Today I feel again like the little child wit the pockets full of caramels...
I care my cakes like candies and childhood unwraps in front of my eyes...

Labels: buttercream, cakes, caramel, daring bakers

Stretches, rolls, unfolds in chocolate...




Chocolate tagliatelle with chocolate sauce

Serves 4:

200g wheat flour + flour
2g salt
2-3 eggs
40g icing sugar
50g powdered cocoa

3 l water (to cook the tagliatelle)
20g butter
50g icing sugar to sprinkle

Sieve the flour with salt to a bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs.
Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into the whisked eggs and combine well.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour and work by hand into a smooth paste.
Leave in the fridge for 90 minutes wrapped tightly in wrap film.
Gently flour the work surface and cut the dough in 3 pieces.
Stretch the dough with the rolling pin until very thin.
Spread more flour on the stretched dough and roll it tightly.
Cut 5mm wide ribbons from the rolled dough and unfold them onto a gently floured dry cloth, for 30 minutes.
Heat the water in a saucepan and boil the tagliatelle for a few minutes (as soon as they come up they are ready).
Dry the pasta in a large colander.
Sautée with butter and sprinkle with icing sugar.


Chocolate sauce:

Makes 500 ml:

130 g 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
250 ml water
70 g icing sugar
125 ml double cream


Combine well all the ingredients and bring to boil in medium heat stirring constantly.
Reduce to low heat and cook until creamy and it stays at the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.

You could also let it cool down at room temperature, strring occasionally.
You can keep it in the refrigerator for two weeks on an hermetic container.
To serve, place it in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.


Source: Pierre Hermé

Labels: chocolate, dark chocolate, pasta, pierre hermé, recipes, tagliatelle

I swear they taste great!...




Peanut tarts

Makes 10:

Pastry
100 g wheat flour
15 g butter
50 ml milk (as necessary)
a pinch of salt

Combine well all the ingredients.
Let it rest for half an hour covered with wrap film.
Roll out the pastry over a lightly floured work surface until very thin.
Put on small moulds

Filling:
300 g sugar + 150 ml water
100 g peanuts, roasted and powdered
30 g butter, melted
5 egg yolks
1 egg white
zest of 1/2 lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Bring the water to boil with sugar on a covered pan.
Uncover when it starts to boil and let it boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the butter.
Let it cool down for a while.
Combine together the remaining ingredients.
Pour the syrup gently over the peanut mixture.
Pour this mixture into the small moulds.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Labels: peanuts, recipes, tarts

I'm used to buy some chocolate chips' snacks that I love and today I conviced myself to create some snacks that resemble my favourites...

Crunchy, light and deliciously addictive...




Dark chocolate, sunflower seeds and Maldon snacks

Makes 14 (12 g each):

100 g wheat flour
20 g olive oil (2 tbsp)
30 g sugar
Water (about 30 ml)
Sunflower seeds
Dark chocolate, finely chopped
Maldon salt

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the flour, the sugar, the olive oil and water and combine everything to a firm dough.
Form small strips with the dough (grissini-like) and place them in the baking sheet.
Top with sunflower seeds and chocolate chips.
Sprinkle gently with Maldon.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Labels: dark chocolate, maldon, recipes, sunflower seeds

Out of time peaches, an island's fantasy...




Peach cakes

Serves 6-8 or 16 small pans (7cms diameter).

100g butter, softened
150g sugar
2 eggs
150g cake flour
1 tbsp milk
6 peaches
1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
Icing sugar to sprinkle


Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Grease and line with parchment paper a loaf pan or small round pans.
Combine butter and sugar until white and creamy.
Add the eggs (previouly whisked), milk, flour and cinnamon and mix well for a few minutes to smooth the dough.
Pour the dough into the pan and spread the peach dices, pressing a little into the mixture.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Bake for 35 minutes (large loaf pan) or 18 minutes (small pans).

Wait 40 minutes before unmoulding the cake.
Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.

Labels: cakes, peach, recipes

Today I volunteered myself to house arrest and devoted my sunday to laziness...
A laid morning over a late breakfast and a slow afternoon between the couch, the truffles and the bed...




Caramel truffles:

Makes 34 (11 g each):

100 g sugar
20 g butter at room temperature
125 g cream
142,5 g dark chocolate, chopped
85 g milk chocolate, chopped
Cocoa

Caramelize sugar with a bit of water.
Add the butter then the warm cream.
In a bowl, pour the toffee over the chocolate and stir until creamy.
Cover the bowl with wrap film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).
Put the cocoa on a plate.
With greased hands make small balls with the truffle mixture and gently roll each truffle in the cocoa to coat.

Labels: caramel, chcolate, cocoa, milk chocolate, recipes, truffles

This post was already published on the portuguese version of flagrantedelicia.com but I've never found time to translate it.

They speak for themselves...




Quindins

Makes 12:

5 egg yolks
25 g coconut, grated
75 ml coconut milk
100 g sugar


Pre-heat the oven to 140º C.
Grease 12 small pans with plenty of butter and sugar.
Sieve the egg yolks.
Add the remaining ingredients and combine well.
Fill 2/3 of the pans with this mixture.
Bake in a double boiler covered with aluminum foil for about 45 minutes.
Unmould while slighly warm.

