Luxury Chocolate Fruit Cake with Rum - Best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season!

ChristmasEve may be the most enchanted evening of all. So much legend, myth, and mystery, both religious and secular, are part of the night of December 24. And for those who celebrate Christmas, there are more personal and family traditions attached to this night than to any other night of the year.

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?

Russian Monday: "Romovay Baba" - Rum Baba

When I was a child we were allowed to go by ourselves to the local food store for simple shopping such as getting bread or milk. Very often in my early age I had basic grocery shopping as a chore. Our nearby bakery was nothing special. They stocked few varieties of breads, some breakfast pastries as well as few cakes were always available, but that was all. But sometimes, if you were lucky to come to the store at the right time, you could find number of sweet treats behind glass display. One of such treats was rum baba, soaked in sweet syrup, rum and covered with white sugar icing.

Christmas Cookies #3: Spiced Brown-Sugar Fruit Drops

These delicious cookies are dainty enough for a tea party and yet hearty enough for afternoon snacks. They have a rich, delicately spiced brown-sugar flavor and are filled with pecans, dates, and raisins. If the cookies are not over baked, they have a better flavor and remain soft for a longer period of time.

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.

Grand Marnier Apple Raisins Cake

The apple harvest upon us and we are searching for interesting recipes with apples. On a rainy day when leaves start changing colors having a cup of hot herbal tea with apple dessert is like having a perfect piece of happiness.

This cake is a must, any good housewife should have this recipe in her collection. Grand Marnier Apple Cake with Raisins is amazing. It has rough, earthy but lemony pastry bottom made from spelt flour and moist sweet apple filling with dried berries and pistachios covered by soft top melting in your mouth.

Whole Wheat Banana-Carrot Bread with Raisins

This is a good banana carrot bread, you can sprinkle it with a streusel for even more flavor and texture. This recipe uses a vegetable oil, not butter, and if you omit the streusel, it is dairy free.

Whisky-Laced Mince Tarts - Holiday Tradition

Very few cooks make good pie crust. This is unfortunate, because a fine pie is one of the most delicious desserts, while a pie with a tough or soggy crust is one of the worst. The technique for making a perfect crust is comparatively simple, once you have acquired the knack.If you follow the tools, you should achieve good results every time.

• The mixing of the dry ingredients is simple. Just sift them together.
• The mixing a butter and flour, using two knives or a pastry blender. The bowl and knives should be dry to prevent lumping of the flour.
• Add the minimum amount of cold water required to just moisten, not wet, the flour.
• If shell is to be baked and then filled, prick the surface with a fork to release air bubbles.

Saffron Rice with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Saffron is the world's most costly aromatic, for it takes the stigmas (pistil tips) of 75,000 Crocus sativus blossoms to make a single pound when dried.

Saffron has been treasured from remotest times as a culinary spice, a coloring for foodstuffs, a cosmetic, a fabric dye, and as a medicine. Homer was acquainted with its golden hue when he wrote a "saffron-robed morning." Saffron may have come originally from the Holy Land; from the Songs of Solomon we have learned that it was among the "chief spices": "Thy plants are an orchard of Pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, Camphire with Spikenard, and Saffron, Calamus and Cinnamon, with all trees of Frankincense, Myrrh and Aloes."

The Greeks and Romans called saffron Krokus, and the little bulb followed the Roman legions all over Europe. Then came the fall of Rome, and the beginning of the Dark Ages. The golden days were past; luxuries, among them saffron, were relegated to memory.

In the course of several centuries many of the plants the Romans had introduced, including saffron, disappeared from gardens in England and northern Europe. But when the Moors conquered Spain, one of the treasures they brought with them was the spice zafran, meaning "yellow." That is why, for the past 12 centuries, so many of Spain's best dishes have been redolent of this golden spice.

Saffron is among those spices often used too lavishly. Just a few strands are adequate to give excellent color and aroma to a pot of rice.

from The Spice Cookbook, 1964



Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 cup golden raisin (sultanas)
• 1/4 cup dried currant or cranberries
• 1/8 tsp saffron thread
• 2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• cilantro for serving

Directions:

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and saute until a little brown, (about 5 minutes). Add rice and saute 2 minutes longer.

Add broth or water, pepper, butter, cinnamon and allspice. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Stir in raisins, currants or cranberries, saffron and half of the pine nuts. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid (about 15 minutes).

