Crepe suzette

Crepe Suzette, a classic that will never go out of fashion

Even though crepes can be traced back to anciant Rome but it is with the French that these very thin pancakes were made famous. In medieval times, crepes were consumed during the Shrove Tuesday, also know to many as Mardi Gras. The delicate thin crepes we know now and love so much were born in Brittany (La Bretagne), which is a northern region of France with a rich culinary history.

There is something special about any recipe carrying the name of a person. You are almost certain that the recipe has a story, a history which makes it a bit more special. Crepe Suzette, many attribute its creation to Chef  Henri Carpentier, who claimed the invention of this crepe in 1896. The crepe caught on flame by accident, Carpentier thought it was ruined but when he tasted it, he was surprised by the harmony of flavors. This new crepe was served to the Prince of Wales who was pleased by the taste of the delicacy. Asking for the name of the dessert, Carpentier told him it is called Crepe Princesse (Princess Crepe), but the Prince of Wales preferred to change the name to Crepe Suzette in honor of a beautiful lady who was with them at the table.

Another story says that the owner of the Marivaux restaurant was hired provide crepes for a comedy play starring actress Suzanne Reinchenberg, artistically known as Suzette.  The crepes preparation was part of the show and to attract the attention of the audience, they were flambee at the end. Since then crepes Suzette became a hit and consumed worldwide.

Making crepes is easy and fun and so versatile, with countless savory or sweet fillings that you can cook up.
It´s orange season, so my choice of crepe was made easier, especially that I have cointreau bottle lying in the cupboard. As always,  I like to add a personal touch to the classics. Orange and chocolate go extremely well together, and since crepe Suzette is an orange delight I decided to add dark chocolate ganache to my crepes.

Use a combination of oranges if possible for a more complex flavor

For 6 crepes you need:

• 1 egg
• 62 g flour
• 12 g melted butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• zest of half an orange 
• 100 ml of milk
• 25 ml orange juice (I used normal and blood orange)
• Pinch of salt

First whisk the eggs slightly, add the salt and the sugar, whisk again until well combined, add 1/3 of the milk mix well and thoroughly until you get a smooth batter (adding small quantity of milk will prevent the formation of clumps). Add the melted butter and whisk, orange zest and juice, mix well and at last add the remaining milk and continue mixing. Leave the batter to rest for at least an hour in the fridge which allows all the flavors to mix well.

Stack your cooked and cooled crepes on top of eachother

In a non stick pan, bake your crepes by adding a small amount of batter and swirl the pan to cover the surface with the crepe mix. It will take maybe 2 min or 3 for the crepe to be done, flip it on the other side and leave it for another min. 

  

For the ganache

• 150 g chopped dark chocolate
• 80 g  cream (35 per cent)
• Tsp of  of cointreau (sweet orange liquor)

Heat the cream, (be careful not to burn it) and pour it slowly over the chocolate, when they are well combined add the cointreau.

Stuff the crepe with a decent amount of dark chocolate ganache

For the sauce:

• 250 ml orange juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• tsp butter
• 30 ml cointreau or grand marinier

Before I started doing the sauce, I sauteed some orange slices with a teaspoon of butter, and in the same pan (without washing) I added the sugar, when it starts melting add the orange juice and let it simmer for few minutes.
At this point you can add the crepes and let them cook a bit, add the orange liquor and tilt the pan over so slightly until it liquor catches the falme (flambee), or you can light a flame above the pan and the liquor will catch it.
However, you might be interested to do what I did. I waited for the orange juice to start thickening and then I added the cointreau (or grand marinier) and flambee and when the flame turns off the syrup is ready. You will use this sauce to drizzle over the crepes instead of cooking them in it. 

Add a tbsp or 2 of ganache to a crepe. Now, you can roll it or get the sides together and tie it with an candied orange strip, drizzle with the sauce and serve with the orange slices.

Believe me, the result is well worth the effort.

Orange, crepe, and dark chocolate, what a combination!

Oatmeal cookies: two ways, my way!

Humble looking but oh so delicious!

After Christmas,  New Year and all their excesses, it's good to go back to normal and tone things down a notch in the sugar department. However, as a sugar-holic, it's not an easy thing for me, but luckily there are some healthier sweet recipes out there that offer joy without the overwhelming guilt.

Inspiration came while watching the lovely Julie Andrieu on her quest to understand the food culture around the world. While in Scotland, she was understood the importance of oats and oatmeal is to the Scots.

Actually it is said that the Romans had hard times conquering that country because of how strong their men were which many attribute to the oatmeal based diet!

The oat cereal was used by humans since thousands of years  but only made its way to pastry in the beginning of the 19th century!

