TOFFEE CRUST, RUM & A RIVER OF CHOCOLATE

Do you have some chocolate, rum and crushed toffee bits on hand? If yes, you might want to try this cake which is sinfully rich! Each bite feels just like a cake with a river of chocolate and a candy bar crunchy crust. To be consumed in absolute moderation... if your sweet tooth can handle it! 

PUMPKIN JAM

As I mentioned a while back, over the last two years living here in the US, one very noticeable difference from Europe is the pumpkin madness that kicks in every October. Everything starts or ends with "pumpkin", in one way or form. This national attachment to the orange gourd squash is something I find very entertaining yet terribly endearing. 

So of course there are the usual suspects: pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin lattes, etc. Then seasonal cupcakes, scones and cheesecakes spiked with pumpkin. And then, there's the spread known as pumpkin butter- which quite frankly I had never heard of before moving stateside. 

On that last thought, I started to think of pumpkin jam. How come we don't see much of that, and most importantly: are we missing out on something really good over here?!

CHOCOLATE, HONEY & ALMOND

I would suppose that, if one had not slept for 48 hours straight, the thought of baking would be considered as a bad, very bad idea. But that's a general statement, and consequently not applicable to 100% of the population. Which brings me to justify -and feel less guilty- for allowing my (sometimes) impulsive brain to decide that whisking sugar and eggs may just very well be a good, very good idea...after hours of sleep deprivation. Yes, the mind is a wonderful thing isn't it. 

PUMPKIN COOKIES

There's a saying I once came across that says "the days are long, but the years are short". I would have to agree- although sometimes it feels like "the days are short, and the years are shorter". I do experience days where I realize twenty four hours is just not enough! 

As for now, well for starters... we're already in October...which means there are just three months left to this year. Goodness gracious, unbelievable. Another thing is that it's been just over two years since I moved to the US. And if there's one thing I realized- coming from a life spent in Europe- is that pumpkin is a national obsession over here. Especially around this time of the year... 

CARAMEL CAKE & CRUNCHY CHOCOLATE TOFFEE CREAM FROSTING

Oh boy, I have been in baking/cooking hibernation haven't I? It really has been too long- but with the hot and terribly humid weather we've been having for the last few months, being near a flaming oven or stove was the last thing on my mind. 

Anyway, everything in it's time right? And so I'm back, and the first baking bug of the season has bitten me. 

TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF NUTELLA...

I have a list of food items that make this world a better place, and Nutella is without a doubt one of them. Mais oui, what did you think! Of course I have a list of world peace foods, and I know you have one too- admit it! 

So anyway, there has been a jar of Nutella hanging out in my kitchen and I have been eyeing that jar everyday waiting to put it to good use- and eating it straight out of the jar was not an option (as much as I would had liked to do just that). 

But then I had a Paula Deen moment y'all: butter is her excuse to make everything taste better and mine is that a dollop of Nutella does just the same thing. 

MIDDLE EASTERN TRIO

I still remember what lunch time as a lower school kid was like. We'd proudly carry around our lunch boxes, sit around a table and unlock those magical metal cartoon themed-boxes (this was the late 80s, very early 90s) to see what mom had packed for us that day. Having been in American/International schools, I distinctly recall my friends pulling out things like, let's say, cute peanut butter & jam sandwiches (and sometimes, the sliced bread was crust-less) whereas I would be there with a gigantic pita bread rolled up and generously filled with hummus or labneh. You did not want to pick a fight with me, because I might had been able to knock someone's head off with my pita sandwich. Yes, I was that kid. And while you were eating Oreo's for dessert, I was nibbling on dried fruits. 

MAGICAL MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT (by Hervé This)

Molecular gastronomy- I think it's something you either love or hate. I don't swear by it, but after all, science and food kind of work hand in hand so there is always something to learn. The theories behind this discipline is quite fascinating actually. Unfortunately however, what's discouraging is that a lot of recipes call for ingredients or equipment that I feel only a chemist in a laboratory would have access to. I mean, where am I supposed to find me some calcium lactate gluconate? So when I came across a phenomenal mousse au chocolat recipe by "the" molecular gastronomy godfather Hervé This that called for just chocolate, water, ice cubes and five minutes I knew I had to give it a try ASAP (for goodness sake, I was having sleepless nights over this recipe- so I had to get it out of the way!)

A SIP OF SUNSHINE

When I lived in Paris, I never had to think twice about what I wanted to drink (alcoholic drink that is): it was either wine or champagne. I was never the girl holding a cocktail in her hands. Yes, you can call me boring, but I always enjoyed playing the olfactory game of choosing between a red (pinot noir or syrah?)... or maybe a white (sec or fruité?) In the summer, it was always a rosé of course. And then for a euphoric kick, obviously the choice was champagne. 

