Ingredients for the dough:
185 grams (6.5 oz) flour
40 grams (1.40 oz) powder sugar
1/2 tea spoon salt
90 grams (3 oz) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons (15 ml.) cold water or milk
Ingredients for the fruit filling:
3 peaches + 5 small apricots (total of 500 grams)
120 grams (4 oz) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for the mascarpone cream:
200 ml. (7 fl. oz) sweetened heavy whipping cream
200 grams (7 oz) mascarpone
50 grams (2 oz) powder sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for the caramelized coconut:
50 grams (2 oz) brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey/maple syrup
A hanful of coconut chips

To make the dough:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the soften butter (chopped into small pieces) and start mixing with your fingers (or pulse briefly in a food processor if you prefer) until coarse crumbs form (butter pieces should be about the size of a pea). Add the egg yolk and quickly knead until the dough comes together. If dough is too dry and doesn’t come together add one or two tablespoons of water or milk, one by one, until dough is wet enough to form a ball, but not too sticky. Do NOT overwork the dough, just pulse a few times and then shape it using your hands. Shape dough into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to firm up, about 30 minutes.
To make the peach and apricot jam:
Chop up the fruits into small pieces and place in a medium casserole. Add sugar and vanilla extract and start cooking over high heat. Fruits will release their juices and sugar will dissolve. Continue to cook until fruit juices evaporate and the mixture is thick. Stir once in a while in the beginning and constantly towards the end, so not to burn the mixture. Remove from the heat and put in the fridge to cool off quicker.
In the meantime, grease a 35х11см (14x4inch) tart tin with removable bottom  (use a 20 cm./8inch circle tart tin, if you prefer).
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Remove pastry from the fridge and set over a floured wooden board or your counter top. Roll the dough into a large rectangular or a circle, depending on the tart dish you are using. Transfer rolled dough to the tart dish and press down to the sides and bottom to fit tightly. Remove excess dough, prick the bottom all over, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and gently cover the bottom and sides of the dough with parchment paper or aluminium foil, then fill in with dry beans or pasta. This will help the tart keep its shape and won’t rise during baking.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven, carefully remove dry beans and the foil/paper, and return to the oven for about another 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Let it cool completely before filling it up.
White the tart base is chilling, beat the cream in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl stir together mascarpone, powder sugar and vanilla extract.
Gently fold in whipped cream.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip with the mascarpone cream.
To assemble the tart:
Fill in the tart base with the fruit jam, then pipe over the mascarpone cream.
Sprinkle some caramelized coconut chips.
To make the chips:
In a small casserole heat up brown sugar and maple syrup. Let brown sugar melt then add coconut chips, stir to coat and pour over a piece of parchment paper. Set aside to cool completely, then shop uproughly using your fingers and sprinkle over the tart.

Ingredients for the pastry cream:
400 ml.(13.5 fl. oz)  + 200 ml. (7 fl. oz) heavy cream
100 grams (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
6 large yolks
60 grams (2 oz) cornstarch
40 grams (1.5 oz) or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Ingredients for the meringue:
6 medium egg whites (180 grams/6 oz)
350 grams (12 oz) sugar
A pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Ingredients for the strawberry sauce:
200 grams (7 oz) strawberries
75 grams (2.5 oz) sugar
a pinch of salt
Extra strawberries for decoration

To make the pastry cream, place the cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.
Once the cream has come to a simmer remove from the stove and start pouring it slowly to the egg yolk mixture as you whisk continuously to temper the yolks. Add a little bit of the cream then add the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve, then add the rest of the cream. Once it’s all combined transfer the whole mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture has thickened. ***Make sure to whisk the mixture all the time to avoid curdling the eggs.
Remove from heat, whisk for another minute to cool slightly, then add the butter and whisk until combined.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Let it cool off a bit then place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours or overnight. Once it has cooled, whip up the rest of the cream to stiff peaks and gently fold into the pastry cream. Cover in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until needed.
While pastry cream is chilling in the fridge prepare the meringue.
Preheat your oven to 100-110C (230F), fan-forced.
Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a regular bowl if using hand-held mixer.
Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar while mixer is running until it’s​ all incorporated. Add cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Beat until meringue is smooth, thick and glossy. ***Sugar should be completely dissolved. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add cornstarch and beat for another minute, not more, just to combine.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a round plate/ring and draw three circles on the paper, using a pencil (16cm/6 inch each).
Distribute meringue among the circles and even the tops out as much as possible.**No need to be very precise here.
Bake 75 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door of the oven. Leave meringue to cool to room temperature in the oven.
In the meantime prepare the strawberry sauce:
In a small saucepan add strawberries and puree finely or chop up into very small pieces. Add sugar and a pinch of salt and heat over medium high heat. Strawberries will release their juices from the heat and sugar will dissolve. Cook stiring almost constantly until sauce is thickened and most of the juices evaporate. Keep in mind that sauce will thicken additionally when chilled.
Let is cool to room temperature.
To assemble the cake:
Place one meringue layer on a platter, spread one layer of the pastry cream and sprinkle some of the strawberry sauce on top. Repeat steps with all three layers.
Top with fresh strawberries.

