New challenge

So my favourite chocolate is raefellos and so Ive been looking up recipes online so I can make my own ones because sometimes they are hard to find. Therefore thats what I am going to be on the lookout for. The best recipe and then I am going to make some home made ones.

Wheat free cupcakes

So I saw some Sweet things wheat free cupcakes.

What can I say they were vanilla and were in selfridges so I had to get it. I was a bit worried about how it would taste. I was really surprised because it tasted really nice. The cake had a more crumbly texture than the usual cupcake and the icing was delicious as of course it had vanilla pods. My sister said it is up there with her favourite cupcakes.

Sobo cookies

I kept seeing sobo cookies in selfridges and harvey nichols and I knew I had to get them. Their cookies are really big and just looked so tasty. So i got my sister and myself some of their cookies. I wasn;t too impressed with the chocolate cookie because it wasn't soft enough but i really liked the chocolate and hazelnut cookies because there was a great crunch.

Chouquette

So I went to Pauls in london bridge train station the other day and needed a snack so I got some chouquettes. They were light pastries with all this sugar coating and they were delicious. I had been looking for chouquettes for years after I tried it in France but didn't know what they were. So I finally found them and I am happy. So heres a picture and recipe from the blog chocolate and zucchini.

- 6 tablespoons (75 g) unsalted butter, diced- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt- 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar- 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour, sifted- 4 eggs, at room temperature- Pearl sugar for sprinkling (see note)For the sugar syrup:- 2 tablespoons sugar- 2 tablespoons water

Makes about 40.Resting time: 30 minutes.
Make sure you have all the ingredients measured out before you start. Combine the butter, salt, sugar, and 1 cup (240 ml) fresh water in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, add the flour all at once, and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until well blended. Return the pan over medium-low heat and keep stirring until the mixture forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Let cool for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day; you have just made choux pastry.
Make the sugar syrup: combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat, lower the heat to medium, and simmer for 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Sprinkle pearl sugar evenly on the prepared sheet. Remove the batter from the fridge and use two teaspoons – or a piping bag fitted with a plain tip – to form small balls of batter, about the size of a walnut, that you will plop on the prepared sheet, leaving an inch of space between them. Brush with the sugar syrup using a pastry brush, and sprinkle with pearl sugar. (There will be some unused pearl sugar on the sheet, but don't worry about it now; you can collect the grains after baking and reuse them for another batch.)
Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown (never ever open the oven door during the first 10 minutes of baking). Turn off the oven, open the door just a crack, and leave the chouquettes in for another 5 minutes to prevent a temperature shock, which would cause them to deflate.
Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before serving. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, and reheat for 5 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven to restore the original texture.

Heres her blog.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/

Jeff de Bruges

My sister and I came across Jeff de Bruges by accident when we were going to Mews of Mayfair and we fell in love straight away.So I bought my sister and myself some Jeff de Bruges chocolates when I went home last weekend. The shop is so cute and the chocolates look amazing. I got two of the cornetto looking chocolates and lets say they were amazing. It was like tasting a larger version of the bottom of the cornetto. Nice creamy chocolate, Hazelnut and wafer. Omg it was heaven. My sister loved it too. She said it was like eating an ice cream. All in all I am in love with jeff de burges chocolates. Thank you Bond street for having this shop.

Dorie Greenspans French chocolate brownies

This weekend I am going to make dorie greenspans french chocolate brownies. Its making me hungry thinking about it. I like reading dorie Greenspans blog. All her food just looks so amazing and I really want to buy her cookbooks. So heres the recipe.

French chocolate Brownies

Adapted from “Baking: From My Home to Yours,” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

Time: 1 1/4 hours
12 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, plus 1 teaspoon melted butter for brushing pan
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in pieces
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts or hazelnuts (optional).

1. Place a rack just below center of oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square pan with foil and brush with melted butter.
2. In a bowl, whisk flour and salt together. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt remaining butter and chocolate together. Stir often and remove from heat when a few lumps remain. Stir until smooth.
3. In a mixer, beat eggs and sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix at low speed until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix 30 seconds, then finish mixing by hand, adding nuts if using. Pour into prepared pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is dry. Let cool in pan, then lift out and cut into bars or wrap in foil.
Yield: 12 to 16 brownies.

I will put up pictures of how it turns out.

