Dedicated to my Mom

If I can bake today, I have to thank my mom, who was a wonderful cook and baker.
Unfortunately most of the things she cooked and baked were not from a scratch and, actually, that's where I stepped in as soon as I was big enough to help in the kitchen. If she wanted to make something from scratch, she would pass the task to me (exception are very few of her favourite recipes that I will probably blog about in the future).
My mother passed away 12 years ago, and what I have left is her recipe notebook, that I keep as the most precious memory. There aren't that many recipes in it, but they're all tried and guaranteed success.
A couple of weeks ago, I came upon a recipe for a greek cake called Revani on blog Il mondo di Luvi - she has some very interesting recipes, and that recipe reminded me of my mom's "Greek baklava". I know it has little to do with a real baklava, and I have no idea why she called it that way nor where she got it from, but I do remember clearly that she made it quite often and that we all liked it. I told Luvi I would try to make it soon, so that she could compare the two recipes.
That's how my mother's recipe book made it to my blog, she more than deserved it.



CAKE WITH SEMOLINA, NUTS AND APPLES (my Mom's "Greek baklava")

2 eggs
1 cup sugar (230 ml)
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
1 cup semolina
1 cup flour
1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup grated apples
1/2 package baking powder

SYRUP
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 slice of lemon

Whisk the eggs with sugar. Start adding all other ingredients, one at time.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured baking tin (round or square).

Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C. I really forgot to watch how long it took to bake it, but basicly I waited till it became light brown and checked with the toothpick when I thought it was ready.
NOTE: I halved the recipe, so I baked the cake in an 8 1/2'' cake form.
While the cake is still in the oven, prepare the syrup. Bring water and sugar to boil, add lemon and vanilla extract, and remove from heat.
Leave the cake in the tin, cut it into squares and pour the syrup over it.
Both cake and syrup should be warm.
Let it cool completely before serving. It's even better if you leave it rest overnight.
I used Extra Virgin Olive oil for this cake and that gave it a strong flovour, apart from making it a bit healthier than if it was made with butter or other oils. Nuts, grated apples and especially semolina give it a particular crumbly texture, and the syrup adds some moisture without making it too sweet.
I guess next time I'll add some grated lemon rind to the batter as well.
The characteristics of my mom's recipes is that there are no instructions, just the ingredients list, so I had to work it out myself, pretty much following my common sense and knowledge I have about baking, but it turned out well.

The thing that surprised me most is that my husband liked this cake a lot. I would have never expected it.
Now I know I'll be making it more often.
And I'd be happy if you did, too.



CAKE CON SEMOLINO, NOCI E MELE ("Baklava greca")

2 uova
1 tazza di zucchero (1 tazza - circa 230 ml)
1 tazza di latte
1 tazza di olio (ho usato olio extra vergine d'oliva)
1 tazza di semolino
1 tazza di farina
1/2 bustina di lievito per i dolci
1 tazza di mele grattugiate
1 tazza di noci grattugiate

Sbattete le uova con lo zucchero e aggiungete uno alla volta tutti gli altri ingredienti.
Versate il composto nella teglia imburrata e infarinata.
Cuocete nel forno riscaldato a 180°C finché la superficie non diventa ben dorata, controllate con lo stuzzicadenti.
Nel frattempo preparate lo sciroppo, facendo bollire l'acqua e zucchero. Aggiungete la fettina di limone e l'estratto di vaniglia.
Quando la torta è cotta, toglietela dal forno e lasciate raffreddare qualche minuto.
Tagliatela e versate sopra lo sciroppo ancora caldo.
Lasciate raffreddare completamente prima di servire, sarà ancora migliore il giorno dopo.

Questo dolce è molto semplice e veloce da preparare, l'olio extra vergine gli dona un sapore diverso, più forte e lo rende più salutare rispetto ai dolci con il burro, le mele, le noci, e sopratutto il semolino gli danno una consistenza particolare,
e nonostante possa sembrare troppo dolce, credetemi, non lo è.

CONSIDERAZIONE: Ho preparato solo metà dose, e quindi ho cotto il dolce in una tortiera di diametro 22 cm. Se preparate la dose intera usate la tortiera piu grande.
Se volete una ricetta più greca, visitate Il mondo di Luvi e la sua ricetta per Revani.




MAMINA "GRČKA BAKLAVA"

2 jaja
1 šalica šećera (1 šalica = otprilike 230 ml)
1 šalica ulja
1 šalica mlijeka
1 šalica brašna
1/2 praška za pecivo
1 šalica pšeničnog griza
1 šalica mljevenih oraha
1 šalica naribanih jabuka

Preljev:
2 šalice vode
1 šalica šećera
1 žličica ekstrakta vanilije
1 kriška limuna

Umutite jaja i šećer, pa dodajte ostale sastojke, jedan po jedan, miješajući dobro žlicom ili drvenom kuhačom.
Ulijte u namašten i pobrašnjen kalup i pecite na 180°C dok ne poprimi svijetlo smeđu boju. Kad mislite da je pečen kontrolirajte u svakom slučaju čačkalicom (ubodite kolač u sredinu i izvadite, čačkalica mora biti suha).
Kad je kolač skoro pečen, prokuhajte vodu i šećer, dodajte ekstrakt vanilije i limun.
Pečeni kolač ostavite u kalupu, nakon 10-ak minuta narežite ga na kocke pa prelijte sirupom od šećera.
Ostavite da se potpuno ohladi. Bit će još bolji ako prenoći.
BILJEŠKA: Ja sam prepolovila recept i ispekla ga u kalupu promjera 22 cm. Ako pravite punu mjeru, koristite veći kalup.