I loved the way they looked on mojewypieki.com, had to make them. It’s a bit unfortunate, that the strawberries are rubbish at this time of the year- they taste like they’re imported from another planet. They can’t really be replaced with any other fruit and equally can’t be made in May, so the whole thing do look better than they taste.

First the brownies. 100 g of butter, melted, 100 g of dark chocolate, chopped, in.  2 whole eggs lightly beaten, 160 g of sugar- I did half and half caster and brown. 3/4 tsp of baking powder. All ingredients combined, spooned into the silicone mould for round cookies, filled them up to 3/4 and baked for about 10 minutes in 180 degrees. I must say they were delicious when freshly baked, but after a couple of hours in the fridge with the cream and strawberries they lost the appeal substantially. Still, nice after quesadillas and empanadas we had this evening with Lisa and Andy.

Just finishing the first piece. Excellent crumbly pastry, the filling as lemony as it gets, I think a touch more sugar would not hurt it, which is unusual for one of Dorotka’s recipes. Very good dessert though and not too complicated.

I had the pastry done by the time I had to get Izzie from playgroup, part one ( Father Christmas was to make an appearance today, so at 1.30 she went back in). 195 g of plain flour, 2 tbsps of icing sugar, 115 g of butter, one egg yolk, 2 tbsps of lemon juice and a splash of water to bind it- the pastry rested for 30 minutes in the fridge, then blind baked in 190 degrees for 15 minutes, minus the beans for another 5.

Filling, perfect if one’s dieting 🙂 . 5 whole eggs, 120 g of sugar, 2 tsps of potato flour, 200 ml of double cream, lemon rind of 2 lemons and 150 ml of lemon juice- all well combined and poured into the prebaked pastry. 30 minutes in 180 degrees.  Must have paid attention to it every few minutes in order not to brown it too much, the pastry edges needed to be covered with alu foil.

Overall, 8 out of 10 I’d say, maybe a touch less lemon juice or more sugar.

Nice little tray of cake topped with lots of apple and even more cinnamon. What’s not to like on a cold December afternoon? Cup of tea, a child that reaches for the second piece and I’m happy.

Relatively simple recipe, found on mojewypieki.com.  Unusually for me I’ve made the the whole portion, planned on taking some with me while dropping Izzie off at Lila’s tomorrow, but there might not be enough to take anymore!

200 g of soft butter got creamed with half a glass of caster sugar, 4 whole eggs added one by one. 300 g of plain flour, 1 packet of vanilla budyn, dry, in, 2 tsps of baking powder. 250 ml of milk. Vanilla essence is always a nice touch.  I was careful not to overmix the whole thing, as people were talking of zakalec a lot in the comments ( zakalec is a Polish word for  a baking disaster, when the cake initally rises and then comes crashing down, leaving the cake heavy and horrible). A little over 750 g of Braeburn apples peeled and sliced, not too thinly, generously placed on top of the cake. It took almost an hour to bake in 160 degrees and while still hot, I brushed it some melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Really nice!

This time from scratch, not from a block of puff pastry.  I used a simple recipe from mojewypieki.com, half a portion, as usual, still have about 12 horns left unfilled.  Maybe with creme pat this evening, I think I might be bothered actually!

250 g of plain flour, 125 g of cold butter, 125 g of sour cream and a pinch of salt all kitchen aided, rested in the fridge for about an hour and then rolled thinly, wrapped around the horn moulds and baked in 200 degrees for less than 15 minutes, till golden. Deliciously crunchy and delicate.  Filled simply with whipped cream, a few blueberries and sprinkled with pistachios.  Can’t say they’re effortless and quick, but worth the work for sure!

Found on mojewypieki.com, when browsing for some ideas. Masterchef The Professionals started on Tuesday, something nice and sweet with a cuppa while watching it makes it a lot better.

These are really easy. 150 g of butter creamed with 120 g of sugar, 2 eggs added one by one, 150 g of flour, 1,5 tsp of baking powder. Some vanilla extract. 2 tbsps of milk.  The whole mixture divided in half, one went onto the bottom of the muffin cases, the other got mixed with 2 tbsps of coffee ( previously diluted with hot water).  I think next time I’d use maybe a double espresso or something better, this Nescafe crap simply has nothing to do with coffee.  Such a lovely idea, but for me it needs better coffee.

The brown layer went on top of the vanilla one and baked for 25 minutes in 170 degrees.  Topped with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Good looking and pleasant.