Mini Cheesecakes with Lime and Rosemary

I love special flavour combinations. Who would have thought that rosemary and lime are such a good match?! These little cheesecakes are quite something. They are light and not too sweet and although I am such a sweet tooth, I liked that. I think these mini cheesecakes would be a perfect addition for the buffet of a summer party.

Recipe:
(from Tanja Grandits - Aroma pur: Meine fröhliche Weltküche)

for the bottom:
75g butter
100g biscuits (for example petits beurres), crumbled
1 lime, grated zest

for the filling:
225g ricotta
30g icing sugar
1 lime, grated zest
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg
1 egg yolk
150ml cream

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Prepare a muffin tin with paper cases.

Melt the butter and mix with the crumbled biscuits and the lime zest. Press these into your prepared muffin forms and chill in the refridgerator.

For the filling mix ricotta with icing sugar, lime zest and rosemary until you got a smooth batter. Then, add the egg and the egg yolk. Beat the cream until stiff and fold into your batter.

Fill the batter into your prepared muffin forms and bake for about 30 minutes. Don't open the oven. When they are done, turn off the oven and let them cool in the oven.

Makes 12.

Lemon and Poppyseed Madeleines

This weekend, out of the blue, I got a present. Just like that. It is something I have been looking for again and again over a very long time, yet I have never been able to find one. Even greater was my joy when I got it as a surprise: a madeleine pan! I'm still over the moon!

I have, of course, already put it to good use. Initially, I wanted to bake muffins this Sunday, but I'd forgotten all about them... Here is my very first batch of madeleines. Look how cute they are!!!

Recipe:
(adapted from: Donna Hay - Modern Classics: Sweet)

4 eggs
170g sugar
170g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
180g butter, melted and cooled
grated zest of half a lemon
2 teaspoons poppyseeds

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat the eggs and the sugar in a bowl with the hand mixer for abou 8 - 10 minutes until it is very fluffy. Add lemon zest and poppyseeds. Sift in flour and baking powder and beat with the mixer on low speed. Fold in butter.

Grease a madeleine pan with butter. Mine has moulds with the capacity of about one heaped teaspoon of dough. I baked each batch for about 10 minutes until they were risen and golden brown. I got 40 small madeleines.

Confessions of two Peanut Butter Addicts

You know you're a peanut butter addict if...

...you can't go without your daily peanut butter sandwich for breakfast.
...you seriously consider taking your peanut butter jar with you on holiday to have your daily peanut butter sandwich for breakfast.
...you think that it would be a great idea if peanut butter came in a tube - would be much easier to transport.
...you always have a further peanut butter jar in stock to avoid waking up one morning finding your actual peanut butter jar empty.
...you wish there was a 24 hour peanut butter delivery service - just in case the above horror scenario occured nonetheless.
...you lengthily discuss the advantages of peanut butter with fellow peanut butter addicts every day - that's how Melissa and I developed this list, by the way :-)
...you keep looking for new delicious recipes that include peanut butter on the ingredients list.
...you start doing crazy things such as mixing peanut butter with your vanilla ice cream or with noodles and vegetables.
...you try to find ways to make all your friends - even those who think peanut butter is disgusting - eat peanut butter. Melissa has had great success with these cookies.
...you think that having a boy/girlfriend who does not like peanut butter is absolutely not an option.
...if you start preferring peanut butter over chocolate.

Of course, I will not deprive you of another peanut butter recipe. Have fun fellow peanut butter addicts! ;-)

Flourless Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
(once again from the lovely Technicolor Kitchen)

1 cup (280g) crunchy peanut butter
175g light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda (or the double amount of baking powder should do as well)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or half a sachet of vanilla sugar or so)
160g chocolate chips (I think that next time, I would probably use a little less.)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Add chocolate chips. Using moistened hands, form one generous tablespoon dough for each cookie into a ball. Place onto prepared sheets, 5cm apart.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Again: Don't overbake them - would be a pity.

Cool on sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

I got 18 cookies.

Apple and Courgette Cake

I'm in love. His name is Nigel Slater. He's a writer... of cookbooks. But seriously, I think his recipe instructions sound like poetry. Even the title of the book: Tender. I read aloud from Tender: Volume II to my friends this weekend because I'm so fond of it. But of course, most of all, I'm a fan of the cakes. I want to bake almost every cake from this book! I've tried 3 already and they were all unbelievably good! Here comes the latest... sounds unspectacular, but it actually is fantastic! The courgette keeps the cake moist for days... it even tastes better after about 2 days.

Recipe:
(Source: Tender: Volume II by Nigel Slater, I copied it from HERE)

200g butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g courgettes (about 2 small ones)
1 small apple
200g plain flour
a large pinch salt
½ tsp baking powder
pinch cinnamon
60g pecans
80g sultanas


Preheat oven at 180C. Butter and line the base of a loaf tin measuring 20cm x 12cm x 9cm deep. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and mix them in, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Coarsely grate the courgettes and the apple. Squeeze them with your hands to remove any excess moisture, then add to the mixture. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon, and gently fold into the mixture. Stir in the nuts and fruit. Transfer to the lined loaf tin and bake for about an hour, or until golden and firm to the touch. Allow to cool in the tin before turning out.

Rice Crispy Treats

I realized that it is exactly a year ago since I started this blog. This means that today is my first blogversary! A good occasion to post something on gifts from the kitchen. Most of the time, I make gifts for my family and friends myself instead of buying them something. Homemade jam or cookies are always a hit. These rice crispy treats will make you the star of any children's party, but they will also do for adults, believe me ;-)

Recipe:
(Source: Nicole Stich & Coco Lang - Geschenke aus der Küche)

5-6 drops of sunflower oil
25g butter
200g white marshmallows (the smaller, the better)
a pinch of sea salt
200g Rice Krispies
2-3 colored sugar pearls (or chocolate sprinkles)

Line a 20x20 cm baking tin with parchment paper. Or just use a big baking tray, you will have to press this chewy batter in form anyway.

Melt butter in a big sauce pan. Add marshmallows and melt them on medium heat while constantly stirring, don't let them burn. Add salt, then the Rice Krispies and the sugar pearls.

Fill the batter into the baking tin or pour onto the baking tray and flatten with a spatula. You can also use another parchment paper to flatten this sticky batter. Let this get firm in the fridge for about half an hour. Then, cut into about 5x5 cm cubes and store in an airtight container until you give them away. They keep in a cool place for about 2 weeks.

Time to say thanks to all my followers! I get such nice comments on this blog from my friends and some of them have even tried out some of the recipes I posted. Lately, my friend Melissa came to me and wanted me to test the peanut butter cookies she had baked - they were better than mine :-) Yesterday, I got a batch of brownies from Luzia (I recently gave her a brownie tin as a present), they were scrumptious! It makes me really happy that I can inspire you guys to spend more time in the kitchen. Baking and cooking is still one of my greatest passions and I will surely keep going ;-)