From my kitchen: Chocolate, caramel and walnut tart

I’m usually rather bold in the kitchen, never shying away from a difficult recipe or a tricky step-by-step. However, there’s one thing I’ve always avoided, and for no apparent reason, really: the homemade caramel. It’s kind of surprising since I simply adore caramel sauce on served with my ice cream or my afternoon latte. I guess I was a little bit scared by all the stories on caramel gone wrong (oh, who am I kidding, really! The truth is, that the first time I attempted to make caramel at home, I burned both my hands. Ouch).

Nevertheless, some things you cannot avoid forever, and I soon realized that all I needed was a good incentive – and this decadent and tempting tart was too perfect to skip on! This is what I call the epitome of winter decadence: sweet caramel filling paired with rich chocolate ganache and crunchy walnuts…you have to get your first bite to truly feel the magic operate.

This is a perfect tart to prepare in advance (even a day before your event), and I’m sure it would look equally adorable in mini version, too. However, I should probably warn you: this really is a sweet bomb. One small part is enough to satisfy all your sugar cravings for a week. But wouldn’t life be too dull and sad without a little bit of sweetness?

Chocolate caramel and walnut tart

Adapted from Bon Appétit
 

You’ll need:

Crust:

* 1 cup all purpose flour

* 1/3 cup powdered sugar

* 3/4 tsp salt

*  1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

* 1tbsp (or more) ice water

Blend flour, powdered sugar and salt together. Add mutter and and blend until mixture is coarse.

Add 1 tbsp ice water and blend well until slightly moist dough form. Add more water if necessary.

Transfer dough into a pie pan and press it firmly and evenly onto bottom and up sides of pan.

Chill this crust for one hour.

Ganache:

* 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

* 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

* 1 1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

Bring cream to simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat.

Add chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.

Spoon 3 tbsp of ganache into a corner of small plastic bag and set aside for room temperature (it will
serve for piping in the end).

Spread remaining ganache evenly over bottom of crust.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts all over ganache. Chill again while you prepare caramel.

Caramel filling:

* 1 1/4 cups sugar

* 1/3 cup water

* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

* 1/4 cup unsalted butter

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1/2 tsp salt

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is amber (8 minutes), occasionally swirling the saucepan. You can also occasionally brush down sides of saucepan with wet pastry brush. Remove pan from heat.

Add cream and butter, stir until butter dissolves. Return saucepan to heat.

Bring to boil again and whisk until caramel sauce thickens. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract and salt and whisk well.

Remove crust from fridge and pour caramel evenly onto crust. Let cool down completely.

Retrieve the plastic bag with ganache. Cut off very small tip from the corner where ganache is set.

Pipe ganache decoratively over caramel filling. Place back in fridge and chill for 2-3 hours (or overnight).

From my kitchen: Homemade granola

I’ve always prided myself on being a morning person: I don’t usually have a problem waking up well before 6am (even if that also means that I have to be in bed by 10pm, otherwise I switch to my “zombie mode”). What I do have a problem with lately, is having a breakfast this early in the morning. I’m actually struggling to find something appetizing enough to complement my steaming cup of café au lait. 

There’s nothing I want to see less in the morning than a copious spread of food. I love smoothies, but I prefer drinking them after my afternoon workouts. Óatmeal is simply too heavy on my stomach and the idea of toasts with ham or eggs makes me want to barf. I know that I may sound silly or spoiled, but breakfast truly is my daily struggle – and I seem to have inherited this from my mom. Apparently bad breakfast habits run in the family. 

I don’t exaggerate when I say that I tried and tested virtually every kind of cereal available: store-bought granola, Froot loops, Cheeios…you name it, I had it. The problem is that, packed with sugar and various mysterious additives, they are not exactly the best example of healthy food. Plus, I grow tired of them pretty quickly. Making my own homemade granola thus seemed like the perfect alternative. I’ve been making it for years, experimenting with flavors and ingredients, and this one is my all-time favorite. To keep it fresh, I make it in small batches almost every weekend with whatever nuts and dried fruit I currently have at hand. This is why it never tastes quite the same, preventing me from getting bored.

