Focaccia with Red Onion & Tomato

Ingredients

(Makes 2 Focaccia)

2 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp raw sugar

1¾ cup warm water

1 tbs olive oil

¼ cup gluten flour 

440g (15 oz) plain flour 

1 tsp salt flakes

2 tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp celery seeds                                          

For the toppings

1 tbs olive oil

½ ripe tomato, sliced

½ red onion, sliced

1 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds or fennel seeds

fresh thyme, chopped

Instructions

Combine the yeast and sugar with approximately ½ cup of the warm water, add the remaining warm water and the tablespoon of olive oil, set aside. Sift the flours into a large bowl, add the salt flakes, fennel and celery seeds; stir gently to combine and make a well in the centre. Check the yeast mixture is activated, you’ll notice the yeast very gently bubbling or rising to the surface, this may take a few minutes to happen. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and using a wooden spoon stir for 1-2 minutes until well combined and formed into a soft, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in a warm corner to allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour or until approximately doubled in size.  Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and using floured hands, halve the dough into two rounds. Arrange the rounds onto lightly oiled baking trays and gently shape and flatten. Top with sliced tomato, onion, garlic, cumin or fennel seeds and thyme. Brush with the olive oil and allow to rest for a further 15 minutes before placing in the hot oven for 10 -15 minutes until bread is golden brown. Remove when evenly cooked and firm, slide onto a baking rack and allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing and devouring. 

                                                                 Enjoy it!

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Sangria Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

         1 & 1/2 cups flour

         1 tsp baking powder

         1/2 tsp baking soda

        1/4 tsp salt

       3/4 cup sugar

       2 eggs

       1 stick butter, melted

         1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla

         1/2 cup sour cream

        1/2 cup chopped strawberries

         zest of 1 orange

         1/4 cup blueberries or diced apples

To top the cupcakes

           Orange slices, strawberry slices and blueberries.

Buttercream

        1 stick butter, room temperature

        1/2 cup vegetable shortening

        2-2.5 cups powdered sugar

      1/2 tsp vanilla

    2 cups red wine 

   1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Whisk and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and sour cream until combined.

Slowly add half of the flour mixture to the liquid, stirring to combine. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture. Add in the chopped strawberries, orange zest, and blueberries or chopped apples. Stir to mix.

Divide the batter among a muffin pan lined with muffin liners, fill the muffin cups to be about a little more than 1/2 full.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Red Wine Syrup

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the red wine and sugar to a boil. Once the wine starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, you still want to see the wine boiling, just not a rigorous boil. Allow the wine to thicken and reduce, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool at remove temperature. This is where the wine will begin to thicken. Once the wine has cooled to room temperature, you can place the saucepan in the fridge to help speed on the cooling process.

Buttercream

In a mixing bowl, combine the room temperature butter and shortening, beat using an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add 1/4 cup of the red wine syrup and mix. You can add more later, but you do not let the buttercream to become too wet.

Begin to add in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Slowly beat the mixture until the powered sugar is incorporated. Continue this process, adding enough powdered sugar to make sure the frosting isn't too wet. You can add more red wine syrup at this time if you’d like the flavor to be stronger. You may have to add more powdered sugar too.

Transfer a portion of the frosting to a large ziploc bag or piping bag fit with a piping tip. Push or squeeze the frosting down, getting rid of any air pockets. If using a ziploc bag, cut half one corner, making a hole between the size of a dime and a penny.

Begin to pipe the frosting onto a cupcake, starting with the outside edge and working your way into the center of the cupcake, progressively stacking the frosting as you go around in circles.

Top each cupcake with a small orange slice, strawberry slice and one blueberry.

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Crispy Asparagus

Ingredients

·     1 pound asparagus, trimmed

·     1/2 cup flour

·     2 eggs

·     3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

·     1/4 cup parmigiano,grated

·     salt and pepper

     

    

     Instructions

Dredge the asparagus in the flour, dip in the egg and then into a mixture of the panko, parmesan, salt and pepper. Place the asparagus in a single layer on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until golden brown, about 7-13 minutes.

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Macroons

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Macaroon Shells
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Strawberry
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Pink Gel Coloring

Vanilla Macaroon Shells 
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Chocolate Buttercream
1/2 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
1-3 Tbs. Milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Measure out all of your macaroon ingredients for the strawberry shells first.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, pour in egg whites, salt, and sugar. Set timer for 3 minutes and beat at a medium speed using the whisk attachment. Once the 3 minutes are up turn it up about 3 notches to speed 7 and beat for another 3 minutes. Once those are up turn it all the way up on high and beat one last time for 3 minutes.

While your meringue is beating sift your almond flour and powdered sugar into a bowl. Once all is sifted you should have some small bits of almond that were too large to pass through. If there is a tsp. or less you just leave them out, if there is more you will want to send them through a food processor to grind them up before pouring into the batter.

Add in strawberry extract and pink gel coloring then beat on high for about 30 seconds, stop and use a spatula to scrap all the unmixed meringue from the sides, then beat for 30 more seconds.

Here is where you really have to pay attention, you will need just the right consistency to get a good macaroon.

