Daring bakers Challenge: Armenian Nazook

Blog-checking lines: The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

Finally I made my first Daring Bakers Challenge: Armenian Nazook. I used the recipe Jason provided with small adjustments.

Ingredients:
Pastry dough

• 420 gr Flour
• 1 pack  dry YEAST
• 225 gr Sour Cream
• 225 gr softened BUTTER (room temperature)

Filling

• 210 gr flour
• 340  SUGAR
• 120 gr Softened butter (room temperature)
• 15 ml VANILIA extract
• 25 gr Sour cream
• 3 tbs grasped COCOnut

2 eggyolks

Preparation:

Pastry dough

Mix the ingredients until its not sticking to the BOWL. Put it in the Freezer for 3-5 Hours.

Filling:

Mix the ingredients.

After freezing cut the dough into four Parts. Knead the dough and ROLL it into an oval with a little flour. Put the FILLING in the dough and roll it up.

Cut the roll into small diamond shapes and put eggyolk on top and bake it on 180 degrees.

Enjoy!

Milka cream with CHERRIES

I liked the MASCARPONE-White chocolate cream so much that I decided to make a Milk chocolate version. This one is just as SImPle as the other one.

Ingredients:
200 gr Milka
200 gr Mascarpone
a handful of Cherries

Melt the Chocolate and mix it together with the Mascarpone. Mix some cherries in. READY!

Daring cooks challenge: Salmon-goat cheese SALAD with grilled vegetables and Coffee dressing

Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!
List 1: Parsnips, Eggplant (aubergine), Cauliflower (vegetables)
List 2: Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle peppers (strong taste)
List 3: Maple Syrup, Instant Coffee, Bananas (weird)

When I saw the April challenge I knew right away that I will choose eggplant and goat cheese from the first two lists, but I was really hesitant with the third one. I ended up with instant COFFEE. So here you are, the recipe;

Ingredients:
1 EGGplant
1 Courgette
100 gr smoked SALMON
1 roll of mature GOAT cheese
1 middle sized purple Onion
1 red California PEPPER
Bird salad

2 spoons of instant coffee
2 spoons of BRANDY

Cut the AUBERGINE into long slices and grill it with OLIVE oil in a pan. Cut the rest of the plant into small CUBES, as well as the courgette and grill it over high heat. Do the same with the pepper and Onion in another PAN. Don't keep them too long over the heat so they stay CRISPY. Cut the Salmon and the goat cheese, take the bird salad and mix it ALL Together.
Put the brandy over a little heat and then mix the instant coffee in. Put a little bit of water in the mixture.

Roll up the Aubergines (one roll is 3 slices) and stick toothpicks in it to hold the SHAPE. Fill the roll up with the salad and remove the toothpicks.
Disperse some of the COFFEE Dressing around.

I hope you'll like it!

Delicious WHITE chocolate-mascarpone CREAM with fruits

I was thinking about mixing MASCARPONE with white Chocolate for a while. I KNEW it is going to be incredibly DElicious, and I was RIGHT.

Here is the super-simple recipe:

Ingredients:

200 gr WHITe Chocolate

200 gr Mascarpone

Fruits to your liking

Melt the cHOcolate over boiling water. Mix the MAScarpone in the melt CHoCO until it turns to be smooth. Serve it with fruits.

Enjoy!