STRAWBERRY COFFEECAKE - GÂTEAU AUX FRAISES

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
- Dale Carnegie

Failure, a terrifying and taboo seven letter word which makes most mortals shiver, gives us cold sweat and is surrounded by fear and shame. People dare mention it for it is a psychological weapon of mass destruction that has the power to annihilate every ounce of self-confidence that we possess, shatter our dreams in millions of pieces and break us down in a blitz. Like a dirty secret, it is whispered behing closed doors, in a hush-hush way as it is quasi-blasphemous to pronounce it aloud. It is the ugly monster hiding under our beds, the ghastly shadow lurking behind closed doors and the scary skeleton in the closet... 

In our extremely modern and highly competitive world where everything is based on the winner-crusher-stab-in-the-back mentality, failure is something that cannot exist and is denied, hence it is shunned and looked upon negatively. For those who believe in the sacro-saint conquerer system that is imposed to us by our shallow society and which is based on continuous achievement, performance and gain, downfall is pitiful and absolutely not an option. One is not granted the right to be defeated otherwise he/she is categorized as a sad loser and seen as a dirty misfit.

A disgraceful attitude which is discouraging and not helpful nor motivating as individuals who face ruin are stigmatized in such a manner that they rarely have the power to get up on their feet again. They are constantly deminished and reminded of their humiliating descent into the tenebrous abysses of decay. When your face is continually rubbed in the dirt, others tread on you and you are considered a deadbeat because you have tripped while walking on the path to victory, then how will you ever be able to start anew and arise from the ashes? Instead, a little motivation and encouragement would be welcome.

Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.

- Zig Ziglar

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.

- C.S. Lewis

Failure is nature's plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.

- Napoleon Hill

An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots.

- Charles F. Kettering

If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.

- Woody Allen

After all, we are just humans, not machines and we can't systematically reach our goals at the first attempt or be inveriably perfect. How boring would that be! Life is full of ambushes, so trials and errors are a part of the game, and staggering is normal. Sometimes, in order to attain success and spice up our lives, detours are inevitable. Defeat is not when you stumble, it is when you accept to crawl on the ground on all fours and you refuse to move on or when you are paralyzed by cowardice and self-loathing. No pain, no gain! Suffering - in small proportions - is needed to make progress.

Embracing and transcending failure is vital if you don't want to stay stuck in that purgatotry for alleged deadbeats. Victimizing or blaming yourself has no purpose as it will bring you nowhere. If you understand that you can only overcome screw-ups by analyzing why things went wrong and know that your brain or apprehensions are your biggest barriers to triumph, then you'll be able to find a solution to your problems and will definitely not follow the same road again.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.
- Julia Child

Once in a while, even the avidest of bakers or cooks will experience a kitchen disaster. There are times when all hell breaks loose and dishes don't work out as planned. Nothing more unnerving, irritating and distressing than a floppy recipe or being misslead by our assurance and let down by our concentration. A terrible curse for the poor person who has been slaving behind the stove and doesn't see his/her efforts rewarded.

Each of us has bad days and there's nothing exceptional about that, but unfortunately, hiccups generally seem to occur only at the wrong moment. Remember that Easter bread which refused to rise and was as hard as a bullet, that famous Christmas roast of yours that was as tough as a leather boot because you were blabbering madly and forgot it in the oven or that infallible birthday cake which errupted similarly to a volcano and spurted batter all down the sides of the pan? Oh, you could have teared out your hair with anger, wailed like a desperate banshee and ran away so much facing your guests was painful and embarrassing. Moments of pure desperation and solitude...

Anyway, it is not the end of the world. Our culinary misadventures are rarely unbearable and "catastrophies" are here to indicate where we went wrong and help us ameliorate ourselves. This is what creates experience and knowledge. Occasionally they even give unawaited results.

Take the example of the famous Tatin sisters who created the first "Tarte Tatin" by inadvertence. Had Stéphanie Tatin not left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long, she would have probably never been alerted to her mistake by the smell of burning and covered them with pastry in an attempt to rescue the situation. Passing her mistake off as a special, her pie made it into history.

I'm not saying that all blunders lead to favorable outcomes, but I believe that we always can draw positive lessons from crises. For example, last week, I baked a simple "Strawberry Coffeecake" and the outcome was quite deceiving visually speaking. Instead of staying on top of the cake, the strawberries decided to sink to the bottom. So, as I wanted to know why this happened, I analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion that I was the one to blame because I decided to put my preparation in tin that was not big enough.* Audacity can be treacherous and play tricks on you. Damn!

Nonetheless, apart from being not too pretty, my creation was exquisite and I've had a lot of success with it. This buckle-like treat is moist on the inside and crisp on the outside, exhaliratingly fragrant, extremely fruity, not overly sweet and really easy to put together. A summery delight that will rejoice kids and adults alike, and will send you to strawberry heaven!

