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December 9th, the Eastern Christianity celebrates St. Anne. The name comes from Hebrew "Channah", meaning "favour" or "grace". St. Anne, mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus is an emblem figure, keeper of the families, guardian angel of all mothers.  It happens, that we celebrate this name holiday, because of a special little family member. Our Ana is blessed with her name and we are blessed to have that magnificent creature for a daughter. I am sure her name suits her perfectly.  What Ana loves the most as a dessert? Chocolate, may be some chocolate and a bit of chocolate, garnished with chocolate. I decided to make this truffle cake for her and knew it will become her favourite. What is truffle cake without truffles? I am very happy to use the formidably looking and delicately delicious truffles from Ferrero Rocher. They complete my recipe perfectly.  for the cake: 60 g chocolate 100 g unsalted butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla ex...

This autumn was really pretty and stayed for the longest time. I have a feeling it is still fall outside - the flowers still have colours, the wind does not cut your ears when you walk outside, and robins are still chasing each other in the sky. My roses were blooming in November. I did not cut them this year, I left them bloom and they really did to some point. Later though, they closed and prepared for the winter sleep. In the month of December, there is a strong need for warmth and love. We do not have the snow out yet. But a nice glass of wine and a piece of chocolate cake in a late dark December night is always appreciated. I think Smitten kitchen 's idea has a perfect place in my collection of recipes now.  This cake has a dense texture, but a very light taste. Red wine looses the alcohol during baking. As a characteristic of wine, tannin adds both bitterness and astringency as well as complexity. Tannins leave a unique after-taste to the cake, that makes a ...

for the yellow cake: You will need half recipe of Genoise Cake You will need one recipe of chocolate ganache   for the chocolate cake: 4 egg whites 180 g sugar 200 g butter, softened 3 g vanilla extract  180 g all purpose flower 40 g cocoa 1 tsp baking powder Heat the oven to 170. Prepare a round 6" cake form. 1. Beat the egg whites with 2/3 of the sugar, until firm. 2. Beat the butter with rest of the sugar and vanilla extract until creamy.  3. Combine the dry ingredients. Add 1/3 of it to the butter. Beat slightly. 4. Add half of the egg white mixture. Mix. Add the second third of the dry ingredients, followed by the whites, finishing with the last part of the flour. 5. Bake in the prepared pan for about 30-40 min, or until dry centre. Tailoring: 1. Cut the cooled cakes in two layers. The chocolate cake is cut in three layers. Cut the third layer in small pieces and store in an air tight container. Have the pi...

You will need: one recipe  Genoise cake one recipe Almond Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache , in which almonds are substitute for pecans two recipes Pumpkin Cream Mousselin one recipe Pecan Paste a lot of chocolate leaves for the Pumpkin Cream Mousselin: 250 ml whole milk 1/2 vanilla bean 3 egg yolks 100 g brown sugar 30 g corn starch 30 g white flour 5 g cinnamon  130 g butternut squash - rosted  120 g unsalted butter, softened  1. Roast the pumpkin the day before. Peel the butternut squash and cut in small pieces. Roast on a parchment paper, until softened. Let it cool. Work the pieces in a blender, until purée consistency. Close in a box and refrigerate.  2. Scale the dry ingredients in a bowl. 3.  Beat slightly the egg yolks and two thirds of the sugar . Mix in the dry ingredients. 3.  Scrape the seeds from half vanilla bean into the milk, add the last third of the sugar and bring to boil.   4...

What a wonderful autumn is this one. And today was a perfect holiday - a day of giving and thanking the ones, who make our lives different ... in a very inspiring and magical way. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with my family!

