HEY WHO WANTS A COOL SERBIAN RECIPE?
You do, because I just spent several hours translating my favorite recipe (among others) into English with my mom.
Okay, here we go:
Bajadere (bah-yah-deh-reh, with an alveolar tap r, not rhotic).
Ingredients Bottom two layers: 600g sugar 15 tbsp. water 250g butter 350g ground walnuts 250g ground Petite Beurre (or similar biscuits, but this is the brand we prefer) 2 tbsp. cacao powder
Top layer: 150g chocolate chips Several tbsp. of coconut oil
Instructions:
Simmer water and sugar until viscous, then add butter. When this has melted into the mixture, add the ground biscuits. Mix well, add the ground walnuts, and mix until even. Split the dough into two equal sections.
Mix cacao into one of the dough halves.
Take two pieces of parchment paper and set them on cutting boards. Pour each mixture onto one of the papers until it’s about one centimeter thick, and they are more or less the same shape. Hold the two cutting boards next to each other, and then close them like a book to join the masses into a single two-layered sheet. Cool in the fridge for 1 hour, white side up, until firm.
To prepare the third layer, melt the chocolate and coconut oil into a cream that is capable of being poured, but will hold firm enough to cut once cooled (you may need to experiment with the amount of oil). Pour the mixture on top of the white layer, thinner than the two below, and cool in the fridge. Cut into pieces 2 in x ¾ in.
If you use an American brand of biscuit, you will need to use less sugar and adjust the amount of water, as they are sweeter than Petite Beurre.
Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures on hand, but you can find some images with a quick google search of “bajadere.” The final texture should be a little firmer than marzipan. Have fun!
