This year we had two full-blown Easters, including two rounds of egg coloring, a traditional Polish Easter breakfast, an American egg hunt and – a week later, as the Bulgarian tradition requires – roast leg of lamb, stuffed with rice and fresh herbs. I was in charge of the kozunak – the Bulgarian cousin of Jewish challah bread and French brioche. Though in Bulgaria you can buy it all year round, the Easter one is special and no celebration is complete without this sweet bread, heavy on the eggs and butter, and stuffed with dried fruits and nuts. The butter-vanilla-lemon zest aroma of the kozunak is one that defines this holiday for me, as are the blanched almonds that decorate its top and the eggs done up in psychedelic colors by my kids.

The recipe I have used for more than ten years now is from a cookbook first published in the thirties, which belonged to my grandmother. At first I was quite afraid, as the description and ingredients were very vague, but I was stubborn and wanted to feel that Easter aroma even if there were no almond trees blooming outside our Warsaw apartment. The first year the breads were flat and a little dry, but we ate them anyway. Besides, nobody knew the real thing except me and that was an advantage in my favor.

I was expecting to engage in serious combat with the dough, as I’d heard legends about how hard it is to knead and how long it has to be worked on. To my surprise it was actually easy, and as good a stress reliever as any bread dough. The recipe is for one kilo of flour and this may put some people off, but it’s worth making the whole amount. You can use different stuffings, make one plain and toast it for breakfast like brioche or freeze the extra dough for croissant-shaped rolls for weekend brunches to come.

Ingredients for the basic bread:

• 10 cups (1.3 kg) all-purpose unbleached flour + extra for adding when kneading the dough
• 30-40g (1-1.5 oz fresh yeast or 2 packages of instant yeast
• 6 large eggs
• 2 sticks butter (200gr) butter melted + extra for rolling surface
• 1 ¼ cups milk (250ml), warm
• 1 1/3 cup sugar (dark brown and white mixed)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp rum or brandy
• 1 egg for egg wash + 1 tbsp of milk
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds
• sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

Sift the flour in a big mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.

Crumble the fresh yeast, or pour in the dry, into a small bowl with 1/2 cup warm milk, add 1 tbsp sugar and enough flour to make a thin batter. Cover and leave in a warm place until it starts bubbling – about 10-15 minutes depending of the air conditions. Keep an eye on it, as it tends to explode!

Whisk the eggs with the sugar and add the rest of the warm milk, zest, vanilla and rum.

When the yeast is ready, add it to the flour, than the egg mixture and 1/2 tsp salt. Start making the dough adding the melted butter little by little or dipping your hands in it (that’s how I do it) and working the dough until all the butter is incorporated. When kneading the dough instead of pushing, pull and stretch it on the side of the bowl and then roll it into a ball and stretch again until it’s smooth, doesn’t stick to the walls of the bowl and little bubbles appear on the surface. Add some extra flour while kneading if the dough is too sticky. Form a ball, place it in a buttered bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and put in a warm, draft free place to rise – until double its size (around 1 hour). Or place it on a floured wooden board and cover with a big glass bowl like for the pizza dough.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (200°C).

The amount is enough for several loaves depending on the sheets and pans you are going to use. Pull three equal dough balls, roll them into logs on a buttered surface and make a braid, place on a baking sheet or cake pan lined with parchment. Leave it to rise again covered with a clean moistened towel. When it doubles in size, brush with the egg wash, push some almonds into the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean – 20-30 minutes. Take out before it has cooled completely.

Kozunak can be stored in an airtight container, but is best eaten fast.

You can also make a roll with the dough. Roll 1/3 of the dough into a square around 1cm (half inch) thick. Mix one jar of jam of your liking (mine is fig) with handful of chopped walnuts and the same amount of raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, and spread over the dough, leaving 1cm free on the edges. Roll it and place into a cake form to rise. Brush with the egg wash, place almonds and sprinkle with sugar, then bake as before.

You can make little croissants, either plane or with sweet stuffing like for the roll. After shaping them, place on a baking sheet, leave to rise and do as before (skip the almonds). Or you can stuff them with a mix of ½ pound crumbled feta and one big egg for about ¼ of the dough. Those are the ones my kids fight for – often with me.

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The greatness of pancakes is that they are the base for so many yummy condiments. I usually eat them savory with feta or goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, baby green salad, but the rest of my family is more orthodox and goes for good quality jam or maple syrup. Even if you are a pancake mix devotee, try this courtesy of my other half and you’ll see how easy it’s to make them by yourself. Our kids love to help during the process, something we are happy to oblige.

Here’s his recipe:

Buttermilk pancakes (serves four)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the salt and sugar, then the eggs and buttermilk. Mix lightly until large lumps disappear, but don’t overmix if you’re not a fan of flat, rubbery cakes. The batter should be of a thick but flowing consistency – add a bit of water if it becomes too thick. Fry over a medium flame until golden on both sides. Serve with maple syrup, or whatever you have at hand – I’ve seen good use made of all kinds of jams and preserves, but also of goat cheese and pickled onions, not to mention a variety of cured meats.

