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Black Forest Pancakes

When I decided to make chocolate pancakes, I didn’t expect them turn out so good and delicious: a pure indulgence! I wanted to serve them only with a black-cherry jam. But when I stumbled upon a pack of mascarpone in my fridge, that I wanted to use somewhere else, the decision came itself – use it as a topping! Mascarpone worked perfectly as a cream and cherry syrup (I mixed jam with some water to make it thinner) sucked into pancakes very well, like into a sponge cake. All ingredients worked more than good together, dark chocolate and fresh cherry on top added a nice and charming touch as well. Plus, the taste reminds the famous cake – “Black Forest”. It’s my husband’s favorite cake, so he was on a nine cloud! Honestly, these are highly recommended pancakes!

Black Forest Pancakes

Servings: 3
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: very easy
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Ingredients

200g sour cream

250ml full-fat milk

2 eggs

2 tbsp white sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

20g butter, melted

270-300g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

5-6 tsp unsweetened pure cocoa powder

40-50g dark chocolate (70%cocoa), chopped

sunflower or any veg oil for frying

For serving

200g mascarpone

2 tsp maple syrup or pure honey, optional

100g dark cherry jam

70ml warm water (or more to make it thinner)

1-2 tsp lemon juice, optional

Garnish

some chopped dark chocolate

fresh cherries, optional

Preparation method

In a large bowl, beat eggs with with sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk in butter.
Pour in milk and sour cream, stir all together.
Sift flour along with baking powder, soda and cocoa into a batter. Whisk until combined. Fold in chopped chocolate.
Heat large frying pan on a high heat, pour in some oil. Using large spoon, pour in batter. Cook each pancake until bubbles appear on top, then flip and cook on another side.
For cheery syrup, in a small saucepan, bring jam and water to gentle simmer. Simmer on a medium-low heat for few minutes. If it’s too sweet, stir in lemon juice. Add more water to make it more thin, if desired.
In a serving bowl, stir together mascarpone and maple syrup or honey.
Serve pancakes with mascarpone and cherry syrup.

Enjoy!

Beetroot soup with bacon and chive

The week before St.Valentine’s Day is just started. Are you ready for the Big Day? Have you planned how do you want to spend it? No matter what you choose – whether to go to a restaurant or to spend a romantic dinner in, I recommend you to try this pureed soup with roasted beetroot. You can serve it as a hot starter on the V-Day, or just prepare it during the week.

The soup is very easy and quick to make. The only thing I’d like to mention: better to roast beetroot instead of boiling, roasted beets with rosemary and olive oil have such a lovely aroma and they add an extra amazing taste to the soup! And if you are vegetarian – omit the bacon.

Beetroot soup with bacon and chive

Difficulty: very easy
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You may also garnish the soup with fresh chopped dill instead of chives.

Omit the bacon for vegetarian option.

Ingredients

2 small beetroots, about 230g

1 small red onion

1 garlic clove, optional, peeled

1 teared fresh rosemary sprig or 1 tsp dried

1 tbsp olive oil

500ml water (or veg or beef stock)

2 small potatoes, about 230g

1 bay leave

1 tsp dark muscovado sugar (or sub with white)

1 tbps lemon juice

freshly ground pink pepper, to taste

sea salt, to taste

Garnish

3-4 smoked bacon strips

1.5 tbsp each cream cheese+sour cream (or use more cream cheese)

4 tbsp fresh chive

Preparation method

Wash and peel beetroot, cut into 4-5 slices and arrange on a piece of foil. Slice onion and add along with garlic and rosemary to beetroot. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes, then take out onion and garlic. Seal the foil and bake beetroot for 20-30 minutes more or until it’s soft.
Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. Bring water or stock to boil in a medium pan, add potatoes, bay leave and some salt. Slightly cover, simmer on a medium heat until soft. Discard the bay leave.
Add all roasted vegetables to the pan along with sugar and lemon juice. Season to taste with pink pepper and salt. Simmer all together for 5-6 minutes more.
In a small pan, fry sliced bacon (without oil) until it’s crispy. Drain on a paper towels.
Blend the soup until smooth.
For the garnish, mix cream cheese with sour cream, or use only cream cheese. Chop chives.
Pour the soup into serving bowls. Garnish with fried bacon, chives and a dollop of cream.
Serve warm with some bread.

Enjoy!

Salted peanut cookies

I love shortbread cookies, there are almost thousands possibilities of flavours that you can add: mandarin, lemon or orange zest, vanilla or cinnamon, cardamom and etc. I stumbled upon this recipe a long time ago on one Russian website that content was about news, conferences for chefs and there were some recipes as well. I don’t know why I haven’t tried this recipe earlier, because these cookies are amazing! They have the right shortbread cookie texture – not too crumbly neither hard, simply divine! 🙂

Salted peanut cookies

Time: 1hr 30min
Difficulty: moderate
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I mix all ingredients with my hands. You may do it with electric mixer, but don’t overmix.

Ingredients

75g butter, cold

50g caster sugar

1 medium egg

lemon zest from 1 small lemon

120g plain flour

30g salted peanuts, chopped

Method

Cut butter into 1cm cubes and bring to room temperature. Divide the egg into yolk and white.
On a flat surface (you can do it in a large bowl too), mix butter with sugar until just coarse crumbs.
Add egg yolk, half of egg white (keep the rest) and lemon zest. Mix to combine.
Mix in flour. Combine the dough. On this step you may think you need to add extra flour, stop, no need to add extra flour or overknead the dough; after resting it’ll be perfect. Cover the dough in a plastic wrap and put in a fridge for 40-50 minutes.
Once the dough is cooled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into 5mm thick disk. Cut out cookies any shape you like. Carefully transfer cookies on a lined baking tray. Brush with remaining egg white, sprinkle with peanuts.
Bake in preheated 180C oven for 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden.

