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palha italiana-choco barsI think this is a Brazilian recipe, it is called “Palha Italiana”, an alternative for our famous “brigadeiro”, the only difference is that in this recipe we use Marie Biscuits, and you can make it in bars or balls. But if you want only the brigadeiros, just follow the recipe but don’t use the biscuits and roll the balls in chocolate sprinkles. I love this recipe, I think that I love it more than the brigadeiros. Everybody love it, it is perfect for a kids birthday, but be careful because they will disappear very quickly and everybody will ask for more…haha.

palha italiana

Marie Biscuits Choco Bars/Balls

Ingredients:

4 tbsp cocoa powder or chocolate drink mix (like nesquik)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 (100g) pack Marie Biscuits coarsely crushed
1 can condensed milk

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, mix the condensed milk, cocoa and butter. Stir to dissolve the chocolate. Put over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until you are able to see the bottom of the pot when you tilt the pan,(the mixture should slide quickly). This should take 10-12 minutes.The longer you leave it to boil, the thicker it gets. Crush the biscuits and add to the pan and stir all the ingredients together until well combined. Flatten mixture into a greased plate. Allow to cool before cutting to desired size and then roll in sugar.

A alternative is to instead of coarsely crush the biscuit you can crush biscuits finely to make a fine powder and then butter your hands and roll the mixture into small balls (size doesn’t really matter but the smaller they are the more you get) and roll in sugar.

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peach sponge cake

After being away for a while because of a knee surgery (caused by playing volley for some years), I am back and nothing better that making a birthday cake for my mother. This time she asked me for a pound cake with peach filing that I made with the help of my sister, who is mine sous-chef of some recipes…haha.

peach sponge cake 2The recipe is simple and tasty, nothing fancy, but the only problem was that my mother without noticing bought light canned peaches with 70% less fat, so the syrup and the peaches were without too much flavor, as all the light foods, and because of that the peaches in the cake were difficult to notice. So for anybody who will make the cake and don’t worry about calories, try to buy those peaches with a lot of fat, juicy and sweet…hehe.

peach sponge cake 3

Pound Cake with Peach Filing

Ingredients:

Pound Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
6 egg yolks
6 egg white s
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 canned peach

Filling:

1 sweetened condensed milk can
1 tbsp margarine
1 can of heavy cream
1 egg yolk

Frosting:

500gr cold heavy cream
4 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Separate the eggs while they are still cold, and cover the whites and yolks with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming on the egg yolks and the whites from drying out. Let the yolks and whites reach room temperature before using (this will take about 30 minutes). Having the yolks and whites at room temperature will ensure that the eggs reach their full volume when beaten.

Into a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth. Slowly add the flour, milk, vanilla and baking powder. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Pour egg yolk mixture over whites, gently folding with a rubber spatula just until blended. Do not stir or beat. Divide the mixture evenly between two greased 12 inch round pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Loosen cakes from pans with an offset spatula, and unmold onto wire rack. Cool to room temperature.

Filling:
In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the condensed milk, margarine and egg yolk. Beat with a whisk until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add the heavy cream. Let cool to room temperature

Frosting:
In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like.

Assembling the cake:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack over it. Using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. (If necessary, shave off any uneven pieces of cake with a serrated knife so that it is smooth and even on all sides.) Brush the tops of three layers each with some of the peach syrup. Place the bottom layer on a 9-inch round of cardboard and set it on the wire rack. Spread 5 tbsp of the frosting evenly on top of the layer(don’t use a lot because you’ll need some to cover the cake). Top with a second layer of cake. Spread 1/2 of the filling evenly over it with some chopped peaches(at your taste). Repeat the same process with the third layer. Top with the fourth layer. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Spread the entire cake with the frosting. Led to the refrigerator until serving time.

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