Oh, pie!! Sweet and flavorful salted caramel peach pie.
Summer is officially over, now that markets are full of pumpkins, chestnuts and apples, but there are still plenty of peaches to take home and bake a pie. And I have to tell you… this recipe is a keeper. Combination of peaches and salted caramel is just amazing.
I guess this is going to be my last summer recipe for this year. I am excited for the Fall and my favorite holiday of the year that follows this beautiful season. Fall flavors & colors + Christmas in just 3 months – that equals a couple of great months for cooking and more time to spend at home with my family. I am so excited about all flavors that Fall has to offer. I can’t wait to bake my first apple pie for the season. I plan to re-make an old recipe that combines cheesecake and apple pie in one piece of deliciousness… and don’t get me started on the chestnuts. I have to admit – I am totally addicted to chestnuts. Every year I cook a big batch and put in the freezer to have throughout the year, so I plan to cook a lot of chestnut this month.
I realize I’ve been writing more about Fall here, than this recipe, but as much I want to tell you more about it – I just can’t find the right words at the moment. This pie is a great classic with a little twist and is simply amazing – all you need to know.
I usually make my own salted caramel, but you can go for a jar of commercial one in case you don’t feel like preparing your own salted caramel, but I have to tell you – it only takes a few minutes and you won’t need a candy thermometer if you follow my recipe. I use only half a batch of my salted caramel recipe here, but you can use the rest for serving. Just sprinkle a few teaspoons of hot caramel over a piece of pie
Hurry up, cause peach season is almost over.

Ingredients for the sweet pastry (makes 1x24cm round pie):
270 grams (9.5 oz) flour
60 grams (2 oz) powder sugar
1/2 tea spoon salt
130 grams (4,5 oz) butter, at room temperature
2 medium egg yolks
4 table spoons (25 ml.) cold water or milk
For the filling:
4 large peaches, chopped into pieces
1 teaspoon cardamon
A pinch of cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Half a batch of my homemade salted caramel (about 100-150 grams)If you are making your own salted caramel, start by doing that and leave to cool to room temperature. You can make that ahead of time. Check out my recipe for homemade salted caramel!
To make the dough:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the soften butter (chopped into small pieces) and start mixing with your fingers (or pulse briefly in a food processor if you prefer) until coarse crumbs form (butter pieces should be about the size of a pea). Add egg yolks and quickly knead until the dough comes together. If dough is too dry and doesn’t come together add one or two tablespoons of water or milk, one by one, until dough is wet enough to form a ball, but not too sticky. Do NOT overwork the dough, just pulse a few times and then shape it using your hands. Divide pastry into two parts – 1/3rd (to use to cover the pie) and 2/3rd (to use for the bottom of the pie), shape into disks and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove 2/3rd part pastry from the fridge and set over a floured wooden board or your counter top. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll pastry into a large circle, enough to cover the bottom and sides of your pie baking dish. Gently press pastry down to the sides and bottom, don’t cut the excess pastry around the edges. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for another 30 minutes. In the meantime remove the other part of pastry from the fridge and let it rest for 10 minute.
While pastry is resting, prepare the filling:
In a large bowl combine peaches, cardamom, cloves, ginger and cornstarch. Stir very well, so that all peach slices are coated with the spices and starch. Add salted caramel and stir to combine.
Remove pie baking dish from the fridge and pour the filling in.
Roll the 1/3rd part of pastry, that had rested, into a large circle to cover tightly the whole pie or roll into a rectangular and cut into strips in order to make a lattice. Decoration is up to you.
Once you have covered the pie, put in the freezer for about 10 minutes then brush with a lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar (optional).
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.
Let pie cool to room temperature completely before slicing it.*****

And as for the chestnuts. I have a few awesome recipes you can try this year. Check them out here /for more info click on the pictures/:

Learn how to cook chestnuts

Chestnut chocolate mousse cake

Homemade chestnut puree

Profiteroles with chestnut white chocolate mousse

Chocolate chestnut cake (gluten free)

