Sholezard has two main ingredients: rice & saffron. No Basmati rice for this recipe. Because it should release starch during long hours of cooking. The Thai rice can be a good option, it has perfume and a considerable amount of starch.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 100g/3.5oz rice (i.e. Thai)
• 1.2 liter Water
• 250g/8.8oz Sugar
• 1/2 cups Rose water
• 1 tsp Saffron
• 3tbsp slivered Almonds or/and Pistachios
• Cinnamon for decoration

Preparations

– A night before wash the rice and soak it in the water.

Next day: add water and sugar to rice in a big pot.

– Simmer for ⏳ 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid the rice stick to the bottom.

➡️ While waiting, mix the rose water with saffron. Cover it and let it rest for an intenser taste.

– Back to rice pot: after long hours of cooking, rice has soften and we have a creamy, shiny and dense cream.

– Add the mix of saffron and rose water.

– Continue to simmer for last ⏳ 5 minutes until the consistency and color becomes like the following:

– Turn off the heat and add half of the almonds. We save the other half for decorations.

– Mix all together and Sholezard is ready. While it’s warm pour it on the serving bowl because it tends to solidify when cools down.

– Wait another 1 hour to cool down

Decorate with cinnamon, almonds, and pistachios and serve 🙂

Notes

• The rose water is a distilled liquid from rose flowers and it absorbs more than any other liquid the color of saffron.
• Usually, Sholezard is poured into small serving dishes or one big bowl. It’s served cold or at room temperature.
• Mix the rice and sugar during the cooking time, it’s very tricky if you add sugar at the end, even for “adjust” the sweetness you will risk the creamy consistency into runny liquid :-/ (it happened to me!)
• The cold Sholezard tends to feel less sweet, that’s why the amount of sugar for Sholezard seems excessive.

Noosh e jan (buon appetite)

The post Sholezard, Persian rice pudding with saffron appeared first on Foodcraftz.

The color, the consistency, the timing of adding syrup, the heat of the flour at the time of adding syrup… all of these are important factors to know while cooking an authentic Persian halva. I messed up so many times while trying to create this recipe! lol and they weren’t cheap mistakes, If you follow the recipe strictly I’m sure you will have the right halva! Good luck : ))

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 200g/7oz Whole Wheat Flour
• 110g/3.8oz Brown Dark Sugar
• 1/2 cup Rose water
• 1tsp Ground Saffron
• 100g/3.8oz Water
• 100g/3.8oz Clarified Butter
• a handful of Almond & Pistachios for decoration

Choose the right pan

For the Pan: choose any type of pan between aluminum, copper, steel, etc. But not coated with Teflon or other non-stick materials that are made of chemics. Because the pan will get very hot and we don’t want to risk those materials become carcinogenic.

Making syrup

– Start with mixing rose water and saffron in a small cup and let them be for ⏳ 20 minutes so the saffron completely gives its color and flavors to the mix.

– Prepare the syrup by mixing water and sugar, boil, then turn it off. Pour in the mix of saffron and the syrup is ready.

Making Halva

– In a pan on medium heat toast the flour. No oil is required for now. This step takes up to ⏳10 minutes or even more.

– Stay near the pan and stir continuously. After a while, Its color turns darker and the scent of the toasted flour spread in room along with a white smock coming out of the pan, the pan becomes very hot. Arriving at this point, continue to stir for another ⏳ 2-3 minutes then turn off the heat.

– Add clarified butter and continue to stir.

Now comes the most important step: Adding the syrup.

It’s essential that the pan’s temperature isn’t too hot. Because if it is, the flour will absorb all the syrup and grows in size and we’ll have a dough-like mix, which is far from the traditional halva. The main characteristic of Persian halva is a slightly “Flour-like texture” (حلوا آردی) not doughy.

Try to splash some drops of water inside the pan. If it sizzles very lively don’t add the syrup yet. The pan should be hot but not extremely hot!

– Pour the syrup. At first, the mixture seems a bit runny but continue to stir.

– Set the heat to lowest. The color should be very dark, stir gently until the halva arrives at the consistency of a dense cream. The flour hadn’t doubled in size and the syrup is perfectly mixed.

The right consistency of Persian halva

How to serve

Halva, usually, is served on a flat dish with some decorations on top. So while it’s still warm transfer it to the serving dish. In room temperature halva becomes more solid and it’s easier to decorate. We made circles with a small glass and used almonds slices and grated pistachios for garnishing and decorations.