Labels: blog, coconut, eggs, recipes

Romantic and melancholic, Fall always tastes like sunset...
The decline of days in a warm colours degradé and bigger nights escort my increasing sleep.
Cold's arrival doesn't cheer me up... I always feel some ceremony with coats and unconfortable with this restart.
Nevertheless I can't avoid the dry leaves crackling, some rain kisses and my crush on chestnuts...




Chestnut gnocchi with hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce

Makes 65 gnocchi:

250 g chestnuts, peeled
250 ml whole milk
10 g butter
50 g wheat flour
30 g sugar
12 g manchego cheese, grated
1 egg yolk

Water to cook the gnocchi
1 vanilla bean
25 g butter
40 g icing sugar

Combine the butter with the vanilla seeds.

Bring the chestnuts and milk to low heat for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked.
Purée the chestnuts.
While warm combine the chestnut purée with all the other ingredients.
Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface.
Roll out the dough into a 3 cms wide rope. Cut this rope into 3 cms pieces.
Gently place the tines of a fork over each gnocchi.


Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Add the gnocchi.
Gnocchi are cooked when they start to float.
Sauté with butter and vanilla and sprinke with icing sugar.


Hazelnut and chocolate milk sauce

200 g milk chocolate, chopped
100 g cream
50 g hazelnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC.
Spread the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
Wrap the hazelnuts with a kitchen cloth and scrub to peel.
Grind the hazelnuts while warm to paste.
Combine the hazelnut paste with chocolate.
Bring the cream to boil.
Pour the cream into the hazelnut chocolate mixture and stir well.


Place the gnocchi on a plate and serve with the hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce.
Decorate with roasted hazelnuts.
Serve immediately.

Labels: gnocchi, hazelnut, milk chocolate, recipes

"Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower."

Albert Camus




Arbutus' cake

Serves 6-8 (22 cm diameter pan) or 5 small pans (11 cm diameter)

250 g sugar
150 g cake flour
50 g cornstarch
150 g butter, softened
5 eggs
about 40 arbutus

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Grease and flour the pan.
Combine well butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg yolks while mixing.
Gently fold in the flour sieved with cornstarch and at last the whipped egg whites.
Pour half of the dough into the pan and spread the arbutus.
Pour the remaining dough.
Bake for 25-30 minutes (small pans) or 45-50 minutes (large pan).

Labels: arbutus, cakes, recipes

Almond biscuits

Makes 30 (15g each):

250 g wheat flour
125 g light brown sugar
125 g butter
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
Egg yolk to brush

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together butter and sugar.
Add the egg and at last the flour sieved with the baking powder.
Shape the biscuits and place them on the baking sheet.
Put one almond on top of each biscuit and brush with the egg yolk dissolved in a bit of water.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Labels: almonds, biscuits, recipes

I who am always toiling and endeavouring
to seem that I have as a poet
the grace that Heaven did not grant me...

Miguel de Cervantes, Journey to Parnassus, 1614




Tocino de Cielo

Makes 24 small moulds (4 cms diameter) or a large pan (to serve 8):


12 egg yolks
300 g sugar
250 ml water

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Bring the water to boil with the sugar for 5 minutes or until it reaches 103-105ºC.
Coat the inside of the moulds with this syrup and set aside the remaining syrup.*
Whisk the egg yolks and gently pour the remaining syrup stirring constantly.
Seive.
Pour the mixture into the moulds and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in a bain-marie for 40 minutes or until a needle comes out clean.
Unmould when cold.


* you could make a caramel to coat the moulds and use all the syrup in the egg mixture.

Labels: eggs, recipes, spanish traditional desserts

Today I didn't wanted to wake up... I wish I could stay at bed all the morning...
I've forced me to sleep with my eyes sutted in full conviction, despite the fact that I was an early riser during all summer!...

I love to wake up early, I love to make use of my mornings that are the most beautiful part of the day to me. I love to be able to do millions of things and I'm not used to wake up late...

But, tomorrow I'll start my Master course and my days will be totally busy...
I'm feeling super happy and anxious to learn new things but the fact that I wouldn't be able to stay in bed for "five minutes more" made me spent my last day of vacations in a deep lazy mood!

The uniform is perfectly ironed: the huge chef's jacket, the "pied-poule" pants, the enormous apron (I don't know why everyone thinks that every chef must be big and fat?!eheh).

The white shoes, a size bigger than my feet are already in the house's hall together with the mandatory white socks... everything gently placed by Miguel (yes... since our arrival he washes and irons my uniform everyday) for my return to school!

With this new moment of my life I must run at full throttle and I'm forced to leave the blog at "low heat"...

Desserts will keep to make their appearance here as I have a huge stock of made and photographed recipes for emergency cases... I'll just have to slow down a bit a try to focus more on quality here.

I also won't have much time to comment on other blogs or to answer so quickly to my emails but I'll try hard to keep visiting my favourite blogs!

Now I stop and take a deep breath ... I want to be the first at the finish line! :)

Labels: journal, school

Cookies were counted as we were eating them... numbers were bitten, one by one, in such a delicious amount the we lost track of it...

Labels: cookies, recipes, sweet potato