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.

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! ;)

Banana Tart

A very tasty, non-baking recipe for banana lovers :) I did enjoy it a lot :) It is quick, easy and very sweet :) Looks delicious and You can write something or make a nice heart, star, etc- shape on the top :)

The recipe comes from this website, though I made some changes, I skipped lemon juice as it gives a strange taste.

Ingredients:

Bottom:

• 350g of chocolate/cocoa cookies/biscuits
• optionally - (if the cookies are cocoa flavoured) - 2 tablespoons of of baking cocoa
• 100g of butter(melted)

Home-made custard:

• 60g of potato starch
• 60g of sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 500ml of milk

Filling&Top:

• 3-4 bananas, cut into slices
• 400g of cold 36% cream
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1,5 tablespoon of gelatin + 1/4 glass of water
• optionally: sauces - caramel, chocolate; baking cocoa - to sprinkle the top, shredded chocolate

Preparation:

Bottom:

1. Prepare a baking pan for a tart, (around 24 cm diameter) - preferably silicone one, as it is much easier to take out the cake from it (unless You own a tart springform).
2. Crush the cookies in a food processor or blender's cube cutter or any other method - crush them very precisely (sand-like). Add melted butter, mix precisely. Check with your hand if the bottom is sticky enough, if not, add a little bit more butter.
3. If necessary - add baking cocoa.
4. Distribute crushed cookies evenly all over the tart pan (bottom + sides) and press a little.
5. Put in the fridge.

Custard:

1. Take a pot, put potato starch, sugar and egg yolks inside and mix. Gradually add milk, mixing all the time. Start heating on a low heat till all the ingredients mix/dissolve precisely and you get a smooth mixture. 
2. Keep heating (bring to boil) and stiring till it thickens (be careful not to burn it, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn). If there are any lumps - mix with a mixer or blender. Set aside.

Filling&Top:

1. Put the 36%cream in the freezer.
2. Wash and peel bananas, cut into slices.
3. Take the bottom from the fridge and pour the custard evenly all over the bottom. 
4. Distribute bananas evenly on the custard (one or two layers if necessary). Put it back in the fridge.
5. Take a pot, put gelatin and water inside, mix. Heat and stir till it melts and set aside. 
6. Take a mixer and its bowl, start beating the cream with sugar (around 10 minutes). After that time add gelatin and mix precisely.
7. Take the cake from the fridge, distribute whipped cream evenly on the entire top.
8. Decorate in a desired way.
9. Bon Appetit :)

Best Brownies

I'm playing with 'The very hungry caterpillar' story in a kindergarten with children, we're learning about food, I give them different food to taste (connected with a story) and here we are in front of a chocolate cake, one of the things a catepillar ate in that story. So I decided to bake them one. I chose that brownie, hesitating a little - I wasn't sure if it will be good for them - it is 70% chocolate, hmmm, they might not like it... 

I was amazed at the lesson, when they were saying 'chocolate cake please' with their mouth full of previous piece :D so - brownie tested - children will definitely love it ;)

P.S. Oh, it simply must be delicious ;) It's Martha's favourite :) I changed the original recipe a little bit :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of margarine, cut into small pieces + more to grease the baking pan
• 2/3 cup  flour + some more to sprinkle the baking pan (alternatively, it is also good to use cocoa powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 12 ounces of 70% chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups of packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Grease a smaller baking pan. Dust with flour/cocoa. Tap out excess and set aside. 
2. Sieve flour and salt in a small bowl, set aside as well.
3. Take a non-stick pot, put chocolate and margarine inside and boil on a very low heat, so that it won't  burn. Instead, you can make a 'bath'. Stir from time to time. When done, pour to a different pot/bowl and set aside (or keep stiring), to let it cool completely.
4. Start preheating the oven to 190C. 
5. When the chocolate is completely cool, take a mixer's bowl, put sugar and eggs inside and beat on a high speed till bright (3-5 minutes). Reduce speed to low and add chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Add flour. Mix only till it is well combined.
6. Distribute the mixture all over the pan, prepared at the very beginning. 
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until top of the brownie has cracked and its center is soft or until the toothpick comes out with moist crumbs). 
8. Let it cool completely. 
9. Cut into squares.
10. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
11. Bon Appetit! :)

Snickers Cheesecake

When I was little, we had a small shop nearby, where you could have bought a delicious cheesecake called 'snickers'. We used to buy it every weekend and devour it very quickly :) But the shop was closed and the cheesecake disappeared. We couldn't have found it anywhere (well, definitely not same tasty). Now, a good few years later I thought that it would be wonderful to prepare it on my own, especially that I have some snickers fans here. And so I did prepare it, with a little help of KwestiaSmaku.

It is definitely worth trying! I do recommend. Half of it disappeared during the first hour of its existence, hihi :) 

Note:

• This cheesecake needs to be prepared a day earlier as it needs to stiffen in the fridge.
• Some ingredients must be in a room temperature.
• It is good to buy unsalted peanuts - You can control how salty Your cheesecake will be.

