BEING A PRINCESS!

What can I say? January is here, clearly showing that the New Year has already come but checking my last post, someone can think that I am still on my Christmas preparations. Actually, I am not, absolutely not.
 In the meantime I was working pretty hard and then celebrating Christmas. Truly celebrating! Can't remember when was the last time I rested so much, shared duties (I am still learning), not bothered so much about things and I can't remind myself of when I slept that much and so long, maybe 20 years ago...
So after resting so much, my shocked body and mind couldn't came back to the routine... And  the very few first days were like torture for me and all those people with their New Year resolutions and enthusiasm... Really?! Yes, welcome to reality.
 I just couldn't accept it so when I received my first order I was basically offended.
 Me, princess, who had been sleeping for so long, reading, visiting people etc... needs to work now? NO! Oh, poor princess.

But once I started baking at my new, independent place I changed my mind. Because between such a busy pre-Christmas time
and then, surrounded by sparkling lights, playing princess, or rather Queen considering my age, my new workshop was created.
 Well, my new baking place is still in progress. Getting to be cosy, friendly, beautiful and practical at the same time.
My husband says that "It must be practical only". But really, should I start this conversation at all?
So for a good start to the New Year, with a little delay, also with some resolutions in my head and having woken up for good, I wish
a very Happy New Year to everyone (still valid, isn't?) and I'm sending you some pictures of one of the first cakes made at my little patisserie. I'm also giving you this recipe as this cake is just yummy and easy to make. Let me know if you try it please!

By the way, my new workshop is located in the garden. Aren't I lucky?

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Coz moge powiedziec, jasne, ze styczen za oknem, pokazuje, ze Nowy Rok przyszedl jakis czas temu, a jednak czytajac moj ostatni post mozna by pomyslec, ze ja stale, niezmiennie i z pasja maniaka pozostaje w szale swiatecznych przygotowan.
Otoz nie, zupelnie i na szczescie nie. W miedzyczasie przez caly przedswiateczny okres pracowalam nad wyraz ciezko, zeby nie rzec, w pocie czola, co przy piekarnikach nie jest zbyt trudne, przyznaje. Pozniej swietowalam - szczerze i z oddaniem celebrowalam tegoroczne Swieta Bozego Narodzenia. Juz naprawde nie pamietam kiedy ostatnio odpoczywalam tak duzo, dzielilam sprawiedliwie obowiazki (stale, sukcesywnie sie tego ucze, mam juz male osiagniecia, jednak ciagle wymagaja korekt i nie rzucania sie na kazdy nieumyty talerz) i nie martwilam sie zbyt wiele przeroznymi sprawami. Nie moge sobie przypomniec, kiedy ostatnio tak duzo i dlugo spalam. Moze jakies 20 lat temu? Pozniej po calym tym wypoczywaniu moje zszokowane cialo i umysl nie mogly powrocic do codziennej rutyny. W zwiazku z czym pierwsze dni stycznia byly zwykla tortura wypelniona tymi wszystkimi entuzjastycznie nastawionymi ludzmi, z ich noworocznymi postanowieniami.  Naprawde?! Staralam sie dotrzymac kroku rzeczywistosci.
 Z marnym skutkiem jednak. Tak marnym ,ze kiedy otrzymalam jedno z pierwszych zamowien bylam  wrecz obrazona.
Jak to ja, ksiezniczka, ktora spala jak dlugo sobie chciala, bez zenady godzinami czytala, spotykala sie z przyjaciolmi i rodzina raczac sie serniczkiem i innymi czekoladkami itp...ma teraz pracowac?
Och, NIE! Biedna ksiezniczka albo raczej krolowa, majac na uwadze moj wiek. Hmm...

