Cranberry Walnut Grain Medley

Cranberry Walnut Grain Medley

1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cl garlic, minced
100g / 3.5 oz dried cranberries
100g / 3.5 oz pearl barley
100g / 3.5 oz brown rice
60g / 2 oz walnuts, chopped
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of mustard powder
a pinch of thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1) Cook rice and pearl barley separately and let cool.

2) In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened and golden brown. Let cool.

3) In a large bowl, combine together onion/garlic mixture, dried cranberries, barley, rice and walnuts. Season with salt, pepper, mustard, thyme and cinnamon. Mix everything until combined.

Makes 2-4 servings.

Recipe by collecting memories

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chickpea Cheesecake

I had this idea of making chickpea cheesecake for a long time. I've seen many bloggers using cashews, macadamias instead of cream cheese but I've never seen anyone making it with chickpeas. So, I decided to give it a try! It was so hard to decide what flavors to add. First, I wanted to make it all-chocolate, then I wanted to make it lemon-flavored. But finally, after many days (yes, many days. You see, I wanted it perfect) of considering which flavor would taste best, I decided to make it peanut butter-chocolate flavored (probably the best decision in my life). You probably wonder how it tasted. Well, it actually tasted AMAZING. Honestly, that's probably the best recipe I've created in a long time. Maybe even the best I've EVER created. Yup, I'm proud of myself! I wouldn't be if it was an ordinary pie, but it's completely healthy. That's the thing. I know, chickpeas in a pie sounds weird. But trust me, you can't taste them. AT ALL. It's smooth, creamy and doesn't taste healthy. You are not going to believe until you try it yourself. 
I am super super happy to share this recipe with you and hope you'll love it!! Now, stop reading and head yourself to the kitchen. Fast!!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chickpea Cheesecake

Filling:
200g dry chickpeas, cooked and drained (or 2 cans of chickpeas)
125g peanut butter*
170g (1/2 cup) honey, melted 
50g coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cocoa powder

*I made my own by using 125 grams of peanuts. Roast them in a skillet until lightly brown. Cool and process in a food processor until smooth.

Crust:
2 cups (180g) quick-cooking oats, ground 
10g (1 1/2T) unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tbsp coconut oil
7 tbsp honey

1) To make the crust, mix together oats and cocoa. Melt coconut oil and honey, and mix into the oat/cocoa mixture. Press to the bottom of a pan with removable sides. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

2) To make the filling, place chickpeas in a food processor and process until completely smooth. Scrape sides of the food processor as needed. You need a very smooth mixture. Add peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, salt and vanilla extract. Process until smooth.

3) Pour approximately 2/3 of the mixture onto the crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4) Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of honey to the reserved filling mixture. Spread over the first layer. Refrigerate overnight. (I prefer keeping it in refrigerator all the time. Yum!)

Recipe by collecting memories

Coconut Cashew Cheesecake

No, I'm not vegan and I'm not going to become vegan. But the more vegan desserts I make, the more I fall in love with this kind of food. It feels so good when you know that what you eat is good for you and every ingredient has important nutrients. I LOVED this cashew cheesecake! It doesn't taste like a traditional cheesecake, I'd say it tastes like a coconut ice-cream pie. Doesn't that sound good?? 
Just use unrefined coconut oil. Trust me, don't use refined stuff here.
It's best to serve it frozen. Keep it in the freezer and let thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving. If you keep it in the fridge, it will have a mousse-like texture which is yummy too, but I prefer it frozen. Then it really tastes like ice cream. It Melts in your mouth! 

Coconut Cashew Cheesecake

Base:
50g dried coconut flakes
50g ground cashews
90g raisins

Filling:
2 1/2 cup (350g) cashews, soaked for 6-8 hours, drained
1/4 cup (60ml) unrefined coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup (150g) agave nectar
3/4 cup (180ml) coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) To make the base, grind coconut, cashews and raisins in your food processor until the mixture looks sticky and comes into a ball. Press it into the bottom of a round baking pan (I used a 23cm pan with a removable bottom).

2) To make the filling, grind cashews in your food processor until you get a smooth creamy paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour onto the crust and freeze overnight.

3) Thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and slice!

Recipe by collecting memories

Praline Bars

 

  

I had this recipe for years and I can't really tell where did it come from. Well, a few days ago I found it again in my wide recipe collection and decided to make them. I was pleased with the results! These bars are really  delicious. The bottom layer is a chewy brownie and the top layer reminds me of a cookie. The sides are crispy and, of course, the interior is chewy! 

