I’m alive guys!

So sorry for the delay, laziness has taken over and something new has happened.

I have become a Vegan.

OMG! The end of Freakin’ Delicious!?!?

Not quite. I will still be posting delicious NON VEGAN recipes, along with some Vegan ones.

Yeah, I had to put that in Caps, just to make sure you didn’t miss it, because your probably thinking…

Ewwwww! Vegan!?

No, its not ewwwww, there are a lot yummy Vegan friendly recipes out there!

Stuff like Seitan, the delicious wheat meat that tastes just like actual meat.

Many new and interesting things to come, so don’t go anywhere!

…and again, don’t worry – there will still be some cruelty to animals here on the site, shame on me.

Recipes full of Eggs, Milk, Butter, Chicken, etc.

So no changes to Freakin’ Delicious, other than having some Vegan recipes.

This Mango Mousse is not Vegan, containing cows milk.

The recipe is from my mom’s old recipe journal, so no idea where its originally from.

Its a refreshing and light dessert, perfect for hot Summer days.

Most of you guys are suffering with Winter, just stay strong and make this in a couple of months. :D

As for all of us down in the Southern Hemisphere, make this – its freakin’ delicious!

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INGREDIENTS:

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2 boxs of mango gelatin

1 large mango, cut into small cubes

3 cups water

1 can evaporated milk (you can use fat free)

2 egg whites

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DIRECTIONS:

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Make the gelatin as instructed in the box, using 3 cups of water and let cool.

Beat the egg whites into a meringue consistency for about 5 minutes and gently pour

the evaporated milk without stopping beating. Beat this for about 3 minutes and add the

mango gelatin syrup. Add this point you can add some fruit to the mix.

Get a deep parfait dish and wet the inside with cold water.

Pour the mango mousse into the dish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Now that the mousse is a bit more firm, you can add your cut up mango pieces to the top.

Refrigerate this for 3 more hours and its done!

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I don’t know what happened to this post…

I had written a lot about the whole experience of making this recipe, along with the recipe itself of course.

I’m so pissed that it got messed up and completely blanked out on everything that I wrote!

So I’m just going to keep this simple.

These are my chocolate mallows that I made for the July Daring Bakers Challenge.

For the July challenge we had the choice of making either one recipe or two.

The Chocolate Mallows and Milano Cookies.

I chose to make both of course. My mallows turned out really well, a success.

They were soooooo good, the marshmallow inside stayed fluffy and creamy, while the chocolate outside stayed dry and yet shinny.

The cookies to my chocolate mallows’ base are like shortbread cookies, they have crunchy layers inside and must go

really well plain with some tea, or you can simply take your cookie and dip it half way in the chocolate sauce. I used

dark chocolate to cover my mallows and would always add milk into it as the liquid in the sauce evaporated in the

broiler.

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Chocolate Mallows

INGREDIENTS:

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Cookie base:

3 cups (375g) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (112.5g) white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

12 tbsp (170g) unsalted butter

3 eggs, whisked together

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Homemade marshmallows:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup light corn syrup (I used glucose, works just as well)

3/4 cup (168.76 g) sugar

1 tsp powdered gelatin

2 tbsp cold water

2 egg whites , room temperature

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

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Chocolate glaze:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

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DIRECTIONS:

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Cookie base:

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.

2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.

3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.

4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches

cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.

8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

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Homemade marshmallows:

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage,

or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.

3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.

4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.

5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.

6. Transfer to a pastry bag

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Chocolate glaze:

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

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Putting it all together:

1. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let it set at room temperature for 2 hours.

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.

3. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.

4. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.

5. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

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The Milano Cookies were the first ones to be made and they turned out great, except for the part where the cookie

stuck to the parchment paper and would NOT peel out.

So guess what?

They were eaten with the paper stuck to them, no one noticed, because of the chocolate filling inside.

So next time, I’ll have to butter my parchment paper and so should you, if you ever plan on making them.

Now don’t get the sticky parchment paper get to you, the cookies are very tasty and worth making,

just remember about buttering your pan or parchment paper!

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Milano Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

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Cookies:

12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups (312.5 g) powdered sugar

7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon extract

1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all purpose flour

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Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 orange, zested

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DIRECTIONS:

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Cookies:

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.

2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.

4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan,

spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.

Let cool on the pan.

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Filling:

1. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.

2. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.

3. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

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Putting it all together:

1. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and

press the flat side of a second cookie on top.

2. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

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Hello everyone, today I have yet another sweet recipe and boy is this one good.

The last time this was made was in Easter of 2006.

I have no idea why it was never made ever since, it really is a good tart.

This recipe has already been posted in my Teamsugar account, but I just had to post it again in my food blog!

This recipe was taken from a Brazilian food blog called “Rainhas do Lar”.

It has a layer of chocolate and lemon, that go really well together.

It truly is an indulgent and decadent tart I really liked.

I’m thinking of more that I can say about it but all I can think of is… simply delicious.

