Sarah Bernhardts

My internal dialogue went on for hours - should I write this post now or make another batch with perfectly shaped cones and post another one later. The question was should or shouldn't I let my sometimes annoying tendency towards perfection be in my way, as so many times before. It takes the fun out of blogging and fills my draft box with bakes that will never see the light of day. I sift through it from time to time, delete some of them, and with no particular reason decide to keep others knowing that if I didn't like them at the time I made it, there is a slim chance of me changing my mind. But there they are - waiting. These cookies didn't deserve to share the destiny of my "failures" and I am pleased to give you my perfectly imperfect Sarah Bernhardts:

Extraordinary for some, controversial for others would be the word(s) to sum up the life and persona of Sarah Bernhardt, who inspired many to dedicate poems, create cakes and name the flowers after her (Sarah Bernhardt Peony). I have nothing more to add to the subject.

As for the recipe, this is one of many versions of these little cookie cakes. The macaroon base is common in all of them, but the filling varies from country to country, and it goes from chocolate mousse to truffle and butter-cream. I made dark chocolate truffle and topped it with some milk chocolate.

Sarah Bernhardts

Preheat oven to 150C/300F/gas 2

 Truffle Filling
75 ml double cream
25 g butter
150 g chocolate, chopped

Macaroon base:
100g finely ground blanched almonds
125 g sugar
1 egg white (35 g)

Glaze:
200 g finely chopped chocolate

For the base, mix all of the ingredients to make a smooth paste. Divide it into 12 portions, make little balls, then press them down as you lay them on a baking sheet to create circles of about 5 cm in diameter. Bake for 15 -20 minutes, until golden brown at the bottom, while the tops remain pale. when you remove it from the oven, leave it to rest for couple of minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the truffle filling, heat the cream and butter until it boils, put the chocolate in, remove from the heat, stir until smooth, chill until thick enough to hold shape.

When both parts are ready, spoon the filling on each macaroon and using a small palette knife make conical shape. Chill until firm.

Melt the chocolate , dip each truffle into it, keeping the base as smear-free as you can.

Keep them covered and refrigerated, but serve at room temperature.

Adaptation from Sugar and Spice, by Gaitri Pagrach - Chandra

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Kürtőskalács/Chimney Cake

Daring Baker's Challenge August 2014 

The August Daring Bakers' Challenge took us for a spin! Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen taught us to to make rolled pastries inspired by Kurtoskalacs, a traditional Hungarian wedding pastry. These tasty yeasted delights gave us lots to celebrate.

The fact that I haven't missed a single challenge since I joined the Daring Bakers in May last year, tells me that I really like being part of the community and seriously enjoy every single challenge. But, some of them are a tiny bit more special, like this one for the simple reason that they involve making pastry. Whenever I open the page with new challenge information and realise that we are going to tackle another type of pastry, I get tingles in my hands. 

And this month we got to do two - the Chimney Cake and Ensaimada . Needless to say that I made both, but decided to do a separate post about Ensaimada, as this great Spanish pastry deserves.  

Kürtőskalács / Chimney Cake

240 g plain flour

7 gr dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

2 tbsp sugar

3 gr salt

1 large egg, room temperature

45 gr melted butter

120 ml warm milk

For the topping

100 gr sugar ( you can mix it with the same amount of ground walnuts) 

2 tsp cinnamon

1. Dissolve yeast and 1tbsp sugar into the warm milk until it becomes frothy. In a separate bowl combine flour, the rest of the sugar and salt and to this add egg, melted butter and yeast. Mix to combine then knead for few minutes. 
2.  The dough will be sticky, but don't add any more flour, as is suppose to be like that. Transfer it to an oiled bowl and leave to rise for an hour until doubled in volume.
3. Prepare the rolling pins, or kitchen/toilet paper tubes ( enough for 6 smaller cakes) by covering them with aluminium foil, do at least two, to protect the cylinder from burning in the oven.Brush them with melted butter. I liked and used Korena's toilet paper tube idea.
4. Punch down the dough and divide into 4 equal parts about 115 gm of each.
5. On a well floured surface spread one portion of the dough.Shape into 4 mm thick square-shaped sheet.Using a pizza cutter cut the dough into a long ribbons of about 13 mm wide.Wrap one end of the dough strip around the spit (rolling pi/paper roll), tucking in the end so the dough doesn't unwind.Keep the dough very thin (6 mm) as you stretch and wind it around the spit. Then roll the whole thing slightly on the counter top to flatten it together.Brush with melted butter.Roll in sugar and place in roasting pan then bake in a preheated moderately hot oven 375°F/190⁰C/gas mark 5 for 25 minutes.
6. When cake is done roll it in sugar again. If you are using other toppings brush more butter, then roll the finished cake in the toppings of your choice.
7. Tap the mould on a table top to release the cake and set it up right to cool.

