Sour-Sweet Shortcake

There are sometimes recipe on the Internet, which - when you see them - you know - they are going to be just awesome :) And this is a perfect example of such situation. This is a perfect combination of sour orange jam and sweet white chocolate with some more ingredients that will make you forget about calories ;) 

I do recommend! 

The recipe, slightly changed, comes from my favourite website.

Ingredients (for a 20x30cm baking pan):

Bottom:

• 170g of flour
• 80g of potato starch
• 50g of sugar
• 150g of cold margarine
• 1 egg

Top:

• A jar of orange jam
• a handful of dried apricots
• 100g of almond flakes
• optionally - 4 tablespoons of orange liqueur

Chocolate frosting:

• 150g of white chocolate
• 5 tablespoons of 36% cream

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.

Top:

1. Distribute the orange jam (mixed with 2 tablepoons of liqueur if used) all over the bottom (probably not entire jar, but half or so).
2. Put apricots, in any pattern desired (I did the chequered pattern).

Prepare the frosting:

1. In a pan, melt 100g of chocolate with 5 tablespoons of 36% cream (and 2 tablespoons of liqueur if used). When done, add the remaining chocolate and stir till it melts. Put aside to let it cool down a little.
2. Distribute the frosting on a cake (any pattern desired, again) and sprinkle with almond flakes.
3. 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.

Bajadera Reindeers

Bajadera is always a fantastic, last second idea which always works and always tastes delicious :)

I do recommend them, especially when you have no time and your oven is tired ;) it doesn't require baking ;) I do apologize for the bad quality of the picture, so let me say that the taste and children's smiles will make it up to You :)
Another wonderful use of bajadera, a little bit easier than reindeers, but also Christmas-themed You can find here.

Quite changed recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

Base:

• 400g of dried pound cake (preferably lemon or vanilla flavoured)
• 120g of mascarpone cheese
• 80g of nutella
• 350g of milk chocolate
• favourite mincemeat (including for example nuts, almonds; or baking cocoa)

Reindeers:

body parts:

• nose: 1 pack of red small round sprinkles, 
• horns: 1 pack of pretzels, cut into halves, 
• eyes: frosting deco pens
• some small plastic sticks
• ribbons for decoration

Optional ingredients:

• 10-25ml of Rum
• dried fruit - but in very small pieces

Preparation:

1. If your pound cake isn't dried enough, it is a good idea to crumble it into very small pieces and put it in the preheated oven(over 180C) for a couple of minutes.
2. Take a mixer and it's bowl. Put mascarpone cheese and nutella inside. Mix till smooth.
3. Put dried pound cake to the bowl and mix everything till smooth. 
4. Here is the time to add and mix optional ingredients if desired.
5. Cover with foil and cool down in the freezer for 45 minutes.
6. During that time, prepare a rectangular bakewell pan or loaf tin or - something that you can put in your freezer. Put some baking paper on its bottom (if You have a sponge suitable for making cake pops - use it here).
7. Take the dough out from the freezer and start making small balls, put each of them in previously prepared pan/tin.
8. Put back in the freezer for another 15 minutes.
9. During that time, take a pot, put chocolate (in small pieces) inside and melt on a very low heat.
10. Dip 1/3-1/2 of every stick in the melted chocolate and put in the middle of every ball.
11. Put it back in the freezer for another 20-30 minutes.
12. Prepare a sponge (to dig reindeers in it) and elements of decoration around you.
13. Take one ball from the freezer, dip in the chocolate, so that it covers the entire ball, take out, wait till the excess of chocolate falls down.
14. As the ball is very cold, the chocolate will stiffen on it very fast, so as soon as you take it out from the pot, decorate it, starting with horns and dig it in the sponge.
15. Repeat with all the balls.
16. At the end, decorate with ribbons.
17. Store them in the fridge.
18. Bon Appetit! ;)

Stylish Panna Cotta

Ohh how much I love preparing those little desserts! Perfect with coffee, vanilla-flavoured jelly-like dessert, easy to prepare and without using the oven :) It looks elegant on a party table and prepared in a more sophisticated way - it will impress Your guests :)

Panna Cotta might be prepared in dozen of different flavours(many different extracts might be used instead of vanilla - like almond, coconut, rum, citrus ones...) and in many different shapes(it is up to You what kind of receptacle or form You'll pour it into :) )

Original recipe from this website.

