Kurkubini

where baking meets the passion for fashion and photography

Friday, 12 April 2013

Food Styling ~ Salads

For the Tzatziki recipe click here

Apart from the love towards well cooked food my Mum also taught me the huge role presentation plays for the appreciation of excellent cooking and baking skills. The love she puts in her cooking and baking, no matter how simple the dish is, is apparent before the first bite.
Since I was young she would decorate each of our meals with unique shapes, images and patterns using any ingredient she had available in the fridge and cupboards. Sometimes she would leave a sweet message through her food styling or would add a festive accent through the food styling to the table.

Her ideas are simple, easy to make and very impressive!

For the Greek Aubergine Salad recipe click here

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Kazandibi Recipe ~ Καζάν Ντιπί Συνταγή

Another favorite dessert is Kazandibi.
It is a traditional Turkish dessert that became popular in Northern Greece after the liberation of Greece from the ottoman Empire and the return of misplaced populations mainly in Thessaloniki.
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazandibi
It is a creamy dessert made from cornstarch and buffalo milk. It's very simple, refreshing and yet very tasty! The name means bottom of the pan as for this specific dessert you have to burn the bottom part of it.
There are a couple of variations in relation to the flavor. You can either make it with rosewater or Mastic. I prefer the one with the rosewater.
I have tried a couple of recipes but I was never happy with the outcome. For the following recipe I combined different elements and secrets I found in both Greek and Turkish websites.
I hope you try it out! It is very easy to make and so so tasty!
Ingredients:
1 litre Buffalo Milk
100 gr cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp rosewater
1/4 cup sugar
butter
sugar
Directions:
Grease the bottom of a 25x25 cm square pan with butter and sprinkle enough sugar. Place under the grill at 200 degrees Celsius. Cook until the sugar is caramelized.
Put it aside and in a bowl mix 250ml of the milk with the sugar, cornstarch, rosewater and vanilla essence until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Heat the 750 ml of the milk on medium heat and then add the mixture. Cook until it turns into a thick cream. Make sure you keep stirring to make sure you maintain the good consistency of the creme.
Once cooked set aside until it cools down. Preheat the oven on 180 degrees Celsius. Gently pour the creme in the pan making sure it doesn't get mixed with the caramelized sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Once out of the oven let it cool. Cut the Kazandibi in square pieces and serve with the brown part on top.
http://kurkubinii.wix.com/kurkubini#!kazan-dibi/c1q83

Monday, 28 January 2013

Pistachio and Chios Mastic Cupcakes - Φυστίκι Αιγίνης και Μαστίχα Χίου Cupcake

Cupcakes are one of my favourite sweet treats! I love the variety of the combinations and the flexibility they give you to customise them according to your taste and mood!

In Greece cupcakes are not as famous due to the huge variety of traditional delicacies and desserts. I have tried to find cupcakes inspired by the Greek culture and Greek spices with no success. Thus I decided to experiment. The first attempt is with my favorite Greek dessert spice. Mastic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastic_(plant_resin). The taste is very particular and unfortunately can't be sustituted with any other spice. Fortunately even though it is only produced in Greece it can be found online

http://www.steenbergs.co.uk/product/1147/mastic-13g

For the frosting I used the liqueur version which can also be odered online http://www.greekfoodshop.com/en/mastic-liqueur-homericon-500ml.html . The taste is the same so in the recipe I give both options.

In Greek desserts mastic is usually combined with pistachio thus in my first attempt I decided to combine the two.

tip: keep your mastic crystals in the freezer. They are much easier to break and use

Ingredients:

120 gr all purpose flour 140 gr sugar
40 gr butter
130 ml milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder Vanilla essence pinch of salt 3-4 mastic crystals or 3 tbsp mastic liqueur
3 tbsp pistachios

 For the frosting:

370 gr icing sugar
110 gr butter
either 45 ml milk and 3 mastic crystals or 20 ml milk and 25 ml mastic liqueur
green food colouring
pistachios to decorate

Directions:

Preheat the oven in 170 C

Mix in high speed the butter, egg and sugar for 5 minutes or until becomes a light yellow mixture.

In a bowl combine the flour with the salt and baking powder. Break the mastic crystals until they are in powder form and mix with the milk and vanilla essence. Add slowly slowly and in turns the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture. Keep mixing for 5-10 minutes. Cut the pistachios in small pieces and add in the mixture.

In a cupcake baking cake divide the mixture in the cups and bake for around 20 minutes and until the cupcakes get a light brown colour.

While the cupcakes are in the oven prepare the frosting. Mix the butter with the icing sugar. In a bowl mix the milk with the mastic. Again break the crystals until they are in powder form. Add the milk to the mixture and beat until it becomes a fluffy frosting. Be careful not to over beat as the butter will start becoming too soft. At the end add a hint of green food colouring. Keep the frosting in the fridge until you use it.

