Spekulatius - Spelt Gingerbread Cookies

Speculoos Spekulatius, Speculoos or Speculaas. Popular in Belgium and the Netherlands, but also in the Rhineland and Westphalia. In Germany spekulatius are typical gingerbread Christmas cookies, and in Belgium, the Netherlands and Indonesia, as well as in former Dutch colony, they are eaten throughout the whole year.Its distinctive flavor spekulatius owe to cardamon, cloves and cinnamon. An important role is played by almonds to soften the spicy taste spicy. Sometimes, almonds flakes are on placed the bottom of the cookies.Cookies in bulk are cut by using a rectangular - wood or metal - matrix. The photos on cakes traditionally depict the story of Santa Claus, and today there are also motifs such as ships, farmhouses and windmills.Before World War II, production of gingerbread due to the high price of spices were expensive and only a part of society could enjoy their taste. Fortunately, today, all the ingredients - once called exotic - are generally available and we can all enjoy them.

 Ingredients for about 30 gingerbread:

250 g spelt flour*
 100 g butter at room temperature
 70 g brown sugar
 50 g ground almonds
 2 eggs, organic 
1 tsp lemon zest  (I used homemade)
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp nutmeg 
1/2 tsp cardamom 
1/2 tsp ground cloves 
1/2 tsp of ginger powder

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients, in a large mixing bowl, next add all the rest and knead well. (you can use food processor). Then roll the dough in plastic foil and chill in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 hours. After the time sprinkle the flour over pastry board and roll out the dough on it. Molds of any patterns you like/have. Line the cookie sheet with a baking paper and lay cut-outs. Put into preheated to 180°C oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove, wait a few minutes and then place on cooling rack. Spekulatius can be store up to a month.

* For healthy reason I used spelt flour

 The recipe was inspired by kochabar.de.

Double Chocolate Spelt Chip Cookies

Personally, I don't bake a lot of cookies, (doesn't mean, that I don't like to eat them :), but recently I promised them to someone who usually gets them out of the box... For this very reason I baked something special, tasty, that will convince the person to not buy them from the box anymore. 
The home baked, from scratch cookies are the only ones worthy to add few calories from time to time ;).
 Presented today double chocolate spelt chip cookies are probably the best chocolate cookies we have ever eaten, crispy outside and slightly moist inside.

 Ingredients for approximately 16 -18 cookies:

 
250 g spelt flour
170 g butter at room temperature
85 g of brown, unrefined sugar
50 g dark chocolate chips
2 tsp pure cocoa
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
2 tsp tapioca*
1 egg, organic
1 tsp baking soda (preferably less than more)
1/2 tsp sea salt

 Directions:

Mix together flour, tapioca, baking soda and salt. In another dish, beat butter with sugar, then add vanilla and egg. Combine together dry and wet ingredients and mix in the chocolate chips. Place a baking parchment paper on baking sheet and spoon the dough on it. Preheat oven to 180°C, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer them to drying rack and leave to cool.

* Can replace with potato flour or corn starch

The recipe was inspired by a sweetkitchen.

Slovene Tagliatelle with Pumpkin

The original name is "Rezanci z Bučo". I found the recipe in a culinary guide about Slovenia, by Heike Milhench. The author analyzes and presents dishes of specific region of the country and tells their genesis. When I rolled another page I read the ingredients for tagliatelle with pumpkin, I immediately knew that I will prepare the dish. Except the fact that this pasta dish sounded delicious it perfectly fits into the current season.
(Pictures first appeared on my old blog, over two years ago, that's why different logo)

Ingredients for 4 people:

500g tagliatelle (I used spelt wholemeal)

Pumpkin sauce:

1 kg pumpkin, peeled and cut into small pieces
500 ml vegetable broth
250 ml of white wine, dry
4 shallots
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp nutmeg
Sea salt and color pepper to taste

In addition:

100 g Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

In a large, deep skillet melt the butter over medium heat, add sliced shallots and fry until they turn translucent (approx. 8 minutes). Then add the pumpkin and broth. 
Cook over low heat until pumpkin is tender, approx. 30 minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package's directions. Soft pumpkin can be mashed in a blender, or you may leave it in pieces as I did. When the sauce is ready, spices it. Serve Tagliatelle with the sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

* The method of peeling the pumpkin. 
Cut the pumpkin in half and hollow out the seeds, then cut into the shape of "moons". Peel "moons", preferably using a scraper. One kilo of pumpkin gives approx. 650 g edible pumpkin.

