recipes Archives - The chef's cult

How to make “Vanillekipferl”? Find out now!

viktor.dvanajscak — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:21:12 +0000

Traditional Austrian “Vanillekipferl”:

350 g flour

70 g sugar

210 g butter

100 g ground walnuts

1 egg white

Bourbon vanilla

Servings: 8 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

Traditional Austrian “Vanillekipferl”:

12.35 oz flour

2.5 oz sugar

7.4 oz butter

3.5 oz ground walnuts

1 egg white

Bourbon vanilla

Servings: 8 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

Here we are, my little shiny Christmas trees, almost at the end of the road, with Christmas being closer every day! The starting gun is ready and the big b(r)eak off can begin! Let the butter and flour Gods be with us, oh let us just make the perfect cookies this season (or every other)! We need to be gentle, jet brave and focused, just like my aunt Emma, but without the Christmas punch overdose! Let’s scrap off the fundamentals of Christmas cookies with this traditional “Vanillekipferl” recipe! But how to make “Vanillekipferl”? You’ll find out soon!

What are “Vanillekipferl”?

This traditional “Vanillekipferl” recipe, has sure some tongue twister capacity, but nevertheless they’re cute, snowy, and really yummy, everything Christmas kitchen stands for!

They somehow occurred in Vienna, some say because of the victory over the Ottoman (Turks), and therefore have the specific crescent moon shape! Thank the Austrian or the Turks, or precisely, the man who thought, “well things escalated quickly, therefore I need to bake”! Tank you Mr. Franz from Vienna, you saved the world, and let’s be honest, we appreciate cookies, not war! Love, peace and sugar coating is our new mantra!

“Vanillekipferl” (VAN-el-eu-KIP-fuhl) are traditional cookies found in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia (and maybe your home), mostly during Christmas season or wintertime!

They are massively sugar coated (but if you don’t like it, you don’t have to) halfmoon shaped cookies! They are very crumbly when fresh and therefore require some of your attention, but in the end they regard you with something really special and unique! Now let’s jump right into our traditional “Vanillekipferl” recipe! Eins, zwei, Polizei? We have a tough cookie over here!

How to make “Vanillekipferl”?

Now we’ll discuss how to make “Vanillekipferl”? This one is really fast and easy. For our traditional recipe we’ll work in a few steps!

1. In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients. You’ll get a fine and shiny dough with just the right amount of everything in it!

2. Get your hands to work and form the “Vanillekipferl”! First make small balls and form them into a cylinder-like-shape between your hands. Bring together the ends of the cylinder shape and your cookie is ready shaped! We like to make them really small and cute, but yours can be as big as you like!

3. Bake them at 200 ° C (400 ° F) for 15 minutes, and now THE MOST important part as follows.

4. Take a plate and mix together the vanilla sugar and powdered sugar. While your cookies are still hot roll them in the sugar mixture! To get a really nice snowy coat they need to be still hot from the baking.

5. Let them cool down a few minutes and you are ready to go! My little cookie monsters, let’s roll!

Now you learned how to make “Vanillekipferl” ! Making them is really easy (as you see), all you have to do is just follow a few quick steps, that’s why we (and many others) love them so much. They are fast done, and really delicious! Maybe that’s why “Vanillekipferl” are one of the most popular Christmas cookies in Europe! What’s your opinion on “Vanillekipferl”?

The post How to make “Vanillekipferl”? Find out now! appeared first on The chef's cult.

Quick and easy 5 minute apple soufflé! Guaranteed!

viktor.dvanajscak — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:35:52 +0000

5 minute apple soufflé:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

5 large eggs

For the apple base:

3 big apples

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon sugar

Servings: 4 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 20 minutes

Hello my sweet little apple trees! Today we are making one of the fastest recipes we have written down in our dusty little recipe book and it’s called the 5 minute apple soufflé! You see, we have right in front of us the French charm in our warm-red (wine infused) cheeks, and therefore we are ready to start our cooking adventure! Oui, oui, oui!

What is the 5 minute apple soufflé?

It’s one of the easiest (and most gorgeous) dessert recipes you’ll learn, and we make it in our kitchen almost weekly! The French term soufflé resembles a baked egg dish in which the most important part is the trapped in air bubbles! The term comes from the French verb “souffler” which means “to blow” or “to inflate” if you like to blow or to inflate things just-like-we-do (whatever this means). The air is trapped in the egg whites and as the air expands (while being baked) we have the puffy-puff-puff that we want in a soufflé!

The base for our 5 minute apple soufflé is made out of apples shortly fried in butter and then poured over with the soufflé mixture. Sound so yummy, doesn’t it?

Important things to keep in mind!

To keep your 5 minute apple soufflé in shape we have to take notice of a few things.

Firstly, the egg whites and yolks need to be separated strictly (this means, a few drops of the yellow stuff in the white thingy is a bad thing!).

Secondly, we will first handle the egg yolks part of the recipe, to minimize the waiting time in which the beaten egg whites can lose its strength!

And last, everything you do needs to be gentle, soft and eaaaaasy (so leave the terminator aggression in your closet, my little apple tree)!