Chestnut cream soup

Save

Save

Save

Save

Ingredients for the crunchy cookies:
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
90 grams (3 oz) of old-fashioned rolled oats
30 grams (1 oz) all purpose flour (or use any other flour of your choice)
50 grams (1,8 oz) shaved almonds
20 grams (0,70 oz) finely crushed almonds
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the poached pears:
4 pears, cleaned and peeled, whole
500 grams (18 oz) sugar
1 liter (2 pints) water
A pinch of Saffron
A few Cardamom pods
1 vanilla pod

To make the cookies:
Preheat your oven to 180C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl add honey, vanilla extract, melted butter and stir to completely combine. Add oats, flour, shaved and crushed almonds and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Now, to shape dough into round cookies/pates you may use a round cookie cutter or a dessert ring. Place the ring on the cookie sheet and fill with a tablespoon or two of the dough. Use the spoon to press down the dough tightly into the ring. Remove the ring and repeat these steps until dough is up.
Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on around the edges. Remove cookies out of the oven and let cool to room temperature. At first, cookies will be soft, but once they cool off they will harden and turn into these crisp, crunchy oat cookies.
You will make about 6-8 large cookies out of this dough. Keep left over cookies in the fridge.

To make the pears and saffron syrup:
In a large enough saucepan to fit 4 pears, combine water, sugar, saffron, cardamom and vanilla pods and bring to the boil. Add pears and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your pears. Check them using a small knife to see if they are ready. If you are using a very ripe pears, they will cook quickly. Be careful not to overcook the pears. You want to have them soft, but still in perfect shape.
Once ready, remove them from the pot and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Continue to cook the syrup until it thickens – more or less, depending on your preferences.
Strain through a fine mesh and set aside to cool to room temperature.
To serve: arrange cookies on a plate then add one pear over each cookie and sprinkle them with a little bit of the saffron syrup.
***Keep left over syrup in the fridge. In case it hardens, just reheat to use for another serving or recipe.

Who doesn’t love pie, right? Strawberries and peaches is probably one of my favorite fruit combinations. When you wrap these juicy fruits in buttery sweet pastry you get this amazing pie, that no one could resist. Although strawberry season is long gone, there is no need to wait for next year to bake a pie. You can make this pie right away, using frozen strawberries. And if you are like me and stock up your freezer on delicious seasonal fruits, you will be able to make pie all year long, whenever you feel like it.

I always use my classic sweet pastry recipe when preparing pie, but in case you don’t feel like making the pie pastry yourself, just use a package of commercial pie pastry.

Don’t give this recipe a lot of thought, it’s amazing and I am sure you will love it!

Ingredients for the sweet pastry dough (makes 1x26cm round pie, top and bottom):
280 grams (10 oz) flour
60 grams (2 oz) powder sugar
1/3 tea spoon salt
130 grams (4,5 oz) butter, at room temperature
2 medium egg yolks
4 table spoons (20 ml.) cold water or milk

Ingredients for the filling:
400 grams (14 oz) fresh strawberries, washed & halved
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 peaches, chopped
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
1 egg for brushing the top of the pie

To make the dough:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the soften butter (chopped into small pieces) and start mixing with your fingers (or pulse briefly in a food processor) until coarse crumbs form (butter pieces should be about the size of a pea). Add the egg yolk and quickly knead until the dough comes together. If dough is too dry and doesn’t come together add one or two table spoons of water or milk, one by one, until dough is wet enough to form a ball, but not too sticky. Do NOT overwork the dough, just pulse a few times and then shape it using your hands. Shape dough into a ball, divide it into two parts and shape both parts into disks – 1/3rd (to use to cover the pie) and 2/3rd (to use for the bottom of the pie) and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

**If you want to use the strawberry juices to make a sauce, just combine juices with a tablespoon cornstarch (add sugar if necessary) and cook over medium heat until it thickens, stirring constantly.

Ingredients:
120 grams (4 oz) brown sugar
180 grams (6 oz) white sugar
450 grams (17 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
45 grams (about 2 oz) coconut flakes
280 grams (10 oz) butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
600 grams (21 oz) fresh or frozen blueberries

For the crust:
Grease a 15/25cm (6″/10″) rectangular baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 170C fan-forced (340 F fan-forced).
In a bowl, stir together flour, brown and white sugar, baking powder, salt and coconut flakes. Add melted butter and mix to combine.
Add 2/3 of the mixture to the pan and press down to the bottom until flat and even. Save the rest of the crust mixture for the top.
Spread blueberries over the crust and then sprinkle the rest of the dough over the blueberries. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden brown.
Let it cool completely before slicing.

Save

Save

I am obsessed with homemade ice-cream lately. My husband and I love ice-cream and no matter what, we always keep a box in the fridge, usually a homemade one.

