Tag: Desserts

Vegan Plum Jam
A lovely summer is coming and with it, plenty of delicious fruits. We really do them justice, enjoying fruits at breakfast or as a healthy snack anytime during the day. Cakes and desserts are an exquisite temptation, but somehow with a dedicated vegan within our family, recently we seem to stay clear of them. Yet, there is a temptation we cannot resist – a cheerful family all-hands-on-board jam making. Everyone likes to participate. Everyone likes to have a taste. Everyone likes the cuteness and the joy the mimi-jams bring to our table.

You may consider any sort of jam vegan friendly and you will be absolutely right. Next to being vegan, our daughter is embracing a sugar fee lifestyle which, as admirable as it is, sometimes throws an exciting challenge in preparing family meals. Luckily, this vegan plum jam is a real healthy winner. To prepare any sort of jam, you may wish to mix equal portions sugar and fruit. But not in this case! To make the jam thick and jelly like I am using only fruit and Agar-Agar. The guiding proportions are to add 4g of Agar-Agar powder to 1kg of fruit or 1l of juice. And it really works. The jam becomes beautifully shiny and thick.

Making Merel happy, I spoon mini-jars with fresh made plum jam, completely sugar free. But instead of labelling them with the type of jam and date, I simply write a summer-time vacation wishing all the best in the world: “Smile”, “Dance”, “Love”, “Hope”, “Dream”… With the “happy holiday” collection ready, now I can make the rest of the jam for ourselves. I add a few tablespoons of sugar, mixing until reaching a desired taste and I am ready to pour a second batch of jars for us. A week… they last only for a week until, my hubby asks if I can make some more again.
Ingredients

5 kg ripe plums

20g Agar-Agar

100g sugar (optional)
Method

1. Wash and pit the plums, cutting them in halves or quarters, depending on the size.
2. Place a deep cooking pot over a medium heat and add the plums and the Agar-Agar. Bring to a boil. Stir the jam every few minutes.
3. After boiling the jam for about an hour a foam will start to form on top. Take the foam away with a spoon and continue to boil the fruits until the jam reaches the desired consistency.
4. Optional: if desired add sugar to the jam to make it sweet. You may add the sugar at the beginning of the process or at the end. I prefer to add it to the end, tasting several times until the jam has the necessary level of sweetness.
5. Once ready, place the jam while still hot in washed and dried jars. Cover with lid and turn upside down. Let them cool completely. Store for a week or two.

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May 25, 2019
Easter Marble Cruffins
It is a few hours now that I have taken the Easter Bread out of the oven, but the kitchen still smells of vanilla, chocolate and orange. My husband says that it smells like home. Knowing his love for food, I only smile and kiss him gently. Home is where the heart is after all… But I admit, there is something so enticing and festive with a house full of delicious oven baked aromas.

Orthodox Easter is this coming Sunday. It is a holiday of love, life and hope for all Eastern Europe Orthodox Christians. In Bulgarian, the tradition calls for sweet Easter Bread, coloured eggs and lamb cooked to perfection. As an international family, living in Belgium, we have learned to blend traditions. But instead of making a typical Bulgarian traditional Easter Bread, I am trying a new recipe. In Russia, there seems to be a modern twist on traditional Orthodox Easter Bread – they call it Easter Cruffin. Flaky dough of croissant meets moist muffin meets flavourful Easter bread. As a result we have an interesting taste and an impressive festive looking marvel. But the twist does not stop here. I am making one vanilla and one chocolate dough, creating a two colour marble Easter Bread effect. The filling is made of candied orange peel, dry cranberries, almond flakes and marzipan. Absolutely fantastic!

