Life can be Sweet

Amaretto-Hazelnut-Cake submitted by Nina from Germany

What did you make?
Amaretto-Hazelnut-Cake

For the bottom: 4 eggyolks with 130 grams sugar and 3 tablespoons warm water: mix until soft/foamy. Beat the eggwhites until stiff. Grind 200 grams hazelnuts and mix these with baking powder (one tablespoon) and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Mix this into the eggyolks and carefully fold in the beaten eggwhites. (don't stir too much to keep the foaminess). In oven for about 30 mins. let it cool down. on top: 400 grams cream, beat the cream with vanilla-flavoured sugar and cream stabilizer (I dont' know if you can get it in the US, I found this info on the web:"this is a German specialty item, used to make cream stiff so that it can support a bit of weight (such as a layer of fruit or a thin layer of cake); it's also used to keep whipped cream from going runny quite so fast in summer"). Put in grated chocolate and 3 tablespoons amaretto. Put that mix on the bottom, let it cool, add dark chocolate couverture on top. Let it cool again.

How did it taste?

AWESOME. It's quite simple to make but tastes really delicious. The cooling consumes some time, but it's worth it and you can do other stuff in between. I would make it for special occasions!


Om Ali submitted by Kareem in Davis, CA

What you made:

An Egyptian dessert dish called Om Ali, which literally means Ali’s Mother. Most Egyptians consider it to be a hearty dessert with a lot of nutritional value. It consists of puff pastry sheets soaked in sweetened milk and topped with hazelnuts (or walnuts, as in this case) and raisins. Typically, the puff pastry is covered with heavy cream, but as this increases the caloric content significantly, those who prefer lighter desserts can elect to do without it. In addition, reduced or low-fat milk can be used instead of whole milk.

How long it took:

Baking the puff pastry: 30 minutes
Heating the milk: 5 minutes
Chopping the walnuts: 5 minutes
Putting it all together and baking it some more: 40 minutes.
Total time: About one hour and twenty minutes.

How it tasted/whether you would make it again:

It tasted great. The puff pastry was soft in the center and just a tad crunchy on the edges, which was perfect. The milk, however, was only mildly sweet, and although this did not have too much of an effect on the overall taste, a little bit more sugar would have given the dish just the right amount of sweetness. The walnuts were plenty but the dish could have used a few more raisins. With all this taken into account, I would rate this Om Ali a solid 8 out of 10. I would definitely make this dessert again.

Apple Yogurt Walnut Cake by me in NYC



What did you make?

I made yogurt apple cake with walnuts and raisins and lemon juice. This is my signature dessert :)

You need:

1 cup yogurt
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil
1-1.5 cups of sugar
1 apple
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional: walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice

Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Add slices of apple onto the batter. Add 1/2 cup sugar or drizzle honey. Today I tried also adding lemon juice to the apple slices and then adding honey. Pour the rest of the batter. Drizzle more honey on top of the batter. When you bake it, the honey pattern will appear.


How long did it take?

If you have the ingredients it can be prepared in 20 minutes. Let it bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden.

Would you make it again? How does it tastes?

This cake is my go-to cake. Yogurt makes it very moist. Today I made a bit of a mistake and added more flour than usual so that cake was less moist but still pretty good. I would rate it a 7 only because I've had it even moister and sweeter. The cake is not too sweet so you can have it for either breakfast or snack or dessert. Adding honey on top makes a nice and chewy crust.

Helva submitted by Senay in NYC

What did you make?

I made a Turkish dessert called Helva.

It uses:

1 stick of melted butter

2 cups of flour

1.5 cups of sugar

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Stir these ingredients in a non stick pan until it becomes paste-like. Then you can shape it into round balls.

How long did it take?

Around 30 minutes.

How did it taste?

It tasted good and reminded me of how my mother makes it.