Easy like Sunday morning sundae cakes

This is a classic dessert that I shaped like a small cake. It's very easy to make: takes little time, little skill, and little cleaning up.

This recipe will feed 2 to 4 (depending on the shape and size of your cakes). You will need:

For the brownie:
75 g dark chocolate
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter
2 eggs
50 g sugar
40 g flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the sauce:
100 g fresh strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
a splash of lemon juice

For assembling the cakes:
ice cream of your choice, i used plain vanilla

100 g fresh strawberries

Make the brownie:
Place a bowl with chocolate, butter, and milk over a pot of simmering water and let them slowly melt together, stirring occasionally. Then turn the heat off and let it cool to room temperature.

In another bowl beat the eggs and sugar with a whisk or an electric mixer, then add the chocolate mixture.

Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix it all together. Pour the batter into a small lined and greased mould.

Bake at 175°C for 30 to 35 minutes.

Make the sauce:
Wash and chop the strawberries. Save one half of them for later, and put the other half in a small saucepan along with a splash of lemon juice and two tablespoons of sugar (use less or more sugar depending on the sweetness of your strawberries). Let it stew very slowly until the strawberries become soft. Then either smash them with a fork or process in a blender, and pour through a sift to get rid of any lumps.

Assemble the cakes:
Place the brownie onto a cutting board and cut out circles or any other desired shape. Cut the same shape out of ice cream and place it over your brownie. I used a 7 cm ∅ cake ring.

Top with fresh strawberries and hot strawberry sauce.

Enjoy!

Ricotta and cottage cheese pie

This pie might just be the perfect compromise between a classic cheesecake and a dessert that, when instagrammed, could be accompanied with hashtags like #healthy, #fit and #cleaneating. Packed with ricotta and eggs, this easy-to-make pie might not be vegan, lactose-free or gluten-free, but is definitely much healthier than cheesecake, and (I dare say) much more delicious than most things that your instafamous fitness gurus would recommend (but maybe that's just because it isn't vegan, lactose-free or gluten-free. Sorry, not sorry.)

You will need (for a standard size pie dish):

For the crust:

18 whole wheat butter biscuits (European alternative for graham crackers)

70 g butter, melted

For the filling:

500 g ricotta

250 g cottage cheese

100 g sour cream (optional)

75 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

5 eggs

Make the crust:

Break the biscuits into smaller pieces, than crush them in a food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter and mix in the food processor. Put the mixture in a pie dish and press it down firmly with your hands so you get an even base.

Make the filling:

In your food processor, mix together the ricotta, cottage cheese and sour cream with sugar and vanilla.

Beat the eggs lightly and add them to the mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix again until it's all well combined. You can also do this step in a large bowl with a whisk or a hand mixer. There really is no wrong way to do it.

Bake at 180°C for 55 to 60 minutes. If needed, turn on the grill for a few minutes at the end. Let it cool in the oven for about 30 minutes, than let it cool completely at room temperature. It needs to set before you cut it, so I like to bake it a day before I mean to serve it, and refrigerate it overnight.

As you bake it, the pie will rise like crazy and might also crack (you have been warned). It will deflate as it cools down.

Optional (but not really): mixed berries sauce

For the sauce I used about ¾ cup (didn't measure) of frozen mixed berries. I put them in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water, tablespoon of sugar, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I let it cook for about 10 minutes, than processed it in a blender, and strained it to remove the seeds before serving.

Enjoy!

The story of panettone: Don't buy it, make it

One of the things I like the most about Christmas time is that I get to eat panettone. I have a great aunt in Italy who traditionally provides me with the best one you can buy. I then eat it with indecent greed and guard it jealously so noone gets more than me. Yes, I am that childish.

However, I always really wanted to try and make it at home as we all know that home-made is generally better. Panettone has a reputation for being extremely tricky to make. My grandma, who is a sort of an authority when it comes to baking with yeast dough, told me that it's supposed to be really hard, that it takes a lot of time, and that I shouldn't even bother. Fortunately, I rarely listen to any advice, so I decided to make my research and at least give it a try.

