Financiers aux framboises...

I wanted to bake something more ‘autumnal’ today, but when I saw the recipe for raspberry and pistachio financiers, I just couldn’t resist them...

Financiers, also called friands are little almond tea cakes originating from France. I already posted a recipe for them once here. Unlike Donna Hay’s recipe which I had used back then, this recipe doesn’t use baking powder at all. The cakes come out even more delicious. Soft, delicate, spongy, just wonderful!!! Traditionally, financiers are baked in oval or rectangular molds resembling bars of gold, but since I don’t have them (yet), I used other molds instead.

The recipe comes from one of my favorite French food magazines Cuisine Gourmande.

Use real butter (no margarine) in this recipe. Cooked until golden brown it will add a light nutty flavor to the cakes. The raspberry - pistachio combination is truly delicious, but feel free to experiment with other fruit/nuts. The cakes taste delicious plain as well.

Raspberry- Pistachio Financiers

Makes 12 cakes

125 g raspberries
1 tbsp unsalted pistachios, shelled
125 g butter
100 g icing sugar
30 g flour
90 g almond meal
3 egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180°C). Grease 12 friand molds or other molds you use.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan; heat over low heat until it turns nutty brown and some of the milk solids separate. Leave to cool.
3. Sieve flour and icing sugar into a large bowl. Add almond meal and stir to combine.
4. Add egg whites, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add cooled butter and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
5. Spoon the batter into prepared molds. Press a few raspberries and pistachios into each cake.
6. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before unmolding.

Print the recipe

Przepis po polsku:
"Finansjerki" z malinami

Taste & Create

I’ve discovered this delicious salad recipe thanks to Nicole from For the Love of Food blog. Nicole has been hosting a food blog event Taste and Create, in which participants are paired together to try out a recipe from each other's blogs. Nicole has paired me with Johnny from Le Petit Kitchen blog. The blog was created only a month ago, so there weren't many recipes to choose. What’s made the choice even harder is that in most of the recipes there are no exact quantities of ingredients given. I’ve opted for salad as this is the kind of recipe in which you don’t really need exact quantities. Besides, making more salads was one of my New Year’s resolutions this year. Since I haven’t posted even one salad recipe on my blog yet, I thought this food blog event is just a perfect opportunity to start making some. The salad came out really delicious, light and very refreshing. I was actually surprised how well all the different flavors blended together. I’ll definitely make it again :)

Notes to the recipe: The original recipe (which can be found here) asked for blood oranges, but I used mandarin oranges instead; I also omitted the dill and used less lemon juice for the vinaigrette.

Californian Salad with Fruit and Goat Cheese

lettuce
pear
mandarin orange
goat cheese
pistachios, roughly chopped

balsamic vinegar

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE*
lemon juice
olive oil
dill (optional)

1. Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over low heat until thick . Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. Tear the lettuce into small pieces. Cut the pears and oranges, crumble the goat cheese.
3. To make the vinaigrette mix olive oil with lemon juice and dill.
4. Place the pears, oranges, crumbled goat cheese, and lettuce in a big bowl and toss gently.
5. Transfer the salad to plates, drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and balsamic vinegar.
6. Garnish with pistachios. Serve.

* I made vinaigreette using 1 part of oil to 4 parts of lemon.

Przepis po polsku:
Sałatka kalifornijska z owocami i kozim serem

Easter Braided Bread

This bread is something my family is always looking forward most on our Easter table. I made it first a few years ago using a recipe from a magazine – I can’t remember now what exactly was the magazine. The bread is truly wonderful, tender and fluffy; filled with a whole range of grains it’s just a wonderful combination of textures and flavors.


Easter Braided Bread

600 g flour
20 g fresh yeast (also known as compressed yeast or cake yeast)
2 tbsp sugar
1- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
375 ml (1 ½ cup) slightly warm water

100 g carrots, grated
2 tbsp pistachios, chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 tbsp finely ground almonds
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Crumble the yeast in a large bowl. Add 100 g of flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar and all the water. Stir to combine. Cover with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside for 30 min.
2. In a big bowl combine the remaining flour, sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Fold in the yeast mixture; knead to form dense, smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for another 30 min.
3. When the dough’s doubled in size, knead for 1-2 minutes, then divide into three equal parts.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
5. Combine the grated carrots, pistachios, lemon juice, and ginger together. Add to one part of the dough, knead until the carrots are incorporated. Add more flour if sticky.
6. Knead the second part of the dough with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds and the third part with ground almonds and sesame seeds.
7. Roll each piece into a long strand. Lay the strands side by side and gently braid them.
8. Place the woven dough in a wreath shape on a greased cookie sheet, tucking the ends under. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
9. Brush with water. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Przepis po polsku:
Wielkanocny warkocz

Lemon White Chocolate and Pistachio Cake

This is a wonderful cake, light, tender and very moist. The sweet taste of white chocolate is a perfect complement to the refreshing flavor of the lemon. Besides, white chocolate pairs incredibly well with pistachios; It makes just a perfect combination of textures and flavors, elegant and absolutely delicious!!!

The inspiration for the cake comes from Chatelaine magazine, the August 2007 issue. In the original recipe (which you can find here), it was actually called a loaf and was made without chocolate at all. Since I wanted to make a cake rather than a bread, I decided to add some white chocolate to the recipe. It adds extra sweetness and provides a little bit of richness to the cake.

Note's to the recipe: I like pistachios with white chocolate most. If you aren’t into white chocolate much, you can use milk chocolate instead. If you decide to omit the chocolate completely, add 1/2 cup of sugar more to the batter for the right sweetness. This cake will keep well at room temperature 1 day, refrigerated up to a week or frozen up to 2 months. Enjoy!!!

Lemon White Chocolate and Pistachio Cake

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemon
1 cup (250 ml) coarsely chopped shelled pistachios
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup for the glaze
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup (150 ml) milk
100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Grease lightly a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl stir flour with baking powder and salt. Grate peel from lemon, then stir in. Coarsely chop nuts.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth.
4. Gradually beat in 1 cup (250 ml) sugar until well mixed, 2 minutes.
5. Gradually add the eggs and beat well until light and fluffy.
6. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk.
7. Add chocolate and nuts and mix until ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix.
8. Pour batter into pan, bake until deep golden brown and a cake tester or skewer inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, squeeze 3 tbsp (45 ml) juice from lemon into a small bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup (50 ml) sugar. It won't completely dissolve.
10. When loaf is baked, remove pan to a rack. Using a cake tester or skewer, immediately poke several holes in top of loaf. Brush or drizzle half of lemon glaze over hot loaf. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove the loaf. Carefully turn upside down. Evenly brush or drizzle remaining lemon glaze overtop.

Przepis po polsku:
Ciasto cytrynowe z białą czekoladą i pistacjami