This is a famous French dessert made of ladyfinger biscuits, light mousse and topped with fresh fruits. My Berry Charlotte Cake is very easy to make, although it seems like not. The only downside to a charlotte is that it is not always easy to assemble the ladyfinger in the spring form.
Berry Charlotte Cake
Even though the berry season is only a few months out of the year, frozen berries allow us enjoying the sweet taste of summer year round.
If it is winter time or you happen to not finding any good berries at the store, use frozen ones, for the mousse and fresh ones for the decor.
Ingredients
- 500 g berries raspberries, strawberries or blackberries…
- 50-70 g sugar
- 500 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 8 g gelatin
- 24 Ladyfingers
For decoration
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- Fresh berries
- Fresh mint optional
- whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Rinse and drain berries, add sugar and puree until smooth.
- Pass the puree through a fine sieve, to remove all tiny seeds.
- You will need about 1/2 cup of puree for dipping the ladyfingers. The rest pour into the saucepan.
- Add 4-5 Tbsp of cold water to gelatin, and set it aside.
- Place the saucepan with berry mixture over medium heat on the stove (don’t boil), remove from the stove and add gelatin. Whisk well until the gelatin is dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature. …
- Pour the very cold heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and whisk, until the cream reaches the soft peaks stage. Do not over beat!
- Once the berry puree is completely at room temperature, gently fold it into the whipped cream and set it aside.
- Line the inside and walls of a springform pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap. …
- Measure the length you need.
- You can trim off one end of each ladyfinger.
- Dip one side of the ladyfinger in the puree mixture. Let the excess syrup drip off, then line the ladyfingers (dipped side needs to be inside) in a tight ring, cut side down, around the spring form pan.
- If you having trouble fitting the last ladyfinger in, you can cut it in half.
- Pour the berry mousse into the springform. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
- Carefully remove springform walls and plastic wrap. Transfer cake to the plate.
- Dust with cocoa powder.
- Garnish with some fresh berries, fresh mint, whipped cream and shredded chocolate.
- You can decorate with ribbon, but don’t forget to remove the ribbon before cutting the cake. 🙂
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This post was posted in Desserts
Chocolate Chip and Nut Cookies
Excellent Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. I’ve tried a lot of different chocolate chip cookie recipes, and this one is the best one by far. They have the right balance of flavor and texture. My kids remove them from the oven as soon as the edges turn gold. They don’t look done when they are, so be carefully not to burn the bottoms.
Chocolate Chip and Nut Cookies
Dough balls may be frozen, which is very convenient when you have someone coming over. Don’t forget to add some extra time to the baking.
Ingredients
- 225 g butter softened
- 100 g brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar (optional)
- 100 g sugar
- 330 g all purpose flour sifted
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 350 g chocolate chips
- 50 g walnuts
- 50 g hazelnuts
- 50 g almonds
- 50 g pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla sugar.
- Add eggs.
- Little by little add sifted flour ,mixed with salt and baking soda.
- Add chocolate chips and mix well.
- Spoon out the cookie dough using a cookie scoop(use your hand if you don’t have cookie spoon) and place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Divide the nuts and seeds on top of the each cookie and gently press down on the dough ball to flatten slightly.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set but the middle is still soft.
- Let cool cookies for few minutes then transfer them with a spatula to a rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy it with glass of milk or your favorite tea.
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This post was posted in Desserts
Pork Schnitzel
Schnitzel is the German word for “cutlet”, which is usually made with veal and is thinly pounded, breaded and fried in oil. I make my Schnitzel with pork and it tastes just amazing, soft inside and crispy outside.
Pork Schnitzel
The trick to a tender, juicy schnitzel is not cutting the meat super thin, but rather using a meat tenderizer to pound the meat down to a 1/4 inch thickness.
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cut the meat into 6 equal pieces. Place each piece between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of meat tenderizer, until about 1/4 inch thick.
- You will need four large dinner plates: In the first plate, combine together flour, salt and pepper. Whisk eggs and milk in the second plate. In your third plate stir together paprika with bread crumbs. And one empty plate.
- Dip each piece of meat one by one into the egg mixture.
- Then dip into flour.
- And again into egg mixture.
- Then into bread crumbs.
- Place your coated schnitzel on the plate number four.
- Pour oil into a large skillet about 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, carefully lay in each prepared schnitzel, cooking one at a time. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes. Turn it over to brown the other side.
- Transfer to paper towel. Repeat with remaining pork slices.
- Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Fresh whipped cream with blackberries
Treat yourself with this mini dessert that is perfect for any occasion. It takes minimum time to make and looks fabulous. Fruits can be fresh or frozen, don’t worry : it will taste the same. This fresh whipped cream with blackberries will be perfect with a cafe gourmand!
Fresh whipped cream with blackberries
The proportion for this recipe is for the mini glasses. If you are using regular wine glasses you’ll get 2-3 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream very cold
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Whip heavy cream fluffy, until soft peaks form, but not too firm.
- Equally divide washed fruits into prepared glasses. Using the piping bag or small spoon, equally spread the cream into the glasses. Refrigerate if not serving it immediately.
- Before serving, dust it with cacao powder.
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Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup has always been one of my favorite soups, for fall and winter. Every time I make this soup it makes the house smell deliciously welcoming. What make this soup special, is that I use Homemade noodles. You can add store bough ones, but it just wouldn’t taste the same.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken throughly washed
- 5 quarts cold water
- 1/2 onion
- 1 bay leaf `
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 cup homemade noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
- Fresh dill
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large soup pot. Add water, onion, bay leaf, dried rosemary, black peppercorn and salt. Cover with lid, bring the water to boil and simmer over medium low heat.
- If you see the scum on your broth, remove it with slotted spoon.
- Cook for 90 minutes, until chicken is tender and easily comes off the bone.
