Banoffee Pie is one of the easiest dessert you can make. To cook this heavenly delicious treat you will  need to sacrifice only 25 minutes of your time. I think it’s a pretty good deal for a dessert, that nobody can resist.

Banoffee Pie

By voloshyna, March 18, 2014

• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• For the base: -
• melted butter - 4 oz
• graham cracker crumbs - 1 1/2 cups
• For the caramel: -
• butter - 4 oz
• dark brown sugar - 1/2 cup
• sweetened condensed milk - 1 can (14 oz)
• For the filling: -
• big ripe bananas - 2, sliced
• heavy whipping cream - 2 cups
• vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• confectioners sugar - 3 tablespoons, or to taste
• dark chocolate - 1/3 cup, grated

Instructions:

Mix graham cracker and melted butter until well blended . Press mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Cool in refrigerator.  Melt the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sugar has dissolved. Add the condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil for about a minute, stirring all the time for a thick golden . Spread the caramel over the base, cool and then chill for about 1-2 hours. Meanwhile whip the heavy cream with the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar, until soft peaks. Place sliced bananas over toffee. Topped with a whipped cream. Finish with the grated chocolate. Refrigerate before serving.

My last recipe for the Chinet Baking Series. This Lemon Sheet Cake will be a perfect dessert for Veterans Day, everybody will definitely like the weightless cream frosting!

Lemon Rum Sheet Cake

By voloshyna, November 1, 2013

Ingredients:

• For the cake: -
• all-purpose flour - 2 cups
• freshly grated lemon zest - 2 tablespoons
• baking powder - 1 teaspoon
• salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• sugar - 1 1/2 cups
• melted butter - 1 cup
• water - 1 cup
• Greek yogurt - 1/2 cup
• eggs - 1, lightly beatten
• vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• heavy whipping cream - 3/4 cup, cold
• For the syrup: -
• water - 1/2 cup
• caster sugar - 6 tablespoons
• lemon juice - 3 tablespoons
• rum - 1 tablespoon
• For the frosting: -
• cream cheese - 8 oz, room temperature
• mascarpone cheese - 4 oz, room temperature
• confectioners sugar - 3/4 cup
• lemon juice - 2 teaspoons

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl mix the flour, lemon zest, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.  Add in the eggs, water, yogurt and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Spread the mixture into a greased 11-in. x 13-in. baking pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, make the lemon syrup, by boiling the water and the sugar together, then add the lemon juice. Boil for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let to cool and mix with a rum. Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle with the syrup. Leave to cool. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, lemon juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in the whipped cream. Spread the frosting over the cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Forget about carrot cake, beet cake kicks ass! You won’t taste the beet, but it makes this cake extra moist and soft. Serve this dessert just a bit warm with a drop of freshly whipped cream.

Chocolate beet cake with whipped cream

By voloshyna, May 7, 2013

• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• medium beets - 2, about 2/3 lb
• dark chocolate chips - 1 1/2 cup
• espresso - 4 tbsp
• unsweetened cocoa powder - 3 tbsp
• unbleached all-purpose flour - 1 cup
• sugar - 1 cup, you can use less or more depends on your taste
• large eggs - 4, separate whites and yolks
• unsalted butter - 6 oz
• heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup
• confectioners sugar - 1 tbsp
• poppy seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Instructions:

Bring a full pot of water to a boil and add the beets. Boil for about 25 – 30 minutes until beets are soft when poked with a fork. Let to cool and peel. Puree beets in a food processor until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the chocolate chips, using a double boiler or microwave. Add very hot espresso, mix with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add cubed butter and stir until smooth. Whisk together flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk yolks and ad them to a chocolate mixture, mix well. Then add beet puree and flour mixture, mix one more time. Beat whites until soft peaks. Gently mix whites with a batter, stirring with a spatula just until combined. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Transfer into the oven, reduce heat to 325 F. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Whip cold heavy cream with a confectioners sugar and poppy seeds. Serve warm cake with a tablespoon of whipped cream.

Thin and light crepes are the famous French treat. Today I tried to make them a little bit different. In this recipe I used nice and tasty light beer for the batter, the beer creates this piquant savory taste that my guests just loved. As for the filing I could not find a better pair than mushrooms and smoked cheese. Try this recipe and tell me how do you like it!