* Ok, maybe it wasn't entirely my fault. My oven door is broken and I have to keep it shut with a chair, so a temperature leak might also be in cause here...

Strawberry Coffeecake
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

6 Tbs (90g) Unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the cake pan
1 1/2 Cups (191g) All-purpose flour 
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/2 Tsp Fine sea salt 
1 Cup +2 Tbs (210g + 30g) Castor/granulated sugar 
1 Large egg
1/2 Cup (120ml) Milk 
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract

1 Tsp Orange zest puree 
1 Pound (450g) Strawberries, hulled and halved

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350°F).

2. Butter a 25cm (10-inch) cake pan or pie plate, or a 23cm (9-inch) deep-dish pie plate. 

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium-sized bowl.

4. Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minuttes or until pale in color, light and fluffy. Then, reduce the speed to medium-low and mix in the egg, milk, vanilla and orange zest puree. 

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

6. Transfer the batter to the buttered cake pan or pie plate.

7. Arrange the strawberries on the top of the batter, cut sides down, as closely together as possible (you may have to jam them in a little).

8. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the berries. 

9. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 170° C (325° F) and continue baking the cake for about 50 minutes or until it is golden brown and firm to the touch and a tester inserted into iits center comes out clean.  

10. Let it cool in the pan or pie plate, on a wire rack.

11. Cut into wedges and serve.

Remarks:

The cake can be stored, well-wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

The orange zest puree is optional - I highly recommend you to use it though.

Serving suggestions:

Serve for dessert or teatime, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a strawberry coulis and accompany by tea, sparkling wine (Champagne, Clairette de Die, Prosecco, etc...) or Belgian blond ale.

Gâteau Aux Fraises
Recette adaptée de Martha Stewart.

Pour 4-6 personnes.

Ingrédients:
90g de Beurre non-salé, à température ambiante (+ un peu pour le moule)

191g de Farine

1 1/2 CC de Poudre à lever

1/2 CC de Sel de mer fin

210g de Sucre cristallisé (+ 2 CS/15g pour soupoudrer le dessus du cake)

1 Gros oeuf

120ml de Lait

1 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
1 CC de Zeste d'orange en purée

450g de fraises, équeutées et coupées en deux

Méthode: 

1. Préchauffer le four à 180 ° C.
2. Beurrer un moule à gâteau rond de 25 cm de diamètre ou un moule à pie de 23cm de diamètre.

3. Dans un grand bol, tamiser ensemble la farine, la poudre à pâte et le sel.

4. Dans le bol de votre batteur électrique, battre le beurre et le sucre à vitesse moyenne pendant environ 2 minutes ou jusqu'à que le mélange soit de couleur pâle et "mousseux". Puis ajouter le zeste, l'œuf, le lait, la vanille et les zestes. Mélanger.

5. A faible vitesse, incorporer graduellement les ingrédients secs (farine/poure à lever/sel).

6. Etendre la pâte dans le moule à gâteau ou à pie.
7. Disposer les fraises aussi étroitement que possible sur le dessus de la pâte (côté coupé vers le bas).
8. Saupoudrer avec les 2 CS de sucre restantes.

9. Cuire le gâteau à 180°C pendant 10 minutes, puis réduire la température du four à 170 ° C et continuer à le cuire pendant environ 50 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit doré, ferme au toucher et qu'un cure-dent inséré en son centre en ressorte propre.
10. Laisser le cake refroidir dans le moule, sur une grille.
11. Couper en tranches et servir.

Remarques:
Le gâteau peut être conservé à température ambiante pendant 2 jours (bien l'emballer dans du film plastique).
La purée de zeste d'orange est facultative. Tout de même, je vous recommande fortement de l'utiliser car elle ajoute une note merveilleuse à ce gâteau.

Idées de présentation:
Servir à l'heure du dessert ou pour le goûter avec de la glace à la vanille ou un coulis de fraise et accompagner ce gâteau d'un thé, d'un verre de vin mousseux (Champagne, Clairette de Die, Prosecco, etc ..) ou d'une bière belge.

BASLER LÄCKERLI - LÄCKERLI BÂLOIS

"Frozen streams and vapours gray,
cold and waste the landscape lay...
Then a hale of wind

Hither - whirling, Thither - swirling,
Spin the fog and spin the mist...
Still we walked on through woods and wintry gray,
home through woods where winter lay - cold and dark...
Waiting for a change in the weather
Waiting for a shift in the air
Could we get there together, ever?
Waiting for our late, late return.

Through the woods, home, through the woods where winter lays..."