I love oatmeal with its floury nutty taste and fibrous texture, in fact one of my favorite light dinner meals is oatmeal with spices, honey and nut soaked in soy milk. This dinner meal was an additional source of inspiration of  this recipe. But I also wanted to experiment with flavors and create different tastes using the same dough, at the end I made two kinds of cookies with one simple dough and flavorings ingredients which you most likely have at home. 

Two ways to savor a cookie classic

The first kind of oatmeal cookie was flavored with nuts, spices and  honey  whereas the second one was flavored with white chocolate and lyophilized summer berries. I usually eat these berries with my cereals in the morning and luckily they are better suited for this recipe than fresh berries as the fresh ones will make your dough too soggy.

For the basic cookie dough you need (makes about 18 to 20):

• 55 g butter
• 70 g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 75 g flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• 120 g oatmeal (I used the quick cooking oats)

The two different flavoring agents

For the 1st variation you need:

• 2 and 1/2 tsp spice infused honey (I used 4 tbsp honey, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ground star anise, pinch of ground cloves and nutmeg. Combine the spices with a tsp of water then add the honey and simmer gently for few min).
• 2 tbsp of mixed nuts (I used raw walnuts, pecans and almonds)
• 1 tbsp dried cranberries
• Tsp ground hazelnut or almond praliné (optional)

2nd variation:

• One tbsp lyophilized summer berries
• 40 g white chocolate

Shape your cookies and space them as they expand during cooking

How to: 

Cream the butter and sugar with a blender, add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined, slowly start adding the flour and oatmeal that previously you had mixed with the salt and baking soda. 

When all well mixed divide your dough in 2. Add each set of flavoring ingredients to a half. Form your cookies using an ice-cream scoop or by band and bake them in a preheated oven (180C) from 10 to 12 min. Be careful not over-bake and take them out as soon as the edge of the cookies turns golden! Let them cool for 5 min then transfer them to a cooling rack!

Milk revives the flavors of cold cookies

It  snowed in Madrid and it's really cold, but I can calmly sit on my chair looking at the snow falling outside while sipping a hot cup of milk and biting into these delicious oatmeal cookies with their heart-warming flavors.

Savor the cookies with a warm glass of milk, enjoy!

Carraway Pudding For New Borns and Christmas

Mighleh, a pudding to welcome newborns

Different cultures around the world celebrate the arrival of a newborn in different ways. However, what's common is the great joy this occasion brings and you know for sure a sweet delicacy will likely be served to mark this joyful event.
As the older sister in the family, I had the chance to savor the special middle-eastern pudding that is served on this occasion: mighleh. I still remember the wonderful spicy smell that invaded every corner of our house as my younger brothers and sisters came to life. That heavenly aroma was the same in our relatives' homes as they too welcomed their little bundles of joy.
Whether it was in the middle of winter or at the height of summer, the recipe lends itself well to all seasons. Its spiciness warms during cold times and it is usually served chilled during summer. 

Many also prepare this pudding during Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
However, Christmas has so many  recipes that sometimes you hardly have enough time to make a handful.

Madrid nights are bitterly cold and since I´m a still nostalgic for Christmas seasons, I decided to make this childhood recipe that I cherish deeply. It should warm me up!

I am not sure about the origins of this recipe, but I know that is made in many countries of the middle east. It is very easy to make and really delicious.
What's great about it too is that is naturally suitable for lactose intolerant people and for those with allergy to wheat. It sweetness can be adjusted to taste. It is an easy, healthy and delicious recipe.

The main flavorings of this pudding

To prepare this pudding for 6 to 8 persons, you need:

• 1/2 cup of rice flour or powdered rice
• 3 cups and 1/2 of water
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of ground anise
• 1 to 2 spoons of  ground caraway seeds (it is a spice similar to anise and fennel seeds)

For the decoration you need shredded coconut (unsweetened) and a mix of various nuts.

The essential steps in making the pudding

First combine all the dry ingredients, mix well, then add the water! Put on a gentle heat and keep stirring. After 5 to 8 min you will notice that the mixture will start to thicken, keep stirring until you see bubbles forming on the top. At that point you will know that it is time to remove of the heat! 

A regular sized cup makes an ideal serving portion

Wait for the pudding to cool for about 5 min, then pour it into individual serving cups. 

Leave it to cool completely, after which put it in the fridge. 

Golden cups and serving plate add opulence to a rather humble dessert

Before serving, sprinkle coconut on top, then add the nuts you desire. Usually, pine nuts, walnuts, pistachios and almonds are mostly used, but you can experiment and use cashew or macadamia nuts or whatever your heart desires. The joy of this recipe is its simplicity and flexibility. You can omit the coconut for example or reduce the amount of sugar or come up with a unique mix of nuts!

