Name: Strawberry green tea iced tea
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 200g fresh strawberries; 90g water; 200g sugar; 500ml hot water, filtered (not boiling); 5g sakura green tea (or another green tea of your choice)

Homemade strawberry green tea iced-tea

Homemade strawberry green tea iced-tea is a great summer refresher. It is made with homemade strawberry sirup, made with fresh strawberries for an intense fruity flavor. The strawberry sirup is paired with an ice cold brewed green tea.

Now that the weather is getting to feel more like summer and the balcony is looking cozy, it’s time to enjoy it. I love to sit outside enjoy that cold refreshing iced tea and brainstorm new ideas.

The strawberry season is at it’s best right now and the Swiss strawberries are just amazing. I’m hoping to go strawberry picking this week to collect some fresh strawberries right from the field as I have so many ideas with strawberries. Gotta make this strawberry season count 😉

I made a strawberry vanilla cream layer cake a few weeks ago because that was my absolute pregnancy craving but couldn’t have during my pregnancy so I’m making up for lost time now 😉 I definitely have to make another one because I ate that one alone with in a few days. It was to die for! Didn’t manage to photograph it either…

But on to the iced tea… what I like to do is prepare a batch of the strawberry sirup, keep it in the fridge, brew the green tea on the day or a day in advance and just mix it when you want to serve it.

For the green tea make sure you’re using a good quality green tea. The one I used I bought on our trip to Japan a couple of years ago so I unfortunately don‘t know where I got it from exactly nor the brand, but any really good quality green tea will work in this recipe.

A sakura green tea for example would also work really well in this recipe because it has light floral notes. (One of my favorite teas!)

If you’re not a fan of green tea you can easily switch the tea for a black tea for example, which would also work really well.

If you‘re looking for another refreshing drink you should check out my lemon-vanilla black tea iced-tea..one of my favorites as well!

Made with homemade strawberry sirup

Tips on making homemade iced tea:

1. Use a really good quality tea. It makes all the difference.

2. For this iced tea I used the hot brew method which gives a more intense flavor. Just be aware of the steeping time so you don’t end up with a really bitter tea. Follow the steeping times of the tea.

3. Use filtered water for the best flavor.

Why make your own iced tea?

1. It’s customizable: I love that you can make any version and experiment with different types of teas and flavors in general.

2. It’s cost-effective: a big bonus is that it is much cheaper to produce at home than always buying a bottle in the store or getting one at Starbucks.

3. It’s healthier: for one you can adjust the amount of sugar that you add and also there is no artificial flavors, coloring or additives in your homemade version.

This recipe was inspired by ohhowcivilized.com she has an amazing collection of drinks recipe so do go check out her website.

How to make strawberry sirup:

Making your own strawberry sirup or any sirup is a very simple process that doesn’t require a lot of effort. It’s the process of boiling sugar, water and in this case strawberries to create a fruity sweet sirup to flavor your drink.

Start by washing the strawberries and cutting them into chunks or slices. Place them in a small pot along with the water (filtered) and sugar. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes until the strawberries have softened and they start to release their juices.

Take of the heat and allow to cool down for 5-10 minutes before macerating to extract as much of the strawberry flavor as possible.

I like to steep the strawberry sirup in the fridge overnight to extract as much strawberry flavor as possible. Otherwise you can already use it after 2-3 hours of steeping.

Leave the sirup to cool down and then pass it through a fine sieve to remove the pulp and seeds. Transfer into a well sealed container once completely cooled and store in the fridge for up to 5 days max.

Keep in mind that when using fresh fruit in your sirups they will not last as long as for example a vanilla sirup which can last for months.

I recommend keeping the strawberry sirup in the fridge for max. 5 days

I also love making my own vanilla sirup, which is also just made of 3 ingredients: sugar, water and vanilla pods. Excellent use of scraped out vanilla pods.

Homemade strawberry sirup

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Topped with seasonal berries and skyr

Homemade coconut almond chia granola

I honestly don’t remember the last time that I bought granola in the store. This recipe is so simple and quick to make that I always have a stash at home.

The toasty aroma of the almonds and the coconut that comes from baking the granola is insane. My whole kitchen just smells of a bakery when I make a batch of this granola!

This coconut almond chia granola has definitely become a staple in my pantry. I love this recipe because you can easily customize the ingredients and take out or add ingredients that you like.

In this recipe the almonds give a wonderful nutty flavor as well as the coconut flakes. The baked chia seeds give an amazing subtle crunchiness as well as the roasted oats. Paired with spices such as vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom gives it great flavor and a little bit more of depth.