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I must be in a really bad shape, as I actually ate two and didn’t squint – I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and donuts are not my type of sugar fix in any case. But these were good, stuffed with plum or rose jam and not too greasy – fresh and yummy. Never in my worst nightmares would I dream of making them myself – too complicated for something that the next door Polish bakery makes much better. For those in Chicago and willing to forget their sugar and fat intake limits for a while, the address is Delightful Pastries, 5927 W. Lawrence – near Austin Ave.

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My first reference book for baking is Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau. I fell for it the very first time I put my hands on it and since then have never parted with it. Two of my friends got it because of my constant nagging. If you like baking tarts – sweet or savory – this is the book to start with. I found a recipe for an apple and cranberry tart, which I used as a base for my recipe. The result was an amazing sweet-tart pie that looked great and tasted even better, and which has become a huge successes with friends and family. The number of fans grows each time I make it. Next step will be to turn the filling into a jam to keep the energizing taste of this winter classics – cranberries, apples and dates – for longer.

Tart crust makes every home baker a little nervous, but it shouldn’t. Once you get your gear and temperature right, it’s not scary at all. The most important thing is to have very cold butter and a rather cold kitchen when making the dough. This is why you shouldn’t turn the oven on before you finish making it. You can make the pastry a few hours in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. I roll mine out and put it in the tart pan, and keep it in the freezer if I’m going to bake it within a half an hour or so.

The crust:

• 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1tsp salt
• 2 sticks and 1 tbsp unsalted butter (230 g) – cold, cut into small cubes
• a small glass of water with few ice cubes in it
• 9-inch tart pan (or 11-inch) with removable bottom

I make the crust by hand, as my kitchen has been absolutely glacial over the past few weeks and I have a pastry chef’s cool hands. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the butter cubes and using a pastry blender (if you’re lucky like me to have one) or two small knives held parallel to cut the butter into the flour. Work fast until crumbs form and the butter is roughly worked into the flour. You can use a food processor with a metal blade to mix the dry ingredients and butter into crumbs – pulse, don’t run the processor – you don’t want the flour and butter to mix completely.

Dump the crumbs into a bowl, sprinkle 4 tbsp icy water over them, and start bringing the dough together. Add more water, one tablespoon at time if it’s hard to get it together, but don’t panic and don’t add too much – the dough shouldn’t be sticky, it should still be quite crumbly. I never give it more than six tablespoons of water, and usually four or five are enough. Cut the dough in half and flatten it into two discs on wax or parchment paper. If too warm to be rolled, put them into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Take out, place plastic foil or another piece of parchment paper on one of the discs and roll it about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Wrap it around a rolling pin dusted with flour and transfer to the tart pan. Fit it in, cut the excess dough, patch the places where it needs more (usually the edges) and place the tart pan back in the fridge. Proceed with the second disk – you’ll need it to cut strips to decorate the top of the tart. Put it into the fridge until you make the filling.

The filling:

• 4 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and diced
• about 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, one 12 oz package (350 gr)
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• about 2 oz (60 gr) dry dates – I use pulp ready for baking (available in Middle Eastern stores – saves time)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (about 4 cloves – powdered in a mortar)
• 1 egg whisked with 1 tsp milk for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) with racks positioned in the middle.

In a saucepan mix the apples, cranberries and dates with the spices and sugars over medium heat and cook until the cranberries pop-up – stirring occasionally, about 10 min. Don’t let it boil. Cool the filling to room temperature and spoon it into the prepared tart shell.

Cut strips from the second disc about ½ inch (1 ½ cm) wide. Lay them in parallel over the tart, with another set of strips in the opposite direction. This is elegantly called lattice crust and is used to make even plain desserts look better. Brush the strips with the egg wash using a brush or even a paper towel, and sprinkle them with sugar. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Take out, let cool slightly and remove from the pan (best to use one with a removable outside ring) placing it on a big can and sliding the outside part off. Put the tart on the counter and slide off the form bottom, being careful not to break it.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The taste and smell of this tart is entirely addictive.

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I promised myself not to say a word about the frigid, arctic, polar weather outside, as I’ve spent the last two days complaining about it on Facebook. My favorite local radio station (too many weird sounding letters and numbers to remember) is playing a double feature today – Coldplay (ha) and The Cure (ha-ha), two of my most-beloved bands, which also makes a nice little self-mocking comment to all my fellow frozen Chicagoans. So here is my own cure for very cold-weather play – chocolate. Always one for a good, dark, full-bodied bittersweet chocolate, I usually have my pantry stocked with it. I haven’t found a good US-produced brand yet that would be affordable in big quantities, so I go for the European ones – Swiss, Belgian, but also German. Buy the best one you can afford – good quality chocolate makes all the difference and gives the desserts a silky, dense body that makes them irresistible.

Hot chocolate is a classic cold weather cure, and I finally have a recipe that is fuss free, uses real chocolate (never a fan of the powdered stuff) and quick. It’s my own take on one from the December issue of Bon Appetit. I doubled the amount of milk, heavy cream and chocolate – the original wasn’t enough for the four of us. As it was a Christmas recipe it also calls for mint candy cane, but you can skip this – especially as they’re not easy to get outside the US. Everybody here except me loves marshmallows, so sometimes I add tiny ones or a splash of alcohol for the adults.

