Chocolate Cake with Praline

 
My birthday & my friends son's birthday are only 3 days apart. I wanted to make a cake for myself this year & decided that I'd make it for his birthday party, as I wasn't having one this year, turning 41 isn't anything to celebrate, & it's been a terrible year.
Two days after turning 40, which I did celebrate, I came down with glandular fever & well I've been sick ever since, so it wasn't the best year I've ever had.

It was meant to start out as just a small chocolate cake, but for those of you that know me, know I don't do anything small, even when I try it just goes out of control, this cake grew to gigantic, humongous proportions. This 1 cake grew to 2 cakes & both had 4 layers each.
I showed up to the party with with two cakes in toe, & huge they were.

One cake was for the kiddies, chocolate cake with ganache throughout the layers as well as the icing & then decorated with strawberries. The other one was for the adults & it was the same chocolate cake & ganache but I added  peanut praline & topped off with strawberries.

 CAKE RECIPE

• 2 cups water
• 3 cups caster sugar 
• 250g butter,softened
• 4 tab cocoa powder
• 3 cups self raising flour
• 4 eggs

Grease 2 deep 22cm round cake pan, line base & side with baking paper.
Beat the butter & sugar with an electric mixer until pale, then add the eggs one at a time.
Then fold in the cocoa & flour. Once combined add the warm water & vanilla essence.


Pour the batter into the 2 prepared cake tins & bake for 40 min at 180 degrees.
Once the cakes have cooked let the cake sit in the pan for 10 min then turn the cake onto a wire rack to further cool.


GANACHE ( FILLING & FROSTING) This recipe is from Donna Hay's book Modern Classics 2

• 750g dark chocolate
• 1 1/2 cup cream
• 210g unsalted butter

Place chocolate bits in a bowl add the butter & cream & place on a pot of simmering water.
Stir until melted & smooth.Set aside to cool completely then beat with electric beaters until thick & fluffy.Spread over chilled cake.

PRALINE

• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup salted peanuts

Line a tray with grease proof paper & add the peanuts. In a pan place sugar & water & dissolve over high heat cook until a golden brown colour.
Remove from heat & pour the caramel over the peanuts.
When set, break into pieces & place in a food processor  till it's a fine powder.


GARNISH

• 1 punnet strawberries
• 100g chocolate

ASSEMBLY

Have all the above ingredients ready.

• Once the cake has cooled, slice each cake in half. Spread 1/2 a cup of ganach onto each layer & sprinkle some praline on top. Sandwich the layers, there should be 4 layers with 3 layers of ganach & praline filling.

• Then cover the cake with the frosting, using a flat spatula. Start at the top, placing 2 cups of frosting on the top of the cake & then work the frosting around the cake pushing the frosting down wards. Place a bit extra around the sides & work the spatula around the sides.
• To get a better finish on the cake it's best to work top down, meaning place lots of frosting on the top of a cake & work it down.

•  Once the cake is covered, fill some ganach mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle & pipe rosettes around the cake.Place strawberries on top of the rosettes & sprinkle praline mixture in the center of the cake.
• Melt 100g of chocolate & place in a small piping bag, pipe onto the strawberries.

 This cake has no praline (kiddies safe)

Chocolate Mousse - Mousse de Chocolate

I love Chocolate Mousse, if it's on a menu somewhere I just can't pass it up. I feel like a kid,in a candy shop, it's just so moorish. When travelling around Portugal it was one dessert that was on nearly 90% of menus.
Their was the good the bad & the ugly. On one occasion the ugly reared up it's head in a Lisbon tavern, when I ordered the dessert & found it to be soft & mushy with a runny liquid on the base, it tasted awful, so I just left it. When the waiter enquired why I hadn't eaten it, I explained why, & suggested that it was probably too old & probably had spoilt. He told me it was made from a packet & so wouldn't spoil so quickly. I was dumbfounded, I felt I had been so naive, to expect a restaurant to make their own. I learnt that I had to ask for caseiro (home made) if I wanted it fresh.
I can't imagine who would go to a restaurant & when presented with the choice of home made or packet would choose a packet dessert.
The Portuguese tend to make theirs a bit more denser than the french who make it more light & airy.


Recipe
Serves 6

• 400g dark chocolate
• 2 eggs, separated, room temperature
• 50ml Cointreau,  rum or 1 tab coffee granules
• 2 cups cream

1. Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl & set over simmering water (don't allow the bowl to touch the water). Stir the chocolate as it begins to melt, not allowing the chocolate to over heat. Add any liquid at this stage. Once melted set aside.