I use maple sirup as the sweetener in this recipe but you could adjust it with rice sirup or agave sirup (you might have to experiment slightly with the sweetness as rice sirup won’t give you quite the same sweetness and the maple sirup for ex.) Agave you could substitute 1:1 and achieve pretty much the same sweetness.

Why you’ll love this granola:

easy and quick to make in one bowl
easily customizable with your favorite ingredients such as: nuts, seeds, spices, fruit. etc…
It is gluten-free and vegan
Has a long shelf life and can be kept for weeks-great for meal prepping

Ingredients you’ll need to make coconut chia almond granola:

(Scroll down for the full recipe card)

Rolled oats (thick or thin or even a mix of both is great)
Sliced almonds
Coconut flakes
Chia seeds
Maple sirup
Coconut oil
Vanilla powder
Cinnamon powder
Cardamom powder
Salt

Tips for making homemade granola:

1. Adjustable: Homemade granola is one of those recipe that you can easily get creative with and create different flavors according to your preference. In this recipe you can swap out the almonds and coconut for another type of nut or seeds and you can play around with different spices as well.

2. Baking: I like baking my granola on a lower heat ( around 160°C-165°C) so you get the crunchy texture and an even golden brown bake. You’ll get an even bake of the oats, nuts, seeds and avoid any bitter burnt flavors.

3. Customize: If you plan on making a fruit granola or a chocolate flavored one make sure to add these ingredients at the very end after baking or one it has cooled down. Adding fruit such as dried apricots for example before baking this will result in a very stale and chewy texture and not enjoyable to eat. It can also result in a bitter tasting granola as the fruit can easily burn. The same goes for the chocolate.

4. Stir: there’s a lot of different preferences on this method. Some like to bake it as one tightly pressed tray and not stir it while baking where as I do like to stir my granola a few times during the baking process. It gives a very even bake and very crunchy texture as all the moisture is able to be released.

5. Cooling: this may seem obvious but it is important to let the granola cool down completely before packing in an airtight container. If you do not do so the granola will become soggy and not have a very long shelf life as the rest moisture hasn’t had enough time to evaporate.

6. Batch making: Granola is a great recipe to prepare in big batches. It has a really long shelf life so you can easily make bigger amounts and store it for weeks.

Serving ideas:

Try this granola:

Over yogurt (my favorite Skyr jogurt) and fresh berries (especially now that summer is approaching)
As a topping for smoothie bowls or a smoothie drink like this Raspberry Banana swirl smoothie
Simply as a snack on its own

Happy Baking! 💕

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Homemade vanilla salted caramel sauce that has a silky smooth texture, intense caramel flavor and long shelf life, plus one that’s easy and quick to make.

This is has been my go-to caramel recipe for years. It’s so quick and easy to make and it is suitable for almost anything. Drizzle it on a slice of apple pie or cake, use it to make a caramel iced latte, add it to your smoothie, eat it with ice-cream, drizzle it over your breakfast granola, or spoon it directly from the jar …it‘s just so indulgent!

I used this caramel sauce recipe to drizzle over this indulgent apple pie recipe and it was insanely good! 🤤

Apple pie with salted vanilla caramel sauce

Why make homemade caramel:

Nothing beats the flavor of homemade caramel sauce. It‘s made with minimal ingredients which you most likely have at home and it requires little effort to create something so rich, velvety in texture and simply amazing in taste. Adding vanilla to the caramel gives you a wonderful aroma and flavor and the salt just balances out the sweetness.

What I also like about making caramel sauce at home is that you can adjust the flavor of the caramel yourself depending how dark or light you caramelized the sugar. So you can either have a really light caramel flavor or go dark and have a richer more bitter notes of caramel. (Just make sure not to go too dark otherwise you‘ll have a too bitter tasting caramel)

Ingredients you‘ll need to make the caramel:

Granulated white sugar

Butter, cut into cubes

Heavy cream 35%

Vanilla pods/ pure vanilla powder

Sea salt

These are the basic ingredients you will need for a caramel. Make sure you use good quality ingredients for this recipe as you want to achieve the best possible flavor. Especially when using so few ingredients.

Tips for the perfect caramel:

. Watch the sugar carefully: this step is very important as the caramelization of the sugar will define the overall flavor of the caramel. Light golden caramelization gives you a sweeter and milder/ less bitter flavor whereas the darker caramelization will give you an intense caramel flavor with more bitter notes.

. Hot cream: I always bring my cream to a boil with the vanilla and let it rest, keeping it hot until ready to mix into my caramelized sugar. You want to use a hot cream to avoid too much of a temperature change between the sugar and cream which will otherwise result in a lot of splatter and clumping of the sugar.

