French Fridays with Dorie : Mustard Batons... and Chocolate Eclaires

I cannot believe I finally made it this Friday !! I baked this wonderfully yummy and superfast goodies which are fantastic : they come together in minutes and are really delicious, I want to try them with different fillings too.

I promised myself to catch the group up with all the recipes and started with these 'get out of here or I'll eat you all' babies. I made the chocolate version half recipe (froze some ganache and chocolate pastry cream for a bright future !)

Please visit French Fridays with Dorie to see more, and get yourself a copy of Around My French Table.

The Cake Slice : Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This month's recipe for The Cake Slice , we are still baking from Cake Keeper, is a wonderful cake made with cream cheese and cooked starting from a cold oven.

I made half a recipe and our cake wasn't small.

We really loved this cake and I strongly suggest you try it !

Please visit the blogroll to see more cakes !

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients

360g cake flour

1½ tsp baking powder

200g unsalted butter, softened

230g cream cheese, softened

500g caster sugar

6 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1½ tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Method

Adjust the oven rack to the lower – middle position. Grease a large 10-12inch Bundt pan and dust with flour.
Combine the flour and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each
addition. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a few spoonfuls at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Then mix of 30 seconds on medium speed.

Spread the batter into the Bundt tin and place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 160C and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 65 to 80 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

TWD : Tourtely Apple Tart

Jeanette of The Whimsical Cupcake chose the recipe this week, we loved this tarte or pie, I'm the least entitled to say what it is, but I can tell you the all building had its share and it was very welcomed !

I only had three apples but had made an unsweetened apple sauce few weeks ago so I added a few tablespoon of it to the apples when cooking and I had enough filling.

Please visit the LYL post and find out how many different versions there can be !

Moosewood Mondays : Potatoes Latkes

As an Italian, I have very mixed origins : my last name, Maovaz, always requires some spelling, as my mother's (Delcroix).

My Grandfather was born in what was then the Austro-Ungarian Empire, has become Jugoslavia and now is Croatia, on my mother's side her grandparents came from Belgium.

My nonno Maovaz was Buddist but none of my ancestors was Jewish that I know of.

In Rome there is a big Jewish Community, actually is the oldest in Europe, dating back to the II century B.C. and, as you can imagine Roman Jews eat pasta and not Latkes !

I'm very interested in the Jewish world as in the Jewish Cuisine, but, I must admit, these fritters are so good my children deveaured them without much interest in their origins !

The recipe calls for rutabaga and beets as well but I have never seen a rutabaga in my life and beets are no longer around.

Please visit Natashya to see what wonders she came up to !

RECIPE

(from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates)

3 cups peeled and grated Russet Potatoes

1/2 cup grated onions

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspon ground black pepper

1/2 cup peeled and grated rutabaga (I skipped this)

1/2 cup peeled and grated beets (I skipped this too)

1/2 cup chopped parsley (no green things wanted)

2 Tablespoons fresh dill (same as above)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Line a colander with paper towels. Place the grated potatoes and onions in the lined colander and vigorously press out as much liquid as you can, until the grated potatoes are somewhat dry. This will help create crisp latkes.

Transfer the grated potatoes and onions to a large bowl and stir in the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among three smaller bowls . Mix the rutabaga into the first bowl, the beets into the second and parsley and dill into the third.

Preheat the oven to 200°.

Warm the oil on high heat in a large cast iron skillet until a drop of batter sizzles. Drop the batter into the skillet and fry until both sides are crisp.

I Heart Cooking Clubs : Pot-roasted Pork in White Wine with Garlic, Fennel, and Rosemary

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

I had never heard of this saying, maybe because we have more rain in March.. this year though the weather is strange : it was so hot a week ago and now it seems November !

So I went for a wintery Roast very tasty and rich of perfumes from fennes seeds, garlic and white wine.

I served it with potatoes Latkes but I'll tell you more tomorrow about those.

You can find the recipe here on the Food Network or read more.

Please visit the site for more April showers !

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound/1.5 kilogram) pork loin, off the bone and skin removed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 2 to 3 large knobs butter
• Olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, skin left on
• 1 handful fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 1/2 (750 ml) bottle Chardonnay

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

With 2 or 3 bits of string, tie up your pork loin, do this any way you like. It doesn't have to be fussy, you just want to keep the meat in a snug shape while it's cooking. Season generously with salt and pepper, then roll the meat in the fennel seeds until covered.

