Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

I tried to put the title in Aramaic but then, searching the internet, I found out that in the language of Jesus, there is no mention of bread. I found bread in the Syriac version of the Lord’s Prayer, which is not the original Aramaic. Well, I can not argue with that as my knowledge of both is zero and I decided to go for the English version, thank you very much. Why have I put this title? Because I am writing a recipe with our daily bread, an old, traditional, English one. And it is just amazing because I have never thought of a desert so delicious with bread, the main ingredient. Apart from the desert I used to eat, sometimes, when I was a child, with bread and sugar, very popular among children those days. You just had a slice of bread, damp it with a bit of water and sprinkle sugar on top. And there it was, something quick and nice for the craving children. Now I will write about something that requires a bit of work, but not too much and it is much more tasty. Imho, it is very easy to make and delicious, and I know as I did it myself, lots of times and following different recipes. Today, I am presenting you a very good one, though I haven’t made it yet. It is from “The Lady” magazine, from 30 of November 2004. I will also mention what you can replace as, you know, being creative in the kitchen, is a MUST.

Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 400 ml (3/4 pint) double cream (replace with milk if you don’t have cream)
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) Baileys Irish Cream liqueur (or serve yourself and forget about using it in the recipe)
• 200 g (7 oz) caster sugar (or any organic substitute you use)
• 2 vanilla pods, split in half lengthways (or 2 tbsp vanilla sugar)
• 6 free-range egg yolks (you can do without)
• 6 whole free-range eggs
• 10 slices brioche, each slice about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick (or our daily bread)
• 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate (at least 70 % cocoa solids), chopped (please, please, leave the chocolate alone)

Method:

• Place the cream, Baileys, sugar and vanilla pods in a large saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool. Remove the vanilla pods.
• Pre-heat the oven to 140 °C/ 275˚F or Gas Mark 1 and grease a shallow 2-3 pint capacity ovenproof dish. Whisk the egg yolks and eggs together in a large bowl and strain in the cream mixture. Whisk lightly to blend. Cut the brioche slices in half diagonally and arrange in the dish in slightly overlapping layers. Pour the cream mixture over the top and leave for 10 minutes.
• Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or by placing it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water, making sure that the water does not touch the bowl. Pour over the top of the pudding. I don’t have to say to dip your fingers in the chocolate. 😉 Place in a baking dish half-filled with warm water and transfer to the oven. Bake until set, about 50 minutes.

Bon appetite!

Pancakes With Love

For you. With love. ❤ Pancakes. Lovely, delicious pancakes, lots of them, in a cake. Imagine, a pancake gâteau. Let me tell you how I made this recipe. Years ago, when I was in London, I was looking for more recipes to try. I went to the library and found an interesting book “The Practical Encyclopedia of EastEuropean Cooking” from 1999. I liked quite a lot of recipes from it, including this one. I will remember it always as, imo, I think I ate the best cream in the world. It is very simple to make but it tastes divine. It is absolutely delicious. So, I would love to share this with you. In reality it is a bit hard but nothing is impossible. I hold my breath and not say a word. Just close your eyes and try a bite. Isn’t it delicious? You have the cake in front of you, you don’t see it with your eyes but with your inner eyes. It is there, trust me. And you share it with me. God, I am such a dreamer! Wake up, wake up! I don’t think I want, because I love sleep. I guess dreams are better than reality, sometimes. I need to sleep right away. I’ll be back later to finish this post. Good night!

Ok, I am back, after a good night sleep and I feel full of energy and positive. A good sleep makes miracle, trust me. I can see better now, my head is clearer and I am hungry. Very hungry. I will have a pizza and the desert I am about to write now. Kidding, in reality I will have a pizza and a rum baba or Savarina as it is known in Romania. And for my inner stomach ….(as I was thinking, if we have an inner eye, we can have an inner everything, so…) I will tell you about a Hungarian pancake gâteau. De-li-cious.

Because it is Easter today for some of my friends, to you all, Happy Easter!

Layered Pancake Gâteau

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs, separated
• 50 g (2 oz/ 1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 175 ml (6 fl oz/ 3/4 cup) milk
• 50 g (2 oz/ 1/4 cup) self-raising flour, sifted
• 50 g (2 oz/ 4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 175 ml (6 fl oz/ 3/4 cup) soured cream
• sifted icing sugar, for dredging
• lemon wedges, to serve

For the filling:

• 3 eggs, separated
  
• 25 g (1 oz/ 1/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted
• grated rind of 1 lemon
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla sugar
• 115 g (4 oz/ 1 cup) ground almonds

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 °C, 400 °F, Gas Mark 6. Grease and line a deep 20-23 cm/ 8-9 inch springform cake tin. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a bowl until thick and creamy, before whisking the milk.
  
• Whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl until stiff, then fold into the batter mixture, alternating with spoonfuls of the flour and half the melted butter.
• Take a frying pan as near to the size of your prepared cake tin as possible and lightly grease the pan with a little of the remaining melted butter. Tilt to cover the surface.
• Tip one-quarter of the batter into the frying pan. Fry the thick pancake on each side until golden brown, then slide it into the prepared cake tin. Use up the batter to make 3 more pancakes in the same way and set them aside while you make the filling.
• For the filling, whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the icing sugar until thick and creamy. Stir in the grated lemon rind and the vanilla sugar.
• Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl, then fold them into the egg yolk mixture, before adding the ground almonds. Mix together well. And now, the moment of tasting: dip you finger or your love’s finger in the cream and lick. Isn’t it delicious?
• Spread one-third of the mixture on top of the first pancake.
• Repeat twice more with the second and third pancakes, then top with the final pancake.
• Spread the sour cream over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is pale golden brown.
• Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the lining paper. Serve warm, cut into wedges, liberally dusted with icing sugar and accompanied by lemon wedges. And a kiss.

Bon appetite! x

Polish Omelette

I know, you might think that this is the Polish version of a simple omelette. It is not, sorry to disappoint you. I simply name it like this because of a Polish friend, Asia. She made this one day while we were in London, I really liked it and from that moment I decided that my favorite omelette was her version. It is not very difficult to make as you may think and it is mouth-melting. For a hearty and delicious breakfast I would go for this one while for a quick and nice one I would go for cereals. 😉 What I also like about it is that it is versatile, it goes with a lot of toppings, from sweet ones to salty ones. You can play with them. I prefer the sweet one with jam or honey. My recipe here is for just one person so if you want to make more omelettes, you have to start all over again each time and make sure you keep them warm on the plates until they are all done. It doesn’t sound too good but imagine the faces of those who will eat. 🙂 It will worth it.

Polish Omelette

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp water
• jam, honey, chocolate cream or soft cheese, grated cheese
• yoghurt (go for a fat one)

Method:

• In a bowl, separate the whites from the yolks. Put the yolks in a cup and leave. Mix the whites with a mixer until stiff.
• Put the flour and the water in the cup with the yolks and mix with a tablespoon until well combined.
• Add the yolks to the whites and carefully fold them with circular moves until uniform. This way you keep the air inside and the omelette is fluffy.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the omelette and leave to fry a  few minutes on one side, until golden brown then flip it with a pan slice or a palette knife like you do for a pancake and leave again for a few minutes until golden brown.
• Slide it out of the pan onto a plate and add jam or honey, etc. Top up everything with a thick layer of yoghurt.

Bon appetite!