Category: Cakes

Cook In Israel Review & Giveaway

Orly Ziv, a nutritionist and cooking instructor from Tel Aviv Israel, is a cook after my own heart. In her debut cookbook, Cook In Israel, Orly showcases recipes that draw on her Greek Jewish Heritage, with flavors of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Her entire first chapter is dedicated solely to eggplant and tomatoes, ingredients which are central to my kitchen. Page after page, Orly’s simple, healthy and flavorful recipes are ones you would find on my dining table any day of the week.

Cook In Israel bears the subtitle “Home Cooking Inspiration” and that is precisely what Orly’s book is all about. In a warm family-oriented way that is customary for Israelis, Ms. Ziv welcomes you into her kitchen with open arms. Her book is clear, simple and straight-forward, with many step by step photos to help guide you along the cooking process. Orly shares family favorites, holiday dishes and an expansive array of vegetarian recipes that are mainstays in Middle Eastern culture.

What is most impressive to me is that Orly self-published this beautiful collection of recipes with masterful results. The typography, layout and picture-perfect photography can only be matched by her clear and concise style of recipe writing – a welcome change from most cookbooks (which include too much commentary).

As someone who relishes Middle Eastern cuisine, this book lacks traditional Israeli fare like “al ha-esh” bbq , shishkebab and other chicken & meat recipes. It is somewhat confusing that Orly only makes slight mention of the fact that her book is almost entirely vegetarian, with only two meat recipes, which in my opinion, are better left out altogether.  As someone who is not ready to give up her carnivorous ways,  this cookbook still offers countless recipes that are filling and flavorful, such as breads, fish, grains and legumes.

Vegetarian or not, Cook In Israel is a keeper after all.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Busy In Brooklyn is thrilled to be able to give away a copy of Cook in Israel to one of my readers!

To enter the giveaway, vote for my grilled portobello burger with sundried tomato aioli in Swap it or Top it Mushroom Contest from The Mushroom Channel. You can vote once per day until August 31, 2013. Each vote will include one entry into the giveaway. Just leave a comment below letting me know when you have voted.

Winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, September 1st, 2013.

SAMPLE RECIPES:

Apple Cake
Reprinted with permission from Cook In Israel by Orly Ziv, Home Cooking Inspiration

Ingredients:
2 green apples, unpeeled and diced
3 eggs
1½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sweet red wine
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Handful of raisins or walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F.
2. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl by hand or in a mixer.
3. Pour the batter into a large, greased cake pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Fish with Green Tahini Sauce
Reprinted with permission from Cook In Israel by Orly Ziv, Home Cooking Inspiration

olive oil
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 tilapia filets (or any white fish)
½ cup boiled or canned chickpeas (optional)
1/2 cup tahini
½ cup finely chopped parsley
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
2. Pour olive oil in a thin, even layer to coat the bottom of a baking dish.
3. Arrange slices of tomato along the bottom of the baking dish and top with the fish filets. Spread the chickpeas on top, if using.
4. Using a hand blender or food processor, mix the tahini, parsley, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt until smooth and green diluted sauce.
5. Pour the tahini sauce over the fish and bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
6. Remove from the heat and serve.

VARIATION: To make fish with red tahini sauce, mix together 1 chopped tomato with the tahini, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and salt as directed above (omit the cilantro). Leave out
the tomato slices and chickpeas from the recipe above, pour the red tahini sauce over the fish, and continue as directed.

Busy In Brooklyn Middle-Eastern Inspired Recipes:

roasted eggplant parmesan with feta
roasted eggplants with Israeli salad
summer tomato feta salad
malawach cheese pastries with dipping sauce
banana dates milk & honey smoothie
grilled chickpea burgers

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Gingerbread Cupcakes with
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve probably already drooled over these gorgeous gingerbread cupcakes. I made them during the fast of Tisha B’av, so I wasn’t about to photograph them, but I did talk about them, a LOT. The next day, I had just 3 cupcakes left, so I decided to do what any foodie/blogger would – share! It was hard not to gobble down the last of them before getting a good shot, they’re just THAT good.

