Technicolor Kitchen - English version

It has been so insanely hot here in São Paulo lately, in the middle of the winter, to the point of affecting my mood: I know that not everyone is into cold days like me, and I also know that I live in a tropical country where it feels like summer 9 months per year, but the three winter months have been my refuge since I was a kid, the part of the year when I felt better, energized, happy about the weather. That is over, and it might be over forever, which makes me really, really sad. 

Having said that, those of you who have been around for long know that I make warm desserts even with temperatures above 30°C (86°F) and I also have to tell you that I have soup for dinner even in the summer (and I don’t like cold soups): last Saturday I made two huge pots of soup and frozen them for the week. Having soup for dinner and sweating, but all good. 😊

These chocolate pots are a very easy to make dessert, are ready very quickly and they’re delicious too! They are creamy in the middle, like chocolate fondants, and have a brownie-like crust around – I used berries and white chocolate to make them richer (I always have these berries in my freezer to make smoothies), but of course you can make the recipe without them, and also replace the white chocolate with milk chocolate, for instance.

Chocolate berry pots

own recipe

¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

50g dark chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, chopped (at room temperature it will melt faster)

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup (42g) white chocolate chips (feel free to use chopped white chocolate if you prefer)

50g frozen berries, unthawed

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter three ½ cup capacity ovenproof ramekins.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small heatproof bowl, combine the dark chocolate and butter, place it over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. When lukewarm, add the sugar and whisk very well. Add the egg and whisk vigorously – the batter will become shiny and thick. Whisk in the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate and the berries and then divide the batter evenly among the ramekins – you can add a few more berries on top if you like before baking. Place the ramekins in a baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a little batter on it (the pots are creamy on the center, like chocolate fondants).

Remove from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes and serve – you can place each ramekin in a small dish to serve and avoid burned fingers. 😊

Serves 3

My dear and lovely readers, I hope you are all well and having a very nice year so far. It has been a very, very long time since I last posted something on this blog, so I would be surprised if anyone stopped by, but anyway I would like to talk to you today about New Year’s resolutions (in April – I know, I know). 😊

In the beginning of 2023 I made a list of resolutions for that year and I kept it very small to avoid frustrations: I wanted to finish writing my e-book (in Portuguese) and publish it (did it on June 2), to exercise more often (still to be improved in 2024, but I started and it was very good for me) and to treat myself more kindly than I used to (this is a work in progress so it is on the 2024 list as well).

To my surprise, the e-book has sold many copies, I have received several emails and messages from people who bought it saying they loved it, also received photos of some of the recipes being prepared at my readers’ homes… It was one of the best things I had in my whole life.

By early January this year I decided to write again the list of resolutions, and again I would keep it small: one of them was to keep blogging, at least once a month, even though blogs cannot compete nowadays with Instagram and TikTok (I must be honest and say that I don’t even know how to use the latter, I’m too old for that). So far I have managed to keep that promise for my blog in Portuguese (I even posted twice back in February), therefore I will do the same with this blog in English.

I’ll start with these delicious apple blueberry bars, that were meant to be blueberry bars only, but when I checked my freezer, I saw that my blueberry stash was not as big as I thought. One look at my counter and the beautiful apples I had brought home a couple of days before almost smiled at me, begging to be used: they were the perfect pair for the blueberries and the bars turned out wonderful.

Apple blueberry bars

own recipe

Crust and topping:

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (46g) fine corn flour/corn meal (not corn starch) – if you cannot find it, replace with all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fine salt

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (total of 78g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling:

2 medium Gala apples (total of 250g)

1 cup (150g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

pinch of salt

½ tablespoon lime or lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly brush a 20cm (8in) square baking pan with butter, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, corn flour, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Add the butter and whisk it in using a fork until you get coarse breadcrumbs texture. Transfer 2/3 of this mixture to the prepared pan and spread it evenly on the bottom. Press the mixture down onto the bottom of the pan (using your fingertips or a small measuring cup) to make the crust of the bars. Freeze the base and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes while you prep the fruit.

