Pastry Maestra
Free Video Tutorials on Baking, Pastry making and Creating Desserts. Have a sweet life!
N
ot long ago, so-called ‘healthy food’ was almost a dirty word. Bland, boring, cardboard-taste food, deprived of any appeal, except – being ‘healthy’, it was something a person had to eat, mostly for medical reasons – but not enjoy. Bad times. Today, however, things are completely different!
D
o you like raw cakes? Me too, but although my blueberry, matcha, and passion fruit mini cakes are not (entirely) raw, like for example – my chocolate raw cake or amazing raspberry raw cake, they ARE healthy – and yummy! It’s a win-win!
R
emember my amazing raspberry raw cake? Well, that one was delicious! Even the most uptight non-believers experienced enlightenment once they found out they are eating something sweet and healthy in the same bite!
A
vocado (Persea Americana) is a fascinating fruit, native to Central America. The Aztec word for avocado was ahuacatl, which means “testicle tree.” I’ve learned that it is also called “alligator pear,” funny, but when you take a closer look, the skin of the avocado does resemble the one of the alligator.
S
top! Let’s keep an open mind and have no prejudices, please! Although, I have to admit that until I tasted my first raw cake, I truly believed that no healthy dessert can be so indulgent and addictive as, let’s say – raspberry and poppy seed tart, vanilla and strawberry millefeuille or caramel choux buns, but, let me tell you – I was wrong! In my mind, I’m embarrassed to admit, it was impossible! Sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, vegan and delicious at the same time? ‘In what universe is that possible?’ – one and only Sheldon Cooper would ask.
I
’m very picky about my bread! The crust has to be crunchy, of course, and inside – I want beautiful taste, airiness and softness, in that order and without exception. One thing I hate the most is the soft and chewy crust, and that often happens when Jugo blows. What the fudge is Jugo? Well, Jugo is a strong, relatively warm, but highly unpleasant wind that blows in Dalmatia – southern Croatian region – from the South-East, meaning from the sea.
P
op till you drop – that’s my motto! How about you – do you like popcorn? I love popcorn! Hot from the microwave, or directly from a saucepan, crispy, salty, with some butter melting on the top, of course! I particularly like to nibble the extra crunchy ones that didn’t pop all the way! Anyway, I must admit that until recently I was living in the dark, thinking that corn is the single edible ‘dancer’ around, but – as they say –“It takes two to pop”, and yes – there is another ‘popping’ agent available – amaranth!
W
heat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one-seeded fruit commonly called a kernel. Its point of origin is in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, near what is now Iraq. More than 17,000 years ago, humans gathered the seeds of plants and ate them. After rubbing off the husks, early people simply chewed the kernels raw, parched or simmered. Today, instead of chewing kernels, we enjoy the whole what bread!
