Savory Zucchini Sandwich Cake

Light and fluffy savory zucchini cake that doubles as a sandwich
Source: My mom

Taste: 4 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
For the batter
- 200 g mayonnaise
- 200 g sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 160 g all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the filling:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 medium zucchinis
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 egg
Total: 9x9 inch square cake, 8 servings, 390 cal / serving

Directions:
For the filling:
1. Peel the onion and the garlic and finely chop in a food processor.
2. Preheat oil on medium heat in a frying pan and saute the chopped onion and garlic for 5-7 minutes, stirring.
3. In the meantime, finely chop the zucchini in the food processor. Add to the onion, season with salt and pepper and saute for another 5-7 minutes, stirring.
4. Let cool to room temperature, add the raw egg and mix well.
For the batter:
5. Preheat oven to 350F (375F in my oven) and grease a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
6. Mix all the batter ingredient using a mixer, you should it should be the consistency of sour cream.
7. Pour half of the batter into the pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven, spread the filling evenly over the baked part, and pour the remaining batter over the filling.
9. Return to the oven, bake for 20 minutes at 350F, then reduce to 250F (275F in my oven), cover with aluminum foil (to prevent the top from burning) and bake for another 20 minutes.
10. Serve slightly warm or cold.

Afterthoughts:
- The batter is very fluffy and light, almost like an omelette.
- This cake can be served as a main dish or as a side instead of bread.
- You can try many other variations of the filling: cabbage, tuna, cheese.

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Cream of Roasted Tomato soup

Creamy tomato soup - great cold or hot 
Source: Adapted from Ina Garten's Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 6-7 large tomatoes, unpeeled
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 chopped onions
- 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp frozen or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup milk
Total: 6 servings

Directions:
1. Roast tomatoes under broiler on High for 15 minutes. Let cool a little and peel off the skin. It should come off easily.
2. Heat the pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.
4. Add the milk to the soup and process it in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

Afterthoughts:
Delicious soup. No further comments.

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Cake Louise

Crumbly base, raspberry jam and coconut meringue
Source: Adapted from Chelsea Sugar

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5) - very long process

Ingredients:
For the base:
- 125g butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the topping:
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup long thread coconut
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
Total: 12 servings, 2760 calories, 230 cal / serving

Directions:
1. Grease a 9x13 inches baking pan, and preheat oven to 340F.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in one egg yolk at a time.
4. Add the flour and the baking powder.
5. Mix until the batter has a texture of breadcrumbs. Pour into the baking pan, distribute evenly and press slightly. and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from the over and the let the base cool at room temperature for 5 minutes.
7. Increase the over temperature to 350F.
8. While the base cools down, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, add vanilla at the end. The mixture should be glossy.
9. Gently fold in the coconut.
10. Spread the raspberry jam over the base, then spread the egg whites on top.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the meringue starts turning golden.
12. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

Afterthoughts:
- This is a wonderful cake, good for breakfast and dessert. I've made it lots and lots of times. As dessert can be even better if served with ice cream.
- The original recipe was way to sweet for me and had too much coconut which made the meringue too heavy and soggy.
- If you store this cake in the fridge, the base becomes soggy. If you store it outside in an air tight container the base will remain crumbly. For me storage is not the problem, restricting the consumption is.

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