beautiful fluffy pancakes

ohhh pancakes. Who doesn't like a cup of hot tea or cold juice with freshly made fluffy yummy pancakes?
I have some recipes of this handy dish like these wholemeal chocolate pancakes but I've been looking for a lighter version of traditional pancakes.
One day I was thinking about them and ALAS! just scanning through the magazine I came across this simple, light and yummy recipe.

I went to the kitchen and tried them right away. They turned out fluffy, soft, not too sweet and light. Now this recipe is a keeper and I use it quite often.
Without any further words here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

125g self-raising flour
2tsp fine sugar
1/2tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 egg, separated
150ml milk, preferably low-fat
1tsp vanilla extract
50-100g blueberries or raspberries
oil or oil spray for frying

Preparation:

• Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir a couple of times.
• Combine the egg yolk with milk and vanilla, whisk into the dry ingredients until smooth batter is formed. In a separate small bowl whisk the white until foamy. Carefully fold in the white into the batter.
• You can cook them as they are for plain pancakes or fold in berries for flavoured ones. I find adding berries directly to the batter more comfortable and easier to use, besides they don't stick out too much  that lets the pancakes brown more evenly on the second side. I also found using thawed raspberries easier.

• Heat a nonstick flat pan. Spray with oil or just pour a little bit of oil and let it spread over the pan. Put a spoonful of the batter into the pan making sure there are 2-3 berries per pancake. Once you see bubbles forming and the edges are slightly dry, flip the pancake and cook on the other side.

• Transfer to a plate. If you'd like the top crust stay crispy and firm place them in one layer. I prefer pancakes with some light marmalade, jam or sour cream. And of course maple syrup is always an option.

Enjoy!!!

While I was taking pictures of pancakes looking for a perfect one I noticed my little helper snatching a pancake away.

They were really good.

P.S. Recently my dear sister-in-law while visiting gave me such a lovely idea to try adding some chopped nuts in batter before making these yummy pancakes. I tried and it was delicious. From now on part of my little goodies are always with nuts.

Another great idea is to finely chop some chocolate (preferably dark one) and add to the batter before frying pancakes. It's a delicious yet simple way to have your pancakes.

That's all for now...

take care there.

creme fraiche raspberry tart

Every summer my family garden produces beautiful berries in such abundance that my mom has to make jams, desserts, preserves, sauces ... you name it. She cooks with them, mashes them with some yogurt or milk, eats as they are or freezes them.

It is natural you tend to make more fresh berry desserts during this season. So when I got my hands on beautiful fresh and some frozen but not less beautiful and yummy raspberries I knew I wanted to make sour creme raspberry pie my mom used to make. Well unfortunately both of us couldn't remember the recipe so I searched online and came across the following tart which is now a keeper with me.
About a week ago I took it to a picnic with my sweet lady friends and they loved it. The crust of this tart is much easier to make and hustle free but so nice and complements sweet and tangy raspberry filling so well.

The original recipe was posted by Becks here. (Thank you VERY MUCH for this.) She has very nice and clear step by step picture instructions if you are a visual person. She also describes a gluten-free version of this tart which is very helpful for people who are gluten intolerant.
The recipe calls for creme fraiche but you can easily use sour cream instead.

So here is what you will need:

113g butter (1 stick), softened
3/4 cup sugar, divided 1/2 and 1/4 cup
pinch a salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white flour (as the climate I live is humid I tend to add a couple of tbsp more especially when the humidity rises)
3/4 cup (180g) reduced fat creme fraiche
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (I honestly don't think I use 2 cups of frozen ones per tart. But what I know is that 500g bag of frozen raspberries is ideal for two tarts like that. If using frozen berries, thaw them completely in a colander over a bowl to let liquid drain.)
tart tin preferably with a removable bottom.

Here is what you will need to do:

• In a big mixing bowl combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt and beat until fluffy and mixed. Add 3 eggs and 1/2 tsp vanilla and beat until smooth and well incorporated. The mixture might look a bit curdled but it will come together eventually.
• Start adding flour a bit at a time. Mix in 1 cup of flour until just combined, do not over beat. If you see the mixture does not keep swirls then add a couple of tbsp more, one at a time.
• Spread the batter around the bottom and the sides of a tart pan, pushing it up the sides to make a border. 

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). However, you know your oven best so you might need to adjust the temperature. And remember if your oven is fan forced reduce the temperature by 20C.

