dancing in the clouds. { cream filled berry pavlova }

Named after russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, this beautiful dessert is a sure crowd stunner. The ideal pavlova meringue has a crispy shell and a fluffy marshmallow-like interior. Don't panic if your meringue cracks - there really is something perfect about such imperfection. Sublimity can be easily achieved with a thick layer of lemon twisted whipped cream and an overload of fresh berries. I finished mine by pouring over a little port wine reduction and, inspired by the happenstance of the first snowfall of the season, I dusted it all with confectioner's sugar.

tarte aux framboises { french raspberry tart }

When I was a toddler, and until I started elementary school, my then only brother and me had a very sweet french lady taking care of us and helping around the house. I have to admit that, besides her tanned face and her kind smile, which she managed to pull even when we young brothers had our share of fun plotting against her, I can't quite recall these days. They say we start collecting memories around that age, right? Well, I was a bit too young back then to remember everything clearly.

more on white sheets: tainted love { french toast, topped with banana and a silky berry sauce }

the most peaceful moment of the week.

i find safety in the dull white of these weekend mornings.

a love affair with braided berries ♥ { strawberry raspberry bread braid }

You can call me crazy, but I have no shame in admitting that I love winter thunderstorms and rain, particularly at night and especially (of course, but not only) when I'm home, cozying up in the couch, underneath thick blankets and with a huge cup of freshly brewed tea nearby.

But there is one thing I like even more: those days (and many of them are left by these stormy nights) when you wake up to a bright sunshine and a deep blue sky, that almost make you forget how it is less than ten degrees celsius outside, because you can have breakfast in the balcony wearing a t-shirt as if it was summer.

Extra points if that day is a sunday ♥

a hidden black forest. { chocolate cake with berries and coconut }

Remember I said I didn't intend to spend a whole day in the kitchen on Friday?

Well... I did spend around ten hours there - between Thursday and Friday -, but I also watched a film and two episodes of Mentalist, so it was pretty cool. As a result I came up with ten different dishes - among appetizers, main dishes and desserts -, so I guess I was pretty diligent! I even had time to stop for a while staring at the finale of the season, which was quite lovely. Everything went as planned - a bit of a lie, but in the end it was even better! - and there was time to relax, get ready and prepare the house for the evening.

In the end there was this bunch of amazing people coming over to celebrate the fact that I've got a new apartment, and it was really, really awesome!

Once again, if you are reading this, thank you all a lot :) You are welcome any time!

As such, I have now a variety of new recipes to share with you, so stay tuned during the next days!

This is my favourite chocolate cake ever, with a twist ;)

Bolo de Chocolate com Frutos Vermelhos e Côco

- 1 receita de massa de bolo de chocolate como esta

- 100g de mirtilhos

- 100g de framboesas

- côco e açúcar em pó para polvilhar

Preparar a massa de acordo com a receita até antes de ir ao forno,

Incorporar os frutos vermelhos,

Levar ao forno conforme a receita,

Desenformar, deixar arrefecer, cortar em quadrados e polvilhar com côco ralado e açúcar em pó

Chocolate Cake with Berries and Coconut

- 1 receita de massa de bolo de chocolate like this one

- 100g blueberries

- 100g raspberries

- shredded coconut and powdered sugar

Prepare the batter according to the recipe until ready to the oven,

Mix in the berries,

Bake according to the recipe,

Unmould, let cool down, cut into squares and sprinkle with shredded coconut and powdered sugar

preppy in pink { raspberry mousse cake }

It's being a I-need-a-lot-of-coffee Monday...

This cake was one of my Easter weekend projects.

Bolo Mousse de Framboesa

- 5 ovos

- 125g de açúcar

- 175g de farinha

- corante vermelho

- 200g de framboesas congeladas, descongeladas

- 300g de natas

- 100g de açúcar

- 1 clara

- 8 folhas de gelatina

- 200g de morangos, picados

- 100g de açúcar

- 1 colher de sopa de vinagre balsâmico

- 25g de chocolate branco

Forrar o fundo de uma forma de fundo amovível com película aderente,

Preparar dois tabuleiros, forrando cada um com uma folha de papel vegetal com um círculo ligeiramente maior que a forma desenhado,

Bater os ovos com o açúcar até obter uma mistura esbranquiçada,

Peneirar e envolver a farinha,

Separar a massa em duas metades e misturar corante numa delas até obter a cor desejada,

Preencher os círculos com colheradas de massa de ambas as cores e desenhar um padrão de mármore com a ajuda de uma faca,

Levar ao forno a 200ºC durante cerca de 10 min,

Retirar o papel vegetal, deixar arrefecer e cortar com o formato da forma,

Colocar a primeira fatia de bolo no fundo da forma, reservar a segunda,

Escorrer a água das framboesas para um tacho, aquecer e dissolver a gelatina,

Reduzir as framboesas a puré,

Bater a clara em castelo e as natas separadamente com o açúcar,

Envolver o puré de framboesa e a gelatina nas natas, incorporar a clara,

Deitar a mousse dentro da forma, cobrir com a segunda fatia de genoise,

Levar ao frigorífico durante pelo menos 3-4 horas,

Preparar o molho da cobertura, levando os morangos, o açúcar e o vinagre ao lume até obter uma compota suave, dissolver o chocolate branco partido em pedaços,

Desenformar o bolo, colocar num prato de servir e cobrir com o molho de morango.

