anju

Eating in Spain

2011-09-26T11:19:00.001+02:00

I feel so bad for having neglected my blog for such a long time, i have three reasons for that:
1 - I have been busy;
2 - I have been lazy;
3 - I have been extremely lazy :-)

Today i decided to post pictures of some of the food i ate when i was on a trip to Spain earlier this year.

Spain is food heaven, i specially loved the seafood on offer there, the tapas, the churros, the arroz con leche (Spanish rice pudding), the cafe con leche, the Polvorones (almond cookies from Toledo), just to name a few. Unfortunately i didn't have time (while salivating) to take more pictures of the local Spanish food. But, believe me when i say that i ate & ate & ate. I had a terrific time there. The shopping was amazing. Imagine being in the land of Zara, Mango, Desigual to name a few! I shopped till i dropped and ate till i was bursting.

A patisserie near La Plaza mayor

This caught my eye in the display and i had to have it

You cannot go to Spain and not have churros!

The mouth watering pastries on display.

A small organic take away place near our hotel.

Macaron

The famous Mercado San Miguel

Bread heaven at the Mercado

Veggies on display at the Mercado San Miguel.................

& the fruits

Tapas, with some caviar on top

Fell in love with the strawberry frappuccino @ Starbucks

Some kind of seafood rice & paella

Pizza &

more pizza

& to quench my thirst after a long day of shopping & doing touristy stuff some sangria at the Mercado.

Lunch time...

The Story of A Too Hot Oven and A Butter Cake

2011-03-01T11:49:00.000+02:00

Lately, my oven has been giving me so many problems, it becomes hot too quickly and i don't know why the batter boils over(if such a thing can happen in an oven!), i mean it falls over and the mess! The cleaning afterwards!! Thinking of all that i haven't baked since. The last cake i made was this butter cake two weeks ago.

I actually wanted to make a dutch butter cake (roomboter cake) that i had a few years ago when we were in Holland, which we both loved. This cake is very nice but i think to eat the roomboter cake, we will have to go back to Holland again!

As usual, cream butter and sugar

On my last visit to Mauritius, my nephew had given me a few vanilla pods and i had not used any of them. Since this recipe called for vanilla essence, i decided to use the real thing.

Adding the vanilla to the batter

All set and ready to hit the oven, when i realise that i forgot to put some almond flakes before folding in the batter.....

...and i get the genius idea of putting it on top

In case you are wondering why i keep on taking picture on the grass :-), its because by the time i come back from work and bake, the light isn't so good inside, hence, i make full use of my garden!

And there you have it, a basic butter cake. You can get the recipe here.

Till next time, Aurevoir.....

A Weekend Away.....

2011-02-21T14:47:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you just need to get away......

.....and this is exactly what we did

Just my husband and i, in the middle of nowhere.....

and it was perfect

We slept and relaxed

& took in the magnificent view

We stayed at Brown's Cabin and Cottage and it was pure bliss!

Honeycomb Candy

2011-02-14T14:10:00.003+02:00

No excuses for not blogging for a long time! Just been super lazy and of course December is never a good time for blogging for me anyway, and this time my dear friend Christel was with us for 3 weeks and we had a blast. Today's post is about honeycomb, which is one of my fav things after chocolate. Something sweet to start this year's blogging....

Two of the key ingredients:

I had only 100 grams of castor sugar so i used 115 grams of brown, maybe that's why mine didn't have so many bubbles.

Sugar in a saucepan; drizzle 2 tbsps of water.......

........then 2 tbsps of honey

Don't stir, like i did!(and then wonder why it doesn't have more bubbles! You are not supposed to, just let the syrup take on an amber colour

Now the fun part, adding the baking powder, no pics of that because this has to be quick. I should just mention that i do not have a thermometer and added the bp when i thought it was the right time.

After letting it stand for 10 mins, this is what you get...maybe your's will look even better because you would have decided:

- to use castor sugar (i used 1/2 white,1/2 brown)

- not to stir (i am too curious!!!serves me right)

The funniest thing was that i put it in such a deep dish that i couldn't take it out. I tried using a hammer and still wouldn't budge, then i got the bright idea of microwaving it for 1 min! Well, then it came out a bit gooey and once it had cooled off, it broke nicely, taste wise it was nice.

I will definitely try it again, this time with the proper ingredient and no stirring! Till next time, hopefully not after 3 mths!

I got the recipe from here. Follow it to the T and am sure your's will come out perfect.

ENJOY!

Golden Cloud Chocolate Cake Mix

2010-11-30T12:42:00.000+02:00

We have finally moved to our new place, there's still a lot of unpacking to be done but i did find time to bake a cake, even if it comes from a box. I am not a big fan of baking from a box but there wasn't much time and i think the cake came out ok.

All i needed was five ingredients, including the cake mix:

One can add either water or some coffee, i went with coffee because i have never baked with coffee before

I love eating anything orange flavoured and added some orange essence and by mistake i thought i was using vanilla essence and instead i added brandy essence

Bake at 220 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes

The box came with some chocolate icing

After mixing it with some butter and milk

And finally a slice of chocolate cake.....

.....and some chocolate sprinkles on top

Till next time.

Tuna & Sweetcorn Phyllo Pastry

2010-11-13T15:13:00.002+02:00

I cannot believe that it's already been a month since i last posted something. I have been super busy. I went to Mauritius for a week and since my return we have been busy with the renovation of our house, so there is not too much time for baking or cooking (of course am cooking but nothing worthwhile to blog about). So my life at the moment is revolving around the renovation. Everyday it is work-new house and home at around 7:30 pm. Even Lailai has been complaining that his mummy isn't giving him too much attention.

Lailai busy entertaining himself

I decided to go with two fillings: a vegetarian one and a non vegetarian one

Non vegetarian option

Vegetarian option

Very, very important: brushing the pastry sheet with melted butter. I read that you could also use olive oil but i used some salted butter

Brushing sheets with butter

You will surely notice that i couldn't close them properly, i tried and tried and since it didn't seem to be helping and we were getting so late for the dinner that i just rolled them and they came out perfect!(for me!). Preheat your oven at 180 and bake for 10-15 mins. Please watch them very carefully because they tend to get done very quickly.

While waiting for the yummies to bake, i made some nice thai sauce: 1/2 cup of lemon, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 clove garlic chopped and of course some red & green chillies:


Making of the super hot and yummy sauce


And they were finally ready, first the corn triangles and then...

the tuna rolls with some hot thai sauce...


.....and some without chillies

There you go some very easy snacks you could serve next time you entertain. Till next time....

Eating out: Parrots Restaurant, Centurion, Pretoria

2010-09-30T11:30:00.000+02:00

It was a long weekend in South Africa and we decided to try out the newly opened Parrots Restaurant at the Centurion Mall. The atmosphere was great, the service was great and the food was utterly delicious.

We started with some drinks. I shared a pitcher of Sangria with the ladies. So nice and cool when it has been extremely hot here. Spring is here!!!

We then moved on to appetizers. I preferred the roll. It had some kind of nuts on top.

For my main i had a hamburger, which came with fries and onion rings (which they could perhaps add a little bit more, i counted and there was only 7 onion rings)

Since the rest of the crowd were fasting this is what they ordered:

The potato spud was divine. You can choose from a number of fillings and my friend decided to go with the mushroom one.

And then of course dessert, we couldn't leave without trying their dessert

While our mains and appetizers were delicious, the same cannot be said for dessert. The chocolate mousse didn't really taste like mousse, the base was a very dry sponge, and the strawberry cheesecake was a bit hard, looks like too much gelatine was added.

I enjoyed my Parrots experience, the owners were there and greeted us when we arrived. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was cosy and the price was reasonable.

For 5 people we paid: ZAR 486 (including the 10% tipping). In South Africa they don't include tips in the bill but we always like to give a 10 % tip on the overall bill.

Adress: Parrots, Centurion Mall

012 643 0091

*this is not a review, just a personal account of my eating experience*

Eating Out: Britannia Hotel, Durban

2010-09-27T09:28:00.003+02:00

Hey everyone,

Since i do not have too much time to bake these days and plus am always eating out, i have decided to do an "eating out" kind of thing where i will blog about what restaurants i have been to. This is not a review because i am not a food critic but just my opinion about how i found the food. So first to come is Britannia Hotel which is located in Umgeni road, Durban.

I had heard so much about Britannia's food from my friends that this time when we went to Durban, i decided to give it a try. Beware if you are looking for a chic restaurant, Britannia is not the place to go but if you are super hungry and want to taste some nice authentic "Durban style Indian" food then this place is a must try. I have heard that Britannia is an institution in Durban.

Britannia Hotel

We ordered a few Bombay Crush, this was perhaps the worst Bombay Crush i have ever had, it was too watery, it was like drinking flavoured strawberry milk.

We also ordered some pappadum, which was way too oily.

Now let's move on to the more serious stuff, Britannia is famous for its lamb chop chutney and this was absolutely delicious. The meat was soft and it comes off the bone easily. I enjoyed this a lot, perhaps the best chops chutney i have ever had.

We also ordered two vegetarian dishes

You cannot go to Durban and not taste the Bunny chow.

