Also known as œufs à la neige or île flottante! The difference between the two dishes is that île flottante sometimes contains islands made of “alternate layers of alcohol-soaked dessert biscuits and jam”. Wink, wink 😉
A few years back I made them live on Google+ Hangouts on AZ Entertainment live cooking show and was so much fun. You can check it out below.
It is also traditionally made in Croatia where we called them Šnenokle in Northwestern region and Paradižot in Dalmatia. The difference being Paradižot has alcohol-soaked dessert biscuits, sometimes with chocolate sprinkles, and Šnenokle won’t get you drunk (except on love maybe) 😁
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 liter (4 cups) of milk
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
½ vanilla bean
2 tbsp cornstarch
Preparation
Cook vanilla bean in milk in a large pot until boiling hot.
Separate egg whites and yolks.
Beat the egg whites with electric or stand up mixer until stiff.
Place the egg whites with large spoon in the boiling milk. Don’t put too many at once as they will double the size. Turn them over in 30 sec. They shouldn’t boil more than a minute.
Take them out and place them in a serving bowl.
Remove the vanilla bean from the milk.
Mix egg yolks and sugar until foamy, add cornstarch and a bit of the boiling milk. Mix until combined.
Stir in the egg yolk mixture in the boiling milk after you cooked all the egg whites. Whisk until the creme thickens.
Pour the cream over the egg whites.
Chill before serving.
Serve well chilled and decorated with grated chocolate. You can also place the cooked egg whites on sugar cookies soaked in rum.
This cake… could not be simpler 🙂 I usually make it when I make Croatian jam cookies as I have leftover egg whites.
You can use many ingredients to elevate this simple cake. Chopped hazelnuts, almonds or peanuts, dried figs, apricots or dates all go great with this dough. You can combine whatever you like, even fresh fruit can be great.
Ingredients
6 egg whites
200 g (1 1/2 cup) icing sugar
120 g (1 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
50 g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts
50 g (1/2 cup) chopped almonds
handful of raisins
handful of dried cranberries
lemon zest of one lemon
Preparation
Preheat oven to 170 °C (340 °F).
Grease and flour baking pan of your choice.
In a stand up mixer beat egg whites with sugar until stiff.
Add flour, lemon zest, nuts and dried fruits. Gently fold in with spatula until combined.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Dust with powdered sugar before serving (optional).
One combination I tested had dried cranberries, raisins, chopped almonds and chopped walnuts and the other one dried figs, dates, raisins, chopped walnuts and chopped pecans.
What would be your favorite combination for this cake?
Traditional cake from a place called Ston, Croatia. Mali Ston or Little Ston, a tiny little village at the end of the isthmus that connects the Pelješac Peninsula with the mainland of the Dalmatian coast.
Historically, like many cakes, Stonska Torta was reserved for special festivities like Christmas, Easter, and weddings, as cakes were considered a luxury. Centuries ago when this cake was born, they used pasta for the filling to economize on ingredients.
Travel tip: This little village is also known for the best oysters at the Adriatic!
Ingredients
For the dough
450 g (3 cups) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-3 tbsp water
For the filling
500 g (5 cup) dried penne or ziti pasta
300 g (1 1/2 cup) granulated sugar
300 g (1 1/2 cup) ground almonds
100 g (1/3 cup) bread crumbs
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
Zest of one lemon
10 g vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
250 g (1 cup) unsalted butter
For the garnish
2 tbsp powdered sugar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 180 °C (355 °F).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour with salt.
In a small bowl whisk the eggs, olive oil and vinegar.
Slowly add the olive oil mixture to the flour, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not over-work the mixture.
Add water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture loosely comes together.
Let it rest covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel.
Cook the pasta in boiling unsalted water as instructed on package for al dente.
Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, almond meal, bread crumbs, and cinnamon.
In another small bowl, beat the eggs slightly with the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
Grease and dust with flour a spring-form cake pan.
Roll out dough to a circle and place it into the pan, letting the extra dough drape over the sides of the pan.
Spread a handful of well-drained cooked pasta across the bottom.
Sprinkle with two large handfuls of the almond meal mixture.
Pour 1/2 cup of the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with 1/3 of the butter pieces.
Repeat for all layers to the top or until the ingredients are used up.
After each addition, tap the pan down gently to settle all the layers.
Trim the excess dough from the sides of the pan.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust is slightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.
Invert the cake onto a serving platter.
Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
What is an old traditional cake from the place you are from?
This traditional Moroccan cake is one of my favorite lemon cakes ever. I love its soft structure and amazing lemon flavor. It goes perfectly with Moroccan traditional mint tea, but I enjoy it with coffee or green tea as well.
