Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Chilli Chocolate Cookies

Posted on Posted in Biscuits .

Chilli Chocolate Cookie recipe

Chilli Chocolate Cookies

So I have had these cookies on my radar from quite a while. I love chocolate and do like some chilli in my cooking and have notice how Lindt and Cadbury have come out with their chocolate chilli sku’s so I thought I must give these a go already.

I shouldn’t be surprised that the flavours did in fact work perfectly together and I think the touch of cinnamon is quite complementary to the flavour combo.

These cookies are crunchie and soft in the center with a chocolate taste and a burst of chilli that hits after.

 

Ingredients:

  • 120g butter
  • 120g dark chocolate
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsn vanilla essence
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 white white sugar
  • 1 + ¾ cups of plain flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsn cinnamon
  • 1 tsn chilli powder
  • 180g dark chocolate

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180c and line a 2 baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Melt the butter in the microwave for 45 seconds. Break up the dark chocolate and stir with a metal spoon through the butter until glossy and smooth.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk with electric beaters eggs, vanilla and sugars until pale and thick.
  4. Stir in the chocolate mix until combined.
  5. Sift in the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and chilli powder, stir to combine.
  6. Chop chocolate into small pieces and stir into cookie dough.
  7. Roll the dough with hands into 25g balls and place onto the baking trays. Use fingertips to flatten slightly.
  8. Bake for 10 mins or until set.
  9. Place cookies onto a cooking rack, enjoy.

 

Notes:

  • I actually kneaded the cookie dough to quickly ensure the dough was well combined.
  • I used scales to weight the cookie dough balls to get them all the same size.

Chilli Chocolate Cookie recipe

Chilli Chocolate Cookie recipe

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

So Lemon Meringue Pie is a classic ultimate favorite of mine. Cheesecake can also be unbelievable if the right recipe and ingredient combination is used. Both these 2 sweet indulgent treats are very popular to both the sweet and more savory taste buds.

As I am always asked to bake cheesecake and lemon pie I decided the only way I would make these is to incorporate them together. This way if the outcome is incredible I can post the recipe on this blog and share the awesomeness for others to bake and experience.

So introducing the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake.  Now let me pre-warn you,  once I put this cake out it was gone in 10 minutes, the quickest of my cakes to disappear. Many people missed out and I am told this is my best cake yet…

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

Ingredients:

Base:

  • 375g butternut snap biscuits
  • 100g butter

Filling:

  • ¼ cup water
  • 4 tsn powered gelatin
  • 280g jar lemon butter
  • 500g cream cheese
  • ¾ cup thickened cream
  • 110g white sugar
  • ½ lemon zest

Meringue:

  • Extra 80g water
  • Extra ¾ cup white sugar
  • 3 egg whites

 

Method:

  1. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Add the biscuits and butter into a food processor and process until well combined.
  3. Spoon mix into the cake tin and line the walls and base with the biscuit mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
  4. Put the water and gelatin into a bowl and whish with a fork until well combined.
  5. Microwave for 30 seconds or until dissolved, cool.
  6. Whisk lemon butter until smooth. Add 4 tsn of the gelatin mix to the lemon butter and whisk.
  7. Beat together the cream, cheese, sugar and zest into a bowl with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until smooth.
  8. Pour cheese mix over the base.
  9. Spoon the lemon mix over the cheese layer.
  10. Place cake in the fridge for 3 hours minimum.
  11. Put extra water and sugar into a saucepan on medium heat cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
  12. Increase to high and place a candy thermometer in the sugar mix. Cook until the temperate hits 120 degrees then remove off the heat.
  13. With electric beaters whisk the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form.
  14. Increase speed to high, while beating in the sugar syrup in a steady stream. Beat for 10 minutes or until thick and glossy.
  15. Remove the cake from the tin and place onto a plate.
  16. Spoon the meringue onto the cake and blow torch the meringue until golden brown on top, serve.

