Vesna's Torta od Piskota

Ode to my mother in law, Vesna, who painstakingly gave us step by step instructions in Serbian so that we could make this for my mother's birthday celebration. At first thought, I had doubts about this cake - but let me tell you, I owe my husband a big hug and kiss for introducing us to the wonderful world of Serbian sweets.

The filling of the cake literally melts in your mouth and simulates ice cream in a silky way that I never thought eggs and chocolate could do. Despite the ingredients, it is so light that you could probably eat the entire cake without filling like a brick. I have converted the measurements of this recipe - if anyone needs metric conversions, please let me know.


Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter - room temperature
1 cup of semisweet mini chocolate morsels
10 eggs
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 lemon
1 pinch of salt
2 packages of lady fingers
1 cup of milk
1 package of whip cream

Directions:
1. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Place the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and the yolks into a separate bowl.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and one stick of butter and place in the microwave, heating at 30 second intervals and stirring until fully melted.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 a cup of confectioner's sugar with the remaining stick of butter.
4. Once the butter and sugar are creamed, add the egg yolks one by one into the bowl, mixing the entire time.
5. Once all the egg yolks are incorporated, slowly add the chocolate into the mixture and then set aside.
6. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until a soft peak forms.
7. Add in the confectioner's sugar and then the 3 tbsp of granulated sugar.
8. Beat until a hard peak forms. Do not overbeat.
9. Take the egg whites and then fold in carefully into the chocolate and set aside.
10. Heat the cup of milk in a bowl until warm - do not let boil.
11. Dip the lady fingers one by one on both sides lightly in the warm milk and shape them around the circumferance of a boiling pot or a spring form pan. Be sure that you do not lay them horizontally but lay then vertically.
12. When the circumference of the pot or pan is vertically lined, place the milk dipped lady fingers horizontally on the bottom of the pot or pan until the bottom is covered.
13. Scoop the filling into the center of the pot or pan.
14. Cover the top of the filling with milk dipped lady fingers until no chocolate is showing. DO NOT push or bury the ladyfingers into the chocolate.
15. Place the cake into the fridge for 1.5 hours and then transfer to the freezer to set overnigiht.
16. In the morning, you can run water along the sides of the pot or pan (be careful to not get any water into the cake). This will loosen the cake. Tap the sides as well. Then turn the cake over and onto your cake platter.
17. Ice the cake all around with whip cream and decorate as needed. Be sure to replace the cake into the fridge so that the filling does not melt.

Enjoy and be ready for finger licking addicting eats.

Nutritional Information:
This recipe makes about 25 slices. Per every slice there are:
195.32 calories
21.6 g carbs
13.8 g sugar

Serbian Stuffed Peppers - Punjene Paprike

There's nothing like stuffed peppers on a hot Texas night - especially when one bite can transport you all the way around the world. Thanks to my friend, Tamara Abdulovic, I was able to re-create this eastern European favorite, which interestingly, my great grandma from Macedonia used to cook once a week for my America-Yugoslavian grandfather. Completely Awesome.

Ingredients:

1 large onion or two small onions (yellow)

1 cup of rice (non-sticky)

5 green peppers

1 pound of ground beef

3 tbsp of sweet Hungarian red paprika

3 tbsp of Vegeta seasoning

1 tbsp of tomato paste

2 tbsp of flour

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Water

Note: You can usually find Vegeta at a Serbian grocery store. However, if you are unable to, you may substitute Vegeta for your favorite seasonings, including: thyme, rosemary, etc... Remember that Vegeta is a vegetable seasoning so season accordingly if you are substituting.

Please also note that the recipe calls for sweet Hungarian paprika. This you can usually find at a specialty food store - it is important to not use regular paprika seasoning as it will severely alter the taste of the dish.

Directions:

To make the stuffing, dice the onion into small pieces and saute it until it turns a nice yellow color (about 10 minutes). Combine this onion with the ground beef and brown the meat until cooked through. Remove from the heat. At this point, add in the uncooked rice, vegeta, and 2 tbsp of paprika. Salt and pepper to taste.

At this point, your stuffing should look alot like this.Put the stuffing to the side to cool for a little bit. Take this time to wash your peppers. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds from the inside of the peppers. Be sure to keep the tops to cover the peppers again later.

Stuff your peppers and place them into the pot. Be sure to place them tightly together and do not leave wiggle room. Don't forget to replace the tops onto the peppers. Fill the pot with water around the peppers up just up to the beginning opening of the pepper tops.

Cook the peppers on medium to low heat for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Make sure they do not boil the entire time or else the peppers will fall apart.

When the peppers are done, it is time to make the zaprska (roux). Heat the oil in a pan until it is hot and add the flour. Be sure to whisk quickly so that the roux does not burn or harden. Add the last tbsp of Hungarian Paprika, and the tomato paste. Whisk until the roux comes together. Then add 1 cup of water.

Remove the zaprska from the heat and add into the boiling pot holding your stuffed peppers. Bring to a boil and remove all from the heat. At this time, the color of the broth should be a reddish color.

Serve the peppers in a bowl and spoon the broth over the peppers (the soup is the key). You may also eat this with pita or some type of bread of your choice.

Bon Appetite!