Dark Cocoa and Coconut Milk Sponge Cake

This recipe couldn’t be easier to remember, I call it the 150 recipe, as it’s the number you have to memorize, regarding quantities. In fact, the measurements of this sponge cake can be used as a basis for any sponge cake you imagine (yogurt, fruit, vanilla, etc.).

Ingredients:

• 150 gr of wheat flour.

• 150 ml of coconut milk.

• 150 gr of melted butter.

• 150 gr of sugar.

• 3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder.

• 3 eggs

• 1 sachet of pastry yeast.

Optional: 5 ml of bitter almond extract.

Steps to follow:

• Mix the sugar with the egg yolk and butter until a homogeneous cream.

• Add the coconut milk, the bitter almond extract and the dark cocoa powder.

• Gradually add the flour mixed with the yeast until you get a creamy butter without lumps.

• Beat the egg whites until stiff.

• Incorporate the egg whites into the butter, little by little, making enveloping movements.

• Place the butter in a sponge cake tin.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

Biscoito de cacao e leite de coco.

Esta receita non podería ser máis doada de lembrar. Eu chámolle a receita dos 150, xa que é o número que tedes que apuntar para as cantidades. De feito, as medidas deste biscoito pódenvos servir de base para calquera biscoito que imaxinedes: con iogur, froitas, vainilla etc.

Ingredientes:

• 150 g. de fariña de trigo.
• 150 ml. de leite de coco.
• 150 g. de manteiga fundida.
• 150 g. de azucre.
• 3 culleradas de cacao en po.
• 3 ovos.
• 1 sobre de lévedo de repostaría.

Opcional: 5 ml. de extracto de améndoa amarga.

Pasos a seguir:

• Mesturar o azucre coa xema dos ovos e a manteiga até conseguir una crema homoxénea.
• Incorporar o leite de coco e o cacao en po.
• Agregar, paseniño, a fariña mesturada co lévedo até obter unha masa cremosa e sen grumos.
• Bater as claras a punto de neve.
• Incorporar as claras á masa, aos poucos, facendo movementos envolventes.
• Colocar a masa nun molde de biscoito.
• Enfornar durante 25 ou 30 minutos a 170 graos centígrados.

How to make use of cheese wedges?

As a fan of the zero-waste policy in the kitchen, I am always looking for new uses for leftovers or those pieces of food that, at first, seem to be doomed to end up in the trash.

In this case I wanted to share with you the incredible properties of parmesan and pecorino cheese as flavour enhancers. These cheeses, typical of the Italian culinary tradition, are full of umami and have a touch that improves the taste of any dish (risotto, pasta, meat …) but we always end up throwing the final part of each wedge, thinking it is worthless. This mistake, despite being very common, is easy to fix. All you have to do is store these pieces in the fridge and use them to increase the flavour of your stews and casseroles.

I guess you are already thinking: “but is thing edible?”. Well, it actually is but its texture is not for everybody. There are those who remove the wedge before serving (sometimes it even disappears while cooking) and those who leave it as an element of the dish. Personally, I will say it doesn’t taste bad at all. It has a somewhat gelatinous texture as it softens while cooking but in a matter of taste it is so good.

I encourage you to give it a try, you’ll see that you do not regret it.

Como aproveitar as codias do queixo?

Hoxe tráiovos un truco para potenciar o sabor dos vosos pratos, sobre todo o dos guisos e estufados. Como fanática da cociña de aproveitamento, sempre estou a buscar novos usos para as sobras ou aquelas partes dos alimentos que, de primeiras, parecen estar abocados a acabaren no lixo.

Neste caso quería compartir convosco as incríbeis propiedades do parmesano e o pecorino como potenciadores do sabor. Estes queixos italianos (cheos de umami) teñen un toque especial que enxalza o sabor de calquera prato (risotto, pasta, carne…), mais sempre acabamos por estragar as codias ao pensarmos que non valen para nada. Este erro, malia ser moi común, é doado de solucionar. So tedes que ir gardando estes anacos no frigorífico e empregalos para incrementar o sabor das vosas elaboracións.

Agora estaredes a pensar: “mais iso cómese?”. Pois, como sempre, vai no gusto de cada un. Hai quen os retira á fin do cociñado (as veces até desaparece por si só) e quen os deixa como un elemento máis do prato. Persoalmente, direi que non sabe nada mal. Ten unha textura algo xelatinosa ao amolecer durante a cocción, mais en cuestión de gusto non ten dúbida.

Afóutovos a que lle deades unha oportunidade, xa veredes que non vos arrepentides!

Noodles with zucchini, green beans & crab

Yesterday was one of those lazy nights and I didn’t want to spend loads of time cooking dinner. In those cases, noodles are always a good choice. Besides, I had fresh veggies so I could not find a better excuse to use them.

