Spring strawberry basket

I love the small short pastry baskets as Gombóc Artúr loves the chocolate. I love them with any kind of fillings, with jam, walnut, pudding, chocolate cream, what just ranks.

But who is Gombóc Artúr? It's one of the main character of the "Pom-pom's tale" which showed up in book and cartoon in Hungary from 1980. It is fatty blue bird whose fatness' reason is that it loves chocolate more than everything else. Its characterize itself in this manner:

The fresh domestic strawberry's fate what I bought on Saturday was sealed on Pentecost Monday. Strawberry jam was prepared from a part of it, from the other one these baskets filled with vanilla cream and strawberry. They met their ends on Tuesday at the workplace...yammi.  

The basket is made from short pastry, in this we fill the vanilla cream and put strawberry pyramids on the top.

 

Ingredients:

Short pastry:

22 dkg flour

12,5 dkg butter

2,5 dkg fat (so the pastry will be shorter)

8 dkg castor sugar

1 small package of vanilla sugar

2 egg yolks

1 lemon zest 

Vanilla cream:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

1 big tablespoon flour

1,5 dl milk

+ strawberry

Knead the short pastry through the usual channels. In a big bowl crumb the flour with the butter and fat, add the caster sugar, vanilla sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest, mix the ingredients and knead the pastry by hand very quickly. Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.

After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 200°C and as preparing the basket forms, oil them properly in order the pastry not to get stuck in them.

Roll out the pastry and cut it with a pastry cutter (which fits to the basket forms - I used red wein glass :)) then arrange the pastry into the forms. Bake them in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. When they are ready take them out and let them cool.

While the baskets get cool, prepare the vanilla cream. Mix the egg yolk, sugar and flour in a medium-sized pot, add the milk slowly to it, stir it constantly. Heat on medium-low heat while stirring until the cream is thick and you can see bubbles. Lift away from the heat. Beat the egg white up but don't overbeat it. It is ready when you titl the bowl and the mixture does not slide around. Admix the egg white to the cream, mix them carefully.

Fill the baskets with this cream, then decorate with washed, peeled, cut strawberries.

Afiyet olsun!

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Simit

Simit, one of the most popular street food in Turkey is a circular shaped bread with sesame seeds, often eaten plain or with jam or joghurt for breakfast and commonly is sold by vendors along streets (almost every corner of the city, especially in Istanbul) who sell it from their trolleys or from their trays what they carry on their heads.

  

You can meet many different types of simit, all which are at least as tasty as the famous Istanbul version. The rich variety is sometimes due to different ingredients, sometimes due to the baking technique and sometimes due just to a special shape.

In Turkish culture people generally drink tea with simit, some prefer it with ayran as well. 

My favorite and most popular simit - breakfast place is Simit Sarayı ın Turkey. Simit Sarayı (means: Simit Palace) is a fast food restaurant where many kind of simit products, pastry and baked gooda are sold freshly all day long. For instance plain simit, simit with cheese, tomato, olives, sucuk (Turkish spıcy sausage), börek, açma, poğaça, wraps, pita bread sandwiches and of course sweet products also such as baklava, sütlaç (Turkish rice pudding), muffins and other cakes.

Simitçi in Istanbul

I love reading Elif's blog since his husband also comes from Kayseri as M. Yesterday she was a big help for me when I decided to bake simit.

These cute simits will be my and my colleagues' breakfast today.

Ingredients (6 pieces):
50 dkg flour
1/2 package dry yeast (3,5 g) or 1/4 package fresh yeast (1,25 dkg)
0,25 dl milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
0,25 dl oil
2 dl water
2 teaspoon salt

+ pekmez (It's available in every Turkish supermarket. If you don't have at home you can use water also as I did yesterday.)
+ sesame seeds (yesterday I used linseed)

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk and let stand about 10 minutes in a warm place until frothy.

In a big bowl mix the flour, salt, oil and add the yeast mix. Start to knead adding water constantly to it. Knead at least 15 minutes by hand (or hand mixer) until the dough is very smooth and springy. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Split each pieces in two, roll each of these small balls into a 35-40 cm long rope. Lay the two ropes next to each other on the counter. Press their upper ends then braid them carefully and form this braided rope into ring.

