I already mentioned earlier that cookbook that I got a few months ago - "Cakes & Loaves" - and completely forgot about. Now I am trying to remedy this situation and use it more. So, I decided to make a sweet cake from the book. I am very partial to ground almond sin baking, so when I saw a recipe that combined ground almonds and matcha powder, I knew that I just had to try it. It took me a few years of hunting in Toronto to finally buy this famous Matcha Green Tea powder, but when I finally got my hands on it, I only made one dessert with the ingredient and that was it. Lately, however, I've been drinking a lot of green tea which tastes exactly like Green Tea Ice Cream and I've been craving desserts with that same flavour.

The cake turned out absolutely perfect. Ground almonds give unique texture to the cake, white chocolate is not too pronounced but still noticable and it smells and tastes like green tea. The cake stayed soft and tender even after a few days on my kitchen table.

This recipe was a little bit strange. Although, I followed the insturctions to the letter, the batter that I got was way too thin. It was more like a pancake batter, than normal cake batter, so I had to add a full cup of dry ingredients to make it into a normal cake batter consistency. I'll list my measurements here, but just in case, don't add all the dry ingredients at the same time, add them gradually to make sure that the batter is not too stiff.

recipe adapted from "Cakes & Loaves" by Ilona Chovancova

• Butter, melted - 10 tablespoons (150g)
• White chocolate, melted - 75 g
• Eggs - 3
• Sugar - 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons
• Flour - 1 cup + 1/4 cup
• Ground almonds - 1 cup + 1/4 cup
• Green tea powder (Matcha) - 3 teaspoons
• Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoons
• Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoons
• Milk - 3 tablespoons
• Salt - a pinch

- Preheat the ove to 180C (350F).
- Butter and flour a cake pan.
- Beat together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume.
- Gradually add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, and melted butter. Mix until the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the batter into two equal portions.
- Fold the green tea into one portion, and fold the white chocolate into the other.
- Pour the white chocolate batter into a prepared pan and cover with the green tea batter.
- Use a fork or a metal skewer to swirl the batters for a marbled effect.
- Bake for 40-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle of the cake. Cover with foil if the cake is not baked through but the top begins to brown too much.
- Let cool in the pan slightly before turning out.

Comments
- Original recipe only had 3/4 cups of flour and ground almonds each and also no milk.
- It also required only 40 minutes to bake, but I found that the cake wasn't baked through after 40 minutes and it needed about an hour, but it all depends on the oven.

It's been quite a long time since my last post here. I haven't been cooking much, but I recently started to get back into the groove. I made a few things and they turned out pretty great. I also got a new camera - Nikon D700, so I am extremely excited and can't wait to start cooking and taking pictures again.

I got this book called "Cakes & Loaves" a few months ago. I fell in love with the pictures of the cakes - so simple, so bright, so inviting and delicious. Later, while browsing through the recipes I was a little bit disappointed - it seemed like there were just a couple of basic recipes and the rest were just multiple variations of the same idea, just different additions and flavourings. I thought about returning the book, but the pictures were too inspirational and I left it on my shelf. That was more than six months ago and I completely forgot about this gem until last week. I picked up the book and rediscovered all the beautiful cakes again. One of them just screamed my name. Blue Cheese, Pear and Walnuts - what a perfect  and classic combination of ingredients. Salty, spicy cheese combined with soft, sweet pear and crunchy, earthy nuts. On top of all that, the cake is very easy to make, all the ingredients just need to be combined and baked - no whipping, melting, resting, separating, etc. needed.

recipe adapted from "Cakes & Loaves" by Ilona Chovancova

• Blue cheese, crumbled (such as Roquefort) - 125 g
• Pear, peeled and chopped into 1x1cm cubes - 1 
• Walnuts, coarsely chopped - 60 g
• Eggs - 3
• Milk - 100 ml
• Walnut oil - 3 tablespoons
• Olive oil - 3 tablespoons
• Flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Baking powder - 1 tablespoon
• Sugar - 2 teaspoons
• Mild Cheddar, grated - 100 g
• Salt, pepper

- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
- Butter and flour the cake pan.
- In a big bowl mix together eggs, milk and both oils.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until it all comes together and no flour is visible. make sure that the filling is evenly distributed through the batter.
- Transfer the batter into the cake pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with no crumbs.
- Cool the cake in the pan.

Comments
- You may omit the sugar, I just like the combination of salty and sweet and I think the batter becomes to plain without it.
- Blue cheese should be strong since there are so many other ingredients in the cake. Milk blue cheese would be lost in it.
- This cake goes amazingly well with Strong Cider.

When I first got interested in food, it wasn't cooking that intrigued me - it was baking. I didn't even like to cook, but baking on the other hand was my passion. It was magic that pulled me in. How do those simple ingredients like eggs, butter and flour mixed together create various beautiful cakes? And what about flourless cakes - sugar, butter and chocolate - how does this mixture create luscious desserts? I still consider it magical!

I was so interested in baking that I actually went to college for baking. I took 10 courses to qualify for a Bakery Arts Certificate (I still have to apply to get it, although I have all the correct courses). It was great and I learned a lot about baking and I am really not afraid of any type of baking now: be it yeasty breads, delicate pastries or flaky tarts.

But the cake recipe that I am about to introduce here goes against everything I learned. It's really not a right way to make a cake batter, but it works and it works beautifully! It's my mom's cake, she used to make it often when I was a child and this is baking magic at its best. One of my favourite things about this cake is the crust, somehow about 3 times out of 5 the crust really become meringue-like and tastes similar to macaroons. I cannot really explain why that happens.

