Let them eat cake!

For a couple of years I have been hearing about this stunningly beautiful setting of a particular restaurant and a caffe. However, after looking at their price list, I won't be going there any time soon. I find the notion of paying € 6.00 for a slice of cake utterly ridiculous. No slice of cake is worth that much, even if the owner of the restaurant is of noble birth.

I don't really read newspapers, I admit, I only buy them on Sundays, and this past Sunday, there was lovely surprise in a form of a food magazine together with the newspaper.

Surprise, surprise, Baroness Muffy shared 3 of her cake recipes with everyone who bought the newspaper that day!

I told you that no cake is worth those €6.00. (Photo borrowed from Trip Advisor. Told y'all that I haven't been there).

So, I decided to try, guess which one of Muffy's cakes?! The Chocolate Layer Cake, of course!

Here's what you will need for about 8-12 slices, depending how big or huge you want to cut them.

Cake ingredients:

225 grams unsalted butter

225 grams caster sugar

4 eggs

175 grams self-raising flour

55 grams cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

Buttercream frosting:

200 grams unsalted butter

350 grams icing sugar

150 grams dark chocolate

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a 20cm cake tin with a little butter and then baking parchment.

In a bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. 

Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder and fold into the butter mixture. Spoon into the baking tin and bake 45-50 minutes until soft and springy.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Slice the cake horizontally into 2 layers ready for frosting.

For the frosting:

Melt the chocolate over a pot of boiling water. Stir in the butter and allow to cool before adding the sugar. Stir occasionally until the mixture is a thick spreading consistency.

Use half of the mixture to spread on the base of one sponge and use the rest to cover and decorate the cake.

As you can see, I decided to add my own twist to the decoration and went little enthusiastic with the cream. The strawberries are there just because I think that there's nothing better than strawberries, chocolate and cream in one place :)

Although it is indeed a good cake, I repeat, one slice is not worth €6.00, considering that with that money you will gather the ingredients for the whole cake... and feed between 8-12 people with it!

Work in progress

Sorry about the mess...it is a work in progress :)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Sometime, somewhere, I had read that muffins are just ugly cupcakes. Strongly believing that (almost) everyone is entitled to their opinion, I disagree with that statement and claim that muffins and cupcakes are cousins.


Speaking of cousins, brings me fond memories of my cousins and my grandma Stefana. She had this little cottage and there was meadow behind where we used to run and pick flowers. Ah, memories! The reason I'm ranting about muffins and my grandma in a same place has a point, I promise. You see, it is thanks to my grandma (may she rest in peace) that I discovered poppy seed. She was visiting and one day, she took me to see a cousin of hers. I was probably 6 or 7 at that time. As the custom goes in the ole' country, when guests arrive, you start taking out food and piling it on the table. Among the piles of food, there was something I hadn't seen before. It was poppy seed cake and I fell in love with the taste!


I haven't been quite successful in trying to reproduce that particular flavour, but that's probably due to the fact that I never tried. However, my mom can do that with closed eyes.


Recently, while shopping in a health food store (yeah, I do know where they sell healthy stuff), I took a small pack of poppy seeds. I don't know why I did it, but nonetheless, I got it.


So, today I'm sitting bored out of my wits and hating the pile of clothes that needs to be ironed and suddenly I remembered the poppy seeds. Off to the lab and experiments! So, here's the result, fluffy, flavoursome and just as intended.

Lemon & Poppy seed muffins

For 4 BIG muffins, you will need:

75 grams sugar

1 large egg

155 grams flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

60 ml plain yogurt

15 grams poppy seeds

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp olive oil

5-6 tbsp milk

Method:

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine the wet ingredients with a whisk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix just enough to combine. Divide the bater equally among 4 large muffin cases and bake 20-25 minutes.  

Rose water cookies

Well, hello there!


I know, I know... It has been literally ages since I blogged about something, but life sometimes can be overwhelming. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in ways that nobody should be conscious while going through some things.