Nota: este tem também côco ralado.

Raspberry Mousse Cake

- 5 eggs

- 125g sugar

- 175g flour

- red colourant

- 200g frozen raspberries, thawed

- 300g cream

- 100g sugar

- 1 egg white

- 8 gelatin leaves

- 200g strawberries, chopped

- 100g sugar

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 25g white chocolate

Line the bottom of an removable bottom pan with plastic sheet,

Prepare two baking trays by lining them with a sheet of parchment paper with a circle a bit bigger than the mould drawn,

Beat eggs and sugar to a light colour,

Sift and mix in the flour,

Separate the batter in two bowls and mix the colourant in one of them until obtaining the desired colour,

Fill the circles with both batters, mixing them in a swirl pattern with a knife,

Bake at 200ºC for about 10 min,

Remove parchment paper, let cool and cut the size of the cake pan bottom,

Place the first layer inside the pan, set the second aside,

Drain the water from the defrost raspberries, heat in the stovetop and melt the gelatine leaves in it,

Puree the raspberries,

In separate bowls, beat the egg white and the cream with the sugar until stiff,

Fold the raspberry puree and gelatin into the cream, fold in the egg white,

Pour the mousse in the pan, cover with second cake layer,

Place in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours,

Prepare the sauce by heating the strawberries, sugar and vinegar until obtaining a soft compote, melt in the white chocolate,

Unmould the cake, place in a dish and pour the strawberry sauce over.

Nota: Mine also has shredded coconut.

Coming back... { berry biscuit cake }

Estou de volta! Foram umas férias prolongadas das novidades culinárias e da vontade de registar receitas, por isso não tenho publicado nada. Preguiça e pouco tempo, foram os dois.

I'm back! Away from the new recipes and from the willingness to write them down, I haven't published anything. Lazyness and shortness of time, both were guilty.

Há uns dias provei uma fatia de bolo de bolacha de um café cá de Aveiro que gostei muito. Os bolos de bolacha que se comiam cá em casa levavam creme de manteiga, mas o recheio deste era feito com natas... estava bastante bom, apesar de eu nem gostar muito de natas, e fiquei a pensar numa forma de o recriar, talvez com algumas alterações. Então, para os anos do meu irmão, saiu-me isto!

A few days ago I tried a slice of cake from a local coffee that I really liked. The biscuit cakes we once ate at home always had buttercream, but this one had heavy cream in the filling... it was quite good, and I don't even really fancy heavy-cream. I kept thinking about making it myself, with some modifications. So, for my brother's birthday, I came up with this!

Bolo de Bolacha de Frutos Vermelhos
Ingredientes:

- 1 embalagem de bolacha Maria

- 1 iogurte natural

- 2 embalagens e meia de bolachas tostadas (rectangulares)

- 600g de natas frescas

- 1 embalagem (2 saquetas) de gelatina de framboesa

- água

- café

- doce de framboesa

- frutos vermelhos a gosto (morangos, framboesas, mirtillos...)

Preparação:

1) Preparar uma base de bolacha com a bolacha Maria reduzida a pó e o iogurte e espalhar sobre um tabuleiro ou torteira rectangular,

2) Dissolver a gelatina em cerca de 150ml de água fervente, deixar arrefecer um pouco,

3) Preparar café com água fervente, deixar arrefecer,

4) Bater as natas até estarem firmes,

5) Juntar a gelatina e bater sempre, refrigerar,

6) Passar as bolachas pelo café já frio,

7) Montar o bolo em camadas, sobre a base de bolacha preparada previamente: uma camada de creme, uma camada de bolachas, continuando até ter atingido a altura desejada ou acabar os ingredientes (reservar creme para cobrir!),

8) Cobrir lateralmente o bolo a gosto com o creme, cobrir o topo com o doce de framboesa e decorar com os frutos vermelhos.

Red Fruits Biscuit Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 package Maria biscuits

- 1 plain yogurt

- 2 and 1/2 package rectangular Tostada biscuits

- 600g heavy cream

- 1 package (2 bags) raspberry gelatin

- water

- coffee

- vanilla aroma

- strawberry jam

- mixed fresh berries

Preparation:

1) Make a biscuit crust with the crumbled Maria biscuits and the yogurt and spread over a rectangular tray,

2) Dissolve the gelatin in around 150ml boiling water, let cool down,

3) Prepare the coffee, let cool down,

4) Beat the cream until firm,

5) Add the gelatin, keep beating,

6) Soak the biscuits in the cold coffee,

7) Mount the cake in layers, on top of the crust: one layer cream, one layer cookies. Keep on going until reaching the desired height or until you've ran out of ingredients (save some cream for frosting!),

8) Frost the sides with the remaining cream, cover the top with the jam and decorate with the fruits.