Strawberry Yoghurt Cake

I was looking for a nice strawberry cake recipe. But not the strawberry cake I’ve already made, ahh, I craved for something new, as I’m addicted to trying new recipes. And I found this strawberry yoghurt cake. One word: Wow! That’s the quickest and the one of the cheapest cake I’ve ever made! And I needed to bake 2 pans, one after another, day after day, cause it disappeared so quickly! I’m utterly shocked! And how many variations this one particular cake has, that’s unbelievable! Delicate, spongy, sweet, perfect for a morning coffee and for a nice lunch at work ;-) What’s more, that’s one of the ‘light’ cakes, so we can feel excused for eating half of the baking pan ;) (giggle) 

I do recommend!

The only thing that I found particularly difficult to explain to You is a polish dessert - powdered, quick, jelly-like, fruit-flavoured 'kisiel'. I can't find an equivalent for it in English. I do encourage You to look up for it. Wikipedia defines it as 'kissel' and explains a little bit what it is. If You are unable to buy it, You can easily use jam ;)
I made quite a lot of changes, though still - big thanks for KwestiaSmaku for the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 glass = 250ml

• 2 big eggs
• 1 glass of greek yoghurt
• 2 glasses of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 500g of strawberries
• ¾ -1 glass of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
• 25g of melted butter (or 25g of oil)
• 1 powdered strawberry kissel
• 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry jam

Optional ingredients:

• Powdered sugar
• X g of any other berries ;) (I had one bowl of currants from my garden, so I used them J)
• Icing sugar

Preparation:

1. Bring eggs and yoghurt to room temperature.
2. Prepare 3 bowls. Mix flour with baking powder very precisely and sieve to the 1^st bowl. Put aside.
3. Wash your fruit. Take 500g of strawberries, cut out the leaves, divide into halves (250g each), put in remaining 2 bowls. Cut the strawberries into halves (if the strawberry is really big – 3 pieces)
4. Take a mixer’s bowl. Put sugar and vanilla sugar inside.
5. Melt the butter in a small pot.
6. Take a rectangular baking pan (preferably 20x30 cm, might be a little bit bigger), grease it precisely with soft butter. Put aside.
7. Start preheating the oven to 165C.
8. Prepare the kissel as the recipe on the packaging says. Mix with jam. Mix 1/3 of this kissel-jam mixture with one strawberry bowl. Put aside.
9. Add eggs to the mixer’s bowl with sugars.
10. Using a mixer, start beating for 7 minutes. After that time, put the mixer aside, add yoghurt, melted butter, sieved flour with baking powder and slowly, precisely, for a short time, stir, using a big spoon or spatula, only till all the ingredients link, not longer.
11. Put the dough in previously prepared greased baking pan, distribute the dough all over the pan.
12. Take a bowl with kissel strawberries. Here – preferably – don’t use much of the kissel as it may destroy the cake, it is perfectly enough if there is some kissel on the strawberry. Put the strawberries all over the cake, leaving some space between them (chequered pattern works and looks perfectly).
13. When done, put it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Observe your cake, it might take less or more time for Your cake to be ready, as every oven works differently – You are probably the person who knows it best.
14. After those 20 minutes, if the top is gold, use a toothpick to check, if it is ready inside. If not – cover the top with foil and bake for another 10 minutes or so.*
15. Cool down, take out from the pan. Take the second bowl with strawberries and kissel, fill the holes in the cake - firstly with some kissel, then with a strawberry.
16. Sprinkle the cake with (for instance) remaining fruit (or any other additional fruit if You have prepared them), powdered sugar, icing sugar or add remaining kissel all over the cake.
17. Bon Appetit! ;)

*the cake should be much bigger, its sides should stick out from the pan, the top should be gold and a toothpick clean (if there is any cake glued to a toothpick, it is not ready yet)

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. 

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! :)

Raspberry Lassi

This is sort of an idea for Mango Lassi leftovers or for something new, when you're bored with basic version. :) Worth trying, the taste is more intense thanks to raspberries. Recipe - my own idea, using what I have in my fridge :)

Ingredients (for 2 glasses):

• 1 mango
• 200-300 g of raspberries
• 1/2-1 greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt (around 150-300 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of Golden Syrup or honey
• 1 glass of cold/room temperature water (add only 1/2 glass of cold water if using ice cubes)

Optional ingredients:

• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1-2 pinch(es) of ground cardamom (definitely worth trying)
• 2-5 ice cubes
• mint leaves

Preparation:

