DB#26 or Have a Christmas with lots of Chocolate!

In December, you expect the Daring Bakers to go wild on Yule Logs. I've never made one myself, so I - like many others - kinda of expected the challenge to be a Yule Log... and we were not deceived! A French Yule Log it was! 6 different components, 12 pages for the recipe, 24 bowls, pans, saucepans, you-name-it to wash up... This was probably the most challenging of all the recipes I've made with the Daring Bakers. My Yule Log had two almond dacquoise layers (bottom and top), aniseed creme brulée, almond caramel praliné, dark chocolate mousse, dark chocolate ganache and dark chocolate icing. I served it for dessert on Christmas Lunch. It was a hit!

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand. For the recipe, check Hilda's Saffron and Blueberry, and (as always!) for a few thousand versions visit the Daring Bakers blogroll.



My thoughts on the challenge:
- This was time consuming but not that difficult. Each component was fairly easy to make, and the recipes were very nice on their own, except perhaps for the mousse. It was pretty hard to make a pâté à bombe with such small quantities.
- I topped my Bûche de Noël with dacquoise, as well as using it for the bottom.
- I made 1 + a half recipe of the dark icing to prevent icing 'accidents' (I'm very prone to this kind of troubles!!).
- The most challenging of all was the insane number of dishes this took - it made me use dozens of bowls, saucepans, pans, spoons, spatulas, you name it! Huge thanks to my hubby who did most of the washing up, as I absolutely hate it.
- My overall thought is that it didn't feel very Christmas-ish to me (perhaps because it was a frozen dessert and I tend to think of those as summer desserts) but it was really delicious. And I'm not a chocoholic!

I don't think the photos do any justice to how nice it was and how yummy it tasted. I just didn't have time to photograph it properly with everybody around... Anyway, you can get an idea of how it looked with the chocolate decorations on top.

Happy Days!

Cookies are packed, turkey is stuffed and ready to go to the oven, Christmas Yule and Bolo Rei are finished too.

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Chocolate & Ginger...

Cookies. What else? Those were my second batch of cookies from last weekend. My friend Pipoka gave me this "Australian Women's Weekly" Cookies & Biscuits issue a while ago. I meant to try a couple of recipes for ages but it didn't happen. Until now. And I'm so happy I finally made it! These Chocolate & Ginger Cookies (originally called chocolate ginger Easter Eggs, but that wouldn't work for Christmas, would it?) are just spicy enough, and the dough works like a breeze.



Chocolate & Ginger Cookies
Adapted from "Australian Women's Weekly" Cookies & Biscuits

Makes about 50

1 1/2 cups (225 grs) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (35 grs) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (25 grs) unsweetened (Dutch-process) cocoa powder
1/2 cup (125 grs) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (165 grs) firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp peeled grated fresh ginger
coloured sugar pearls, to decorate

Sift together both flours and cocoa powder in a bowl. Cream butter, egg and brown sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Mix in grated ginger, then flour and cocoa, in two batches. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Halve dough, and shape into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between sheets of baking paper until 5 mm thick.

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350°F). Line oven trays with baking paper (or use a silicone sheet). Cut cookies with different cutters. Place apart from each others on trays. Bake cookies about 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Cookies are good on their own, sprinkled with fine sanding sugar. You can also make a chocolate fondant icing. Stir chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth. To cover all the cookies you'll need about 100 grs of dark chocolate. Use a metal spatula, dipped in hot water to spread the icing quickly over cookies. Set at room temperature.

These Chocolate & Ginger Cookies are my second entry for season 2 of Eat Christmas Cookies, managed by Susan of Food Blogga. You can check all the brilliant cookies entered here.

Christmas cookies at last!

It has been difficult for me to get into Christmas spirit this year. I still did all my shopping before December's madness settled in but it was pretty much that. I usually start baking the cookies 3 weeks before Christmas to get everything ready for friends and family as they pop up during December. Well, not this year. My sister in law - who lives away from me - promptly gave me a reminder whilst kissing me goodbye the last time we were together about a month ago. Don't you forget about the Christmas cookies! Last weekend, I've finally managed to get the cookies going. The first batch is right out of the oven!



White Chocolate and Dried Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from Rachel Allen, Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends, p. 158

Rachel's original recipe here. She calls for 50g soft brown sugar AND 50g caster sugar OR 100g demerara sugar. I'm pretty sure I read that as my intention was to use both sugars. Except I mixed in the soft brown sugar, and completely forgot to add the caster sugar until all cookies were shaped. At this point I've decided to coat the cookies with demerara sugar. Just yummy!