So next time there's a new born in the family or you want an easy dessert for your Christmas dinner, surprise your family members with this creamy, soft and spicy and refreshing pudding! But you know what, you don't have to wait for that to happen, so to kitchen and get cooking!

Coconut and a mix of delicious nuts complement the flavor of the pudding

Spicy hot chocolate and Roscon de Reyes!

When most of the Christian World celebrates the epiphany, in Spain, the 6th of January the arrival of the wise men or Los reyes magos is celebrated.

On the 5th of January, you can see the wise men parade in the streets of almost every city in Spain. Families gather and wait for the passing parades accompanied by kids who feel very excited at the sight of the wise men.

For kids, the reyes magos are the equivalent of Santa Claus. In fact, the next morning the whole family gathers to open the gifts the reyes magos left for the little ones.

Before gift are unwrapped, kids have to patiently wait and have a traditional breakfast with the family. To make the waiting more manageable, the traditional breakfast offering is a sweet delicious treat: hot chocolate with roscon de reyes!

Roscon is a roll shaped bread decorated with candied fruits. Some rolls have a small surprise inside of them (usually small figurines of wise men) and tradition goes whoever gets the roll with the surprise piece will have a lucky year ahead.

I didn´t have time to make roscon, so I bought some from a local bakery, but I had time to make my favorite hot chocolate!

During the increasingly cold days of winter, the best way to warm up your heart is by sipping a spicy cup of hot chocolate. The recipe is not a discovery,  nevertheless, I like to share my take on this popular and comforting beverage!

For a cup of this hot chocolate you need:

• 150 ml of soy milk 
• 50 g of coarsely chopped dark chocolate
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• seeds of half vanilla bean
• 30 g brown sugar
• whipped cream and ground cinnamon for the decoration

In a saucepan combine the milk, star anise, cinnamon, sugar, the seeds and the vanilla bean. Let them simmer for about 5 to 7 min until fragrant. Add the chocolate and whisk until it melts and is well mixed into the milk.
If you want a thicker hot chocolate you can add half tsp of corn flour mixed with a teaspoon of water then add it slowly and whisk quickly.

Pour the chocolate and add whipped cream (dairy or vegan like coconut cream)  and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy this drink on your longer winter nights or whenever you're in the mood for some comfort. Don't wait for the next winter storm, try it now!

End and Start Your Year with Decorated Cookies

As we bid 2012 farewell and we welcome 2013 with excitement I decided to take more time to master the art of decoration, especially that of cookie decoration.
So challenge yourself this year and start 2013 on a sweet and artistic note.

I will not share the recipes now as I am short on time, but the cookies I made share the same basic ingredients but differ in the added flavorings. Both flavors are warm and festive: orange and vanilla cookies and rose petals and walnuts cookies!

With these cookies you can use your artistic imagination to create endless combinations of shapes and colors. Hopefully, I will share with you many tips and tricks on how to decorate cookies very soon.

Enjoy the pictures and hope you like what you see.

The different patterns and shapes I created

A beautiful Christmas tree

Elegant Snow Flakes

An abstract shape of a Christmas tree

Beautiful abstract green lines

Beautiful abstract red  lines

The mistletoe, a Christmas classic

All cookies wrapped in bags for individual servings. 

Panforte and Buon Natale a Tutti Quanti!

Our sweet Christmas adventure started in the Middle East, from there we flew all the way to Germany and now we land in la Bella Italia.

Ah Italy!!! Where to start? The history? The elegance? The art? The architecture? The people? The dolce vita? The simple yet bursting with flavor food? Okay, you get it, I am deeply passionate towards Italy. It's nothing new, I had developed this passion almost 20 years ago.

My first trip to Europe was to Italy and the first region I visited was Tuscany which is arguably one of the most beautiful regions in the world featured many times in great classical movies. The first major city I visited was Florence, the Renaissance city. I was amazed by the beauty of this city, the immense Santa Maria de Firoi or the Duomo Cathedral, its museums, the walk to Ponte Vecchio and simply wandering in its old narrow streets soaking in all the art, history and beauty.

The next major city was Siena, another beautiful Tuscan city with a unique character. Like all Italian cities it has a wealth of sites worth seeing. While walking in its picturesque streets a type of sweets caught my attention: Panforte.  With my broken Italian, I walked into the shop and bought a piece, I was happy with my little discovery. Needless to say, it was delicious, it was love at first bite!

Panforte is essentially consumed during Christmas times, but can be found in Siena all year long.

