Carrot cake with white chocolate glaze

Sunday was birthday celebration time and that means baking because I just can't do store-bought for the ones I love. Of course it was frosted chocolate as my guys are true chocoholics. We still needed something for the not-so chocolate lovers and so we went for a super moist, lightly carroty cake, because I can't abide raisins and walnuts in carrot cake. It was totally the girls favorite...

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups patent flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
400 grams grated carrots

1 1/2 fine white sugar

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

100 grams white chocolate, in pieces

3 tablespoons butter

splash of heavy cream

powdered sugar

roasted almonds pieces

Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter and flour pan with powdered sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, carrots, sugar, eggs, oil ( I used soy), vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a mixer and pulse until incorporated. Pour into pan bake for an hour or until risen and firm to the touch. While cooling, make the glaze. Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave. Add powdered sugar to taste and enough cream until thick but pourable. Skewer the top and sides of the cake and our pour over the glaze while still warm. Sprinkle over the almonds. Cut, drizzle slices with remaining glaze and serve.

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Sticky chocolate coffee cakes

I had a rich and creamy mousse planned for dinner but my guy came back from grocery shopping with a can of pre-whipped cream. The shock and horror. Being too lazy meant a scrambled dash through the kitchen cupboards for a replacement dessert. 

I decided to take the idea of mousse and make it firmer. With a good hint of coffee for a bit of adult fun. Still super chocolaty but without any dairy. I paired it with cherries baked in rum, balsamic, cinnamon and black pepper and honeyed ricotta to balance the richness.

Molten chocolate coffee cake

200 grams pure chocolate

3 tablespoon cacao

150 grams butter

3 tablespoons ground coffee

3 eggs

3 yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons self-rising flour

Preheat the oven to 200 celsius. Butter and flour (cocoa or icing sugar) 8 ramekins. Melt the chocolate, cacao and butter and mix in the coffee, while mixture is warm, till dissolved. Allow to cool slightly. Beat the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla in a mixer. Temper the egg mixture with and the chocolate and slowly add the rest while mixing on low speed. Gently pulse in the flour. Pour into prepared ramekins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until  lightly firm. Let cool but these are best served warmed. Flip onto a plate and serve with cherries, cream and drizzled in syrup. These babies taste just as good with a 15 second reheat in the microwave which is perfect for less dinner party stress.

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Triple chocolate almond granola bars

Okay, so I've started curbing the bad eating habits that started to creep back in. It's an uphill battle because I loathe breakfast and desperately want something sinful at the end of the day. So I figured my first post summer treat should start somewhere in between.

I went for bars instead of cereal because sometimes (when I painfully slow) I kind of have to eat in the car and a bowl of milk is a definite no-no. This I can nibble and get on with it. Pretty much what I need on a Monday!

2 cups oats
1 cup almonds
1/3 cup dark (78%) chocolate
1/3 cup white chocolate
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup nutella
1 cup maple syrup

I roasted the almonds in a pan with some leftover vanilla caramel. Let cool and blitz into pieces. Blitz the chocolate. Mix together the dry ingredients (oats, almonds, chocolate, cinnamon and salt). Blend the peanut butter, nutella and maple syrup. Pour over the oats and toss to coat. Pack tightly into prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes in a moderate oven (180 Celsius) so the chocolate bits can melt throughout. Allow to cool.  I store them in the fridge because of the chocolate. I eat them as it or crumble with milk when I can have breakfast while not in motion..

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Caramel, coconut & pecan creamcheese brownie stack

I had something completely different planned and then the kids came into the kitchen and I heard myself saying "Shall we bake a brownie cake, today?". What was I thinking? What the heck is a brownie cake? All I knew was that I wanted something more most and dense than chocolate cake and bigger than a bite of brownie. Luckily I had plenty of stashed chocolate and a forgotten tub of creamcheese.. But that wasn't enough because a plan had visualised in my head of layers of messy, topping-laden, fudginess. Out came the caramel, coconut and pecans. Can I stay good to go, decadent and the reason my kids ate dinner..

Brownie layer cake
125 grams milk chocolate
125 grams full-cream butter
2 eggs
200 grams fine white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
200 grams cream cheese
100 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoon cacao powder
caramel sauce
100 grams dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons fine white sugar
50 grams pecans

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Line bottom of desired baking pans with parchment paper and butter the sides. Melt chocolate and butter au-bain-marie and let cool. Mix eggs, sugar, creamcheese and vanilla till smooth. Mix together flour, cacao and salt. While on low, pour in a small amount of the chocolate mix. Continue gradually adding the chocolate. Add the flour and mix only till just incorporated. Pour batter into tins and bake till slightly risen and lightened in color, about 20 minutes.