Recipe inspired by Heike Milhench.

Sugarless Pumpkin Cheesecake with an Orange Juice

Autumn. Time for another "pumpkin" recipe. What would you say for a cheesecake with pumpkin? The cheesecake (after many tries, the recipe is finally mastered) is light and delicate, despite its intense yellow color, which may indicate otherwise. The juice squeezed from fresh orange gives a pleasant sweet - sour flavor and breaks a little bland pumpkin. I serve the cheesecake with pomegranate, which in my opinion, perfectly fits into this dessert.

Ingredients for 24 cm/10 in cheesecake:

500 g homogenized cheese, like "Quark" *
 400 g pumpkin puree*
4 eggs, organic 
3 tbsp honey 
3 tbsp tapioca* 
1 tsp cinnamon
 Juice of one orange

Crust: 
200 g of almonds*, minced 
3 tablespoons butter

Ganache: 
75 grams of dark chocolate (85%+) 
1 - 2 tablespoons honey
Juice of one orange

In addition: 
1 pomegranate (optional)

Directions:

Lightly grease a springform. Mix almonds and butter until well combined. Place the mass (forming a crust) on the bottom of the springform. Set aside. Eggs, beat with an electric mixer until they are almost white. Add honey. Reduce speed, add cheese/quark, pumpkin puree, tapioca, cinnamon, and juice. Pour the mixture on the crust. Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the springform and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Remove and cool down. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. Place it in a small oven proof bowl. Bake in the heated to 150°C oven for 5 minutes. Remove, add honey and orange juice, mix well. Remove the cake from the springform, place on a serving plate. Top it with a ganache and sprinkle with fruit grant.

* The quark can be substituted with any cheese suitable for a cheesecake
* The best pumpkin puree is form Hokkaido pumpkin, you don't have to peel it off, just halved it, pick the seeds and cook until soft (about 20 minutes)
* I used unpeeled almonds 
* If you have no tapioca use potato flour

 Recipe was created in my head and comes from my heart

Chocolate Cheesecake with Homemade Strawberry Jelly

Another year passed, and again I made a cake for my beloved son's birthday. He is a devotee of chocolate and strawberries, and because it is very warm outside, the cake had to be appropriate to the weather, cold.
Tort - cheesecake is not very caloric, because I lowered to the maximum the amount of sugar, and hence, is light, delicate and ideal to go with an afternoon tea on hot summer days.

Ingredients for 20 cm spring form: 

500 g quark, (I used organic) 
100 ml of boiling water 

60 g brown sugar

2 tbsp cocoa, organic 

4 tsp powdered gelatine

Crust:

100 g ground almonds
 2 tbsp butter

Jelly: 

500 g strawberries, fresh 
50 ml of boiling water 
1 - 2 tbsp agave syrup (optional) *
 2 tsp powdered gelatine

Directions:

Mix almonds with butter. Place the mass in a spring form and create a crust. Lightly grease with oil the collar of the form, the cheesecake will easier part from the from. Dissolved sugar in water, than add gelatin and mix.
Mix quark with an electric mixer, add sugar mixture and gradually add to the cheese. Pour the mixture in to the form and refrigerate for few hours, to solidify. After this time, make a strawberry puree. (*if strawberries are not very sweet, add the syrup). Dissolve gelatin in water, add to the puree. Mix well and pour cheese.Again, refrigerate for several hours. Done.

 Recipe was created in my head and comes from my heart

Cinnamon Almonds - Cocoa Butter

Another recipes for butter/cream. Because of the cocoa addition, the almond butter, which has liquid consistency - thickened, and its chocolate flavor caused that the butter became too bitter. To solve both "problems" I added maple syrup. Almond-chocolate butter is ideal to spread over fruits (apple, pear, banana) 

or rice, spelt, and corn cakes.

