soft meringue roll with raspberries & a competition i failed

today is the day the daring bakers post their latest recipe: a chocolate caramel tart thats to die for. i read the recipe over and over again and couldnt wait to get started. then came flu. then my hunger went elsewhere and i havent gotten it back yet. so that tart - not gonna happen, at least not this month. but please go and have a look at the daring baker blogroll (find the link on the side!). but for everyone with a sweet tooth here is my meringue roll with raspberries. a wonderful soft meringue roll thats very easy to make and just heaven on a plate.

i was using raspberries for this one, but feel free to use any other berry or fruit. also: use almond extract instead of the vanilla or flavour the cream with a drop of kirsch.

RECIPE

250ml heavy cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar (make sure its sifted)
150g egg whites (about 4 eggs... depending on size)
160g sugar
1 teaspoon white vineggar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
about 200g fresh raspberries (or other berries)
icint sugar for dusting


preheat the oven to 160 c°.

place the eggwhites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. gradually add the caster sugar and whisk until thick and glossy. fold in the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla. spoon the mixture into a 4 x 34 x25cm baking tray, lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for about 20 minutes. allow to cool in the tin for 2-3 minutes. turn out onto a cooling rack (thats lined with some non-stick baking paper) and allow to cool for another 3-4 minutes.

place heavy cream in a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. add icing sugar, whisk again and gently spread the cream down the centre of the meringue, then sprinkle with the raspberries. fold over the sides of the meringue to enclose and dust with the extra icing sugar to serve.

if you dont serve this straight away, keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

i have got mail

i love to get mail. really, it doesnt matter wheiter its just a postcard, a letter or - and this is what i love most - a package. i am lucky to have a job where packets with new books land on my desk on a daily basis which is a perfect way to start the day. packets are a bit like pressies and i cant get enough of it.
i didnt have to think for a minute to join dispensing happyness'es event blogging by mail where i was sent an adress to send my package to the other end of the world. on the other hand i would get a nice package from someone from our foodblogworld. and i did...
the package came all the way from singapore, sent by the lovely murni. oh and it was full of fabulous stuff! marni sent me everything from muruku (speciality snack) to nuts, biscuits with icing and some wonderful tapioca chips (i cant imagine ever eating potato chips again). oh and there were coconut and fish sauces, noodles and kaya spread, which is made with coconut milk, egg, sugar and juice of screwpine leaves. a wonderful spread on toast (and very good if pregnant, at least this is what marni wrote).
marni thank you so much for all the yummy things you sent me! slurp - loving it all!

browniebabe update

my browniebabes i cant even begin to tell you how guilty i feel. i have this mailbox full of delicious brownies but cant get round to post the roundup. flu hit me and with it a constant feeling of nausea that doesnt make me wanna look at food at all. not even a delicious brownie will change that. so how about we extend this wonderful event a little more and the new deadline for browniebabe of the month is the 2nd of september. all infos how to bake and post you will find here. happy browniebaking and thanks for understanding. i will be rattlesnacke quick with posting the roundup after that (when flu is gone and me feeling fresh as a daisy again...)

centrepiece of the month

for this month's centrepiece of the month - as always hosted by the lovely jannelle of talk of tomatoes - i try to cherish the last of summer. autumn is just around the corner and i feel like i just have to treasure the last of the summer flowers.


i created a simple centre piece by filling this wire basket with tiny cups and filled them with all kinds of flowers. if you dont have a a little basket like i do - simply use small glasses, cappucino cups - really whatever is tiny and can hold a flower. remember - the more the merrier, if you have 6 or 7 cups it makes an wonderful impression and a stunning summery centrepiece.

zucchini cake with chocolate & pistacios

so it was big. really big, that zucchini i got from my neighbour. more like a little monster that grew in her garden. since i cant say no to any vegetable or fruit, i just had to take it. and there i was with this huge zucchini - "i better come up with an idea real quick" i thought, because there was no way it would fit in my fridge (also because it was full with fruit and butter and eggs and cheese anyway). the lovely deb over at smitten kitchen posted a wonderful recipe recently about a zucchini bread that was on top of my list anyway. so it was zucchini cake - more like 6 of them, because that green moster wheigted about 1 kilo so there were a few cakes to bake. but it's so easy to make, you wont spend too much time in the kitchen. really a wonderful recipe to do - the smell of it was so strong that it travelled all the way from my kitchen to my balcony - i couldnt wait to slice it and serve it with a generous amout of ice-cream.