Preheat the oven to 250°C.

Put water in a smaller plate, sesame seeds in another one. Dip each simit rings first in the water then in the sesame seeds. Lay the ready simits on a baking paper.

Bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes until rich golden brown.

The best is eating simit freshly, immediately taking out from the oven but you can also put in the freezer and when you wanna eat fresh simit again you just need to take out from the freezer and warm it up in the oven within a few minutes.

Afiyet olsun!

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Princesstårta (Swedish Princess Cake)

I wanted to surprise E. at her farewell party with something special. I was thinking of a Spanish dinner first, then Spanish dessert then the big idea came. Baking a cake which reminds her of Spain. But how should I carry this out? The more bigger idea came one week before the party. The cover of the cake will be Spanish.   

I wanted a special cake not only because of the cover but because of what is under it. My best friend deserves the best therefore I thought that one of my favorite, the Swedish Princess Cake would be perfect for this occassion, even the marzipan won't be green as the traditional one because the Spanish flag's colours - red and yellow - don't fit to the green. :) 

I'm quite satisfied with the outcome, it seemed E. was also happy for her surprise :) and within one day the cake was consumed.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

3 eggs

150 ml liszt (75 ml wheat flour + 75 ml potato flour)

75 g caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Vanilla cream:

2 eggs 

3 dl milk

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

2 big tablespoon flour

Topping:

3 dl whippable cream

+ jam (I used sour cherry jam)

+ ready made marzipan (around 30 dkg)

Preheat the oven to 175°C and prepare a 22-24 cm round cake pan for making the sponge, the base ok the cake.

In a big bowl whip the eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until it gets white. In an other bowl mix the flours with the baking powder then add to the egg and sugar mixture and mix them carefully. If it's ready pour the dough into the cake pan.

Bake the sponge in the bottom part of the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before taking it out and put on a wire rack to chill completely.


For the vanilla cream mix the egg yolks, sugar and flour in a medium-sized pot, add the milk slowly to it, stir it constantly. Heat on low heat while stirring until the cream is thick and you can see bubbles. Lift away from the heat. Beat the egg whites up but don't overbeat them. It is ready when you titl the bowl and the mixture does not slide around. Admix the egg whites to the cream, mix them carefully.


Put the whippable cream in the freezer for 20 minutes before whipping to cool. You will see, you can whip it easier.


Split the cake into three layers. Place the bottom piece of sponge cake on a tray and grease some vanilla cream on it. Add the second sponge cake, grease a thin layer of jam, then another layer of vanilla cream. Add the last, top sponge cake layer.


Take the cream out from the freezer, whip in a big bowl (if you have dr. Oetker Whip it!, definitely add a pack also into the cream!!!! It's my jolly joker!) Add a thin layer of cream around the sides and the rest in the middle of the cake to create a dome on the top.


Roll out the marzipan to 3 mm thin, roll on the rolling pin, carefully put on the cake and decorate. I covered the cake with white marzipan, used red and yellow marzipan for Spanish flag and made roses also.


My cake's base was from Honey and soy.

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15 minutes broccoli rolls

I had some left-over broccoli dip from the farewell party of Friday. I wanted to prepare something quick, but light dinner consuming the broccoli dip as well. When I found the puff-pastry in the fridge, I had already known what to do.

Ingredients (8 small rolls):
1/2 pack of puff pastry
2 dl broccoli cream
1 egg
Butter for greasing
Flour for dusting

Heat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Grease the pastry thick with the broccoli cream, then coil it up carefully and cut about 2 cm wide rolls.

Place them on greased baking sheets, spaced apart. Brush each roll with egg and bake for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp.

Afiyet olsun!

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Broccoli dip with joghurt

For E's farewell party I prepared this dip besides hummus. We love it, it's fresh, light and death easy to prepare. It fits perfectly to naan, tortilla, I often prepare it for house and garden parties.

Ingredients
250 g broccoli (fresh or frozen)
175 g yoghurt
Salt
Pepper

Cut the broccoli into its roses, wash them properly then cook it in boiling, salty water for about 15 minutes until it soften completely.