To serve, stir and fluff the rice and garnish with remaining pine nuts and cilantro.

Have a nice cup of coffee after your meal. I did-))

Rum-Raisin Bread Pudding - the Perfect Valentine's Day Breakfast

Raisins plumped in rum contribute the signature flavor to this custardy pudding. If you like, sprinkle each serving with granulated or confectioners' sugar.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup rum or brandy
• 4 cups day-old bread cubes, each about 1/2 inch square (challah or another egg bread, such as brioche or panettone)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ice cream for serving or Crème Anglaise

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the raisins, cranberries and rum and let stand for 30 minutes.
While the raisins are soaking, preheat an oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish or 4 to 6 custard cups.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the bread cubes, cranberries, and raisins and rum. Let stand until the bread cubes soak up most of the liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir again and pour into the baking dish or divide among the custard cups.
Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes for custard cups, 50 to 60 minutes for the baking dish.

Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature. Sprinkle each serving with granulated or confectioners' sugar. Serve with ice cream or Crème Anglaise.

Kougelhopf - Fruit and Almond Ring, the Perfect Breakfast and Brunch Dessert

Kougelhopf - Fruit and Almond Ring, is the symbol of Alsace baking.

Gugelhupf, Kougloff, kougelhopf, or guglhopf are the various versions of the name of the famous yeast ring cake. The Alsatians have used this name from time immemorial, but they still do not know how to spell it, although they all agree that the cake is part of a good breakfast or something to eat with afternoon coffee. When a glass of Tokay Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer is offered, a piece of cake should be offered too. Savory versions with diced bacon instead of currants accompany the aperitive.



Its appearance is due to the high-walled wavy mold in which it was baked. Traditional ringcake molds are fired in terracotta and are tile red. The name is derived from German, although it comes from Austria, from where Marie Antoinette brought the recipe to Versailles. An exception is the kougloff of Ribeauville, where the inhabitants claim that the originator of their ringcake was a former village baker.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp/ 30 ml kirsch
• 1 cup/ 150 g raisins or (sultanas or Malaga currants)
• 5 cups/700 g flour
• 1 oz/ 30 g compressed yeast
• 2 cups/ 500 ml lukewarm milk
• 5 eggs
• 1 tbsp/ 10 g salt
• 2/3 cup/150 g sugar
• ¾ cup/180 g soft butter
• 2 tbsp almond flakes

Directions:
Pour the kirsch over the raisins, stir, leave covered for a few hours to soak. To prepare the starter dough sieve 2 cups/300g flour into a bowl, make a hollow in the center, crumble in the yeast, pour on half the lukewarm milk and stir. Lightly knead and leave to prove for 2 hours.



Then add the remaining milk, the remaining flour, salt, sugar, and eggs to the starter dough, mix all the ingredients well and beat vigorously for at least 10 minutes, which is very important for the texture of the cake. The loose, semi-solid dough should come away from the bowl easily. Mix in the butter and knead the mixture, until it becomes a smooth, supple dough. Now add the raisins or currants and work them in until they are evenly distributed in the dough.


   
Carefully grease two ringcake molds with butter and sprinkle the almond flakes evenly in them. Fill the mold up to halfway with the dough and leave to prove in a draught-free place.

Preheat the oven to 390F/200C. Bake the kougelhopf for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the mold. When the surface is golden brown, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool on a cake stand.

Tip: I don’t have two ring molds, so I used one ring mold and one pan for 6 small bandt cakes. Worked perfectly for me. I baked small cakes for only 15 minutes.

Persimmon Bundt Cakes (Fat Free and Vegan)

Adapted from FatFree Vegan Kichen
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups Fuyu persimmons, cubbed
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup agave nectar 
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Oil or spray a bundt pan.
In a small bowl, mix the persimmon, lemon juice, coconut oil or apple sauce, and agave nectar. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except for raisins. Pour the wet into the dry and mix just until all flour is moistened (do not over-mix). Fold in the raisins.



Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes, if you using a pan for one bundt cake. (My bundt pan with 6 small bundt cakes took 30 minutes.) Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan. Cool completely before serving.



Note: Low-fat quickbreads like this really benefit from being allowed to cool completely, which is why they often taste better the next day.

