Shuuuuuuuuu don’t tell anybody. This dessert was my first love! My love with the sweets started in my childhood, experimenting!!! Yes I was always making the birthday cake for everybody (I’m still), One day I figured out I was baking every single day and step by step I started to sale cakes, then at a restaurant they asked me to do the desserts for them, and then another one, and so on. Finally without planning to make a living from baking, Bienmesabe a little catering business was born and believe it or not it lived for 11 years. After several years with Bienmesabe I decided to start the Cooking school and fall in love again, this time with The Cuisine. I have to say I’m still doing my pastries completely in my own way. You want to know what is Bienmesabe?, it is a Venezuelan coconut rum cake and here goes my recipe. This is my very special dessert, for many years it was the stamp of my cooking style.

Bienmesabe

Sponge Cake -Makes 9 inches round layer cake-
6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup of Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
1 cup all purpose flour
Filling
1 can of coconut milk
1 can of condensed milk
1/4 cup of rum (optional)
Meringue
4 eggs
0.57 lb (260 gr) of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

~Preheat the oven to 350 F ( 180 °C). Brush a 9 inch pan with oil (vegetable) . Cover the bottom with baking paper and sift flour on the sides, make sure to take out the extra flour. In a bowl place the yolks with the sugar and using an electric mixer, beat until firm peaks form, add the vanilla. In another bowl (must be very clean and dry), using an electric mixer, place the egg white and beat until the mix is thick and glossy. Fold the egg white mixture in to the yolk mixture. Fold quickly and lightly the sifted flour with a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture in the baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden and springy to the touch. Leave the cake in the pan for 5 minutes and then flip it on a sugar covered surface. Once out of the pan, make sure to remove all the baking paper and carefully cut the cake in two layers using a bread knife, the cake has to be warm. Place one of the layers into a nice deep round plater. Mix the coconut milk with the condensed milk, make sure it is well mixed. With a brush wet the cake. Place the second layer on top. In a dry bowl place the egg white mix for 3minutes, add the sugar gradually and beat until the mix is thick and glossy. Top the cake with the meringue and sparkle with cinnamon. You can add coconut cookies (click here), just an idea!! I did it and it was very fun!

This cookies are made with coconut cookies and dulce de leche filling

1 Gallon (3.780 g) of whole milk
1 Vanilla bean, or 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1.9 lb (850 gr) Sugar
½ teaspoon sodium bicarbonate

~Place the milk, vanilla and sugar in a large stainless steel pan on medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the baking soda, and stirring constantly (so that it does not stick to the pan) wait until it thickens and turns light brown. How thick? It’s a matter of taste and needs, take a bit with a spoon and wait until it’s at room temperature, if you want it thicker (for cake fillings) keep simmering, otherwise you are done.

~ Dulce de leche takes about 2 hours~
Some Secrets:
- Bicarbonate should not be excessive; the bicarbonate will prevent sugar crystallization, and help with the dark color.
-If you use part of heavy cream, de dulce de leche is going to be more creamy (too obvious?)
-If you add 2 tablespoons of Glucose, or Corn Syrup it will be more shiny
- If you add Butter, (replace up to 20% of the milk) you will increase in flavor
- Store the dulce de leche in a clean glass container and keep in a dark cold environment. The refrigerator will not hurt much but it will loose texture. Even better, eat it fast!
-Last but not least, if yo drop a small plate in the pan, it will make most of the stirring for you.

Be careful!!! you are dealing with caramel and it gets hot!. If you have Kids use always the rear stoves when cooking.
Simmer ( Mijotte in french, Oh, lala…) Do not boil the mixture, the bubbles are going to be very hot and you are going to burn yourself (and the dulce de Leche).

Empanadas… All over Argentina you have hundreds of different types of empanadas,
sweet meet, hot meat, meat empanadas from Salta, with lamb, chicken, fish, trout, more and, more Yam hmm! Oh, and I almost forgot about the more vegetarian versions that, I must admit are sometimes wonderful. You can even get sweet potato empanadas for dessert.
Every province has its own style, and they are all delicious. In Buenos Aires you can find a pizzeria in almost every corner. And where there is pizza there are empanadas (and beer). It’s the perfect appetizer and the most popular finger food! Whenever you order pizza by phone they will ask you: and, how many empanadas?

Dough
8.8 oz (250 gr) flour
1 tablespoon of butter at room temperature
½ cup of milk
½ tablespoon of sugar
1 yolk

Filling
3 onions
3 tablespoon olive oil
3 onions (chopped)
8.8 oz (250 gr) ground meat
1/2 cup red wine (don’t be cheap, use a good one, it’s just half a cup)
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon thyme
¼teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
50 gr. Cumin This is the secret
3 teaspoons of meat bouillon
1/4 cup black raisins
1/4 cup of green olives (chopped)
2 cooked eggs (chopped)