Makes 30-35

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
50 grs soft brown sugar
1/2 cup (120 grs) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (50 grs) mixed dried cranberries and dried cherries
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup (50 grs) old-fashioned porridge oats
1/2 cup (50 grs) ground almonds (a.k.a. almond meal)
100 grs white chocolate, chopped
4 Tbsp demerara sugar, to coat

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Sift the flour and the bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, ground almonds, dried fruits, and white chocolate, and mix to combine. Stir in melted butter, and the egg yolks into the dry ingredients until dough forms. (The mixture should be on the soft side.)

Make walnut-sized dough portions, using your hands. Roll each cookie with the demerara sugar to coat. Place them onto a lined baking sheet, and gently push with the palm of your hand to flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a metal rack to cool.



I'm sending these White Chocolate and Dried Cranberry Cookies over to lovely Susan of the always inspirational Food Blogga for season 2 of Eat Christmas Cookies - a very nice and yummy event Susan organizes for the second consecutive year! You can check all the baking here.

HHDD#23 - It's Pesto!

I'm very fond of Hay Hay it's Donna Hay, and usually try not to miss any round. It's a food event I keep close to the heart. When Joey from the ever wonderful 80 Breakfasts chose Pesto, I was delighted with the theme: easy, and with so many open possibilities! Coincidentally, one year ago from this day I was making Minted Walnut Pesto after having tried a Cilantro Almond Pesto. So what now? Rocket! Although rocket is not very usual, it has to be my favourite green for pesto.

I've used Donna's recipe Joey has provided, replacing the basil with the rocket, and omitting the lemon zest. Because it's cold in Lisbon, and comfort foods are in season, I've served my rocket pesto as a topping to a bowl of White Bean Soup, recipe courtesy of - the one and only, the lady herself - Donna Hay! ;)



Rough Chop Rocket Pesto*
Slightly adapted from Donna Hay Magazine, issue 35, p. 104

1 cup roughly chopped rocket
2 Tbsp roughly chopped toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil (I like virgin extra with mild flavours for this recipe)

Place the basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and stir to combine. Makes one cup.



White Bean Soup
Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine, issue 33, p. 104

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
450 grs cannellini beans, re-hydrated
4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Dried cannellini beans must be soaked in water for at least 4 hours (best overnight). You'll need about 175 grs of dried beans.

Heat a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic and celery, and stir about 2-3 minutes or until they are translucent. Add the beans and stock, and bring to a boil, stirring to ensure the beans don’t stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat, cover and let cook for about 1 hour, or until the beans are very soft. Stir the soup occasionally during this time.

Blend the soup. If you have one, use a hand blender. Otherwise, a food processor or standing blender will work too. Puree the soup until it is smooth. Season to taste. Continue to cook, uncovered, until thick. Serves 4.

Serve soup topped with a tsp or two of rocket pesto.

* Original recipe is topped with chorizo.

Hay Hay Its Donna Day is a food event created by Barbara from WinosandFoodies and now taken under the wing of Bron Marshall.

Farófias & Hugs

We're not very good with hugs in Portugal. We kiss. We easily turn our cheek to be kissed as a compliment to someone (even a person we may not know very well) but we seldom hug anyone. For me, hugs are the vital energy that feeds happiness. Someone once said that you can't wrap love in a box, but you can wrap a person in a hug. I blame Donna Hay for having met Barbara. From the many things I have Donna to thank for, one of the most important is to have crossed paths with such an adorable person. Barbara's fight against cancer has started half a planet away from her home, and just a "block" away from mine when she was finishing her holidays in Portugal. Geography's not important. Love is. Today, I want to wrap Barbara in a tight hug, with beautiful pink flowers, soft poached meringues, and positive thoughts!



When Bron and Ilva kindly invited me to join the super hug to Barbara, I wondered what to make... Farófias. I'll make farófias. French call it ile flotante. The Portuguese call it farófias, a “cloud” of fluffy light airy, fresh meringue combined with lemon custard and a pinch of cinnamon. So together with a huge hug, and a bunch of smiles, that's for you, Barbara!

Farófias
(Poached Meringues in Lemon Custard with Cinnamon)
Slightly adapted from Maria de Lourdes Modesto, Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa

Serves 4-6

4 large eggs, separated
4 Tbsp caster sugar
3 cups + 3 Tbsp whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon, cut in long strips
1/2 cup golden caster sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp sliced almonds, toasted

In a deep skillet set over moderately low heat, bring 3 cups of the milk and the lemon zest to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Strain the milk and return to the skillet. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then add 4 Tbsp caster sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Return the milk to low heat and when steam rises from the surface, drop meringue in by rounded tablespoons. (To keep meringue from sticking, dip the spoon often in hot water). Poach the meringues about 2 minutes in the milk, turn and poach the other side 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, carefully transfer them to a large plate and reserve.

