Feb 14, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day with Red Donuts

By · 4 Comments

donuts

Hi everyone,

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is a day to remember those you love and to show them your appreciation; what better way to do that than by making them something sweet to eat!

My youngest son just finished his undergraduate studies a couple of weeks ago, and today he went to collect some papers from university. I wanted to surprise him with something he’d enjoy, and since its Valentine’s day and everything is red, I made some donuts and added some red food coloring to the glazing to mark the occasion though I don’t really think that donuts are romantic. I think I might have put a few drops more of food coloring than I should have because the glaze looks blood red 😛 The important thing is that it put a smile on his face.

So today remember to show your loved ones a little affection. If they’re fans of donuts, make them some of these: smiles guaranteed!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast
  • oil for frying

Preparation:

  • In a bowl, sift the flour with instant yeast
  • In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, sugar, salt and oil then add the mixture to the flour, mix together until you have a soft dough
  • Cover the bowl in a cling film and leave the dough to rise and double in volume, for about one hour
  • Cover the surface you are working on with flour and roll the dough with a rolling pin to about 2 cm thickness then cut into a donut shape; leave it to rest for 15 minutes
  • Heat the frying oil (enough for deep frying) and fry the donuts from both sides for about 3 minutes on each side, until they turn golden color. Place on a kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil and allow to cool before glazing them with your choice of chocolate or red glaze

donuts1

For the chocolate glaze:

  • Boil one cup of cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup then pour over one cup of sweet chocolate chip and stir until the chocolate melts, then add one teaspoon of vanilla

For colored glaze:

  • Mix one cup of icing sugar with one tablespoon of water or milk and add few drops of food coloring

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT! BON APPETIT!

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 22, 2013

Cracked Chocolate Cookies

By · 14 Comments

chocoate cracked biscuit 1

Making cookies is something I enjoy a lot because watching my children’s happy faces while eating them is priceless. This recipe especially is something else. During the Christmas vacation, they requested of me to make these cookies, as it had been years since I had made them last… and believe me, as soon as the cookies came out of the oven, half of them were already gone! I also made new fans with my grandkids.

What else can I say? You’re going to love them too.

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup soft butter+1 tablespoon
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1  2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • dash of salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1 cup icing sugar

Preparation:

  • Melt the better and stir in the cocoa, allow it to cool before adding the sugar, eggs, the vanilla; beat well
  • In another bowl, sift the flour with salt and baking powder then add it to the cocoa mixture and add the walnuts if you’d like.
  • Place in the fridge for 1/2 hour then preheat the oven to 180 C
  • Take a small piece of dough, shape it into a ball, roll it in icing sugar
  • Place on an ungreased tray, bake for about 9 minutes, The center should remain moist
  • Allow to cool and enjoy (or eat them warm)

chocolate cracked biscuit

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT!  BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
May 30, 2012

All Chocolate Cake

By · 7 Comments

I love chocolate, I think you should know that already. I especially love chocolate cakes, and I have many different recipes to make this lovely dessert. I like to mix and match sponge cake recipes with different flavors or glazes that I find from another recipe. My son has been craving chocolate cake since I asked him if I should make some about 2 weeks ago and made pineapple cake instead. I couldn’t torment him any longer, so I finally made this delicious chocolate cake covered in chocolate glaze and chocolate chips. This is the perfect treat for anyone who needs their chocolate fix 😉

Ingredients for the cake:

  • 125 grams cooking chocolate cut into small pieces
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 3/4 cup of flour less 1 tablespoon
  • 1 cup icing sugar less 1 tablespoon
  • a pinch of salt
  • 125 grams soft butter+ 1 tablespoon to grease a round cake tin

Ingredients for the chocolate glaze:

  • 1 cup fresh cream
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 340 chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 C
  • Put the pieces of chocolate in a double boiler (or bain-marie) to let it melt
  • Remove from fire then add the flour, sugar and the egg yolks; mix well
  • Whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt until it forms a peak
  • Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture
  • Put into the greased tin and bake for about 30 minutes, then put it on a wire rack until cold
  • To make the chocolate glaze, boil the fresh cream in a casserole with sugar and corn syrup, then remove from fire
  • Pour the boiled cream over the chocolate chips in a bowl and stir with a spoon until the chocolate melts, then let it set to cool. When cool add the vanilla
  • Spread the chocolate glaze over the cake and decorate with whatever you like (I used kiwi and chocolate chips; you could use any fruits, sprinkles, whipped cream, etc…)

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT! BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
May 12, 2012

Profiteroles And Eclairs

By · 9 Comments

It is Saturday and the weekend has begun! I like to have some home made desserts for the weekend. Today I decided to make both Profiteroles and Eclairs since they are made from the same dough and filled with the same creme patissiere; the only difference between them is their shape.