Bunny chow is a slang term for a South African fast food consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry.(source:wikipedia)

also on the menu some mutton curry

All the food comes with rice and some carrot salad, i cannot remember if one can order rotis. While the food was delicious and i would certainly eat there again, i cannot say the same for the service. My friend told me that this is how its always been here, it is the norm. But for me it was way too slow considering there was only 4 or 5 tables that were occupied when we got there but if you want good authentic Durban food, Britannia is a must try.

For 5 person we paid: 405 ZAR

Address: 1299 Umgeni Road Durban

I also took some pictures while i was in Durban, you can see the Moses Mabida stadium(lower right corner) where i think one of the the World Cup semi finals was played

Since we flew this time with 1 time (i love flying 1time), i managed to finally see the new airport

For 30 ZAR this is what we had on the plane

till next time...

Hazel Food Market

2010-09-09T13:49:00.000+02:00

After 1 year of planning to go to the Hazel Food Market, i finally made my way there and i have to say it, i regret not going on my own all this time. Even he liked it, i should say loved it. I get there and i am confused! yes confused, because i have only one mouth and 1 tummy (obviously!) and i don't know what i should eat first! and EAT i did.

Last Saturday, Hazel Food Market was having a Mexican Festival, so there was lots of mexican food and.... tequila & margarita (which happens to be my fav cocktail). It was too early for tequila's and after my disaster with tequila 2 months ago i decided to give it a miss, besides it was too early, we were there at 10 AM. But i did have a margarita, it is never too early for a margarita (might i be turning into a possible alcoholic you ask!

I went a bit crazy. I didn't know where to turn my head and what to buy, if it was upto me i would probably have tasted everything and bought almost everything. Luckily, for me, the voice of reason was with me! They also had lots of south african goodies like biltong, which is cured meat.

By 10.15 am, i think i had tasted so many of the sourdough bread and dips that i decided to get one and a small container of pesto.

Now i have already worked up quite an appetite and so we go and have lunch, i had some noodles (yes i go to a mexican food festival and end up eating noodles, i just love chinese food) and a nacho wrap. Don't ask me where the pictures are, i was concentrating on the delicious food.

I tasted the most amazing snoek fish pate at Jacqui's.

I was full! Only one thing left to do. I couldn't possible go away without having any dessert.

There was a variety of desserts, cheesecakes, cakes, cupcakes, brownies.......and the list goes on and on.

But i settled for this and my word it was worth every cent (rand)

Did you guess what it was?

Yes, black forest cupcake. Utterly delicious/melt in the mouth goodie. So good that i sat in the car and ate it right there and then.

All information about Hazel Food Market can be found here. If you live in the Pretoria area, it is a crime not to go there even if you will not eat anything (which is probably not happening). I see myself becoming a regular and i have also decided that anyone who visits me is going to the Hazel Food Market!

Out of Sight............ Out Of Mind

2010-08-31T09:08:00.000+02:00

I feel so bad for having neglected my blog but it was out of choice. I have been very very busy(pay attention to the twice "busy", to show how busy i have been!). I have hardly baked anything. So just to let you guys know that i am still alive and a few pictures to show what i did for the 2 months that i was MIA.... enjoy

I went to the FIFA concert as i had said previously (and was supposed to post these pics long time back) watched Shakira dancing to WAKA WAKA!

Fifa concert

Soweto

We spent a weekend with some friends in Bela Bela, Limpopo Province at the gorgeous Sondela Nature Reserve.
They give you a voucher at reception and you can go and claim your free pancake and wine/juice.

The nice lady making the pancakes.

In front of the reception

The beautiful accomodation

Some beautiful flowers from my garden

More flowers

and some more flowers

We also went to Durban for a week and had a relaxing time.

This is a view of Durban from the 19th floor

We stayed at the beautiful La Loggia Apartments in Umhlanga, where we had excellent service. The manager/owner Ingrid was very helpful and made us feel right at home. In case you are interested, this is their website.

The first day we stayed at their B&B and when i woke up the next morning this is what i saw from my window:

Before i forget, i did bake once, an Ina Parmaan cake mix & i also thought that i am a food photographer! :-)

Last but not least, a picture of Lailai to show you guys how much my baby has grown, he is now 1 year and 5 mths.

Well, here it is, hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. I was supposed to go to Mauritius last week but unfortunately i do not have any leave and missed my cousin's wedding! :-(

Till next time.......

I Love Cheesecake.....Do You?

2010-06-17T15:21:00.000+02:00

It is freezing here in South Africa? Do i hear a "how can it get so cold in Africa?" Yes, it is freezing, like 0 or -2 at night. I know for people in countries where it snows this is still ok! :-) (BTW it snows here too, in some parts) I am not used to the cold, coming from Mauritius anything below 20 degrees is too much for me. So how do i brighten my day, feel warmer and make use of these limes that i have growing on my tree? But of course, by making lots of lime cheesecake. Ok not all the time but at least i feel warmer just by being close to the oven! :-) you will probably say what a lame story, she just wants to bake and eat and you are absolutely right! I have had cheesecake on my mind for a long time, looking at all these limes that have been growing on my two trees there was only one solution use them by making creamy cheesecake. This time i decided to make mini ones. Of course i googled, did my research and i decided this was the best recipe for me.

I looked for cupcake linings and they were too small. So i asked the baker at the local Spar to sell me some of her linings and they were expensive ZAR 2.50 each. I do not regret buying them. They hold perfectly. And i was going to decorate them with strawberries when i saw these lime and orange candy at the supermarket and got them.

I am so so glad that i got my grinder, because last time i made cheesecake it was good but the crust was very lumpy. I got quite worried that the creamcheese was sticking to the beater until i added the eggs. EGGS = saves the day!

One teaspoon of crumbs per cup, which i didn't at all follow, hence, some crust were high on one side and a bit lower on the other side, but who cares what matter is they taste good; for me that is.

Out of the oven, 30 mins wait, packed into the fridge and this is what they looked liked. We all enjoyed it even Lailai. So go ahead, give it a try if you have never made cheesecake. I love the way it sets: very firm and utterly delicious.

Mini Baked cheesecakes

crust

150 grams Tennis Biscuits
70 grams melted butter

Filling
250 gram cream cheese
1 egg(min weight 59 grams)
5 tbsp cream(abt 35 % fat)
t tbsp lime juice
75 gram castor sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line 12 cupcake or muffin cases with the crumbs.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar, add the eggs, cream and lemon juice. Bake for 20 mins, remove let stand for 30 mins and refrigerate in a tight container. I just covered the muffin pan with clingfilm. If you want the original recipe please click here. The recipe is from Exclusive Food website.

Celebrating the World Cup on African soil with South African Milk Tart

2010-06-13T12:40:00.000+02:00

Who would have thought that one day Africa was going to host the world cup and what makes it more special is that it is being held in the country that adopted me. The atmosphere and the vibe is amazing. We went to the kick off concert and what a blast! It was a seven hour long concert with South African and international artists(pics to follow). So to celebrate the World Cup being held on African soil, I decided to make something South African..... “a milk tart”.

Meaning "milk tart" in Afrikaans, melktert is a South African dessert. It is a sweet pastry crust containing a creamy filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs. The ratio of milk to egg is higher than in a traditional European custard tart or Chinese egg tart, resulting in a lighter texture and a stronger milk flavour. Some recipes require the custard to be baked in the crust, and others call for the custard to be prepared in advance, and then placed in the crust before serving. Cinnamon is often sprinkled over its surface. Melkterts are described as a dessert that shows distinctive Dutch traits.

MAKING THE TART CRUST

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 egg
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
125g butter
pinch of salt

Method – pastry:

Cream butter and sugar well together and add the egg, before beating well.
Add all other ingredients – making a stiff dough.
Press into one or two round cake tins/pie dishes and bake at 180°C until light brown.

Ingredients – filling:

4 ½ cups milk
2 ½ tbsp cornflour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
pinch of salt
2 ½ tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
a big spoon of butter

Method – filling:

Bring milk to the boil.
Beat eggs well and add sugar, flour, cornflour and salt.
Mix well.
Pour boiling milk into the mixture and stir well.
Return to stove and stir well until mixture thickens.
Add butter and vanilla essence and pour into cooked shell.
To decorate, sprinkle with cinnamon.

I unfortunately forgot to add the baking powder to the crust and the butter for the filling but nevertheless, it tasted great. I got the recipe from this website.

So here’s to the World Cup being celebrated in South Africa, makes me proud to be an African.

Nothing gets better than this....Tiramisu

2010-06-01T11:25:00.000+02:00

On Sunday we were invited for lunch and it gave me a good opportunity to make something i hadn't made in a very long time, something sinful 'lots of full fat cheese' , yes tiramisu!!!

Tiramisu

Unfortunately for me, i couldn't find landyfingers biscuits anywhere. Can you believe that i couldn't find them anywhere in Pretoria. I had already bought the mascarpone cheese so i had no choice but to make a tiramisu. I decided to make my own sponge cake. I wanted to make a chiffon cake to go with the tiramisu but it involved too many egg whites and tartar (which i didn't have) and at 9 in the evening i wasn't going to go out and look for. Here is the recipe for the sponge.

