Tangerine Bundt Cake

I love bundt cakes.

It seems that I tend to celebrate the arrival of each season with them.

Somehow, it always works.

 

To welcome this year’s spring and Easter, I decided to go for a wonderful, fresh and invigorating citrus flavor.

And here it is.

 

In fact, the big clever books of baking would call this cake a chiffon cake.

Chiffon cakes are light and moist cakes that use vegetable oil instead of butter. That is the main reason why these cakes do not tend to harden or dry out as traditional butter cakes might.

That is positive, I think.

 

Frankly, this cake tastes just lovely.

Plus, there’s this delicious citrus glaze that increases the whole fresh experience immensely.

Here’s how you can make it too…

 

These are the ingredients that will come in handy.

 
 

1. First, preheat the oven to 325 °F  (165 °C).

 

2. Wash one tangerine under running water thoroughly.

Pat it dry with a kitchen towel.

Then grate one tablespoon plus one teaspoon peel. We are going to need one tablespoon for the cake and the remaining teaspoon for the glaze.

 
 

Mmm.

 
 

3. Now, squeeze the juice from 4 tangerines.

And try not to drink it.

Be strong!

 
 

4. Pass the juice through a fine sieve to get rid of seeds.

Because there might be seeds.

They are naughty and tend to sneak into your juice unobserved.

 
 

5. Now prepare your dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup granulated sugar.

 
 

6. Make a well in the center.

Add the oil, egg yolks, and the tangerine peel and juice.

Whisk into the dry ingredients.

 
 

7. In another larger bowl, beat the egg whites until they just stand in stiff peaks when beaters are lifted.

 
 

8. With a rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of the whites into the egg-yolk mixture to loosen the batter.

Then fold in the remaining whites.

 
 

9. Brush a 6-cup (1.4 liters) bundt cake pan with some vegetable oil.

Or use your cooking/baking spray.

 

10. Then dust the pan with some flour lightly.

But be careful at this point, don’t miss a spot. The more attention you pay to this process, the easier it will be for you to remove the cake from the pan after baking.

 

Note: You can use an angel food cake pan instead, if you wish to.

 
 

10. Using a spoon or a ladle, pour the batter in the pan.

 
 

11. And bake at 325 °F (165 °C) for about 30 minutes…

 
 

… or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake…

 
 

… comes out clean.

 
 

Hello baby.

I like you.

I like you very much.

 

12. Or, in other words, remove the cake from the oven.

Let it stand on the wire rack for about 15 minutes.

Then, using a knife, carefully loosen the cake from the edges and the center of the pan.

 

13. Invert the cake on a cake stand or a plate.

 

14. Let cool completely.

 
 

15. To prepare the glaze, squeeze 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon juice from the remaining tangerines.

Start preparing the glaze just before using it.

 
 

16. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, tangerine peel, and 2 tablespoons tangerine juice until smooth, adding the remaining teaspoon juice if necessary for good spreading consistency.

 
 

16. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, spreading it with the back of the spoon and allowing the glaze to run down the sides of your cake.

 

17. Use some colorful, happy sugar sprinkles to decorate the cake.

 

18. Let stand until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

 
 

And most importantly – enjoy, dear friends!

 

Love,

Petra

 

(This cake has been adapted from www.goodhousekeeping.com.)

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Omelette with Cabbage Filling

In case you are looking for a nice, light and delicious summer meal then look no further and relax.

Because I have something very good for you.

Something very, very, VERY good.

It was, I guess, some 6 years ago and deep into my vegetarian years when I found this recipe. My herbivorous years are long gone by I still cherish some recipes from that period.

And I especially love this one…

 
 

This is the lovely, yummy stuff we are going to need.

 
 

1. First, wash the cabbage and remove its tough center stalk.

 
 

2. Then get angry (because it helps) and cut it in half.
 
 

3. Place each half cut-side down and cut/shred into tiny strips.
 
 

4. Now peel and chop the onions.
 
 

5. Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into a large pot and place it over medium-low heat.
 

6. Add the onions and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
 
 

7. Add the shredded cabbage.
 
 

8. Season with 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt.
 

9. Stir, cover and sweat for about 15-20 minutes.

Stir every couple of minutes so that it doesn’t get burned.
 
