Opera Cake - recipe (including photos)

Ingredients for the dough:

• 2 eggs
• 3 additional egg whites
• 85 grams of ground almonds
• 70 grams of powdered sugar
• 30 grams of butter
• 25 grams of flour
• 2 spoons of sugar 

Mix the ground almonds with the powdered sugar and the flour.

Add the eggs one by one mixing slowly.
 

Separately beat the egg whites with the sugar and then incorporate them slowly into the almond/flour mixture.

Add the melted butter and mix.

Divide the composition in 3 equal parts and put each of them in the oven at 190 Celsius degrees for 10-15 minutes.

 Ingredients for the coffee syrup:

• 65 grams of water
• 65 grams of sugar
• 2-4 grams of instant coffee
• 2 spoons of coffee liqueur

Mix the sugar with the water and put it at slow fire until the sugar is melted.

Add the instant coffee and mix.

Add the liqueur and mix. Put it aside!

Ingredients for the coffee filling:

• 130 grams of butter
• 100 grams of sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 30 milliliters of water
• 2 grams of instant coffee
• vanilla essence

Mix the sugar with the water and let it boil until it reaches 115 Celsius degrees

Separately beat the egg yolks until creamy.

Add the water/sugar over the egg yolks and mix another few minutes.

After the egg yolk cools add the butter slowly and continue mixing until well incorporated.

Add the instant coffee mixed with one spoon of water and mix well.

If the filling is not stiff enough put it into the fridge for a few minutes, otherwise let it rest at room temperature.

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache filling:

• 60 grams of dark chocolate
• 80 grams of fresh cream

Melt the chocolate and separately put the fresh cream on a slow fire until it's bubbling.

Remove the pan from the fire and add the melted chocolate.

Mix until well incorporated.

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 150 - 200 grams of dark chocolate
• 1 spoon of sunflower oil

Melt the chocolate together with the sunflower oil.

Assembling the cake :

On the first dough layer spread 100 grams of melted chocolate and then put it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Take out from the fridge and put this layer with the chocolate side down and brush with a third of the coffee syrup.

Add half of the coffee filling.

Above add the second layer of dough. Brush it with another third of the syrup and add the chocolate ganache filling.

Add the third layer of dough. Brush with the remaining syrup and add the remaining coffee filling.

Put it into the fridge for a few hours.

 Above, add the warm glaze, let it cool and then put it back in the fridge.

Enjoy!

The orginal recipe can be found here

How to dye Easter eggs naturally

Ingredients:

• 6 spoons with vinegar
• 3 spoons with turmeric powder
• 2 small beetroot
• 1 small red cabbage
• 1 spoon with sunflower oil
• plenty of water

Clean the eggs with water and some liquid soap.

Clean the red cabbage and cover the bottom of a pot with some leaves. Add the eggs (4 maximum), water just enough to cover the eggs, and cover with the remaining leaves.

Put the pot on slow fire and let it boil for 10 minutes. Remove from fire, add 2 spoons with vinegar and let it rest in a cold place for about 5 hours.

In the end the color you´ll obtain will be a nice blue :).

Clean the eggs. Clean the beetroot and cut it in small slices. Cover the bottom of a pot with some of them. Add the eggs (3 - 4 maximum), cover them in water and on top add the remaining slices.

Boil them for 10 minutes. Remove from fire, add 2 spoons with vinegar and let it rest for 5 hours in a cold place. The color will be a brownish red more to the brown side :).

For the yellow, mix 3 spoons with turmeric with water. Add the eggs and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the fire, add 2 spoons with vinegar and let it rest in a cold place for 5 hours.

After the time has passed  take out the eggs and let them dry. On a paper towel add 1 spoon with sunflower oil and rub every dried egg with it just enough to glow a bit :).

Keep them in a cold place!

Happy Easter!

Walnut and apple muffins - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients for 12 medium muffins:

• 120 grams of flour
• 70 grams of ground walnuts
• 7 spoons with brown sugar
• 7 spoons with sunflower oil
• 5 spoons with fresh cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 apples
• 1 teaspoon with baking powder
• a pinch of cinnamon
• a pinch of salt

Beat the eggs with the sugar for 3 minutes until they double the volume.

Grind the walnuts together with 1 spoon of flour.

In another bowl, mix 100 grams of flour with the baking powder.

Add the flour and the ground walnuts over the beaten eggs and mix until well incorporated.

Add the fresh cream and the sunflower oil and mix.

Preheat the oven at 180 Celsius degrees.

Clean and cut the apples in small cubes.

Add the remaining flour (you should still have 1 spoon left from the total flour) over the chopped apples and mix.

Add the apples, the salt and the cinnamon in the egg/walnut/flour composition and mix slowly until well incorporated.

Put the composition in a muffin tray and let it bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until ready.

Before serving them, add some powdered sugar above.
Enjoy!

Simple apple pie - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients for the dough:

• 450 grams of flour
• 200 grams of butter
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 2 spoons with fresh cream
• 1 spoon of sugar
• salt

Ingredients for the filling:

• 2 kg of apples
• 2 spoons of sugar
• cinnamon 

Mix the flour with the butter at room temperature.

Add the 2 eggs, the sugar, the salt and the fresh cream and make a non sticky dough. Let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

After the time passed, take out the dough from the fridge and divide it in 2 equal parts.

Spread one part on the table and cover with it the bottom of an oven pan.

Prick the dough with a fork, then add the grated apples. Above them, spread the sugar and the cinnamon.

Cover with the other part of the dough. Brush with the egg yolk and then put it in the preheated oven at 170 Celsius degrees for 35-40 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

 The original recipe can be found here

Candied orange peel - recipe (including photos)

Ingredients:

• 5 oranges
• 250 grams of sugar
• water

Wash the oranges throughly and keep them in a bowl with cold water for about 1 hour (it's preferable to buy organic oranges).

Peel the oranges and put them in a pot full with cold water.

Put the pot on fire and let it boil for 10 minutes. Change the water with clean hot water which you kept boiling in a separate pot.

Let it boil for another 15 minutes or until the orange peel is soft.

Drain the orange peels and let them cool.

Cut them in small strips and clean the white part of the orange slowly.

Mix the juice from the 5 oranges with the sugar and let it boil.

Add the orange peel over in the boiling the juice and let it boil for another 20 minutes.

Drain them on a rack for 2 - 3 days.

After that you can keep them in a jar and use when needed.

The original recipe can be found here