Moist chocolate sponge cake

This moist chocolate sponge cake exerts strong powers over me, specially after the first slice. It is so damn good! Let the hidden powers of the Gods do not stop me from repeating. Thankfully, I don't eat this cake alone.

Ingredients:
8 eggs
180g brown sugar
10 egg yolks
85g self-raising flour
15g powdered cocoa
30g powdered chocolate


1. Preheat oven to 230ºC.

2. Mix the eggs with the sugar and whisk for five minutes.

3. Whisk the egg yolks and add them to the previous mix. Use an electric mixer to keep whisking for more two to three minutes.

4. Mix the flour with the cocoa and the chocolate. Wrap the mixture above with this chocolate dough carefully.

5. Pour in a round shape, with 26 cm, lined with parchment paper and bake it in the oven for 11 minutes.

The moist chocolate sponge cake feels like it has chocolate mousse inside. Once you cut the first slice, the "mousse" flows from the inside like a river of thick yummy chocolate that leaves us with only one option: grab a spoon and use it to eat and stop only when there is no more. I dare you to try it!

Have a pleasent week!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Pão-de-ló húmido de chocolate ]

Traditional Portuguese moist sponge cake

The first sponge cake with a kind of egg yolk based filling that I ate was from Rio Maior, where I spent part of my teenage years and where I still have many good friends. One could find it in almost every coffee and cake shop and gastronomically speaking it was - still is - an ex-libris of this small town.

One of these weekends, coming from the West region and going to Santarém, I passed through Rio Maior, a land of salt but without sea, and I immediately remembered its delicious traditional sponge cake. Although I didn't find the original recipe, here it is my version.

Ingredients:
8 eggs
10 egg yolk
180g brown sugar
100g plain flour


1. Preheat oven to 230ºC.

2. Mix the eggs with the sugar in a mixer for 5 minutes.

3. Beat the egg yolks. Add them to the mixture prepared earlier and beat for more 3 minutes.

4. Sift the flour into the mixture and stir with a spoon or wire rod.

5. Put the mixture in a round shape cake tin with approx. 26 cm covered with parchment paper.

6. Bake for 10 minutes.


This sponge cake is delicious. The core is completely wet. Its appearance sometimes is not very photogenic, but it is so yummy that one cannot stop eating it until the last slice.

I wish you all a good day!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Pão-de-ló húmido ]

Provençal tomatoes with fried egg

This summer I have been using tomatoes enthusiastically. I have already devoted them an entire week and they have been an indispensable companion in my cooking. By now, my kitchen has already seen cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and rounded tomatoes, beautiful, of which I don't know the name, but when looked at they make me think of big and juicy apples with a sweet aroma. It is one of my favorite types of tomato.

This is one of the recipes I made to honor the tomatoes that have been coming to my kitchen. I have cooked it twice recently. One of the occasions was for a lunch with my longtime friend Paula.

Ingredients:
4 to 6 medium ripe tomatoes
4 to 6 fried eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
chopped parsley
10 pitted black olives chopped
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
olive oil


1. Cut the tomatoes in halves. Place them with cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with salt and a little olive oil. Then put it in a 190ºC preheated oven for 40 minutes.

2. Mix the garlic, parsley, olives and bread crumbs. Season with pepper.

3. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the previous mixture. Then sprinkle again with two tablespoons of olive oil. Put it all in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Place a fried egg on top of each roasted tomato. Don't forget to grind black pepper and/or dried oregano on top of the eggs immediately before serving.


The roasted tomatoes with the mixture of breadcrumbs and herbs turned out to be very good. The result is an interesting mix of flavors and textures. You can also add two tablespoons of grated cheese for those who prefer. The fried egg makes all the difference.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tomate à Provençal com ovo estrelado ]

Chicken with tomato and pepper frittata

Five Quarters of the Orange blog, in recent times, has been guiding my life. I have been guided, in the sense, that the choices are almost food and blog oriented. It affects, my readings, some of my travels, the restaurants I go, the TV series and shows that I watch. It imposes a routine of its own, induces me to meet new people and among other things, it makes me do a lot more and a lot better.

The blog has become a challenge, that attracts other challenges. Recently, one of those challenges was to author a recipe for June 2011 Activa magazine. There was only one condition attached, it had to use chicken leftovers. The recipe was included in an article on saving.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 tablespoon mustard
1dl cream
50ml olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 diced carrot
50g pepper cut into pieces
2 ripe tomatoes
150g peeled and boneless chicken
25g island of São Jorge grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste


1. Beat the eggs with the mustard and cream. Put aside.

2. Place the olive oil in a skillet. Bring to medium heat and add the onion and the carrot.

3. Add the peppers and the seedless tomatoes cut in cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the shredded chicken. Stir.

5. After removing the skillet from the heat add the egg mixture.

6. Place the mixture in a baking dish lined with tracing paper. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

7. After preheating to 200ºC, put the baking dish into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes.


The frittata becomes very tasteful. The tomatoes and peppers, along with the mustard, give this recipe a very nice flavour!