Spring is in the air, the flower scents make my heart sing and I bake. Lately, a lot. At times I bake because I feel sad, other times I bake because I feel like to terrorize the world with cookies and hugs.
Today's baking was one of the later ones, where I want to conquer the world with cookies and I strongly believe that these cookies can literally stop the world from spinning, at least for a split second.


I won't be going with my rant for too long, as you might skip reading the recipe, so here we go:


For approximately 18-20 cookies you will need:

96 grams all purpose flour

30 grams ground almonds

85 grams butter (room temperature)

96 grams icing sugar (sifted)

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon rose water

1 large egg (room temperature)

About 50 grams icing sugar (sifted) for dusting

 

Method:

 

Sift the flour and almond meal in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter with electric whisk until pale (about 2 minutes on medium speed). Add the sugar, salt, vanilla & rose water and beat on medium speed for about a minute, until amalgamated well.

Add the egg and beat about 15-20 seconds. Do not over-beat, as you’ll end up with tough cookies. (No pun intended).

On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix well until just incorporated. About a minute or so should do the trick.

Wrap the dough in cling film and let it chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and put the rack in the lower third of the oven.

With floured hands pinch small balls of dough, roll them gently between your palms and place them on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper or a silicone mat.

Space the dough balls about inch apart and bake the cookies 10-13 minutes (depending on the strength of the oven), or until golden circle appears around the outer edge.

As soon as you remove them from the oven, cover with sifted icing sugar and gently pull the lining paper/silicone mat, letting them cool completely on a wire rack.

Let them cool about 40 minutes and then the face stuffing feast can begin! Just in case you have some leftover from the face stuffing feast, you can keep the cookies in airtight container on room temperature for up to 3 days.

 

In the name of god!

Couple of months ago, someone asked me why I'm not following organized religion. The person that asked me that is deeply religious which is fine by me. 
I'm not a hater.
You see, I have my own values or quirks, or call them what you will. How I could belong to a group that preaches one thing and then does other? If I cannot follow something to the 'T', I might as well not even do it. I personally believe that you cannot just pick whatever suits you from the religion/faith and then chuck the rest. Or you do it, or you don't.
Being somewhat uncomfortable with gray areas and preferring the predictability of black and white, I'm not a suitable candidate to be a 'follower'. (The way I see it, you can't say that you're this or that and then start hating. If love is one of the fundamental pillars in most religions, how come the hate gets center stage?)
Why?
Because, I do believe in a free will for one. 
Because I cannot grasp the concept of having this all loving god who can punish you. If god's grace is cast upon everyone, why the need to belong to an 'elite' club of followers?
Because I ask questions. Too many questions. Questions that are bound to make the 'people of the cloth' uncomfortable and unable to answer.
Because of my ability to think with my own head, rather than take someones word for it.
No, definitely I'm not a follower material.
I admire and respect the dedication and faith of all faithful, but I steer clear from the stuff. 
The thing that I have to admit though, is that I am curious about all religions, but I cannot stand the competition of the sort 'mine is better than yours'.
Someone smart, somewhere had said that if you want to be respected, you have to give your respect. (It is one of the reasons that I can have great time with believers and non-believers alike).
However, the thing that bothers me most is not religion itself, let me tell you. Religion as such is a good thing, but the interpretations of the teachings are completely different story. There I have the problem.
While an individual with a little bit of common sense would pause, reflect and question, the 'blind followers' mess up everything. They start going on rampages against individuals who are different than themselves, groups or associations which hold different perspective of things and the list goes from bad to worse from here on.
So, in the name of (your) god, please don't try to 'convert' me. I am very comfortable with my choices or the lack of thereof, and prefer to believe that ultimately, it is your choices and actions that you will be remembered for.

Peace and light to all!

Pasta with broccoli, chicken and blue cheese sauce

This one is short and sweet. I've been neglecting my blog for some time now, but this one was too good not to share.