    2. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl & the whites in another.
        Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl till peaks form, then set aside.

      3. In another bowl whisk  the cream till soft peaks form. Set aside.

 
    4. Stir the yolks into the melted chocolate the add a large spoonful of the egg whites, folding it in gently. Then add half of the egg whites & fold into the chocolate mixture, once incorporated add all the egg whites folding them in.

   
    5. Once all the egg whites have been incorporated add the cream a spoonful at a time folding the cream into the mixture gently so as not to remove the air.
Once all the cream has been added transfer to your serving dish.

Note:

• I allowed the mix to set then transferred it to a piping bag & them piped the mix out onto my serving dish. The mix will not pipe effectively just after being made. 

• Make sure the water bath is on a simmer & not on a rapid boil, otherwise the intense heat will burn the chocolate.

• Soft peaks mean, if you pick it up it holds a shape but not for too long. A runny egg white & cream will result in a runny mousse. If the peaks are too stiff then you have a hard mousse.

 

   

Mini Cupcakes

It's been a very hectic few weeks, firstly we are renovating our house, we moved our bedroom furniture out & were sleeping in the living room. Secondly during the renovations, we planned my nephews 6th birthday party. My husband had to quickly finish the area he was renovating for the party, & so we ( myself, husband & sister in law) worked frantically to get it all cleaned up.

My nephew & sister in law moved back to Australia in November after living in the UK for the past 5 1/2 years, it's been a difficult time for my nephew who missed England & all his friends & so we thought a party would help,  he wanted a Ben 10 theme,colors where green & black, as many boys his age like Ben 10.

The party went well, more kids showed up than we'd thought would, & so the house was full of screaming kids, jumping & climbing everything.
I made these mini cup cakes as I know kids will generally eat the icing & take a bite of the cake & leave the rest.
I had a butter cream recipe, but after seeing Masterchef ( a cooking programme) I decided to use the recipe they had shown on the show, as it looked great.

I made chicken breast nuggets, home made sausage rolls, home made pizza, hot dogs made with mini beef sausages, jelly with snakes, chocolate mousse, creme caramel, mini cupcakes & few other dishes.


It's been a weird year, firstly I contracted glandular fever 11 months ago, a few days after my 40th birthday, a time that left me unable to work or leave the house for months, one of the reasons I decided to start this blog.
During this time my sister in law & nephew arrived & my life has changed, for the better.
I have a little boy that I treat as my own & he is such a joy to have around, he loves food & eats everything I cook. I love cooking for him & teaching him about food.
I was so happy that I'm 70 percent recovered & was able to give him the party he wanted & deserved.

 The party had a green & black theme,  as half the children were girls, I decided to make pink one's for them.

Cute little cupcakes

Mini Cupcakes

• 115g butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup milk

Vanilla Butter cream

• 300g caster sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 tea vanilla essence
• 500g unsalted butter, softened

1. In an electric mixer or a hand held mixer, cream the butter & sugar together, till fluffy & a pale creamy colour, this may take 5 minutes.

2. Add the eggs to the butter 1 at a time, making sure each egg is incorporated to the mix before you add each one.

3. Once all the eggs are incorporated add the vanilla essence & the flour, mixing gently so that the flour does not fly everywhere.


4. Then add the milk mixing till the milk is all mixed in.


5. Line small patty tins with mini cupcakes & pour a small amount into the liners.
Fill only 1/2 the liners with the mix, & bake at 180 degrees for 12- 15 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through.

For the butter cream

1. Moisten the sugar with the water in a saucepan, place on the stove, brushing down the edges with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallisation.

2. Bring the syrup to soft ball stage (121 degrees). Then cool slightly.

3. Whisk the egg yolk in a mixer  until light & fluffy on high speed.

4. Once the sugar cools add it to the yolks in a slow thin stream, whisking continuously until all has been added. Keep whisking on low speed until the mixture cools & then add gradually add the butter a piece at a time till it's all incorporated.

5. Add the vanilla essence

Assembling the cupcakes

1. Divide the butter cream into separate bowls, how many will depend on how many colors you want. Add the food colour to your desired colour.   


2. Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle.


3 Pipe rosette shapes onto cooled cupcakes







     Kids picking up lollies from the pinata

My gorgeous nephew

Pears Baked in Port Wine

We're in May, it’s meant to be autumn, a time when it becomes cooler outside, leaves change, and everything slows down.

