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! ;)

Sweet Meringue Plum Cake

I always wait so impatiently for plum season. I do love preparing plum cakes, they're always so delicious (even though I'm not really a plum-fan ;) )! I know I've waited too long to share this cake with You, but I hope that - at least for some of You - it is not too late :) Besides, it is possible to use frozen plums ;)

This is another wonderful and elegant cake from KwestiaSmaku, which I share with You today and also I do recommend to try this one, right after the very best plum cake, which You can find here.

Ingredients:

• 250g of flour
• 50g of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 200g of margarine
• 4 egg yolks
• 1kg of plums (without kernels, cut into halves) fresh or frozen (need to be defrost)

Budyń/Custard (it is possible to double the amount of custard in this cake):

• 1 packaging of vanilla custard (40g)
• 500ml of milk
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Meringue:

• 4 egg whites 
• 200g of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of potato starch 

Optionally - one of these:

• A handful of hazelnuts, to sprinkle the top (I skipped it)
• almond flakes (to sprinkle the fruit) 
• shredded coconut (to sprinkle the fruit or to mix with meringue)

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Start preheating the oven to 170C.
2. Prepare a rectangular baking pan (around 26x36 cm), grease it and put baking paper all over it.
3. Take a big bowl, put flour, sugar, salt and baking powder inside. Mix. Add cold butter and knead till you get crumbles.
4. Add egg yolks and knead again.
5. Distribute evenly all over the bottom of previously prepared baking pan and bake in preheated oven for around 20 minutes, till it becomes gold.
6. Take it out from the oven.

Custard + plums:

1. Prepare the custard as the instructions on a packaging says (using 500ml of milk + 2 tablespoons of sugar). 
2. When the custard is ready, pour it all over the previously baked bottom.
3. Add plums, cover the entire cake bottom with them (there is no need to wait till the custard cools down). Make 2 layers of plums, one on another.
4. Optionally - sprinkle with almond flakes or shredded coconut if desired. Set aside.

Meringue + finishing the cake:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl, put egg whites inside, beat, adding sugar gradually, till it stiffens (around 10-15 minutes). At the end, sieve potato starch inside and mix till smooth.
2. Here - if You haven't and You do fancy to do it - you can mix in some shredded coconut.
3. Distribute the meringue all over the top of the plums.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, setting the temperature as previously, on 170C.
5. After 20 minutes, decrease the temperature to 60C, turn on the hot air cooking, (optionally sprinkle the top with hazelnuts) and bake for another 20 minutes.
6. Take out from the oven.
7. 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.

Rafaello vol.2

I had some packs of crackers left and I needed a cake, extremely quickly with short preparation time. So I decided to upgrade the basic recipe and here it comes! It is definitely better than the previous one :)

Ingredients: (for a small rectangular pan, otherwise there's not enough cream, but You can double the ingredients and make double cream, then You'll also need more crackers)

• 1 litre of 3,2% milk
• 2 vanilla powdered custards, 40g each (or double the recipe for this budyń, recipe here ;) )
• 2 tablespoons of potato starch
• 3/4 glass of sugar
• 2-3 vanilla sugars (16g each)
• 1-3 tablespoon of Amaretto Syrup
• 1 egg yolk
• 250g of margarine
• 100g of shredded coconut 
• 2-3(3-5 if bigger pan) packs of crackers (rectangular shape)
• 330 ml of 36% cream  (or artificial, powdered one)
• 1/3 glass of powdered sugar

Optional ingredients:

• almond flakes, for sprinkling the top

Preparation of budyn/custard:

For those of You, who has powdered custard, follow the steps below, if You can't buy powdered budyn/custard then follow all the steps in that recipe, just remember to double all the ingredients.

1. Take a glass, fill 3/4 of it with milk. Add powdered custard and potato starch. Stir till smooth (no clumps please!)
2. Take a pot, put all the remaining milk in there, add sugar, start boiling. Stir from time to time to help the sugar dissolve. Bring to boil and add the mixture from the glass. Lower the heat, stir energetically till it turns thick. Cool down.

