White chocolate banana cake

Versiunea in limba romana: Prajitura cu banane si crema de ciocolata alba

Delicious banana cake with white chocolate cream. I adore banana cakes, breads, muffins... Besides, it is the most delicious way of "getting rid" of the very ripe brown bananas :) This recipe is from Magnolia Bakery (New York) and I loved it. I worried it might be too sweet, as it sometimes happens with American cakes, but my worries proved wrong. It was a smashing hit for family and friends! It is also quite impressive as a dessert, so everybody asked us what we celebrate :) Surprisingly light and fresh for a banana cake with chocolate. If kept in the fridge, the icing becomes crunchy.

Delicious!

375 g flour + 1 tbsp baking soda + 3/4 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp baking powder
115 g butter, softened, room temperature
400 g sugar
3 big eggs, room temperature
4 ripe bananas, mashed
6 tbsp plain, full fat yogurt or buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration: raspberries, hazelnuts
Heat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius. Prepare two round baking trays (23 cm and 28 cm diameter, removable bottom); use butter then flour or baking paper.
In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. In another bowl mix the butter until you get a soft cream. Slowly add sugar, mixing well, until the cream becomes fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each. Add the mashed bananas, then half the flour and mix well. Add the yogurt and vanilla, then the rest of the flour and mix well again. Divide the batter between the 2 baking trays. Take your time to mix very well all the ingredients, every time, and you'll have a delicious cake.

 Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, both baking trays at the same time. The baking tray that will be lower in the oven might need 10 more minutes in the oven. Test if the cake is baked: insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Let it cool in the tray.

 After complete cooling, place the cake with the 28 cm diameter on a cake plate and put the white chocolate cream on top.

 Place the second cake on top then "dress" it all in white chocolate cream, including sides.

Decorate with raspberries, hazelnuts (unsalted).

White chocolate cream & icing

500 g mascarpone cream, room temperature + 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g  withe chocolate (melted over boiled water, then cooled to room temperature)Mix well, on medium speed, the butter and mascarpone. Add vanilla and mix well. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Use imediatelly.

Delicious!

Warm wheat with almonds & fleur d'oranger

Versiunea in limba romana: Mic dejun sanatos si delicios: grau aromat cu fleur d'oranger si migdale

Ever since Yolanda posted on her  blog the Creamy whole grain wheat with caramelised orange peels & coconut chips recipe, I've been thinking about this delicious breakfast. Friday I finally bought whole grain wheat. My cupboard was stuffed with all kind of seeds, coconut, walnuts, almonds and fleur d'oranger.  In the evening I put the wheat in water. I fell asleep thinking of my delicious, healthy breakfast next morning...

I woke up and happy entered my kitchen. My kids welcomed me so warmly, that I started to think something happened... Actually, they made a surprize. They squeezed all the oranges and made lots and lots of fresh orange juice. All the oranges..."It's fresh, mom. It's pure vitamin C" :) 

I could not give up. The wheat was waiting nicely, but I had no oranges. My kids love citrus taste, so I replaced the oranges with lemons. Yum and fresh! 

I followed all the steps in Yolanda's recipe, but, again, my kids stepped in. They wanted to chose the seeds and nuts for their porridge, so they played with walnuts, grated apple, almonds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes and sun flower seeds. Breakfast was delicious, fresh, a bit lemony... A lot lemony :)

Full of energy, we went outside and played in the snow. Great snow fight  ♥

I'll repeat Yolanda's recipe as she posted it, with oranges. I keep thinking of caramelized orange peel... I have wheat now... I'll hide 3 oranges :)

1 cup whole grain wheat

2 lemons (juice + thinly grated zest) + 4 tbsp brown sugar + half a glass of water
3/4 cup of milk 
2 tbsp sweet cream + 1 tbsp honey + 2-3 tbsp fleur d'oranger water
1 grated apples
2-3 tbsp raw almonds (put it for 15 minutes in hot water, then take the soft brown shell of and crush it with the knife) 
Your choice of:  walnut, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, sun flower seeds, raisins, etc.
In the evening put the wheat in cold water. In the morning, change the water and let it stand for 1-2 hours more.

Mix the following ingredients: lemon juice and zest, brown sugar, water. Bring to boil, then let it simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the wheat, add it to the lemon syrup. Add also the milk. Let it simmer  for 10 minutes, until the wheat absorbs most of the liquid. Add the honey, fleur d'oranger water, sweet cream, almonds and grated apple. Add your choice (or all): walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, sun flower seeds, raisins, etc.

Delicious, lemony, wonderful breakfast!

Salad with warm chevre cheese

Versiunea in imba romana: Salata verde cu chevre

My favorite salad! Light & healthy. Quick and easy to prepare. Ideal appetizer, even if you have guests. To be honest, I like it as main course. Sometimes I just use green baby spinach leaves.

My comfort food :)

mix of green salad, thoroughly washed and dried 
chevre cheese (goat cheese),  sliced in rounds
slices of rye bread, round 
lemon juice + olive oil + fleur de sel + freshly grounded pepper

Heat the broiler/grill of the oven. Put a little bit of olive oil on the slices of bread. Top it  with the chevre cheese. Put the mini sandwiches in the oven, under the grill, for aprox 4-5 minutes. Cheese should become a bit soft around the edges and golden colored.

Mix the salad, a little olive oil, juice of half a lemon, fleur de sel and freshly grounded black pepper. Put toast & chevre on top.

 

Deliciously perfect <3  Light & easy :)

Walnut pumpkin blondies

Versiunea in limba romana: Blondies cu dovleac si nuca

I love pumpkins so much that I decided to try so many delicious recipes. White chocolate, walnuts and pumpkin = perfect autumn dessert. These blondies are so good, that even my little kid, a chocolate hater (white or black), enjoyed every bit of it :)

1 pumpkin, around 500 g, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

300 g white chocolate, chopped + 150 g unsalted butter, chopped

250 g mascarpone cream
100 g confectioner's sugar
3 big eggs
100 g flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp walnuts, chopped
Prepare a rectangular tray (butter and roasting paper or flour). Heat the oven to 190 degrees C.
Melt the chocolate and butter over boiled water. mix well the mascarpone cream and the melted chocolate, then slowly add the sugar. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well, then add the flour and the vanilla extract. Mix until you have the consistency of a cream. Pour half of the cream in the tray, spread the pumpkin and walnuts, then cover with the rest of the chocolate cream.

Bake for 25 minutes, let it cool in the tray, then cut. Serve cold. Keep it refrigerated. If the  cake starts to burn on the surface during baking (depending on the oven), you can put a loose alluminium foil on top of the tray.

 

Delicious!

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Salmon & capers pasta

Versiunea in limba romana: Pasta cu somon si capere

When my kids return from school they crave for pasta. I'm not a huge fan of pasta, but it seems they love it. Usually they prefer traditional recipes like carbonara, alla bolognese, anchoivies pasta, smoked salmon pasta, pesto, etc. One day I decided to play a little with the fridge "treasures" and I made a fast and simple recipe: pasta with salmon and capers. I put the salmon on the grill for a coupple of minutes. In the mean time I boiled the pasta "al dente" in a lot of water with a pinch of salt and some ollive oil, then I poured some ice cold water over the pasta to keep them nice and not sticky, also to stop it from cooking further. I "crushed" the salmon, making sure any bones are removed, but there were very few anyway. I mixed the salmon, pasta, olive oil, juice from half a lemon, capers and some dill. Delicious, simple and fast. Not to mention the healthy Omega 3 :) My little kid thought to add some Greek yogurt on the pasta. He felt it's necessary and he just loved it  ♥ Voted! New entry in our pasta "repertory"