I would also love to know, what is your favorite breakfast food? Are you a morning person, too? 

Homemade granola

You’ll need

* 200g rolled oats

* 1tsp ground cinnamon

* juice from 1 orange

* 2tbsp maple syrup

* 2tbsp honey

* 1tsp vanilla extract

* seeds: sesame, flax, pumpkin, chia

* mix of dried fruit (dried apricots, raisins, coconut and pineapple are my favorites)

* nuts mix (hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, unsalted pistachio…)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Combine the oat flakes and ground cinnamon.

3. Combine orange juice, maple syrup, honey and vanilla extract, then stir into the oat flakes (the mixture should be moist). Sample it: if it’s not sweet enough for you, you can add more honey or maple syrup.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly into a slightly buttered baking sheet.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring the mixture regularly (every 10 minutes or so), so it bakes evenly.

6. In the meantime, combine all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit, and after 30 minutes add this mixture to the baked oats. Bake for another 10 minutes (but be careful, dried fruit burns easily, so you need to watch it closely).

7. Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a pretty jar.

You can savor this delicious homemade granola at breakfast (with a cup of milk or a yogurt) or you can nibble on it while watching TV (it’s a much healthier alternative to chips or candy). I personally love it paired with homemade apple purée as an 9am-pick-me-up in front of my computer at work.

From my kitchen: Chestnut & chocolate escargots

I know that pumpkin is supposed to represent the fall (and for many people it surely does), but I personally consider chestnuts to be my go-to fall ingredient. Come October, I stock up on edible chestnuts to roast in the oven, and chestnut purée to put in all kinds of desserts.

My very first chestnut recipe this year is extremely easy to make and so delicious! It combines the characteristic sweet taste of chestnut purée with the sharp flavor of dark chocolate. Plus, it comes in a playful shape of escargot, that never fails to put a smile on my face when I devour it for my breakfast. Here’s how you can make it:

Chestnut & chocolate escargots (serves 12)

You’ll need:

* 300g all-purpose flour

* 15g active yeast

* 125ml milk

* 50g sugar

* 1 egg + another one to spread

* 250g chestnut purée

* 75g dark chocolate

1. Put the yeast in a bowl with lukewarm milk, add a teaspoon of flour and sugar. Let ferment for 10 minutes.

2. Put the rest of the flour, sugar and one egg in a large bowl. add the ferment and combine with your robot. You should get a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Cover it with a clean tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place (I usually place the bowl on the kitchen heater).

3. After 30 minutes put the dough on a work surface dusted with flour, knead for a few moments and cut in half.

4. Roll out the first half with a rolling pin (it should have a rectangular shape), and spread the chestnut purée all over its surface.

5. Roll out the second half in the same shape, place it on top of the chestnut dough and sprinkle with grated dark chocolate.

6. Roll the two doughs tightly together, then cut this roll into 2-3cm circles.

7.  Place them in the cupcake baking sheet lined with paper liners.

8. Cover with the tea towel again, and let rise for another 30 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat one egg slightly with a fork, then spread it over the escargots.

10. Bake for 15 minutes (but watch closely, they could burn easily).

11. Enjoy with your morning coffee, with your afternoon tea, or just like that.

Bon appétit!

From my kitchen: Quiche aux épinards // Spinach quiche

I used to be one of the kids traumatized by the grade school canteen. There are quite a few things that I can’t bring myself to eat even today (kale soup being on top of my “hate” list), because of the way these ingredients were mistreated by the canteen cooks. 

Spinach used to be one of those things that brought back bad food memories. Over the years, when I stumbled upon a spinach recipe in a cookbook, I automatically skipped the page and moved on to more tempting meals. Until the last weekend. Browsing through one of my food magazines, I happened upon a spinach quiche, and I was immediately intrigued. Classic bacon quiche is my favorite French meal and I figured out that even the spinach’s presence couldn’t spoil that for me. I’m happy to report that this was a total success. The combination of fresh spinach leaves, crisp red onions and savory feta cheese is incredibly rich and satisfying, and it makes for a delicious supper or even for an office-friendly brown bag lunch. I’m sure that this meal will be on constant repeat throughout the entire spinach season!

