Coffolate Shortcake

A very tasty shortcake, perfect for an Easter table. I have never tried such shortcakes, as my family was used to such Easter shortcakes (which are, indeed very tasty too), but this year I decided to try something new and I am not dissapointed. Try, try, it is worth it ! :)

Recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.

Ingredients (for a 20x30cm baking pan):

Bottom:

• 170g of flour
• 80g of potato starch
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 50g of sugar
• 150g of cold margarine
• 1 egg

Top:

• 200g of cherries
• 25g of milk chocolate

Frosting:

• 125ml of 36% cream
• 1 teaspoon of instant coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
• 30g of margarine
• 200g of white chocolate

Preparation:

Bottom:

1. Take a bowl, sieve flour and potato starch inside. Add sugar and margarine (cut into cubes). Knead or mix well. Add egg and knead again till well combined.
2. Make a bowl, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour.
3. During that time, prepare the kitchen surface, to roll out the dough.
4. Start preheating the oven to 160C.
5. Take the cake out and roll out. 
6. Put in the baking pan, on the entire bottom + 1cm sides.
7. Using a fork, make holes on the entire bottom.
8. Put in previously preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes till gold.
9. Cool down.

Frosting:

1. Take a pan, put cream inside, add coffee and cardamom and heat, till it all dissolves. Stop heating, add butter and chocolate, stir till it all melts (if it is hard - heat it up a little bit).
2. Pour it on previously cooled down shortcake bottom and put in a cold place for an hour so that it stiffens.
3. Put pieces of cherries in any pattern desired, decorate.
4. Melt remaining milk chocolate and distribute all over the shortcake.
5. Store in room temperature.
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Chocolate Cake

I do enjoy baking birthday cakes for my friends. I always ask them for their favourite flavours and prepare a perfect cake. And Martha's frosting - oh my, that was the most wonderful chocolate mixture I've ever eaten! Unfortunately, as it was a gift, there is no picture from the inside.

Recipe for a sponge cake comes from my favourite Polish website and the best chocolate frosting comes from my favourite cook, Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

Cocoa Sponge Cake:

• 7 eggs
• 1 glass of sugar
• 2/3 glass of baking cocoa
• 2/3 glass of flour

Filling:

• 350g of cherry jam
• 500-700g of cherries without kernels
• optionally - 4-5 tablespoons of cherry liqueur, for example from that recipe

Whipped cream:

• 1/4 glass of water
• 2 teaspoons of gelatin
• 750ml of 36% cream
• 1/4 glass of sugar

Top:

• 1 pack of candied cherries
• 1 pack of chocolate decorations
• chocolate frosting

Chocolate frosting:

• 226g of bittersweet chocolate
• 226g of milk chocolate
• 355ml of 36% cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 340g of butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces

Preparation:

Sponge cake:

1. Prepare a springform (diameter 24cm) and cover the bottom with baking paper.
2. Take a bowl, sieve cocoa and flour inside.
3. Separate egg yolks from egg whites.
4. Start preheating the oven to 170C.
5. Take a mixer and its bowl, put egg whites inside and beat for 2 minutes on a low rotation, Gradually higher the speed of the mixer and start adding sugar. Beat the egg whites for a few minutes till stiff and shiny. Still, while beating, start adding egg yolks, sepatarely, adding another when the previous one is precisely mixed with egg whites.
6. Turn the mixer off.
7. Sieve cocoa/flour mix slowly to the eggs mixture and using a spatula, slowly, gently stir till all the ingredients mix.
8. Pour the dough into previously prepared sprinform, put in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, to the point of a dry toothpick.
9. After that time, take the sponge cake out from the oven and energetically throw on a kitchen surface ( :) ). Cool down,

Filling:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the filling (also alcohol, if desired). Divide into 2 equal bowls.
2. Using a knife, cut the sides of the sponge cake, open springform, put the sponge cake upside down to take out the baking paper. 
3. Using thread or a big knife, cut the sponge cake lengthwise, into 2 (or if possible 3) equal layers.