With this step you have to be very careful as it can cause burns if not being cautious.

Add the cream in 2-3 steps whisking after each addition. (Use a long whisk)

. Adding the butter last: I always add my butter last once the caramel has cooled down slightly. Use cold cubed butter. This results in a glossy and smooth caramel.

. Hand blend the caramel: when I add in the cold, cubed butter I incorporate this with the help of a hand blender. This results in a super smooth and silky caramel.

.Storing the caramel: you can store the caramel in the fridge for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container or even freeze it for up to 3 months. This caramel has a long shelf life if stored correctly.

I would recommend storing the caramel in smaller containers/bags so you have an even longer shelf life as you won’t expose the caramel to air every time you open to use it.

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Apple pie with vanilla ice-cream and salted caramel sauce may just be one of my favorite fall/winter recipes. It‘s difficult for me to choose one favorite fall recipe, but this one fore sure is in my top 3.

Apple pie paired with warm homemade caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream just embodies the cozy warm feeling of fall/winter. It‘s an absolute comfort food if you ask me and this recipe is really easy to make.

This recipe consists of a flaky pie crust, a sweet tender apple filling and rich caramel vanilla sauce. To top it off you can add vanilla ice-cream or for example my recipe for Fior di latte ice-cream which would pair fantastic in this recipe as well.

This apple pie recipe for sure is more of an American style baked good rather than something typically Swiss or German or even Finnish. But I love a cake that has a lot of fruity filling paired with a crunchy dough. Add some homemade caramel sauce and ice-cream and it‘s a favorite of almost everyone.

Homemade vanilla caramel sauce

Choosing the right apples for an apple pie:

When it comes to apple pie you want to pick the right kind of apples for the filling as the consistency and sweetness of the different types of apple varieties makes a difference in the filling. I usually like to go for a mix of 2 different types of apples.

I chose one that is rather sour and tangy such as the Braeburn and another variety that is sweet and tangy to have a good balance of both sweetness and texture.

You want to use apples that will hold their shape when cooking and not break down into mush too quickly, because in this recipe it calls for a cooked apple filling that will later then also be baked.

In this recipe I went for a Braeburn variety which is tangy and has more sour notes with a firm consistency. The other variety was a called a „Jazz apple“ which is popular here in Switzerland.

Alternatively I would recommend a golden delicious which is also sweet and tangy in flavor, but softer in texture.

Making the pie crust:

It is crucial to have a good pie crust for your pies that can resist a lot of moisture and still hold its shape as well as have that crunchy, flaky pie crust characteristic.

One important factor to keep in mind for the pie crust is to always keep it chilled. This will help hold its shape better for rolling out and also for after baking with all the filling. It will also keep that flaky texture.

Making the apple filling:

Start by washing and peeling your apples. Cut them into roughly 0.5cm thick pieces and place them into a large bowl and add 30g of lemon juice. Mix well and set aside for about 20-30 minutes (the lemon juice will prevent the apples from oxidizing which results in browning of the apples)

Drain your apples and squeeze out some of the excess liquid.

In a large pot put together the sliced apples, sugar, spices, flour and butter. On medium low heat bring the filling to a slight simmer and allow to cook for about 10 minutes until the apples begin to soften.

Take off the heat and allow to cool down for 15 minutes. Place the apple filling on a sieve and let the excess liquid drain.

Vanilla caramel sauce:

This is my favorite caramel sauce recipe. I also have a vegan caramel sauce that is just irresistible as well but requires a few special ingredients.

This recipe comes from my time working in a 5* hotel. It has been adapted through the years but I love it because it has an intense caramel flavor (depending of course on how much you caramelize your sugar) but you have an amazing caramel even if you go much lighter in the caramelization.

The texture is so smooth and silky! This recipe will also last you weeks in the fridge.

Made using Dr.Oetker vanilla paste and pods

Tips of storing the apple pie / leftovers:

If you have any leftovers ( unlikely 😉) you can easily store this apple pie in the fridge covered in plastic wrap for up to 4-5 day or in the freezer in a sealed tupperware for up to 2 months.

When storing in the fridge make sure to store it without the caramel sauce on top as this will make the pie crust soggy after about a day.

Reheat the pie in the oven before serving and drizzle with warm caramel sauce and ice-cream of choice or a dollop of whipped cream.