 

Notes:

  • If in a hurry place the cake in the freezer for 45 minutes instead of 3+ hours in the fridge to set quickly.

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

Step 8

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

Step 9

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

Step 12

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe

 

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German Spice Biscuits

Posted on Posted in Biscuits, German, Traditional .

German Spice Biscuit recipeGerman Spice Biscuits

I am a big fan of spices and saw a recipe for Chai biscuits that sparked my interest. Following, a traditional German Spice biscuit recipe caught my eye and I noticed the ingredients were pretty much the same. The only difference was the German biscuits used eggs instead of butter and they had 1/2 tsn pepper and nutmeg which the chai biscuits didn’t have. Looking at these 2 recipes I was more drawn to the traditional and more spiced flavoured biscuit.

These biscuits are very very similar in flavour to gingerbread men, they even have the same icing but are easier to make and take much less time.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 + ¼ cups plain flour
  • ¼ tsn baking powder
  • 1 tsn ground ginger
  • ½ tsn nutmeg
  • 1 tsn ground cardamom
  • 1 tsn cinnamon
  • ¼ tsn finely ground black pepper
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 + ¼ cups icing sugar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat an oven to 180c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, spices and pepper in a bowl.
  3. Place the eggs (less 1 egg white) and sugar in a bowl and beat until thick and creamy.
  4. Stir in the flour mix until a dough is formed.
  5. Shape the dough into 1 tbsn sized balls (20g) and place on the baking tray. Flatten the top slightly with fingers.
  6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes of until just firm.
  7. Transfer onto a cooling rack.
  8. Lightly beat the egg white and add in enough of the icing sugar to form a smooth icing.
  9. Using a pastry-brush brush the icing over the top and sides of the biscuit until they are thickly coated. Leave them to set.

 

Notes:

  • The traditional way of icing these biscuits is pouring the icing over them, however you will find this don’t work and you waste majority of the icing and only get some biscuits covered.
  • These biscuits are not very extremely sweet, but super tasty. They would not taste as good if they were a sweeter biscuit.

German Spice Biscuit recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

 

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Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

Photographer: Margaret Paola Minero

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

Gosh, if I remove the word ‘cake’ from this Lemon, basil and olive oil title you would swear I am making a pasta sauce!

Don’t let this fool you, this cake produces the most amazing texture that can only be described as more fluffy that a sponge cake but cheesecake like, yep seriously (a friends words not mine)!

Separately lemon and olive oil in cakes is quite common (olive oil thanks to the likes of the carrot cake popularity). However, basil…this is the first time I must say I have come across this ingredient in a cake, therefore of course I had to make it.

Believe it or not this cake is a winner, especially to the everyday taste bud that doesn’t have a sweet tooth obsession as bad as mine (in other words it is sweet but not chocolate caramel layer cake sweet).

We already know these flavors work, why not give it a try!

 

Ingredients:

  • 180ml olive oil
  • 16 basil leaves
  • 4 eggs separated + an extra yolk
  • 170g white sugar
  • Finley grated zest of 1 large lemon
  • 2 tbsn + ½ tsn of lemon juice
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 175g plain flour
  • 1 tsn cream of tarter

Syrup:

  • 10 basil leaves
  • 60g white sugar
  • 4 tsn lemon juice

 

Method:

  1. Place the oil and basil in a pan on the stove on high until the basil starts to sizzle and crisp up. Once you hit this stage take the pan off the heat and leave aside to cool.
  2. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180c.
  3. Beat the egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar until thick and pale.
  4. Add the cold oil, zest, juice and salt and beat to combine.
  5. Gently fold (be very gentle) the flourinto the batter until just combine.
  6. In another bowl beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until peaks start to form. Now add in the remaining sugar and beat until mixture is thick and glossy.
  7. Place a large spoonful of egg whites in to the batter and gently fold to loosen the batter up.
  8. Once lose fold in the remaining egg white mix very very gently.
  9. Spoon the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top.
  10. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
  11. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes than transfer onto a cooling rack.
  12. Now for the syrup, combine all ingredients into a pan with 80ml water and stir on the stove on medium until the mix is reduced to a nice syrup consistency.
  13. Dust the cake with icing sugar and spoon the syrup over the cake, serve.

