Cookie With Dry Fruits

This is my own recipe to make a light, guilt-free cookie. Using only olive oil, rye flour and little sugar, mixing the dry fruits into the batch, creates a really light, really yummy, perfect-with-coffee cookies. :)

Ingredients: 
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup milk
6 dry figs 
6 dry apricots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
1/2 cup brewed, cold tea 
1 level teaspoon cinnamon 
1 packet baking powder (2 teaspoons)
2 and 1/2 cups rye flour 

How to:
1. Chop the dry figs and apricots into small pieces and soak in the tea. 

2.Whisk the eggs with oil and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients to have a soft and a bit sticky cookie dough. If your dough is too sticky, you can add some flour; if it is too tough add some olive oil and milk. Do not add all of the tea with the fruits; just 2 or 3 tablespoons will be enough.

3. Take small pieces of dough and round them in your palm. Put onto a baking sheet, then bake in the 170 degree oven for 12 - 14 minutes. Do not overbake them as they will get very hard to bite. Eat and enjoy!

Mum's Cookies With Raisins

Traditional Turkish mum's cookies with raisins and walnuts; perfect for kids to have after school. I know because that was what I would do! =)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
2 - 3 cups flour (enough to make a soft but not sticky dough)
1 packet baking powder
1 packet vanilla
3/4 cup raisins
Walnuts (cut in half)

How to:
1. Whisk two eggs together; seperate the other egg and put the egg yolk aside and add the egg white into the two eggs. Then add yoghurt, oil, sugar and make a runny mixture.  

2. Add a cup of flour first; then add another cup of flour with baking powder and vanilla. Combine well. If the dough is still very sticky, keep on adding flour little by little until you have a soft and not-so-sticky dough. This is traditional home-baking recipe, so there is no set amount, you have to trust your instincts.

3. Lastly mix your raisins with the dough and make big round lumps. Mix the egg yolk that we set aside earlier, and brush the cookies with it. Press half a walnut on top of each cookie.

4. Bake in the 170 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until they have a golden colour. Leave to cool and serve on the same day. Keeps for a week outside the fridge; can be kept in the freezer as well. Eat and enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients:

175 gr butter (room temperature)
100 gr caster sugar
2 eggs
3 medium size carrots, grated
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Juice and zest of 1/2 orange
1/4 cup milk
175 gr flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
Orange zest, grated carrot or walnut halves to decorate 

For the icing:
100 gr cream cheese
200 gr icing sugar
1 teaspoon orange juice

How to:

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees, prepare the muffin tin with cupcake liners. This recipe makes around 16 cupcakes.  

2. Cream the butter with sugar, add the eggs and keep whisking.

3. Add the grated carrots, orange zest, orange juice, milk and walnuts and fold with a spatula. Finally sift in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well.

4. Distribute with a metal spoon into the cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes. 

5. Leave to cool once they are baked and meanwhile, make the icing by mixing the cream cheese with a splash of orange juice and plenty of icing sugar. Serve when completely cool. Eat and enjoy! 

Orange and Chocolate Sandwich Cake

Ingredients:
2 x 20 cm round sandwich cake tins
175 gr butter (room temperature)
150 gr flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (25 gr) 
1 packet baking powder
1 cup of sugar (the original recipe asks for 175 gr but I lowered it a bit)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of milk
2 tablespoons of chocolate covered orange peels 
1 orange
140 gr chocolate spread
Icing sugar to decorate 

How to:

1. We start with heating the oven to 175 degrees and greasing our baking tins. Then we whisk the eggs.

2. Add the butter, sugar and cocoa onto the eggs and keep on whisking. 

3. Now, sift the flour with the baking powder and grate the orange rinds into the mixture; add the chocolate covered orange peels with the milk and fold well.

4. Pour the batter equally into to sanwich tins. Bake for 25 minutes in 175 degrees. It should rise evenly.

5. To make a simple decoration for the cake, make some candied orange. Slice the orange and put into a sauce pan with 2 tablespoons of sugar and three tablespoons of water. Boil until they caramelize, set aside to cool.

6. Take the cakes out of the oven, leave to cool. When they are completely cooled down, we can begin layering.

7.Put the first layer of the cake onto the plate and spread the chocolate spread generously. Put the other half of the cake on top and decorate with icing sugar by using stencils to make nice white shapes. 

8. Add the orange candies for a colourful look; eat and enjoy!

Turkish Delight Surprise Cookies

There is a beauty hidden inside these fluffy tiny cookies: rose flavoured Turkish delights.Very easy to make this is such a good homebaking recipe and perfect for tea or coffee time. :)

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 
150 gr butter
3 tablespoons yoghurt 
1egg
2 tablespoons icing sugar
Rose flavoured Turkish delight

Icing sugar or ground pistachio nuts to decorate

How to:

1. Mix the room temperature butter, icing sugar, flour, baking powder, yoghurt and egg to make a soft dough. If your dough feels dry, you can add a little bit of water to soften it. Do not mess with the cookie dough too much.

2. Cut the Turkish delights into quarters, heat the oven and start making the cookies. 

3. Take a piece of dough and roll it into your hand. Press with your index finger to make a dent and place a Turkish delight piece inside, then fold the dough over, cover it and pinch to seal. Turn the cookie round and put it onto the tray so that the pinched side comes at the bottom.

4. Bake in the 180 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown at the bottom and on the sides.  These small cookies don't need too much baking really, they are pretty quick.

