Plum Almond Crumble Cake

This sumptuous delicious almond cake is topped with plums and perfumed with cinnamon. It has a soft base, a juicy fruity layer and at the same time it has a crunchy topping.

I imagine that this recipe could be used for many kind of fruits. Not only apricots, peaches, nectarines, but also apples, pears and why not, many kind of berries.

• Servings: about 12
• Time: 1h 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Tin preparation

• Oil or butter to coat the tin
• About 2 tablespoons ground almonds

Cake

• 80 g oil
• 185 g sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 250 g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 100 g ground almonds
• 85 g plain Greek yogurt (10 %fat)

Topping

• 500 fresh plums , quartered and stoned
• Cinnamon to dust, optional

Crumble

• 100 g ground almonds (minus almonds used for the tin)
• 30 g flour
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g butter

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (convection oven) or 180°C (conventional oven).
2. Coat the tin (I used a 26 cm wide springform) with oil or butter and dust with ground almonds.
3. For the cake, put the oil, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, vanilla, ground almonds and yogurt in a big bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pour this batter into the tin.
4. Arrange the plums vertically pushing them partially into the sponge batter and dust with cinnamon to taste.
5. Put all the crumble ingredients in a bowl, cut in the butter with a forj and rub together with your hands until crumbly. Finally scatter the crumble over the plums
6. Bake for about 50 minutes until done (test: a skewer poked into the cake mixture comes out clean but plums will remain sticky).
7. Let cool down on a wire rack.

Serving suggestion:

• Serve cold with plain yogurt, sour cream or whipped cream
  • Serve lukewarm with vanilla ice cream

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Easy Pizza Rolls from Scratch

These pizza rolls are surprisingly easy to be prepared, but you need to start about 3 hours in advance as the dough need some time for rising. If you do not have time, skip the homemade pizza dough and try with a good quality store bough pizza dough.

The proposed filling is very simple, but you any other ingredients you like on pizzas.

• Servings: 24 pieces
• Time: 3h
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 500 g flour
• 300 ml water, lukewarm (about 30°C)
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed), this for the dough and for rolling

Filling

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (pelati), drained
• 1 tablespoon tomatoes concentrate paste
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• ½ teaspoon oregano, dried (quantity to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 250 g shredded mozzarella cheese (store bought)
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• Additional ingredients to taste: dried onions, olives, capers….

Preparation

1. Dissolve the yeast in about 100 ml water and 50 g of flour. Wait until yeast is active and foamy.
2. Now all the remaining flour, water and salt. Mix well and set aside for about 20-30 minutes.
3. In the meantime place drain the tomatoes over a sieve in order to eliminate excessive water.
4. Stretch and fold about 5 times or until dough becomes elastic and smooth. For this step I add about 1 tablespoon of oil on the sides of the bowl. Cover and set aside until doubled.
5. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to the size of about 40 X 60 cm.
6. Combine the drained tomatoes with the tomatoes paste, the pesto, the oregano and adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Spread the tomatoes mixture over the dough letting about 3 cm of the long side free (you will need the border to close the roll). Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan. Top the cheese with additional ingredients to taste.
8. Start rolling the dough from the long side to a tight log. Seal the end by pinching the dough free of filling.
9. Spread about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the log and coat it well with your hands or a baker’s brush.
10. Using a super sharp knife slice the pizza dough log into equal rolls, placing them onto baking tray lined with parchment paper.  For this step I made 24 pieces for 4 x 6 rolls in my baking tray. We prefer to bake these on a tray quite near to each other so that while rising they will fill the tray completely; the oil will make the step of separating them super easy.
11. Brush the top rolls with little olive oil.
12. Let the rolls rise for about 1 hour or until you see the dough is filling the gaps of the tray between the single rolls before baking.
13. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
14. Important: just before baking splash about 1/2 cup of water into the oven (if not possible place a flat bowl with boiling water into the oven)  in order to increase the humidity. Place immediately the tray into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the dough appears golden.
15. Remove from the oven and cool the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes before serving or let cool down partially, cover with parchment foil and serve when desired.  We love them lukewarm.
16. Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and kept frozen for up to three months.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Almost only Apples Cake

 

This is he cake I was looking for, as I needed a cake, which include a lot of apples and as less as possible flour and fats! It is not my creation I found it on Eryn’s blog (http://erynfollecuisine.canalblog.com/archives/2008/02/06/7847617.html) and I adapted it to my ingredients.

The result is awesome: juicy, tender, fresh and melting in the mouth!

This recipe could be regarded as basic recipe (my recipe is already a variation on the Eryn’s one); you may add cinnamon, cardamom, grated lemon peel, nutmeg, brandy, amaretto or what you wish! Have fun and enjoy this delicious healthy cake.

In the original recipe it was suggested to add 100 mL water, but I omitted this as I wanted to be sure that the cake would set enough.

