The first cake I ever dared to bake by myself was a chocolate cake. I have since baked it many times, always using the same recipe, and many times I have spoiled it at the beginning of preparation. It is necessary to cool down the chocolate mixture before adding the rest of the ingredients. On a hot summer day this process is very long, so I accelerated it by putting the pot with the mixture into some cold water in the kitchen sink. Many times, by mistake, I turned on the tap and poured water onto the cooling mixture. In hindsight these situations were amusing, but at the time it wasn't funny.

This chocolate cake is excellent without any additives. You can enrich it with your favourite nuts or butter icing. Today I added some plums to the top of the cake. It was great and its sweet chocolate-plum aroma lingered long in my home.

Ingredients (25cm cake tin):
200g of flour
150g of butter
3 tablespoons of cocoa
120g of brown sugar
15ml of almond milk
100g of dark chocolate
1 egg
1 teaspoon of baking powder
plums

I hate getting up in the morning. Every day, the morning alarm at 6 o'clock is difficult for me. My first thought after awakening every day is the same: "I'll go to bed earlier this evening". Usually, everything finishes with these wishes, because "early" in the evening doesn't exist. When I don't have to get up early, I wake up at 8 o'clock. Then, regardless of the weather outside, my day looks different.

Today I decided to prepare a reward for myself. For these awful mornings. I prepared a breakfast which was so yummy only common sense stopped me from eating a second helping. Buckwheat flakes with almond milk, fruit and some drops of maple syrup. Ok, there were more than several drops of maple syrup, but it was a reward, wasn't it? 

Ingredients:
250ml of almond milk
5 tablespoons of buckwheat flakes
a pinch of salt
fruit (figs, grapes, banana, blueberries)
nuts (cashews, almonds)
3 tablespoons of maple syrup

One day in a restaurant in Warsaw a waiter recommended black pudding with raspberries as a starter. This combination sounded so exotic that we had to try it. The dish was surprisingly tasty. Such seemingly strange combinations require courage, knowledge and intuition from the chef. Essentially, we can put into a pot or onto a plate anything we want. The combination is not always edible. The real masters of fusion food mix ingredients from different cultures and traditions to make new culinary goodies. Lobster with strawberries, chocolate with chili, vegetables as desserts – some of the combinations are on the menu, but there are as many countries as there are possible combinations. We have to dare to experiment.

Today I would like to share with you my proposal for an unusual combination: salad with figs and white beans in a spicy parsley sauce. I recommend adding colourful cherry tomatoes to balance the floury taste of the beans and the gently sweet taste of the figs. They will be equally beautiful as a decoration on the dish.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
200g of white beans
2 fresh figs
12 cherry tomatoes
a fistful of blueberries
dip:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of water
half a chili pepper
2 tablespoons of minced parsley
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper

Everyone can see what the weather is like outside. I think the summer has forgotten that it should go on until 21st September. For two weeks - almost without pause - it has been raining and windy, and the temperature doesn't really enthuse. Maybe it should be this way to help pupils at the beginning of the school year. It is difficult to learn when it is sunny outside and the bike and ball are more appealing than books.

Today I would like to propose an almost-autumn fiery soup with white vegetables and pears. The chili pepper and ginger give the soup an interesting flavour and warm us up on rainy afternoons.

Ingredients (for 3 people)
¼ small celery root
10 cm piece of leek (white part)
2 parsley roots
2 cm piece of ginger
2 big pears
2 tablespoons of butter
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
vegetable stock
salt and pepper
half a chili pepper
1 tablespoon of nigella

The first week of the school year is over. After two months in which the children did nothing, it was the most difficult time of the year. In a while, when the children get used to schoolwork, it should be easier.

In order to sweeten this difficult time, today I prepared some very chocolaty wholemeal muffins. They were dark, with a thick, glossy frosting, and the juicy raspberries looked fabulous, smelled irresistible and tasted even better. They were the best fresh – still hot with melted chocolate inside. In any case, you should try them for yourselves.

Ingredients (10 muffins)
dough
150g of wholemeal flour
3 tablespoons of cocoa
3 tablespoons of oil
130g of brown sugar
140ml of milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon of baking powder
10 pieces of dark chocolate
frosting
50ml of milk
50g of butter
100g of dark chocolate
raspberries