For the illustrated method, please go to Swathi's blog as she did a great job of taking pictures of every step. 

This recipe was also submitted to Susan's weekly Yeast spotting gallery .

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Log house restaurant "Gros"

 Cevapcici, Tito,Grilled meat Festival and twice baked bread

I was born in Vojvodina, Northern part of ex -Yugoslavia and today's Serbia, but most of my life, before I left the country, I spent in a small Southern town of Leskovac, (in)famous ever since I can remember for the poor use of language and a terrible.. funny, but still terrible accent.... we are the Liverpudlian of Serbia! And the rest of the country, (similarities, similarities) was never short of  making sometimes witty, but often unpleasant remarks about  us Leskovodians . 

X years ago, my best friend and I, joined the University of Belgrade to read the Politics and Journalism. Although neither of us were born nor spoke as locals the fame more or less quietly followed us for more then an year, until on the second year we had and an exam in accentology. Oops!!What happened? Well, since we came at the top of the class we thought that we could claim the victory on behalf of  all Leskovodians , but obviously it didn't happen. We were left alone, but Leskovac and it's citizens still equally inspire the witty and the mean people of Serbia.

My wish  that the things will change, that the language will improve and  that the town will be recognised for something more pleasant and significant was not granted and I eventually got the message, the slang was there to stay and I stopped being troubled about it.
The thing is, that in addition to so many great people living there, there was always something else special about the town, and it was recognized for it, but I am not sure if it outshone the latter, it's more likely that the two fames were and are happily walking around  hand in hand. 

Of course I am talking about  the food. The region, being on the one of the biggest crossroads in the World was over the centuries exposed to many different cultural and ethic influences and as a result is very rich in different types of food, although the Eastern civilizations - the Ottoman Empire  left  huge trail on almost every aspect of people's life with effects to the present day.

We are all familiar with Kebab, which  in the West means more or less pieces of meat on the individual screwer, or trimmed from a huge screwer.  In Serbia and the neighbouring countries the most popular grilled and fast food dish is cevap, or in diminutive cevapcici which is in it's origin kebab. Here is the extract from Wikipedia to give you a closer idea : ( note: cevapcici from Leskovac are made from beef only)

Name and etymology[edit]

The word ćevap comes from the Persian word kebab, sometimes with the South Slavic diminutive ending -čići (Bosnian, Croatian: ćevapčići/ćevapi; Slovene:čevapčiči/čevapi; Serbian: ћевапчићи/ћевапи, ćevapčići/ćevapi; Macedonian: Ќебапи, kjebapi; Bulgarian: Кебапчета, kebapcheta, Czech: čevabčiči). The word ćevapi is plural; the singular form ćevap is rarely used, as a typical serving consists of several ćevapi. They are also known as Balkan meatballs.

History[edit]

Ćevapčići

Ćevapčići has its origins in the Balkans during the Ottoman expansion into southeastern Europe and developed through the Middle Ages into a regional specialty similar to the kofte kebab.^{[5][not in citation given]}

Ćevapčići are shown on the right in this example of Serbian cuisine. To the left are uštipci.

It is found in the Srpski rječnik (1818).^[6] In Serbia, there is a local variety of leskovački ćevap whose recipe is based on traditional Serbian pljeskavica but formed as a somewhat larger sausage (ćevap). It is named after the city of Leskovac, which now organizes the yearly Leskovac Grill Festival as a showcase of ćevapi and other grilled meat. In Belgrade, ćevapčići first came from Leskovac in the 1860s, into the kafana "Rajić" at the Great Marketplace (today Studentski Trg), from where they have quickly spread across the city.^[7] Before the 1930s, they spread to the rest of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia, including east of Serbia and the Macedonia region.^[7] In 1933, the first street vendor with food appeared in Maribor, who came from Leskovac, and served grilled meat, including ćevapčići.^[8]

A book that I was recently given by a friend who knows about my passion for food, remained me how good this dish is -  so good in fact that it was on Tito's  menu and was even served during the Queen Elisabeth's visit to Belgrade.  It says a lot !

.

Now, I don't know whether there was something extra special in that cevapcici (except  the cattle specially raised for Tito), but I know that it commercialised over the decades and that quality of your meal, like with everything else, will depend on where you go. Leskovac have been hosting a food festival dedicated to grilled meat for years now and  if I am not mistaken the one coming on 25 August will mark 25 years since the Grill Festival started. And again as with everything else you can love it, or hate it, but it represents the town's tradition now and it has become a part of a regional tourist attraction. 

I prefer a quieter ambience and ever since it opened five years ago this Log house restaurant is my traditional food and grilled meat oasis whenever I go back to the town.

When I went back this Summer we took our Macedonian friends for lunch there. And although this place was always in-keeping with the Serbian tradition, it expended, more features were added and it felt as I stepped back in time and entered into a nicely kept rural household from the end of 19th or early 20th century. A mini ethnic, cultural and food museum in one place with so many original pieces, that the ones that were made to recreate the ambient did'n stick out, but were there to support the old ones.

I was sitting there, enjoying my appetiser  thinking about how big attraction restaurant like this would have been in one of the Western countries. With amazing traditional food and recipes that in some cases date back to the days of the Ottoman Empire and the step back in time décor, it would have been marked in culinary maps of Europe.

With that thought in my mind,I just got of the table without saying anything to my friends and went to find the owner. Ten minutes later he agreed to let me come back the following day, take some pictures and get couple of recipes from their baker. 

So, no, this is not a paid article, this is something I decided to do in a spark of the moment and today while I am writing this post, few weeks after I took the pictures ( it was a very bright day and I am not very good in taking outdoor pictures) it still feels like a right thing to do. I am putting this place into my culinary map and the map of every food enthusiast who just might one day decide to go and check out what the heck that woman was talking about!

I was disappointed though that they didn't have my all time favourite - a salad made from dry red peppers and leek- but it was probably too much to ask for in July, when was totally out of season. That's why I am going back in September ( well not for that, but I will definitely go for a meal and, fingers crossed, for their recipe of the salad, as it is not like any other I tasted.)

I mentioned that I got two recipes from the main baker, Gordana Cvetkovic ( picture below). One is for the bread, I remember loving twenty odd years ago. It's called Pogaca, the term which is in Serbia used for the  firmer, close textured, or enriched bread. 

What makes this one special is the way the dough is handled and  baked - first it's  "cooked" in a pan on hob over medium heat, and then transferred  to the oven.

Gordana's recipe was for 15 bread rounds, and I gave my best to work out ( using ratio) what proportion of the ingredients is needed for one bread loaf. Please bear on mind that different type of flour will give different results.

Having said that, I also believe that even different bread recipe is used, the great taste will come if the "twice cooked/baked" procedure is followed. As you will realise the dough should be fairly soft , as almost equal amount of dry and wet ingredients is used.

Gordana's  twice baked Pogaca

 240 g plain flour
70 ml oil
170 ml warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
16 g fresh yeast (10 gr fresh yeast = 1 tsp dry yeast)
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F/gas 5 and place the empty tray where the bread will be baked to warm it up.

Dissolve the yeast in warm water with sugar and 1 tbsp flour and wait until froths. Mix with the rest of the ingredients, and let it rest until it starts to rise only. Flour a surface generously, shape it into a ball, cover and wait until it just start raising, then press it down lightly to make a disc, and again wait until it just start raising. In a meanwhile heat the pan on a hob over medium heat, then put the dough and "cook" until the crust is formed and it starts to rise. Flip it over to the floured hot tray and bake for about 20 minutes.

I am posting the original pictures from the restaurant this time, as I think that was more appropriate. The second recipe I got is for a dessert that I will make and post about (hopefully) soon!

Thank you to all at the restaurant for being lovely hosts! 

And just so you know, the wiser I get and less stiff I become, the more Leskovodian language I use, mostly when I'm in a good mood. 

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Tropical Sunflower Butter Granola

with sourdough and tropical dried fruit

I've wanted to join the Sourdough Surprises group ever since I made my own sourdough starter at the beginning of the year. It took awhile, but the moment has arrived - this is my first sourdough surprise entry, and this month's surprise was about granola.

I used Susan's recipe from her Wild yeast blog as my starting point, to guide me on quantities and proportion of the ingredients and then let my imagination flow. And here's where it led me - to a tropical fruit granola with sunflower butter seeds.

Tropical Sunflower Butter Granola

100 g of mixed dry roast chopped  nuts - I used an equal amount of
walnuts, peanuts and almonds
100 g candied pineapple
50 g candied papaya
50 gr dried mango
30 g golden linen seeds
30 g sunflower seeds
100 g rolled oats
handful of dark chocolate drops
100 g sunflower seeds butter
120 honey
150 g refrigerated sourdough starter

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F/ gas mark 5

Lay greased parchment paper into a rectangular tin not bigger then 15cm x 30 cm.

Mix all dry ingredients, then combine the sourdough with honey and sunflower butter. Put the two mixtures together, making sure that everything is well incorporated. Turn it over into the tin, press with your hands to even it out and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Let it rest and cool down on a wire rack, then you can cut and serve.

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Rosehip Vinegar

I have a rosehip bush in the garden, and for the last few years I haven't been very active in using it, but there are so many rosehips this year that I decided not to let them rot away.

I adapted this recipe from the excellent Preserves - Made at home by Dick and James Strawbridge book, which bursts with ideas of how to make more use of your fruit and veg  and go a step further in preserving them.

