Coca de Llardons & Coca de Llavaneres

...and you might think: "what the hell is 'coca de llardons' and 'coca de llavaneres'?! Well, let me introduce you to this tradition: this type of puff pastry cakes are very typical treats to eat during Sant Joan's Day (Saint John's Festival) and specially the night before (23th and 24th of June). It's one of my favorite festivities because it kinds of marks the beginning of summer in Spain. We could officially call it the celebration of Midsummer's Eve (St. John's Eve among Christians) and it's also the shortest night of the year here.

People celebrate the evening with dinners, parties, firecrackers (more than fireworks) and bonfires all over Barcelona and Catalonia. Parties are usually organised at beaches and other open-air places. The day after (the 24th) is a public holiday, so the party goes on until sunrise and almost all clubs and bars in the city throw their own parties.

I particularly don't like to party hard or hang out during certain holidays cause people can go nuts and I can't deal with drunk bastards or overcrowded places. The idea of being surrounded by sweaty people dancing to some headache-causing techno music is not so attractive to me, so I prefer to enjoy a more laid-back evening and feast on my homemade cakes.

Let's focus on these two recipes now!

Recetas en español aquí!

 

Coca de Llardons

Beware vegans! The star ingredient in this recipe are 'chicharrones' and they are like crunchy fried pork fat. This ingredient is commonly confused with pork cracklings but it's not the same, actually I'm a afraid you won't find this outside Spain because latin-american 'chicharrones' are way different.

Needless to say this puff pastry cake has an indecent amount of calories, that's why I ONLY bake it once a year but oh! It tastes SO GOOD! So I try to eat as light and healthy as possible the last few weeks before this holiday and indulge on these cakes just for one night (...and some leftovers the morning after, hee hee).

Ingredients
2 large puff pastry sheets.
100g crushed llardons/chicharrones.
150g sugar.
pine nuts.
1 egg.
anisette.
ground cinnamon.

Directions

Preheat oven to 374ºF (190ºC).

Roll out the first puff pastry (don't forget to poke holes with a fork to prevent the pastry from rising too high) sheet and brush a bit of anisette all over and dust with some ground cinnamon. Pour all over half the sugar and then add the crushed 'chicharrones'. Add the rest of the sugar (reserve a bit to decorate), a few little drops of anisette and finally a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry and make sure you seal the cake well.

Brush the crust with egg (whisked) and to decorate dust with the remaining sugar and pine nuts.

Bake for around 30 minutes, until the cake is golden.

Note: use an aluminium baking sheet lined with parchment paper to bake this cake and the following one.

 

Coca de Llavaneres

Probably my favorite puff pastry cake! It may look thin but it actually has 5 different layers and an amazing combination of flavors and textures: the sugar crunchy top followed by a delicious fine layer of meringue and pine nuts, a tender marzipan coat and then a delicious layer of pastry cream between two puff pastry sheets. It's a yummy, simple and easy-to-make cake!

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 large puff pastry sheets.
75g almond flour.
110g sugar.
1 tsp cornstarch.
a pinch of salt.
lemon and orange zest.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
100g egg whites.
75g pine nuts.
For the pastry cream:
400ml milk.
90g sugar.
lemon peel.
1 cinnamon stick.
40g cornstarch.
3 egg yolks.

Directions

Make a marzipan dough mixing the almond flour, cornstarch, sugar (reserve a bit for the last step), salt and the orange and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add in a bit more than half the amount of egg white to the dough and mix until you get a puree texture. Set aside.

At this point it's time to prepare the pastry cream so it can cool completely while we are cooking the rest of the cake. 

To make the pastry cream: whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until pale and creamy, add in the cornstarch. In a medium saucepan pour in the milk and add the cinnamon stick and the lemon peel, bring to boil and remove the cinnamon and lemon. Return to heat and add the egg yolk-sugar mixture to the hot milk and stir until thick and creamy. Make sure there are no large lumps or bumps, you might need to strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface to prevent skin-forming and set aside. It must be cold before using it for the cake.