In this recipe we are making a deviation from a classic soufflé recipe, making it a little more Austrian in style. The twist is we’re making it with flour giving it a little more strength and reducing the use of puff-making-additions (like cream of tartar for example). This is more the Austrian style of preserving the air bubbles, and yet giving the dish a little more strength!

How to make the 5 minute apple soufflé?

There are just a few easy steps to this delicious recipe.

1. First peel your apples and cut them into little cubes. Heat up your pan and melt the butter. When melted (and hot) add the apples. Let the juice evaporate and add the sugar to the apple base.

2. To be fast and efficient, preheat your oven to 180 °C/350 °F (this way we’ll have the oven ready, just in time).

3. Now separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. We need only 3 egg yolks for the recipe (remove the 2 remaining egg yolks, but don’t throw them away, you can make pasta or other recipes with it, or just eat them right away!). The best way to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks is by passing the egg yolks from one half of the eggshell to the other, letting the egg whites drip off into a bowl.

4. Now take the egg yolks and mix them into one even-egg-yolk-paste.

5. In a separate bowl mix the egg whites, with just a little pinch of salt on medium speed until they are solid, nice and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix until the whipped egg whites get a shiny structure!

6. Over the whipped egg whites carefully add the flour evenly through a sieve. Now add the prepared egg yolk paste and carefully mix a few times with a spatula (until you get an even yellow fluffy mixture).

7. We are now ready to finish off our apple soufflé! Take out one small baking tray (our is 20×20 cm) and pour in your apple base. Cover the apple base with your soufflé mixture and bake immediately 20 minutes on medium heat. Do not open the oven while baking (although it may sound more attractive than Tom-Hardy-at-a-wet-summer-day)!

Serve still warm with powdered sugar topping and enjoy (we mean the dessert, not Tom Hardy)!

Quick cooking instructions!

In a pan melt the butter, add the apples and sugar, reduce.
Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Make a paste from 3 egg yolks.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the egg whites, add the sugar and mix until shiny and fluffy.
Over the whipped egg whites add the flour through a sieve. Add the egg yolk paste and mix carefully!
In a small baking tray add the apple base and cover with the soufflé mixture.
Bake 20 minutes on medium heat (180 °C/350 °F).
Serve immediately and finish off with powdered sugar topping.

Today we learned how to make the best desserts with just a few basic ingredients: apples, eggs and Tom Hardy (just kiddin’)! The best kitchen recipes are meant to be easy, with ingredients available at your doorstep. Be local, be sustainable and aware! And as always if you like it share it, or don’t, or whatever you like. You are the master of your faith, my little apple tree!

The post Quick and easy 5 minute apple soufflé! Guaranteed! appeared first on The chef's cult.

The perfect New Year’s Eve dessert recipes! Four recipes you didn’t heard of!

viktor.dvanajscak — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 18:53:38 +0000

Hello my little colorful confetti! Now that we finished the argument about perfect Christmas turkey with aunt Emma, got (or gave) all the presents and burnt down the Christmas tree, it’s time to get on with things like New Year’s Eve. New Year new me never really worked, that’s why we shall do the best dessert and, somehow, survive the next year! Check out our guide to the perfect New Year’s Eve dessert recipes! They are deeply engraved in our heart, and let those desserts make your year a little better (and sweeter)!

The „between the river strudel” (međimurska gibanica)

The traditional name of this strudel is “Međimurska gibanica” (the name of the region is roughly translated like “between the river”, so let’s call it “between the river strudel”). With this strudel you’ll have your foodgasm moment and not only that, but every guest on the party will be envious about your perfect New Year’s Eve dessert recipe. It is made from 4 layers where every layer is separated by basic strudel dough.

The layers are made of walnuts, poppy seeds, fresh cottage cheese and cinnamon apples. It is really a prominent region dessert, but only a handful of people in the world know about it, yet even tasted it (so you are one lucky buttercup). The ingredients are widely available by locals, and they are very commonly used in a lot of desserts in the region.

The top and bottom layer of the “between the river strudel” is made from basic puff pastry dough. You can also buy all of it in the store, but my buttercup, you know me, we cook everything at home, because we can (and we’re gorgeous, of course)! You can find this yummy-yummy-put-it-in-my-tummy recipe here!

What are fritule?

Fritule are fried rum balls and our second choice for your perfect New Year’s Eve dessert recipe, (but why the rum, captain Jack?), on top of that, they are really quick and easy to make. The perfect fritule need to be golden-brown from the outside and warm and soft from the inside, with a nice sweet rum smell. The secret to good fritule is the basic dough which needs to be compact yet elastic.

A good recipe is therefore a must have, and we’ll gladly help with this one. The best thing with fritule dough is that it can be kept in the fridge for a few days with ease! When you’re in the mood for traditional fritule, just take out your dough and you’re easy 10 minute dessert recipe is ready to go (click here for the recipe) …

Zlevanka – Europe’s best secret dessert!