Beating egg whites and sugar for the sponge cake

The whole process of making the sponge was actually a disaster. First, i realise i don't have enough butter. That's when i googled cakes with oil. Then, i have just enough flour and lastly i break my whisk. My kitchen was a whole mess, i took some pictures but after looking at them i realised better not show anyone! :-) Luckily for me the cake turned out to be just fine.

and i break my whisk while folding the flour

Going in for 35 mins

Ready for action...

This time i decided to grate some dark chocolate because i had read it tastes so much nicer and oooh it is so much better.

Dark 'cadbury' grated chocolate

The next day just before leaving i added the dark grated chocolate to the tiramisu.

All set for lunch

And some for us to have during the week

And some more.....

This time i decided not to use eggs in the mascarpone. I instead used cream and i think next time i am making tiramisu i will go with cream. Here is the recipe for the tiramisu. You can also find it here. They have lots of great recipes.

For the mascarpone:

1/2 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
250g mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup fresh cream

Whip the cream and the caster sugar together until fairly stiff, then add the vanilla and mascarpone cheese and fold with a metal spoon until the mascarpone is evenly distributed.I added 2 tsp of whisky because that's all i had.

It could all have gone very wrong .........Mushroom Manchurian

2010-05-21T10:02:00.000+02:00

My title says it all....I decided to make mushroom manchurian for the first time. I googled around a bit and after reading a few recipes, it didn't look that difficult. The only problem came when i tried to mix the cornflour with water and it instantly became like cement! :-( I am so silly that didn't think that cornflour becomes hard instantly as you add water to it! Change of plan: i make the batter with self raising flour! Do i see raised eyebrow! But it was nevertheless not that bad, i think next time i will do better. It was only after i had made everything that i remembered that Sangeeta had once posted a Mushroom Manchurian recipe because i had begged her to! Next time i am definitely trying out hers.

Mushrooms

Mushroom manchurian - a fav of my friend Stephanie(otherwise known as JOJO) and I. We studied in Pune, India together and became the best of friends. We used to love going out to eat (hence all the weight i put on in India) If i think of it before going to India again, i might have to diet for probably 3 months because this is how much am going to eat. So coming back to Jo, our favourite food was of course the mushroom manchurian and butter chicken masala. We used to order it everytime we went out to eat. The good old days! I miss them! So this one goes to you Jo, looking forward to seeing you soon.

After frying them with self raising flour this time

with corn flour (R) & with self raising flour (L)

Getting it right

Ingredients
for the batter

Some mushrooms
salt
self raising flour

Sauce

ginger and garlic
soy sauce(maybe 2 tbsp)
onions
chillies
tomato sauce (some people suggested chilli sauce but i omitted that you can try it if you want)

- Dip your mushrooms in batter and fry, leave them aside
- Heat some oil, fry your onions, ginger and garlic, chillies and the soy sauce
- Add the mushrooms

Muffins with a twist

2010-05-21T09:34:00.000+02:00

Snowflake easymix

Batter

Ready for the oven

Packed for lunch

Time to make something easy and out of a ~~box~~ packet. I bought this muffin mix a long time ago but never got around to making it, because in my house, i am the only one who likes savoury muffins. I love the Snowflake brand because be it their muffins or cakes mixs they are very good and these ones didn't dissapoint. To make it a bit tastier, i added grated gouda cheese, some peas, chillies (of course!) and some onions. Yummy! Since i am the only one who eats them, i took them to my office and they were a hit. Glad you liked it people!

All you need is some mince....

2010-05-11T10:56:00.000+02:00

Yummy wraps

Tortillas

Making my own guacamole

Can't wait to bite into you....

......and some more

..........and some love :-) and some tortilla wraps. As i said in my previous post, lots of work no time makes me a very lazy person. So when i saw these wraps at woolies yesterday, i got very excited and happy ..... less cooking time/no slaving over the stove plus everyone makes their own wraps (i ended up making all!). Since it is avo season here, i made my own guacamole plus salsa. It was yummylicious! haha i enjoyed it a lot.

So all you need is mince, some wraps, salsa & guacamole..... Bonne Appetit

Snapping out of lazy mode....

2010-05-11T10:39:00.001+02:00

Cherry & Almond LoafNo way my loaf will stick to the pan with this

All ready to be baked

Cherries

And voila....

Too much work = not so much cooking or baking. I have been feeling so lazy these days, after coming back from work all i wanna do is shower and get into bed. Plus it doesn't help that here it is starting to get cold now in the evening. Snapping out of the lazy mode ..... even more difficult! I am sure a lot of bloggers feel that way sometimes. But i cannot keep on neglecting my blog, so this is what i decided to make a simple yet delicious "Cherry & Almond Loaf" that i got on the dailymail website. This loaf was moist and not too sweet, it makes a perfect tea time treat.

I didn't use as much cherries as was required, it is too sweet for my liking but i found that the ground almonds reduces the sweetness. I also coated the cherries with flour so that they do not sink, not that it helped, they were right at the bottom of the pan. Enjoy..

Cherry and almond loaf
• 175g unsalted butter softened plus extra for the tin
• 175g caster sugar
• finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon and
• juice of ½ lemon
• 3 medium eggs beaten
• 225g glacé cherries rinsed and halved
• 75g self-raising flour sifted
• 75g plain flour sifted
• pinch of salt
• 75g ground almonds
• splash of milk (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/375F/gas 5. Butter a large (about 1kg capacity/1 litre volume) loaf tin, then line it with greaseproof paper (see tip, below).
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice, using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer or by hand (see secret, below). Add the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Toss the cherries in a little of the flour to help them cling to the cake mixture instead of dropping to the bottom. Next, mix together the flours, salt, almonds and cherries and add to the batter, stirring well until the cherries are evenly distributed. The cake mixture needs to be fairly stiff, but add a splash of milk if you feel you need to. Transfer the mixture evenly to the tin.
4. Bake for 45-55 minutes, then test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the loaf’s centre; if it comes out clean, it is done. If you find the top is browning too much before the loaf is ready, simply cover with foil and let it carry on baking.
5. Remove the loaf to a wire rack, leaving it in the greaseproof paper until cooled.

Gato Pima

2010-03-29T10:25:00.001+02:00

'Gato Pima'

Crushed dal mix

Just add water

after soaking for 20 minutes

just fry me....

finally the wait is over

yummy 'gato pima'

Hello my dear readers,

I have been absent for a long time because i have had very busy days at the office. Since i had not made anything mauritian for my last post, which was on my national day, i decided to make something mauritian. Come to think of it, i don't think i have ever made anything mauritian and posted on my blog. Here the South Africans call 'gato pima' vada, i think in India too, can't remeber very well. Being me, and not going through the process of soaking the dal and crushing it(takes too long! and besides i have been known to have lazy days!) i made the one from a box that i had bought in November when i visited Durban. And it came out so good, tasted just like the ones i used to buy in Mauritius. Actually that my dad used to buy on sunday mornings and after waking up late i would have some in a bread with butter all washed down with tea. yummy!

I had made quite a few so the next day we had 'gato pima' salad with baguettes. 'Gato pima' salad is very mauritian, just chop tomatoes, onion, coriander and chillies, break the gato pima and add salt to your taste. Unfortunately, i was too hungry and ate it all, so no pictures here! As you can see from the pics, i just soaked half of the box in a cup of water, added chillies, spring onions and onions and voila!
Finally i can say i posted something mauritian, have a lovely week, am excited long weekend here, friday and monday off! Wish every week it was like that.

Enn sel Pays, enn sel Nation!

2010-03-12T10:25:00.000+02:00

Flying proudly on my blog

Should i use them for tequilas......

........or should i rather bake?

Baking wins

Lemon yogurt cake with come icing sugar on top & orange peel

Yes it's my National Day today.So a Happy Independance day to all my fellow Mauritians. I was chatting to my cousin this morning and the first thing we both thought of was the traditional mauritian 'massepain', which is like a sponge cake, only not so spongy! :-) Traditionally, after singing the national anthem and raising of the flag, we would all march back to the classes and wait for the delightful massepain all to be washed down with a soft drink. If you want a recipe of the massepain you can visit Prerrna's blog. It brings back so many memories, mostly of singing completely out of tune but with pride nonetheless, plus, let us not forget, school was only half day. :-) This year i am in beautiful sunny South Africa, where i have decided to set up house because the man that i love lives here but still 100 % mauritian at heart. I miss my beautiful island a lot, my family, the beach..... but i will be going home in a few months time. Hurray for me!

I wish i could say i had made something mauritian but i am guilty i made a lemon yogurt cake, (because there is so many lemons in my yard that i do not know what to do with it all. I could use it to drink tequila though! but that is for another day.) A low fat one! So it is a win-win situation. All the cake and less calories for all. I found the recipe here. It is good bye for now, enjoy your weekend.

Sweetcorn Lagan with Coriander

2010-03-05T11:53:00.000+02:00

All the ingredients.... i feel like i have forgotten something.........

