Lime olive oil pound cake

During this isolation period, I have not made too many sweets: my husband is not into them very much and I don’t want to end up eating it all myself. I do search for some chocolate when anxiety comes hard on me, I must confess, but having to deal with an entire cake before it goes stale might be tricky.

So in almost 3 months at home I have baked 3 cakes so far, one being the yogurt marble cake I shared with you weeks ago. I felt like baking another cake last week, but didn’t have time to wait for the butter to soften (and I don’t have a microwave oven to speed up the process). So I made Alice Medrich’s pound cake with olive oil and it was not only easy to put together but it turned out tender and delicious. I could have used sherry, as the original recipe calls for, but I wanted a recipe that more people could make during these times, so I adapted it a little bit and replaced the booze with milk. A little lime zest and a pinch of nutmeg made it all even better.

Lime olive oil pound cake
adapted from the sherry and olive oil pound cake on this book

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
150ml flavorful extra virgin olive oil
3 cold eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml whole milk, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour an 8-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine sugar and lime zest and rub with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the oil and beat until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick and pale, 3-5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Stop the mixer and add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Stop the mixer and add ½ of the milk, then beat just until it is blended. Repeat with another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

Serves 8-10

Spinach and cheese “meatballs”

Who follows me on Instagram has seen some of my lunch dishes: it is usually simple food, quick to put together, so I can make it and eat in on my lunch break. Rice and beans I keep ready at the fridge, so it is just a matter of roasting some vegetables, making a salad or an omelet, or getting meatballs from the fridge straight to the oven. All very quick.

But when I have a little more time, or when I get organized enough on the previous night, I like to make new recipes, food that takes a little bit longer in the kitchen, like these delicious spinach “meatballs”: I had some spinach in the fridge and wanted to use it in something different – on a busy day I would simple stir-fry it with olive oil, garlic and a pinch of nutmeg for a tasty side dish, but since I had a bit of extra time I went to my good old sources for recipes online (Donna Hay, Jamie Oliver, Gourmet Traveller, both Australian and UK Delicious magazines) and it was on the Guardian that I found something interesting. I adapted the recipe slightly and got truly delicious spinach cakes – I am calling them meatballs because I decided to roll them into balls.

I am sure these meatballs would be delicious baked, but since my oven was already full with something else I just grilled them quickly in a nonstick frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. If you decide to bake them, line the baking sheet with foil and brush it with olive oil, because the amount of cheese in these cakes will make them stick on the sheet.

Too bad the recipe does not yield much – the meatballs were gone in no time at all. :D

Spinach and cheese “meatballs”
adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's savory spinach cakes recipe

"Meatballs":
4 cups (260g) fresh spinach, tough stalks removed, leaves washed, packed
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
½ cup coarsely grated yellow mozzarella – cheddar should make a fine substitute, or even Monterey Jack
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
1 tablespoon cream cheese
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten – the egg I used was a small one, 50g; I buy organic eggs and sizes vary
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For frying the balls:
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large nonstick frying pan over high heat, cook the spinach in two batches, stirring until wilted. Transfer to a colander. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze very well with your hands, then chop. Set aside to cool completely.
Using the same frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute – don’t overcook or the garlic will turn bitter. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.

Transfer spinach, onion and garlic mixture, cheeses, cream cheese, breadcrumbs and nutmeg to a medium bowl. Stir in the egg and season with salt and pepper. With damp hands, roll 1 ½ tablespoons of the mixture into balls, pressing slightly to compact the mixture. Transfer to a place and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Before frying the meatballs, roll them into the breadcrumbs. Heat the olive oil in the same frying pan used before over medium-high heat and fry the balls, turning two or three times to evenly brown them – be careful because they are very soft. Serve immediately.

Makes 10-11 cakes

Gingerbread granola

My favorite time of the year has arrived and my Christmas tree is already up – I have been thinking of the Christmas Eve menu already, planning the food and the drinks. However, unlike previous years, I don’t think I will be able to have my oh, so beloved Christmas series here on the blog – too much work, other priorities at the moment.

Having said that, I felt I had to bring you at least one recipe with a holiday touch and it is my gingerbread granola: filled with spices it will make your house smell like Christmas immediately.

Even if I am not able to bring you other holiday recipes aside from this granola, there is plenty of inspiration from previous years: it is just a matter of clicking on the Christmas tag here on the blog.

