A cookie story

Melty butter cookies

120 g wheat flour
60 g corn flour
100 g butter
50 g powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
optional: lemon/orange zest, nuts, lavender etc.

Cream butter with sugar.
Add egg yolks, one at time, mix till well incorporated.
Add flours and salt and optional ingredients if using, mix thoroughly.
Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours, best overnight
Bake 12-15 min in 200°C.

Pear mousse

Pear mousse

600 g pears
3 egg whites
100 g sugar
juice from ½ lemon
50 ml liqueur (preferably pear flavored like my favourite Maraska Kruškovac)
15 g powdered gelatin

Wash, peel and cut pears into small pieces, no matter what shape. Sprinkle with lemon juice and braise with 50 g sugar for 10 minutes, then let cool a bit and puree.
Soak gelatin in liqueur and tablespoon of water, heat till warm and add to pear puree.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks, gradually add remaining 50 g sugar and mix until shiny.
Fold in the puree, one Tbsp at time.
When the mousse starts to thicken a bit, pour into ramekins or cups.
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. If you want to serve them upside-down, like on pictures, freeze overnight and few minutes before eating put remaking into hot (not boiling) water for half a minute and flip onto plates. (if using glass dishes watch out not to break them when the temperature changes radically – better let stand for 5 minutes in room temperature b efore you start!)

Ma'am Meringue

I was working on setting up my own mini photo studio, so I went to few places and bought some thing. Paper for background, some napkins and fabric, one little metal saucer and two lovely floral-patterned boxes, all that for nearly free. I adore that so-called 'flea market.' When I came home, I want to the basement to search for some nice little things and well, it seems there are quite many of them (plus those hidden on kitchen shelves...) While looking closely at all those treasures I thought 'Well, don't I have spare egg whites again?' and that equals mini meringues of three flavour: vanilla, rose & kewra waters. Anyway, that's the result.

No more words today, sorry I'm tired. Though as I wrote, I think I know how to make meringue.




Tiny rose meringue was trapped in the bad bird's cage, but it made the famous lucky escape! I actually named the cage photos 'trouble in paradise series' for my pure amusement.



Meringues

4 egg whites
125 g sugar
125 g powdered sugar
Optional: food coloring, flavorings (I used teaspoon of kewra and rose waters and vanilla extract)

Beat egg whites, starting with low and gradually moving to high speed, until they make soft peaks.
Mix in sugar, adding one tablespoon at time, until it’s shiny and very stiff.
Fold in powdered sugar, slowly and carefully, by hand – not using mixer anymore.
If adding colors / flavorings – mix in thoroughly, by hand also.
Put into piping bag with desired tip and pipe meringues of desired size onto silicon mat or parchment.
Dry for 3 hours in 100°C. (Well, here I must say that I do not like my meringues soft or melty, I love them crunchy plus if using them long after making, like few weeks, I strongly advise to bake them even 6 hours – that way they won’t gain moisture even after 6 months, I personally tried that!)


You can view more of my photos here. I'm just starting, but please please visit! ♥

Leftovers and dreams

As we made too many cakes for Christmas, like always, my mum forbid me baking more things before we eat the old ones. Those were lovely and tasty and I wouldn't really mind - if only I were just food lover. But simple moves you have to make, putting ingredients into bowl, mixing, pouring, greasing, it makes me calm and relaxed. After 5 days without cooking I was already missing swirling around mu kitchen, taking out pans and listening to the same old cassette like always, so today I was happy to be told 'bake birthday cake for your sister'. She's turning 20 tomorrow, so 'no more teen' cake for her would be in place. Right now it's only in plain-sponge-cake-to-assemble-and-decorate state.