This recipe and method of making the Easter Bread is to versatile. You may make one large Marble Easter Bread for your family to full apart, or make smaller individual pastries. I am choosing for the later, and as a result I have 12 perfect, muffing tin baked small pastries that make for a delicious bite any time of the day. Considering that a few golden brown perfections are already gone, I am starting to doubt if enough will be left for the celebratory Sunday meal. Let’s hope!
Ingredients

For the White Dough:

2 eggs, room temperature

60 g sugar

170 g flour

¼ tsp salt

4 g instant dry yeast

20 ml warm milk

60 g butter, melted

8g vanilla sugar Dr. Oetker extract

For the Chocolate Dough:

2 eggs, room temperature

60 g sugar

150 g flour

50 g cacao powder

¼ tsp salt

4 g instant dry yeast

20 ml warm milk

60 g butter, melted

8g vanilla sugar Dr. Oetker extract

For the Filling

30g melted butter

powder sugar

candied orange peels

marzipan

almond flakes

dry cranberries
Method

1. For the White Dough: Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar on high speed until light, fluffy and doubled in size.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the beaten eggs into the flour mixture together with the milk and soft butter. I find it helpful to bring the dough together using the stand mixer, helping with a spatula just to get things going. Then it’s about 10-12 minutes on the mixer with a dough hook to knead. If you prefer kneading by hand, the dough will feel very soft and wet. It will feel like you need to add more flour, but don’t. We want to achieve a very stretchy consistency that doesn’t stick to your hands, so a mixer is really helpful. Keep kneading until the dough is soft, elastic and stretchy. If you try pulling on it slightly, it should not break.
2. Repeat the same as step 1 preparing the chocolate dough.
2. Place the dough into two bowls, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Once the dough has risen transfer it onto a working surface slightly dusted with flour. Divide in the dough half if you want to bake two smaller breads. Or leave as is for one bigger bread.
3. Working with one half at a time, roll out the white dough into a thin sheet. Smear it with melted butter, sprinkle with candied orange peel, cranberries, almond flakes and marzipan. Roll out the chocolate dough into a thin sheet as well. Lay the chocolate dough over the white dough. Roll the dough into a log and using a sharp knife cut it in half to split it into 2 strands.
4. To make one big bread, carefully bring the first strand curling it around itself to form the base of the bread. Then curl the second strand around the first one going upwards. Cut side always should be facing out, so we can see all the beautiful layers on the finished product. Hide the end of the second strand inside the formed dome. To make smaller breads cut the roll into equal portions and twist to achieve a similar effect like as described above.
5. Carefully transfer the bread into panettone springform. This will make 1 big bread or 12 small bread, muffin size. Cover the bread with plastic wrap and let rise for another hour or so.
6. Bake at 175C for 30 minutes for smaller breads. And for larger one bake first 10 minutes at 200C, the reduce heat to 175C and bake for 20-25 minutes more. If you see the top starting to burn cover it with foil and continue baking. Let the breads rest for 10 minutes in the form then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Dust cooled breads with powdered sugar and serve.

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April 26, 2019
Moroccan Spiced Cookies
Entering a magic place does not require more than a wish and few hours with plane. Heading south, where the sun forever shines is Morocco. Nested among the ocean, the Atlas mountains and the Sahara desert, even its landscape has a story to tell. And what a story could be found in Morocco! Casablanca proudly presents its Art Deco French Colonial architecture, traces of fading grandeur still on display. The small streets of Sale hold the echoes in their breath of the ancient slave market and endless cries in desperation. Rabat keeps the memory of the berber tribal kings, who 1000 years ago gave Morocco their rich cultural heritage and voices. Like an Aladdin cave, the old medina in Fez holds thousands colourful treasures, all made by hand, by tireless local artisans. The souks in Marrakesh have no end, full of story-tellers and snake charmers, foods and spices.

A land where people always smile. A land where family is loved and treasured beyond measure. A land where food is a real joy and delight. Nothing you might taste in Morocco will leave you indifferent. Every bite, soaked in sunshine, carries emotions. From the pancakes, served with eucalyptus honey, the apricot almond tagine, to the typical cinnamon scented chicken pastilla. But first, every meal must start with a welcome tray of mint tea and spice flavoured biscuits.

I have been dreaming of making Moroccan cookies for a while. Imagining the joy with which endless generations of women are papering them every day, seated under the shade in colourful riads, makes me think it might be easy. And easy, it most certainly is. Just a mixture of several special ingredients and a few minutes in the oven. Almonds, star anise, cardamom and orange blossom water – in a perfect crisp and melting cookie. My husband tries one, and then another one, and then a few more, and before I notice the golden pile of delicious perfection start to disappear. I pour a fresh mint tea in a colourful blue glass with inlaid gold motives, take a bite and dream away.
Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground anise seed

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon orange blossom water

two handful of almonds
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Add the ground anise, ground cardamom and orange blossom water and mix well. Finally, add the almonds and mix.
3. Form the dough into a wide log. Transfer the log to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.
4. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into thick slices. Arrange the cookies cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.