- Lyrics from the song "Wintry Grey" by the Norwegian band Arcturus

 Dreamy, immaculate landscapes looking as if they were covered in a pelicula of heavenly icing sugar, feather-like flakes enchantingly falling upon us like fairy stardust, diaphanously monocromic sceneries which seem frozen in time, nature that would have made a wonderful subject for the Flemish Renaissance painter Bruegel (See his artwork here), goddess Skadi's icy breath congealing the earth, the eerie silence of the blizzard and gloomy croaking of crows punctuating the quietness with their evil complaints, the electrifying crunch of snow under our footsteps and cosy evenings spent lazily watching Scandinavian movies while nibbling on Xmas cookies and fantasizing about majestic fjords, the grandeur of Norse wildness and desolate Arctic mountains... This is the reason why I adore the cold season and cannot get enough of winter's bewitching atmospheres. Its splendor and the frivolous as well as nostalgic mood it confers are just unparalleled...

Although the whole shebang and kitschiness of the end of year festivities is not exactly my cup of tea, tends to make me smirk and leave me cold, I have to confess that I still wish to have a white Christmas. I am no different from everybody else on this planet. I guess that snow connects me to my inner child, helps me escape the bleak reality, soothes my soul and talks to my romantic heart.

As I was born on the 25th of December and I have the blood of Norsemen flowing through my veins, it is no wonder that I feed a hunger for living in a wood cabin in the middle of Norwegian, Swedish or Finnish woods, that I love chilly weather and rejoice when frost bites the tip of my nose. After all, my genetic background programmed me to prefer cool climates and Nordic settings.

"The sun has vanished
Freezing northwind now rules the land
From the realm of ice and eternal darkness
Mother winter snow-clouds sends

White warlord rides the sky
Hundred steed pull his sledge of ice
The roaring noise follows him
It's the sign that the winter solstice have arrived

The ancient song fills the air

On the mound sacred fire burns

People dance the magic dance of rebirth

For the sun's sooner return

Here is the longest night of the year

When the evil spirits of darkness is awake

Old witch woman dances across the room

She drives whole evil spirits back in the bloom

Over the frozen field the northwind walls

Falling snow turns into the raging snowstorm."

- Lyrics from the song "Night Of The Winter Solstice" by the Latvian band Skyforger

Hence, if the Christian celebration means not much to me, I nonetheless consider this period of the year to be festive, because Yule symbolizes the return of the Sun (light) and the completion of the cycle of life (birth, life, death and rebirth), thus it brings hope and offers the promise of a new beginning.

As during any other joyful fete, eating well is a must and there is no way I'm going to refrain from stuffing myself with yummy holiday food designed to make my taste buds shiver or from busying myself around the oven. Every year, I bake a vast array of international cookies and candies for my friends, P.'s parents and ourselves. In my gift bags you'll generally find classics such as "Pfeffernüsse" (Germany), "Mailänderli" (Switzerland), "Speculoos" (Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands), "Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes" (USA and Russia), "Chocolate Truffles" (France) and "Fudge" (UK).

Being adventuous in the kitchen and having an inclination for novelty, I decided to prepare a new speciality in order to vary things a little: "Basler Läckerli (Leckerli)". This world famous pastry composed of many ingredients such as honey, almonds, candied orange or lemon peel, kirschwasser as well as a variety of spices. It is a traditional Swiss cookie bar we enjoy all year long and which is very similar to gingerbread. This biscuit's name means "small goody" ("lecker" = yummy and the Swiss German suffix "li" indicates smallness) and it originates from Basel in Switzerland where it was created by local spice merchants around 1431, at the time of the Council of Basel. At the origin, "Lackerli" were only fabricated on the occasion of the New Year, to  sustain the assembled church dignitaries and were accompanied by mulled wine, but it became so popular that people started producing it whenever they fancied it. Before the commercialisation of professional mixers, train station porters were employed to knead the stiff dough as big muscles were needed to successfully carry out the harsh task of mixing.

The recipe I am presenting today was adapted from a "Cuisine De Saison" magazine I possess. As usual, I had to make a few changes (ingredients- and method-wise) as I found that it could be slightly improved. So, I added more honey to the mass because I found it far too dry, for more flavor I incorporated a pinch of salt and some ground nutmeg to the mix, and confectioned my icing with cherry booze in order to give it oomph. The result was just mindblowing. My no-brainer "Basler Läckerli" turned out really great as they were marvelously chewy, exhaliratingly spicy, so pretty and above all they were mindboglingly comparable to the ones that are made by the renown Läckerli Huus  (no need to buy this expensive confection anymore).

If you are still looking for a Xmassy gift idea to bake, then you should give this confection a try as you'll not be deceived. Your friends and family will be raving about them!

Have A Merry Yuletide!
Joyeux Noël!

~ Basler Läckerli ~

Recipe adapted from "Cuisine De Saison".

Makes about 20 cookies.