Prepare whipped cream:

1. Put 36% cream in the freezer.
2. Boil 1/4 glass of water. Put gelatin inside, stir till gelatin melts. Cool down.
3. Take a mixer and its bowl, put 36% cream inside, start beating. Add sugar and beat till stiff. Mix in the gelatin liquid.
4. Divide into 2 equal bowls.

Layers:

1. Take a cake plate, put first piece of sponge cake on it. Distribute filling from the first bowl with cherries. Cover with one bowl of whipped cream. 
2. Put another layer of cake and repeat steps with filling.
3. Cover with the last piece of sponge cake.
4. If there is any excess of the filling, sticking out on the cake's sides, take it out.

Chocolate frosting:

1. Take a mixer's bowl, chop both the bittersweet and milk chocolates and put inside it. Set aside.
2. Take a pot, put 36% cream and corn syrup inside, bring to boil. Take off the heat and pour the mixture over a bowl with chocolates. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes, so that the chocolate melts. Stir till smooth. Cool down.
3. When cooled down (room temperatured), start beating with a stand mixer and gradually add butter until smooth and silky.
4. Using an offset spatula, distribute the frosting all over the cake, leaving some for decoration.
5. Decorate the cake with a spatula, syringe, etc.
6. Serve immediately, or keep covered with a cake dome in the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.

Reindeers (Cupcakes)

Those Reindeers are literally galloping to your plate ;) Christmas-like cinnamon taste, delicate dough with sweet buttercream, sweet cherry and salty ears :) Not only they look wonderful but they will also take your palate and stomach straight to heaven ;)
Original recipe - idea comes from this website, though I made some changes, the main change is the top - not whipped cream but Martha's -a-little-bit-changed buttercream.

What's more, children will definitely love them as much as those Christmas Trees! The buttercream I used is more resistant to warm temperatures (one of my reindeers remained in a room temperature for the entire evening plus night and the next day it looked same cute).

I do honestly recommend all of these wonders for the upcoming Christmas :) I promise You will not be disappointed ;)

Ingredients (all of them need to be in room temperature):

• 3 glasses of flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cinammon
• 230g of butter
• 1,5 glass of sugar
• 4 big eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 glass of milk

Swiss meringue buttercream:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 glass of white sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 300g of butter, in a room temperature, chopped into small cubes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Body parts :)

• candied cherries (optionally cut into halves) - nose
• pretzels, cut into halves - horns
• any hard, small, edible white (chocolate) balls or small edible eyes, if available - for eyes

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Prepare paper muffin cases and muffin tins.
2. Take a quite big bowl, sieve flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon inside, set aside.
3. Take a mixer and its bowl, whisk butter and sugar till it becomes bright and fluffy.
4. Gradually add eggs, mixing after adding each of them.
5. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
6. At the end, take turns at adding the 'dry', sieved ingredients from the bowl and milk. Repeat till both ingredients are mixed inside. 
7. Distribute the dough evently into every paper muffin case (to its 3/4 height).
8. Bake in 180C for around 20 minutes, till they get gold (check with a toothpick).
9. Cool down.

Swiss meringue buttercream:

1. Take a heatproof bowl, put egg whites and sugar inside. Prepare a 'bath'.* Keep stiring and heating the mixture over a steam of a boiling water till the sugar completely melts.
2. Cool the mixture down. 
3. Put the egg white mixture in the mixer's bowl and beat for around 10 minutes to get a white, shiny, stiff meringue.
4. Start adding the butter, one piece after another, mixing after adding every piece. While adding it may look like it is curdled, but don't panic, it's perfectly fine :) (it shall take around 5 more minutes).
5. When the mixture is stiff and all the butter is mixed, add vanilla extract, mix.

Finishing:

1. Take a pastry bag with a star-like tin nozzle, put the buttercream inside and start distributing on the muffin.
2. Start from the middle of the muffin and making circles go it its edge.
3. Decorate with...body parts of your reindeer :)
4. Bon Appetit! ;)

*A bath is simply heating the ingredients over a steam (but not boiling them in a water), just keeping them over a pot with boiling water, in a heatproof bowl.

Raspberry Charlotte Cake

This perfect cake has only perfect advantages :) perfectly literally! :) It is perfect for a gift, it looks gorgeous, tastes wonderfully, it is extremely easy to make and doesn't require using an oven :)

The recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.