Except that it sounds like Trump’s daughter, it’s one of our favorite desserts! Why? Because it’s really easy to make and, believe me, it’s really ready in 5 minutes (except you need to bake it). Traditional zlevanka is a dessert recipe originating from Eastern Europe where it’s often made (okey, it’s again from Croatia but it’s great, and who cares really?). In past times farmers had only cows and a lot of milk, that often got sour! So as not to throw away the milk, they made this recipe from things they had like corn flour, sour milk and eggs.

Zlevanka was born, and this happened even before Ivanka Trump was in sight! Maybe Trump’s now somewhere writing a food blog with our topic on this easy 5 minute dessert recipe, naming it traditional Ivanka (zlevanka)! Let us take you to the recipe!

Let’s start the year with something different – the original Zebra Rolls!

For sure you heard of cinnamon rolls, they’re literally everywhere, but on the other side, they are getting sort of tedious. That’s why we designed this zebra rolls recipe, to be the little bad brother of cinnamon rolls. Zebra rolls are made with a specific technique of blending two doughs together, making the recognizable zebra pattern. And on top of that, just to keep you drooling, they’re filled with a delicious homemade chocolate-hazelnut cream. Sounds like a blessing and tastes like heaven! Let us blast you away with this delish recipe!

Now it’s time to thank you for everything you do (whatever it is, well not the bad stuff though …)! We believe in you, yes you can and you will! Therefore, we are wishing you not just another new year, but let it be full of joy, great recipes, even better wine, new ideas and memories you can put in your happy drawer! All the very best! XOXO!

The post The perfect New Year’s Eve dessert recipes! Four recipes you didn’t heard of! appeared first on The chef's cult.

MOUTHWATERING CHEESECAKE BAR RECIPE! THE BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES YOU NEVER HEARD OF (PART 2#)!

viktor.dvanajscak — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:37:48 +0000

Cheesecake bar recipe:

Dough: 300 g hard flour

2 egg yolks

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon sour cream

100 g sugar

200 g butter

Lemon zest (organic lemon)

Filling: 4 egg whites

200 g sugar

500 g fresh cheese/cottage cheese

Bourbon vanilla

Lemon zest (organic lemon)

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Resting time (dough): 30 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes / 180 °C

Cheesecake bar recipe:

Dough: 10.6 oz hard flour

2 egg yolks

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon sour cream

3.5 oz sugar

7 oz butter

Lemon zest (organic lemon)

Filling: 4 egg whites

7 oz sugar

17.6 oz fresh cheese/cottage cheese

Bourbon vanilla

Lemon zest (organic lemon)

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Resting time (dough): 30 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes / 350 °F

Hello my sweet little Christmas cookies! Today we are revealing our juicy little secret, with this cheesecake bar recipe! The perfect cheesecake bars need to be compact, jet juicy and fresh, therefore perfect for the cold winter days. With family wilderness just around the corner, you need to have something to calm you down! Be your best Santa baby!

How to make cheesecake bars?

This cheesecake bar recipe is relatively easy, the most important thing to have in mind is to rest the dough and prepare a shiny and airy filling, but how do we do it?

1. Make the dough (it takes the most time and needs to rest)! Take a large bowl and mix together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Cut the butter in little pieces and add to the bowl. This way it will be easier to work the butter equally into the dough. Add the egg yolks and sour cream and finish everything off with a good pinch of lemon zest!

2. Mix everything together (when in need of cardio) manually, or with the machine (dear fancy-pants)! Cover it and move to the fridge for 30 minutes!

3. In the meantime make the filling! Take out your mixer and medium sized bowl! Mix together the egg whites and sugar, until they get a shiny, creamy and airy texture (takes usually about 5 minutes of mixing)! Then carefully incorporate the cheese with a baking spatula! Always try to keep the fluffiness of the mixture intact! Finish the filling with a pinch of bourbon vanilla and lemon zest (to your liking)!

4. Take out the dough from the fridge! Divide the dough in two identical pieces (one will be the bottom, the other the top of the bar). Thin out the dough pieces to about half centimeter! Butter and flour your baking tray and add the thinned bottom dough.

5. Add the filling on top of the dough. Distribute it evenly with the spatula!

6. Now we add the little kitchen tricks (of the real chefs). Roll up the second dough and put it on the filling (end of dough facing end of baking tray). Now unwrap it carefully and voila, no cracks, just cheesecake bar recipe perfection!

7. With a fork make a few holes on top of the dough (so the air can go out while baking).

8. Bake 30 minutes on medium heat (180 °C/350 °F).

9. When it cools down cut into little bars and serve. Yummy moment guaranteed (enjoy it for yourself or keep for the family)!

Quick cooking instructions!

Make the dough! In a large bowl mix the flour, baking soda, sugar, butter, sour cream, egg yolks and lemon zest. Cover up and leave in fridge for 30 minutes!
Make the filling! Mix together the egg whites and sugar. Add the cheese, bourbon vanilla and lemon zest. Make a shiny, airy and fluffy filling!
Take out the dough and divide in two pieces. Thin out first and put on bottom of prepared baking tray.
Add the filling and cover with the second dough.
Bake for 30 minutes on medium heat (180 °C/350 °F).
Let to cool down and cut into small bars.