Well..., I know... unusual topic. It is every year around this time. After a warm and eventful (or not so much) summer, we all have to adjust back to the routine of the school year. This is the time my world stops spinning with the normal Earth speed rotation, but makes a wild fast detour, resulting craziness, dizziness, madness and chaos. First days are the worst. My biggest problem is the lunch ... What to prepare? How to organize healthy and delicious food? When will I have time to cook lunch, plus the dinner? Time is so limited... Here is my suggestion for the first day at school: Bento Box with delicious fried chicken, fresh vegetables and herbal rice. for the chicken: one slightly boiled chicken, cut in pieces corn meal one egg prepare the chicken: 1. Clean and cold wash the chicken. Place it in big pot, add 1 Tbsp salt, cover with cold water and cook it for 15 min over medium heat. 2. Remove the chicken in a plate and cut in pieces. 3. Strain...

for the cookies: 180 g unsalted butter 70 g vegetable shortening grated zest from two lemons 310 g sugar 5 g salt 1 large egg 8 g vanilla extract 60 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed  625 g flour 18 g baking powder prepare the cookies: 1. Cream the butter, shortening and the zest together. Add the sugar and beat until creamy fluffy. Add the salt. 2. Add the egg. Beat until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and half the lemon juice. Mix lightly. 3. Incorporate half of the flour, alternating with the other half of the lemon juice and the rest of the flour. Mix until the dough is formed. 4. Divide the dough in two. Roll it out between two pieces of wrapping foil. Place on a flat surface and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. 5. With a round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. 6. Using a cookie cutter with a smaller diameter, cut the centre of half of the cookies to form a ring. Make the cut out centres into button cookies. 7. Place all the coo...

What is better than chocolate cake? I, truthfully, couldn't think of anything. When my sweet angel decided that she wants a chocolate cake for her celebration, I remembered, that she found a Queen Elizabeth's favourite cake recipe posted  in Tweeter earlier this year, and thought that this would be a nice coronation for her sweet 16th birthday. I copied the recipe, with slight change of the technic. My birthday girl wanted strawberries, so I added a ring of fresh strawberries. The cake is worth every effort. Every bite is heavenly delicious. Here is the original  recipe. Chef Darren McGrady used "Ghirardelli" dark chocolate. I couldn't find any, but to keep the classy taste, I decided that "Lindt" is not any worse (if not even better). for the filling: 285 g heavy cream 227 g dark chocolate Lindt for the cake: 6 egg yolks 2 eggs 114 g sugar 57 g flour 30 g cocoa 57 g butter for the topping:  285 g heavy cream 227 g dark...

(recipe of chef Christophe Felder) for the macaroons: 200 g ground almonds (2 1/3 cups, 7 oz.) 200 g confectioners' sugar (1 1/2 cups, 7 oz.) 50 ml water (3 1/2 tbsp) 200 g granulated sugar (1 cup, 7 oz.) 150 g egg whites divided (about 5 eggs, 5 1/2 oz.) yellow food colouring Note: check my post for the chocolate macarons before start working on the lemon-basil ones 1. Combine the ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Sift into a bowl.  2. Cook the water and granulated sugar in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the syrup to boil. If using a thermometer, the right temperature for the syrup should be 118C. Otherwise, boil for couple of minutes and do not let the syrup to thicken.  3. Beat half the eggs with a whisk attachment until soft peaks. Slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a thin stream, whisking at the highest speed of the mixer. Whip until the me...

These mini cakes are an impressive combination between heavy brownie base, light and nutty pistachio praline and fresh and juicy rainier cherries.  I used Irina's recipe for the brownies. I found her website a while ago and fell in love with her ambitious perfectionism and artistic skills. She is quite a collector of teasing recipes. I guess, we fall for similar baking products and confections.  for the Brownie Base: 45 g unsalted butter 85 g dark chocolate 100g brown sugar 45 g flour 20 g Dutch processed cocoa powder pinch of salt 4 Tbsp milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. 2. Butter 7 of the cavities of a whoopee-pie pan. Sift some cocoa powder. 3. Place the butter and chocolate together in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat. 4. Add the sugar and stir to melt. Add the egg. 5. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Stir to combine well. 6. Sift over the flour, cocoa and salt. Stir. 7. Distribute ...