Heljdini cvjetići

Cvijeće je glavni simbol proljeća i kao takvo se zaslužuje slaviti u ovo vrijeme. Stoga sam mu odlučila odati počast i u kuhinji gdje sam u formi cvijeta napravila kekse od heljdinog brašna s bademima i sušenom brusnicom.

Potrebno:

• 100 g suhih brusnica
• 1 naranča (iscijeđena)
• ca. 550 g heljdinog brašna
• 1 čajna žlica sode bikarbone
• 1/2 vrećice praška za pecivo
• 80 g smeđeg šećera
• cimet (po želji)
• prstohvat soli
• 100 g badema u listićima
• 150 ml suncokretovog ulja
• ca. 250 ml vrhnja
• dodatno heljdinog brašna za valjanje tijesta
• marmelade (po želji)

Napomene: od navedene količine sam dobila oko 80-90 keksiju. Marmeladu sam koristila za spajanje keksiju čime se naravno umanjila njihova količina (barem brojčano). Ovo možete, ali ne morate napraviti, samo su nekima keksi draži s "punjenjem" od marmelade. Ako ih odlučite spajati marmeladom, preporučam marmeladu/džem od šumskog voća jer izvrsno ide uz sušene brusnice.

Priprema:

1. Namočite brusnice u soku od naranče i ostavite da omekšaju oko 5 minuta.
2. Prosijte heljdino brašno. Ono što ne uspije proći kroz mrežicu bacite. Dodajte sodu bikarbonu i prašak za pecivo.
3. Dodajte u brašno šećer, cimet i sol.
4. Usitnite bademove listiće. Predlažem da ih (dok su u kesici) istučete maljem za meso. Potom ih dodajte u suhu smjesu.
5. U brašno dodajte ulje i vrhnje i umijesite tijesto.
6. Kad je tijesto postalo kompaktno, dodajte brusnice i sok od naranče te nastavite mijesiti da se sve poveže.
7. Ostavite tijesto u hladnjaku 15-30 minuta kako bi ga bilo lakše kasnije razvaljati i formirati kekse.
8. Stavite grijati pećnicu na 175°C.
9. Pobrašnite podlogu te valjakom razvaljajte tijesto na debljinu ca. 3 mm i režite kalupima za kekse. Ja sam koristila kalupe u obliku cvijeća, iako zaista možete bilo koje kalupe uzeti.
10. Prekrijte lim za pečenje papirom za pečenje.
11. Pecite kekse na 175°C oko 8-10 minuta.
12. Po želji, kad su se keksi ohladili, ih spajajte maremladom (jedan keks namažite, drugi kekse zalijepite na njega - marmelada ovdje služi kao "ljepilo").
13. Uživajte!

Buckwheat Flowers

Flowers are the main symbol of spring and, as such, deserve to be celebrated at this time. So I decided to pay them an homage in the kitchen by baking flower-shaped cookies made of buckwheat flour with almond flakes and dried cranberries.

You Will Need:

• 100 g dried cranberries
• 1 orange (squeezed)
• ca. 550 g buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 packet (1 tsp) baking powder
• 80 g brown sugar
• cinnamon (to taste)
• a pinch of salt
• 100 g almond flakes
• 150 ml vegetable oil
• ca. 250 ml cooking cream
• additional buckwheat flour for rolling out the dough
• marmalade (optional)

Notes: The above amount yielded about 80-90 cookies. I used the marmalade to "glue" the cookies together (the marmalade serves as an adhesive of sorts), which of course reduced the number of cookies (at least numerically). You can, but don't necessarily have to do this. Some people just find these cookies tastier when they're "filled" with marmalade. If you do decide to do this, I would recommend you use a forest-fruit marmalade/jam because it really nicely complements the dried cranberries.

How To Prepare:

1. Soak the cranberries in orange juice. Let them sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Sift the buckwheat flour. Throw away what is not able to pass through the sieve. Add the baking powder and baking soda to the flour.
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and salt to the flour mixture and mix well.
4. Chop up the almond flakes. I recommend that you actually lightly beat them with a beat cleaver while they are in a plastic bag. Add them to the dry mixture.
5. Add oil and cooking cream to the mixture and knead.
6. When the dough has become compact, add the cranberries and orange juice and continue kneading until everything blends together.
7. Leave the dough to sit in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out and to form the cookies.
8. Heat up the oven to 175°C.
9. Dust your working area with flour. Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thickness and cut with cookie cutters. I used flower-shaped ones, although any shape will do.
10. Cover the baking tray with baking paper.
11. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes at 175°C.
12. If you prefer, once the cookies have cooled down, "glue" them with marmalade/jam (spread marmalade on one cookie and press another cookie onto that one - the marmalade serves as an adhesive here).
13. Enjoy!

Honey Cake

The beginning of spring is perfect for light cakes such as this one, which are full of flavor, but at the same time easy on the stomach. Orange juice and orange zest remind us that spring brings refreshment into our lives, while the main ingredient of this cake - honey - reminds us that this is the time of year when all living beings start stirring once more, and among them bees that start producing honey as the flowers start blooming.