- Transfer chicken to a large dish.
- Strain the broth into a large bowl.
- Wash your soup pot and pour broth back to a pot.
- Add carrots. Bring to a boil.
- Add the homemade noodles to the pot, turn the heat up to high and boil noodles until tender (about 7 minutes).
- Using two forks, pull the meat from the bone and shred it slightly.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot when there is about 2 minutes left for the noodles to cook.
- Add fresh dill, salt and pepper to taste.
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This post was posted in Soups
Homemade Egg Noodles
Absolutely love these Homemade Egg Noodles! My sisters and I used to make them together when we were growing up. They are fabulous with chicken stock, or homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.
Homemade Egg Noodles
If it’s anyone’s first time for making egg noodles, add the extra water or flour bits at a time until you get a dough that you can knee very easy and it will smooth out nice, when rolling on the floured surface.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (more flour for rolling)
Instructions
- Use a fork to beat the eggs, until smooth. Add salt and buttermilk and whisk. Stir in flour, one spoon at a time, until the dough come together in a ball.
- Flour a flat surface and roll the dough out.
- Once the dough reaches 1/4 inches thickness, use a sharp knife or pizza cutting wheel to cut the dough. You can cut them as wide or narrow as you like, but cut them as evenly as possible ensure uniform cooking time.
- Dust with a little flour and spread to dry.
- Let the noodles dry for 2-3 hours.
- Cook in 3 quarts boiling salted water for 5 minutes or until tender.
- Drain and serve with butter.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
French Chocolate Macarons
French Chocolate Мacarons (Macarons au chocolat) – elegant french cookie made with almond flour. There are hundreds of different fillings, but the chocolate ganache is the most popular. This recipe is simple enough to make, but they sometimes crack or have imperfect “feet”. Don’t worry they’re still delicious, and don’t give up, only practice will make them flawless.
Perfect for a cafe gourmand!
French Chocolate Macarons
Please don’t eat your macarons right away, wait until they reach ambient temperature. Macarons can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 days. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Almond cookies
- 75 g almond flour
- 110 g powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp cacao powder
- 2 large egg whites (about 70 g)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 50 g sugar
Chocolate ganache
- 100 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%)
- 90 g chocolate chips (60%)
- 1 tsp sour cream
Instructions
Almond cookies
- Mix almond flour and powdered sugar in food processor (20-30 seconds).
- Add cacao powder to almond mixture and pass through a fine sieve.
- Add a pinch of salt to egg whites and beat until foamy.
- Slowly add sugar and beat until firm peaks form.
- Fold the dry mixture into the meringue, keep folding the batter until it reaches a honey-like consistency.
- Transfer the batter to the pastry bag.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. To make all macarons look the same size, print out a 2.5 cm macaron template, place under parchment paper and trace the outlines. You can also use a silicone mat.
- Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe circles. Tap the baking sheet a few times on the counter to release any air bubbles, and to make them look round. Let them sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, until skin forms on the shells.
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F. Bake for 15 minutes (one sheet at a time). Each oven temperature is different so keep an eye on them. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. Pair the cookies up according to size.
Chocolate ganache
- Add heavy cream to a small saucepan and heat on high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips. Allow to stand for 1 minute to soften the chocolate.
- Stir briskly until smooth.
- Add the sour cream and stir again.
- Transfer ganache to the pastry bag or small ziplock bag. Allow to cool for about 2 hours at room temperature or 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Pipe the ganache filling in the middle of one shell (about 1 tsp).
- Sandwich it with empty shell. Store them in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours before serving. They’ll taste even better next day. 😉
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Coconut Cookies with Hazelnuts
Very light, melting in your mouth, make these coconut cookies with shredded coconut and crushed hazelnuts. Works perfectly for gluten free diet. You may want to double the recipe as one batch never seems to be enough. You can freeze the leftovers in a plastic container.
Coconut cookies with hazelnuts
You can use walnuts or pecans.
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1 pinch of salt
- 120 g sugar
- 150 g shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 50 g crushed hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.
- Combine egg whites and salt in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold in coconut and hazelnut.
- Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Garnish each cookie with half hazelnut. I bake one baking sheet at a time, for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and try if the cookie is ready. Cool for about 3 minutes and transfer them onto the serving plate.
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Turkey and Cheese Quiche
Turkey and Cheese Quiche, this french recipe originally comes with tuna. Since my kids don’t like tuna, I substituted it with turkey; but if you don’t have either of those, you can make it with chicken. Combination of cheese, eggs and sour cream always turns out tasty.
Turkey and Cheese Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 350 g Natural white turkey breast in water (drain)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp mustard
- 100 ml sour cream
- 200 g cheddar cheese shredded
- Salt and pepper to taste to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lay the puff pastry out on a baking sheet. Prick all over with fork.
- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, as it will have puffed up a bit.
- Meanwhile, using a fork mix turkey meat with mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the mustard across center.
- Spoon the turkey mix on top.
- Combine eggs with sour cream and mix together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over turkey.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until quiche is golden brown.
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This post was posted in Main Dish, Puff Pastry
Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini
This Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini almost didn’t make it to the dinner table. I could eat them all day. Everyday.
Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini
You can use french baguette or any brad that you like or have in your pantry.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 8 large baguette slices diagonally cut
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese soft
- 2 large avocados fully ripe
- 1 avocado sliced
- 8 Cherry tomatoes sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat the broiler.
- Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
- Broil turning the slices over once, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Halve two avocados lengthwise and remove pit; scoop the flesh into a small bowl, add cream cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
- Gently mash with a fork until spreadable.
- Spread the avocado mixture on the crostini, dividing evenly.
- Top each crostini with avocado slices and cherry tomatoes slices. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
This post was posted in Appetizers