Rum & Ginger Pancakes

 Something new and quite unusual :) Very tasty :) I think it is hard(impossible!) to prepare awful pancakes ;) This is my own recipe, but the idea comes from the book I've mentioned some time ago ('Biblioteczka Poradnika Domowego. Naleśniki, placki, omlety').

You can prepare either rum pancakes or ginger pancakes or rum and ginger pankes. 

Ingredients for the basic pancake dough:

• 500 ml of milk
• around 300 g of flour*
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 16 g (1 packaging) of vanilla sugar
• 1/2 glass of sugar (or less or a little more, depending on a personal taste)
• 1/2 or 1 flat teaspoon of baking powder

Additional ingredients:

• 1-4 teaspoons of rum (I used Golden Rum)**
• 1/3-1/2 teaspoon of grounded ginger***

* I don't measure flour - which is why it is 'around' 300g. The easiest way - put all the other ingredients in the bowl, mix and at the end start adding flour - the dough needs to be quite thick, it cannot be thin.

** and *** Be careful while adding rum and ginger as they're strong additionals. Add them step by step, tasting the dough every time, using a clean teaspoon everytime, though remember not to eat too much of the dough cause it causes stomachache.

Preparation:

1. Take a big bowl. Put all the ingredients inside, stir or mix till smooth.
2. Now you can add additional ingredients - whichever you wish and in a desired amount. If you want to have ginger and rum pancakes separately, you can make second basic dough in a different pot.
3. Take a big frying pan. Grease it with oil and start preheating on a low heat. After a few seconds, pour some dough on it and distribute the dough on the entire frying pan. Fry for around 30 seconds or more, on a low heat, till the dough congeals. Overturn when the colour is gold.
4. Decorate with a favourite additional ingredient - whipped cream, chocolate/caramel sauce, fruit, etc.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

Italian Torta Margherita

Very easy and tasty cake. Last minute idea, when you have a craving for a cake ;)The only thing I needed to buy to prepare it was a greek yoghurt ;) So the cost of preparing it is automatically low too :) Recipe comes from all over the Internet, containing some Italian websites (for example: ricette.giallozafferano.it , emikodavies.com) :)

Ingredients:

• 300 g of greek yoghurt
• 300 g of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 150 g of oil
• 600 g of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 16 g of vanilla sugar
• 200-500 g of fruit - plums, apples, nectarine, pear (preffered harder ones, not very juicy)
• some butter
• powdered sugar or icing sugar

Optional ingredients:

• 2-3 teaspoons zest of a lemon (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and chop the fruit into wedges.
2. Start heating the oven to 200C.
3. Take a big bowl.
4. Put yoghurt and sugar inside, add eggs and stir. Add oil and stir again.
5. Add flour, baking powder and optional ingredients (if desired). Stir everything.
6. Add fruit and stir again.
7. Take a springform cake tin (though I used fluted cake ring) grease it thoroughly.
8. Put the dough in a tin and bake for 30-40 minutes in 200C.*
9. Check, by using a toothpick if the cake is ready (put the toothpick as deep as possible, to get sure).
10. Take it out from the oven, cool down, then overturn the cake and by tapping, take it out from the form.
11. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or icing sugar.
12. Bon Appetit! :)

* The top of the cake may start getting burnt very fast because the oven is already preheated. To prevent your cake, when you notice it starts burning, put a piece of foil on the entire top of the cake. 

Plum cake with crème pâtissière - extended version

Ohh, by accident, my mum came up with a gorgeous idea to 'upgrade' that cake. If you've already tried to do it, you've probably noticed that there are 6 egg whites remaining. I have no idea why haven't I thought about it earlier - it is possible to make a sweet meringue on that cake :) it is cruelly delicious ! must try! :) Recipe... basic + my mum :) greets for her !

Here you can find the basic recipe

Meringue:

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites (the ones that remain from the cake)
• 200-250 g of sugar
• 1-1,5 teaspoon of potato starch 

Preparation:

1. Prepare the dough for the bottom of the cake, crème pâtissière and the crumble from the basic recipe.
2. Bake the bottom of the cake as the basic recipe says.
3. Cool down the baked bottom, put crème pâtissière on it and plums.
4. Not earlier, but now start preparing the meringue.
5. Take a big bowl (preferably mixer's bowl), put all the egg whites inside, start beating them with a mixer.
6. Start adding sugar, one spoon after another, beating all the time. Add potato starch.
7. Mix (for around 7-10 minutes) till the meringue is really stiff*
8. Put the beaten meringue on the plums. Sprinkle with the crumble.
9. Bake in 170C for 35-40 minutes.
10. Bon Appetit!! :)

* A good way to check it is to take to bowl and overturn it. If the meringue doesn't move - it's perfectly fine.