Ingredients For The "Bars":

240-250g Runny honey

80g Castor sugar

100g Matchstick almonds, chopped coarsely

240g All-purpose flour (+ extra flour for rolling)

1 Tsp Baking soda

1 Tsp Ground cloves

1Tsp Ground cinnamon

1/3 Tsp Ground nutmeg

A pinch of fine sea salt

100g Candied orange peel

Ingredients For The "Icing":

1 1/2 Tbs Kirsch, lemon/orange juice or water

3 Tbs Icing sugar

Method For The "Bars":

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, soda, spices and salt. Set aside.

2. In big bowl (or in that of your KA), mix the honey together with the sugar until it looks pale, then add the almonds, the flour mixture and the candied peel.

3. Knead lightly in order to obtain a stiff dough.

4. Cover with clingfilm and let rest for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).

6. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 0.4 inches (1cm) thick rectangle.

7. Transfer the sheet of dough to a baking pan covered with baking paper.

8. Bake for 13-16 minutes in the centre of the oven (I baked mine 16 minutes).

Method For The "Icing":

9. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the kirschwasser together with the icing sugar.
10. Brush the top of the dough with the icing and cut it into about 20 equally-sized rectangles.

Comments:

When mixing, if your dough is a little dry add a bit more honey so that it comes together in ball.
As the dough is very stiff, I recommend you to knead it in a stand mixer.
When coming out of the oven, the baked läckerli must be pale in color and soft to the touch (they will harden while cooling).
The läckerli can be kept for up to a month in an airtight container.

Serving suggestion:

Eat those cookies at any time of the day and serve with a good cup of tea or an eggnog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Basler Läckerli ~
Recette adpatée du magazine "Cuisine De Saison".

Pour environ 20 läckerli.

Ingrédients Pour les "Läckerli":
240-250g de Miel liquide
80g de Sucre cristallisé
100g d’Amandes allumettes, hachées grossièrement
240g de Farine (+ un peu pour abaisser la pâte)
1 CC de Bicarbonate de sodium
1 CC de Clou de girofle en poudre
1 CC de Cannelle en poudre

1/3 de Noix de muscade en poudre

Une pincée de sel de mer fin
100g d’Orangeat
Ingrédients Por Le "Glaçage":

1 1/2 CS de Kirsch, jus de citron/d'orange ou d'eau
3 CS de Sucre en poudre

Méthode Pour les «barres»:
1. Dans un bol moyen, mélanger la farine, le bicarbonate, les épices et le sel. Mettre de côté.
2. Dans un grand bol (ou dans le bol de votre robot ménager), mélanger le miel avec le sucre jusqu'à ce que le mélange devienne pâle, puis ajouter les amandes, le mélange de farine et l'orangeat.
3. Pétrir légèrement afin d'obtenir une pâte ferme.
4. Couvrir avec un film alimentaire et laisser reposer pendant 30 minutes.
5. Préchauffer le four à 180 ° C.
6. Sur un morceau de papier sulfurisée fariné, abaisser la pâte à 0,4 cm (1 cm) d'épaisseur rectangle.
7. Transférer le tout sur une plaque de cuisson.
8. Cuire au centre du four pendant 13-16 minutes (j'ai cuits mes läckerli pendant 16 minutes).

Méthode Pour Le "Glaçage":

9. Laisser refroidir pendant 10 minutes. Pendant ce temps, mélanger le kirsch avec le sucre glace.
10. Badigeonner la pâte cuite avec le glaçage et la couper en ~ 20 rectangles égaux.
 

Commentaires:
Lors de l'assemblage de votre pâte, si cette dernière est trop sèche, alors ajouter un peu plus de miel afin d'obtenir une boule qui ne colle pas, mais n'est pas sèche non plus.

Une fois cuite, la pâte à läckerli doit être claire et molle (elle durcira en refroidissant).

Les läckerli peuvent être conservés pendant un mois dans une boîte hermétique.

Idées de présentation:
Mangez ces cookies quand cela vous chante et accompagnez-les d'un thé ou d'un lait de poule.

SPICY DAMSON PLUM ROLY-POLY

"Summer fades; the first cold, Northern air
Sweeps, like hatred, through still days -
The August heat now gone elsewhere,
To Southern, bird-filled coasts and bays;
Amid constricting vales of cloud,
A pale and liquid Autumn sun
That once beat down on an empty plain
And may again. And may again."
- Trever Howard, Autum

Recently, I have been in a very nostalgic and morose state of mind. No matter how much I love autumn and look forward to cooler weather, seasonal mood swings always tend to affect me strongly every year when the summer ends. I guess it is something natural/biologic which each of us experience to a certain degree. This time though, blahs hit me a little harder than usual and I guess this is partly beacause last week, on the 13th of September, my English grandmother would have celebrated her 85th birthday, that is if she had not passed away last March...