• Now it is time to make creme fraiche filling. Combine creme fraiche, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar and beat until well mixed and smooth. Pour over the prepared batter and slightly spread it over. And here come the r-r-r-raspberries. I do take some time with arranging berries, placing them in circles. I start from the sides moving towards the centre making sure that berries are distributed evenly on top of the crust. I know it is a bit time consuming but I do it to make sure that everyone gets a piece with lots of yummy goodness on it.

• Bake your tart in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the shell is golden and the centre is firm. Do not over cook. Take out and let it cool before transferring to your serving dish. You can dust with some icing sugar for extra sweetness but for me tart is great as it is.

It's tart-elicious!!! Enjoy!!!

Let me know if you tried it or made some variations to the recipe.

That's all for now...

take care there.

creamy berry-misu

Since I decided to make fetuccini alfredo the other night I thought why not having some italian or italian like dessert. Ideally I would have made tiramisu, but it was a bit heavy for the night and besides I didn't have mascarpone and lady fingers.
I had to go with something else, most italian desserts either call for mascarpone or need to be kneaded and baked for quite a long time. The creamy pasta dish I was making already suggested that I needed something light, maybe with berries.

So I thought why not making kind of tiramisu but with berries and berry sauce instead of coffee.
So I came up with this recipe, quite simple and easy but so yummy and flavorful.
It is a layered dessert and as I kept in the fridge letting the cake soak in this fruity sauce it became even better and more moist.
I used whipping cream and homemade soft cheese, I believe cream cheese will work as well as a substitute.
Soft cheese has a slight tangy taste and mixed with a bit of sugar makes a pleasant addition to berries and cake.
I used a box mixture to make a cake base but you can use and experiment with any cake or recipe you have. What am I gonna do with the rest of the cake??? You might ask. I froze mine as I was making only 3 servings. You can either make this dessert for a big family or friends or make a couple of portions and freeze the rest till the next time you need some sponge in a recipe.
I will also experiment with different kinds and flavors of sponge to see how it works.
So far that's what I made.

Ingredients:
make 3 servings
1 box of cake mix + ingredients to make a sponge

for the berry coulis:
4 big strawberries (I used frozen ones they  work well)
half a handful of raspberries (frozen or fresh will do)
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp of water

cream:
1/2 cup whipping cream, chilled
1/4 cup fine brown sugar
150 g soft cheese

berry salad:
6 strawberries
6 cherries
12 blueberries

Preparation:

• ake the cake in a rectangular cookie sheet according to the instructions. You can use any recipe as I already mentioned, just make sure the cake is about an inch thick. Leave it to cool.
• While the cake is being cooked, prepare the coulis. Place strawberries, raspberries and water in a small pan bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes until strawberries are soft. Stir in the sugar and keep on stirring to dissolve it. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Once cooled mash slightly with a fork and then press through a sieve to remove all the seeds. I usually keep the cooled coulis in the fridge till I need ti use it.
• For the berry salad: chop strawberries and cherries finely, quarter the blueberries, mix all together.
• To prepare the cream beat the whipping cream until it starts to thicken, add the sugar and beat until soft peaks are formed. Do not over beat as it will get a very buttery taste. In another small bowl soften the cheese with a whisker and fold in the whipping cream with sugar. As you carefully mix the ingredients together you will notice that the cream becomes thicker. Set aside.

• To assemble the dessert take serving glasses. I used 3 normal drinking glasses with very little design on it. Using the rim of the glass cut circles out of the cake pressing gently but firmly. Cut as many circles as portions you are making. So I cut out 3. Now cut each circle in halves lengthwise, so that you will get 6 circles - 2 per glass. 
• Place one cake circle per glass and cover with a tablespoon of berry coulis, spread slightly to cover the whole cake piece. Reserve a few pieces of cut berries for decoration. Roughly divide the rest of your berry salad into 6 parts and place 1 part over the each cake piece with coulis (about generous tablespoon per layer). Cover with some cream and repeat layering finishing with cream on top. 
• To make it easier to spread and for a neater presentation I used a plastic bag with a large nozzle to pipe the cream in the shape of flower petals.
• Place a few pieces of reserved berries on top of each glass. Put in the fridge to chill till serving time.

Enjoy the scrumptious berry dessert that gets only better with every spoon you eat.

Let me know if you made it.

That's all for now...

take care there.