Roll out one of the puff pastry sheets and poke holes in the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Spread the pastry cream evenly all over the puff pastry sheet, leaving a 1-inch border approximately. Cover with the other pastry sheet and brush the crust with egg (I whisk the egg always). Spread the marzipan over the top. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (add a pinch of cream of tartar) and cover the marzipan layer with this 'meringue'.

To decorate: add the pine nuts and the remaining sugar from the first step.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 374ºF (190ºC) for about 30 minutes. 

Let it cool completely before serving.

 

Feliç Revetlla de Sant Joan a tothom!!!!/ Happy Midsummer's Eve to everybody!!!

Fluffy Maple Pancakes (Vegan)

Hello my fellow bakers!

How's the week going? Baking a lot or trying to control that sweet tooth that always keeps us asking for more?

As for me, I'm behaving a lot after some crazy days of sugar coma and chocolate overdose and only baked this past weekend.

Like I said in the last post I love to prepare special breakfasts on Sundays and this time it was the turn for some healthy, low-fat and sugar-free vegan pancakes. They are fluffy, with a very soft crust, a spongy texture and quite tall...just the way I like them! These pancakes make perfect for a weekend brunch and taste so good with sliced bananas, fresh berries and maple syrup. Pure YUM. Trust me. Now onto the recipe!

Receta en español aquí!

Ingredients
(Yield: 8 to 10 pancakes)
1 cup whole wheat flour.
1 cup unbleached white flour.
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder.
1/4 tsp salt.
1 cup soy milk.
1/4 cup water.
3 tbsp maple syrup.
2 tbsp sunflower oil.
2 tsp liquid vanilla extract.
For serving:
1 cup blackberries.
Pure maple syrup.

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking poder and salt.

Stir with a whisk until all dry ingredients are combined.

Whisk the soy milk, water, maple syrup, oil, and vainilla in a separate bowl until well blended.

Pour into the dry mixture and stir only until the batter is smooth.

Oil a griddle or heavy skillet (with the help of a brush will be better) and heat.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter on the griddle to make each pancake, make sure you leave enough space between pancakes. Let the batter set a few seconds before flipping.

When bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes and the edges just begin to dry, flip them over and cook the other side about a minute, until lightly browned.

Keep track of your griddle's temperature, you don't want your pancakes to be one side burnt and the other side half-cooked.

Serve with warm maple syrup and blackberries. You can also throw in some sliced bananas on top or any other fresh fruit like strawberries, raspberries, etc...and pour over warm melted chocolate...delish!!! :-)

Orange and Almond Pound Cake

This is one of those recipes that are timeless, delicious and easy to make at home. Every time I bake an orange pound cake there's an irresistible and sweet smell all over the house that I love, actually I think the scent of homemade baked goods is the best aromatizer that could ever exist.

It's a customized version of the classic Lemon Pound Cake recipe that I published long ago. I switched to orange yogurt, replaced one cup of the all-purpose flour for almond flour, added some orange zest to the batter and finally poured in a handful chopped almonds. To garnish I used a bit of bittersweet orange jam and more almonds.

Hope you like it!...and remember to show me your results if you try my recipe! :-)

Weekend is almost here so I suggest you to bake this pound cake and enjoy it as a delicious Sunday breakfast with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.

 

Receta en español aquí!

 
Orange and Almond Pound Cake

 Ingredients
(serves 8)
3 eggs.
1 orange (or natural) yogurt.
2 cups sugar.
1/2 cup olive oil.
2 cups all-purpose flour.
1 cup almond flour.
16 g baking powder (1 sachet).
orange zest.
chopped almonds.
bittersweet orange jam.

*Note: 1 cup in this recipe equals to 1 yogurt container.
 
Directions

Preheat oven to  356ºF (180ºC).