Usually, on that occasion I reached for the telephone, lifted up the receiver, composed her number, wished her a wonderful day and had a pleasant chat with her. Instead, there was no one to call and my day was rather eerie. A strange sensation of emptiness filled me. It is terrible how the deceased leave a void in our lives and hearts. An entire chapter of our existence gets closed forever and it is impossible to press the rewind button. By disappearing our loved ones take many information, memories and secrets to the grave.

" Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight."
- Marc Aurelius

As we grow older, we learn to face the harsh reality of life. We are forced to see our heart get shattered in thousand pieces, make extremely difficult decisions, stand for ourselves, accept the fact that our dreams might never come true, start being more cynical and stop fantacizing too much, otherwise the sad and distressing events that we have to face as adults would just annihilate us if we were not a little prepared to suffer or get deceived. This is why we'd better be resilient and accept things as they are.

Well, eventhough I have embraced the fact that not everything in our existence if fair, acceptable or wanted, my first biggest regret as a grownup is to not have been able to go to visit granny for the last 13 years, to really have had the opportunity to get to know her better and get to pierce her carapace, to share some quality time together as equals and to show her the woman I have become (the last time we met, I was still living at home and had just stepped out of my adolescence).

Lack of bonding, money issues, weak kinship and limited communication made it very difficult for me to travel all the way to Derbyshire. My grandmother always asked me when I was going to come over to England, yet when I explained her that I was jobless and didn't have one dime in order to buy a plane ticket, I never got a response or reaction from her. Not one single answer, just silence. Eloquent silence that was worth a thousand words...

Anyway, even if I doubt she loved me as much as I loved her or cared for me as much as I cared for her, I nonetheless was extremely fond of my granny and revered her extraordinary culinary talents. Yet, never would I be capable of nourishing any form of resentment towards her as I am quite aware that people who were born at the beginning of the last century were brought up in an austere fashion and are not accustomed to exteriorizing their sentiments as well as emotions. It was quite taboo then, hence they are just sentimentally handicapped. This is what leads me to believe that somewhere deep inside of her, she had a well-hidden soft spot for me. So, to make peace with the past and to come to terms with my afflictions, I forgive her for having been imperfect relationship-wise and for not having given me the love I craved/needed.

Having been missing my second country, Great Britain, and Nana a lot lately, I decided to bake a "Jam Roly-Poly" to soothe my aching soul. During our stay in this land of rich history, ancient cities, captivating legends, green landscapes, ethereal atmospheres and homey food, my grandma rarely failed to regale us with this humble and comforting speciality. It is the reason why I invariably associate this treat with this beautiful country and this branch of my family.

"Jam Roly-Poly" (also less glamorously called "Dead Man's Arm", "Dead Man's Leg" or "Shirt Sleeve Pudding") is a traditional British pudding which was invented in the 1800's and which is composed of suet pastry and jam (generally raspberry or strawberry jam). It is a kind of rustic, flattish and ugly version of "Swiss Roll". Originally, it was steamed, but nowadays it is mostly baked.

Suet pastry is one of the most English of all pastries. As a matter of fact, it is used in a large variety of dishes such as puddings, dumplings and pies. As it is made with the rendered fat of either lamb, beef or pork, suet-based doughs are definitely not suitable for vegetarians. Since this sort of fat imparts an incomparably amazing and "meaty" flavor to baked goods, it is unfortunately quite difficult to find many animal-free substitutes for it. Coconut butter is the only one I can think of...

So, instead of making a straight-forward "Jam Roly-Poly" I opted for preparing a spicy version of that good old-fashioned pud. To the pastry, I incorporated cardamom powder and I replaced the usual cloying raspberry/strawberry jam (I love those berries, but dislike them when they are transformed into jam), by damson plum (or Italian plum) compote (less sweet and boring) that I flavored with orange peel. Those additions give some dimension and modernity to this dessert, thus bringing it forth into the 21st century.

My "Spicy Damson Plum Roly-Poly" might not be the prettiest or most photogenic (I had problems shooting it and nearly lost my temper trying to make it look presentable - I am definitely not a prop artist) of puddings, but it doesn't really matter as what counts is its taste which is simply certainly not devoid of oomph. The pastry is crisp and flaky on the outside and smooth, fluffy as well as slightly moist on the inside. The compote adds an extra welcome wetness to the goodie and the spices confer a divinely heady fragrance to the whole.

~ Spicy Damson Plum Roly-Poly ~
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, September 2011.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
250g Flour, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
60g Castor sugar
A pinch sea salt
1/2 Tsp Ground cardamom
115g Suet (Pork), very cold
120ml Full fat milk
6 Tbs (90g) Damson compote (or jam)
6g Orange zest
Custard sauce, to serve (recipe here)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
2. Cover a baking pan with baking paper.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour together with the baking powder, sugar, salt and cardamom.
4. Add the suet and cut it into the flour mixture.
5. Then, bind with the milk in order to obtain a soft, but not sticky pastry. Gather together into a ball, but don't overwork otherwise it will get tough.