Here it's made with pitted cherries, but my favourite is with apples, pecans and cinnamon. I also tried it with peaches and cardamom and plums and almonds. I'm sure it will be great with almost any fruit that you can put in a pie filling.

For baking form 20x20cm

• Eggs - 3
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Flour - 1 cup
• Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
• Fruit - 2 cups or enough to cover the baking dish or more if mixed with the batter
• Butter for the baking dish

And now for the magical part

- Preheat the over to 350F (180C).
- Butter the baking dish.
- In a big bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar just until it all comes together, about 30 seconds, no more.
- Add the flour (and baking powder if using) and wisk together just until the flour disappears and there are no more lumps, about 45 seconds, no more.
- The batter will be quite thick and there won't be a lot of it.
- Cover the baking dish with the fruit and spread the batter over. It will barely cover the fruit and it'll look like it's not enough, but it will be great. ALternatively you can mix the fruit with the batter.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean when the cake is ready.
- Cool and enjoy with a glass of cold milk.

Various fillings:

- Pitted sour cherries.
- Apples cut into peaces with pecans and cinnamon.
- Halved plums with almonds inserted into each half.
- Sliced peaches with cinnamon or cardamom.

Very easy to make and eveb easier to eat gingerbread. Perfect for sharing during this time of the year. Its aroma fills the kitchen with welcoming, christmassy, fairy-tale smells.

recipe from Nigella Christmas

for 20x30 cm form

• Butter - 150 g
• Golden syrup - 200 g
• Dark molasses - 200 g
• Brown sugar - 125 g
• Fresh ginger, grated - 2 teaspoons
• Ground gigner - 1 teaspoon
• Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
• Ground cloves - 1/4 teaspoon
• Baking soda  - 1 teaspoon dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm water
• Milk - 250 ml
• Eggs, lightly mixed - 2
• Flour - 300 g

- Preheat the oven to 335F (170C).
- Butter the baking form.
- In a medium pot melt the butter together with golden syrup, molasses, sugar, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon and ground cloves. The mixture should become liquid.
- Take the pot from the heat. add the milk, eggs and soda dissolved in water. Mix.
- In a separate big bowl put the flour, pour the liquid mixture on it and mix until the batter is almost mixed and the flour is incorporated.
- The batter will be very liquid, don't worry! The magic will happen in the oven.
- Pour the batter into a prepared form and bake for 45-60 minutes until the cake is risen and the top is springy to the touch.
- It's important to not overbake the bread or otherwise it'll loose its' stickiness.
- Let the gingerbread cool before cutting into 24 pieces.

I was a little sceptical tryin out this recipe for the first time. I don't really trust chocolate recipes that do not call for chocolate and I wasn't sure if cocoa powder would give the cakes that rich chocolate taste. But this recipe rocks! It's one of the once that make over and over agan and I don't get tired of it. And a good thing is that you can make these a night before the event, since they are much better the next day. Somehow, the chocolate taste intensifies after a few hours.

recipe adapted from martha stewart

for 12-15 cupcakes

• Unsweetened cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
• All-purpose flour - 3/4 cup
• Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
• Butter, room temperature - 140 g (10 tablespoons)
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Eggs, large - 3
• Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• Sour cream - 1/2 cup

- Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- Line the muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low.
- Add flour mixture alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the muffin pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

I love my chocolate: dark, milk, white, plain, with fillings, with spices. It's such an amazing food that can lift up your mood and make the life feel much better. And I love chocolate in desserts: cookies, cakes, pastries, cupcakes, ice cream. So, this recipe is a chocoholic's dream come true. It's an extremely easy dessert to make, only takes about 5 minutes to bring the batter together and about 15 minutes to bake it.

recipe adapted from carina-forum

for 4 small cakes

• Dark chocolate - 90 g
• Butter - 80 g
• Eggs - 2
• Sugar - 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup
• Flour - 2 tablespoons
• Flavourings (rum, cognac, vanilla) - 1 tablespoon optional.

- Preheat the oven to 430F (220C).
- Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave or in a double boiler.
- Whisk the eggs, sugar and flour together just until combined.
- Add the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix well.
- Add flavourings if using and mix.
- Butter the ramikens and pour the butter into them.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes depending on your oven.

I am not a fan of bananas in desserts. Don't really know why. But sometimes it just hits the spot. I rarely buy bananas just to make a cake, but I usually have a couple of almost dead bananas waiting in my freezer. If you are using a frozen banana, then let it thaw in a seive for 20-30 minutes to get rid of too much moisture.

recipe from Tyler's Ultimate

• Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 1 stick (1/2 cup)
• All-purpose flour - 2 cups
• Sugar - 3/4 cups
• Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
• Baking powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Dark chocolate, melted - 113 g
• Large eggs - 2
• Very ripe bananas - 3
• Vanilla - 1 teaspoon

- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Butter a 9x5-inch load pan.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In another bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy with a mixer.
- Then beat in the chocolate, eggs, bananas, and vanilla.
- Stir in the dry igredients just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the load pan and bake until a toothpick stuck into the center of the bread comes out almost clean, around 60 minutes.
- Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 15 minutes before unmolding.

Comments

- This bread really needs some kind of nuts. I think pecans would go great with it.
- And rum... a couple of teaspoons of rum would be a great addition to this recipe or maybe rum syrup to pour on top.