Eggless rice pudding,pistachio brulee and fresh berries

Rice pudding reminds me to my childhood when my grand ma cooked for us, (me and my sister) mainly in our school vacation. When we spent our vacations on her beach’s house (a long time ago…). And she always pours a meringue pick on top. I usually though, that these pick was a snow mountain and in the middle I was sure that I would found comfort and warm sensations And these was exactly that I felt when I ate rice pudding. Comfort and protected. I am lucky because she is still a young old lady, well informed and well thinking .Sometimes ironic and sometimes funny, but always(and yet) an interesting woman. In her best time she was a wonderful cooker and baker. Unfortunately she has rheumatoid arthritis in her fingers that will prevent her to use to cook.

So, remembering those sweet moments and knowing that I had leftover unsalted pistachios I though in make this:

No eggs rice pudding, pistachios brulee and berries

• 4 cups Whole Milk

• 1 Vanilla beans, (or a tsp. of extract)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Round Rice (Aborio, vialone nano,carnaroli or other)
• 3 tbsp. Butter (unsalted)
• Pinch of Salt

Method :

Warm milk and add vanilla (cut pod in half lengthwise, and scrape seeds into milk) or vanilla extract. Add cinnamon, if you want, as well as pinch of salt. Keep on very low heat. 2. Bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add rice and cook for about 2 minutes. Strain. 3. Bring milk to light boil and add rice and sugar. 4. Cover and let simmer (very low heat!) for 30-40 minutes. 5. Add butter and stir.

Reserve

Pistachio creme brulee

• 2 cups heavy cream 1 vanilla beans 5 egg yolks 50 g unsalted pistachios (chopped) ½ cup white granulated sugar 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar (for top)

Method

Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Place cream in a medium heavy-bottomed pan, scrape vanilla bean seeds into the cream (use a sharp-tipped knife) then add the bean and heat until bubbles begin to form at edges of the pan. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes to infuse the cream with the vanilla flavor.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick Strain cream and vanilla with a fine sieve and pour into egg yolk mixture. Add the pistachios. Cook, without boiling, over low heat until mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat Cover and refrigerate 3 hours, until set. Assembling

• Pour the pudding in small ramequins, glass bowls or soufflé pan as well.

Prior to serving, sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over custards and brown with a kitchen torch or under the oven broiler.

Covered with berries (blackberries, redcurrants, strawberries etc)

Heart of dulce de leche milk chocolate mousse cake

If red is the color of St Valentine’s Day of course brown is the other color, that we see a lot in these days.

Chocolate and bonbon boxes will be the hits of the day, as well flowers.

But if you want impress, try to make this treat, mainly, if your love had a sweet tooth. Moist, rich, creamy and delicious. This is the grand finale for a wonderful dinner for two

Heart of dulce de leche milk chocolate mousse cake

Use your chocolate sponge cake or use this recipe replacing the nut with 2 tablespoon unsweet cocoa powder

Ingredients

• 200g milk chocolate, broken into squares, 50g plus, chopped, to decorate
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon cognac
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 200ml thickened cream, chilled

Others

• 30g chopped nuts
• 400g dulce de leche

Method

Place chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure base of bowl doesn't touch water). Heat, stirring with a metal spoon, for 4 minutes or until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Add the cognac and mix Combine egg yolks in a small bowl. Stir into chocolate all at once (don't be concerned if mixture becomes thick).

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Sprinkle gelatin and beat a little more. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until meringue is thick and glossy. Add one-quarter of the meringue to chocolate mixture. Beat with a metal spoon until mixture is well combined and smooth. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold remaining meringue into chocolate mixture. Pour cream into a chilled bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until thick. Fold cream into chocolate mixture. Reserve in refrigerator

Syrup

• 2/3 cup sugar
  5 tablespoons water
• 5 tablespoons cognac or brandy

Combine sugar and water in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in cognac or brandy. Cool.

Assembly

Pour the cake in a springform pan Brush with 3 tablespoons syrup. Using metal icing spatula, spread dulce de leche to cover but don’t take right to the end (is the heart of the cake). Spread mousse over top of cake.