6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 23cm x 32cm.
7. Spread with the damson compote, making sure you leave a 2cm border all around the edge and sprinkle with the orange zest.
8. Moisten the borders with either cold water or milk.
9. Roll into a tightish cylinder or sausage shape, starting with one short end (23cm).
10. Pinch the ends to seal in the jam.
11. Lay the roll in the centre of the baking paper, making sure the seal is underneath.
12. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the roly-poly is golden brown.
13. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Comments:
If you don't want to use pork suet, then you can either replace it by coconut butter (vegetarian), cold beef or duck fat (kosher/halal).
By letting the roly-poly rest for 5 minutes, you ensure the jam to not come oozing out of the roll when you cut it.

Serving suggestions:
Eat warm with a dollop of warm custard sauce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Roly-Poly Epicé A La Compote De Quetsches ~

Recette par Rosa Mayland, Septembre 2011.

Pour 4 personnes.

Ingrédients:
250g de Farine. plus un peu pour saupoudrer le plan de travail
1 1/2 CC de Poudre à lever
60g de Sucre cristallisé
1 Pincée de Sel de mer fin
1/2 de CC de Cardamome en poudre
115g de Saindoux, très froid
120ml de Lait entier
6 CS (90g) de Compote de quetsches (ou de confiture)
6g de Zeste d'orange
Crème anglaise/custard, pour servir (recette ici)

Méthode:
1. Préchauffer le four à 180° C.
2. Recouvrir une plaque de cuisson avec du papier sulfurisé.
3. Dans un bol moyen, mélanger la farine avec la poudre à lever, le sucre, le sel et la cardamome.
4. Ajouter le saindoux. Frotter la farine et le beurre entre les doigts afin d'obtenir un mélange qui ait la texture sabloneuse.
5. Incorporer le lait afin d'obtenir une pâte souple, mais pas collante. Ne pas trop pétrir autrement votre pâte sera dure. Former une boule.

6. Sur une surface enfarinée, rouler la pâte en un rectangle de 23cm x 32cm.
7. Etaler la compote de quetsches en laissant 2cm de pâte non couverte sur tout le pourtour et saupouder avec le zeste d'orange.
8. Humidifier les bords non-recouverts avec de l'eau ou du lait.
9. Rouler la pâte (en commençant par l'un des côtés étroits - 23cm) afin d'obtenir un rouleau assez serré (pas trop tout de même).
10. Pincer les bouts afin de les refermer.
11. Poser le roulé au centre de votre plaque en faisant attention à ce que le joint soit en-dessous.
12. Cuire pendant 45-50 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le roly-poly soit légèrement doré.
13. Laisser refroidir pendant 5 minutes avant de servir.

Remarques:
Le saindoux peut-être remplacé par du beurre de noix de coco (version végétarienne), de la graisse de boeuf ou canard (froide/dure - version kosher ou halal)
Si vous laissez le roly-poly reposer pendant 5 minutes, la compote ne coulera pas hors du roulé lorsque vous le couperez.

Idées de présentation:
Servir chaud avec de la crème anglaise.

CASSATA CUPCAKES & REFLECTING ON HOLIDAYS

The holidays are oficially over. Done, as energetic, charismatic and infamous chef Gordon Ramsay would put it. The dream has died, at least for now. It is once again time to face the harsh facts, cold reality and boring everyday, imposed routine. Impossible to escape the rat race. It never ceases to harass you like a hungry hyena and suck you dry of your energy and vital force like a famished vampire. Whether we consent to it or not we are all slaves to the wage (or to the system)...

"Run away from all your boredom
Run away from all your whoredom and wave
Your worries, and cares, goodbye
All it takes is one decision
A lot of guts, a little vision to wave

Your worries, and cares goodbye
It's a maze for rats to try
It's a race, a race for rats
A race for rats to die
It's a race, a race for rats A race for rats to die..."

- Excerpt taken from the song "Slave To The Wage" By Placebo

The feeling of constantly running and wasting your existence for others is even stronger when it is impossible for you to make the most of those oh so precious, yet hilariously rare free days. Then, taking a break is a little bit of a torture as you are trapped in your rabbit box apartment and sentenced to not going out of a perimeter of a few kilometers around your domicile as taking cars, trains or aeroplanes is definitely not in your budget. So, in a way you feel trapped, deprived and like in a jail since you cannot escape your village, town and canton in order to get some fresh air. Money really determines the size of your cage, so to speak.

