Sweet Tooth Experiments – Discover my baking experiments of unusual flavours and combinations, as well as traditional international sweet treats.

Hello and welcome to Sweet Tooth Experiments

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Ella Posted in Uncategorized .

Photographer: Margaret Paola Minero

Welcome to my blog centred around baking with delicious and interesting flavour combos as well as textures to uncover unusual bakegood gems. In addition, this blog discovers traditional sweet treats, opening up taste buds to different cultures and flavours from all over the world.

Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Ella Posted in Biscuits .

Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

I’ve made chickpea chocolate cake in the past, chocolate coconut slice, almond and chocolate cake, coconut and almond cupcakes….however I have never mixed these 4 flavors together. As they all taste like a dream with chocolate I thought there could be a combo potential.

So I decided to do some experimenting with these 4 flavors with biscuit variations. I looked at using butter vs. coconut oil, coconut flour vs. almond meal vs. rice flour, cocoa powder vs. chocolate, nil-chocolate biscuit dough, double chocolate biscuit varieties and the list goes on….

Suffice to say I made a few different batches that were slightly altered from the last.

This recipe I’m posting is the hands down winner. All flavors come out spectacularly. Even with the ‘gluten free’ component and legume inclusion they don’t taste ‘cardboard’ as some healthier versions of baking sometimes do.

So simple to make, literally throwing ingredients into a food processor and bake for 15 minutes and boom delicious biscuits at once!

Ingredients:

230g chickpeas (1 x 400g can, drained)
100g almond meal
100g brown sugar
40g coconut oil
1 tsn almond extract
1 egg
½ tsn baking powder
1/8^thtsn salt
40g desiccated coconut
80g roasted almonds
80g 70% dark chocolate, 80g extra

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
Place the drained chickpeas, sugar, oil, extract and egg into a food processor and blitz until smooth.
Dice the 80g chocolate and 80g almonds into small pieces.
Place the almond meal, baking powder, salt, coconut, diced chocolate and diced almonds into a bowl and stir until well combine.
Add the chickpea mix to the dry mix and stir until well combine.
Roll the dough mix into 20g sized balls and flatten well with the back of a fork onto the trays. Note they will not rise so you will want to flatten well.
Place the trays into the oven for 15 minutes to cook.
Allow the biscuits to set on the trays then move to a cooling rack until cooled.
Meanwhile place the remaining extra 80g chocolate into a shallow microwave proof bowl and heat in the microwave on medium, stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Using a butter knife or spatula spread the melted smooth chocolate onto the bottom of the biscuit in a thin even layer.
Place biscuits chocolate side up onto the cooling tray until chocolate has set.
Enjoy!

Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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Chickpea Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

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St Clements Fudge

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Ella Posted in Fudge .

St Clements Fudge

German Spice Biscuit recipe

Oranges and Lemon’s say the bell’s of St. Clemens….This sweet treat may be named after a nursery rhyme but the favours are a heavenly match.

A twist on the usual dark chocolate fudge, this white chocolate, lemon and orange fudge is a super easy refreshing change to the stock-standard.

Ingredients:

300g condensed milk
1 cup sugar
130g butter
2 tsn lemon zest
2 tsn orange zest
200g white chocolate, 200g extra

Method:

Line a slice tin with baking paper.
Zest the fruit.
Place the condensed milk, sugar and butter in a saucepan on low heat and stir until the mix is glossy and the sugar has dissolved.
Add the zest and turn the heat to medium, stirring until the mix comes away from the side of the pan cleanly.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the white chocolate until melted and silky smooth.
Spoon mix into the tin and leave aside to cool.
Once cooled place the tin in the fridge for 1 hour to firm.
Using a spoon scoop the mix into 15g sized balls, rolling in between your hands for the circle shape.
Place the balls onto a plate and into the freezer for 20 minutes.
Place water in a small saucepan on high on the stove until boiling, turn heat to low.
Place remaining chocolate into a heatproof bowl over the saucepan, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the boiling water.
Use a wooden spoon to stir the chocolate until it’s melted and then remove it from the heat.
Take the balls out of the freezer and dip each ball into the melted chocolate using a fork to lower and place them onto a lined tray.
Next place the tray back in the freezer for 30 mins or until the chocolate has set.
Enjoy!

