Cardamom Ginger Muffins for a Romantic Winter Afternoon

I love my coffee with cardamom and I rarely can breath more than one hour in the house without being sure I have in my pantry za'atar, cinnamon, pepper, vanilla and the list is longer the more I think about my favorite spices. But I rarely dare to mix my spices for creating unique recipes as I am still very unsure about the right taste match. 

However, I am becoming bolder and bolder, therefore new ideas and recipes are created spontaneously.

When it comes to preparing fast a delicious dessert, muffins is the first choice. So, why not doing some spices mix-up for the change. The following recipe suits best the long winter afternoons, with its spicey texture and natural sweetness, accompanied by a chai latte or an aromated tea. It is very easy to make, affordable in terms of ingredients and delicious too.

Ingredients

200 gr. white flour

8 g. baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

150 gr. brown sugar

1 tablespoon cardamom

2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

100 ml. cooking oil

150 ml. cold orange natural juice/you can make it yourself, therefore you need 3 medium sized oranges

Directions

Heat the oven at 250C, at least 15 minute before baking.

Add the ingredients, one by one and mix well until a compact paste is created. The issue with the spices is that you want them well spread and a balanced taste for your final result, therefore, you need to give a little bit of additional effort when mixing.

Pour the final result in the muffin papers and leave it in the oven - at 250C - for around 45 minutes. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 12

Bon Appétit!

Dates and apricots fruit salad

Definitely, today I am in the mood for sharing as many recipes as possible. This time, I am happy to tell a little foodie story for a very special combination I did find myself. 

Last year, I got a very special assignement, to prepare the catering for a small wedding here, in Berlin. The budget was tight and the time was also limited. Plus, I just got a new job, and was pregnant in the last trimestre and, well, all together it was a lot to do and cope with.

Somehow, I accepted the challenge of the catering, not only because I needed the money, but for the sake of the challenge as such. Me, who less than ten years ago was hardly able to differentiate between different tastes and foods, was now cooking for other - 50 - people too. 

Anyway, I took the assignment and started to do various testing for some fast and summer fit recipes. The clients were not sophisticated, but it was their unique wedding moment and thus, it was my duty to make it taste uniquely. 

Besides the special cake - which was millefeuilles, a nightmare for experienced cooks as well, but this is another story - they wanted some little finger foods, including tasty fruit salads. 

After many trials, my final choice was to mix fresh apricots with dates. No sugar needed, as the dates do have enough sweetness. The only condition was to keep them a couple of hours together in order to have a certain interaction between the two tastes. The ratio I used was of around 5 small apricots for 7 dates - the Mejoul ones are perfectly sweet. It is easy to prepare, convenient and healthy too. To be consumed either as an individual dessert or as a snake between meals, accompanied by a glass of champagne.