Ingredients
4 eggs
300 g (1 1/2 cup) sugar
125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
265 g (2 cup) all purpose flour
15 g (4 tsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
fresh lemon juice form one lemon
zest from 1 or 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla extract or 10 g vanilla sugar
powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (355 °F).
Grease and flour a round baking pan.
Zest and juice the lemon.
In a stand mixer or by hand, beat together the eggs and sugar until thick. Gradually beat in the oil.
Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, and then the milk. Beat until smooth, and then mix in the lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and bake for about 40 minutes. Test with toothpick if the cake is ready by inserting the toothpick in the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 7 to 10 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan with a spatula, and turn out the cake onto a rack to finish cooling.
Chocolate lovers are going to be thrilled with this Swiss roll. It’s made of chocolate sponge cake, chocolate cream and chocolate glaze. Yes, chocolate everything! As I said, chocolate heaven!
Ingredients
For the cake
5 eggs
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
10 g (1 tbsp) vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
20 g (3 tbsp) cocoa powder
40 g (3 heaping tbsp) of all purpose flour
For the cream
200 ml (3/4 cup) heavy whipping cream
100 g (1/2 cup) dark chocolate
60 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
For the glaze
100 g (1/2 cup) dark chocolate
60 g (1/4 cup) butter
Preparation
Coat the large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (355 °F).
Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks in two separate large bowls.
Mix the egg yolks with sugar until foamy, then add cocoa and stir. Mix in the flour.
In a separate bowl mix egg whites with a touch of salt until stiff.
Gradually fold stiff egg whites in the egg yolk mixture with spatula.
Spread the mixture evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Baked cake together with parchment paper shift on a wet dish cloth and roll.
Now prepare the cream. Heat the cream to a boiling point.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and put it in the hot cream.
Add the butter and mix until you get a smooth mixture.
Allow to cool in the fridge.
Cooled cream mix with electric mixer until it becomes creamy.
Unwrap the cake from the dish cloth and carefully take off the parchment paper.
Coat it with cream and roll.
For the glaze melt the chocolate in double boiler or in microwave, add butter and stir until dissolved. Pour over cake and let it cool off.
Cool in the fridge before serving.
Instead of chocolate glaze sprinkle the roll with some cocoa powder or powdered sugar. Decorate as you wish, I put some chocolate candy 😀
Years ago, my foodie friend Anna Jane Dalton made this dessert live on Google+ Hangouts. We had so much fun naming it live while we watched Anna Jane prepare it. Finally we agreed on chocolate tiramisu and the name fits perfectly!
I fell in love with it and decided to make it for Valentine’s Day last year. It’s easy to prepare and you will enjoy sharing this bowl of creaminess with your significant other 😀
Originally recipe has vodka and pomegranate syrup mixed with coffee, if you like it spiked up a bit.
This is one of those magical chocolate desserts that melt in your mouth! The name fits perfectly, it is very moist and it tastes almost like chocolate mousse!
Try it out and dig into the chocolate heaven 🙂 It pairs excellent with berries and citrus, I of course chose strawberries 😀
Ingredients
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g (1 ¼ cup) granulated sugar
110 g (½ cup) unsalted butter
65 g (½ cup) all purpose flour
40 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
500 ml (2 cup) milk, lukewarm
2 tbsp powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation
Preheat oven to 160 °C (320 °F).
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Separate egg whites and yolks in two separate large bowls.
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and set aside.
Melt the butter in the microwave.
Whisk egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar until creamy.
Add melted butter and mix for half a minute.
Add the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix with a spatula until incorporated well.
Pour the milk gradually and continue beating.
Add in the egg whites, one third at a time and gently fold in with spatula.
Pour this liquid batter into the baking pan and bake for 60 minutes.
Let it cool and when it comes to room temperature chill for an hour.
Slice it in the size you like and dust with powdered sugar right before serving.
These are the brownies to try even if you don’t like Nutella. Or brownies. But you do. Otherwise, I’m really confused about what you’re doing here. 😛
These brownies are fudgy, moist and delicious. I tried many brownie recipes before I adapted this one to perfection so it’s not too sweet but still sweet enough 😀
Without further ado, please enjoy 😋
Ingredients
170 g (1 cup) dark chocolate
170 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
100 g (1/2 cup) extra dark chocolate
200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
150 g (1/2 cup) Nutella
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
10 g (1 tbsp) vanilla sugar
100 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
25 g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F).
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt both chocolates with butter in the microwave or over double boiler.
Stir in the Nutella.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugars on medium-high speed until light and thick, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula.
Add the flour, cocoa, and salt, folding gently until combined.
Pour the batter into the baking pan.