Now, when the custard is ready: 

1. Using a stand mixer, mix butter with egg yolk, adding cooled down custard, one tablespoon after another.
2. Add Amaretto syrup, gradually, mixing and tasting after every tablespoon to check how strong the Amaretto taste is for You.
3. Add shredded coconut, mix till it links.
4. Take a rectangular pan - preferably a rectangular springform pan (no baking paper inside is necessary, in both cases).
5. Put one layer of crackers and start adding some part of the cream, to cover the entire crackers layer.
6. Put another layer of crackers and cream - repeat till all the ingredients are used, the last layer are crackers.

Now prepare the whipped cream:

1. Before preparing the whipped cream make sure your cream is really, really cool (I always put it in the freezer before beating, for around 10-15 minutes). 
2. Take a mixer and its bowl, put cream inside, start mixing. After a while add powdered sugar and something to stiffen it (powdered whipped cream/smietan-fix). 
3. Beat for around 10 minutes (depending on the power of a mixer it might take more or less time, keep paying attention not to make butter).
4. Distribute whipped cream all over the top.
5. Cover the cake with foil, put in the frigde for at least 3 hours.
6. 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! :)

Raspberry Charlotte Cake

This perfect cake has only perfect advantages :) perfectly literally! :) It is perfect for a gift, it looks gorgeous, tastes wonderfully, it is extremely easy to make and doesn't require using an oven :)

The recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.

Notes:

• Prepare this cake at least an evening earlier as it needs to stiffen in the fridge for a good few hours.
• Please note that You need to use 16cm springform cake pan, unless the cake will be destroyed.
• Make sure your springform pan is perfectly clean and do not use baking paper, as it will stick to the raspberry foam, get moist and after all, you'd end up with another cake layer, made of baking paper.

Ingredients:

• 200 g of Savoiardi/ladyfingers (around the cake)
• red, forest fruit (top)

Raspberry mousse (bottom):

• 350g of raspberries (fresh or frozen - if so, defrost)
• lemon juice from 1/2 of lemon
• 1/3 glass of sugar
• 2,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin
• 200ml of 36% cream, cool

Raspberry cream:

• 250g of mascarpone cheese, cool 
• 150ml of 36% cream, cool
• 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 1,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin + 30ml of hot milk
• 150g of raspberries (fresh or frozen - if so, defrost)

Preparation:

Raspberry mousse:

• Take a pot, put raspberries, lemon juice and sugar inside. Bring to boil, stiring from time to time.
• Sieve, to get a mousse without small seeds. 
• Dissolve gelatin in a small amount (a tiny little bit, just to cover the gelatin) of boiling water, stir so that it melts completely. 
• Bring the mousse to boil again and add previously prepared gelatin. Stir precisely. Set aside, it needs to cool down completely.

When cooled down:

1. Prepare a clean springform cake pan and keep it handy.
2. Beat 36% cream for around 5-7 minutes with a mixer (till the whipped cream is stiff). Stop mixing and slowly, spoon after spoon, add cooled down mousse. Stir gently, till it all links.
3. Pour the mousse to the springform. Cover for with foil and put in the fridge to let it stiffen for few hours.

When ready, prepare raspberry cream::

1. Take a small bowl/pot, put 30ml of milk inside, heat till hot. Add 1,5 teaspoon of powdered gelatin and stir till it melts completely. Set aside so that it cools down.
2. Take another bowl suitable for mixing and put mascarpone, 36% cream and powdered sugar inside. Beat till stiff. Add raspberries and cooled down gelatin(melted in milk). Mix till everything links.
3. Put on the top of the cake, distribute equally all over. 
4. Cool down in the fridge for another few hours.

Finishing:

1. When stiff, take out from the fridge. Using a knife, cut the cake around, very close to the sides of the springform, to make taking it out from the springform easier. 
2. Take ladyfingers, stick them around the cake (the mousse is sticky, ladyfingers will stick easily).
3. Take a ribbon, decorate the cake with it, tying it around the cake.
4. Decorate the top of the cake with (preferably) forest fruit.
5. Store in the fridge.
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Tropical Apple Pie

The second I saw this recipe I knew - this is going to be the best apple pie in the Universe. So I made it, twice bigger than the original recipe says ;) And I was perfectly right :) I had quite a lot of it, all the guests were smitten with it, I gave some 'takeaway' portions and I was receiving calls and txt messages with compliments and asks for the recipe for the entire afternoon ;)

So, here, again, bravo for KS for another wonderful recipe!

