Spiced caramelized Apple butter cake

Renders approx a square baking pan 30cmx20cm x5 cm high, a

bout 15 big brownie size squares.

For the caramelized apples

6 Granny apples

100 grs sugar

(optional) brandy or irish cream to taste

1/4 cup water

cinamon

ginger

nutmeg

For the cake

180 grs butter - room temp.

280 grs flour, sifted

6 med eggs

200 grs sugar

Baking powder , about 1 tablespoon

1 cup corn starch

drizzle vainila

(optional) ginger for the dough to taste.

irish cream or brandy

a bit of milk to soften dough only if necessary.

Caramelized apples

• Place sugar on a non stick pan over medium fire, and do not remove until it starts melting.
• Add liquor if desired and a bit of hot water. (watch not to get burned)
• Add spices and sliced apples. (if you are preparing the apples ahead, leave them in a bowl with water and lemon juice to avoid browning).
• Let simmer for about 5 min if apples are medium thick sliced, or 3 mins if they are thinly sliced. Turn heat off and let there until they finish cooking by the temperature in the caramel.

For the butter cake.

• Start by preheating oven at 160C and butter & flour a baking pan.
• Using electric mixer, Cream together butter and sugar until they turn to a light yellow color.
• Add eggs one by one beating very well in between each one.
• Add vainila and liquor if desired.
• Sift together baking powder, flour and cornstarch and mix in dry ingredients in the eggs and butter mixture. Keep beating with electric mixer.
• Dough consistency should be like any brownie or buttercake preparation, so add some milk if necessary.

Lay the caramelized apples on the bottom of the pan and pour dough over them.

Cook at 160C until done, use a brochette stick to stick in the cake. It should come out clear and dry.

Turn off the oven and let cool inside the oven with the door slightly opened for about 20 mins to avoid the center of the cake from falling down.

it is delicious to have this cake warm with a nice cup of coffee.

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More "cooking the ideas"

Hi,

I have been having some problems lately with the blogger platform so I did some research and found Tumblr a nice place to post stuff.

I have been doing a test blog there with random posts but since I liked it I decided to keep it.

So for the time being I have the two blogs. They are not paralell, which means the content is not the same, so you can pay a visit ocasionally to the Tumblr site to see what´s going on.

Tumblr has a very nice feature which is send posts via email. Blogger has it too but Tumblr´s email works best with my mobile software. As it is easier for me to post via email sometimes, you may find th

at tumblr has newer posts than blogger.

Tumblr´s site is not only about cooking but also about photography and life. So I post there a lot of quotes I like as well as some of my own. I also post amazing pictures about world places or nature which I take or which I find around through other tumblers.

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Energizing Homemade Cereal Bars

These cereal bars are healthy and full of energy. Thus they are easily made at home in 5 simple steps, no baking or cooking needed.

You can use any cereals you like for this recipe.

I used Granola (Muesli), almonds, caju nuts, and Nestle Fitness Fruit cereals and some choco chips for fun.

The reason I used these cereals was because they were already in my pantry. The Nestle Fitness Fruity cereals gave a really nice flavor as they have tiny bits of papaya, pineapple and other fruits which gave a good acid contrast to the toasted flavor and sweetness of the bars.

The quantities are approx, so dont worry if you cant meassure everything perfectly.

Ingredients

1 cup Granola/Muesli

1/2 cup toasted nuts, chopped (e.g caju, almonds, pecans, etc)

2 cups Nestle Fitness Fruit cereals (or mix of corn, rice, oat or any other cereals)

Optional: toasted coconut, dried cranberries or other dried fruits, chocolate chips, etc.

80 grs butter

180 grs regular sugar

80 grs good quality honey.

Step by Step:

1- On medium flame, place a pan and add butter sugar and honey (all together). Stir with wooden spoon until sugar is melted.

2- Turn flame off and add all the cereals, fruits & nuts (if you chose to add choco chips, do not add them at this stage). Stir in all ingredients.

3- While still hot, pour the mix over a baking pan covered with wax paper-to avoid sticking to the pan- . (no need to grease the wax paper). Spread the mixture and gently press it with a wooden spoon so as to "pack" it a little bit.

4- Wait until the preparation is almost at room temperature to add choco chips if you chose to include them. In this way you will avoid melting the chips.

5- Let sit for 30 mins. Take out the wax paper with the cereal block from the baking pan, and cut in bars or squares using a sharp knife.

This quantity makes about 18 bars (1ocm long x 2 cm high)

Keep in dry container or wrap and give away to your friends.

Enjoy!!

Morning Cous Cous with almonds, coconut and honey

This is an original recipe which can be used as dessert or breakfast

From The taste space

Morning Couscous with Almonds, Coconut and Honey

1 cup Israeli couscous
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
Dash of salt

1. Toast the almonds in a skillet over medium heat for 7-9 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2. Toast couscous in a skillet over medium heat until lightly toasted.

2. Pour coconut milk in a small saucepan and heat until almost boiling, but not quite. Add toasted couscous, honey, and dash of salt and stir quickly. Cover the pot and remove from heat; let sit for 15 minutes. During this time, the couscous will absorb the liquid. Once couscous has absorbed all of the liquid, add in the roasted almonds and shredded coconut and a dash more honey to taste (depends on how sweet you like it).

Serves 4.

Melon Martini

A refreshing summer recipe from ZTastyLife

Honeydew melon martini
Recipe inspired by a cocktail of mixologist Raafet Olian
2 ounces of vodka
1/2 ounce of Midori (a melon-flavored liqueur)
1/2 ounce of honeydew melon puree
1/2 lemon
1/2 tablespoon of honey
1 ounce of Champagne or sparkling wine

To make the honeydew puree, put peeled melon pieces in the blender and blender until smooth. Pass the blended mixture through a fine sieve and retain only the juice. In a cocktail shaker filled halfway with cracked ice, combine the vodka, Midori, honeydew puree and honey. Add one half teaspoon of juice from the lemon. Shake the drink vigorously, and strain it into a chilled Martini glass.Top this mixture with the Champagne, and garnish it with a slice of honeydew.

Grilled Corn Soup

From Silk Routes

Ingredients

• 1/4 kg medium shrimps, heads separated
• 5 cups water
• 2 ears of corn with husk
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 100 g pork belly chopped
• 2 bacon strips
• 1 onion bulb chopped
• 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes chopped
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 sprigs cilantro (optional)

Method

Make the shrimp stock by boiling all the shrimp heads in 5 cups of water. Reduce until stock is about 3 cups. If you have a potato masher start squeezing out the yummy juices out of those heads. You know you’re in good shape when you see an orange film on top of the stock. Peel the remaining bodies.

Meanwhile, soak the corn in water for about 10 minutes. The wet husk prevents it from burning easily and helps steam the corn. Place the corn on a high heat grill, turning the cob every so often to cook evenly. Grill the corn until the husk is well charred to induce that smoky aroma. Peel the husk off and grate the kernels. You may chop the kernels further if you don’t want them chunky.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the butter and oil. Render the fat of the pork belly and bacon for 7-10 minutes. Throw in the onions, garlic and tomatoes and saute until onion is translucent. Pour in the stock and corn. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot and top it with cilantro.

Lemon Sunrise

Ingredients

Ice
1.5 oz limoncello
4.5 oz freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3 juice oranges)
splash of rose grenadine

Fill a high ball with ice. Pour the limoncello and orange juice into the glass. Top with a splash of grenadine, but don’t stir if you want the “sunrise” effect. Let it settle to the bottom. Serves 1.