Notes

• In the old times which sugar wasn’t accessible for everyone, Persian Halva was made of grape syrup (شیره انگور). A very dense, dark liquid made of grapes. So a darker sugar is perfect for this recipe (I used a mix of muscovado and brown sugar)
• In Iran, Halva is usually made for mourning periods and is cooked in much bigger proportions. It’s served on small/medium flat plates and is distributed among the people. Usually neighbors.
• Halva with Chai (black tea) is the match of life! (and with Barbari Bread is the end of the world! lol)
• If you like you can also add cardamom to the syrup, I personally think it is not necessary.

Enjoy ☺️

The post The authentic Persian Halva appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Particular ingredients of this recipe, are the sugars. The Muscovado Sugar which is a non-centrifugal cane sugar. It has a complex flavor, the texture is like wet sand and it contains more minerals than an average sugar. The other ingredient is molasses of sugarcane which is not very sweet but gives more chewiness and flavors to the cake.

Ingredients

Preparation

♨️ Preheat the oven 180C°/350F° and cover the baking pan with parchment paper.

– In a big bowl, add the shredded carrots, grated apple, sugars and molasses, eggs, melted butter, and coconut oil, followed by orange peel marmalade.

– Mix them well, the molasses of sugarcane takes time to fully spread in the batter.

– Sieve the flour into the mix and add the walnuts, cinnamon, vanilla followed by baking soda

– Pour the batter in the baking mold in my case it was 22cmx12cm. (8.6inx4.7in)

⏳ Bake for 1 hour and 10 mins (70 min) in the middle rack on 180C°/350F°, then turn off the oven and let it stay for another 15 mins in the closed oven.

➡️ If the mold is bigger, the time of baking becomes shorter. Always do the toothpick test before removing it from the oven.

For the frost: Whisk the cream (very cold) with sugar, when stiffen add the cream cheese and continue to mix. For a touch of freshness, add a bit of orange peel marmalade or Lemon zest.

➡️ When the cake cools down completely cover the top with frost.

Notes

• The carrot cake will be more delicious the day after.
• If you don’t have molasses of sugarcane replace it with another sweetener like whole brown sugar, divers sweeteners gives richer flavors to the cake.
• Instead of an apple, you can use pineapple to give the cake a sour touch.
• Using brown nonfilter sugar enriches the flavor of the cake without making it too sweet and cause an insulin spike

Enjoy! ☺️

The post Chewy carrot cake loaf with molasses of sugarcane appeared first on Foodcraftz.

What types of apple is the best?

Pink lady, Ambrosia, SweeTango, or any sweet and sour taste apple you find in the market can be great.

Ingredients | 5-6 servings

• 5 Apples
• 100g /3.5oz Flour All-purpose
• 50g /1.7oz Almond flakes
• 40g /1.4oz Coconut shredded
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• drops Vanilla extract
• 50g /1.7oz Butter and some knobs of butter
• 1 tbsp Coconut oil
• 1/4 cup Water

Preparation

– Preheat the oven at 170C°/330F°.

Preparing the apple base:

– Peel, deseed, and slice the apples.

– Add cinnamon and some drops of vanilla extract.

– Mix them and put them in the oven tray.

– On top goes 4-5 knobs of butter.

Making of the crumbles:

– In a bowl combine the flour, shredded coconuts, almonds, and a pinch of salt.

– Pour the melted butter and coconut oil, along with 1/4 cup of water.

– Add some drops of vanilla extract.

– Mix till you have a sticky mass.

– Place the moist crumble by hand on top of the apples.

– Put the baking tray on the lowest rack of the preheated oven.

– Cook for ⏳ 75 minutes.

For a more colorful crumble: put the oven on grill program for the last 5 mins, so the top will become brownish and more crunchy.

Serve it warm with coffee or tea ☕️

The post No sugar apple crumble recipe appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Ingredients for sponge cake

• 110g/3.8oz tbsp Flour
• 10g/0.3oz Vegetable Oil
• 5 Eggs
• 80g/2.8oz Brown sugar
• a pinch of Salt

Ingredients for filling & topping

• 3-4 cups Berries of your choice (mine was: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
• 500ml cream
• 7-8 tbsp Icing Sugar
• 1 cup Almond Flake
• Half of an Orange Juice
• 4tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2tbsp Rum of your choice
• pinch of Vanilla

Preparation of sponge cake

– In a mixing machine: add eggs, salt, sugar, oil

⏳whisk them for 12 mins till it becomes fully foamy

– sieve the flour in 3-4 rounds, and with a spatula mix gently.

– place the mix in the mold that is covered with parchment paper

⏳Bake for 30mins in 160C°/320F°

Preparation of filling

Syrup:

– half a cup of water, 4 tbsp of sugar with half of the orange juice. Simmer for 2 mins till the sugar dissolves completely.

– Add 2 tbsp of rum and it’s ready. (optional)

– Cut the sponge in 3 layers.

