PEAR , SAFFRON AND CHOCOLATE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

This cake means a lot for me. I baked it on a wonderful holiday in Fano (a little city on the Adriatic Cost), for a group of veeeery veeeeery lovely friends (I love you guys!) which demanded for it. The gave me freedom of choice on the type of cake and ingredients. So, because of the father of one of those was curious about tasting saffron in something sweet, I opted for a classic combination of pears and saffron, adding chocolate to jazz all up.
The cake batter is the same of the "upside-down pear cake", only the topping is changed.




Cake batter: 1 1/2 cups flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup milk.

Topping: 2 pears; 3 packets of saffron; 2 Tbsp sugar; 30 g butter; 100g dark chocolate.





Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 4 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round baking pan. Place the pan in the oven just long enough to melt the butter. Remove pan from oven; scatter 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over the melted butter.
Cook the pears, cut into slices to the length, with butter and sugar, for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add saffron.
Arrange the slices to cover the bottom of the pan
In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Spiced Coffee, honey loaf with pears, dried figs and prunes

250 g butter, softened
4 large eggs
200 g sugar
250 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1/2 orange

1/4 cup strong coffee
1 pear

punch of dried prunes

punch of dried figs

Method: beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at time, beating well after each addiction. Add vanilla extract and orange zest. Sift flour, baking powder and spices over the butter-egg mixture. Mix well.
Now add the coffee, the diced pear and the dried fruit.
Put the batter in a loaf tin and bake in preheated oven to 180°C (350°F) for about 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle will come out clean.
Let cool on a rack.

Saffron Cheesecake

Just three words: OH MY GOD!

Base:

200 g crumbed cookies

100 g butter

Filling:

900 g ricotta cheese

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup milk

2 packages saffron

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp pinenuts

Method:

For the base melt the butter and add the crumbed cookies. Cover the bottom of a 20 cm (8 inch) springform pan, and put it in the fridge.

For the filling heat the milk and mix in saffron. Beat ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and saffron mixture. Add the eggs, one at time. Put the mixture over the refrigerated base, sprinckle with pinenuts and bake in preheated oven at 160°C for about 40 minutes. Chill overnight.

Potato & angel hair pasta Frittata

Oh! look what's here! a savoury recipe! Strange but true...this is a very good thing to do, a cheap meal, but rich and tasty.

500 g angel air pasta
8-10 eggs (depending on the size)
50 g grated Parmisan cheese
50 g grated ricotta cheese
2 big potatoes, cut into thin slices
2 white onions, cut into rounds
1/3 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
oil, butter, pepper, salt

Heat about 2 Tbsp oil in a large pan and cook onions and potatoes until soft and crispy; season with salt and pepper, let cool. Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and let cool down. Beat eggs, cream, milk, cheeses, salt and pepper all together. Add onions, potatoes and pasta to the egg mixture and whisk. Melt some butter into the pan and add the mixture. Cook over lpow heat for about 10- 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 180°-200° C (350°-400°F). Put the pan in the oven and bake until cooked trough and golden on the surface.
Eat it warm or cold.

Poor man's Cake

This is one of my mum's favourite. She used to bake this old bread-based cake (unriched with nuts), when I was a baby girl. And I used to eat this as the afternoon snack...such a lovely memory. Maybe this is the reason why I think it's so good...no, it really is...

The dose is quite "approximate", because it's a very ancient recipe and it comes from a peasant tradition. The fact is that you can't really give rigorous proportions...all dipends on the tipe of bread used and the size of the eggs. You can just go by attempts...Don't worry, the cake will succeed anyway...you just need to cook it a little more, until it comes firm and with a crispy surface.

INGREDIENTS: 1 L milk/ 1 vanilla pod/ old bread/ 1/2 cup sugar/ 4-5 large eggs/ mixed nuts/ 2 Tbsp cocoa (optional)/ 100 g (3 oz) chocolate chuncks (optional)

METHOD: Bring milk and vannilla to the boil. Add sugar and bread and let soak until the bread has absorbed all the liquid. With your hands (or a potato masher) reduce the mixture into a puree. Add the eggs, nuts, cocoa and chocolate (if used). Bake in preheated oven to 180°C (350°F) until firm.

Eat warm or, better, cold.

*If you don't like the crispy surface, you can cover it with a chocolate ganache.

Apple and Coffee Crumble Cake

___Ingredients___

2 1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup butter (188 g), softened

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk (or buttermilk, or yogurt)

1/2 cup strong coffee

3 apples, cut into chuncks

Crumble:

1 cup flour

1 tsp coffe powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter (80 g), chilled

___Method___

Prepare the crumble first: mix with your fingertips, pinching all ingredients together.

Sift flour and baking powder. Mix the milk and strong coffee.

Beat softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at time, beating well after each addiction. In batches, mix in fluor and milk mixture (starting and ending with flour).

Put the batter in a 24 cm (9 inch) springform pan (I used a 20 cm/8 inch square pan). Arrange the apple chuncks on top and cover with the coffee flavoured crumble.
Bake in preheated oven to 180°C (350°F) for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle will come out clean.

Coconut Pistachio Loaf

Nothing particullary interesting to say about this loaf, except the fact that has a delicate taste and lightness. Veeery very slightly sweet, almost unsweetened, but pleasant 'cause you can catch the fully presence of coconut. To be honest I added a little more sugar than the original recipe (40 g more), because of the coconut milk instead of plain milk. Coconut milk gives a nearly salted background that might be not pleasant at all...we're not baking savoury stuff here...:). You can add it some more if you want, but be careful not to overdo...this loaf must be this way, free to like it or not, but take it as it is!

P.S.:...who said that there was nothing interesting to say about this loaf...look here how many words...

INGREDIENTS: 220 g flour; 120 g sugar; 10 g baking powder; 3 eggs; 350 ml coconut milk; 60 g butter, melted; 1 cup flaked coconut; 100 g pistachios.

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix together the liquid ingredients. Mix all together and finally add the pistachios, coarsely chopped. Put the batter in a loaf tin, cover the syrface with extra chopped pistachios and bake in preheated oven to 180°C for about 40 minutes or until a cooked when tested with a skewer.