Core the apples, remove the seeds and cut into 1cm (little less than ½ inch) cubes. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the blueberries, sugar, corn starch, salt and lime/lemon juice and mix to combine.

Remove the pan and bowl from the freezer. Spread the fruit evenly over the base and sprinkle over the remaining mixture – you can squeeze portions of the mixture in your hand to create different sizes of crumbles if you like.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely over a wire rack before slicing and serving.

Makes 16

On a blueberry state of mind after themuffins I posted last week, I bring you a delicious and simple to make clafoutis with these wonderful berries: if you are on the bottom half of the globe like I am, the temperature is perfect for warm desserts as this one. 

I am a sucker for clafoutis, both sweet and savory, for I believe it is such a versatile recipe that can be tailored to whatever you have at hand. A handful of ingredients, most of them staples of every kitchen, plus fruits or vegetables to boot – sounds perfect to me!

I love blueberries and cinnamon together, I think they are a perfect pair, but this clafoutis is also delicious with cardamom instead – freshly ground is best.

Blueberry clafoutis

own recipe

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

pinch of salt

pinch of ground cinnamon

¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature

¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream

¾ cup (100g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter two 1-cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof shallow dishes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until creamy and pale, like eggnog. Whisk in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour, salt and cinnamon, until mixture is smooth. Fold in mil and cream. Divide mixture between the prepared dishes and sprinkle with the blueberries. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Serves 2

From a very early age my mother taught me how wonderful fruits are: apples, oranges, watermelon, strawberries, pears… We were a modest family, but there were always different fruits over the counter or in the fridge – my favorites as a kid were strawberries.

Some fruits are kind of recent in my life, such as raspberries and blueberries – these have become popular and easier to find in Brazil over the past years. I love raspberries – went picking them once with a dear friend in Surrey, England, back in 2007 – but blueberries I believe benefit from heat: after being cooked or baked, for example, they become more flavorsome: it is like they turn into little pockets of jam.

Blueberries and white chocolate are beautiful together, the flavors complement each other in a perfect way. I wanted to give these muffins a bit of a tropical flair, therefore the double addition of coconut, both desiccated and in milk form. The muffins turned out delicious, moist and tender, and I found out that coconut and blueberries can be truly great friends too.

Blueberry, coconut and white chocolate muffins

own recipe

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (25g) desiccated unsweetened coconut

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature

½ cup (120ml) coconut milk

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (140g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

2/3 cup (110g) white chocolate chips or small chunks

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, coconut milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until ingredients are incorporated – do not overmix, or your muffins will turn out tough; muffin batter is lumpy, and not smooth like cake batter. Fork in the blueberries and the chocolate.

Divide the batter evenly among the paper cups (they will be rather full) and bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

I think that whenever inspiration fails me when I want to bake something I bake brownies: I can’t think of any other baked good that is a hit with pretty much everyone I know. Not to mention that I absolutely love brownie batter: when I could still eat dairy I would always leave some batter left in the bowl for my own moment of happiness while the brownies were in the oven. :)

The brownies I bring you today combine the tart flavor of raspberries with the sweetness of white chocolate: nothing like sour or citrus kick to make white chocolate even more special. However, raspberries go well with all kinds of chocolates, so I have made this exact same recipe using both milk and dark chocolate chips to replace the white chocolate and it worked like a charm.

Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries
own recipe

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chopped
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
¾ cup (75g) frozen raspberries, unthawed
100g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugars, cocoa and vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt. Fold in raspberries and white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

I know how rare it is nowadays to post recipes on the blog on two consecutive days, and I am still running around like a headless chicken trying to do everything I have to do lately, but since next week will be even busier than the week ending today I decided to go crazy and bring you these muffins: again a speedy recipe, but a very delicious one. These muffins are golden and really moist, very tender and perfumed with orange zest.

I am a complete sucker for citrus as you all know and in these muffins the orange flavor compliments the blueberries in the most wonderful way. The addition of olive oil is a nice surprise, not to mention that this became my go-to muffin recipe after I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant, a month ago or so: I have made it using lactose-free milk with good results (next time I will try making them using almond milk).