THE RECIPE:

Makes about a 20cm ring mold

The pie crust:

2g salt

75ml cold water

230g flour, all purpose

150g butter

Instructions:

1. Mix the salt with the water and give it a stir and set it aside (keep it in the fridge until ready to use)

2. Add the flour and the cubed butter into the bowl of your standing mixer. With the paddle attachment mix on low speed until you reach a crumble like consistency. Add the cold water-salt mixture and mix until you achieve a cohesive dough. The dough can still have small clumps of butter (it doesn’t need to be completely smooth)

3. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it with your hand into a disc and wrap in cling film. Place the dough into the fridge and let it rest for at least 2 hours, better yet overnight.

4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface or between 2 pieces of baking paper. Either way works well you just need to make sure to use enough flour on the surface of your table if you roll it out without baking paper and make sure to rotate the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface. Make sure to roll out from the center outwards onto all side to have an even dough.

Roll out the dough until about 3cm thickness.

5. Place the dough into your ring mold. (I didn’t have a proper pie dish so I used a round baking cake tin 20cm) so you’ll need to cut out the bottom part of the pie and then make a long strip with the rest of the dough the line the edge. Press the edges to the ring and to the bottom part of the dough so you dont have any wholes where the apple filling can leak out of.

6. Roll out the rest of the dough to use as decorative strip on top. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

6. Place the ring lined with dough into the fridge until you are ready to fill it with the apple pilling.

Apple pie filling:

500g apples, peeled and chopped

1/2 lemon, juice

30g sugar

1 vanilla pod, scraped (Dr.Oetker)

1 tsp vanilla paste (Dr.Oetker)

2 tsp cinnamon powder

50g butter

65g brown sugar

20g flour

35g sugar

3g cornstarch (maizena)

Instructions:

1. Wash and peel the apples. Cut them into quarters and then thinly slice into about 0.5cm thick pieces. Place into a large bowl and add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the brown sugar. Let the apples sit for about 10 minutes.

After about 10 minutes sieve out the excess front he apples (it normally won’t be too much, but you want to remove it to avoid a too soggy filling)

2. In a medium pot bring the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to a simmer. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix well while constantly stirring. You want the flour and cornstarch to start binding the liquid. Once it has come to another boil add the sliced apple pieces and let it simmer on low heat four about 10 minutes until the apples begin to soften.

Remove from the heat and place into another bowl to cool down for at least 20 minutes before placing into your pie dish.

*You don't want the apples to cook for too long otherwise they will loose too much of their texture as they will still continue cooking when baking in the oven.

3. Once cooked let the apple pie filling has cooled down add in into your prepared pie tin. Decorate the top with the remaining pie dough. I made strips of dough and laid these across the top of the pie in a checkered patter.

4. Bake the apple pie in a preheated oven at 170-175°C for about 35-45 minutes. Depending on your oven.

(I use the fan mode) the pie should have a nice golden brown color.

5. Let the apple pie cool down completely before cutting. Serve with a scoop of your favorite ice-cream and caramel sauce or with a dollop of whipped cream.

The apple pie can be store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store in an airtight container to keep the moisture. Reheat the apple pie before serving.

Caramel vanilla sauce:

Makes about 550g of caramel

200g sugar

20g glucose or honey

330g cream 35% full fat

35g butter, cold cubes

2 pieces vanilla pods, scraped out

1g salt

Instructions:

1. In a small pot place the cream, scraped out vanilla pods and the glucose or honey. Place on low heat and slowly bring to a boil while caramelizing the sugar. Once the cream has come to a boil set aside but make sure it to keep it warm

2. Caramelized the sugar in a medium pot little but little mixing well with a heat proof spatula. Caramelized the sugar until you reach a dark caramel color. Using a whisk carefully! Add the hot cream mixture little by little. The caramel mixture will bubble and splatter vigorously when adding the cream so please be careful.

3. Once the cream has been added bring the heat down to a medium and allow to simmer while mixing for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the caramel to cool down for a few minutes before through an sieve into a heatproof jug/container. Add the butter and the salt.

With a hand blender blend until you have a smooth and shiny caramel. Store in an airtight container.

*Depending on how dark you caramelized your sugar you have either have a darker and hence more intense caramel flavor or a a sweeter and more subtle flavor.

*The longer you let the caramel simmer after adding the cream you can also influence the consistency of the caramel. The longer you cook it the thicker the consistency will be.

*If your caramel gets too thick in the fridge after a day or so you can easily heat it up in the microwave to make it thinner and easy to drizzle.

Happy Baking! 🍎

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Blackberry vanilla Swiss roll cake

The combination of tangy blackberries, silky smooth vanilla chantilly and soft-moist biscuits all rolled up into a beautiful swirl makes for an easy and elegant dessert.

