutes and stir. Chop the washed basil leaves and the peeled avocado roughly, sprinkle them with some drops of lemon juice and add them to the mix in the pan together with the cream. Stir them together with the pasta. You can serve them with some parmesan