Slow mornings with Royal Doulton & Ellen DeGeneres collection + a recipe for PROPER WAFFLES


When I think of Poland, where I come from, and my family home, I think of the big wooden table that stood in the middle of the living room. That table has always been the heart of the house, the heart of the family. Gosh. Everything happened there. Literally EVERYTHING.

I’d be sitting there fighting with my brothers over who eats the last piece of mum’s apple cake, flipping cottage cheese at each other during breakfast time, we’d be playing cards, throwing dice, paint, do the homework, then put a perfectly ironed tablecloth to get it ready for a family dinner. All the family celebrations happened around that table: birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas. All the aunties, uncles, cousins would come, and everyone had their ‘own’ favourite spot.

Just a piece of furniture you’d think but it has seen it all: the homemade seasonal pies, countless cups of tea, spilled milk, Sunday roast, and all those lazy weekend breakfasts. It witnessed all the laughs and cries, the good times and the bad times too. It holds all the memories.





And there I am in my own, little house, with my own little family, with our own (not so little) wooden table in the middle of the room. And it feels like home. It feels like home because we can sit together, share the food, share the joys and the troubles, have friends round and make memories. Oh the simple things in life! They make the life worth living. And those simple things like a meal together, a smile, a hug, holding hands, a kind word or the smell of freshly made waffles might feel small at the time, but when you look back you realize how magical and BIG they really are.






All these beautiful plates you can see here in this post are just a lovely reminder of what really is important in life.
Designed by Royal Doulton and one of my favourite people and a role model Ellen DeGeneres and inspired by the casual entertaining at home, each plate, bowl and mug has a world ‘love’ written in the centre. Such a warm and positive touch! The look on the face of my loved ones when they finish the meal is just priceless. I am with Ellen on this one for sure – all the world needs these days is more love, joy and kindness…..maybe some more waffles too, slow mornings and more time spend together.

I’ve used Royal Doulton tableware for a long while now (this favourite set of mine, for example), and the quality always makes every meal special. Can you tell blue is my favourite colour? So I am just going to mix & match them to breath in some fresh air into my tableware. Happy!

Check out the Royal Doulton collection here : www.royaldoulton.co.uk , Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

 

Sooooo, the waffles! Can you actually smell them? I don’t think there is anything better than the smell of freshly made waffles! Seriously!!!

If you don’t have a waffle maker yet, I HIGHLY recommend you get one or put it on your Birthday list. You really won’t regret it! This recipe is my favourite and although it requires resting the batter for one hour, trust me, it will be worth the waiting! It’s truly the best recipe and I don’t make any other waffles now.

 

Black forest Gateau

Good Morning! Woooo hooooo! Look what I’ve got for you today guys. The mighty BLACK FOREST GATEAU that has SUMMER written all over it! I hope I am not the only person excited about the cake as early as 7 am in the morning! (Thus all the shouting!)

Gosh, I’ve had this cake on my minds for ages!!!!! If you follow me on Instagram you know I think about cake like 99.9 % of the time but these flavours I’ve been craving for a long, loooong time. Now that I’ve been eating my weight in summer fruits (I love you summer for spoiling me rotten!), it’s time to enjoy them in a different ‘form’ . And you know me well, rule number one when it comes to sweet treats – the more fruit, the better.

So, just right now, I am sitting on the patio, swinging my bare feet, warming my freckles in the sun (OH!It feels soooo good!) thinking how to describe this cake to you, at the same time I am munching a generous piece for breakfast. (That’s what I call authentic recipe writing lol!).

Spoonful one, the rich, chocolatey layer. Spoonful two, the fluffy, delicate cream with a punch of cherry sweetness and a boozy flavour. Next spoonful, melting in a mouth chocolate ganache and a spoonful of the flavoursome, bursting with sweetness cherries and all my favourite berries. It’s the cake I want to make my summer memories with.

I am always picky when it comes to the ingredients that I cook and bake with, not only because of course they are the key to the flavour but also because I CARE about the world we live in. That’s why I’m excited to hear that Waitrose cares too and that all their fruit and veg have LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) certificate to ensure strong environmental standards. And it’s the only supermarket to guarantee this!*clapping hands*
#TheWaitroseWay




Black forest Gateau

For the cake:
300g self raising flour (extra fine sponge flour works best!)
200g caster sugar
300g unsalted butter
4 eggs
60g cacao powder

For the cream:
400ml whipping cream
1 tbsp caster sugar

For the cherries:
300g cherries
50g caster sugar
50ml Kirsh

For the chocolate Ganache:
100ml double cream
100g dark chocolate

Additionally:
200g morelo cherry conserve
200g cherries
handful of blueberries
handful of blackberries
Handful of red currants

PREPARATION:

To make the cake
Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter a 20cm cake tin. In a large bowl, cream the butter with sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until you get light and fluffy mixture. Beat well to get lots of air into the mixture. Add the cacao powder and mix until combined then add the flour and mix it in with a spoon until combine but don’t over-mix it.