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INGREDIENTS:

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Pie Crust

200 g graham crackers

4 tbsp melted unsalted butter

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Chocolate Filling

300 g semi sweet chocolate

1 can of cream

1 tsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp hazelnut spread (Nutella)

½ a packet of flavorless gelatine (about 1 full tsp)

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Lime Filling

1 can of condensed milk

1 can of cream

½ a can of lemon juice

½ a packet of flavourless gelatine (about 1 full tsp)

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DIRECTIONS:

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Pie Crust

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF

The easiest and fastest way to make graham cracker crumbs is by using a food processer,

blend the graham crackers into crumbs and viola.

You could also put the graham crackers in a big zip lock bag, zip it closed and with a rolling pin,

crush the graham crackers by rolling the bag, banging on it, sitting on it, be creative.

Dump the crumbs in a bowl, along with the melted butter and mix together, its best to use your fingers.

Now, with this wet crumby stuff, press it into a 24 cm pie pan with a removable base.

Bake for 10 minutes and set aside.

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Chocolate Filling

Using a double boiler (bowl over a pan of boiling water), melt the chocolate,

remove from heat and add the cream, unsalted butter, Nutella, and gelatine

(that has been already dissolved in 1 tbsp of warm water).

Pour this mixture into the already baked pie crust (still in its pie pan).

Put it in the refrigerator for now.

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Lime Filling

Using either a food processor or a whisk and a bowl, beat together the condensed milk, cream

and ½ a can of lemon juice (by just using the condensed milk or cream can and pouring in

lemon juice half way) and the already dissolved gelatine.

All that’s left now is to pour this on top of the chocolate layer and leave in the refrigerator for

4 hours, covered on top with plastic wrap.

After that, carefully remove the base of the pie pan, remove the rest and decorate your pie

with some lime rind.

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Hello everyone, I’m so sorry for taking so long for posting a new recipe.

Time has been passing by really quickly and it was only today that I realized how long it’s been since I

posted a new recipe to my food blog.

Well, I return with something worth the wait. Another sweet recipe!

This is a recipe that you’ve probably never came across.

Cassava isn’t very common these days, I didn’t even know that that was the name in English for this

root/vegetable.

Mandioca” is the name in Portuguese and this recipe is Brazilian, a popular cake in Brazilian parties

and in the traditional “Festa Junina”.

It’s a very decadent cake, almost like those English sticky puddings.

A sweet and slightly chewy treat, that anyone would love.

Oh and it’s different, that’s a plus to me.

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INGREDIENTS:

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2 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup water

700g of cassava/manioc weighed with the skin

1 ½ cups butter/margarine

1 ¼ cups shredded fresh coconut

¾ cup coconut milk

8 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

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DIRECTIONS:

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Preheat your oven to 390ºF/200ºC

Mix the sugar and water in a pan and place over medium heat until it forms a thick syrup, don’t mix!

When its done, add the butter/margarine and let it cool down for a while.

Pass the egg yolks through a sieve (to get that thin casing out) and mix the cassava, coconut milk,

shredded fresh coconut and the pinch of salt.

When your syrup reaches room temperature, mix it with the egg yolk mixture.

To bake, smear some butter all over the inside of your cake mold and completely cover with some sugar.

Pour in the cake batter in the mold and place it inside of a half filled baking tray with water.

Bake it like so for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

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So here it is, the reveal date for the Daring Bakers Challenge!

This month’s challenge was to bake a Bakwell Tart…er…Pudding.

Yes, that is the name! It’s a combination between a tart and pudding.

A very decadent tart with the perfect “melt in your mouth” crust.

It consists of a sweet shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and Frangipane.

The Frangipane texture is a lot like a cake mix, creamy, sweet and fluffy.

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Now I must say this Bakewell Tart of mine didn’t bake so well…

After 20 minutes in the oven, I jiggled the tart to see how firm it was and it felt

like the inside was a hot bubbly pool wanting to ooze out!

Luckily my oven was turned to 180C, so I still had the time to place it in a lower

rack and to change the heat style without letting it burn.

I made it that only heat would blow from the bottom of the oven to work on the

inside of the tart… after 30 more minutes, the tart was firm and golden.

Anyway, once I took it out of the oven, FLOP it went. It sunk down, but still

maintained a pleasant appearance, I finished it off with dusted sugar on top and viola!

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INGREDIENTS:

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Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour

30g (1oz) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)

2 (2) egg yolks

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

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Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened

125g (4.5oz) icing sugar

3 (3) eggs

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract

125g (4.5oz) ground almonds (I used ground cashews)

30g (1oz) all purpose flour

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Jam of your choice (I used my homemade Papaya Jam, infused with cloves)

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DIRECTIONS:

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Sweet shortcrust pastry

Sift together flour, sugar and salt.

Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater.

Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture

resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture.

Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

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Frangipane

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine.

After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape

down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well.

The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its

pallid yellow colour.

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Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface.

If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatized for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start

from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll.

When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the

excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits.

Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base.

Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart.

Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done,

the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and

return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking.

Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard

sauce if you wish.

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