Bake around 35 minutes. Do not over bake, rather under bake in this case.
Let cool to room temperature before serving.
Which recipe did you adapt to your liking and how?
The dough for these jam pockets is flaky and soft, just like puff pastry. Unlike puff pastry, you can make this dough easily and fast, and you will get an amazing result 😀
Filling can be jam, Nutella or some other spread you enjoy! You can even do savory, why not?!
Ingredients
250 g (1 1/3 cup) all purpose flour
250 g (1 cup) butter, softened
250 g (1 cup) cottage cheese
pinch of salt
favorite jam (I had homemade plum jam for these beauties)
Preparation
Knead the dough from flour, butter and cottage cheese.
Wrap it in a cling wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.
Roll the dough 4 mm thin and cut into squares.
Fold the the square edges inside and fill the middle with your favorite jam.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven on 200 °C (395 °F) until the pockets get golden brown.
What is your favorite type of dessert? Which dough do you like the best?
This is kids’ favorite cake. The adults love it as much 😀
When my friend shared this recipe with me, she gave me doubled amounts. I was like, 12 eggs?! They love the cake sooo much she always makes a double batch. After I tried it, I understood why. The cake is so moist and creamy you gotta try it to believe it.
Ingredients
For the cake
6 eggs
6 tbsp granulated sugar
6 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp Nesquick
100 ml (7 tbsp) milk
100 ml (7 tbsp) oil
10 g (1 tbsp) baking powder
50 g (1/2 cup) white chocolate for decoration
For the cream
500 ml (2 cup) heavy cream
300 g (2 3/4 cup) dark chocolate
Preparation
Preheat oven to 180 °C (355 °F).
Separate egg yolks and egg whites in two large bowls.
With electric mixer mix egg yolks with sugar until foamy.
Add oil and milk in egg yolk mixture and mix until combined.
Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking powder and Nesquick).
Add dry ingredients in the egg yolk mixture.
Separately mix egg whites until stiff and mix in lightly with spatula to the batter.
Pour the batter in a baking pan.
Bake for 20-25 min.
Meanwhile, prepare the cream.
Cook the cream to the boiling point (but don’t let it boil), remove from the heat and add broken chocolate pieces. Mix until combined.
When the cake is done, make holes all over it with a fork. They allow the cream to settle into the cake.
Pour the hot cream on the still warm cake.
Chill in the refrigerator over night before serving.
Santa’s favorite cookies (Don’t forget the milk!) 😀
I know it’s not Christmas, but that just means you don’t have to share with big guy with sleigh and flying reindeer 😀 These classic beauties are a must-have in all North American households so we had to try them as well. We were not disappointed. They were soft and chewy, just like Santa likes them!
Ingredients
270 g (2 cup) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
170 g (3/4 cup) butter, melted
130 g (1 cup) brown sugar
60 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
360 g (2 cup) chocolate chips
Preparation
Warm up the oven to 160 °C (320 °F).
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl sift the flour, add salt and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, with electric mixer, mix both sugars, melted butter, egg, yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir until creamy.
Add flour mixture and all mix well until combined.
Finally add chocolate chips.
With a spoon or an ice cream scoop if you have one, make balls and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Don’t over baked them, they will be too hard.
One of my favorite childhood comfort foods, and although you can add lots of different flavors, I like mine simple just made with milk and sugar!
I remembered what my grandmother made me when I use to sleep over at her place without my parents. It made me feel safe and warm and occasionally I still make this for myself when I get nostalgic about my childhood.
Ingredients
125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
4 tbsp semolina
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cocoa or chocolate powder
grated chocolate for decoration
Preparation
Pour the milk in the small saucepan and heat it on medium to high temperature until it boils.
Lower the temperature to medium low and add semolina and sugar. Whisk it intensively until it thickens. Remove from the heat.
Divide it in two equal parts. In one part mix in the cocoa powder.
You can add so many different flavors according to your desires: cinnamon, honey, nuts, dried fruits.
Zvonimir’s note: I made this so many times that I developed a variation that combines step one and two. Not only is it quicker to make, it’s also smoother, perfect thickness, with lower chance of lumps. Downside: it takes some practice, so it might take a few tries to get the results you came here for. If you’re up for the challenge (and for the rewards), here’s how it goes. Add sugar before the milk boils (it raises the boiling temperature). As the milk comes close to boil but not yet boiling, lower the heat, (not too low, you still want it to boil eventually). Start slowly adding semolina and stir with a spatula (not a whisk). Keep going at a pace where semolina doesn’t get a chance to form lumps before you stir it away. Keep going until the milk surface starts resisting semolina grains and they start taking longer to sink (you’ll know it when you see it) as the milk comes even closer to boil. At that point stop adding semolina, optionally lower the heat a bit more, depending on your stove, and keep stirring diligently, keeping the semolina from getting stuck on the bottom.
