Londoneri: a Croatian recipe

I believe this is going to be the only English result for "Londoneri".

Londoneri is not a properly cake, just a Croatian sweet to be served in small rectangular portions as big as half a credit card (cut on its lenght). It is a very rich recipe and you wouldn't eat it so much at once, but it will taste fine for three days. It is perfect for a tea with friends and to offer as a cold dessert over a buffet dinner.


This was a recipe my granny used to do and I clearly remember its taste back in the time, when I was a kid. Luckly she wrote it down on her recipe book. She just forgot to state the baking details, so this first attempt didn't go as I hoped but it was a lovely sweet and it tasted just like I remembered.

Here you are the recipe of Londoneri.

For the base:
400 g. of flour
280 g. of butter
140 g. of white sugar
5 yolks

Stir the ingredients for the base in a bowl and lay it out in a rectangular mould (I used a 24 x 28 cm silicone mould). Do not make edges, lay it evenly.
Spread a veil of marmalade over the base - avoid flavours that are too sweet, peach or apricot is ok - and bake for 5-6 minutes at 180°C. The base should be half cooked and the marmalade smooth.

For the top:
5 eggs whites
280 g. of finely minced almonds (not peeled)
420 g. of sugar

After you put the base in the oven to semi-bake, start to prepare the top.
Beat the eggs whites until stiff
Mix the stiff whites, the minced almonds and the sugar with a spoon.

Take out the base from the oven, lower the oven temperature to 100°C.
Put the top on the base and bake again for 40-45 minutes.
You're done baking once there is a thin crust over the top. The inside of the top should not be dry (and believe me, with so much sugar it would be hard to get dry).

Serve cold in small rectangular piece of 2,5 x 4 cm.


This is how it should appear after you're done baking. As you can see, I used a silicone mould. I could get around 30 londoneri from it.

Missing granny

My paternal family came from Fiume (now Rijeka, HR), a town where several cultures and populations crossed and lived together. Nothing can replicate my grandma's kitchen, its taste, its consistency and flavour. I still remember some of her dishes, but a lot I forgot, too.
Now I am surfing to look for Croatian recipes because the only Croatian recipe book ever written in Italian is odd - I have it. It doesn't even mention quantities, temperatures and times.

I have to try to do Pasticada which is basically a roasted meat sauce with big pieces of roeasted meat, used as a sort of mixed dish together with gnocchi. My grandma served it like this, although I found several different pictures and way to serve it.

Raisin muffins

I found a better recipe for my muffins on this Italian website. They are softer and yummier, so since now on I will bake muffin with this recipe.
I find really comfortable to put my favourite recipes on my blog. This way, whenever I need to cook them I just have to search on my blog the "ricette" (recipes), and they are available anywhere I can get an internet connection.
Today I had some spare time and tried to bake muffins. I hope my friends from the US won't be disappointed I posted an American recipe. I am awaiting for your suggestions!

Muffins (recipe for 12 muffins)

time: 15 mins to prepare + 20 mins to bake
pros: no kitchen appliance required except a oven, no special cooking tools, just a spoon and, of course, muffin tins.

380 g of white flour
1 sachet of baking powder (approx. 2 teaspoons or 160 g)
200 g sugar
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
250 ml of milk
180 g of butter
1 sachet of vanillin (approx. a scarce teaspoon)
2 ml of lemon flavour or a grated lemon rind


Preheat oven to 356 degrees F (180°C) and grease 10 muffin tins.

This recipe is very simple to do. Take two bowls: in one you are going to mix the dry ingredients, i.e. flour + baking powder (sift), sugar, vanillin and salt. In the other bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Lighty beat the eggs and the milk, then add the lemon (whatever form it is) and the melt butter.
You can use a simple spoon to do so, as lumps are not a problems.
Now put the wet mixed ingredients into the dry ones, stirring with a spoon.

When you get a smooth mix, pour it into the tins and then let's bake it for 20 mins.
As usual, the baking time depends on the kind of oven you have. The newer the faster. As a general rule use a wooden stick to check if the muffins are completely baked. Stick it into a muffin: if it comes out clean, then the muffin is fully cooked. If not, bake a little longer until the stick comes out clean.