I changed the original recipe, I've added more margarine, thanks to this change it has absolutely different taste and is way better, believe me!

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 6 glasses of flour
• 12 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 2 pinches of salt
• 345g of butter
• 235g of margarine
• optionally - if the dough isn't sticky enough - add a little water

Filling:

• 1800g of apples (cut into a little bit thicker slices)
• 900g of pineapple (fresh or tinned, cut into small pieces) 
• 1/2 glass of brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 vanilla sugar
• 2 packagings (40g each) of vanilla powdered budyń (or 1/2 glass of potato starch)
• a handful of almond flakes or shredded coconut

Optionally:

• filling: a handful of raisins (of course if You like raisins, add as much as You like, though not more than 1 glass)
• top: 1 beaten egg to spread on the top, before baking
• top: powdered sugar, to sprinkle the top of the cake, after baking

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Take a big bowl, sieve flour and powdered sugar inside, add salt as well as butter and margarine cut into small pieces. Knead or mix till everything links (especially butter and margarine). If the dough isn't sticky enough and You can't form a ball, add a little water.
2. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, cover with foil and put in the fridge for an hour.
3. During that time, prepare a suitable baking pan (around 30x40 cm) - grease it and cover with baking paper. Also, during that time, prepare the filling.

Filling:

1. Wash, peel, cut the apples (cut out the kernels and throw away) and put in a big pot or bowl. 
2. Do the same with the pineapple and mix with apples.
3. Optionally, add raisins to the same pot/bowl and mix.
4. Add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla sugar and budyń/potato starch and mix precisely.

Baking:

1. Start preheating the oven to 190C.
2. Take the first part of the dough, distribute all over the bottom of the baking pan and its sides.
3. Add mixed filling.
4. Sprinkle with almond flakes or shredded coconut.
5. Take the second part of the dough from the fridge and - either make a crumble or roll out the pastry thinly and cover the cake or roll out the dough thinly, cut into stripes and make a chequered pattern.
6. Optionally - beat 1 egg and distribute all over the top.
7. If the oven is ready, put the cake inside and bake for 70 minutes till golden brown.
8. If the top or bottom is getting too dark and isn't ready - cover the top with a piece of foil and the bottom, for example with baking tray.
9. Take out from the oven and serve for instance with powdered sugar on the top or with some vanilla ice cream.
10. Bon Appetit! :)

Raspberry Buns

Absolutely stunning! Best buns I've ever eaten! Soft, moist, sweet raspberries plus mascarpone cheese make a wonderful couple if it comes to the taste and the overall effect is outrageous :) Perfect for breakfast, lunch, either at home or at work/school. A definite must-bake :) A big thanks to Deliciouslyyum for the recipe!

If You need a converter, feel free to use this one.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup of milk
• 4 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups of flour, divided
• 1 package of instant yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 8 oz. of mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 12 oz. of raspberries (if frozen, need to be defrost and dried on a paper towel)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• zest of 1 lemon

Icing:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons of milk

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Take a baking tray, grease and put baking paper all over it. Set aside.
2. Take a bowl (suitable to put in a microwave or on the stove), put milk and butter inside and heat till the butter is almost melted and the milk is warm. Stir till the butter is completely melted. Set aside. 
3. Take a big bowl (you can do it using a stand mixer if it is suitable to knead the dough), put 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt inside. Stir, so that it mixes.
4. Add the egg and milk to the dry mix and continue stirring until thoroughly combined. Start kneading for at least few minutes (till the douhg starts pulling away from the sides) and add remaining flour. 
5. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes. 
6. Cover the bowl with dough with a dry, clean cloth and put in a warm place (do not leave it near an open window, even if it is hot outside). Leave it for at least 10 minutes or until it doubles its size.
7. During that time, prepare the filling.

Filling&Dough:

1. Take a bowl, put mascarpone cheese, 3 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla extract inside. Set aside.
2. Take another bowl, put frozen raspberries, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and cornstarch inside, mix. Set aside as well.

