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Cheese with quince paste and figs
Hi,
Both quince paste and figs are products very typical of autumn so I played a bit with them and get this dessert which is really simple, it takes just a few minutes to prepare and it’s delicious.
Ingredients:
- Feta cheese
- Quince paste
- Figs
Simply laminate the feta cheese. You can use other cheese but the salty taste of this cheese will make a great contrast of flavors. Laminate also the quince paste and place one sheet on top of a cheese sheet. Finally laminate a fig and place some pieces over the quince paste.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Panellets
Hello,
On 1st November it’s also a bank holiday in Spain, it’s now common to make some celebrations based on Halloween (or at least what we know about Halloween from TV and movies) like wearing like zombie on party, or kids asking for trick or treat on some homes. But it’s more common (at least in Catalania) to eat sweet potatoes or chestnuts roasted, with lot of places in the street offering them to you. Also is very traditional to buy panellets in bakeries, and this is the recipe I present to you today. They are absolutely delicious, easy to prepare, but they are not quick to cook.
Ingredients:
- 1 sweet potato or potato
- ½ kg icing sugar (or even regular sugar)
- ½ kg ground almonds
- 200 gr pine seeds
- 200 gr almond in small pieces
- Lemon zest
- 100 gr ground coconut
- 2 eggs
- Quince
So lets lets start boiling one sweet potato or regular potato in water for about half hour. Then wait about 25 minutes so you can peel the sweet potato easily and without burning your hands. Crush the sweet potato until you obtain a puree and place in a bowl. Add to the bowl lemon zest, ½ kg of icing sugar, ½ kg of ground almonds, a few drops of vanilla, and a whisked egg. Mix well everything until you obtain an homogeneous dough, then wrap it in transparent film and let rest in the fridge one night.
Next day divide the dough in 2, with one of the parts make small balls and reserve them. Divide again the remaining dough in two, to one of the parts add ground coconut, mix well and make a cylinder with the dough, cut in small pieces and with your hands give each piece conical shape. Add some flour on the surface you’re working and form a cylinder with the remaining dough, flatten the dough and place strips of quince all along the dough, then wrap the quince with the dough and cut in small pieces.
Now to make the almond panellets we will pass them through a whisked egg and then pass them through almond in very small pieces so this almond pieces stick to the ball. To make the pine seed panellets, pass the balls through the pine seed dish and press the pine seed against the ball so they stick to it. Just pass the quince panellets through the whisked egg. And with the coconut panellets pass each conical piece through egg and then spread ground coconut over them.
Finally before baking paint the almond and pine seeds panellets with whisked egg. Bake in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 18 minutes and then let rest at least 2 hours before eating them.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Chocolate buns
Hello,
In Spain there are a very popular chocolate buns called bollycao, specially popular on the youngest population, and on this recipe I emulate these popular chocolate buns. They taste truly amazing but there is a lot of work behind, having some robot to perform the kneading will be great to save a lot of time.
Ingredients (to obtain about 8 buns):
- 500 gr flour
- 400 gr milk
- 175 gr sugar
- 100 gr butter
- 300 gr chocolate
Let’s start preparing a preferment with 100 gr of flour, 5 gr of dry baker’s yeast (and if you have fresh baker’s yeast use about 15 gr dissolved in milk) and 100 gr of milk. Mix well and let rest all night cover with transparent film.
Next day add 400 gr of flour, 300 gr of milk, 175 gr of sugar and one tea spoon of salt. First mix everything in the bowl and then you should start to knead this dough, as you can see in the video this dough is like processed baby food really difficult to work due it’s high percentage of liquids. You can knead using the technique of lifting the dough, turn 90 degrees bash it to the table drag to you and fold over itself, after time and time it will become more handleable.
When the dough is quite handleable add 100 gr of butter, which must be some hours out of fridge. Integrate the butter in the dough and again it starts a knightmare in your kitchen, you will believe Gordon Ramsay will enter through your door and blame you for quite long. I took about 2 hours kneading, it is good to make some pauses like kneading 5 minutes, resting 5 minutes and knead again, these pauses help the dough to be more handleable. Of course if you have a food processor able to knead, it will save you lots of time. As a tip, to clean your hands, instead of water get some flour and rub your hands, this way the rests of dough in your hands will dry and will be easier to wash, avoiding also obstruct your pipes.
When you feel the dough is handleable enough, let rest covered with transparent film for at least 4 hours.
After resting knead again the dough, but just about one minute. Spread some flour over the surface, cut a bit of dough and extend it over the surface with flour, place over the dough pieces of chocolate and then wrap the cocholate with the dough and roll it to get the chocolate sealed. You can fill them with dark or white chocolate, even with frozen custard or a mix of them.
