Russians love to bake. My childhood home always smelled like sweet dough and we had bakes all year round. But of course fall and winter were special seasons for baking. To the day I still carry that tradition. When the weather starts to cool down and first firewood is put to use, I like to spend my time baking and creating new sweet recipes.
Poppy seeds is one of the commonly used baking ingredients in Russian cuisine. Challah is my favorite type of dough, it is simple to make, it's tasty and its texture is great. If poppy seeds are too much trouble for you, just make plain Challah wreath and top it with almonds. But I absolutely love poppy seeds here, they bring sweet crunch to this delicious dinner table centerpiece. This recipe is great for holidays and family gatherings.
Russian Recipe: "Makoviy Pirog" - Poppy Seeds Challah Centerpiece Wreath
Crunchy Apple-Almond Tart with Baked Apple Chips & New Still Life "Apple Season"
Have you baked your apple pie yet? Here is another recipe for an apple tart/pie you may like to try it. Almonds add a wonderful golden hue and crunchiness to the crumble topping for this tart, which makes a perfect contrast to the sweet, juicy apple filling. Adding apple chips is totally optional, however it brings extra texture to this autumn dessert. Serve the flan with vanilla or caramel ice cream. Coffee anyone?
Garlic Bread with Fresh Herbs Baked in Flower Pots
There are few things more pleasurable than the aroma and taste of freshly cooked home-made bread. These flower pot loaves are flavored with fresh chives, sage, parsley and garlic. You can use any selection of your favorite herbs. These are the most visually stunning breads and the are perfect for entertaining.
Cinnamon-Pecan Buns/Rolls with Butter Frosting
These cinnamon buns/rolls are very special, sweet, gooey and irresistible. You fill the dough with sugary pecans, mixed with cinnamon, butter and cocoa powder, that produces beautiful, buttery layers. These bear no resemblance to anything store-bought.
Strawberry Scones with Blood Orange Icing
Scones resemble biscuits, and indeed might be considered their British cousins. They are common-place on the tea table but being inherently rebellious, people from other countries find them inviting on the breakfast table as well. Scones are simple to put together. They are generally heavier than biscuits, and often are studded with fresh and dried fruits, ginger or made from nutritious oats. A hot scone eaten as the British do, with a dollop of crème fraîche or Devonshire cream and some chunky berry preserves, is a taste treat not to be missed on either side of the Atlantic.
Russian Monday: "Shaneshky" - Baked Potato Buns with Sour Cream & Cheese
These tasty pastries are especially dear to me because they carry the taste of my childhood. When I was a schoolgirl during summer holidays my parents used to send me to spend some time with grandma in the countryside. My grandma used to live in the village, in house made of real logs with giant brick-made oven. She had large garden, veggie patch, chickens, sheep and even cows. These were unforgettable days of my childhood.
Rye Bread with Flax, Amaranth, Quinoa & Sesame Seeds
Home-baked bread speaks to us of the warmth of the hearth and home. It conjures up bustling kitchens, flour-dusted work counters, large bowls covered with dishtowels, ovens yearning for bread pans filled with plum, yielding dough. The baked bread, which permeates the house with its indescribable aroma, is beautifully browned, its crust crisp or softly elastic. There it sits, cooling on a wire rack, waiting for the time to be right to slice it and spread it with pale creamery butter and maybe a spoonful of the apple butter.
Citrus Chocolate Soufflé - Have a Very Special Valentine’s Day!
If you are lucky to be in love this day is for you. Valentine’s Day is a holiday when you can continuously spoil your loved one as well as yourself using very legitimate excuse. Everything has a role to play - gorgeous dress, unique jewelry and of course gourmet food. Having a special dinner is always a culinary adventure. Going out or eating at home, one may indulge on luxury items this day: champagne and caviar, foie gras, oysters, black truffles and definitely a sweet course - dessert. Rich chocolate cake, macaroons, strawberries and cream brulée can be grand finale of your evening. You may cook something, buy in advance or order from your favorite restaurant, doesn't mater how you do it! I wish you sweet, delicious and very special Valentine’s Day!
Rolled Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cranberry Jam, Grand Marnier Syrup & Cream Cheese Filling
Inspiration for this cake came from American holiday traditions. All favorites (pumpkin, cranberries, cream cheese and liqueur) in one cake. It's a wonderful dessert for a holiday party and can be made a day ahead of time.
