desert

Teeny Tiny Plum Cobbler / Minijaturna pita od šljiva

Crunch Crunch Away, , , , Leave a comment

What to do when you have those few random pieces of fruit lying around? Take out your smallest ramekin and make a cobbler, that’s what! This recipe is customizable to no end, really. Easily substitute plums with whatever fruit you have at hand. The same goes for the topping, which in my case was a convenient way to use up the leftover ground walnuts I had lying around.

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INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 4 small servings / 0.46 EUR per serving / 1.83 EUR for the whole)

5 plums, pitted and sliced (0.40 EUR)

5 tbsp vanilla sugar, divided (0.33 EUR)

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, divided (0.01 EUR)

¼ tsp ground nutmeg (0.01 EUR)

4 heaping tbsp all purpose flour (0.03 EUR)

4 heaping tbsp rolled oats (0.07 EUR)

Pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

50 g cold butter, cut into small cubes (0.47 EUR)

2 tbsp ground walnuts (0.50 EUR)IMGP3742

METHOD:

In a small bowl, toss together sliced plums with 1 tbsp of vanilla sugar and 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. Set aside. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, oats and salt. Quickly work in cubed butter with your hands, until butter breaks down and pieces are generally sized from oats to peas.

Spread half of your plums on the bottom of your ramekin, top with half of cobbler mixture, then repeat with another layer of fruit and layer of cobbler. Gently press everything down and sprinkle with ground walnuts. Refrigerate prepared cobbler for half an hour before baking, so the butter can solidify again.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 175°C. Bake for around 25-30 minutes, until crispy golden brown on top. Allow to cool slightly before serving with ice cream, milk, Greek yogurt, or on its own. Nothing beats vanilla ice cream, however. 😉

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Što napraviti sa zadnjih par komada voća koji vam se povlače po doma? Uzmite najmanju posudu za pečenje i napravite minijaturnu pitu, eto što! Ovaj recept je beskrajno prilagodljiv i funkcionirao bi sa bilo kojim voćem. Isto vrijedi i za ono sa čime ćete ga posipati po vrhu, a što je meni bio zgodan način da iskoristim mrvicu mljevenih oraha koja mi je ostala od drugog recepta.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 4 male porcije / 3,43 kn po porciji / 13,71 kn za sve)

5 šljiva, očišćenih od koštica i narezanih na kriške (3,00 kn)

5 žlica vanili šećera, podijeljeno (2,50 kn)

1 ½ žličica mljevenog cimeta, podijeljeno (0,10 kn)

¼ žličice mljevenog muškatnog oraščića (0,10 kn)

4 žlice oštrog pšeničnog brašna (0,25 kn)

4 žlice zobenih pahuljica (0,50 kn)

Prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

50 g hladnog maslaca, narezanog na male kockice (3,50 kn)

2 žlice mljevenih oraha (3,75 kn)

PRIPREMA:

U maloj zdjelici pomiješajte narezane šljive, 1 žlicu šećera i 1 žličicu cimeta pa stavite na stranu. U drugoj zdjelici pomiješajte preostali šećer, cimet, muškatni oraščić, brašno, zobene pahuljice i sol. Prstima brzo umiješajte narezani maslac dok se na razbije na grudice veličine od zobene pahuljice do zrna graška.

Na dno posude za pečenje rasporedite pola šljiva, posipajte sa pola ‘tijesta’, pa ponovite sa ostatkom šljiva i ‘tijesta’. Sve nježno utisnite u posudu i po vrhu posipajte mljevene orahe. Stavite pitu na barem pola sata u hladnjak prije pečenja, kako bi se maslac ponovno stisnuo.

Kad želite peći, zagrijte pećnicu na 175°C. Pecite 25-30 minuta, dok se na vrhu ne uhvati hrskava, zlatno-smeđa korica. Mrvicu ohladite prije posluživanja, a jedite uz sladoled, mlijeko, grčki jogurt, ili samo bez ičega. Ali ništa nije bolje od sladoleda od vanilije. 😉

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Teeny Tiny Plum Cobbler / Minijaturna pita od šljiva

Classic Apple Strudel / Klasična štrudla od jabuka

Crunch Crunch Away, , , , 2 Comments

Apple strudel is just the thing when you need to quickly whip up a desert. Or when you have a ton of apples at hand. It’s simple, delicious and can hold for a couple of days in the fridge. Of course, nothing beats the taste while it’s still hot, fresh from the oven. But, you can prep and wrap the rolls beforehand and just pop the tray in the oven an hour before you need it done.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 10 very generous servings / 0.38 EUR per serving / 3.85 EUR for whole)

1 pack (10 sheets) of phyllo pastry (1.60 EUR)

10 medium sized apples (1.33 EUR)

4 tbsp butter, divided (0.47 EUR)

4 tbsp sugar, divided (0.01 EUR)