1. Wash all the fruit and put on paper towels to dry.
2. If preparing it in a cold version - put the fruit in the freezer.
3. Take a blender and its cube cutter.
4. Wash and peel mango. Chop.
5. Put inside the cube cutter and mix till smooth.
6. Add raspberries, mix till smooth.
7. Add yoghurt, mix.
8. Add Golden Syrup/honey, sugar, water, ice cubes, cardamom. Mix again till smooth or even longer, to make a foam.
9. Decorate for instance with mint leaves.
10. Bon Appetit! :)

Mango Lassi

 After a quite long holiday break, it is time for something new and refreshing as we are still in holiday mood :)

Mango Lassi, deriving from India, it is based on a Mango fruit with yoghurt and water. Easy to prepare, will pamper your palate :) 

I haven't taken the recipe from anywhere, I've just read on the Internet about this drink and created my own recipe. It is possible to prepare as a cold coctail, as a soft drink or with alcohol.

Ingredients (for 2-4 glasses - depending on the size of the glass):

• 2 mangos
• 1 greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt (around 300 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of Golden Syrup or honey
• 1 glass of cold/room temperature water (add only 1/2 glass of cold water if using ice cubes)

Optional ingredients:

• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1-2 pinch(es) of ground cardamom (definitely worth trying)
• 2-5 ice cubes
• 20-25 ml of Vanilla Vodka or Malibu
• mint leaves

Useful info:

• While using Golden Syrup it is advisable to heat it a little bit - for example by putting the right amount of it in a small bowl and then that bowl in another, with hot water.
• If the mango is really really ripe - then the sugar isn't that necessary, because the more ripe the fruit is the more sugar it contains.
• Trying things while preparing them is really a useful skill - you can decide on your own whether you want the taste of the fruit to be dominant or rather the yoghurt, etc. With coctails such as Mango Lassi, just add all the ingredients gratually, mix and taste it, using a clean spoon each time you try it, to make it suitable for you.

Preparation:

1. If preparing it in a cold version - put mangos in the freezer.
2. Take a blender and its cube cutter.
3. Wash and peel mangos. Chop.
4. Put inside the cube cutter and mix till smooth.
5. Add yoghurt, mix.
6. Add Golden Syrup/honey, sugar, water, ice cubes, cardamom. Mix again till smooth or even longer, to make a foam.
7. Decorate for instance with mint leaves.
8. Bon Appetit! :)

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! :)

Yoghurt pancakes

Delicious! Mouth-watering, soft, melting in your mouth. I will never ever make casual, classic pancakes again. These are absolutely brilliant! A definite must-do. Perfect for the entire day - either breakfast, dinner or supper.
Enormous thanks for http://www.kwestiasmaku.com/kuchnia_polska/placki/placki_jogurtowe_z_truskawkami/przepis.html for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 250 g of natural yoghurt (or greek one)
• 2 big eggs (or 3 smaller)
• 2 tablespoons of oil or melted butter
• 2-3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 + 1/3 glass of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• some sliced strawberries

Optional ingredients = decoration:

• Powdered sugar
• strawberry mousse
• caramel sauce
• whipped cream

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix or stir: yoghurt, eggs and oil. 
2. Add sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. 
3. Keep stiring till all the ingredients mix (smooth consistency -  (no lumps)
4. Take the frying pan. Preheat with some oil (around 2 tablespoons).
5. Prepare your pancakes on a very low heat, so that you won't burn them.
6. Put one, full tablespoon of dough on the frying pan. Distribute it on the frying pan (just make that tablespoon wider, thinner on the frying pan). 
7. Leaving some space, put another. 
8. After around 30 seconds, put 2-3 slices of strawberry. 
9. Using a fork or spatula, check whether they are gold on the other side. If gold, turn around. Check again, if gold. If yes - take them off the frying pan.
10. Decorate with anything you want.
11. Bon appetit!

Smoothie

The easiest and the tastiest juice in this world that will cool you down during a hot day.

The idea for this smoothie comes from this website. But - again - I changed it a little bit :)

Ingredients: (for 2-3 cups)

• orange juice (from 1 orange)
• 1 peeled mango
• 1 banana
• cherries - fresh or frozen

Optional ingredients:

• 1/2 tumbler of milk
• sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
• ice

Preparation:

1. Wash the banana and put it in the freezer.
2. Put orange juice and chopped mango to your blender/mixer/food processor. Mix till smooth.
3. Add banana. Mix till smooth.
4. Now it's time for optional ingredients (except for ice). Add carefully one element, mix, taste it, add another. Try it after every mixing so that you are sure that your smoothie suits your taste.
5. Add ice, mix till smooth.
6. Now you can make two - pour the smoothie in one cup so that you have a yellow smoothie.
7. Leave the rest in your food processor and now add cherries. Mix till smooth.
8. Bon appetit :)