Tag Archives: sweet

Russian roll with Argentinian pears

 Everything is simple here. A few days ago, Argentinian pears were sold in a supermarket here, I’ve never tried them before and the price was attractive, so I bought a huge pack. Even though they turned out juicy and very delicious I still had some not-so-ripe left. Good to highlight, that using a bit hard but ripe pears that retain its shape during the baking process is a key to the good and not mushy filling.
I added tvorog (as I mentioned many times in my blog – it’s very Russian product) into the dough for my roll, it makes the dough softer and more tasty. Don’t worry, the dough won’t rip but make sure you carefully roll it out on a floured surface. Pear Roll
 The roll looks like a strudel, but the dough is absolutely different, it’s not that thin and thus much easier to roll out! It is tender&delicious and absolutely deserves to make it again and again. Another bonus, the dough can be make a day ahead! Plus juicy pears, sweet black raisins and crunchy nuts in the filling! Doesn’t it sound luscious? It is! 😀Russian roll with Argentinian pears

Russian roll with Argentinian pears

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

Ingredients

Dough

250g tvorog
90g soft butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 tbsp white sugar
200-210g plain flour
a pinch of fine salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Filling
40g black raisins
hot strong black tea or water
1 egg white, optional
80-100g roasted almonds, chopped
450g (3-4) pears, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp brown or raw sugar
Glaze
1 egg yolk
2 tsp milk
1 tbsp demerara or raw sugar, optional
Method
  1. For the roll dough, whisk tvorog with butter.
  2. In another small bowl, whisk egg with sugar until pale. Add beaten egg into the mixture.
  3. Sift the flour along with salt and baking powder into the dough. Combine to get the soft dough, shape into the disk. Cover in a plastic wrap and put in a fridge for 30-60 minutes to cool.
  4. Preheat oven to 180C/360F.
  5. Wash raisins and cover with hot strong black tea or water. Leave to soak while ready to use. Drain.
  6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into 30x40cm rectangle, making sure it doesn’t stick to the surface.
  7. Brush the surface of the roll with egg white (optional). Sprinkle with nuts, spread pears and raisins. Sprinkle with sugar. Slightly fold in all sides (thus the filling will stay inside the roll and don’t fall out). Roll the dough into a barrel.
  8. Carefully transfer the roll on a greased lined baking tray. Brush the roll with egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden-brown.
  9. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve as is or with whipped cream/frozen vanilla yogurt/ice cream.
Enjoy!

Mandarin-lemon pudding

 There are so many recipes in this world, including pudding recipes: some are baked, another prepared with gelatin and then cooled in a fridge.. and then I’m feeling stuck and really don’t know which one to try. 🙂 I like easy-to-make recipes like this one – baked pudding. It has the amazing mandarin-lemon flavour and bright tasting. The pudding is good on its own, but I also prepared a simple citrus sauce, that I made for this peach pie, and it was absolutely delicious! 🙂
 Any favourite pudding recipes, guys? I’d like to hear which one do you like and cook.
Mandarin-lemon pudding

Baked mandarin-lemon pudding

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
For the citrus sauce recipe click here.
 
Ingredients
2 medium eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of nutmeg, optional
50g white sugar
zest from 1 mandarin +1/2 lemon
100ml full-fat milk
50g plain flour
1 tsp melted butter, for greasing
Preparation
  1. Beat eggs until pale and fluffy.
  2. Add vanilla, nutmeg, sugar, zests and whisk for a few minutes.
  3. Pour in milk.
  4. Sift in flour, whisk to combine.
  5. Grease tins with butter. Divide the batter between tins. Optionally sprinkle with citrus zest.
  6. Bake in preheated 200C oven for 18-20 minutes. Then reduce to 190C and bake for 7-10 minutes more.
  7. Serve warm with sauce. Enjoy!
Adapted from Russian telecast “Cook with A.Zimin”

Almond and ricotta cake

 One of the great part of food blogging is that you can discover new and interesting recipes almost every time you open your browser; you can see what bloggers cook and enjoy in different parts of the world, and of course try to prepare those amazing international recipes at home. So, when I saw the ricotta-almond cake that Margherita shared at her blog, I immediately saved it and decided to make it the other day. The cake turned out really moist and very nutty. I even could say that you can feel more nuts than ricotta, but it’s not bad at all (especially if you love lots of nuts in baking). Moreover, orange zest gave a fantastic aroma to the cake. The only thing – it was a bit too sweet to my taste, so I will reduce the quantity of sugar next time.
Almond ricotta cake
And I didn’t wait for an hour before unmolding the cake, about 20 minutes was enough to get it cool and enjoy with a tea. 🙂
A slice of almond-ricotta cake

