PEARS baked with maple syrup


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2017!Holy $#!t!

So,here we start another trip around the Sun!Crazzzzzzy.But you know what?It’s my 31st and I’m more excited than EVER.
Just think of all the food that can be tasted in the next 12 months!And how much can be learnt about photohraphy during the next 365(ok 361 now) days!And hey, challanges, life lessons, unexpected adventures, I am ready for you. I’m ready for the ride!

I really love how stepping into New Year always brings joy, optimism, hope, good vibes and exciting plans!Everybody seems so much happier.I’ve never seen so many happy faces around on a Monday morning!(ok, there were some hangovered faces too!lol!)That’s just how it shoud be. It’s exciting!It’s special! It’s a fresh start of a new journey with a countless oportunities to learn, to experience life, to become better.

Let’s just don’t be to harsh on ourselves, shall we?

Let’s not strive to be perfect. Let’s make misteakes, be silly, admit we don’t have to know everything.Because we don’t!Let’s cry when we need to. Let’s enjoy life with all it’s ups and downs.Even if it kicks your ass from time to time.

2016 kicked my ass for sure! It was challanging. Painful. Rough. And we all know how difficult it was globally too. But hey, I feel stronger than before and It made my notice everyday magic more and appreciate the little beautiful moments.

 


So let’s just focus on those happy moments for a bit.
Simple food is what makes me happy.And I’m sure this recipe will make you happy too.It not only takes 20 minutes and it tastes sooooo good you will want to screem with excitment. That’s what I did anyway!

Enjoy!

And If you have few spare moments I highly recommend reading this beautiful post about entering a New Year by Elizabeth Gilbert 🙂


RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

5 ripe pears(conference pears are great for this recipe)
vanilla pod
maple syrup(how much you prefer :))
handful of hazelnuts

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 190 C. Peel the pears,cut the fruit in half lengthwise and remove the cores with a teaspoon. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with a baking paper. Mix vanilla beans removed from the pod and mix with maple syrup.Pour over the pears. Chop the hazelnuts roughly and sprinkle over the pears. Bake for 15 minutes or until the fruit is soft.

Enjoy  with some cream or top up the porridge x


 

MOUTHWATERING BLUEBERRY AND LEMON CAKE

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Hi!It’s just a quickie! I really wanted to share with you this lovely recipe that I made for In Clover magazine.

You should know me well enough to realized that I get excited about exciting recipes and I just cannot keep them to myself so I’m spreading the news!This cake is my “dream come true”. A cake that I want to make special memories with…bake it for our anniversary,my mum’s birthday,picnic party with friends and a lazy Sunday afternoon…It’s perfect.

MOUTHWATERING
BLUEBERRY AND LEMON CAKE
with almonds and maple syrup

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs
100g unrefined caster cane sugar
200g self-rising flour, sifted
120g ground almonds, sifted
60g unsalted butter, melted
juice and finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
40g almond flakes
60ml maple syrup
150g blueberries

+butter and ground almonds for greasing a tin

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 180C.Grease a 19cm springform cake tin with butter and sprinkle with ground almonds. Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer for around 10 minutes until pale and tripled in volume. Add the flour, ground almonds, melted butter, lemon juice and grated lemon zest and gently mix to combine the ingredients. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter and transfer the mixture to the tin and spread it evenly. Sprinkle with the almond flakes, drizzle with 1/3 of maple syrup and bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked and tested with a skewer.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes then carefully unclasp the tin and move the cake to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Brush the remaining maple syrup over the top and enjoy!

TIP: Halfway through baking, you can place a layer of baking paper or kitchen foil over the top of the cake to prevent over-browning.

HAPPY BAKING!

Awesome cherry and mascarpone trifles

anigif
I swear it feels like I was going to Poland 5 minutes ago and I’m already back from my holidays,unpacked, thrown back into my routine and I’m missing my family like crazy.It was soooo amazing!At times I feel like it never happened,like it was just a beautiful dream,but then I look at the photos(hundreds of them!) to reassure myself I’m not freaking out and that it was all real.

Poland is an amazing country and I would just love to take you guys all there and show you some of my favourite places.So just be patient and wait for the next post 😉

For now I’m going to leave you with this lovely recipe.Do you also have a weakness for puddings served in glasses?Seriously,I melt the minute I see them arriving into the room.And cherry and mascarpone combo-OMG!-you want to try it!
The recipe sat unfinished on the blog for a long while and I had this very ambitious plan to write about it when I was in Poland.Hahaha!I know!What was I thinking?I didn’t even open the laptop once and only wasted  space in my luggage where I could jam some more wild flower teas on the way back….lesson learned!

Boycotting internet and social media may be good idea on holidays but GOD!I missed this space!

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RECIPE:

Makes 6 glasses

INGREDIENTS:

for crumble

140g almond flakes
50g sesame seeds
4 tablespoons of ground almonds
4 tablespoons unsalted butter,melted
2 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

for cream

250ml double cream (cold)
400ml mascarpone
2 tablespoon maple syrup

Additionally

1kg cherries + 2 tablespoons hone/maple syrup/unrefined cane sugar

PREPARATION:

Preheat the oven to 190C.Mix all the ingredients for the crumble together and arrange it on a baking tray lined with a baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes,flipping the crumble with a spoon from time to time to prevent burning.Put on the side to cool.

Remove the stones from cherries,put 600g in a pot on medium heat.Cook for around 10 minutes,add the sweetener (honey/maple syrup or sugar) if needed (ripe and seasonal cherries may be sweet enough). Leave to cool or blend the cherries straight away(depending on the blender you’ve got-some shouldn’t be used with hot food). Put to the side.

Whip the double cream with maple syrup and fold in the mascarpone.The cream should be thick but quite light and fluffy.

Arrange puddings in glass cups,starting with a layer of cream,followed by cherry sauce,fresh cherries,crumble and repeat.

Enjoy with your favourite people 😉