Sweet Coffee Bar

This is a very old recipe that I have tried many years ago. Today I found it in an old recipe book and felt so nostalgic that I had to bake it. And this time, I added a little touch. You need to use Turkish coffee or Espresso with this recipe, but instant coffee will also do.

Ingredients
For the cake :
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
1 egg
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts
1 1/2 espresso cups of water 
1/2 espresso cup of Turkish coffee (without sugar) 
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of salt

For the icing:
115 gr icing sugar
2 tablespoons of milk
1 packet sugar vanilla

How to:
1. Beat the egg with the sugar and (room temperature) butter.

2. Continue mixing and gradually add the flour, baking powder, raisins, hazelnuts, water, coffee, cinnamon and salt at the same time. 

3. Spread the mixture evenly onto a square or round cake tin  and bake in the 175 degree oven for 22 minutes.

4. Leave to cool and make the icing. Once the coffee cake has completely cooled down, spread the icing evenly and serve. Eat and enjoy!

For Babies: Lentil Soup With Carrots

For babies 8 months and up.

Ingredients:
1 small carrot
1/2 cup red lentils
1 small onion
3 cups water
1 soup spoon unsalted butter

How to:
1. Chop the carrots and boil them together with chopped onions and red lentils. Lower the temperature when it starts boiling and cook for half an hour.

2. Once the carrots are soft and the lentil is cooked, turn off the heat and add butter. Mix well and serve warm.

This is a very good soup for adults, too, with a bit of salt, pepper and dry mint. Eat and enjoy!

Filo Rolls With Caramelised Onions and Mushrooms

This is a very easy vegetarian and vegan recipe. You can also add chicken into it.

Ingredients:
1 medium size onion
500 gr mushrooms
1 (espresso) cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt, pepper
2 sheets of filo pastry
Olive oil

How to:
1. Chop the onions and fry at a low temperature until soft and sweet. Add the chopped mushrooms and increase the heat.

2. Add the raisins, cinnamon, turmeric, salt and pepper and cook until everything is tender. Then, leave to cool.

3. Spread the filo sheet on a clean surface and sprinkle with some extra virgin olive oil and water. Fold it in half and spread the mushrooms on the longer side. Roll it carefully and roll into itself like a coil.

This is from my Snapchat account (bigeturan); follow me for more recipes and tips! 

4. Repeat the same for the second filo sheet. You can increase the amount of the mushroom stuffing and use more filo pastries.

5. Take your pastries onto a tray and brush with olive oil, then sprinkle some water to make it crispy. Sprinkle some sesame seeds to decorate. Bake in the pre-heated oven of 175 degrees Celsius for 45 min. Eat and enjoy!

Summer Vegetables Quiche

This is a practical and easy recipe that I improvised on the go. The result was really tasty and light.

Ingredients:
4-6 portions

1 fresh courgette
1 red pepper
5-6 spring onions
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
Salt, pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
Grated cheese (any type of melting cheese you like; I used fresh Turkish kasar cheese)
Olive oil

How to:
1. Wash and chop the courgette, red pepper and spring onions and fry them in olive oil for 5-10 minutes until they soften. Put them in a small rectangular dish and leave aside.

2. In another big bowl, whisk the eggs with flour, milk, salt, pepper, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, nutmeg and a little bit of olive oil. Mix them until well combined.

3. Pour the batter over the vegetables and mix lightly with a spatula. Bake in the pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes.

4. Take the quiche out and spread the grated cheese, then bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve when warm with a bit of fresh greens. Eat and enjoy!

                                    

Quick Pumpkin Bread

Good morning! Been such a long time but from now on, I will be more hardworking to share my recipes here as well. I need your support! Here goes a very simple, quick bread recipe. It takes only 15-20 minutes to prep and 30 min to bake. So if you have a leftover slice of pumpkin or squash, go for bread baking this Sunday.

Ingredients:

300 gr flour
100 gr wholemeal or rye flour
1 packet (7 gr) of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
130 gr grated pumpkin or squash
300 gr buttermilk (or add a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice into 300 gr of milk)

How to:

1.Start by heating your oven to 220C. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt) (Make the buttermilk in another bowl if you don't have buttermilk.)

2. Add the grated pumpkin into the dry ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon, try not to have big clumps left.

3. Then make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the buttermilk. This time mix everything with your hands to form a sticky dough.

4. Take the dough onto a clean, floured surface and knead for 2-3 min until it comes together. If you need, add some more flour at this stage.

5. Form the dough into a big ball and put on a tray. Score with a knife to make it rise easily.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven of 220C for half an hour. Once it's risen and brown, it is ready. Enjoy!

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.