Savory crepes filled with smocked cheese and mushrooms

By voloshyna, April 1, 2013

• Total Time: 01h 20min
• Prep Time: 40 + 60 for resting minutes
• Cook time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients:

• For the batter: -
• all purpose flour, sifted - 1 1/2 cups
• salt - 1/2 tsp
• eggs - 2
• milk - 1 1/2 cups
• light beer or pale ale - 1 1/2 cups
• melted unsalted butter - 3 tbsp
• For the filling: -
• unsalted butter - 3 oz
• mushrooms, thinly sliced - 8 oz
• small yellow onion, finely chopped - 1
• all purpose flour - 1 tbsp
• heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup
• smoked Gouda or other smoked cheese - 1 cup
• salt - to taste
• freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Instructions:

Sift the flour and the salt in a big bowl. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add the milk. Combine the egg mixture with a flour and whisk until smooth. Thin the batter with as much beer, as necessary, add the melted butter. Allow the batter to rest for 30-40 minutes. If the batter thickens after resting, add a little bit of milk. Preheat medium skillet until really hot and fry your crepes, you will make around 10-12 (not too thin). To make the filing, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a pan, add the mushrooms and chopped onion, saute until tender. Add the flour, mix well and then pour the heavy cream. Bring to a boil and add grated cheese. Season to taste, remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the mushroom filing on each crepe and roll up the pancakes. Alight them tightly in a grease ovenproof dish. Put the remaining butter on top and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Tarte tatin – one of the most classic French desserts. I could eat this dessert literally every day, because it’s incredible delicious and so easy to cook!

Pear tarte tatin with mascarpone cream

By voloshyna, March 13, 2013

• Total Time: 01h 20min
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• water - 2 tbsp
• confectioners sugar - 3/4
• medium firm pears - 6, pilled
• cider vinegar - 1 tbsp
• vanilla extract - 1 tbsp
• unsalted butter - 1 oz
• frozen puff pastry - 1 sheet
• mascarpone, room temperature - 6 oz
• heavy whipping cream - 3 oz
• rum - 1 tbsp
• confectioners sugar - 2-3 tbsp
• cinnamon - 1-2 tsp

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium ovenproof nonstick skillet combine sugar, vinegar and water. Cook without stirring until the syrup is become golden. Add butter and vanilla extract, mix well. Arrange pears, cut side up and overlapping, in circle in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until pears are tender, 10-15 min. Bake tart until pastry is puffed and golden, about 35 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry; using a plate about 2 inches bigger then a skillet for the tart, cut out a round. Drap pastry round over pears, tucking edge under Bake tart until pastry is puffed and golden, about 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile in a medium bowl beat together heavy whipping cream, mascarpone, rum and confectioners sugar. Serve warm tart with a scoop of light mascarpone cream, sprinkle with cinnamon.

This is the easiest dessert I can think of and this truffles are also so rich and flavorful. You do not need any fancy equipment, special cooking skills, just basic kitchenware and only 15-20 minutes of active time. If you love truffles as much as I do, you’ll cook this chocolate treat again and again. Here is a small tip – truffles taste best with a glass of Tawny Port wine.

Chocolate truffles with 5 ingredients

By voloshyna, March 3, 2013

Ingredients:

• dark chocolate chips - 8 oz
• butter - 1 oz
• heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup
• premium cocoa - 1/3 cup

Instructions:

In a double boiler or in a microwave melt the dark chocolate chips and butter. Meanwhile using an electric hand mixer or a standing mixer beat heavy cream, until soft peaks. Let chocolate cool for a minute, then gradually add whipped cream; gently mix. Chill the chocolate mixture until it is hard enough to roll into balls. Measuring out a heaping teaspoon, quickly roll the chocolate mixture into a ball. Roll the ball in the cocoa powder and chill. You can keep your truffles refrigerated for 1-2 weeks, but serve at room temperature.

Always wanted to cook salmon ravioli and finally I made it. I called this dish a restaurant style ravioli, because it turned out really pretty especially with this orange cream tomato sauce. You can use this recipe for your romantic Valentine’s dinner!

Taste best with a glass of cool Chardonnay!

Salmon ravioli with tomato cream sauce

By voloshyna, February 12, 2013

• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients:

• ready made wonton/ravioli wraps - 1 package
• egg - 1
• salmon fillet - 1 (1/2 lb)
• ricotta cheese - 5 oz
• lemon zest - 1 tbsp.
• salt - to taste
• freshly ground black pepper - to taste
• For the sauce: -
• cherry tomatoes - 2 cups
• extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp.
• sea salt - 1 tsp
• finely chopped garlic - 1 clove
• finely chopped sage leaves - 1 tbsp
• anchovy fillet - 3
• prosecco or white wine - 1/4 cup
• heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup
• freshly ground black pepper - to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan - 1/2 cup

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss cherry tomatoes with an olive oil, chopped garlic, sea salt and sage leaves. Put them on a baking sheet an bake for 15-20 min until tender. Transfer roasted tomatoes with a juice in a small sauce pan, add chopped anchovy fillet and pour with a prosecco or white wine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to a medium-low and continue simmering 5 min. Pour tomatoes with all the juice in a blender; puree until smooth. Pour tomato mixture through a sieve and return to a sauce pan over a medium heat. Stir in cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of Parmesan, season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from the heat. In a food processor combine salmon fillet, ricotta and lemon; process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a small bowl lightly beat egg. Spoon a small amount (about 1 teaspoon) of salmon mixture onto each wonton. Brush the edges of the wonton with egg. Fold over the wonton to form a triangle, make sure it seal tightly. Pull the sides to form the classic tortellini shape and pinch the ends together. Drop ravioli into a salted boiling water and cook until they float. Remove cooked ravioli from the water to a serving dish. Serve ravioli with a hot tomato cream sauce and grated Parmesan.