You Will Need:

For the usual dose:	For the double dose:
2 1/2 cups flour	5 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder	6 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda	1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt	1 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar	1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon	4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted honey	1 cup melted honey
1/3 cup sunflower oil	2/3 cup sunflower oil
4 eggs	6 eggs
1 tsp orange zest	2 tsp orange zest
1 cup orange juice	2 cups orange juice

Notes: you can mix plain flour with hard flour if you like and you can also use more sugar if you prefer your cakes to be sweeter (I always put a lot less sugar than is usually state in a recipe and this cake was no exception).

How To Prepare:

1. Heat your oven to 175°C.
2. Oil and four your baking pan(s). It's really all the same what kind of pan you decide to use, just keep in mind that the cake(s) will rise quite a bit. If you decide to go with the usual dose, the one regular, circular cake mold about 22 cm in diameter will do.But if you are making a double dose, you can expect a lot more. You can even use unusual cake molds! For example, I used one mold in the shape of a four-leaf clover and one that is usually used for baking Yule log cakes.
3. Mix all dry ingredients using a wooden spoon.
4. Gradually add the wet ingredients and mix using an electric mixer.
5. Pour the dense mixture into the mold(s) and bake for ca. 30 minutes at 175°C.

If you like, you can take the cake out 5 minutes earlier, glaze it with honey and put it back in the oven so the honey creates a nice crust. Otherwise, you can just lightly sprinkle it with powdered sugar once its cooled down, or put a chocolate glaze over it. Whichever you prefer! Although, you can always leave it as a nice, plain biscuit cake. In this case (if you decide not to go with any kind of glaze), I recommend you mix together a bit of milk and rum and daub the cake with this mixture so it stays moist even longer.

Bon appétit and a blessed Ostara to you all! :D

Yours,

Witch's Cat

Kolač od meda

Za početak proljeća savršeno odgovaraju lagani kolači poput ovog koji su prepuni okusa, ali istovremeno lagani po teksturi. Narančin sok i kora nas podsjećaju da s proljećem dolazi i osvježenje, a osnovni sastojak kolača - med - nas podsjeća da je ovo razdoblje kada se sva živa bića bude iz zimskog sna, a s njima i pčele koje sa cvatom cvijeća počinju proizvoditi med.

Potrebno je:

Za običnu dozu:	Za duplu dozu:
2 1/2 čaše brašna	5 čaša brašna
1 paket praška za pecivo	2 paketa paška za pecivo
1/2 čajne žličice sode bikarbone	1 čajna žličica sode bikarbone
1/2 čajne žličice soli	1 čajna žličica soli
1/2 čaše smeđeg šećera	1 čaša smeđeg šećera
2 čajne žličice cimeta	4 čajne šličice cimeta
1/2 čaše meda (otopljenog)	1 čaša meda (otopljenog)
1/3 čaše ulja	2/3 čaše ulja
4 jaja	6 jaja
1 čajna žličica ribane narančine kore	2 čajne žličice ribane narančine kore
1 čaša narančinog soka	2 čaše narančinog soka

Napomene: možete pomiješati malo glatkog i oštrog brašna, a šećer možete i povećati ako volite da vam kolači budu slađi (ja uvijek smanjim količinu šećera u receptu pa sam to napravila i ovaj put).

Priprema:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 175°C.
2. Nauljite i pobrašnite kalupe za pečenje. Zaista je svejedno u kakvom ćete kalupu peći kolač, samo budite svjesni da će se jako puno dignuti u pečenju. Ako radite uobičajenu dozu, onda bi vam mogao biti dovoljan obični okrugli kalup za torte promjera cca. 22 cm. Ako pak radite duplu dozu, možete očekivati i više. Možete koristiti i neobične kalupte! Ja sam, primjerice, koristila jedan kalup u obliku četverolisne djeteline, a drugi je bio forma za srneći  hrbat.
3. Izmiješajte sve suhe sastojke kuhačom.
4. Dodajite pomalo sve mokre sastojke i miješajte električnom miješalicom.
5. Ulijte gustu smjesu u kalup(e) i pecite na 175°C oko 30 minuta.

Kolač po želji možete preliti "glazurom" od meda 5 minuta prije kraja pečenja i vratiti ga u pećnicu kako bi dobio finu koru. U protivnome možete kolač posuti šećerom u prahu, čokoladnom glazurom, ili ga pak ostaviti kao obični biskvit. Kako god preferirate! No, ako se odlučite ne koristiti ikakvu glazuru, svakako predlažem da, kad se kolač ohladi, izmiješate malo mlijeka i ruma te poškropite/premažete kolač ovom smjesom kako bi što duže zadržao vlagu i sočnost.

Prijatno i blagoslovljena vam Ostara! :D

Vaša Witch's Cat