Making this recipe requires two kinds of ingredients:  one for the dough and the other for the creme patissiere (filling).

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 100 grams of unsalted butter
  • 1 cup of water
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 4 eggs

Preparation of the dough:

  • In a small pot boil the water with butter and a pinch of salt
  • Add all the flour at once and mix vigorously until you have a consistent dough
  • Remove from fire and let it cool for 5 minutes, then add one egg at a time, mixing well in an electric mixer until well blended in the dough (you can use a wooden spoon to mix the eggs if you like, but it will take more effort)
  • When you finish mixing all the eggs in the dough, leave it to cool
  • Preheat the oven to 180 C
  • Grease a tray with a bit of butter, place the dough in a piping bag and using a large nozzle make circle shape to make the profiteroles, and long ones to make the eclairs
  • Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top of the dough becomes light golden color

Ingredients for the creme patissiere:

  • 1/2 cup powder milk
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation of the creme:

  • Boil the milk in a casserole and add the vanilla
  • In a bowl mix the sugar with flour and egg
  • Pour the mixture of egg, sugar and the flour slowly to the milk whisking constantly until thickening, then allow to cool. It is better to cover the creme with a cling film to prevent forming hard layer on the top when cooling

Filling the dough with creme:

  • Make a small hole in the profiterole ( the round shape) using a wooden stick
  • Place the cream in a piping bag and using a fine nozzle fill the dough.
  • For the eclairs (the long shaped ones) make a small cut on the side of the dough and with a small spoon spread the cream into it
  • For the final touch you can either sprinkle the sweets with icing sugar or make chocolate icing.

Chocolate icing:

  • Boil 3/4 cup of fresh milk with 1 teaspoon icing sugar and 1/2 teaspoon butter
  • Cut 50 grams of dark chocolate into small pieces and place it in a bowl
  • Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and mix well until the chocolate dissolves

With a small teaspoon put the icing chocolate on the top of eclair and place on a grill to cool completely.

N.B : If you want to fill it with chocolate cream instead, replace 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of cocoa in the ingredients.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT! HAVE  A NICE WEEK-END 🙂

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
May 4, 2012

My 100th Post…….. Chocolate Cake With Snow White Frosting

By · 17 Comments

I cannot believe that today I am doing my hundredth post and I am very excited. When I first started nearly three months ago, I never thought that I would be doing this steadily and would reach my 100th post. But, I should thank my children and my family for their encouragement and their faith in me, and also all of you fellow bloggers for your support, comments and your sweet words, you all provided me with the motivation I needed to persevere. Every recipe I posted was  a new challenge that made me want to improve and to become a better blogger, or at least try.

And for the occasion of the 100th post today I thought I should celebrate it in a very special way. This is why I made this lovely chocolate cake. I hope you will like it… 🙂

Ingredients:For the cake

  • 150 grams icing sugar ( 1 cup and 1/3 cup)
  • 50 grams flour (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
  • 50 grams  corn flour (1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
  • 150 grams butter, melted – plus 1 tablespoon to grease the cake tin
  • 6 eggs, separated plus 1 whole egg
  • 40 grams coconut shredded ( 1/2 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder, a pinch of salt

Preparation:

  • In a bowl mix the egg yolks with sugar, add the shredded coconut,  cocoa, whole egg, flour, baking powder, salt and corn flour and beat well
  • Preheat the oven to 180C
  • In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until firm, then fold into the previous mixture, then add the melted butter
  • Pour the cake mixture into the greased round cake tin, and bake in the middle rack of the oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer come out dry
  • Remove from the cake tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack, then slice it in half, it is now ready to be assembled

Ingredients for the decoration:

  • 200 grams of strawberry jam
  • 300 ml fresh cream
  • 2 tablespoons icing sugar
  • 100 grams cooking chocolate
  • 50 grams soft butter, 2 tablespoons icing sugar, 1 tablespoon cocoa plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • some fresh strawberry for decoration on the top

Decoration of the cake:

  • Put the jam on the bottom layer of the cake and cover it with the other half
  • Mix the fresh cream with the 2 tablespoons of icing sugar until thickens, then spread it on the top of the cake
  • Mix the butter with the 2 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla extract and the cocoa until smooth. Pipe it along the edge of the cake
  • Grate the cooking chocolate and spread over, finally put some strawberries for decoration

ET VOILA …C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT:)

Filed Under: Dessert, Jam · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Mar 27, 2012

Lazy Cake (Biscuit au Chocolat)

By · 21 Comments

I love chocolate. I mean, I think I am addicted to chocolate. I always have some in the house. Every week, I have to make a chocolate cake, cupcake, biscuit with chocolate or anything else! My children also love it, especially my quadruple chocolate cake (maybe I’ll post it someday). Today I made this biscuit au chocolat, popularly known as Lazy Cake. Why did they call it lazy? Maybe because it doesn’t require any oven cooking, or maybe it can be made with simple ingredients. In any case, what counts is that it is DELICIOUS! 😀

