Category: fruit

Spicy Pear Muffins

Posted in chocolate, cinnamon, cream cheese frosting, fruit, muffins, pear, spiceTagged , , , Leave a comment

Time to bring back some fruits. These muffins are moist and filled with flavor, and they turned out to be a hit with my father. 

Ingredients
Pear Sauce/Jam
10-12 pears (chopped)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamom

Batter
200 g (7 oz) butter (melted)
100 g (3,5 oz) sugar
3 eggs
300 g (10,5 oz) plain flour
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp of cocoa

Frosting/Decoration
Powdered sugar
Vanilla sugar
Cream Cheese
Water

Chopped Almonds

 

How to do it
Pear Sauce/Jam

  • Chop the pears, and put them in a saucepan.
  • Mix in cinnamon and cardamom.
  • Heat up the pears, and let it simmer until much of the fluids has evaporated.
  • Let the sauce/jam cool down a bit.

Batter

  • Preheat the oven to 200 ºC/ 395 ºF.
  • Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  • In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar until you have a thick and fluffy mixture.
  • Stir in the melted butter.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together plain flour, baking powder vanilla sugar and the spices, then slowly add them to the mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter.
  • Carefully stir in the pear sauce/jam with a wooden spoon.
  • With a couple of spoons, transfer the batter to muffins liners in a cupcake/muffins form.
  • When you’ve transferred about 1/2 of the batter into muffins liners, stir in 2 tbsp of cocoa to the rest of the batter. Then transfer the rest of the batter to muffins liners in a cupcake/muffins form.
  • Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven until they have a golden surface, or until a skewer put in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Take the muffins out of the oven, and let them cool down in the muffins/cupcake form for a few minutes. Then let them cool down on a cooling rack.

Frosting/Decoration

  • Mix together powdered sugar, vanilla sugar (1-2 tsp), cream cheese (about 2 tbsp) and water until you have a smooth, yet fluid, mix.
  • Cover the muffins with the frosting and decorate with chopped almonds.

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Enjoy!

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Banana Pancakes

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Sunday breakfast, dessert or just in the mood for something sweet, yet good for you. Try out these banana pancakes!

Ingredients
1 banana
1 egg
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
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How to do it

  • In a bowl, mash the banana.
  • Add the egg, and mix well.
  • Add cardamom and cinnamon to the batter.
  • Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat.
  • Transfer about 1/2 – 3/4 dl (1/4 cup) batter into the frying pan. (These pancakes are not as easy turn around as regular pancakes, so make small pancakes.)
  • When the surface is dry, turn the pancake and fry it on the other side until it has a golden surface.
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    Serve the pancakes with some fresh fruit, berries, ice cream or whatever you like!

Enjoy!
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Holiday Leftovers – Apple and Pear Dessert

Posted in apple, dessert, fruit, nuts, pear, spiceTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

January is here. With new year resolutions and leftovers from the Holidays. So, for my first recipe in 2019, I wanted to combine the two. A quite healthy dessert, but with lots of flavor. And you can even eat it for breakfast! Happy New Year, People!

Ingridients (about 4 portions)
Crisp
2,5 dl (1 cup) oatmeal
1-2 handfuls of almonds (chopped)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp honey
1 handful of raisins

Apple & Pear Sauce/Jam
3 apples (chopped)
3 pears (chopped)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom

Greek yoghurt with vanilla

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How to do it
Crisp

  • Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
  • Add oatmeal, chopped almonds, cinnamon and cardamom to the pan, and mix it together.
  • Add and stir in the honey, and keep stirring.
  • When the mix starts to golden, add the raisins, and stir until you have a golden crisp.
  • Let the crisp cool down.

Apple & Pear Sauce/Jam

  • Chop the apples and the pears, and put them in a saucepan.
  • Mix in cinnamon and cardamom.
  • Heat up the apples and pears, and let it simmer until you have the preferred texture (the longer you let it simmer, the smoother it gets).
  • Let the sauce/jam cool down.

Put it all together
In a dessert bowl, or a glass, add a tablespoon of yoghurt, then a tablespoon of apple and pear sauce and then a tablespoon of crisp. Repeat.

Enjoy!

Btw:
If you want to make a “party version” of this dessert, roast the crisp in some butter and add some sugar, and replace the yoghurt with whipped cream. You can also use leftover cookies or biscuits instead of making crisp.

