Tuesday, April 17, 2012

New York Cappuccino cheesecake

This  is a really nice cheesecake me and my mom baked this weekend for my sisters birthday party. We had no idea how this cake would taste but we had been recommended to try it by a friend who recently visited the US. And we really liked it so now I want so share it with you as well!



Ingredients:
200 g Digestive biscuits 
75 g butter
1 tsp cinnamon
3 leaves of gelatine
1 dl strong coffee
200 g creamcheese
2.5 dl quark
3 egg whites
Step 1: set the oven to 175 C.Step 2: crumble the Digestive biscuits in a bowl and mix them with the butter (melted) and cinnamon.Step 3: spread the mix in a buttered cake pan with removable edges. Bake in the oven for 10 min.Step 4: take it out and let it cool off.Step 5: soak the leaves of gelatine for 5 min, then melt them on the stove on low heat together with the coffee.Step 6: mix together the creamcheese and quark in a bowl. Add the coffee mix. Step 7: beat the egg whites until it's a hard "foam" in a separate bowl. Then add the sugar a little at a time.Step 8: Then pour the egg mix into the cheese and coffee mix and blend it together.Step 9: Pour it all into the cake pan and let the cake stand in the fridge for at least 3 h.Step 10: sift cocoa  and sprinkel chocolate flakes over the cake.Quick to prepare: This cake takes actually a long time to bake, approx. 4 h. But the good part is that it bakes it self most of the time. The preparations are not very time consuming, only the waiting for it to stand in the fridge.  Ease of preparation: The recipe is is simple and doesn't involve any difficult techniques. It's easy and fun to make. Gourmet vs. everyday: This is a very delicious cheesecake with a very coffee and chocolaty taste. The consistency is creamy and fluffy and the cake suits perfectly for a party or as rhe desert after a nice dinner. Most kids will probably not like the coffee taste though.2 dl sugar

cocoa and chocolate to decorate with

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Italian pasta carbonara

My dad has always been an inventive chef and throughout my childhood he cooked a lot of odd food, but he had one particular recipe I always loved. He made an amazing pasta carbonara and now I want to share it wth you!

Ingredients: (for 4)
300 g spaghetti
150 g bacon
½ onion
1 clove of garlic
2 eggs
½ dl cream
100 g grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

+ some extra parmesan cheese to sprinkel on top


Step 1: Cook the pasta after the instructions on the package

Step 2: Cut the bacon and onion into small pieces and fry it in separate frying pans.

Step 3: Whip together the eggs, cream and grated cheese with a regular beater, add salt.

Step 4: When the pasta is cooked, pour out the water and blend in the bacon and onion. Add the egg mixture and press the garlic clove into the pasta. Mix with a spoon.

Step 5: serve with some parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Quick to prepare: This is very quick and takes only 25 min.

Ease of preparation: It is basic and easy to cook, be careful though while frying the bacon since the fat from the meat splashes when you fry it and it's very hot.

Gourmet vs. everyday: This is a quite basic recipe and most kids like it, it has a nice creamy taste and the bacon gives a little salty taste. The recipe is quite "everyday" though and isn't reallt suitable for a dinner party etc.



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

West African lime cake

Ingredients:
2 ½ dl sugar
2 ½ tbs butter/margarine
2 eggs
juice of 1 lime
3 ½ dl flour
2 tsp baking powder
chopped peanuts (optional)




for the icing:
icing sugar
lime juice
a drop of green food coloring

Step 1: cream the sugar and butter

Step 2: add the eggs one at a time and beat well

Step 3: then add the lime juice, flour and baking powder and mix together

Step 4: chop the peanuts into fine pieces and mix into the batter

Step 5: pour the batter into a greased and floured cake pan and bake in the oven at 175 C for 25 minutes

Step 6: take the cake out of the pan and let it cool off for a few minutes.

Step 7: mix the icing sugar and lime juice together, measure after how thick layer of icing you want on the cake. then add a drop or two of green food coloring. 

Step 8: spred the icing over the top of the cake, then let it stand in the refrigerator to cool. 

Step 9: cut the cake into square pieces. 

Quick to prepare: this takes approximately 1 h to make overall. The baking time in the oven is 25 min, and preparations and decorations takes approximately 30 min. 

Ease of preparation: This recipe is easy to make, the steps are simple and easy to follow.  

Everyday vs. Gourmet: This cake has a very fresh and nice taste because of the lime. It's sweet and has a nice consistency and it's suitable for all occasions.