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cup of icing sugar
  • 8 tablespoons of cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 200 grams butter
  • about 250 grams of biscuit ( you can use any kind you like, I used petit beurre biscuit)

Preparation:

  • Beat the eggs until pale yellow, then add the vanilla and sugar while mixing
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add it to the egg mixture, then add the cocoa slowly
  • Snap the biscuits into pieces by hand over the mixture and fold with a spoon to cover all the pieces of biscuit with the chocolate
  • Line a cake tin with plastic cling film and pour the cake mixture in. Press the cake down with a spoon while pouring
  • Cover the tin with cling film and refrigerate for at least 5 hours until set
  • When the cake is hard enough, remove the cling film and take out from the cake tin , place in a serving plate and slice it and you’re ready to enjoy. As simple as that

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT! 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Mar 20, 2012

Fondant Au Chocolat

By · 8 Comments

Have you ever tried a Fondant Au Chocolat in a nice restaurant or coffee shop with a scoop of ice cream? The hot chocolate melting in your mouth, contrasting the cold of the ice cream and wished you can eat it any time you want at home? I did. I love the texture of this creamy chocolate and cannot stop myself from eating it even after a heavy dinner. I’ve tried so many recipes to find the perfect one that can satisfy my craving, until a few years back, I found a nice one in an old french magazine and I’ve tried it and I said “that’s the one I am looking for”!! It was perfectly delicious. My children also love it. I made it again today to share this lovely recipe with you. By the way you should be very careful about the cooking time, if you leave it one minute extra in the oven, you will not have the melting chocolate oozing out from inside the cake.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of flour minus 1 tablespoon
  • 2 eggs+2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup of icing sugar minus 1 tablespoon
  • 100 grams butter
  • 100 black chocolate
  • pinch of salt

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 210C
  • In a saucepanPlace the chocolate with the butter and the pinch of salt and let it melt on water bath for 5 minutes stirring continuously
  • In a bowl whisk the eggs with egg yolks until pale yellow
  • Add the flour to the eggs and mix well
  • Add the icing sugar now
  • Pour the mixture of chocolate-butter over the eggs and flour
  • Grease 6 small molds ( the cup cake ones will be perfect) and divide the mixture into them
  • Bake in the oven for 9 minutes,( you now it is done when the top of the cake is  not soft anymore
  • Eat while it is still warm. Or you can reheat them on the microwave for few seconds only

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT. BON APPETIT!

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , ,
Feb 22, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookies

By · Leave a Comment

 

 

Cookies are always fun to make. The recipe for these cookies I have from my mother, and I’ve been making it since 20 years and let me tell you, it is  a big hit! The feeling of these soft cookies melting in one’s mouth will make anyone’s mood shift quickly into a blissful state, problems will dissolve as the cookies crumble, and the day will seem brighter.

I know there’s a plethora of stores showing off their latest cookie recipes, but today I’d like to show you how you can make these fluffy delicious mouth adventures on your own. And believe me you cannot go wrong with it!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 butter softened
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4  all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease lightly few cooking sheet
  • Cream the sugars with the butter and shortening until light and fluffy
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one, stir in the vanilla
  • Sift together, the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and the salt, add to the sugar mixture, beating well
  • Fold the chocolate chips
  • Make from the dough small ball, place it on the cooking sheet and press it with fingertips
  • Bake for about 12 minutes.
  • Cool it on the tray before removing to a rack to cool completely.

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Feb 10, 2012

Orange Cake with Chocolate Frosting

By · Leave a Comment

Lucky you, I am posting double today 🙂

This recipe for the cake is very malleable for variations. Instead orange juice, you can use milk or lemon juice or even yogurt. Also, instead of making white cake like the one I made today, you can replace 3 tablespoons of flour with the same amount of cacao, and you will have a chocolate cake… BE CREATIVE and EXPERIMENT.

Ingredients:

  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla  essence
  • 2 cups of granulated sugar
  • 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of orange juice
  • 3 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven at 180C.
  • Grease a cake round tin, then sprinkle it with flour
  • In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla until pale
  • Add the the sugar and mix until completely dissolve
  • Now put the soft butter
  • Alternate the flour and the orange juice, mix well until the batter is soft and creamy, at the end add the baking powder and the chocolate chips
  • Put the mix in a cake tin and bake in the oven about 40 minutes. You know the cake is done when you insert a wood stick in it and it comes out dry
  • After its done, remove it and leave it in the tin few minutes to settle and then turn it onto a rack to cool completely

In the meantime prepare the chocolate frosting.

Ingredients for the frosting:

  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1 cup of icing sugar
  • 1 small teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons of cacao

Preparation:

  • Mix all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy, and spread it all over the cake

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , ,