Flower shaped sweet bread - recipe (with step-by-step photos)

Ingredients:

• 350-400 grams of crushed walnuts
• 300-330 grams of flour
• 150 milliliters of milk and additionally 2 spoons with milk
• 60 grams of butter
• 65 grams of sugar
• 15 grams of fresh yeast
• 3 spoons with cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• zest from half of a lemon

Mix the 150 ml of warm milk with the fresh yeast and 1 spoon with sugar. Add 1 spoon with flour and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Add the remaining sugar, the flour, 1 entire egg and 1 egg white.
Mix well.

Add the grated zest and mix until well incorporated.

Add half of the melted butter and mix until well incorporated. Repeat the operation with the other half.

Mix well for about 10 minutes.

Let the dough rest in a warm place for 1 hour.

Divide the dough in 5 equal parts.

Mix the crushed walnuts with the two spoons with milk and the cocoa powder and divide it in 4 parts.

Spread one piece of dough on the table and above add 1 part of the crushed walnuts mixture.

Spread another layer above the walnuts, then a layer of walnuts and repeat the operation until you finish the walnuts and the dough layers.

To finish, add the last layer of dough put a glass upside-down in the center. Cut the bread from the center towards the margins to form 12 equal parts.

 Now, take 2 neighbouring parts and twist them parts in opposite sides one to another.

Bring together the edges of the sweet bread. Spread one egg yolk over the sweet bread and then put it in the oven at 170 Celsius degrees for 25 minutes or until ready.

 Enjoy!

 

The original recipe can be found here

Trip to Leuven, Belgium

A small and livelly UNESCO town, very close to Bruxelles .

Homemade gluten free chocolate cake - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients for a 20x20cm tray :

• 150 grams of dark chocolate
• 90 grams of sugar
• 60 grams of butter
• 6 eggs
• a bit of lemon juice

Preheat the oven at 180 Celsius degrees.

In a pot, add the chopped chocolate and the butter and let it melt.
Put the pot aside to cool.

Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

Whisk the egg whites with half of the sugar and the lemon juice.

Beat the egg yolks with the other half of sugar until they double the volume.

Mix the beaten egg yolks with the cooled chocolate.

Incorporate little by little the wisked egg whites into the egg yolks/chocolate mix.

Pour the composition in an oven pan covered with baking paper and let it bake for 30-35 minutes.

When ready let it cool and then spread some cocoa powder above (don't worry about the aspect from the photos below, because when you slice it, it will look OK - it's normal because it has no flour nor baking soda).

It´s excellent with some ice cream.
Enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here

Creamy zucchini soup - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients:

• 200 milliliters of water
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 spoons with sunflower oil
• 1 onion
• 1 potato
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 laurel leaf
• some parsley
• salt and pepper

Clean and cut the zucchini in small cubes.

In a pot, add the sunflower oil and when hot, add the chopped onion and the chopped garlic.

Let them simmer for a few minutes.

Meanwhile clean and cut the potato in small cubes. Add it in the pot and let it simmer for a minute.

Add the chopped zucchini and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes mixing from time to time until the water from the zucchini evaporates a bit.

Add the laurel leaf and the water. Cover the pot and let it boil at slow fire for 20-25 minutes or until the potato is tender.
 

When ready, take out the laurel leaf and add the chopped parsley, the salt and the pepper.

Mash everything together with a blender.

If you want you can stray the soup and you will have a fine, silky soup. But if you blend well the result it´s the same :) .

You can serve it with some croutons or some crispy bacon.
Enjoy!

Homemade orange liqueur- another recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of alcohool
• 100 milliliters of water
• 100 grams of sugar
• the zest from 4 oranges

Mix the zest from the oranges with the alcohol (before that leave the oranges in water for 2 hours, so that the zest is clean).

Let it rest for 1 month in a closed jar.

After 1 month melt the sugar at slow fire until caramelized.

Don´t let the sugar burn otherwise the liqueur will be bitter.

Add the water and simmer for a few minutes. Let it cool!

Add the mix from sugar and water over the alcohol/orange mixture and let it rest for a few days.

Enjoy!