Savarin some kind of rum baba – moist yeast dessert, saturated in sweet syrup or light alcohol. I found this recipe in one Ukrainian culinary magazine, in this variation savarins saturated in a ginger and lemon syrup, topped with whipped cream, different fruits and berries. Every bite of this small cakes is like a pice of heaven!

Ginger & Lemon Syrup Savarins

By voloshyna, December 25, 2012

Ingredients:

• For the batter: -
• bread flour - 1 cup
• salt - 1/4 tbsp
• sugar - 2 tbsp
• dry yeast - 1 tsp
• lemon zest - 1 tbsp
• eggs - 2
• melted butter - 1/4 cup
• warm milk - 3 tbsp
• For the syrup: -
• water - 3/4 cup
• lemon juice - squeezed from 1 lemon
• granulated sugar - 1 cup
• finely chopped ginger - 1 tsp
• For the topping: -
• heavy whipping cream - 1 1/4 cup
• vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• confectioners sugar - to taste
• berries and fruits - of your choice

Instructions:

Mix the flour, sugar and yeast in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Mix the milk, melted butter and eggs, then pour in and beat well to make a thick, sticky batter. from this amount of batter you can get 1 big savarin or 4-6 small, depends on sizes of your molds. Fill the savarin molds 1/2  with a batter; cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until it's doubled. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake the savarins for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool in their rings 3-4 min, then turn them out. To prepare the syrup, place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Dip the savarins in the syrup then place them in a rectangular pan and drizzle more syrup over them. Cover and let them soak overnight. Add more syrup the next day if they'll absorb it. When you decided to to make a filling for your savarin rings, just whip cream with a sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks. Filled savarins with a homemade whipped cream and top it off with fruits and berries.

]]> http://divinecuisine.recipes/ginger-lemon-syrup-savarins/feed/ 0 http://divinecuisine.recipes/cocoa-cigars-with-chocolate-deep/ http://divinecuisine.recipes/cocoa-cigars-with-chocolate-deep/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2012 03:42:41 +0000 http://divinecusine.com/?p=480

Cocoa cigars it is super easy and wonderful winter dessert. It looks like a bundle of firewood,  I think it’s a pretty creative treat =)

Dip this crispy cigars into a warm chocolate sauce and enjoy the perfect taste.

Cocoa cigars with a chocolate dip

By voloshyna, December 11, 2012

Ingredients:

• For the cigars: -
• phyllo sheets - 8
• butter - 8 oz
• cocoa powder - 3 tbsp
• confectioners sugar - 3-4 tbsp
• For the chocolate dip: -
• dark chocolate (70% cocoa) - 3 oz
• milk chocolate - 6 oz
• heavy whipping cream - 1 1/4 cup

Instructions:

Put the frozen phyllo pastry in the refrigerator the night before you make the recipe, allowing it to thaw gradually. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small sauce pan melt butter, add cocoa and confectioners sugar. Prepare the phyllo dough by taking 4 layers and brushing each layer with melted sweet cocoa butter, cut it into 8 equals stripes. Roll each stripe tightly. Make the same manipulations with a remaining phyllo dough. Place your phyllo cigars on a backing sheet laid with a parchment paper and brush them with a cocoa butter. Bake for about 13-15 min, or until crisp. Meanwhile you can cook the chocolate dip. Break chocolate into small pieces, add heavy whipping cream and melt on a double boiler until smooth. Serve crispy phyllo cigars with a warm chocolate sauce.

Chilly autumn weather inspired me to cook this hot, aromatic cream soup. And even if there is a rain behind my window, this soup can always make me warm and happy.

Tomato cream soup

By voloshyna, November 7, 2012

• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

• cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise - 4 pounds
• extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp
• basil - 10 leaves with stalks (leaves picked, stalks finely chopped)
• minced garlic - 2 cloves
• vegetable broth - 1 cup
• heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup + more for serving
• salt - to taste
• freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Instructions:

Cut the tomatoes in halves. Mix them with minced cloves of garlic, olive oil, chopped basil stalks and 1/4 of a basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Try to choose the best olive oil, it gives a unique flavor for all of your dishes. Put the tomatoes evenly on a baking sheet, bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about 20 minutes. The reason for doing this is so that their flavor becomes intense and concentrated. Pour tomatoes with a juice to the medium saucepan. Add broth, the rest of basil leaves, bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Return soup to the stove over low heat and stir in cream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.