Notes:

• Prepare this cake at least an evening earlier as it needs to stiffen in the fridge for a good few hours.
• Please note that You need to use 16cm springform cake pan, unless the cake will be destroyed.
• Make sure your springform pan is perfectly clean and do not use baking paper, as it will stick to the raspberry foam, get moist and after all, you'd end up with another cake layer, made of baking paper.

Ingredients:

• 200 g of Savoiardi/ladyfingers (around the cake)
• red, forest fruit (top)

Raspberry mousse (bottom):

• 350g of raspberries (fresh or frozen - if so, defrost)
• lemon juice from 1/2 of lemon
• 1/3 glass of sugar
• 2,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin
• 200ml of 36% cream, cool

Raspberry cream:

• 250g of mascarpone cheese, cool 
• 150ml of 36% cream, cool
• 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 1,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin + 30ml of hot milk
• 150g of raspberries (fresh or frozen - if so, defrost)

Preparation:

Raspberry mousse:

• Take a pot, put raspberries, lemon juice and sugar inside. Bring to boil, stiring from time to time.
• Sieve, to get a mousse without small seeds. 
• Dissolve gelatin in a small amount (a tiny little bit, just to cover the gelatin) of boiling water, stir so that it melts completely. 
• Bring the mousse to boil again and add previously prepared gelatin. Stir precisely. Set aside, it needs to cool down completely.

When cooled down:

1. Prepare a clean springform cake pan and keep it handy.
2. Beat 36% cream for around 5-7 minutes with a mixer (till the whipped cream is stiff). Stop mixing and slowly, spoon after spoon, add cooled down mousse. Stir gently, till it all links.
3. Pour the mousse to the springform. Cover for with foil and put in the fridge to let it stiffen for few hours.

When ready, prepare raspberry cream::

1. Take a small bowl/pot, put 30ml of milk inside, heat till hot. Add 1,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin and stir till it melts completely. Set aside so that it cools down.
2. Take another bowl suitable for mixing and put mascarpone, 36% cream and powdered sugar inside. Beat till stiff. Add raspberries and cooled down gelatin(melted in milk). Mix till everything links.
3. Put on the top of the cake, distribute equally all over. 
4. Cool down in the fridge for another few hours.

Finishing:

1. When stiff, take out from the fridge. Using a knife, cut the cake around, very close to the sides of the springform, to make taking it out from the springform easier. 
2. Take ladyfingers, stick them around the cake (the mousse is sticky, ladyfingers will stick easily).
3. Take a ribbon, decorate the cake with it, tying it around the cake.
4. Decorate the top of the cake with (preferably) forest fruit.
5. Store in the fridge.
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Cherry Éclairs

Uhh, at first they seem so quick and easy, but the filling and final preparing them was more of a challenge :) However, the final outcome is really wonderful :) I gave a good plate for my brother, but before he reached his house, the plate was already empty ;) 

It would be a sin, not to recommend them ;)
This recipe is a mix of recipes from those two pages.

Ingredients:

Éclairs dough:

• 250 ml of water
• 125g of butter or margarine
• 1 glass of flour
• 4 eggs
• a pinch of salt

Filling:

• 200 ml of milk
• 300g of cherries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 egg yolks
• 20g of flour
• 20g of potato starch
• 90g of sugar
• 1 packaging of vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Icing:

• 1 glass of powdered sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons of water

Optional icing ingredients:

• flavoured extract - vanilla, almond, lemon, etc.
• food colouring
• or - instead of icing - ganache, chocolate frosting

Optional ingredients - decoration:

• cherry (or any other flavour - different fruit, caramel, chocolate, coffee, nut...) mousse
• whipped cream
• fruit
• nuts
• mincemeat

Preparation - dough:

1. Take a baking tray, grease and put baking paper on it. Put aside.
2. Take a pot, put water, butter and salt inside, boil.
3. When brought to boil, add flour and stir energetically (to prevent the bottom from burning). The dough should be smooth and should not stick to the pot.
4. Put aside, to let it cool down completely.
5. When cooled down, mix the dough with eggs, for a quite long time, till smooth.* 
6. Put the dough inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape).
7. Distribute long pieces of cake, leaving some space between them, as they will grow quite much.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, on 200C. Make sure they're ready inside.
9. When baked, cool down and cut lengthways.

