Foolproof Cake of Any Flavour

This Foolproof Cake of Any Flavour takes away all the stress of baking cakes because it works everytime. The original recipe, in Portuguese, is called Bolo Fofíssimo de Qualquer Sabor, from Marilza Oliveira, and can be found on Facebook Group called Culinária Receitas.

I already made it with chocolate, with orange juice, with carrots and with cornmeal. My favourite is the orange one. I'm still to try it with lemon/ lime, but I'm sure I'll have to adjust the sugar for it.

Chocolate cake with sauce

Ingredients

• ·        03 eggs
• ·        1/2 cup cooking oil (I use canola or coconut)
• ·        1/2 cup water
• ·        1 1/2 cup sugar
• ·        02 Spoons vinegar (any type, but rice - I use apple vinegar)
• ·        02 cups flour
• ·        01 Spoon Baking Powder

Preparation

Put all ingredients in the blender or blend them with a wooden spoon - flour mixed with baking powder for last. Bake it in a pre-heated oven (180°C/ 350°F) for about 25 min.

Never open the oven for any cake before 20 minutes or it will deflate. Check it with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.

Variations

• ·        orange cake: use OJ instead of water
• ·        mix chopped nuts to the batter
• ·        chocolate: just add a cup of chocolate powder to the recipe. If using sugary chocolate drink powder, put less sugar in the batter.
• ·        apple: add grated apple to the blender, or add apple pieces to the batter before filling the baking pan. Mix in some cinnamon powder. 

Cornmeal cake with walnuts and coconut

Enjoy it! Bon apetit!

Creamy Chicken with Cream Cheese Spread

Creamy Chicken with Cream Cheese Spread is a tasty, easy and fast weeknight supper to be served with plain rice and green leaves salad.

It is made with very common Brazilian ingredients, which I need to go to specific stores to buy. I am not sure about which kind of everyday American ingredients I could use as substitutes, so this is why you will see pictures of the ingredients I use, bellow.

The cream cheese spread used is crucial and the most difficult ingredient to find. In Portuguese, it is called requeijão cremoso. This is a salty, very creamy cheese spread, much used on bread, toast and in many cooked dishes like pasta. In the US and in the UK I can only find a Middle Eastern variety called Puck (clear glass container, with distinctive blue lid and label). It comes in a small 8oz glass or a bigger container of 17oz and should be kept in the fridge once opened. Maybe Philadelphia cream cheese would work as a substitute for texture, although it is tasteless and has no salt, so you will have to adjust seasoning while cooking.

The shoestring potatoes needed for topping the dish is something I struggle to find in New Mexico. Sometimes I find them at Walmart or random small grocery stores. I buy whenever I see it in the shelves, and sometimes it is the only reason why I go to Walmart.

And this is the final result - out of the oven and already missing a portion:

So, you will need:

·         2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded (seasoned to your taste, or left over from rotisserie)

·         3oz of green olives chopped

·         1 can of whole kernel corn
·         1 can of table cream or about 8oz of heavy cream
·         1 small glass of cream cheese spread (or 8oz, if you buy the big container)
·         Mozzarela to cover (optional)
·         Shoestring Potato to cover (or simply fried hash browns)


How to prepare it:

In a mixer, blend together: corn, cream cheese and heavy cream. Cook cream on medium-low heat with shredded chicken and olives, until it thickens. Check salt and seasonings and adjust them to your taste.

(All ingredients are already salty by themselves, so I didn't need to add any, just a sprinkle of nutmeg).

Pour the cooked cream on a pyrex, cover with mozzarella to your taste, then cover with shoestring potatoes. Place it in a pre-heated oven to 400°F for 10-15min, until it bubbles.

Serve with plain rice and a green salad (mine has spinach, rocket and watercress). Don't let it cool, eat it while it is still hot and creamy.

The original recipe, in Portuguese, is from the Brazilian website CyberCook.

Enjoy it! Bon apetit!

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