To feed 2-3 people, you will need:

250 grams of fresh pasta (you can use the dried variety, but the fresh pasta has distinctive flavor)
1 cup of fresh cream 
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (you can use water too, but you'll need to adjust the seasoning)
2 heaped tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola dolce latte)
1 heaped tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 cooked (steamed or grilled) chicken breast, diced
couple of cooked broccoli florets (about 3-4 per person)


Method:
You'll have to work quick on this one, as it doesn't take too long. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain into a colander.

Combine the cream, chicken stock and the cheeses in a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Do not let it boil. When it comes to a gentle bubble, add the previously cooked chicken and broccoli and give a light stir. Remove from fire and toss into the cooked pasta. Ground some mixed or black pepper and enjoy with a glass of white wine.

The Tree of Life (a bad, bad movie)

OK, let me make it clear from the beginning. I’m not a hater, and especially when it comes to movies, I have found that my tolerance to poorly executed movies is very generous. However, there’s limit to everything.

I have my own criteria about movies:

1. Movies that I can watch all day long on a loop

2. Movies that I want to see every now and then

3. Movies that I’ve seen and forgot all about them

4. Movies that I wish I had never seen

So, yesterday I saw ‘The Three Musketeers’ (2011) and I admit, it had some awesome, pretty nice butt kicking scenes. While Mila Jovovich, Luke Evans and Christoph Waltz were successfully cast in the roles of Milady de Winter, Aramis and Cardinal Richelieu, the rest of the cast was pretty much miscast. Still, the movie wasn’t bad. However, this post is about another movie… the one I wish I never watched. Yes, it was THAT bad.

Thinking that after my ‘encounter’ with ‘The Tree Musketeers’ I’ll have some more luck in watching another good movie, I went to the DVD shop and rented ‘The Tree of Life.’ No, they should have called it ‘The THREE of Life’ as it took 181 minutes of my life that I’m never getting back. Ever. In those 3 hours I could have made a batch of pancakes or even baked a cake, but no, I decided to watch the movie.

Now, I have somewhat of a ‘rule’ or rather is a mechanism of defence when it comes to suck-y movies: If I have difficulty looking at the screen after the 7th minute is gone, the movie is not worth watching. This ‘sixth sense’ of mine never failed me, but still, in order to proclaim the movie a total waste of time, I stick watching. Eh, the things I do in order to prevent more ‘victims’ from watching lousy stuff!

It is not my intention to bore you with the details, so I’m going to sum it pretty fast.

1. If you want scenes of erupting volcanoes, dirty waterfalls and unusually shaped rocks, turn your TV to National Geographic or Discovery channel. At least, you learn something from there, which cannot be said about the above mentioned movie.

2. Damaged people breed damaged children (or as I want to put it in my favourite words: ‘Stupid breeds stupid’). People with seriously unresolved issues only ‘transfer’ their issues to their children, thus leaving them scarred for life and in need of some serious professional help. It is the shrink or jail basically. If one doesn’t act on those issues, they end up hurting themselves, or worse, hurting other people and ending up in ‘the can’.

3. It is useless calling on deities to explain and answer your question. When dealing with the mundane choices and their consequences, guess what?! You have to question your own choices rather than asking/blaming deities for your misfortunes.

Now, that I have nicely summed it up for you, I have trouble understanding how this movie ended up with ‘Palme D’ Or’ in Cannes. I suspect that the judges have been heavily drugged, bribed or even plainly stupid to give that award to the movie. I can go all artsy-fartsy if I wanted to, and say that the movie left me breathless and it was a work of art, but that would be just bollocking myself and the ones who read this page. (And no, I don’t like Picasso either).

Every now and then, it comes a director that is labelled ‘visionary’, but this is not the case with Terrence Malick and ‘The T(h)ree of life’.

So, after reading this, if you still have 3 hours of your life to waste and come to the same conclusions, please do come back and comment, so I can rub it in and say ‘I informed you thusly, oh I so informed you thusly!’