I really did make my research. In the end I felt like I read and watched everything that the internet could provide on the topic of panettone. I decided on a recipe by Laura Vitale that seemed both traditional and simple enough. I made only two alterations. I substituted the active yeast with 14g of fresh yeast as fresh yeast is a traditionally used by Italian bakers, and left out any candied fruit because I just don't like it.

My first panettone. Don't listen to anyone who tells you it's too hard to make at home. It's not.

There are two things that I found were crucial for success when making panettone:

1. Being gentle with the dough.
   It's okay to be not so gentle when you're making the dough, but once you put it away to rise you should really be careful what you do with it. Don't poke it. Don't slam the oven door once you put it in. Pretend the dough is asleep and any fast movement would wake it up.
2. Creating a warm enough rising environment.
   The warmer your kitchen is the better. If it's too cold, the dough won't rise properly.

I have to say that when I try out new recipes, even if they are good in essentials, I usually always find something that I'm not completely satisfied with - the taste, sweetness, texture, you name it. This recipe, however, is perfect. There is not a single thing that I'd want to change. Needless to say, the panettone was of course better that the store-bought one.

Panettone admittedly does take a lot of time to make, because the dough has to rise twice. Altogether the process takes about 8 hours, but don't let that discourage you. It's more than worth it.

There are still two days till Christmas. Get your aprons on!

Chocolate mousse cake with sour cherries

I spent the last few weeks experimenting with different types of chocolate creams and fillings. I like this one especially because of its mousse-like texture as well as amazing flavour. Paired with sour cherries and simple chocolate sponge it makes a killer cake that is easy enough to make.

You will need :

For the cake base (16 cm Ø springform pan):

3 eggs, separated

3 tbsp powdered sugar

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the filling:

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp (or 2 or 3…) rum

100 g dark chocolate

200 g mascarpone

150 g Greek yoghurt

250 ml whipping cream

1 tbsp powdered sugar

200 g sour cherries (frozen or canned, either way put them in a strainer but save the liquid/syrup)

For the chocolate wrap:

100 g dark chocolate

Make the cake base:

First beat the egg whites with half of the sugar until it forms stiff peaks.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar until the mixture is quite pale yellow.

Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites, flour and cocoa powder into the egg yolk mixture. 

Pour the batter into a spring form pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes.

Let the cake cool slightly than cut it into two layers. Let them cool completely.

Make the chocolate mousse cream:

Put a bowl with the egg yolks, brown sugar and a dash of rum over a pot of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water). Mix them using either a whisk or a hand mixer (on very low speed). Make sure the water is just barely simmering and that you’re mixing constantly. This will take from 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and let the cream cool.

Now melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water. Let that cool too.

In a large bowl combine the egg cream, mascarpone and Greek yoghurt. Mix them all together with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth and lump free. Mix in the chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream with a tablespoon of powdered sugar. Then add the cream to the chocolate mixture.

At this point it’s a good idea to taste the cream you’ve made. It might not be sweet enough for your liking so you can add some more powdered sugar if you wish.

Assemble the cake:

Brush the bottom layer of cake with the sour cherry syrup you saved, than place a cake ring around it.

Fill the cake with a layer of mousse cream, add the sour cherries and cover with another layer of cream. 

Cover with the other layer of cake. Save some of the cream for decorating the top of the cake.

Let the cake rest in the fridge for about two hours.

Decoration:

Melt about 100 g of dark chocolate over a pot of simmering water.

Fold a long piece of aluminium foil two times horizontally (it should be at least as wide as the cake is tall), than place it onto another piece of foil or parchment paper (that will catch any excess chocolate).

Pour the melted chocolate on the folded piece of foil and spread it evenly. Let it cool for a bit, but it should still be soft or you won’t be able to work with it.

Take the cake out of the fridge and remove the cake ring. Place the chocolate covered foil around the cake. 

It shouldn’t be very tight, because we’re going for the “crinkly paper look”. Then take the top part of a springform pan you used earlier and place it around the foul wrap. Close it so the foil gets wrinkled and pushed towards the cake. Put it back in the fridge for about 45 minutes, than you can remove the foil.

To finish the cake, decorate the top any way you like with the mousse cream you saved earlier.

Enjoy!