Add in dry ingredients. Using a spatula “fold” the batter with about 25-28 turns of the spatula going around the bowl then across in a swooping pattern. By doing this you are deflating some of the extra air from the batter. Make sure to get everything off the bottom mixed in. At first it will seem really thick and clumpy but it will smooth out quick. You want a thickness that is still thick enough to hold a little shape but thin enough to fold back into itself. You can check this every few stirs by holding up your spatula with batter on it, the batter should “drop” off the spatula but then settle into the batter after a few moments.

Using a small round tip and piping bag, pipe small 1-1.5 inch circles onto either a macaroon mat or parchment paper. Again, I used a macaroon mat and it really made this process so easy. But you could simply pipe circles on to parchment paper and even pre-draw circles on the bottom as guides. Either way you need to remember you batter will spread a bit so you don’t want to pipe all the way to the sides or the circle. I find it best to pipe the circles by holding the tip straight up in the center and letting it “flow” out. You will have small peaks at first but the first tip should have already appeared after you’ve piped about 5 macaroons. If not, you want to stick the batter back in the bag and deflate it a little more.

Preheat the oven for 290-300 degrees. Then set your piped macaroons trays on the counter and set the timer for 25 minutes. Don’t place the macaroons in the oven right after piping. After about 25-30 minutes your macaroons should have a slight “crust” over them. When you gently touch them they should not stick to your finger. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

After pulling tray from oven, carefully pull the baking mat or parchment paper off the baking tray and on to the counter to cool. Let the cool completely before attempting to remove.

Repeat process with vanilla macaroons shells adding vanilla extract instead and no coloring.

While your last shells are baking time to whip up some yummy chocolate buttercream to fill them with.

In a mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy add in 1 tsp. vanilla, beat until combined. Then add in powdered sugar and cocoa, beat until fully combined. Add in milk a little at a time beating in between until you’ve reached desired consistency.

Using the same size tip and piping bag, pipe buttercream on one side of each macaroon and then sandwich together.

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Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients

Dough

3/4 cup whole milk

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 tbs granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-4 tbs cream

Instructions

Heat milk until it reaches 105 degrees either on the stovetop or in the microwave. Stir in yeast packet and sugar and let it sit until the top becomes thick and frothy, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture into bowl of stand mixer and add melted butter, beaten egg and salt. Mix until combined. Add half of the flour and mix on low speed. Once combined, add the rest 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is sticky but workable and doesn't get stuck on your hands. Once dough is together, knead for another 5 minutes on low speed.

Work dough with your hands to form a ball. Grease a large bowl, or use the same bowl, and place dough in. Cover and set dough in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. I like to turn my oven on to 200 degrees, turn it off and place the bowl in there.

Once doubled in size, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle shape. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush on melted butter and cover in cinnamon sugar mixture. Cut dough length-wise into 5 long strips. Stack them on top of each other. Cut 6-7 sections across your stacks.

Grease a 9x5" loaf pan and loosely stagger your stacks in the pan. If they aren't snug to the edges of the pan, don't worry about it. It will bake up fine. If there is extra cinnamon sugar that spilled off while transferring the stacks into the pan, don't waste it! Sprinkle it on top of the dough in the pan. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 45 minutes to an hour until it doubles again in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 22-27 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. Remove from oven, run a knife around the edges and allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes. During this time, whisk glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside (add more cream/milk for desired consistency). Flip pan over and very carefully remove loaf and set on a large plate or platter. Drizzle glaze on top and serve!

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Chocolate Croissant

Ingredients

·      2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

·      3/4 cup lukewarm milk

·      1 envelope (7 grams) active dry yeast

·      1 teaspoon salt

·      1/4 cup (45 grams) butter, melted and cooled

·      1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar

·      1 pound (450 grams) baking chocolate, chopped

·      1/2 cup butter, room temperature

·      1 egg, lightly beaten (optional, to brush the croissants for a shiny crust)

·      2 oz (55 grams) chocolate, melted (optional to drizzle over the croissants once baked)

 Instructions

In a mixing bowl, add the flour. Make a well in the middle and pour the lukewarm milk. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the milk, give it a little stir with a fork and let the yeast proof. Soon bubbles will appear and the yeast will foam and double in size.

Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook. Turn it on to the lower speed.

Add the melted butter, sugar and with the dough hook on, knead the dough until it cleans itself from the sides of the bowl.

Place the dough in a buttered dish, cover with a tea towel or a plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size. This should take about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 (almost) equal pieces.

I found the dough works best if it’s chilled, so place the pieces of dough in the fridge and cover them loosely. Take out only one piece at a time.

Fit your pasta sheet roller to the stand mixer and set it to #1 setting. Flatten one piece of dough, flour it lightly and shape it into a rectangle.

Turn on the mixer to the lowest speed. Pass the dough through the pasta sheet roller. Flour and fold the dough in half. Pass it again through the pasta attachment, still on setting #1. For best results, fold the dough and pass it through the pasta attachment for a total of 2 times. Change the setting to your pasta roller to #2. Pass the dough sheet 2 times through it.