Don't get me wrong, though. I love to spend quality time between my four walls and if I had more resources, I would not be the kind of person who would travel frenetically and never be able to take some time out to relax at home. I am quite a tranquil and domestic "animal" who doesn't like to get stressed around or run like a maniac just for the sake of going away. Such tiring activities are not for me. They leave me empty and depress me. It is just another grind and I don't need that as I already have a plateful of this monotonous treadmill called modern life.

Tourist trap legolands, prefabricated and ugly hotels, phony paradises that all look the same wherever you go, people-crammed destinations, sanitized/sterile activities and accomodations (Western food, four-star beds, luxurious resorts, comfy trips, etc...) that don't disorientate you too much, yet just let you get a secure but not too mind-boggling glimpse of the exotic country you are "visiting" (most individuals don't want to a too drastic change of scene although they want to set foot on the other side of the globe), mindless and soulless quickie holidays that leave you feeling barren as well as drained or demented quests for things to boost about in front of your colleagues, family or friends repulse me. Instead of that, I'd rather see nothing else than my usual environment as I believe that if you go far afield it should have a purpose and be an enrichening as well as bewildering experience!

Why would one want to endure a long and exhausting journey, pollute the air we breathe and throw their savings earned from their hard labourship out of the window for a shellless vacation? What the point in getting into so much trouble just to export your safe way of living abroad?

In my opinion, travelling is synonymous of discovery, astounding enlightement, indelible memories, stepping out of your comfort zone, enjoying the beauty of different and learning about other civilizations/traditions. In absence of that, I prefer to have fun without skipping latitudes and to play the tourist in my own district, thus rediscovering my city as well as the countryside surrounding. In fact, that's what I do every time I go out for a walk. I try to see the things I know in a totally new fashion...

It is to be said that blogs are a marvelous medium for journeying on a trip without leaving your seat. They open you up to other cultures, patterns of thinking and offer you a highly pleasurable visual stimulus. Quite a voyeuristic way of living through others, but so soul-uplifting when you are in need of some serious daydreaming in order to flee your tedious and not so glamorous life for a short while.

Cooking gives you the means of fantacizing and freeing yourself from your shackles too. I cannot recall how many times my mind has wandered to distant lands while having a amazing meal. Food is really a world in itself.

Last week, for example, I prepared two foreign dishes that transported me to wonderful climes. Eating "Moussaka" and "Lime Rabbit" has helped me catch a sight of sunny Greece with its beautiful and deserted Peloponese beaches, turquoise sea, goat and sheep covered mountainous regions, lovely terrace coffees, amazing, atmospheric and rugged landscapes, olive tree filled valleys, friendly natives, ancients ruins, and stunning gastronomy as well as get a peek of the Antilles and its Caribbean blue waters, verdoyant nature, colorful vegetation and houses, exhuberant inhabitants, heavenly scenery and its exquisitely spicy cuisine. Very refreshing.

This is why, today, I wish to share with you my take on an Italian classic and make you forget that your children are going back to school very soon and that hot weather amusements as well as frivolity have sadly come to an end with the closing of the holiday season.

My Sicily-inspired "Cassata Cupcakes" will surely make you remember those deliciously lazy moments you spent while reading a book on your longchair, idly sitting on a restaurant patio, lethargically sleeping on the living room couch, gullibly sipping on a glass of frozen cold rosé, shamelessly faking boredom, fervently admiring the sun setting in the crimson horizon, flirting with the waves and effortlessly loitering around the streets of an unknown village or metropolis.

Of course, considering the fact that I am a person who likes to be creative, always itches to change recipes and to add her personal touch to them, it was out of question for me not to invent my own version of this gorgeous entremet. So instead of preparing a big cake, I baked cupcakes. Nonetheless, I decided to stuff them with a traditional filling and decorate them with rolled green marzipan as it is done in Sicily.

This is a fresh, refined, spicy, lightly boozy and divine summer sweet treat that is perfect for afternoon teas or parties with friends and is the ideal Sunday family lunch/dinner dessert. Just try it, you'll be ravished by its heavely taste.

~ Cassata Cupcakes ~
Cupcake recipe adapated from Amy Sedaris' "I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence" and ricotta filling by Rosa Mayland 2011.