I have found all these wonders on Pinterest (click on the link and all the wonders will appear ;) ) and I thought - oh my God, it is so easy and looks so classy and stylish! How is it possible that I haven't thought about it earlier?! :)

So here I'm sharing with You that big secret of preparing those wonderful panna cottas :)

Ingredients: (for 4-7 portions)

• 3 teaspoons of powdered gelatin
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 250 ml of 30-36% cream
• 250 ml of milk (2-3,2% of fat, not less)
• 80 g of sugar

Optional ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of rum 
• 1 tablespoon of white wine

Decoration:

• Fresh fruit (for instance: strawberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, cherries), fruit mousse, 
• caramel, 
• chocolate, 
• nuts, 
• small meringues, 
• etc. :)

Preparation:

It depends what shape would you like to have. 

1. If You want jelly on the bottom - it goes first, stiffens completely, then You pour cooled down (! not to melt the jelly) panna cotta mixture and put back in the fridge.
2. If the jelly is supposed to be the last layer, panna cotta must be completely ready, after a few hours in the fridge and the jelly You pour on it must be cool too, not to melt panna cotta.
3. If You fancy a slantwise one - first of all, pour the jelly and put the tumbler/etc for instance inside the muffin pan (so that it remains stable, in a-slant position), put in the fridge to let it stiffen completely and after that pour cooled down panna cotta mixture.
4. There are plenty other variations of preparing panna cottas, You'll find it - mostly with instructions - here :)

General instructions, to make panna cotta:

1. Put the gelatin in a tumbler and suffuse it with 2 tablespoons of water. Leave it for 5 minutes.
2. Take a pot and put the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract inside. Stir till the sugar is melted.
3. Add optional ingredients if you want to.
4. Boil and take it out quickly from your cooker. Add the gelatin and stir quickly for more or less 1 minute till the gelatin melts completely.
5. Pour the mixture into cups.
6. Cool it. Cover with (for example) aluminium foil and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours (entire night advisable)

• How to take Panna Cotta out of the cup?

If You use such nice transparent tumblers, there is no need to take the panna cottas out of them, unless you want to.

To take it out easily you can put the cup for a few seconds in hot water. Then, keep the cup upside down and shake more or less gently till it comes unstuck from the cup's side. Be careful it may fall down!
Another way is just to put the knife inside the cup's edge and cut it inside near to the edges of the cup.

Advocaat

Wonderful! Best of all :) my favourite :) It isn't really something to drink, it is something to EAT with a teaspoon, as it gets really thick :) It will be as strong as You want it to be - the more vodka You add, the more strong it is. I do recommend! 
I've got the recipe from my lovely cousin, who also shared a recipe for Gourmet Sensation and I am very thankful for that :)

P.S. Please remember that this (and other alcohols) is only for adults and please do not drive after drinking any alcohol.

Cheers! or maybe rather 'Bon Appetit'? :)

Ingredients:

• 8 egg yolks
• 1 glass of sugar
• 1 tin of condensed milk, unsweetened
• 1 tin of condensed milk, sweetened
• 1 glass of spirit (this one will definitely be stronger) or vodka

Preparation:

1. Take a big, high temperature safe bowl, put egg yolks and sugar inside and put that bowl over a pot with boiling water (simply, make so-called 'steam bath'). Start beating the egg yolks with sugar (for around 15 minutes) while the pot with water is still boiling.
2. When done, finish the bath and add tins with condesed milk to the mixture. Mix till everything links.
3. Slowly add alcohol, trying if it is good enough for You.
4. Enjoy, for instance with strawberries :)
5. Bon Appetit! :)

Sunflower cake

Ohh delicious! Remains in a constant battle with Gourmet Sensation ;) I have no idea which one is better! Easy to make, will smitten all your guests ;) 

P.S. here is a small secret: as this cake contains sunflower seeds, it is claimed that it is very beneficial for men (prostate).

