Apple crumble
Oh yes, yes, yes! During apple season baking an apple crumble is a MUST!
So you are left with fond memories and a wonderful aftertaste of the end of summer and the harvest season. And that amazing smell- my family has a smile on their faces as they come right through the door.
800 g sour apples, peeled and cut into pieces
100 g light brown sugar
Optional- cinnamon
For the crumble
200 g all purpose flour (or use wholegrain flour)
200 g old fashioned rolled oats
200 g unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
100 g light brown sugar + 1 tbsp to sprinkle
Pinch of salt
1. In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients- flour, oats, sugar, salt. Add the cold butter and using your hands mix everything together until crumbles form.
2. Peel the apples and cut into pieces. Mix together with the brow sugar and add cinnamon if using.
Only mix the apples with the sugar right before use so that the apples don’t lose their juices.
3. Heat the oven to 180 degrees (celsius).
4. Butter a 30x20x6 cm pan.
5. First place the apples on the bottom of the pan and then evenly cover with the crumble dough. Now sprinkle over the extra tablespoon of sugar for more crunchiness.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25-30 min. The crumble is ready when the top is golden brown.
7. Can be served hot or cold, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream can be added.
Recipe: Ārija Avota
Photo: Oto Avots
Tiramisu
This is as classic as it gets- a very traditional tiramisu, that is the best I’ve ever tasted. Also great point- it has little ingredients and is easy to make. Many recipes suggest to cover the tiramisu with grated chocolate, but I prefer using cocoa powder that makes the chocolate taste less dominant and over powering.
Sometimes I like to take this dessert to work and enjoy it with a cup of coffee.
For the cream
500 g Mascarpone cream cheese
250 g sugar
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites
2 tbsp cocoa powder for sprinkling
3 cups strong, black coffee (cold)
1 tbsp brandy or whiskey
400 g ladyfinger cookies
1. Brew the coffee and set it aside to cool (you can make it using any method you prefer).
2. In a large bowl mix together the egg yolks with sugar and beat until the mixture turns light and fluffy. Then gradually add the mascarpone cream cheese one tablespoon at a time, beating in between every time.
3. Using clean and dry whisks, beat the egg whites in a smaller and also clean bowl until stiff peaks form.
4. Slowly stir in the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Be gentle not to lose the fluffiness.
5. Pour the cooled coffee and the brandy (or whiskey) in a shallow bowl.
6. Prepare the baking pan 30x20x5 cm to start layering the tiramisu.
7. One by one take the ladyfinger cookies, dip in the coffee and place on the bottom of the pan tightly side by side. You only need to dip the cookie for a second, otherwise it can get too soggy and the tiramisu wont hold together as well as it should.
8. On top of the first layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the cream cheese mixture evenly. Then repeat a layer of ladyfingers and again the cream cheese. Use a sift to sprinkle cocoa powder on top of the tiramisu at the end. The cocoa is supposed to cover the whole tiramisu.
9. Place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Serve with fruit and some coffee or by it self, of course.
Recipe: Ārija Avota
Photo: Ārija Avota
Rhubarb muffins
This is a great way how to finish off rhubarb season- baking some juicy rhubarb muffins 👌
320 g all purpose flour, I like to replace 1/3 with whole grain flour
150 g sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
grated lemon peel of 1 lemon
250 ml buttermilk
1 large egg, room temp
120 ml vegetable oil
300 g fresh rhubarb, cut into small pieces
Optional: add 100 g frozen (no need to defrost) blueberries, raspberries or black currants
Makes 12 muffins
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (celsius). Place muffin liners in the muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl stir or whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and lemon peel. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl beat the egg and then add oil and buttermilk.
4. Take the large bowl and create a pit in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour in the egg mixture and stir everything very gently.
Be careful not to over mix the batter, there might be some lumps left and that is ok. If over mixed, the muffins could turn out dense and not as fluffy.
5. Add the rhubarb and berries (if chosen to use) to the batter and stir in slowly.
6. Pour the batter in the muffin tin, spread it evenly. Place the tin in the middle of the oven and bake for 25 min. The muffins will be well risen and a little golden brown on the top. Check the center with a toothpick.
7. When removed from the oven, let the muffins cool for 5-10 min and then serve.
Recipe: Ārija Avota
Photo: Oto Avots
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
Our family loves any kind of homemade cookies! Especially the chewy and soft kind- like these.
I try to put part of the dough in the freezer right away since sometimes you just really crave some sweets immediately :)
The peanut butter gives the cookies a nice nutty, salty taste. For absolute best results use homemade peanut butter or use the organic kind.
300 g dark chocolate (cocoa content at least 50%)
100 g milk chocolate (cocoa content at least 35%)
100 g light brown sugar
85 g butter, room temp
100 g peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
1 egg, room temp
1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla sugar
100 g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
100 g salted, roasted peanuts
Makes 12 large cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (celsius). Prepare the baking sheets for the pan.
2. Melt 200 g of the dark chocolate (best method is over water) in a medium bowl. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a little.
3. Chop the rest of the chocolates (dark and milk) into chunks.
4. Add the sugar, soft butter, peanut butter to the melted chocolate bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture- the flour, chocolate chunks, salted nuts. The dough will be kind of soft.
6. Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop form the dough in balls on the baking sheets- six on each sheet.
7. Bake one pan at a time for 10-12 min, until the sides ar brown, but center still soft. The cookies will set as they cool.
Recipe: Ārija Avota
Photo: Ieva Andersone (IG: photoievaandersone)
Published: Ievas virtuve, santa.lv