Spill the cooking water out from the saucepan, then mix it with the blender until you get a smooth cream. Add the yoghurt, as much salt and pepper as you like and stir properly.

Put it in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill it then you can serve it with warm naan, pide or tortilla.


Afiyet olsun!

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Hummus

Hummus is one of the most popular and widely eaten food in the Middle Eastern countries, . Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea which is the main ingredients of hummus.

The origin of hummus is controversial. The fact is that because hummus has been around for a long time and it has soo many variations, the exact origin has been lost over the centuries. Some sources say hummus is one of the oldest known food because there are resources which say chickpeas were consumed in the ancient Palestine and was one of the earliest crops in Mesopotamia, as well as a common food in the ancient Rome. Others speak of Saladin prepared first in the 12th century. (Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first sultan of Egypt and Syria.) The earliest written recipe dates to 13th century Egypt.

Hummus has many variations, tastes different everywhere. Some types have a strong lemon flavor, some have special garlic flavour or a spicy tone.

Hummus is served mostly as appetizer  with pita breads or fresh vegetables, makes a good alternative to dips.

Yesterday for my best friend, E.'s farewell I prepared hummus, broccoli cream with our favorite naan (Indian bread).

First of all I share the hummus' recipe for what I used BBC Good Food as the always reliable source.

Ingredients:
250 g chickpeas (dried or in can)
100 g tahini paste
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder (I used dried chili seeds)
3-4 tablespoon lemon juice
1,5 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
(+ about 2 dl cooking water)

Wash the chickpeas several times and soak them in clean water over a night. Leave enough water in the bowl because the chickpeas absorb most of the water and double their size. (You can use canned chickpeas as well then you save the soaking time.)

Next day put the chickpeas in a large saucepan and simmer for around 1 hour. (A useful tip: put some baking soda in the cooking water so it will cook sooner.) Cook until the grains are easily smashed when pressed with a fork. When it is ready, sieve the chickpea grains and keep the cooking water.

Put the chickpeas into a food processor or use a blender and grind them well with a little cooking water until smooth. Add tahini, salt, olive oil, lemon juice and chili powder and blend it again with the spices too. If it is needed you can add some more water to it to get the desired texture.

For serving drizzle it with some olive oil and warm pita breads.

Afiyet olsun!

 

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Kanelbullar - Swedish cinnamon buns

If I should choose one food which reminds me of Sweden, I would definitely say kanelbulle.


Kanelbulle (plural: kanelbullar) is a traditional Swedish pastry.

When you arrive in Sweden, you can already feel  the aroma of kanelbullar in the air. When you walk around the city in Stockholm you can also feel it passing by a café or the Pressbyrå at the metro stations (Pressbyrå is a company with small kiosk where you can buy newspapers, coffee with kannelbulle and other daily-use items such as chewing gum, fruits, mineral water.).

Kanelbulle is a typical accessories of fika. It's a social event when Swedish people take a break with colleagues, friends, family or for a date and drinking mostly coffee because coffee is an institution in Sweden.

Coffee is something that brings people together. This coffee culture influence to all aspects of society, even the workplace. Almost every workplace has a fika room with an unlimited amount of stuff. There is no location or time of the day where drinking coffe was unacceptable.

Traditionally sweet, baked goods is an indispensable accessory of fika, especially kanelbulle.

It is special and typical Swedish 

• because of the cardamom in the dough,
• because you need to bake it in very hot oven only for a few minutes,
• because it is always baked in individual paper cups,
• because of the cute pearl sugar (pärlsocker )on its top.

These kanelbullar were not baked by me, we had received free coupon (gratis kupong) to ICA supermarket to get it for free of charge. I was soo happy when I saw it!!! Of course I can make it also by myself but I didn't have time at that day so I used the semi-prepared version. When we arrived home from ICA I put some in the oven immediately. I think I don't need to specify how amazing kanelbullar aroma was at home.

Next time I will bring the original recipe as well what Swedes use.

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Poppy seed love

I think we can originate my passion for poppy-seed in that time when my mum was pregnant with me. She told me the story many times last 25 years that during her pregnancy she had a relish for poppy seeds pasta all the time. Therefore it is not startling if I say since I remember I love everything as well which has to do with poppy seeds.

