Breakfast cake

When I was a kid I used to have this cake for breakfast. The best part for me was being in the kitchen helping to mix all the ingredients and eating, secretly, the raw dough. This is the easiest and fastest cake you can do, kids usually love it and it is perfect to eat with  some tea or coffee. A few months ago I started to add chocolate to have a two colors cake, today is not the best outcome, but if you follow all the instructions you will have a great result.

Ingredients

4 eggs

125gr yogurt 

240gr sugar (2 x container)

210gr flour (3x container)

14gr baking powder

130gr olive oil (1 x container)

40gr dark chocolate

Directions

1. Beat the eggs in a big bowl. Add the yogurt and sugar and mix. Add the flour with the baking powder and mix. Add the olive oil and mix. Stir well for a while.

2. Put most of the mix above into a mold lined with baking paper. Reserve a bit in the same bowl. 

3. Melt the chocolate being careful not to burn it and mix with the reserved dough.

4. Pour into the mold as you see in the picture and cover (not mix!!), using a spoon, with the "white dough". 

5. Put in the preheated oven 200ºC about 40 minutes. If your oven works with air you should cover the cake with foil for the first 30 minutes and put the oven at 180ºC instead of 200ºC. As I always say al oves are different so you should be taking a look, at least the first time you do a new recipe.

My problem with the chocolate this time was I decided to melt it with milk... bad idea, it was too liquid!! It has to be melted alone, or at most with a bit of butter, if not the chocolate will go to the bottom, as it happened to me!

 I hope you try this recipe. If you find a 125gr (4.4oz) yogurt containers it's even easier, once you have added the yogurt just fill the container with the flour, sugar or oil the times I say in the ingredients (for example 2 containers of sugar). Bon profit!

Homemade Chips Ahoy

I know, they don't look perfect but trust me they are delicious!!!! For many years I've been trying different Chips Ahoy recipes and I think this is the best one. The funny thing is that it came out "by accident". I found a recipe that, in theory, was the one but I didn't have half of the ingredients, so I just used what I had.
This recipe is very easy but you will need patience because the dough is very very sticky, actually if you have a kneading machine you should use it.

Ingredients
300gr Sugar
125gr Margarine
340gr Flour
2 Eggs
200gr chocolate
1 teaspoon baking powder
Vanilla sugar

Directions
1. Mix the eggs, sugar margarine and vanilla sugar.
2. Add the flour and baking powder.
3. Chop de chocolate. Once the dough is ready (you will see that easily) add the chocolate and mix.
4. Use two spoons to do the "shapes". With one spoon take a small amount of dough and with the other just "push" until the dough is on the baking paper.
5. Preheated oven 180ºC. About 10 minutes, depending on how big the cookies are.

IMPORTANT: once the cookies start to get a bit brown in the oven you can remove them, that way you will have crunchy outside and soft inside.

I have to say that at the end I got tired of doing small Chips Ahoy so I did big ones, for me were the best ones!!
Bon profit!

Tortilla de patatas

I could be cooking cakes, cookies or desserts everyday, but that’s not possible because someone has to eat it…and it’s not very healthy!  So today…typical Spanish, but not sweet.

The Spanish omelet is known everywhere, or at least I like to think that hehe. It’s good both for main course with salad or some bread or as a starter with some wine.  I hope you enjoy this recipe, I am sure you will have a good time eating it.

Ingredients

Olive oil

5 big potatoes

1-2 onions

4 eggs

Salt

Directions

1.     Peel and chop the potatoes. Put in a big pan with about 1 cm of olive oil and fry for 30 min aprox. Add salt. The maximum  heating in my kitchen is 9, for this 30min I use number 6.

2.     . Peel and chop the onion. Put with the potatoes and fry for 20 minutes more. Add some more salt.

3.       Put the maximum heating for 3-5 minutes once the onion is cooked. Try to remove all the olive oil you can.

4.      Beat the eggs (I usually add a bit of milk or cream). Add salt. Mix with the fried potatoes and onion.

5.      Put in a smaller pan (the smaller the pan the thicker the omelette). Maximum heating. Wait for about 4 minutes and turn the omelette using a plate (cover the pan with the plate turn the pan over, now you have the omelet in the plate, put it in the pan again but on the other side). Cook for 5 minutes more.

6.       Remove from heating. In my opinion the Spanish omelette is better if you do it about 5 hours before eating.

      

      Be careful, times are not exact, it will depend on how you chop the potatoes, the oil, the type of potato... so you should be in the kitchen checking how it is going and moving the potatoes to avoid they stick to the pan. Bon profit!!

Cheesecake

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to mee..... hehe yes, today is my birthday and that is the perfect excuse to make a cake! We are only two at home so, I don't know how are we going to finish it but we will think of something!
I've never been a fan of cheesecakes but when I found this recipe in "corazon de almíbar", a very interesting blog, I knew I would like it mainly because it's done with mascarpone, a very tasty cheese I love.
As always I recomend you to make this recipe, it's really easy and the result is amazing.

Ingredients (22cm d springform pan)
200gr cookies (I used oatmeal cookies)
80gr Melted butter (I used 50gr)
300gr Philadelphia (I used light ..but I don't think it makes any difference)
250gr Mascarpone
200gr Sour cream
150gr Sugar
4 Eggs
Some vanilla sugar
Berry jam

Directions
1. Crush the cookies and mix with the melted butter.
2. Line a springform pan with baking paper. Put the cookies in the pan as you see in the picture. Press with the back of a spoon so it's compressed.
3. Mix the Philadelphia with the mascarpone. Add the Sour cream and mix. Add the sugar while you are still mixing.
4. Add the eggs one by one, don't add the second one until the first one is totally mixed. Add the vanilla sugar.
5. Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
6. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath. (1-2 cm water). Preheated oven 180ºC for 50min. Then turn off the oven and wait 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and when is cold enough put into the fridge overnight.
7. Spread the jam over the cake. I've used Sandalfour jam, but if you prefer a little more acidic you can use Hartley's fruit filling which is also more liquid so it's easyer to spred.