Plum cake with crème pâtissière

 Ouuutstanding. The best plum cake I've ever made, plus - I am not a plum-fan. But this one is absolutely gorgeous. Pictures - not the best I've ever taken, because we couldn't have resisted and started eating the cake right after having taken it out from the oven :) I guess you'll do the same :)

Slightly changed, the recipe comes from http://www.kwestiasmaku.com/zielony_srodek/sliwki/ciasto_kruche_ze_sliwkami_kremem/przepis.html

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of plums
• powdered sugar (to sprinkle the top of the cake)

Bottom of the cake:

• 150 g flour
• 150 g potato starch
• 50 g of sugar
• 150 g of cold butter
• 1 egg

Crème pâtissière from that recipe:

• 500 ml of milk
• 4 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 100 g sugar or powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 tablespoons of potato starch

Crumble for the top

• 100 g of flour
• 50 g of potato starch
• 100 g of shredded coconut
• 50 g of sugar
• 125 g of cold butter

Preparation:
Bottom:

1. Take a big bowl. Put both flours inside, add sugar and chopped butter. Make a dough, add egg and link (everything might be done by using hands). Form a ball. Put in the freezer for 1 hour.

Crème from that recipe:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl. Put egg yolks inside with sugar and beat to obtain a bright fluffy foam (it will take around 5-8 minutes of beating). Add flour and starch and mix only till all the ingredients link.
2. Take a pot, put milk and vanilla sugar inside, heat till it reaches 100C, stiring from time to time. Turn the heat off.
3. Slowly, step by step, add the mixture from the pot to the mixer's bowl, mixing it at the same time. Mix till smooth.
4. Put the mixture in the pot and heat again - stiring all the time, cause it will start getting thicker and thicker, like a custard.
5. When the creme is ready (thick), turn the heat off. Put the creme in a clean bowl. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar or with grounded cold butter(the butter needs to be frozen)

1. Take the dough out of the freezer.
2. Take a rectangular pan and put the dough inside, roll it out, so that it covers the entire bottom of the pan. 
3. Using a fork, make holes in the dough all over the pan. Put the pan in a fridge for 30 minutes.

1. Start preheating the oven to 160C.

Crumble:

1. Take a big bowl, put both flours inside, add shredded coconut, sugar and chopped butter. Using hands, make a crumble. Put it in the fridge.

1. If the oven is already heated to 160C put the pan with the bottom of the cake inside the oven and bake for 25 minutes till the cake's colour is gold.
2. Take it out from the oven and cool down.
3. Wash plums, cut into wedges, throw away the kernels.
4. If the bottom of the cake is already cold, put the crème all over the bottom, then put plums all over the cake and sprinkle the entire cake with the crumble.
5. Put the cake in the oven, increase the temperature to 180C and bake for 35 minutes till the cake's colour is gold.
6. Cool down, sprinkle the cake all over with powdered sugar.
7. Bon Appetit! :)

Crème Pâtissière

Very tasty, sweet, thick custard, used in baking :) I'm sure you'll love it. 

Recipe from... all over the internet :) basically from the BBC Food (for example http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pastry_cream_36417) and Martha Steward's idea http://www.marthastewart.com/315510/creme-patissiere

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks
• 500 ml of milk
• 4 tablespoons of vanilla sugar / 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 100 g of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 tablespoons of potato starch
• Confectioners' sugar or grounded unsalted butter (50-100g), to prevent skin from forming*

*While using the butter - put it in the freezer, it needs to be frozen to grind it.

Preparation:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl. Put egg yolks inside with sugar and beat to obtain a bright fluffy foam (it will take around 5-8 minutes of beating). Add flour and starch and mix only till all the ingredients link.
2. Take a pot, put milk and vanilla sugar inside, heat till it reaches 100C, stiring from time to time. Turn the heat off.
3. Slowly, step by step, add the mixture from the pot to the mixer's bowl, mixing it at the same time. Mix till smooth.
4. Put the mixture in the pot and heat again - stiring all the time, cause it will start getting thicker and thicker, like a custard.
5. When the creme is ready (thick), turn the heat off. Put the creme in a clean bowl. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar or with grounded cold butter(the butter needs to be frozen)
6. Keep in the fridge up to 3 days.
7. Bon Appetit :)

Spicy Pineapple Smoothie

The idea for this smoothie seems to be more than obvious and not a real 'discovery'.
That's an outstanding taste, discovered totally accidentally, out of taste-boredom :) I won't dare to comment on the easiness of the preparation ;)

Worth trying!

Recipe is my own idea.

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 pineapple, peeled, chopped
• 1-2 pinches of ground: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg

Optional ingredients:

• ice cubes
• 1-3 tablespoons of natural/greek yoghurt (I didn't add it)

Top decoration:

• whipped cream

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the pineapple.
2. Take a blender with its cutting cube, add few pieces of pineapple, mix till smooth. Add another pieces, mix again - repeat till all the pineapple pieces are gone.
3. Add optional ingredients, mix.
4. Add spices, mix.
5. Pour to a latte glass. Decorate.
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Carrot Salad

Refreshing :) Perfect for a hot day :) Extremely easy. It might be sour or sweet, depending on a personal taste. 

Recipe is my own idea.

Ingredients:

• 3 big carrots
• 2-3 lemon wedges
• 1 grapefruit
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2-5 teaspoons of sugar

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and grate the carrots. Put them in a big bowl.
2. Wash lemon, cut into wedges, add to the bowl.
3. Wash the grapefruit, peel and cut into wedges. Add to the bowl.
4. Add lemon juice and - step by step - sugar, stir, try. Add as much sugar necessary for you.
5. Bon Appetit :)