Zvonimir’s extra tips: now if you mastered that and want more, there’s a way to make it even softer while keeping the consistency. Yes, really. I discovered this by accident, like a lot of great things sometimes are, but then played with it and practiced to get the technique right. Do everything the same up to a point when you’re adding semolina, but stop before you put the right amount of semolina into the milk. This would normally make a runnier semolina, so we need to do something to get the thickness back. Add extra fine breadcrumbs that taste as bland as possible, while constantly stirring (the same way you would semolina). The breadcrumbs need to soften and combine with the semolina so you need to cook it on lower heat than usual, for longer. The breadcrumbs you use will make a big difference so experiment with the type/brand (some may affect the aroma), amount, when you add them and the heat. You don’t want them to overtake the semolina. Use a lot less breadcrumbs than semolina. Breadcrumbs are a lot less sticky than semolina and they will make the semolina fluffier and lighter. When you get the technique down, no one will be able to tell what the secret ingredient is 😉 Now wait until you hear about my pancake tips…
This is one of those recipes I got from a friend’s grandmother written in an old notebook. It didn’t even have baking temperature nor time written! Well, in the old days they had wooden stoves and weren’t able to regulate it anyway, so this does make sense 🙂
Combination of chocolate and walnuts with a zesty jam will win you over forever 😀
Ingredients
For the dough
100 g (7 tbsp) butter
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
1 egg yolk
100 g (1 cup) pastry flour
100 g (1 cup) ground walnuts
For the cream
150 g (10 tbsp) softened butter
150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
4 egg yolks
150 g (10 tbsp) melted dark chocolate
5 egg whites
For the chocolate glaze
100 g (6 1/2 tbsp) dark chocolate
50 g (1/4 cup) butter
2 tbsp oil
1 beaten egg
jam of your choice (I used black current jam)
Preparation
Knead the dough from all the dough ingredients, wrap in cling wrap and let it rest for half an hour in the refrigerator.
Roll the dough and place it in a round 26 cm (10 in) diameter pie pan.
Bake in a preheated oven on 170 °C (340 °F) until baked only half way! (10-12 min).
Meanwhile make the cream. Melt the chocolate either on steam or in the microwave.
In a separate bowl beat egg whites until firm peak.
In a large bowl, mix sugar with egg yolks until foamy, add the butter and the melted chocolate.
With spatula gently mix in previously firmly beaten egg whites.
Take the halfway baked cake out of the oven and spread the jam thinly on the dough.
Pour the cream on the jam. Bake until done, for another 10-15 minutes.
Cool the cake before you put the glaze on.
For the glaze melt the chocolate with butter and oil. Remove from heat and add the beaten egg. This is grandma’s secret touch 🙂
Serving: Sprinkle with some finely chopped walnuts for decoration!
We all have some old recipes passed done from generations before. What’s yours?
Since I recently became a Mum, being busy with the baby doesn’t give me much time to eat 😂 That’s why I like to make smoothies and shakes to get my vitamins and minerals faster 😉 Having a healthy drink helps a lot!
Ingredients
half of pineapple
450 g (2 3/4 cups) fresh strawberries
250 ml (1 cup) of milk of your choice (I use almond milk)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp grated ginger
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in the blender. This quantity makes two 300 ml glasses.
Tip: Freeze pineapple ahead for smoother texture and the colder punch!
When Zvonimir and I arrived to Canada, it was just before Christmas season, and eggnog was one of our first “must try” discoveries. Inspired by the ongoing competition between hot chocolate and eggnog, we decided to make a fusion and end this story in an everlasting love affair 🙂
With Christmas on its way, we thought you might like to try this as a decadent, creamy, winter dessert 😀
Ingredients
2-3 ginger cookies (optional) for a crunchy twist!
2 small vanilla instant pudding (3.4 ounces each)
375 ml (1½ cup) milk
500 ml (2 cups) of eggnog
230 ml (8 oz or 1 cup) Cool whip or whipped cream
200 g (3/4 cup) melted chocolate of your choice
Preparation
Mix the pudding, eggnog and milk in a bowl for about 2 minutes, then mix in the cool whip or whipped cream (without actually whipping it, confusing, I know).
Put half of the mixture in a glass, add some crushed ginger cookies, and pour the rest of the mixture over the cookies. Serve the mousse in bowls or any way you like.
Melt the chocolate on steam or in the microwave.
Place the melted chocolate on top, cool overnight in the fridge and enjoy eating it the next day.
