THE ULTIMATE STRESS BUSTER

Yes so my post title might speak volumes to some of you out there- for those who know how therapeutic baking is to fight away stress, and well it just happened to be that I had one of those stressful days and when upon coming back home the eggs, sugar, butter and flour was just calling my name!

The thing is that sometimes in these situations you don't necessarily have all the ingredients at hand and you have to do with what you have. No-fuss baking is what I like to call it. For some reason, apples is something that resides permanently all year long in the kitchen- and although I'm not a huge fan of apple-based desserts, an image I had come accross not too long ago on the Australian Gourmet Traveller website (and just fyi- I dont live in Australia nor am I from there, but when I see their summery dessert features in this cold month of February, it sure makes me want to bring some of their sunshine over to wintery Paris!) caught my attention and it just happened to contain apples.

I skipped the recipe part and just kept the image in my mind, trying to reproduce my own version of what could ressemble what I saw. Okay okay, so mine might not had turned out as beautiful as on Gourmet Traveller, and yes it did not contain raisins or ginger, and it did contain flour even though the original recipe title contains the word "flourless", but the important thing was that everything turned out sweet and lovely and I guess that's what counts, no?

A blend of apples, almonds (another staple ingredient that we have all year round in the kitchen!) and caramel.


Recipe for Apple, Almond & Caramel cake
(for a 20cm diameter round cake mould)

100gr butter
120gr brown sugar + some kept on the side
2 eggs
4 tablespoons caramel syrup
100gr flour
60gr ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 medium sized apples, thinly sliced
Almonds, chopped
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat oven to 180C. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and caramel syrup and mix. Follow with the flour, ground almonds and baking powder- mix well. Transfer batter to cake mould lined with parchment paper (or greased & floured), arrange the apples on top and drizzle over the apples the melted butter and finish by sprinkling some brown sugar and the chopped almonds. Bake for 60mins.

LEFTOVER RASPBERRIES...

At any point in time, us cooking & baking lovers, will always be faced with leftovers...and I'm not speaking about leftover pizza slices that some people enjoy eaten cold for breakfast (I never really got that?), I'm talking about leftover egg yolks, ganache, pistachios, orange zest, or, in this case raspberries. Do you remember the raspberry cheesecake I posted not too long ago? Well after the cheesecake was baked and devoured by all, I was faced with handfuls of raspberries leftovers...I could have of course eaten them plain (which I did, some of them), I could had made ice-cream, or a crispy tarte fine (thin puff pastry tart), or even raspberry jam... but for some reason, my leftover remedy has always seemed to be muffins! They just seem perfect in every way... they are of the ideal size whether for breakfast or to accompany of cup of coffee, they look alluring on a tray inevitably tempting friends & family who pass through the kitchen, they can transport themselves conveniently to picnics or to work... they are pretty to look at and easy to make, and loved by (almost) everyone!

So what on earth could had stopped me from making muffins with my raspberry leftovers?!

And take these almond-raspberry muffins as an sweet interlude until I get back cooking in my beloved kitchen that I missed so much when I was away in Cuba last week...!

Raspberry-Almond muffins:

For approx 12 muffins:

2 eggs

100gr sugar

100gr melted butter

50ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence or a vanilla pod.

140gr flour

70gr ground almonds

5gr baking powder

Pinch of salt

Handful of delicious raspberries

Shredded almonds for decorating (and for crisp!)

Preheat oven to th4/180C/350F.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Add the butter,milk and vanilla mix well. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, mix well. Then gently throw in the raspberries and stir...gently! Transfer batter to muffin moulds (with containers, optionally). Fill moulds in 3/4th of the way. Top off with a generous layer of shredded almonds and bake for 30mins. Check with a sharp knife if well cooked, if not extend baking by intervals of 10mins, always at th4. Remove, and let cool.

TURRON & ALMOND BROWNIES

Well… I was hoping that I’d be more regular with my posts this year, but I guess things aren’t working out exactly as planned ! Since the beginning of the year, many events have been happening in my life which have taken up a lot of time from sharing my culinary experiences here! I hope this will change soon, because without the cooking…I just don’t quite feel the same…cooking, baking, spending time in the kitchen and being curious with ingredients is certainly an integral part of who I am!

Anyway, I thought I’d pop by with a chocolatey hello with scrumptious turron & almond brownies- giving the classic recipe a bit of a Spanish twist! I absolutely adore turron, especially turron de Jijona (the softer type), and I thought I’d throw some into a brownie recipe along with some almonds for a bit of a crunch!

The brownie recipe I usually follow never disappoints- except this time I thought I should add a bit more flour and prolong baking time by 10 mins… well let me tell you- do not do it! Because the end result was not as moist as I was hoping for, and instead I obtained a somewhat cakey-brownie texture. Nonetheless – do not get me mistaken- these culinary accidents still produced a delicious result, and these brownies are especially fantastic when enjoyed with a cup of coffee (turron and coffee pair up amazingly well!).

Turron & Almond brownies (the right recipe!):

200gr chocolate, 70%
200gr butter
200gr sugar
4 eggs
100gr flour
5gr baking powder
Pinch of salt
100gr chopped almonds
150gr Jijona turron, diced

Preheat oven to th4/180C/350F.
Start by roasting the almonds- either in the oven or in a pan. Roast for about 5 mins, this will make them crunchier and gives them a delicious scent! Remove from oven/pan, chop the almonds and set aside. Melt the butter with the chocolate, preferably over a bain-marie. Transfer to mixing bowl, add the sugar & eggs- whisk. Follow with the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Finally add the chopped almonds and turron blando- mix very gently. Bake in oven for 25 mins, remove and let cool before serving.

P.S: because the Jijona turron is so crumbly and fragile, it would be best to dice and place in the fridge a couple of hours (or even a day) prior to baking the brownies.