As soon as all meringues are poached, strain the milk into a medium-size heavy saucepan and mix in the golden caster sugar. Check if any milk can be poured from the plate where the meringues are. Combine the extra 3 Tbsp of milk with the cornstarch, in a small bowl. Whisk a little of the hot milk into this mixture, then blend into the pan and cook, stirring constantly, over moderately low heat 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Beat the egg yolks lightly, whisk in a little of the hot sauce, stir back into pan and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for 2-3 minutes (do not boil or the mixture may curdle).

Place the meringues into a large shallow heatproof bowl or 4-6 individual plates. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then pour on top of the meringues. Serve warm or well chilled, dusting the meringues with cinnamon at the last minute. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

DB#25 or a Caramel Dream!

When I was a kid my drawings were always full of colour but I've never managed to keep them clean and tidy. It could be a stain, a colorful fingerprint or just everything a bit uneven on the page. Every time I'd complain, my mum would say my drawings were beautiful and perfect the way they were. I would roll my eyes, and start over (stubborn, me?). One day, after she gave me the same answer, I've explained her that I wanted my drawings to be "perfect BUT perfect in a perfect way". I was 4 years old. The "perfect in a perfect way" became a family mockery that has survived all these years. Even today, when I say something is perfect, there will certainly be a member of my lovely family to quickly ask "but is it perfect in a perfect way or just perfect?". And we all laugh.

As much as I wanted my cakes to be "perfect in a perfect way", I've learned to like their rustic appearance. They have a thing of their own, some sort of perfect imperfection... and I like that! Of course, I still dream of caramel buttercream spread across without a single flaw, and luscious decorations running the sides and top of a tall, even cake. A girl can dream, right? ;-)

Let me welcome you to a Caramel Dream, pardon, to a caramel cake with Shuna Fish Lydon mark. I came across Shuna's blog, and work, through my friend Fer a while ago. It made me really happy to know an enormous bunch of talented people would bake her signature caramel cake... So let me welcome you to the Daring Bakers November challenge! This month we have a lovely hostess: Dolores of Chronicles of Culinary Curiosity, co-hosted by Alex of Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo, Jenny of Foray into Food, and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go. Check all the other Daring Bakers Caramel dreams!



Shuna Fish Lydon caramel cake's recipe can be found here, and some tips from Shuna over at Eggbeater.

My thoughts on the challenge:

- The cake is moist, and has a great texture.
- My idea for the cake was to keep it caramel only. My only concession was a handful of tiny little bits of dulce de leche on top of the cakes.
- As many people said it was extra sweet, I've reduced the sugar in the cake to a little less than 1 cup.
- I thought it was very important to cream the butter for the cake for a long 7-8 minutes. The 'dry, wet, dry, wet, dry' method was also very simple but important for the outcome. My batter was soft and light, with a beautiful golden colour.
- Instead of a large cake, I've made a medium one, and 6 individual cakes.
- I've halved the buttercream recipe, and again cut dramatically the amount of sugar (1/2 cup) but used the higher amount of syrup stated (plus a little more!). It worked fine, despite of all.
- The medium cake was a major success with my dad-in-law, covered with the buttercream on top, and some caramel syrup running.
- The day after, I served the individual cakes halved, with buttercream between the layers, dulce de leche crumbled on top, and paired with mulled pears. It was surprisingly good!
- Unfortunately, I didn't find the time to make Alice Medrich's Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels.



Mulled Pears

4 large, ripe pears (I used the portuguese variety Rocha), whole, peeled
4 Tbsp light muscovado sugar
400 ml red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 star aniseed

Put the sugar, wine, cinnamon, and star aniseed in a large saucepan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the pears to the simmering syrup. Poach for 12 minutes, turning occasionally. Set aside to cool completely. Keep the pears in the syrup overnight. Serve with the cake.

Streets & Pies

Walk the streets. If I had to point out a favourite thing when I'm abroad, it had to be lurk around. To have a sneak peek at non-touristic places, and somehow blend with the locals. Quite easy, if you're in a big city like London, and know your way around the language. Not so cool, when you're in Paris with my lousy French. But a closed mouth with an enigmatic smile, nice clothes and an extra colourful scarf will put you trough. Now try to blend in Cambridge or Bury St Edmunds or make an attempt to pronounce 'Kenneth' like a local... I've mentioned my flash trip to the UK last summer to meet my friend. N. lives in the Suffolk. Although I know the south of England fairly well, I had never made it to the center north of the country before. My day spent in Cambridge was lovely, and my visit to The Theatre Royal in Bury most memorable. As a good British girl, N. served me a pie for dinner. A few days ago I made a fish pie for dinner (hence the awful photos), and just couldn't stop all the memories that popped up.



