It’s cold here.

Meaning, it’s Winter here.

No sun bathing and days at the beach, like the Northern Hemisphere.

Then again, this is Africa, so it’s not that bad. XP

For those chilly days of the year I always like consuming hot drinks, mostly lots and lots of herbal tea.

Other days, I’m in the mood for something a little more decadent… and what better way to satisfy that

with some chocolate? I was once very attached to chocolate, it was around 2007, I was addicted.

What caused this addiction you might ask? The most delicious, most decadent, most exquisite hot

chocolate EVER, I just so happened to taste. It comes from Angelina Restaurant et Salon de thé.

I get chills just thinking about my first experience (yes, there was a second) drinking this, velvety,

pure, rich pool of heaven accompanied by unsweetened whipped cream in a white ceramic pitcher

and a globe glass pitcher of ice water all provided by fancy white-aproned servers.

To read more about this heavenly delight, click here for a review I wrote back in 2007.

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I’m a vegan now and it breaks my heart to say that Angelina’s “Chocolat à L’ancienne dit “L’Africain” is not.

So I have come up with a close replica of my very own recipe. I added some almonds to give it a richer

taste and I’m quite content with the result. You really can’t tell that it’s dairy free, anyone will love this.

Although, not everyone is a fan of rich hot chocolate, it can be quite overwhelming for some.

So for absolute chocoholics, this is a must, vegan or not. Enjoy!

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INGREDIENTS:

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1 1/4 cup soy milk

1/4 cup soy cream

1 tbsp rice milk powder

3 – 4 tbsp brown sugar

20 g 70% cocao chocolate, finely chopped

1 tbsp cocao powder

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

5 crushed almonds plus 2 to sprinkle on top

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DIRECTIONS:

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Bring the soy milk and cream to a simmer. Add the finely chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and sugar.

Mix well with a whisk until the chocolate is completely dissolved.

Add in the rice milk powder, vanilla extract and crushed almonds.

Taste to make sure it’s sweet enough for you.

Pour into a cup and sprinkle some extra almonds and a add a dollop of soy cream on top, if you like.

…and if you can’t take the decadence, have yourself a glass of chilled water.

For a long time, I have had a love/hate relationship with cakes.

Sometimes, they just don’t want to get along. The fail in the baking process, making sinking results.

Literally sinking. My cakes just sometimes don’t grow and sink once removed from the oven.

I blame the oven!.. It has to be the oven… It is the oven!

Whoever it is, either fluffy or sunk and compact, the cake itself tastes delicious.

This cake, is a vegan cake. So no beating egg whites for insurance in growing and not sinking.

I knew for sure that this was going to have sad results.

Little did I know, you don’t need eggs or butter to make a delicious and moist cake!

The cake might not be the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but it’s “hella” good!

Very moist and tender. The best way to enjoy this, is warm. Its more like a dessert when heated,

the chocolate is more chocolaty and the textures are softer and YUM.

Do make this cake for anybody who thinks veganism sucks, by proving them wrong!

I had a friend come up to me and say that she was thinking about going vegan after trying the

cake, “being vegan isn’t so bad!”. Recipe courtesy Seitan Is My Motor.

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INGREDIENTS:

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1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp margarine (earth balance, blossom, olé)

2 1/4 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp vanilla extract/essence

2 tbsp ground flax seeds

6-10 tbsp hot water

1/2 cup applesauce, divided

1 cup soy milk

3 1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

25 g unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

2 tbsp cocoa powder

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DIRECTIONS:

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Cream together margarine, half the sugar, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Combine flax and water, stir and add 6-10 tbsp applesauce.

Add beat sugar/margarine mixture, remaining sugar and soy milk. Beat until everything is incorporated.

Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until all ingredients are combined and no lumps remain.

Pour 2/3 of batter into pan. Mix remaining batter with melted chocolate, cocoa powder and remaining applesauce.

Pour into the pan as well. Stir with a fork to draw swirls through the batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick

inserted comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before serving.

Combine 1 tsp powdered sugar with 1 tsp of cocoa powder (forgot to do this step) and sift over the cake.

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To me, this recipe is essential to every food blog out there!

The famed $250  Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe, an urban legend still told and believed by some to this day.

In the legend, a woman and her daughter enjoy a cookie while shopping at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas,

and ask for the recipe. The waiter informs her there will be a “two-fifty” charge, which the woman interprets

as a modest $2.50. Upon receiving her VISA statement, she is shocked to discover she has been charged

$250.00 instead. In revenge, she photocopies the recipe and urges her friends to distribute it for free to

everyone they know so that the store will make no further profit on its sale.