 

Notes:

  • I whipped up some thickened cream with 2 tbsn of icing sugar and brought 250g strawberries that were mixed with 2 tsn of icing sugar and 2 tsn lemon juice. I then piped the cream and placed the strawberries on top of the cake before the syrup was spooned on the cake to decorate. Lastly I placed a few basil sprigs in the center for the look.
  • The reason I say very very gently is because there is no self-raising agent in this cake. The rise of the cake comes from the egg white and cream of tarter combo you have beaten, so if you are not gentle enough the cake will loose its rise (old school raising styles going on here)!

 

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

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Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Step 2

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

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Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

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Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Step 3 & 4

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Step 6

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Step 7

Photographer: Margaret Paola Minero

Photographer: Margaret Paola Minero

Step 8

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake recipe

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

 

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Swedish Apple Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes, Sweden, Traditional .


Swedish Apple Cake recipe

Swedish Apple Cake

So someone said to me the other day why don’t you bake an apple pie. My response was ‘to boring’ I like to try ‘out there’ unexpected flavours and then be surprised when the flavours are magic and I uncover a hidden gem recipe…However, I also love to ‘uncover’ traditional global dessert recipes – I think this is because some cultures have flavours I have never even heard of which peaks my ‘trial & testing’ obsession.

But, it did get me thinking, I do baking a lot with fruit and the recipes have in the most part been amazing and there are millions of different apple pie/tart/slice/cake/torts/jelly/trifle recipes.

So I decided that I would investiagte and find a killer recipe that ticks all the boxes..I am told this cake tastes exactly like Apple Pie but as a cake…

 

Ingredients:

  • 4 granny smith apples
  • 260g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 150g white sugar
  • 150g butter
  • 4 eggs

Glaze:

  • 50g water
  • 50g white sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Peel the apples. Dice 3 into 1cm cubes. For the 4th apple slice thinly into moon shapes to decorate the cake.
  3. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
  4. Add the diced apple to the bowl and mix with dry ingredients well.
  5. Add the softened butter and eggs until all ingredients are well combined.
  6. Pour into cake tin.
  7. Place the sliced apple in a fan shape on top of the batter.
  8. Bake for 60 minutes or until a skew inserted in the cake comes out clean.
  9. Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.
  10. Make the glaze by combining the ingredients together in a small pan on low and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn up heat to medium until the glaze thickens to half the measure.
  11. Using a pastry-brush brush the apples on top of the cake with the glaze.

 

Notes:

  • The reason you need to make sure you mix the dry ingredients with the diced apple is because covering the apple in flour will ensure the apple does not sink to the bottom.
  • As the apple is diced so finely after cooking the pieces themselves break down, making the cake smooth in texture and apple intenseness in every bite. If you would like to actually have apple pieces in the cake you will need to dice into 2cm sizes.
  • 150g sugar may not seem like that much for a full cake, however as apple has natural sugar they bring this into the cake (that is if you have nice tasty apples and not apple on the sour ‘to ripe’ side).
  • Don’t try to make the glaze in the microwave. I am all for time saving and making things easier but this will only make a water like glaze texture not a syrupy one.
  • This cake does not need icing (that would not work at all), if you want something to eat this with ice-cream or a dollop of cream would go down a treat. This would also be perfect for people that don’t have as much as a sweet tooth as it will dull down the sweetness.

 

Swedish Apple Cake recipe

The ingredients

Swedish Apple Cake recipe

Step 2. Dies apple

Swedish Apple Cake recipe

Step 7.

Swedish Apple Cake recipe

Step 9.

 

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