Sunday 10 January 2016

Chocolate Gift Wrapping Ideas 

Hi Chocolate Lovers ! 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year, hope this year in 2016 you put "eat chocolates" at the top of your list of things to do. That way, at least you'll get one thing  done.  -- Author Unknown

Now have we got a treat for you...

Check out our video on different ways to warp and gift chocolates. These are great ideas for friends or family whether it be for a party or for that special someone, there are endless ways to wrap chocolates. 

It is a cute and fun idea and we are sure you will enjoy making it as well as giving. 



By Hovig,Mary,Steph

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Christmas Cheers

It’s December and for everyone all ages this will probably be the most exciting time of the year, Christmas is around the corner. The dessert chosen for this month will be the most obvious and fun… ginger bread houses and men. Enjoy the recipe below and cook up a feasting dessert for your family and friends on this joyous occasion.



You will need: Base - Plywood, heavy platter or chopping board; Cardboard cut-outs - Two 13cm x 19cm rectangles (roof), Two 11.5cm x 16cm rectangles (side walls), Two 16cm x 19cm rectangles (front and back), each trimmed at 1 short end to form two 10cm-high gables; Decorations - Rafaela balls, white choc melts, white choc bits, Allens ABC jubes, red M&Ms or Smarties, red and white licorice bullets, red jelly beans, strawberry creams.
Ingredients

 3 1/2 cups self-rising flour
 1 cup plain flour
 1 tablespoon ground ginger
 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
 185g butter, chopped
 1/2 cup golden syrup
 2 eggs, lightly beaten
 1/4 cup pure icing sugar
Royal icing
 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
 3 cups pure icing sugar

Step 1
Combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk golden syrup and eggs together in a jug. With the motor running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth. Cut dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until well chilled.
Step 2
Roll dough, 1 portion at a time, between 2 sheets baking paper until 5mm thick. Remove top layer baking paper. Using cardboard cut-outs as a guide, cut shapes from dough (see tip). Place gingerbread in a single layer on trays. Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm.


Step 3
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper. Place gingerbread on trays. Bake, 2 trays at a time, for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays.
Step 4
Make royal icing: Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, beating constantly until thick.
Step 5
Use icing to join walls together, placing unopened cans of food to support walls until icing dries. Use icing to attach roof to walls, using cans to support roof (to prevent it from slipping off walls) until icing dries completely.
Step 6
Spoon 1/2 cup remaining icing into a snap-lock bag. Trim 1 corner of bag and pipe windows and doors on house and frost on roof edges. Allow to dry. Spoon remaining icing into snap-lock bag. Pipe a little icing on the back of each lolly and attach to house to decorate. Dust roof with icing sugar.

By Mary Luluga 

Friday 6 November 2015

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Tart


Welcome Peanut Butter Lovers!


This holiday (in the month of November) is not just about the love of peanut butter but it's all about the people who love peanut butter too!  If your an American you most likely love peanut butter because you most likely grew up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid. So for this holiday find as many recipes as you can that uses peanut butter and enjoy each and every peanut butter bite.  After all, this month is for all of us who love peanut butter.

So to celebrate this special month why not try making a Chocolate-Peanut Butter Tart

 The key to the marbleized look of this chocolate–peanut butter tart: a wooden skewer, which is used to swirl warm peanut butter atop chocolate ganache.


INGREDIENTS


FOR THE CRUST

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

FOR THE BRITTLE

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) cocktail peanuts, finely chopped in a food processor

FOR THE FILLING

  • 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 5 ounces semisweet chocolate (61 percent), chopped
  • Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS


  1. Make the crust: Whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low, and gradually beat in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with cream and beginning and ending with flour mixture. Shape dough into a rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before rolling.
  2. Roll out dough into a 7-by-16-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Fit into a 4 1/2-by-14-inch rectangular tart ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Push dough into corners of ring to create sharp edges; trim so that dough is flush with top of ring. Prick dough all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line crust with parchment, pressing so that it is flush with dough, especially in corners. Fill with pie weights or dried beans; bake until edges are set, about 20 minutes. Remove weights and parchment; bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  4. Make the brittle: Bring sugar, butter, corn syrup, and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to brown. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until golden brown. Stir in baking soda,salt, and peanuts until well combined (mixture should be the color of peanut butter). Immediately pour onto a nonstick baking mat, spreading out as thinly as possible with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Finely chop half the brittle with a heavyknife to yield 1/2 cup. Reserve remainder for another use.
  5. Make the filling: Heat peanut butter in a microwave until fluid, about 30 seconds. Pour 1/2 cup into crust, and top with chopped brittle, pressing it into peanut butter. Freeze tart until peanut butter is firm, about 10 minutes. For ganache, bring cream to a boil; pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Add salt; let sit 8 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, fill a disposable pastry bag with remaining fluidpeanut butter (if peanut butter has thickened, microwave it 10 seconds), and snip off end. Whisk ganache until smooth, and immediately pour into tart, smoothing with a mini offset spatula if necessary. Pipe peanut butter in continuous diagonal zigzag lines down length of tart. Draw a wooden skewer perpendicularly through peanut butter lines in a zigzag motion down length of tart. Then draw skewer in a continuous sideways loop pattern down length of tart to create swirls.
  7. Refrigerate tart until set, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours. Cut into wedges, and serve. 
Steph