So, when I finally sneaked into kitchen, I thought 'why not pretend I'm doing cake and make something else, tiny and cute?' and then I remembered little tartlet pans I bought recently. I have only six, though, and 'sandcake' recipe I decided to use divided in 6 produced more batter then fit into pans, so I took out other pans and poured leftovers into them, sprinkled with sugar just before (I forgot to sprinkle one and the little cake didn't want to come out, ah.) 'Sandcake' has great a bit dry but soft, melty texture as it combines both wheat and potato flours, as well as butter and oil. It's taste is a bit plain though, so I threw some candied orange peel - only after searching for it in every possible place, of course, as my mum tends to put my things when she thinks they should be, not where they should really be. Some minutes in oven and little powdered-sugar-sprinkling later they presented themselves.


Notice the little cubes of candied orange peel peeking thru cake molecules.

I always enjoy preparing this one particular cake more than any others, because it really feels like magic. First, yellow rectangular stick of butter melts in one with old plain sugar, turning into bright fluffy mixture, just like the ugly ducking turned into a swan. Its consistency when all ingredients added is quite thick but still creamy and shiny, and then the real kitchen poetry: vinegar. It bubbles, fizzles and hisses when interacting with baking powder, and the cream-colored batter starts turning whiter and whiter. With mixer still on, it creates spirals and patterns od white swirls, until they have completely overtaken. While those two always make the same show, in this particular cake it's even more spectacular.



Sandcake
about 15 muffins / 1 small cake

1 stick plus 1 Tbsp (125 g) butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup potato flour
3 huge Tbsp wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp vinegar
vanilla/lemon/peppermint/... extract

Cream butter and sugar until creamy.
Add eggs, one at time, waiting for each of them to incorporate completely before procreeding.
On low speed, mix in flours and baking powder in three - four parts, alternately with oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and well-combined.
Final touch - pour vinegar into the batter, mix thorougly and pour into cases / pan(s).

Depending on what you are baking, it may take 15 min to over an hour. Check with toothpick if it's ready (comes out clean - ready to eat.)

5th grade and other stories

I remember clearly the first cake I made all by myself, it was back in 5th grade, for Mother’s Day. I went to my local small shop and bought ready-to-use sponge cake and kind of mix for assembling (add milk, butter and be happy) and decorated it with wafer flowers.

It took me some months to realize that actually I could prepare things all by myself, and then it started. I don’t know what was first, but some kind of torte probably – besides all those cakes I helped my mum with. When I was going to high school, I wanted to attend kind of gastronomy-technical school (or however I should call that – our educational system is silly) and get a profession, but my parents, of course, were against (you will waste time, won’t go to uni etc) so I didn’t apply. Guess they thought it was short fascination that will pass, but it didn’t, so now they are closer and closer to sending me to culinary school someday in future.
Anyway. Having had highs and lows, of course, dozen of birthday cakes and failed meringues, I can tell I’m learning.


This is probably first trial of ‘food styling,’ but not quite, maybe more of tasty-looking food photo taking. Chocolate matcha caramel if I recall correctly. I wish I had better camera, that would catch all twinkles and shadows and make the photos more beautiful, but that must wait.

The first big cake I made was for my father’s 50th birthday, several months ago, two layer chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream and meringue hidden inside, decorated with mascarpone icing and marzipan roses. As my parents were in heaven, I decided that this is kind of thing to do for my whole life: make people’s faces brighten and their lips smile and their eyes shine. The magic of handmade and pretty (but that’s not so necessary) food is astounding and I want to be the magician.

The cake that’s on photos below is somehow similar to that one months ago. It was made foe my best friend’s coming-of-age party. It’s yellow sponge cake, vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, peaches hidden inside and fondant roses. Of course the biggest problem was not making the cake, but transporting it, luckily not far away and everything went okay. She was so happy to see the cake, it’s the most amazing feeling for me too, to satisfy someone. We hugged for so long then, ahh. She moved to Ireland nearly three years ago so I get to see her only during holidays (that was when her birthday is, too) so it was even more intense and dear to us both. It was a lovely lovely paty, back in August, we sat till 3 a.m. next to fire and talked with her sisters. At the end we put all remaining branches into the fire and it shot 3 meters high, huge and hot and lovely, smoke serpents slithering around pine treetops. I wish rare summer days like that would last forever.



She is coming back to Poland in a week and I can't wait. And make real princess fairy Marie Antoinette feast.