With mashed banana and strawberries, cherries or other fruit, this is an extremely easy and light ice cream that needs no churning.
Serves 6 (more…)
Dessert
Orange, Lemon or Tangerine Olive Oil Cake
This is my basic cake, the one I soak in syrup and I often complement with jam or marmalade as well as with seasonal fruit to create a more elaborate dessert. It is a lighter version of my mother’s vassilopita, the cake she baked for the New Year celebrations.
Costas, who loves desserts, likes to freeze the cake and he cuts thin slices to eat after lunch.
Instead of grating the fruit to get the fine zest, then juicing it, I pulse whole pieces in the blender — peel and flesh of the lemon, orange or tangerine—to add aroma and tang to the cake.
I bake it either in loaf pans, or in a square, round or rectangular pan. When cooled a bit, I often slice it horizontally and while still warm I douse with the basic lemon syrup I describe in the very similar Yogurt Cake.
I often cut the cake horizontally and add a layer of jam or marmalade in the middle, and/or a seasonal fruit and nut topping: Confit orange slices, briefly cooked strawberries, and/or almonds or pistachios.
Traditionally all Greek cakes –called glyka tapsiou (cakes baked in a pan)– the most well known being walnut or almond cake, are served soaked in syrup. I always splash liberally the cake with my Lemon Liqueur; you can use store-bought Limoncello or a really good citrus-flavored liqueur, like my favorite Grand Marnier!
Makes 2 loaf pans (8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches, or 20 X 10 X 6 cm)
or a 9-inch round or square cake (more…)
“Mallorcas” Sweet Tsoureki Buns
Adapted from the Puerto Rican ‘Mallorcas, the slightly sweet breakfast buns I found in the festive pages of SAVEUR magazine. See also how I use this brioche-like dough to make a Strawberry Cake and a Chocolate & Almond Loaf.
“Fluffy, eggy, buttery, sweet, coiled like a snail’s shell, and generously dusted with powdered sugar, the pan de Mallorca is named for its land of origin, in Spain. They are delicious on their own, or split and turned into sweet-and-savory ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches,” the magazine’s introduction explained.
The dough is very similar to challah and the traditional Greek tsoureki, –the sweet brioche-like festive breads we bake for Christmas and Easter. In my version I substituted light olive oil for the butter, and used whole eggs, instead of just egg yolks, then I decided to brush the dough rectangle with my Seville orange marmalade before rolling and cutting the buns. I also placed them one roll next to the other, like cinnamon rolls, and I wish I had managed to make all the buns roughly the same size…
(Photo from Saveur magazine)
Makes 6 large buns (more…)
Yogurt Bread Stuffed with Cheese or Chocolate
This is a delicious, moist and very easy bread dough.
I describe here how you can make it into savory or sweets treats.
No need to make them both the same day, though. Just keep half the dough in the fridge to stuff and bake within the next 2-3 days making the sweet or savory version.
You also can form into loaves or small buns and eat instead of any other bread; it makes wonderful sandwiches.
The cheese-stuffed bread is a lovely accompaniment to soups and vegetable dishes, or served as meze with drinks. The chocolate bread can be part of breakfast or accompany soft cheese or served with tea, and coffee.
Yields 2 round loaves
(more…)
Apple Cake with Olive oil and Lemon
This moist, fruity cake is based on a recipe for Rustic Tuscan Apple Cake that my friend Val posted in her brilliant site More than Burned Toast.
I tweaked the recipe, substituting olive oil for the butter, and also used my lemon liqueur instead of the amaretto the Tuscan recipe suggests.I made it in a rectangular pan, and as I took it out of the oven I glazed it with some marmalade diluted in more lemon liqueur…
For a 10X7 inch (25X18,5 cm) cake (more…)