Orange, blueberry and olive oil muffins
own recipe

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, room temperature
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with 8 paper cases. Fill the empty cavities halfway through with water (this will prevent the pan from warping).

In a large bowl, place sugar and orange zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, olive oil and vanilla until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and stir lightly with a fork just until combined – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough; muffin batter is not smooth as cake batter.
Stir in the berries. Divide the batter among the paper cases, then bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to the rack. Cool completely or serve warm.

Makes 8

I know many people hate to go to the grocery store, but I must confess that to me that is a lot of fun (you can go ahead and call me crazy, no hard feelings). :)

My husband finds it funny that I can get really, really excited about a beautiful fruit or certain new products – a couple of weeks ago I saw a jar of lemon marmalade on the shelf and screamed at him “LOOK AT THIS!!” from the other side of the aisle – it is a good thing he knows me well and does not mind being stared at by strangers. :)

Another discreet moment *ahem* happened months ago, when I saw these teeny tiny blackberries in the supermarket – they looked so adorable I had to bring them home. My idea was to eat them with yogurt for breakfast, however they were really sour, even for me. So half of them became a crumble and the other half were added to these financiers, in which I replaced the all purpose flour for fine rye flour (the flour I mentioned here). It was such a beautiful combo of flavors I was very happy with the result – not to mention how cute the financiers look. <3

Blackberry rye financiers
own recipe

¾ cup (75g) almond meal
2 ½ tablespoons (25g) fine rye flour (the same kind I describe here)
½ cup (70g) icing sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 egg whites (84g)
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons Amaretto
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (90g) small blackberries

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, rye flour, icing sugar, cinnamon and salt. Whisk in the egg whites. Whisk in the butter, Amaretto and vanilla until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Butter eight 100ml-capacity molds or mini muffin pans.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the top. Divide the berries among the pans, placing them on top of the batter and pushing them slightly into the batter. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden and risen – a skewer in the center should come out clean.
Cool in the pans over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to the rack, cooling completely.

Makes 8

Every time I hear about movie remakes I feel a pang in my heart – why mess with the classics and ruin what is great already?

When I first read that Hollywood was working on a remake of Blade Runner I thought: “they are going to destroy such an amazing movie”. Weeks ago I saw the first trailer and it was actually a thing of beauty – it is not actually a remake, it is a sequel. We know sequels and prequels don’t always work – right, Mr. Scott? – but this time Denis Villeneuve is directing it, which makes me hopeful already – Arrival should have won Best Picture last February, even though I did love Moonlight. As of now, it seems they are not killing a classic – let’s wait until October to be sure.

And speaking of classics, I know that some people turn their noses up at panna cottas made with yogurt for they are not “the real deal”, however I love them: you still get richness from the cream, with a nice tang from the yogurt, which for me is a perfect combination – and the texture is amazing. To make the panna cotta even more interesting, I added a layer of strawberry gelatin – homemade, of course – and it is so delicious you can even skip the panna cotta, make only the gelatin and serve it on its own: truly delicious.

Yogurt panna cotta with strawberry gelatin
own creation

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons cold water
1 ½ teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (195g plain yogurt, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Strawberry gelatin:
600g fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) cold water, divided use
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin

Start by making the panna cotta: set aside six 200-ml glasses.
Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water – in the meantime, in a small saucepan, heat together the cream and sugar over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt, milk, vanilla and salt. Whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and divide between the glasses. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until firm.

Now the gelatin: in a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the cold water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft and release their juices, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Add ½ cup (120ml) of the cold water and the lemon juice. Blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve back into the saucepan.
Place the remaining cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water.
Heat the strawberry juice in the saucepan over medium heat until it starts to boil - remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Stir through a sieve again, let cool to room temperature, then carefully pour over the set panna cotta, dividing the strawberry mixture among the 6 cups. Refrigerate again for about 4 hours or until jelly is set.

The dessert can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, covered with plastic wrap.

Serves 6

Happy New Year, everyone!

