Quick Easter Nests

This not really a recipe, just a quick thing to mix up . You can make them in different sizes and use any colored candy eggs you'd like. Happy Easter!

Easter Treats:

Use equal parts of melted chocolate to coconut, stir them together.

With a teaspoon (or tablespoon, depending on what size you want) drop mounds of the mixture, while still warm place candy eggs on to the mounds and press slightly. Place in the fridge to firm up, wrap in single gift bags and give away!

DB: Orange Tian

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Could this be the most pictures I've published in one post? Yup. It just had so many steps and apparently I took pictures of every single one. So Here we go:

Blanching the orange slices

Chopped blanched oranges

Chopped oranges, sugar and pectin

Cookin' jam!

Making orange segments and soaking them in their juice and orange caramel sauce

Making caramel with added orange juice and making little sugar volcanoes, did it say 'add slowly'? Oops.

My little secret ingredient. Added it to the orange segment and the caramel sauce before serving.

Dry caramel. Dry caramel. Dry caramel. It took me two tries.

Cutting the Pate Sablee to fit the loaf pan. I cut it again right after baking while it's still soft to trim away the areas that spread during baking.

Spreading jam on the Pate Sablee

Placing it on top of the orange segments and cream, refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Carefully turn over and serve with caramel sauce!

The changes I've made where adding Grand Marnier to the finished caramel sauce and orange segments, adding one tea bag of lemon and mango tea to the Pate Sablee and making the Orange Tian in a loaf pan.

I must be honest and say that citrus desserts are not my favorite and was sure I wouldn't enjoy this, but... I did. I was pleasantly surprised by this light dessert and whoever tried it liked it quite a lot.

Thank you Jennifer for an interesting challenge to assemble, oh yeah and.... it was delicious!

Swirl bread

This makes one fun sandwich! It's a nice twist on the usual loaf of bread, you could even do this method with you favorite bread recipe. If you've made bread before this is a piece of cake! (or was it bread?)

The bread is colored with cocoa powder or coffee but neither can be tasted in the baked bread. As for the topping you can use whatever you have on hand or even leave it plain.

Swirl Bread:

400 gr (3 ½ cups) flour

125 gr (2 ½) wheat bran

½ tbsp salt

2 tsp dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

400 ml (1 2/3 cups) water, warm

2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp cocoa (or instant coffee powder)

egg wash

seeds to scatter

In the bowl of the electric mixer stir together the warm water, yeast and sugar. Place starting with the flour followed by all the other ingredients (except the cocoa/coffee) in the bowl. Attach dough hook and knead on low speed at first then on medium for about 5 minutes, until dough is tacky and elastic. Too sticky add more flour, too dry and crumbly add more water.

Now remove half of the dough and place it in another bowl, cover. To the remaining dough in the mixer bowl add the cocoa and knead until evenly colored, cover as well. Let both balls of dough rise until double in bulk, about an hour an a half.

On a well floured surface gently roll out both doughs. Place the dark dough on top of the white one and roll them into a loaf so that the brown dough is completely hidden by the white one, fold the open ends under the loaf. Now either place on baking sheet or in a loaf pan, brush with egg wash (1 egg mixed with a tbsp of water or milk) scatter with seeds and bran (I used wheat bran, flax seeds, sunflower seeds - a tbsp of each) and make a few cuts at the top. Let rise for another 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190c. Bake bread for about 50 minutes. Let cool, slice and make yourself an hypnotic sandwich!

Original from here.

Macadamia Maple Chocolate Rolls

I was in the mood for cinnamon rolls but at the same time feeling adventurous. I thought of making rolls with white chocolate first but found this filling and went for it! I used the same yeast dough I made for the cinnamon rolls I baked a while back. So just follow those instructions or use your own favorite soft dough and....

Place risen dough on floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes. Then roll out dough to about 50 cm in length and 40 cm in width, spread butter evenly on dough.

Mix nuts with maple syrup. Sprinkle brown sugar over the rolled out dough followed by the chopped chocolate, then spoon over the maple and nuts.

Roll tightly into a log and cut into 12* even slices

Place slices on baking tray not too close (remember they rise and double in size), let rise another 15 minutes in a warm environment (or 20-30 minutes in room temp.)

Preheat oven to 180c. Bake rolls 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Macadamia Maple Chocolate Rolls:

Dough:

go here

filling:

80 gr soft butter

½ cup brown sugar

175 gr dark cooking chocolate**

100 gr macadamia nuts***, coarsely chopped

⅓ genuine maple syrup

Notes:

*I tried to get as much rolls as possible because they where for a crowd. What I did was roll the log very tight and narrow so instead of getting twelve huge rolls I got 20 (!) smaller ones. Placed them snuggly on one single baking tray.

**Cooking chocolate may not sound very good, but all it does is withstand heat much better and doesn't scorch as quickly as regular chocolate. As for taste, you can't tell the difference.

***I used salted macadamia nuts.

Original from: Dough- here, filling - ehow.com

Honey White Chocolate Macarons

These were a total success and if I may add: The best macarons I've ever tried. Now I don't want to brag but I've had quite a few macarons in the last years and these are awesome!

