Ultimate chocolate dessert

•  1 kg margarine 
• 800 gr icing sugar
• 160 ml liqueur or whiskey 
• 200 gr fine cocoa powder
• 1 kg buttered biscuits 
• 400 gr walnuts or any other nut lightly roasted 

In a large pot on a medium heat, melt margarine with sugar, liqueur and cocoa powder. Stir to obtain an homogeneous mixture of chocolate . Let it cool a bit aside , while roast the nut light in oven and smash the biscuits to medium pieces. Then add nut and biscuits into me chocolate mixture. Mix well and let it cool completely . 

Cut two pieces of folia and baking sheet. Place the folia on the bottom and on top of it the baking sheet. These method helps the chocolate to have a shape. Place half of the mixture on the baking sheet and try to get a cylinder shape using folia as well. Folia will help to keep the shape.

Place the cylinders in the freezer for one night.

The next day, unwrap the chocolate cylinder and cover them with icing sugar or cocoa powder.

Serve in room temperature with vanilla ice cream or a cup of hot coffee . 

Tart

For the dough you’ll need :

• 50 gr icing sugar
• 1 kg butter
• 1,5 kg plain flour
• 3 eggs
• Pinch of salt

In a large bowl mix flour icing sugar and salt. Add butter in small cubes and crumble the mixture with hands together. Add eggs one at a time and knead to obtain a dough rough enough and hard to fold. 

Cover with folia and place it in fridge for a couple of hours.

Lay the dough out in 1 cm thick. 

Place it on a tart tin already greased up . Cover it with baking seeds and place on top of it something heavy like beans or another tart tin. That’s gonna help the tart not to get thicken while its bake.

Once its baked, fill it with spinach , smoked salmon and cream cheese. Then fill the tart up with royal mixture :

180gr heavy cream 

180 gr milk

4 eggs.

Bake for an hour or so .

Greek New Year’s Cake

• 300 gr soften butter in room temperature 
• 250 gr sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered nutmeg 
• 7 gr mahlepi 
• 1 tablespoon extra sugar 
• 2 tablespoon flour 
• 2 orange zest
• Vanilla 
• 4 eggs 
• 75 ml milk
• 400 gr plain flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 

1. Mix the eggs and milk together . Set aside.

2. Mix 400gr flour with baking powder. Set aside.

3. In food processor blend nutmeg, mahlepi,1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoon flour and vanilla .

4. Work butter and 250 gr butter in food processor till to obtain a creamy mixture.

5. Add the aromatic mixture in it and the egg-milk mixture.

6. Add orange zest and slowly add the flour mixture. It may need a wooden ladle to incorporate it.

7. You need to get a very thick mixture

8.  Butter and flour a baking tin.

9. Bake the cake on a preheated oven at 180 celsius degrees for about an hour.

10. Let it cool completely and sprinkle with some icing sugar on top .  

Gingerbread Biscuits

For the biscuits you’ll need :

• 225 gr self risen flour 
• Zest from an orange or a lemon
• 1/2 tablespoon mix spice ( cinnamon, clove , nutmeg , ginger powder )
• 115 gr caster sugar
• 115 gr cold butter
• 1 medium egg 

For the icing you’ll need :

• Icing sugar 
• Some drops of almond or vanilla extract
• Water 
• Food coloring 

For the biscuit , mix all dried ingredients together , then add butter cut into small cubes and rub the mixture all together to get crumbly .

Then add the egg and knead to obtain a soft dough. It may need some extra flour if necessary. 

Place the dough in fridge for 1 hour. 

Lay the dough out on the table with the help of some flour, cut into preferable sizes .

Bake at 160 Celsius degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let the biscuits cool completely.

For the icing , all you need is to mix all ingredients together, but be careful with water. You need to be thick and not runny. Mind that icing sugar dries quickly. 

 

Bread with dried fruits and nuts

• 250 gr Dinkel flour
• 190 gr flour type 55%
• 220 gr durum flour
• 50 gr sourdough 
• 20 gr yeast
• 5 gr salt
• 395 gr water
• Various dried fruits cut into small cubes and soaked in orange juice 
• Various nuts smashed 

In a large bowl , dissolve yeast in water and let it aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in an another bowl mix all types of flour and all the ingredients together except salt.

Add the yeast mixture and knead till to obtain a soft and smooth dough.

Cover it and let it rest for about 1 hour. 

Knead the dough adding this time the dried fruits and nut, it may need some extra flour. 

Let it rest again for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into the desirable size and shape. Sprinkle with some durum flour and preheat the oven on 200 celsius degrees.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

Coconut milk and Mango Chia seed pudding

• 1 cup warm coconut milk ( not boiled )
• 3-4 tablespoon Chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup 
• 1 mango smashed 

Warm a bit up the coconut milk, add Chia seeds and maple syrup. Let it set for 20 minutes in room temperature .

