from my orchid kitchen

These puddings are very easy to make and only with 4 simple and affordable ingredients, which will delight those who love oranges

The amounts shown serve as a base and yield 4 small puddings, so all you need is to calculate the equivalences for the quantity of orange juice you want to use.

The ingredients

• Oranges - in the original recipe and other similar ones, only orange juice is used, and no zest is added. I also tried it without the orange zest and the puddings are equally tasty, but the presence of a bit of zest makes the difference (I say a bit because the amounts of the remaining ingredients are not much and then the flavor would be too intense).
• Sugar - the amount needed will depend on the orange's natural sweetness and your own personal taste. Do not give in to temptation to add too much sugar if the juice is too acidic, as it improves a little but never completely neutralizes the acidity.
• Cornstarch - is the agent that will give consistency to the pudding, cooked in orange juice.
• Shredded coconut - this ingredient won't only improve these puddings presentation, but also in terms of flavor as it has a natural sweetness that complements that of the orange.

How to make

• After washing the orange peel thoroughly, remove a little zest from one of them (about 1 coffee spoon).
• Then, squeeze the juice from the oranges and measure it (generally, 1 medium orange will yield about 100ml of juice), and calculate the necessary quantities according to the basic recipe described above.
• If you don't have the exact amount of juice, add a bit of water.
• In a not too large pot or saucepan, place the orange juice and zest together with the sugar and cornstarch.
• Stir well with a whisk until the cornstarch and sugar are well dissolved.
• Bring to low heat, and stirring constantly, letting it thicken.
• Divide the cream into bowls or molds (I used 4 small cupcake molds), but you can also choose to pour it into a larger mold to serve as a single pudding.
• Place them in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I left them overnight).
• Put some shredded coconut on a plate.
• Remove them from the molds and pass one by one through the shredded coconut, and serve.

 Orange juice and coconut puddings recipe

Ingredients

200ml of orange juice (approx. 2 oranges)
1 spoon (coffee) of orange zest (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar
25 gr of cornstarch
Shredded coconut (for sprinkling)

1. Scrape a little orange zest, and squeeze out the juice.
2. Place the juice in a saucepan and add the zest, sugar, and cornstarch.
3. Bring to the heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
4. Divide the cream into bowls or molds.
5. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.
6. After well solidified, remove from molds and pass through shredded coconut.

The ingredients

• Almond - since it doesn't use flour, it's the almond that will be the base of this cake; almond flour can be used instead of grinding whole almonds, but since a significant amount of this is used, it probably pays off (in monetary terms) to buy unprocessed almonds.
• Carrot - along with the almond, it's the main ingredient for this cake, and in addition to some sweetness and flavor, it also provides moisture to it.
• Sugar - 2 types of sugar are used in this recipe - white and brown; however, you can choose to only use one of these, or instead use coconut sugar (a total of at least 150gr, because coconut sugar has less sweetening power compared to ordinary sugar).
• Eggs - will bind all the other ingredients.
• Baking powder - it will create air in the cake dough creating a soft texture characteristic of other cakes made with flour.
• Cinnamon, Vanilla and Nutmeg - along with orange zest, these are the elements that will give flavor to the cake; originally more cinnamon was used, which I reduced to make the other flavors stand out.
• Orange - in the original recipe the use of lemon zest was the one proposed, but I replaced it with orange, which is generally the most used in carrot cakes.

How to make

• In a food processor, grind the almonds along with the brown sugar until a fine granulate is obtained, or if you choose to use almonds already in flour, just mix this with the brown sugar. Avoid grinding too much so that it doesn't turn into a moist paste, which means that the almond has started to release its natural fat.
• The following are added to the almond mix: cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder, and then set aside.
• Next, grate the carrot finely, using a mandolin or food processor, and fill two measures of 250ml (equivalent to about 2 cups) and reserve.
• In the bowl where the cake is to be prepared, start by beating the eggs with the remaining sugar until a smooth and homogeneous cream is obtained.
• Vanilla and orange zest are then added.
• To this cream add the almond, sugar and spices mix, stirring well.
• Then, the grated carrot is well wrapped in the previous batter.
• After having greased and coated with parchment paper a small pan (this had 16cm diameter), pour the batter in there, smoothing the surface, and take it to the oven at 180ºC between 50 to 60 minutes.

