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