Aegeaneating

A traditional Carribbean culinary custom cake.

Dried sultanas and black currants are soaked in Rum for several months,

sometimes a year prior to making this cake. It requires long period of Rum bath.

Brown sugar and long cooking time, makes its dark colour.

Combine washed black currants and sultanas in a bowl. Soak them in Rum for about an hour until the Rum is absorbed.

Cream butter.

Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Beat eggs with brown sugar until foamy.

Combine the egg mixture to the flour mixture.

Add butter also, soaked black currants and sultanas.

Pour into a greased 10×20 cm tin.

Bake in 160° C pre-heated oven for about an hour until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

for glaze: (optional)

Combine bitter orange jam or citron jam with Rum and make a glaze.

Brush the glaze over the top of the cake.

A combination of walnut with cinnamon. Although it is a cake with syrup it is soft, flaky and light!

Here is a fabulous Greek cake..

Using your food processor, powder the rusks (some call Zwieback toasts).

Add the coarsely chopped walnuts, flour, cinnamon, muscat nut powder and baking powder to  the rusk powder.

Beat egg whites in a small deep bowl and make stiff.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until the mixture is light in colour.

Fold the egg whites to the yolk batter. Use a spatula and scrape down from the sides of your bowl to the middle.

While you do this folding action, add walnut mixture at a time.

Add Cognac to the mixture.

Bring up the batter from the bottom over the top and fold it until the egg mixture mixed in.

After one portion is completely folded in, add another portion. Do not stir, but fold with care.

Grease a deep baking pan. Sprinkle with rusk powders.

Pour the batter to the baking pan and bake in a preheat oven at 180° C for 25 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the syrup.

for the syrup:

In a small sauce pan place sugar, vanilla and water. Set over medium heat, bring to a boil.

Simmer on medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and simmer for another five minutes.

Pour gently the syrup at a time to the cake until it is absorbed.

Cut into diamond shapes and serve.

Best with vanilla ice cream on top.

Hats off to a very rich and delicious chocolate cake.

Indulge yourself with moist and fudgy chocolate molasses cake perfect for celebrations, birthdays or any excuse.

Melt the bitter chocolate and butter with bain-marie method, or simply put water in a thick bottom pan. Inside this pan place another pan with the couverture chocolate.

Chocolate needs to be melted at a low temperature.

Add molasses, orange zest, vanilla, sugar and water and mix well.

Add eggs one at a time and fully incorporate before adding the next egg.

Add dry ingredients (flour, salt, cacao and soda) which have been sifted together.

Add walnut. Pour into a greased pan (20x20cm).

Bake 30 minutes at  170° C pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cut into squares before serving.

Pan dolce or sweet bread with the aroma of anise seed is excellent for breakfast.

• 400 gr flour
• 100 gr candied orange (cut in small cubes)
• 150 gr sugar
• 150 ml milk
• 2 T Rum
• 1/2 t saffron
• 25 gr beer yeast
• anise seeds
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Put the candied oranges in Rum and let stand one hour.

Soften yeast in lukewarm milk and stir until the yeast melts.  Add saffron and 50 gr of flour. Leave for half an hour.

Combine the remaining flour, candied oranges with Rum, sugar, salt, extra virgin olive oil. Mix at least 10 minutes with a food mixer and make a dough.

Put the dough into a greased 26 cm diameter pan tray. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at least 40 minutes.

Sprinkle with anise seeds and 1 T sugar.

Bake about 35 minutes at 190° C pre-heated oven.

Tahin (sesame seed paste) has always occupied a central place in Anatolian social life for centuries. It classically accompanied with pekmez (molasses syrup).

Tahin is a source of calcium, protein and a source of vitamin B and E. It reduces the chance of osteoporosis and other muscular generated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The fresh fluid tahin paste is perfect for sauce usage.

I bought this fresh tahin paste from a store in Turkey. It is thinner than the ones we buy. Because they were making it at the store from ground sesame seeds with a special blender machine. In other words, when it is fresh, it is more fluid and thin.

Especially for these cold days, tahin is a remedy that gives us energy.

Separate eggs. Beat whites until stiff with a pinch of salt. Set aside. 

Beat yolk  in another bowl.  

Mix together yolks and whites, then add sugar.

Add yogurt and beat.

Put semolina, flour and baking powder and combine well.

Place the batter in a greased cake pan (20 cm diameter). 

Bake in pre-heated 180° C oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. 

While baking prepare the syrup.

syrup:

Boil sugar and water in a saucepan. When the liquid comes to a full rolling boil, add lemon juice. Boil until the syrup becomes viscous. 

Take the cake from oven and pour approximately 1 cup boiled water. Wait for 5 minutes to absorb it. 

Then slowly pour (bit by bit) the hot syrup all over, while the cake is still hot.  Cover it with a wrap and let it soak up the syrup. Tastes even better next day.

Store in refrigerator.

Before serving, spread over fresh tahin sauce for extra flavour.