Halva & pistachio cake

  Versiunea in limba romana: Prajitura cu halva si fistic

I love the taste of halva! I love halva ice cream!I love the delicious halva cakes I eat in Israel!  Halva simple, with pistachio, with chocolate... When I finally succeeded to get my hands on this recipe :) I had to try it right away. It is soft and delicious. I can't describe the wonderful smell in my house when this cake is in the oven... One thing was particularly difficult: stopping the kids to "still" from the halva...   ♥

4 big eggs, room temperature

500 ml double cream
400 g sugar
1 lgt vanilla essence
1/2 lgt salt
375 g flour, sieved + 1  1/2 lgt baking powder (mix well)
120 ml tahini
120 ml honey
200 g halva with pistachio, crushed
Heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Prepare a baking mold/pan with butter and flour.
Mix the eggs, double cream, sugar, salt and vanilla essence until you get a smooth mixture. Add the flour + baking powder and mix well. pour 1/3 of the batter in the prepared mold/pan, then put half the tahini paste, half the honey and half the pistachio halva. Pour another layer and the rest of  tahini, honey and halva. Finish with the last third of the batter. With a knife make some vertical rounds in the cake, just a few, to mix the layer of halva, tahini, honey and batter.

Bake the cake for 50 minutes (test: if you insert toothpick in the cake, it should coma out clean). Let it cool in the mold (at least 20 minutes). Serve with halva threads.

Delicious! Perfect for my favorite cafe with hel/cardamon... 

Delicious apple pancakes

 Versiunea in limba romana: Clatite americane cu mere si zahar cu mirodenii

 

It's been a while since we prepared our Sunday morning pancakes.  We could not give up our family tradition so easily, so Sunday we played "pancakes". I made our favorite American pancakes batter and enriched it with delicious spicy sugar flavored apples. We eat the yumminess with butter and maple syrup. A dream <3

American pancakes

3 big eggs, separated egg yolks and egg whites  + 115 g flour, sieved + 1 tsp baking powder + 3 x 125g Greek yogurt + a pinch of salt
 

For spiced sugar apples
3 apples, sliced in rounds  + spiced sugar (brown sugar mixed with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, vanilla, etc and kept in an air tight container) + 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
To serve: butter & maple syrup or mascarpone cream cheese
Beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt until you obtain a firm cream. In another bowl mix the flour, egg yolks and yogurt, until you get a smooth cream. Heat the pancake pan, brush a slice of apple with the melted butter and spread it with spiced sugar and put the apple slice in the pan.

After 45-60 seconds, turn the apples on the other side and pour the batter for one pancake. When you see bubbles  appear through the batter, then it is time to carefully turn the pancake on the other side. When the pancake is golden colored, then transfer it to the plate.

Repeat the steps for every pancake.

Delicious with butter & maple syrup or with mascarpone cream cheese.

Lemon & poppy seeds loaf cake

Versiunea in limba romana: Chec cu lamaie si mac

I love lemon & poppy seeds cakes  ♥ It reminds me of childhood, my search in my grandmother's cupboards for walnuts and poppy seeds :) Delicious cake with a cup of hot tea...

300 g sugar + 3 eggs + zest of 2 lemons
325 g flour + 50 g poppy seeds + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt
250 ml milk + 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
200 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled (room temperature)  
Lemon syrup: juice and zest of 2 lemons + 100 g confectioner's sugar + 200 ml water
Prepare a loaf baking pan with butter and flour. Heat the oven at 170 degrees Celsius.Mix well the sugar, eggs and lemon zest (mix A). In a different bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds (mix B). In another bowl mix milk and vanilla extract (mix C).

In the bowl with the mix A, pour 1/3 of mix B, then  1/3 of mix C, mixing well after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicon spoon and mix again. Repeat the steps until you get a fluffy and smooth batter. With the mixer on slow speed, slowly add the melted butter. Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test: if a toothpick is inserted in the loaf, it should come out clean.

 

In the mean time prepare the lemon syrup: mix the sugar,  lemon zest and water. Simmer, mixing from time to time. The liquid must reduce and have a syrup consistency.
Remove the loaf from the oven, transfer on a grill tray and pour over the lemon syrup.
Delicious, sweet and lemony at the same time