Thanks Mum for endearing it to me for a whole life :)

And I think I don't need to say this cake was a big success at the workplace.

Poppy seed cake with sour cherry marmalade and lemon mousse

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
15 dkg butter
15 dkg sugar
15 dkg ground poppy seeds
15 dkg flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 lemon
2 dl milk

For the lemon mousse:
4 egg whites
10 dkg icing sugar
1/2 lemon's juice

+ any kind of sourish marmalade (I used cherry marmalade)

Per preparation preheat the oven to 180°C and butter a cake pan (about 20x30 cm pan). 

Place the soft butter and sugar into a big bowl and stir them with hand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg yolk to the buttered mixture one by one, mix them properly.

In another bowl mix the flour with the poppy seed and baking soda, then add the grated lemon zest into it.

Add the milk and the flour mixture by turns to the buttered mixture. After you stir all properly, pour it in the buttered cake pan and place in the preheated oven.

Bake the cake until it gets golden on the top and when you stick a knife or fork in it and the dough doesn't stick on it. It's worth to keep a check on it several times after 20 minutes. When it's ready, take out from the oven.

For the lemon mousse, beat the egg whites slowly until they are foamy, then increase the speed. Add the lemon juice and the icing sugar spoon by spoon. Do not overbeat the whites. It is ready when you titl the bowl and the mixture does not slide around.

Plaster the cake with marmalade, lay the lemon mousse on the the top and put it back in the oven for extra 5 minutes. Then turn off the oven but leave the cake for then 10 minutes inside.

I used Lilafüge's recipe.

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Turkish red lentil soup (Kırmızı mercimek çorbası)

The rich and varied Turkish cuisine which is beloved by many people around the world is mainly the heritage of Ottoman Empire's cuisine. Turkish kitchen influenced not only the neighbour countries' kitchen but the whole European one, one after the other.

Turkish cuisine varies all across the country but the soups play an important part everywhere every time, they have traditional importance. Before the popularisation of the typical Turkish breakfast, soup was the current morning meal for most households. 

Soups are as varied as the whole Turkish gastronomy. Soups can be light or rich, substantial and nourishing but a Turkish meal generally starts with it. They are usually named after their main ingredient. 

The most common and best loved is kırmızı mercimek çorbası (red lentil soup), but yayla çorbası (yoghurt soup), tarhana çorbası (tarhana consists of cracked wheat, yoghurt and vegetables - fermented then dried) are also very popular, and for instance one of M.'s and my favorite soup is domates çorbası (tomato soup).

I had eaten kırmızı mercimek çorbası in Turkey and Hungary many times but like everything else this soup is the best if it is home-made. As far as I remember in the history of my kitchen activity this was also my first Turkish dish I cooked at home. 

When I prepare a Turkish food, I always use nothing but Turkish people's authentic recipes, this time Hayriye's. 

Ingredients:
1 cup red lentil
1 medium size onion 
1 potato
1 carrot
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon mint
1 tablespoon crushed pepper
6-7 cups of water (you can add a cube of beef bouillon)

For the sauce: 
2 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
1 tablespoon sweet or spicy paprika
A pinch of salt

Peel and chop the vegetables. 

Put the oil and chopped onion into a medium sized saucepan and sauté them at medium heat. When the onion is glassy, add the tomato paste, carrots, potatoes and sauté them with the onion for other 2-3 minutes.

Add the washed and drained red lentils, hot water (mixed with the cube of beef bouillon before) and mint to the vegetable mixture, then salt it and stir well. Cook until the carrots and potatoes soften. It takes approximately 10-15 minutes in medium-low heat then mix the soup thoroughly with a blender . If you find it too thick, you can add some more water.

For the sauce in a small frying pan place the butter and melt it over low heat. When it starts boiling and spitting, stir in the red pepper and salt. 

Serve the red lentil soup while still hot, pour the melted butter and pepper mixture over it. You can add some dry mint on top as well. Next to the plate you can serve some slice of lemon too and squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on top like Turks do.

Afiyet olsun!

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Braided zucchini bread with peanut

When I came home from work today my friend called me asked my help what kind of bread she should bake at the first time in her life if she has only basic ingredients at home. I opened the book Eat Well Live Well - Beautiful Baking for the Irish soda bread's recipe when I found something also for myself. Of course.

