All maple syrup cake – Just like America

A friend of ours who spent his summer holiday in the USA visited us. We had everything from watching photos to loads of American souvenirs. I baked this cake for this occasion. Sure this is no authentic American recipe, but it matched the souvenirs nicely.

All maple syrup cake with pecans

For the pecan & maple syrup sponge cake:

- 8 eggs

- 150 ml maple syrup

- zest of a lemon

- a pinch of salt

- 180 g flour

- 12 g baking powder

- 100 g pecan, toasted and ground

For the maple syrup meringue:

- 2 egg whites

- 120 ml maple syrup

- 130 g sugar

- ¼ tsp. tartaric acid

- ¼ tsp. salt

- optional: zest of a lemon/ 1 vanilla pod/ 2 tbsp. rum/ 2 tbsp. apricot jam/ 2 tbsp. pecan, toasted and ground

- for the top: butter caramels, cut in pieces

Preparation:

1. For the sponge cake beat the egg yolks until light and foamy, then pour the maple syrup to the egg yolks while stirring constantly. Add the lemon zest and the salt and mix them well.

2. Sift together the flour and the baking powder and add the pecans.

3. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold the egg whites and the flour & pecan mixture to the egg yolks in turns.

4. Pour the batter to a baking pan (buttered & sprinkled with flour) and bake until golden brown (appr. 40 minutes) in the oven preheated to 160°C.

5. For the meringue beat all ingredients with the exception of the optional ingredients in a double boiler until stiff peaks form. In the end, mix in the optional ingredient(s) chosen.

6. Pile the meringue on the sponge cake and sprinkle it with the pieces of butter caramels.

 

Chicken & chard tartlets with salted almonds – Autumn has arrived

On our balcony, we grew chards with stalks of varying colours. And now, because autumn is coming, we had to use them up. So as the Hungarian proverb says, we have chosen now the coat for the button!

Chicken & chard tartlets with salted almonds

For the chicken part:

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- 1 tbsp. butter

- ½ onion

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped to thin slices

- 250 g minced chicken meat (preferably leg)

- 25 ml dry white wine

- nutmeg, freshly ground

- 1 small clove garlic, mashed

- 125 cream cheese (Philadelphia)

- salt and freshly ground pepper

For the chard part:

- ½ tbsp. olive oil

- ½ tbsp. butter

- 250 g chard, chopped

- nutmeg, freshly ground

- 1 tsp. honey

- salt and freshly ground pepper

For the tartlets:

- 270 g ready-to-bake puff pastry

- a small amount of butter and flour

On the top:

- salted almonds, toasted and chopped

Preparation:

1. For the chicken part fry the onion and the sliced garlic in the mixture of the olive oil and butter, then fry the minced meat in it, as well, in two instalments. Add salt and pepper in the meantime. Pour the white wine to it, and stir it for 2-3 minutes, until the alcohol evaporates. Add the nutmeg, as well. In the end, mix in the mashed garlic and the cream cheese.

2. For the chard part, wilt the chard in the mixture of the olive oil and butter in 1-2 minutes, and mix in the remaining ingredients.

3. On a wooden board slightly sprinkled with flour, roll the puff pastry until thin. Spread butter in the tartlet pans and line them with the rolled puff pastry (you will have some remaining puff pastry). Preheat the oven to 170°C, and bake the puff pastry blind (e.g. covered with dried beans) for 10 minutes, then bake it for 2 more minutes without the beans.

4. Fill the tartlets with the chicken filling, then pile some chard on it, and finally sprinkle with salted almonds on the top.

Walnut & goat’s milk cheese zucchini cream with radish sprouts and eggs – Toddler food?

Autumn has arrived! Although this recipe doesn’t reflect this much, it is good to have autumn again, anyway. It is a bit like toddler food, but the piquant radish sprouts and the crunchy bread might compensate. By the way, I got the idea from the puréed version of a simple zucchini sauce, but I replaced the dill for thyme, walnut and creamy goat’s milk cheese. You can even combine the ingredients in layers. You can change anything to your taste. You can layer the goat’s milk cheese on the walnut and so on, and then it will be even more spectacular. I would also try the combination of aubergine, coriander, feta and salted peanuts! Maybe one day I will really try it, but then there will be too much of purée here.

Walnut & goat’s milk cheese zucchini cream with radish sprouts and eggs

- 1 large tbsp. butter

- 1 onion, finely chopped

- 1000 g zucchini, grated

- 2 large cloves of garlic, grated

- 125 g goat’s milk cheese

- 100 g walnut, toasted and ground

- leaves of 1 bunch fresh thyme

- salt, freshly ground pepper

On the top:

- 4 boiled eggs, sliced

- salt

- radish sprouts

- toasted and ground walnut

Preparation:

1. In a pan fry the onion in the butter.

2. Add the zucchini and cook it in 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the garlic, goat’s milk cheese and purée the mixture.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and decorate the cream on the top.

Lecsó ravioli – In case we are already bored with plain lecsó

In case we are already bored with lecsó which one can never be bored with, although it is still lecsó.

(Lecsó is a traditional Hungarian thick vegetable ragout, it is very popular during the summer. More details.)

Lecsó ravioli

Ingredients:

For the ravioli:

- 400 g flour for pasta

- ½ tsp. salt

- 4 eggs

- 150 g sausage, cut into thin slices

For the lecsó sauce:

- 100 g smoked bacon, cut into cubes

- 2 onions, sliced

- ½ tsp. ground paprika

- 1000 g pepper (preferably Hungarian wax pepper), sliced

- 500 g tomato, peeled, cut into pieces and seeded

- 3 eggs

For serving:

- fermented cucumbers

Preparation:

1. Pour the flour into a bowl and mix it with the salt. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. By moving the fingers in circles mix the eggs with the flour gradually. Knead the dough until smooth. Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for half an hour. Roll the dough with pasta machine until thin, then make pieces of ravioli by putting a slice of sausage in each of them. Cook the ravioli in salted, hot water for three minutes.

2. For the lecsó sauce melt the fat of the bacon, and then fry the pieces of bacon until crispy and browned. Remove them from the pan.

3. On the bacon fat fry the onion slices. Stir in the ground paprika and fry it for some seconds with the onion. Add the pepper, tomatoes and the crispy, browned pieces of the bacon. Cook the ragout for 20-30 minutes over moderate heat, stirring it occasionally. Remove from the stove, if it is ready.

4. Mix the eggs in a bowl, and then gradually incorporate some tablespoons of hot lecsó ragout to the eggs, mixing it carefully after each addition. Pour this mixture to the lecsó ragout. Stir it for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender.

5. Mix the ravioli with the lecsó sauce and serve it with fermented cucumbers.