Chocolate Cheese Cake

Ingredients for Recipe:

• 1 bar of dark chocolate, around 150grs (cocoa, min 50% max 65%)
• 250grs of whipping cream.
• 250grs of Mascarpone cheese.
• 70grs + 50grs of butter
• 10-12 digestive biscuits (crushed)
• White chocolate buttons (about 20)
• 1 cap of chocolate liquor
• (Optional 1 to 1 / 2 sheets of gelatin dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of warm water)

Get two bowls and a cheesecake tin, put the biscuits in one of the bowls and completely crush them till resembling breadcrumbs, to these add the 70 grams of softened butter and the chocolate liquor as well as two tablespoons full of the chocolate ganache (see below on how to make this ganache, made with butter instead of cream ) mix well and put it in the cheesecake tin, pressing it with a smooth surface like the bottom of a glass, to about 1 cm thick.

In another bowl put the cream and whisk it until almost fully whipped, adding to it the powdered sugar, continue whisking until fully thick whipped. Aside mix chocolate ganache (also optionally add the dissolved gelatin, I prefer it without) with mascarpone cheese, after being well integrated pour it in the the whipped cream and mix lightly until well blended.

Now put this mixture over the pressed down biscuit mixture and spread it evenly with a spatula. Garnish it with white chocolate buttons and refrigerate a minimum 1 hour, better if it stays a few hours.

The ganache is very simple to make .... put the chocolate squares in a glass bowl immersed in a bain marie once melted, mix it with the butter 50g (+ or-) until well incorporated.

This is a recipe that I tried and would recommend to be tested by you too. I promise you  not to be disappointed.

Cherries Cheesecake

Recipe Ingredients:

• 300grs well matured cherries
• 250grs mascarpone cheese
• 200grs sugar
• 8-10 digestive biscuits
• 2 soup spoons of butter
• optional, cherry liquor + a little vanilla essence
  

Preparation:

Put in a pan the cherries chopped + the sugar, boil it as if you were going to make jam, but you turn of the stove one step before it becomes jam, as you just want a delicious fruit compote, and then let it cool down completely.

Meanwhile place in a bowl the finely crunched digestives, the butter and half of the cherries liquor, mix all very well. Once well mixed place them in the container you wish to make the cheesecake spreading it evenly throughout the base and press firmly down with the base of a drinking glass.

Next step is to get another bowl and place there the mascarpone two thirds of the cooled compote and the remaining cherries liquor, mix all very well in a folding motion, and place the mix on top of the previously laid biscuits spreading it evenly....finally place the remaining compote on top of this in a circle smaller than the circumference of the cheesecake, and with a stick go around the circle line twirling circles over this one to get the same effect, or do it your own way hehe!!...it wil taste the same.

Finally refrigerate for a minimum of one hour and serve it with very strong black coffe for a treat. Bon Apettit!!

Orange Cake "Large" for Slicing

Recipe Ingredients: (was enough to cut 70 rectangular slices)

• 300grs of butter (or baking margarine)
  
• 300grs of sugar
  
• 4 oranges (2 cut in slices and 2 "whole" blitzed into creamy pulp)
  
• 6 eggs
• 300grs of flour
  
• 2 soup spoon of baking powder
  
• 2 teas spoons of orange essence
  
• a little of dememera sugar
  

Couldn't be easier... Beat the sugar with the butter, until you obtain a light and whitish cream, once that is done put the eggs (pre-mixed) in, a little at the time keeping the beating of the cream, this way attaining even a more creamy and full of air dough.

Once that is done, add the two oranges in pulp + the orange essence, (mix the pulp in well with a wooden spoon in a folding gentle action to try not to release any of the air contained in the dough), lastly add the flour, a little at the time as well, again folding action and gentle, until all is incorporated in the dough.

