Churros con chocolate - fool-proof churros with chocolate and orange sauce (vegan, kosher)

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Sunday is no fun day without churros. With my fool-proof recipe you, too, will turn your kitchen into a churreria in less than half an hour!

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Sunday in Andalusia is not Sunday without freshly fried churros, dipped in thick and oh, so divinely rich chocolate. 

That seems to be the case in our household, too - these days people keep flocking over for weekend sleepovers just to gather around the steaming pile of churros which magically appears on the kitchen table every Sunday. 

Ok, magic might have less to do it that yours truly, but with this fool-proof recipe of mine you don't even need magic. In less than half an hour you, too, can turn your kitchen into a churreria!

While the process is easier than you would ever believe, you do need one of those professional, lined piping bags.

Usually churrerias only sell churros  in the morning and again in the afternoon, but luckily at home you can go crazy over them any time of the day. 

So, go on - spoil someone you love already this weekend!

For more flavour you can also add 1/2 tsp of cardamom, 1 tsp of finely grated lemon (or orange) zest or 1/4 tsp of cinnamon into the churro dough. 

In case you like your chocolate with an extra dose of pasión, you can infuse the milk with a half a red chilli instead of orange.  

¡ Aye caramba!

Depending on the size the recipe yields 10-14 churros

Churros con chocolate:

3,5 dl water

3 tbsp vegetable oil

250 g all purpose flour

1 tsp bicarb

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

For frying: ½ l neutral vegetable oil

For serving (optional): cinnamon sugar (0.75 dl sugar combined with 1 tbsp cinnamon)

Orange and chocolate sauce:

2 dl full-fat milk (or vegan substitute)

the peel of an orange, preferably in one strip

200 g chocolate (around 43% cocoa is good), vegan substitute if needed

Measure oil and water into a pot and bring to boil. Combine dry ingredients. 

Once the water boils, remove it from the heat and stir in the dry ingredients until you're left with a smooth dough. Leave to cool, covered for half an hour. In the meanwhile prepare the chocolate sauce. 

Pour milk into a small pot with the orange peel. Bring to boil and remove from the stove. Cover and leave to infuse for about w5 minutes. Then remove the orange peel and bring milk to boil. Add roughly chopped chocolate, stir until smooth and leave to cool. 

Spoon the churro dough into a sturdy piping bag equipped with 12-mm closed star piping tip. Pipe the dough into churros of desired length onto a lightly oiled parchment (this makes them easier to dip into the hot oil and also enables you to fold them into any shapes you want such as hearts or letters prior to frying).

The ideal thickness is about that of a finger as anything thicker than that tends to easily remain raw in the middle. 

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (180°) and fry the churros in batches until golden and crunchy. Drain quickly on kitchen towels and, if desired, toss in a cimmanon sugar.

Serve with chocolate sauce and enjoy.

¡ Buenas dias mundo!

Have you ever made churros yourselves? What are your weekend breakfast treats?

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Sourmilk bundt cake with dried fruit - a Christmas classic for a reason (vegan, kosher)

This moist sourmilk cake with dried fruit is a Christmas classic for a reason!

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This year, too, the Cat Blogger's Christmas table will feature some unlikely traditions (tzatsiki, Nigerian stew and one Hanukkah menora-wielding food blogger for whom 2 kilos of shrimps has already been stashed away in the freezer!) along with some more classic treats. 

One of them is this moist sourmilk bundt cake, the family heirloom recipe of which has now been trusted with me, too.

The recipe is so old it actually gives the measurements in coffee cups and the final product is baked over camp fire wearing a loin cloth. 

Ok, I might have added that last bit for dramatic effect, but you get the idea. It's old. But, as the oldies often come, they're classics for a reason. 

My recipe's been converted into a bit more precise measurements (how oh, very 21st century!) seeing how I don't even drink coffee, let alone own a collection of coffee cups. As for the dried fruit, you can use just raisins, or add some dates and/or figs in the mix, too. I use them all as... well, it's Christmas.

While not normally a massive fan of bundt cakes (they tend to be served by dry old ladies and the cakes seem to be every bit as dry and old) I do love this one. Last Christmas I had two six slices (somehow trying to make sense of the fact that not celebrating Christmas in my case seems to mean celebrating at least two of them each year). 