1. When the dough is ready, sprinkle kitchen's surface with flour and roll it out until you get a 12 x 14 inches rectangle. 
2. Distribute mascarpone cheese mixture evenly over the dough. Put raspberry mixture on top and sprinkle with lemon zest. 
3. Now, time to roll the dough up - starting with one of the longer's side, roll the dough into a log. Close the sides very precisely so that the filling doesn't come out. 
4. Cut into slices (around 2-3 cm thick) and put them on previously prepared baking tray, leaving some space between them (the buns will rise again). Cover again with a clean kitchen cloth. Set aside in a warm place for at least 30 minutes (or till it doubles its size again). 
5. During that time, start preheating the oven to 180C. 
6. Bake the buns for around 20 minutes (or until the tops are golden brown).
7. Now, it is a good time, to prepare the icing.

Icing:

1. Mix confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. 
2. When the buns are ready, take them out from the oven, let them cool down for a while and distribute the icing all over their tops.
3. Keep closed for max 3 days or store closed in the freezer for maximum 3 weeks.
4. 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 :)

Cherry Éclairs

Uhh, at first they seem so quick and easy, but the filling and final preparing them was more of a challenge :) However, the final outcome is really wonderful :) I gave a good plate for my brother, but before he reached his house, the plate was already empty ;) 

It would be a sin, not to recommend them ;)
This recipe is a mix of recipes from those two pages.

Ingredients:

Éclairs dough:

• 250 ml of water
• 125g of butter or margarine
• 1 glass of flour
• 4 eggs
• a pinch of salt

Filling:

• 200 ml of milk
• 300g of cherries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 egg yolks
• 20g of flour
• 20g of potato starch
• 90g of sugar
• 1 packaging of vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Icing:

• 1 glass of powdered sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons of water

Optional icing ingredients:

• flavoured extract - vanilla, almond, lemon, etc.
• food colouring
• or - instead of icing - ganache, chocolate frosting

Optional ingredients - decoration:

• cherry (or any other flavour - different fruit, caramel, chocolate, coffee, nut...) mousse
• whipped cream
• fruit
• nuts
• mincemeat

Preparation - dough:

1. Take a baking tray, grease and put baking paper on it. Put aside.
2. Take a pot, put water, butter and salt inside, boil.
3. When brought to boil, add flour and stir energetically (to prevent the bottom from burning). The dough should be smooth and should not stick to the pot.
4. Put aside, to let it cool down completely.
5. When cooled down, mix the dough with eggs, for a quite long time, till smooth.* 
6. Put the dough inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape).
7. Distribute long pieces of cake, leaving some space between them, as they will grow quite much.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, on 200C. Make sure they're ready inside.
9. When baked, cool down and cut lengthways.

* Longer mixing helps it grow up in the oven later on, as there is no baking powder.

Preparation - filling:

1. If your cherries are frozen - defrost, make sure there are no kernels, pour away the water.
2. If fresh - throw away the kernels.
3. Put the cherries in a bowl. Mix, with a mixer, till smooth, to get a mousse. If there's cherry juice, pour it away, for a different use.
4. Take a pot, pour milk and add cherry mousse inside. Start boiling. When brought to boil, turn off the heat and put aside to let it cool down.
5. Take a mixer and its bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar. Add flour and potato starch. Using a spatula, mix precisely.
6. Gradually add cherry milk mixture to the mixer's bowl, stiring precisely.
7. Put the mixture back in the pot and start boiling. Stir all the time, as it will thicken, like a custard, quite fast. Be careful not to burn the bottom.
8. When thick and ready, add butter and stir, to let the butter melt. Cover with foil and put aside, to let it cool down. Later on, when cool, keep in the fridge (it will thicken more), till you need it.

Preparation - icing sugar:

1. Put all the ingredients together and stir to get a desired consistency of the icing (needs to be thick). 

Finishing:

1. Prepare a baking grill or another baking tray, cover with baking paper, put aside.
2. Take the top pieces of your Éclairs and dip in previously prepared icing. 
3. Transfer them into steel baking grill or baking tray and leave for a while in the fridge.
4. Put the cherry filling inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape) and distribute it on the bottom piece of your Éclair in any way desired. You can add fruit, whipped cream or use only the cherry filling.
5. Cover with the suitable top piece covered with icing.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. Bon Appetit! :)