RAINBOW EASTER CAKE

I've been thinking of making a rainbow cake for a long time, and I finally decided it during the Easter vacations. My nephews helped me and were very excited to participate in the process.



Ingredients for the cake:

200 grams of butter

4 eggs

480 grams of flour

320 grams of sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

16 grams of yeast

250 ml of milk

Food colorant

I used a mold of 22 cm diameter and then I cut the edges to make them more uniform. 
 

Mix butter and sugar until it's totally mixed, then add the eggs, one by one, only add the next when the previous is completely mixed in the dough. Then add the vanilla essence.

Add the flour and the yeast slowly. When all this ingredients are together, add the milk.
Now take 8 bowls and put one tablespoon of dough in each one until the dough is finished.
Now add the food colorant  in each bowl.
Put some butter and flour in the mold and bake each dough 8 to 10 minutes at 180 degrees with the oven preheated.
Once cooked let them cool. Now you can make the cake structure or if you want you can wrap each color cake and let it in the fridge for the next day.

To build the structure put a color cake in a tray, then a layer of cream, then a different color cake, then a layer of cream… until the structure is complete.

The color dyes are  able for eating. I already bought a kit with all the colors made. If you buy only the three basic colors you can get the other colors by making the appropriated mixtures.




Between the dough coats I put whipped cream.



Here you can see the remnants.



Here is the Easter traditional chocolate egg, also we made it, don’t buy it! Using a very large egg mold purchased Gadgets Cuina, we did the egg following the instructions in this video.



Well, I built the cake placing each dough in the color order you can see on the photos, placing cream between each one.


Here is the egg on the top of the cake! It's great, right?

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed my rainbow Easter cake! ;)

Marina

PENNE WITH TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Here we have the other pasta recipe I talked about  few days ago. The first one was about Rigatoni, take a look if you want.

Let’s go.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

∙ PASTA

500g Penne.

∙ SAUCE

90ml extra virgin olive oil ∙ 1 chopped clove garlic ∙24 cherry tomatoes cut in half ∙ salt and pepper ∙ 250g of fresh mozzarella cheese cut in little pieces ∙2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ∙ 1 tablespoon of fresh mint.

∙ SAUCE: 1. Mix the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, garlic, mint, and olive oil in a big bowl. 2. Add salt and pepper at your taste and mix it all together softly.

∙ PASTA: 3. Put a pan of salted water to boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until is al dente, 10-12 minutes. 4. Drain the pasta and put it into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the bowl. 5. Stir the mixture well and serve it hot.

I added grated cheese at the sauce, it is much better!

One trick: Heat in microwave the dishes were you are going to serve the pasta, so it will stay hot longer.

Hope you try it and tell me about.

See you soon!

Marina



HOMEMADE HUMMUS

Oh, spring is finally here!! And I'm in the mood for some fresh recipes. 
Have you ever tried hummus? It's a very popular middle eastern dip, very quick and easy to make, and delicious! Perfect to serve with any meal or as a snack when guests come.

You need:  

• About 400 grams of canned or natural boiled  chickpeas
• 1 garlic clove 
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• Juice of half a lemon      
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of paprika (for garnish)

Dry the chickpeas. Mix in a blender all the ingredients except paprika, until it is creamy but not too liquid. If you find it too dry, add a little water. Blend until thoroughly mixed and smooth, and garnish with some  paprika and a splash of olive oil, et voila!

Have a nice weekend,

Mònica

RIGATONI WITH BASIL AND GOAT CHEESE

These days I'm doing some pasta recipes. A friend let me take a look at a very practical book specialized in pasta, and I choose some dishes.

This recipe is very simple, the ingredients are fresh and the result is delicious.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

∙ PASTA

   500g Rigatoni

∙ SAUCE

60ml extra virgin olive oil ∙ 1 chopped clove garlic ∙ 24 cherry tomatoes cut in half ∙ salt and pepper ∙ 250g of fresh goat cheese ∙ 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil .

∙ SAUCE: 1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté about 2-3 minutes. 2. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper at your taste. Let it cook on high heat until the tomatoes are heated, but neverlet them melt (I failed on this ...), 2-3 minutes.

PASTA: 3. Put a pan of salted water to boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until is al dente, 10-12 minutes. 4. Drain the pasta and put it into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the bowl, then add the goat cheese and the basil. 5. Stir the mixture well and serve it hot.

One trick: Heat in microwave the dishes were you are going to serve the pasta, so it will stay hot longer.

Easy, right? And it’s delicious!

Hope you try to do it and tell me about.

See you soon!

Marina

POTATOES AND SPINACHS

This is the other recipe I made ​​two weekends ago. It’s easy to make  and you can add or change the ingredients as you want.

I needed:

1 big potato per person

1 bunch of spinach per person

Breadcrumbs

Grated cheese

1 egg

Olive oil, salt and pepper

How to:

Boil the peeled potatoes cut in them in small pieces. After about 15 minutes boiling add the washed and drained spinach and leave it boiling 5 minutes more. Then draw it from the pot and let it drain. At the same time I boiled the egg and grated the breadcrumbs and cheese.

Mash potatoes and spinach (with a fork, not a blender) and add salt and pepper and a good dash of olive oil. Now we have the puree ready. Put it into a tray able for the oven.  Put a layer of bread crumbs and cheese.

Put the tray in the oven to grill. Finally spread the grated egg above the gratin and a pinch of salt.

Bon appetit to all of you!

Marina

HOMEMADE MUESLI

This weekend I made two recipes at home. One of them was homemade muesli.

Muesli is a mixture of grains, nuts, honey, perfect to start the day with energy!

I did my particular mix of ingredients. I encourage you to try it because the result is delicious and is also one of the most healthy alimentary supplement.

I chose:

Puffed rice

Oats

Raisins

Dried blueberries

Nuts

Chocolate drops

Honey

First I chop some nuts and cut the blueberries in half. Then I mix all the ingredients in a large bowl except honey.

For every 6 cups of mixture I add a cup of honey. 

Once all is well mixed put it in the oven on baking paper. The oven should be preheated to 180 degrees. It has to be inside the oven during 15 minutes, stirring it every 5 minutes.

Finally, leave it until it is completely cold.

I placed it in this jar. 

Mix it with natural yogurt and some fresh fruit, perfect!

Mmmm…! Delicious!

Marina