Carrot Cake #1

When the owner of MojeWypieki says this is the best carrot cake you've ever eaten, then... it really is the best carrot cake you'll ever eat, if you decide to prepare it. What a taste, my Godness! I can't believe how quickly did this cake disappear! I'm lucky I managed to snap some pictures for You!

This is a must-bake. It looks wonderful, it is possible to decorate it in many different ways, it can also be served as a birthday cake. 

What's more, the wonderful taste - thanks to all the spices - gives it a little bit an aroma of Christmas... :)

Here is the source, I changed it just a little bit :)

Before baking:

• This cake is for a small springform (diameter -> 20 cm), if You wish to make it much bigger, it is neccessary to double all the ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2/3 glass of flour
• 1/2 glass of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinammon
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 glass of oil 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 glass of walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 glass of chopped pineapple (fresh or tinned one)
• 1 full glass of ground carrots

For the filling&top:

• 250g of philadelphia cheese
• 6 tablespoons of butter (room temperatured)
• 1,5 glass of powdered sugar, sieved
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Decoration ideas:

• Any pattern desired made of cinnamon powder or cocoa
• Walnuts
• Edible carrots
• Chocolate flowers
• ... :)

Preparation:

1. All the ingredients needs to be room temperatured.
2. Take a springform, grease it and put baking paper all over. Set aside.
3. Take one big bowl, sieve into it all the 'dry ingredients' inside (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, spices)
4. In another bowl, beat eggs and oil.
5. Mix both bowls, add carrot, walnuts, pineaples and stir precisely with a spoon.
6. Pour the dough into the springform and bake in 175C for 30-40 minutes (to the point when the toothpick comes out dry).
7. Set aside, in the springform, to let it cool down.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the filling&top.
9. Take a mixer and its bowl, put all the ingredients inside and mix till bright. (It is advisable firstly to add 1/2 teaspoon of the extract and check if it isn't already too strong).
10. When the cake cooled down completely, open the springform and cut the cake lengthways into two pieces.
11. Put half of the filling on the first piece of cake, cover with the other one, distribute the remaining filling on the top and decorate.
12. Keep in the fridge (though the filling is strong and will remain as beautiful as it is in a room temperature for a quite long time).
13. 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! :)

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! :)

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! :)

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! :)

The easiest ice-cream in this world - fruit ice cream

Well, according to the fact that it is almost summer, let's start from preparing some fruit ice-cream.

All we need is:

Ingredients:

• one piece of every fruit we like - preferably citrus ones, like:

• one orange
• one kiwi
• one mango
• and of course some ice-cream form. I do recommend silicone ones - whatever we prepare. It is much easier in use. It is getting more and more popular, so we can buy a lot of forms almost everywhere.

 Here is an example of a form.

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and chop every fruit.
2. If you don't like kernels or pulp - dab every fruit, one after another through sieve to get rid of them (I skipped that part)
3. Put the first fruit in a blender/liquidizer - mix.
4. Divide the fruit mousse - put some of it in every ice cream form hole. Don't forget to put the sticks.
5. Freeze.
6. Wash the blender and mix another fruit. Repeat the actions, dividing quite equally the mousse. Freeze again.
7. Wash the liquidizer. Mix another fruit - of there is still a place for filling in your ice cream form and repeat previous steps. Freeze.
8. Bon appetit ;)