Halloween Cake

Hi there! Halloween is a special date for everyone and this year is even more special because my brother and his wife are spending Halloween with us. They baked a cake for my son and he has been helping them. The result has been really amazing. This is delicious and the time we have spent in the kitchen has been worth while. This cake is very easy to cook, so don´t be scared with the long list of ingredients for this recipe. I hope you enjoy cooking this cake as much as we did. Happy Halloween to you all!

Ingredients:

(Serves 8)
For the spongecake:

1 cup of yogurt
3 cups of self-raising flour
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of olive oil (light in colour)
3 eggs
1 packet of yeast
1/2 teaspoonful salt 
50 gr of cooking chocolate

For the custard:

2 yolks
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 glass of milk

To decorate:
3 bars of ready to roll icing (orange, black and green)  

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
2 hours


Method:

Place the yogurt in a large bowl

Then add the sugar, the salt, the flour, 3 eggs, the olive oil and the yeast. Stir thoroughly using a whisk or a fork until you get a mixture without lumps.

Put the batter into the mould. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake for about 40 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch.

Then leave to cool 

Carefully halve the spongecake

To make the custard place 1 yolk and 4 tablespoons of sugar and stir thoroughly, then add a glass of milk and stir over a low heat until the mixture is thick enough.

Pour the custard on the base of the cake

Finely chop the chocolate

Put the chocolate shaving on top, then cover the base of the cake with the other half

Roll out the icing bars and cover the cake with the orange one.

Roll out the black and the green bars and make shapes using a knife to decorate the cake

 Decorate the cake using these shapes.

Slightly brush the surface with water, so the shapes will stuck to it.

I really love this pumkin leaf!

And the cake is ready

Enjoy it!

I hope you like it!
See you soon,

María

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Homemade Custard

Hello everyone! Today I've been cooking this traditional recipe for you. I can remember my granny cooking this dessert in her kitchen, that nice smell filled the house. She always served this custard topped with a biscuit, and the combination of that flavour, together with the custard was really good. I still do the same when I cook this for my son and his friends. For grownups I usually sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top. This dessert is very easy to cook and a favourite for any meal with family or friends.

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

1 l. milk
50 g. corn flour
130 g sugar
5 eggs (yolks only)
1 lemon zest
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
ground cinnamon

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
30 minutes

Method:

Put 750 ml of the milk in a large saucepan together with the lemon zest and the vanilla extract and heat until it just come to the boil.

Leave to cook and remove the lemon zest.

In the meantime put the sugar and the yolks in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Whisk well until you get an even mixture like this.

Separate 250 ml of the milk in a glass, add 50 g of corn flour and mix well using a spoon.

Put this mixture together with the beaten yolks and the sugar.

Stir well for a couple of minutes.

Pour the resulting mixture over the milk and stir thoroughly using a wooden spoon.

Stir over a low heat until the mixture is thick enough, this would take about 8 minutes.

Drain the custard into individual bowls, sprinkle with cinnamon and leave to cool.

Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and this delicious homemade custard will be ready to serve.

I think you're going to love this recipe.
Hopefully see you soon,

María

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Sponge Cake

Hi everyone! Today I cooked this homemade spongecake for teatime. This classic is always a hit for a special breakfast or for any time of the day. The secret for a soft and tasty result is not to overcook it. In Spain we use olive oil instead of butter to prepare this recipe. That would provide a characteristic scent and flavour to our cake. This is the recipe my granny cooked for us when we were children. It takes a little time to prepare it, however it's a very easy recipe and the result is worthwhile.

Ingredients:

(Serves 8)

4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

300 g. self- raising flour

300 g. sugar

150 g natural yogurt 

150 ml olive oil (light in colour)

Grated zest (1 lemon)

1/2 teaspoonful salt

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy

1 hour

Method:

Place the sugar, 4 yolks and the yogurt in a large bowl, then add the light in colour olive oil.

Stir thoroughly using a whisk or a fork.

Continue stirring for a couple of minutes, until you get an even mixture.

Place the egg whites in a mixing jug, add a little salt and whip until stiff.

Add the resulting meringue to the bowl and stir thoroughly using a whisk.

 Carefully sift the flour into the bowl.

Stir thoroughly until you get a mixture without lumps.

Then add the grated zest and stir well.

Spread some butter on a mould, add some flour tilting the mould with a circular motion so that the flour coats all the surface and the cake won´t burn.

Put the mixture into the mould. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake for about 40 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch.

Then leave to cool in the mould.

And our spongecake is ready to serve.

Enjoy it!
See you soon,

María

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Fruit Tartlets

Hello again! I' ve been cooking something special for you today. These little fruit tartlets are ideal for parties or for any celebration. The sweetness of their white chocolate filling perfectly combines with the fruit topping. I've used Spanish strawberries and blackberries, however you can choose any seasonal fruit instead. This dessert is very easy to prepare. My son loves it! indeed he has helped me to decorate these pretty and colourful tarts. You would only need 2 hours for setting. I hope you like this dessert as much as we do.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

18 ready to fill pastry tartlets
150g white chocolate
300g mascarpone cheese
100 ml cooking cream
200 g strawberries
200 g blackberries
mint leaves

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
30 minutes

Method:

Divide the chocolate bar into small pieces.

Place the white chocolate and 150g of the mascarpone in a heatproof jug set over simmering water.

Stir well until the ingredients are melted.

Remove from the heat, add the remaining mascarpone and whisk thoroughly.

Pour the cooking cream and whisk until smooth.

Pour the resulting mixture into the pastry tartlets and place them in the fridge for about 2 hours, or until softly set.

Place your favourite fruit on top and decorate with mint leaves.

Enjoy it!
See you soon,

María

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