This low-fat bread based on the Irish soda bread's recipe but contains more several healty ingredients, with grated zucchini, roasted peanuts and linseed.It doesn't demand too many skills either to shape the showy bread. Cutting into thick slices we can serve it with soups or salad as main course.

I can recommend this special bread to test which is soft inside because of the zucchini and during the baking a wonderful aroma floats all around the flat.This is my best and most delicious bread what I have baked until now.

Ingredients (16 slices):
1 small piece of zucchini
40 dkg flour (20 dkg spelt flour and 20 dkg Update lowcarb mastermix)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
2-3 tablespoon linseed
1 handful peanut
1 big clove garlic
1 spoon olive oil
4 dl yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grate the zucchini with its peel and let it dry on kitchen towels. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking soda and the salt in a big bowl. Add the linseed, peanut and garlic, then the grated zucchini.

Sprinkle the oil on it, add the yoghurt and mix all ingredients smoothly. If it is needed, you can find some leftover flour in the bottom of the bowl, add some more yoghurt.

Shape a round loaf from the dough and put on a floured counter. Cut into to equal size pieces and twist two 30 cm long stick with floury hands.

Lay the two sticks next to each other on the counter. Press their upper ends then braid them carefully and turn the ends under the bread. Place the braided bread on oily baking paper and sprinkle it with some flour.

While we bake it for 25-30 minutes until it gets golden brown, the bread growns.

It is best to serve warm but it's fresh for 2-3 days.

Afiyet olsun!

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Turkish Ramadan pide (Ramazan pidesi)

I fell in love with Turkish bread (ekmek) last year during our holiday. I don't remember how many different kind of breads we had a chance to taste. Anywhere we ate, it doesn't matter we stopped at a smaller local restaurant next to the road or we had dinner in a fancy restaurant in Istanbul, bread was served (mostly with butter) everywhere while we waited for our order.

Ekmek is a main necessity of Turkish cuisine and households.It is usually made by bakeries two or three times  a day, in the morning and in the evening, therefore you can buy fresh crispy bread all day.

I am sure you haven't seen and tasted such a thing as Turkish ekmek. It is loved by everyone, rich and poor, simple and sophisticated, one and all. You can find a bread bakery at every neighborhood that produces the famous golden, crispy breads, filling the streets with their irresistible flavour. In Istanbul we stayed at our friend's place where right under the flat a bread bakery was found. During our stay we were waken up by the fresh bread's aroma every morning, I can not imagine more amazing thing.

The history of ekmek
During the Ottoman period people believed that bread, as the earliest form of cuisine, dates back to the time of Prophet Adam, the Patron Saint of Bakers who learned how to make bread from the Archangel Gabriel after his explusion from the Garden of Eden. The secret is still held by present-day Turkish bakers and hold it as one of the simplest and honorable things to eat.

The types of Turkish bread
There are so many types of Turkish breads but the most well-known besides ekmek, the ordinary white bread is:

• Tas Firin Ekmegi (this type of bread is the most common in Turkey, baked in stone oven)
• Simit (is a ring shaped bread with sesame seeds on the top.It's one of the most widely consumed foods in Turkey, you can find a simit vendor almost at every corner.)
• Tandır Ekmegi (This is also a very known bread type. It is baked in a round oven " Tandır" in Turkish. I met Tandır - in English: tandoor - at the first time in India where they use it not only for baking flatbreads, the Indian naan but for cooking certain meat dishes as well. I will write more about tandoor later.)
• Mısır ekmek (corn bread, not used very much)

This time I bring for you this special type of flat bread, called Ramazan pidesi which refers to that it is baked during the month of Ramazan.

Ramazan pidesi

For the first try I used Binnur's recipe as base. Let's see how it turned out!

Ingredients:
4 cup of flour (all purpose)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 and 3/4 cup milk
7 gr instant yeast (I prefer fresh yeast but this time I followed the original recipe)

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Glaze:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

Ramazan pidesi

Mix the instant yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm milk in a small bowl. Stir well to the yeast to dissolve. Cover the bowl with a towel, set aside and let it rest for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, add the flour and salt in a larger bowl, put the bubbly yeast mixture  and 1 1/2 cup warm milk to the flour. Mix and put the dough on the lightly floured table and knead well for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth (I used hand mixer at the beginning then continued kneading by hand). 