Finally bake in the oven at 430 F (220º C) for 12 minutes.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Chocolate and walnuts cookies
Hi,
It was a long time ago I did my first cookies, but for some reasons or other never end with a record session so I can upload the video. Sometimes there was a problem with the ingredients proportions, specially with the butter which (with that formula at least) to be added in a very exact measure: if not enough was added it did not melt enough in the oven so you get a spherical cookie, it too much was added then they melted too much until join all them in a super big cookie (of the size of the oven tray). With the recipe I present to you this time the result is pretty good and don’t need to worry about being so precise with the butter.
Ingredients (for about 25 – 30 cookies):
- 500 gr flour
- 1 lemon (for lemon zest)
- 100 gr sugar
- 80-120 gr chocolate
- 8-12 walnuts
- 4 eggs
- 100 gr butter
Before preparing the cookies dough we will chop 80-120 gr of chocolate and 8-12 walnuts. Chop both without chopping to the point they became dust. Regarding the walnuts I prefer to use nuts with shell, because I find some of the nuts without shell I bought had rancid flavor.
Now let’s prepare the dough adding on a bowl 500 gr of flour, 100 gr of sugar, 4 eggs (you can whisk them before adding), 100 gr of butter cut in small pieces and out of fridge for some hours so it will be integrated easier in the dough, add lemon zest to add extra flavor, you can replace or add also ground cinnamon, orange zest, vanilla extract (or even rum or Baileys). Finally add the already chopped chocolate and walnuts.
Mix well until everything is well integrated. When you have all the ingredients well integrated, give it a rectangular shape, cover with transparent film and let rest in the fridge for at least one hour. After resting cut the dough in small portions and give them spherical shape working them with your hands. Finally cover the oven tray with oven paper, smash all spherical portions to get a round cookie shape and place on the tray, probably you will need to bake them in several batches. Bake in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 18-20 minutes, and don’t eat them until some hours.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Bandullo
Hello,
This recipe it’s a kind of sponge cake replacing flour with bread (with some days), the result is an hybrid between a cake and torrijas, very interesting:
Ingredients:
- Bread (some days old)
- Lemon zest
- 50 gr butter
- 3 eggs
- 70 gr sugar
- ½ litre of milk
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking powder (aprox 16 gr)
On a blender cup add the bread and half litre of milk. Add also baking powder, 50 gr of butter, 70 grams of sugar, 3 eggs, some lemon zest and a bit of ground cinnamon. Mix well.
Add a bit of vegetable oil in the mold and paint all the mold with a brush. Add the mix on the mold and bake in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 40-45 minutes.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Coffee and walnuts sponge cake
Hi,
Some weeks ago while visiting a FNAC store I saw a book (Saved by cake) and just take a look on it, I opened it randomly and found a title which caught my eyes on “Coffee and walnuts sponge cake”, I did not read the recipe just try to cook one which can fit on the title, and this is the result.
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 200 gr sugar
- 80 gr coffee
- 120 gr condensated milk
- 50 gr olive oil (or 100 gr melted butter)
- Lemon zest
- 350 gr flour
- Baking powder
- 100-150 gr walnuts
Hi, this is special way to prepare sponge cake, it’s a really simple recipe and delicious.
Let’s start adding 3 eggs on a bowl, also add 200 gr of sugar, a mix of 80 gr of expresso coffee, 120g of condensated milk, and 50 gr of olive oil (or 100 gr melted butter). Whisk it until well mixed. Then add lemon zest and 350 gr of flour with baking powder (about 16 gr), add the flour on 3-4 batches passing it through a colander, on each batch whisk it well until everything is well combined. Finally add 100-150 gr of walnuts and mix uniformly.
To bake it brush a mold with a bit of olive oil or butter, the base and the walls. Put the sponge cake dough on the mold, and let rest while the oven heat to 350º F (180ºC) then bake the sponge cake for 30 minutes, let cold and it’s ready to eat.