Sweet Recipe: Apple Tarte Tatin - Reliving the sweet taste of historical success
Prior to the opening of their Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1894, Stephanie and Caroline Tatin discovered a sweet treat that will soon lead to one of the most favorable desserts in history. It all started when Stephanie was creating an apple pie in 1880. Accidentally, she left the apples cooking in sugar and butter. What she did next changed the history. Stephanie put the pastry on top and baked it down facing, just to save the pie – and that’s how this sweet success story started.
Soon, Stephanie and Caroline opened their hotel that led to the dessert’s solid following. In this post, I want to relive the success of Tarte Tatin by providing you the steps in making one.
Apple Tarte is a great companion to strong Folgers, afternoon tea, or M&S Wine for dessert like their Pink Port NV or Rich Cream Sherry.
Amaranth-Honey Bread
I made this bread using amaranth for the first time and it came out wonderfully! It has a bit of an "earthy" taste of "good old days", but at the same time sophisticated enough to be served with French cheese and red wine. The crumb is soft and moist with tiny seeds. We had it after lunch with my vanilla rum plum jam and it was a perfect combination.
Cardamom Semolina Cake with Rosewater Syrup
Yes, I have to admit, I do have a sweet tooth and bake something sweet quite often. In my family 4 o'clock afternoon tea is a cherished tradition. Tea and coffee is something we all drink a lot of. Sometimes I crave Middle Eastern desserts, sweet and syrupy, with ton of nuts and exotic herbs. That is why on my kitchen shelf I always keep handy a bottle of rosewater and cardamon seeds.
Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Honey Glaze
A good, quick dessert cake for a family supper. Hazelnuts add an unusual nutty texture to this moist and delicious cake. Honey makes sweet and smooth glaze. Can you resist the temptation?
Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Figs, Honey and Pistachios - Appetizer or Dessert
There is something inherently gratifying about a cheese course, one that combines soft brie cheese with sweet fruit and crunchy, toasted nuts. This elegant dish hides a mouthwatering mixture of flavors, and makes a delicious appetizer or lunch, or wholly satisfying and truly unique dessert.
Mulberry & Strawberry Galette
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy berry tarts and galettes, when berries are flooding the farmers' markets. If you can't find the mulberries, use what you have for this recipe. Let the berries you find in the market or in your garden determine what you will bake tonight.
Apricot Blackberry Shortbread Tart & Basil Cream
I wanted to bake this tart for quite some time. It has a special crust and the recipe is by pastry genius Pierre Herme. Ingredients include hardboiled egg yolk, so the crust comes out very tender and simply extraordinary. I have been waiting for the first apricots of the year and now they are finally in season. I have gotten ten of them - just enough for the tart. They have been sitting in a brown paper bag in order to get some more color and ripeness, but before starting to bake I put them out on counter top to get some extra inspiration.
New Zealand Almond and Fig Bread
This loaf has a wonderful flavor, and it use yeast and sponge. It is simple to do, but it takes some time. The odor of this stuff baking will bring the kids in from the yard - I promise. Excellent when toasted and served with soft cheeses and chicken liver pâté.
Guinness Stout Ginger Cake for St.Patrick's Day
"An invitation to tea in Ireland is no small matter of a simple cup of tea and biscuit! You sit down at the table in the dining room and the usual everyday tea stars with slices of brown Irish soda bread and slices of homemade white bread lavishly buttered, a pot or two of jam for the bread, hot crusty scones, a plate of cookies, a "sponge sandwich" cake (two layers of sponge cake, jam between and sugar sprinkled on top) and a chocolate cake with thick, creamy, chocolate icing - or warm gingerbread full of spices. Cups of hot tea all around three or four times and you"ll last till suppertime."
Greenshell Mussels with Herbed Breadcrumbs, Au Gratin - Makes an Elegant Appetizer
In North America, blue mussels, the most common variety, grow on pilings, bulkheads, piers, and even on some bridge anchorages. The aquacultures mussels (like those in Europe) are grown on ropes suspended in the water. Blue mussels are harvested from the clear sea waters off the New England coast, while a relative also grows in the northern waters of the Pacific.