Gingerbread granola
own recipe

2 ½ cups (225g) rolled oats
¼ cup (40g) golden flaxseeds
¼ cup (35g) raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup (60g) flaked almonds
pinch of table salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup (80ml) agave or honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (75g) dried cranberries, chopped in half if too large
½ cup (90g) dried apricots, diced

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the spices, oil, agave/honey and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to coat. Spread mixture over foil and bake for 10 minutes. Stir the granola around and bake for another 10 minutes – the granola will still be soft and will get crunchy once cooled. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruit. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Serves 6-8

Lime nutmeg snickerdoodles and Christmas gifts

This is the time of the year when my colleagues and friends with kids tell me that they have to buy Christmas gifts for their children’s teachers, and since the kids have so many teachers these days they have to buy tons of presents. This is when I suggest them to make cookies or brownies, to wrap them up beautifully and there, gifts are ready. :)

These snickerdoodles may be a good idea for a holiday gift: starting with a traditional snickerdoodle recipe, I swapped the baking soda and cream of tartar for baking powder – since not everyone has cream of tartar around or wants to buy it – and added a touch of lime and nutmeg (instead of the most common cinnamon). The cookies turned out delicious and they smelled amazing while in the oven – you might have to bake an extra batch for your neighbors. :)

Lime nutmeg snickerdoodles
own recipe

Dough:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

To roll the cookies:
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lime
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub sugar and lime zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and beat until creamy and light – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally throughout the making of the recipe. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients at once and mix on slow only until a dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

To roll the cookies: in a small bowl, rub sugar and lime zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Stir in the nutmeg. Roll 2 leveled teaspoons of dough per cookie into balls and then roll the balls through the sugar. Place onto prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 35

Orange, rye and nutmeg slice and bake cookies

Today’s post is about how much I love the Internet and it is probably the 15th time I tell you that. :)

I had been testing recipes with rye flour, but was not very happy with the results: when I made breads, for example, it was fine, but for cookies, muffins and cakes the flour was too thick and the baked goods were not as light as I wanted them to be. So I decided to put the rye recipes aside for a while.

Months later, while browsing one of my favorite Instagram profiles, I learned about a food store that sells spelt flour (which is hard to come by here in Brazil) and there I found a different type of rye flour, called “fine rye flour” – I bought it and retested all the recipes I had made before, and the results were wonderful!

One of those recipes is for these slice and bake cookies, deliciously fragrant from the orange and nutmeg: the rye flour lands them a nutty flavor and a beautiful color.

Orange, rye and nutmeg slice and bake cookies
slightly adapted from Deb’s recipe

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ cup (70g) fine rye flour*
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2/3 cup (93g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
200g (7oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, rye flour, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place sugar and orange zest and mix them together until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and mix until light and creamy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally throughout the making of the recipe.
Beat in yolks, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients and mix only until a dough forms – don’t overmix.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the fridge). Cut into 5mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

* for the cookies to be light in texture, make sure the rye flour you use is finely ground

Makes about 50

Clementine spiced cookies

I think one can say I am addicted to baking cookies – as you have probably noticed already – and for a good while now slice and bake cookies have been my favorites: they are easy to make and the uncooked dough can spend some time in the fridge or in the freezer waiting for the right moment to be baked.

Even though the dough can be kept for a good while before baking, I hardly ever keep it that long: I prefer to bake lots of cookies at once and eat them and also share them with my family and friends – a “spreading joy” operation, let’s say. :)

These cookies, deliciously fragrant from the tangerine zest and with a kick from the spices, will make your kitchen smell like heaven. The almond meal makes them quite delicate and tricky to be transported, so for a bit firmer – but still wonderful – cookies omit the almond meal and use a total of 175g all purpose flour.

Clementine spiced cookies
slightly adapted from Annie Rigg's breathtakingly beautiful book

1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 2 clementines
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 pieces of crystallized ginger, cut into small dice

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
Put zest and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and using the mixer beat ingredients together until creamy and light in color. Beat in the honey and vanilla. Turn off the mixer and mix in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula just until a dough forms – do not overmix.

Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper; shape into a log. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap the dough log and cut into 5mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Gently press a piece of crystallized ginger in the center of each cookie. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 10-12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30

Eggnog rice pudding with roasted cherries and the reason why I love Christmas so much

I think it is fair to say that the main reason why I love Christmas so much is because it reminds me of my mom: she loved it and I can’t forget all the preparation around the house while the holiday songs were playing on the record player. Because of that, I decided to finish my Christmas series this year with a recipe that I make every time I miss her more than my heart can bear: rice pudding.

Unfortunately this is not her recipe – once my father got married again his wife made sure everything related to my mother got destroyed and tossed away, and the recipe notebooks were then gone forever – but it doesn’t matter: it reminds me a lot of rainy afternoons with piping hot rice pudding and cartoons on TV.

This time I served it cold because of the delicious roasted cherries I paired with it, and I added nutmeg and brandy to evoke the flavors of eggnog – it was delicious and it filled my heart with joy.

I wish you all a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year – thank you for keeping me company all this time! xx

Eggnog rice pudding with roasted cherries
own creation

Roasted cherries:
150g fresh cherries
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
juice of ½ large orange, freshly squeezed
1 small cinnamon stick

Rice pudding:
½ cup (110g) long grain rice
3 cups (720ml) whole milk
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start with the cherries: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Cut cherries in half and remove the pits. Place them in a 4-cup shallow heatproof dish, stir in the sugar, orange juice and cinnamon stick, then roast for 20 minutes or until fruit is bubbly. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate.

While the cherries are roasting, make the rice: place the rice in a colander and wash it under the tap with cold water, rubbing the grains with your fingers until water runs clear. Set aside to drain for 10 minutes.
Place the rice, milk, sweetened condensed milk and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring, until mixture starts to boil. Turn down the heat, add the nutmeg, brandy and vanilla and cook, stirring so mixture doesn’t catch in the bottom of the saucepan, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, then cover and refrigerate.

Serve the rice pudding with the cherries on the side.

Serves 4

Rum nutmeg snowballs and handling cookie dough on a hot day

Weeks ago, while I was putting together the list of recipes I wanted to bake to give as gifts to my friends I saw these cookies on one of Martha’s digital magazine issues (the subscription that was a real bargain). So I decided to make that money count and use the recipe – the cookies looked adorable after all, and the flavor combo sounded delicious.

However, I was baking the cookies on a very hot day, so it was a nightmare trying to shape the dough into crescents – by the time I had finished shaping two cookies the whole dough was going soft. So I put it back in the fridge for a while and decided to turn the crescents into balls – snowballs, for that matter. In the end it was a good decision: cookies looked pretty and tasted great. Win/win situation. :)

Rum nutmeg snowballs
slightly adapted from Queen Martha

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg – do not pack it in the spoon when measuring it
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (170g/1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons white rum (Martha uses brandy)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For rolling the cookies:
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted

Whisk together flour, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter with confectioners' sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add rum and vanilla; beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Divide dough into 2 disks; wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Working with one disk at a time (keeping the other refrigerated), scoop 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and roll into a ball. Arrange 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets.
Bake until golden on the bottom, 16-18 minutes. Transfer cookies on sheets to wire racks; let cool 5 minutes. Working in batches, carefully toss warm cookies in confectioners' sugar, then transfer to racks and let cool completely.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Dust with more confectioners' sugar before serving.

Makes about 42

Spiced cake bars (gewürzschnitten) - flavors of my childhood on a recipe I had never seen before

In my searches for Christmas themed recipes every year I have learned about new types of baked goods, have seen beautiful photos and known gorgeous food blogs and websites. Some of the recipes were completely new to me, some were made of flavors I recognize from my childhood, from the sweets my German grandmother used to make.

These delicious bars, super easy to make, were new to as I did not know their name – gewürzschnitten; however, the taste was no stranger to me: as I bit into a square and tasted the mix of spices, chocolate and lemon from the glaze, my taste buds took a trip down memory lane. I don’t really remember what I ate as a kid that reminded me so much of these bars, but what started as inspiration found on this beautiful blog ended up as wonderful discovery – grandma Frida is no longer around for me to ask her this, but I can start my own tradition and bake gewürzschnitten every December from now on. <3

Spiced cake bars (gewürzschnitten)
slightly adapted from this beautiful blog

Cake:
1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (75g) ground almonds
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
pinch of salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided use
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Amaretto (optional)
100ml whole milk, room temperature

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with baking paper leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, then butter the paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder and spices. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of the granulated sugar (75g), beating until mixture gets thick, silky and shiny. Set aside.
In another large bowl, using again the electric mixer, beat the yolks, butter and remaining sugar until light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the Amaretto. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites. Spread onto the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and cooked through when tested with a skewer. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.

