Lemon truffles with a pepper-warm coating

Sneaky truffles, I'd say. In a sense that their lemon-y filling and pepper-warm coating together create an almost healthy feeling in your mouth. Lemon-y and warm. Just like a cuppa hot tea, only that actually you eat a handful of truffles!;)

Lemon and black pepper are another great combination magnifico that I strongly advise to try in all variations that come to mind!

Lemon truffles with a pepper-warm coating
(makes about 30)

200 g white chocolate
½ dl double cream
at least 1 tbsp lemon juice

160 g white chocolate
¼ - ½ tsp black pepper

1. Chop the chocolate to little pieces.
   
2. Heat the double cream to boiling point and pour it onto the chocolate ight away. Mix well, until the mixture is smooth. Add lemon juice. Place the mixture into the fridge for about a half an hour.
3. Make little balls out of the mixture and then place them into teh fridge to harden for some more time.
4. Melt te remaining chocolate over a waterbath and add pepper to it. Coat the truffles with this chocolate and let them harden on foil or on parchment paper. Store in the fridge.

White chocolate, that often feels so cloy, gains freshness and vividness from the lemon juice. If white chocolate were a lady of respectable age then in these truffles she'd certainly be young again...:) At first the pepper is a balancing flavour but in the end it leaves the mouth sighing warmly in the most pleasant way possible. Contrasts and novelty. Freshness and warmth.

One thing's for sure. Black pepper declares itself as a true dessert spice. I recommend to remember that;)

This entry also participates in the most gorgeous food blogging event of all, Sugar High Friday. This time the host is the wonderful Helen of Tartelette and the theme (again!) CITRUS.

SHF#30 - Vanilla flowers over cherry sauce

I didn't get around any edible flowers for Sugar High Friday#30 Flower Power hosted by Monisha of Coconut Chutney(a really lovely blog as I've discovered recently). So I decided to just make one. It's the simplest cake - the simplest-simplest cake turned into what's a surprising dessert. It's what you have in your fridge and in your pantry - thrown together. And noone will notice you didn't have to go through a three hour shopping trip to find ingredients for a spectacular extravagant dish. Oh no. Slice-slice-slice-slice and place-place-place-place. Fantasy might just save some money to go shopping and buy...a special treat for yourself. I know, It's hard to believe I'm that selfish. But wouldn't you want to be too? Now don't go shaking your head!


Simple mix-together vanilla cake

130 g flour
200 g butter, melted
4 eggs
2 dl milk
90 g sugar
vanilla
salt

1. Beat the eggs with sugar until fluffy.
2. Add melted butter, then milk and flour, also some vanilla and a pinch of salt.
3. Pour into desired greased baking pan and bake at 170C for about 50 minutes (a toothpick has to come out clean!).
4. For serving - use some coating, jam, sauce or ice cream or cut into slices to serve in a dessert.


Cherry and hazelnut sweet yoghurt sauce

3 dl unflavoured yoghurt
2 tbsp sugar
120 g cherries/morellos (may be frozen)
120 g hazelnuts
some ground cardamom

1. Chop and roast the nuts (I also peeled them first - it's quite easy to use the same technique that's used with almonds: put the nuts into boiling water for about half a minute, cool under cold water and peel)
2. Mix everything together. If using fresh berries, cut them into halves. I used frozen ones and just slightly pressed them with the back of a spoon when mixing to help spread the flavour.

To assembling the dessert now. Spread some sauce on the plates. Cut the cake into slices with desired size (the cake should be cooled before that) and assemble them so that they form the shape of a flower. Put a cherry in the centre and sprinkle with some powdered sugar. That's it!


The cake in its softness, richness (look (or rather don't) at the amount of butter!) and simplicity brings the flavour of vanilla out well. It does not keep very well and is best if eaten the same day it's made. The sauce adds the missing sour note and surprisingly there are a lot more crunchy nuts under the flower anyone could've guessed.
Cake has never been looked as a part of some kind of mixed dessert at our house. The best part (yes, the best part) is that if its sliced, there seems to be a lot more of it on the plate too, even if there isn't. Now that's eating advice!