Petra's Rolling Pin: rum

I believe that those in my generation or even the following remember cartof [potato, as it is shaped like one] with nostalgia.

So, I couldn’t have skipped making it. It was my second time. They turned out wonderfully, without artificial flavours – and from here we understand how much good ingredients matter.

For 5 medium pieces of cartof, you will need

130g biscuits

50g butter

60g condensed milk

2 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 dash of rum

+2 tbsp of cocoa powder

After crushing the biscuits, add the melted butter, condensed milk, cocoa powder, and rum.

Shape them into potatoes, place them in a bowl, and let them sit in the fridge.

I suggest removing them from the fridge a few minutes before eating them. This way, they will not be too hard. Roll them through cocoa powder; then, enjoy their taste!

03:55 No comments

3 large indiene

The shells

2 eggs

2 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp flour

The syrup

60ml water

15g sugar

a drop of rum

The glaze

50g milk chocolate

The filling

150g whipping cream

30g sugar

My Mom used to love indiene! So, I wasn’t surprised to find the ingredients written down in one of her old notebooks that had pages flying out.

I adapted the recipe while keeping the amounts and I got this—

Mix the eggs and the sugar until the batter is foamy; add the flour. Pour 1 and a half tablespoons of the batter into a round metallic mould (diameter: 7 cm – I wanted some giant indiene), in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. You will get 6 shells. Bake them at 160°C for 10 minutes. Then, let them cool a bit.

The syrup is next: mix the water and the sugar and leave the syrup boil on low-medium heat; add the rum in the end. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of syrup onto each of the 3 shells and let them sit in the fridge. Place the remaining 3 shells on a grill and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of syrup onto each shell.

Melt 35g of chocolate on a steam bath; then, remove it from the heat and add the remaining 15g, to temper the chocolate a bit. Pour the chocolate over the shells on the grill; leave them for 30 minutes in the fridge after the chocolate cools.

Cover 3 of the shells with melted chocolate

In the end, beat the whipping cream and the sugar well.

Place a syrupy shell on a plate, then add the whipped cream, and put the chocolate shell on top of it.

Enjoy! ♥ [Marcel said that this would be his dinner.]

02:18 No comments

What to do when you find a 35-40-year-old recipe? Bake it! The result is called ’savarină'; it’s a syrupy cake that Romanians love... and I got 9 fantastic ones!

I needed

4 eggs

125g sugar

125g breadcrumbs

for the batter

300ml water

115g sugar

30ml rum

for the syrup

500ml whipping cream

30g sugar

oil and flour -> moulds

jam -> for decoration

Beat the egg whites until stiff and add the sugar, bit by bit. Mix in the yolks and the breadcrumbs (they will go great with the syrup), stirring slowly with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the moulds (I used deeper mini-tart moulds) and bake in the preheated oven, at 150°C for 15 minutes.

While the cakes are baking, make the syrup leaving the sugar dissolve on low heat. Then, pour in the rum (I used my favourite rum, an Indian one - Old Monk). While the cakes are still warm, dip them into the syrup and place them on a tray.

Cut them in half, spread jam onto the top of the upper half and sandwich the halves – use the cream whipped with the sugar.

Marcel cuts the cakes (savarine) in half while I take the picture

Marcel told me that these were the best cakes that I have ever baked. It moved me. J

00:07 No comments

For the batter [20x20 cm]

2 eggs

5 tbsp water

120g sugar

130g flour

1/3 sachet baking powder

For the filling

50g ground walnuts

50g sugar

35g butter (room temperature)

35ml rum essence (I used 10ml rum + 5ml rum essence + 20ml water)

a little bit of the dough

For the glaze

50g powdered sugar

1 tbsp cocoa

1 tbsp butter (room temperature)

2 tbsp hot water

+blueberries (or other berries) to serve

My Mom used to spoil me with this cake – I used to adore it during childhood and I would always smile when she told me that she was getting ready to make it.

Let’s get started.

Make the batter: separate the eggs; slowly mix the egg whites, the water, the sugar, the flour, and the baking powder. Add the yolks (my Mom used to make this batter differently, but the result is similar). Pour it into the baking pan (I used a ceramic one, buttered and floured) and bake for 15 minutes, in the preheated oven, at 150°C.

While the cake is in the oven, grind the walnuts, mixing them with the sugar, butter, and rum. When the baking is done, wait for the sponge cake to cool and then cut a thin slice of it and mince it, adding the small pieces to the previously-prepared mix.

Spread it over the cake.