5. Leave to cool and then decorate with icing sugar or ground pistachios. Eat and enjoy! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Ring Cake

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 big slice of pumpkin (boiled) or preserved pumpkin 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil  
1/4 cup yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 packet of baking soda 
1 1/2 cups of flour
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup of chocolate chips 

For the ganache:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips parça çikolata
2 tablespoons double cream

How to

1. Heat the oven (175 degrees), grease the ring cake tin and start beating the eggs with the sugar. 

2. Once incorporated add the preserved or boiled pumpkins (grated or crushed), oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, yoghurt and mix thoroughly.  

3. Sift the flour with salt and baking soda, beat into the mix and the cake batter is almost ready.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula, pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes. 

5. Leave the cake to cool for 5 minutes, then take it out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and the cream, stir inside a metal bowl to lower the temperature of the chocolate a little bit. It has to be very thick but still liquid. You can pour it over your cooled cake now.  

6. Decorate generously with more chocolate chips and serve. Eat and enjoy! 

Quick Courgette Bars In The Oven

This is the third time I am trying courgette patty mixture in the oven. Each time it gets better and this time it is only courgettes with some strong village bread crumbs. A nice garnish for dinners as well as a light snack with cheese or yoghurt.

Ingredients:
5 courgettes
2 eggs
2 big slices of stale whole wheat village bread
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
Dry and fresh mint 

How to:

1. Grate the courgettes. Put the bread slices into a food processor and prepare bread crumbs.

2. Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a rectangular shaped oven tray, press with a spoon. Bake for 40-45 minutes in medium heat and serve when warm or cold.  That's all! Eat and enjoy!

Don't worry about the courgettes leaking water because it makes it delicious and after some time in the oven the water gives good moisture and stops the batter to become dry and boring.

 

Traditional British Tea Time: Crumpets

A wonderful and meticulous recipe from the British teatime tradition. Perfect for afternoons, for kids after school or for big family breakfasts. Crumpets are neither like crepes, nor like waffles, they are totally original yumminess. If you have doubts throughout or if you question whether it will be worth all the hassle, trust me, it does! Takes about a couple of hours to make, just beware.

Ingredients:
350 gr white flour
15 gr dry yeast
1 teaspoon icing sugar or caster sugar
350 ml warm milk
150-200 ml warm water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
Oil
4 10 cm metal rings  

How to:

1. Take the flour into a deep bowl and mix with the dry yeast. 

2. Melt the sugar inside warm milk and add into the flour, immediately start mixing with a wooden spoon. You need to keep mixing for about 5 minutes. This step is very important as it will help make the air bubbles while the dough is frying on the pan.

3. Cover with a cling film and leave to rest for about an hour. The dough will rise, then will start shrinking back. You can see it from the stain on the bowl's edge.

Waiting for the first hour to rise. 

4. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with warm milk and beat into the risen dough slowly. Do not add the water all at once; pour and mix little by little until it becomes creamy. Then, cover and rest for another 20 minutes.

5. Now you have to have a big fluffy dough with plenty of air bubbles inside (seen on the surface). 

6. Grease the metal tins. Put some oil in the pan and spoon two or three tablespoons of the mixture into the round metal tins. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until the bubbles rise and the surface at the bottom is flat. Turn over slowly.

 Ready to be turned over.
I tried two different sizes of tins and decided the 10 cm one is perfect. 

7. Serve when hot and always with butter and jam and/or honey. If you are not going to serve it immediately, you can always warm your crumpets in the toaster. It can be consumed the next day as well. Enjoy!

Dutch Apple Pie

Autumn's specialty: Apple Pie. But which apple pie, as there are many different ways of making it? Full American pie? Or British? Pie with crumble topping or with braided pie crust? I never knew there was a Dutch apple pie type but my husband asked for it, so I researched. In Dutch apple pie, you don't use cinnamon, which for me is pretty difficult because I believe that apple and cinnamon are two peas in a pod. But for people who don't like the taste of cinnamon (yes there are a few people like that), this recipe works perfect. All we need is a bit of oatmeal for the crust and the pie is ready in 15 minutes. :) This is the easiest, quickest and yummiest apple pie.
 

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup melted butter

For the pie filling:
2/3 cup sugar
3 level tablespoons cornstarch
1 and 1/4 cups of cold water
3 big sweet apples (cored and diced)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or cinnamon if you like) 

How to:

1. First, melt the butter and mix with flour, brown sugar, oatmeal in a deep bowl. Seperate one cup of the pie crust to use for the topping.

2. Lightly grease a pie dish with butter and spread the crust firmly and press with your hands. 

3. For the filling, put the water, cornstarch and sugar in a sauce pot and start heating. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.

4. Peel and chop the apples and add into the sauce. Normally, Dutch apple pie doesn't have cinnamon in it but at this stage I added some. You can only go for vanilla extract if you like. 

5. Pour the apple pie filling onto the crust and spread the remaining crust with your hands to cover the pie.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven, 175 degrees for 45 minutes and serve when warm. Eat and enjoy!

 

  

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
20 cm round cake tin
7 slices of preserved pineapples in syrup
50 gr butter
50 gr brown sugar 
7 glacé cherries

100 gr flour
100 gr sugar
100 gr butter
1 packet of baking powder
1 packet of sugar vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of preserved pineapple juice or just pineapple juice
2 eggs

How to:

1. Mix the room temperature (50 gr) butter with the brown sugar until creamy.

2. Spread this cream onto the base of the oven tray and line 7 slices of pineapple with the glacé cherries in the middle.

3. Mix the cake ingredients in a deep bowl until very well combined. Pour over the pineapples, level with a spatula.

4. Bake in the 180 degrees oven for 35 minutes; leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn it upside down on a serving dish and serve while still warm. Eat and enjoy!