Besides being incredibly moist, these gingerbread cupcakes are chock-full of warm autumn spices. I didn’t think my kids would go for the flavors of ginger and nutmeg, but I was SO wrong – they could not get enough. Not only that, my little cream-cheese-haters were licking the frosting off their fingers! I think I’m going to start whipping up sweet cream cheese concoctions and call them “frosting sandwiches.” It will make lunch a whole lot easier for me!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from The Collegiate Baker

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1 cup hot water

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mix the  oil, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and mix to incorporate. Add the molasses and stir to combine. Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the hot water to the wet mixture and mix until incorporated. Repeat with the second half of the dry ingredients and hot water.

Fill cupcake pans about 2/3 full and bake for approximately 18 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz. container whipped cream cheese
4 tbsp softened butter
1 cup confectionars sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Method:

Add the cream cheese and butter to a bowl and mix with a spoon to combine. Add the brown sugar cinnamon and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the confectioners sugar 1/3 of a cup at a time, stirring until thickened.

1 year ago: chicken lollipops 
2 years ago: cherry yogurt popsicles 

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Vegetarian Chili & Cornbread

For one week of the summer, I welcome the opportunity to put on my dairy apron, which usually collects dust until Shavuous comes around. Lighter meals of grilled fish and salads are also appreciated on these hot summer days. But for some serious meat eaters, the nine days* can be a challenging time. I know, because my husband is one of them. If he comes home from a long day of work to a pot of mac and cheese, he takes a bite and then asks for the next course. To him, a meal without meat is not a meal at all. The good news is, meat-eaters can still enjoy some hearty dishes, albeit without the 6-hour wait tag.

Vegetarian chili is a great option for the nine days because it is so versatile. You can serve it up in a burrito, over baked potatoes, or as a base for shepherds pie. You can also go the classic route and eat it alongside cornbread, or go Mexican with a tray of enchilada’s. Usually, chili needs to cook for several hours, but because I don’t like to sit over a hot stove in the summer, I’ve come up with a great recipe that doesn’t require endless hours on the stove.

For more great Nine Days ideas, including other meat-lovers recipes, visit the new Nine Days category.

You can also check out my new Nine Day Album on Facebook for great dairy and pareve recipes that are not on the blog.

*The Nine Days is a mourning period over the destruction of the Holy Temple. During this time, observant Jews abstain from eating meat and drinking wine as well as other joyous activities.

Vegetarian Chili

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (seeds and veins removed)
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
3 heaping tbsp tomato paste
3 soft plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup veggie stock or water
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add onions and garlic. Saute until translucent. Add the jalapeno (keep some of the vein and/or seeds for more heat) and saute for another minute. Add the chili, cumin and garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so that the chili doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add additional veggie stock, if needed.

To me, chili without cornbread is like a hot dog without mustard. It’s just a must-have! It took a long time for me to come up with the perfect cornbread recipe that is moist, not too sweet, and, well…corny (you know I mean that in the taste of corn sense). The combination of coconut milk and creamed corn keep the cornbread moist and pareve. That means you get to whip them up with some REAL meat chili when the Nine Days are up!

Moist Pareve Cornbread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk (I use Coconut Dream Original)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 14.75oz. can creamed corn

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add the creamed corn and mix to combine. Pour into  a 9″ square pan, cast iron skillet, or 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes (less for the muffins, more for the pan) until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cornbread may be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days and will keep for an additional week if refrigerated.

VARIATION: to make these dairy, substitute the coconut milk for whole milk and half of the oil for melted butter.

I mentioned lots of fun ways to use chili earlier in the post, but I especially love this one-dish-meal option. You can choose to layer the chili into a square baking dish, or serve them up in individual mason jars for a fun twist. Since the cornbread is cooked on top of the chili (and will rise during baking), I only use half of my cornbread recipe for it. You can use the remaining batter for cupcakes or double up the chili recipe, and make 2 pies.

