A new take on rice pudding - cherry and chocolate dessert

There is a saying that goes: everything new is a well forgotten old. Rice pudding is of course not forgotten, but it is a very old dessert, so I decided that it needed a bit of a make-up. I played with ingredients a little, and that's what I got as a result - a light,creamy and delicious dessert! I hope you will like it too!

Cherry and chocolate rice pudding

Recipe

100g of arborio rice
100g of cream-cheese
1 tsp of vanilla extract
400ml of milk
25g of sugar (2Tbsp)
40g of fresh or frozen cherries (pitted)
40g of milk chocolate
60ml of cherry juice
1/2 tsp of gelatin

Boil rice, milk and sugar for approximately 20 minutes (or till rice is cooked). If the pudding is too thick add more milk during the boiling process. Cool to room temperature. Add vanilla extract and cream-cheese. Blend into smooth paste using a hand blender.

Melt chocolate. Puree cherries.

Divide the paste into 3 equal parts. Leave the 1st one as it is. Add melted chocolate to the 2nd part. Add the pureed cherries to the 3rd part.

Now take a glass and put a little of the cherry mixture till it fills 1/3 of the glass. The second layer (another 1/3) will be chocolate mixture. The third layer (the last 1/3) will be plain mixture.

Dissolve gelatin in cherry juice. Leave to stand for about 5-10 min, then heat in the microwave till hot, but not boiling. Gelatin granules should completely dissolve. Pour on top and chill for about 2 hours in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Peach and Marzipan Scones

I was reading this new bestseller "Vampire Academy" (by the way the movie based on this book will be released on 14 February 2014 - how romantic is that?), and in the book the main heroine was eating peach and marzipan scones. Well, she is half-vampire, so she can eat human food and enjoy sunlight. Sweet!

Does it happen to you guys? You read a book, somebody is eating something there, and right away you feel hungry. You want this very thing the character is eating. The moment I came across the magical words "peach and marzipan scone" I was craving one right here, right now. Off I ran to my kitchen, mixed a few things together and in half an hour I was tucking in the most delicious scone ever. I hope you will enjoy these nice treats too!

Peach and Marzipan Scones

Recipe

250g of self-raising flour
1/4 tsp of salt
50g of butter
25g of sugar
125ml of yogurt
1 tsp of baking soda mixed with 1 tsp of vinegar
100g of marzipan, cut into small cubes
2 fresh peaches, cut  into small cubes
milk for brushing on top

Pre-heat the oven to 200C (gas mark 6).

Mix all dry ingredients including sugar. Add butter and mix with a pastry cutter till the mixture resembles crumbs. Fold in marzipan and peaches. Add yogurt and baking soda. Make the dough. If the dough is too stiff add a little milk.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a circle of about 2-3cm thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer the scones onto a greased baking tray and brush with milk. Bake at 200C for about 15-20 minutes till golden.

Enjoy with jam and butter!

Gingerbeer bundt cake

The other day I was craving some Christmas food. Well, you know, gingerbread cookies, spiced nuts, rich pudding... So I decided to to give myself a Christmas treat before Christmas. And I am happy to share it with you guys! See how generous I am? :-)

Gingerbeer bundt cake

Recipe

For the cake:
2 1/4 cups of AP flour
1 3/4 tsp of baking powder
1/3 tsp of salt
2 tsp of ground ginger
190g of butter (or margarine)
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs (separated)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3 Tbsp on milk
1 cup of gingerbeer
1/8 tsp of cream of tartar

For the glaze:
1/2 cup of icing sugar
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
2-3 tsp of gingerbeer (can be more or less to make a runny consistency)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Mix all dry ingredients.
Separate egg yolks and whites.
Cream butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, or till fluffy. Add yolks and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients alternating with gingerbeer.
Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till soft peaks. Fold them into batter in 2 additions (one third first, then the remaining two thirds).

Pour batter into a baking tin and bake at 180C (gas 4) for approximately 1 hour (or till a wooden skewer comes out clean).

To make the glaze mix all the ingredients till they make a runny consistency. You might need to add more or less gingerbeer, so add it to icing sugar gradually.

Enjoy!

Cornmeal "pizza"

A real tasty treat - and very unusual too! It is not pizza of course in a traditional sense. But it is something definitely worth trying!

Cornmeal "pizza"

Recipe

2 Tbsp of butter
400g of cornmeal
1.5 litre of water
0.5 tsp of nutmeg
400g of feta (or to taste)
1/3 of red chili pepper (or to taste)
1/2 jar of olives (or to taste)
1 red sweet pepper
350g of cherry tomatoes
1.5 of medium courgettes (zucchini)
4Tbsp of olive oil (plus additional for greasing)
4tsp of Italian herbs (or to taste)
black pepper to taste
1 tsp of salt (or to taste - please note that feta cheese is salty, so I did not add any salt to my vegetables, only to water)

Cut all courgettes and olives into thin slices, cut red pepper into cubes of about 1x1cm. Mix all vegetables in a bowl, add olive oil, black pepper and Italian herbs. Cut chili pepper (remove the seeds!) into tiny pieces of about 1 mm each, add to the mixture. You can add any other spices you like in addition to these.

Boil water in a large saucepan, add salt and nutmeg. Then add cornmeal and boil for 2 minutes till the mixture thickens. Add butter.

Spread the hot cornmeal mixture over the greased baking tray (mine is 27x35cm). Put vegetables on top and bake at 200C for about 30 min. 10 minutes before the pizza is ready sprinkle with  feta cheese cut into cubes and bake till feta browns slightly.

Enjoy!