Makes about 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients for the "Cupcakes":
3/4 Cup (90g) Unsalted butter
3/4 Cup (158g) Castor sugar
1 Egg (~63g)
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1/3 Tsp Orange zest paste (or orange essence)
1 1/4 Tsp Baking powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 1/4 Cups (160g) Plain white flour
5/8 Cups minus 1 1/2 Tbs (130ml) Milk
Ingredients For The "Ricotta Filling":
1 Cup (250g) Ricotta cheese, strained (see instructions here)
1/2 Cup (60g) Confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3/4 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1 1/2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
2/3 Tsp Orange zest paste (or orange essence)
4 Tbs (60g) Chocolate (60%), finely chopped
1 Tbs Whisky
Ingredients For The "Decoration":
200g Green marzipan
Whisky, to taste

Method For The "Cupcakes":
1. Turn the oven on to 190° C (375° F).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients (salt, baking powder and flour). Set aside.
3. In a big bowl, cream the butter until smooth.
4. Add the sugar and cream again until the mixture is white, light and fluffy.
5. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time while beating/mixing well until blended.
6. Add the vanilla and orange zest paste, then the dry ingredients and the milk, alternatively, while mixing well, until all ingredients are totally combined (homogenous batter).
7. Pour into individual baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one cupcake comes out clean.
Method For The "Ricotta Filling":
1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the ricotta until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest paste and blend until homogenous.
3. Stir in the chopped chocolate and whisky.
4. Chill until firm.
Method for "Putting The Cupcakes together":
1. Cut the cupcakes in two (horizontally).
2. Brush the insides with a bit of whisky.
3. Spread 2 tsps ricotta filling on the bottom part of the cupcake and assemble.
4. Roll the marzipan between two sheets of plastic film and cut rounds about the size of a cupcake, then cover the top of each cupcake with them.
5. Serve.

Remarks:
The cupcakes can also be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months.
The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the cupcakes. Just cover and keep refrigerated.

Serving suggestions:
Serve those cupcakes as a teatime treat or for dessert with a good cup of coffee or some sparkling wine (Champagne, Prosecco or Clairette de Dille).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Cupcakes Façon Cassata ~
Recette pour les cupcakes adaptée de Amy Sedaris "I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence" et recette pour la garniture à la ricotta par Rosa Mayland 2011.

Pour environ 12 cupcakes.

Ingrédients pour les "Cupcakes":
60g de Beurre non-salé
160g de Sucre cristallisé
1 Oeufs (~63g)
1 CC de d'Extrait de vanille pure
1/3 CC de Pâte de zeste d'orange (ou d'essence d'orange)
1 1/4 CC de Poudre à lever/cake
1/4 CC de Sel
160g de Farine blanche/fleur
130ml de lait
Ingrédients Pour La "Garniture A La Ricotta":
250g de Ricotta, égouttée (voir instructions ici)
60g de Sucre en poudre, tamisé
3/4 de Cannelle en poudre
1 1/2 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
2/3 CC de Pâte de zeste d'orange (ou d'essence d'orange)
60g de Chocolat (60%), finement haché
1 CS de Whisky
Ingredients For The "Decoration":
200g de Massepain vert
Whisky, selon goût

Méthode Pour Les "Cupcakes":

1. Préchauffer le four à 190° C (375° F).
2. Dans un bol moyen, mélanger tous les ingrédients secs (sel, poudre à lever et farine). Mettre de côté.
3. Dans un grand bol, battre le beurre en pommade.
4. Ajouter le sucre et battre jusqu'à ce que le mélange devienne blanc et mousseux.
5. Ajouter les oeufs, un à la fois, tout en battant bien après chaque ajout afin d'obtenir un mélange homogène.
6. Ajouter la vanille et la pâte de zeste d'orange, puis les ingrédients secs, tout en alternant avec le lait et en mélangeant bien afin d'obtenir une pâte homogène.
7. Mettre la pâte dans les caissettes et remplir seulement au 2/3.
8. Cuire pendant 20 minutes, jusqu'à ce que les cupcakes soient dorés et que la lame d'en couteau en ressorte propre.
Méthode Pour La "Garniture A La Ricotta":
1. Dans le bol d'un batteur électrique, battre la ricotta jusqu'elle soit lisse et crémeuse.
2. Ajouter le sucre en poudre, la canelle, la vanille, le zeste d'orange en purée et battre à nouveau afin que le mélange soit homogène.
4. Ajouter le chocolate et le whisky.
5. Mettre au frigo afin que la garniture se rafermisse.
Méthode Por "L'assemblage Des Cupcakes":
1. Couper (horizontalement) les cupcakes en 2 parties égales.
2. Peindre chacune des deux parties intérieures avec un peu de whisky.
3. Etaler 2 CC de garniture à la ricotta sur la partie inférieure du cupcake.
4. Rouler le massepain et découper un rond de la taille du cupcake, puis recouvrir le dessus du cupcake avec.
5. Servir.

Remarques:
Si vouls le désirez, il vous eat possible de congeler les cupcakes (3 mois au m aximum).
La garniture peut être préparée 24 heures à l'avance et gardée au frigo.

Idées de présentation:
Servir ces cupcakes l'heure du thé ou comme dessert, avec un bon café et un vin mousseux de qualité (Champagne, Prosecco ou Clairette de Dille).