..........yes the coriander

adding more crushed chillies

mixed together

cooling down

stored away for the week...if it lasts

tastes great with mint chutney

I just wrote this long post and accidentally deleted it! I think it's because it is Friday and am already in relaxed/sleepy mode! But this is a vegetarian recipe, i think very South African because when i googled it i couldn't find anything except on the South African websites. And it tastes yummy. I omitted the ghee, used fatfree yogurt, less oil recommended. I also couldn't find any methi leaves so i used coriander. So basically i am offering to you a low fat snack, well this is what i have been telling myself everytime i take a trip to the fridge. But here's the original recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet Corn Lagan

1 cup chana flour

½ cup cake flour

½ cup mealie meal

½ cup oil

2 table spoons ghee

1 large tin creamstyle corn

½ cup milk

5 tablespoons yoghurt

A large onion, grated

Methi bhaji

Dhania

Salt to taste – approx 2- 2½ teaspoons

½ teaspoon haldi

1½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon garlic

Crushed green chillies to taste

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarb

Mix flour, add ghee and oil, add other ingredients. Add baking powder and bicarbonate just before baking.

Oil two round cake tins and bake at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Baguette

2010-03-03T10:36:00.000+02:00

warm water with sugar & yeast

resting for 30 mins

a few cuts in the dough

finally after 30 mins

nice, warm & crusty baguette

I love baguettes, the smell, the taste, specially warm baguettes with salted butter. I miss those nice thin baguettes i used to buy from Jumbo in Mauritius. If you have read my post about bread before you will know that am a complete disaster (most of the time) when it comes to making bread. While surfing the net i found this very easy recipe on Epicurious, i thought why not try it. Verdict: easy peasy recipe, not difficult at all to make. The kneading part i do not like so much, i kept on looking at the clock the whole time. It rose perfectly even if i had forgotten to buy active dry yeast and got fast rising yeast. Maybe that's why the yeast did not foam. But this bread tasted oh so nice!! I will definitely make it again & this time i will buy the correct yeast. Enjoy!

One-a-Day Baguette

yield: Makes 1 baguette

The relatively large amount of salt in this bread is the secret to a full-flavored baguette.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°‐115° F)
4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

In a large bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. With a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour until combined. Stir in salt and 2 cups of remaining flour until mixture forms a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface knead dough with lightly floured hands 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, kneading in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Punch down dough and form into a long slender loaf about 21 inches long and 3 inches wide. Put loaf diagonally on a lightly greased large or 17- by 14-inch baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (Baguette may be made up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled.)

Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on loaf with a sharp knife and lightly brush top with cool water. Bake loaf in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until golden, and transfer to a rack to cool.

To die for Choc Chip Cookies..............

2010-02-18T10:21:00.000+02:00

Milk & Cookies......nothing gets better than this

Finally getting this right

Creaming butter, sugar & melted chocolate

The dry mix

Mixing the dry & wet ingredients

Adding the choc chips

To die for cookies

Soft, chewy & chocolatey

............Courtesy of Nigella Lawson! I think i am obsessed with food, am sure! In my spare time at the office i sit and think of what i am going to cook or bake. Yesterday, yet again was one of those days.

I thought why not cookies, especially chocolates one. After the 3 min cake fiasco, i had to make something to prove to myself i can bake(am kidding, just wanted to eat something chocolatey!) And these cookies, how do i describe them, it's like heaven in your mouth! They were so so good, couldn't stop eating the mix. If you love choc chip cookies you have to make these at least once. I am proud to say that for the first time in my life i was able to melt the chocolate in the microwave. Dear readers, i will leave you to salivate over the pictures, and believe me you have to try and make these. The recipe can be found on Nigella's website. But here they are anyway.

TOTALLY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
125g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
150g flour
30g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g soft butter
75g light brown sugar
50g white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, cold from the fridge
350g (2 bags) semi-sweet chocolate morsels or dark chocolate chips

Serving Size : Makes 12

METHOD
1.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Melt the 125g dark chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water.
2.
Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3.
Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl. (I use my freestanding mixer, itself an odd source of comfort to me.) Add the melted chocolate and mix together.
4.
Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
5.
Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds – an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job – and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them.
6.
Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again.
7.
Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4–5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.

3 Min Choc Cake (i.e if you like rubber :-)

2010-02-16T10:32:00.001+02:00

All the ingredients ready for the microwave
Still looks ok .....

Nice shape...

Don't eat me

Hello lovely people,

I have been gone for a very long time. I have been feeling so lazy since my holiday from Mauritius that i haven't been doing much in the kitchen, i mean i have been cooking but not good enough to blog about, i don't know if this cake fits into the good enough category but i had to come back to the blogging world......hence i might as well do it with the 3 min choc cake.

Well before that let me tell you that i had a fantastic holiday in Mauritius. 2 weeks wasn't enough, but when you go home 2 weeks or even a month is never enough. I ate too much, my mother's food, chinese food, lots of mauritian street food, i also came back 4 kgs heavier.

But now, back to my cake. I was craving cake and remembered i had once heard of this cake. When i was looking for the recipe i saw that some people left it for 5 mins. Maybe my cake didn't come out good because i reduced the sugar. I decided to make it and the only thing i can say is that i hated it, it tasted like rubber, even the cream did not help. I googled and saw that some people had managed to use this recipe and the cake turned out very nice. As for me, one thing for sure, next time i crave chocolate cake, am going to go out and buy some even if it's late at night, that's how bad it was. Why don't you give it a try fellow bloggers and tell me how it came out. You can google the recipe.

Am still here!!

2009-12-02T13:02:00.000+02:00

In case anyone was wondering if i was still alive, I AM! Just been extremely busy, we moved house last week, before that i had gone away for a girl's weekend with my friends. I have been cooking up a storm but unfortunately haven't had time to take pictures. But best of all, i am going home in exactly 2 weeks and i can't wait! I will leave you to salivate over pictures of my beautiful island. I wil probably not have time to blog before 2010, so a Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to everyone. C u all next year!!!

If you are lazy, all you need to do is make a cake from a box

2009-09-20T09:42:00.000+02:00

Not that it helped making me more active. Am still in my lazy mode....wakey!wakey! Even typing is a problem these days. I decided to make chocolate cake from a box and it turned out so good that even i was surprised. I think sometimes its ok to take the easy way out! WHich i seem to be doing a lot these days. Where's my energy, gone apparently! So back to my cake, it turned out nice & moist. Have you guys ever baked a box cake & it turned out nice? So i made this last Friday & am proud to report that on Saturday it was all gone... & i also made Falouda from a box! Again! + at least i have one good news, i have an award from Sangi. Thanks Sangi.

Award from Sangi

Creations cake

Chocolate Batter

Cooling down, getting ready for icing....

.....nearly there

Voila, all ready for me

Falouda

Sweet & Simple Bakes - St Clement’s Drizzle Cake

2009-09-20T09:39:00.000+02:00

My second Sweet & SImple Bakes, i am getting back on track. I loved the first orange cake so much that when i saw that it was lemon & orange in a cake, i just knew that i had to do it. And the cake didn't disappoint, it was great, nice soft & moist. I made it on Friday, i didn't bring any this time to the office, more for me! The only thing that i substituted was the lemon, i had no lemons ready so i used lemon essence(both for the cake & the syrup, maybe thats why my cake looked more yellowish) & i also added some citrus mix peel. I still have some left, which am going to eat as soon as i get home. You can find the recipe on http://sweetandsimplebakes.blogspot.com/ . Thanks Rosie for another great recipe, & the name says it all...... Sweet & simple....

Lovely batter with citrus peel

Ready for the oven

Yummy, yummy cake

Stuffed paratha & the lazy person is finally back....

2009-09-20T09:35:00.000+02:00

I have been extremely lazy! Lazy to blog, i mean. I don't know what happened but after i returned from my mini vac, which was nearly a month ago, i went into this lazy mode! I did cook, i did take pictures but i just couldn't find the energy to post everything. I mean all you fellow bloggers know how long it takes to reduce the size of a picture (actually it doesn't take that long, its my lazy side speaking & finding an excuse!) SO here i am again, this time i decided to make something that i normally prefer not to venture into. Anything to do with rotis, parathas i try to stay far away from but i found this nice recipe from (http://www.quickindiancooking.com)( there's a problem with my page, everytime i try to insert a link it doesn't go through.does anyone know why? and also the pics i load don't appear as pics but as writings).
For once, i was so proud that my parathas turned out so nice. Yay! I might do it again not just yet! Try it people, the recipe is so easy and uncomplicated.

Mashed potato

Dough cut into four

Can i at least have a round shape?

Funny shaped paratha but taste so good!!

Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Cake

2009-08-18T09:59:00.000+02:00

Chocolatey part

Here comes vanilla

I just need to cool down now

Am ready

Eat me, eat me

Hello lovely people,
First of all before speaking about my marble cake, i know this is going to be a lovely week, wait, wait there's a reason for that and no am not getting married but am off to Pietermaritzburg to see my lovely friends for the weekend. My nice boss has given me friday & monday off, its MAJOR PARTY TIME! I will be seeing them after two years (except for Kav & Mel), am terrible ecited. I met them while i was studying there. So about the marble cake, we met a friend on the parking lot of the mall & invited him for tea, actually i did because then i know i will have to make something. Easiest thing to make was a sponge cake and i thought why not try a marble cake, cause i have never made any. I used a simple sponge cake recipe, divided it into two, one part chocolate and one part vanilla. It was lovely ..... as usual. Maybe i am getting a bit big headed! :-)

Making good use of the Book of Baking, hence Chocolate Eclairs

2009-08-16T09:40:00.000+02:00

Making the dough

Putting everything in a ziplog bag

Piping the dough on the baking tray

Custard

White chocolate for the drizzle

Shells unadorned....they already look great

Voila, finally ready

And one for the baking girl

Surely if you buy your first baking book, you should put it to good use and this is exactly what i did yesterday. The Book of Baking makes it look so easy that i decided to go ahead & give it a try. I was hoping that it would come out good and this is exactly what happened. Sure there was moments when i was thinking what am i doing but i followed the recipe properly and it tasted great. The shells rose perfectly, they didn't deflate, so i have finally found the recipe that am going to stick to.

