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! :)

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.

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! :)