Your Choice!

Hey'a guys,

I know that it has been a while, since I posted something here. But Uni loads is over and summer holidays has begun. And I would be very great full to get back to blogging in every aspect of my life. A lot of things has changed in my kitchen and a lot in my diet too, however I still let myself and Arthur ( my wonderful boyfriend! ) to enjoy different pastries at the end of the day, dinner is nothing without a dessert! 

This week I would like to surprise Arthur with some of my favorite pastries  I used to bake at home before I got the blog, but I can't decide which ones. 
So, I need your help to decide for me, and post a comment which one is your favorite until SATURDAY!

Banana Autocracy: Bread

‘The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread’

            <Mother Teresa>

I believe that it’s impossible to live without bread. Though, as for me it’s impossible to survive a day without sweets as well, therefore I thought I might combine these two things together. And I think I mentioned it before; I am going to share the wonderful recipe of banana bread. This simple bread recipe came from my favorite blogger Beata (probably my inspiration as well). Unfortunately, her posts are in Lithuanian and so are her cook books.  But going back to my recipe, it is slightly changed, since I like to interpret the recipes my way. Also, make sure you don’t “overdose” of bananas, because it might turn out to be baked bananas only. I caught myself enjoying this pie with a glass of milk, but it goes perfect with ice cream or whipped cream, try experimenting a little! 
 

BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

·         125g unsalted butter;

·         200g sugar (Using brown sugar helps to improve the taste a lot);

·         2 medium eggs;

·         200g flour;

·         4-5 medium sized bananas;

·         A splash of lemon juice (makes bananas brighter after baking);

·         1,5 tsp. of baking soda;

·         2 tsp. of cinnamon;

·         0,5 tsp. cloves (But I didn’t use them, because I don’t like the taste it makes, however if you have a taste for that put it in).

Making: 

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 200^oC;

2.      Melt the butter, however don’t let it over heat or start boiling, then take the bananas and mash them; 

3.      Let the butter chill, and while you are waiting take the eggs and mix them with the sugar; 

4.      Add the butter to the sugar and eggs mix and add the butter there and bananas;

5.      Then mix the flour, baking soda and cinnamon with cloves into separate bowl, and add all of that to the banana mix;

6.      Grease the pan with the butter or use baking paper on the bottom of the pan, so the pie won’t stick, pour the pie and put it to the oven! 

ENJOY THE PIE!

Cinamon Apple Love

So, few days ago I read an article about how the half of the food produced for West Europe, gets thrown away. I thought that almost every one of us has something in their cupboard which is about to expire and we are going to get rid of that stuff. So, why not using it? I remembered the apples in my cupboard (Yes! I hold my apples in the cupboard), which were there for like ‘ages’. And I decided to make some apple pie, though it is more like an apple sponge cake then a pie, and it is more traditional Lithuanian way of making apple cake, then a British one. Also, it can be made to the cupcakes or with different fruits (like berries, peaches etc.), however I don’t recommend adding bananas as they are going to make the cake really dry. Though, later this week I am going to share the banana bread recipe.

You can always turn your pie into a cupcake sized one!

APPLE PIE

             Ingredients:

·         175g of unsalted butter;

·         4 medium eggs;

·         1 cup of sugar;

·         1 tsp. of baking soda;

·         Pinch of salt (note: I am adding it in almost every pastry as it makes the tastes to flow together easier);

·         2,5 cup of flour;

·         4 apples (or other fruits);

·         Cinnamon (as much as you like);

·         Optional: A bottle of chocolate sauce.

            Making:

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 170^oC;

2.      Cut the apples in little slices and add them to the fridge until you need them (freezing helps the fruit not to sink to the bottom then you add them);

3.      Melt the butter in the little pot on the little heat and chill it;

4.      Add the eggs, sugar, baking soda, salt and flour (if you think the dough is to thick, you can add some milk, because the dough has to be as the one for the cupcakes);

5.      Cover the pan with the butter or if you are going to make cupcakes put the cupcake cases to the pan, and pour the dough;

6.      Add the apple slices on the top and pour the cinnamon;

7.      Bake for 30 minutes and pour the sauce (if you have some) on the top, so it will soak in.

Enjoy!

Coffee break check in @CaifCafe

Caif Café, 3A Gedimino av., Vilnius

What goes better with those delicious treat recipes then nice cup of coffee? Unfortunately, not all of us are able to drink some nice quality coffee at home and not every coffee shop can offer it as well. 

So, while I was wondering around the main Gediminas Avenue in Vilnius a lot of coffee shops has grabbed my eye, but one of them has stranded out. Just like others it is not shouting ‘Free Wi-Fi’, or screaming out to the street with an extreme interior.  It doesn’t look unusual nor very traditional and it smells like warm and nice place to spend your coffee break or spend your time sitting in the silent corner and work while the rest of the world just passes by.  And what a joy is inside of the Caif Café! 

The place itself is the coffee bar with a little selection of desserts and snacks. But don’t be misled by the usual depersonalized paper cups with company's logo, this place has nice home feeling, which is achieved by the fat-sided mugs. Though, the décor is as playful as it is sophisticated, so it doesn’t interfere with rather solid basis of the environment, as well as music, which helps you to get fully into your work. 

 Talking about coffee, here it is made with adoration, determination and more importantly knowledge. In the eighteenth century Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand ( French diplomat) said that coffee has to be ‘black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love’ and this is the only expression for the shot of espresso (approximately £1) in Caif Café, which is made from Cofea Arabica. However, the most popular coffee here is Caramel Macchiato (Grande cup (580ml) only around £2.1), the reason why, is for its perfectly mixed light and fluffy milk foam with the nice caramel syrup on top, also, its aromas mix and match until it reaches your flair. 

And for those who want something more special I can recommend counting on the baristas taste and letting him choose the flavor of your milky coffee. But since it is going to be the Grande cup of joy you will need to open your wallet a little more, however it never goes over the £5 mark.

On top of that, what goes better with the coffee than the delicious treat?  Unfortunately, on this side of the plate the Caif Café has its own drawbacks. Some of the sweets are not as decent as you might assume them to be, also, they don’t have any distinctive desserts, since it is more coffee bar then Café itself. But if you fancy trying some more Lithuanian taste oriented treats, you might find some good treasures here. 

As for the ambience of the coffee shop, it is an enjoyable place to take the weight off your feet in, it’s pretty much silent at all times but, around the noon it is hard to get the cozy spot in this Café to sit in as it gets really packed. Furthermore, the staff (baristas) is doing their job neatly and you can unquestionably see the determination in their eyes. In Caif Café Every cup of coffee goes out with the special something in it. 

3A Gedimino av., Vilnius, Lithuania (I-V - 7:30-22:00, VI-VII - 9:00 - 22:00)

Score: 8/10

SCORES: 1-3 STAY AT HOME AND COOK, 4 NEEDS HELP, 5 DOES THE JOB, 6 FLASHES OF PROMISE, 7 GOOD, 8 CAN ’T WAIT TO GO BACK, 9-10 AS GOOD AS IT GETS

You can check the menu here (only in Lithuanian).