* Longer mixing helps it grow up in the oven later on, as there is no baking powder.

Preparation - filling:

1. If your cherries are frozen - defrost, make sure there are no kernels, pour away the water.
2. If fresh - throw away the kernels.
3. Put the cherries in a bowl. Mix, with a mixer, till smooth, to get a mousse. If there's cherry juice, pour it away, for a different use.
4. Take a pot, pour milk and add cherry mousse inside. Start boiling. When brought to boil, turn off the heat and put aside to let it cool down.
5. Take a mixer and its bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar. Add flour and potato starch. Using a spatula, mix precisely.
6. Gradually add cherry milk mixture to the mixer's bowl, stiring precisely.
7. Put the mixture back in the pot and start boiling. Stir all the time, as it will thicken, like a custard, quite fast. Be careful not to burn the bottom.
8. When thick and ready, add butter and stir, to let the butter melt. Cover with foil and put aside, to let it cool down. Later on, when cool, keep in the fridge (it will thicken more), till you need it.

Preparation - icing sugar:

1. Put all the ingredients together and stir to get a desired consistency of the icing (needs to be thick). 

Finishing:

1. Prepare a baking grill or another baking tray, cover with baking paper, put aside.
2. Take the top pieces of your Éclairs and dip in previously prepared icing. 
3. Transfer them into steel baking grill or baking tray and leave for a while in the fridge.
4. Put the cherry filling inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape) and distribute it on the bottom piece of your Éclair in any way desired. You can add fruit, whipped cream or use only the cherry filling.
5. Cover with the suitable top piece covered with icing.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. Bon Appetit! :)

Fruit Jellies

Very tasty, fruity, healthy, natural jellies, possible to be prepared from many different fruit, especially, if you have no idea, what to do with them or when they are...way too ripe ;) 
Lack of artificial substances is undoubtedly their biggest advantage.
They might be sprinkled with sugar (though I prefer sugar-free jellies :) ). It is a quick, light and delicious form of confectionery. My little naphew's face and hands are all in strawberry jelly now, so I guess they're tasty, hi hi ;)
Recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 30 g of gelatin
• 1 glass of water
• 1-2 glasses of sugar (it depends how sweet you want your fruit puree to be)
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 500-600 g of fruit (either frozen or fresh - preferably: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, cherries)*

* I mixed blueberries with strawberries, which is why they are so dark.

Optional ingredients:

• sugar or powdered sugar - to sprinkle the jellies

Preparation:

1. Take a bigger, clean pot and put the fruit inside. Boil for 15 minutes. Grate through the sieve, to seperate puree and kernels. 
2. Take only 3/4 glass of the mousse** to prepare jellies. Put the glass with mousse aside.
3. Take another pot, put gelatin inside and pour the water. Wait for 4 minutes. Heat, till all the gelatin melts (stir). Add 1-2 glasses of sugar, boil and  stir till the sugar melts. Add lemon juice. 
4. Boil for around 10 minutes on a very low heat. Turn off the heat and leave the mixture for 5 minutes. Take away the foam if any appears.
5. Mix with fruit mousse.
6. Take a flat form, cover with cling film or foil. Pour the mixture inside. Put it in the fridge for around 12 hours, or till the jelly stiffens.
7. After that time, take it out of the form and cut it in any shape you like - you can use only a knife to make small squares or cookie cutters to make shapes.
8. Sprinkle with sugar/powdered sugar - preferably only those you want to eat now.
9. Jellies can remain (in a closed box) in the fridge for max. 2 weeks. 
10. Bon appetit! :)

** Here are some ideas on how can you use the rest of the mousse:

• Custard Pancakes
• Home-made chocolates
• Ice-cream
• Panna Cotta
• Semifreddo Cake a'la Tiramisu
• Smoothie
• Sweet Omelette
• Yoghurt Pancakes

Cherry Cube

Ohh wonderful! Truly chocolate, soft, mouth-watering - and - to my great surprise - it is not heavy and not extremely sweet :) frankly, it is its enormous advantage! 
This cake will wonderfully decorate your table and enrapture your guests. I do recommend.

Recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.

Ingredients:

Cocoa dough, part 1:

• 3/4 glass of oil
• 1/2 glass of water
• 1 glass of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of baking cocoa

Cocoa dough, part 2:

• 5 egg yolks (room temperatured)
• 5 egg whites(room temperatured)
• 1/2 glass of white sugar
• 1,5 glass of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Cherry cream:

• 500ml of 36% cream, very cold (before using, put in in the freezer for around 15 minutes)
• 800g of cherries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 24g (=6 teaspoons =6 gelatin leaves) of powdered gelatin 

Chocolate frosting (ganache):

• 125 ml of 36% cream
• 125g of chocolate (I used 70% cocoa chocolate, but you can use half of milk and half of plain chocolate)

Additional ingredients:

• Glacé cherries for decoration
• 1/2 glass of cherry brandy or amaretto
• whipped cream

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Put all the ingredients from part 1 in a pot. Start boiling, stir, till all the ingredients link and sugar melts. Turn off the heat and cool down.

While the first part is almost cooled down, time for part 2:

1. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Put aside.
2. Take a rectangular baking pan (preferably 25x35cm). Put baking paper all over it.
3. Take a mixer and its bowl, put egg whites inside and start beating (it will take 10 minutes). At the end of that time, gradually start adding sugar.
4. Add egg yolks and mix, on a low rotation, till smooth.
5. Add cooled down 'part 1' and stir precisely with a spatula or spoon. 
6. Pour the dough into previously prepared baking pan.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes minutes in 180C. Preferably, as always - check if the cake is ready with a toothpick.
8. Cool down in an open oven.

While the cake is cooling down, prepare the filling:

Cherry cream:

1. Take a big pot, put cherries inside (no need to defrost frozen ones), add sugar, lemon juice and bring to boil.
2. After that time, if there is too much cherry juice in your pot (especially from frozen cherries) take all of it out, so that only cherries remain in a pot.
3. Take a blender and mix till smooth.
4. Put gelatin in a glass, cover with hot, boiling water (just a little bit of boiling water, to cover the gelatin is enough) and keep stiring till the gelatin dissolves.
5. Add to blended cherries and stir precisely. Let it cool down completely.
6. Take a mixer with its (another ;) ) bowl, put 36% cream inside and beat till stiff (depends on mixer's power it will take between 5-10 minutes).
7. In 3 parts, start adding cooled down cherry mixture. When done, put in the fridge for a while.

Finishing:

1. Take a big piece of baking paper. 
2. If the cake cooled down completely, cut into equal 2 pieces (the best way to do it is to use a thread).
3. Put the first piece of cake on your baking paper. Lift it, and put it back in the baking pan.
4. Here is a good time, to take alcohol and with a spoon, distribute it all over the piece of cake.
5. Cover with cherry filling, put another piece of cake (add alcohol if desired) on it and the remaining part of the filling. 
6. Put it in the fridge for around 15-20 minutes. During that time, prepare the chocolate frosting.

Ganache:

1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces. 
2. Put the cream in a pot, boil. Turn off the heat. Add chocolate and stir till it links and you receive a smooth frosting. Put aside for a while.

1. Take the cake out from the fridge, distribute the frosting all over the top, and put back in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
2. After that time, decorate your cake with glacé cherries, distributing them quite far away from each other, so that you can cut equal cubes. It is also possible to put some whipped cream all over the cake and then, on it, a cherry, like here, in that recipe.
3. Store in the fridge.
4. Bon Appetit :)

W-Z Cake

A very tasty, classic chocolate-cream cake :) Looks very elegant, might play a role of a small birthday cake :) might be prepared both in adults' version (with alcohol) or without. Both mouth-watering! :)

The recipe from the sponge cake comes from this website.

And some other parts from this one and this one.