 

10. Meanwhile, spoon the sour cream into a medium saucepan.

Place the saucepan over low-medium heat.

We are not going to cook this sour cream mixture we are making here – what we are doing is just heating it up gently.
 
 

11. Grate the cheese so that you have about 1 cup (100 grams).

I am using Edam cheese here, but you can use any cheese that makes you happy.
 
 

12. Add about half the cheese to the saucepan.
 
 

13. Now peel and press three cloves of garlic.

I promise I am going to learn to count to three soon.
 
 

14. Stir the whole mixture just until combined and remove it from heat.
 
 

15. Add the sour cream mixture to the cabbage which should be nice and soft by now.

16. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
 
 

17. And now let’s make the yummy omelettes.

To make one omelette, we need 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons water, a pinch of black pepper, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sweet paprika powder.
 
 

18. Yeah, destroy the Omelette Bob.
 
 

19. In a larger pan, heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and pour in the batter.
 
 

20. Cook for about 5 minutes – just until the omelette is cooked through but don’t flip.
 

21. Spoon about one third of the cabbage mixture over one half of the omelette.
 
 

22. And fold the other half of the omelette over the filling.
 
 

23. Remove the pan from heat.
 

24. Sprinkle the top with one third of the remaining cheese and add some parsley just for kicks.
 
 

Here I am serving the scrumptious omelette with sliced tomatoes and toasted bread.

 
 

Yum!

Just give this delicious dish a try and you’ll be glad you met me!

I promise!

And most of all, enjoy dear friends!

See you soon.

Love,

Petra

(This recipe makes 3 omelettes.)
 

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Strawberry Cheesecake

Someone might think that after all the cheesecakes and cheesecake pots I’ve made I’ll have enough.

But no.

Not me.

As soon as I came across this recipe I found myself being pulled towards the kitchen by some strong and strange power.

Really!

You better believe me.

The things that followed were…hm…spooky, my friends.

All I could see were my very own hands reaching for strawberries, sugar, blender…then there was a lot of noise…then flour mist covered everything…and the next thing I remember was me sitting on a chair and munching on this heavenly treat.

Things like these happen to me quite often.

Sometimes I’m scared.

What is that?

Well, that kitchen of mine – I guess there will be a movie made about its magical powers one day.

Luckily, I had my camera there with me…so now I have the evidence to show you:

These are the ingredients that gathered to create the delicious piece of art.
 
 

1. First I ground up the graham crackers until they were crumbs.

Or shall I use the instructions-giving style?

Okay.

So…
 
 

2. Pour the graham crackers into a larger bowl.
 

3. Add the sugar.
 
 

4. Melt the butter and add it to the bowl.

You can melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in a microwave, like I did.

Both ways are all-right.
 
 

5. Using a spatula or a spoon or anything you desire, combine the ingredients.
 
 

6. Now, try your best to find your 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan somewhere.
 

7. Press the crumbly mixture onto the bottom of the pan.

You don’t even have to spray or butter the pan before.

But you can.

You don’t need to, but you can…

But you don’t need to.

Am I being clear?

No?

So again…

You don’t even have to…

Sorry!
 

8. Place the pan into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
 
 

9. In a blender or food processor, combine the strawberries and cornstarch. Cover and process until smooth.

You can use fresh strawberries instead of frozen ones. In that case, add about 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar into the blender.
 
 

10. Pour the strawberry purée into a saucepan and bring to boil.

Cook and stir for about 2 minutes.

Let cool.

Set aside 1/3 cup of the finished sauce for serving. Keep it covered in your refrigerator.
 
 

11. In a bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with milk just until combined.

When it comes to cheesecakes, it’s important not to over beat the batter. That way you’ll prevent cracking of the cheesecake when it’s baking.

Oh, and you might have noticed that the condensed milk I was using looks a little too thin. You are right. Since I am a dreamer and a utopian I decided to bond two hardly mergeable concepts – cake and diet. For these reasons I used low-fat condensed milk. It was all right, but next time I’ll use the regular milk – that makes the cake’s structure a tad firmer.
 
 

12. Add the lemon juice.
 
 

13. Then add the eggs and beat on low just until combined.
 
 

14. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
 

15. Drop the strawberry mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer.
 
 

16. With a knife, swirl the strawberry sauce.
 

17. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55-60 minutes or until the center is almost set.

