Baking

Pumpkin Lingonberry cake

Is the pumpkin season over? I think pumpkins with its amazing and cheerful color, and great taste are always on time. For this cake, I used butternut squash because it was very sweet compared to a dull and bit tasteless slice of pumpkin that I had in my fridge. Choose any sweet variety or increase sugar, but definitely, the naturally sweet fruit is the best option.

Once you grated the pumpkin, mixed it up with tvorog (cottage cheese) and berries, and the cake is almost ready. 🙂 For many of you, lingonberries are exotic berries but I do hope that will not stop you to try this cake, as these berries taste very similar to little sour cranberries. So, you may always find another good substitution. They are also known as cowberries or mountain/tundra cranberries.

This bright cake turned out incredibly soft and delicious. Lovely little lingonberries and orange glaze made it even more special and festive. You need only to brew the aromatic tea (like this wonderful spiced tea) and enjoy the cheerful atmosphere.

Isn’t it the perfect cake?

Pumpkin Lingonberry Cake with orange glaze

You can click here for the marvelous drink recipe that also goes perfectly with a slice of this pumpkin cake. Aromatic spices and berries in both recipes make you feel very festive and happy.

Pumpkin Lingonberry cake

Servings: 5-6
Difficulty: easy
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I used 20cm baking pan

*Carrots are another good substitute.

**Can be substituted with fresh small cranberries. No berries – not a problem, omit it or add few dried cranberries.

What you’ll need

350g finely grated pumpkin or butternut squash*, any sweet variety is fine

50g butter, at room temperature

40g (2 tbsp) white sugar (or brown)

2 medium eggs, slightly beaten

1 orange, zest+1 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp orange marmalade (I used fine cut)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or a pinch of fresh

200g 0% cottage cheese (or 5-7% is even better)

100g yogurt (thick one is preferably like Greek yogurt or creme fraiche)

~100g lingonberries (I used frozen)**

100g plain flour+1 tbsp cornflour (not corn starch, or add extra plain flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3-4 tbsp orange marmalade, for the glaze, warm

How to make it

Grate pumpkin, squeeze juice if there is any. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk butter with sugar until pale but don’t over-mix.
Mix in eggs.
Add orange zest, orange juice, marmalade and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl blend cottage cheese with yogurt. Fold into the batter mixture.
Fold in grated pumpkin and berries. If using frozen – do not refreeze.
Sift in flours with baking powder and soda.
Line the baking dish and pour in the mixture.
Bake in preheated 200C oven for 40 minutes.
Prick the warm cake with a toothpick several times. Pour over warm orange marmalade.
Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Family Cake recipe

Hello guys, today I share with you one of my favorite cake recipes. Moreover, it is a family recipe which I got from my mum, who used to prepare the cake for me and my sister when we lived all together. I wrote down the recipe in my old notebook and used it quite often ever since. Mum usually makes it “zebra cake”: half chocolate and half vanilla-flavored, or just vanilla with raisins. As you can see, the recipe is very versatile. You can make it all-the-time favorite vanilla, add currants or dry cranberries, add any fruits you have on hand. The cake was cooked so many times, that believe me even very beginner in baking can handle it. It is the lifesaver cake – the recipe I always turn to if I need the tried&tasted cake when you need the trusted cake recipe that always turns nice and delicious.

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Wholewheat Cherry Pie (with pecans)

Hi all! I supposed to post this recipe long time when cherries were still in the season..and I was not sure at first whether to publish the recipe or not but luckily nowadays you can buy frozen cherries in any large supermarket and it’s not a bad substitution at all. So, go ahead and make this delicious beauty, especially if you already know that cherries are a good source of vitamin C and contain some antioxidants. With crunchy streusel on top – it is a perfect treat at any time of the day! Wholewheat Cherry Pie (with pecans)

I used fresh sweet dark cherries if you can’t get it, use sour and add a bit more sugar. And do not refreeze frozen berries, scatter them over the pie straight from the fridge. Also if you prefer brown sugar to the white one, you can use it; probably it works even better: the taste will be richer and the color more golden.

Wholewheat Cherry Pie (with pecans)

Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: moderate
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I used a 20cm square baking pan

What You’ll Need

150g butter, soften

75g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

2 eggs

250g wholewheat flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

50g ground oats (I used medium oatmeal)

200-300g fresh sweet cherries, pitted

Streusel (crumble topping)

4 tbsp wholewheat flour

2 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsp butter, softened

2-3 tbsp chopped pecans (or walnuts)

How to Make it

For the batter, beat softened butter with sugar until slightly pale.
Add vanilla and salt, and beat in eggs one by one until just combined.
Mix in flour (no need to sift) along with baking powder and oats.
Spread the batter on a baking pan (lined with baking paper if needed), scatter cherries.
For the streusel, mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in chopped nuts.
Sprinkle the streusel over the pie.
Bake in preheated 200C oven for 45 minutes.*
Take the pan out from the oven, allow to cool slightly in the pan and then put on the serving plate.

*Note: if the pie begins brown too much, loosely cover with a piece of foil, and continue to bake.

Enjoy!