Quiche aux épinards (Spinach quiche)

You’ll need:


* puff pastry
* 250g fresh spinach leaves
* 2 smaller red onions
* 3 eggs
* 200ml cream
* 200g feta cheese
* 50ml milk 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll the puff pastry (ideally, it should have round shape, but you can always trim excess pastry) and transfer it to the glass pie plate. Pre-bake the pastry for 10 minutes. 
2. Rinse the spinach leaves, place them in a sieve, then pour boiling water all over. 
3. Drain well (press the leaves to remove excess water, just be careful not to burn your fingers). Then distribute the leaves evenly all over the puff pastry.  
4. Slice red onions thinly and sprinkle them over spinach leaves. 
5. In a medium bowl, use fork to blend eggs, cream, milk and crumbled feta cheese. 
6. Pour this mixture all over the spinach and onions, then bake for 30-40 minutes (until golden). 
7. Serve warm.

Bon appétit!    

From my kitchen: Easy strawberry trifle

When it comes to temperatures, this summer has been really brutal. The temps around 40°C aren’t something I can easily get used to, especially when my own brain refuses to work properly above 25°C. So when this happens, the last thing I want to do is spend too much time by the stove or by the oven. That’s where the inspiration for this easy trifle came from. You only need a handful of ingredients, and there is no cooking time involved. Always a winner in my summer book.

And despite the fact that the strawberry season is almost gone, I bet you still have some on your hands to whip up this easy and delicious dessert. 

Easy strawberry trifle

You’ll need:

Yields 2

200g fresh strawberries

1-2 tsp unrefined cane sugar

50g your favorite biscuits (I’m truly partial to Speculoos)

100ml fresh whipped cream mixed with 50g ricotta and 2 tsp sugar

chocolate powder (I love le chocolat chaud a l’ancienne by Angelina Paris)

Crumble the biscuits. Cut the strawberries in cubes and stir in gently one or two teaspoons of sugar. 

In two pretty small bowls, alternate layers of crumbled biscuits, strawberries and whipped cream with ricotta. Finish with a dollop of cream that you sprinkle with the last crumbs and a little bit of chocolate. Let sit in the fridge for 2 hours and take out at least 30 minutes before serving.

Bon appétit!

From my kitchen: Mini baked donuts

I probably won’t start a revolution by saying that I love delicious donuts as much as the next gal. But somehow, I’ve never had too much luck making them at home from scratch. After one epic fail in the form of fried donuts (which involved a ton of kneading, waiting for the dough to rise, kneading some more, waiting again, then burning myself with hot oil and ending up with disappointingly dry and tasteless donut avatars), I almost accepted the fact that I could never make a donut better than the store bough one. Until now. Until I stumbled upon Ashley’s recipe and had a light bulb moment.

This recipe requires a lot less prep time, and the results are beyond satisfying. No need to tell that I won’t be buying donuts in store anytime soon!

Have you ever tried to make fried or baked donuts at home? To which results? Please, do share your experiences in the comments!

Mini baked donuts 

(12 pieces, adapted from Sugar and Cloth)

You’ll need:

Donuts

* 70 g butter, melted

* 110 g sugar

* 1 egg

* 190 g flour

* 2 1/4 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 120 ml milk

* 1 tbsp honey

* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing

* 50 g quality dark chocolate

* colorful sprinkles, shaved almonds… 

1. Blend the butter, egg, sugar and honey thoroughly.

2. In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Sift half the dry ingredients into the batter while continuing to blend. Add half the milk.

3. Add the rest of the dry mixture and the remaining milk. Blend well.

4. Butter a donut baking sheet and distribute the batter evenly. The batter should hit the half of the sheet (it will rise).

5. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown (watch closely!)