This particular recipe is my cousin's own :) 

Greetings for you my Dear and thank you for sharing the recipe :)

Ingredients:

Sponge cake:

• 7 egg whites
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 glass of sugar
• 2/3 glass of baking cocoa
• 2/3 glass of flour

Sunflower frosting, part 1:

• 200g sunflower seeds (or 100g sunflower seeds + 100g walnuts)
• 100g of butter
• 8 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of milk

Sunflower frosting, part 2:

• 300g of butter
• 1 tin of fudge

Optional ingredients:

• 1/3-1/2 glass of vodka

Preparation:
Sponge cake:

1. Take a rectangular baking pan, put baking paper all over it. Put aside.
2. Take a bowl, sieve flour and cocoa to that bowl, twice.
3. Put egg yolks in another bowl and stir/beat, so that they link. Put aside.
4. Start preheating the oven to 170C.
5. Take a mixer and its bowl, put egg whites inside and beat on a low rotation for around 2-3 minutes, till the foam appears. At this moment start adding sugar, spoon after spoon. The mixer can work faster right now. Now beat the eggs for additional 8 minutes.
6. After those 10 minutes or so, while still mixing, keep adding egg yolks, one spoon after another, making sure that the egg yolks linked precisely with egg whites before adding another spoon. 
7. Turn off the mixer and using a spatula, slowly, gently, in 3 parts, add flour+cocoa to the mixer's bowl.
8. Pour the dough into previously prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, checking, with a toothpick, if it is ready as it may take a little bit more or less time.*
9. Take the cake out from the oven and throw on a kitchen's surface.
10. Cool down.

* and, as always - if you see that your toothpick is absolutely clean and the cake seems ready - don't hesitate to take it out from the oven. Also, if you know that your oven tends to burn the top of the cake and you can see that your top starts to burn, put foil all over that top, it will prevent it from burning, and keep baking. On the other hand - if your oven tends to burn the bottom - put a baking tray under your baking pan with a cake.

Sunflower frosting, part 1:

1. Take a pot, put butter, sunflower seeds and milk inside, boil.
2. Take a baking paper, put the mixture on it and bake in the oven for 20 minutes in 180C.
3. After that time, take the sunflower seeds out from the oven, let it cool down and crush into small pieces. 

Sunflower frosting, part 2:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl, beat the butter (around 8 minutes). Add fudge, mix again till it links.
2. Add some sunflower seeds-mixture (part 1), leaving some part of it to sprinkle the top, and mix again.
3. Here is a moment to add alcohol, if desired. Preferably - add one tablespoon of vodka, taste if it is strong enough for you - if yes, the frosting is ready, if not - keep adding till you feel it is enough.

Finishing:

1. Distribute the frosting all over the cake, sprinkle with remaining sunflower seeds mixture from part 1.
2. Store in the fridge, covered.
3. Bon Appetit! ;)

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 :)

Warming Up Lemons

Are you a person who freezes when the temperature falls below 10C? And a real horror starts when it falls below -10C? Are you slowly getting more and more hopeless trying to warm yourself up? Well - here is a perfect idea for an evening warm up, when you don't need to bother about driving anywhere (cause we all remember, no driving after alcohol :) ). These lemons are just a perfect match with a hot tea, during a cold, winter evening :) Easy, cheap, really works :) If you are not an adult or you would like to give it to your children - prepare it without Rum.

Why didn't my grandparents tell me about it earlier? Or - why didn't I think of it earlier? Well... better late than never ;)

Before preparing:

• Make sure your lemons are scalded precisely.
• Lemon's skin may give a little bitter taste, so the skin can be peeled to avoid it.