Then place the dough in a large tray previously greased and floured, I also used a Teflon baking sheet to avoid the cake sticking to the pan (worked a treat). On top of the dough lay the orange slices and cover the top of each slice with some dememera sugar, to allow them to crystallize and not burn as that would leave a bitter taste, (also if you think the taste of the orange skin may be too strong for you, you can always peals the slicing oranges prior to slicing).

The whole thing goes in a preheated oven at 180ºC for around 20-25 minutes, once done remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool a little before attempting to remove it from the container, this is where the Teflon came in handy as I just picked the four corners of it to remove the cake from the container to a cooling rack.

Optionally at the end, you can also squeeze a further two oranges and boil the juice with some sugar to make a liquid syrup to pour over the cake and get it even more moist, as this is a moist cake already, and very spongy and light. Then let it cool completely and slice it into rectangles.

Mini Palmieres Cinnamon | Vanilla

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 pkts of ready made puff pastry
  
• demerara sugar (sufficient)
  
• 1 soup spoon of cinnamon
  
• Honey (sufficient)
• powdered sugar (sufficient)
• vanilla essence
  

Sprinkle some flour on a table (surface), lay on the puff pastry block and spread it with the rolling pin until it is just about half a centimetre thick, retaining the rectangular shape. Now spread over it the dememera sugar mixed with the cinnamon, lay it on quite thick layer 2-3mllimetres , then from the smaller with side roll the pastry until about half and do the same from the opposite side, until you have like two rolls in the centre, then with a Sharpe knife cut slices about 1cm thick and lay the slices in a tray either previously buttered and floured, or the easy way with a Teflon baking sheet.

It goes in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180-200 Celsius, until golden, then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.

For the second lot repeat the process, but on this one before rolling I put honey mixed with vanilla essence and a little powdered sugar, and once cooled I sprinkled more powdered sugar.
As the pastry has no sweetness at all this may look like a lot of sweet but I assure you is not and turns out really well balanced. Happy party!!

Blueberry Crepes with Strawberry Mousse Filling

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• a glass of whipping cream (around 120mls)
  
• 2/3 cup of blueberries
  
• a little milk (sufficient)
• 4 soup spoons of oil
  
• 1 egg
• 1 soup spoon of sugar
  
• 10 strawberries (finely chopped + a soup spoon of powdered sugar if these aren't too sweet)
  
• a dash of vanilla essence
  
• vanilla flavoured powdered sugar (or normal)
  

These are two combined desserts. Crepes + strawberry mousse.

To make these, put in a bowl, the flour, make a well in the centre and place the oil + the egg there, start mixing in the centre with a whisk, once it starts getting thick add the blueberries (these ones previously crushed + mixed with the sugar and heated for around 1 minute to release their colour), continue whisking and as it gets thick again start adding the milk, and whisk and add milk and so on until it becomes liquid with the consistency of double cream.

Now soak a little bit of kitchen paper towel with a little oil and rub this on a non stick frying pan, heat the pan and once hot reduce to med-low heat and pour a couple of serving spoons inside swirl the pan so that it covers the whole bottom, let it cook for around 1-2 minutes you'll see it going golden through the crepe, with a spatula lift the corners and them with your fingers peel it of and turn it upside down, again 1-2 minutes and is done, set it aside on a plate. Then repeat process until all the crepe cream is used. You should get around 6-8 crepes.

let the crepes go cool as they become more malleable and elastic. Whip the cream and add a few drops of vanilla essence, once whipped add and fold in the chopped strawberries also a soup spoon of powdered sugar if the strawberries are not very sweet, once done refrigerate this will harden mousse further. Finally format the crepes as you like fill them with the mousse and decorate as you will, I used powdered vanilla sugar, than I refrigerated them further ..delicious with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. cheers ..enjoy

Mascarpone and Strawberry fake Flan

A super easy and delicious recipe all invented by me, your alternative to Jamie Oliver. Lol...

