Bolo prestigio (chocolate and coconut cake)

Yesterday was my birthday and, believing I deserve a treat, I made one of my favourite cakes. If you live in UK, the name of this cake translates as "Bounty" (the chocolate) cake, because it's a chocolate cake filled with coconut...mmmmmm

The cake:

2 cups of flour
3 tbspoons of cocoa powder (the one you children drink with milk)
3 eggs - separate the whites and whisk them into egg whites (very fluffy and firm)
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of milk
2 tbspoons of butter
1 tbspoon of baking powder


Mix the yolks, the sugar and the butter. Add the milk and the chocolate, adding the flour last with the baking powder. Mix it gently and them add the egg whites, envolving them in the cake mix without mixing too hard.

Bake it in an medium heat oven (around 180C) in a greased tray.

Filling

1/2 can of condensed milk
1/2 cup of grated coconut (the one we buy in supermarkets)
2 cups of milk
sugar (to taste)

Mix it all in a pan and let it boil and thicken. Some people loose their patience here, because it does take some 30 min for it to thicken properly and cheat with cornflour. Don't, it does taste better if you give it time. It is thick enough when you incline the pan and the filling comes off of it.

Topping

1/2 a can of condensed milk
200g of butter
2 tbspoons of cocoa

Mix it all in a pan, boil and let it thicken a bit.

Syrup

1 cup of guarana - a brazilian soda. If you can't get your hands in some, you can make the syrup I used for this post but use rum and let the alcohol boil (you just want the flavour)

If using the alcohol syrup: Make a small amount of sugar syrup by boiling about 1/4 cup (60 ml) water with 2 tablespoons sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool completely, then add a good pour of your favorite liquor (use rum for this one). Wet the sponge cake base with the syrup.


Decoration

200g of chocolate sprinkle
optional: chocolate shavings and cherries

To arrange it all

Cut the cake in half. Wet one half with the half the syrup. Spread the filling on top and put the other half of the cake on top of it. Spread the syrup on top of the cake and spread the topping all over. Decorate it with the sprinkles of whatever you prefer.

Chicken pie

Dough:
4 eggs
1 cup of oil
1 cup of milk
3 cups of flour
1 tbspoon of baking powder
salt


Filling

1/2kg of cooked and threaded chicken
6 tomatoes
1 onion
1 can of peas
1 can of sweet corn
optional: a handful of olives (chopped)
Mix the dough ingredients in the blender. Transfer it to a bowl and add the filling Mix it delicately and transfer it to a greased tray.

Bake it in a pre-heated oven (medium heat) for around 30 min. Check with toothpick (if its clear, its done)

Nega maluca - brazilian chocolate cake

Nega maluca is a difficult name to translate. Maluca means crazy, easy enough. Nega is a tender nickname that we use to black people (now being referred to as african-brazilian). But nega is also used as a nickname for white people...especially between friends and couples. But when it comes to this cake, I'm pretty sure it's about a tender way to refering to this black delicious cake, which is one of the cornerstones of brazilian cakes. Every child in Brazil loves and eats this a lot. I made one last week and my husband was a bit suspicious at first, because this cake takes oil instead of butter, but then he couldn't stop eating.

Here's the recipe, which is easy enough

3 eggs
1 and a 1/2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chocolate (children's chocolate to dissolve in milk. If you use cocoa powder (cooking) like I did, use half a cup)
1/2 cup of oil
1 tbspoon of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 cup of hot water

To cover the cake:
4 tbspoons of milk
1/2 a cup of children's cocoa (same thing here. If using cooking chocolate, 1/4 of a cup)
1 tbspoon of butter
1 cup of sugar

In a mixer, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, chocolate and flour. Add the hot water and at last the baking powder.
Bake it for 40 min to and hour in a medium heat oven (around 180) - my cakes always take an hour at least!
Remove it from the tray while still hot (but manageable)

Topping

Put all the ingredients in a pan, put in on a hob, mixing it thoroughly until it boils. Pour it hot on top of the cake.

Roast chicken thighs - portuguese style

I cooked this for lunch today and it's soooo easy and delicious we had to repeat. As with most of the posts in this blog, the pic is not mine, I found it on google images, but mine looked just like it. Besides, most times there is no time to take pictures because we just devour it all...And I'm not that good in decorating anyway. There are much more talented people around.

4-6 garden variety potatoes, peeled and in quarters
2 tomatos, in quarters
1/2 lime, divided in 4 pieces (or 1 lime in quarters)
6 garlics WITH their skins (but you can mash them with your hands a bit)
olive oil
rock salt
4-6 chicken thighs (but I used drumsticks too and it's also good)
black olives

Spread the potatoes in an oven proof tray (better if it's a pretty one, for it can be served just like that when done) and do the same to the tomatos. Put each piece of lime in the corners of the tray and spread the garlic around too. Place the chicken pieces in the tray, in a very spread fashion, so that you have chicken...potatoes...chicken...potatoes.
Give it all a good wash with olive oil (remember, portuguese style - the more, the merrier) some pepper if you want and spread rock salt on top of it all.
Roast it all in 180-190 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove it and spread the olives on top of it (I use a handfull and give it another drizzle of olive oil). Roast for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with some salad

Chicken with Creamed Corn II

My mum came to visit last month and helped with cooking (she does cook very well). She corrected one of my recipes, the creamed corn. I never really got that recipe from her, I just cooked it as I remembered it, using double cream. Apparently she never used cream and all she did was use corn flour. So here's her take on that.

Breast chicken steaks or fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can of corn or frozen corn (defrosted)
1 can of milk
1-2 tbspoons of cornflour
salt

Blend the corn and the milk for some 15 seconds (more if you don't want little pieces of corn)
Add it to a hob and add the cornflour. Mix it until it boils and then reduce the heat, letting it cook (don't forget to mix it, always) until it reaches the consistency you want (a cream).
Check the salt. Turn off the hob, put the lid on.
Fry the steaks on a hot frying pan. Since I'm pregnant, I'm overcooking them all.

Put the steaks on a plate, the cream on top of them and some parsley (optional) to decorate it all.

Serve it with white rice and broccoli salad

PS: both are delicious, but I think I slightely prefer the double cream one. But it's a close call

Hamburger

Two saturdays ago I woke up late and missed Saturday Live Kitchen, which was kind of a bumer, because I really enjoy that show (the only cooking show that I actually enjoy). Anyway, there was this other guy latter, that stated that recipes are not supposed to be followed absolutely but are more like a basic desing, etc etc...He was quite proud of his own back garden and he did make a soup that looked absolutely delicious (but I was not paying attention).

I was paying attention, however, to the hamburger recipe that I saw him make. It was a chicken hamburger, but I didn´t have chicken mince so I tried with regular mince. It was fabulous!!!

So, here´s the recipe:

mince
bread crums "to increase the amount of hamburgers"
bacon (better if streaked, chopped)
parmesan (rather than eggs to keep it all together) (about 1\3 to 1\2 a cup)
herb mayo - now, here he did his own but I'm pregnant and raw eggs are a no no. Therefore, I used my helmann's mayo which I seasoned with lime, parsley, chives, pepper and a bit of rosemary.


Mix it up in a big bowl, add some salt and pepper to taste and fry it.

He served it wrapped in lettuce, but I served it in cut to measure (poligonal) bread, covered with mix of lettuce, the hamburger, mayo and some shavings of cheese (I use medium to mature chedar).Everything looked beautifully arranged and I decorated the plate with ketchup.

I'll post the pic soon