Szarlotka (Polish apple cake)

The traditional Polish apple cake was one of the first cakes I have ever learned how to make. My grandma was downright ecstatic when I displayed interest in learning how to cook and bake. That being said, this is a relatively labor intensive cake. It will take you a couple of hours to put together, that's for sure.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
• 4 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2.5 cups of sugar (3.5 cups if you like super sweet things)
• approx. 1lbs of flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream (if necessary)
• 6 large Granny Smith apples
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

You will need a 9x13 baking pan, a variety of mixing bowls, a pot, and cooking spray. 

Preparing the dough: Combine all the flour, 2 tsp of baking powder, salt, and a cup of sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and 4 egg yolks, and knead the dough with your hands until it becomes uniform (I'm sure this could be done in a mixer, but I do not possess one). If the dough comes out too dry, add some sour cream until the dough no longer crumbles. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for an hour.

Preparing the apple layer: Peel the apples and grate them; you can either do it by hand or run the apples through a juicer and put everything back together. The choice is yours. Put the grated apples into a pot, add a cup of sugar, and simmer until the apples have completely softened. Optionally, you can add a tbsp of cinnamon to apples. Set aside and let it cool completely.

Preparing the whipped layer: Put 4 egg whites into a sturdy bowl and whip them into foam with hand mixer until you have soft peaks. Add 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tbsp of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar while stirring carefully with a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Assembling the cake: Grate 3/4 of the frozen dough onto the baking pan and stick the rest back into the freezer. Bake that for about 25 minutes, or until the top is just barely baked (it will start showing golden edges). Take out the pan. Pour the apple layer onto the cake layer and smooth out. Pour out the whipped layer onto the apples and also smooth out evenly. Grab the remaining frozen dough and grate it on top of the whipped egg whites. Try to cover as evenly as possible, even if the grated dough will try to splatter everywhere. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. Let it cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Cookie dough cheesecake bars

It's insane how easy is this dessert, but so delicious! I've made it multiple times and it's always been a hit. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 12oz cookie dough of choice
• 8oz of cream cheese
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Note: You will need an 8x8in pan and wax paper for easier pan clean up. Also, you can use gluten-free dough if that is your dietary requirement.

Preheat your oven to 350F.

1. Line the pan with the paper and spread out the cookie dough, evenly.
2. Blend the cream cheese in a food processor for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add sugar and blend more.
4. Add the egg and the extract, and continue mixing.
5. Once it's all uniform, pour on top of the cookie "crust" and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
6. When done, drizzle with a sauce of choice (caramel or chocolate seem to be popular) and leave in the fridge overnight. Cut into 16 pieces.

Enjoy!

Apple cider caramel

In October a friend from work brought in these amazing caramel candies she had made herself. I was extremely impressed and delighted at the flavor, so I decided I would replicate it. At first I used apples that were given to me by that friend, but they were meant for direct consumption and I found them to be a little too sweet for my caramel. Then I purchased some Granny Smith apples, juiced them, and ramped up my caramel game. Beware, this recipe is a little time-consuming.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of apple cider (or fresh juice from approx. 5 Granny Smith apples)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream

You will need a 8x8in pan and parchment paper.

Note: Line the pan with parchment paper while the juice is reducing. Once you add sugar and butter you will have minutes to be ready to pour.You don't want to be stuck with a pot-full of hardened caramel.

1. Boil the juice in a medium pot on medium-high until it reduces to a thick syrup (molasses-like). It should take about 30 minutes to do so. Turn down the heat to simmer.
2. Add sugar, butter & cream, then simmer until the temperature reaches 165F (If you don't have a candy thermometer, I suggest pouring some cold water into a bowl and occasionally drop a little of caramel in there. If it turns solid(ish), the caramel is ready).
3. Pour the caramel into the pan and set it aside for approx. 2 hours. I suggest setting a timer.
4. Cut into pieces and store in the fridge so it doesn't melt. As an extra step, I wrap mine in cut up pieces of parchment paper. It looks fancy!

Enjoy!

Racuchy

Racuchy are essentially Polish pancakes. They are extremely straight-forward and will most definitely delight for an autumn breakfast. I suggest a complement of nice glass of milk and maybe some powdered sugar to top the pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 large apples; peeled, cored and sliced into relatively small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 16oz of milk
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (optional)
• frying oil of your choice.

1. In  a large bowl mix all of the ingredients and make sure the batter is uniform. Flour pockets are unpleasant when eating pancakes.
2. Add apples and stir.
3. Heat up the frying pan and fry up all the batter. You can make the pancakes any size you want, though they're best if they're almost palm-sized.

Chocolate Delight

Even though the ingredient list is very short, this is a labor intensive recipe. It will turn out just fine as long as you're patient and follow the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 9 eggs
• 400g of dark chocolate (it's roughly 0.85lbs) - 72% is best
• 250g of powdered sugar (about 7oz)
• a pinch of salt
• 200g of unsalted butter (2 sticks)

You will also need wax paper and a square pan (8x8in). Preheat your oven to 350F.