I wish each and every one of you all the best in 2017 – lots of love, joy and happiness.

I am back at work, after having a week off to enjoy Christmas and spend time with my family. It was a calm week, filled with good food, TV shows and movies, hot days – which are a nightmare for me, but hey, it is summer, after all – and loads of rest, including strategic naps after lunch. ;)

I did not bake much, however: I felt paralyzed with heat and was not brave enough to turn on the oven. I made a chocolate cake for my nephew – he asked for one after watching an episode of Peppa Pig – and it was pretty much it. But I bring you a recipe I made many weeks ago and that tasted delicious: these financiers made with orange and berries. The berries become little pools of jelly when baked and their flavor pairs beautifully with the orange.

These financiers are everything I want 2017 to be: beautiful, delicate, perfumed and delicious: fingers crossed that I get my wish. ;)

Orange berry financiers
adapted from the always delicious Simply Bill

¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
¾ cup (75g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
5 egg whites
100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (35g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)
¼ cup (30g) raspberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)
icing sugar, extra, for dusting

In a large bowl, place the orange zest and the sugar and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the almond meal, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites, butter, and vanilla until batter is smooth. Fold in the berries – if you prefer, leave some to be placed on top of the financiers before baking them. Cover batter and refrigerate the batter for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour ten 100ml capacity mini cake or muffin pans.
Pour the batter in the pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden – a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans over a wire rack for 2 minutes. Carefully unmold onto the rack and to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Financiers are best served the day they’re made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If days are too hot, keep refrigerated to avoid the berries going moldy.

Makes 10

I have been able to catch up and watch all the Oscar movies of this year – it has not been a quick task but it certainly is a pleasant one. :)

One of the movies I have seen lately is Bridge of Spies – I was quite shocked when Mark Rylance’s name was announced as Best Actor in a Supporting Role and I know I was not the only one. I remembered him from Angels and Insects, a good movie I watched twenty years ago, but not much more than that, and I got very curious about his part alongside Tom Hanks.

The movie is… OK. Interesting story, but nothing out of this world (well, not a big fan of Spielberg here). And Mark Rylance’s performance is flat and silly - he should wrap his Oscar in bubble wrap and send it to Tom Hardy by Fedex. :)

I have a more interesting supporting “actor” here: strawberries – unlike Mr. Rylance, their flavor and smell work to create a super tasty buckle, in a beautiful combination with the rhubarb. I had trouble trying not to eat several squares in a row, so please be warned. :)

Strawberry rhubarb buckle
slightly adapted from here

Cake:
115g strawberries, trimmed and diced
225g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided use
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
85g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 large egg
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup sour cream*

Crumble topping:
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil.
In a medium bowl, stir together the rhubarb, strawberries and ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar. Let it macerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Make the crumble topping: in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Using a fork, stir in the melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate until needed.

Cake: in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer or another large bowl, beat the butter, lemon zest, and the remaining ½ cup (100g) of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Drain the macerated strawberries and rhubarb through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the liquid, and arrange them on top of the batter. Scatter the crumb topping on top.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares for serving.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 16

Weeks ago I told you I had dropped River because it made me feel miserable – I wanted something to cheer me up, not to bring me down.
Cut to a couple of days later and I started watching The Night Of – yes, I know, I don’t even understand myself, I don’t expect you to. :)

What an amazing TV show. What a fantastic cast – John Turturro was born to play John Stone, and I found him even more perfect for the part after reading that the first choice to play the lawyer had been James Gandolfini, and after Gandolfini died Robert DeNiro got cast. The movie gods were really watching this show, since that failed too. In my head those two actors would never be able to do John Stone justice – they lack the frailty that is so important in the character. I can’t imagine Galdonfini, so big, tall and with that characteristic loud and strong voice playing John Stone.

I can’t imagine Gandolfini doing what Philip Seymour Hoffman did with his Truman Capote.