Ingredients:

• 0,5kg of lemons (4-5 lemons, choose those with thin skin, beautifully yellow, with no darker spots)
• 100-150g of honey
• 20-40ml of Golden Rum (or more, depending on a personal taste)
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar (optionally)

Preparation:

1. Prepare a clean jar.
2. Wash lemons and scald them with hot, boiling water.
3. Cut both edges of every lemon, throw them away.
4. Cut lemons into slices, put inside the jar.
5. Take a glass, put honey inside, add Rum(optionally) and stir precisely.
6. If desired - add sugar and stir till it melts.
7. Pour the mixture to the jar with lemons.
8. Close the jar and leave it in peace for 2-3 days.
9. It is good to shake the jar from time to time (for example once a day).
10. Bon Appetit!! :)

Piña Colada Cake

Well I decided to make a birthday gift for myself. What could it be? Self-made cake seemed to be a perfect idea :) And so it was :) Soft sponge cake, refreshing pineapple, mouth-watering, sweet cream and tongue tickling shredded coconut. What else do a palate need? ;)

Recipe comes from Kwestia Smaku.

Some useful tips on 'before baking':

• It is better to use fresh pineapple, not tinned one.
• While mixing the sponge cake, remember to mix only in one direction!
• It is possible to prepare the sponge cake one day earlier.
• Actually, preparing the entire cake one day earlier is a fantastic idea - the cake is getting better and better with time! 
• A good idea to cut the sponge cake is to use a thread.
• It is possible to prepare that cake in non-alcohol version - don't impregnate the sponge cake with anything.
• If the coconut liqueur is unavailable, it is also a good idea to use rum.
• Instead of ricotta cheese it is possible to use ground curd cheese.
• About coconut milk: shake before opening the tin. If there is a transparent liquid - highly probably this coconut milk is useless and preparing the coconut cream will be impossible. It needs to be white, milk-like liquid, as the title says: 'coconut MILK' not 'coconut water'.

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake:

• 7 eggs
• 1 glass of sugar
• 1 glass of flour
• 1/3 glass of potato flour

Pineapple Mousse:

• 2 pineapples
• 2 tablespoons of coconut liqueur
• 2 flat tablespoons of potato flour

Coconut Cream:

• 1 (400ml) tin of coconut milk
• 1/4 glass of coconut liqueur
• 1 glass of sugar
• 500g of mascarpone cheese
• 250 g of ricotta cheese

Impregnating the sponge cake:

• 6-9 tablespoons of rum

Decoration:

• Shredded coconut
• pineapples leaves (if they are in good visual condition)

Preparation:

Sponge cake:

1. Take a springform cake tin, grease it and put the baking paper on the bottom. Grease the sides of the tin.
2. Take a bowl, mix flour with potato flour inside.
3. Start heating the oven to 170C.
4. Take a mixer and its bowl, separate egg whites from yolks so that egg whites are inside the mixer's bowl and yolks are - for example - in a glass.
5. Stir the yolks. Put aside and leave the spoon inside the glass.
6. Start beating the whites on a low rotation for 2 minutes. 
7. After those 2 minutes start adding sugar (gradually, one tablespoon after another).
8. Continute beating the whites on the highest rotation till stiff and shiny (around 7-10 minutes).
9. Without stopping the mixer, start adding the yolks (gradually, one spoon after another - another goes when the previous links perfectly with egg whites).
10. Stop the mixer.
11. Divide flours into 3 parts and add first part to the mixer's bowl. Stir very gently (not to destroy the foam) with a spoon till it links. After that, add the second part, stir and the third - stir again. (It is very important to stir slowly and precisely cause very often, in the middle or on the bottom of the bowl there is unlinked flour).
12. Pour the dough into previously prepared springform cake tin and bake for around 35 minutes in 170C.
13. After that time take it immidiately out of the oven, and throw on the kitchen's surface. Cool down.
14. When the cake is cold take a knife and cut the sides very near to the springform cake tin side, so that the cake can be taken out easily from the springform cake tin.
15. Now cut the sponge cake into 3 parts - using a knife or a thread.