Once the cupcakes are out of the oven let them cool. Once cool cover with the frosting. At the end break the pistachios and sprinkle the cupcakes.

recipe also available at: http://kurkubinii.wix.com/kurkubini#!pistachio-and-chios-mastic-cupcakes/c1auv

Friday, 12 April 2013

Food Styling ~ Salads

For the Tzatziki recipe click here

Apart from the love towards well cooked food my Mum also taught me the huge role presentation plays for the appreciation of excellent cooking and baking skills. The love she puts in her cooking and baking, no matter how simple the dish is, is apparent before the first bite.
Since I was young she would decorate each of our meals with unique shapes, images and patterns using any ingredient she had available in the fridge and cupboards. Sometimes she would leave a sweet message through her food styling or would add a festive accent through the food styling to the table.

Her ideas are simple, easy to make and very impressive!

For the Greek Aubergine Salad recipe click here

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Kazandibi Recipe ~ Καζάν Ντιπί Συνταγή

Another favorite dessert is Kazandibi.
It is a traditional Turkish dessert that became popular in Northern Greece after the liberation of Greece from the ottoman Empire and the return of misplaced populations mainly in Thessaloniki.
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazandibi
It is a creamy dessert made from cornstarch and buffalo milk. It's very simple, refreshing and yet very tasty! The name means bottom of the pan as for this specific dessert you have to burn the bottom part of it.
There are a couple of variations in relation to the flavor. You can either make it with rosewater or Mastic. I prefer the one with the rosewater.
I have tried a couple of recipes but I was never happy with the outcome. For the following recipe I combined different elements and secrets I found in both Greek and Turkish websites.
I hope you try it out! It is very easy to make and so so tasty!
Ingredients:
1 litre Buffalo Milk
100 gr cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp rosewater
1/4 cup sugar
butter
sugar
Directions:
Grease the bottom of a 25x25 cm square pan with butter and sprinkle enough sugar. Place under the grill at 200 degrees Celsius. Cook until the sugar is caramelized.
Put it aside and in a bowl mix 250ml of the milk with the sugar, cornstarch, rosewater and vanilla essence until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Heat the 750 ml of the milk on medium heat and then add the mixture. Cook until it turns into a thick cream. Make sure you keep stirring to make sure you maintain the good consistency of the creme.
Once cooked set aside until it cools down. Preheat the oven on 180 degrees Celsius. Gently pour the creme in the pan making sure it doesn't get mixed with the caramelized sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Once out of the oven let it cool. Cut the Kazandibi in square pieces and serve with the brown part on top.
http://kurkubinii.wix.com/kurkubini#!kazan-dibi/c1q83

Monday, 28 January 2013

Pistachio and Chios Mastic Cupcakes - Φυστίκι Αιγίνης και Μαστίχα Χίου Cupcake

Cupcakes are one of my favourite sweet treats! I love the variety of the combinations and the flexibility they give you to customise them according to your taste and mood!

In Greece cupcakes are not as famous due to the huge variety of traditional delicacies and desserts. I have tried to find cupcakes inspired by the Greek culture and Greek spices with no success. Thus I decided to experiment. The first attempt is with my favorite Greek dessert spice. Mastic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastic_(plant_resin). The taste is very particular and unfortunately can't be sustituted with any other spice. Fortunately even though it is only produced in Greece it can be found online

http://www.steenbergs.co.uk/product/1147/mastic-13g

For the frosting I used the liqueur version which can also be odered online http://www.greekfoodshop.com/en/mastic-liqueur-homericon-500ml.html . The taste is the same so in the recipe I give both options.

In Greek desserts mastic is usually combined with pistachio thus in my first attempt I decided to combine the two.

tip: keep your mastic crystals in the freezer. They are much easier to break and use

Ingredients:

120 gr all purpose flour 140 gr sugar
40 gr butter
130 ml milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder Vanilla essence pinch of salt 3-4 mastic crystals or 3 tbsp mastic liqueur
3 tbsp pistachios

 For the frosting:

370 gr icing sugar
110 gr butter
either 45 ml milk and 3 mastic crystals or 20 ml milk and 25 ml mastic liqueur
green food colouring
pistachios to decorate

Directions:

Preheat the oven in 170 C

Mix in high speed the butter, egg and sugar for 5 minutes or until becomes a light yellow mixture.

In a bowl combine the flour with the salt and baking powder. Break the mastic crystals until they are in powder form and mix with the milk and vanilla essence. Add slowly slowly and in turns the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture. Keep mixing for 5-10 minutes. Cut the pistachios in small pieces and add in the mixture.

In a cupcake baking cake divide the mixture in the cups and bake for around 20 minutes and until the cupcakes get a light brown colour.

While the cupcakes are in the oven prepare the frosting. Mix the butter with the icing sugar. In a bowl mix the milk with the mastic. Again break the crystals until they are in powder form. Add the milk to the mixture and beat until it becomes a fluffy frosting. Be careful not to over beat as the butter will start becoming too soft. At the end add a hint of green food colouring. Keep the frosting in the fridge until you use it.

Once the cupcakes are out of the oven let them cool. Once cool cover with the frosting. At the end break the pistachios and sprinkle the cupcakes.

recipe also available at: http://kurkubinii.wix.com/kurkubini#!pistachio-and-chios-mastic-cupcakes/c1auv