I loved the show as a whole – writing, directing, cast, everything was beautifully put together, so perfectly as I hadn’t seen in quite a while (Breaking Bad comes to my mind, as you can imagine). Yes, the show was depressingly sad and dark and each night I would go to sleep with it engraved in my mind, but it was so great I could not drop it as I had done with River. Having some chocolate around for after each episode of The Night Of is the tip I give you – these mini cakes are a good idea, too (and the raspberries can be replaced by pieces of dark chocolate for a nice variation of the recipe).

Peanut butter and raspberry mini cakes
slightly adapted from this cookbook

3 eggs
200g smooth peanut butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100ml whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (30g) all purpose flour
about ½ cup fresh or frozen (unthawed) raspberries – I used 4 in each mini cake

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Generously butter and then flour a 12-hole muffin pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the flour. Divide the mixture between the holes of the muffin pan. Top the batter with the raspberries, dividing them among the cakes, gently prodding them into their middles.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden and puffed and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to the rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream if you want.

Makes 12

Some recipes get stuck in my head for a really long time: I see them once, twice, five times, and don’t make them for a number of reasons. Then, after a good while, I see them again and I don’t even remember if I actually made them already or if they are still part of my (very lengthy) mental to do list – I guess that is natural after ten years of blogging. ;)

I saw this cake on Good Food Magazine many months ago, and then saw it again a couple more times. I loved the idea of mixing blueberries and coconut, but each time I saw the recipe I did not have one of the two ingredients. Months went by and I found a handful of blueberries in my freezer, but it was half the amount requested in the recipe: I decided to spin the recipe a bit, added lime zest and poppy seeds, and instead of mixing the berries into the batter, I sprinkled them on top of the cake before baking it. The result as a very moist and tender cake, with a beautiful touch of citrus and with tiny pockets of blueberry deliciousness here and there – I don’t mean to brag, but my twists to the recipe worked like a charm (and I can cross that recipe off my mental to do list). ;)

Lime, coconut, poppy seed and blueberry cake
adapted from the great Good Food magazine

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 cup (240ml) canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175ml whole milk, room temperature
½ cup (70g) fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°C. Generously butter and flour an 8-cup capacity Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, poppy seeds and coconut. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine sugar and zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the oil, eggs and vanilla. Alternately, fold in the flour in three additions and the milk in two additions, starting and ending with the flour.
Transfer the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the berries. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

Serves 8-10

I have been busy at the kitchen again – thank heavens! – but I haven’t found the time to sit down and write posts – so, my apologies for those of you who have stopped by lately only to stare at the red wine cake for ages. :S

And a special hug to Ellen, a lovely and dear reader who makes the recipes and always sends me the sweetest and warmest comments. <3


A couple of weeks ago I was going through beautiful recipes online and found Emiko’s mascarpone and blackberry cake – it looked so beautiful! I felt like grabbing a slice from the screen, but since that is (still) not possible I went to the kitchen and made my version of her cake, changing a few things: there was a tub of cream cheese in my fridge begging to be used and a bag of blueberries in the freezer. The result was wonderful and pleased everyone who had a chance of snacking on it.

Cream cheese and blueberry cake
slightly adapted from Emiko Davies’ gorgeous blog

Blueberry compote:
1 cup (140g) blueberries – I used frozen, unthawed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
180g cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons Cointreau (optional)

Start by making the compote: place the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan and warm until the berries soften and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes – stir occasionally. Squash the berries with the back of a spoon as you stir. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 5 ½ cup-capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and cream cheese and cream until light and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the Cointreau (if using). On low speed, add the flour mixture mixing only until incorporated – do not overmix.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Top with the blueberries, keeping most of the juice (so the cake don’t get soggy). Swirl the berries through the cake with a butter knife. Smooth out the top without mixing too much.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serves 8

If it is a problem for me to make banana cakes, I could never say the same about lemon cakes, right? ;)

It is very rare for me to not have lemons around, especially because I use them for many things other than cakes, and I love them so much that my husband brings a couple of lemons home every time he goes grocery shopping.