• Servings: 8
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 6 apples (alternative 4 apples and 2 pears)
• 70 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 20 g melted butter
• Powdered sugar to dust

Prcedure

1. Preheat the oven at 200°C.
2. Butter and dust with flour a 24 cm (about 9 inch) round mold.
3. Peel apples (and pears if used) and place them in a bowl with water (I add some salt in order to prevent oxidation).
4. Combine in a bow: flour, baking powder (sifted), vanilla sugar and salt.
5. In another bowl beat egg and sugar until foamy and very soft. Add the butter and mix shortly.
6. Fold the flour mix under the egg mix.
7. If you used also pears, divide the batter into both bowls: 1/3 for the pears and 2/3 for the apples-
8. Remove the core of the fruit and slice them into very thin slices.
9. Place the apples (and the pears if used) in the corresponding bowl of batter and stir to coat them well.
10. Place the apple mixture in the prepared mold and level them with a spatula. If you used also the pears, layer the batter with the pears over the apple layer, level again with the spatula.
11. Bake in the preheated oven at 200°C for about 40 minutes until golden and set.
12. Let cool partially and dust with powdered sugar.
13. Serve lukewarm and cold.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Healthier Biscuits with Olive Oil

Looking for something to add to my carrot soup I came to idea to prepare biscuits!

My variation today was replacing the butter by olive and I really wondered what would happen.

I scaled down the quantities replaced buttermilk with yogurt (I have this almost always on hand) and I started my experiment.

What was important, I knew it, was not to knead the dough. This should not turn smooth as it would not turn flaky and it would not form the desired layers. I folded the dough only twice, some say until 6 times, but I imagine that with the olive oil this would be too risky and I had to avoid to get a well combined dough.

I got what I need and wished! They turned out crispy outside and soft inside! And really flaky!

I’m very happy with the result and now I have my basic recipe and I can create my variations on them!

• Time: 40 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

You need

• 1 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus for brushing
• 4-5 tablespoons Greek yogurt

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add sugar and salt and stir well.
3. Add olive oil and work with the fork to form rough crumbs.
4. Add yogurt and stir with the fork until just combined; the dough should look somewhat dry and shaggy.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rough rectangle, about 2 centimeter thick; avoid squeezing or kneading the dough.
6. Fold dough into thirds like a letter. Using rolling pin, roll out dough to a thickness of 1 centimeter, dust with flour and repeat folding once more.
7. Roll out dough to about 1 centimeter thickness. Wrap in plastic and transfer to refrigerator for 10 minutes.
8. Return dough to work surface, and, using a 4-5 cm round cookie-cutter by pressing down without a twisting motion, cut out biscuits as closely together as possible. This gives about 10 pieces.
9. If you have scraps just reform a rectangle (don’t knead!) and cut additional biscuits.
10. Brush the top of each biscuit with very thin layer of olive oil.
11. Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes at 220°C. Serves 2 to 4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ww 17 smart points per piece

 

 

 

 

 

Muhammara – Red Pepper and Walnut Spread

Muhammara has its origins in Lebanon but you will find this in Syria, Turkish and other Levantine cuisines and it is eaten as a dip with bread, as a spread for toast, and as a sauce for kebabs, grilled meats, and fish.

The principal ingredients are usually fresh roasted peppers, grounded roasted walnuts, breadcrumbs, and olive oil. As condiment garlic or onion or shallots, salt, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. As spice I added cumin and paprika, but other spices as coriander, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, mustard and mint are other options.

If you don’t get the pomegranate molasses you can do it yourself bringing to boil ¼ cup of pomegranate juice with one teaspoon sugar and reduce it until thickened; alternative a mix of honey and lemon or honey and little balsamic vinegar.

• Servings: about 8
• Time: 40 mins
• Difficulty: medium
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Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

 

You need

• 5 red peppers, best if you have the long shaped ones (alternative 2-3 red bell peppers
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 6 tablespoon bread crumbs
• 1 scallion, grated
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional if you cannot broil the pepper on the BBQ
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt

 Procedure

1. If you have the possibility to broil the peppers on the BBQ or open fire, that’s the best method and the spread will turn super the best. If not preheat the oven to 250°C, then turn the grill on. Broil the peppers turning them every 2-4 minutes until the skin is well browned and the peppers soft.
2. Remove the peppers form the oven and place them in bowl. Cover immediately and let rest for about 15 minutes.
3. In the meantime roast lightly the walnuts. Chop when cooled down enough to be handled.
4. Remove skin, seed and stem of the peppers under current water. Drain and chop finely.
5. Combine chopped red peppers with chopped walnuts as well as all the other listed ingredients. Some people process this with the food processor but I prefer to do it by hand keep the consistence as well as structure.
6. Let rest for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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