Layered Chili Pie

1 recipe vegetarian chili
1 8oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 recipe cornbread batter
1 scallion, chopped

Method:

Pour the chili into a 8″ square pyrex dish. Top with shredded cheddar. Mix the scallions into the cornbread batter and pour on top of the cheese. Bake, at 350 degrees, for 25 minutes. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

To prepare individual servings in mason jars, fill 1/3 of half pint jars with chili. Top with a tablespoon of cheddar cheese, and 1/3 cup cornbread batter mixed with scallions. Repeat with approximately 6-8 more jars. Bake at 350 (without the lid) for approximately 15-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

1 year ago: Corn Flake crunch ice cream
2 years ago: sushi salad II

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Fourth of July Tartufo

If you’re looking at the screen quizzically wondering what tartufo is, don’t worry. I didn’t know what it was until recently either! A few weeks ago, a few kosher bloggers and I went out to celebrate the anniversary of the Kosher Connection group. It’s a team of kosher food bloggers that joined together to help each other navigate the blogging world. If you follow my blog, you may have noticed our monthly link-up challenges.

We met at Siena’s restaurant in Brooklyn, to celebrate the partnerships and friends we have made over the past year. Siena served us a variety of dishes, sampling their Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Some of the highlight dishes included their fried zucchini chips with homemade marinara, a medley of fresh salads, ravioli cooked to perfection and a standout tuna steak over white beans and spinach.

For dessert, we were served a tasting of their finest sweets including cheesecake, tiramisu and tartufo. I had to ask the waiter to repeat himself, as I’d never heard of it before. It was a layered ice cream dessert with marachino cherries and vanilla ice cream at the base and pistachio ice cream on top. It was served as a rectangular slice and drizzled with chocolate. The ice cream was delicious, but I couldn’t get over the pretty presentation. After a few hours milling over the tartufo concept (and browsing the internet for every tartufo recipe I could find) – I had a stroke of genius. Why not find blue maraschino cherries, and layer red and white frozen desserts in celebration of Independence day?

I was so excited about my idea that I went straight for the grocery in search of blue maraschino cherries. Little did I know that kosher ones are not that easy to find. So, I did what any idea-obsessed blogger would do…research. I found a kosher company that makes maraschino cherries in a variety of colors and I called them up. I asked where I might find the blue ones in Brooklyn, and they gave me two different locations. I was on it. The next day, I drove out to a shady little store on Coney Island and picked up my loot. I drove straight home, my ice cream already thawing on the counter.

When I uncovered my tartufo the next day, I never imagined it would turn out so pretty. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. The ice cream layers had sunken into each other, and the maraschino cherries peeked out a tad too little. But still. My experiment had worked. Wonderfully. Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July Tartufo

1 12.5″ x 6.5″ loaf pan (3″ deep)
1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream
2 pints red sorbet (strawberry, cherry or watermelon)
1 10oz. jar blue maraschino cherries
1 bar dark chocolate
red, white and blue sprinkles

Method:

Remove the ice cream and sorbet from the freezer and thaw until softened. Drain the maraschino cherries and place on paper towels. Pat dry. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper. Add a thin layer of ice cream to the bottom of the loaf pan. Top with maraschino cherries. Continue to add more ice cream until cherries are covered. Place the loaf pan in the freezer until the ice cream hardens, at least 20 minutes (the longer the better). Top the ice cream with a layer of sorbet (about 1 1/2 cups). Return the loaf pan to the freezer so the layer can harden and set. Continue layering the ice cream and sorbet into the loaf pan, freezing in between each layer (this keeps the layers from sinking into each other). Once you have reached the top of the loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and/or foil and freeze overnight.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Turn the loaf pan upside down onto a serving platter and remove parchment paper. Drizzle chocolate over the ice cream loaf and top with sprinkles.

If desired, you may drizzle each individual slice with additional chocolate and sprinkles.

