Spiced Pumpkin Cake

cinnamon


To start the fall conveniently, there's nothing better then a Spiced Pumpkin Cake. 
Let's jump right into it.


For one cake (baking tin of 23cm) you will need:


350 gr pumpkin (peeled)
3 eggs
225 gr flour
170 gr caster sugar
110 gr butter
Half a tsp cinnamon
5 gr fresh ginger (peeled + diced)
6 gr baking powder
a pinch of salt
Optional: walnuts

50 gr Philadelphia
25 gr butter
50 gr powder sugar
Optional: vanilla

Preheat your oven to 170 °C.
Make sure to clean your pumpkin well. By this I mean that you have to remove the pumpkin seeds.
Rasp you pumpkin. Tip Use your food-processor for this!
Pumpkin contains a lot of water, so make sure to "press" it out by (for example) using paper towel.
It should look like this:



Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and the salt).

Mix, in another bowl, the eggs and the melted butter.

Now add carefully your "wet" ingredients to your "dry" ingredients. 

Add your pumpkin.

Now butter and flour your baking tin.
Pour the batter in the baking tin.


Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool down!

Make your frosting in the meantime.

Just whip the philadelphia, butter, sugar.

Once the cake has completely cooled down you can frost him!



Eat straight away or let it cool in the fridge (the frosting will set).



Tip: make it as soon as possible, before fall is over ;-)




Strawberry Tiramisù

egg-free

I wanted to make a light, summery, egg-free dessert.
For that purpose I used yogurt instead of mascarpone and a strawberry syrup instead of coffee.
People often state that a tiramisù without coffee and mascarpone isn't a real tiramisù.
Nonetheless I decided to call it a tiramisù.



I took major inspiration here, here and here .


For this summer dessert you will need:

Strawberries (washed)
Boudoirs or savoiardi (depending on how you like to call them)
125 gr yogurt
10 gr vanilla sugar
100 ml water
33 gr sugar
Optional: rum (if only served for adults)


Take about eight strawberries and cut/chop them in four. 
Then start to make your syrup by putting your water and sugar (the 33 grams) in a pot on medium heat. Let it not boil, but make sure the sugar has dissolved. At that point take the pot of the heat and add your chopped strawberries and a splash of rum.

Make then the "cream" by beating up the yogurt with the 10 gr vanilla sugar.

Then it's time to assemble the dessert.

Soak your boudoirs in the syrup. Align them in a glass container making sure to leave as less as possible space between them. Pour half of the "cream" on that range.

Soak again some boudoirs and align them as I stipulated above. 

TIP: If you still have some strawberries in your syrup put them on top of the boudoirs

Pour the remaining cream on the boudoirs.

Leave in the fridge to let it cool down!



Before serving slice a couple of strawberries and decorate your tiramisù.




Cherry Clafoutis from Michalak

almond

After a tiring month I can finally make some time for my blog.
As we have a cherry tree that produces lovely cherries (back in july), I decided to make a Clafoutis.
But I didn't wanted to make the traditional, "sticky" clafoutis; so I went for the unconventional one from Michalak (he's a well known patissier in France and Belgium).

I found the recipe on the website of Mercotte. Mercotte is a popular blogger/blog on the blogosphere.


For a cake mould of 19 cm you will need:

130 gr almond flour
150 gr sugar 
20 gr maizena
4 eggs
130 gr sour cream
20 cherries (mine came from our tree)
Butter
Cassonade (it's a sort of sugar)


Pre heat your oven to 180° C.
Mix the two whole eggs, two egg yolks and the sugar together. 
Add in your sour cream.
Then add in the maizena and almond flour and mix as well. But don't overmix it neither.
Butter you tin and sprinkle it with sugar (instead of flour). 
Pour your mixture in the tin and bake for ten minutes. 
Take it out of the oven and put your cherries in the mixture, making sure their stems are on the surface.
Bake in the oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Let it cool down a bit (if you can) and unmold.





Serve it "luke-warm".


And their you have your non-traditional, but still (or even more) delicious Clafoutis au cérises (or Cherry Clafoutis).

XO

Ornella


(To convince YOU (yeah you there behind your pc) to make this clafoutis, I added a sneaky additional image)



Birthday Cake - Turning twenty one

birthday

I'm again on the blog with another "recipe".
In april I turned twenty-one but I, unfortunately, didn't had time nor to write, nor to post the recipe of my birthday cake.

 Now that I, finally, have plenty of time, I decided I should post the recipe.

 On another birthday I discovered Red Velvet Cupcakes. They basically are "red" cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. They were SO good that I decided to make a "big" Red Velvet Cake for my birthday.


I took major inspiration here.