Don’t worry if the cake still wobbles in the middle a little when you shake it. For even though the center may not look fully baked, once it cools it will firm up and be the correct consistency.

18. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
 

19. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer.
 
 

20. Refrigerate overnight and serve with the strawberry sauce you’ve set aside (if it’s gotten too thick you can dilute it with a little water).
 

21. Store the cake in the refrigerator and most importantly – enjoy, dear friends!

See you soon!

Most cordially,
Petra
 

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Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits

The other day, I stumbled upon a recipe for Strawberry Parfaits.

It took just one look and I knew I needed them in my life.

Definitely.

And really soon.

No doubt about it.

They looked scrumptious and refreshing and irresistible and… simply excellent.

If something in this big wide world can be referred to as  ‘perfection in a glass’ then it’s definitely this dessert.

Please, please, you have to make it.

It’s that last step you need to make to achieve true happiness.
 
 

This is what you need to prepare the little cuties.
 
 

1. First, in your food processor, crush the biscuits finely.

You know what?

I love my high-end gadgetry.

This lovely piece, for example,  is going on the market next fall.

I was really lucky to get it in advance.
 
 

These are the butter biscuits I’ve used.

Oh, how we love them – especially sandwiched with jam.

Just wanted to let you know…
 
 

Anyway, these are the biscuit crumbs.
 
 

2. Mix the crumbs with one tablespoon sugar…
 
 

3. … and 2 tablespoons melted butter.

You can use a fork to combine it all together.
 
 

4. Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and almond extract.
 
 

5. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
 
 

6. Using a spatula, gently fold the cream cheese mixture with the whipped cream just until combined.
 
 

7. Slice the strawberries into a larger bowl, sprinkle them with a tablespoon of sugar and toss them around the bowl a little.
 
 

8. Then we are going to need four glasses.
 
 

9. Place about a tablespoon of the crumbs  in the bottom of your glasses.
 
 

10. Then layer some of the cheesecake filling, …
 
 

11. … then add some strawberries …
 
 

12. … and repeat this procedure once more.
 
 

13. Sprinkle the top with some more crumbs and garnish with strawberries and a mint leaf.
 
 

14. Refrigerate for about 1-2 hours before serving …
 
 

… which is exactly what I haven’t done.

Enjoy, dear friends.

This recipe makes about 4 1-cup (250 ml) glasses.

(The recipe was adapted from here.)
 

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Rosemary Surprise

I prepared this Rosemary Surprise the other day.

I also put a parsley leaf on top to accentuate that life is not that straightforward.

Anyway…

Recently, I’ve found myself in a rather inventing mood here in my kitchen… and this is my second fantasy-come-true this week.

You might ask why I’ve named it a surprise.

Well, have a look, I’ll show you…
 
 

These are the ingredients I’ve used.

They are rather simple and easy to obtain.

Because simplicity is my life.
 
 

1. First, cut the meat into 5 slices.

You can even let it marinate for a couple of hours, as I did.

But it’s definitely not necessary.
 
 

2. Put one slice into a Ziploc or cover with some plastic wrap and pound it until thin.
 
 

3. Then cut a piece of aluminum foil – it should be about twice the size of the pounded meat.

4. Place one piece of meat onto the foil and sprinkle with the grilling spice.

(The spice I was using contained some salt so I didn’t have to add any more. In case your grilling spice is salt-free, then use some salt in this step.)
 
 

5. Mustard time!

Spread 1 teaspoon mustard over the top.

It will balance the flavors wonderfully.
 
 

6. Go on and slice the cheese.
 
 

7. Place a few cheese slices over the meat – use as much as needed to cover one half of the meat surface.
 
 

8. Place one slice ham over the cheese.

Yum!
 
 

9. Slice the onion and the garlic cloves.

There’s a lot of slicing in this recipe.

Slice, slice, slice – like never before.
 
 

10. Scatter about 1/5th of the onion and garlic over the meat.
 
 

11. Then fold the meat in half – so that the cheese/ham part stays on the bottom and you cover it with the other half.

12. Move the meat to the center of the foil.
 
 

13. Now place 1/2 tablespoon butter on top and sprinkle with some rosemary.

If you’re using fresh rosemary, just place the twig on top.