The perfect summer dessert:

I truly love a Swiss roll cake for dessert. It‘s one of those simple classic cakes that is always a crowd pleaser. Swiss roll cake was usually served at our family coffee time or just to enojoy as a dessert. My mom really makes an amazing one. It‘s so simple but so delicious! Hers is normally made without any berry filling, just whipped cream and a sugar crusted sponge cake. 🤤

My version adds some more fruity flavor with the homemade blackberry compote that adds some acidity to balance out all that cream and biscuit/sponge. Adding vanilla enhance all the flavors and in my opinion everything tastes better with vanilla.

Blackberries are now at their peak season so now is the best time to make it. You can easily switch out the blackberries for another berry such as raspberries or strawberries for example.

What is a blackberry vanilla Swiss roll cake:

This blackberry vanilla Swiss roll cake is a summer version of a traditional Swiss roll cakes which is typically made of a soft biscuit or sponge cake, jam filling, typically raspberry jam and then some sweetened whipped cream.

I wanted to elevate this classic cake a bit since blackberries are now in season. Making your own compote/jam is always a great way to go if you have time. Otherwise the jam from a jar will of course work perfectly fine.

I add vanilla in this recipe to bring in some more flavor. All three components contain vanilla in them: vanilla sugar, vanilla paste and vanilla pods.

In this recipe I used the vanilla paste, vanilla bean and vanilla sugar from Dr.Oetker (Not affiliate links, just a fan)

Made using Dr.Oetker Vanilla paste and vanilla beans

What ingredients do you need to make a blackberry vanilla Swiss roll cake:

The ingredient list isn’t too long as most of them are your basic cupboard essentials:

For the biscuit/sponge: Flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, sunflower oil, vanilla, baking powder, eggs, milk

For the blackberry compote: fresh blackberries, vanilla, sugar, lemon juice, pektin NH

For the vanilla chantilly: whipped cream, mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla

Tips for making a Swiss roll sponge:

1. Let you eggs temper a little while at room temperature. They don’t need to be fully at room temperature but not straight out of the fridge. This way you will achieve a slightly fluffier whipped eggs.

2. Separate your eggs carefully and make sure there are no traces of egg yolk in your egg whites.

3. Use a very clean bowl without any residue such as fat. This will prevent your egg whites from whipping to their full potential.

4. Sift your dry ingredients for more airiness and an even mixture.

5. Don’t over whip your egg whites. This will result in a grainy texture and you wont achieve the smooth batter. And you will have more and larger air hole in your sponge.

6. Make sure to not over bake your sponge as this will result in a dry biscuit that won’t be easy to roll and that will most likely crack.

7. Bake the sponge either in a silpat mat or as I did on a piece of baking paper. It’s also easy to remove front he baking paper and also to use for rolling the sponge.

8. Make sure your sponge is completely cooled down before filling. (Check out the video from Matt Adlard for the perfect rolling technique)

9. Don’t over fill your roll. Otherwise you will have a difficult time rolling it.

This sponge recipe was adapted from Matt Adlards recipe from his website. He shares absolutely amazing recipes so make sure to check him out! One of my favs.

The Recipe

Makes for a small log about 25-28cm long

Vanilla biscuit/sponge:

57g egg yolks
32g sugar (1)
118g egg whites
35g sugar (2)
2 tsp Vanille extract ( I used Dr.Oetker)
25g milk
23g sunflower oil, neutral vegetable oil
30g flour, 550
22g cornstarch
1g baking powder

Instructions:

1. In a stand mixer on medium-high speed whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until thick and fluffy. Should be lighter in color.

2. In another bowl whisk the egg whites, salt and the second part of the sugar (35g) (2). Add the sugar little by little while whisking on medium-high speed. Whisk until you achieve stiff peaks (make sure not to overwhip the egg whites)

3. Fold in the egg yolk batter in 2 parts into the egg whites. Fold carefully until evenly mixed.

4. Sieve the flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Fold into the egg white batter carefully and lastly add the milk and sunflower oil.

5. Mix until you have a smooth and even batter. Make sure there are no clumps.

6. Immediately pour the batter into your baking tray lined with baking paper and spread evenly with a palette knife. Bake at 175°C for about 15-20 minutes. (Depending on your oven)

The baked sponge should be soft to the touch and have a nice golden brown color.

Let it cool down completely before cutting and filling.

