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Plum Cake

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial

When I was a kid, cakes like this one were on our table very often.

My lovely Mom used to make them.

They were filled with any fruit that was in season. And during the months of winter, Mom would use just about any canned fruit she had on hand.

So, whether you use plums, cherries or any kind of berries to make this sponge cake with fruit, you’ll be amazed by a very nice flavor it has and how surprisingly easy it is to prepare it.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, ingredients

Here’s what we need.

 

1. First, preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).

 

2. Separate the eggs placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another.

Use larger bowls.

 

3. Pour the sugar into the egg yolks and beat until thick and pale in color.

 

Try your best not to eat this all.

Oh my gosh, it’s so good.

Or is it just me?

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, add the butter and mix until fluffy

4. Then add the butter and mix until fluffy.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, in a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, add it to the egg-yolk mixture, mix to combine

5. Next, in a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add it to the egg-yolk mixture. Mix to combine.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, using a cleaned whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites

6. Then, using a cleaned whisk attachment, whisk the whites…

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, whisk the egg white until they hold stiff peaks

…until they hold stiff peaks.

 

7. Add the whites into the egg-yolk batter.

Small lumps of egg whites in the batter are okay.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, spray a baking pan with cooking spray and dust it lightly with flour, scrape the batter into the prepared pan

8. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and dust it lightly with flour.

 

9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

I used a 13 x 9-inch (33 x 22 cm) baking pan. This cake will rise a lot, so if you are going for a less tall version, use a larger baking pan.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, spread out the batter evenly

10. Spread out the batter evenly.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, cut the plums into halves, or if you are using canned plum, drain them

11. Now cut the plums in, halves. Or, if you are using canned plums, drain them.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, evenly arrange the halved plums on top of the batter

12. Evenly arrange the halved plums on top of the batter.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, bake at 350 F - 175 C for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean

13. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial, remove from the oven and let cool, then dust with a little confectioners' sugar and cut into squares

14. Remove from the oven and let cool.

 

14. Then dust with a little confectioner’s sugar and cut into squares.

 

plum cake recipe with step by step picture tutorial

And most importantly, enjoy, dear friends!

 

(This cake takes about 45 minutes to prepare.)

 

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Scrambled Egg Muffins

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I wish you health, love, happiness and joy!

And I am completely sure that you’ll have it all.

Some things I just know.

 

What I am also sure about is that you’ll love these scrambled egg muffins.

The idea comes from lovely and cute Jessica Seinfeld. She presented the recipe on Martha Stewart’s show recently.

The recipe is included in her cook book called ‘Deceptively Delicious’ where she shares very smart secrets on how to trick your kids into eating healthy stuff.

Cool, huh?

 

To tell you the truth, I am kind of blushing now. I need to own up to something. But it’s a little hard… because I think I’ve done something really naughty.

Maybe worse than naughty.

The original recipe includes chopped chickpeas and I just left them out wickedly.

And, I added salt.

Aaaaa…

I can only hope that the universal committee for healthy living will forgive me.

But I think they have to because these muffins tasted just amazing.

 

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, ingredients

Here’s what we need.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, preheat the oven, lay the strip of bacon in a large frying pan or skillet

1. First, preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).

2. Then lay the strips of bacon in a large frying pan (or skillet, or griddle).

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, fry bacon until crisp

3. And fry them until crisp.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, slice the bacon thinly

4. Slice the bacon thinly into 1/2-inch pieces.

You can also cut the bacon with kitchen shears if that makes the job easier for you.

 

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, in a bowl, whisk the eggs lightly

5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs lightly.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, whisk in the milk

6. Then whisk in the milk…

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, add Parmesan, parsley, black pepper, and salt

7. …and Parmesan, parsley, black pepper, and salt.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures

Nice.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, coat the cups of a muffin tin with vegetable oil, or brush the cups with the oil or sue non-stick cooking spray, divide the egg mixture evenly among the prepared cups

8. Now we need six standard muffin tins. Metal or silicone, both are good.

Coat the cups with some vegetable oil (you can brush the cups with the oil or use non-stick cooking spray).

 

9. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the prepared cups.

 

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, sprinkle with the bacon

10. And sprinkle with the bacon.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, bake until the eggs puff and are cooked through, remove egg muffin from the muffin pan and let cool slightly before serving

11. Bake at 400 °F (200 °C) for 13 – 15 minutes or until the eggs puff and are cooked through.

 

And in case you wondered, the person in the picture looks very much how I look these days.

You wanted to know it, so now you know it.