IMPORTANT: before puting the sprinform pan into the water bath you have to put foil around to avoid that the water goes into the pan.

Bon profit!!!!

Winter lentils

Last week was crazy but now I'm here again with a very energetic and comforting soup. This weekend has been very cold and wet so yesterday I decided to cook this winter lentils but...imagine my surprise when this morning I woke up and realized the sun was shining and the temperatures had risen to 17ºC. Anyway I have eaten this for lunch and it was great!! I strongly recomend you to try this recipe, it only has advantages: it's cheap, tasty quick and easy!

Ingredients (serves 8)
500gr lentils
3 carrots
1 onion
1 potato
1 tomato
1/2 leek
2 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic
"Chorizo" (or some bacon, black pudding...)
Olive oil
Salt

Directions
1. Put the lentils to soak for 2-3 hours ,warm water. (this step is not necessary if you use pardina lentils)
2. Heat some oil in the pressure cooker and  stir-fry the sliced vegetables (not the potato) for 5-10 min.
3. Add the lentils, sliced potato, bay, garlic and the pork. The pork is not essential, actually if you are trying to take care of your health don't use it, it will taste great anyway. Fry for 2 more minutes.
4.Add water and salt (1 and 1/2 tablespoon approx) until you cover the lentils and about 1.5 cm more. (If you like it more like a soup add a bit more, if you prefer drier lentils a bit less).
5. Close the pressure cooker. Wait until it makes that typical sound and reduce the heating from max to half. Wait for 10 to 15 minutes and remove from heat. Wait until you can open, and once you can check if you like the result, if you want it more cooked, heat without covering for 10 minutes more...but it shouldn't be necessary.

If you don't have a pressure cooker the only difference is that you will have to cook for 60 minutes approx. I normally use pardina lentils (the small dark ones I show in the picture), if you use any other you will have to cook for a bit longer. If you have home made tomato sauce add two tablespoons at step 2. Bon profit!!

Interesting to know about lentils...


1. Originated in India and eaten by humans for more than 10.000 years.
2. High level of vegetal proteins.
3. High level of fiber.
4. High level of carbohydrates (energy).
5. Combined with rice give a perfect combination of amino acids, vitamins and micronutrients.
6. Low level of lipids (fat).
7. Satiating effect.
8. Good against fluid retention.
9. As they provide folate (turned into folic acid) lentils are good to prevent depression and moodiness.
10. Not good for those with uric acid problems.

Panellets

Panellets are typical from Catalonia for the 31st of October and 1st of November. Each year when I was a kid my mum and I cooked panellets for family and lots of friends; I remember that the first time I stayed up late was because I was doing hundrets of panellets with her (yes, hundrets!! more than 300).
This is a very special recipe for me and I hope you try it because I'm sure you will like it. You will need about 2-3h to do 80-100 panellets, but it's really easy and if you have kids they can help you!

Ingredients (80-100 panellets)
Dough
1kg ground almonds
750 gr sugar (icing sugar is better, but not essential)
2 medium potatoes
Grated lemon and orange peel (1 lemon and 1/2 orange)
Decoration
Pine nuts
Crushed almonds
Grated coconut
Candied cherries
2 Eggs

Directions
1. Mix the ground almonds with the sugar as in picture 1.
2. Boil the potatoes, wait until they are cold peel and make a pure using a fork.
3. Mix the potatoes with the gound almonds and sugar until you have a dough like in picture 2. Don't knead more than necessary because it would become brittle.
4. Do the shapes you see in picture 3 (or in the one above) with your hands.
5. Beat the eggs. Soak the shapes with the beaten eggs and decorate with the pine nuts, crushed almonds and coconuts. (You will need to press a bit)
6. For the ones with candied cherries paint them with the beaten eggs and put one candied cherrie in the middle.

Almond cookies

Hello to all of you! Finally I can use the kitchen, and that means...I'm back!! Today...cookies again!! but this time almond cookies! I had never done this recipe before mainly because I decided the ingredients and quantities just 5 minutes before starting but the outcome is pretty good, actually... I can't stop eating! (which is not that good...).
If you have a kneading machine is going to be easier/faster, but if not don't worry! I don't have any so I used a spatula and my hands (is relaxing to knead the dough with your hands!)

Ingredients


1 egg (room temperature)
150gr icing sugar
150gr butter (room temperature)
370gr flour
40-50gr ground almonds
Vanilla sugar
Some chopped almonds

Directions


1. Cream together the butter and sugar. It's important to have the butter at room temperature because it will be much easier to beat.(I did this and the following step with a spatula)
2. Add the beaten egg, the ground almonds and some vanilla sugar. Mix until it gets smooth.
3. Add the flour slowly while you knead (here is when hands come into play for those without kneading maxine).
4.Put half of the dough on a baking paper and the other half on another one (if not it's too big!). Cover each half with another piece of baking paper* and expand until is half cm thick.
5. Leave for 2h in the fridge.
6. Remove one of the baking papers and cut the cookies with the shape you prefer.
7. Put some chopped almonds and some vanilla sugar on the top of each cookie. Bake 180º for 10-15 minutes (is better if you are there checking because all ovens are different).
*I read thit trick in a blog called "el rincón de Bea", and it's really useful for not messing with the dough.

For a different presentation you can use a shape like mine and put a toothpick in the cookie (as if  it was a lollipop) before baking, it looks like a flower. Bon profit!!