Apple Dumplings Stuffed with Dry Fruits and served with Homemade Caramel Sauce

I never cooked an apple dumpling before. But there is a first time for everything.
I got my inspiration from the Williams-Sonoma catalog, but the recipe I did not like.
So, I created something special for my family, based on my collection of cooking books and my imagination.
I hope you like to try it. It is very homey dessert, full of flavors. Good for a cool autumn evening, any holiday, or every day menu. Enjoy!



Pate brisee from Michel Roax book "Pastry, savory and sweet"

This dough is more delicate, crumbly, and lighter than tart dough.

Ingredients for pate brisee:

•  1 3/4 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
•  2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
•  1 teaspoon (6g) salt
•  pinch of superfine sugar
•  1 medium egg
•  1 tablespoon (15ml) cold milk

Direction for pate brisee:
Heap the flour on a counter and make a well. Put in the butter, salt, sugar, and eggs. Using your finger-tips, mix and cream these ingredients together.
Little by little, draw in the flour, working the dough delicately until it has a grainy texture.
Add the milk and incorporate gently with your finger-tips until the dough begins to hold together.
Using the palm of your hand, work the dough by pushing it away from you 4 or 5 times until smooth. Roll it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until ready to use.
Pate brisee  will keep perfectly in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week or up to 3 months in the freezer.



Caramel Sauce from Claudia Fleming book "The Last Course"

Ingredients for caramel sauce: 

• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche

Direction for caramel sauce:
To prepare the caramel sauce, place ½ cup water in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and corn syrup and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until you have a dark amber caramel about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in the butter, cream, and crème fraiche ( the mixture will hiss and bubble up so stand back), whisking until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated.)



Ingredients for apple dumplings:

• pate brisee, tart dough
• 4 medium golden delicious apples
• 4 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup diced mixed dry fruit (resins, apricots, cranberries)
• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• lemon zest from one lemon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water
• caramel sauce for serving

Direction for apple dumplings: 
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In small bowl, mix dried fruit, butter, lemon zest, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Peel apples. With melon baller, remove cores but do not go all the way through to bottom. Stuff dried fruit mixture into apples.
Remove dough  from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Divide the disk into 4 equal pieces. Working in batches, on a floured surface, roll out a piece of dough 1/8 inch thick and about 8 inches square. Place an apple in the center of the dough square. Pull the dough around the apple and gently tie the corners together. Press to shape; seal edges. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and apples.
Transfer the wrapped apples to a baking sheet and brush the dough with the egg mixture. Bake until the dough is golden brown and cooked through, about 40-50 minutes. Remove the apple dumplings from the oven and let cool slightly. Serve with warmed caramel sauce.

Apple Torte with Cranberries and Raisins

This beautiful autumn cake makes the house smell so divine while it bakes.
You may serve it for breakfast, afternoon tea or for holiday dinner.



Ingredients:

• 2 large Golden Delicious apples
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for dusting
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract, I use cranberry extract
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup raisins, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Lightly butter a springform pan, then dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Peel the apples, halve and core them, and then slice thinly. Place in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Set aside.



In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar until creamy. Stir in the butter, milk and cranberry extract. Sift the flour into a separate bowl and stir in the baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Using a wooden spoon, gradually incorporate the egg mixture. Drain the raisins and add to the batter along with the pine nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles over the surface. Sprinkle with sugar.



Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely, then release the pan sides and slide the cake onto a serving plate. Dust the top of the cake with sugar. Cut into wedges to serve.

 

Pumpkin (Blue Hubbard) Jam with Raisins and Vanilla Bean over Multigrain Pancakes with Wild Pecan Nuts

The jam has a beautiful bright yellow colour. You can have it on pancakes, and it's also great spread of a slice of toast, or served as a condiment with some grilled meat.



Blue Hubbard
Described as a "starchy, dry, thick, flaky, floury, melting, nutty and fine-textured winter squash.....with brilliant orange flesh".



This squash was likely used by your great grandmother and is a fall tradition in New England.
 

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds Blue Hubbard
• 2 1/2 pounds sugar
• 6 cups of water
• 1/2 pound raisins
• 2 lemons (optional)
• vanilla bean

Directions:
Pare squash. Remove seeds and cut pulp into small cubes or shred it.



Add sugar and water. Stir well, and allow to stand overnight.



Two lemons, sliced thinly, may be added. I made with vanilla bean  this time.
Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until the squash is tender and clear.