Adding frozen berries to cakes is a great idea as we’ve seen here on the blog lately, and in this case the blackberries give a whole new dimension to a simple lemon drizzle cake – a moist, tangy cake as easy to eat as it is easy to make (mine was gone pretty fast). :)

Lemon blackberry cake
slightly adapted from the stunning and delicious Indulgent Cakes

Cake:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
125g unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) almond meal
125g sour cream*
150g frozen blackberries, unthawed

Drizzle:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
½ tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 21.5x11.5cm (8.5x4.5in) loaf pan (6-cup capacity), line it with baking paper and lightly butter the paper as well.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest and rub with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add butter and using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Fold in the flour, baking powder, salt, almond meal and sour cream. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with half the berries. Cover with the remaining batter, smooth the surface then sprinkle with the remaining berries. Tap pan over surface to settle the mixture.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes and in the meantime make the drizzle: combine lemon juice, water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour the hot syrup over the cake, then cool completely in the pan. Carefully unmold, peel off the paper and serve.

Serves 8

I was sitting on my couch one Saturday morning, surrounded by cookbooks, trying to decide what to bake for the weekend (I told you I usually plan ahead, but that sometimes that doesn’t work), when Nigel Slater showed up on my TV screen preparing a beautiful, luscious cake, made with plums – I instantly knew what to bake that day. :)

I did not have any plums around (or anything fresh, for that matter), therefore I decided to use raspberries instead. I wasn’t too happy with the copious amount of golden syrup used in the cake – here in Brazil I can’t find the ingredient and have always replaced it with corn syrup, but since I’ve been trying to ban that ingredient from my pantry I went with honey, instead – 200g of it.

The cake turned out moist and delicious, similar to gingerbread in both texture and flavor and with the sour hit of the berries making everything more interesting – thank you, Nigel, for making my Saturday so much more flavorsome and perfumed.

Spiced honey and raspberry cake
slightly adapted from the stunning Tender, Volume 2: A Cook's Guide to the Fruit Garden

200g honey
125g unsalted butter
125g brown sugar
250g all purpose flour
1 lightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 lightly heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lightly heaped teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
240ml whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g frozen raspberries, unthawed

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 23cm (9in) cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Warm honey and butter very gently in a pan until the butter melts. Stir in the brown sugar. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a bowl. Add the honey mixture and stir to combine. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk until you get a smooth batter. Pour into the prepared pan, then sprinkle with the berries. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Carefully unmold, peel off the paper and transfer to a serving plate.

Serves 8-10

Months ago, my sister told me she had to do a project for school: she and her colleagues would have to create a recipe video and she asked for my help. :)

The kids – they’re twenty years old, I call them kids – came to my house on a Saturday and we had an amazing afternoon together. We recorded the video – actually, they recorded me making tartlets – and it was a lot of fun (and a lot of work, too).

By the end of the session, I served cake and cookies to my guests and they told my sister that from that moment on they wanted to do all the future projects at my house. :D

So here it is: the video and the recipe right after it. I hope you enjoy watching my freckled hands in action! :)

Lemon cheesecake tartlets
slightly adapted from the always beautiful Donna Hay magazine

Base:
100g digestive cookies
30g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling:
1 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream*
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
100g raspberries

Butter six 8cm-tartlet pans (with removable bottoms). Place the cookies in a food processor and blitz until ground. Add the butter and process to combine. With your fingertips, press the mixture into the pans and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, salt, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk in the egg, then pour it over the base. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly firm. Cool completely then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Dust with icing sugar, pop with the raspberries and serve.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 6

You guys know that I don’t really need an excuse to bake a lemon cake – if I didn’t like trying new recipes so much I would probably have a lemon cake sitting on my kitchen counter every weekend. :)

As silly as it might sound, having baked goods on my kitchen counter is one of the things that make me really happy. :)

When I saw this beautiful recipe for an orange cake freckled with blueberries I decided to add lemon to the mix, making it a citrus cake instead. The cake turned out delicious – both oranges and lemons are wonderful paired with blueberries – very tender and also pretty from being baked in a tart pan.