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Grateful Greenes – Apple Pie with Caramel

Posted in apple, caramel, fruit, holidays, pieTagged , , , , 1 Comment

Thanksgiving is over, but who says you can’t be grateful on an ordinary Monday. Show gratitude by sharing a pie with your family and friends, give a smile to a stranger and send a thought out to those who are less fortunate than yourself. Also, take some time out of your busy day to reflect on what’s already in your life to be grateful for. I would like to start this Monday by saying thank you for reading my blog!

Ingredients
Crust
200 gram (7 oz) plain flour
150 gram (5,3 oz) softened butter
1 tbsp sugar
1-2 tbsp water

Filling
3 eggs
100 gram (3,5 oz) sugar
4-5 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamon
1 dl (1/2 cup)heavy cream
5-6 apples (graded and sliced)

Homemade Caramel Sauce
200 gram (7 oz) sugar
2 dl (1 cup) heavy cream
200 gram (7 oz) butter
2-3 tbsp water
A pinch of salt

How to do it
Crust

  1. In a large bowl, mix (crumble) flour and softened butter.
  2. Add water, one tablespoon at the time, until you have smooth, but firm, dough.
  3. Let the dough cool for about 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 200 ºC/ 390 ºF.
  5. Roll out the dough and place it in a pie dish or a round cake tin (22 cm/9 in).
  6. Make some holes in the crust using a fork.
  7. Bake the crust in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven, and add the pie filling.

Filling

  1. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until you have a smooth batter. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer.
  2. In a different bowl, mix the plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the batter.
  4. Grate 3-4 apples, and add them to the mix.
  5. Transfer the filling into the partly baked crust.
  6. Slice 2 apples, and place them on top of the filling.
  7. Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer put in the centre of the pie comes out clean.
  8. Let the pie cool down a bit before serving.

Caramel Sauce

  1. In a saucepan, heat sugar and heavy cream on medium heat until boiling point, and while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.
  2. Stir in the butter, piece by piece.
  3. Continue to stir until the mix thickens and get a golden brown color. (This may take some time, 5-10 minutes.)
  4. Add the water, one tablespoon at the time, and a pinch of salt.
  5. Pour some of the caramel on top of the pie, and the rest in a serving bowl on the side of the pie.

Bon Appetit, and Thank You!

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Failed Nut Crust – Nutty Pancakes

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Let’s face it. Sometimes the result doesn’t end up to be what we expected or intended. One time when I was going to make nut crust, my oven broke down just as I was about to put the nut crust in the oven. So I stood there, with a mix of egg whites, finely chopped almonds and sugar. But it´s not what you get, but how you take it, right? So I used the failed nut crust to make pancakes instead. And here’s my recipe for nutty pancakes without having to make the nut crust first.

Ingredients (about 6 small pancakes)
2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 dl (almost 1/2 cup) plain flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
2 dl (almost 1 cup) milk
50 gram (1,8 oz) finely chopped almonds
Butter for the frying pan

Decoration
Cottage cheese, chopped fruit, roasted almonds, fresh berries, ice cream, jam…

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How to do it

  1. Beat the eggs together with the sugar.
  2. In a different bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon and cardamom.
  3. Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the mix of egg and sugar, and stir until you have a smooth batter.
  4. Add the finely chopped almonds.
  5. Heat up a small frying pan with some butter, and transfer about one soup ladle of batter into the frying pan (the batter should cover the bottom of the frying pan, but not more than that).
  6. Turn the pancake when the top of the pancake is “dry”.
  7. The pancake is finished when the both sides has a nice golden brown surface.
  8. Repeat until you don’t have anymore batter.
  9. Enjoy the pancakes with whatever you like. This time I made mine with some cottage cheese, persimmon, pomegranate and roasted almonds.

Btw…
If you want an even healthier choice, skip the sugar and replace some of the flour with oatmeal.

Fall´n´fruits – Apple and Pear Cake

Posted in apple, cake, cinnamon, fruit, nuts, pearTagged , , , Leave a comment

It´s fall. The fruits have fallen off the trees and it´s time for a cake based on the fruits of the season. This apple and pear cake is super easy to make,  full of flavor and is perfect for rainy November days.