While the cakes are baking, roast the pecans. While warm break the pecans by hand into rough pieces. Roast the coconut and sugar on low till warmed and fragrant. Let the cakes cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing the sides. When completely cooled, place the first layer on a plate and spoon the caramel over the top. Add the second and third layers and repeat with caramel. Spoon coconut over the top layer of caramel and then sprinkle with the pecans. Finish with a last spoonful of caramel. Enjoy! 

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Mint berry madness; blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, meringues & salted caramel sherbet!

I shared a bit of the prep process and now here’s the finished product.

I’m ashamedly notorious for not using up the contents of my fridge. Am I the only one who somehow never looks in the fridge buts just goes out to the shops every time the munchies hit? And I hate grocery shopping..

Well before holiday I figured I’d gave food savviness a go. No perishables in the fridge, but still stocked with a few munchies. And it being summer that means frozen treats. I had a small punnet of blue- and blackberries, a half packet of mint leaves and one lonely lime in the fruit drawer. That and a container of lactose-free whipping cream (my joy at this finding this product at the local grocery store is not describable without expletives).

Super simple. I didn’t even break out the ice cream machine for this. The berries, mint and lime juice got sweated down on the stove top, with a generous scoop of fine sugar. And because I wanted a super smooth consistency I strained it before cooling and folding in the liquid cream. Half the milk chocolate bits went in as well and off to the freezer it went. The next morning the last of the chocolate got folded in as well.

I wanted a toss-up of sweet, tart, salty, soft, icy, warm and crunchy. Pretty much a flavour pyramid. I went with a good old-fashioned store bought cone that got amped up with a coating of melted chocolate.

But we’re not finished yet. Oh no, baby. After scooping came more left-overs in the form of crushed pistachio meringues from the strawberry iced treats. And you guessed it, my trusty fave; hot salted caramel. Did I mention this dessert was OTT, full-on, and just so damn good!

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Iced and sweetened

This is the first of the Arnhemse Stockdagen purchases..

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Chocolate, coffee & cherry biscotti

My kind of cookie..ultimate crunch. I’m not big on soft cookies and when I make sugar cookies or any other softer kids cookie I save the ones closest  to the heat just for me. I feel the same way about bread..soft slices just make me sad. 

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3C Crunch

I am not a breakfast person. The only exception is cereal. Yummy, sweet, crunchy, milk-drowned breakfast goodness. I periodically order American cereals, the sugary ones denied to me in my childhood in favour of cornflakes. Seriously if I ever have another bowl of plain flakes it will be too soon. But alas those babies are wallet busting expensive in the Netherlands. 

Plus they don't have my other favourite type of cereal; crunchy, mega cluster granola. And yet another food that makes my day is dried cherries. I first purchased a bag at Cold Storage in Singapore and have been hooked since. But it is yet another thing I can’t find easily where I live. Dried raisins, prunes, dates yes, cherries alas no. You have no idea how tough I have it some days having not (so-ordinary) Dutchie food tastes. And so I make my own cereal now and then. Why not add in my favourite sweet sauce? And I figured heck, why not try making my own dried cherries as well? Here are the results.

The three C’s, after crunchy, of my breakfast cereal of choice; tart and dark cherries, chocolate and above all caramel.. salted caramel to be exact. I love salted caramel and have a batch in my fridge at all times because when you need a fix, you need a fix quick. This cereal is so good my week batch’s lasted three days the first time and a mere two the second time aroud. The kids can not get enough. Zoe Isobel who is not a fruit eater is gaga for the cherries, Mika asks for a cluster about every five minutes and all three of us sit there crunching away and then slurping the chocolate milk at the end. Chocolate milk? Yep, before baking I tossed the oats, nuts and cherries with a mix of heated caramel, coconut oil, a bit of deep rich maple syrup and then threw in the chocolate. Result; each caramel cluster has an invisible layer of chocolate you don’t see till it hits the milk, especially still warm from the oven..

This is my most favourite cereal! Breakfast, lunch and snack worthy and a quick bowl before and after dinner. With our without the milk it’s the shizzle!

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