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Taramosalata (Fish roe salad - meze)

  Photo taken from Athinorama Umami Taramosalata There are also the Greek classics, think something like a dip but instead of using nachos or vegetables to eat them we use bread. Taramosalata is one of those dishes.   It is roe fish blended into a creamy pink dip of pureed potatoes with parsley, lemon juice, and finely chopped onion (optional).   In meze, this is one of the first dishes that it is served.   In taverns, they always bring it along with salad, tzatziki, and tahini.   We will talk about the last two later.   Well, let’s see our recipe…   Ingredients 2 kg tarama (fish roe). 1 large potato or two small ones 450gr of Greek bread 1 tsp of shredded and dried onion 1 cup olive oil The juice of one lemon (medium size) Tarama is the hardest ingredient to find, so it is a good idea to look at groceries that import Mediterranean food. It is usually sold in larger jars, but you can store the remainder in the freezer for months. Peel the potatoes and cut t

Easy Cupcakes, with a Greek touch!!


I love cupcakes because they give you the possibility to decorate each and every one of them in a different, unique, way. I always decorate them with the help of my kids, and I have to admit that most of the time they are more creative than I am :-)


A few days ago I decided to try a basic orange cake recipe, but with a variation. I wanted to add in the cake mixture a Greek touch. Masticha was the 1st thing that came to my mind. I searched through my cupboards and I found a small wooden box I bought from Crete last April, while we were there for a wedding. In the box I found mastic!!! The magic ingredient as I call it. But that was not enough for my cupcakes so, I opened the fridge and there was a bottle of mastic liqueur.

The next thought was olive oil. So I thought I will replace butter with olive oil, and there was my Greek Cup Cakes recipe!!


(At the end of this post I will link my recipe to Kopiaste.org where you can find details about Greek Masticha.) 

The Recipe for eighteen cupcakes goes as follows:

Ingredients
130gr orange puree
100gr Greek extra virgin olive oil
100gr caster sugar
100gr light brown sugar
250gr all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
20gr of masticha liqueur
5gr of mastic powder

Preparation Method
1) Preheat the oven to 170ºC (340ºF).

2) Mix orange puree* and olive oil.

3) Whisk eggs and sugars until light and fluffy.

4) With a wooden spoon combine (1) and (2) above.

5) Sift flour, baking powder, and mastic powder together; add it to the orange mixture and stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.

6) Fill the cupcake pan with the mixture (1/2 each)

7) Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes.

* Boil the orange in a casserole full of water for 1 hour; remove orange seeds and mash.

                         

You can decorate them in any way you like. The ones I have here were decorated with Swiss meringue buttercream, with a touch of red food color. My kids are responsible for the rest!!!

Details about Greek Mastic can be found in Kopiaste.

Comments

  1. Your cupcakes looks absolutely delightful!
    This recipe sounds wonderful. I would to try these soon!
    xx,

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  2. So cute..great job:)

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  3. Olive oil in the cupcakes? I'm intrigued! They look so pretty too!

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  4. The love the nice Pink Decoration..

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  5. Cute cup cakes with artisitc touch! Masticha is frequently used in Middle Eastern recipes for that extra wow factor. Thank you for sharing :)

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  6. I bet these are extra moist with the olive oil...really cute :)

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  7. I have never had Greek Masticha, but very interested! This recipe sounds really wonderful, and packed full of flavor:)
    Take care,
    Terra
    www.cafeterrablog.com

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  8. Thanks for commenting on our blog and introducing yours. We love it! This recipe sounds fantastic and looks so pretty! We can't wait to read more. We also added you to your blogroll ;-)

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  9. They look beautiful! I can only imagine how they taste!

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  10. In my experience, anything that gets a Greek touch is usually improved significantly by it - and these look like no exception at all! I'd dig in in a heartbeat!

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  11. Beautiful decorating job. These look just lovely and so delicious.

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  12. What yummy looking cupcakes! You did a wonderful job!

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  13. You are so talented! I had a cake once with olive oil and I could not taste any olive taste at all but they were super moist. These sound wonderful!

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  14. The use of oilve oil instead of butter makes them healthy and i like that. Beautiful decorations....that's a lovely shade of pink.

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  15. you and your kids did a beautiful job , the cupcakes look beautiful :)

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  16. Beautifully decorated cupcakes. I'll have to look into the masticha. :)

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  17. Lovely cupcakes perfect for Valentine's Day!

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  18. Thanks for the link Efti. Your cupcakes look very cute and I love the taste of mastiha plus you've made them extra healthy without the butter. Great job and presentation.

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  19. This looks yummy!! I am going to Greece next week and I can't wait to try everything!!!

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