Serve immediately.

Yields: 10-12 servings.

NOTE: You may halve this recipe and use a smaller loaf pan for a smaller ice cream loaf.

1 year ago: snap pea, corn & red currant salad
2 years ago: grilled chickpea burgers

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Lotus Cookie Cinnamon Buns with
Speculoos Cream Cheese Frosting


Every since Trader Joe’s introduced their cookie butter, speculoos has been flying off the shelves faster than their pareve chocolate chips disappeared. If you live under a rock, and you still haven’t heard about speculoos, let me fill you in. Speculoos is a spiced shortcrust biscuit, or what Lotus (a popular manufacturer of speculoos cookies) calls, “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.” 

Speculoos cookies have been a popular treat in Belgium for years, and are sometimes referred to as Lotus or Biscoff cookies. Their popularity reached new heights, when a few years ago, a woman won a television contest for inventing a sweet spread made from the cookies. Speculoos spread went viral, with many companies, like Trader Joes, selling their own versions.

With TJ’s nonkosher cookie butter’s popularity rising, kosher foodies everywhere were left out in the dark. My fellow kosher food bloggers TheKosherFoodies and KitchenTested wanted a taste so badly, they made their own cookies just so they could crush them up into spread afterward.

But if you know me, the nonbaker, I was not about to follow suit. Slave over homemade biscuits and crush em up into crumbs? What am I, crazy? So I went the easy route…I bought them. And how, might you ask, did I find kosher Lotus cookies? Well it just so happens that I live in Brooklyn, where Pomegranate, the most awesome kosher supermarket in the world, is located. Pomegranate pretty much carries every kosher item available under the sun, from mundane to gourmet. If they don’t have it, it’s probably not kosher. And since Lotus Cookies are manufactured in Israel with a kosher symbol, Pomegranate imports them, so all their kosher consumers can enjoy “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.”

We spoke a lot about Speculoos’ origin, but what about the taste? Well when I first bit into these cookies, I immediately thought of ginger snaps, but without the ginger. They have more of a faint cinnamon & brown sugar taste, and they practically melt on your tongue when you eat them. Basically, they’re insanely delicious.

After picking up a package (ok, maybe 2), I thought about how I could turn these caramelized biscuits into something truly extraordinary. Since they’re reminiscent of cinnamon and brown sugar, I figured I would pulverize them into cookie crumbs, and use them inside, and outside, of cinnamon buns. Instead of a traditional speculoos spread, I did a play on cream cheese frosting, just like you’d spread over traditional cinnamon buns. The results were out-of-this-world amazing. If the picture doesn’t speak louder than words here, I don’t know what will.

Do me a favor. If you live in New York (or Israel for that matter) and you can get your hands on a package of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies, MAKE THIS. Better yet, if you’re up for the challenge, and you can’t get a hold of these cookies. Make your own. And then make this. You can thank me later.

Lotus Cookie Cinnamon Buns with Speculoos Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package Lotus biscuits (250 grams)
3 c. flour, divided
1/4 c. sugar
1 packet quick rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 c. warm water
6 tbsp butter, softened, divided
1 egg at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar

Method:

Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside. Add Lotus cookies (about 30) to a food processor or blender and process into crumbs. Divide into 2 cups.

Add 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in water, 2 tbsp butter and egg. Mix (by hand or with a mixer) until smooth. Gradually add in remaining flour until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12×15 inch rectangle. Spread with remaining butter. Mix brown sugar with 1 cup of Lotus cookie crumbs. Sprinkle over surface. Starting with 12″ side, roll the dough up tightly.

Cut roll into 12 slices and place in the pan. Cover and put in a warm place (I like to turn my oven on and place it on top) until buns double in size, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover the buns and bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Frosting:

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup lotus cookie crumbs
3-4 tbsp milk

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.

Spread frosting on buns and serve.

1 year ago: pesto pinwheels
2 years ago: 6-spice Morrocan stew

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