Isn’t this just fun?

I love it when recipes are fun.
 
 

14. Wrap the meat with the foil.

Try to press the seals tightly since we definitely want to keep the delicious juices inside.
 
 

15. Place the cute packages on a baking sheet.

If you find some free space on the sheet, then slice (again!) some potatoes, sprinkle them with vegetable oil and also with some of the same grilling powder that you’ve used for the meat.
 
 

16. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 50-55 minuets.
 
 

Oh my.

Can you see the juices?

Well that is something!

And also, now you can see why I’ve named it a surprise.

If you served this dish to someone he’d first say something like: ‘Hm, nice piece of meat. Thank you.’

Then he’d go on, slice it open and …
 
 

… find out he is really, really lucky to know you.

And that’s very good.

Enjoy, dear friends!

And have a wonderful weekend.
 

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Cherry Pie …And A GIVEAWAY!

Let me introduce my new most favorite pie to you:

The cherry pie – My dear readers,

My dear readers – The cherry pie!

This might possibly be the most delicious pie on the face of the Earth.

Or, even better – in the universe.

And if there is a multiverse, then there too.

I got amazed by how scrumptiously such a simple pie can taste.

Absolutely yummy and finger-lickin’ (or in more civilized households – fork-lickin’).

But in our household it’s definitely something between finger-lickin’ and plate-lickin’.

Well, welcome to my world.

And now something about the GIVEAWAY…
 

Because I think that kitchen gadgets of any kind are the next best thing (right after the cherry pie) I’ve prepared this cute giveaway for you.

It’s a CHERRY PITTER.

And it’s simply awesome.
 

TO ENTER (Contest closed. Thank you.)

To enter this giveaway, just answer the following question in the ‘Comments section’ of this post:

“What is you favorite dessert?”
 

THE RULES

• One entry per person, please.

Additional entries:

• Twitter (follow ZoomYummy and tweet the link of this post; leave a note about it in the comment section of this post),
• Facebook (fan ZoomYummy and share the link of this post; leave a note about it in the comment section of this post).

(So together you can have three entries.)

Winner will be selected at random and announced on Thursday (June 10).
 

Good luck, everybody!

(Contest closed. Thank you.)

 

And now, back to the cherry pie…
 

These are the ingredients.

So simple.
 
 

1. To make the crust, place the flour, butter, sugar, salt and water into the bowl of your electric mixer.

2. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
 
 

3. Then work with your hands until the dough comes together and you’ve formed a nice, compact ball.
 
 

4. Place the dough into a bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
 
 

5. Meanwhile, we can prepare the cherry filling.
 
 

In a saucepan, cook the cherries in water for 10 minutes.
 
 

6. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and add to cherries.

(There’s this thing you should really know about me. I have the shortest attention span of all the human beings that have ever lived on this planet. So here I go – taking a picture of one tablespoon cornstarch being added to the sugar which caused me to completely forget about the second tablespoon cornstarch that I should have used as well. The result – my pie was a little more ‘runny’ than it should have been. But don’t worry – I am okay with that.)

7. Cook the cherry mixture until it thickens – about 5 minutes.

8. Cool slightly before using to fill your pie shell.
 
 

9. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it onto a well-floured surface.

10. Cut it in about ‘2/3 : 1/3′ ratio (… or, as I so like to say – cut it into a bigger and smaller half – here, I said it. Logical nonsense yet so relieving).
 
 

11. To form the pie shell, roll out the ‘bigger half’ on a floured surface into a 14-inch (35 cm) round.

12. Wrap around your rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate.

13. Fit gently into the bottom and the side of the plate. Use kitchen shears to trim the dough to a 1-inch overhang.

(I made those little holes on the bottom with a fork and I really don’t know why I made them.)
 
 

14. Then go on and fill the shell with the delicious filling.
 
 

15. Then grab the ‘smaller half’ of the dough, roll it out into a 14-inch (35 cm) round as well.

16. Using a sharp knife, cut it into even strips (you can use a ruler to guide you).
 
 

17. This is how I formed the lattice.

• Picture 1 – To form a lattice top, lay out four to seven (seven in my case) strips on top of the filling.
• Picture 2 – Fold back every other strip.
• Picture 3 – Place one long strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel strips, as shown.
  
• Picture 4 – Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip and take the parallel strips that are running underneath (!) the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip.
• Picture 5 – Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, with some space between the strips. Unfold the folded parallel strips over the second strip. And again take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip.
• Pictures 6 and 7 – Continue this process until the weave is complete over the top of the pie.
• Picture 8 – Trim the parts of the strips that are longer than the dough underneath.
• Picture 9 – Fold back the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips and crimp the rim with your fingertips and knuckle.

Or you can just forget the whole lattice thing and cut out some little star shapes and place them on top of the filling.

There you go.
 
 

This is the finished lattice – still, I guess it’s really worth a try.

18. Just for kicks, you can brush the top of the lattice with a lightly beaten egg yolk.

19. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes (or until golden brown).
 
 

20. Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool for about 2-3 hours.

And most importantly – enjoy, dear friends!
 

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Homemade Gnocchi …And Mushroom-Bacon Sauce

Making you own, homemade gnocchi is magical.

It will bring you a very special, exciting feeling of triumph – like now that you can make your own gnocchi you can do really anything.

Or maybe it’s just me – estimating my future life through my food accomplishments.

Maybe I’m just weird.

Nevertheless, making gnocchi is really easy.

So please, PLEASE, don’t you ever believe anyone who’ll try to tell you something different.

Because to make it, all you have to do is to mix four simple ingredients into one ball, cut it into teeny-tiny pieces and drop it into a pot of boiling water.

Simple as that.

I’ll show you what I mean – just have a look:
 

These are the ingredients we need – for the gnocchi and for the delicious, creamy mushroom sauce, too.
 
 

1. Let’s start by boiling the potatoes.

To make that – place them in a pot filled with water, bring to boil and let cook until the potatoes soften.

You can check whether they are cooked by sticking a knife in their centers – if it runs smoothly and there’s no resistance, then it’s done.

This process should take about 25-30 minutes.
 
 

2. Strain the potatoes and let them cool – just until they are cool enough to be handled with your hands.

(You can speed up this process by placing the cooked potatoes into a pot of cold water for a couple of minutes.)

3. Using a knife, peel the potatoes.
 
 

4. Then, using a potato masher preferably (Did you hear that Petra? When are you going to get that?) mash the potatoes.
 
 

5. Add the flour, egg and salt and combine with a rubber spatula.
 
 

6. Then go on and commit the worst gastronomic sin of them all – mix by hand with you nail polish applied.
 
 

Yes Petra, you heard well, you are guilty.
 
 

7. Knead the mixture by hand a couple of times until a compact ball forms.

The dough is not going to be extra smooth so don’t worry about that.

8. Place the dough onto a well floured surface.
 
 

9. Then using a sharp knife, cut the dough into eight even pieces.

Form a ball from each piece and then roll each ball into this long skinny cigar-shaped log.
 
 

10. Using a knife, cut the log.

Continue, until all of your dough is cut.
 
 

11. Pour water into a larger pot and bring to boil.
 
 

12. Drop about 20 pieces of gnocchi into the boiling water, let cook and stir them gently once (so that they don’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot).

When the gnocchi float to the top, let them cook for additional 20 seconds.
 
 

13. Remove them from the water…
 
 

… and place them into a larger pot or bowl with some vegetable oil inside.

14. Toss the cooked gnocchi around the pot so that they mix with the oil and don’t get stuck together.

15. Repeat the process with another 20 pieces and then again and again.

And that’s it for the gnocchi.

Now onto the sauce.
 
 

1. Melt the butter in a larger pan.
 
 

2. Chop the onion.
 
 

3. Chop the garlic.
 
 

4. Add the onion and the garlic into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.
 
 

5. Now chop the mushrooms.

I’ve used champignons but you can use any kind you like.
 
 

6. Then grab some parsley…
 
 

… and chop it real good.
 
 

7. Add the mushrooms and the parsley to the pan and stir-fry for another 5 minutes.
 
 

8. Chop the bacon and add it in.

Stir and fry for 3-5 minutes.
 
 

9. Then add the cream and the broth and cook for another 5 minutes.

10. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste.
 
 

Yummy.

Enjoy, dear friends.
 

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