6. Remove the donuts from the oven, let cool down, then pop them out of the sheet (if you try to remove the still hot donuts, they could tear apart – lesson learned the hard way).

7. Add icing. I was planning on using sugar icing, but finally I was too lazy to make one. That’s why I just melted some quality dark chocolate, dipped the donuts in it, and decorated them with colorful sprinkles. De-lish!

Bon appétit!

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From my kitchen: Clafoutis & Bellini

These past few weeks I’ve been literally submerged in fresh fruit and veggies. Between raiding my parents’ garden and my four weekly stops at the farmers’ market, fruit and vegetable salads are practically everything I eat these days. However, yesterday, I found myself craving something sweet, but more substantial. And instead of diving into a tablet of chocolate (which used to be my regular choice in such situations), I’ve decided to bake another variation on my favorite summer cake. Clafoutis is definitely something you can whip up in mere minutes, without spending your entire afternoon by your stove. I swapped the apricots and lavender from my last recipe for perfectly ripe peaches and a bunch of plums from our garden. And since I already was in a full “peach mode”, I whipped up a simple Bellini to accompany my cake. No need to tell you that between the sweet dessert and a little bit of bubbly, my evening was just perfect!

Peach and plum clafoutis

You’ll need:

* 4 large peaches, pitted

* 10 small plums, pitted.

* 200 ml whipping cream

* 1 tsp honey (optional)

* 1 egg

* 100 g all-purpose flour

* 75 g caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a round pie mold.

2. Cut the peaches and plums in 4 and place them on the bottom of buttered mold. Drizzle with honey (optional).

3. Blend together flour and sugar, add whole egg and whisk together. Little by little, add cream and continue whisking.

5. Pour the batter over the fruit. You should fill two thirds of the mold.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes (use a skewer to verify that the batter is well baked).

7. Let cool down. Serve with a cup of delicious cappuccino, or, like me, with a flute of peach Bellini.

Peach Bellini

You’ll need:

* 2 ripe peaches

* 2 tsp caster sugar

* 1 shot of grappa (technically, you should use peach schnapps, but I didn’t have any, so I just picked the first thing that struck my fancy in our bar cart)

* chilled Prosecco

1. With the help of blender or smoothie maker, purée the peaches and sugar. Put the mixture in the fridge for one hour.

2. When chilled, add a shot of grappa and blend some more.

3. Divide into two champagne flutes, then top with Prosecco. Give it a good stir, and serve immediately.

Bon appétit & Cheers!

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From my kitchen: Zucchini pizza slices

Although I’m currently as far from being a vegetarian as it gets (hello, delicious burger), I’m not exaggerating when I say that I could live all through summer eating just raw veggies. Between the farmers’ markets and my parents’ garden, my supply of fresh produce is never ending, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onions, sweet peas…you name it. They are the best source of inspiration when it comes to my summer cooking. Although in summer, I don’t spend that much time around my stove, I occasionally make an exception. And these “pizza” slices were definitely worth it! There is no dough involved, just a bunch of delicious fresh veggies. My favorite kind!

Zucchini pizza slices 

 

You’ll need:

* 1 large zucchini (4-5cm wide)

* 3 garlic cloves

* homemade tomato sugo

* olive oil

* 4-5 tomatoes, not too ripe

* mozzarella or parmesan (or both)

* a mix of dried Italian herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil)

* salt

1. Wash the zucchini under a stream of water. Pat dry with a paper towel, then cut into 1cm thick slices. Place them on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil.

2. In a small bowl, mix the  …. garlic, a spoonful of olive oil and 5 spoonfuls of sugo.

3. Spread a teaspoon of this mixture over each zucchini slice.

4. Top with sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and herbs. 

5. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the zucchini is very tender (try with a sharp knife).

6. Pull out the oven, top with shredded mozzarella or parmesan, then place under the grill for 5 more minutes (or until the cheese is melted and golden). 

7. Enjoy with a slice of bread and a glass of chilled white wine, preferably al fresco.

Bon appétit!