The batter comes together in the time it takes to pre-heat the oven and I've just been revealed that the version I so happily wolfed down last year was actually vegan. 

So, here you go - both versions of the cake! 

Buttermilk bundt cake with dried fruit:

4,5 dl all purpose flour

1,5 dl sugar

1,5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3 dl raisins (and/or dates and/ or figs (I use 1 dl of each)

1,5 dl syrup

2,25 dl buttermilk (or same amount of soy milk mixed with 1 tbsp of vinegar)

1 egg (or 2 tbsp of chia seeds mixed with 4 tbsp of water)

150 g butter (or margarin), melted

Also:

butter (or margarin) and bread crumbs for preparing the tin

Pre-heat the oven to 175°c  (in convection oven 150° should do). Grease and dust the tin. 

In case using dates and/ or figs, cut them into smaller pieces. 

Combine dry ingredients and fold in the dried fruit.

Beat syrup with buttermilk and egg. Add into the dry ingredients. Finally whisk in melted and slightly cooled butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake at the lower part of the oven for 40-50 minutes (depending on the oven) until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

Let cool in the tin and then turn it out onto a serving platter. Serve and be merry!

And along with this recipe the blog is going to bugger off for a short holiday. May you all have a wonderful Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa!

Meet you back here on December 27th, ok?  That's when I'll be presenting you last of the Bulgarian souvenirs!

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Gingerbread filled with white chocolate and goat cheese

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White chocolate and goat cheese filling is a quick and easy way to pimp the gingrebread. And they make nice foodie gifts, too!

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Sure, making your own gingerbread dough from the scratch does make the best dough... but at least chez moi I've discovered it tends to magically disappear from the fridge as it's supposedly resting overnight and by the time the oven is hot there's hardly any left. Instead there is a cook with a seriously sore tummy... 

I blame them elves - around Christmas time they are the reason behind all the funny business, right?

But hey - sticking with this year's theme of stress-free Christmas, let's not stress. Take a deep breath and tell yourself it is perfectly ok to use  store-bought dough, too. It is. 

I even remember finding some in the corner shop around July once. Strangely enough my stomach was equally upset after wolfing down half a kilo package of that. Go figure - I could swear there were no elves anywhere.

For this purpose you should bake thicker and softer gingerbread (which to me is the only way to go anyway). If you want something even more decadent, you could add a jam layer too. Pear or blueberry for instance would work well. 

I was supposed to add a cranberry jelly, but after I got home, I realized I'd left the jar in the shop. But hey - let's not stress about that either!

White chocolate gives the filling sweetness and structure and goat cheese lends it lovely tartness and spreadability. If you're not a fan of it though you could just use regular cream cheese. 

You could also add some pureed berries to the filling. Or crushed hard, salty liquorice candy. Or substitute it with chocolate ganache. Entirely up to you so go on, go crazy!

Depending on the size of your gingerbread the filling is enough for 10-15 cookies

White chocolate and goat cheese filled gingerbread:

500 g gingerbread dough 

Roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness. Using a circular cookie cutter (or a glass), cut it into discs. Using a tiny cookie cutter (or a sharp knife) cut a desired shape into half of them. 

Bake at 200° for 5-7 minutes until the edges start getting a little colour. Let cool, fill and assemble the cookies.

White chocolate and goat cheese filling:

1 (145 g) White chocolate bar

1 tsp vanilla essence

the finely grated zest of a lime 

the juice from 1/2 lime

1 box (140 g) spreadable goat cheese

Melt the chocolate in Bain Marie ( metal bowl placed over pot of simmering water). Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Chill until ready to use. 

Turn the gingerbread cookies the lower side up. Spread the filling (easiest way is to use piping bag and a small round nozzle) onto one half and then press the top half (the one with the shae cut into it) on top of it. 

Serve! And be merry!

PS. In case youdo have the time (and self-restraint...) here you'll find my recipe for made-from-scratch-gingerbread dough.

PPS. And in case you're looking for a gluten-free recipe, check out Veera's version at  Queen of Delicious! 

So, have you already started your gingerbread season? How do you  pimp yours?

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Lemon and rosemary shortbread biscuits

Lemon and rosemary give these shortcrust biscuits wonderful and oh, so Mediterranean freshness!