In a large bowl, place eggs and sugar and beat well. Add in the orange yogurt and orange zest, keep beating.

Gradually pour in the oil and don't stop beating.

In a separate bowl mix together the baking powder, all-purpose flour and almond flour. Make sure all the dry ingredients are well combined. Sift it into the wet mixture.

Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and add some chopped almonds.

Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan and remove from it once you want to serve it.

To garnish: melt a bit of orange jam and brush over the pound cake, pour more chopped almonds and you're done!

 

Banana and Walnuts Cookies (Vegan)

It's been quite a long time since I last published some cookie recipe. Why did I haven't baked cookies all these months?! Shame on me! Nothing screams home more than the irresistible scent of fresh baked cookies and since I bought the awesome cookbook Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar there was no excuse. Finally, cookies, an indecent quantity of vegan cookies were baked by yours truly this week to compensate all these months without them.

As you can see I'm in a vegan baking frenzy, can't help it, sorry. Actually my vegan cookbooks are quickly taking over my bookshelves and to think that I can cook much healthier baked goods that are as yummy and tempting than the rest makes it even more interesting and challenging for me.

These banana and walnuts cookies really surprised me! Really, really healthy cookies that make a great breakfast. It's an easy and quick recipe that doesn't require any super-special-rare-to-find vegan ingredient, perfect when you have some very ripe bananas and leftovers in your pantry.

It's the first time I tried out the recipes from this cookbook so obviously (and being the stubborn-prefectionist I am) there will be some improvements and small changes in the future. For example: this recipe calls for 2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal and when I started making these cookies I found out I only had oatbran but I went on and, even though I'm sure the texture of the dough is better if you use oatmeal, they came out very good, chewy and not too sweet. I loved the banana-walnut flavor!

Receta en español aquí!

Vegan Banana and Walnuts Cookies
 Recipe adapted from the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Ingredients
(makes 2 dozen cookies)
1 very ripe medium banana.
1/3 cup sunflower oil.
2/3 cup sugar.
1 tsp vanilla.
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/4 tsp salt.
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.
2 cups quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal or rolled oats.
1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, mash the banana well with a fork. Add the oil, sugar and vanilla and mix with a strong fork. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Add the oatmeal, walnuts, and chocolate chips and mix well. Use your hands for mixing when usign oatmeal, that way you make sure that the oats get nice and moist. If the dough is very slippery you might want to add a few tablespoons extra flour (it really depends on how big your banana was).

Clean your hands and roll the dough into balls slightly smaller tan a golf ball. Flatten it a bit in your hands and place each ball about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes approximately, until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Vegan French Toast

These are my very first french toasts! Believe it or not, I've never tasted french toasts before...until now!...and the dangerous part is that I really liked this recipe! As if I hadn't enough to control my sweet tooth now I add another recipe to my 'Favorites' list, hehe.

Since it was my first attempt and I wasn't sure of how sweet and oily/greasy these toasts will came out I decided to make the vegan version, much more lighter and healthier.

It's a quick recipe, perfect to enjoy on a sunday morning with fresh fruits and pure maple syrup. I love how my kitchen smells after making them, it brings me back memories of when I was a child and my parents took me to the fair, that sweet smell of cotton candy, waffles, crèpes, candied apples has always mesmerized me.

Receta en español aquí!

Vegan French Toast

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas.
1 cup soy milk.
2 tsp cinnamon.
1 tbsp vanilla.
2 tbsp ground chia seeeds or flax meal.
6 slices approx. of whole wheat bread.
2 tbsp sunflower oil or light olive oil.
Maple syrup.
Optional:
1 tsp cardamom.
1/8 tsp nutmeg.

Directions

Blend bananas, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and flax meal in blender or food processor and pour mixture into a wide dish or pie plate.

Gently dip bread slices into the mixture, coating both sides well.

Fry in oil in medium-hot skillet until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes per side.

Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruits, like bananas and strawberries. Enjoy!