Ingredients
75 gram (2,6 oz) melted butter
0,5 dl (1/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs
2 dl (1 cup) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
2-3 grated pears
2-3 grated apples

Decoration
Chopped almonds

How to do it

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (390ºF), and butter and line a round cake tin, 22 cm (9 in).
  2. Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  3. Grate or chop the pears and the apples, put the fruits in a bowl and mix them together with the cinnamon and cardamom.
  4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs with the sugar. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer.
  5. Mix in the melted butter.
  6. In a separate bowl, mix together the plain flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
  7. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients to the mixture. 
  8. Mix in the grated apples and the pears with a spatula.
  9. Transfer the batter into the cake tin and top it with chopped almonds.
  10. Bake in the middle of the oven until the top of the cake is golden brown, for about 35-40 minutes. 
  11. Let the cake cool down for a few minutes in the cake tin before taking it out of the tin and laying it on a grid.
  12. Enjoy the flavors of fall, maybe with a scoop of ice cream.

Btw…
How about doubling the recipe and make a two layered cake with some cream cheese frosting between the layers and on top of the cape? Check out First appearance – Pear cake for a recipe for frosting.

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Bittersweet Dreams – Lemon Cupcakes

Posted in buttercream, cupcake, fruit, lemonTagged , , , , Leave a comment

When life gives you lemons, make lemon cupcakes. As it´s getting colder outside, these bittersweet cupcakes are perfect with a warm cup of tea. This recipe will give you about 15-20 regular cupcakes, or about 25-30 small cupcakes.

Ingredients
175 gram (6,2 oz) softened butter
200 gram (7 oz) sugar
3 eggs
250 gram (8,8 oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 lemons (juice and zest)
0,25 dl (2 tbsp) milk

Buttercream frosting
75 gram (2,6 oz) softened butter
190 gram (6,7 oz) powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
juice from 1/2 lemon

Decoration
Blueberries, raspberries, white chocolate, sprinkles…

Cupcakes
Zest and juice
Buttercream

How to do it

    1. Preheat the oven to 215ºC / 420ºF.
    2. Beat together the butter with the sugar in a large bowl. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer.
    3. Add the eggs, one by one.
    4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
    5. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients to the mixture.
    6. Zest the lemons, and then squeeze the lemon juice (the lemons should be cleaned before you zest them).
    7. Add the zest and juice to the mixture.
    8. Add the milk to the mixture until you have a smooth batter.
    9. With a couple of spoons, transfer the batter to cupcake liners in a cupcake form.
    10. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of the oven until they have a golden surface. Regular cupcakes take about 15-17 minutes, small cupcakes about 10-12 minutes.
    11. Take the cupcakes out of the oven and the cupcake form, and let them cool down on a cooling rack.
    12. For the buttercream frosting, beat the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl until smooth. Use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. Slowly add the milk and then the lemon juice and mix until you have smooth, but not too soft, mixture. Keep an eye on the mixture, so that it doesn’t get too fluid.
    13. When the cupcakes have cooled down, cover them with the buttercream using a cake piping tool, a knife or a spatula.
    14. Decorate the cupcakes with berries (fresh or dried), white chocolate, sprinkles…

Bon appétit!

Btw…
Why not be a little crazy and decorate the cupcakes with licorice.

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First appearance – Pear cake

Posted in fruit, pearTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

Autumn. When I talk to people about the taste of autumn, apples tend to come up quite frequently. But in the shadow of apples, there’s another fruit of autumn that deserves some attention. Pears. This wonderful, sweet tasting fruit is perfect for baking, so for my first recipe, my first appearance, I present to you my spiced up pear cake.

Ingredients
150 gram (5 1/2 oz) softened butter 
100 gram (3 1/2 oz) sugar
3 eggs
150 gram (5 1/2 oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
4-6 peeled pears

Frosting
200 gram (7 oz) cream cheese
1-2 tbsp softened butter
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Decoration
Chopped almonds

How I do it

  1. Peel and chop the pears. Put the chopped pears in a bowl and add cinnamon and cardamom. Mix it all well together.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/355 ºF. Butter and line a 22-24 cm/ 9 in round cake tin (and/or use parchment paper).
  3. Beat together sugar and softened butter in a large bowl. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer. 
  4. Add eggs, one by one and adding about a tablespoon of the plain flour between each egg. 
  5. Mix in a mixture of the rest of the flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar, and mix until you have a smooth batter. 
  6. Add the spiced up chopped pears, and mix them into the batter with a spatula.
  7. Transfer the batter into the cake tin.
  8. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a skewer put in the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
  9. Let the cake cool down for about 15 minutes before taking it out of the cake tin. 
  10. For the frosting, mix together cream cheese and softened butter. Carefully add powdered sugar and vanilla sugar into the mix until you have found the preferred sweetness and texture. 
  11. When the cake is about room temperature, cover the top of the cake with the frosting.
  12. Decorate with chopped almonds.

Enjoy!

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