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April 1, 2019
Cinnamon Rolls
I love making breakfast Sunday morning at home. Such a blissful time of joy and relaxation. Nothing to worry about and places to hurry to be. Just home, and time for rest and family. A moment to be grateful for all things small and big, but most of all time to love and give. My way of showing tenderness and care this morning is by surprising my loved ones with these incredible Cinnamon Rolls. There is something so magical and almost Christmas like with cinnamon, vanilla and orange scents cascading early morning through the kitchen. A breakfast wrapped as gift, and why ever not?

I have been longing to try this recipe since a long, long time. Cinnamon Rolls have so many varieties in Western Europe and Northern America. In Belgium, the bakeries are offering a more sweeter, French version style of large, flat rolls, filled with raisins and vanilla pudding, glazed with sugary icing on top. The original recipe, however, comes from the Nordic countries. Sweden is even famous for having a Cinnamon Roll national holiday day. Who could imagine? I guess, as any classic recipe, all nations and cooks, place a local touch of taste and flair, making something simple, special and distinctly their own. This Cinnamon Roll recipe, for example, exists in blending cinnamon with four spices, filled with raisins or caramelised apples, glazed with syrup, icing or even cream cheese.

All versions sound delicious, but I seem to prefer this lower calorie, simple one. A classic ‘Vienna Bread’ dough, made of flour, sugar, milk and butter. I love how easy it is to knead and roll the dough, almost like a plasticine. Once rolled, then the moment comes to decide how to make the filling. Only cinnamon scent or adding something more exotic like four spice or star-anise? I have opted for only cinnamon, cane sugar and vanilla. Once rolled and baked, the question comes again for the toping. Syrup, cream cheese or simple icing? To give the Cinnamon Rolls a more luxurious touch, I have made the icing with fresh orange juice instead of milk or water. The orange icing has such a subtle, lovely scent that goes well with the cinnamon.

My Cinnamon Rolls, do not stay hidden for long, and all of a sudden I have helping hands in the kitchen, offering to roll the dough, to glaze the rolls, but most of all to taste it all. I serve a generous helping to every one, gloriously drizzled with extra orange icing, until we are laughing and fighting for the last remaining roll. A wonderful family recipe to try soon again.
Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Dough

300ml milk

80g butter

525g flour

9g active dry yeast

80g fine sugar

1 egg

1/2tsp salt

For the Sugar Cinnamon Filling

50g butter, melted

75g cane sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 package vanilla sugar Dr. Oetker (8g)

For the Orange Icing

150g icing sugar

3 tbs juice from one orange
Method

1. Mix flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Place the dry east at one side of the bowl and the salt at the other, so they do not touch each other.
2. Heat the milk and melt the butter in the milk – the milk should be warm, but not boiling!
3. Pour butter-milk to the dry ingredients and knead for 1 minute. Then knead in the egg for some minutes.
4. Place the dough on a floured flat surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and round, not sticky. If needed, add more flour.
5. Grease another mixing bowl and leave the dough there for 1 hour at a warm place covered with a tea towel.
6. Place baking paper at the bottom of a large oven proof pan. Blend cane sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
7. After 1 hour roll out the dough on a flat floured surface to a large rectangle. Spread first the melted butter on the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top. Now roll from the longer side. Trim the edges and cut the big roll into 11-12 pieces.
8. Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the oven pan with some distance to each. Cover the cinnamon rolls again with a tea towel and leave on a warm place for another 30 minutes, before you bake them for 25 minutes in a preheated oven by 180°C top/bottom heat.
9. Let the cinnamon rolls cool down for a moment on a cooling rack and prepare the icing by mixing icing sugar and freshly squeezed orange juice. Pour icing over the cinnamon rolls and eat them, when they are still lukewarm.

