Clementine & cranberry soft cakes

December is a period when tangerines become the top desired thing to see, smell and eat. I never celebrated Christmas outside my country, but here in Russia no one would consider it a holiday without huge boxes of sweet orange fruits. Personally, I love tangerines, especially clementines (hybrid between a manadarin and a sweet orange). And as you know, orange colour stimulates creative thinking and enthusiasm, while citrus smell is a top mood-booster. Great mood is what we need during holidays:)

Today's dessert is originally made with clementines and cranberries. But it is so flexible, that you can add any fruits you want! The taste will be great anyway. I tried pinapples, cherries, currants. They all worked good, just I think the original combination is the best.

Generally they are similar to muffins, maybe even softer. The texture is amazing, very airy, plus clementines and berries give their juice making the pastry melt in your mouth. Remember when you dip ladyfingers just a bit in coffee - that's the texture you would  feel eating these cakes.

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 180C

2. Grease 7-8 ramekins and line the bases with a disk of baking parchment

3. Peal clementines, cut into round slices, sprinkle each slice with a little sugar and place 1 in the bottom of each ramekin.

4. (Everything will be mixed in one large bowl)
 Put the butter (not cold) and sugar in a large bowl. Mix with an electric hand whisk until smooth and fluffy (about 1 min); add 1 egg - mix, add another egg - mix again; add 250g of flour, 2 tbsp of baking powder -mix; add clementines zest, 100 ml of milk, 100g of cranberry - gently mix with a whisk. You will get a very smooth mixture.

5. Fill the ramekins (clementines in the bottom) with a mixture and bake for 30 mins until risen, golden, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. (Time depends on your oven of course, just make sure they are ready). Leave to cool in the ramekins for 10-15 min while you make the syrup.

SYRUP:
Heat the clementine juice, orange liqueur (if you wish) and sugar in a small pan, swirling until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for a few mins, until the liquid has reduced by about half. Pour into a shallow dish and leave to cool for 5 mins.

When cool enough to handle, turn the cakes out of their ramekins and peel away the parchment. Stand in the dish of syrup, spooning it over the little cakes until completely absorbed. I propose to leave the cakes for an hour so they are completely ready for serving. By the way, I prefer to cut them with a knife like a cake, and when they are absorbed and moist it's very easy to do.

It may look like there is much to do, but the recipe is very very simple. Ingredients are basic, we just mix them in a bowl and design the result a bit:) I hope you will love it and this dessert will be in your favoutites list:)

Churros - Traditional Spanish Dessert

The weather outside whispers it's actually winter, and the only place one want to spend day is warm and cozy kitchen. What desserts can warm you up and set a great mood? Probably something hot, soft, with chocolate and cinammon. I propose to try a very famous spanish dessert that just melts in your mouth and makes you beg for more.

Great news - it's very simple and takes just about 40 minutes. Originally spanish people fry churros in oil, but I prefer to bake them in the oven, they are same soft, but no oil and the process is easier. Let's see what we need:

The base of the recipe is choux pastry which is very easy to make following simple instructions.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Firstly, we melt butter with water on the medium heat. Yes, just put butter in water and wait when it becomes smooth liquid. Then start adding flour and mix very fast with the spatula. Don't be afraid if you see lumps, just keep mixing until well combined and the dough comes away from the sides of the saucepan. Perfect! Take off the heat and let it cool for 3-5 minutes. 

2. Why we cool our dough? We don't want our egg to be bolied in the hot mixture, so it's better to wait. After 5 minutes add eggs one at a time! It's very important. Added one egg - mix very fast untill smooth. Add another one - same process. After 3 eggs are well combined add a tbsp of sugar. 

3. Put the mixture in the pastry bag fitted with a 2cm-diameter fluted nozzle. Pipe strips of churros onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake in the oven 200C (392 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 -15 minutes or until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. 

4. Right after baking sprinkle churros with sugar and cinnamon. Eat hot!

 Traditionally Churros is served with hot chocolate, but you can make any fruit sauce and it will be also great. As you can see the recipe is very easy, and trust me - this dessert is very tasty and you won't notice when you finish them.

Carrot Cake

First time I tried carrot cake in London. I was so overwhelmed by this taste that I bought it every day. Since that time I didn't see it in my country and the only way to remember this rich and sweet taste was to make it myself :)

Chocolate Mousse

Personally I love creamy desserts. They look delicious and are very pleasant to eat. Despite the fact chocolate is not my addiction, this mousse won my heart. It's very light, tender and you can see these bubbles that make it soo great! The recipe is one of the easiest ever:

Pumpkin Cake

October is coming to the end, so if you still didn't have a pumpkin treat you should probably start with this one. There is a big range of pumpking desserts I would like to make, but now I chose a very soft and airy cake that will bring some cosiness to your evening.

Due to moist and smooth texture it's quite similar to carrot cake. Well beaten eggs and baking powder let it rise beautifuly and look appetizing. You can glaze it with a cream cheese or anything to your taste to make it even more rich. The recipe is very easy:

Love Food

Hello everyone who checked out my page:) My name is Alexandra and I live in Russia. This year cooking has become one of my hobbies and I devote time to this art with pleasure.  Recently I've decided to collect all my favourite recipes and put them on this blog as it would be comfortable for me and I hope for someone else as well :) Mostly I like baking but would love to try new ideas so if you have some please let me know:) All food and pictures are mine. Best wishes and big Love to you all! 

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