Glaze: mix the icing sugar and lemon juice until you get a thin glaze. Spread over cooked cake, set aside until set and then cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Cranberry and peanut oatmeal cookies

One quick look at the blog’s recipe index and one can quickly learn that I love oatmeal cookies – I have made them in many different ways, with many different add on ingredients, and they are always a crowd pleaser (not to mention are great to have on hand for a snack between meals).

There are many recipes on this blog, and today I bring you another – these are delicious, and the salty and crunchy peanuts go very well with the sweet and tender cranberries. I highly recommend you bake these if you like oatmeal cookies like I do – and the peanuts and cranberries can be swapped by other nuts and dried fruits – , but I feel the obligation to tell you that of all the oatmeal cookies on this blog the ones I made for last year’s Christmas series are my favorites. :)

From a cookbook I haven’t used much and I hope to change that – fingers crossed here for the cold weather to finally come our way.

Cranberry and peanut oatmeal cookies
slightly adapted from this cookbook

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch table salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 ¼ cups (112g) old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup (85g) dried cranberries
½ cup (70g) whole salted, roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until creamy and light in color, 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, mixing well, and then add the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add them to the butter-sugar mixture along with the oats and mix on low just until combined. Add the dried cranberries and peanuts. Mix on low briefly until well distributed.

Drop 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared pans, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they’re golden-brown around the edges but still soft. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 22

Eggnog marshmallows

This year’s Christmas series was not as complete as I would have liked it to be, but it was a lot of fun making it just as the previous years: my house smelling of spices, delicious baked goods cooling down over the counter… It is, indeed, my favorite time of the year, and it would not have felt complete without cookies and gingerbread cake.

I hadn’t made marshmallows in a long time, so when I saw this eggnog version I knew they would be a great addition to my sweet celebration – they turned out great, with a wonderful texture. The recipe is great and you can customize it with other flavors, or maybe making them plain vanilla for the little ones to enjoy as well.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Thank you for keeping me company all this year, especially during those moments I wasn’t around here much – I deeply appreciate it. xx

Eggnog marshmallows
slightly adapted from this beautiful blog

10 leaves unflavored gelatin, each cut in 4 pieces
1 cup cold water, divided use
336g (12oz) granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
pinch of table salt
½ cup (60g) confectioners' sugar
½ cup (60g) cornstarch
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ tablespoon rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
vegetable oil, for brushing the pan

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with ½ cup (120ml) of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining ½ cup (120ml) water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 115°C (240°F), approximately 7-8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat – while the mixture cookies, prep the pan: in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and corn starch. Brush a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan with vegetable oil and sprinkle with some of the corn starch mixture, tapping out the excess and saving the remaining mixture for the finishing steps of the recipe.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, add in nutmeg and increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, 12-15 minutes. Beat in the rum and vanilla.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan spreading evenly. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using sharp knife brushed with vegetable oil. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining corn starch mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Makes 48

Chocolate gingerbread bites

The Internet can be a great source of inspiration, I am sure you all agree with me – not only for food, obviously, but let’s focus on that now: there are so many great recipes out there it is hard to choose which one to make, but depending on what we see it gets easier to take our pick.

I saw these bars on Rebecca’s blog and immediately felt like baking them: chocolate, spices, and molasses beautifully combined. Very Christmassy, exactly what I wanted at the moment. When I wrote to her about it, she told me she’d gotten the recipe on another blog, and that person had gotten the recipe from Martha. I then remembered I’d seen the recipe on Martha’s website more than once and thought “well, Martha did not inspire me to make these, Rebecca did”. So these delicious bars, a sort of cake perfumed with spices and moist with the addition of sour cream, have become part of my repertoire of great recipes thanks to a search online – a beautiful blog inspired me to make them, and I hope my blog can inspire some of you to make them, too.