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At our Mediterranean themed Christmas season kick off party we did not settle for any old gingerbread, oh, no. Instead I baked these zingy lemon and rosemary shortbread biscuits which get their lovely shape from snowflake-shaped cookie cutters. 

I used them as a decoration for our Christmas three, too and guests could nip over when ever they felt like it.

I also set up a decoration station where they could decorate their own to take home with them. Surprisingly therapeutic activity, I'll tell you. A bit like those mindfulness colouring books, I guess... only with a glass of wine.

These  also make great place cards for the holiday season and wonderful foodie gifts.

Lemon and rosemary shortbread biscuits:

175 g butter, at room temperature
1 1/4  dl sugar
finely grated zest of a lemon

the juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

3,75 dl all purpose flour

Beat butter wth sugar. Add lemon juice and zest along with rosemary and finally beat in the flour until you get a crumbly mixture. 

Squeeze the dough together, wrap in clingfilm and leave to chill for an hour (or overnight).

Divide the dough into 4 and keep rest of the segments covered while working on one. 

On a lightly floured surface roll into a 1/2 cm thick sheet and using a cookie cutter cut into biscuits of your choice. Lift onto a tray lined with a baking sheet and chill for an hour prior to baking.

Bake at 180 (in a fan oven less will do) until the edges start getting a little colour - 6-8 minutes.

Cool and store in an airtight container. Hidden from your greedy little hands...

Looking for more ideas for a stress-free and delicious hlidays eason with a Mediterranean twist? Check out my tips over here!

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Sweet rice pudding arancini (gluten-free)

These sweet rice pudding arancini recycle any leftover rice pudding into such a dreamily light treat that you should be in the kitchen making rice pudding as we speak!

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While not much of a connoisseur of the psyche of any member of the porridge family, I dare to say rice pudding is something there's never any left over, right? Perhaps it's the fact it takes quite a bit longer than, say, oatmeal? Or the creamily rich, comforting texture that just makes people reach for seconds? 

Next time you're making it, go on, double the amount straight away as following day you'll have everything it takes to make these dreamy sweet rice pudding arancini which take the rice pudding to a whole new level.

For a sweeter take on the traditional rice pudding use my recipe for Spanish arroz con leche. Another option is to add sugar (or another preferred sweetener), vanilla and finely grated lemon zest into the leftover pudding. Orange zest and/or cardamom would work a treat, too. Next time I might go even further and hide a white chocolate ganache heart into these babies...!

For  a dairy-free treat, cook the pudding using coconut milk. For a gluten-free diet substitute all purpose flour with coconut flour and breadcrumbs with gluten-free ones. Make sure to use fridge-cold rice pudding - for this purpose you want the pudding to be the stiffer kind. You can prepare these in advance, just make sure to store the breaded arancini in the fridge until ready to fry.

Oh, and another way to make the most of leftover rice pudding? This Aland pancake!

Makes 12

Sweet rice pudding arancini:

appr. 3 dl cold rice pudding

2 dl all purpose flour

2 eggs, whisked

2 dl bread crumbs

For frying: oil

To serve: cinnamon sugar

Using a tablespoon, scoop out little nuggets of rice pudding and roll into balls. Place on a sheet and transfer to fridge to wait while you prep the breading stage.

Measure flour into one bowl, whisk the eggs in another and pour the bread crumbs in a third one. 

Roll the arancini in the flour, then in the eggs and then in the bread crumbs. Make sure to be thorough with each phase, as properly sealing the surface with the coating prevents the filling from leaking out. 

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot (180°c). Fry the arancini in batches until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, lifte out of the oil, drain on kitchen towels and (should you want to), toss in a mixture of cinamon and sugar.

Serve. Enjoy. And reach for seconds...!

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Ålandspannkaka - Aland pancake

Aland pancake gets its distinctive  flavour from cardamom and lemon zest and is the best pancake on land or sea. 

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When I was a kid I couldn't think of a better place than my Grandma's house. When there, I got to wear her pearls and play fancy lady. She would invariably nod off early, which meant getting to stay up late and watching all the things on TV my parents would have never allowed me to watch like Twilight Zone (and quite rightfully so: after one episode of Twilight Zone I was too terrified to sleep for a week). 

