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sugar Zest of 1 orange 2 eggs 1 c banana, mashed (the riper the better) 1/2 - 1 c apple sauce 1/2 c nuts Add them gradually to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. 3) Fold in nuts, apricots

Add nuts, vanilla and chocolate chips and stir well. 2) Gradually stir in dry ingredients.

Scatter nuts over the top. 3) Pour batter into a brownie tin and bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes. Toasting the nuts and the oats, and maybe increasing the proportion of these might add the deeper note

Add the nuts and toast lightly.

Gradually add in wet ingredients and mix well, then the apple, orange peel, cacao nibs and nuts.

After our last batch of mascarpone, we tried out mascarpone with meringue, banana and Aloha Spiced Cacao, which was decadent and scrumptious in the extreme. That was my starting point for this. We then picked up fresh dates, and somehow the image of them paired with mascarpone and meringue, or meringue and mascarpone - I am not sure which elements I put together first - and I had to try it. With fresh dates, I naturally had to add in an orange drizzle, and then when making it for a sister who doesn't eat dates, the walnuts joined the party. A drizzle of Cointreau over the top was my dad's idea. Like most things therefore, it was a multi-step process, and I am very grateful for the family helping to bounce ideas around. I made mascarpone specially for this using lemon juice again instead of citric acid and leaving it to curdle for several hours and then to drain overnight. The mascarpone came out really well, and I am glad of the speed and ease with which I was able to make it. I feel at this point that mascarpone has been fully assimilated into my repertoire. I have not been sweetening mine at all and I've been enjoying it like that, with a slight acidic note to it. After Easter and the requisite feasting which follow (including the post-Lent binge), we didn't need another dessert, but in the interests of science - and a need to find out how this would taste- everyone threw themselves on the sword of this dessert, for which I am most grateful. We're still trying to come up with a name for this, so suggestions are welcome! Ingredients: 4 meringues 300 - 400 g mascarpone (roughly 2-3 tbsp per person) Juice and zest of 1 orange 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp cloves 8 fresh dates, pitted and quartered a handful of walnuts a drizzle of Cointreau per bowl 1) In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice and zest, sugar, and half the cloves. Stir and allow it to come to a gentle simmer. Taste test and add the rest of the cloves if desired. Once this has thickened to a thin syrup, remove from the heat. 2) Place a meringue in each of four bowls, then over the top a dollop of mascarpone (for the fun of it I decided to form mine into ro-shays - ahem, rochers for those who speak French- , but feel free to just dollop). 3) Place some of the date quarters and a few walnuts in each bowl then spoon some orange syrup and drizzle Cointreau over the rest. Ta-Da! It' is that simple, but simply delightful! Next time I might roughly chop the walnuts to get a more even coverage, but otherwise I would change nothing about this. Except maybe to try it with a drizzle of rum? Hmmm. There's an idea! I also wonder how everything would react to being lightly flambéed.... Oh so tasty though!

It was my mom's birthday recently, so I made her birthday cannolis instead of a cake. She's always loved cannolis but they aren't something which can be readily found in Switzerland. When I was little, trips to NY in the summer had to include a cannoli from Little Italy for her, but those trips have been less and less frequent, so life has been cannoli-less. When I started making my own ricotta and mascarpone though, it was pointed out to me that I should try making cannolis. And then my sister dug out my parents' old cannoli moulds from 30 years ago and the case was settled. The week leading up to her birthday therefore, I made a few different variants of both shells and filling until I found one I was happy with. I trialled using home made vs store-bought ricotta and used home-made mascarpone. The curds in the home made ricotta were a little bigger and so required more beating , and in the end I used a combination of all three. My first tests of the filling came out too liquidy so I let the mascarpone drain for longer to stiffen up the final filling. Ingredients: For the Shells: 3 c flour 1/4 c sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 c butter, cold and diced 1 egg 3 tbsp vinegar 1/4 c whey/milk 1 egg white, beaten For the Filling: 2 c mascarpone 2 1/2 - 3 c ricotta 1 1/2 c sugar 2-3 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 c pistachios, chopped 1/4 c chocolate chips 1/4-1/2 c dark chocolate, chopped and melted over a water bath 1) Mix together the dry ingredients for the shells and then cut in the butter. Mix together with finger tips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. 2) Add in liquids one by one, mixing after each addition until a smooth, elastic dough is achieved. Place in the fridge to rest for about 30 minutes. 3) In the mean time, mix together all the ingredients for the filling except the pistachios and chocolate, whipping until smooth. Place in the fridge to chill. 4) Cut out an oval from paper or cardboard measuring about 15x11.5 cm (6x4.5inches). Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thick and then using your oval template, cut out ovals. Wrap the around moulds, brushing the edge with egg white to stick together, forming a tube. Alternatively, I rolled up my silicone baking mat to about 2 cm in diameter and wrapped 3 ovals around the length of it. Aluminium foil might work too, rolled up in this way. 5)Brush the rest of the tube with egg white and bake for 8-10 minutes in at 175°C in a pre-heated oven, or fry until golden brown at about 175°C. Remove from oven or oil and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing the moulds. 6) Dip the ends of some of the cooled tubes in melted chocolate and allow to set. 7) Split about 1/3 (or more) of the filling from the rest and mix in chocolate chips. Pipe either plain or chocolatey filling into the tubes, sprinkling pistachios onto the ends of some. Chill until ready to eat. Not having had them very frequently myself, things were a little complicated as I didn't have a very clear idea of what I was aiming for, but I am assured by those who know about these things that they came out quite well. I certainly enjoyed them, which hasn't always been the case with cannolis in the past. I have other filling combinations I'd like to try, like almonds, or lime/lemon pieces dehydrated just enough. The shells just needed to be a little thinner. I must also point out that I baked the shells rather than frying them as my mom isn't a bit fan of fried food, but I have an air fryer coming soon, so I want to try and put them in there to see how they do. Results to follow! EDIT: The shell cookie also works well with yogurt - in this case vanilla rhubarb yogurt.

the oil left from the jar of artichokes Red pesto spice mix (basil, powdered garlic and onion, pine nuts

herbes de Provence 1 tsp Thyme 2 c spinach 1 tbsp butter 2 onions, sliced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp pine nuts ) Assemble bowls, first a dollop of yogurt, then some spinach, some onions and a sprinkling of pine nuts

If using, fold in cacao at this point. 2) Mix in the nuts, cinnamon and kirsch to form a stiff dough.