When the dough is ready, slush a clean bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place the dough in it and spread another tablespoon of olive oil with your hands all over the dough. Then cover it with a clean and damp dish towel. Set aside for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours at room temperature until the dough rises to double its size.

Place the dough on the lightly floured table again. Press all over it with your hands to get rid of air bubbles. Cut the dough in two pieces with a knife. Knead and give a ball shape to each, cover with a damp towel, and put aside for other 15 minutes. 

Place baking paper on an oven tray, then set the doughs on it. Use your palm to flatten each ball into a flatter rounded shape and dip your finger tips in it and press all over the dough. Lightly beat the glaze ingredients in a small bowl then sprinkle some black or regular sesame seeds all over and cover with a clean damp towel. Leave for about 35-40 minutes to rise at a warm place.

Finally preheat the oven to 230°C and put some water in an oven-safe bowl. Place it on the bottom of the oven and the tray on the middle rack. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the colour becomes light golden. Place the pide on the clean towel to cool it down a bit. Serve warm.

Afiyet olsun!

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Baklava

Baklava, baklava, baklava..... is the Queen of desserts. For me. I would swap everything for one piece of it. 

Baklava is the main dessert in many cuisines in the Mediterranean, Middle East regions and very popular in Arabic countries.

Traditionally it is made with walnuts but there is also varieties with almonds, pistachios, cashews or pine nuts. Baklava comes also in a variety of shapes and sizes. The traditional diamond shape is popular among most everyone who makes it. Other types:

• Boukage Baklava (filo pastry, honey, pistachio nuts, vegetable ghee)
• Katayef Roll Baklava (crispy, shreded filo pastry in a shape of small rolls filled with nuts and syrup. It is sticky and tasty.)
• Walnuts Baklava (filled with walnuts and syrup)
• Diamond Baklava (filled with different nuts like, wulnuts, almonds, cashew nuts and pistachio and honey, rich and delicious)
• Assabee Round Baklava (filo pastry filled with pistachio, and almonds sugar syrups in a shape of finger. It is a fantastic sweet to serve in any kind of occasions)

Baklava store in Istanbul, at Istiklal Caddesi

 The history of baklava

The most famous among Turkey's delicious sweet confections is baklava. This excellent flavoured pastry was made in Anatolia (also called Asia Minor) for long centuries. Its ancestor may be a dish made by the Assyrians (8th century B.C.) consisting of dried fruit sandwiched between two layers of pastry and baked in the oven.

As we know today the oldest record of baklava locates in Damascus, from which city it spread to Gazientep (city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world) and from there to the rest of Turkey. By the 17th century the fame of baklava had spread to Constantinople since towards the end of the 17th century baklava was made by the Topkapi Palace's cooks as a special treat for the janiessaries in Ramazan. 

During the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), the soldiers were given a large meal of pilaf, lamb stew and saffron flavoured rice pudding (zerde) before setting out the campaign, and in time, this tradition was replaced by the distribution of baklava during Ramazan. The janissaries carried the trays of baklava out of the palace in what was known as the Baklava Procession, Baklava Alayı.

The famous Istanbul Encyclopedia gives the below description of Baklava Alayı: 

"In the middle of Ramazan the sultan, in his capacity as caliph, would pay a ceremonial visit to the Mantle of the Prophet and the other holy relics, which was followed by the Mantle of the Prophet Procession. Following this ceremony trays of baklava prepared in the palace kitchens, one for every ten janissaries, cavalry soldiers, artillery men and armourers, each wrapped in a cloth, were laid ready outside the imperial kitchens. The fit tray was taken by the master armourer and his officers in the name of the sultan, who was himself first janissary. After that the others would be picked up in turn by pairs of soldiers, and each unit with their officers would line up for the parade, followed at the back by the soldiers holding the trays of baklava. They would march out of the palace gate and down the main road known as Divanyolu to their barracks with great pomp and clamour, watched by huge crowds. The following day the empty trays and cloths would be returned to the palace."