Of course i was thinking will it rise, i had some concerns when adding the egg to the dough, i thought the eggs were cooking because it seemed lumpy but no fears when you have a good wooden spoon and mix everything together. I made 4 with the custard and the rest with whipped cream. I had some leftover ganache so i used it for the icing. Am no professional baker, as you can see from the drizzle that looks messy. Would i make this again? Hell YES!

Spaghetti with mutton sausages for lunch

2009-08-13T18:23:00.000+02:00

Mutton sausages, sliced waiting for chutney to get ready

Tomato chutney with sausages

Adding steamy spaghetti to sauce

Voila! Finally ready for a bite

I made this on Monday for lunch. It was a public holiday in South Africa and when i am at home it is always nice to have a good homecooked meal. I had spaghetti in the fridge, mutton sausages & tomatoes. So it was decided, i was going to make spaghetti. I actually made pasta after a very long time.

I finally bought a baking book & more presents

2009-08-13T18:14:00.000+02:00

Chocolate from Belarus & Matroshka keyring

The Book

Lovely cheesecake, inspired to bake, not yet.....

Now you definitely are, Red Velvet Cake

Hey lovely people,
I guess my stars have been shining this week, first i get a present from Mauritius & yesterday i got another one & this time from Belarus. My colleague Elena returned from her month long holiday in Minsk & she was so sweet, she brought me chocolate & a keyring. She said its a matroshka (i don't know if this is the proper way to write this). Thank you Elena. It's nice to know that she thought of me when she was away. I guess its because of my fabulous personality! Just kidding (maybe am not!) :-)
I know that normally people who love to cook have lots of cookery book, for me its always been the net. Yep! google anything! But i saw this lovely book again(i had seen it 1 month ago & unfortunately i didn't have any cash on me) while i was in a bookshop and had to have it. So maybe it was destiny, maybe these cakes just want to be baked by me! :-) The reason i bought it was because everything looks simple, no complicated recipes for me, am not into all that. I took some pics and am posting it on my blog, i don't even know if am breaching any copyright, hopefully no one will sue me! :-)

Tacos

2009-08-10T08:57:00.000+02:00

Tacos waiting to be devoured....

Taco kit

What best to make when you are in a hurry or when you are sulking and don't feel like cooking! Tacos! Easy Peasy!

(Cheats) Margherita Pizza

2009-08-04T19:52:00.000+02:00

Pizza Dough

Ready for the oven

Nice gooey mozzarella

I might be made from self raising flour but i taste so good...

Here i am again with another easy peasy recipe. I found this easy pizza dough recipe (i can't remember from which blog, so excuse me blogger if i forgot to mention your site & even modified your lovely recipe) a few months back and decided to make it today. I thought i had normal bread flour but when i looked in the cupboard, there was only self raising flour. And i wasn't going to give up on making pizza so self raisin flour it was going to be (thats why my title is cheats margerita pizza). I made my own tomato sauce. The dough too was very easy to make.

DOUGH:
250ml lukewarm water
400gms self raising flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix everything and leave for 1 hour.
Divide the dough into four & form into balls (i used 2 only and froze the other two) take one of the balls & using a rolling pin make it really thin.
Preheat oven to the highest temperature & bake for 10 to 13 mins.

SAUCE:
Tinned tomatoes
Oregano
garlic cloves
bay leaves
olive oil

Voila, easy peasy cheats pizza! Enjoy...

Caramel Cupcakes

2009-08-03T11:11:00.000+02:00

Cupcake says: I think i look like a peach cut in half! :-)

Lonely but happy cupcake :-)

This is what happens when you buy cheap stuff

All done & ready for me

Dinner = roasted veggies

One of my friends was craving caramel cupcakes and i decided to bake them for her. I googled caramel cupcakes found a nice recipe on this nice blog. You can find the recipe here:
I forgot to buy the Mars Bars but it doesnt matter because the cupcakes tasted super! And for the first time i iced a cupcake.Don't you judge me, i know its like just a dot on the cupcake. It looks like a peach. Reason for this: am still learning & secondly this is all i could manage, anyway the caramel was too sweet so lots of icing would have meant overdose by chocolate! I bought the icing kit, and good for me for being a cheapo and buying the cheapest one, you can judge for yourself when you look at the pictures.

Mon Gâteau au Choco et Coco

2009-07-28T10:15:00.000+02:00

I was so good that i was gone in 10 mins....

Lovely coconut inside

Hello Lovely people,

I decided to write the title in french because it rhymes! See coco,choco!choco, coco! Sorry i haven't blogged for a whole week. Am sure my dear readers have missed me! :-)
Don't get me wrong, I have been coooking a lot but i have also been feeling extremely lazy to take pictures and post them on my blog. On Sunday we had invited some friends over and i made Tandoori Chicken, peas & potatoes curry, a lamb rougaille. I should have taken pictures but i didn't, it wasn't my fault it was the lazy person living inside me! LOL. The only pic that i did manage to take and that was yesterday, was a picture of my coconut cake(nearly eaten). I have been having only one problem while baking, the middle of my cake tends to flop, does anyone know what am doing wrong? I got this very easy recipe from www.dailymail.co.uk. here goes:

Easy coconut and chocolate cake recipe
Ingredients
1. 350g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
2. 150g sweetened tenderised shredded coconut (or desiccated coconut)
3. 350g self-raising flour
4. 350g golden caster sugar
5. 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
6. 200g milk chocolate, broken up (i used a simple ganache from Delia Smith's website, pls read below)
Method
1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease a deep 23cm round cake tin with butter and line the base with baking paper. Put the butter into a bowl and put in the microwave on high (900W) for 1 minute, or in a pan until almost melted.
2. 2. Put 100g coconut into a large bowl. Add the self-raising flour, sugar, eggs and the almost-melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and combined.
3. 3. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until risen, pale-golden and firm on the surface. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
4. 4. To make a heart template, draw a heart on a 23cm-square piece of paper and cut it out with scissors. Put the paper heart on top of the cake and use a serrated knife to cut around it.
5. 5. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and microwave on high (900W) for 11/2 minutes, or until just melted. (Or rest the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.) Stir the chocolate until smooth. Sit the wire rack on a baking tray and spread some chocolate around the sides of the cake using a palette knife. Pour the rest of the chocolate over the top, allowing it to trickle down the sides. Sprinkle over the remaining coconut and let the chocolate set. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 days, if you like.

Easy Chocolate Ganache
227 gram chocolate
180 ml heavy cream
37 gram butter

Boil heavy cream and butter. Add to chopped chocolate. You could add 1 tbsp liqueur if you wish. A bientot!

Spinach & Mushroom Tart

2009-07-17T09:28:00.000+02:00

Ingredients

Before visiting the oven

After a visit in the oven

Mini tarts

Ingredients
800g shortcrust pastry
500 g spinach leaves cooked
250 g mushrooms cooked
8 eggs
500 ml double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of paprika
40g cheese

-Preheat oven to 180 deg
-Blind bake short crust pastry for 15 to 20 mins
-Mix eggs,cream,salt,pepper,paprika,cheese
-Add the spinach & mushrooms
-Remove pastry from oven,add the spinach & mushroom mixture
-Bake for 1 hour approximately (i checked a few times to see if it was done)

A Thank you present in the form of cupcakes

2009-07-17T09:04:00.000+02:00

Tower of Cupcakes

Packed and ready to go

Do i look pretty in pink?

Hershey's Cocoa Powder

Cupcake batter with citrus peel

We have made it a habit of always locking ourselves in(by leaving our keys in the car) or out of our house (how much more clever can you get). But i have a good reason its the cold and its affecting my mind (yes, blame it on the weather). haha! And who comes to our rescue all the time: our friendly neighbours, so these cupcake minus the frosting were a thank you gift for our neighbours. And since we are going to Hartbeespoort Dam for the weekend and a friend is going to look after our Lailai, i decided to make a whole batch so that i could thank him too for looking after Lailai. And also for bringing me the Hershey's cocoa powder that i had wanted for so long. We do not get Hershey's in South Africa. So thanks for finding our keys and looking after our baby. I used Rosie's recipe from the orange drizzle cake for the orange cupcakes, maybe they are muffins. If you do not put frosting on a cupcake, do they become muffins.....

Orange Drizzle Cupcake
-preheat oven 180 degrees
-beat 125 gram self raisin flour, 125 gram castor sugar, 125 gram eggs (you can use 2 eggs but i decided to weigh the eggs this time and what a difference, its more moist)
-Add 2 tbsp milk
-Add your citrus peel (optional)& do not forget the orange juice
-put into casing and bake

Chocolate Cupcakes
-preheat oven 180 degrees
-beat 125 gram self raisin flour, 125 gram castor sugar, 125 gram eggs
-Add 1 tbsp cocoa powder
-Add 2 tbsp milk
-Bake!