This flavoured vinegar goes particularly well with chicken and fish, although the authors highly recommend to drizzle it over a melon and prosciutto salad.

Rosehip Vinegar

500 ml cider  apple vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
30 g rosehip
peel from 1 clementine or orange
1 wooden screwer

Put the vinegar and sugar into a pan and let the sugar dissolve over low heat. Set aside to cool.
Tread the rosehips and pieces of clementine peel alternately on to a wooden skewer.
Sterilize a bottle,  place the skewer inside, then pour in the vinegar.
Seal and leave for 3 weeks before using it.

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Grissini

fennel seeds, rosemary, sage, lavender... 

Beautifully long and elegant they can proudly stand at any table on any occasion. And that is what separates them from breadsticks, as I see them: chunky with pieces of cheese, olives, or pancetta sticking out , they speak informality, al fresco dining, barbecue, picnic...

Grissini, are all that, and a bit more, like their creators, the Italians themselves - seemingly nonchalantly dressed  for almost every occasion ( just swap the shoes and perfume).

One same basic recipe serves many purposes and can be transformed into many shapes and flavours, although I think that they are at their  best when in the original, long and very thin shape which brings the crunchiness out and releases the flavour slowly. 

I made 3 batches, using dried sage, lightly toasted fennel seeds and  lavender. The recipe that follows makes one batch of 30

Grissini

10 g dried yeast
pinch of sugar
150 ml warm water
250 g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
50 ml olive oil, plus for brushing
1 tbsp dried finely herbs or seeds

Dissolve the yeast with sugar in hand-touch warm water and leave it to stand until becomes foamy. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and knead to get smooth dough. Cover and let it stand in a warm place to get at least double in size, for about 60 to 70 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas 5, lightly grease the baking sheet.

Knead the dough gently and divide into about 30 walnut size balls, 13 g  to 15 g each. Roll out around 30 cm long ropes, without using any extra flour. Place them onto the prepared oven tray leaving at least 1 cm space between them. Brush generously with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes or until  golden in colour.

When they are cooled completely, you can store them in a bag, or keep them covered with a clean cloth, they will keep well for few days ( maybe longer, never tried for more then 2 days). 

P.S. Go easy when adding herbs and seeds if you don't like strong flavours, especially with lavender. Use just half of the measure and adjust the flavours to your liking next time you make them .

The recipe is adapted from Gourmet Traveller

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Biscotti Fridge Cake

 From time to time, I like to take a break from "serious" baking and make something quick and easy and of course delicious. This break coincided with my desire to do something with my beloved almond biscottis, which until now were reserved strictly for coffee dipping. Since I wanted to preserve the taste of biscottis as much as possible, the fridge cake idea came like the totally obvious choice.

 And do you still remember banana flavoured marshmallows covered in chocolate (on picture below)? Yes, I put that in as well.

Biscotti Fridge Cake

 150g dark chocolate

50g butter

2 tbps golden syrup

170 g almond biscotti, broken into pieces

70 g toasted, chopped walnuts

3 banana flavoured marshmallows 

50 gr white chocolate drops

 handful of candid fruit, I used pears

Line a shallow cake tin ( or mould of your choice) with cling film.

Melt the dark chocolate, golden syrup and butter, until the mixture is smooth and glossy, take it off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Spoon into the tin and chill for few hours. 

To decorate drizzle with melted white chocolate, or simply sprinkle with some grated chocolate.

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Red Gooseberry Cake

 plus yoghurt and red currants 

I think that the last time I saw red gooseberries was as a child in my neighbours garden. I even forgot they existed -can you imagine my surprise when I saw a couple of punnets of mixed red currents, black currents and red gooseberries in our local shop? It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what that familiar looking fruit was..

..and seconds after my Eureka moment I was carrying all of them towards the checkout .

Making jam was an obvious choice, but then I remembered an old yoghurt-berry cake recipe, that would be good to adapt :

Red Gooseberry and Redcurrant Cake 

300g  mixed red gooseberry and redcurrants

170g butter

100 ml pouring yoghurt

130 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

230 g plain flour

50 g cornflour + 2 spoons 

2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven 180C/356F

Grease and the tin and sust it with some flour - you can use standard size loaf tin.

Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until fluffy and pale, then add eggs, one at the time and yoghurt. Combine  the rest of the dry ingredients and combine with the butter mixture. 

Sprinkle the fruit with a spoonful of cornflour and mix slowly to coat it.

Spoon half  of the batter into the tin, then put a generous layer of fruit, top it with the rest of the batter, you can put some fruit at the end if you are not using bundt cake tin.. 

Bake for about an hour, take it out from the oven and leave to coll for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

Dust with some icing sugar, or decorate with icing.

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