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake: (it is good for a springform cake tin but for rectangular it is adviced to double these ingredients)

• 7 eggs
• 1 glass of sugar
• 2/3 glass of baking cocoa
• 2/3 glass of flour

Whipped cream:

• 1 litre of 36% cream
• 1/4-1/2 glass of sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons of gelatin
• half of the glass of hot water

Chocolate topping:

• 100g of dark chocolate 
• 100g of milk chocolate 
• 50g of butter 

Optional Ingredients:

• almonds
• whipped cream
• nuts
• cherry liqueur
• plum/cherry jam
• around 1kg of cherries (fresh, frozen or from the liqueur)

Preparation:

Sponge cake:

1. Take a tin. Grease it(entire tin) and put baking paper inside (only on the bottom). Put aside.
2. Take a small bowl. Mix flour and cocoa inside, very precisely. If needed - sieve.
3. Start preheating the oven to 170C.
4. Take a new bowl. Separate egg yolks from egg whites, so that the whites remain in a bowl and whites in a glass (for example).
5. Stir the yolks precisely and put aside.
6. Beat the egg whites on a low rotation for 2-3 minutes till the foam appears. Gratually increasing the rotation of the mixer start adding the sugar, one tablespoon after another. Generally, beat the whites for 10 minutes.
7. Slowly start adding egg yolks (step by step, one needs to link precisely before adding another part of the yolks).
8. Divide mixed flour and cocoa into 3 parts. Add it to the mixure, step by step, very carefully (not to destroy the foam) stiring with a big spoon very precisely (the flour on the bottom of the bowl tends to remain unmixed/unlinked). 
9. Pour the cake to previously prepared tin.
10. Bake for 30-40 minutes (till the toothpick is dry) in 170C.
11. After that time, take it out from the oven and throw energetically on the kitchen's surface. Cool down.
12. When cooled down, cut into 2 equal pieces using a knife or for example a thread.
13. It is advisable to put it back in a tin, if possible.

Optionals:

1. If desired - take a jam and (optioanlly) mix it with alcohol and cherries. 

Whipped cream:

1. Make sure the cream is very cold.
2. Take the glass with hot water, put gelatin inside, stir till it melts. Cool down (it needs to be a liquid after cooling down, if needed - add a little water).
3. Take a mixer and its bowl. Put the cold cream inside, add sugar, start beating - around 10 minutes. Add cooled down gelatin (make sure it is still a liquid). Mix precisely. 

Chocolate topping:

1. Take a pot, put butter inside. 
2. Melt the butter on the lowest heat. 
3. Add chopped chocolates, heating or not, but stiring all the time, carefully so that it doesn't burn. 
4. Stir and cool down a little.

Preparing the cake:

1. Take the first piece, sprinkle with liqueur (optional), put jam(with or without liqueur, but it's still optional) and cherries (optional) on it. Put whipped cream. Add cherries on the top(optional). 
2. Take the second piece of the cake, sprinkle with liqueur (optional), put jam(with or without liqueur, but it's still optional)on it and put on the first piece of cake.
3. Pour previously prepared chocolate on the entire top.
4. Put in a fridge for at least 2-3 hours.
5. Before serving, it is a good idea to decorate the cake with whipped cream, cherries, almonds etc.
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Sweet Semolina

Sweet semolina could be the second name of (dessert) simplicity. This timeless and delightful dessert will always satisfy both children and adult's palates :) Honestly, there is no sophisticated recipe, if you have never tried it, this is a must-try!
Recipe from... genes? I have no idea... :) it's like preparing cornflakes for breakfast :)

Ingredients:

• 800ml of milk
• 110g of semolina(or farina, or grit)

Additionals:

• caramelized apples*
• cheery (or other) jam
• almonds
• .... :)

Preparation:

1. Prepare around 6 dessert bowls.
2. Take a clean pot, put all the milk inside, start heating on a low heat, not to burn the milk.
3. When milk starts boiling, gradually start adding the semolina, stiring energetically all the time, to avoid lumps.
4. Boil for around 2-3 more minutes, then distribute prepared grit to all the dessert bowls. 
5. Put chosen additionals on the top of every dessert bowl.
6. Bon Appetit!

*How to prepare caramelized apples?