She would also always get me Kalle's Kaviar (a Swedish smörgåskaviar made of roe) at the shop and never say anything when I would wolf the entire tube down in one sitting. And to top it all off Grandma made the best pancake in the world for which she, in a manner that seemed so exotic to me, would use porridge.

At the time I had never even heard the name Aland pancake let alone of the island that gave it its name (I grew up North. We didn't know much...)

You can make the pancake using either semolina porridge or rice pudding, in which case it's also gluten free, seeing how my recipe uses no flour at all. There are also different takes on the ideal thickness, but obviously mine, the "less is never more", is the only right one. So, pie dishes or lasagne dishes reign supreme over sheet pans. 

The recipe below is enough for a 20 cm diameter dish. 

Serves 4-6

Ålands pannkaka - Aland pancake:

5 dl full fat milk (yes, really. Step away from that fat-free variety and place your hands where I can see them...)
0,75 dl finely ground semolina 

2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
4 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tl suolaa
1,5 tsp cardamom
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 

Start by making the semolina porridge. Bring milk to boil in a heavy-bottomed pan, whisk in the semolina and, over low heat, stirring every now and then, cook for 5 minuts until done. Leave to cool. 

Beat eggs with rest of the ingredients. Then whisk in the cooled porridge until smooth. 

Pour into a pie dish lined with baking parchment (or use the Scandinavian strick of smearig a coating of butter on the bottom and the sides and then sprinkling the dish with layer of bread crumbs). Bake in the lower part of the oven at 175 for 45 minutes until the pancake has set andis gloriously golden. 

Serve with jam and whipped cream.

Traditionally Aland pancake is served with loosely whipped cream and plum jam. My Grandma served hers with strawberry jam she made herself and even the memory of its sugary sweetness still makes my teeth cry.

So, try this rhubarb and orange compote or this heavenly toffee-like oven roasted apple jam. 

If baked in a square tin, you could cut them into bite size squares for a party treat.

I bet after this recipe you will never guess where our journey continued from Turku? And which destination I'll be intriducing you on the blog next...?

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Rhubarb compote with orange and cinnamon

This rhubarb compote is ready in less than 10 minutes and is divine with just about everything. Pancakes, ice cream, Greek yogurt, French toast...

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The cottage that served as the final destination of our Saun Express tour surprised us with its history, too. One Tove Jansson used to holiday there and write stories about the beloved characters of Moomin valley. 

Moomins occupy a particular and oh, so charming world of their own where everyone is free to be be who they are and everyone is being cared for. There's humanity there that we grown ups of today could use by bucket loads. I'd probably still be reduced to a slobbering teary mess upon seeing invisible child again; a story where Moominmamma's unwavering love allows her to finally trust others and become visible again. 

I relate to so many of the characters, but she's probably the one I'm closest to. There's room for everyone in Moominmamma's huge heart and around her dining table. 

Even as the end of the world is ooming her main concern is whether she should go back to the cellar and retrieve yet another jar of jam before they flee. Oh, well. If the world as we know it is about to end anyway, what's the point of kvetching. If that is not the moment to through a pan cake party, I don't know what is. 

Rhubarb is in season (and everyone is probably sick of rhubarb recipes already...?) so, that's what I went for during my latest jam-making session. The result was this rhubarb compote which gets lovely warmth from orange and cinnamon. And hey, it couldn't be quicker or easier - it's ready in less than 10 minutes! Owing to the low sugar content it won't keep as well as jams, but you can freeze it, too. And being this wuick to make - you can whip up a new batch any time!

For less sweetness, halve the amount of sugar and orange juice given below. 

Rhubarb compote with orange and cinnamon:

500 g rhubarb

1,5 dl sugar

juice of an orange (1 dl)

1 cinnamon stick 

Trim the ends off rhubarb. If the rhubarb is very thick, halve it lengthwise. Cut diagonally into a couple of cm thick slices. Measure all ingredients into a smallish pot and cover. Heat over medium heat until the sugar has ocmpletely dissolved. Decrease the heat and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the rhubarb starts to break apart. If you want a smoother consistency, continue cooking for further 5 minutes. 

Let cool. Remove the cinnamon and serve. Kicks ass with this Aland pancake!

If you're looking for new ideas for rhubarb, make sure to check this recipe of mine for rhubarb tart with goat cheese and rosemary!

What's your stance on rhubarb  yey or ney? What are your favourite recipes?

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