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From my kitchen: Apricot & lavender clafoutis

After a brief Italian intermezzo last week, I’m back to my obsession with French cuisine. A few days back, I was given a huge basket of fresh apricots (my favorite summer fruit, alongside raspberries), and after turning better part of it into a delicious jam, I wanted to make an easy and scrumptious dessert, perfect for a random Saturday afternoon. And clafoutis was the first thing that came to my mind. I’ve already shared the basic recipe here, but this time I was craving something more elaborate and sophisticated in terms of taste. And the freshly dried lavender flowers I picked in my parents’ garden were just the perfect source of inspiration. Lavender-infused cream is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, and I’m already eager to experiment with it some more. You should definitely try it for yourself!

Apricot & lavender clafoutis

(serves 3)

You’ll need:

* 15 smaller apricots, pitted

* 200ml whipping cream

* 1 tsp dried lavender flowers

* 1 tsp honey

* 1 egg

* 100g all-purpose flour

* 75g caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter three ramequins.

2. Cut the apricot in 4 and place them on the bottom of buttered ramequins (5 per each ramequin).

3. Bring the whipping cream to the boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the honey and add the lavender flowers (you should rinse them before). Let cool down completely, then strain.

4. In the meantime, blend together flour and sugar, add whole egg and whisk together. Little by little, add strained lavender cream and continue whisking.

5. Pour the batter over the apricots. You should fill two thirds of each ramequins.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes (use a skewer to verify that the batter is well baked).

7. Let cool down, then unmould. Serve with a cup of delicious cappuccino.

Bon appétit!

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From my kitchen: Focaccia, 3 ways

Although I only recently returned from Paris, where I spent a week indulging in all things delicious French cuisine has to offer (think buttery croissants, colorful macarons, savory quiches, and the list goes on…), I have something quintessentially Italian for you today. You may remember me falling in love with Italian cuisine here, and focaccia is definitely one of my best finds. I promised you more fun recipes, and here they are!

Focaccia is so easy to prepare, that coming up with the most delicious toppings is probably the hardest part (you can find the basic recipe below). Of course, the sky is the limit when it comes to topping your focaccia: I already have several more options in mind, and I’m even toying around with the idea of sweet focaccia. Might be fun!

Focaccia

(Adapted from Emanuele Ridi’s cookbook S Italem v kuchyni – roughly translated as Cooking with the Italian)

You’ll need:

* 250g smooth flour (also called Bohemian) – you can use bread flour, too

* 1 tsp salt

* 15g active dry yeast

* 200ml lukewarm water 

* olive oil

* coarse salt

* different toppings (see the pictures below)

1. Pour the water in a large bowl. Crumble the yeast in the water and stir gently, until it dissolves completely.

2. Blend flour with 1 tsp salt. Sift 1 tbsp flour in the yeast water and blend well (Emanuele is a big proponent of doing all with your own hands, but I’d rather stick to my robot. It’s up to you which technique you prefer). 

3. Slowly sift in the rest of the flour and mix well until you get a smooth, but still sticky dough.

4. Cover the bowl with clean dishcloth and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes. It should double its volume.

5. Once the dough is risen, preheat the oven to 220°C.

6. Flip the dough over on a floured surface. Dust with more flour and knead gently with your hands for 30 seconds. 

7. Cut the dough in two equal parts and with your fingers, pull and flatten them until they’re about 2cm thick (see the picture below).

8. Pour a generous dose of olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Use your fingers and knuckles to work the oil and salt into the dough, by making dimples in it. In the end, sprinkle with the topping of your choice: fresh herbs, olives, bacon… 

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Once baked, focaccia has a lovely golden brown color.

10. Transfer to a rack and let cool down (if you are able to be that patient!).

11. Serve with a small bowl of seasoned olive oil or a piece of soft cheese. Or just devour as it is.

Coarse salt, fresh rosemary & black olives.

Coarse salt, fresh rosemary, oregano and basil leaves.

Crispy bacon.

Bon appétit!

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