HAPPY NEW YEAR

This post is specially created for all of you my friends that share with me the passion of baking and creating. 

 I enjoy so much having this blog and thinking what to do and the best way to show it,but most of all I´m happy to share with you the little things that make me happy.

I also want to thank each one of you who have taken some time to write a comment, I´m grateful.

I wish you all a Happy New Year,

 may you be all blessed

Magali

Orange Truffles

I´m a big fan of truffles, have always been, I love this kind specially because they´re rich and creamy, with a delicate orange flavor.

INGREDIENTS

1/ 4 cup butter, chopped

1/3  cup whipping cream

7 oz, semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp.Grand Marnier

semisweet cocoa powder.

HOW TO

In a small saucepan, combine butter and cream. 

 Cook on low heat until butter melts

 and cream bubbles around the edge.

Remove from heat, add chocolate.

Cover and let stand until chocolate melts.

Stir until smooth.

Add grand Marnier. Chill until firm.

Form into balls. roll in cocoa.

They´re ready to be carefully packed.

Enjoy!!!!

Moon Sables

I made this cookies for my daugther´s school work of ¨the moon phases¨ at the end she and her friends offered them to the parents and they just dissapeared

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour

 pinch of salt

 1/4 cup of sugar
1/2finely ground almonds
peel of 1 lemon
1/3cup butter,softened
2egg yolks

Glace
powder sugar with a few drops of lemon juice, and 1 drop of blue food coloring  

How to

Grease several baking sheets with butter or lined paper

Stir flour, salt and sugar in medium size bowl

mix in almonds and lemon peel

Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

Add egg yolks and mix to form a soft dough.

Roll out dough on a floured surface, using a moon cookie cutter cut out the figures.

Place slightly apart

Refrigerate unbaked for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 350F

Bake Moon Sables for 15 to 20 min or until light brown.

Remove, when cool, decorate with a pipe and the colored sugar icing.

Enjoy!

Choco-Banana Cake

Sometimes I have leftover bananas and I make the traditional banana cake, but I thought adding a little chocolate will be interesting, this is a very easy cake and you can enjoy it anytime

Ingredients

CAKE

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup oatmeal (grounded)

4Tbs. melted butter

3/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp vanilla 

2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mashed bananas

DECORATION

3/4 cup chocolate ganache if desired for decoration

HOW TO

Preheat oven to 350F.

grease and line parchment , you can use a rectangle mold or any you like.

In a large mixing bowl , sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and grounded oatmeal.

In a small mixing bowl combine the butter, milk, eggs , banana and finally the chocolate chips.

Combine both mixtures, do not overmix.

Pour batter into mold

Bake until lightly golden, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 min.

DECORATION

Pour some chocolate ganache over it, I grounded a chocolate cookie bar and just made a little decorations over it, . hope you like it, simple and delicious.

Easy and yummy Chocolate Dessert

This is a very easy dessert, first you have to do a chocolate mousse, and then use what you have on hand meringues and lady fingers in this case, you may also use another kind of cookies if you like, make layers refrigerate and enjoy

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
2 cups whipping cream

3/4 cup powder sugar

1 8-oz cream cheese

1/2 cup cocoa

FOR DECORATION

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

10 medium meringues

20 lady fingers

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

With electric mixer blend cream cheese and half of the sugar, when it is perfectly integrated add cocoa.

In another bowl mix the whipping cream with the second half of the sugar. till soft peaks form.

Blend the cheese mixture with the whipping cream, then the mousse is ready

LAYERS

Put a layer of the mousse in a transparent mold then add crushed meringes and sift some cocoa on top, add another layer of mousse and a layer of crushed lady fingers and sift more cocoa on top, to end another layer of mousse finishing again wiht sifted cocoa.

DECORATION

Cut ladyfingers by the middle and decorate the bowl

refrigerate for at least one hour

enjoy!

Chocolate Twix Tart

This recipe comes from an Egyptian friend, one day talking about it he shared with me his secret and I just made a few little changes that suited me better, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do

CRUST

1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp cocoa powder
 
DULCE DE LECHE FILLING

1 can of dulce de leche (380gr)

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

FOR CRUST

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Butter 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add 1/2 cup butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks; process until moist clumps form. Add cocoa powder; blend in using on/off turns. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

FOR GANACHE
Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Let stand until slightly cooled but still pourable, about 10 minutes.

TART ASSEMBLE

Spread Dulce de Leche evenly over the tart surface and then pour the ganache on top.

 Refrigerate tart uncovered until chocolate is firm, about 2 hours. do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake with Caramel Sauce

Upside Down Pinapple Cake, what to say, its a traditional cake, easy to do and maybe found in all our Mom´s Recipe Book, but wait, not everything has been said about this fruitful delight.  This recipe also comes from a great course I attended, so check it out and enjoy!

Ingredients

 CAKE

1 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs
7 grs. vanilla
1 can condensed milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 can pinneapples in syrup
3/4 cup pinneapple syrup(from the can)
canned cherries
walnuts

CARAMEL

1/3 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup butter

SAUCE

1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup half and half

1 1/2 tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp.rum

HOW TO

grease and line round mold.

CARAMEL

Prepare caramel by putting butter and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat, until the sugar has melted.

CAKE 
With a mixer cream butter, and sugar until light and fluffy, add vanilla and eggs one by one. Add sifted flour, baking powder and mix well.

Blend both mixtures adding the condensed milk, the pinneapple syrup.

Place the caramel on the base of the mold, then the pinneapples an the cherries in the center,

Pour the batter and bake for 50 min.medium oven.

 SAUCE
In small saucepan melt butter with the brown sugar over medium heat, bring to a boil whisk constantly , remove from heat and whisk the vanilla, rum and the milk.

Serve warm or cool with the cake, as desired