Fish Pie
Slightly inspired from Jamie's Ministry of Food, original recipe here

Serves 4

4-5 large potatoes, peeled, and cut into large chunks
1 large carrot, peeled, and grated
150g Mascarpone cheese
Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
400g white fish fillets, cut into large chunks
8-12 king prawns, raw, peeled
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and add the potatoes. Cook for 12 minutes or until soft. Grate the carrot into an oven dish. Place the fish an the prawns on top of the carrot, and sprinkle with chili flakes. Add the lemon zest and juice. Drizzle with the olive oil. Mix everything together.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the pan. Mash until smooth, then mix in the Mascarpone cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly over the top of the fish and grated veg. Place in the preheated oven for around 40 minutes, or until cooked through, crispy and golden on top. Serve with steamed vegetables or a green salad. I served mine with caramelized butternut squash.

Chocolate & Cardamom

Bakery's open on weekends here at home. I often ask my husband (aka Mr. Taster) what kind of cake he wants for the week. He always comes up with a couple of suggestions, depending on if we have extra fruits or any new recipe bookmarked. Last week I didn't even have to ask. Do you know you have 5... FIVE! different brands of chocolate bars in the pantry, plus 2 halved?? The remark was meant to express how he hates my (very) untidy pantry, and my messy shopping habits. Oh do I? I had no idea. (I can play the angel role with a fairly convincing voice when I want...) What do you think of a chocolate cake? I asked. Sure! All's well when it ends well. Except I wasn't in the mood to bake a layered, decadent, creamy chocolate cake. My gut feeling kept pushing me to the spice stand... Spices love chocolate. Cardamom loves dark bittersweet chocolate! I remembered Sue Lawrence's On Baking had a recipe featuring cardamom and chocolate. I did a few changes to suit our taste. This is a very fragrant cake. Decrease the cardamom amount if you dislike strong flavoured cakes.

Cardamom Chocolate Cake
Slightly inspired from Sue Lawrence's On Baking

1 Loaf (or 12 tea cakes)

125 grs unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, beaten
100 grs dark chocolate (I like Lindt 70% cocoa), cut into large chunks
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
2 Tbsp milk
3-4 large green cardamom pods (or more, to taste)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360ºF). Sift the flour into a bowl. Tip the the cardamom pods into a pestle and mortar and crush. Use a sieve to mix only the ground cardamom into the flour. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, until light. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour and milk, and beat well. Add the chocolate chunks to the cake mixture and stir to combine. Spoon into a buttered loaf tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can dust the cake with powdered sugar and good quality cocoa or leave it plain. Serve with whipped cream or lemon curd.



I'm sending this over to Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella for The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge! Not sure this is my Best Ever Chocolate Cake but it was a success for tea.

5 Books + 10 Images

Books are living souls here at home. The space is filled as if real beings shared their life with us. They spread across the walls, remain on the floor, get forgotten on the tables. My piles of books are messy, unsteady, and always about to crash while Mr. Taster's piles are tidy, always stable and sometimes thematic... We offer each other books and tell our (hi)story from them. We deliberately forget some and refuse to hide others. We celebrate (with) books, and can't live without them.

The Portuguese speaking foodblog world is hot with a challenge to choose 3 of your favourite books. I've been tagged by Marcel Gussoni of Sabor Sonoro and Dani Oliveira of Cozinha Travessa. As my head is like my book piles, messy and about to crash, I got the idea that we were to choose 5 books... Oh well. These are my 3 possible book choices of yesterday, posted today and surely different from tomorrow's.



My last crush is called David Tanis. I have this silly way to fall in love with men I don't know... And it's not sick because therapy is quite easy, with me cooking their recipes, and moving forward. This A Platter of Figs & Other Recipes is a beautiful book. Stunning simplicity. I warmly recommend it.

My favourite Jamie Oliver's book has to be Jamie's Italy. In my recent trip to London, I've got his new Jamie's Ministry of Food. I'm quite impressed with the concept, and the idea of sharing recipes, and put people to cook. Cooking is/should be a pleasure. A society that doesn't cook, and worst than that forgot how to, is intrinsically wrong.

And last but not least, Nigel Slater's little book Real Fast Food, a book I always grab to look for ingredient combination, and that reads (it has no photos) like fiction.

Because I'm really curious to know what books they'd choose, I'm tagging:
Louise of Gato Azul,
my buddy Rita, aka Clumbsy Cookie,
Joey of 80breakfasts,
Dee of Choos & Chews,
and Andrea of Cooking Books.

Can't resist to show you, "out of competition", Tessa Kiros' delicious book about Portugal. Piripiri starfish is a book that makes you dream. When I become a food writer, I want to be like her!



A long, long time ago Sylvia of La vida en Buenos Aires y afines challenged me to share 10 favourite images from this blog. With a lot of delay, and choices of another time, here they are.