Ingredients:

Bottom:

• 350-400g of cocoa biscuits 
• 50-100g of melted margarine or butter
• 2 tablespoons of baking cocoa

Cheesecake (all the ingredients need to be in a room temperature):

• 1kg of cheesecake
• 150-200 g of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of potato flour or powdered vanilla custard (budyn)
• 5 eggs
• 125ml 36% cream
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Top:

• 2 tins of fudge
• 350g of peanuts (unsalted)
• some salt (3-5 pinches)
• optionally - few snickers bars cut into small pieces

Preparation:

Bottom:

1. Crush the biscuits into very small pieces, for example using a blender's cube cutter (biscuits might be crushed into 'sand').
2. Add cocoa, stir, add melted butter, stir again, precisely. You can check with a spoon or a hand if the biscuits are sticky enough, it can't be dry and powdery.
3. Take a baking pan, put baking paper all over it, add biscuits, distribute all over the pan and knead with a hand or a tumbler.

Cheesecake:

1. Start preheating the oven to 175C.
2. Remember that all the cheesecake ingredients need to be in a room temperature.
3. Take a mixer and its bowl, put cheese, sugar and flour inside, mix on a low/middle rotation only till the mixture gets smooth (not longer than 2 minutes).
4. Add eggs, one after another, mixing after each of them for a few seconds.
5. Add 36% cream and vanilla extract and mix on a low rotation only till it links.
6. Pour the mixture into previously prepared rectangular pan with biscuits bottom.
7. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes in 175C. After that time, decrease the temperature to 120C and bake for another 1 hour and 30 minutes, till the cheesecake stiffens (it might still be a little jelly-like in the middle, it is okay, it will stiffen in the fridge).
8. After that time, turn off the oven and cool down the cheesecake in a slightly opened oven.
9. When cooled down completely, put in the fridge for a few hours (most preferably - for the entire night).

Top:

1. Take a non-stick pot, pour both tins of fudge inside, turn on a low heat. Stir, adding peanuts. 
2. Add salt - one pinch, taste, another - as much as you prefer. Note that after a while the taste will slightly change as the salt will completely dissolve and mix with fudge, changing its taste.
3. Turn off the heat. 
4. Cool the mixture down a little bit, stiring all the time.
5. Take the cake out of the fridge, distribute the fudge with peanuts all over the cake.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. 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 :)

Bajadera

Bajadera. What is it? Well - that's a fantastic, last second idea which always works, always tastes delicious as it is chocolate sweet, soft and moist. 

I do recommend, especially when you have no time and your oven is tired as it is a non-baking recipe ;)
But - if You have time and enjoy baking, decorating, creating sweet wonders - see also Bajadera Reindeers.

Quite changed recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 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)
• some plastic small sticks
• sprinkles for decoratation

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.
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 30 minutes.
9. During that time prepare small paper muffin cases and sprinkles around you.
10. Also, take a pot, put chocolate (in small pieces) inside and melt on a very low heat.
11. Take one ball from the freezer, dip 1/3 of a stick inside a ball and dip in the chocolate, so that it covers the entire ball, take out from the chocolate, wait till the excess of chocolate falls down.
12. As the ball is very cold, the chocolate will stiffen on it very fast, so as soon as you take it out from the chocolate pot, take out the stick, put it on a muffin case and decorate.
13. Store finished bajaderas in the fridge.
14. Bon Appetit! ;)

Gourmet Sensation vol. 2

Here is another version of my Gourmet Sensation. Don't try to call it 'worse' or 'poor'! ;) You will have problems to stop devouring it ;) It is same easy and same tasty :) 

And - it gets better with time :)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 packs of biscuits (butter ones)
• 2 vanilla custards (here is a recipe for home-made custard called 'budyn', you'll probably need to double the ingredients to make it suitable for that cake)
• 2 tins of fudge
• 36% cream: 2 options:

*if powdered:

you will need 2 sachets which need to be combined with milk (the method of preparing it is written on the sachet, you will probably need around 200 ml of milk per sachet)
* if real, fresh, liquid one, to whip it up: 1 packaging(around 330 ml, but it is ok to use more)  + 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)

• baking cocoa, to sprinkle the top of the cake (or grated chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, because the cake is really sweet itself)

Preparation:

Briefly, tiers:

1. biscuits
2. custard/budyń
3. biscuits
4. fudge
5. biscuits
6. whipped cream
7. chocolate/cocoa

Preparation:

* every tier will cover the entire surface of the tin.

1. Take a rectangular springform cake tin.
2. Put one tier of biscuits on the bottom of your cake tin.
3. Prepare the custard and pour it on biscuits (don't wait till it cools down).
4. Take a pot, pour some water inside, start heating.
5. Open tins with fudge, put them in the pot. Boil on a low heat (keep looking at it, but nothing bad should happen). Stir from time to time.
6. Put another tier of biscuits - no need to wait till the custard is cold.
7. Stir the fudge slowly, check if it isn't burning anyhow (though it shouldn't).
8. If the water with tins already boils, stir the fudge and turn off the heat. Using for instance a tea towel, take the first tin and a spoon, and pour the fudge on the biscuits. Distribute all over the biscuits. Take another tin and reapeat the action.
9. Put another tier of biscuits.
10. Put everything in a cold place or in a fridge, so that it cools down completely.
11. Prepare whipped cream.
12. When the cake is cooled down, distribute whipped cream all over the top.
13. Shortly before serving, sprinkle the top with chocolate/cocoa.
14. Keep in a fridge.
15. 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! :)