Pasta Flora – Γλυκο Παστα Φλωρα - Pasta Frolla

Finally, I am back after being absent for two whole years!

I am more mature and may I say wiser?! For sure I am thankful of what I have and more appreciative of what life has to offer me! During this time a lot happened that did not allow me/did not leave room to express and enjoy my love for cooking and experimenting with foods for friends and family.

The loss of my beloved father marked my life in a lot of different ways during these last two years. In the beginning was the grievance of losing him and getting used to his absence which was difficult but as time went by I started to appreciate more and more his teachings and what I have deeply rooted in my heart from him.

The love for the earth and what has to offer us always connected me to my father. We always shared an immense joy from planting and growing flowers, trees, vegetables and then harvesting the fruit, vegetables ….

…and what’s being harvested each season enjoy cooking it.

SO I had to start cooking again, gardening and remembering …

The passage of my daughter into adulthood has also made a mark in my life in many different ways with lots of teary, laughing and joyous moments!

So I am back and here to stay!

Every year I make so much marmelade that I don’t know what to do with it so I end up giving to friends as gifts and also keeping a lot of it for my all year baking. Recently I started baking one of my favorite cakes which is perfect for breakfast or afternoon snack paired with coffee or tea.

Back in Cyprus and on the mainland of Greece we call it Pasta Flora. I recently found out that the Pasta Flora

same dessert is part of many culinary baking lists around the world in slightly different names – for instance in Italy is called Pasta Frolla.

Well here is what I baked recently. Nowadays I bake it once every couple of weeks using my homemade plum marmelade.

Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup canola oil

3 eggs

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cognac

zest of a lemon

3 cups flour

¾ cup marmelade or more

1 egg white

Whisk the eggs well until fluffy and white.

Gradually add the sugar, then the oil and cognac.

Shift the flour with the baking powder into the mixture.

Add the lemon zest.

Take a round shallow baking pan of approximate size, 10 inches width, and pour ¾ of the mixture. Since the mixture is very soft using a knife to spread it across the baking dish is the best approach.

Spread the marmelade over that with the help of a teaspoon. The mixture is pretty soft so you need to work lightly with the teaspoon so you don’t mix the marmelade with the dough.

Form long tubes with the remaining dough while adding an additional half a cup of flour into the dough.

Brush the tubes with the egg white that you have whisked well along with a teaspoon of water.

Lay the dough tubes crisscrossing each other and forming little squares.

Put in a pre-heated oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until it gets a light color on top.

Serve at room temperature with coffee or tea.

Καλη ορεξη!

Buon Appetito