Ingredients for 800 g jar:

 

800 g almonds, unpeeled
4 tbsp cocoa, organic

3 - 4 tbsp maple syrup, organic
3 - 4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F. Spread almonds over the baking form, sprinkle with cinnamon and put in the oven for about 20 minutes.After this time, hot almonds, put into a blender with letter "S" shape blade. Blend for 3 - 5 minutes, stopping form time to time and scrubbing down the almonds form the mixing bowl. At the end of blending, add the cocoa. Pour into jars (I used two) and store in a cool, dark place. Don't refrigerate.

Recipe was created in my head and comes from my heart

Eclair Tort

I was looking and looking and did not find it, so I created it myself. If I can make 20 small, regular éclairs, I can make one big, too, right? The Jubilarian asked specifically for eclairs, and I wanted to go one step further and make the pleasure of surprise. For the  éclairs to be even more French I added pattisserie and made it healthier way. The whole torte was poured over with the chocolate - coffee glaze.
 

Ingredients for 24 cm cake:

375 g spelt flour

375 ml water

185 g butter

6 eggs, organic

Coconut flavor Pattisserie (Paleo):

400 ml coconut milk in a cans, organic

50 g shredded coconut

3 tbsp potato flour

3 tbsp honey

1 egg, organic

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

In a small saucepan, combine milk, flour, honey, and salt. Heat over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and after 5 minutes, add coconut and vanilla. Done.

Chocolate - Coffee Glaze:

75 g of dark chocolate, I use 85%

30 ml espresso

2 - 3 tbsp maple syrup

Dissolve the chocolate in a water bath or in the oven (5 min, 150°C/300F°). Mix with coffee and syrup. Ready.

Directions:

In a low, wide saucepan boil water and butter. To the boiling water, gradually pour flour, stirring and stir with a wooden spoon. When the flour has absorbed all the water, allow to cool completely (approx. 2 hours). After this time, very slowly add previously lightly beaten eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.  

The consistency should be glossy.

Butter and flour spring form pan. Pour the pastry in to it and put to preheated to 200°C/400°F oven. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Next, remove from the spring form and cool on a baking rack. Once it's cooled, cut horizontally in half. Put the lower bottom part of the eclairs a serving plate, spread pattisserie over. Gently cover with the second part and decorate with chocolate - coffee glaze.

 Recipe was created in my head and comes from my heart

Homemade Coconut Butter

 Coconut cream is ideal to butter bread or to use as one of the ingredient in all sweet goods, baked and no-baked. 
Best, when made with organic coconut flakes.

Ingredients for 200 g of cream:

200 g coconut flakes, organic

Directions:

Place flakes in a food processor with a blade shaped as letter "S". Mix as long as the flakes will change to a moist, thick cream consistency, in my case it was 5 - 7 minutes. If not immediately used, put the cream into a glass container and store in the refrigerator.

Recipe was created in my heart and comes from my head

Anzac Biscuits

Anzac Biscuits owes its name to two armies: the New Zealand and Australian. Legend says that when the soldiers of these countries were leaving for the front during the First World War, their mothers, wives, sisters baked them biscuits. Biscuits played a dual role, had to be nutritious and survive for a long time, and they were.
In every legend is a bit of truth, which is why in 1916, the name ANZAC came to be officially protected by law and reserved only for those biscuits. In 1921, the Anzac biscuit recipe appeared in the cookbook for the first time.My version is only slightly changed, descended golden syrup with honey, wheat flour - with spelt flour, wheat bran with spelt bran. Additionally, I added coconut and almonds.
The biscuits are very tasty, is good to have them always at home for unexpected guests.

Ingredients for approx. 30 biscuits:

250 g spelt flour 
200 g spelt bran 
70 g shredded coconut, organic 
70 g almonds with skin, crushed 
5 tablespoons butter of your choice (e.g. regular, cashew nuts, almond) 
4 tbsp of honey, heaped, organic 
2 tsp vanilla paste, organic 
2 tbsp hot water
Pinch of baking soda

Additionally

Wafers (optional)

Direction: 

Melt the butter, honey, and vanilla in a pot on low heat. Take it form heat and add bran, flour, coconut and almonds. Dissolve soda in water and add to the rest. Mix well. Cover and leave for 30 minutes to allow the dough "rest". Then, take the dough with a spoon and form rings placing on a baking sheet. If you are using wafers, place the dough on them.Put into preheated to 150°C/300°F oven and bake for 35 minutes. Ready.

Recipe inspired by "the healthy chef"