Jednak, kiedy tylko zaczelam piec pierwsze ciasto w moim nowym, niezaleznym miejscu zmienilam zdanie szybciutko. Pomiedzy przedswiateczna praca a pozniejszym byciem ksiezniczka/krolowa otoczona skrzacymi sie, swiatecznymi swiatelkami, powstawalo moje nowe  miejsce pracy. Tak po prawdzie to nadal powstaje. Praktyczna strona jest juz zalatwiona, zrobiona i dziala.
Moj maz stoi na stanowisku, ze ta czesc jest kompletna i wystarczajaca, i, oczywiscie, nie ma potrzeby juz nic wiecej dodawac.
Jednak, naprawde czy warto o tym w ogole dyskutowac? Ze potrzebne sa kwiaty, piekne zdjecia, ladne drobiazgi itp.
Tez mysle, ze nie. I cala energie przeznaczam na to, aby moje nowe miejsce pracy bylo naprawde "moim"miejscem.
Przyjaznym, kolorowym, przytulnym, ladnym, w ktorym spedzenie kilku godzin bedzie przyjemnoscia.

A zatem na dobry poczatek Nowego Roku, troche spozniona, ale juz tez z noworocznymi postanowieniami w mojej glowie
 i juz calkowicie(?) pogodzona z rzeczywistoscia  zycze wszystkim szczesliwego Nowego Roku i przesyam kilka zdjec,
 jednego z pierwszych ciast zrobionego w mojej cukierence.

A jako, ze ciasto jest naprawde smaczne i latwe do zrobienia zamieszczam tez przepis.
 Mam nadzieje,ze sprobujecie a jesli, to dajcie znac czy smakowalo.

A tak na marginesie. Moja nowa cukierenka miesci sie w ogrodzie. Czy nie jestem szczesciara?

Semolina cake with honey and pistachio

Ingredients for the cake:

4 eggs,

150 gr sugar,

125ml vegetable oil,

110g plain flour,

110g semolina

1,1/2 teaspoons baking powder,

pinch of salt,

100-175gr pistachios, finely ground,

1 teaspoons grated lemon zest,

2 tablespoon pistachio, chopped

Ingredients for the syrup:

300g honey,

250ml wody,

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Beat the eggs and sugar together with electric mixer on high speed for about 5 min. 

Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the vegetable oil.

Tip in the flour, semolina, salt and baking sugar and mix well.

Fold in the ground pistachios and lemon zest.

Pour this mixture into greased 24cm spring-form tin and bake for 30-35 min in 180C

Meanwhile make a syrup by stirring the honey and water and lemon juice. Leave the syrup to boil and reduce by half, which takes about 10min.

Drizzle half of the syrup over the top of the cake while is still hot, then pour over the remaining syrup

and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.

Enjoy!

Click here to view the website!

I love flowers. This sentence sounds so banal but what can I do - I really do love flowers. 

Every Friday next to my son's school there is a market and one of the stalls is a sells flowers. 
Already from afar I can see all those flowers - freshly cut ones which you can put in a vase or all the colourful plants in pots for patios and gardens. And whenever my son hears my sigh "Oooh..", he always rolls his eyes and says: "We'll be late".
 Yes, our nice Friday ritual. So later when he's at school, I'm buying peonies, herbs or daises.
I like to have pretty bouquets in my bedroom, living room, bathroom - they always make me smile,
 even when I am not that happy.
Now I am double lucky because I can also make my very own bouquets from the garden.
 I've got beautifully smelling cloves, lilies, daises and roses.
And as some of the flowers are edible and there are no pesticides in my garden, 
I also started using my flowers to decorate cakes. 

Crystallised flowers can be used for cake or dessert decorations and to make them you will only need a small brush, 
an egg white, some sugar and a rose, simple instructions below!