But then it all changed once I found myself on the other side of the Atlantic. 

15 MIN ZAATAR (or anything else) HOME MADE CHIPS

Aaah I love making things that I would typically buy ready-made from scratch, like delicious Digestive Biscuits or Nutella ... and I know there are a bunch of recipes circulating around to home made versions of Twix, Reese's Pieces and all types of other processed foods. And so recently, I gave a go to a most iconic processed food item- chips! Chips, crisps, whatever you want to call it, are becoming a guilty pleasure of mine but every time I pick a bag up at the grocery store and read the amount of sodium on the label... I am simply terrified! It really is the salt, more then anything else, that freaks me out in ready made chips (I mean, hello water retention, bloat!)

Anyway, fortunately there's a solution to this sodium disaster- home made chips...and in less then fifteen minutes! Here's how it goes:

NOT FOOD...BUT STILL SOMEWHAT FOOD RELATED

Real quick, before I forget....
I've been wanting to share two DIY cool things I randomly played around with a while back...

Cutlery that says it all...
Get spoons + metallic permanent market + delicious words = sweet messages on dessert spoons. Make them for yourself, or for another sweet tooth in your life. Eating ice cream suddenly becomes a whole lot more fun!

Although I never ever eat canned soup, I admit that I definitely have a thing for the iconic Campbell's packaging.

Funky pen holder for less then a dollar...  

Buy canned food item (with a really cool label design). Empty out contents. Wash and spray insides with an anti bacterial multi-purpose cleaning spray (you want to get rid of any residual food smells). Dry well. Fill with pens, pencils...

PECAN, ORANGE, COCOA COOKIES

The incredible thing about home baked goods is not just in the feeling of personal satisfaction it can lead to- but also the magic it creates when left on a counter for others to enjoy. I like to think of it like sprinkling edible fairy dust all around you. Just leave a plate of cookies for friends & family to indulge in... and watch how it brings smiles to people's faces- even if just for a few seconds... It works like a charm. 

So my latest edible fairy dust were these delightful pecan, orange and cocoa cookies that I made not too long ago during one of my "free-style" spontaneous baking session and I am proud to say they taste- and smell (the orange zest, aaah!)- spectacularly nice. Wouldn't it be so selfish of me not to sure the recipe with you? 

Sometimes I don't know what looks better- the cookie dough or the baked cookies! Mmm

Recipe for Pecan, Orange & Cocoa cookies:

1+1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 orange, zest only

1/2 cups (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. 

Whisk butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until fluffy for about 2 minutes. Add the flour, cocoa, cinnamon orange zest, baking soda and salt, mix well. Finally finish off with the toasted pecans. Drop spoonfulls on a baking tray and bake for 9 minutes. 

*To toast pecans: place nuts on a pan over med-high heat for 3-4 minutes. They're ready when slightly darker in colour and infuse a lovely nutty scent.

*If you're not in a hurry, place cookie dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours (and up to 24 hours) before baking.

GALETTE DES ROIS

The holiday season is such a great excuse to stuff yourself with all types of delicious foods....and just when you think it's about to come to an end...you realize there's one last thing to devour: a generous slice of a Galette des Rois. Mais oui, the food marathon is not over yet... at least not in the French tradition, where it is typical to enjoy the genius combination of puff pastry and frangipane on the day of Epiphany. Even if it's a 'seasonal' type of patisserie, I know many who wouldn't mind enjoying a slice all year round (ah yes, you know who you are!) - and that would certainly include myself. Because the truth is that, finalement, the simple nature of a Galette des Rois is addictively scrummy yummy, tout simplement! There's a warm, wholesome, comforting type of pleasure biting into it's golden buttery flakey crust and the rich creamy frangipane interior. The classic version is typically made with an almond flavoured frangipane, but  there's always the exception as each year the pastry chefs in France demonstrate their creativity and interpret the galette in an array of flavours. This year, I did not stray away too much- just a little- with a pralinoise frangipane, which is a beautiful caramel-like based marriage of hazelnuts and almonds. You'll see that the recipe for frangipane is super easy and is great not only in a Galette des Rois, but a fabulous addition to fruit tarts and other flakey pastries.

You can make the puff pastry from scratch, or buy it ready made (nothing wrong with that!)

The first step: roll out the puff pastry

Spread out a generous layer of frangipane

Mmmm...frangipane close-up, definately the best part!