As you can see a super easy recipe, and it worths to taste it 🙂
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Sweet potato sponge cake
Hello,
In Catalonia is very typical to see small stands on the street selling roasted chestnuts and sweet potatos when Halloween it’s getting close. In fact Halloween for us in the “chestnut day” and it is very typical to eat roasted chestnuts often also with sweet potatoes and with a special sweet wine called Moscatel (Muscat). But as long as I really like sweet potatos, I like to try another ways to eat them besides roasted. So I experimented time ago trying to use the sweet potato in a sponge cake with really nice results, and I come to you today with this recipe. And perhaps you can replace sweet potato with pumpkin, for a halloween sweet recipe 🙂
Ingredients:
- 350 gr flour
- 200 gr milk
- 100 gr olive oil or vegetable oil
- 200 gr sugar
- 1 lemon
- 4 eggs
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 baking powder envelope
In a big bowl let’s add 350 gr of flour, passed through a colander, one baking powder envelope, 200 gr of sugar, 100 gr of olive oil or vegetable oil, 200 gr of milk, 4 eggs, grate some lemon skin (try to grate only the yellow part, as the white one is bitter) and finally peel a sweet potato, grate it and add to the bowl.
Now whisk everything for some minutes until it’s well combined.
Use a bit of butter to grease the mold you will use to bake the sponge cake. Empty the bowl in the mold and cook in the oven at 350 F (180 C) for 30 minutes, let cold and it’s ready to eat.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Quesada pasiega
Hello,
Quesada pasiega is a very typical dessert in Cantabria, a region in North Spain, it’s quite similar to a cheesecake but this recipe does not use cheese at all, instead it uses Cuajada, if you cannot find cuajada, perhaps you can replace it with ricotta. This dessert is really easy to prepare and it’s really nice, I bring it to work so colleagues could taste it, and it was really a success.
Ingredients:
Add 3 eggs in a bowl, 200 gr of sugar, grate the skin of one lemon, 80 gr of butter (melted or out of fridge for some hours) and a bit of ground cinnamon. Whisk well. Then add 150 gr of flour and whisk well again. Finally add 1 kg of cuajada and give it a last good whisk.
Finally fill molds with the mix, with a maximum height of 3-4 centimeters and cook in the oven at 350ºF (180º F) for 50 minutes, or perhaps more, until the surface gets slightly toasted. Don’t worry if you see it grow too much in the oven, it will reduce its size while cooling.
As you can see a really easy recipe, perhaps the only non easy part could be find the cuajada 🙂
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Fried milk
Hello,
Fried milk is a very typical dessert in north Spain, it’s tricky to cook until you don’t get the right measures, once you got them it’s quite easy, but it requires some time to prepare.
Ingredients:
- 1 litre milk
- 100 gr corn flour
- 150 gr sugar
- 1 lemon
- Ground cinnamon
- 1 stick cinnamon
- Flour
- 1 egg
- Vegetable oil
Start boiling 850 ml of milk, with a stick of cinnamon and 100 gr of sugar. Move it to dissolve the sugar. Add also some skin of lemon, cut really thin to avoid the white part which is bitter.
While the milk heats up, in a bowl mix 100 gr of corn flour with 150 ml of milk.
Once the milk is boiling be careful to avoid flood over the pot, shut down the fire and remove cinnamon stick and lemon skin. Add the milk mixed with corn flour and move with a wooden spoon for some minutes until it’s well mixed and without grumes.
Turn over a rectangular or square recipient, I’ve used silicon mold for easy unmold. Let rest for 1 hour and half, and 1 hour in the fridge. On a silicon mold the unmold process will be very easy, cut the solidified milk in cubes.
Before frying you will pass them on egg and flour, so beat an egg and pass each cube first on the egg then on flour.
Add vegetable oil in a pot, enough to cover the cubes. When inserting a wooden spoon in the oil bubbles appear the oil temperature is right to fry. Add the cubes and remove in a short time (perhaps little less than a minute), put them on a towel paper and add over a mix of sugar and ground cinnamon (like 50 gr of sugar and 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon). Let cold and it is ready to eat.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Puff pastry ribbons
Hello,
Sometimes I fell apart from typical recipes or recipes taken from books, friends or other sources and just try to make some recipes using my imagination. Not always the result is nice, some other times I feel there is still something to improve before publishing, and other times I think it’s not worth to spent more resources on it. This is the evolution from a recipe which was nice but still not satisfied me. Very easy to prepare if you buy the puff pastry sheets.
Ingredients (for 12 ribbons)
- 2 puff pastry sheets
- 1 egg
- 2 sugar tablespoons
- Maple syrup
- Chocolate
Extend the puff pastry sheet and cut on to stripes (like 1,5 inches), then cut perpendicular on half. In one of half part cover with maple syrup and then add grated chocolate. Perhaps you can also replace them with honey and grated coconut, or with some marmalade.
Put together both parts of half puff pastry stripe and twist them to form a ribbon.
Add 2 sugar tablespoon to one egg and whisk it until sugar is dissolved. Paint the ribbons with whisked egg and cook at oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 14 minutes.
Recipes from Spain 