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Dark chocolate and hazelnut torte.

First you need about 140g hazelnuts. I didn't toast them but I finely chopped them in a food processor.

I then added 140g self-raising flour and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (and I completely forgot to add 140g sugar!).

I whisked 3 egg whites until stiff, then I quickly stirred 140g butter melted, 75ml milk and the 3 egg yolks into the dry ingredients.
When the mixture was smooth, I stirred in one-third of the egg whites, then I gently folded in the rest. My son wanted to give me a hand :)

I poured the mixture into a tin,  and baked it for 40-50 mins until the cake was golden and springy to touch.

Whilst the cake was baking, I prepared the dark chocolate filling. I microwaved 100g dark chocolate with a bit of water and 1 tbsp clear honey and mixed it well to obtain a smooth consistency.
When the cake was out of the oven and had cooled down a bit, I splitted the sponge in half. I gently spooned the chocolate filling over the first half.

To finish, I put the other half of the cake back on top to obtain this delicious torte (even without sugar!).

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Spinachio pie.

There are straightforward, easy recipes using seasonal fruits and vegetables with funny comments. Now, on the market just one minute away from where I live, they are now selling beautiful spinach leaves:

I used them to make this beautiful Spinachio pie from the recipe book:

first make the pastry:
mix 100g wholemeal flour, 100g white flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Rub 100g butter into the flour mixture to breadcrumb consistency and gradually add enough cold water until the pastry sticks together. If the pastry is too watery, add flour until you obtain the right consistency. Then leave it to rest for an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 200 degres.

Cook the spinach:

wash the spinach leaves.

Then place them in a saucepan with a lid and steam the spinach for 5 minutes or so. When it's steamed, drain the spinach to extract as much liquid as possible.

Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes. While the pastry is baking, separate an egg and whisk the white lightly with a fork. Take the pastry out of the oven and pour the whisked egg white into the base. Swish it around until it is covered, then pop the pastry back into the oven for a few more minutes to set the white. This will stop the pastry going snoggy when you put in the filling.

Make the filling:
Beat 225g cream cheese (ricotta, curd cheese, quark, fromage frais...) with 2 eggs and the yolk from the other egg. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, the well-drained spinach and 25g grated cheese (parmesan, gruyere, cheddar...).

Pour the filling into the pastry case. Scatter 25g of grated cheese over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until set.

You can eat this delicious pie as a starter or main dish:

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