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Oliebollen are a traditional Dutch fried doughnut. I did not try this Dutch doughnut while we were in the Netherlands this year. They remind me of the beignets I ate in New Orleans. Translated to oil spheres these treats are to be enjoyed on New Year's eve. Head straight on to the recipe for Oliebollen … Continue reading Oliebollen | Dutch Doughnuts
For those of you who do not speak Italian, torta della nonna translates to grandmother's cake. Dave and I had a version of this in Sicily which included fruit. I think the next time I make it I shall try it that way. Head straight on to the recipe for Torta Della Nonna ♥ Dave … Continue reading Torta Della Nonna | Grandmother’s Cake
Despite its name, the Swiss Roll was not a dessert created in Switzerland. It is known by various names around the world. This roulade can be filled with jam, cream or butter cream as I have done here. I added blueberries to my decorated Swiss roll to cut through the sweetness. Head straight on to the … Continue reading Decorated Swiss Roll
A Hrapoćuša Cake is a Croatian walnut cake from the island of Brač. It has hints of lemon and orange. This two layered cake is gluten free and keeps well. Head straight on to the recipe for Hrapoćuša Cake ♥ The term 'an accident waiting to happen' could replace my middle name with ease. Even though … Continue reading Hrapoćuša Cake | Croatian Walnut Cake
Larousse described a pavlova as "a meringue basket or case, the best being of beautiful appearance, with a crisp soft texture, filled with cream and fruit". I must say that for my berry pavlova I ticked the box in the crisp soft texture department. But I did not whip my egg whites stiff enough and so I … Continue reading Berry Pavlova
When in Italy it is common to order pasta as the first course of your meal. Dave and I tend to have this prima piatti as our main course for lunch. For my two tone pasta I first made rigatoni which are ridged pasta. I then made long flat sheets of pasta which I turned into … Continue reading Two Tone Pasta | Pasta Asciutta
This recipe for Savoury Mince Baked Pirozhki is my submission to the Daring Kitchen Challenge hosted by Sara from Sassy Suppers Head straight on to the recipe for Savoury Mince Baked Pirozhki ♥ Pirozhki is Russian for 'small pie' and these are usually made from a yeast dough. Here I have made baked pirozhki using a sour … Continue reading Savoury Mince Baked Pirozhki
I have taken the beautiful Challah recipe from Jamie Geller's Joy of Kosher and used it to make my sun dried tomato and rosemary twist bread. The idea for the twist bread came from watching the very good looking Paul Hollywood on television. Head straight on to the recipe for Sun Dried Tomato And Rosemary Twist Bread … Continue reading Sun Dried Tomato And Rosemary Twist Bread
Head straight on to the recipe for Butter Cake ♥ Butter Cake is the English translation for kouign-amann which originated in the town of Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany around 1860. Brittany is a beautiful area of France where there is a big push to preserve both the language and traditions of the area. We have visited once and … Continue reading Butter Cake | Kouign-Amann | Brittany
The distinctly patterned waffled originated as obelios which were cooked by the ancient Greeks. They only became known by the term waffles in the 13th Century as this is when the first honeycomb pattern was used. The word honeycomb originated from Old French word wāfla, hence waffles. Filled waffles are one of the many ways … Continue reading Filled Waffles
Katmer pastry is thin and flaky and traditionally would be made totally by hand, stretching the dough until the sheets are thin. This is a flaky pastry that can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes. Here I have taken this Byzantine pastry and combined it with chicken and leeks to make a pie. … Continue reading Chicken And Leek Katmer Pie
When challenged this month to make sugar paste flowers I decided to take the easy route. I used shop bought gum paste as my mother, who makes the most beautiful flowers, told me that unless I knew what the sugar paste was meant to feel like, I would not have great success. I used my … Continue reading Sugar Paste Flowers
Larousse (page 799) describe Pithivier as a large round puff pastry tart with scalloped edges, filled with an almond cream.This speciality of Pithiviers which is in the Orléans region of France, is traditionally served as a 12th night cake. Head straight on to the recipe for Pithivier ♥ 12 years ago, my friend’s daughter asked … Continue reading Pithivier
Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake combines the best of two worlds with a crumble topping and a rhubarb flavoured centre. Surrounded by a pastry layer, cake eating does not get much better than this. Head straight on to the recipe for Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake ♥ "First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, … Continue reading Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake
There is no pill for stupid! These words seem to be leaving my mouth more and more often as I deal with people who just are not bright enough to be in the jobs they are in. The biggest problem I have is with one particular sales lady at a shop I frequent on a … Continue reading Baked Risotto
I could collapse right now from pure exhaustion. As I type this (21st September) it has been a week since I slept well. On the Sunday night that we were in Oban I did not get a very good night's sleep. I think this has to do with a combination of factors. The first being … Continue reading Leek And Cheese Soda Bread
I have a very methodical way of dealing with my emails. I reply to them as soon as possible first and foremost. If they need further attention I leave them in my in-box, and if not, I move them to the appropriate folder. My friends send me recipes to try quite often and those go … Continue reading Gluten Free Nut And Seed Loaf
Blog-checking lines: For the August challenge Susan from The Kiwi Cook dared us to make healthy and wholesome raw ‘cheesecake’ with no cream cheese in sight! I believe fully in eating whole foods and not eliminating any one food group, unless totally necessary. For those of you who have followed this blog for a long … Continue reading Raw Cheesecake
I made these savoury mince pies, called sfiha, using venison. Sfiha are traditional Sephardic pastries from Turkey. They ordinarily consist of lambs mince but lamb has become so expensive here. I really cannot understand why, as we live close to an area that farms lamb. This emphasizes more and more why I would like a … Continue reading Savoury Mince Pies | Sfiha
The reason I joined the Daring challenges was so that I could learn more about different types of everything. I like to research what we are meant to be making, and find an unusual or different recipe to the one we are presented with in the challenge. This is so that the world is not … Continue reading Griwech | Algerian Pastry