This butternut squash soup is just a perfect dish for this time of the year. The weather is getting colder and colder, and I can’t imagine something better, then a bowl of a hot soup for a dinner. This dish has really light and tender taste, exactly what you need to get the right autumn mood.

Butternut squash soup with ginger

By voloshyna, September 27, 2012

Ingredients:

• For the soup: -
• butternut squash - 1/2 medium ( pilled, seeded, and cubed)
• carrot - 1 medium ( pilled and cubbed)
• medium yellow onion - 1 ( finely chopped)
• freshly grated ginger - 1 tbs
• extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbs
• vegetable stock - 2 cups
• heavy whipping cream - 1/4 cup
• salt - to taste
• freshly ground black pepper - to taste
• For the fried sage: -
• fresh sage leaves - 7-10
• self rising flour - 1 1/2 tbs
• white wine - 2 tsp
• salt - to taste
• vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Instructions:

Preheat olive oil in a medium sauce pan, and cook the onion,  carrot and squash 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned.    Pour in enough of the vegetable stock to cover vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 30-40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.  Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in remaining stock and whipping cream to attain desired consistency. For a crispy sage leaves, preheat 1/2 of vegetable oil in a small saucepan. In a bowl mix together flour, wine and a little bit of salt. Deep each leaf in batter and fry until golden brown. Transfer into a paper towel.

The best thing about this cake is delicious lemon filling. It is very soft, creamy, both sweet and sour, and perfectly combines with the crunchy shortbread crust. You will be delighted with this dessert!

French Lemon Tart

By voloshyna, August 12, 2012

• Total Time: 01h 30min
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• For the crust: -
• all-purpose flour - 1 1/4cup
• cold cubed butter - 80 g
• eggs - 2
• lemon zest - 1 tbs.
• For the filling: -
• eggs - 4
• confectioners sugar - 1 1/4 cup + 3 tbs. for serving
• juice of 3 lemons -
• zest of 3 lemons -
• sweetened condensed milk - 3 tbs.
• heavy whipping cream - 110 ml

Instructions:

First you need to cook the pie crust. Pulse all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor, until it starts to form a ball. Turn off the processor and knead the dough with your hands, until a smooth. Wrap it into a plastic food wrap and then put it in the refrigerator for a half an hour. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thick (3mm), and line a 9- or 10-inch tart pan. Pierce the crust with a fork for a couple times. Line pastry with parchment paper, fill the paper with a little raw beans or rice, and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove parchment and rice, grease the pie with lightly beaten egg.  Continue baking another 5 min. Lower the oven heat to 305 F. In a mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredient for filling, but do not over beat. Pour the mixture through a strainer. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet, and carefully pour the lemon mixture into the baked pastry crust. Bake for about 30-40 min until the tart is nearly set. The filling will be runny in the center, and will set when cool. Sprinkle with a confectioners sugar when serve.

My friend Bonnie taught me how to cook this incredibly delicious Indian ice cream. So good and so easy to make (without an ice cream maker). This is my favourite summer treat now. Thank you Bonnie!

Mango kulfi

By voloshyna, August 8, 2012

Ingredients:

• mango puree - 2 cups
• sweetened condensed milk - 1 can (14 oz)
• hot milk - 4-5 tbs.
• heavy whipping cream - 1 pint
• confectioners sugar - 1 cup
• chopped pistachios - 1/2 cup
• saffron - few strands

Instructions:

Pour hot milk in a small bowl, add saffron and let stand for about 5 min. Mix together mango puree, sweetened condensed milk and saffron milk. Beat cream with confectioners sugar until soft peaks. Combine together mango mixture and whipped cream, add pistachios, and mix well. Pour kulfi into a foil form or an ice cream molds, and freeze about 8 hours.

A light, cool dessert – is what you need in the summer heat. I cooked this incredible mousse just about 10 minutes, and left overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning turned out insanely delicious dessert. It can be prepared from almost any fruit you have at home. Try to experiment and cook not only strawberry mousse, apricot and mango will be also very delicious.

Weightless Strawberry Mousse

By voloshyna, July 22, 2012

• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• water - 3/4 cup
• unflavored gelatin powder - 3 tsp
• sugar - 1 cup
• strawberry - 2/3 lb
• heavy whipping cream - 2 cup

Instructions:

In a small bowl mix hot water and gelatin, stir until it has completely dissolved. Add sugar and mix well. In a blender puree the strawberries,  leave a few berries for decoration, add heavy whipping cream. Pour gelatin into a strawberry mixture, gently mix. Fill ceramic molds with a mouse and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with the halves of strawberries and mint leaves, before serving.