BEAUTY CAKE!

Alright ladies (and gentlemen!), clear out your beauty shelves, set your skin cream jars & tubes aside, and make some space for this beauty cake! Yes, that’s right: beauty and cake are two words that can be written side by side. And I’m not talking about a “beautiful looking cake” (because clearly, this cake I’m posting about doesn’t score much points in terms of good-lookingness), I am talking about a cake that can make your skin look more beautiful.

So why is it that I’ve given this cake the name of a “beauty cake”? Of course, it all has to do with the ingredients. Take a closer look at this wonderfully scented cake with a melt-in-your-mouth texture which miraculously enough might also be beneficial for your skin.

In general, my cooking rules is try to make everything as healthy as possible without compromising on taste. I am a firm believer in this, and having grown up on a Mediterranean diet, you can imagine that our household consumes an above-average amount of good-for-you ingredients such as olive oil, almonds & Co.

This cake is in line with my culinary beliefs, as it contains no butter (and no, I have not substituted butter with apple sauce or gelatin or what not), no egg yolks, and no sugar (and no, the sugar hasn’t been replaced by aspartame!).
What it contains is this: egg whites, high quality honey, almonds, dried figs (with no sugar added), and sunflower oil (yes, you can bake cakes with sunflower oil).

Now being the research freak that I am (always googling stuff up!), all the ingredients of my beauty cake recipe have been documented about to be skin-friendly (and good for cardiovascular health too! )

Let’s start with the obvious ones: almonds is super packed with Vitamin E- and we all know that Vitamin E is your skin’s best friend. Vitamin E is actually an ingredient that helps keep your skin smooth & supple, that’s why it is so common to find in skincare products (did you ever notice the sheer amount of skin creams that contain vitamin E?) (and these are words coming from someone (me) who has worked on skincare products!)

Sunflower oil has been known for years to help skin retain moisture and is also, like almonds, rich with Vitamin E. Many beauty products actually contain sunflower oil for the softening factor, and some people apply sunflower oil directly on their skin.

Honey has been repeatedly studied to contain antioxidants. Now take a minute and think about what most anti ageing skin creams read… yes indeed, they all stress on the importance of anti oxidants to keep fine lines at bay!

Now interestingly enough, egg whites have been used in home-made masks to treat wrinkles! So egg white goodness does not just stop on it’s protein loaded and virtually fat free content (which makes it a fave for celebs who diet all year long i.e: Victoria Beckham hehe).

Finally, dried figs are packed with beauty nutrients such as potassium, iron, calcium & magnesium which are great for healthy skin and hair.


They say there are always exceptions in life, and this might just be one.

Doesn’t it feel good for once to enjoy a slice of cake without the guilt factor?
Recipe for the Beauty Cake:

4 egg whites
120gr good quality honey
50gr sunflower oil
20gr whole grain flour
100gr ground almonds + some chopped almonds to add in the batter
6-8 dried figs, diced

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/th4. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy. Then add in the honey and mix. Add the vegetable oil, mix. Follow with the flour & ground almonds, mix well but gently. Finally, add some chopped almonds and the diced figs, mix gently with a wooden spoon or spatula. Transfer batter to mould, bake for 30 mins, check with a knife to see if cake is baked. If not, extend cooking by sequences of 10 mins, checking with a sharp knife after each sequence. Remove cake from oven and let cool.

Eatable Sunshine

Ah, the joy of bakerapy (i.e: baking + therapy. My lame attempt to coin a new word!) Crack an egg, and the muscles in your back feel less tense. Throw in some sugar, flour, a pinch of salt, and your fingers relax from typing on a computer all day. Whisk and mix, and your brain benefits from the hypnotization of a batter's swirl. Optionally- but highy recommended- add some fruity or nutty colours, and let your eyes soothe away (beats cucumber slices or teabags any time!) Bake and wait...and unwind...

What is there not to like about baking? (and cooking of course).

So basically, I treat myself to some baking therapy every once in a while. Most often after a long day at work. Last night for example, I made an abricot-almond-orange flavoured cake. However, when I had started making it, those flavours were definately not what I had in mind. Actually, I had nothing set or fixed in my head. I just gradually start throwing in ingredients, crossing my fingers that it will be eatable once out of the oven!

It looks eatable, and I hope it is because this is for sharing. So I better make sure I'm sharing something of decent taste.

Well to be honest actually, I tried a piece before just incase...you never know what happens when you're not following recipes!

And I really do not want to flatter myself, but it tastes freakin' good! It's like fluff with cream and crisp! Something I'd offer in the morning or afternoon. It has a generous comforting feel, and is like eatable sunshine in the midst of a cold winter day.

So I'm cutting this post short, but the recipe is included- just continue reading!

Recipe for Eatable Sunshine

Ingredients:
(For the batter, I followed a 50/50/50/50 "basic" batter)

• 50gr eggs
• 50gr sugar
• Orange essence or orange zest
• 50gr butter
• 50gr flour
• Baking powder
• Marzipan
• Abricots
• Shredded almonds + butter + sugar

How to make it:

1. Preheat oven to th5. Roll out marzipan into a thin layer. Wash abricots, dry, and dice.
2. Mix egg, sugar and orange essence/zest
3. Add in butter and mix
4. Add in flour and baking powder. Mix
5. Place batter in a cake mould.
6. Add layers of marzipan, covering almost entirely the batter
7. Throw in the diced abricots
8. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
9. During baking time, place a knob of butter in a pan over heat until it melts (don't let it burn!)
10. Then add the shredded almonds and sugar. Caramelize. Set aside
11. When cake is ready and out of the oven, sprinkle the almonds on top for a finishing touch.

Eat warm or cold- either way, you'll still get the fluff, cream, and crisp textures!