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Bardzo lubie kwiaty. Wiem, ze to malo odkrywcze i raczej banalne wyznanie, ale coz - naprawde bardzo lubie kwiaty!
 W kazdy piatek obok szkoly mojego syna jest targ, na ktorym jedno ze stoisk jest po brzegi wypelnione roslinami.
 Juz z daleka widac ferie barw i roznorodne kwiaty - swiezo ciete do wazonow i te w doniczkach, ktore z nieustajaca radoscia wykorzystuje w ogrodzie. 
Widzac to za kazdym razem z glebi mojej duszy wyrywa sie westchnienie "Oooh" a moj syn nieodmienie wznoszac oczy
 do gory(zauwazyliscie,ze to sie nasila z wiekiem u dzieci?) mowi "Spoznimy sie". To taki nasz poranno- piatkowy rytual.
 Jak tylko latorosl jest juz w szkole, wracam i kupuje - piwonie, ziola, margaretki. 
Bardzo lubie ustawiac bukiety kwiatow w salonie, sypialni, lazience, zawsze wywoluja u mnie usmiech, nawet jesli w tym momencie nie jestem najszczesliwsza  istota pod sloncem. Dodatkowo jestem podwojna szczesciara, bo, po stoczonych walkach ze slimakami (tak po prawdzie walki trwaja nadal), moge robic bukiety z wlasnych kwiatow. 
W ogrodzie mam pieknie pachnace gozdziki, lilie i roze. A jako,ze niektore kwiaty sa jadalne
 a w ogrodzie nie uzywam zadnych pestycydow zaczelam uzywac kwiatow do dekoracji ciast.

Zrobienie skrystalizowanych roz jest bardzo proste i mozna je pieknie wykorzystac
do dekoracji ciast i deserow.

Do skrystalizowania roz potrzebny jest maly pedzelek, bialko, cukier i roza, prosciutka instrukcja ponizej.

 I think a rose is such a perfect flower for this as it has a lovely shape and the fragrance of garden roses is absolutely gorgeous.
You can make just crystallized rose petals or a whole flower.
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Roza jest, moim zdaniem, do tego idealna - ma fanastyczny ksztalt a zapach ogrodowych roz jest przepiekny. 
W zaleznosci od fantazji mozna uzyc calej rozy lub tylko jej platkow.

Smear both sides of each petal with the egg white.

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Kazdy platek nalezy posmarowac delikatnie bialkiem.

Sprinkle with sugar and dust off any excess sugar.
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Posypac cukrem a nadmiar cukru strzasnac.

 Leave on baking paper to dry. Ideally for the whole night and in a warm place. 

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Platki ulozyc na papierze do pieczenia i pozostawic do wyschniecia. Ja zostawiam na cala noc

When it's completely dry, the shape of the petals should be the same as it was originally.
 You can store it in a closed container for even three months, just make sure it's dry.
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Po wysuszeniu platki powinny zachowac swoj ksztalt.
 Takie platki mozna przechowywac w szczelnie zamknietym pudelku nawet do trzech miesiecy. 
Swoja droga jak nas najdzie przeogromna ochota na cos slodkiego, to od takiego malego plateczka nie przytyjemy 
a mozemy sie jakos poratowac w...kryzysie.

Have a great, sunny, really happy week!

Click here to view website!

Hello everyone! Some of you know the taste of such yummy chocolate kisses and some
 of you were asking for the recipe, which, to be honest, is really easy. And as the wonderful chocolate scent, which will fill your house while you're baking, is worth the little effort
(really little, trust me - making these cookies is like playing with muddy sand on the beach),
let's try to make these delicious cookies for today's coffee or tea! 

And don't forget about a great company for tasting (even if it's just a great book)!

Ingredients:

120 - 140g cold unsalted butter,

1/2 glass powder sugar,

1 glass plain flour,

5 teaspoons potato flour

2 tablespoons cocoa,

2 egg yolks

Cream:

the simplest version - 100g melted dark chocolate

or

chocolate ganache

Mix all ingredients to make the dough, put in the fridge for 30min (I put it in just for 10, as I am not the most patient person in the world). When ready, take small portions of the dough, make
a ball of each and put on
 a flat tin lined with baking paper. Flatten each of them a bit. Bake in 180C for 5-7min.

Put away to cool them down. After that, smear the cookies with cooled chocolate and stick them in a pair. Just let them kiss each other!