The Neiman Marcus Cookie sold is actually quite different from this recipe, they even show the recipe for

free in their website.

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Its so silly how so many people actually believe in this story, here are a few things that prove it isn’t:

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• Prior to the emergence of the legend, the store did not have a chocolate chip cookie;

• A similar story has been around since the 1940s, originally involving a red velvet cake
  recipe from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the story’s focus
  shifted to cookies. The cookie version of the story originally was attached to Mrs. Fields
  cookies, causing that company eventually to post disavowals of the notices at all its stores.

• Neiman-Marcus for most of its history only accepted its own card and American Express.

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So there you have it folks, not a true story.

However, whoever did invent this recipe sure knew what they were doing, these cookies are DELICIOUS.

So good in fact, that I find it difficult to choose between the classic chocolate chip cookies and these.

…and boy do I LOVE chocolate chip cookies!

Like most cookie recipes, its very easy to make. So why not make these for New Years as a delicious treat?

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INGREDIENTS:

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2½ cups rolled oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

4 ounces milk chocolate chips

1½ cups chopped walnuts/pecans

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DIRECTIONS:

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1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Blend the oats in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. In a medium bowl whisk together

the blended oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy,

3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla extract. On low speed gradually mix in the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

4. Roll the dough into 2-ounce balls (or about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth) and place about 2 inches apart

on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly brown and set on the

outside but still look a little undone in the middle. That’s okay – they will finish setting up after you remove them

from the oven. Let cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

I got so frustrated thinking what to call these cookies!… thinking how to start this post

and sounding silly in the process.

I’ve been playing Dragon Age Origins for the past 4 hours now and as a result having “writers block”.

So, as promised, here is yet another 4 weeks of Christmas recipe post!

Yet another sweet recipe, I just can’t get enough of sweets!

Next week I promise to share a savory Christmas recipe, maybe turkey?

This recipe is from Ana Maria Braga, she calls them American Cookies – not the best name, this

explains why I had to think of a new more suitable one. They’re really yummy and sweet, I just love

dunking them in a glass full of cold milk!

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INGREDIENTS:

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2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

120 g semi sweet chocolate/dark chocolate – melted

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup icing/powdered sugar

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

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DIRECTIONS:

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In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients – leaving out the icing sugar.

Mix well until you obtain a sticky dough. Wrap this in saran wrap

or wax paper and keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

With a buttered spoon or a small ice cream scoop, scoop small portions and roll into balls.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

Roll the balls into the plate with the icing sugar, completely covering each ball.

Place the cookie balls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes

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So I’m kind of in a hurry today – it’s my b-day!

Heading off to a beautiful beach here in Mozambique with my besty!

So, I leave you guys with one of the best birthday cake’s I’ve made – the best

would be MY birthday cake that I made for today. I’ll make sure to post the recipe

and lots of pictures soon.

As for the 4 weeks of Christmas posts – this week will not be missed, I’ll post a recipe

either on Wednesday or Thursday.

Alright, so that’s about it, enjoy and thank you for all of the recent support and comments!

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INGREDIENTS:

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Cake

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ¾ cups sugar

¾ cup butter/margarine in room temperature

1 ½ cups milk

150 g semi sweet chocolate melted

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 eggs

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract/essence

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Swiss Meringue

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

3 egg whites

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DIRECTIONS:

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Cake

Pre heat the oven to 170º C/340º F

Grease and flour 2 medium cake pans.

Sift flour into a large mixing bowl and add sugar, butter, 1 cup of the milk, the melted chocolate,

baking soda and salt. Beat with a hand mixer for 2 minutes and add the rest of the milk, eggs,

baking powder and vanilla. Beat for another 2 minutes and pour into the cake pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until you get a clean toothpick once inserted into the cake.

Let the cake cool for an hour before frosting.

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Swiss Meringue

Over medium heat, mix the water, corn syrup and sugar, DO NOT STIR.

Let it over the heat for about 10 minutes, or until you get a stringy texture by putting a

spoon in the mixture and lifting it.

Beat the egg whites until strong peaks form (about 10 whole minutes).

Add the sweet mixture (while its still hot) and beat it all together until it cools.

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Assembling the cake

Spread a thick layer of the meringue on top of a cake layer and “sandwich” the other on top.

Spread the rest of the meringue all over the cake.

Now to make it really pretty, melt 100 g of milk or semi sweet chocolate and pour it generously

over the top of the cake, immediately swirl it with a fork or toothpick.

Store the cake in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.

You’ll get a hard chocolate swirl on top of the most heavenly, rich meringue.

If you want to make things interesting, before frosting the cake, add a couple of drops of rum over

the cake.

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