Ingredients:

• 3-4 apples (usually 1 apple per 1 person is enough)
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Wash the apples, peel and cut into wedges.
2. Take a pot, put water and apples inside, start heating.
3. After 3-5 minutes add sugar and cinnamon. Stir from time to time.
4. Boil for another 5 minutes.* Turn off the heat.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

* The longer the apples are boiling the softer they become and they start falling into very small pieces.

Pineapple smoothie

Refreshing, healthy supper (or its part ;) ). Recipe is my own idea.

Ingredients(for 4 latte glasses):

• 1/2 pineapple, peeled, chopped
• 3-5 handfuls of cherries

Optional ingredients:

• 1/3-1/2 glass of milk/natural yoghurt
• sugar
• ice cubes

Preparation:

1. Put the pineapple in a bowl, blend till smooth. 
2. Take cherries - if frozen - defrost in a pot by heating them. 
3. Mash the cherries, to get cherry mousse with no skins (make sure there are no kernels).
4. Add cherries to blended pineapple. Blend till smooth.
5. Add sugar, milk and ice cubes. (step by step, tasting, to make it suitable for you)
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Home-made Cherry Liqueur

The best home-made liqueur. Why? Because here you decide, whether it is more sweet or more 'spicy' ;) A private recipe :)


Ingredients:

• 2 kg of ripe cherries
• 1,5 kg of sugar
• 1 litre of vodka
• 1/2 litre of rectified spirit

Preparation:

1. Wash the cherries. Put them to a big (around 7 litre big) jar, add all the sugar, stir or shake. Close the jar, put aside. 
2. For the next couple of days, once a day, shake the jar, to help the sugar melt.
3. After a week, add vodka and rectified spirit. Stir till all the sugar totally melts. Close the jar.
4. Put aside for a week.
5. Bon Appetit! 

You can keep trying it whether you want more sugar or vodka and you can add it as you wish.

Gourmet Sensation

 As the title says.. and without baking :) This is absolutely one of the most delicious cakes I have ever eaten. And, this is an absolute must-do at least once in life :) What is interesting, this cake is so easy, that I could present the entire recipe (and to some extent I will) only by using pictures.

Ingredients:

• 4 packs of biscuits (butter ones)
• 2 vanilla 'custards' (a Polish kind of custard, you can find it on the Internet, it is called ' budyn'. If you can't find in your shops anything of that kind, here is a recipe for home-made 'budyn', you'll probably need to double the ingredients to make it suitable for that cake)
• 2 jars of cherry jam
• 2 tins of fudge
• cream 36%: 2 options:

*if powdered:

2 sachets to be prepared with milk (the preparation is written on the sachet, it will be something around 200 ml of milk per sachet)
* if real one, to whip it up: 1 packaging  + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar + here I do recommend using some kind of powder that can stiffen the cream (in Poland: śmietan-fix, made mainly of glucose and starch)

Preparation:

Briefly, tiers:

1. biscuits
2. pudding
3. biscuits
4. jam
5. biscuits
6. fudge
7. biscuits
8. cream

Description:

* every tier will be put on the entire baking sheet surface

1. Take your baking sheet, grease it and put the baking paper inside (leave some baking paper sticking out of the baking sheet - it will help you getting the cake out of the baking sheet unless you have a sides that you tak take out, then don't)
2. Put one tier of biscuits on the bottom of your baking sheet (rectangled preffered)
   
   
   
3. Prepare the custard and pour it on the biscuits  (don't wait till it cools down)
   
   
   
4. Take a pot, open the tins with fudge, put them in the pot, pour some water to the pot, so that the water covers 3/4 of the tins. Boil on a low heat (keep looking at it, but nothing bad should happen)
5. Put another tier of biscuits - no need to wait till the pudding is cold
6. Put the jam on the biscuits
   
   
   
   
   
7. Stir slowly the fudge, check if it is not burning anyhow (it shouldn't)
8. Put another tier of biscuits
9. If the water with tins already boils, stir and turn it off. Using a tea towel, take the tin and a spoon, and pour the fudge on the biscuits. Take another tin and do the same.
   
   
   
10. Put another tier of biscuits.
11. Prepare whipped cream.
    
    
    
    
    
12. Put the cake in the fridge (for few hours, even entire night)
13. Keep in the fridge.
14. Bon Appetit! :)