Orange cake

Today we're making a cake light and easy to prepare. Great for breakfast, it is a base which can also be coated with chocolate or icing for a preparation more sophisticated.

Ingredients

• ½ cup sugar
• 2 egg 
• 4 oranges juice 
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup of cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• Butter for greasing

Oven at 350° F

Time: 10' + 40'

In a bowl mix the egg and sugar and stir vigorously until it forms a froth.
Add oil, flour. cornstarch and orange juice.
The dough should be smooth enough.
Butter a baking pan 20 cm with zipper.
Spread the dough.
Bake at 350° F for 20 minutes, cover with baking paper and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted is dry.
Let cool in pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar

  

See the recipe in printable PDF

Braised beef with carrots

With the start of this cold spring you can still enjoy some winter dish like this braised beef with carrots, "polenta" or mashed potatoes.Polenta translates as corn meal mush, but it's much more. It's the staple food of the north, where it still outshines pasta, and can be served in innumerable ways, as a first course, baked, with stews, or even as a bread substitute.

 Ingredients for 4 people:

• 600 gr. of meat for pot roast
• 1 potato
• 5 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 sage leaves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• salt
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 500 ml of hot water
• 2 tablespoons oil EVO

Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:2 hours

In a large pot, I used the pressure cooker (and we'll see why) brown the chopped onion in the oil and brown the meat on all sides.
Add the garlic and potatoes cut into small cubes small, sage and rosemary. Salt the meat on all sides and pour the wine. Increase heat to evaporate, turning the meat.
After a few minutes, pour the tomato sauce and the hot water, the meat should be submerged.
At this point I have cooked for 1 hour under pressure from the whistle.
After you have cleaned and sliced carrots, eliminates the pressure under cold water and opens the pot.
Add the carrots and put back on the fire pot discovery, do not worry if there is too much liquid, the cooking is continued for another hour.
Almost at the end of cooking I prefer mixed some carrots with the immersion blender, while leaving some carrots whole.
Once cooked cut it into thick slices and cover with the carrots and the sauce, which after cooking is thick and smooth. 

 See the recipe in printable PDF

Cupscake with carrots

Today we'll making light cakes, but tasty, easy to prepare and reminiscent of brioche "Camille". I this morning I ate one for breakfast (I had prepared yesterday afternoon) and the weather has improved, despite the rain!

Ingredients for 15 cupcakes:
• 5.29 OZ (150 gams) grated carrots
• 7.05 OZ (200 grams) of flour for cakes (00 + starch)
• 3.53 OZ (100 grams) of sugar
• 1.76 OZ (50 gams) almond flour
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of sunfloweroil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Time: 15 min
Cooking time: 20/25 minutes
Oven: 302 ° F

At first you must grated the raw carrots. In a planetary or in a large bowl beat the egg with the sugar, then add the oil and stirring vigorously.
Stir in the grated carrots and flour little by little.
If the mixture is too thick, add milk, but not too much.
Still stirring, add the almond flour, vanilla and baking powder.
If you wish, you can also make the dough more fragrant with 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest bio.
Place in a baking muffin 15 paper cups andpour in each a little dough, which should be enough liquid.
Bake in oven at 302 ° F, for 20/25 minutes, if they were to darken too much halfway through  cover with a sheet of wax paper.
Remove them from the pan immediately and let cool on a wire rack.
If you wish, sprinkle with icing sugar.

See the recipe in printable PDF

Pan brioche with raisins

After a period of "forced rest" from the stove finally back with a sweet bread great for breakfast or snack.

Ingredients:

• 5,30 oz of manitoba flour
• 5,30 oz of flour 00
• 0,30 oz of butter at room temperature
• ½ packet of active dry yeast or ½ cube of the fresh
• 2,80 oz of sugar
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
•  7.05 oz of raisins
• 3 teaspoon of cherry jam

15 min for the dough
8/12 hours + 1 hour rising
cooking time: 20 minutes
oven temperature: 356 °F (180 °C)

 

Put a cup of milk in a bow or in a mixer. Then add butter, salt, sugar and give a first kneaded. Add the two types of flour, vanilla and lastly the baking powder, or the fresh one crumbled. Knead vigorously, if using a mixer. The dough should be soft but not sticky, a bit like pizza dough. If necessary, add flour or milk.

At this point formed a ball and let rest in the bowl next to a cup filled halfway with water. Cover with foil and let in the oven turned off for 4 hours.

Your dough is ready! Must be at least doubled, but also depends on the temperature!

Give it a punch to activate the yeast and then cut into 3 part and  lay each one on a floor and work them with a rolling pin to form a sheet of about ½ cm.

Put into the raisins and the cherry jam, close like a string, brush the final stretch with water (but not too much) and seal it. Repeat with all the part of dough. 

 Interweave and let stand for 1 hour.

Bake in center of oven at 356 °F for about 20 minutes near a small saucepan with a water.

Let cool and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water.

 

See the recipe in printable PDF