Blackberry compote:

350g fresh blackberries
25g sugar
2g pektin NH
0.6g agar agar
20g lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla paste (Dr.Oetker)
1/2 packet vanilla sugar ( Dr.Oetker)

1g cinnamon powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a pot add the blackberries 2/3 of the sugar, vanillas and lemon juice. Bring to a boil on medium heat.

2. Mix the other 1/3 part of the sugar and mix it with the pektin NH. Once the blackberries come to a boil add in the Pektin mixture and mix well until well combined. Let it simmer for about 1 minute and remove it from the stove.

3. Pour the compote into a bowl and let it cool down completely.

4. You will have left over blackberry compote which you can use as topping for ice-cream for example or keep it in the freezer for another use.

Vanilla chantilly:

300g Whipped cream
100g Mascarpone cream
10g Powdered sugar
1 pcs. Vanilla pod, scraped out

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the mascarpone, powdered sugar and the vanilla. Whisk it slightly on low speed until smooth and then add the whipped cream.

2. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth and firm peaks. You want a pipe-able consistency.

3. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Happy Baking!

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Chocolate cake with strawberries and cream

There is something undeniably good about a simple and classic combination such as this one. It is honestly THE BEST cake and one of my favorite flavor combinations!

It never seems to fail especially with a super moist and soft chocolate cake and fresh, sweet seasonal strawberries topped off with vanilla mascarpone cream…I mean, it can only be delicious!

This recipe is really quick and easy to make and the chocolate cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and it will stay super moist and even get better with time.

This recipe has become my go-to when I need a chocolate cake.

The perfect pairing:

Chocolate and strawberries is a classic combination and there is a reason for that.

The rich chocolate flavor pairs really well with the fruity and slightly acidic and sweet strawberries. This balance of flavors always works in pretty much any dessert or patisserie, cake, ice-cream etc…

Choosing your chocolate: In this recipe I’m using a really good quality cocoa powder which will add a lot of chocolate flavor into the cake. I am using cocoa powder from “Cailler” (one of my favorite brands in Switzerland for chocolate and cocoa powder)

Fresh strawberries: this recipe tastes best with fresh seasonal strawberries that are ripe and sweet with a slight acidic flavor. I occasionally like to add a little more sweetness with powdered sugar if I feel like the strawberries are lacking a bit in sweetness. But this is totally optional. I like to mix the strawberries with a little sprinkle of vanilla powder or scraped vanilla pod for extra flavor.

Whipped vanilla mascarpone cream: adds the perfect balance to the rich and intense chocolate cake and the fruity strawberries. The cream cuts through the intense chocolate flavor and the sweet yet acid strawberries and just creates the perfect balance between the two.

You can never go wrong with vanilla mascarpone cream…on anything 😉

What ingredients do you need for the best chocolate cake:

Most of these ingredients are basics that you would probably have in your kitchen cabinet or in your fridge.

Cocoa powder: use a really good and high quality cocoa powder. I use the cocoa powder from the brand “Cailler” which is a Swiss brand.

Eggs: use whole eggs at room temperate

Sunflower oil: this will add moisture to your cake and make for a moist crumb. Sunflower oil is the most neutral flavored oil which is perfect for almost all cakes.

Flour: I use a 550 regular white flour for the best results

Baking soda: this recipe only uses baking soda and no baking powder for a softer crumb

Buttermilk: adding buttermilk instead of regular milk in this cake batter will give you a more airy crumb with a lot of air bubble as the buttermilk reacts with the baking powder a lot stronger than with baking powder and therefore you’ll have a softer more airy crumb.

Coffee: adding coffee to your chocolate cake will intensity the chocolate flavor even more and also add some extra moistness.

Sugar: for this recipe I use white cane sugar

Tips for success:

Temperature: make sure your ingredients such as your eggs are at room temperature. This ensures a more even batter and smoother texture overall of your batter.

Whipping: Make sure that when you whip the vanilla mascarpone cream you don’t overwhip the mascarpone before adding the whipped cream. Mascarpone has a very high fat content and can easily split if mixed for too long.

Make sure that your ingredients for the mascarpone cream are all cold and straight out of the fridge.

How to store the chocolate cake:

The best way to store the chocolate cake is to leave it in the fridge overnight covered in plastic wrap once it has cooled completely. I left the chocolate cake in the tin pan it was baked in so that it keeps its shape and can firm up a bit until the next day.

The chocolate cake is very moist when baked fresh but i find that the flavor is even better the next day. The strawberries and cream are best when prepared right before serving.

The vanilla mascarpone whipped cream can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it will loose some of its fluffiness, so it‘s best to make it the day of serving/eating.