~ Pour the flour on the table, make a crown (volcano for the kids), and add butter, milk, sugar and the yolk in the center.
Knead, but not too much, just blend all ingredients together and cover with plastic wrap, place the dough 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
Roll out the dough and cut discs of about 4.7 inches(12 cm) with a sharp cutting tool. Set aside, between disc, place wax paper, and cover with plastic wrap.
~ In a hot pan add the olive oil, saute the onion add the meat and stir until cooked. Add
paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the wine and wait until the alcohol evaporates, add the broth, cover and let cook for 10 minutes with low heat.
Add the raisins and olives, place in to the refrigerator for1 or 2 hours, add the eggs.
~ Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) Place the filling ( one full tablespoon) on the center of the the dough circles. Fold the dough (to form semicircles) and press the edges, you can press with a fork. Place the empanada in a baking pan covered with baking paper, cook until golden. shredded meat feeling click here

 

 

Note: I use this recipe, for Brownie bars
For a Brownie Cake recipe click here
4 oz(125 gr) of unsweetened chocolate
7 oz  (175 gr) Butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup (375 gr.) of sugar
1 cup(125 gr.) of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 cup (125 gr) of chopped nuts (optional)
~Do not preheat the oven, prepare a sheet (28 x 18 cm) (11 x 7 inch) cover with baking paper.
Chop the chocolate and the butter, use a heat proof bowl and put the bowl in a pan of steaming water, stir until the chocolate melts; do not cook the chocolate. (Alternatively you can use the microwave; chop the chocolate in tiny pieces add the butter and put it in the microwave at high power for 1 min, stir and if it’s not melted try 10 more seconds seconds, stir and repeat until it melts).

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, add the sugar and the vanilla essence. Add the chocolate and whisk by hand. Add the sifted flour and fold until the flour disappears. Do not over beat. Add the nuts. (Secret before adding the nuts; put them in a sifter with some flour and sift the flour so that only the nuts covered by a thin layer of flour remain inside the sifter. This flour layer will prevent the nuts sinking to the bottom of the preparation). Pour the mix in the previously prepared baking sheet and place in the oven.
Turn the oven on (400F) (200C). cook for 15′, then drop the temperature down to 350 F (180 C) and cook for other 15 min.
How to know when it’s done? Easy, the edges should be detached from the pan wall.

Carne mechada

4 Cups of water
2 lbs. of flank steak
2 teaspoons of salt
½ Cup of olive oil
1 tea spoon fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ Cup of minced onions.
½ teaspoon of Cumin
3 Garlic cloves (chopped)
1 teaspoon of Paprika
½ teaspoon of Onotto (also called Anato)
1 Cup of minced red peppers
1 Shallot (peeled & minced)

~Place the flank steak in water in a large covered cast iron pot and boil it for 2 hours. Set the meat aside and let it cool down. Reserve broth. When the meat is cold, shred it in thin strips (pulling it apart with your hands) and set aside.

In the same iron pot heat oil, onions and garlic and saute until golden in color. Add red peppers, shallots and fry for a minute, add salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and cook for about 5 minutes. Add shredded meat and 1 cup of broth and bring to boil, mix constantly until 80% of the liquid has evaporated (about 25 min).

Farm style bread

8 cups of Flour
3 tablespoon of dry yeast
3 packs (375gr) of Butter
2 cups of Milk
1 cup of Water
2 tablespoon Sugar
2 tablespoon of Salt

~Turn on the oven and set it at 350F (180°C). Warm the milk together with water and butter (when the butter starts to melt remove from the fire). In a large bowl place the warm liquid and add the yeast and sugar; with a wood spoon stir until the yeast dissolves. Place the flour in a large bowl, add the liquid mixture and knead until the dough forms a single piece. - Spray oil in a bowl, put the dough in it; cover with a clean dry cloth or with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles its size. Prepare a baking pan with baking paper. When the dough is ready shape a ball. Let it rise again to double size.
- Bake the bread until golden , 30’ to 35 minutes.

by Juliana Goodwin for New-Leader, Springfield MO.
For my birthday, my friends bought me cooking classes at the Kitchen Conservatory in St. Louis. And one weekend last month, my mother and I hit the road for a girls’ getaway.This small cooking school offers daily themed classes: everything from tapas and tarts to crepes. I opted for a course devoted to empanadas. At the Kitchen Conservatory, the instructors range from area chefs to cookbook authors. Chef Natalia Penchaszadeh, led our course and was a fantastic teacher.

The native of Argentina was knowledgeable and radiated passion. She shared her dreams and chatted about her life as a chef and mother. I felt more like I was sharing a glass of wine with a friend, learning family recipes, than taking a formal lesson. It’s the way cooking should feel.Seven people enrolled in the course, where we prepared five varieties of empanadas: Argentina-style meat filled with avocado sauce; corn empanadas paired with pomegranate sauce; tomato, basil and cheese with tomato chutney; Venezuelan-style shredded meat in a corn flour dough; and fried quince empanadas soaked in homemade syrup (made by yours truly) for dessert.

Everyone worked around the same massive island and helped each other find ingredients. We split the chopping and sauteing duties.

Even though cooking is one of my greatest passions, this was my first course. It was wonderful. The Kitchen Conservatory can also be booked for private lessons or parties and boasts a kitchenware store. View class offerings at www.kitchenconservatory.com. For general info, call 1-866-862-2433.