Chocolate gingerbread bites
from Rebecca's blog

¼ cup (56g/½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder + about ½ tablespoon for dusting the pan
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup (60ml) unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
¼ cup (60ml) sour cream*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (85g) dark chocolate chips
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil and butter it as well. Dust it all with cocoa and tap out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, spices, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, butter, egg, molasses, sour cream and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares to serve.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 16

Eggnog biscotti

It might have taken me a while to get started with the Christmas series, but once I did I was perfuming my house with spices for hours on end – my husband took a look at the kitchen counter and said: “wow, you are really inspired!” :)

These biscotti are super simple to make and might even receive other flavors if you are not that crazy for nutmeg, maybe some citrus zest? I guess they would be amazing with orange and Cointreau, for instance. The original recipe called for eggnog in the glaze, so I adapted it a little to avoid using raw eggs in the biscotti.

Eggnog biscotti
slightly adapted from here

Biscotti:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ cup (133g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon rum
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (120g) icing sugar
generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
about 1 tablespoon whole milk

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.

Biscotti: in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in vanilla, rum and nutmeg. Beat in eggs one at a time. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients and mix just until a dough forms (mine was too soft to shape, I added 1 tablespoon of flour).
Divide dough in half and shape each half in a log about 15x5cm (6x2in). Place the logs about 7.5cm (3in) apart onto prepared sheets and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let stand for 20 minutes – leave the oven on. Line another large baking sheet with baking paper.
Slice biscotti into little less than 2cm (¾ in) slices. Place slices onto prepared sheet and bake fo 10 minutes. Turn all slices carefully, and bake for another 10 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet over a wire rack.

Glaze: whisk butter, sugar and nutmeg until mixture starts to get creamy. Add milk gradually, whisking until drizzable consistency. Drizzle biscotti with glaze and set aside until glaze is dry, about 20 minutes.
Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days – without the glaze they last even longer.

Makes about 25

Eggnog apple cake

Celebrations call for cake and Christmas is no exception: I thought there had to be a cake in this year’s holiday series, but not the traditional one – it’s not my cup of tea, really (sorry, purists). :) I think it is too dense, too packed with dried fruits, too boozy, and what I wanted was something completely different: tender and perfumed with spices.

When I saw a recipe for an eggnog apple cake I knew I had to look no further: I immediately remembered the eggnog cake I made years ago and it was so delicious that the addition of apples would only be a good thing, and I was right. In this cake, the apple cubes are cooked in brandy before being folded into the cake batter, but I was out of brandy and kind of cheated a little, using sherry instead.

While I was cooking the apples with the booze, my husband came to the kitchen to see what I was making: he got curious because it smelled so great – that coming from a man who never eats fruit and doesn’t like sweets (nobody’s perfect, right?) had to be a sign that something delicious was happening in my kitchen, and indeed it was.

Eggnog apple cake
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Indulgent Cakes

2 medium Granny Smith apples (380g/14oz in total), peeled and chopped in small cubes
¼ cup (60ml) brandy*
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
170g unsalted butter, softened
80g cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
225g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon table salt
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x7cm (8x2.8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter it as well.

In a large frying pan, combine the apples, brandy and ¼ cup sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Cook until apples are soft, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, cream cheese, extra sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in the apples with the liquid. Transfer to prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for about 1 hour or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold, peel off the paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I was out of brandy and used sherry instead

Serves 8-10

Gingerbread popsicles

I always complain about the weather here during the holidays: it’s too hot – last year it was really uncomfortable with 39°C (102°F) days –, it’s hard to bake (one can certainly forget about cut out cookies, for example), and all I can think of is to do nothing all day long with a nice cold beer or a glass of sparkling wine beside me.

So it hit me: instead of complaining, why not take advantage of the heat and incorporate it into my Christmas cooking? Popsicles are delicious and great for summer days – these are packed with spices, with a hint of honey and brown sugar and very creamy.

I will be honest with you and admit that it crossed my mind to dip these in melted chocolate to make them even more decadent, but the day was beautiful and I went for a ride with my bike instead – I haven’t told you, but I learned how to ride a bicycle right after I turned 36. \0/

Gingerbread popsicles
slightly adapted from the always great Delicious Australia

185ml whole milk
185ml heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup (58g) light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat milk and cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to bubble around the edges. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, honey, spices, salt and vanilla until well combined. Gradually pour the milk mixture over the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (do not let boil).

Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Cool to room temperature, then pour into six 1/3-cup capacity popsicle molds - this is the one I use. Freeze for 40 minutes, insert a popsicle stick into each mould, then freeze for at least another 4 hours or overnight until firm.

