Hazelnut Cake with Ricotta and Pears Filling

The base of this cake is made from egg whites only and it was one of the reasons I got interested in this recipe, because I was wondering what to do with the leftover egg whites that I had in my refrigerator

Besides that purely technical aspect, I thought the recipe was worth trying because the cake turned out delicious. It was very light and moist.The base is baked with ground hazelnuts which adds a nice flavor. It is a layered cake and between its two layers there is a cheese and pears filling. Originally fresh ricotta is used for the filling, but if fresh ricotta is not available, it could be replaced with mascarpone. The moisture comes from the syrup that is obtained from cooking pears and is drizzled over the cake at the end.



Hazelnut Cake with Ricotta and Pears Filling

Ingredients:
4 egg whites,
3/4 cup roasted hazelnuts,
1/3 cup all purpose flour,
2/3 stick unsalted, room temperature butter,
2 pears peeled and cut into small pieces,
1/4 cup water,
1/4 cup rum,
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra 2 tbsp,
1 cup fresh, drained ricotta (or mascarpone) cheese,
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream,
1/4 cup icing sugar to finish.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. 2. Place hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them into sand-like consistency.
3. Add flour, sugar and butter to the nuts and run the food processor until well blended.
4. In a separate large bowl whisk egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the nut mixture.
5. Grease with butter an 8-inch round baking form with a removable wall and line it with wax paper. Spread the nut mixture evenly and bake for about 20 minutes until firm. Let the cake cool down.
6. In a medium bowl mix water, rum and 1/2 cup sugar and bring it to boiling. Add cut pears pieces and simmer them until soft. Drain the pears and let them cool.
7. In a medium bowl whisk ricotta, 2 tbsp sugar and whipping cream until fluffy. Add pears and mix gently.
8. Place the cake base on a serving plate. Cut in half and spread the cheese filling over the bottom layer.



9. Cover it with the second layer, press gently so the filling spreads between the layers. Drizzle the top of the cake with the rum syrup, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Hazelnut Cream Dessert

This is a kind of dessert that almost no one can resist, and especially those who like flans and crème brûlée. The recipe is also very similar to crème brûlée but there is one secret ingredient that makes the whole difference, that is hazelnut butter or hazelnut purée. This gives it a wonderfully nutty flavor which makes this dessert even more delicious.

A pure hazelnut butter without any cocoa added is however not easily available. You can buy it at Eataly or online, or make it yourself by grounding roasted hazelnuts with vegetable oil. The best for that are European hazelnuts or those from Oregon, as they have that sweet flavor that most other hazelnuts lack. If you have a ready made sweet hazelnut butter use less sugar than the recipe calls for. Instead of 10 tsps add just 5. Besides that one difficulty the whole dessert is very easy to make and can be even made a day ahead.



Hazelnut Cream Dessert
(Makes eight)

Ingredients:
500ml hot whole milk,
4 eggs,
3/4 cup white chocolate chips,
10 tbsp sugar (or 5 if hazelnut butter is already sweet),
1 tsp vanilla extract,
4 tbsp. hazelnut butter or purée,
1/3 cup roasted, crushed hazelnuts for decoration.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 335F.
2. Place white chocolate in a small pot and melt over a low heat.
3. Beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla extract. Pour in hot milk, beating constantly. Add white chocolate and hazelnut butter and mix well into a smooth cream.
4. Divide the cream between 8 ramekins.

1140

5. Place ramekins on a baking form and fill the form with boiling water up to a half of ramekins' heights. Put the form in the hot oven and let the cream bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let the cream cool in the water and then take the ramekins out and let the desserts cool in a refrigerator.
7. Serve cold decorated with hazelnuts.

Brutti ma Boni—Hazelnut Meringue Cookies

Over the holiday season when I cooked and baked a lot, I collected almost a half-pint of leftover egg whites. I had to use them before they became too old, so I started to look for the recipes calling just for whites.

First, I made a batch of basic white meringues, which I make quite often. But I had still a lot of whites left. Looking into many culinary resources I found two other interesting recipes. One was for a soft meringue dessert which I will try some time soon. The other was for easy hazelnut cookies which many Italian cookbooks mention. They seem perfect for this season.

So today I share the recipe for meringue type cookies whose Italian name translates "ugly but good". They are in fact not too attractive looking and I had a hard time to present them in an appetizing way. But they are very crunchy and exceptionally aromatic thanks to toasted hazelnuts, my favorite nuts.

I think they are definitely worth making, especially if you have extra whites to use. As all meringues those cookies made from sugar and whites are on a sweet side but hazelnuts break nicely this sweetness with their powerful aroma. I must admit that those "ugly but good" cookies not only make a wonderful sweet "something" with an afternoon coffee but can be pretty addictive.