Heres Dorie's Blog
http://www.doriegreenspan.com/

Sticky honey, tomato and mustard chicken recipe

Last weekend I made a recipe from delicious magazine website for my family. Its the sticky honey, tomato and mustard chicken. It was very easy to make to my my surprise (because you add tomato ketchup) it tasted really good. My family really enjoyed it. So heres the recipe.

Ingredients
4 tbsp clear honey
2 tbsp Worcestershire or soy sauce
8 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1kg skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs, or mixture of both
4 tomatoes, quartered

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/gas 7. In a large roasting tin, mix together the honey, Worcestershire or soy sauce, ketchup and mustard. Season to taste. Add the chicken and toss well until it’s evenly coated, then bake for 15 minutes.
2. Turn the chicken pieces over and bake for another 15 minutes. Spoon off any surface fat from the sauce. Turn the chicken over again, add the tomatoes and coat in the sauce. Bake for a further 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked, the tomatoes are tender and the sauce is sticky.
3. Serve with potato wedges and salad.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 323kcals, 6.3g fat (1.7g saturated), 43.5g protein, 24.5g carbs, 24.1g sugar, 2.1g salt

Frozen yogurt again

So I had a frozen yogurt craving so I went with my friend to a place called Milkinit in clapham. They do crepes,smoothies and frozen yogurt. There was a a large variety of toppings. Ive got to say after moosh it was a disappointment. The brownies were ok kind of dry. The frozen yogurt was ok not amazing. I had a savory crepe which was ok but a bit too salty. The interior is red gates with flowers around it. It kind of didn't look like the other frozen yogurt places. There aren't many seating places and the doors open so it gets cold. They could do so much more with the decor.But I guess since they don't even have a website its early days. One good thing was the service was really good and the girl who works there is so lovely and was very helpful when it came to picking toppings.

Chocolate mascarpone cheesecake pots

So i spoke about the sticky, chewy, messy and gooey cookbook and I made the chocolate mascarpone cheesecake pots which were amazing and a really bit hit with my family. so heres the recipe for the dessert. Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

whipped cream

Preheat oven 325 degrees F

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat before the cream starts to boil and add the chocolate, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Set aside and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk togeter the mascarpone and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition until mixture is smooth. Add Vanilla and salk and whisk to combine.

Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the mascarpone cheese mixture and whisk gently until smooth.

Put eight 4-ounce custard cups, ramekins or small ovenproof coffee cups in an empty 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Divide the chocolate cheesecake mixture among the cups.

Put the baking dish in the oven and then carefully pour boiling water into the pan, adding just enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the custard cups. cover with aluminum foil.

Bake until the tops of the cheesecakes appear solid but jiggle slightly when shaken, 30 to 40 minutes, The cheesecake pots will firm up as they cool. cool on wiring rack. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight before serving. Cheesecake pots can be prepared up to 2 days before serving.

To each cheesecake pot put some whipped cream on it.

I had my ones with some vanilla hagaan daz ice cream.

Something Fun

I am loving the whole walkers crisps different country foods. I knew crisps are such an unhealthy snack but its great when ur feeling a bit peckish. They are doing all the world flavours for the world cup. So far I have tried the German Batwurst sausage flavour and the English roast beef and yorkshire pudding. I really like these flavours and I think its great fun.

http://www.walkers.co.uk/flavourcup/index.html

Jamie's new cookbook

Jamie Does... caught my eye. It has a chapter on food from stockholm and I love stockholm so I knew I had to get it. Its one of my favourite cities in Europe. They have some amazing swedish buns to make as well as the famous swedish meatballs. There are also sections on france, spain(amazing tapas food), morroco, greek food and Italian food. I love the book and can't wait to make some of the dishes. Since the last few cookbooks Ive bought have been about desserts, it was great to buy a book with some amazing main course dishes. I love the series and I love the book.

Benugo

While I was at Kings cross st pancreas I was so hungry and really wanted a sugar rush so I saw Benugo and went and got a white chocolate and rasberry muffin. I was either really hungry or the muffin was amazing. Benugo sell loads of muffins and cookies. It has a very rustic feel and it also sells deli stuff. Its good to grab snacks. There are several Benugos as its a chain.