Makes 6

Whisky and nutmeg pound cake

I know, I know, there’s nothing “healthy” about whisky, but I believe that there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of alcohol to your cooking and baking occasionally – I can’t cook risotto without a splash of white wine, and beer can do wonders to a beef recipe (my bolognese sauce turned into something even more delicious after I started adding red wine to it).

All that written by someone who once made a cake drenched in rum. :D

The cake I bring you today has a lot less alcohol, but it is very flavorsome still and I bumped into the recipe because I wanted to bake something with whole wheat flour – my first thought was to bake bread, but when I checked the whole wheat flour container it was almost empty. Alice Medrich’s cake was then a very good choice, since the recipe called less than ½ cup of flour. It turned out tender and delicious – as all cakes should be – and with a beautiful golden hue.

I thought the cake was great with a cup of tea (it was a cold weekend), but I am sure it would be wonderful served with whipped cream and berries or fresh fruit, as the plated trifles Nigella makes, for a summery dessert. Or with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, or salted caramel sauce.

Ok, I’ll stop. :)

Whisky and nutmeg pound cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Pure Dessert

2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon whisky
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
105g cake flour (homemade: 15g corn starch + 90g all purpose flour)
55g whole wheat flour
150g granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
180g unsalted butter, softened and in chunks

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 4 to 5 cups loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, whisky, eggs, and vanilla to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Add the butter then pour in half of the egg mixture. Beat on low speed just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add half of the rest of the egg mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Add the rest of the egg mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake until golden and risen and a toothpick comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes, unmold carefully and transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely, then peel off the paper.

Serves 8-10

Honey cake, relating to characters and "Philomena"

I believe it’s part of movie/TV show watching to relate or not to characters, to analyze if we would act like them or not in certain situations – for instance, I would never spend time in a cabin in the middle of the woods and I would certainly never enter a dark attic (or basement) all by myself holding nothing but a lit candle. :D

Speaking of a more serious subject, I watched Philomena yesterday and by the end of the movie I thought it could have been called “Pollyanna”.

Judi Dench is spectacular in the movie – just for a change – and there are several funny moments developed by her character (which reminded me of my paternal grandmother – she’ll say anything that comes to her mind). However, it bothered me much how Philomena deals with the situations she faces, I couldn’t understand it therefore I could not relate – I actually saw myself as the journalist, I would have behaved pretty much like Martin Sixsmith did or worse, I believe. SPOILERS I would have trashed that convent from top to bottom and would have slapped that nun like there was no tomorrow – there would be no forgiving of something so cruel and monstrous. END OF SPOILERS

There is a scene in the movie in which Steve Coogan’s character is having some tea and goes completely bonkers for the cake he’s eating – I felt the same way about this honey cake: it’s extremely simple – no frosting, no filling, nothing – and yet its flavor and texture are absolutely divine. A perfect match for a cup of tea or coffee.

Honey cake
slightly adapted from the delicious and beautiful National Trust Simply Baking

115g mild honey
115g unsalted butter, softened
115g granulated sugar
2 medium eggs*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
about 100ml full-fat milk, room temperature, as necessary
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
If your honey is thick, gently warm over a low heat, then set aside until tepid but still runny.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the honey, followed by the eggs, a little at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg over the mixture and fold in, using a rubber spatula. If necessary, add a little milk: the mixture should drop from the spoon in soft blobs (I used only 60ml of the 100ml called for in the recipe). Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden, risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold, remove the paper and turn the cake back onto the rack. Cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I always buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest 2 in the package to use in this recipe

Makes 16

Gingerbread brownies and a movie I should have seen in 2006

While there are movies I keep watching over and over again, I can’t find a way to watch others, no matter how much I want to: if it’s on TV, I’ll probably have to be somewhere else at the same time (or it will be aired at 3 in the morning), or the weekend I brought the DVD home I didn’t have the time to sit and watch it – you name it. One of those movies was Children of Men, and a couple of days ago I could finally watch it, and what a magnificent movie it is. Alfonso Cuarón had already won me over with the excellent Gravity, and in Children of Men his work is pure perfection – what he does as a director in this movie is beyond words and it’s just ridiculous that he wasn’t nominated for Best Achievement in Directing; actually, the movie had only three Oscar nominations (while The Help, for instance, had four, for crying out loud), and Clive Owen was ignored while Forest Whitaker took the award home – I can’t even.