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Coffee Melting Moments

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Ella Posted in Biscuits .

Coffee Melting Moments

Ok, so this recipe is not that ‘out there’. But it’s just too good for me to not include on my blog and coffee flavored melting moments, well they are not the usual flavor. Generally, or traditionally I should say Melting Moments are shortbread type biscuits that are butter or vanilla in flavor with a buttercream filling. Soo… I figured it ticks some boxes (not all) in terms of being uncommon. BUT, what I can guarantee is this recipe ticks all the boxes when it comes to texture, taste and decadency. To be honest I have gone off coffee on recent months but one taste of this biscuit and there is no way I won’t be finishing it, as well as another one for the road!

An easy and super delicious recipe with the beautiful melt in your mouth texture.

Ingredients:

Biscuit:

150g butter
2 tsn instant coffee granules
64g custard powder
60g icing sugar
160g flour
1 tsn baking powder

Filling:

2 tsn instant coffee granules
80g butter
180g icing sugar

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place the butter and coffee granules in a bowl and using electric beaters whisk until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add the sugar and custard powder and whisk until combine.
Add the flour and baking powder and using a spatula stir until the mix until well combined.
Roll the dough mix into balls of 20g each and place on the tray.
Press each ball with the back of a fork to slightly flatten and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Place biscuits on a cooling rack until cold.
Meanwhile make the icing by placing the ingredients into a bowl and whisk using electric beaters whisk until well combined.
Spoon the icing onto half the biscuits on the bottom flat side and sandwich with the remaining biscuits.
Dust with a little cocoa powder and enjoy.


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Ricotta Ice-Cream with Burnt Salted Caramel

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Ella Posted in Ice-cream & Sorbet .

Ricotta Ice-Cream with Burnt Salted Caramel

This recipe was actually created from taking 2 of my former recipes (my Cheese Ice-Cream Cake and my Churros Chocolate Caramel Cake) and to an extent combining them together.

From these former recipes, my ricotta ice-cream is absolutely amazing and my caramel sauce the perfect consistency, taste and texture.

This ice-cream can be enjoyed with pudding or cake etc, or as the star of its own show.

Moreish, quick, super easy and impressive this treat will impress!

Ingredients:

Ice-cream:

450g ricotta cheese
300ml sweetened condensed milk
3 tsn vanilla extract
450ml thickened cream
60ml liquor (optional, I used butterscotch schnapps)

Caramel:

100g white sugar
15ml water
90ml cream
35g brown sugar
1/8 tsn ground salt

Method:

In a food processor blitz the cheese, condensed milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Whisk the cheese mix and cream with electric beaters in a bowl until peaks form.
Stir the 60ml of liquor into the cheese mix until well combined.
Spoon the cheese mix into a tin and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm.
Meanwhile make the caramel by placing the white sugar and water into a saucepan on a high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Now leave the mix without stirring until the sugar syrup is a golden brown colour, take off the heat.
Add the brown sugar, salt and cream to the sugar syrup mix and stir with a metal spoon until the caramel is smooth and glossy, leave aside to cool completely.
Once the caramel is cooled fold through the ice-cream and place the ice-cream back into the freezer to completely set.
Scoop and enjoy!

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Quinoa Honey and Peanut Butter Biscuits

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Ella Posted in Biscuits .

Quinoa Honey and Peanut Butter Biscuits

Quinoa Honey and Peanut Butter Cookies

In an attempt to eat gluten free, I brought a packet of quinoa flakes to use as a rolled oat substitute for my porridge. As much as the substitute seemed consistent with rolled oats I didn’t fall in love with the texture.

So, after opting back to oats I had a half full packet of quinoa flakes that I didn’t want to waste.

The solution? Get experimenting. I figured if the flakes were mostly used as an oat substitute I could bake with them just like I do with other cereal ingredients.

Knowing this ingredient pairs well with common breakfast flavors I played around with a few flavour combos before I landed on honey and peanut butter.

These 2 ingredients go so well together and using the quinoa flakes as a base biscuit ingredient went just as well as oat bran, flour or oats do.