Panforte or Siena cake, goes back to the 13th century, the first documented recipe was in 1205, it is said that the recipe  originated in monasteries as a strong bread that had honey and pepper, other spices were added later to the recipe.

For some time, panforte was reserved to the nobility, but luckily now everyone can sample this delicious bread and even better, with my easy recipe, you can prepare this sweet in the comfort of your home, probably thousands of miles away from Siena and its beautiful churches, monasteries and houses.

Without further ado, here's the recipe to follow!

What you need:

• 200 g of nuts (I used 100 g almonds, the remaining quantity divided between pistachios and hazelnuts)
• 100 g candied peels (I used orange and lime peels that I made few days earlier; store bought is fine too)
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 g of coriander seeds
• 1 or 2 cloves
• 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 g of pepper
• 45 g flour
• 15 ml masala wine (optional)
• Tsp of glucose or corn syrup (optional, and just to be on the safe side, to prevent any crystallization)

Start by roasting the nut in a preheated over (180C) for about 10 min. Dice the peels into small cubes.
Mix the peels and the nuts (you can peel the nuts if you wish but I didn´t bother). Add the flour.
Grind  the cloves and the coriander seeds and add them to the rest, followed by the cinnamon and the grated nutmeg.

In a heavy bottom pan, combine the sugar, honey and glucose (if you are using it), put them on a low heat, and wait for the sugar to dissolve and for the syrup to get an amber golden color.

Add the syrup and the wine to the nut and spices mixture and mix well until all is combined. The smell that filled the air at this point was so intoxicating, it took me back to those narrow and beautiful streets of Siena!

When you combine your liquid and dry ingredients, if you feel your mix is too dry add some hot water, a teaspoon at a time.  When all is well mixed and combined, transfer the mixture into an 18 cm pan, covered with parchment paper and  greased. Press down gently to have an even top.

Bake for about half an hour (160C), until it becomes a bit darker in color.

 Let it cool down before you dust it with confectioner sugar, and this is it.

You can appreciate the great mix of taste of panforte eating it with a cup of espresso,  a sweet wine, or just alone, a nibble from time to time will do you good!

Vanillekipferl or half moon vanilla biscuits!

In the previous post I shared with you a recipe that I grew up with, those oriental pancakes, a pre-Christmas delicacy, filled with nuts and a slight hint of spices that would bring warmth into cold December days and nights.

Today I will share another recipe, that I discovered by the end of 2005.

For almost a decade I shared my living spaces in Madrid with different people from across the world. I co-rented with French, Japanese  Americans,... with which I shared some quality moments. Sharing the flat also meant long talks in the kitchen, midnight chats from bedroom door to another, and the best was having international dinners, where each would make a typical dish from his country. Sharing food and recipes for me is always the highlight of sharing a flat!

One cold december day, when I got home, as I stepped in I was greeted with this incredible aroma of a baked sweet. I got into the kitchen and my flatmate at that time, Rebecca, a great German girl with whom I shared fond memories, was baking these white crescent shaped cookies. She asked me to try one and it was delicious. I still have her recipe written in Spanish on a small piece of paper.

As I try new and exciting recipes all the time, I got to do Rebecca's recipe only once. However, as winter creeps in and below freezing temperatures are becoming more frequent in the long Madrid nights, I decided to do these cookies again since they go along perfectly with a big warm cup of coffee or even a warm glass of wine.

It is not clear where this recipe originated, some say it´s a Hungarian recipe, some say it´s Austrian, and other say it is a specialty of the Bavarian city of Norldlingen! Perhaps they were inspired by the almond snowdrops, after all they are very similar in terms of ingredients and texture, by these ones are characterized by their vanilla flavor.

Anyways, during Christmas those cookies are enjoyed in many countries, and they can also be found in many Viennese coffee shops all year long.

As for the recipe few ingredients are needed, I made half batch and got almost 28 cookies, and to make them you will need:

• 25 g toasted ground almonds
• 25 g toasted ground hazelnuts
• 140 g flour
• 35 white sugar
• 100 g butter pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

To make thing easier,put the butter,salt and flour in a food processor, pulse for few seconds until combined. Add the nuts and sugar and pulse again. When all combined add the egg yolk and the vanilla, pulse again then transfer the mixture onto a surface and with your hands work the dough a bit to make sure everything is well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and put in the fridge for about an hour.

Take your dough out, and form your crescent, I took pieces of 10 to 12 gr each, I think they make perfect cookies, bigger is just too much.

When done forming the crescents, just leave them for about 10 to 15 min in the fridge, then bake them for about 10 to 15 min in a preheated oven (180 C). You know they are done when you see that the edges are golden brown.