Spring quiche with asparagus and ricotta

Hello guys! I need to confess, I’m loving quiches and can eat it anytime: for lunch, dinner and simply whenever I’m hungry. I was browsing the net the other day, looking at various beautiful green salads with lots of leaves and spring vegetables, when I realised that I haven’t prepared or even tried somewhere a quiche with asparagus. In cafes asparagus is most of the time served as a side dish or part of a salad. So, I was feeling very excited to make a quiche with beautiful asparagus! While soft and buttery crust was chilling in a fridge, I was wondering about the filling: to use asparagus alone or add something else, use only double cream, or probably add some nice cheese in it.. So many ideas, so little time. Finally, I used double cream along with ricotta, that by a lucky chance was in the fridge, plus I threw a handful of frozen peas in. Milkandbun

Can’t describe how good it was! Flaky, buttery, aromatic crust holds beautifully yellow custard-ish filling. Delicious!

I was enjoying it with a cup of milky tea. You can serve it with some lettuce-cucumbers salad on side. Milkandbun

Spring quiche with asparagus and ricotta

Servings: 6-8
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: moderate
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What You’ll Need

Crust

200g plain flour

100g cold butter, cubed

1 medium egg, cold from the fridge

1/3 tsp salt

1-2 tbsp ice-cold water, if needed

Filling

250g ricotta

2 large eggs

100g 35% whipped cream (or double cream)

baby/young asparagus

a handful of peas (frozen)

S&P to taste

How to Make It

Crust. Put flour, salt and butter in a big bowl. Quickly rub ingredients together until coarse breadcrumbs (or use food processor). Add egg and mix until the dough is formed. Pour in water if needed. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight. You can keep the pastry in a fridge up to 3 days.

Roll out 3-4mm thick dough to fit your baking tin. Bake blind in preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes, then without weights for 10 minutes.

Filling/Assembling. Whisk ricotta with eggs, add cream and season to taste. Arrange vegetables, pour the egg mixture over veggies. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, if desired. Bake in 180C preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the filling is set.

Let the quiche slightly cool in the tin, then carefully transfer to the serving plate to wooden board, slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Russian Easter Cake (Kulich)

Every year on Easter I’m coloring eggs and making kulichi. I love foodie traditions! 😀

Kulich is a traditional sweet bread that is usually baked in a tall cylindrical shape tins (similar to Italian panettone); kulichi are made from brioche dough with dried fruits or nuts added, and decorated with snow-white icing or it might be not topped at all.

During the Eater holiday in Russia people visit their relatives and friends and give each other colored eggs, various sweets and kulichi. One of the most amazing things about kulich that it stays fresh and soft pretty long: I suggest to make the double quantity of the dough and bake small-size kulichi, so you can take a couple pieces with you when visiting a friend. What can be better than such a nice, sweet and home-made gift, right? 🙂

This time I decided to add a touch of luxury to the kulich’s dough, so I added lots of aromatic spices (vanilla, cardamom, saffron), and used double fat milk and more egg yolks (compare to my regular recipe) to make the dough richer. Of course preparing the dough and making kulichi is a time consuming process but its absolutely worth it! The result is beautiful, flavorful and soft kulich!

Don’t forget to sprinkle the cake with colorful edible beads for the final touch!

Paskha is another traditional Easter dessert, where the main ingredient is tvorog (the farmer cheese). I absolutely love it and I wish I could it more often then once a year. 😀 Click here to get the recipe.

Russian Easter Cake (Kulich)

Servings: 1x15cm kulich
Difficulty: moderate
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For one 15cm round tin.

I used large eggs. Egg for the glazing need to be very fresh.

The dough should be soft, but if needed add more flour.

Ingredients

370g plain flour

6g yeast

small pinch of salt

150ml double cream milk, warm

4 egg yolks + 1 egg yolk (for brushing)

80g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cardamom, crushed (use only seeds)

a pinch of saffron

75g butter, very soft but not melted

120g mixture of golden&dark raisins and dry fruits (orange, strawberry)

50-70g roasted silvered almonds, optional

Icing

1 egg white

150-160g icing sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation method

In a large mixing bowl, sift 100g of flour, add salt, yeast, warm milk and stir to combine. Cover with a wet kitchen towel and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, vanilla and sugar with hand or electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until pale. Add egg mixture and butter to the dough, mix to combine. Sift the remaining flour, add spices and mix just to combine.
Transfer the dough to the working surface and knead to combine.
Return the dough to the large bowl, cover again with wet kitchen towel and let it rise for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash raisins, blot it up with paper towel. Sprinkle all dry fruits with a teaspoon of flour, it allows them to be evenly distributed throughout the dough. Mix fruits and nuts into the dough. Cover the dough with wet kitchen towel and let it rise for 60 minutes.
Line the baking pan with baking paper, grease with butter. The dough should occupy 2/3 of the volume. Cover and let it rise for 20-30 minutes.
Brush the kulich with egg yolk mixed with a spoon of water.
Bake in preheated 100C oven for 10 minutes, then increase the heat to 180C and bake for 30 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into it gets back dry. If the top become too golden – cover kulich with a piece of foil or baking pepper.
Take out of the oven, let it completely cool.
For the icing, whisk egg white with few tablespoons of sugar and lemon juice until well combined. Or beat it with an electric mixer on a low speed. Gradually add more sugar and whisk again. Keep adding sugar until you gets the desired consistency (not too liquid).
Spread the icing on top of each kulich with a tablespoon. Let it dry.