In a casserole pan or roasting tray, fry the meat for a couple of minutes in half the butter and a little olive oil, until nice and golden.

Throw in the garlic, herbs, fennel, and wine, then cover the tray loosely with some wet greaseproof paper and cook until an insertedmeat thermometer reaches 150 degrees F. As the pork loin is off the bone it cooks very quickly. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a plate. Then, without using any more heat, finishoff your sauce in the pan, scraping any goodness off the bottom and adding the rest of the butter. Remove any large bits.

Creative Concotion # 2: Polpettine di Calamari

My friend Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality is actually one of the few blogging friends I had the pleasure to meet, when she and her husband came to Rome for a visit last year.

She is a fantastic cook and a very energetic one too, you can see her last creature here.

When I saw her last cooking group idea she got me a little worried because it's a question of NOT following a precise recipe but to create a version of a given one if not a brand new recipe; being very unsecure I always worry to make something wrong but what the heck ... I tried !

Our children love a restaurant near our place called Hosteria Pistoia they make wonderful meals very creatives and more important exquisite ! When we go there Carlo eats everything as if he had never eaten before : it's a real pleasure to see.

One of the things Carlo loves are the polpettine di calamari so I tried to make something similar.

Recipe

500 gr calamari rinsed and cleaned

Stale bread

Parsley

Orange Zest

(this is supposed to be a Lenten recipe so no eggs and cheese but I'm sure you could add some pecorino cheese and a couple of eggs)

Pulse the calamari in your mixer, add some water to the bread and when soft add to the calamari with parsley, orange zest salt and pepper.

Shape in small balls and roll in breadcrumbs before frying or cooking in your oven.

TWD : Strawberries Double Crisp

Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands chose this wonderful crisp for us this week and I must say it's so good even without Rhubarb I really would love to try it with it.

I halved the recipe and made four mini ramekins, easier to share this way !

Please visit Sarah for the recipe and the LYL for more crisps.

Moosewood Mondays : Asian Turnips with Wasabi

Today I found some nice white turnips at the market and decided to give them an oriental twist thanks to 'Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates' recipe.

We like salmon and crusted in sesame seeds and cooked with garlic and ginger seemed a good pairing for the turnips.

Please check what Natashya is Moosewooding today !

Recipe (from Moosewood Restautant Celebrates)

Wasabi paste

2 teaspoons wasabi powder

2 teaspoons warm water

1 pound turnips

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

In a small bowl combine the wasabi powder and water and set aside.

Slice off and discard the ends of the turnips and peel them with a potato peeler or pairing knife. Cut them in half lenghtwise, and then slice each half into thin half-moons.

Warm the oil in a skillet on medium heat, add the turnips, and sauté for about 4 minutes, until very slightly browned. Add water, cover the pan, and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender. (I skipped this part, my turnips were already soft after sauteeing) Meanwhile whisk together the wasabi paste, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl.

When the turnips are ready, remove from the heat and toss with the wasabi mixture. Stir in the sesame seeds and, if you like top with sliced scallions and /or slivers of red bell pepper for color.

I Heart Cooking Clubs : Happy Days with Jamie ! Black Forest Swiss Roll

Ciao ! I don't think it is only because I'm dieting but such a dessert can brighten any day...

I got the recipe from 'Cook With Jamie', I love all Jamie's cookbooks he fills them with such a love for good food .

I made the roll for dinner yesterday night, I had cooked lots of different things but as my father loved to say 'dessert it's like when the major enters in a very crowded Sunday church : in a way or the other he always finds the best spot !'

Please take some time to enjoy all the other happy recipes.

Black Forest Swiss Roll (Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
4½oz caster sugar
2¼ butter, melted
3½ozplain flour, sifted
1oz cocoa powder, sifted
Filling:
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
3tbsp caster sugar
400g tin of black cherries in syrup
100g dried sour cherries
350ml double cream
100g dark chocolate