 

12. Then remove your egg muffins from the muffin pan and let them cool slightly before serving.

 

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures

Here they are.

Just adorable.

A great idea for breakfast or lazy brunch, don’t you think?

 

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures, garnish with red bell pepper hearts

The hearts are red bell pepper.

I’ve used sharp metal cookie cutters to cut them out.

scrambled egg muffins step by step recipe with pictures

See how deliciously moist they are?

Mmm.

And they are packed with wonderful and very satisfying savory flavors.

These are totally worth a try!

 

Enjoy, dear friends!

 

(This recipe has been loosely adapted from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It yields six muffins and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.)

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Bowtie Cookies

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

I am sending you warm greetings from my kitchen.

Because I luv ya!

And because the running oven makes it really, really warm in here.

 

The time before Christmas has a sweet and magical impact on me. I find myself in the kitchen even more often than usual.

Which actually means that instead of 14 hours a day I spend 20 hours here now.

Like yesterday, for example, I made 82 cookies and I don’t even know how that happened to me.

Strange.

 

Anyhow, these lovely Bowtie Cookies were one of those I made yesterday.

The dough has cream cheese in it. It remotely resembles puff pastry, but it is less layered and less fatty. And oh so delicious!

The dough is filled with jam. You wouldn’t believe how gorgeous that combination is.

Let me show you how I prepared them…

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, ingredients

Here’s what we need.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes.

 

2. Then on low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. A crumbly mixture will form.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, using your hands, pat the crumbly mixture together to from a dough ball

3. Using your hands, pat the crumbly mixture together to form a dough ball.

Oh, and the face – I had to. Again. It’s addictive. Sorry!

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, preaheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a square or rectangle, cut the dough into even square

4. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

 

5. Now, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a square or rectangle about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.

 

6. Cut the dough into even 2.5 x 2.5 inch (6 x 6 cm) squares.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, cutting dough with pizza cutter

I’ve found out that my pizza cutter works best when it comes to cutting pastry.

It’s perfectly sharp.

And pink.

I’m in love with it!

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square

7. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square.

Use a really thick jam. There are even jam brands out there that are meant for baking. Get one of those, preferably.

Also, when I was making the first batch of these cookies I was a little too generous and placed a little more than one teaspoon of the filling in the center. And I also spread it.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

I don’t recommend that.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

Although the cookies looked amazing before baking, if there’s too much jam, it has a tendency to leak while baking.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

In the second batch I was less generous.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures, bake

And the cookies leaked less, they almost didn’t leak at all.

7. Back to the instructions… pull 2 opposite corners of the square into the middle, and pinch the edges together to seal.

Pinch the edges well, don’t give them a chance to open back into the square shape while baking.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

8. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart.

 

9. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

 

Christmas Bowtie Cookies recipe with step by step pictures

10. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

 

11. Dust the tops with sifted confectioner’s sugar while still warm, then let cool completely.

 

Enjoy, dear friends!

 

(This recipe was loosely adapted from Epicurious.com and makes 40 cookies.)

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Cream Cheese Straws

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

These straws are super easy to make.

And yummy!

 

Of course, they can be enjoyed as a nibble or finger food year-round, but I think they are especially welcome at Christmas and New Year’s parties.

Mmm. I can imagine them with drinks, salads or thick soups even.

Also, creating these savory treats makes a great project for you and your kids. Just try making them together. I am sure there will be loads and loads of fun.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

Here’s what we need.
Yes, this is one of those recipe where you only need very few ingredients.

I am a huge fan of such recipes.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

 

2. Place the butter, cream cheese, flour, and salt into a bowl.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

3. Combine the ingredients by hand just until a nice ball forms.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

4. Place the dough onto a well floured surface.

 

5. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thickness.

If the dough gets too sticky during this process, just use more flour to make the work easier.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

6. Now cut the dough into even strips. My ones were 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide and 4 1/2 inches (11 cm) long.

 

If you want them to look super fancy, use a fluted pastry wheel cutter.

Oh, and it helps a lot if you dip the cutter in flour beforehand.

 

7. Re-roll any scraps and cut more strips.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

8. Lay the strips on the lined baking sheet. Brush them with a lightly beaten egg.

This will make them beautifully golden in color.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

9. Lastly, sprinkle each strip with some salt, sesame seeds and cumin.

I only had ground cumin seeds on hand when I was making these cuties. I think that the whole ones would look even better.

 

cream cheese straws recipe with step by step pictures

10. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Enjoy, dear friends!

 

(This recipe makes about 30 straws and takes 45 minutes to prepare.)

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