A LATE NIGHT STORY ABOUT A CARROT CAKE WITH FROSTING

What do normal people with self-control do in the evening when they get a craving for something sweet whilst they have given themselves a promise that there will be no eating of sweets? Ignore and engage in something that would take the mind off. What do I do in the same situation? Go online, research and find the perfect way to  act like no promise had been made!  I had this crazy persons thought it had to be something similar to a cupcake even though  I don't actually like cupcakes in particular. I mean there's usually just dough and a bunch of carbohydrates, so..yes.. right, let's scratch that thought and better let me introduce to you one of my favourite sponge cakes that is deadly easy to make:

CARROT CAKE WITH FROSTING

original recipe in Estonian from Nami-nami can be found here.

2 eggs

125 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

100 g melted butter

150 g grated fresh carrots

110 g spelt flour (you subsitute with regular as well)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

a tiny bit of ground nutmeg

for the glazing:

100 g unflavoured (natural) cream cheese, e.g. Philadelphia

50 g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

Set oven to 200 C while you prepare the dough. Whisk the eggs with the sugar. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add carrots, egg and sugar mixture and butter. Pour the dough onto the cake form (I use silicone form, so I don't have to butter it, but if you have metallic one, better use some butter and maybe even flour so that it doesn't stick to the form) and off it goes into the over. Bake around 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the frosting by mixing the cream cheese with sugar and vanilla and apply one the ready-made cake when it has cooled. Best to keep it overnight in the fridge.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

I must admit that lately I have lacked desire for particular culinary exploration. Perhaps I've been caught in a certain routine where fun experiments are too much trouble not to mention a certain amount of writer's block that has taken over this culinary explorer's brain. Pfff....

Nevertheless here's a little treat for you. Really, I don't want to brag or anything, but it is seriously good!

What? CHOCOLATE BABKA

Who? Jewish cake introduced to me by Heidi Park via Estonian food magazine Oma Maitse December 2009 issue.

I added personal touch by changing some ingredients and hence making it more healthy? :)) I failed miserably at the part of twisting the babka, but it didn't not affect the flavour any bit.

the dough for 1 babka:

25 g yeast

100 ml milk

300 g spelt wheat

1 tsp salt

70 g unrefined sugar

1 tbs cardamom

1 tbs cognac

1 egg

100 g butter

 

filling:

100 g at least 70% dark chocolate

100 g butter

25 g unrefined sugar

20 g cinnamon (yes that much!)

Covering:

1 egg yolk

some milk

Warm the milk until about 40 degrees (should feel warm when you put your finger in it). Mix with yeast. Then add sugar, egg, cognac, wheat and salt. Mix everything.

Add slowly the melted butter and knead the dough until it is evenly doughy and smooth.Leave it in a warm place to rise (I left it in the over at 40 C covered for around 4 hours, after two hours i knead it again and let it rise again for the remaining time).

For the filling melt the cholote in water bed, add butter, sugar and cinnamon. Let it cool.

When the dough is ready for action, roll it as thin as you can and spread the filling on it. Roll it up, fold once and TWIST. Then set into a cake form and cover with mixed egg yolk and milk for extra glossiness. Bake at 175 C for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 150 C and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

Once it is baked, let it cool (if you have the patience) and indulge away the night with your closest buddies.

Nigella Lawson's Banana Bread

Totally will make you go bananas! I literally swallowed the two thick slices, because the bread just melted in my mouth and not just because of that, it's mouthwateringly delicious. Also I made some special butter, the idea I stole from Cafe NOP which takes the whole experience to another level, really. Talking about some mad Saturday morning enjoyment here.. That's the highway to all sorts of funny and original addictions. How about I introduce myself to you: "Hello, I am Merle and I am addicted to Banana Bread." Simple as that!

 

I've copied the recipe from Nigella Lawson's website (my comments are in brackets)

100g sultanas

75ml bourbon or dark rum (I had light)

175g plain flour (I didn't have enough of plain flour, so I used spelt flour, which is the healthier version of flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

125g unsalted butter, melted

150g sugar

2 large eggs

4 small, very ripe bananas (about 300g weighed without skin), mashed

60g chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

Wash the raisins and mix with the alcohol. Leave it there. I had them for about 20 minutes, but that was clearly not enough. What Nigella suggests is to put the sultanas and rum or bourbon in a smallish saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave for an hour if you can, or until the sultanas have absorbed most of the liquid, then drain. Next time if I decide to include raisins and alcohol I will take her advice. But personally I think those two are not so vital in this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC and get started on the rest. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a medium-sized bowl and, using your hands or
a wooden spoon, combine well.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas. Then, with your wooden spoon, stir in the walnuts, drained sultanas and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit. Scrape into the loaf tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 1–11/4 hours (60-75 minutes). When it’s ready, an inserted toothpick or fine skewer should come out cleanish. Leave in the tin on a rack to cool.

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=222

BUTTER

Butter should be at room temperature. Mix in some cardamon and cinnamon. No sugar nor salt. Easy and delish!

Music suggestion for today is something that just like this bread makes you lose sense of time, at least this is what this song does to me - Carl Kennedy "Ride the Storm" (Original Mix) (Club mix does not do the trick! ;))

"Tomorrow doesn't have to be just another yesterday.. Life goes on, ride the storm.."

P.S. Now with all that left-over rum who's up for some mojito tasting?

Oh my, Manhattan Cheesecake!

It was one of those days when I volunteered to be someone's personal kitchen slave (excl. dishwashing) and my holy task was to prepare the Manhattan Cheesecake. We've all heard about it, most of us have tried it and naturally developed an opinion about it. Personally I am not the biggest fan, but my personal opinion regarding this cake  was of secondary nature that  day (the princess had to surrender, she is not yet a queen! ;)).