Method:
1. With an electric mixer beat together the eggs and sugar until a thick ribbon stage is reached i.e. when you lift the beaters out you should be able to leave a ribbon trail over the mix that does not immediately disappear.
2. Carefully in the melted butter then fold in the flour and cocoa powder. Fill a lined Swiss roll tin (25x35cm) with the mix and bake for 15 mins at 180°C
3. For the cherry filling, warm the orange juice and zest until the sugar is dissolved. At this point add all the cherries and cook for 5 mins.
4. Leave to cool, strain the cherries and return the liquid to the pan. Reduce the liquor to a thin syrupy consistency.
5. For the chocolate filling, bring 100ml cream to the boil. As soon as it starts bubbling, take off the heat and gently stir in the chocolate pieces. Mix to a uniform consistency and leave to cool.
6. Whip the remaining cream to stiff peaks.
7. To construct the Swiss roll, brush the sponge with the syrup. Next, spread the chocolate cream over the cake, followed by the cream. Finally top with the cherries.
8. Using the greaseproof paper roll the cake over. Chill, wrapped in the paper, until ready to slice.

Budino al Cioccolato dell'Artusi

Genny di al Cibo Commestibile ci ha sfidato ad una preparazione artusiana in pentola a pressione.

Mio papà era un maniaco della pentola a pressione...ci facevamo pure la pasta!

Tra tutte le ricette volevo fare un budino a bagnomaria , ho scelto quello al cioccolato che piace di più ai bambini. Era tanto che non sfogliavo l'Artusi e pressione o no mi è venuta voglia di molte altre ricette!

667. BUDINO DI CIOCCOLATA

• Latte, decilitri 8.
• Zucchero, grammi 80.
• Cioccolata, grammi 60.
• Savoiardi, grammi 60.
• Uova, n. 3.
• Odore di vainiglia.

Grattate la cioccolata, mettetela nel latte e quando questo comincia a bollire gettateci lo zucchero e i savoiardi, sminuzzandoli colle dita. Mescolate di quando in quando, onde il composto non si attacchi al fondo e dopo mezz'ora di bollitura passatelo per istaccio. Quando è diaccio aggiungete le uova frullate e la vainiglia, versatelo in uno stampo liscio, il cui fondo avrete prima ricoperto di un velo di zucchero liquefatto, e cuocetelo a bagnomaria.

Grammi 50 di zucchero bastano per ricoprire il fondo dello stampo. Si serve freddo.

I Heart Cooking Clubs : Salmon with Green Beans Cherry Tomatoes and Olives

This is our first week with Jamie Oliver and I chose a recipe that could work for my diet !

The recipe is very easy : maybe my salmon was too thin so I cooked the vegetables longer.

RECIPE

400 gr green beans
200 gr cherry tomatoes
1 to 2 handfuls black olives, destoned & sliced
2 T olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh basil, picked

2 x 200 gram salmon fillet steak
1/2 lemon
12 anchovy fillets

Preheat the oven and a roasting tray at the highest temperature.

Tail the green beans, blanch them until tender (6 minutes) in salted, boiling water, and drain. Put in a bowl with the cherry tomatoes and the destoned olives. Toss in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the basil.

Give the salmon fillets a quick wash under the tap and pat dry with kitchen paper towels. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the fillets, on both sides, then season both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Take the hot roasting tray from the oven. Put the salmon at 1 end of the roasting tray. Add the green beans mixture next to the salmon in the tray

Lay the anchovies over the green beans! (Don’t forget)

Roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Fresh, Clean Pure Friday - Banana, Orange & Bran Bread

I've been working so much these late months I've rarely blogged now Spring is giving me more energies and I'm coming back to Roz wonderful collection of fresh ideas.

Years ago when I was living in California I bought a book called 'Coffe Cakes and Quick Breads' by Renny Darling I've used it again and again sharing the recipes with tasters and everytime I need a fast way to use up some fruit I head to it like tonight...

RECIPE

1/2 cup butter softened (I used rice oil)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup all bran cereal (I used old fashioned rolled oats)

1 orange medium, grated . use fruit juice and peel

1 medium banana

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup yellow raisins

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves

Beat together first 7 ingredientsuntil blended.

Combine and add the remaining ingredients and stir until blended. Do not overmix.

Divide batter between 4 greased mini loaves pans ( I used two bigger ones) and bake in a 350° oven for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes and then remove and let cool on a rack.

Crostatine con le Fragole

Purtroppo ho scoperto solo ora della raccolta di Caris per il Santa Lucia e sono fuori tempo ma so quanto il Santa Lucia sia importante per tantissime persone e sarebbe proprio un delitto se una struttura così dovesse chiudere.

Caris chiede una ricetta che piaccia ai bambini questa non è neanche una ricetta ma i miei figli ne vanno matti e, visto che cominciano a comparire le prime fragole , eccola quì !