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 x pkts strawberry Jelly (I used Castello brand 135grs each)
• 1 x pkt of mascarpone (250grs)
• 3 soup spoons of sugar
  
• 1 X punnet of fresh ripe strawberries around 250grs

A very easy to prepare and even easier to eat dessert. Make the two jellies as indicated on the back of the packet. After the jelly dissolved and fully mixed with the water you must let these ones cool until almost cold. While that is happening, wash the strawberries and remove green bits and them chop them into fine slices, place them on a little pan with the sugar and boil them for around 1-2 minutes, set it aside and let it cool completely, (I even put in the fridge to get this done faster as I didn't want the jelly to start solidifying.

Them mix the strawberries with the jelly and whisk them, once well mixed add the mascarpone and whisk come more, until well mixed place in a jelly mould and refrigerate until well solid. To remove run warm water on the sides of the mould until the jelly comes away from the walls then flip it onto a dishing plate ...it tastes great with a little mint.

Almond filled Sponge Cake (was Anniversary Cake for my Twins on the 16May)

Ingredients: (for the cake)

• 200g butter
  
• 200g self raising flour
  
• 200g sugar
  
• 4 eggs

Preparation:
Mix the butter (soft) with the sugar, mixing it well with the mixer (or hand mixer)for enough time for the mixture to become a whitish cream, at this stage mix the eggs in a little at the time until they are all blended with the mixture, as you want this cream to be as airy as possible. Next is the flour, but this one you can fold in using maybe a spatula, as you want to preserve all that air you knocked in with the mixer, divide this cream into two pre-greased and floured baking tins, and goes in the oven at 180c for 20 minutes (do the toothpick check) just to ensure they are well cooked, let them cool a little then remove them from the baking tin and place them on a cooling rack.

Ingredients: (for the filling)

• 50g caster sugar
  
• 15g corn starch
  
• 2g salt
  
• 235ml milk
• 30g grated almond
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 tea spoons of almond essence
  
• 1 Vodka lid
  

Preparation:

Mix all the dry ingredients well, place all the wet ingredients in a small pan (minus the Vodka), now add all the dry ingredients to the wet ones in the pan, and put it on a medium heat and whisk it continuously as soon as it starts to thicken up reduce the heat to nearly minimum, otherwise will thicken too quick and will get lumpy, you want a smooth cream. After is thickened and will thicken no more cook for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, add the vodka let it cool completely before using it you can even refrigerate.
(this almond cream is also excellent for profiteroles, croissants and much more)

Ingredients: (cake topping)

• 1 glass of double cream
  
• 3 soup spoons of powdered sugar
  
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
  
• 1 hand full of hand chopped almonds (with the skin preferable)
  

Preparation:

Whip the double cream to make the whip, once whipping is about half way through add the vanilla essence and when is two thirds from being done add then 1 soup spoon of the powdered sugar and when is completed add the other 2 soup spoons of powdered sugar whisk a little more just enough to mix it and it is done to cover the cake.
Cover the cake with the aid of a spatula and then spread the hand chopped almonds over it.

Knife chopped almonds ...yum!!

Cake assembly:

decide which disc is going to be the base then level it by cutting it's top (see picture), this will aid in the filling adhering better and soaking in a little, also securing better the other disc.
So you then assemble it as follows, after cutting the base spread the filling around one centimetre thick all over the base, then place the second disc on top, then cover the whole cake with the whip and spread the almonds on top, the refrigerate at least half an hour before serving, more time even better, absolutely lovely with a nice strong coffee, there is something magical when coffee and almond flavours meet in your mouth.

I received these awards from Nina's Recipes and was very happy to have them, there are no rules written, so I assume one has to pass them along to about 7 other blogs as that is how many Nina passed.
Nominees please pass the awards bellow to 7 nominees (or more) of your choice, linking them to the award + linking on your post who nominated you, these are the simple rules

I am please to nominate for the above awards:
5 Star Foodie
My Kitchen Treasures
Chef E
Ninas Recipes
Duo dishes
Tangled Noodle
Sophie

And this award was given to me by Sophie a long standing foodie friend here in my blog, which makes me very honoured to accept such a nice award.