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March 17, 2019
Cranberry Orange Cookies
At home, we do not bake often cookies. Embracing a healthier lifestyle our daily snacks consist of variety of fruits and nuts and the occasional dark chocolate bite. However, for a long time, this has not always been the case. For years cookie snacks have been a delicious excuse for on-the-road or in-front-of-the-laptop office breakfast. Up to a point when a friend of mine admitted that she preferred to bake her own weekly cookies as she considered them to be a healthier alternative to the shop bought ones. And of course, she is absolutely right. Fresh bakes lack preservatives and are made of much healthier ingredients. Still, we do not bake often cookies.

As an exception to the rule, and as a friendly gift for someone special, these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies and reviving our kitchen with a incredible aromas. I love the Scottish shortbread cookies, but even more than that, they are my husband favourites. Dry yet melting in the mouth, sweet vanilla yet slightly salty they are irresistible to human kind. But the variation on the classic recipe I am preparing today is something different. A shortbread cookie as we know it but full of almond, orange flavour and the sweet sour touch of dry cranberries. An absolute sensation! I am packing them as gift, but cleaver family fingers always manage so steal a piece.. of maybe two. And who can blame them? I would do just the same.
Ingredients

1/2 cup dried cranberries

¾ cups sugar divided

2½ cups all purpose flour – spooned and leveled not scooped

1 cup butter cubed (and cold)

1 tsp almond extract

zest of 1 orange

1 to 2 tbsp of fresh orange juice optional

additional sugar to coat cookies before baking if desired
Method

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine cranberries and 1/4 cup of sugar in a food processor and process just until the cranberries are broken down into smaller pieces. Set aside.
3. Combine flour and remaining sugar in a large bowl.
4. Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter. You want very fine crumbs.
5. Stir in extract, cranberries and sugar mixture, orange zest and orange juice (optional).
6. Use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together and forms a ball. Work the dough until it comes together.
7. Shape dough into a log about two inches in a diameter and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours or up to 72 hours.
8. Preheat oven to 175C.
9. Cut slices of cookie dough about ¼ inch thick.
10. Place about a half a cup of sugar in a bowl and coat the cookie slices with sugar.
11. Place cookies on baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or just until cookies are set. Do not over bake. I pull mine at 12 minutes.
12. Let cookies cool for several minutes on baking sheet before removing to cooling rack. Let cool completely.

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February 17, 2019
Chocolate Banana Muffins
“To be or not to be my Valentine?” – I must admit this is a celebration, we as a couple, have truly struggled with. Should we follow in the commercial craziness and acknowledge a day designed for Love, or should make it our own and spin it into something slightly more intimate and beautiful and definitely “us”? As there is no formula for Love, there is certainly no formula for us on how to spent this day, so we let each year be a spontaneous surprise and each other free of obligations.

Tenderness… It has no formality of shape or form. My expression of love however, has plenty of taste and the tender “Good morning” smile of breakfast in bed. I am surprising my dearest one with low calorie banana & dark chocolate vanilla muffins. There is something so irresistible with fresh bakes coming in bed straight from the oven. Aromas and fragrant bites of comfort that go straight to the heart. Tenderness in a cup of coffee, a muffin cupcake and hand-written words of love.
Ingredients

1 ripe banana

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of olive oil

8g vanilla sugar Dr. Oetker

1tsp soda bicarbonate (or baking powder)

pinch of salt

70g solid dark chocolate, chopped

handful of flake almonds
Method

1. Place the sugar, vanilla sugar and one egg in a bawl and whisk with an electric mixer for 5 minutes until the mixture is pail and fluffy.
2. Cut the banana in circles and whisk it in the mixture.
3. Add the olive oil and mix again.
4. Add the flour, soda bicarbonate and a pinch of salt and whisk until smooth.
5. Chop the chocolate in small chunks and mix within the muffin texture.
6. Place muffin paper cups in a muffin tin container. Spoon muffin mixture in each container filling 2/3s of the cups. Sprinkle almond flakes on top of every muffin.
7. Preheat the oven to 175C. Place the muffin tin container in the oven and bake for 30 min until the muffins have turned golden brown.
8. Once bakes, place the muffins on a wire-rack and let them cool completely before serving.

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February 6, 2019