 For one delightful Red Velvet Birthday Cake you will need:
Two and half a cup flour
Two cups of sugar
One tsp of salt
One tsp of baking powder
Two eggs
One and half a cup of oil (canola, sunflower oil)
One cup of milk
One tsp of vanilla extract

Eight oz. of cream-cheese (philadelphia cheese)
One cup of butter at room temperature
One tsp of vanilla extract
Six cups confectioners' sugar
Some food coloration

 Raspberry jam

 So first off you should preheat your oven to 170°.
Mix the eggs with the milk, oil and vanilla extract.
In another bowl mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder (=the dry ingredients).
Add the "liquid" mixture to the "dry mixture".
Butter and flour two eight inch pans.
Bake for about thirty minutes in the oven.
Once they are baked, let them cool down.

 In the meantime make your frosting.
Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add your vanilla extract. Add the sugar slowly, in batches, to this mixture.
Your frosting is ready!If you want an ombré effect you should divide your mixture by three now. In the first one you add the most coloration, in the second one a bit and in the last one none.

 Take your two cakes and put some jam between them. Then you can start frosting. Start with the most yellow frosting. Make some roses. Then frost away with the middle yellow frosting and make also some roses. And last (but not least) frost with the white frosting.


And there you have your spectacular, delicious but easy to make Birthday Cake. 

XO
Ornella

Ps: Pictures were taken by my sister!

"Healthy" Ice Cream Sandwiches

chocolate sauce

And after a long absence I'm back with a dessert. A "healthy" dessert. 

 It's basically an ice cream sandwich, but homemade and "healthy".



 I took major inspiration here.
For this you will need:

 4 tbsp vegetable oil (or coconut oil or butter)
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
2 tbsp milk (I used almond milk, but you can use regular milk or hazelnut milk ...)
70 gr oats
2 tsp freshly chopped ginger
a pinch of salt
a splash of vanilla extract

First you should pre-heat your oven to 180°C.
Then stir together all the ingredients.
Make then (about) 12 balls and place them on parchment paper.
Make sure to leave enough space between them, cause you'll have to flatten them out before putting them into the oven.
Once your oven is heated, place your cookies in the oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes. 
When they get darker at the edges it's time to take them out.
If you want to make ice cream sandwiches, let the cookies cool down a bit.
Once cooled, fill them with your favourite ice cream (mine is milk ice cream, also known as fior di latte gelato). 
And for more indulgence, serve with some melted dark chocolate.
Still "healthy" but super tasty dessert. 
Make it as soon as you can, because once you've made them you're addicted to them.




XO

Ornella


"French" Cheesecake

birthday

Hello there!

 I know it's been a while I have blogged on her, but I was busy, again.
So for my return I decided to post a new recipe that is tasty, but easy.
The only condition is that you like desserts with CHEESE. 
Oh before I forget I took major inspiration here.


So without further do, here is the (short) ingredient list:
  • 500 grams of "fromage blanc" (if you don't know what it is google it)
  • Four eggs
  • 90 grams of sugar
  • 90 grams of flour
  • Optional: one lemon
First preheat your oven to 190°.
Whisk together the fromage blanc, the egg yolks, the sugar and the flour (optional the zest of one lemon).
Whip egg whites, in a separate bowl, to firm peaks.
Add it to the first mixture. Mix it all together. And put it in a buttered and floured baking tin.
Bake in the oven for about twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Let it cool (if you can) and serve it to your hosts!


Please make this cake and leave a comment bellow telling me you loved it ;-)


XO


Ornella

Kidney Bean Brownies

almond

Today I am here with a "special" recipe that has done the tour of a lot of blogs.

 I am talking about the famous brownies filled with beans, instead of flour.
These brownies are completely gluten free and delish.

 I took major inspiration here.

 You will need:
  • 1 cup and 3/4 cooked red kidney beans
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbsp canola oil
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar powder
  • 90 g dark chocolate (bain-marie)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • Handful of flaked almonds (optional)
  • chopped dark chocolate
  • a pinch of salt
  • food processor or blender 
Preheat your oven at 175 °C.

Melt the dark chocolate in a sauce pan on a low heat.
In the meantime rinse en drain the beans, then put them in your food processor and mix until your beans get a texture like a puree (I added some water).

Put your pureed beans in a bowl and add all the ingredients except for the flaked almonds, the chopped dark chocolate and the melted chocolate. Once everything is well mixed, add the melted chocolate and the chopped chocolate. 

Pour the mixture in your lined baking dish.

Sprinkle some flaked almonds on top.

Put in your oven and bake between 25 and 30 minutes.

Allow your brownie to cool before to cut it. 



PS. They are even better after chilling a whole night in the fridge.

Until next time (actually until next recipe)!

XO

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