1. Stick the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and set over steaming water in a pot (make sure water doesn't get inside). Mix until it's uniform and set aside to chill completely.
2. Separate egg whites and yolks. 
3. Put yolks in a large bowl, add sugar and mix until uniform.
4. Whip the egg whites until they have soft peaks.
5. Gradually stir in the chocolate sauce into yolk and sugar mixture. Afterwards, fold in the whipped egg whites. The mixture should be really fluffy now.
6. Line the pan on all sides with the wax paper. Pour in the mixture and bake it for approx. 35 min. If the middle still looks runny, bake it for about 10 more minutes.
7. Once it's done, let it cool. IT WILL COLLAPSE! 
8. Cut it into pieces and serve with whipped cream, and/or fresh fruit, or preserves.

Enjoy!

I've got the stuff

Let's talk kitchen equipment. There's a few things you will need that will help you get along when cooking. While it's possible to have one pot and one pan for everything, variety helps. Here's the things I use a lot.

• Crockpot. For anybody who claims to have no talent in the kitchen and can't cook, please stop now. Go to your local retailer, spend about $20, and get yourself a basic model of a Crockpot. There are lots of fancy versions, but that's if you have spare income and/or you want to be fancy. Crockpot is one of those fantastic contraptions that will allow you to toss all your favorite ingredients into one place, turn it on and LEAVE. Since half the battle with cooking is patience and paying attention, this gives you a chance to make something delicious while being completely lazy about it. It's how I got hooked on cooking, I swear.
• Pots and pans. I strongly suggest having at least three different sizes of each, so you can regulate how much you make of any given dish. Getting one of those boxed deals at a retail store is probably your best bet, but do expect to invest at least $50. Just remember, it's for the greater good.
• Mixing bowls. Personally, I prefer having glass mixing bowls, because they have more heft to them. More importantly, if I need to soak meat in an acidic marinade for three hours, I won't have to worry that the marinade permeated the plastic bowl and my next cake will smell/taste of Chipotle. Also, it's kind of gross when you think about it. That being said, it's your personal preference. I do suggest getting at least 3 different sizes, for the same reason as pots and pans.
• Spatulas/mixing spoons. This is kind of a 'duh' bullet point, but I'm making it anyway. Frankly, you can just use regular silverware to cook with, but it's always nice to have options.
• Whisk/electric mixer. Electric mixer can be rather cheap - I have seen one sold new for $7. It's a great investment for anytime you want to bake a dessert of some sort. I think I use it most often when I have to whip up egg whites or whipping cream. So good!
• Food processor. This is where things get expensive. It is not necessary to own a food processor, but having it does make things a LOT easier when you're trying to blend things quickly and efficiently. I have a really old and beat up one, but whenever I need to blend that cheesecake, it's there for me.
• Juicer. This one is quite the extravagant possession but I don't regret having it. There are a multitude of recipes, esp. Polish recipes, that ask for grated vegetables or fruit. Getting that done by hand is a true test of patience and I don't have that much of it. A juicer makes things that much easier for me. Also, fresh apple juice. You haven't lived until you tried freshly juiced apple juice. Just sayin'.

Strawberry Nutella Muffins

Growing up in Europe, I didn't have access to peanut butter - I didn't even know it existed - but I did have access to Nutella. I can wax poetic for hours in regards to Nutella, but let's stick to the topic at hand. When a friend suggested this particular recipe, I pounced on it immediately. The original recipe can be found here, though I did adjust it a bit to fit my needs (read: higher elevation and my love of strawberries).

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
• 0.5 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 0.5 cup sugar
• 0.25 cup oil (canola or equivalent of your choice)
• 0.33 cup of buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8oz of strawberries, chopped into small pieces
• Nutella
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

  You will need to preheat the oven to 350F.

1. In a large bowl combine all the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Add the oil, egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix everything together until the batter resembles uncooked biscuits.
2. Add strawberries and mix thoroughly. If the batter is too dry, add a little more buttermilk or water. Be careful, you don't want it too runny or it will bake wrong.
3. Line the cupcake pan with paper cups (I usually use 12)
4. Put about a full teaspoon into each cup and make sure it covers the entire bottom. Don't put in too much - we will need more for the top.
5. Put just under a half of teaspoon of Nutella into each cup - you don't need much to get the flavor.
6. Cover up the Nutella with the remaining batter - about a half of teaspoon each. After all is said and done, you should have filled about 2/3 of each cup.
7. Sprinkle a little bit of Turbinado sugar over the muffins.
8. Bake for about 18-21 minutes. They are ready when the tops are golden.

Do let them cool a little, though they are best when served a little warm - to make sure the center is nice and gooey.

Enjoy!