RECIPE
adapted from smitten kitchen

3 eggs
250ml olive or vegetable oil
160g sugar
about 280g grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
330g flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
a generous pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt
100g chopped pistacios or pecan nuts
90g chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 c°.

line two 25cm loaf pans with parchment paper.
in a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.
combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt, as well as pistacios & chocolate chips. stir this into the egg mixture. divide the batter into prepared pans.
bake loaves for 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

it's best served still warm with some vanilla icecream. if you want to be really kinky, pour over some chocolate glaze - just ver, very good!


fancy more recipes using veggies and herbs? - then check out zorras blog, she is hosting this weeks WHB.

lavender jam

picture by michael wissing

okeleydokeley, i know it looks and sounds quite exotic, but i have to tell you it's not. this lavender jam is a wonderful thing to have in your pantry. since it's not as firm as usual jam, it makes a wonderful glaze for chicken, lamb or any kind of fish you would put on the grill. also a killer ingredient for youghurt, icecream and goat cheese. oh - it's just divine and look at the colours!!! girls, give it a try, its so easy to make and it will please everyone at your table.

RECIPE

a hand full of organic, dried lavender blossoms
50g sugar
2 tablespoons of honey
150ml red port wine
100ml creme de cassis
120ml water

mix all ingredients in a saucepan and let cook for about 30 minutes until it gets all syrupy. then put in a sealable glass jar and keep in the fridge.

taken from tanja grandits book AROMA, published by AT-verlag.

looking for more recipes using all kinds of herbs? then head over to melissa the cooking diva who is hosting this weeks weekend herb blogging.

last minute pasta gone fancy

there is a pasta i love above all others. i can never resits a spagbol, would run a mile for lasagne, but my all time favourite would be cavatelli pugliesi. they are so tiny and soft and lovely and go wonderful with whatever sauce you want to serve it with. i'd even like to think you could serve them with some butter, a dash of freshly grated parmesan cheese and dinner is ready.
mine had to be done quick tonight. i had a day that was spent either in front of the washing machine, the bookshelf (not reading - organising it!) and bedroom (folding t-shirts) and i was just DESPERATE for some food - it better be done in a dash, but still - it had to be a pretty dish with nice flavours and everything. so i just took some fancy dried porchinis and morels out of my cupboard and mixed this little dish together. it's a last minute dish gone fancy!

cavatelli pugliesi

cavatelli is a small, shell-shaped pasta with a rolled edge. the pasta is typically sold refrigerated (but also available as a dried pasta). Some italian-americans in the new york area refer to the pasta as "gab-a-deel" or "cav-a-dell" or gav-a-deel (among other pronunciations) instead of cavatelli. such pronunciations have their origin in various southern italian dialects. cavatelli are made of flour and water. it can also be made more traditionally with ricotta cheese in the dough.

RECIPE
serves one hungry woman

cavatelli pugliesi (or other pasta such as orecchiette)
one small shallot, finely diced
butter
a hand full of fresh brown mushrooms
5-6 dried morells, soaked in hot water
5-6 dried porchinis, soaked in hot water
some finely diced red chilli (optional)
white wine
a generous splash light cream
salt & freshly ground pepper

cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
heat small knob of butter in large frying pan, add shallot & red chilli (if using)and cook until it starts to soften - turn heat up, add fresh brown mushrooms and cook until they start to soften, then add the morels & porchinis (also add the water you soaked them in). cook until water starts to evaporate. then add generous splash of white wine and cook until you cant smell the alcohol any more. add light cream, take off heat & season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
drain pasta, then mix with mushrooms and serve.


the dahlia of course is not to eat. but just so adorable, i cant get enough of it. if you like dahlias but fancy pasta, too head over to ruths blog once upon a feast, she is hosting another week of presto pasta night.