Neuhaus Chocolates

So I was in a rush to get to my parents home in Norfolk from Kings cross so I always get my little sister some sort of treat. I rushed to st pancreas and got her a neuhaus almond praline chocolate. It was nice but not amazing. My sister said that it tasted like a kit kat sensation which you can buy at half the price for a packet. So it was a bit disappointing. Maybe some of the other chocolates may taste better. The florentines they sold looked nice.but I think they just taste a bit like a glorified nutella.

Mews of Mayfair

I went to Mews of Mayfair with my sister and it was a great experience. I really liked the atmosphere and I really liked the food. I had chicken liver parfair which was delicious and blue cheese gnocchi was was as delicious. Even my sister who is a 15 year old who is very picky liked the food. I will definetly go here and it has a nice bar in there. The decor is so pretty and classic and has a lot of white as if its a wedding. I loved where its located which is Lancashire court. So after shopping in bond street its a great location to have lunch.

Apple crumble

So I love making apple crumble for my family because they love it. Ive tried it with different toppings such as hazelnuts and today I used oats. I was having with hagaan daz vanilla ice cream which is always great when i thought wouldn't be great if you could eat an apple crumble ice cream. So I looked around on the internet and found this recipe on the delicious website which looks like it would be amazing. so I am going to try it next time I make crumble.

Delicious magazine Apple crumble ice cream

Ingredients
300ml full-cream milk
284ml carton double cream
5 large egg yolks
120g golden caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Bramley apples (about 500g in total)
25g unsalted butter
50g golden granulated sugar, to taste
For the crumble
75g plain flour
50g butter, chilled and cubed
50g golden caster sugar
Method
1. Pour the milk and cream into a small pan and bring just to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a bowl, until pale and creamy.
3. Gradually stir the hot milk and cream mixture into the yolk mixture. Return to the pan over a gentle heat and cook, stirring, until it’s thick enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool. Chill overnight – this will speed up the freezing process.
4. The next day, core and peel the apples and cut into 1cm cubes. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan, add the granulated sugar and cook over a medium heat until it resembles a toffee-coloured sauce. Add the chopped apples and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the fruit is tender but not falling apart. Check the sweetness: it needs to be a little tart but add more sugar if needed. Set aside to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. Make the crumble. Sift the plain flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl, add the chilled butter and rub in until it resembles crumbs. Add the sugar and work the mixture between your fingers until it starts to clump together. Spread over a large baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the crumble is biscuit-coloured. Set aside to cool.
6. To make the ice cream, churn the custard in an ice cream maker until nearly firm. Add the cooked apple mixture and baked crumble pieces, churn to lightly mix through, then serve straightaway.

My favourite comfort food

One of my favourite things about going to waitrose is getting the recipe cards. One of the recipe cards has become my favourite comfort food recipes. Its the easy Gnocci gratin with meatballs and mozzarella. Even thinking about it is making me hungry.It was the first time I tried Gnocchi and I loved it. So heres the waitrose recipe. Omg its near lunch and looking at it is really making me hungry. You have to try this recipe.


Preparation time :
5 minutes
Cooking time :
15 minutes to 20 minutes
Total time :
20 minutes to 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
300g pack Waitrose Organic 20 British Free Range Pork Meatballs
350g jar Waitrose Italian Napoletana Pasta Sauce
500g pack fresh Del’Ugo Potato Gnocchi
125g pack Galbani Santa Lucia Mozzarella, drained
½ x 25g pack fresh basil, roughly torn
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the meatballs for 5-6 minutes, until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Stir in the pasta sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi according to pack instructions. Preheat the grill to a moderate temperature.
Drain the gnocchi and stir into the meatball mixture. Transfer to a heatproof dish then slice or tear the mozzarella into pieces and scatter over the top. Grill for 4-5 minutes until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
Garnish with the basil and serve immediately with a fresh salad such as Waitrose Continental Salad.
Cook's tips
Try different tomato sauces, such as Waitrose Italian Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce, for a spicier dish. Use lightly cooked pasta shapes in place of the gnocchi, if preferred.

My favourite food blog

One of my fave food blogs is http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/. I love the photography and the recipes. You should check it out.