Place the mixture in a tin and bake for around 50 minutes, even to one hour. Check it with a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean,it’s ready!

Leave it to cool completely and cut the cake into two layers. Draw the line around the cake with a smaller knife and then use a bigger one to slice it. Hold the top of the cake with your one hand and slice with the other.

For the cherries
Place the pitted cherries in a saucepan with kirsch and sugar. Bring to a light boil and then reduce temperature and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring carefully often, until the cherries have softened but are not mushy.

Strain the mixture, placing the cherries in one bowl and reserved syrup in another.

Use the left over syrup to brush over the cooling cakes.(Prick the cakes with a wooden skewers first)

To make ganache
Roughly chop the chocolate and place in a bowl.

Bring the cream to a light simmer in a saucepan. Once at a simmer, pour the mixture over the chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes, and then stir until smooth and thick. Leave to cool completely at room temperature.

To make the cream filling (make just before assembling)
Beat the cream with sugar until smooth and creamy.

FUN TIME
Prick the cakes with a wooden skewers and brush with the liquid reserved from the cherries. Place the first layer of the cake on a plate or a cake stand, spread a thin layer of the cherry conserve, top it with fresh cream (leaving around 1 cm around the edges, so it doesn’t ooze out when you place the second layer), add cherries and gently press. Place the second layer of the cake on top, spread a layer of ganache and top it up with lots of fresh fruit. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

It’s best to be enjoyed the same day(how can you resist?), however if you need to make it in advance, keep it in a fridge but take it out 30min before the serving to allow to stand in a room temperature.

Enjoy xxx

 

This post has been created in partnership with Waitrose but of course all the words and opinions are honest and my own.

Summer smoothie ‘cake’


Ohhhh Summer! I do love you! Even if in fact British ‘version’ of this season can be more capricious than a teenager.But at least it gives us something to talk about, otherwise I really don’t know how I would start a conversation 🙂

But when the heatwave comes! Ohhh when it comes, nothing matters. Nothing is important. A stack of emails to reply? Nah! It can wait!
House that looks like it has been hit by the tornado. Oh no, no, no, that can wait for the storm! Running errands can wait for the rainy days too. Makes me wonder if I would ever have any work done if I lived in Spain, or Italy….

During these hot days I wave my oven goodbye and you can only find me in the kitchen blending fruits like a mad woman and then spending the rest of the day in the garden spreading my limbs on the lawn, sipping smoothies, munching smoothie bowls or smoothie popsicles and polishing off a smoothie cake. That’s a life, hey? 🙂 A HUUUUGE thank you to VITAMIX here for sending me their incredible machine and for making my life so much easier – honestly the best blender I have ever owned.



This little recipe is as easy to make as it sounds, doesn’t require switching the oven on, and it’s super creamy and refreshing! Just what you need when summer comes 🙂

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

For the base:

150g almonds
200g dates,pitted
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp almond butter

For the smoothie layer:

300ml milk of your choice
250g mascarpone cheese
500g mixed frozen berries(I used blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and blackberries) plus extra fruit for decorating
2 ripe frozen bananas, chopped
4 dates,pitted

PREPARATION

Place  almonds in  a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but don’t let them become too powdered.
Add pitted dates, followed by coconut oil and almond butter and pulse until the mix start to come together.
Place the mixture in a 23cm non-stick, loose-based cake tin and press it flat (I usually roll it with a side of a small jar to do so). Place in a fridge to chill.

Pour the milk in the Vitamix, add mascarpone cheese and frozen berries, chopped frozen bananas and dates and blitz it together, starting from the lowest speed, slowly moving the higher speed.Use the tamper to press the ingredients onto the blades. In around 60 second, the sound of the motor will change. Stop the machine, the mixture should be beautifully smooth by then. Scrape the mixture onto the base, smoothing it evenly with a back of the spoon, cover it in a cling film and place in a freezer for couple of hours , or until completely frozen.

Move it from the freezer for 20-30 minutes before serving (otherwise you won’t be able to slice it!)  . Decorate with more berries and enjoy!