1 tsp cinnamon (0.10 EUR)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract (0.03 EUR)

½ cup raisins (0.26 EUR)

½ cup milk (0.06 EUR)

Butter or vegetable oil for coating the baking tray (0.01 EUR)

Powdered sugar for serving (0.01 EUR)

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METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease large baking tray which can hold all 10 strudel sausages and set aside. Alternatively, you can also divide strudels between smaller trays, so grease those accordingly. Unwrap stacked phyllo pastry sheets on flat clean surface to allow the dough to rest a bit. In a small saucepan on stovetop, or in a cup in a microwave, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Wash, peel and grate the apples, discarding the cores. Pour melted butter over grated apples, add 3 tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and raisins and mix everything well using a spatula or your hands. Put about 2 heaping tablespoons of the apple filling on each pastry sheet, arranging it in a single line through the sheet’s length. Gently wrap the pastry sheet and place on a prepared tray. Repeat until all filling and pastry sheets are used up.

Place baking tray in a center of the oven and bake for around 30 minutes, until strudels are golden brown and crispy on top. Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter with milk and remaining sugar and simmer until the mixture warms up. You can also use microwave for this step. When the strudel is done, turn the oven off, drizzle warm milk mixture over it, carefully (it’s going to be very hot!) cover the tray with aluminum foil and place in still warm oven for 15 minutes. The liquid will soften the strudel and make it amazingly yummy and juicy. If you’re a fan of a crispy strudel instead, skip this step.

Allow strudel to cool for about 15 minutes before serving, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

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Štrudla od jabuka je prava stvar kada trebate na brzinu smutiti desert. Ili jednostavno imate hrpu jabuka pri ruci. Jednostavna je, ukusna i može stajati i do nekoliko dana u hladnjaku. Naravno, ništa nije bolje od svježe, tek pečene štrudle. Ali možete sve pripremiti i zamotati štrudlice unaprijed, i onda ih samo staviti da se peku sat vremena prije nego ih trebate gotove.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 10 veoma izdašnih porcija / 2,83 kn po porciji / 28,34 kn za sve)

1 paket od 10 listova za savijače (12,00 kn)

10 srednjih jabuka (10,00 kn)

4 žlice maslaca, podijeljene (3,50 kn)

4 žlice šećera, podijeljene (0,05 kn)

1 žličica cimeta (0,07 kn)

1 žličica ekstrakta od vanilije (0,20 kn)

½ šalice grožđica (2,00 kn)

½ šalice mlijeka (0,50 kn)

Maslac ili ulje za namastiti pleh za pečenje (0,01 kn)

Šećer u prahu za posluživanje (0,01 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Zagrijte pećnicu na 180°C. Namastite veliki pleh za pečenje u koji stane svih 10 štrudli i stavite na stranu. Naravno, možete podijeliti štrudle i na manje protvane, pa si onda namastite njih. Razmotajte listove za savijače na čistoj ravnoj površini kako bi se tijesto mrvicu opustilo. Na štednjaku u malom lončiću, ili u mikrovalnoj u šalici, rastopite 3 žlice maslaca. Operite, ogulite i naribajte jabuke, a bacite kocenove. Prelijte rastopljeni maslac preko jabuka, dodajte 3 žlice šećera, cimet, vaniliju i grožđice, pa sve dobro promiješajte špatulom ili rukama. Dužinom svakog lista za savijače, u tankoj liniji, raspoređujte oko 2 vrhom pune žlice nadjeva od jabuka, pa nježno zamotajte i slažite u namašćeni pleh. Ponavljajte dok ne potrošite sav nadjev i listove.

Stavite napunjen pleh u sredinu pećnice i pecite oko 30 minuta, dok štrudle ne postanu hrskave i zlatno-smeđe. U međuvremenu rastopite preostali maslac, dodajte šećer i mlijeko, pa kuhajte dok se ne ugrije. To također možete napraviti i u mikrovalnoj. Kada je štrudla pečena ugasite pećnicu, pa prelijte smjesom mlijeka. Pažljivo (jer je jako vruće!) prekrijte pleh aluminijskom folijom i stavite u ugašenu pećnicu na 15 minuta. Štrudla će od tekućine omekšati i biti baš sočna i fina. Ako više volite hrskavu štrudlu, preskočite ovaj korak.

Ostavite štrudlu da se hladi 15-tak minuta prije posluživanja. Poslužite posipano šećerom u prahu.