Peel the mango and blend it till it gets creamy .

You can combine the two mixtures together or make it like layers in a glass. 

Make sure to let it cool in fridge for about 2 hours. 

You can also add some baked coconut flakes on top for more taste .  

Strudel

For the dough :

• 200 gr flour 
• 15 gr sunflower oil
• 105 gr cold water 
• 2 gr salt
• 4 gr vinegar 

For the filling :

• 6 Red sweet apples cut into cubes 
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon powdered cloves 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 lemon zest 
• 1 pinch of salt 
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup 
• 1/2 cup black raisins 
• 1/2 chopped walnuts 
• A piece of butter 
• 3 tablespoon of corn flour 

For the dough , mix oil , water , salt and vinegar . Add gradually flour and knead till to get a soft and smooth dough that doesn’t stick on hands. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into small pieces , lay them out very thin to make the phyllo ,  almost see through .

Wet the phyllo with  melted butter and add a good tablespoon of the filling. 

Roll it over and place it carefully on a cooking sheet . 

Sprinkle with melted butter and bake at 200 celsius degrees for 20 minutes.

For the apples , melt the butter in a large pot. 

Add the apples cut in cubes and sauté them till get soft. Add sugar, cinnamon , cloves , lemon zest , vanilla , salt, maple syrup , raisins and walnuts. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add corn flour ( cornstarch ) dissolved in a bit liqueur .

Let the mixture cool completely before using it.

Once strudels are ready, while there are still hot , sprinkle with some icing sugar and cinnamon. 

Gnocchi

• 320 gr baked potatoes ( baked in oven on a salt layer with the skin on )
• 2 egg yolks 
• 70 gr corn flour 
• Salt
• Nutmeg 

Peel baked potatoes and smash them in a bowl . Let them cool a bit then add egg yolks , corn flour , salt and nutmeg . 

Make a soft and smooth dough. If more corn flour is needed add wisely.

Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Cut small cubes and boil them in salted water . 

Almond milk and Banana Chia seed pudding

• 1 cup almond milk unsweetened 
• 6 tablespoon Chia seeds
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoon cocoa powder 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract 
• Half a banana 

Warm the almond milk a bit but not to boil. Mix all together in a food processor. Place pudding in bowls and cool them in the fridge for a good 2 hours to set. Garnish with dried banana and baked almonds. 

 

Carob breadsticks

 Breadsticks 

• 350 gr all purpose flour 
• 100 gr carob flour 
• 50 ml olive oil
• 200 gr cold water
• 7 gr salt
• 4 gr baking powder 
• 9 gr fresh yeast 

Dissolve yeast in the after with olive oil and a tablespoon of flour. 

Mix the two types of flour , add baking powder and salt .

Add the yeast mixture and knead till to get a soft dough.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes ,

Fold thin and long strings .

Bake at 180 Celsius degree for 15 to 20 minutes , till it gets crispy .

Recommended to cover with sesame seeds or oat flakes. 

Stollen

 Stollen

• 660 gr flour type 70%

• 200 gr milk

• 75 gr sugar

• 45 gr fresh yeast

• 36 gr egg

• 120 gr soften butter

• 75 gr almonds fillet

• 150 gr white raisins

• 150 gr black raisins

• 75 gr fruits preserved by sugar

• 1,5 gr cardamom

• 1,5 gr nutmeg

• 45 gr cognac

• 36 gr orange juice

• Zest of an orange

• 1,5 gr vanilla

• 2 lemon zest and their juice

• 1,5 gr salt

In a bowl combine preserved fruits , all raisins, cognac , lemon and orange juice. Let them soak for a while , mixing them often. In the mixer’s bowl place flour , all aromatic ingredients and zests , the egg, butter and milk in which has been already dissolved yeast. Start stirring in slow speed to form the dough for about 6 minutes, add salt and stir for 2 more minutes in high speed. Add the mixture of raisins and preserved fruits with cognac and juices. It has to be a sticky dough finally. Let it rest in a warm place , right after with floured hand form the stollens with the usual known way, by laying out the dough in a flat piece and fold one end to the other till the middle of it. Place it on a cooking sheet , let a bit to rest and bake at 180 Celsius degrees for 40 minutes. After baking them and they’re cooled enough there are two ways to decorate them.

The first way is the most easy, just coat the whole stollen with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar, or make an almond paste , knead the paste well and lay it out on the stollen’s surface.

For the almond paste :

• 1,5 kg almond powder

• 2,5 kg powdered sugar

• 750 gr glucose

• 500 gr Cointreau

• 10 gr amaretto

First and very important is to riddle almond powder at least 3-4 times , as well as powdered sugar. Mix all ingredients in mixer’s bowl and stir till a dough is formed. To lay this almond paste, sprinkle the working surface with corn flour , to prevent the dough to stick on the working table. It may also be colored with food coloring.