Enjoy!

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Dzien dobry wszystkim! Niektorzy z Was dobrze znaja smak moich czekoladowych caluskow,
a poniewaz wiele osob pytalo mnie o przepis, postanowilam podzielic sie nim tutaj, niejako "hurtowo", majac nadzieje,ze skorzystaja rowniez inni. Receptura i wykonanie jest naprawde bardzo latwe - robienie tych ciastek nieodmiennie przypomina mi zabawe "blotkiem" na plazy.
A poniewaz zapach, jaki wypelni  Wasze domy podczas pieczenia jest wart kazdego wysilku namawiam do upieczenia rowniez tych, ktorzy nigdy tych ciasteczek jescze nie probowali. Idealne do kawy, herbaty, mleka...co kto lubi. A jak juz beda gotowe nie zapomnijcie o zapewnieniu sobie dobrego towarzystwa do delektowania sie nimi (nawet, jesli to bedzie tylko/az dobra ksiazka)!

Skladniki:

12-14 dag zimnego masla,

1/2 szklanki cukru pudru,

1 szklanka maki pszennej,

5 lyzeczek maki ziemniaczanej,

2 lyzki kakao,

2 zoltka.

Krem:

wersja najprostsza - 10 dag rozuszczonej gorzkiej czekolady

lub

czekoladowe ganache.

Wykonanie:

Z podanych skladnikow zagniesc ciasto, owinac folia i wlozyc na ok.30min do lodowki
(ja wkladam tylko na 10min, nie naleze do najbardziej cierpliwych osob na swiecie). 

Po tym czasie nabierac male porcje, uformowac z nich kulki i ukladac na wylozonej papierem blaszce. Kazda kulke lekko splaszczyc. 

Piec w 180C przez ok 5-7 min. Calkowicie wystudzic. 

Posmarowac przestudzona rozpuszczona czekolada lub ganache  wystudzone ciastka
 i sklejac po dwa.

Udanego pieczenia i jeszcze lepszego zajadania!

Click here to view website!

Hello my dear folks! Spring, spring, spring... a bit cooler than two days ago but I am so optimistic, especially when I'm looking through the window - everything blossoms. So with all this sun and warmth I started my spring cleaning ;) and of course I decided to start with my old magazines, there are plenty of those so I though that I will select them a bit. Well... what can I say, it's hard. It's really hard! With every single page of Country Living or Marie Claire Idees , or whichever else, I found new ideas. How am I supposed to throw them out? Anyway, it's that part of my life my husband will never understand but at least we are not arguing about it any more (he just rolls his eyes). By the way during, let's say, my spring tiding, I found a mine of ideas and one of them I want to share with you today as it's perfect - very quick, very delicious and looks impressive. I think it's also a superb idea for the upcoming Mothers Day and there is still plenty of time to try it. So let's do it!

I've simplified this recipe as I know we are all busy!

You will need:

meringues (54) - you can buy them at any supermarket or make them yourself
 (credits to http://www.countryliving.com)

200ml double cream,

1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted, (I didn't use it as meringues are really sweet)

1 teaspoon rosewater,

2 pomegranates

When you have your meringues ready, whip the cream with the icing sugar and rosewater until it just holds its shape. Sandwich the meringues together with the cream. Display on a pretty serving dish and drizzle with pomegranate sauce and seeds. Voila! All done - simple as that!

 Have a great week, I am going back to my... spring cleaning (?!)

Click here to view the website!

It's freezing outside, the very first day of really cold autumn but at least it's still sunny and shiny...

I am wondering whether you read the book of Pamela Druckerman "French Children Don't Throw Food". I just finished this book and hmm.. summarizing, bringing up children seems very easy. I have to tell you that until reading this book I didn't know that this was the French way for bringing up kids, I thought that it's all around the world..
 Anyway there is a simple recipe (from that book).