Ricetta

Pasta frolla con olio

(da 'le dolci tentazioni' di Luca Montersino)

500 gr farina di farro bianca (io ho usato una 00 di grano)

250 gr zucchero di canna grezzo

70 gr. olio extravergine d'oliva

70 gr. olio di semi (io ho usato olio di riso)

125 gr. acqua

12 gr lievito per dolci

1 baccello di vaniglia

Sciogliere lo zucchero in acqua, unire il lievito, i due oli, la farina e i semi di vaniglia. Lasciare riposare in frigo.

Prima di usaew lavorare di nuovo la pasta un planetaria con 5 gr di acqua.

Crema pasticcera

(da 'le dolci tentazioni' di Luca Montersino)

io ne ho fatta mezza dose

800 gr di latte intero

200 gr panna fresca (ho usato solo latte)

300 gr tuorli ( mi scoccia non usare le chiare così l'ho fatta con uova intere)

300 gr zucchero semolato

40 gr amido mais

35 gr amido di riso (ho usato solo amido di mais)

vaniglia

Portare a bollore latte panna e semini della vaniglia.

Montare uova e zucchero e incorporare gli amidi versare il composto sopra il latte in ebollizione e aspettate che si formino dei piccoli vulcani, amalgamate il tutto con una frusta. Togliete dal fuoco e fare freddare.

Ho cotto la pasta frolla negli stampini mettendoci sopra dell'alluminio e dei pesetti o fagioli.

Una volta raffreddate le basi ci ho messo la crema e le fragole che non erano ancora state mangiate !

Bread Baking Day # 88 : No Knead Bread - Sourdough Mixed Flours No Knead Bread

In italiano a seguire

This month the Bread Baking Day, an event created by Zorra, is hosted by the lovely Italian Blogger Cinzia of Cindystar.

The theme Cinzia chose is No-Knead breads and I'm really curious of all the wonderful breads that will be baked with this tecnique.

I'm a fan of sourdough so I made a No Knead with it and with different flours ( whole wheat, rye, durum wheat and all purpose) I must say I loved the result , but I would love to try again and again !

Please visit Cinzia to get more ideas.

Recipe

1 cup sourdough (mine is a 50 %)

3 cups flour ( I did a mix and match of what I had on hand)

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 salt

I briefly mixed all the ingredients and left them raise at 70 F for around 8 hours.

I turned on a very floured counter and gave it a business letter fold.

I covered with a floured towel and let rise until doubled.

I put it in a very hot oven in a very hot dutch pan covered.

I baked for about 30 minutes.

I uncovered and baked until it reached 200 F.

Questo mese il Bread Baking Day, un evento mensile creato da Zorra, è ospitato dalla fantastica Cinzia di Cindystar.

il tema che Cinzia ha scelto è il pane senza impasto ( No-Knead ) sono veramente curiosa di vedere tutte le possibiletà che ci sono con questo metodo, che è veloce e produce un pane veramente notevole.

Io amo molto il mio lievito madre, così l'ho usato anche per questo tipo di impasto. Avevo un po' di farine miste ( integrale, segale, semola rimacinata e 00). Il pane è venuto veramente fantastico ogni volta che apro la pentola (io ne uso una di ghisa)questo pane mi stupisce !

Visitate Cinzia per saperne molto di più.

RICETTA

1 tazza di lievito madre (il mio è al 50 %)

3 tazze di farina ( come dicevo integrale, di segale, semola rimacinata e 00)

1 1/2 tazze d'acqua

1 1/2 cucchiaini di sale

Ho mescolato velocemente gli ingredienti e li ho lasciati lievitare per circa otto ore.

Ho rovesciato l'impasto su un piano infarinato e ho dato le pieghe.

L'ho coperto con un canovaccio infarinato e l'ho lasciato lievitare fino al raddoppio.

Ho scaldato forno e pentola con coperchio al massimo.

Ho messo il pane nella pentola con la chiusura in alto e l'ho cotto per circa 30 minuti.

Ho tolto il coperchi e ho proseguito la cottura fino a che all'interno non raggiungeva i 200° F.

TWD : Pecan Powder Puffs

The host of the week is Tianne of Buttercream Barbie she chose these sinful cookies and wil have the recipe here. Please visit all the other bakers .