Are you allowed to call macarons awesome?

Before and after baking

Honey White Chocolate smbc

Filling the macs!

Honey White Chocolate Macarons:

shells:

90 gr egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almond meal

filling:

1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 large egg whites
170 gr butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp honey

50 gr white chocolate, melted

Shells-

For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like lava or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets.Preheat the oven to 140C. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. To fill: pipe or spoon about 1 big tablespoon of butterceam in the center of one shell and top with another one.

Filling-

Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Then add the honey and white chocolate (by the tbsp), make sure the chocolate has cooled down a little and is not very hot but just slightly warm. Blend just until smooth again.

Original from: Ratio from Tartlette, flavoring my own.

Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Well well people it's been a year. One Whole Year! Wooohooo!

So yeah basically my little blog is 1 year old. Before I started writing my own, I could've never imagined the size and impact of the food blog community on the web - It's HUGE!

And I probably wouldn't have known how it helped me 'meet' new people and improve my skills (baking and more...). I love reading your blogs and getting your comments, thank you all so very much!

To celebrate we need booze! So how about some beer ice cream? no?

Don't worry, I'm definitely not a beer drinker but I looooved this ice cream! It has the obvious sweetness of the milk chocolate with a slight bitter after taste. It is for sure one of my favorites so far!

Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream:

7 ounces (205 gr) milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

½ cup (100 gr) sugar

pinch of salt

4 large egg yolks

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

¾ cup (180 ml) Guinness stout

1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the chocolate in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the milk chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is melted. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, then the Guinness and vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream make according to manufacturer's instructions.

Fleur De Lait Ice Cream (with raspberry swirl)

Fleur de Lait - Flower of milk.

I must say that it was a really nice surprise...I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an ice cream made without eggs but with cornstarch and milk. First I though it would go in the frozen yogurt category but it doesn't at all, it's not as tangy as frozen yogurt. The best way to describe this ice cream is simply sweet milk.

It's amazing how creamy it is just by the magic of cornstarch, the ice cream is simple and clean but definitely not plain. It's amazing on it's own but I had some frozen raspberries that I thought would go great with it, they did! If you add the swirl make sure you don't skip the vodka in the recipe, it is crucial for the swirl not to freeze too hard.

Fleur de Lait:

2 cups (500 ml) whole milk

¾ cup (150 gr) sugar

pinch of salt

3 tbsp (25 gr) cornstarch

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

Raspberry swirl:

1 ½ cups raspberry, fresh or frozen

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vodka

Warm the milk with the sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold heavy cream until dissolved, and stir it into the milk. Heat the mixture, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil and bubble up. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and scrape it into a bowl. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, stirring the mixture occasionally as it cools.

An hour or so before churning the ice cream, make the raspberry swirl by mashing the raspberries together with the sugar and vodka with a fork(if using frozen raspberries, let them thaw a bit first) until they're juicy but but with nice-sized chunks of raspberries remaining. Chill until ready to use.

Once well-chilled, whisk to remove any lumps, freeze the ice cream custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. As you remove it from the machine , layer it in the container with spoonfuls of chilled raspberry swirl mixture.

Original from: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Hamantaschen in a Costume!

Well this has been my first Purim out of Israel in a long time. Actually thinking about it I've never made Hamantaschen before and don't even like to eat them- store bought that is. They are always dry and have way to much dough vs. filling (and we all know the filling is the best part)

So for this year I decided to make them, and not just any kind: Zebra Hamantaschen! Purim is equivalent to Carnival or Halloween in the sense that you dress up, so making Hamantaschen in a costume is sooo obvious! Ain't it?

Just like making cinnamon rolls, just....ahm, not.

Fill aaand pinch!

Hamantaschen:

200 gr soft butter

¾ cup confectioner's sugar*

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 heaped cups flour (300 gr)

¼ tsp salt

1 egg

¼ cup cocoa

filling:

2 egg whites

½ cup sugar

2 ¼ cups dried coconut

*I used regular sugar, and it turned out fine. Just make sure you beat it long enough with the butter.

Beat butter and sugar for two minutes until creamy. Add vanilla, egg and little of the flour mix until smooth. Add all the remaining flour and mix just until a dough forms. Remove half of the dough, wrap in plastic and place in fridge. To the left over dough in the bowl add ¼ cup cocoa and mix until dough is even in color, wrap as well and chill both doughs for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

After chilling roll each dough out to about ½ cm thickness. Lightly brush one sheet of dough with water (this acts as glue) and lay the other sheet of dough on top, press down lightly. Brush off any excess dough and proceed as you would with cinnamon rolls. Then:

- cut dough roll into slices.

- roll out each slice so it fits under your cookie cutter or reaches the desired size.

- cut rolled out slice with a round cookie cutter for clean edges and a perfect round shape.

Then place rounds on baking sheet (they won't spread much, only puff up a little) and prepare filling:

Mix all the ingredients to an even mixture, place 1 tsp of filling on each round and pinch rounds to a Hamantaschen shape.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until just slightly golden on the edges and filling.