This is our second recipe of the series of secret Christmas cookie recipes around the world! Now you learned how to make cheesecake bars, congratulations! You can share it or keep it secret for centuries! The decision is yours to make, will you be the green bitter Grinch or Santa’s Little Helper? Ho, Ho, Ho!?

The post MOUTHWATERING CHEESECAKE BAR RECIPE! THE BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES YOU NEVER HEARD OF (PART 2#)! appeared first on The chef's cult.

Discover the traditional honey cookies! The best Christmas cookies you never heard of (part 1#)!

viktor.dvanajscak — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 19:40:24 +0000

Traditional honey cookies recipe:

700 g flour

250 g honey

3 eggs

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons cinnamon

100 g sugar

100 g margarine

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 12 minutes

Traditional honey cookies recipe:

24.7 oz flour

8.8 oz honey

3 eggs

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3.53 oz sugar

3.53 oz margarine

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 12 minutes

Hello my little buzzy helpers! Today we are once again grabbing deep into the tradition bowl of hidden cookie recipes! We fought hard and we fought well to reveal this recipe to you, my friends! When you try this sweet, yet soft and tender, traditional honey cookies recipe, you won’t get enough of them! May the honey force be with you! Now buzz right into the recipe!

Where do traditional honey cookies come from?

Eastern Europe is full of honey cookies! They come in different shapes and sizes, but most notably is the nice-fluffy-roundish form that is traditional present in the whole area. They are called “Medenjaci” which resembles to “made from honey”. They are made in wintertime, especially during the Christmas holidays! Because nothing warms the heart better than a glass of mulled wine and this traditional honey cookies!

How long do they last?

Traditional honey cookies are made to last very long! If you do not eat them right away (which somehow always happens), they are very long lasting. Take your favorite cookie bowl, seal them properly, and they can last a decade! We still have the first my grandma made for me (just kiddin, we ate them all because we are insatiable little cookie monsters, yep, yep).

What honey to use?

Any honey-type is suitable, but we use mostly wildflower honey! Let it be (my Beatles) organic and full of flavor, not the two-bucks-Chinese-sugar-honey-type! The flavor of honey is of utter importance for the flavor of traditional honey cookies, therefore don’t be cheap on the quality of your honey, be like a real delish-grizzly-bear, search for the best honey (and don’t get stung)!

How to make traditional honey cookies?

This one is really easy, just a few quick steps and they are done! This one is so easy that even my grandpa made them! Here are the few steps to traditional honey cookies heaven!

1. Take a large bowl and mix all the ingredients together! Start with the flour and baking soda! Mix it together so the baking soda arranges evenly in the mixture. Then add the eggs, honey, sugar and cinnamon. In the end add the margarine (cut it before into smaller chunks, so you can knead it easier)!

2. Knead everything to a nice and shiny dough! Seal your bowl (so the dough doesn’t dry out) and leave it to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge!

3. Take out your baking tray! Make little balls of honey cookie dough and place them on a baking paper (with little distance between them!)

4. Now the most important thing, or as we call it, “the portal to traditional honey cookie heaven”, the baking time! We bake them exactly 12 minutes (depending on your oven maybe one or two minutes more) at 180 °C! They need to be completely baked, but yet soft and tender!

This is our first recipe of the series of secret Christmas cookie recipes around the world! Now you learned how to make traditional honey cookies (now you are like my grandpa, congratulations)! You can share it or keep it secret for centuries! The decision is yours to make, will you be the green bitter Grinch or Santa’s Little Helper? Ho, Ho, Ho !?

The post Discover the traditional honey cookies! The best Christmas cookies you never heard of (part 1#)! appeared first on The chef's cult.

Easy 10 minute dessert recipes, traditional fritule!

viktor.dvanajscak — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:31:57 +0000

Traditional fritule recipe:

400 g yogurt

400 g flour

2 eggs

lemon zest

2 bags of vanilla sugar (2 x 10 g)

2 bags of baking soda (2 x 10 g)

2 tablespoons rum

2 tablespoons sugar

Optional – chocolate syrup

marmalade

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Traditional fritule recipe:

14.1 oz yogurt

14.1 oz flour

2 eggs

lemon zest

2 bags of vanilla sugar (2 x 0.35 oz)

2 bags of baking soda (2 x 0.35 oz)

2 tablespoons rum

2 tablespoons sugar

Optional – chocolate syrup,

marmalade

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Hello my sweet strawberries! Today we’ll make the best easy 10 minute dessert recipe called traditional fritule! Fritule are traditionally made throughout the whole year mainly in winter time, but on summer days they are a delish charm enjoyed with fruits and chocolate or vanilla cream. Sound perfect, now how will we make this little diamond?

What are fritule?

Fritule are fried rum balls (but why the rum, captain Jack?) and they are really quick and easy to make. The perfect fritule need to be golden-brown from the outside and warm and soft from the inside, with a nice sweet rum smell. The secret to good fritule is the basic dough which needs to be compact yet elastic.

How to make traditional fritule?

The thing with traditional fritule is that they are prepared with ease!