In keeping with the tradition of passing this award forward, here are the rules. The Sisterhood Award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blog spot which shows attitude and/or gratitude.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog, or sending them an email.

5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

I am please to nominate:
5 Star Foodie
My Kitchen Treasures
Left over Queen
Chef E
Ninas Recipes
Coffee and Vanilla
Duo dishes
My Tasty Treasures
Tangled Noodle
Food and Travel

Drunken Pear with Fresh Plum Compote

Receita em Português

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 " or 2 greedy ones like me")

• 4 Rocha pears not too ripe(without skin or pips, cut in halves)
• 1 small glass of white whine
  
• 1 small glass of water
  
• 2 soup spoons of sugar
  
• 1 soup spoon good honey
  
• 1 cinnamon stick
  
• 2 lemon skins just the zest
  
• 4 plums (no skin or pip, finely chopped)
• packet of crème fraiche (about 150grs)
• a few drops of lemon
  

On a small pan put in the water, wine, lemon skins, cinnamon and two spoons of sugar as soon as it boil add the pear halves, reduce the heat to minimum, letting these boil gently until fully cooked around 20 minutes depending on pear size and ripeness, so verify.

Once cooked place them in individual plates and set it aside. meanwhile throw in the water left over from cooking the pears, the chopped plums, let these ones cook in a medium heat reducing it until is like a soft jam (compote), when that happens turn the heat off and add a few lemon drops as these ones add flavour and stop the compote oxidizing, giving it a little stir.

Turn the oven on (150c) jut to heat up the pears on the little plates, so this will take around 3 minutes, while that is doing you can mix the crème fraiche with the honey. Now remove the pears from the oven and slice them length ways but not all the way through as you want to fan these, for a good looking dish, place some crème fraiche over the middle of the fanned pear and place a couple of spoons of the plum compote on the plate at the wider end of the fan, that will create a lovely contrast both visual as well as flavour, These are also nice cold refrigerated. So see how you like them best and have them that way.. Enjoy.... as is fairly healthy. not too much sugar or fat, and you eating fruit.

Sexy Strawberry Mousse

Receita em Português

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 200mls whipping cream
• 300grs strawberries (finely chopped)
• 3 soup spoons of sugar
• 2 drops of lemon

To make is the simplest thing ever. Place the cream in a bowl and whip it when the fresh cream is nearly whipped add 2 soup spoons of the sugar to it and whip the rest until a very firm consistency, now add the strawberries reserving 6 tea spoons full of the chopped strawberries, involve mixing the strawberries with the cream, once done, place a tea spoon of the chopped strawberries into each of the four wine glasses (or other container) then spread the cream mixture evenly through each container and refrigerate.

The remaining two tea spoons of chopped strawberries are placed in a little pan with a couple of spoons of water the remaining soup spoon of sugar and the 2 drops of lemon, bring it to boil until it makes a runny syrup, let it cool completely and place on top of each refrigerated dessert and refrigerate a little further, add an almond thin just sticking out of it before serving.

Nice and easy and not as fattening as it looks, I reckon a little bar of chocolate is more fattening.
Cheers for reading, this one is simple and is delicious.

"Portuguese-Olhao Style" Folar (Folar = Easter Cake)

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 20 people, or one of me lol)

• 1Kg plain flour
  
• 1 pkt instant east
  
• 2 oranges (juice)
  
• 1.5 decilitres of water
  
• Sal
• 125gr de soft margarine
  
• 125gr soft butter
  
• 125gr soft butter to spread
  
• 1 shot of vodka
• Brown sugar & Cinnamon "to sprinkle filling" (enough)

Put the flour in a large bowl and mix in straight away the east, after that open a little well in the centre and place in there the soft margarine and soft butter and also the orange juice, shot of vodka, water (warm preferred) and a pinch of salt.