Classic Apple Strudel / Klasična štrudla od jabuka

Classic Cheesecake / Klasični cheesecake

Crunch Crunch Away, , 1 Comment

I’ve been reluctant to make cheese cake for years and years. Well, more scared, than actually reluctant, because I love eating the cake. But creamy cakes always seemed like an enormous challenge to me. I have no idea why I haven’t tried making cheese cake sooner. It’s actually been a breeze and nothing catastrophic emerged out of it. Well, nothing other than a belly full of delicious cake, if you can call that a catastrophe. 😀

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INGREDIENTS:

(Yields a 22 cm cake / 12 pieces / 4.92 EUR for whole cake / 0.41 EUR per piece

For the cake base:

150 g Petit-Beurre cookies (0.73 EUR)

2 tbps sugar, divided (0.01 EUR)

¼ cup butter, melted + more for greasing pan (0.5 EUR)

For the cheese filling:

500 g fresh or cream cheese, softened at room temperature (1.87 EUR)

2 tbsp lemon juice (0.13 EUR)

2 large eggs (0.4 EUR)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract (0.03 EUR)

3 tpsp sugar (0.01 EUR)

For cream filling:

2 cups crème fraiche (1.20 EUR)

2 tbsp sugar (0.01 EUR)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract (0.03 EUR)

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METHOD:

Preheat oven to 250°C. Lightly grease spring form pan with butter and cover bottom and sides with parchment paper. Sprinkle bottom of the pan with 1 tbsp of sugar and set aside. Blitz cookies in a food processor, or put in a zip lock bag and bash with a rolling pin until fine and crumbly. Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter and remaining 1 tbsp of sugar and gently press into the bottom of prepared spring form pan. Bake for 4 minutes, remove from oven and immediately reduce heat to 170°C.

Meanwhile prepare cheese filling. Mix all the ingredients until creamy and pour over baked cookie base and level with spatula. Bake for 25 minutes at 170°C. Prepare cream filling by mixing all the ingredients until creamy and well combined. After 25 minute mark, turn off the oven to pour cream over cheese filling, level with spatula and place in still warm oven for 5 minutes.

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Let the cake sit on counter until cool and then refridgerate before serving for at least 4-5 hours, but best overnight.

Godinama me bezveze bilo strah probati napraviti cheesecake, iako ga stvarno jako volim jesti. Kremasti kolači su mi se uvijek činili kao nekakav enormni izazov. Iskreno, nije mi jasno zašto nisam prije pokušala napraviti cheesecake jer je stvarno lako i nikakva se katastrofa nije desila. Osim trbuha punog fine torte, ako to možete nazvati katastrofom. 😀

SASTOJCI:

(za jedan cheesecake promjera 22 cm / 12 šnita / 37,07 kn za cijeli / 3,09 kn po šniti)

Za bazu:

150 g Petit-Beurre keksa (5,50 kn)

2 žlice šećera, podijeljene (0,05 kn)

¼ šalice rastopljenog maslaca (4,00 kn)

Za sloj sira:

500 g svježeg ili krem sira, omekšanog na sobnoj temperaturi (14,00 kn)

2 žlice soka od limuna (1,00 kn)

2 jaja (3,00 kn)

1 žličica ekstrakta od vanilije (0,20 kn)

3 žlice šećera (0,07 kn)

Za sloj vrhnja:

2 šalice milerama (9,00 kn)

2 žlice šećera (0,05 kn)

1 žličica ekstrakta od vanilije (0,20 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Zagrijte pećnicu na 250°C. Namastite kalup za pečenje maslacem, obložite dno i stranice papirom za pečenje, posipajte dno 1 žlicom šećera i stavite sa strane. Sameljite kekse u multipraktiku, ili ih stavite u vrećicu za smrzavanje i udrite po njima valjkom za tijesto dok ne dobijete fini prah. Pomiješajte mrvice keksa sa preostalom žlicom šećera i rastopljenim maslacem i lagano prstima utisnite u dno kalupa. Pecite 4 minute, izvadite iz pećnice i smanjite temperaturu na 170°C.

U međuvremenu pripremite kremu od sira tako da izmiksate sve sastojke dok ne dobijete jednoličnu kremastu smjesu. Istresite kremu na pečene kekse, poravnajte i pecite 25 minuta na 170°C. Dok se to peče, pripremite kremu od vrhnja tako da sve sastojke izmiksate u glatku smjesu. Nakon 25 minuta prelijte kremu od vrhnja preko torte, poravnajte i stavite u ugašenu pećnicu na 5 minuta.

Ostavite tortu da se ohladi na sobnu temperaturu i potom ju prije posluživanja stavite u hladnjak na 4-5 sati, ali najbolje preko noći.

Classic Cheesecake / Klasični cheesecake

Gluten-Free Walnut Meringue Choco Tart / Bezglutenski čoko tart od bjelanjaka i oraha

Crunch Crunch Away, , , , 2 Comments

I am really inexperienced when it comes to layered cakes. They always intimidated me. I’ve only just dared to venture into the world of creamy cakes a couple of weeks ago. The reason: my bae was having a birthday. I wanted to make him a proper cake. Proper chocolate cake. I needed something really simple, something I just can’t mess up. I worked around a recipe I got from a co-worker for a delicious cake she once brought. The original recipe was simple and straightforward enough. With some tweaking, the birthday cake turned out just right. The bae approved.