P.s. Finally the good weather is here and I'm posting some of my photos!

PRALINE BARS

5 TB.(70g) unsalted butter
1/2 c. (115g) + 1 TB. Sugar
1/3 c. (40g) cocoa powder
pinch salt
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 large cold egg
1/4 c. (30g) AP flour

Position rack in lower third of oven.  Preheat to 350° (180C).  Line bottom and sides of an 8″ (20cm) baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set in a wide skillet of simmering water.  Stir from time to time until mixture is melted, smooth and fairly hot.  Remove from skillet and set aside briefly until mixture cools a bit.

Stir in vanilla and egg with a wooden spoon.  When batter is thick and shiny, add flour and stir until mixed in.  Then beat vigorously for 40 strokes.  Spread evenly in lined pan.

1/4 c. (30g) AP flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 TB. (57g) butter, melted
1/4 c. + 2 TB. packed brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg yolk
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix flour and baking powder together and set aside.

Combine melted butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in egg yolk and vanilla. Then add flour mixture, followed by nuts.  Drop spoonfuls over the top of brownie batter.

Bake until edges of topping are well-browned, about 20-25 minutes (I baked them for 25 minutes but next time I'll try to bake them for 20 minutes to make them even chewier).  Cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.

Lift up ends of foil liner.  Cut now, or after refrigerating.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Sorry I haven't updated my blog for such a long time! The thing is that I'm soo busy with baking recently. And of course - there's so much work and study that I just don't have a spare minute. But! This weekend is going to be a baking weekend from morning till night so I promise to post all my experiments.

By the way, this cake is wonderful. Moist, decadent, rich and so on. And not difficult at all. I prefer it cold because when it is taken out of the fridge it's firmer. You decide! Here's the recipe:

Flourless Chocolate Cake

½ cup (65 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (120 ml) boiling water
1 tsp vanilla
16 Tbs (225 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup + 2 Tbs (230 g) sugar, separated
6 large eggs, separated, keeping the whites clean with no trace of yolk or shell
1/8 tsp salt
Scant 1 2/3 cups (170 g) finely ground almonds
½ tsp ground cinnamon

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an ungreased 9-inch (23 cm) baking pan or springform pan with parchment paper.

2) In a small, heatproof bowl, stir the boiling liquid into the cocoa powder and stir until the cocoa is dissolved and the mixture perfectly smooth. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool.

3) In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter then increase speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks two at a time, beating after each addition just until incorporated, scraping down the sides as necessary. Beat in the cocoa mixture followed by the almonds and ground cinnamon until well blended and the batter is smooth and creamy.

4) Place the whites in a very clean bowl, preferably plastic or metal if possible, with the salt. Using very clean beaters, beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase beater speed to high and continue whipping the whites until opaque and soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the sugar while continuing to beat until stiff peak form.

5) Using a spatula, fold in about a quarter of the stiff egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites, a third at a time, until completely incorporated with no white lumps. The batter should be light and smooth. Scrape into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 60 to 65 minutes. After the first 30 minutes you will want to cover the top of the cake loosely with a square of aluminum foil to avoid overbrowning. The cake is done when the center is just set. Do not overbake.

6) Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 45 minutes. Run a sharp knife blade around the edge to loosen from the sides of the pan before turning the cake out onto a cooling rack or directly onto a serving platter.

Note: I recommend you to refrigerate it overnight before serving because then next day it was much more delicious! I imagine it would be perfect served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam.. mmm.. 

Chocolate Macarons

Yes, yes, yes.. I know that these aren't the most perfect macarons. However, everybody has heard how difficult it can be to bake them. (Except for those lucky people who bake them perfect on their first attempt. I'm not one of them.) Anyway, I'm going to try again and again until I learn how to bake them. I know what I did wrong this time - the oven was too hot. I preheated mine as it was written in the directions but every oven is different - be careful with that. And of course, I baked them too long. So I know what mistakes I did and hope that next time they will turn out much better. Don't think they were bad! Oh no, they were good enough as you can see in the photos. The taste was fine but not all of them rised well. That's it! I encourage you to try making them and don't be disappointed if they don't turn out perfectly on your first attempt - the next one can be successful. It's all about practice. 

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 180º C.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons.

Let the macaron rest for at least 2 hrs, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Assembly:
Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together