Easy, Peasy recipe, nice & moist cupcakes. A definite winner. Hope everyone enjoyed eating it as much as i enjoyed baking it.

Brownies

2009-07-13T09:06:00.000+02:00

Ingredients

Melting Chocolate & Butter

Adding butter & Eggs

Adding the white chocolate

Brownies with cream

Can you ever go wrong with chocolate? NO! NEVER! Who ever says yes, they are lying! Like so many people, i have a love affair with chocolate. I have been cutting down on chocolate and lately all that chocolate craving is coming back. After the bread fiasco we needed something to feel better. The dissapointment of not baking good bread,can only be replaced by eating chocolate and since i have never made brownies , i decided to give it a try. The recipe is from Nigella's Domestic Goddess. Others who ate it loved it, personally i found it too sweet. I had initially reduced the amount of sugar but still turned out too sweet. Don't get me wrong, i was born with a sweet tooth but this was way too too sweet for me. If anyone has a nice brownie recipe can they please give it to me. Thanks & enjoy my brownies in pictures.....till next time

Sunday Breakfast

2009-07-13T08:42:00.000+02:00

Just before going into the oven!

Bread ready to be eaten, me not so sure if i wanna eat!

Sunday Breakfast

Cheese Straws

Sundays are for lazing in bed! Watching TV the whole day and doing nothing. I love lazy sundays, sometimes not always.I woke up at 7 on Sunday, which was a little too early for lazy sundays! :-) The boyfriend asked me if i wanted to bake some bread, i am always ready when it comes to cooking or baking specially for him. So i had this nice recipe which you can find here (http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com/2008/05/softest-bread.html) and unfortunately, unlike the original recipe, mine didn't turn up very nice. They were not soft at all, i guess i still have to practise my bread making skills. Enough! I am not going to moan anymore about my bread, so i made curried baked beans and eggs for breakfast and there was some leftover pie pastry which i just cut lengthwise and baked in the oven. I left them in for too long, came out a bit burnt! I guess this Sunday just wasn't for me. I should have just stayed in bed and read and ask the bf to pamper me....well next time.... hopefully!

Italian Night In

2009-07-07T09:27:00.000+02:00

Nothing to do with italian, Laïlaï was just hoping he will get some too

Caution: Extremely hot

Lasagna just before going into the oven

Tiramisu slice

Packed for a friend

Egg whites beaten to a peak for Tiramisu

Attention: This post is not for calorie concious people! Lasagna and Tiramisu, you can never go wrong when planning an italian feast(not really just dinner!). I love lasagna and tiramisu and since i had bought some mascarpone cheese last week and hadn't used it, i decided to make tiramisu and what what goes very well with tiramisu: LASAGNA. I bought the dry lasagna sheets, made some bechamel sauce and some beef mince and just arranged it nicely in an oven proof dish.

Recipe:
Make your mince sauce
Bechamel
Milk 300ml
Butter 25g
Plain Flour 25g
Grated Cheddar 50g

-Melt butter in a pan, add the flour and milk. Stir, when it thickens add your cheese.
-Arrange your meat sauce first and the sheets followed by the bechamel sauce. Repeat till your dish is covered and top with cheese.I added mozzarella.

I am sure that everyone has a recipe for Tiramisu, so i am not going to post one. I got my recipe from the box of the Boudoir biscuit and i have been using the same one for the past 3 yrs. I will leave you guys, till by next post. Aurevoir!

Sometimes you gotta take it easy....

2009-07-05T18:58:00.001+02:00

Ready to be eaten

Waiting to get nice & crispy in the oven

Mince Curry Filling

...... & buy readymade pie crust.Its been really cold here in Pretoria(like the rest of South Africa). I took out butter on Saturday(so that it is at room temperature)to make brownies on Sunday, in the morning the butter is still rock hard, its freezing and for once i do not feel like cooking or baking but since every sunday i try to bake something i decided to make pies. Went to the supermarket and got cheese and herb puff pastry. I had made a mince curry on Friday and there was leftovers. So i made one pie with mince and the other two, with soya hotdog and sausage. No recipes today, just roll out pastry, put your filling and off they go in the oven for 40 mins at 200!
I spent the whole weekend reading, i went a bit mad at Exclusive Books at the Kolonnade Mall, they were having a big book sale and i bought 8!I love buying books and i love my books, i tend to read them over and over (maybe after 2 yrs after the first read). I am very protective of my books, i hate it when anyone borrows my books and returns them to me with earmarks, food stain...I am going to take pics of the books and write about them in my next post.
In the meantime everyone enjoy their week.BTW am starting gym this week on Tuesday. I finally joined the gym!Want to tone up before going to Mauritius in December. Bye for now.

Sweet & Simple Bakes

2009-07-03T10:13:00.000+02:00

Hi People,

A few weeks ago i blogged about my Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake and am very happy to say that Rosie of Sweet&Simple Bakes has added my cake to the new entries. You can find it here (http://sweetandsimplebakes.blogspot.com/2009/07/sweet-simple-bakes-monthly-round-up.html) . Thanks everyone for leaving your nice comments. I cannot wait to try the Carrot Cake for next month.

Pancakes for Breakfast!

2009-07-01T12:14:00.000+02:00

Pancakes
250 gram flour
500 ml Water
1 egg
10 ml oil
Some vanilla essence(optional)

Mix everything, leave for 30 mins to thciken a bit.
And thats about as hard as it gets. Talk about something quick, nice and easy for breakfast! Make your pancake and have them with any toppings you want. I had some leftover chocolate sauce from the sponge cake and i also used cinnamon and golden syrup. Yummy, yummy pancakes!

Toppings for pancake

Pancakes with chocolate sauce

Pancakes with cinnamon & golden syrup

Lovely, delicious pancakes

Pita Bread with Falafel and Meatballs

2009-06-30T09:56:00.000+02:00

Pita with falafel

Pita Bread

Filling

Salsa

As i have said in my previous post, we have a guest staying with us and i have been cooking mostly indian food every night and thought it would be good to give her something different to eat. So, off i went to the supermarket, bought pita breads, tzatziki, mince and a nice falafel mix. I couldn't find hummus so i made my own, by buying chickpeas in a can. Unfortunately i do not have a mixer so my hummus was a nit coarse but tasted just as good. I also liked the fact that everything was ready way before dinner time and i just had to warm them up. The falafel came into a packet so i just mixed them with water and fried in hot oil. I will refrain from buying this mix again because it was too hard and not as nice.I also made some salsa and unfortunately i also forgot to take pictures of the pita with meatballs. So here's the recipe, hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did.

Meatballs
Mince
Onions
Chillies
Coriander
1 egg

Mix everything together, make into balls and pop in the oven for 20 to 25 mins.
Only took me 30 mins to make everything from the meatballs to the falafel and the salsa. Next time you are looking for something quick and easy to make you should give this try.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

2009-06-29T10:10:00.000+02:00

Yummy chocolate sponge cake nearly finished

My beautiful sponge after cooling down

Cake just out of the oven

Cake Batter

Here's a new recipe for you guys. As usual, off i went on the net and finally decided to make a nice chocolate cake. I went on Delia Smith's website (www.deliasmith.com) and chose a sponge cake and decided to add cocoa, to make it chocolatey! I cut it in half (mine looked more 3/4 cut!) and added some whipped cream and some chocolate on top.

You can get the recipe online or this is what i used:
175 gr self raising flour
175 gr sugar
175 gr butter
3 eggs
vanilla essence

- prefeat oven to 170
- cream butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla essence
- mix well, fold in the flour

- pour your batter into a springform pan
- bake for 25 to 35 mins

And thats it, cake is done and this cake was so nice and soft.

Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

2009-06-21T18:43:00.000+02:00

Today we went to my friend Taryn and Chocs place for lunch and i offered to bring dessert. I was thinking of making either a cheesecake or chocolate cake but the cheesecake craving took over and i decided to make an Oreo Cookie cheesecake. I got this nice recipe on the net. Very easy instructions to follow and you don't need a lot of ingredients. I decorated my cheesecake with some chocolate discs and they were ready to go. I made the cheesecake yesterday, because it needs 8 hrs to set. So here's the recipe, if you love Oreo's, you will definitely love this cheesecake.

Oreo Cheesecake
For the crust:
150g oreo biscuits(1 Packet), finely crushed
4 tbsp butter, melted
For the filling:
500g cream cheese
200g sour cream
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Lemon essence
8 broken oreo cookies

1. Put a large roasting pan in the oven and preheat to 175C (325F). Grease a 6 inch springform pan and double wrap with aluminium foil. Mix together the crushed oreo biscuits and melted butter. Keep aside 1/3 cup of the oreo crumbs for sprinkling.
2. Transfer the remaining crumbs into the springform pan and pat to form the cheesecake base. Put the pan aside for later use.
3. Place the cream cheese and sugar into the food processor. Pulse at 10 second intervals until combined, about 6 – 8 times. Add in vanilla extract, and pulse to combine. Add the eggs one at time, pulse to combine before adding the next one. Add the sour cream and continue pulsing.
4. Lastly, add the broken oreo biscuits. Pulse once for 2 seconds. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Sprinkle the 1/3 cupe of oreo crumbs over the top of the cake. Lightly pat to smooth the top. Put the kettle to boil. When the hot water is ready, place the springform pan in the roasting pan in the oven. Pour the hot water into the roasting pan until it comes up to halfway. Bake for about 45 minutes turn off the oven and leave the pan inside for another 30 minutes.
5. Remove the springform pan from the oven. Let it cool completely on a rack before placing it into the fridge. Chill for at least 8 hours before serving.