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INGREDIENTS:

Yields one 28 cm tart / 12 slices = 4.35 EUR for the whole tart / 0.36 EUR per slice

For the cake base:

3 large eggs – egg whites only (0.6 EUR)

Pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

4 tbsp vanilla sugar (0.26 EUR)

1 cup finely ground walnuts (2.00 EUR)

For the chocolate cream:

3 egg yolks (–)

4 tbsp sugar (0.01 EUR)

80 g dark cooking chocolate, cut into chunks and at room temperature (0.67 EUR)

80 g butter, softened at room temperature (0.8 EUR)

Butter for greasing the tart pan

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 150°C. Lightly grease tart pan and set aside. In a bowl mix egg whites with a pinch of salt until peaks form, 3-5 minutes. Mix in vanilla sugar until creamy and even and then gently fold in ground walnuts with a spatula. Spread the base evenly on a prepared tart pan and gently shake to even everything out. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top startes browning lightly. Remove from the oven and heat oven to 250°C.

Meanwhile, whisk yolks with sugar and place on a double broiler. Whisk for a minute or two, then add in chocolate and stir until melted and fully incorporated. Lastly, add in softened butter, stir for another minute or two until all of the butter melts and cream is even and glossy. Pour the chocolate cream over baked cake base, even with a spatula and place in the oven preheated to 250°C for a minute, so a thin crust forms. Take the tart out of the oven and let it fully cool on the counter top before placing in a fridge for a couple of hours, but best overnight.

The tart will slightly shrink from the pan as it cools, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting it out of the pan. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, berried fruits, or simply on its own with a glass of cold milk.

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Moram priznati da nemam iskustva sa kremastim tortama. Uvijek su me nekako plašile. Usudila sam se zakoračiti u svijet kremastih torti tek pred nekoliko tjedana. Razlog: približavao se rođendan mojeg dragog i htjela sam mu napraviti pravu rođendansku tortu. Trebalo mi je nešto jako jednostavno, nešto sa čim neću moći zabrljati. Prilagodila sam recept kolegice s posla za ukusnu tortu koju nam je jednom donijela. Originalni je recept bio dovoljno jednostavan, a uz neke je male izmjene torta ispala baš kako treba. Dragi je odobrio.

SASTOJCI:

Za jedan tart od 28 cm / 12 šnita = 32,61 kn za cijeli tart / 2,72 kn za šnitu

Za bazu:

3 velika jaja – samo bjelanjci (4,50 kn)

Prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

4 žlice vanili šećera (2,00 kn)

1 šalica sitno mljevenih oraha (15,00 kn)

Za kremu:

3 žumanjca (–)

4 žlice šećera (0,10 kn)

80 g tamne čokolade za kuhanje, izlomljene na komade i na sobnoj temperaturi (5,00 kn)

80 g maslaca, omekšanog na sobnoj temperaturi (6,00 kn)

Maslac za namastiti kalup za tart

PRIPREMA:

Zagrijte pećnicu na 150°C. Lagano premažite kalup za tart maslacem i odložite na stranu. Istucite bjelanjce sa prstohvatom soli u čvrsti snijeg, 3-5 minuta. Umiksajte vanili šećer dok ne jednolično i kremasto. Nježno umiješajte mljevene orahe, istresite u pripremljeni kalup za tart, poravnajte tako da lagano protresete kalup i pecite 20-25 minuta, dok vrh ne postane zlatno-smećkasti. Izvadite tart iz pećnice, pećnicu stavite grijati na 250°C.

U međuvremenu izmiješajte žumanjce sa šećerom i stavite kuhati na pari, uz stalno miješanje na minutu-dvije. Umiješajte komade čokolade i kuhajte dalje uz stalno miješanje, dok se čokolada skroz ne otopi i ne dobijete glatku masu. Na kraju dodajte omekšali maslac i miješajte još minutu-dvije dok se sav maslac ne otopi i krema ne bude sjana i jednolična. Istresite kremu na pečenu bazu, poravnajte sve sa špatulom i stavite u pećnicu ugrijanu na 250°C na minutu, da se uhvati korica. Izvadite tart iz pećnice i ostavite da se ohladi na sobnu temperaturu prije nego ga stavite u hladnjak na nekoliko sati, a najbolje preko noći.

Tart će se malo stisnuti u kalupu, tako da ne bi trebalo biti problema sa vađenjem. Poslužite sa tučenim slatkim vrnjem, sladoledom od vanilije, bobičastim voćem, ili bez ičega, uz čašu hladnog mlijeka.

Gluten-Free Walnut Meringue Choco Tart / Bezglutenski čoko tart od bjelanjaka i oraha