My dear friends as some of you might know I have a problem with spreading and as you can see me puffs (made with almonds btw) I did it again !

I tried reducing the butter, freezing the dough before shaping and after ..... well anyway even if I'm dieting I tried a tiny crumb and they were heavenly !!!!

You can see the spreading problem but it was not the only problem !

I saved the precious crumbs for a cheese-cake crust what do you think ?

Weekend Herb Blogging #276 - Torta alla Banana

Scroll down for the English version

Partecipo a questo Weekend Herb Blogging ospitato da Cinzia di Cindystar.

'Il Weekend Herb Blogging è una raccolta settimanale di ricette e/o note informative sulla miriade di prodotti vegetali che ci circondano, siano essi fiori, piante, frutti, semi, alle volte davvero inusuali ed inaspettati.
E' nato in America quasi per caso nell'ottobre del 2005 dalla mente creatrice di Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, potete trovare tutta la storia qui. Questo evento è diventato sempre più popolare di anno in anno grazie ai tanti bloggers partecipanti che, con le loro ricette e i loro posts, arrichiscono la propria cultura culinaria riguardo al mondo vegetale, in qualunque forma esso si presenti. Ed è proprio questa la peculiarità dell'evento: riuscire ad acquisire più conoscenza e dimistichezza sulla cucina con i vegetali.
Dal novembre del 2008 Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once è la nuova infaticabile "direttrice" di questo evento settimanale, di cui potete trovare tutte le raccolte settimanali qui. Da fine novembre Bri cura l'edizione italiana, potete dare un occhio alle raccolte settimanali qui.'

Qualche anno fa sono andata a tenere un breve seminario ad Asuncion in Paraguay.

Non ho potuto visitare praticmente nulla, ma nelle brevi pause ho visto molte signore che avevano dei rudimentali banchetti in cui vendevano erbe di vario tipo. Dagli enormi mortai che avevanno ho capito che preparavano anche cure specifiche per vari disturbi oltre a vendere 'pacchetti pronti' ad esempio per il Tererè che è una bibita fredda a base di Yerba (noi la chiamiamo Mate ma per loro il mate è la Yerba calda) ho trovato un blog dove è spiegato così bene che vi metto il link.

Mentre facevo lezione molti studenti bevevano il Tererè da enormi thermos e tutti facevano lo stesso ovunque.

Mi sono informata e mi hanno spiegato quanto le erbe sia importanti nella cultura degli indios Guaranì.

Tra le altre erbe mi ha colpito la Stevia sentite che pianta incredibile : 'I principi dolcificanti sono in tutte le parti della pianta ma sono più disponibili e concentrati nelle foglie, che quando sono seccate (disidratate), hanno un potere dolcificante (ad effetto della miscela dei due componenti dolcificanti) da 150 a 250 volte il comune zucchero. Contrariamente allo zucchero i principi attivi non hanno alcun potere nutrizionale (zero calorie), ed essendo prodotti naturali sono relativamente stabili nel tempo ed alle alte temperature, per cui conservano perfettamente le loro caratteristiche anche in prodotti da forno o in bevande calde, diversamente da altri dolcificanti di sintesi come l'aspartame, che subisce degradazione.'

Prima che partissi il Signor Ferretti, il mio traduttore, mi regalò la Stevia in varie forme e, non trovando nulla in italiano, ho comprato un libro americano 'Stevia Sweet Recipes'.

Mio fratello, noto anche come 'lo zio Marco che sa tutto' sostiene che la pianta si può trovare nei vivai. Io , per ora, ho ancora le scorte....

RICETTA

3 cups di farina integrale

1/4 cucchiaino di sale

1 1/2 cucchiaini di Stevia Extract Powder

4 1/4 cucchiaini di lievito per dolci

3 uova separate

1 cup latte

6 cucchiai di olio (io uso quello di riso)

2 1/2 cucchiaini di vaniglia

1 cup di banane schiacciate (2 banane)

Ho farcito la torta con un ganache al cioccolato e l'ho ricoperta con dello yogurt greco magro con Stevia e cacao.

Setacciare farina, lievito sale e Stevia.

Montare le chiare a neve.

unire tuorli, banane, olio, latte, vaniglia e banane. Aggiungere agli altri ingredienti e da ultimo unire le chiare.

Dividere tra due teglie da 20 cm oliate e infarinate e cuocere in forno preriscaldato a 180° per 25/30 minuti.