First of all:

- start from the very early beginning (not when your child is a teenager),

- don't say "no" too often but if you really have to, say it in a really strong, sure way,

- remember that your child can wait

- feed them like normal people, generally remember that they are normal people (usually)

- keep balance

Tadaa...all done!Yeees..I am not going to tell you what I think about this. I can only say that I am always full of admiration for parents, whose children go to sleep around 11pm or even later, for me it's like an exercise for physical and mental strength ... Also when I watched a few episodes of Supernanny, I always watched them with my mouth open. I just couldn't believe that it was real.

But now I am a big fan of Francoise Dolto, a  French pediatrician and psychoanalyst, which I didn't even know she existed until I read this book (such a shame!). For me her vision of bringing up is the essence of parenthood.

Anyway, if you find a bit of spare time, read this book - it's funny, true and can be helpful... And here is a recipe for Gateau au Yaourt (yogurt cake), which is the first cake that French children learn to bake as Pamela Druckerman tells us in her book.
 Whether true or not - why not give it a try?!

2 tubs plain yogurt (175g),

2 eggs

1-2 tubs sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tub vegetable oil

4 tubs plain flour

1,1/2tsp baking powder

Gently combine the yogurt,eggs,sugar,vanilla and oil. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. mix the dry ingredients with the wet one.Mix gently until the ingredients are combined, but don't over-mix.You can add fruits or chocolate chips. Bake for 35 minutes in 190C

"The cake is delicious served with tea and a dollop of creme fraiche."

Bon appetit!

Now I am planning to read another book of Pamela Druckerman, which is "Lust in Translation".

I am already scared.

Have a lovely, sunny and warm day everyone!

Berry Buns Time!

Hi there! I hope you are taking your sun baths because since more than a week, we've been having lovely, sunny, warm/hot weather in London!!! Yes, it's true and I wish it will stay for longer!
So, the picnic season has officially started (maybe for some people it started a bit earlier,
but I like picnics without being wrapped up in a blanket) and I have a perfect idea for this occasion! Also, I know some lovers of these yummy, disappearing quicker than you think, summery buns (hello, Freddie!). Since I can smell them (honestly, it's worth doing them just for the smell) from the oven to the moment of I eat them, I always feel like a happy child...
So why not try this recipe - it's not tricky at all, and you can have a lot of fun while making them (especially when you decide to do it with your kid, as long as you don't mind the mess...
or go crazy and do it at night time!).

So, let's start with the ingredients:

Dough:
1 tsp dry yeast
60g sugar
400-450g flour
200ml milk
80g unsalted butter
2 egg yellows
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
grated peel from 1 lemon
pinch of salt

Filling:
fresh fruits or jam

Finish:
50g butter
powder sugar

Seems like a very long list but it's not that complicated, and you probably have everything
in your kitchen. If not, it's just a little shop! And it probably will be dried yeast,
which I always forget to buy...

So here's what to do:

1. Heat up the milk slightly and pour some in a cup. Add a teaspoon of sugar and dry yeast
and mix thoroughly.
2. Melt butter in a pot and mix it with egg yellows and the rest of the milk in a separate dish.
3. In another dish, mix flour, remaining sugar, vanilla sugar, grated lemon peel and salt.
Add the other two mixtures.
4. Knead until you get smooth and soft dough.

5. Divide the dough into three or more parts and roll it with your hands to get a roll shape.
Slice the dough roll, flatten each piece, and put a bit of fruits or jam in the middle.
Form it into a ball hiding the filling inside (just like a doughnut!).

6. Put them in a tray, they can stay close together, it doesn't matter if they stick together in the oven!

7. Put some melted butter on top of each bun (using a brush helps! Or your fingers, if you prefer).

8. Bake in 200°C for 20min.
9. After baking, sprinkle with some powder sugar- add as much as you like!

So here you go, the longest post on my blog ever and delicious buns for you to enjoy!
Let me know how it went, or maybe even take a picture and send it over to me? I'd love to see it!
By the way with this post I am starting a new series of sweet recipes.
I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

Have a great, tasty and sunny weekend!