With your hands mix all very well, I then covered it with a cloth and let the dough rest around 30 minutes, it will rise a little. Then cut it into 10 fist size balls, and with a rolling pin make one by one discs, but each disc you make spread some butter on one side and put generous amounts of brown sugar and cinnamon, make another disc butter it and again put on it generous amount of sugar and cinnamon over it and place it on top of the other disc, repeat the process for all 10 disc making two piles of five discs, as it makes two cakes.

Place each pile in a container, sprinkle again generously more sugar and cinnamon on top and set in aside in a warm place with a thick cloth over it for about an hour to raise, after that it goes baking in the oven 190-200c for around 35-40 minutes until is done. The idea is the sugar in the layer will melt with the cinnamon making like a gooey honey consistency sugar and cinnamon syrup in between each layer of cake, the cake will be a bit like bread but sweetened by some of the sugar being absorbed in. This is really delicious, but remember be generous with the sugar as if you put little it will all get absorbed into the cake and no nice gooey syrup in between the layers, will still be good though.

Also remember to take it out of the baking container while hot as if you let it cool the caramelized goo will solidify making it hard to remove from these.

Updated photo

Light Orange Loaf Cake

Recipe Ingredients:

• 300grs self raising flour
  
• 200grs sugar
  
• 100grs butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 small oranges (set aside the zest of 2, and the juice of the same 2, the 3rd one thinly slice it)

In a large bowl, put the sugar and the (soft) butter, beat it until is a whitish cream, then add the juice of one orange, and continue to beat for a further 2 minutes, then add the two eggs and beat it further 2 minutes more, the remaining orange juice and the zest of the 2 oranges and beat a further 2 minutes.

Finally add bit by bit the self raising flour, while still beating the dough, until it is all incorporated, at this stage stop and you can now place half on the dough in a loaf tin (previously greased and floured) on the top of the half of dough place half of the sliced orange, put the remaining dough on top and cover it with the remaining orange slices (see picture) and on top of each orange slice cover that with a little sugar, that will caramelize once cooked giving it an extra delicious taste.

Now it will take 25-30 minutes in medium oven 180c. and is ready to eat, so lovely with some green tea, as is very fluffy and light, if you prefer heavier add 2 more eggs at the egg stage.

I was inspired by Mary blog moist orange and lemon cake.

Rich Tea Biscuit Cake witth Almond

Ingredients for the Recipe: ( enough for many :D )

• 4 yolks
  
• 125 g butter
• 125 g Fine sugar (Caster fine sugar)
• 125 g Icing sugar
  
• 40 g ground almonds (I ground my own for a more intense flavour)
• 1/2 almond essence
  
• +/- 2 packets McVities Rich Tea biscuits (or Maria biscuits)
• 1 cup strong coffee (just warm nearly cold)
• 10 flaked almonds (I flaked my own with my Santuku knife)

In a bowl place the yolks, butter (soft or into little cubes), sugars, and the almond essence, blend these very well with a mixer, until it forms a whitish cream, once it gets to that point add the almond while still mixing , mix these very well until all the ground almond is all blended in. Then refrigerate it for about an hour so it hardens to a thick cream consistency.

Then get the biscuits and one by one dip them in the (almost cold) coffee for about 3 seconds each, don't leave them too long or they will become soft and break apart, and also if too soft is impossible to spread the cream. Arrange them on a plate or tray one in the centre and six surrounding the centre one, then apply a thin layer of cream (that you had refrigerated), repeat the process until the cake is around 5-6 biscuits high, and finally cover the whole of the cake outside in the same cream, and sprinkle the almond flakes on top, them refrigerate until very cold and firm.