Carrot almond cake (gluten free) recipe

1. In a food processor, grind the almonds with brown sugar to obtain a homogeneous granulate.
2. Place this mixture in a large bowl, and add the spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), the baking powder and a pinch of salt.
3. With a manual or electric grater, finely grate the carrots until you get 2 cups of grated carrots.
4. With the help of a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar, until obtaining a fluffy cream.
5. Add the orange zest and the liquid vanilla.
6. Slowly wrap the egg cream in the almond mixture, and finally add the grated carrot.
7. Grease a form (I used one with 16cm in diameter) and line it with parchment paper.
8. Pour the batter and bake at 180ºC between 50 minutes to 1 hour.

The Ingredients

These cookies only need 6 simple ingredients that we always have in our pantry:

• Flour - I always made this recipe using self-raising flour, however, if only all-purpose flour is available, just add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to the recipe.
• Sugar - this amount used allows us to have biscuits with a very balanced sweetness.
• Egg - this single egg will help to bind all the other ingredients together.
• Butter - unlike many other biscuits, these aren't greasy and the amount of butter allows them to be just slightly crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside.
• Milk - you can use any kind of milk you want, animal or plant-based because it's a small amount and it doesn't interfere with the flavor.
• Lemon or Orange - I usually make these cookies using lemon zest, but I've also tried them with orange zest; those who want can alternatively flavor the biscuits with 1 teaspoon of vanilla or cinnamon powder.

How to make

• Start by slightly melting the butter, or remove it previously from the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature.
• Add the sugar and beat well with the butter until the sugar is well dissolved and the cream is fluffy.
• At this point, the lemon zest (or other flavour) and milk are added, as well as the egg, mixing everything well.
• Finally, the flour is gradually wrapped in this preparation (by hand with a spatula/wooden spoon, or with an electric mixer - spiral attachments) so that everything is consistent and the dough is slightly elastic in texture (when we beat well, the gluten will be activated and create such elasticity).
• It's not mandatory, but I like the dough to rest a little in the cold so that it is slightly stiffer and so, we can easily shape the biscuits.
• In these I made, I modeled some of the biscuits by hand and in others, I used cookie cutters to present different shapes. When creating the shapes you want, always keep in mind that these cookies grow a little in the oven (as you can see in the images), so place them at some distance from each other.
• These cookies bake quickly and should be removed from the oven as soon as they start to gain a little color because the longer they are in the oven the harder they will become (if they are soft to the touch when removed from the oven, it's OK because they'll harden as they cool). I like them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but if you like them harder, just leave them in the oven for another 5 minutes, as they are also very good to dip in tea or coffee.

My childhood biscuits (lemon biscuits) recipe

1. Beat the softened butter with the sugar until a cream is obtained.
2. Add the lemon zest and the milk.
3. Add the egg, beating well.
4. Gradually, add the flour until the dough becomes elastic and shapeable.
5. Leave to stand for about 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Using your hands, or cookie cutters, shape the biscuits to your liking.
7. They are placed on a baking tray with parchment paper, or a silicone mat, and taken to the oven at 180ºC for about 8 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of the biscuit).

How to make

Carrot eggwhites cake squares Recipe

1. Peel the carrots and cook them in water, steam or microwave, and reduce to a puree in a food processor.
2. If you do not wish to pre-cook the carrot, cut it into slices or thin quarters, and chop it raw in the food processor.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, butter, sugar, and orange zest to the carrot puree/mince.
4. Beat the egg whites with the salt and add it to the previous mixture.
5. Place in a rectangular or square form, covering the bottom with parchment paper.
6. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, at 180ºC.