We don’t own an ice-cream maker and probably never will, but this is not stopping us from having a nice and delicious homemade ice-cream. There are many ways to make a homemade ice cream and many flavors to choose from, but the best part of all is that you can choose every single ingredient on the list and make yourself a good, healthy one!

This particular recipe is vegan, low on fat and carbs, which makes it a great option for those who watch out for carbs and fat in their diet. Well, it is not totally carb free, but it contains just natural sweeteners and just as much to make this ice cream sweet but not too sweet.

For a base I used this beautiful silken tofu, I got from BioMarketBalev. This tofu is great for all kinds of desserts, because it soft and smooth like cotton, low on carbs and fat and would give a great texture to any vegan dessert you are making. So, when shopping for this recipe, just look out for the “silken tofu”, that’s what you need.

Enjoy and happy cooking!

Ingredients:
100 grams (3,5 oz) raw muscovado sugar
450 grams (16 oz)  fresh strawberries, cleaned and roughly chopped
250 grams (9 oz) silken tofu
60 ml. (2 fl. oz) nut milk (use your favorite or whatever you have on hands; use cow milk for non-vegan)
50 grams (2 oz)  cashew butter (or almond if you prefer)
25 grams (1 oz) coconut butter, softened (or regular butter for non-vegan)
40 grams (1.5 oz) agave (or honey for non-vegan)
1 teaspoon xsantan gum

In a small saucepan add sugar and strawberries. Cook over medium-high temperature for about 5 minutes or until strawberries release their juices and flavor. Set aside to cool completely.

In a blender combine all ingredients, together with the strawberries and blend until smooth. Pour into a freeze safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Before serving, remove from freezer for 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
200 grams (7 oz) sweet biscuits crushed (or graham cracker biscuits)
50 grams (2 oz) butter, melted
500 grams (17 oz) mascarpone cheese
Zest of 1 lime or orange
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
300 grams (10 oz) sweetened condensed milk
200 grams (7 oz) sour cream

In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix well.
Press into the bottom of your serving cups. Place in the fridge until your cream cheese mixture is ready.
Add the mascarpone in a large bowl. Beat with your mixer until fluffy (1 minute).
Add the zest, vanilla extract and condensed milk and beat the mixture until well incorporated.
Add the sour cream, as much as you prefer, and mix until smooth. If you want it less sweet, then add a bit more of the sour cream, or vice versa.
Pour mascarpone mixture into the chilled cups. Place the cups in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm up.
Serve cold with any kind of berries or other fruit on hand.

Pineapple coconut smoothie with a splash of rum

1 pineapple cut into small pieces (+1, 2 pieces for garnish)

100 ml. coconut milk

100 ml. water (depends on the consistency you prefer)

A couple of ice cubes

½ tea spoon vanilla extract

Coconut flakes for garnish

1 scoop of vanilla icecream (Optional)

A splash of white rum or vodka

Add all of the ingredients, except the rum and the coconut flakes to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve in a tall cocktail glass with the rum and the coconut flakes for nice finish.

This recipe makes at least 2-3 cocktails, so you could refrigerate it until you drink it for up to a day

Make sure you serve it cold!

Last four amazing days I spent at the beach reminded me how much I love the sea, hot sand, the water, the warm summer rain, hot sun and last but not least, how much I love my man. But I am not going to talk about him today.

I am back in the office, trying to focus on my job, although it’s almost impossible. All I think of is the warm water, light breeze and HUGE cocktails!!!

I can’t wait till the next beach time! We are going to Greece for a couple of days, in two weeks. The plan is to go camping, snorkeling and drink lots of beer. This will be my first time snorkeling, but all of my friends, who have been snorkeling in Greece, say it’s awesome. The water is crystal clear, very warm and there is a great variety of fish and sea-plants. I will share more about Greece after I come back.

Today I will focus more on the cocktail part of the traveling and show a classic recipe for Mojito cocktail. You may be busy at work all day, but at night you can easily spoil yourself with a nice mojito cocktail!

Make yourself a mojito and remember your best summer time!

All you need is:

Juice from 1 lime+ additional lime wedges to garnish

6-7 fresh mint leaves+ additional to garnish

1 tea spoon brown sugar depending on how sweet you like your drink

100 ml. club soda

50 ml. white rum

A couple of ice cubes

Add the lime juice, sugar, alcohol and mint leaves in a shaker. Shake until the sugar dissolves.

Add the mix into a tall serving glass; add the ice and club soda.

Garnish with slices of lime and mint leaves.

Tip: You could always make the mojito virgin: just substitute the club soda for sprite and skip the alcohol. It’s just the perfect drink for hot summer days