In later years this procession turned into a noisy and disorganised occasion and the trays and clothes were no longer returned, with excuses like "the baklava was so tasty we ate the trays and clothes as well". Despite of its end, the procession was of one of the most interesting customs of Istanbul past. 

In the first printed Turkish cookery book, Melceü't-Tabbahin (Refuge of Cooks), its author Mehmet Kâmil gives five recipes for baklava: ordinary baklava, baklava with clotted cream, decorative baklava with clotted cream, baklava with melon, and rice baklava.

Baklava has spread so far and wide that today it is to be found and eaten with relish in approximately one-fifth of the world's countries. It is surprising, for example, to find that baklava is popular in Texas, where it was introduced in the 19th century by Czech migrants. Less surprising is its prevalence throughout the Arabian peninsula, North Africa, the Turkic republics of Central Asia, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, India, Afghanistan and Armenia. However, there is an important difference between the baklava made in all these countries and that of Turkey - the thickness of the pastry layers.

Today's baklava

Today baklava is still a specialty and sold at stores that specializes only on baklava. In these baklava stores (called baklavacı in Turkish) one can find different versions of layered thin pastry desserts with different ingredients and different cuts. 

Turkish baklava is made by very thin layers of pastry made from wheat starch and a sugary syrup that does not contain honey or spices.

The tasted baklava during our Turkey trip last year

I could not take pictures about all baklava we tasted, we ate them always immediately when they were served :)

In Istanbul you have to turn into Sütiş Muhallebicisi (İstiklal Cad. No:7 Beyoğlu, since 1922).

In Kaş we tasted M's favorite pistachio baklava with ice cream on the top of it. It was heaven.

Pistachio baklava with ice cream in Kaş, Türkiye

My baklava

Well made baklava should melt in the mouth, and should not be excessively sweet or syrupy. That's what I also tried to carry out last time in Stockholm for M. 

I used the traditional baklava recipe by one of my favorite Turkish blog's, Almost Turkish. 

Ingredients:

1 box of phyllo pastry (at least 20 sheets)
2 1/3 sticks of butter
3 cups of chopped walnut (not minced or coarse)

For the syrup:
3 cups of sugar
3 cups of water
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice

 

While you thaw the phyllo dough, grease the baklava tray. The tray can be slightly smaller than phyllo sheets. I used a smaller rectangular glass oven dish.
 

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Place a layer of phyllo sheet at the bottom of the dish and drizzle 1 tbsp butter on top. Spread the half of the phyllo sheets on the dish, buttering them one by one. Sprinkle the ground walnuts on top of the middle layer. Cover the walnuts with the other half of phyllo sheets, again buttering every single one. When the sheets are finished, with the help of a knife push the edges inwards onto the tray.

Now cut the baklava. It always has to be cut before it is baked. The most traditional cut is the diamond cut. But you can go for triangles or simple squares, as you wish. For diamond cut, first find the sharpest knife in your kitchen and cut baklava into 4 or 5 equal pieces lengthwise. Then cut it diagonally at 3 cm intervals.

Drizzle the remaining butter on top and bake it in a preheated oven at 180°C until golden brown.

For the syrup, mix sugar and water and cook stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. First bring to a boil then let it simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes. Add lemon juice 10 minutes before you take it off the stove.Turn it off, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. 

I started to make the syrup only when I took baklava out from the oven because it has to be cold when we pour the syrup. You need to be careful because the syrup should neither be boiling hot nor cold. It will be at a good temperature to pour after 10-15 minutes off the stove.

In the end pour the syrup on top and let it soak. Wait at least 1-2 hours to cool and absorb the syrup.

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Trip to Szentendre and the invincible Somlói sponge cake

Yesterday I made a trip with mum to Szentendre by boat to get out from the city for a day.

Szentendre is the City what I need to visit every year. It is located at the south gate of Danube Bend, it has tiny town squares, meandering narrow streets, Serb temples, baroque buildings and it is also known for its Skanzen, the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum. The city is very famous among tourists who visits Budapest since Szentendre is accessible easily from Budapest, I can recommend to make at least a half day sightseeing trip to this cute town.