Thursday 8 October 2015

Creepy Cookie Cake

Creepy Cookie Cake

With Halloween around the corner, we want you to be prepared with one of the best recipes for the occasion. This recipe is quick, easy and tasty! I made it for Halloween a few years ago and it caught on with my friends and now they ask me to make it for every holiday!This recipe is quick, easy and tasty! I made it for Halloween a few years ago and it caught on with my friends and now they ask me to make it for every holiday!



What you need:


• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping (recommended: Cool Whip)
• 1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate sandwich cookies plus 10 whole cookies (recommended: Oreo)
• 1 (9-inch) chocolate pie crust




What to do:

1. Combine softened cream cheese and sugar in mixing bowl.
2. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy.
3. Add sour cream and vanilla, beat until well combined.
4. Stir in cool whip and crushed cookies.
5. Spoon mixture into pie crust using a rubber spatula to spread evenly.
6. Refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours before serving.
7. Through a fine sifter, heavily sprinkle cocoa powder over the cake to make it look like dirt in a graveyard.
8. To make tombstone cookies scrape the cream filling out of chocolate cookies. Cut off ends of cookies so as to make a rectangular shape.
9. Using royal icing in a piping bag, pipe spooky decorations and words on the tombstone cookies. Examples: BOO, RIP.

By Hovig

Thursday 17 September 2015

Heaven in a Cup



3-Ingredient Fruit & Yogurt SmoothieSpring is here and now it’s time for us to focus on whats around the corner Summer! Meaning cheat days are kinda limited in September , because our summer bodies will be revealed very soon, everyone will be hitting the gym and little time to bake up a dessert feast so for this month our recipe will be quick, easy and healthy. NO recipe needed – it’s all below with great detail- enjoy the making of eye closing delicious smoothness of spring in a cup …, The good old 3 ingredient fruit & yogurt smoothie … just use Silk Unsweetened Cashew milk, Silk Strawberry Dairy-Free Yogurt, and a frozen mixed berry blend of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. just  bake and make a  cold smoothies with Silk products because they’re so low in calories and fat, they’re vegan and dairy-free, and I always get impressive-tasting results.

-Mary Luluga 

Thursday 13 August 2015

Peach-and-Toasted Pecan Ice Cream

August is National Peach Month! Believe it or not, peaches are part of the rose family! And while Georgia may be known as the Peach State, the most peaches are actually grown in California (producing about half of the US crop).
Peaches are not only juicy and tasty but they are packed with nutrition! One large peach has only 68 calories but provides 19% of an adult’s daily value for vitamin C, 11% for vitamin A and 10% or potassium. It contains close to 3 grams of dietary fiber which is approx. 10% of your daily dietary fiber recommendation.

What a great and enjoyable snack!!!

Now have I got a treat for you - homemade ice cream that’s basically a cross between peach ice cream and butter pecan.

Salty-sweet ice cream, serve in a dish or on waffle cones, as shown.


Ingredients

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3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*
1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped peaches
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and whipping cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolk until slightly thickened. Gradually whisk about 1 cup hot cream mixture into yolk. Add yolk mixture to remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in vanilla bean paste. Cool 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile, cook peaches and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 4 to 
5 minutes. Coarsely mash, and let cool 30 minutes. Stir peach mixture into cooled cream mixture.

4. Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture, and chill 8 to 24 hours.

5. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; add pecans, and cook, stirring constantly, 8 to 9 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).

6. Pour chilled cream mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and time may vary.) Before transferring ice cream to an airtight container for further freezing, stir in pecan mixture.
*Vanilla extract may be substituted.

Stephanie