Hazelnut Meringue Cookies
(Makes about 16 cookies)

Ingredients:
3 egg whites room temperature,
1 and 1/3 cup shelled and toasted hazelnuts,
3/4 cup granulated sugar,

Preparation:
1. If you have raw hazelnuts toast them in an oven until light brown, let them cool down and, rubbing them on a hard surface or between your fingers, peel off the skins. Chop the nuts roughly on a cutting board.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a wax paper.
3. Place whites in a bowl of a mixer. Whisk them until foamy. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until almost stiff. Add another 1/4 cup of sugar and beat again. Finally add the third portion and beat the whites for a couple of minutes, until they become stiff and shiny.
4. Fold in chopped hazelnuts into the whites and transfer them into a medium pot. Cook the mixture on a low heat stirring often until it becomes light gold.
5. Place about a tablespoon of meringue mixture on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until they become hard and brownish on top.



Let them cool and enjoy!

Classical Coleslaw--With a Twist

Last week I was doing my shopping at the local Harris Teeter. A nice and chatty young guy, by his own admission a college student already on vacation, was helping me at the cash register. While scanning my items he was going on and on about his life and his 48-hour long shifts at the store until he stumbled on a head of cabbage. He looked puzzled at me and asked "And that would be?..." I let him guess. "Iceberg?" he said. I corrected him. "Then I must have never tried it" he replied.

Coleslaw is one of the most popular American salads, sold at every salad bar and most often served at BBQ parties. It is said that coleslaw was brought to the US by Dutch migrants, although I am inclined to believe that, like many cabbage dishes, it rather comes from Polish tradition.

I posted many cabbage recipe already and they still belong among the most popular posts on my blog, but that conversation convinced me that it was time for another cabbage salad, especially that the grilling season has just officially started this weekend. Today, it will be then the most traditional coleslaw salad, but with the that I hope makes it more interesting.

Coleslaw with Nuts and Fruits
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
1/2 head of medium cabbage, shredded,
2 medium carrots,cut julienne,
1/2 cup dried apricots,
1/2 cup raisins,
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts,

3-4 stalks of spring onion, sliced,
1/2 cup mayonnaise,
1/2 cup low fat yogurt, preferably Greek,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Place the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix together.

2. Cut dried apricots in slices. Add them to the cabbage together with raisins and roughly chopped hazelnuts.
3. In a medium bowl mix mayonnaise and yogurt. Pour over the cabbage and toss all the ingredients. Set aside in a refrigerator for 30 minutes to let all the ingredients marinate in a dressing.
4. Sprinkle with chopped spring onion shortly before serving.

Serve with grilled meats or cold cuts.

Endive and Persimmon Salad--Inspired by a Super Model

A couple of days ago, I was checking what's new in the world, while drinking my first coffee of the day and wondering what recipe to post next, when I got an email from a friend who is a great fashionista. He was bragging about the posh parties he had recently attended. It read like a real high-life reportage, straight out of the pages of Vanity Fair, written be a fashion corespondent focusing on every detail of (mostly his own) attire.

His excitement was fueled by the sight of Inès de la Fressange, a great French super model from the eighties, whom he met at one of the recent parties. Inès became large than life when she posed for Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. She has always been one of my favorite models, a rare natural brunette, with an inimitable personal elegance and style, transcending her professional image as a Chanel model.

At the party where a friend of mine spotted her, she was wearing a yellow dress, which I am sure beautifully complemented her dark eyes and hair. In contrast to her smashing looks, she drove away in a workmen's van. What a photo opportunity! Unfortunately, a friend of mine was so mesmerized by her appearance, that he forgot that he had a camera in his phone.

Yeah--I thought after reading his email--some live the high life and get to see the most beautiful women in the world, and some live an ordinary life, trying to capture a beauty of everyday food.

Still in that mood, later that day, I opened my refrigerator. I took out endive and decided to make a salad with just one objective--to make it look elegant. Endive has little nutritious value, but also almost zero calories and a lot of fiber--a great dish for those on diet.

Endive was one of very few vegetables that were thriving in my parents' yard, and every winter we enjoyed its bitter taste in salads. At that time, endive was completely unknown in Poland and eating it regularly for dinner was making me a culinary snob. Probably from that period I have a sentimental attachment to endives, and although I know that green lettuces are much richer in vitamins, I still buy a lot of endive. For this salad, I used persimmon leftovers from the dessert that I had made the day before, and started to experiment by adding different ingredients. Actually, it turned out to be a very delicious salad, with the sweetness of the persimmon complementing the neutral taste of the endive. I also tossed in a few roasted hazelnuts to strengthen its taste. And I do hope you enjoy my yellow and black composition.

Endive salad with persimmon
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 endives,
2 persimmons,
1/3 cup roasted hazelnuts,
4 tbsp champagne orange vinegar or a juice from half a lemon ,
hazelnut oil,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cut endive and divide it among four plates.
2. Peel off the persimmons, cut them in half and slice, arrange slices on the plate with endive.
3. Spread crushed hazelnuts.
4. Sprinkle each plate with champagne vinegar or lemon if you prefer more siuer taste,and oil.
5. Salt and pepper for taste and serve immediately.