VARIANTS: of course, muffins come in all flavors of this world, so you can add cocoa, chocolate, raisins, apples, raspberries,... In this case the baking time will increase.
For apple muffins and raisin muffins it takes me an additional 15' to bake them.
In any case, apply the wooden stick rule.

Palačinke

Palačinke is a dessert derived from the Austro-hungarian palatschinken. It is a tipical dish you will easily find in Slovenjia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
They are very similar to crepes for shape and are made with the same ingredients as American pancakes.

Palačinke can be filled with jam, nutella, ice-cream, fresh fruit, sugar,...
They can be served rolled: cover one face with your favourite filling, like jam in this picture:


then roll it until you will get this:

I eat them with my hands, keeping the ends lifted up to prevend jam from slipping out (they are to be served warm, so the filling melts a little).

At the restaurant they are served in a different way, more suitable to be eat with fork and knife, like this:


Recipe for 6 Palačinke

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/2 of a glass of milk + 1/2 of a glass of water

Put the whole eggs in a bowl, add the sugar and whip until you get an evenly airy mix.
While you keep whipping, add some flour and some milk+water until you finish.
You will get a smooth mix. Have a taste of it to see if it needs more sugar.

Prepare a flat non-aderent fry-ing pan, put some butter to avoid the mix to stick to it. Drain the excess of butter, then pour half a ladle of the mix in the pan. You just have to cover the whole fry-ing pan with a thin layer of the mix.
Cook it on both sides: if you are able you can turn it jumping the Palačinka in the air. If you don't want to risk to lose a delicious Palačinka playing Nigella, help youself with a dish or a spatula.

Serve warm, with a spread of icing sugar and your favourite filling.

Tiramisù

Today I made Tiramisù. I wanna share with you the recipe I used which makes it very easy to be made at home. It takes about 30 mins to be made, but should be let into the fridge about 3 hrs before serving. Then it's a perfect for birthday or dinners since you can prepare it a lot in advance and simply take it our the fridge when it's time to serve it.

Ingredients are very simple:

• 400g of mascarpone cheese (it should be nor sweet nor salty)
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• a cup of coffee
• sugar (2 supper spoons)
  
• cocoa powder
• about 200g of ladyfingers
  

You need a glass recipient, I used a glass oven dish (see pic), a cup for the coffee, a cooking brush to lay the coffee on the ladyfingers, a mixer and two bowl to mix the eggs.

Prepare the coffee with a moka or an espresso machine. Put sugar as you would do to into your ordinary coffee and stir. Add some water to get a long coffee. Set aside. First bowl: combine the yolks and 2 spoons of sugar and mix on high with a mixer about 10 minutes 'til it all becomes light yellow. Second bowl: mix in the egg whites until stiff. Put the mascarpone slowly into the first bowl, always mixing on high. Then add the stiffed egg whites. You should get a soft cream. Taste it and adjust sugar if needed. Please note that ladyfinger have sugar on them, so don't go for a too sweet cream. The preparing is done, now you just put everything together. In the oven dish, make a layer of ladyfingers. Brush them with coffee. (I don't like them dipped) Then spread some cream to cover the first layer. Sprinke the cream with powdered cocoa. Start another layer of ladyfingers. Brush with coffee, spread the cream, sprinke the powered cocoa. Continue until you have filled the oven dish. Put in the fridge for at least 2.5 hours.

Variants:
Some recipes indicate the use of sponge cake instead of lady fingers. I prefer ladyfingers because you don't have to bake them at home to get a good results, while often industrial-mad sponge cake have a strange taste. Plus, if there are any ladyfingers left you can always eat them later for breakfast.

The classical recipes is with rum. I don't like alchoolic desserts, and they are not liked by children. If you want to use the rum just add it to the coffee.

The powdered cocoa can be substituted or you can add grated chocolate to it.

Suggestions:
You can adjust the sugar, the coffe and everything else to your taste. This is a heavy dessert, so don't use too much of everything otherwise after a sponge of nobody will want more.

It can be ate with a sponge or a dessert fork.