Almond and ricotta cake

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
*Was a bit sweet to my taste, next time reduce sugar to 100g
For 20cm spring form tin
Ingredients
250g ricotta
180g ground almonds
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt
90g butter, soft (at room temperature)
120g white sugar*
zest from 1 orange
3 egg yolks
some almond flakes
orange zest, for decor, optional
Preparation method
  1. In a bowl, stir ricotta with ground almonds. Set aside.
  2. Beat egg whites with lemon juice and salt until steady peaks. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, blend butter with sugar and orange zest until creamy. Mix in egg yolks, one at a time.
  4. Stir in ricotta mixture.
  5. Carefully fold beaten egg whites into ricotta mixture.
  6. Line the baking tin with greased parchment. Pour in batter. Sprinkle with almond flakes and orange zest.
  7. Bake in preheated 170C oven for 50 minutes or until golden.
  8. Let it cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes and then carefully transfer to a serving plate.
Enjoy!

Baked apples with walnuts and cowberries

Hi there! It’s been windy, dark and gloomy all day here in Dubai today. The weather intends to spend a day in the kitchen and bake something warm, aromatic and tasty. And I found a deliciously satisfying dish to cheer this day up! Sweet-smelling baked apples with super tasty filling: walnuts and cowberries! Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? The cozy smell of cinnamon and brown sugar was filling my kitchen while apples were baked.. It’s so easy to turn regular apples into a fabulous warm dessert! Enjoy!

Baked apples-1Baked apples-2

 Cowberry (also known as lingonberry) is a very tasty, slightly bitter and sour berry; it contains lots of vitamin C, A and B. It’s a popular type of berry in my home-country (Russia), and as far as I know in Sweden and Norway. Their taste remind small sour cranberries, so you can easily substitute it with cranberries (fresh or frozen).Baked apples with walnuts and cowberry

Baked apples with walnuts and cowberries

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

*You can add more sugar to suit your taste.
**I dry-roast walnuts, then chop it or pulse in a food processor.
Ingredients
2 large apples (sort ‘pink lady’ or ‘granny smith’ are good)
20g/2 tsp butter
3 tsp brown sugar*
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 quail egg, optional
5-6 tsp finely chopped walnuts**
3-4 tsp cowberries (if using frozen-no need to defreeze)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon, for garnish
2-3 tsp pure runny honey, for serving
some extra walnuts and cowberries, for serving
  • Cut the lid from apples, carefully cut out the core and make a hole in each apple leaving the bottom.
  • In a bowl, stir sugar and cinnamon with butter. Mix in the egg. Fold in chopped walnuts and berries.
  • Put apples in baking dish/tray and stuff each apple with filling mixture. Cover with apple lids. Pour some warm water into the bottom of the baking dish (1 cm). Loosely cover with foil.
  • Bake in preheated 200C oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until apples are tender but not mushy.
  • Carefully transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with cinnamon, drizzle with honey and garnish with some walnuts and cowberries, if desired.
  • Enjoy!

Carrot rolls with orange marmalade


When the sun is shining almost every day, you’ve got an inexpressible feeling when it starts raining. You can breeze in fresh and cool air. All day has been gloomy, cool and windy. I made a huge mountain of these rolls early today. Then I wrapped up myself in a cozy blanket, filled a cup with my favorite Earl Grey tea, took few carrot rolls and sat outside to enjoy the sound of rain!Carrot rolls with orange marmalade These freshly baked rolls with orange taste and cinnamon-ginger aroma added a real autumn-note to my day. Carrot rolls

Carrot rolls with orange marmalade

  • Servings: for crowd
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print
You can make the dough one day ahead.
*The weight before grating.
**You can substitute orange marmalade with apricot or peach jam. 

Ingredients

300g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp ginger powder
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 fine salt
150g washed, cleaned carrots*, finely grated
150g butter, cold
100g sour cream (20% fat)
2-3 Tbsp white sugar (you can add more to suit your taste)
Filling
orange marmalade (with orange peel)**
dry-roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Preparation method
  1. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and add spices. Cut butter into small cubes or grate it. Rub into the flour mixture until you get coarse crumbs. Mix in grated carrots.
  2. In another bowl whisk sour cream with sugar, fold into batter. You should get a soft dough. You may add a bit more flour if needed.
  3. Divide the dough into 2 parts and shape disks, cover each with a plastic wrap and put into the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
  4. Take one part of the dough from the fridge and roll it into a 2mm-thick circle. Cut into triangles; the size is up to you.  Spread 1-2 teaspoons of orange marmalade on each triangle, add a teaspoon of hazelnuts and roll into croissant shape. Repeat with the second part of the dough.
  5. Arrange rolls on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with more hazelnuts, if desired. Bake in preheated 190C oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown.
  6. Serve warm or cooled.
Enjoy!
Carrot rolls with marmalade and hazelnuts
1 2 … 6
Blog at WordPress.com.