– Bath with a spoon each sponge disc with a the syrup.

while waiting for the sponge cake to cool down…

– Whip the cream with icing sugar, till it becomes dense. Add orange zest & vanilla.

– ⏳Let it rest for 1 hour in the fridge.

– Toast the flakes of almond in a pan till they gain a golden color.

Assemble all together

– The thicker layer better be in the bottom and the thiner one on top. Cutting by hand their are not very equal. 😀

– Inside each layer goes: whipped cream + cranberries (or any berries of your choice) + almond flakes.

When all the layers are done:

– Cover the cake with the rest of the whipped cream, place it in a big container, and put it in the fridge overnight. This way the sponge, absorbs the humidity & the flavors of syrup, cream, and berries. Moreover, its texture will be softer and pleasant in mouth. Which worth to wait 🙂

– The day after cover the sides with the toasted almond flakes and decorate the top with the berries of your choice.

The cake is ready to be served!

➡️ before serving, let it stay 30 mins in room temperature so it’s not too cold if you serve it with coffee or tea ☺️

Enjoy! ☺️

The post Sponge cake with berries appeared first on Foodcraftz.

No additives or chemical ingredients are used, with all those nuts and fruits this is a pretty healthy cake if we compare to the other sweets of Christmas period. Buy the dried fruits and soak them in rum for 3-4 hours and the rest is very easy to do.

Here is the recipe of: Dried fruit in rum for Christmas cake

Ingredients | 6 servings

• 7tbsp Rum-soaked dried fruits
• 140g/5oz Brown sugar
• 50g/1.8oz of Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• Zest of 1 Orange
• Juice of Half Orange
• 300g/10.5oz Flour
• 2 knobs of Butter
• 30g /1oz Crushed Walnuts
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• a pinch of crushed Fennel Seeds
• pinch of Salt

Use all ingredients at room temperature.

Preparation

– Preheat the oven on 180°C/356°F.

– Mix flour & baking powder in a bowl and put it aside.

– In a bigger bowl, whisk the butter with sugar till you have a creamy texture.

– Add eggs and milk & continue to whisk

– Sieve half of the flour and mix, the batter becomes dense

– Add to the mixture of dried fruits, and orange juice.

– Followed by the other half of flour.

– Add the rest of the ingredients to the mix: crushed fennel seeds, cinnamon, walnuts, and orange zest.

– In the mold of 20cm/8inch which is covered by parchment paper, Flatten gently the batter.

Let the Christmas cake bake for ⏳ 50 minutes at 180°C/356°F. At the end of the baking time, leave it to cool down and it will be ready to serve.

Notes

• Wait 2 hours to cool down. It’ll be easier to cut it, feel free to sieve a bit of icing sugar on top.
• Some people might not like fennel seed but to my experience, it gives a great scent and flavor to the cake
• Always do the toothpick test to be sure the cake is cooked, If your mold smaller the cake needs more time in the oven, vice versa if the mold is bigger.

Merry Xmas and enjoy the holidays ☺️

The post Christmas cake with dried fruits appeared first on Foodcraftz.

The syrup of orange juice balances its sweetness and makes it moist. You’ll never get tired of eating this buns, since it’s a kind of sweet bread for a better chewy texture, use all-purpose flour.

Ingredients

• 300g/10.5oz all purpose Flour
• 2-3 tsp Cinnamon
• 4 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 Egg
• 100g/3.5oz of Milk
• 100g/3.5oz of Butter
• 7g/0.2oz of Yeast
• pinch of Vanilla
• pinch of Salt

Syrup ingredients

• 100g/3.5oz water
• 3-4 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 orange juice

Preparation

– Dissolve yeast in a bit of cold milk.

– Slightly heat the rest of the milk, butter, 1 tbsp sugar, salt, and vanilla.

– Mix to dissolve sugar and salt.

– In a big bowl combine: flour, yeast, 1 egg and the butter mix.

– Create a dough and knead for 10 mins.

– Put the dough aside and proof for ⏳ 3 hours.

Syrup:

– Mix half a cup of water with orange juice and sugar.

– On high heat, mix till the sugar dissolves and the syrup becomes slightly dense. put it aside when its ready.

Filling:

– Mix the cinnamon with 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar.

Assemble

– Roll out dough into a large sheet of 1 cm/0.3inch and fold it on itself, wait 5 minutes to relax then roll out again.

➡️ Repeat this 2 times. This helps the dough to have a better layered texture.

– Stretch the dough for the last time spread the butter (room temperature) on its surface.

– Sprinkle the filling and start to roll it on itself.

– Cut each piece at 2cm/1inch

– Put the rolls on the baking tray, covered with parchment paper and proof for ⏳ 1 hour.

