Orange Almond Cake

Ok I took this out of the oven too soon so the center was a bit on the raw side... If it was cooked all the way through though, just as the edges were, it would've been a spectacular cake.  Just don't make the same mistake I made.

This is really similar to my Torta Caprese.  Both are almond cakes, one with chocolate, and the other with oranges.  This really caught my attention because it uses whole oranges -- peel, pit, seeds -- everything!  No waste.

Vegan Yeast Spelt Pancakes

Two things.  First, I finally got flax seeds.  I have now the perfect vegan pantry.  I've got my chia seeds, flax seeds, nutritional yeast, soya milk, a selection of nuts, dried fruits, seeds, and legumes.  I'm ready for my Vegan Challenge 2.0 in March! 

Second, finally was I able to enjoy something I've made to myself without any criticisms.  I'm done with sharing food with my parents.  I'm just going to cook for myself here now -- no more attempting at making other bellies happy while I'm here. I don't take criticisms well, nobody does, but I'm willing to take constructive criticisms if they're given well.

Now, let me give you a couple of tips when giving criticisms.

Let's say that the problem is the cake is too sweet. 

First give a compliment.  Begin with something good about the cake.  It can't be all bad.  "It's not dry at all."  "You can really taste the almonds."  "It's so soft and fluffy."  "It looks amazing."   Something.  Anything. 

Now.  You don't say "The cake is really moist, but it's a bit too sweet."  Change one word and it changes everything. 

"The cake is really moist, and maybe you could even add a bit less sugar next time." 

You see the difference between "but" and "and"?  You see? 

I hope you can all give criticisms this way.  No point in thrashing someone's self-esteem and trampling it on the ground.  Be nice.

Gingerbread Linzertorte

Is it weird to dream about the guy you like being gay?  'Twas very strange, very strange indeed.  In my dream we were having coffee along with one or two of his friends, and I had discovered all these things about him that made me like him even more --- like the fact that he was good with computers (it's a strange Asian fetish on my part).  Then later his friends mentioned that he was gay.  Maybe it's just a sign that it's not meant to be.  Honestly, he's funny, cute, and nice -- so yes, there's a high chance that he's gay.  

Anyway.  Moving along from my pathetic love life.   

I hope you had a lovely Christmas with roasts and stuffing, sides and cakes, wine and cocktails, and friends and family. 

Here's another Christmas dessert recipe. Now, I only had heart-shaped cookie cutters that I had bought as a silly 15-year-old in love, so this looks more like a Valentine's dessert.  You could technically substitute marmalade with something like strawberry jam and this would look very lovey dovey.  You could change the shapes according to the occasion.  This would've been ideal with Christmas tree or snowflake cookie cutters. 

The Christmas spirit was certainly lacking in Beijing, but you know what made my Christmas?  The fact that one of my readers actually used one of my recipes for her Christmas dinner.  I honestly couldn't be more honored :) 

So I hope it's not too late -- and I don't believe it is, since there are still Christmas trees around and Christmas carols played on the radio -- Merry Christmas to all regular Happy Belly readers and those of you who've just stumbled upon it now. 

with lots of festive love,

Maria x


Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large egg yolks, plus 1 large egg white
1 1/4 cups best-quality store-bought jam

Method
Preheat oven to 160C, with rack in lowest position. Sift flour, baking powder, spices, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add butter; mix until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add molasses and egg yolks; mix until dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll two-thirds of the dough into a 12-inch round, 1/4 inch thick. Fit into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Spread jam over bottom of shell; refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
Roll out remaining dough between pieces of floured parchment paper to a 12-inch round, 1/4 inch thick. Transfer round with parchment to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut out shapes from round with cookie cutters. (If desired, reserve cutouts. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. and sprinkle tops with confectioners' sugar.) Transfer round to a baking sheet; refrigerate until cold and firm, about 30 minutes.
Lightly beat egg white; brush over rim of tart shell. Carefully slide dough round over shell; press edges to adhere. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes*. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

*my pie only needed about 30 minutes. 

Chocolate Almond Gingerbread Bûche de Noël

It's the 23rd -- hopefully it's not too late for some Christmas baking suggestions.

I've spent the whole day baking.  I made gingerbread cookies, I made a gingerbread marmalade linzertorte, I made a torta caprese, and I made this.  Yes, it took the whole day, and tomorrow I might just make another cake.  This is what I'm like on holidays.  Don't worry -- I'm not just going to have all these desserts sitting at home and have them slowly expand my waistline, no no.  I'm going to a Christmas party tomorrow night, and they told me to bring dessert.  It's a party of about 25 people, so  3, 4 desserts sound about right! Any excuse to bake.