It is very nice served with a nice strong cup of coffee. I believe the original recipe doesn't have almonds at all and the walls and top of the cake is decorated with dessicated coconut shavings.
We all know that almond goes extremely well with coffee, as a lot of times when out for a coffee you get a little almond biscuit with it, therefore the reason why I used it.

Pecan, Honey and Greek Yoghurt Tart

This Tart was adapted from "Tarte Delicia de Iogurte" from Luisa Alexandra blog recipe which she also adapted from other blog, and so on. But believed to have the original recipe from a blog called Gulosices but is in Portuguese.

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients:

• 250grs Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 500grs Greek Yoghurt (you can use normal plain yoghurt, for a softer texture)
• 50grs Margarine
  
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
• 100grs of flour
• 50grs pecan nuts (ground)
• 12 pecan halves
• 2 soup spoons of honey (and a little extra honey for glaze)

This tart was originally made with 350 grs of sugar no nuts or honey and plain yoghurt, also was made in individual small tart containers rather than a large one, result was a more moist and light tart. I went for a more dense and zingy tart to contrast with the fresh cream and the honey glazed pecans.

The preparation is simple. Beat the sugar and the eggs until the sugar granules disappear (around 2 minutes with a machine or 4 by hand), then add the melted margarine, vanilla essence and flour (little by little to not form lumps), mix these until homogeneous (around 30 seconds machine or 1 min by hand).

Finally add the yoghurt the ground pecans and the 2 soup spoons of honey (plain), just mix these well. then put the dough in a large baking tart dish (previously greased with margarine and floured) and bake for about 35 minutes at 180c, until golden brown on top, before I put it in I placed on a frying pan a soup spoon of sugar about 2 soup spoons of water and a soup spoon of honey, turned the gas on and let it start bubbling, at that stage I added the pecan halves, and let these cook until it started to caramelize (but not caramel just syrupy) placed 8 pecans on top of the tart drizzled some of the syrup on top in a circle around the pecans. The rest I used to put on the whipped cream also making a little more surup the same ways with a few chopped pecans, see picture.

The texture is that of a baked cheesecake crossed with a cake, is quite unusual and zingy from the greek yoghurt, however is delicious, and the pecan and honey come through as real stars. This cake/flan is in the class of "Queijada" which is a portuguese tipe of cake that is neither a cake or a flan but something in between. :D

Apple Pancakes with Zesty Vanilla Whip and Maple Syrup

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 if not too sweet toothed)

• 1 glass of self raising flour
  
• 3/4 glass of full fat milk (or a little more if needed)
  
• 3 soup spoons and one tea spoon of sugar
• 1 heaped tea spoon of baking powder
  
• 1/2 glass of whipping cream
  
• 1/2 of a lemon zest
  
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
  
• 4 soup spoons of vegetable oil
  
• 1 egg
• 1 apple (skinless and cut into quarters, then finely slice all the quarters)
• Maple Syrup (to taste)
  

In a bowl put the flour and the baking powder and the 3 soup spoons of sugar, and with the aid of a whisk, mix both very well. Now make a well in the flour and place the egg in there as well as the vegetable oil, start whisking from the centre outwards and as it gets thick start adding the milk little by little and whisking until is all incorporated, it should have the consistency of runny yoghurt. Now pour the thinly sliced apple into that and give it one stir, cover it with a cloth and let it rest around 10 minutes.

Mean while put a non stick frying pan on the stove with the flame just above minimum, and let it heat do this about 4 minutes before the end of the dough rest period. Meanwhile in another bowl put the cream there and start whipping it and when is almost at its peak add the vanilla, lemon zest and sugar, bet remaining to peak and your cream is done.

Now on the preheated frying pan, if this one is large enough like 26-28" you should be able to make 3 pancakes at each time, two soup spoons of dough for each pancake and once these are golden brown on one side turn them over. Always check that they are fully cooked through, that is why pan can't be too hot or it will cook the outside with still runny dough on the inside.