THE RECIPE

Makes about 1 loaf 900g

This recipe is adapted from Matt Adlard

Chocolate cake:

185g all purpose flour ( I used flour 550)
50g cocoa powder ( I used Cailler )
14g baking soda
2g salt
100g eggs (about 2pcs.)
175g buttermilk
110g sunflower oil (or another neutral oil)
175g hot coffee
290g sugar

Vanilla Mascarpone whipped cream:

250g mascarpone
1 vanilla bean
20g powdered sugar
200g whipping cream

Garnish:

200g Fresh strawberries marinated with 1 tsp powdered sugar (optional) and 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C-175°C

2. Prepare your cake tin, lined with baking paper + oil or buttered and dusted with cocoa powder.

3. For the chocolate cake start by heating the coffee and the cocoa powder over medium-low heat in a small saucepan, whisking constantly until the mixture reaches a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool down.

4. In a separate bowl or jug mix together the buttermilk, sunflower oil and the eggs until mixed well.

5. In the bowl of your standing mixer sieve the dry ingredients and give it a quick whisk. Add the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and with the whisk attachment mix until smooth and evenly combined. Scrape down their sides to ensure that you have no clumps.

6. Add the cooled coffee-cocoa mixture to the batter and mix once again until you have a smooth and even batter. (The batter will be slightly on the thinner side)

7. Fill the batter into your prepared tin pan lined with baking paper or buttered and dusted with cocoa powder. You can also use cake oil spray for easy and quick coating.

I still like to add a strip of baking paper for easy unfolding.

8. Bake the cake in the preheated oven at 170°C for about 45-60 minutes or a knife inserted comes out clean.

9. Let the cake cool down completely and cover with clingy film and store in the fridge overnight for best results. The cake will be super moist in texture the next day and will have an even more intense chocolate flavor.

Vanilla mascarpone cream:

1. In the bowl of your standing mixer add the mascarpone, powdered sugar and the scraped out vanilla pod. Mix until smooth and combined but make sure to not over mix the batter as the mascarpone cream can split easily.

2. While whisking add in the liquid whipping cream and whip until you have a smooth and pipe-able consistency. Use immediately or store in the fridge until use.

Marinated strawberries:

1. For the marinated strawberries cut your washed strawberries into quarters and in a small bowl mix them with the powdered sugar and the vanilla powder and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes.

Happy Baking!

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Vanilla Fior di latte ice-cream

I love nothing more than enjoying a scoop of ice-cream in the summer, especially when you can make it homemade and I can enjoy it on my balcony in the sun.

Being from Scandinavia I am a hugeee ice-cream lover and I eat it all throughout the year. Even Winter for me is ice-cream season 😉 not as much as in summer of course but I do really enjoy eating ice-cream even when it’s -15°C outside.

I love making my own ice-cream at home because it gives me the chance to be creative with flavors if I want to try something new. This Fior di latte ice-cream isn’t something new and innovative but it is amazing! So creamy and delicious especially with the intense vanilla flavor.

I love this recipe because it is very easy and quick to make and it is so versatile. So in the summer for example I like to make a strawberry-cheesecake version or a simple stracciatella ice-cream with this same recipe….amazing!

I makes for a great ice-cream base.

What is fior di latte ice-cream?:

Fior di latte ice-cream translated from Italian literally means “flower of the milk” this simply means a “milk ice-cream” or a basic milk/cream based ice-cream. Known for its neutral and mild flavor.

I love using this basic fior di latte ice-cream recipe because you can customize it and changing it into many different flavors with seasonal fruits, berries etc... this recipe also makes for a great stracciatella ice-cream.

How to make ice-cream:

For this recipe I used an ice-cream machine that results in really creamy and smooth ice-cream that will give you the perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture.

This recipe does not use any egg, that way the flavor of the vanilla really comes through.

Making ice-cream at home is much easier than most people think. It requires a few steps depending on the type of ice-cream you are making but the process is simple.

If you are using an egg based ice-cream recipe you have to start by heating the milk-cream-glucose mixture over low-medium heat to about 55°C and then add in your sugars and stabilizers. Mix well until everything is dissolved.

Then you need to cook your egg yolks with the hot cream-milk mixture and cook this to 80°C. Hand blend until you have a smooth and clump free base.

After this step you need to cool down your ice-cream base as quickly as possible. For example over an ice-bath works best. Once cooled cover the ice-cream base mixture and chill overnight in the fridge and churn the next day in your ice-cream maker.

The process for eggless recipe is more or less the same. You just don’t need to worry about cooking the egg to 80°C and also skipping the step to cool the ice-cream base down quickly to keep it safe and hygienic.