Vegetable Pickle

2009-06-16T19:30:00.000+02:00

I have never made pickles in my life, this is my first time. I had some leftover cauliflower and carrots, and was wondering what to do with them. I asked the bf and he thought maybe pickles, so pickles it was going to be! i googled vegetable pickles, got a few recipes took some ideas from here and there and started my pickling process! They turned out relatively good, given that it is still the first day, and normally you have to wait for it to mature(don't know if this applies to pickles as well, but am using it anyway)a little. I used pickle masala since am still a novice at pickles. This was made South African style(i hope so, at least that was the whole idea), i know for sure that this isn't how we make pickles in Mauritius. I also got a little help from my friend Taryn about the whole process.

Ingredients
Some cabbage florets
some carrots cut into julienne
some greenbeans
chillies
garlic cloves
pickle masala

- You should mix the veggies(minus the chillies) with some salt and leave it for 2 days in the sun, to remove the excess water
- Heat some oil
- Add 3 tbsp of pickle masala, tumeric powder, leave for a while
- Add 1/2 a cup of vinegar, salt to your taste
- Add your chillies, garlic cloves and veggies

That was not so bad, am waiting to see how my pickles taste in 2-3 days time.

Orange Chocolate Drizzle Loaf Cake - First Sweet & Simple Monthly Bake Event

2009-06-14T15:43:00.000+02:00

I love the Sweet and Simple Baking events - like the blog says it is simple, sweet with easy recipes. It was a pleasure to bake this Orange loaf and it tasted great. Very soft, very moist, with a very nice orangey flavour (i love oranges). Thanks Maria and Rosie for the great recipe. Unfortunately, my camera battery died(i had left my universal charger at the office)as i started to take pictures, i had to use my boyfriends mobile. It didn't come out looking that great but today i took a picture of my loaf (half-eaten, if it's that good what do you expect! :-) with my camera. I took some to the office and my colleagues loved it.

Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake

Ingredients

For The cake
175g (6 oz) softened butter
175g (6 oz) caster (super fine) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp milk
For The Orange Syrup
Juice of 1 orange
100g (4 oz) granulated sugar
For The Topping
50g (2 oz) dark chocolate or milk chocolate – your choice
Sprinkles of choice (optional)

You will need a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin – greased with a little butter and lined with greaseproof paper or non-stick baking paper.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy in appearance. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well until fully incorporated. Add the orange zest, flour and milk and fold in gently with a spatula or large metal spoon. Turn into the prepared tin, smooth the top of the mixture and bake in the oven on middle shelf 35 -45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool make little holes in the cake with a skewer, (this is important for pouring the syrup onto the cake to ensure the syrup soaks in fully.)

For The Orange Syrup

Put the orange juice and granulated sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Pour over the top of the cake. When all the juice has soaked in, carefully remove the cake from the tin.

For The Topping

Melt the chocolate by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, pour over the top of the cake. Either smooth the top over with a spatula or make a little pattern with the prongs of a fork. Add sprinkles if desired, leave chocolate to set before cutting into the cake.

This is the address for the Sweet and Simple Bakes: http://sweetandsimplebakes.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your baking if not drool over my Orange Loaf! :-)

An Attempt at making Suji....

2009-06-10T20:33:00.001+02:00

I have tried making suji before it didn't turn out well. i thought that maybe this time i will be very lucky and it will look as nice as when my mom makes it. Actually it didn't taste that bad. It just looked a bit lumpy and i turned it into small laddus! LOL! Well, i had to improvise. I will take it for my colleagues tomorrow and see what they think.

Ingredients:
1 cup suji
3/4 cup sugar
2 cup milk (add more if you want)
3 cardamon pods
2 tbsp raisin
add almonds if you want
3 tbsp ghee (i used butter instead)

- Heat butter/ghee
- Add cardamon, leave it for a while
- Pour semolina over butter, mix & braise for a few minutes
- Add sugar & raisin
- Add milk

Voila!

Cauliflower with peas & Potatoes in Masala and lentils

2009-06-10T20:27:00.000+02:00

Hello,

This is what i made yesterday. Had it with some rotis that i didn't make, i am hopeless in making rotis. Just braised the cauliflower with spices and tomatoes and made some lentils.

Very short post. Sorry, i don't have much energy since i still have to post about my suji (that didn't turn out like it should) :-(

Cheers

Soya Hotdog and Mashed Potato Bun

2009-06-07T15:35:00.000+02:00

I have never baked bread in my life before till i came across Grace's Braided Hot Dog Bun, (she hosts the Kitchen Corner food blog) and got so inspired, i mean more like drooling over the buns over the past week that i decided to go ahead and try some today. They were very easy to make, i didn't struggle once while making them, and they taste so so good! The dough makes 5 buns, i used 2 for soya sausages and the remaining 3, i chopped chillies, onions and mashed some potato and used that as a filling. I think this is the simplest bread recipe i have ever seen. I am proud of myself, I finally baked some bread! :-)

Ingredients: This is Grace's original recipe, i did everything to a T except that i added the potato mash to 3 of the buns.
Recipe (makes 5 buns):
(A)
110g bread flour
40g plain flour
15g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
70g cold water
2 teaspoon yeast
30g mashed potato
(B)
15g butter
(C)
5 pieces hotdog
some shredded cheddar
some dried pasley

1.
Mix ingredients (A) at low speed using a dough hook mixer follow by the mashed potato. Turn to medium speed continue kneading until it become a smooth dough. Add in the (B) unsalted butter and knead with low speed until the butter combine with the dough. Turn to medium speed continue the kneading process until it become a smooth and elastic dough. (the dough will slightly wet, I oiled my hand then...) place the dough into a lightly grease bowl and cover with cling wrap to proof for 80 minutes.
2.
Divide the dough into 5 portions and round them into small balls. Let them rest for 10 minutes.
3.
Wrap the hotdog into each doughs and proof for 25 minutes.
4.
Egg wash the dough and sprinkle some shredder cheddar cheese and dried parsley. Bake at 190'c for 18 minutes until golden brown.

This is Grace's blog address:http://gracekitchencorner.blogspot.com

I will sign off now, have to go and eat more buns!

"Rougaille" (Tomato Chutney with Soya Sausages & Peas) & Kidney Beans Curry with Potatoes

2009-06-04T10:07:00.000+02:00

Hey Everybody,

I decided to make something for my bf yesterday because he was returning from Cape Town. The new place is amazing, i love it. The only problem is that our kitchen is tiny! But i have no choice, since i love cooking and the tiny kitchen will have to do. I made the "Rougaille" - this is what tomato chutney is called in Mauritius. As usual, i made it extra hot because that's the way, Mr. likes his food but if i may say so, the food was so yummy! He enjoyed it a lot, Lailai couldn't taste any, he had to make do with his dog food! But incase anyone is wondering, my baby is doing great!

Rougaille
Soya sausages - I used Fry's ones
Tomatoes - depending on how much you want to make
Onions
Chillies - of course!
Ginger and garlic - I got this nice ginger, garlic and corainder mix from PicknPay
Some bay leaves

Chop onions and chillies, let brown, add the ginger mix, add the tomatoes. Leave for a while till it becomes mushy and add in your peas and soya sausages. Leave for a while.

Kidney beans with potatoes
Beans - (unfortunately i had to use a can because i had forgotten to soak some the night b4)
Onions
Chilli and masala powder
Cumin
Potatoes - cut and boiled

Brown onions, add cumin and the powders. After a while, add your beans and potatoes. Thats it, u r done. As simple as that. Enjoy your food, the bf sure did. Till next time!

Meet Laïlaï

2009-06-02T10:13:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone we have finally moved from our old place. The place still looks a mess but i will give myself till the end of the week to sort everything out. Yesterday the BF got me a pup, a small cream coloured Sharpei. He is so cute, i decided to give him a chinese name, since the Shar Pei originate from China. I decided to look it up and this is what wikipedia came up with, the link can be found here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpei

The Shar Pei or Chinese Shar-Pei is a breed of dog known for its distinctive features of deep wrinkles and a blue-black tongue. The breed derives from China. The name (沙皮, pinyin: shā pí; English name probably derived from British spelling of Cantonese equivalent sā pèih) translates to "sand skin," and refers to the texture of its short, rough coat. As puppies, Shar Pei have numerous wrinkles, but as they mature, these wrinkles disappear as they "grow into their skin". Shar Pei were once named as one of the world's rarest dog breeds by Time magazine and the Guinness Book of World Records, and the American Kennel Club did not recognize the breed until 1991.