To keep with the gluten free theme, I used rice flour instead of the usual wheat flour for gluten free friendly biscuit-y goodness.

I had low expectations for this treat and to be honest was blown away by how tasty it is.

Ingredients:

55g brown sugar
80g butter
110g honey
90g peanut butter
1 tsn vanilla essence
200g rice flour
1 tsn baking power
¼ tsn salt
110g quinoa flakes

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
Place the sugar, butter, honey, peanut butter and vanilla into a saucepan on a medium heat.
Stir until the mix is well combined, silky and bubbling on the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.
Sieve the flour, powder and salt into a bowl and add the quinoa flakes, stir.
Pour the butter mix over the dry mix and stir until well combined.
Put the bowl of the biscuit mix into the fridge for 30 minutes to cool and slightly harden.
Next roll the cooled dough into balls 30g in size and place onto the trays.
Using a fork push the balls in the center to flatten.
Place the trays in the oven to bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown in colour – leave the biscuits on the tray to completely cool.
Enjoy!

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Fig Lavender and Honey Mini-Tarts

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Ella Posted in Tarts .

Fig Lavender and Honey Mini-Tarts

The taste of this tart is Christmas in a nutshell, but you do need to be a lover of figs that’s for sure!

After playing around with the size, flavours and quantities of a mince-pie alternative tart (I love mince pies apart from the filling aka the main part of a mince pie lol), I ended up happy with little bite sized tarts (almost canapé style).

If you like mince pies but prefer figs over sultanas this is the perfect mince pie replacement Christmas treat for you.

You never know, you may convert yourself to a new Christmas fav, others too!

Ingredients:

Pastry:

100g flour
50g butter
25g sugar

Filling:

20g honey
½ tsn ground lavender
225g dried figs
¼ tsn apple cider vinegar
½ tsn orange zest

Decoration:

Honey
Lavender flowers
Orange zest

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200c degrees.
Place the pastry ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add 25ml of water and process until the mix resembles dough and comes away from the sides of the bowl. If this does not occur and the mix looks too dry add an extra 5ml of water and process again.
Place the dough on a floured bench and knead the dough for a minute. Following divide the dough into 12 balls of 15g each.
With a rolling pin roll the balls into disks and place them into 12 mini (1 + ½ tbsn capacity) tart cases. OR as an alternative grease a small cupcake tin and place the disks in the bottom and sides of the tin cupcake holes (a 24 capacity – 33x22cm sized tin are quite common to have or find).
Prick the pastry with a fork a few times and place the tarts in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile make the filling by placing the lavender into a mortar and pestle and grind until the lavender is too a powder consistency.
Place the figs, 320ml of water, honey, lavender, vinegar and orange zest in a pan on a medium heat.
Boil the mix for 15 minutes; stirring every few minutes until the figs are plumb and the water is to a syrupy sticky consistency.
Place the mix into the food processor and blitz until the figs are at a paste consistency.
Place baking paper in the center of each tart case followed with some rice or baking weights to weight down the rise of the pastry base while cooking.
Place the tart shells in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove the baking paper and weights and bake in the oven for a further 8 minutes or until the tart shells are slightly golden brown.
Place the fig mix into the tart shells and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Remove the tarts from the oven and once cooled if you wish add a few lavender flowers and a little orange zest for decoration.

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Fig Lavender and Honey Mini-Tarts recipe

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Berry and Granola Breakfast Cake

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Ella Posted in Cakes .

Berry and Granola Breakfast Cake

Berry and Granola Breakfast Cake recipe

I’m a creature of habit when it comes to food. Pretty much every morning I have the same breakfast of blueberries, seeds, granola, yoghurt, nuts and desiccated coconut. Occasionally I may use mixed berries instead of blueberries but this variation doesn’t last long.

Breakfast is probably my favorited meal of the day and my usual breakfast never fails to satisfy me. So it’s not surprising one day whilst having breakfast I got an idea….I would use my fav breakfast ingredients and turn them into a cake.

This cake could have completely been a flop (even with the combination of tasty complementary flavours), however resulted in a super moist bake that was as tasty as I had hoped.