1. Just take out a big bowl and mix together the yogurt, sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs and of course the rum captain Jack (you can add how much you like, but don’t pour in the whole bottle though)!

2. Mix it with your mixer and add the flour and baking powder. Mix again until you get a nice compact yet elastic dough (which is perfect for traditional fritule). The dough is ready to be fried immediately (but it is really the best the next day, kept in the fridge).

3. Pour in the oil in your cooking pan (at least 5 cm/2 inches from the bottom of your pan). The oil needs to be medium hot, not overly, because your fritule will be burnt outside and raw inside!

4. Now take your dough and two tablespoons. Take the dough with one spoon and drop your dough in the hot oil, help yourself with the other spoon and clean out the remaining dough!

5. Repeat the process and work in small sections (because you need to really control the heat, fritule can easily be over-fried and burnt). Take them out when they are golden brown, repeat the process until your easy 10 minute dessert recipe is done!

Quick cooking instructions

In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs and rum.
Add the flour and baking powder, mix again until you get a nice compact yet elastic dough.
Heat up the oil (not too hot).
Take the dough with one spoon and help yourself with the other! Fry until golden brown.
Serve with marmalade and chocolate syrup!

How to serve fritule?

Now you made your 10 minute dessert recipe with ease and you ask yourself how to serve it? If you have great company, you can serve them into glasses but the must have with traditional fritule is its chocolate and marmalade topping. You can serve it with your most favorite marmalade (strawberry, plum, peach, orange, apricot, everything goes!). Your dessert will be a must have, you’ll see!

Fritule wine pairing

Because of the heavy aromas of fritule the best pair is a good old sweet Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. The first one is a little bit nuttier in the flavor, especially when older, and the second one has a specific spicy flavor which can be perfectly combined with a little bit acidic marmalades like raspberry or currant.

That’s it for today my sweet strawberries! Hope this recipe gets a special place in your heart and your kitchen! Ans as always sharing is caring, so share it my little birdy, or don’t and keep the fritule for yourself, we love you either way!

The post Easy 10 minute dessert recipes, traditional fritule! appeared first on The chef's cult.

Homemade cheese recipe or how to make the best homemade cheese in 5 minutes?

viktor.dvanajscak — Tue, 11 May 2021 21:37:33 +0000

Homemade cheese recipe:

5 l fresh raw milk

10 tablespoons white vinegar

50 g chives (optional)

50 g salt

Servings: 12 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Homemade cheese recipe:

1.32 gal fresh raw milk

10 tablespoons white vinegar

1.75 oz chives (optional)

1.75 oz salt

Servings: 12 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Hello my smelly cheese lovers! Today is the special day because we’re making our own homemade cheese recipe (not smelly), of course everything done in 5 minutes!

We know you asked yourself the “should I try to make cheese at home?” question. If you haven’t already, the time is now, and believe us, once you make it, you won’t get enough of it! Just like kids, basically, when they’re nice, which is maybe once a month, well …, forget about it (but not the cheese, here we go)!

How is cheese made?

Making cheese is a true artform. There are a lot of steps that, in the end, result in cheese. Some of them are preparing the milk, acidifying it, curdling, cutting the curd, draining the whey, salting, maturation, and so on … BUT you don’t even have to know everything to make the best cheese there is, because cheese is basically concentrated and coagulated milk, and we can do that in just a few easy, natural and fast steps! Our technique of cheesemaking is the best ancient, and well-kept cooking secret, but we will share everything with you!

What milk to use?

The best milk for fresh cheesemaking is of course, fresh, raw milk! It isn’t pasteurized therefore it contains a lot more enzymes that help milk coagulation and forming your cheese. But know your milk and inform yourself about the product just to be sure of the quality of your milk.

The milk we use is literally from our milk farmer, nothing better than fresh, morning milk! Of course, you can try to make your own, best homemade cheese with pasteurized milk, but the results may vary, but try it out! In addition, in terms of fat content the rule is simple, the more the better! Sorry folks, but more fat means tastier cheese!

How to make homemade cheese in 5 minutes?

This homemade cheese recipe is really easy and fun, trust me, you’ll make this more than once, guaranteed!

1. First bring your milk to boil! When it starts boiling immediately turn off the heat!

2. Then gradually add 5-10 tablespoons of white vinegar to the milk (depending on the amount of milk used)! The milk should start coagulating and you’ll start to see greenish hues of liquid, which is basically whey (which is also healthy and best used fresh).

3. Now take out your sieve and carefully add the little parts of coagulated milk to it. Salt everything thoroughly and work it out layer by layer.

4. In the end just add weight too it. The easiest way would be a heavy pot full of water, but you can also put some heavy books on it etc.

Now just leave it to drain, and in the meantime, you can read your old books! After one hour it should be nicely compact, but you can leave it for longer if you want … Just put it on a plate and it’s ready to be served. Best-cheese-recipe-ever?

Quick cooking instructions

Bring milk to boil, then turn off heat immediately!
Gradually add the white vinegar to the milk. It should start coagulating!
Put your coagulated milk in a sieve and salt it thoroughly!
Add some weight to it and let it drain for 1 h. Enjoy your homemade cheese!