Pineapple Mousse:

1. Cut the pulp, throw away the skins and hard, middle parts of both pineapples. 
2. Take one pineapple, cut the pulp into cubes and put inside a pot, add liqueur and start heating on a low heat for around 30 minutes, stiring from time to time not to let it burn. 
3. Cut the second pineapple into cubes as well and put aside.
4. Mix (using for example a blender) the boiled pineapple, add the second pineapple cut into cubes and start heating again. 
5. Take a glass, put a little water inside. Add potato flour, stir.
6. Add potato flour from the glass to the pot with pineapples. Boil till the mousse becomes really thick, like a jam.
7. Cool down.

Coconut Cream:

1. Take a pot. Put coconut milk and liqueur inside, add sugar and stir till the sugar melts.
2. Boil on an average heat for around 30-40 minutes till the substance getsreally thick (like a gum).
3. Cool down a little bit (it can't be cooled down completely cause it will be impossible to use it).
4. Take a bowl, put mascarpone and ricotta cheese inside. 
5. Using a mixer, mix it on a slow rotation. One spoon after another, keep adding coconut 'gum' while still mixing everything on a very slow rotation and make sure it links with both ricotta and mascarpone.

Preparing the cake:

1. Put the bottom sponge cake piece on a desired plate (it won't be possible to change the plate after preparing!).
2. Sprinkle with rum, put 1/2 of the pineapple mousse on it and 1/3 of the coconut cream. 
3. Put another piece of sponge cake on it. Sprinkle with rum, put the rest of pineapple mousse on it and 1/2 of the coconut cream (leave 1/2 of the coconut cream for the sides and the top of the cake).
4. Put the last piece of sponge cake on the top, sprinkle with rum, put coconut cream all over the cake - top and sides and sprinkle with shredded coconut (unlimited technique).
5. Decorate the top of the cake with the pineapple leaves - if possible.
6. Keep closed in a cake box, in the fridge.
7. Bon Appetit! :)

Burning Bananas

I've always dreamt of preparing them. I have no idea why did it take me so long to do it. I think it is because of that 'burning part' that I was afraid of. But - in this case, there is no need to be afraid of fire :) Of course remember about all the necessary precautions against fire but it is not that scary :) 

And the effect - ahhh, wonderful :) And it is so easy to prepare it ! Unbelievable! :) Must try!

The inspiration for the recipe comes - surprisingly - from the packaging of cinnamon :) Changed, as always, works perfectly :)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 bananas (preferably hard ones)
• 40-50 g of butter
• 1/4 glass of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinammon
• 1 orange - squeezed, to get 1/4-1/2 glass of the orange juice
• 1/4-1/2 glass of Golden Rum or Whisky

Decoration:

• Ice cream - for example vanilla ones
• Whipped cream
• Any favourite sauce

Preparation:

1. Take bananas, wash, peel, cut - the length and breadth of them.*
2. Take a frying pan, put butter on it and start heating on the lowest heat, so that the butter melts. Add sugar** and cinammon. Stir.
3. Add bananas, boil, to get caramel. Stir from time to time.
4. When the caramel is ready, add orange juice and cover everything with a lid, to let the liquid thicken.
5. Add Golden Rum or Whisky. Stir.
6. Using a lighter or a matchstick, set bananas on fire.
7. Burn for a while. Damp down the fire by using a lid (but it will probably stop burning on its own).
8. Gently take them out from the frying pan and put on a plate.
9. Decorate.
10. Bon Appetit!! :)

*Even if you consider your bananas small and you are unwilling to cut them - I do recommend it, at least into halves, because after preparation, they get very soft and it is hard to take them out from the frying pan.

** If there is still too little butter and what you get is dry sugar - add a little more butter to get a liquid-like substance.

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! :)