One year ago, right before Christmas, I discovered a recipe for some Italian almond cookies by Nonna Fina. They turned out so great that they became a popular treat in our family. I adapted my ricciarelli recipe; you could try it out these Holidays!

You need:

225g almond flour

150g sugar

2 egg whites (room temperature)

*Vegan ricciarelli are possible, with 6 tbsp of water + 2 tbsp of psyllium or flaxseeds.

a dash of salt

the lemon zest from half a lemon

3 drops of almond extract (optional)

How to bake them?

Beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the almond extract if you decide to use it.

In a separate dish, mix the almond flour, sugar, and lemon zest.

Add the foam to the mix; stir easily. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Split the dough into two parts; shape them into two rolls. Cut the dough slices with a knife. Shape them into diamonds. Then, place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. You will get 13-14 ricciarelli from a roll.

Bake them for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. After 10 minutes, supervise them so you don’t burn them. ;-)

Enjoy them! ♥

makes 130 bezele

4 egg whites

200g sugar

1 tbsp of vinegar

a pinch of salt

When I have more egg whites than needed, my thought flies to my Mom’s bezele recipe.

Here it is!

Take the egg whites out of the fridge. When they sit at room temperature, their foam will be richer.

Mix them with the sugar, adding it bit by bit. Then, mix in the vinegar [it will make the foam ’sit’ and the bezele feel glossy] and the salt.

Fill a pastry bag with the foam and draw bezele. Make a circle, letting the foam flow, then lift the pastry bag.

I got 2 large baking pans and a small one.

Bake in the preheated oven at 110°C for 30 minutes.

They’ll be crunchy for 2-3 days in closed bowls or bags.

That is, if you don’t eat them in the meantime. 😊

I know, I know, I’ve promised 2 recipes since last week. Something occurred, though. Two days ago, I was searching for a solution dealing with some soured whipping cream... and I ended up clicking the recipes on my blog.

So, I told myself ’Why not make a list of recipes to bake/cook when we’ve got ingredients about to spoil?’

I’d like to keep it updated, by categories!

Basic ingredients

cottage cheese: papanaşi, baked papanaşi, Dobrujan pie

egg whites: Pavlova, pricomigdale, walnut cookies

milk: supangle, muhallabieh, galatopita, trileqe, condensed milk

sour cream: ashta

whipping cream: savarine, molehill cake

yoghurt: Romanian donuts, lemon pound cake

1 yolk: tart crust

several yolks: crema catalana

Fruits

apples: apple pie, apple strudel

bananas: Banoffee Pie, vegan coconut and strawberry dessert, vegan banana cookies, vegan banana and peanut butter cookies, vegan banana pound cake, banana and oatmeal cake, banana muffins

blackberries: syrup

grapes: grape pizza, grape cake

quinces: upside-down quince cake

raspberries: smoothie

rhubarb: rhubarb and strawberry cake, rhubarb sauce

Vegetables and herbs

basil: pesto

eggplant: mirza ghasemi

spinach: spanakopita

Already-processed foods

condensed milk: colchão de noiva, Deliciu

preserves: negresă (Romanian brownie)

rice cakes: chocolate cake bars

♥

5 egg whites

2 tbsp vinegar

200g sugar

10g vanilla sugar

5 tbsp cornstarch

+

10 pcs of passion fruit

3 teaspoons sugar

+

250g whipping cream

25g sugar

I haven’t baked a large Pavlova in a while – only its mini version. After Christmas, I was, however, left with many egg whites. Without a cake made by me on my birthday, it was time to bake it!

Beat the egg whites; when they are stiff, pour in the vinegar. Continue to mix, adding the sugar and the vanilla sugar mixture bit by bit. The cornstarch comes in at the end.

Line a baking pan with baking parchment. Using a round shape (mine is 23 cm wide and 7 cm deep), pour the mixture, level it, and remove the shape. 

Bake for 2 hours in the preheated oven at 100°C (after baking, leave the meringue in the oven for 5-10 more minutes with the door slightly open; it will prevent it from cracking).

In the meantime, scoop out the passion fruit pulp. Add the sugar and mix.    

When the meringue has completely cooled, beat the whipping cream with the sugar. 

Decorate by using a pouch to add tufts of whipped cream (Marcel’s idea) and the passion fruit mixture on top.

Use what’s left from the passion fruit mixture for individual slices when you serve them – that is if your Pavlova keeps in the fridge without being munched. :D  

Makes 5

500ml milk

8 teaspoons sugar

vanilla extract

50ml water

20g cornstarch

2 egg whites

30g powdered sugar

250ml sour cream

It is a homemade şarlota [=a type of Romanian custard that we eat separately, as a pudding], which took me back to the walks around my grandparents’ village, stopping at the only sweet shop in the area to buy the inexpensive yellowish dessert that calmed my cravings for ’something sweet’.  

How did I make it?

Mix the milk, sugar, and a little bit of vanilla extract in a pan; leave it for 5 minutes on low-medium heat and 15 minutes more on low heat, without stirring. Then, add the cornstarch dissolved in water and let the mix cool.

Separately, beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar until stiff and easily stir in the sour cream, using a wooden spoon. Pour this cream into the milk mix and split the final mix into 5 cups. Let these cups sit in the fridge overnight.

I served şarlota with whipped cream. What about you? J

Makes 10

330g flour

5g dry yeast

½ sachet vanilla sugar

125g sugar

100g butter (at room temperature)

1 egg

1 tbsp of yoghurt

80ml water

Filling

140g ground walnuts

1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

3 teaspoons of sugar

1 tbsp of milk

+

1 egg white

1 teaspoon of sugar

+ honey for serving

Here’s a dessert that I wished to prepare for a long time. My Mom used to bake it when I was a little girl. It seems pretty autumnal to me!

Knead a dough from flour, yeast, vanilla sugar, and sugar. Add the butter at room temperature (it will crumble), the egg, the yoghurt, and the water. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, and milk into the ground walnuts.

Cut the dough into two equal parts. Roll out the first sheet (30x20cm); brush the walnut mix onto it. Roll out the second sheet and place it on the first sheet. Beat an egg white with sugar until stiff and brush it onto the second sheet.  

Then, roll both sheets, stick them with a few drops of water and brush the roll with the egg white and sugar mix that will be left. Cut 2 cm-thick pieces and place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. Bake in the preheated oven, at 200°C, for 10-12 minutes.

They are wonderful with honey! ♥