You can make your cheese in different shapes and sizes but the best thing about it is experimenting with flavors and herbs. Dried tomato cheese? Olive cheese? Rosemary cheese? Or our favorite fresh chive cheese? With this easy homemade cheese recipe everything goes!

The post Homemade cheese recipe or how to make the best homemade cheese in 5 minutes? appeared first on The chef's cult.

The best edible wild plants (common nettle gnocchi recipe)!

viktor.dvanajscak — Sun, 02 May 2021 10:30:37 +0000

Homemade nettle gnocchi recipe:

For the dough:

120 g flour

400 g mashed potatoes

200 g nettles

One large egg

Creamy mushroom sauce recipe:

2 garlic cloves

Fresh thyme

1 tablespoon butter

300 g mushroom (Shiitake/E. sepium)

3 dl heavy cream

Servings: 4 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Homemade nettle gnocchi recipe:

For the dough:

4.2 oz flour

14.1 oz mashed potatoes

7 oz nettles

One large egg

Creamy mushroom sauce recipe:

2 garlic cloves

Fresh thyme

1 tablespoon butter

10.6 oz mushrooms (Shiitake)

10.2 oz heavy cream

Servings: 4 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Hello my little spring mushrooms! Today we go back into the wild with a simple nettle gnocchi recipe, back to our ancestors cooking pots, releasing our own forest floor free spirit. This new and easy recipe can be widely used in springtime, when natures beauty really slams you in the face. Just like today’s recipe, which is really easy to make. This nettle gnocchi recipe is using mostly things you can find in nature, and it takes just a few minutes to prepare, can’t get any better than that.

Common nettle (Urtica dioica) identification

If you want to pick it up, you need to know what it looks like, it’s a simple rule, something like knowing your first prom date. Now for this nettle gnocchi recipe we need a lot of nettle and, luckily, it grows all-over the world, mostly in humid and not overly warm areas.

Nettle is described as a perennial plant (it lives more than two years, a tough mother#$%&er, literally). Their heart shaped leaves are opposite and have hairs all over their surface (just like the stems). On their edges they have a saw-like pattern. And even the kids know that nettle stings, so do you, but you don’t know the mechanism behind it. The little nettle hairs are actually needles (just as mentioned nettle is a tough mother#$%&er) and when coming in contact with your skin they break and release acid into your skin (thanks nettle, really, you shouldn’t), and that’s when the OUCH effect kicks in!

Edible plant parts

Nettle is edible almost wholly, from the root, stem up to the leaves, but take care of two things! Firstly, their stinging needles, that’s why you should always use hand gloves when dealing with nettle, something like dealing with your dirty husband’s socks! Secondly, the best time for picking nettles in the wild is spring (or until flowering phase) because when nettle begins to flower it accumulates a few chemicals that can be hard for your body to break down.

For cooking we mostly pick the young leaves, on top of the nettle, just by breaking the stem. When dealing with nettle just have this advice in mind and everything will be alright. That’s how you get the best cooking material for your perfect nettle gnocchi recipe.

Entoloma sepium fungi description

Having the nettles for your recipe, it would be a shame not to include one of the best high quality spring mushrooms! Entoloma sepium or the white plum fungi, is found across Europe at spring, but it’s a rare find, and therefore a high-end delicacy! It’s mostly found in deserted orchards under old plum, apple and pear trees.

Entoloma sepium is white, but as Entoloma clypetaum they can be also grey or brown. Their gills are crowded and white when young but get a pink hue when older. The cap is conical and white, while the stem has no stem ring. It’s taste and smell are just out of this world! It has u punchy smell resembling flour and it’s the best base to add punchy spring aromas to your meal. It’s taste and smell are similar to Shiitake fungi, so if you can’t find this rare delicacy, you can go on with some quality Shiitake! Now let’s go on to our nettle gnocchi recipe!

How to make nettle gnocchi?

To work with nettle there’s one simple rule, blanch it first. Just a few minutes in boiling water and then cool it down in cold water, and you’re ready to go! Just press out the excess water from your nettles with your hands and now you preserved all the nutrients from the plant, just as easy as that.

First grab a medium sized bowl and add the flour, cooked (and mashed potatoes), nettles and one egg.
Season everything and mix together.
When you get a soft and delicious dough, cut it into smaller pieces and roll it out on a floured surface.
Cut you gnocchi into small parts and repeat the process.

You can cook them immediately or store them in the fridge (for a few days) or freeze them (for a longer period). The color of the gnocchi is exceptionally green and the taste is just out of this world. This is really the easiest nettle gnocchi recipe you’ll find, and really delicious too!

Homemade nettle gnocchi with creamy spring mushroom sauce recipe!

Now you have you perfect nettle gnocchi and it would be a shame not to cook them immediately! That’s why we prepared for you a quick and easy perfect pairing recipe! If you don’t find any spring mushrooms nearby, just take common Shiitake, and it will be just as delicious!