Weekend Herb Blogging #276 Banana Cake

I'm partecipating to this Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Cinzia of Cindystar.

WHB was created in October 2005 by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, you will find history here. This event has become popular in the years thanks to all bloggers participating with recipes and informative posts about new ways of cooking with herbs or unusual plant ingredients.
Since November 2008 Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once has been managing this weekly event, all recaps here.

Some years ago I went to Asuncion, Paraguay for a short week of work. I didn't get to see much but in the short walks around I could see many people, mostly older ladies, selling herbs in the streets

Many students would drink Tererè in class during the lessons and I grew more and more interested in the Guaranì herb culture.

One of the many herbs Paraguaian people uses is called Stevia and it is a natural sweetener with no calories.

''With its steviol glycoside extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.''

The translator who helped me teach , Mr. Ferretti, was so kind to give me Stevia in different forms when I left so I got a recipe book called Stevia Sweet Recipes from which I got this recipe.

RECIPE

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Stevia Extract Powder

4 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs separated

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 bananas)

frosting as desired (I mixed some lowfat greek jogurt with cocoa and some Stevia)

filling as desired (I made a chocolate ganache)

I a bowl sift together the dry ingredients.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.

Stir together egg yolks, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and bananas. Add the dry ingredients an beat to combine. Fold in beaten egg whites.

Turn into 2 8 inches oiled and floured pans and bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes until cake tests done.

Cool in pans 10 min. Turn out to finish cooling on racks.

Fill and frost.

Daring Baker's Challenge: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

I'm finally back to Daring Baker's and with a super wonderful recipe ! I made it twice already and even if my cakes are flat Andrea loves them very much !!

I filled one of them with nutella and slivered almonds and the other one with apples cinnamon and raisins. I was afraid of filling them too much but ended with unfilled cakes.

I really urge all of you to try this wonderful recipe for the Sweet Yeast Dough : it comes together so well it's a real pleasure to work with .

Thanks to Jamie of Life’s a Feast and Ria of Ria’s Collection for this wonderful challenge !

You can download a printable recipe here or follow the recipe:

Preparation time:
For the dough:
10 - 15 minutes preparation of the dough
8 – 10 minutes kneading
45 – 60 minutes first rise
10 – 15 minutes to prepare meringue, roll out, fill and shape dough
an additional 45 – 60 minutes for second rising.

Baking time: approximately 30 minutes

Equipment required:
Measuring cups for dry ingredients
Measuring cup for liquid
Measuring spoons
Cutting board and sharp knife for chopping nuts & chocolate if using
2 large mixing bowls
1 small mixing bowl
1 medium mixing bowl for beating egg whites, preferably plastic or metal
1 medium saucepan
Electric mixer or stand mixer
Wooden spoon
Rolling pin
Spatula
Clean kitchen scissors or sharp knife
Plastic wrap & clean kitchen towel
Parchment paper
2 medium-sized baking trays (or 1 large if your oven is large enough)
Cooling racks
Serving platter
Vegetable oil to grease bowl

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

10 strands saffron for Ria’s version (Saffron might be hard to find and it’s expensive, so you can substitute with ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or ground nutmeg. Or simply leave it plain like Jamie’s version)

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:

Jamie’s version:
1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Ria’s version:
1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips ( I used Ghirardelli)

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

**Garam (means “hot”) masala (means “mixture”) is a blend of ground spices and is used in most Indian savory dishes. It is used in limited quantities while cooking vegetables, meats & eggs. There is no “one” recipe for it as every household has a recipe of their own. Below, I am going to share the recipe which I follow.

4 or 5 sticks (25 g) Cinnamon Sticks (break a stick and open the scroll)
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cloves, whole
100 g. (3.5 oz.) Fennel seeds
4 tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g / less than half an ounce) Peppercorns
25 g (less than half an ounce) Green Cardamom pods

In a small pan on medium heat, roast each spice individually (it hardly takes a minute) until you get a nice aroma. Make sure you stir it throughout so that it doesn’t burn. As soon as each spice is roasted, transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly. Once they are all roasted, grind into a fine powder by using a coffee grinder, or pestle & mortar. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Ria’s version: add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Additional Information:

The recipe calls for active dried yeast. An excellent source for yeast conversions and substitutes ishttp://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19314/re-yeast-conversion-fresh-dry-and...

Or

http://www.foodsubs.com/LeavenYeast.html