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Decadent Hot Chocolate with Almonds

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.

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!

INGREDIENTS:

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

DIRECTIONS:

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.

Bite From The Past: Hummingbird Cake

Shame on me.

I haven’t posted anything for so long – I am so sorry for this.

The truth is, I’ve been having a case of cook’s block. You know, like writer’s block?

Yeah, I just made that up. There really isn’t a better way to explain it.

I just haven’t been cooking at all ever since the beginning of 2010.

Last night I made some Caramel fudge that I was planning to Post on the site. Only problem

was, the pan I used burned the fudge on the bottom, giving it small ugly burnt caramel pieces to it.

Not the best appearance, so no picture, hence no recipe.

Today I realized that it has been 3 whole weeks since I posted anything!

I had no choice but to post a Bite From The Past recipe as the first recipe of 2010 for Freakin’ Delicious.

…which was something I did not want, explaining why I this wasn’t posted earlier.

Although it may be a Bite From The Past recipe it doesn’t stop the fact that it is DELICIOUS.

I made this cake back in May of 2008 for a friends birthday, as the birthday cake of course.

Everyone loved it, the taste, the appearance, but especially the taste.

The recipe is from Paula Dean, the queen of Southern Cuisine – never dissapoints!

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

Nonstick vegetable spray

All-purpose flour, for pans

3 cups self-rising flour

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

2 very ripe large bananas, mashed

1 (8-ounce) crushed pineapple, with juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, beaten

Frosting

1 lb/450 g (1 box) confectioners’ sugar

1 (8-ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp milk, or more if needed

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.

Prepare the cake; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pecans, bananas,

pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans

halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.

Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Reinvert cakes and let them

cool completely, top sides up.

Prepare the frosting; in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream

cheese, butter, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk on medium speed until frosting is smooth.

If needed, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve the proper spreading consistency.

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter

of a serving plate or lazy Susan.

Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1/4 of the frosting.

Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1/4 of the frosting.

Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting.

Sprinkle the top with pecans. Remove parchment paper strips; refrigerate until ready to serve.

I used flowers from my papaya tree and a bright red gerbera daisy to decorate.

The Neiman Marcus Cookie

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.

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

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.

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?

INGREDIENTS:

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

DIRECTIONS:

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.

Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding

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.

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!

INGREDIENTS:

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

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

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

DIRECTIONS:

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.

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.

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.

Classic Apple Strudel

This is a very simple recipe, like all apple strudel recipes are.

It may sound fancy and hard to make, but apple strudel is one of those “quick and easy gourmet style desserts”

that I love to make for dinner parties and special occasions.

There was no special occasion this time, just taste buds in need of the crispy and thin dough melting in my mouth.

The dough for apple strudel is super thin, it’s very elastic, so the results are paper thin, layered, crispy dough,

wrapped around an oozing apple filling.

Who doesn’t like that? Yum!

I attached a video showing the process of making this delicious pastry at the bottom of the recipe,

this recipe just so happens to be the one used in the video!

INGREDIENTS:

Strudel

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

1 egg (medium)

½ cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp oil

Filling

½ cup breadcrumbs

3½ tablespoons butter

? cup sugar

2½ teaspoons cinnamon

¾ cup raisins

2½ teaspoons lemon juice

4¾ cups peeled sour apples (cored & sliced)

1 shot of rum

DIRECTIONS:

Start out by mixing the rum and raisins together in a bowl, let that marinate for 1 hour, more if possible.

Preheat the oven to 400 º F/200 º C

For the strudel

Mix all ingredients to a soft dough until the dough loses from hands and table.

Form the dough to a ball, and spread the pastry with oil and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.

Put the dough on a flour-covered cloth and roll it in a rectangular shape.

Extend it on the back of your hands to a paper thin layer.

For the filling

Heat the butter in the pan, add the breadcrumbs and roast them until they take on a gold-brown shine.

Mix all of the ingredients from the filling together in a bowl.

Put the filling to the extended layer of dough, cut off the thick ends and roll it carefully with the cloth.

Put the Strudel onto a buttered baking tray and brush a little butter on top of the Strudel.

Bake it in the oven for 40 – 50 minutes, until it takes on a gold-brown shine.

Once out of the oven, brush on some more butter and dust with lots of powdered sugar.

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Filed in: Food, Video, apple strudel
Tagged with: recipe, apples, dessert, easy, pastry, apple strudel, food video

Freakin' Delicious!

Decadent Hot Chocolate with Almonds

Bite From The Past: Hummingbird Cake

The Neiman Marcus Cookie

Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding

Classic Apple Strudel

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