For the recipe first melt the butter and add the finely minced garlic.
Add the thyme and mushrooms. Leave to cook for a few minutes.
Add the heavy cream and season everything!
Cook your homemade nettle gnocchi and mix together.
Serve with a few drops of olive oil and enjoy!

Wine pairing!

For this gnocchi recipe the primary aromas are nettles and punchy mushrooms! For the first you can go with a Chardonnay from Chile and for the second one, even a deep layered Pinot Noir from Oregon with higher acidity would definitely break the ice! If you have any of it, just call us up if you need some company, we’re all for it!

That’s it my little spring mushrooms! We hope you’ll try out the blessings you get from going back to the wild, enjoying your roots and blessings life gave us, and maybe, just maybe, trying out this gorgeous nettle gnocchi recipe. Now, as always, share it, or don’t, enjoy your day off in the wild, catching up with your nettles, not getting stung by them, a bee or eaten by a grizzly bear. Enjoy the little things in life, like wrestling with a grizzly! See you soon my mushroom!

The post The best edible wild plants (common nettle gnocchi recipe)! appeared first on The chef's cult.

Easy 5 minute dessert recipe, traditional zlevanka!

viktor.dvanajscak — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 20:03:24 +0000

Traditional zlevanka recipe:

150 g all-purpose flour

50 g corn flour

100 g sugar

4 dl sour milk

2 dl sour cream

100 g melted butter

1 dl milk

3 large eggs

For the topping:

7 tablespoons marmalade of choice

4 tablespoons sour cream

2 bags of vanilla sugar

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 45 minutes

Traditional zlevanka recipe:

5.3 oz all-purpose flour

1.75 oz corn flour

3.5 oz sugar

13.5 oz sour milk

6.7 oz sour cream

3.5 oz melted butter

3.4 oz milk

3 large eggs

For the topping:

7 tablespoons marmalade of choice

4 tablespoons sour cream

2 bags of vanilla sugar

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 45 minutes

Hello my sweet cherry blossoms! Today we’ll make an easy 5 minute dessert recipe, called traditional zlevanka! Imagine you got back home from work, tired, like (almost) always, you open the door and what do you see? An apocalyptic scene called your home (or my), a total mess of destruction, dirty socks all over the place, cobwebs hanging from your husbands’ boxers, kid toys acting like mines, waiting to destroy your shoes and on top of that the whole family comes home in about right now, what do you do? Do you think of living everything behind, starting a new life on the shores of Jamaica selling cookies? No, no!

You make the world (yours and mine) a little bit sweeter with a dessert! And 5 minutes is all it takes! With this easy 5 minute dessert recipe, you’ll save the day (and maybe the world)!

What is traditional zlevanka?

In past times farmers had only cows and a lot of milk, that often got sour! So as not to throw away the milk, they made this recipe from things they had like corn flour, sour milk and eggs. Zlevanka was born, and this happened even before Ivanka Trump was in sight! Maybe Trump’s now somewhere writing a food blog with our topic on this easy 5 minute dessert recipe, naming it traditional Ivanka (zlevanka)!

How to make traditional zlevanka

Okey we promised it, now we have to deliver this easy 5 minutes dessert recipe! A perfect zlevanka is nicely spongy and moist (like all the nice little things in the world) with a beautiful yellow color.

1. To achieve that, grab a bowl and mix together the corn flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, melted butter, sour cream and sour milk (it needs to be sour, because the specific taste of zlevanka is sweet-sour-ish).

2. If the consistency is too dense, add just a little normal milk (the thickness needs to be a little more dense than normal pancake mixture). Then add the egg yolks and mix together till the mixture gets shiny and even.

3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites. When they get nicely hard and creamy, carefully fold them into the mixture.

4. Grab your baking tray and butter it thoroughly (you can also add baking paper if you want). Now pour in the mixture and over it add your marmalade of choice (ours is, you guessed it, cherry, my little cherry blossoms).

5. In a small bowl add the sour cream and vanilla sugar, mix everything together and pour over your zlevanka mixture in your baking tray.

6. Heat up your oven and bake on medium heat 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes and enjoy your great little piece of cherry!

Quick cooking instructions

In a large bowl mix the corn flour, all-purpose flour, sour milk, sour cream, melted butter and egg yolks. Mix until the mixture gets shiny and even.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until hard. Fold them into the mixture.
Butter your baking tray, add the mixture, marmalade and sweetened sour cream.
Bake on 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes and enjoy your great little piece of cherry!

Wine pairing for traditional zlevanka

Because of it’s sweet-sour combination we need to find a wine that’s suitable to stand alongside this specific dessert attributes. A wine variety that’s almost always sweet and sour at the same time is Riesling. A nice Spätlese Riesling or even Kabinett (which has lower sugar, almost off-dry) would be a perfect match for this recipe.

Now my little cherry blossoms it’s time to get the word out. If you want for zlevanka to be known around the world, get the word out (to your friends and family) or have it to yourself. Don’t ever let Ivanka Trump get that little piece of your cherry. Pssssssst! It didn’t even happen!

The post Easy 5 minute dessert recipe, traditional zlevanka! appeared first on The chef's cult.