Naturally the whole process had its ups and downs with some remarkable blonde moments, but I'd rather not get into that.

The original recipe in Estonian from here and in English here. Basically it is a cheesecake with three layers and I have to say it tasted very good. For preparing you will need:

Base

8 Digestive biscuits, crushed

50 g unsalted butter, melted

Filling

400 g of Philadelphia unflavoured cream cheese (I used half mascarpone and half ricotta)

75 g sugar

2 large eggs

0,5 tbs vanilla sugar

Top layer

250 g sour cream
2 Tbsp caster sugar
0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Crush the Digestive biscuits finely, mix with sugar and melted butter. Press the biscuit mixture onto the base of the cake tin. Place into the fridge for 10 minutes.

To make the filling, mix with an electric mixer or in blender cream cheese with other ingredients.

Pour the filling over the biscuit base and bake in the middle of a preheated 180C oven for 25-30 minutes, until the filling is more or less set.

Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes.

Turn the heat up to 230C.

Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract, then gently spoon onto the cooled cake. Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes, to 'dry out' the sour cream layer a little.

Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving.

 

Tiramisu and Strawberry Cake

This one was a no fuss and all joy type of cake. I have no humiliating stories to share this time :)

The biscuit:

4 eggs

1,5 dl sugar

1 dl flour

0,5 dl potato starch ( I didn't have it and I used corn starch instead, worked out great)

1 tsp baking powder

For moistening:

0,5 dl orange juice (I made fresh juice)

0,5 dl strong black coffee

0,5 dl cognac (didn't have any, so I used brandy instead)

Filling:

2 eggs

1 dl sugar

2 dl 35% cream (for making whipped cream)

200 gr mascarpone cream cheese

2 tsp orange zest

I added strawberries as well later under the filling to the biscuit.

For decoration:

cocoa powder

fresh strawberries

Making:

Beat the eggs with sugar into a foam like mixture. Mix flour, starch and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Stir the mixture into a baking form and bake at 225 C about 6-8 minutes. Remove from form  and let cool.

For the filling beat into a foam the eggs with sugar. Make whipped cream. Mix together mascarpone and orange zest and mix together with whipped cream. Lastly add carefully the egg mixture.

Cut the biscuit into two, moisten with the coffee-orange-brandy mixture. Add strawberries (if you wish) and half of the filling.

 

Put the second layer of biscuit on top. Repeat.  Let stay in the fridge for a few hours, best if overnight. A bit of time before serving add the cocoa powder.

Before serving decorate with strawberries. 

Source and Estonian recipe available at: http://nami-nami.ee/recipe.php?q=detail&pID=5720

OK.. I do have one shameful story to share after all.. the morning after I had about 1/4th of the cake. At once. Later in the evening I spent 2 hours in the gym. Go figure! :)

How I did not make the Budapest Swiss Roll

Sometimes things just do not work out by the plan. I have to admit I totally screwed it up! The biscuit came out perfect, but the whipped cream filling was a total loss (I created butter with mango...yaiks!). Since it was way past 10 PM and all the supermarkets were closed in this city I was not able to finish my swiss roll. So on Saturday in the morning I made a second attempt with the filling. First I wanted to do it like in the original Anne's recipe, but as I had 5 egg yolks with no life purpose in the fridge then I made a custard filling with tangerines instead. Since today it was impossible to roll it then I made a double layer cake. Not bad solution at all, but I am very disappointed that my fear for making swiss roll actually proved itself in life.

Apparently this cake is very popular in Sweden, read more about it at Anne's Food blog and see the original recipe:  http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2006/10/happy-blog-birthday.html  

Eesti keeles saad originaalretsepti siit: http://nami-nami.ee/print.php?q=detail&pID=9747 

And here's my accidental version of Budapest Swiss Roll:

The swiss roll biscuit

5 egg whites
3 dl sugar (about 1,3 cups)
150 g hazelnuts
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100 ml flour (about 0,4 cups)
3 tbsp flaked almonds

Filling

5 egg yolks

6 tbsp sugar

zest of 1 small lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 dl whipping cream

3dl of fresh or defrosted berries (or you can use canned tangerines like I did, around 200 gr)

Start by preheating the oven to 150°C.
Blitz the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Mix with cocoa powder and flour in a bowl.
Beat the eggwhites until they start to firm up. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Fold in the nut mixture, and spread on baking paper in a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Bake for about 20 minutes - but after 15 minutes, turn the heat up to 175°C.

Remove, put the baking paper with the cake on a rack and let cool completely. Then invert on another piece of paper or onto a teflon sheet, and carefully remove the first sheet. (Brush with some cold water if it won't come off easily.)

In a very thick saucepan or by putting one saucepan onto another that is filled with water heat egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest stirring continuously until the mixture is very thick. Remove from the stove let it cool down (you can put the saucepan into cold water so it cools down quicker). Meanwhile whip the cream and then mix it with the egg cream. Add fruit or berries and cover the biscuit with it.

If you would like to make a roll which I advise do the following:

Roll as you would a sushi roll, using the sheet the cake is on to help making it tight. Be very gentle, or the cake will crack. Roll all the way  to the end.
Slice off the ends and move the cake to a plate. Let it set in the fridge for a couple of hours - it can be frozen, too.

If you do not want to make a swiss roll then cut the biscuit half and put one half on top of the other. Add strawberries as I did for extra yumminess and voila! :)

The cake tastes really great on second day and nothing like what I had at Reval Cafe! So I have to go back there and investigate into that recipe... ;)

The whipped cream that did not turn out the way it should have the first time I did it looked like this:

Make sure you do not do this at home.. lol!