I did, however, used a pan 1cm smaller than the one called for in the recipe – do I like living dangerously? I wonder – and for the first 20 minutes in the oven I kept checking to see if the batter had overflown. Luckily it didn’t and the cake turned out fine, but if you don’t want to worry like I did use a slightly larger pan – or... :)

Citrus blueberry cake
slightly adapted from Margaret Fulton Baking: The Ultimate Sweet and Savory Baking Collection

250g all purpose flour
50g buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
250g granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest + the juice of 1 lemon
130g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
200g fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a deep 22cm round loose-based flan pan or cake pan*, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well. Dust it all with flour and remove the excess.
Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, zest, juice and butter and mix until combined. Spoon into the prepared pan. Top with half of the blueberries and bake for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle over the remaining blueberries and bake for another 20 minutes (my cake needed 35 minutes in the oven after the second batch of blueberries were added).
Cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the outer ring of the pan. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

* the tart pan I used is 21x4cm and the batter almost overflew – I recommend using a slightly larger pan

Serves 8

One of the things I find most magical and fascinating about cooking is that even if you’ve been doing it for a long time – in my case, nearly 25 years – there always something new to try, or a new way to try something you already love: food is dynamic.

After making those delicious jam bars with rye flour, I began searching for other ways to incorporate the beloved ingredient in my baking and saw these beautiful apricot galettes in one of my favorite books (and one of the most beautiful I own, too). I like Amber Rose’s approach to food and everything I had made from her cookbook had turned out great until then, so I was really looking forward to trying her rye pastry.

It was a revelation.

As I ate pieces of the galettes, first the savory, then the sweet, I was mesmerized: how could that be so delicious?

Making the pastry was easy using a food processor, and as I rolled and folded it I kept thinking that the result would be a very flaky pastry, which is something I love – it indeed turned out flaky, and so tasty. Divine, actually.

When I placed the two little packages of pastry in the fridge for their final rest, I saw the leeks I’d bought for soup and had a sudden urge: instead of making two plum tarts, why not make one sweet and one savory? Dinner and dessert with one pastry recipe = perfection. :)

I cooked the leeks with some white wine (me and my love for booze) and paired it with cheese for the savory galette – it turned out amazing. The plum tart was really good, too. The rye pastry, besides being flavorsome and flaky, was great paired with both savory and sweet fillings. The recipe is a keeper and I hope you give it a go – I cannot wait to make it again with different fillings: tomatoes, goat’s cheese and thyme is a combo I would love to try with this pastry, and I bet that apples and pears would be lovely with it, too.

Rye pastry (enough to make both tarts)
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious beyond words Love, Bake, Nourish: Healthier cakes and desserts full of fruit and flavor

120g rye flour
120g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
175g unsalted butter, cold and in small cubes
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
7-8 tablespoons ice-cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing

Plum and blackberry filling
adapted from the same cookbook

4 plums, each cut in eighths
½ tablespoon honey
pinch ground cinnamon
8 frozen blackberries
demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Leek and cheese filling
own creation

1 large leek, white part only, sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons white wine
60g gruyere, grated
1 tablespoon finely grated pecorino or parmesan, for sprinkling

Start by making the pastry: place the flours, salt and sugar in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the vinegar and half the water and pulse until a dough starts to form – add more water if necessary, but do it gradually. Form a ball with the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Unwrap the dough, place on a lightly floured surface, and roll into an oblong shape about 20x28cm (8x11in) - don't worry if the dough is still a little crumbly; it will come together with the rolling.
Fold the dough into thirds (as if you were folding a letter), roll out to its original oblong shape, and then fold into thirds again. Repeat the process, then divide the dough in half, wrap each in plastic wrap and return to the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

When ready to make the tarts, place each piece of dough onto large piece of baking paper and roll into a rough 25cm (10in) circle. Transfer each to a baking sheet.