So here I am, seven years later, hating myself for having waited so long to watch such a masterpiece. Since I don’t want that kind of thing to happen when it comes to food, I present you some delicious and super easy to make gingerbread brownies – I wasn’t sure I was going to bake these, after all my Christmas series this year is pretty chocolaty already, but why wait? Not seven years, not even seven days. :D

Gingerbread brownies
slightly adapted from the wonderful Delicious Australia

185g unsalted butter, chopped
150g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
200g brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted
100g dark chocolate, chopped or in chips, extra

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil, leaving a 5cm (2in) overhang on 2 opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.
In a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), melt butter and 150g chopped chocolate. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Add the sugar and stir to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, spices and cocoa and stir until incorporated. Fold in the remaining 100g chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until brownies are set around the edges and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let brownies cool in the pan over a wire rack.
Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Eggnog bars and messing up with iconic things

Many people I know are against remakes – I’m not; there are wonderful remakes out there – some are even superior to the originals – and there are bad ones, too. That’s life, right?

I think it’s hard to deal with traditional and iconic characters (unless you’re David Fincher), and maybe some of them should be left alone in all their glory. Chloë Grace Moretz has done a disservice to her career by very poorly portraying a character that Sissy Spacek elevated to perfection, and Carrie is such a bad movie in general that not even the goddess Julianne Moore can save it (and that, to me, says a lot).

Let’s mess with traditional and iconic things in a better way, shall we? Let’s get a celebrated Christmas drink and turn it into cakes, cookies and cheesecake bars – I don’t think anyone will be disappointed. ;)

Eggnog bars
slightly adapted from the wonderful The Good Cookie: Over 250 delicious recipes, from simple to sublime

Crust:
150g digestive cookies
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
9 tablespoons (125g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
335g (12oz) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons brandy
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + a bit extra for sprinkling on top of the bars before serving

Crust: position oven rack in the center of oven; preheat to 180°C/350°F.Lightly butter a 20x30cm (12x8in) baking pan, line it with foil so that the foil extends 5cm (2in) beyond the short ends of the pan; lightly butter the foil.
In a food processor, blitz the cookies until ground. Pulse in the cinnamon. With the motor running, add the butter and process until combined. Transfer crumbs to prepared pan and press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until it is slightly puffed and set.
Cool slightly over a wire rack while you make the filling. Decrease oven temperature to 160°C/325°F.

Filling: in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Beat in the cornstarch; add the egg and egg yolks, one at a time, beating until blended and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the heavy cream, brandy, vanilla, and nutmeg. Scrape filling into the slightly cooled crust; bake for 15-20 minutes, until the filling is set. Cool completely over wire rack, then refrigerate.
Before serving, sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg and cut into bars.

Makes 24

Chewy speculaas blondies and one of the most beautiful trailers I've ever seen

My sister and I love watching the trailers when we go to the movies, and after each one we turn to each other and say “yes” or “no” (if we will or will not watch that movie once it premieres). Weeks ago, on the Catching Fire session, we saw the trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and I must confess that when Ben Stiller’s face first appeared onscreen I was more than ready to say “no” – I really can’t stand his movies – but by the end of the trailer we were both enthusiastically saying “yes”. :)

One of the most beautiful trailers I’ve seen and the equally amazing music (the song has been in my head ever since) have made me want to watch a movie starring Ben Stiller – I could barely believe it. :D

It was also hard to believe I could have speculaas without all the rolling and chilling and cutting (and then more chilling) of dough – one roll out cookie in this heat is enough already. :) Edd Kimber’s blondies do deliver all the speculaas delicious flavors and with chocolate to boot – what’s not to love? :D

The blondies turned out flavorsome and thin, but to me that’s not a problem: I became fan of thin bar cookies after being introduced to Alice Medrich’s brownies.

Chewy speculaas blondies
slightly adapted from the delicious The Boy Who Bakes

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
200g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
30g white chocolate, in chips or chopped
30g dark chocolate, in chips or chopped
60g almonds, lightly toasted, cooled and chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium high heat, add the spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the white and dark chocolates and almonds, then pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (like a brownie). Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then slice into squares to serve.

Makes 16