♨️ preheat the oven to 190C°/370F°

– Egg wash the surface of the rolls.

♨️⏳ Put them in the hot oven for 15 mins

+ 2 mins on the grill program to have a golden color on top

– Make some wholes with a toothpick and while they are warm, pour the syrup.

– Wait ⏳30 minutes so the rolls absorb the syrup and so they’ll be ready to serve!

Notes

• I’m not a fan but It’s common to add white sugar glaze on top if you like here is how: half cup of powdered sugar with 1 tbsp of melted butter add some drops of vanilla and mix lively until it gain a silky gooey texture.
• These Cinnamon Rolls are wonderful for parties with numerous people. You can bake them a day before and serve them at room tempreture.

Enjoy 🙂

The post Soft Cinnamon Rolls Recipe appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Ingredients

• 400g/14.1oz of Milk
• 4 egg Yolks
• 20g/0.7oz Cornstarch
• 100g/3.5oz Sugar
• pinch of Salt
• pinch of Vanilla
• Lemon Peel

Preparation

– Put lemon peel in milk and heat, just at the simmering point. (don’t boil)

In a bowl add:

– Egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, vanilla & sugar. whisk till you have a creamy consistency.

– Pour in 1 ladle of the warm milk and mix. Be careful the milk shouldn’t be very hot because it can cook the eggs.

➡️ Meanwhile, put a wide bowl in the freezer. (which we’ll put the cream later)

– Pour back the mixture into the milk pot and set the stove on the medium heat.

– Mix it continuously with a spatula.

➡️ When the cream starts to get dense, it’s time to remove it from the heat.

– Pour the hot cream in freezing bowl & whisk lively.

According to the Italian pastry master Iginio Massari: this technique helps you to have a shiny custard.

– When the cream isn’t hot anymore ⏳Cover it with a foil, and put it in the fridge (3 hours)

When it’s completely cold, the Italian custard is ready.

It can be used as filling for bignè, croissants, mille-feuille or simply with berries ☺️

Enjoy!

The post Italian Custard – Crema Pasticcera appeared first on Foodcraftz.

This recipe can be done also with fresh lemon. So in case, you don’t have bitter orange marmalade, use lemon juice or even marmalade if you have, and its zests.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 90g/3.1oz Digestive biscuits
• 3 tsp bitter Orange Marmalade (organic)
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 60g/2.1oz of Butter
• 150g/5.2oz Cream cheese
• 50g/1.7oz Mascarpone
• zest & juice of Lime (organic)
• zest of Orange (organic)
• 25g/1oz Fresh cream
• 2 tbsp Icing sugar
• a pinch of Vanilla

Preparation

– Crush the biscuits in the food processor.

– Pour half of the melted butter (30g/1oz) and a tbsp honey. Mix all ingredients.

– Press the crumb mixture in a cake pan/mold (mine was 16cm/7inch)

– Put in the fridge to solidify for⏳ 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a big bowl

– Add: mascarpone, fresh cream, icing sugar, lime juice and zest + orange zest & melted butter (the other 30g/1oz) and mix.

– Add vanilla & bitter orange marmalade.

– When all the ingredients are combined: spread the cheese mix, evenly, on the biscuit base.

– Cover it with foil or put a flat dish on top, it should rest overnight (or at least 6-8 hours).

Remove it from the mold and it’s ready! For decoration, I’ve put four dollops of marmalade on top.

Notes

• Remove it from the fridge 20 minutes prior to serving, it will be still fresh but not so cold, especially if you serve it with coffee or tea.

Enjoy ☺️

The post Cheesecake with Bitter Orange Marmalade appeared first on Foodcraftz.

In this recipe the brownies are soft and fluffy just like a cake.

Ingredients | 5 servings

• 1Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 170g/6oz Dark Chocolate
• 100g/3.5oz Flour
• 170g/6oz Butter
• 70g/2.5oz Brown Sugar / Muscovado sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• Pinch of Salt

Preparation

➡️ All the ingredients should be at room temperature, if eggs, for example, are cold the brownies will not rise properly in the oven.

– Mix: flour, salt, vanilla, and cocoa powder

– In another bowl whisk: butter & sugar until they become creamy, then add 3 eggs and whisk.

– Melt the dark chocolate on bain-marie, add it to the bowl.

– Combine all ingredients.

– Pour it in a baking mold (mine was 20cm/7.8inch square) covered with parchment paper.

– Place it in the middle rack of the oven ⏳ back for 18-20mins at ♨️180°C/350F°

Wait till it cools down, then cube-cut the brownies and serve them warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy! ☺️

The post Cakey Brownies appeared first on Foodcraftz.