Let them cool for few minutes, then put them in a bowl that has 25 g of vanilla sugar and a 1/4 cup of icing sugar, give them a big coating and it´s done. Easy and quick way to get crumbly and full of flavor cookies!

Katayif, Oriental Pancakes, a Pre-Christmas Delicacy

December is upon us, one of my favorite months of the year. Despite the cold, it's a month that warms my heart and fills me with the Christmas spirit. I've always been one of those people who impatiently wait for the 25th of December.The excitement of the celebration, the stress of buying the perfect gift, the frenzy in the streets, shops and markets is just amazing. But Christmas season is a culinary feast where each region around the world has a specific set of traditional sweets and treats that are served before and after Christmas eve.

Back home, the preparation for Christmas starts on the 4th of December; on that day, in some Near Eastern  countries , we celebrate Saint Barbara, an early Christian martyr. Among the traditions, several cereals and grains such as wheat, chickpeas, lentils, are sprouted in small pots to be used in the decoration of the Nativity scene. As they sprout, the green they bring is seen as a symbol of hope in the birth of Jesus Christ.

The West has Halloween, the Eastern Christians celebrate Saint Barbara, during which little children wear creative disguises and roam the streets singing songs and knocking on doors to be rewarded with treats and money.

Sweets abound in that day too. Wheat is boiled and perfumed with cinnamon and anise then it is served with a sprinkle of sugar or honey and decorated with nuts. More elaborate sweets are prepared too such as a fermented dough that is fried in balls than dipped in syrup known as Ouwamet. Mchabak is even more elaborate and requires some skills to make, it is a fried dough shaped in a bicolor laced fashion then dipped in syrup. But what I loved most during Saint Barbara are the Katayif which are the Arabic version of pancakes minus the eggs and butter. 

The katayif  recipe is very old, it is said to go  back to the 7th-8th century, while others say it goes back to the Fatimid caliphate era (909-1071). The story says that a cook had created a a flat dough that he filled with nuts, arranged it on a plate so people could pick up the one they desired and this is why they are called katayif which in Arabic means 'picked up'.

These baked goodies are especially consumed during the holy month of Ramadan all over the Arab World and in some other religious celebration like Saint Barbara.

We always used to help my mom baking those panckaes, she used to prepare the dough and we used to take care of the rest. Baking, chopping the walnuts, filling them and of course eating them!
Since I moved to Spain I always made sure to make katayif on the 3rd of December. It makes me feel that I´m not that far away from home and this year is not going to be an exception!

For the dough you need:

• 200 g flour
• Teaspoon of granulated sugar
• Tsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp of instant yeast
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate
• A dash of salt
• Few drops of lemon
• 300 ml water

Combine all the ingredients but the flour in a blender. Whisk all together well then add the flour, blend for few seconds until all combined. You will get a thick runny batter, leave it to rest for about 30 min.
The batter is bubbly and almost doubled.

Heat a non stick pan, pour a bit of the batter and cook until the top is dry. The dough will have small holes when it dries!

Put the cooked ¨pancakes¨  on a clean towel, and let cool. When cooled cover them so they won´t harden.

For the filling you need:

• 150 g walnuts
• 2 tbsp cinnamon (you can add the quantity you desire)
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp orange blossom water
• 1 tbsp rose water

Chop the nuts, add cinnamon and sugar then the rose and orange blossom waters. You can also fill the katayif with kachta (or heavy clotted cream if you want) and decorate with pistachios and rose petal jam!

The walnuts katayif are usually fried, but mom never did, and I must admit I really prefer them like that, just delicious, soft from the outside crunchy in the inside, and served with a drizzle of syrup, just amazing! You can of course fry them in deep vegetable oil if you want to, but while fried food is good, when something is just as good without being fried, I prefer to eat the healthier option.

As for the sugar syrup, just combine a cup and a half of sugar and a cup of water, add a small stick of cinnamon, a cardamom pod, let it simmer for 15 min and when it is ready add few drops of lemons juice, teaspoon of orange blossom water and another of rose water and take off the heat.

To fill the walnuts katayif, put about a teaspoon and a half of the filling in the center, then close the katayif by joining the sides together, press to make sure you seal them well. As for the kachta ones, you join the sides of the pancake half way to create a small pocket which you fill with Arabic cream or other creams you want.

I´m sure once you try these pancakes you will do them over and over again. They are so easy to make, and you can even eat them without any filling. They are very healthy and have low fat and calories. You can just drizzle them with  honey and some nuts making them an ideal breakfast!



Enjoy and happy Saint Barbara!