my famous cream cheese brownies

oh boy... i just realized that i have never posted a brownie recipe. this would be no big deal, if i wasnt this woman who is bragging around like crazy to be a browniebabe - one that can tell a good brownie from a bad one. and then i dont even post about a single one.
when really for me - there is just one brownie that i would always pick above the others. one that i would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and even after dinner). it became my signature dish (i know other people are real rockstars in the kitchen and cook a tricky meat dish...) that people ask for when they are over for dinner or have a birthday coming up. it's my famous cream cheese brownies. a simple, humble littel brownie that melts on your tongue and is full of delicious chocolate and vanilla.


i had my first cream cheese brownie about 10 years ago when i was in new york, wandering the streets of soho and being really really hungry. it was only 9 o clock in the morning (the hotel was so yucky, i had to leave as soon as i woke up...) and i walked past cafe bari on the corner of west broadway and spring street. they had these generously portioned cream cheese brownies that i just couldnt resist. back home i had really bad cravings for them and i knew, i better come up for a recipe - 'cos cafe bari wont ship to switzerland. i hope you enjoy - it's a cute, sweet little dish thats easy to bake. and if you are into brownies, dont forget to bake for the browniebabe of the month competition until the 17th of august. you could be our next browniebabe of the month!


RECIPE

125g real good chocolate
125g butter
2 eggs
200g sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
75g flour
1 pinch of salt

200g cream cheese (use full fat!)
1 egg yolk
70g sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

heat the oven to 220 c°. line a 18 x 27cm.
melt the chocolate together with the butter in a saucepan & mix until smooth. let cool a little.
mix the eggs and the sugar until pale and a little fluffy. add the vanilla and - while whisking constantly - mix into the melted chocolate. sieve the flour and the pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until all the flour is folded in. pour into the prepared tin and smear it all over the tin - making sure the corners are well covered.
mix the cream cheese with the egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. divide them onto the batter, using a tablespoon. then "swirl" a fork or knive between the chocolate and the creamcheese mixture so you get a nice marble effect.
bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. the top will be lightly crips, the inside will still be nice and moist and just lovely. let cool, then cut into generous slices.

they contain enough butter to keep for a week in a closed caketin.

kind of oriental meat lasagne

another week, another lasagne. this time i am going for a meaty version with loads of creamy bechamel sauce. i added some cinnamon to the meat-sauce, it makes it kinda oriental and the aroma just blends wonderful with the creamy bechamel sauce and the basil on top. i think it's just heaven on a plate - i could eat it all day...
if you are in pasta-mood, head over to ruth's blog once upon a feast, she is hosting another week of presto pasta night!


RECIPE

500g minced beef
a hand full of fresh oregano or thyme
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 medium red onion, diced finely
1 carrot, diced finely
a hand full of mushrooms, sliced (if you got any...)
1 tablespoon of tomato purée
2 cans diced tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
loads of freshly grated parmesan cheese
fresh lasagne / pasta sheets
fresh herbs such as basil to serve

bechamel sauce
25g butter
30g flour
500ml / 1/2 a liter milk
salt, pepper and grated nutmeg

heat oven to 180 c°.

first make the easy-peasy tomato sugo. heat some olive oil in a depp sided pan, add onion, carrot and tomato purée - mix and let sauté for a bit until it softens and caramelises. now add the meat and cook until it starts to brown. add cinnamon & oregano (or thyme). then add canned tomatoes, increase heat. season with salt and pepper and let it cook and bubble until the mixture has thickened. season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

to make the bechamel sauce melt butter in a saucepan, then add flour and roast (but dont let it brown), then add milk and whisk until the sauce starts to thicken. add some salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg (i alwas add a hand full of grated parmesan, too).

to assemble the lasagne, start with a layer of meat-sauce, topped with some of the bechamel sauce, then add a layer of fresh pasta sheets, continue - finishing with a layer of bechamel sauce. sprinkle generously with freshly grated parmesan cheese and season with some pepper.
bake in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until pasta is cooked and the top has nicely browned. sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.