This year it’s been an incredibly hot summer & it seems to be never ending. The hot weather has carried on even during autumn.  I’m not complaining mind you because I like the hot weather.

Autumn foods are starting to make their way into our supermarket shelves.

One of my favourite cooler months fruits are pears.

I love cooking pears, either stewing them or baking them.

I used Port wine in this recipe but you can use any sweet red wine you like.

Port wine comes from the Portuguese city Porto, & is a sweet wine usually drunk at the end of a meal.


Ingredients

• 4 pears
• 1 1/2 cups Port wine
• 6 tab honey
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tea cinnamon, ground

 1.  Peel & core the pears.

      In a roasting pan add the pears & all the ingredients. 

      Cover the pan with foil.

      Cook the pears for 30 min at 180 degrees, then remove the foil & bake a further 20min.

      The pears should be cooked & the juice should have reduced & thickened up 

      Serve with plain yogurt, cream, or ice cream

 

 

Sweet Ricotta Fritters - Filhos

I sometimes adjust recipes to suit my personal taste & availability of ingredients.
I like simple quick recipes, when I cook at home.
I've adjusted this recipe from how they are traditionally made, but not to worry they look like the traditional ones.
That's what I love about cooking, you can change something to suit yourself & put your own personal stamp on it & make it your own.

These doughnut like dumplings are traditionally made with cooked mashed pumpkin.
I like the pumpkin version but sometimes I want to make a quick sweet if someone drops by unexpectedly & don't have time to wait for the pumpkin to cook.
It's much easier to grab some ricotta, which I keep in the fridge on a regular basis.
The ricotta does exactly what the pumpkin would do & that's add moisture making these moist & light.
I know 60 sounds like a lot, you can always 1/2 the recipe. But I warn you, these are addictive.
I have 4 people in my household & these went within 24 hours.


Traditionally these are called filhos & are usually made around Christmas time or for any special
occasion.
Perfect with a cup of tea

Ingredients

• 500g smooth ricotta
• 4 (700g) whole eggs
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2 1/2 cups self raising flour

For the sugar & cinnamon

• 1 cup castor sugar
• 2 tea ground cinnamon

Makes 60


1. In a bowl put the ricotta & eggs


2. Then add the sugar
3. Whisk the ingredients together


4. Then add the flour to the ricotta mixture




5. This will create a batter like mixture.
Then heat a deep frying pan with fresh oil.




6. The temperature should be at a medium heat, if it's too high they will burn & be raw inside, if it's too low they will absorb the oil & be ruined.
Drop a generous size teaspoon of batter into the oil. Not adding more than 6 at a time.


7. Once the fritters are cooked & have a golden color to them. You can take one out & cut it open to see if they are cooked through.
Then drain them onto a paper towel.
While they are draining repeat the process of frying some more fritters.
Then go back to the fritters that are draining on a paper towel & roll them onto the sugar & cinnamon mixture coating them well.


Note :

• You can add 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the batter if you like.

• Use fresh clean oil for best results.
  

• You will have a bit of cinnamon sugar left, not to worry you can seal it in an air tight container & keep it for several months.Use it on french toast or cinnamon toast.
  

These are so moorish you won't be able to stop at just one.

Creme Caramel

Creme Caramel (Pudim) is one of Portugals favorite desserts,you'll always find one on a restaurant menu or at a party.
I made this creme caramel for my friends son's 1st birthday party.
The Portuguese call their creme caramels, Pudim.
My version is a bit lighter than what you would find in Portugal,the Portuguese generally have there's a bit heavier.

Creme Caramel Mix
1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs
3 3/4 cup of hot milk
1 tab vanilla essance

Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

In a pot add your sugar & water together & put it on high heat.
Don't touch the caramel with a spoon or fork once it's boiling otherwise the mixture won't turn out,it'll turn into a lumps of watery sugar.
Just allow the mixture to cook swirling it around once in a while.
When it's a deep rich colour take it off the heat & coat a baking pan with the caramel.

For the egg mix, warm your milk up till it's warm.Don't make your milk too hot or it will curdle the egg mixture.
Beat your eggs, sugar & vanilla essance together & then add your milk & whisk together.
Pour the mixture into the pan that's coated with the caramel.
Put the cake pan into a larger baking pan with water cover the mixture & bake at 130 degrees for an hour or till the mixture comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before you turn it out.