Enjoy!

Potato pizza-pie

January 29, 2016
milkandbun
44 comments
Blogging, cooking, delicious, DIY, fish and bell pepper pie, food, food photo, food photography, food styling, My Life, open pie, pizza, potato crust for pizza, potato pizza, recipe

One day I decided to make a savory potato pie, but to use potato in the crust instead of filling. I imagined myself a good fluffy pie with a creamy filling of fried mushrooms, onions and something else. When I made and rolled out the dough, I realized that it looks more like a pizza not a pie. 😀 However, the potato crust suit nicely to all these colorful ingredients which I used, including some cooked fish leftovers. Grilled bell pepper and bright spring onion gave an extra kick to this pie. Honestly, I was surprised how good and delicious the pizza-pie turned out. 🙂

I’m co-hosting FF#104 with lovely Hilda@alongthegrapevine (she is so creative and has lots of unusual recipes on her blog); so, I’m inviting everyone to join, we share many delicious food there, and you can chat with other foodbloggers and of course don’t forget to like and say “wow, yummy or just hi”! 😀 Read the guidelines here. Happy cooking! 🙂

Potato pizza-pie with fish, bell pepper and mushrooms

Servings: 4-5
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

Crust

200g/2 medium potatoes

1 bay leaf

20g butter

1 medium egg

sea salt, to taste

2-3 Tbsp grated parmesan, optional

~150g plain flour

Filling

2 tbsp homemade breadcrumbs

100-150g cooked fish fillet leftovers (I used sea bream)

a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional

1 meduim red bell pepper, grilled or roasted, sliced

150g mushrooms

1 large red onion

a bunch of spring onion or chives, chopped

100ml double cream or 30-35% fat cream

Other

1 tbsp olive oil+1 tbsp butter, for frying

sea salt, freshly ground white pepper

Method

Clean, peel potatoed, cut into fourths. Put in a pan along with some salt and bay leave, cover with water and boil until ready. Drain. Add butter, season with salt and mash potatoes. Stir in egg. Mix in parmesan, if using. Sift the flour into potato mixture, combine into a soft dough (add some more flour if the dough is too wet).
Grease the baking paper (to suit your baking tray). Roll the dough out on this paper. Put in a freezer for 5-7 minutes (or in a fridge for 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Slice mushrooms and onions, fry on a medium-high heat in a mixture of oil and butter (you can do it in a one large frying pan, but don’t mix it-put side by side and fry). Stir 1/3 of the cream into mushrooms, and season to taste. Set aside.
Add some butter into the same pan and chopped spring onion (reserve some for garnish, optional), saute for 2 minutes on a low heat – you only need to soften the onion.
In a bowl, mix fish with the remaining cream, sautéed spring onion and nutmeg, season to taste.
Sprinkle crust with breadcrumbs. Bake it without filling in a preheated 180C oven for 15 minutes.
Spread onion, fish, mushrooms and pepper slices over the crust. Bake for 15-17 minutes more.
Sprinkle with remaining spring onion (optional). Serve warm.

Enjoy!

I’m also sharing it with Saucy Saturdays, Foodie Friends Friday, Foodie Friday

Beetroot dip with coriander crackers

This is an extremely delicious beetroot dip that is super easy to prepare and is a crowd-pleaser. The bright beetroot dip can be made as a tasty and healthy appetizer for either home-parties or just your family, especially if you serve it with lots of homemade coriander crackers. Appetizer made from scratch adds a special touch to any kind of gathering. 🙂 It’s also a healthy snack anytime – just spread it over toasted bread, or use it as a wrap filling.

You can make the dip even without cheese, but I like it this way more. Also try to add feta or other soft white cheese instead of cream-cheese, walnuts is a another good substitute for pine nuts.

Beetroot dip with coriander crackers

Difficulty: very easy
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Keep covered in the fridge up to 3 days.

Beetroot dip

Ingredients

150g cooked beetroot (boiled or roasted), chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2-1 tsp cumin, crushed

1 tbsp EV olive oil

2 tbsp Philadelphia cheese

1 tbsp parmesan, finely grated, optional

1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly roasted

sea salt, freshly ground pepper, to taste

Put all ingredients, except the pine nuts, in a small bowl of blender and blitz until smooth. Season to taste, add pine nuts and pulse a couple of times to keep some nuts pieces; if you like more smooth-pulse again.
Garnish with pine nuts and some grated parmesan, if desired. Serve with crackers or toasted bread.

Coriander crackers {Make approx 18 crackers}

Ingredients

130g plain flour+some for kneading and rolling

1/3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine salt (want less salty, add less salt)

some freshly ground white pepper

1 tsp whole coriander seeds, crushed or ground

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground

40 ml EV olive oil

40 ml water+1/2 tsp white sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, b.powder, salt and all spices. Mix in olive oil.
Dissolve sugar in water and pour into dough, knead the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and keep to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
On a lughtly dusted surface, roll the dough (approx 3-4 mm thick) and cut into 5×5 cm squares.
Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake in preheated 190C oven for 15 minutes or until golden-brown.
Cool&Enjoy!