Sprinkle on the top chopped chocolate and nut, Refrigerate until serve

Almonds, lemons and roses

Looking for new recipes, I found this recipe here, in one of my favorite Brazilian cooking magazine. I always like to prove new tastes. When I was youngster, as a rule I accompanied my parents to lunch or dinner in restaurants. And I always order the weirdest dish on the menu. So, my mom always said the same thing to me: “Be careful, maybe you don’t like, dear” But, I didn’t mind, and proved anyway, but if I didn’t like the meal I never ever tell her nothing. And that was how I began to recognize and appreciate new flavors and textures. Basically, because of the presence of stunning flavors Those days my husband would ask me: “How long have you been baking a simple cake? I look at him over my glasses, surprised, I replayed” I don’t know, honey, a long time I guess.” In this moment my mind has gone blank….I really don’t remember, actually. But his question inspired me to bake a cake. But in my cook life nothing is too simples, and a cake is not really a cake if don’t have a stunning touch. My stunning touch in this case was rose syrup. The texture of the cake is sandy and sharp. The syrup gave the special touch Ingredients 100 Grams butter1 cup sugar 120 Grams powered almonds 100 G chopped almonds 1 teaspoon vanillas extract 2 eggs I lemon juice and his zest 140 grams Semolina Flour (Semola di Grano Duro): 1/2 tablespoon baking Power For the syrup 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoon water rose Method Preheat oven to 180F. Butter. round cake pan, line bottom with parchment or wax paper, and butter paper. Lightly flour pan, tapping out excess. 2. Beat melted butter with sugar, zest, vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg one at a time, beating well after each. 3. Combine ground almonds and flour; stir into egg mixture. Stir in lemon juice. 4. Spoon batter into prepared pan, and bake 35-40 minutes, until pale gold and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes. Run sharp knife around edge of cake. Holding plate securely on top of cake, turn upside down. Remove cake pan and peel off paper. Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely. Transfer cake to serving plate and pour the syrup over In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Boil until mixture becomes thick and syrupy, about three to five minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in rose water and cool.

Spicy chocolate cake in little sweet boxes

t’s barely a month away or a bit more for Christmas. That, will be, this year .celebrate in my home.

So,I think that treat was perfect for Zlamushka event A spoonful for Christmas

I love to make many sweat treats in Christmas’s eve and also in New Year’s Eve. I usually make them in individual shape, so, that they can be consumed at the end of the night while they accompany with a glass of foamy, coffee or tea .And the individual shape allows that the leftovers can be use 25’s brunch. So, as I have time, I am evaluating some new things, as these sweet small boxes that I made starting from a spicy chocolate cake, filled with condensed milk cream.

For spicy chocolate cake

½ Cup butter

1 ½ Cup sugar

2 Eggs more two yolks

60G melted chocolate

2 and ½ cups flour

1 coffee spoon vanilla essence

1 coffee spoon powdered cinnamon

1 coffee spoon powdered cardamom

1 coffee spoon baking soda

1 coffee spoon baking powder

1 Cup sour (it can sour with some drops of lemon juice) milk

Method

Beat the butter until this creamy one

Add the sugar little by little and to add the eggs one by one

Put the melted chocolate and to continue beating

Sift all dry ingredients and add them to the previous alternating mixture with sour milk

To take to the oven in tin rectangular anointed tin, for approximately 35 minutes to

175 ºC (347F)

Cool down and cut in small squares

It produces 15 squares

For the filler

1 Can of condemned milk

2 Egg yolks

1 Spoonful butter

Mix all the ingredients and take to the heat, spinning until it comes off of the bottom of the pan

Assembly

Fill the cake squares with the condensed milk cream; pass a fine layer of marmalade of your preference stops well to adhere to the pasta to cover cakes.

Stretch the pasta in rectangular and fine form and cover the cakes with the sweet pasta to covered cakes, remove the excesses

Cut in tapes the pasta in the size of the lateral ones and hit on the lateral of the same ones.

With the elastic modeling pasta cut another tapes and press the two extremities in the center forming a bun it. Cuts other fine ribbons and cover the center of the buns to give the termination. As the elastic pasta dries off and it hardens, cuts other tapes and give movement like in the photo. Cut the tips in diagonal; hit those to the buns after dry painting with egg white

Finally put up the bun on top of the cakes.

I paint the buns with non toxic mother-of-pearl color