Rachel Allens Bake

So a friend of mine bought me the Rachel Allen bake cookbook two years ago. I loved the book and I love Rachels home comfort feel. I love to bake so it was perfect for me. I have tried a few of the recipes from the book such as the lemon cupcakes and the poppy seed cake. Its a cute book and has pizza recipes, a pastry recipes. So its definetly a great book for a baker. I still have to try the red velvet cakes because her's are a little different because she uses whisked egg whites for the frosting instead of cream cheese. So on my to do list is to cook something savory from this book. Heres a link to Rachels amazon page so you can check out all her books.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachel-Allen/e/B001JRZGT8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachel-Allen/e/B001JRZGT8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Japanese Bakery- Minamoto Kitchoan

I always like trying new things and I love japanese food so when I heard about the Japanese bakery Minamoto Kitchoan I had to go and try it. Its near fortnum and masons and the royal college of art. Its all japanese pastries. A lot of them have red bean paste as the filling. It is strange but I liked the taste.I got the red bean paste filling in some pancake things which looked like scotch pancakes. I also got one with a cream cheese filling because I knew it would be one I would be more likely to enjoy. I did like trying these treats but I would't spend my money on them again. I would rather go to Laduree and get some macarons which is close by.

Moosh

Frozen Yogurt again. This time moosh in fulham. I loved it the moment i walked in with tis green grass floors and its organic looking decor. The frozen yogurt was really good and theres a huge variety from banoffee toppings to chocolate brownie. I went for chocolate brownie and I was not disappointed. I have to say now this is my favourite frozen yogurt place and I like the location. I will be going here again. If your not into frozen yogurt they do sell brownies,cakes and other drinks.

Nigellas chocolate and Banana cake

So I tried Nigellas chocolate and banana cake after a work college made it and Its the best banana cake recipe I've tried. Its very easy to make and great as an afternoon tea treat. I will be making this recipe a lot. It was so buttery and had a good soft texture.

INGREDIENTS
75g (3oz) chocolate
110g (4oz) soft butter
125g (4 ½ oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
125g (4 ½ oz) self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
1 rounded tbsp cocoa
2 medium bananas, peeled and mashed (really ripe ones are great for this)



INTRODUCTIONThis is a really good teatime cake, and is perfect for a picnic. The banana sweetens it nicely and helps to keep it moist, so it stays really fresh for 2 or 3 days, and, of course, it freezes. Makes 1 loaf, about 12 slices
METHOD
1.
Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/gas 4. Line with parchment paper a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.
2.
Melt the chocolate in a low oven, microwave, or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
3.
With a wooden spoon, cream the butter, add the sugar, and beat well; then add the eggs one by one, beating all the time.
4.
Add the sieved flour, baking powder and cocoa, followed by the melted chocolate and the mashed bananas. Stir to bring together.
5.
Pour into the prepared loaf tin and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before removing.

Cookbook by cookie girl

I have been meaning to go to cookie girls market stall in portebello market but haven't had the time since shes only there on saturdays. So i got her book and the pictures in the book are beautiful and im really excited about being able to make the french toast cupcakes. The pictures in the book are very fairytale like and there are lots of amazing cupcake and cooke recipes. Theres even some weird cupcake recipes which would be interesting to try. The person behind cookie girl is Xanthe Milton and she just has that fairy god mother quality about her. I feel like a chil again reading this book. Everyone should get this book.

New love

Ive seen the adverts for the new cornetto enigma and I knew I had to try it and I absolutely love it. The nuts are all caramalised and give a great crubch and the chocolate sauce it delicious and my favourite bit which is the tip of the cornetto is great. I love this new ice cream.

Jelly and Ice cream

I saw this in harvey nichols and had to get it. Its by Monty Bojangles. Its a tub shaped like an ice cream tub that has sweets such as marshmallow ice creams, jelly babies and jelly drobs. The packaging was so cute and I'm a sucker for packaging but it wasnt anything special. Its just your typical sweets you could proberly buy from any supermarket with the only difference being the price tag and the packaging.But I still liked the sweets.

Cake and cookie mixes

The american brand Pelican bay specialises in cake,drink and cookie mixes. I keep seeing them in john lewis and selfridges. They are just a bit too expensive for my liking. But finally I got the sugar cookie pack. I made them yesterday. and I tried them and they were amazing. They are vanilla sugar cookies with a vanilla frosting and colourful sprinkles. I absolutely love american sugar cookies so I was impressed. It was so easy to make and the packaging was so cute.

portugese chicken

I found this portugese chicken recipe in my Australian womens weekly's Complete book of modern classics. So I thought I would try it. Its really simple and it smells nice as I write this as it takes two hours in the oven. Heres the recipe for this.