The best edible wild plants recipes (common hop quiche)!

viktor.dvanajscak — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 17:08:59 +0000

Common hop quiche recipe:

For the dough:

300 g flour

150 g butter

One large egg

For the filling:

2 medium sized onions

500 gnmangel (if wanted)

200 g common hop shoots

500 g cottage cheese

200 g sour cream

One large egg (mixed)

Fresh hop shoots (for decoration)

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 50 minutes

Common hop quiche recipe:

For the dough:

10.5 oz flour

5.3 oz butter

One large egg

For the filling:

2 medium sized onions

17.6 oz mangel (if wanted)

7 oz common hop shoots

17.6 oz cottage cheese

7 oz sour cream

One large egg (mixed)

Fresh hop shoots (for decoration)

Servings: 6 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 50 minutes

Hello my little spring rolls! Is you first flower popping out, your neighbor mowing the grass at 5 in the morning and your chocolate easter bunny looking to get out of your fridge? If so, it’s spring and this means we are picking up the spring veggies! First, it’s time for the so called “poor man’s asparagus” and believe me, it’s really special! We’ll start a guide on the best edible wild plants recipes, starting with a quick common hop quiche recipe. Grab your boots because we’re foraging like in good ol’ times.

Common hop (Humulus lupulus) identification

Because we don’t want to get any trouble from your MD, we’ll help you with the identification. If you’re not sure what plant is right in front of you there’s lots of materials on the net, and a ton of facebook (or other groups) that can help you with your doubts, and of course you can always ask us! Now let’s hop (got the reference?) to our edible wild plants!

Common hop is often found growing in large areas around forest margins, on abandoned land or around old fallen trees. It’s the stuff beer is made from and has an opulent smell when ripe. Naturally it crawls all over other plants and is really easy to find. Its leaves have 3-5 lobes, and are covered with little, tiny hairs, so is its stem.

Edible plant parts

It’s starting to grow mostly around March and April, and therefore it’s one of the best edible wild spring plants. Now you found your best example of common hop and you want to know what’s there to eat (I mean, who can judge you)?

The best edible part of common hop is its young and crispy shoots! They really look like wild asparagus (if you ever saw any of it), and the taste is just out of this world! It’s very green and slightly, really slightly, bitter-ish. If you want to be one of those hipster-living-out-of-nature-type-of-guys you should definitely include this plant on your spring diet!

How to handle common hop shoots?

When picking your hop, just break the stems with your fingers. It’s really fun (and very satisfactory to listen to) because, of the high-water content, they break quite easily. When cooking the hop shoots, they are best cut into smaller pieces and cooked for just a few seconds (15-30 seconds) and cooled down under cold water. With this classic blanching you’ll make sure all the vitamins and freshness of your hop shoots are preserved! Afterwards you can do whatever you like with your hop (hop-efully you’ll make a quiche with it though).

How to make common hop quiche?

You got your hop; this means you need a load of the best edible wild plants recipes, right? That’s where we hop in (okey, enough of the hop references right here)! We’ll make quick and easy quiche in just a few steps.

1. First prepare your quiche dough. It’s made of butter, flour and eggs, mix everything together, put in fridge to rest (together with your chocolate easter bunny), no biggie!

2. Now caramelize your onions and remove excess water out of your mangel by heating it up in a pan (you can also make the recipe without it, whatever you like, you’re the boss). Blanche your hop shoots and your quiche filling is almost ready.

3. Grab a bowl, add the fresh cottage cheese, sour cream, one egg, onions, mangel and hop shoots, season to your desired taste, and mix thoroughly.

4. Now thin out your quiche dough and bake it halfway in your oven, it takes about 15 min on medium heat (don’t forget to drill some holes with your fork!). When it’s half-baked remove from the oven and add your quiche filling evenly.

5. You can add some fresh hop shoots on top if you want (to get that I’m the best chef in my hood effect). Now bake your common hop quiche for 50 minutes on medium heat and enjoy your own little piece of kitchen magic!

Quick cooking instructions

In a bowl mix eggs, butter and flour. Knead the dough and leave to rest in fridge for 30 minutes.
In a pan fry your onions and remove water from mangel.
Blanche the hop shoots.
In a bowl add the onions, cottage cheese, egg, sour cream, mangel and blanched hop shoots. Mix together and season.
Thin out the quiche dough and bake it halfway on medium heat 180°C (350°F) for 15 min.
Add the filling and if wanted, the fresh hop shoots.
Bake for 50 minutes on medium heat 180°C (350°F).

Wine pairing for common hop quiche

Because of the fresh and vegetal flavor of the hop and the acidity coming from the cottage cheese and sour cream the best pairing comes from wines with higher acidity and depth of flavor. The excellent pair is classic, expressive, fresh Sauvignon Blanc, but even oak aged Sancerre fume Sauvignon Blanc will be a definitive bullseye match!

And as always, my little spring rolls, sharing is caring, so keep up the good words and wonderful things will come to you (that’s what my fortune cookie said this week)! More of the best edible wild plants recipes will come soon! Until then, xoxo!

The post The best edible wild plants recipes (common hop quiche)! appeared first on The chef's cult.