Ingredients:

250 gr of wheat noodles

½ zucchini

50 gr of green beans

20g of oyster sauce

20 gr of lukewarm water

10 g of sweet soy sauce

6 crab sticks

Optional: sweet and sour sauce with chilies to give it a spicy kick.

Steps:

• Boil water and leave the noodles in for 5 minutes.

• Sauté the zucchini and beans in a wok for 5 minutes

• Add the oyster sauce and water. Sauté for 3 more minutes.

• Toss the crab sticks and sweet soy. Sauté for 1 minute.

• Add the noodles and mix well so that the sauce impregnates them well.

• Finally, if you want, you can add a little sweet and sour sauce with chili to give it a spicy touch.

Noodles con cabaciña, feixón verde e paus de caranguexo

A de onte foi unha desas noites de preguiza en que non quería enredar moito para a cea e, neses casos, os noodles sempre son unha boa opción.

Ingredientes:

250 g. de noodles de trigo.

½ cabaciña.

50 g. de feixóns verdes.

20g. de salsa de ostras.

20 g. de auga tépeda.

10 g. de salsa soia doce.

6 paus de caranguexo.

Opcional: Salsa agridoce con chiles para darlle un toque picante.

Pasos:

• Ferver auga e deixar os noodles repousando nela durante 5 minutos.
• Saltear a cabaciña e os feixóns nun wok 5 minutos.
• Engadir a salsa de ostras e a auga. Saltear durante 3 minutos máis.
• Botar os paus de caranguexo e a soia doce. Saltear 1 minuto.
• Engadir os noodles e mesturar ben para que a salsa impregne todo.
• Para rematar, se queredes, podedes botar un pouco de salsa agridoce con chili para darlle un toque picante.

Sponge Cake with Limoncello Cream

• 

• 

Today I’ll show you how to make a very basic sweet recipe that is super practical to fix breakfasts time or to serve with coffee/tea when you invite people over: Sponge cake with Limoncello cream

Ingredients

Sponge Cake

100 grams of sugar

150 gr wheat flour

150 gr butter

1 sachet of baking yeast

1 shut of limoncello cream

25 g of citrus powder

3 eggs

Steps

• Mix sugar, yolks and melted butter. Whisk until you get a well-blended cream.

• Add the citrus powder and the Limoncello cream.

• Gradually introduce the flour mixed with the yeast.

• Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff.

• Incorporate the egg whites into the dough little by little, and making enveloping movements, so that the egg whites do not lose air.

• Bake for 25 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

Icing

50 gr icing sugar.

½  lemon juice.

Steps

• Once the sponge cake is almost cold, mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and whisk until well dissolved.

• Paint the surface of the sponge cake with the citrus mixture and let it cool on a rack.

Biscoito de crema de Limoncello

• 

• 

Hoxe tráiovos unha receita doce moi básica que resulta moi práctica para solucionar os almorzos ou para poñer co café cando temos visita: biscoito de crema de limoncello.

Ingredientes

Biscoito

100 g. azucre.

150 g. fariña de trigo.

150 g. manteiga.

1 sobre de lévedo de repostaría.

1 chope de crema de limoncello.

25 g. de po de cítricos.

3 ovos.

Pasos

• Mesturar o azucre, as xemas e a manteiga derretida. Bater até conseguir unha crema ben amalgamada.
• Engadir o po de cítricos e o chope de crema de limoncello.
• Introducir aos poucos a fariña mesturada co lévedo.
• Bater as claras a punto de neve.
• Incorporar as claras á masa facendo movementos envolventes para que non perdan aire.
• Enfornar durante 25 minutos a 170 graos centígrados.

Glaseado

50 g. azucre glas.

Zume de medio limón.

Pasos

• Unha vez o biscoito estea case frío, mesturar o azucre glas co zume de limón e bater até que quede ben disolto.
• Pintar a superficie do biscoito coa mestura cítrica e deixar arrefriar.

Bechamel (White Sauce)

Bechamel is one of the basics of cooking which, at first sight, many of us fear thinking it is a complex process, but it is not. Tasty and versatile, this white sauce has multiple uses giving that creamy touch to gazillions of dishes: as a basis for gooey croquettes, pasta, fish, you name it!

To make bechamel you will only need 4 main ingredients: butter, flour, milk and salt. Additionally, I always advise adding a touch of nutmeg to give it that extra kick. Needless to say, this last step is always a matter of taste.

Ingredientes:

500 ml fat milk

50 gr butter

50 gr wheat flour

Salt to taste

Nutmeg to taste

Instructions:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and stir until it absorbs the butter.
• Add warm milk and keep stirring the hole time.
• Stir until the desired density is reached (approx. 10/15 minutes).