I need to start getting paid for this though.  Chocolate, butter, cream, spices -- these all cost a fortune in China.  Normal dark chocolate for baking costs a minimum of £3 per 100g.  Cheapest butter is about £2 for 200g.  So my cakes all cost about £20 each to make.  I miss Europe.  I miss reasonably priced food.  China's cheap if you want to just live the Chinese lifestyle.  But I have needs.  I like cheese. Cereal.  Butter.  Chocolate. They're all imported here.  

Anyway. Happy thoughts. It's almost Christmas! What are you doing this Christmas? What do you usually eat for Christmas?  A big traditional Christmas dinner with a turkey and 10 different sides and all that? I've never had one of those.  We're not big on Christmas as a family unfortunately.. But tomorrow night should be fun. 

This was a special request by Gwen  -- I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with lots of yummy foods.  If you want any requests, just email me at maria.sisci@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @MariaSisci or tell me on my FaceBook page www.facebook/happyxbelly.  #Shameless self promoting.

So here are step to step instructions on rolling.

After you've taken your sponge cake out of the oven, it should look like this

Now.  Get a large baking sheet, bigger or the same size as your pan and sprinkle with icing sugar.  Flip the spongecake out and lay it on top of this baking sheet.  Peel away the baking paper on top, and make a few slits along the edge of the short end which will be at the center of your roll.  About 1 inch, just enough to go all the way so that it almost goes through. 

Then with the help with the baking paper underneath, use it as a lifter to roll up the cake from the slit end. 

Roll it up all the way

 Make your filling, and then unroll the cake.

Spread the filling evenly over the whole surface.

Roll it back up. 

Cut a good bit off the roll at a sharp angle and attach it to the side.

Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients
Sponge
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup golden syrup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup caster sugar

Filling
250ml double cream
1/3 cup sugar or more to taste
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup ground almonds

Chocolate ganache
200ml double cream
200g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Method
-Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease a 12x17 inch (43x30cm) pan with butter, then line with parchment paper, and grease and flour the parchment paper.

-In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until pale, about 4 minutes.  The batter should form ribbons when you slowly raise the beaters.  Add the golden syrup and brown sugar and beat until combined. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt, Beat the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture until combined.

- In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the sugar and beat until firm and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the batter until no streaks remain. Spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch.

-Get a large baking sheet, bigger or the same size as your 12x17 inch pan and sprinkle with icing sugar.  Flip the spongecake out and lay it on top of this baking sheet.  Peel away the baking paper on top. Make a few slits along the edge of the short end which will be at the center of your roll.  About 1 inch, just enough to go all the way so that it almost goes through.  Then with the help with the baking paper underneath, use it as a lifter to roll up the cake from the slit end. 

Make the filling:
-Beat the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form.  Mix in almond extract and ground almonds. 

-Unroll the cake and spread the filling evenly over the entire surface.  Roll it back to the way it was rolled.

-Cut a bit off the roll at a sharp angle and attach it to the side

-Spread with your slightly firmed chocolate ganache.  Use a fork to give it that woody look. 

Chocolate ganache
-Heat the cream in a pot until simmering, then add your chocolate and stir until all is melted.  Wait for it to cool and firm up a bit before spreading it on the roll.  Use a fork to make it rough and wood-like.

-Dust with icing sugar and decorate with almonds and Christmasy things. 

Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry (西红柿炒鸡蛋）

After a long, dreadful, sleepless journey, I'm back in Beijing.

The thing is I just can't sleep on planes.  You know what it is? Babies. Stupid babies.  I've developed an ugly hatred for babies on planes.  To be fair, I don't actually blame them.  It must be painful with the air pressure, and I used to be one of those screaming babies on planes myself.  I blame the parents for bringing them. 

I see a simple solution to the problem -- charge extra for babies.  Babies fly for free -- they're essentially an extra carry-on.  They're crying hand luggage.  Yes, they don't take up any space, but they cause so much negative externality to the other passengers on the plane, that in order for your other customers to have a pleasant journey, you must reduce the number of crying babies on planes.  And the best way to change behavior involves money -- so by charging extra, people will think twice about bringing their 5-month-old's to the next holiday.