 If you visit the city you have to turn in the Szamos Museum Confectioner's, one of the most popular confectionery of Hungary which is very famous mostly for its traditional cakes, dragées, chocolate pralines and special Szamos desserts. But wherefore I love them the most is their Somlói sponge cake, one of the masterpiece of the Hungarian confectionery.

Somlói sponge is vanilia, cacao and walnut sponge cake sheets filled with raisins, walnut, decorated with chocolate dressing and whipped cream. It seems simple but it is not easy to prepare perfectly. I know because I tested Somlói in a lot of confectioneries but still the Szamos's one is the UNBEATABLE!! Soft sponge, silky vanilia cream, home made whipped cream and which is the best: the chocolate dressing with a little rum. Many confectioner ruined it with making the chocolate cream too watery and sweet but Szamos always finds the perfect rate.

My mum chose mixed fruit cottage cheese cake.

Christmas Museum was opened in the old town some time ago where gastro bloggers can find christmas tree ornaments.

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Farewell apple pie

Today was the last day of my colleague, A. at work therefore we organized a small farewell party for her in the end of the day. Yesterday we discussed what to prepare and bring for the gathering when the one and only guy in the team mentioned "...for instance Emese could bake a cake...", "..because I keeps the interests of the department in mind and you had already proved :) " This means I needed to bake something in the evening but what?

American apple pie! Yes! Noone will believe me that I had not tried the traditional apple pie yet but A's farewell was worth to try Angela Nilsen's recipe.

Ingridients for the filling:
1 kg sourish apple
14 dkg caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoon flour (I used Update lowcarb mastermix flour)

For the pastry:
22,5 dkg butter or margarine
5 dkg caster sugar
2 eggs
35 dkg flour (I used 20 dkg whole wheat flour + 15 dkg lowcarb mastermix flour)

For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 minute. Work it in the flour until it's beginning to clump up on the wooden spoon, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in clingfilm, and chill it in the fridgefor 45 mins.

While the pastry is chills in the fridge, quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick. Mix the 140g sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.

After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190°C. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin - 20-22cm round and 4cm deep - leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Tip the apples into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.

Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.

Next day:

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Carrot cake with orange cream icing

I spent a week in Stockholm with M. at the end of April and of course I needed to make a cake..or two..or more. After we hocus-pocused the birthday cake and the baklava, my next victim was the carrots in the fridge.

I had made carrot cake a long time ago, I didn't really remember the recipe I tried formerly so I looked around on my favorite blogger's site. I looked for a recipe which says not only "this is the best carrot cake I've ever tasted" but what Rachel Allen wrote. This is elegantly simple, it doesn't need to try too hard to be absolutely delicious. It's light, but the hazelnuts give it an incredible texture - delicate and nutty at the same time.

I have to say she was right so I can gladly recommend it to anyone irrespectively of who is in practice or beginner. Everyone will bring down the house with this delicacy.

I made the cake in a 20 cm round cake pan, multiplied the rates by 1,5, put more spices, my favorite ingridient, the lemon zest and for the cream icing I admixed some whipped cream in the cream cheese.

Ingridients:

3 eggs
210 ml vegetable oil
30 dkg soft light brown sugar
30 dkg grated carrot
10 dkg chopped walnuts
25 dkg flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
Grated zest of a half lemon

For the top:
20 dkg cream cheese
1 dl heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilia sugar
15 dkg icing sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

1. Peel then grate the carrot, chop finely the walnut.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

3. In a large bowl, stir the egg and sugar with whisk till it gets white then add the oil, grated carrot, chopped nuts and grated zest of a half lemon.

4. In another bowl measure the flour, the bicarbonate of soda, the cinnamon, the ginger stir them and bring the two mixtures together.

5. Pour this mixture into the prepared cake pan , smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 75 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before putting the icing on it.

7. To make the icing, put the cold heavy cream in a mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer beat the cream. As the cream thickens, add the cream cheese and beat them together in a bowl until combined. Add the vanilla extract or sugar, icing sugar and finely grated orange zest and mix to combine. The icing should be smooth and quite thick. 

8. Spread the icing evenly over the cooled cake, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out. Cut into slices to serve.

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