Fruit tart: put the plums in a bowl with the honey and the cinnamon and toss to combine. Arrange the fruit on the center of the dough, top with the blackberries and drizzle with the juices left in the bowl (if there’s too much, use only half to avoid a soggy crust). Carefully fold one edge in towards the center of the fruit and continue folding all the way round, bringing the edge of the pastry towards and over the filling. Place the sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Savory tart: heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Add the leeks and cook until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, add the wine and cook until it evaporates, 2-3 minutes. Cool.
Arrange the gruyere on the center of the dough, top with the cooled leeks, then fold one edge in towards the center of the filling and continue folding all the way round, bringing the edge of the pastry towards and over the filling. Place the sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Brush the tarts with the egg wash (only the pastry). For the sweet one, sprinkle with demerara sugar. For the savory one, sprinkle with the pecorino.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Both tarts are delicious both warm and at room temperature.

Serves 4 (each)

I was never an athletic child: while my brother and cousins liked being outside playing soccer or riding their bikes, I much preferred being inside, reading my comic books or writing stories. I was never able to do a cartwheel, and up to this day I haven’t learned how to ride a bike (you can go ahead and laugh, now). :)

One of my cousins, who was my age, was quite the opposite: she used to play with the boys, rode her bike with her hands in the air and could even climb trees. Her parents had a mulberry tree in their back yard and I loved eating the berries, but could never reach them; my cousin was kind enough to climb the tree and fill a small bucket with the berries for us to eat together - on the ground, safely, of course. :D

When I went berry picking with my friend Valentina years ago and saw blackberry bushes I thought “hey, this is so much easier!”, only to notice, a couple of steps forward, that the bushes were covered in thorns. :S

I think I should stick with buying berries at the supermarket, right? That is a lot safer. :) Having them in the freezer is great for when the baking urge strikes: here, the blackberries are paired with hazelnuts and the result is really delicious financiers.

Hazelnut blackberry financiers
adapted from the always delicious Simply Bill

85g hazelnut meal (finely ground hazelnuts)
135g icing sugar, sifted
55g all purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
5 egg whites
95g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
170g frozen blackberries, unthawed
icing sugar, for dusting

In a large bowl, combine the hazelnut meal, icing sugar, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites until just combined. Stir in the melted butter and the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour ten 100ml capacity mini cake or muffin pans.
Pour the batter in the pans, then top each with 3-4 berries, pressing some down into the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden - the financiers should spring back when touched.
Cool in the pans for 2 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Financiers are best served the day they’re made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 10

I love baking but admit that turning the oven on in the winter is much more pleasant than doing so on hot days (though that doesn't really stop me). :)

To me, certain baked goods have a summery feel: I look at them and it feels like the sun is shining, even though it's raining and cold outside (as it is right now here in Sao Paulo). As I type this text with nearly frozen fingertips and a cup of piping hot tea by my side, I look at these lovely madeleines and think of a sunny day, I think of spring and flowers, while I plan on making soup for dinner because of the weather.

I might bake another batch of these madeleines before I start chopping leeks, potatoes and carrots for the soup - I know how good it feels every time I take something beautiful and delicious from the oven, it is an instant mood booster. I might even make some savory madeleines to go with the soup - now that's a tough decision, so enjoy the sweet version while I think it through. :)

Madeleines with lemon curd
adapted from the beautiful The Little Paris Kitchen: 120 Simple But Classic French Recipes and the always delicious Gourmet Traveller

80g unsalted butter
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
65g granulated sugar
½ tablespoon light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
½ tablespoon mild honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
115g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
18 frozen raspberries, unthawed
about 2 tablespoons lemon curd, in a piping bag
melted butter, extra, for brushing the molds

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, add lemon zest and set aside until cooled to room temperature but still liquid (2-3 minutes).
Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, honey and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes). Sift over flour, baking powder and salt and fold through.
Fold in butter mixture a little at a time until just incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (4 hours or up to overnight).
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Brush eighteen 2-tablespoon capacity madeleine molds with melted butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Brush the molds again and refrigerate for another 10 minutes. Divide the mixture between the molds (do not spread it out) and press a raspberry deep into the batter. Bake until golden and cooked through (8-10 minutes), then immediately unmold onto a wire rack. While the madeleines are still hot, pop the piping nozzle into the hole of each raspberry and squirt in bit of lemon curd.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 18