So simple and quick to make, this recipe is literally putting ingredients into a bowl, stirring and placing in the oven – as easy as that!

Berry and Granola Breakfast Cake recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

45g dates
2 tsn chia seeds
100g flour
1 + ½ tsn baking powder
100g granola (mine had oats, nuts, seeds and coconut)
70g sugar
100g butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
80g blueberries

Frosting:

115g butter, at room temperature
80g strawberry jam
35g vanilla yoghurt

Extra:

15g granola (oats, nuts, seeds and coconut)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Dice up the dates into small pieces and place into a mixing bowl.
Add the chia seeds, flour, baking powder, granola and sugar to the dates. Stir until well combined.
Add the eggs and butter to the date dry mix and whisk with electric beaters for 5 mins until the mix is creamy and fluffy.
Add the blueberries and fold in until combined through the batter.
Pour the mix into the cake tin and sprinkle with the extra granola on top.
Bake the cake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Place the cake on a cooling rack until cold.
Place all the frosting ingredients into a bowl and whisk with electric beaters until light and fluffy.
Cut the cake in half horizontally, placing the bottom layer onto a plate.
Top the bottom cake layer with the icing, then sandwich with the 2nd cake layer.
Enjoy!…YUM!

Note:

Using your fav store brought granola is prefectly fine (yu dont have to use the same granloa mix as me).
I used frozen blueberries but you can use fresh if you prefer.

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Jam Doughnut Cupcakes

Posted on December 15, 2018 by Ella Posted in Cupcakes .

Jam Doughnut Cupcakes

I have made jam doughnuts before, both fried and baked, and though they have turned out delicious they are quite a bit of work…proving…pushing back…rising…hours of waiting…

I wanted to make something that was easy quick and tastiest as close to a jam doughnut as possible.

My solution to this? Hello jam doughnut cupcake. This sweet treat is a mix between doughnut batter and cupcake batter with the traditional jam in the center.

Yes these are baked therefore the texture is different to a usual doughnut but I have kept the butter and sugar cinnamon element alive.

Lastly, true to a cupcake mandatory I have made a jam frosting for extra creaminess and jam emphasis.

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

310g self raising flour
70g plain flour
180g sugar, plus 2 tbsn extra
110ml cooking oil
2 eggs
240ml milk
1 tsn vanilla essence
150g raspberry jam

Icing:

60g butter, plus 40g extra
70g raspberry jam
120g icing sugar
1 tsn cinnamon

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200c degrees and line 18 medium cupcake patties into a medium sized cupcake tin.
Sift the flours and sugar into a bowl and make a well in the center.
In a separate bowl place the oil, eggs, milk and vanilla. Whisk with a hand whisk until well combined.
Pour the oil mix into the flour mix and beat with the hand whisk until well combined.
Spoon half the batter into the 18 cupcake patty cases.
Spoon the 70g of jam evenly into the middle of the cupcake patties on top of the batter.
Spoon the remaining batter on top of the jam, covering the jam completely.
Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (being mindful of the jam in which should still be of jam consistency).
Place cupcakes onto a cooling rack until cold.
Use a pastry brush to brush the cupcake tops with the 50g of melted butter.
Sprinkle the 2 tbsn of sugar and the 1 tsn of cinnamon into a bowl and stir.
Place the cupcake top side down onto the cinnamon sugar bowl and push to coat the top of the cupcake well.
Place the icing ingredients into a bowl and using electric beaters beat until light and fluffy.
Using a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.
Enjoy!

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Alegria

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Ella Posted in Mexican .

Alegria

Alegria is a Mexican sweet treat, similar to a muesli bar, however instead of oats as the main ingredient this recipe uses puffed amaranth.

Similar to most traditional countries dishes Alegria has endless versions, with many variations on nuts, dried fruits and seeds.

The traditional version is generally a simple amaranth and honey mix.

For something a little different and to put my spin on the recipe I opted to add in bitter dark chocolate pieces. Additionally, I added my chosen dried fruit and nut combination that works brilliantly with honey. Using salted nuts will add a salty savory offset to the honey, while the sweet fig will complement the bitter chocolate.