The origin of the Chinese Shar-Pei can be traced to the province of Kwun Tung and has for centuries existed in the southern provinces of China. These dogs helped their peasant masters in various tasks such as herding cattle, guarding the home and family, and have proven themselves to be qualified hunters of wild game, usually wild pigs, and, of course they were used for generations as fighting dogs, by the Chinese nobility, although the practice became rarer after the people's Revolution when such activities were seen as the preserve of the decadent classes.

The Shar-Pei is believed to have shared a common origin with the smooth-coated Chow-Chow because of the blue-black mouths and tongues, possibly the Great Pyrenees, a source of the double dew claws, and the Tibetan Mastiff. It was believed in ancient times that the dark mouth of the Chow-Chow, exposed when barking, helped to ward off evil spirits. The first Shar-Pei may have appeared as a mutation. The Shar-Pei when translated means "sand-skin" or "shark skin." This uniquely rough, loose, prickly coat enabled the Shar-Pei to wriggle out of its opponents grasp while fighting in the dog pits. The coat when stroked against the grain may be abrasive, producing a burning, itching sensation. Their tail is carried over their backs on either side exposing the anus. The first tail set is a tightly curled tail, a "coin" tail. The second tail set is the loose curl, and third is carried in an arch over the back. The Shar-Pei with his tail sticking out straight or between his legs was thought to be cowardly. The tail should denote bravery.

See how cute he is in the pictures. My baby is beautiful and very photogenic.

Brick Lane

2009-05-29T16:21:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone,

Just saying a quick hi, i don't know if i will be able to post much during the weekend. We move to our new place on Sunday. But just a little update, am off to the Africa Day dinner. The bf's department is organising it so we have to leave a little bit earlier. We watched 'Brick Lane' yesterday, the movie was made in 2007. I loved the movie, its about a Bangladeshi girl who is married off at a very young age to a man living in the UK. I am not going to elaborate much but its a great movie and if you guys can get it, you should definitely watch it. I read the book by Monica Ali a few years ago and the movie doesn't disappoint. So am off now, am going to get dressed, doll myself up and look a million bucks!(just hoping!). You guys enjoy your weekend.

Hurray for BARCELONA!

2009-05-28T10:09:00.000+02:00

It was so great watching Barcelona win yesterday. I enjoyed the game tremendously. I am not a great football fan but the bf wanted to watch and i kept him company. I normally have dinner very early and started to feel a bit hungry half way through the game. Like i had mentionned before, we are moving and nearly everything is packed, our kitchen looks very empty and this is what i found: pappadums (i don't know if this is the correct way to write it). They were cumin ones. They are low in fat and only 30 calories per. I made some sambals to go with it, i think mine is a cheat's version of the Masala Papad! I made a cheats version of lassi (am good with making cheats version of anything). Mine was vanilla flavoured.

Masala Papad Method:
- Chop some onions, chillies, tomatoes and coriander - add salt
- microwave your pappadums on high for 1 minute and thats it.

Vanilla lassi
Low fat yogurt
some water
vanilla essence
- mix everything together and add sugar depending on how sweet you want it.

Enjoy cheats version of masala papad and lassi!

Toast With Mushrooms in Masala & Cabbage and Mung Dhal

2009-05-27T15:37:00.000+02:00

I made these last week but unfortunately with my hectic lifestyle(wink!wink!) i didn't have time to post them. I had bought some nice sliced mushrooms. I braised them with some cumin, ginger & garlic paste, masala powder and green chillies. The mung dhal was just boiled and i added some butter, coriander and chillies. In case anyone is wondering, i add chillies to nearly everything and the bf doesn't like mild food. I had some leftover cabbage from last time and made them the same way i had done before. We were out of rotis, so i used some brown toasted bread. The food was great, i hope that after you guys have done reading my blog, everyone is very hungry! :-)

Party Cupcakes

2009-05-27T15:31:00.000+02:00

Like i had promised this is one of the pictures from the party. Actually, it wasn't taken at the party but at home. These were given to us as we were leaving the party. My boyfriend had the chocolate one yesterday but he removed the icing on top (i don't know why anyone would do that!. I wish i could make cupcakes like those...maybe...who knows....one day....wishes....wishes :-)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

2009-05-17T16:36:00.000+02:00

I was getting very bored today and the only thing i could think of doing was baking or cooking. I decided to go with baking. I had some leftover ganache from last week's truffles and decided to make some Vanilla cupcakes and use the ganache for icing. I used muffin mix for this Vanilla Cupcake.

Ingredients
250 gram Snow Flake Easy mix Vanilla Muffin
63 ml oil
1 egg
100 ml water

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients above. Pour mixture into cupcake paper lining, bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 mins.
Allow to cool and add chocolate ganache on top.
I had some strawberries and decided to cut them in half and put them on top of the ganache.

Ganache
Just boil milk and add chocolate.

Easy Nachos

2009-05-17T16:20:00.000+02:00

On Friday I went to see Angels & Demons. Back at home, i felt very lazy to cook anything. I found these very nice nachos in my kitchen cupboard, that i had bought at Fruit & Veg City in Montana Park and decided to make a nice snack. You just need 3 ingedients.

Easy Nachos

Ingredients:

Some store bought nacho chips
Doritos mild salsa dip
Gouda cheese(i know that normally you are supposed to put cheddar but i prefer Gouda)

Instructions:
Arrange nachos on a plate
Grate cheese on top of them
Put in warm oven. After you take them out of the oven. Add the salsa on top.

Cabbage with Mustard Seeds and Cumin Potatoes

2009-05-13T15:50:00.000+02:00

Cooking the potatoes

Food is ready!

Cooking the cabbage

Since I was off from work today, I decided to make some vegetarian food. It is very simple anyone can make it. It is so simple that I think even my cousin Ket (he will be so happy I mentioned him in my blog and who used to make pumpkin pizzas can make them! )LOL . (he knows what I am talking about). I don’t know if I can call this Indian food, I think it’s a mixture of Mauritian and Indian food.

Ingredients for Cabbage with Mustard Seeds

Cabbage – chopped finely

Onions – diced

Some mustard seeds

Ginger & garlic

Some bay leaves

Instructions

- Shallow fry onions and ginger & garlic mix, add bay leaves.

span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;" lang="EN-ZA">- When the onion is brown add mustard seeds, add the finely chopped cabbage and let it cook.

Ingredients for Cumin Potatoes

Potatoes

Onions

Chilli

Cumin

Ginger & garlic

Instructions

- Fry all of the above except the potatoes, when all the ingredients have browned add the potatoes, cover with a lid and let it cook for 25 minutes or so.

That’s it! Enjoy with rotis or rice. I served the food with some of my mother's chilli pickle. Don’t ask me how to make rotis because I have tried and tried and mine never comes right, so I bought these rotis at the local Indian food store.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake Truffles

2009-05-11T09:06:00.000+02:00

Sprinkles Peanut balls
Mixing the cake crumbs with the peanut butter
Chocolate balls
Finally the cake truffle
Vanilla cake fresh out of the oven

I AM STILL NEW AT THIS BLOGGING THING SO PLS DON'T COMMENT THAT MY PICS ARE IN DISORDER...NEXT TIME IT WILL BE BETTER :-)

I had been looking for a truffle recipe when I came across The Crepes of Wrath – Peanut Butter and Nutella cake truffles. I kept on looking at the recipe for a whole week and got so hooked on them that on Saturday I decided to go ahead and give it a try. They are absolutely easy to make. I had a lot of trouble melting the chocolate, first in a ‘Bain-Marie’ (double boiler)and then in the microwave, then back to the ‘Bain-Marie’. It still did not melt properly so I added some milk, and finally the chocolate was melting!Hurray! (I forgot to take pics while i was dippingthe balls in the chocolate)The only problem was that after putting them back in the fridge the chocolate did not get hard. They were still ok but not very firm. You can find the real recipe from The Crepes of Wrath, I modified mine a little.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake Truffles
1 box snow cloud vanilla cake mix

1 cup peanut butter( i used yumyum’s chocolate chip one)
1 cup Chocolate spread
18 oz.(around 510 grams) milk or dark chocolate

Sprinkles for decoration
1. Bake cake according to package directions. As soon cake is cooked split the cake into two halves and crumble each half into a large bowl.
2. Mix each bowl of crumbled cake thoroughly with peanut butter in one and chocolate spread in the other.
3. Roll each mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 35-40).
4. Chill for several hours (i put them in the freezer).
5. Melt chocolate according to the best way you know, mine, like I mentioned earlier was a complete disaster.
6. When chocolate is completely melted, roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper.
7. And decorate with sprinkles ( I bought a very nice sprinkle mix called Cake Delights, it had strawberry sugar, bubble gum, chocolate mint and blueberry sprinkles.

ENJOY YOUR CAKE TRUFFLES!

First post

2009-05-09T16:32:00.000+02:00

Hi guys & gals,

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Anju, i am from Mauritius but living in South Africa. I have always wanted to have a blog but never found the time to do so( there was always time, i was just being very lazy!) but today i thought i should just do it. And here i am writing my first post. This blog is going to be a lot about food and my life in South Africa. I hope you guys visit it a lot, i am going to try and make it as interesting as possible ( and anyone who knows me knows how interesting I AM!).