Cranberry and coconut oatmeal cookies

Yesterday I had an urge to eat cookies, so I checked my pantry to see what is available. I realized that to make an oatmeal cookie, I didn't need much other than my usual breakfast oatmeal mixture I keep on my counter. As it is already mixed with nuts and dried fruits, I just had to add sugar, flour, an egg and some butter, and it was ready to be baked.

A French upside-down apple pie: Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin is a super-easy, very fast cake with caramelized apples, and it tastes awesome. It may look a bit sturdy, but who cares?

The story behind this cake is that the sisters Calorine and Stéphanie Tatin, who ran a famous inn in a little town in central France once forgot to make desert, because they were chatting with a guest. By the time Stephanie realized her mistake, there was very little time left to serve the desert. So she tossed in the oven some peeled apples with butter and sugar, and while they were being baked, she made some dough. As the dough was prepared after the apples, she had no choice but to cover the apples with the dough. When it was ready, she realized that it can be served upside-down, so that the apples are on the upper side.

American cake

This is a cake my boyfriend baked during the week-end, and it has turned out superbly. I do not know why is it called ’American’, we found it in our 'Cakes and cookies' cookbook. It has a sweet, buttery dough as a base, layered with whipped egg whites and lemon cream, and the whole cake is covered in lemon flavored thickened whipped cream, which makes it really fabulous.

Ingredients:

For the dough
125 g (4.4 oz) butter
325 g (11.5 oz) sugar 
4 eggs
250 g (8.8 oz) flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of milk
For the filling and cover
3 lemons
100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
3 teaspoons of starch
500 ml (17 oz) double cream

Instructions:

Beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Mix well the egg yolks with the flour, baking powder and milk, then combine with the butter mixture. Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F). Pour half of the dough in a 26 cm (10 inches) cake mold and bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks, then add the remaining sugar to it, and whisk again. Spread half of the foam on the nearly baked dough, and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside, and bake the remaining dough and egg white foam in the same manner. Let it cool. 

Squeeze the lemon juice,  mix with the 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar and add 120 ml (4 oz) water. Boil it, then mix the starch with 2 tablespoons of water, and add to the boiling lemon juice mixture. Mix until it thickens, then let it cool down. 

Whip the double cream, and little by little add the lemon mixture to it. Spread some of it on one layer of the cake, then cover with the other one. Spread the remaining lemon flavored whipped cream on the top and sides of the cake. You can serve it immediately, or you can put it the refrigerator until the cream sets completely.

Baklava

This weekend, my boyfriend decided to bake something, and he chose baklava, a traditional Greek/Turkish/middle eastern desert. So far, I've tasted baklava only in kebab places, and I thought that they tasted OK, but their sweetness is a little bit overwhelming. Now, it changed completely.

Basil and strawberry ice cream without an ice cream maker

I chose Basil and Strawberry as a name of my blog, because I love them both, and I think their combination is so good, I can't even describe. Early summer I tasted a strawberry-basil soup in a restaurant, and it was the best food I have EVER had, no exaggeration. Unfortunately, it was only a weekend offer, so I couldn't have it next time we went back there. But the taste remained with me, and I was planning to use the combination of strawberry and basil in a homemade ice cream ever since. 

I am a huge ice-cream fan, so I got super-excited, when I learnt how to make them at home, without owning an ice-cream maker. It is actually quite simple, you just need eggs, sugar, double cream, and even in a simple freezer, it will turn out surprisingly creamy, guaranteed.

Honey yogurt layered with sweet chestnut purée and cherry jam

This is a light and super quick desert, that doesn’t require any baking or cooking. At first, I threw it together from leftovers that I layered in a glass, so this desert it is quite random, but as it turned out great, I continued to make this since.