Hot chocolate

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (could also use whipping cream)
• 2 tbsp sugar (you can add more if you want it sweet)
• 4 cups whole milk
• 6-8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cocoa) chopped; 4 ounces is about a regular bar. If you find using 8 oz for 4 cups a bit over-the-top, go for 6 oz
• ¼ tsp peppermint extract (optional) – could use vanilla instead, but only if you have the real thing
• 4 candy canes or mini marshmallows – I’ve made it with Hershey’s chocolate-mint candy canes and marshmallows – there’s nothing like boosting your sugar level when it’s hostile outside.

Bring the whipping cream, milk and sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat, whisking all the time – I’ve met only one person who likes skin on milk. Remove from heat. Whisk in the chocolate until smooth, add the extract (if using) and divide between mugs. Decorate with the marshmallows and/or candy cane and drink up – it’s the best-tasting cold medicine you’ll ever get.

Chocolate cake

The other chocolate creation this week was a delicious and child proof cake from How to Be a Domestic Goddess – Nigella Lawson’s classic. I have had the book for some time now, but this is the third recipe I’ve made – or in this case I actually only assisted. It was my eight-and-a-half-year-old that chose the recipe and made it from scratch. She was bored out of her mind on sick leave from school, and letting her dive into the world of chocolate cakes was my way to regain control of my laptop. We used sour cherry marmalade instead of orange, but the result was great, as with all of Nigella’s desserts.

Ingerdients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter (113g or one stick)
• 4 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped (one regular bar)
• 1 1/3 cups good marmalade (orange, sour cherry, plum) – a whole 11 oz/320g jar
• ½ cup sugar (could be light dark or muscovado for extra flavor)
• pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs (organic or free range if possible), beaten
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 8-inch springform pan (about 20,5cm), buttered and floured

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C, rack positioned in the middle.

Melt the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Add the chopped chocolate and when it starts melting take off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula until completely melted. Add the marmalade, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir until smooth. In a small bowl combine the flour and baking powder and start adding to the chocolate mix bit by bit. When all is incorporated pour the batter into a springform, shake a little to distribute it evenly and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (always test the middle of the cake). Let it cool for 10 minutes on a rack, before taking out. If you’ve done a good job on buttering and flouring the form taking out the cake shouldn’t be a problem – when ready it shrinks a little bit and goes off the walls. It looks quite plain, but smells amazing and is moist and slightly sour from the marmalade. We played with ours – Maia cut stars and Christmas tree shapes from a cereal box and we used them as stencils. We placed them randomly on top of the cake and dusted it with icing sugar, as Nigella suggests. It looked perfect. Not surprisingly, however, it soon disappeared.

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The basic recipe I use for muffins is adapted from an old pre-prison Martha Stewart Holiday Baking special issue. Not that I haven’t tried others, but this one works great every time and is very easy. The original calls for fresh raspberries. I’ve done it with blueberries, cherries, apples, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries and frozen berries (don’t defrost them) of all sorts and combinations of the above. Still, the best muffins for me are the my latest variation – dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. They are not too sweet and just the right treat for a frosty day. If you are a butter hater don’t make these – they need the entire dose of real unsalted butter, or they will be flat, dry and boring.

As with any simple recipe, this one also needs the best ingredients you can afford, but without going overboard. The measurements are in US cups, but IKEA sells those everywhere. If you are used to g and ml – there are good conversion sites in the net. I find cups great and easy. For a kids’ party, but not only, you can easily double the recipe, and if you have one of those monstrous American ovens you can fit two tins on the same level. If you are brave enough and have the counter and floor space – let the children help. Muffin making is very kid-friendly. I always use child labor when not in a hurry.

Ingredients (makes 12):

• 1 ¼ cups (1 ½ sticks unsalted butter) – for those not used to US butter sticks – one stick is 113g
• ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tsp of the best natural vanilla extract you can afford
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• ¾ cups sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs (organic or free range if you can find)
• ¾ cups buttermilk
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips or 50g white chocolate, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Position rack in the middle section. Melt the butter with the vanilla pod and seeds over low heat, or in the microwave. Let it cool and discard the vanilla pod. In a large enough bowl mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the butter, eggs and buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula until the ingredients have combined. Don’t overwork the batter – it needs to be airy so the final result will be a light and moist little cake. Add the cranberries and chocolate and stir to incorporate. Place baking paper cups into the muffin tin forms – one thing I love about my new location – unlimited supply of those in every color and pattern possible. If you don’t have those – butter the forms well. Using two spoons, fill the muffin cups completely and bake until golden for 25 to 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven door before at least 20 minutes have passed, as you can ruin the “mushroom effect”. Let the muffins cool on a rack or, as in my case, a wooden board. Sprinkle with confectioner’s (powdered) sugar and grab one before the hordes arrive. They are best 20 minutes after baking, with a cup of cold milk, but are very good even the next day – if any are still left.

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