Roll out a second layer of puff pastry, place on top of the frangipane, seal the edges and brush with egg yolks or milk. A little tip: pull out the galette five minutes before the end of it's baking time and sprinkle with icing sugar before placing it back in the oven. This will help give it a nice shiny appearance.

Voilà- servez vous! Finger licking good!

Recipe for Galette des Rois

Puff pastry:

If you make it from scratch, understand that the portions are for each 100gr of flour add 50gr of butter, a pinch of salt and drops of water if necessary. The butter should be cold (you can place it in the freezer before) and the dough should not be overworked. Before rolling it out, it's best to leave the puff pastry to rest in the fridge for a few hours. Alternatively, you can buy ready-made puff pastry (and that's not considered cheating by the way!) 

Pralinoise Frangipane:

The general rule for frangipane is for each 100gr of ground almonds you will need 100gr of butter, 100gr of sugar and 2 eggs. A pralinoise frangipane however is a combination of almonds and hazelnuts:

50gr almonds

50gr hazelnuts

100gr sugar

100gr butter, melted

2 eggs

1 egg yolk (or milk)

Prepare a tray lined with greased parchment paper. Place the sugar in a pan, place over heat. Just when it starts to melt and develop a nice caramel colour, turn off the heat and add the almonds and hazelnuts. Continue to cook for a few minutes, then transfer onto the tray and cool for about an hour. The result will be a hard type of brittle. Break into pieces, place in a mixer and grind into a fine powder- this is your 'pralin'. In a bowl, mix the powdered pralin and butter. Add the eggs and mix well. 

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Roll out a first layer of puff pastry. Spread a generous layer of pralinoise frangipane. Cover with a second layer of puff pastry. Brush with egg yolk or milk. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.

*If the thought of using all that butter in the frangipane frightens you, you can substitute half of the butter with apple sauce instead!

NUTELLA-HAZELNUT MUFFINS



You're supposed to remember your "firsts", aren't you? Strangely enough, I have vague memories of the first time I learned how to bike or my first trip on a plane...or anything that's 'supposed to be' significantly important in one's life. However I certainly do recall some of my first baking moments. I knew I always loved food, and before exploring my savory side, my first love was baking- cakes, breads, muffins, pies... all of which represented this delicious sugar-coated world I dreamed to endlessly explore. I'll always remember the first baking recipe I ever tried to make (scones),  the flavour of my first muffins (banana), and without a doubt: I'll definately remember the time I burned a whole tray of chocolate cookies... (as much as I'd like not to remember that one!)

Then there are the first recipes you learn, and for me, one that kicked off my baking experience was what is known in France as a ''quatre-quarts'', which literally means ''four fourths''- producing something similar to a pound cake. The title is self-explanatory that sometimes I feel a quatre-quarts could be the baking for dummies recipe par excellence. One fourth eggs, one fourth butter, one fourth sugar, one fourth flour. This recipe is easier to remember then my own e-mail password- that's how straightforward it is- and made for a totally appropriate first recipe to explore (you didn't think I was making macarons in my mother's womb did you?)

Anyway, so I often go back to the quatre-quarts recipe, to which I make certain adjustments depending on what I'm looking to create. For instance, these wonderful Nutella-Hazelnut Muffins. There's really nothing special about the recipe, but they turned out to be marvelous: one fourth eggs, one fourth butter, one fourth sugar, one fourth flour plus ground hazelnuts and whirls of Nutella...and maybe some cinnamon as well. The only thing that's missing is a cold glass of milk for a totally regressive experience, reminding  one of childhood memories and all the fabulous firsts that were a part of it...

Eggs, sugar (brown & white), cinnamon...and a few more ingredients to complete the batter

First, a dollop of Nutella...

Then some crushed hazelnuts...

Straight out of the oven... and ready to enjoy...



Recipe for Nutella-Hazelnut Muffins:

Based on a quatre-quarts recipe which implies every one egg calls for 50gr/1.75oz sugar, 50gr/1.75oz butter and 50gr/1.75oz flour.

So, we can assume:

2 eggs

100gr / 3.5oz sugar (you can choose to do half brown sugar, half white)

100gr / 3.5oz butter

100gr / 3.5oz flour

50gr / 1.75oz ground hazelnuts

Nutella

Crushed hazelnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, butter and cinnamon for a good two minutes. Mix in the flour and ground hazelnuts. Pour batter into muffin pans. Onto each muffin, add a spoon of Nutella and swirl into the batter gently. Top off with crushed hazelnuts and bake for 20 minutes.