The important steps to sum-up:

1. Heat your cream-milk-glucose mixture over medium heat until the glucose has dissolved around 55°C

2. Whisk in your dry ingredients = the sugars and stabilizer and whisk constantly until dissolved and the temperature reaches about 80°C.

When using egg yolks make sure the mixture reaches 80-85°C

3. Add in your flavorings for example fruit, chocolate, etc…

4. Hand blend until smooth and clump free.

5. Cover and chill overnight in the fridge and churn in your ice-cream machine the next day.
While churning your ice-cream you can add in for example your chocolate pieces for a stracciatella ice-cream or cheesecake chunks, strawberry pieces etc. (Keep in mind to do this at the end of the churning process once your ice-cream is almost done)

You can definitely also make a no-churn ice-cream if you prefer less ingredients and steps, but you won’t achieve the same results as when using an ice-cream maker or all of the ingredients, especially the stabilizers. If you go for the no-churn ice-cream you will have a much harder ice-cream where you will notice the texture of the ice-crystals when eating it and you won’t have a smooth creamy texture.

I’m just mentioning this to keep in mind the differences.

What ingredients do you need to make fior di latte ice-cream:

Milk: you will need full fat milk for this recipe.

Cream: I use a full fat 35% cream for the creamy and milky flavor

Vanilla: use the best quality vanilla/vanilla pods you can find (I like to use the brand “Vanilla Dream”)

Skimmed milk powder (Magermilchpulver) : This is a skimmed milk powder that you can find in most basic grocery stores. This makes for a very creamy ice-cream because it helps to bind the water particles in the base and avoids having ice crystals

Dextrose: is a type of sugar which has a low sweetening power and also helps to achieve a very smooth and creamy ice-cream because of its antifreeze properties.

Dry glucose powder (Trockenglucose): is another type of sweetener

Guar Gum powder (Guakernmehl): is a binding agent that also is used to get a smooth and creamy texture and stability into your ice-cream. It helps bind the free water in your ice-cream resulting in a smooth texture when freezing.

Glucose sirup: is another type of sugar that comes in either sirup or dry powder form. This is another sweetener and is added for textural purposes.

Locust bean gum powder (Johannisbrotkernmehl): is another binding agent that also is important for giving structure to your ice-cream and for texture.

I am aware that some of these ingredients are not found in every grocery store, but nowadays they are easily found online and in some specialty stores. Having these ingredients makes such a difference in your ice-creams flavor and texture and for me it is totally worth it to buy them.

Most of these ingredients come in small amounts as you don’t need a lot for the recipe.

THE RECIPE

Makes about 500ml of ice-cream

Vanilla Fior di latte ice-cream:

250g milk, full fat
140g cream, full fat 35%
2 vanilla pods
7g glucose sirup
23g skimmed milk powder
64g light brown sugar (very light) or normal cane sugar if you can’t find it
9g dextrose
1g Locust bean gum powder
0,6g Guar gum powder
7g dry glucose powder

Instructions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together and mix well. Set aside

2. In a medium pot mix the milk, cream and glucose sirup and the scraped out vanilla pods and bring it to about 55°C and add in the dry ingredients mixing constantly until fully dissolved.

3. Bring the mixture to almost a simmer at around 80°C and hand blend to create a smooth and even mixture. Pour into another container, let it cool down slightly and then cover with plastic wrap. Let it chill and rest in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or better overnight.

4. Churn the ice-cream in your ice-cream machine according to the instructions. Normally it will churn for about 20-40 minutes depending on your machine.

5. Transfer into a container and freeze again until serving.

6. After churning you can also fill the ice-cream into single serve ice-creams or popsicles. This also makes for a great base for Magnum style ice-cream with caramel and caramelized almonds for example.

Happy ice-cream making!

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Homemade strawberry green tea iced-tea

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Why make your own iced tea?

How to make strawberry sirup:

Homemade coconut almond chia granola

Why you’ll love this granola:

Ingredients you’ll need to make coconut chia almond granola:

Tips for making homemade granola:

Serving ideas:

Why make homemade caramel:

Ingredients you‘ll need to make the caramel:

Tips for the perfect caramel:

Blackberry vanilla Swiss roll cake

The Recipe

Chocolate cake with strawberries and cream

The perfect pairing:

What ingredients do you need for the best chocolate cake:

Tips for success:

How to store the chocolate cake:

THE RECIPE

Makes about 1 loaf 900g

Vanilla Fior di latte ice-cream

What is fior di latte ice-cream?:

How to make ice-cream:

What ingredients do you need to make fior di latte ice-cream:

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