 Change the pasta roller setting to #3. Pass the dough sheet 1 time.

If needed lightly flour the pastry sheet.

Change the pasta roller setting to #4. Pass the pastry sheet 1 time.

Do the same with setting #5, #6 and for the flakiest croissants #7 and #8.

Lightly flour the pastry sheet if needed as you thin it out.

Once the pastry sheet is rolled out, brush it with softened butter. For me it was easier to spread a thin layer of butter using a small spatula vs using a pastry brush.

Place chopped chocolate at one end, and with your fingers roll the pastry sheet. Place the rolled chocolate croissant in the fridge, on a baking sheet until all croissants are done.

At this point, you can place the croissants in the freezer and take them out when needed (make sure they are in a freezer safe bag or container) or, you can bake them all at once like I did.

Take the rolled croissants out of the fridge and leave them at room temperature for a couple of hours until almost double in size. Like I said, I have made this recipe 3 times so far and noticed that if I let them rise in the afternoon, it takes about 3 to 4 hours.

Alternately, you can leave the croissants rest overnight on the counter. At night, my kitchen is not as hot as in the afternoon, so the croissants needed 7 to 8 hours to double in size.

It’s totally up to you and how pressed you’re with time. If you have frozen croissants, you may have to leave them longer to rest on the counter, maybe 9-10 hours.

Just before baking, brush the croissants with a beaten egg. This step is optional, but I love the shiny brown crust it gives to the croissants.

Heat the oven to 400F. Bake the croissants in the hot oven for about 25 minutes or until brown (at golden brown the croissants are not fully baked).

Drizzle some melted chocolate over the warm croissants and serve warm, preferably.

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Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 bag (9.5 oz)  Dark Chocolate, chopped, 

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray miniature muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or use mini muffin liners. In a microwave safe dish, heat 1/2 package of chocolates about 18 pieces on 50% power for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 30-second intervals on 50% power until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Mix in cooled chocolate. Add sour cream and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Mix in zucchini. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake 12 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Chocolate Glaze

Put remaining half package of chocolates in a small glass bowl and set aside. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine heavy cream and corn syrup; microwave heavy cream just until it starts to boil, about 30 seconds. Pour over the chocolate; set aside for 3 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. If necessary, microwave an additional 10 seconds at 50% power. Dip the tops of the bites in the chocolate to glaze.

                                                               Enjoy it!

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Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration
2 (9 ounce) bags milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

 In a large bowl, cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Mix in milk and vanilla.

 In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the peanut butter mixture until well blended.

 Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

 Bake in preheated oven for 10 to12 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie. Allow to cool completely; the kiss will harden as it cools.

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Homemade Tortillas

16 tortillas

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. Mix for 1 minute, stopping several timesto scrape the sides of the bowl. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
2. Transfer from mixing bowl to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 16 fairly equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible. If dough is sticky, use a bit more flour. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
3. After rest period, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.
4. When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots. The uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduced heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on underside of tortillas, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. You want the tortilla to be soft but have a few small pale golden brown spots on surface. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.
5. Wipe out the pan inbetween tortillas if flour is started to accumulate.
6. Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave, uncovered for 15-25 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving.
7. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at at room temperature for 24 hours or can be frozen indefinitely. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

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Albanian Dish (Fergese)

INGREDIENTS

3-4 large long roasted peppers 

450g chopped tomato

4 Tbsp cottage cheese (or ricotta )

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp chili

2 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp parsley

~ 50ml olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

It should be prepared with homemade roasted peppers, but you can buy ready made, it saves time. In a medium size pot add chopped onion, fry for 3 minutes then add chopped garlic and fry for additional minute. Add finely chopped roasted peppers, chopped tomato, sugar, parsley, paprika, chili, oregano and cook for 7-10 minutes. Liquid should evaporate.  In a small pot heat butter, when it melts add flour and fry for 2 minutes, remove from the heat and add cheese, mix well.  Now add cheese and a cup of water to the tomato and pepper mixture, stir and leave it to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Grease a small oven tray and pour the sauce and add roasted peppers on top. Grill it for about 5 minutes.

 At the end, add some chopped parsley.

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Oreo Cake

INGREDIENTS

Cake
1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (or Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 large Eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups Buttermilk

Frosting
Scant 1/2 cup Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar 
25-30 oreos

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with butter and flour.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated and scraping down sides as needed.

With mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated. Then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, mix until incorporated. Repeat until the last 1/3 of flour has been used. Mix until incorporated and then beat for 1 additional minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the sides begin to pull away from the edges. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and allow the cakes to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don’t form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it’s best to go by texture.

Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.

Cake Assembly

When the cakes are completely cool, cut each cake in half horizontally. Use 1/3-1/2 cup of frosting to fill between each layer. When all the layers are stacked, set aside 1/2 cup of frosting then use rest to frost the outside.

Using a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, crush all but 6 of the Oreo cookies. Apply the cookie crumbs to the sides of the cake.

Use the reserved 1/2 cup of frosting to create 6 swirls on the top of the cake, place a cookie in each swirl.

Serve with a glass of milk.

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