Amaranth, itself is an ancient grain, similar to quinoa (a super grain with high protein and is gluten-free). Amaranth is a great source of vitamins and minerals, it keeps you regular and is said to lower bad cholesterol. Based on this, how could you not want to eat this ‘muesli bar’ alternative that has no processed sugar and is packed full of body loving nutrition.

Amaranth is fast becoming a health isle stable, where I was able to buy the puffed amarath (and grain amaranth) at my local supermarket.

Ingredients:

70g dried figs
80g lightly salted almonds
125g 85% cocoa dark chocolate
100g popped/puffed amaranth
185g honey
¼ tsn salt

Method:

Dice the figs, almonds and chocolate into very small pieces and place in a bowl.
Add the amaranth to the fig mix and stir until well combined.
Place the honey into a saucepan on a medium heat and cook for 4 minutes or until the honey is about to caramelize.
Take the honey off the heat and stir through the salt.
Pour the honey over the amaranth mix and stir until the mix is well combine and the honey is evenly covering all the mix.
Line a 20cm x 20cm slice tin with baking paper.
Spoon the mix into the slice tin and flatten the top until completely level.
Place the slice in the fridge for 30 mins minumum to set.
Remove the slice from the tin and cut into bars, enjoy!

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Chocolate and Orange Marmalade Sponge

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Ella Posted in Cakes .

Chocolate and Orange Marmalade Sponge

For a long time now (around 18 months) I have been attempting to make the ultimate amazing ‘Jaffa inspired’ treat.

I have gone through choc-orange flavoured mousse , focaccia, truffle balls, biscuits, mud-cake, pastries, flan…and the list goes on…Though some of these experimental sessions produced bakes that were not actually bad they were not absolutely amazing either, thus not good enough to post.

This sponge cake recipe was not part of the choc-orange original baking experimental sessions, I actually came up with this recipe a few months later as I wanted to turn my favorite (never fail) sponge recipe into a chocolate sponge to see if it would work (you don’t come across a good chocolate sponge very often so I thought I would challenge this).

When I made the sponge and was happy with the outcome I started thinking about some jam fillings that are a bit unusual (not the normal raspberry or strawberry jam options we typically see). As I had some marmalade left over from the choc-orange experiments I ended up opting for this. Once I spread the layers of jam with cream and sandwiched the cake layers together I was left with either a massive fail or new sponge recipe.

Next step was to drizzle with chocolate sauce, cut and devour. I must say the devouring part was not a difficult task at all.

Finally chocolate orange flavor combo success!

Ingredients:

Sponge:

2 tsn plain flour
½ tsn bi carbonate of soda
1 tsn cream of tartar
100g corn flour
30g cocoa powder
4 eggs
165g sugar
½ tsn vanilla essence

Filling:

300g thickened cream
2 tsn icing sugar
½ tsn vanilla essence
270g orange marmalade

Ganache:

100g dark chocolate, broken up
40g thickened cream

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190c degrees and line 3 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
Place the plain flour, bi carbonate or soda, cream of tartar, corn flour and cocoa powder into a bowl and sift 3 times.
Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and using electric beaters whisk for 10 minutes on high speed.
Add the vanilla essence to the egg mix and beat for 1 more minute
Turn the beaters on low speed and add the flour mix, beating for 1 minute.
Spoon the mix evenly into the 3 cake tins and bake each cake for 20-25 minutes or until the sponges spring back when touched on the top.
Remove the tins from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes, cakes still in the tin.
Turn the cakes onto a cooling rack and leave until cold.
To make the filling whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla essence with electric beaters until peaks form.
To assemble place one cake layer on a plate and spoon the jam evenly onto this cake as well as a second cake.
Spoon the cream evenly on the top of the jam of both cakes.
Place the second filled cake onto the plated cake (cream side up) and top the cake off with the third/remaining (non-filled) cake layer.
To make the ganache, place the cream in a bowl and microwave until boiling.
Add the chocolate to the cream and leave for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate and cream until glossy and thick.
Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake.

Notes:

I dusted the top cake layer with icing sugar and cocoa powder before I drizzled the ganache for extra decoration.

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