Chocolate Truffles

Every year I bake something for Christmas to give out as gifts to friends. However this year, my oven broke :( so I had to come up with something that didn't involve baking. I decided to try out truffles, I'd been meaning to try making it for the longest time but kept procrastinating becasue most of the recipes I found online were fairly complex. I stumbled across this amazingly super simple recipe on naomi-sugarspice, you can check it out here and decided to try it out solely because it only requires 2 ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream.

Instead of using all semi sweet chocolate as the original recipe called, I substituted half the chocolate with good dark chocolate to add that bitterness and wholeness to the truffle. It came out perfectly! And only took less than 20 minutes to make (not including chilling time) and tasted amazing! Rich and chocolatey, it had the same texture as the chocolate filling (the best bit!) inside a Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

The recipe is super easy to remember as well because everything is a 1/2 cup!

Recipe (makes 20 truffles)

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate (chopped)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Optional for rolling

Cocoa powder
Almonds (Chopped)

Equipment
Heat proof bowl
Whisk
Parchment paper
Baking Tray
Two teaspoons
Cloth

Directions
To make the ganache, place your chocolate int he heat proof bowl and put it aside for later. Heat up the whipping cream over medium heat. Don't boil it just heat it till it's hot. As soon as tiny bubbles start to appear, take it off the heat and pour the hot mixture over the chocolate pieces. Gently whisk it till it's smooth. Don't over whisk the mixture or it will split.


Once it's mixed, cover with a plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for about 3 hours till firm.

If you want to roll your truffles in cocoa powder or almonds. Place whole almonds in a zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to smash it up.

Get some little bowls and fill one with cocoa and the other almonds for you to roll your truffles in.

Remove your ganache from the fridge and using two teaspoons mold the chocolate into little balls. It won't come out perfectly the first time especially if you live in a humid country like I do, as the ganache tends to melt really quickly. But you can always pop them in the fridge to firm up then reshape them again.

Roll your truffle balls into cocoa or almonds and place them onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Pop them into the fridge to firm up and they are good to go!

I placed the ones that I'm going to give away into tiny little paper cups for easy packaging.

Cream of Celery Soup

The clocks have turned back, signifying the beginning of winter and the end of summer! I quite like winter! Because with winter comes soups, roasts, casseroles, anything slow-cooked to keep the chill at bay! I created this hearty soup because...

1. although I like winter, the fact that it gets dark so early depresses me slightly, and a bowl of hearty soup really cheers me up (that and a huge slice of cake!)
2. Celery was on reduce and it was super cheap!

It's perfect to curl up with in front of the TV during those cold dark winter months. I'm not a fan of celery but because it was so cheap I couldn't resist! Nevertheless this soup is really delicious! Boil the celery first to reduce the pungent taste

Cream of Celery Soup
Serves 2

• 150ml of stock (I used homemade pork stock)
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• quarter of an onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 160ml hot milk
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Croutons (optional)
• Parsley (optional)

1. Boil the celery for 3 minutes. Drain.
2. Pour the stock into a large pot, and bring to a boil. Add the celery, carrots, garlic and onion to the pot.
3. Whisk together flour and milk, slowly pour milk mixture into the pot. Add the butter to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Simmer for 10minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend to a puree, then pour into pot to reheat.
5. Top with croutons and parsley and serve with crusty bread!

Enjoy!

Easy Orange Loaf Cake

I have finally christened my new kitchen! Woo! =)

I was feeling restless and decided to do some midnight baking!
This recipe is for a wonderfully moist and fragrant orange cake with an orange drizzle on top. SO GOOD! And perfect to have for tea the next day.
You can always opt not to add in the drizzle or substitute it with any other frosting of your choice. I baked mine in a loaf tin, but it can be baked in a 9inch round tin as well.

Easy Orange Loaf Cake
Serves 6

• 165g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Drizzle

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease loaf pan.2. In a measuring cup, combine milk, orange juice, oil, beaten eggs, lemon juice and orange zest together. Mix well and set aside.
3. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
4. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and orange juice mixture. Stir until smooth.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
6. To make drizzle, combine the sugar, orange juice and orange zest together till it becomes slushy, but not stiff. Pour over the top of the cake and serve.

Enjoy!

Mine all mine =)

Living with flatmates with clashing schedules tends to lead to a 'cook for yourself' system we have established. Truth be told, as much as I enjoy cooking with/ for friends, I honestly love and prefer cooking for and by myself, I find it harder to make dishes for many people than I do for just one. You can afford to be decadent, and as selfish as it sounds, when cooking for one, the only person you have to please is..well...yourself!

Beef Stroganoff for One
Serves 1

• 120g Beef stewing steak, cut into chunks
• 15g butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• half an onion sliced
• 1 very large button mushroom
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a pan, heat oil and melt the butter. fry beef chunks till brown. Season with salt, pepper and paprika
2. Push the beef to one side and stir in the flour with the beef juices. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, then push to the side with the beef chunks.
3. Pour in the beef stock and vinegar, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil then lower the heat, stir in mustard. Then cover and simmer gently for about 30minutes or until meat is tender. If sauce is too thin, stir in cornflour.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream, and white wine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
   Serve with rice or noodles.
   ..enjoy =)

Today I baked...

Almond topped coffee cake

I haven't baked in weeks due to being swamped with work. But its all done now!! =) I made this as a treat to myself and a pick me up for my sister who is swamped with projects now.

This cake can be prepared overnight and stored in fridge to be baked the next morning, so its perfect for those busy mornings. Admittedly I'm not much of a morning person, for some reason my mind and body just don't seem to agree with it haha. I don't have problems waking up, but getting me out of bed is a nightmare. I' m a serial lazer, I have to laze in bed for approximately 45minutes before I'm adequately awake. However THIS morning, the thought of waking up to the smell of cinnamon-y, almond-y goodness got me snip snap out of bed! The sour cream in the recipe is what gives it a wonderful moist texture and it contrasts beautifully with the cracked brown sugar and almond topping.

Almond topped coffee cake
Serves 6

• 85 g butter, softened
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used a mixture of muscado dark sugar and light brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in egg and beat well.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together. Gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Pour mixture into baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, chopped almonds and cinnamon; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Next day. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 170 degrees celcius for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Stir confectioners' sugar and milk together; drizzle over warm coffee cake.
   
   
   Enjoy with a warm mug of coffee =)

The ultimate study meal

So I have been working like a maniac for the last few weeks, cause I have crazy essay deadlines to make next week. I'm actually supposed to be working right now, but I thought I would take a sneaky break to write something other than 'the notion of nostalgia' hee hee. It's so depressing I swear.
Anyway I'm sure most of you students can probably relate to the fact that exam time = crap food and a LOT of eating out and takeaway.
Being a person who prefers to cook at home, this never appealed to me. But because of my tight schedule now, I can only afford to make quick little meals.
Thus I bring you...the bagel sandwich! It's quick, easy and oh so yummy! =) I got the idea when I visited my friend in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, and she brought me to this adorable little bagel shop that did all sorts of awesome bagel concoctions. When I returned to London, Tesco's was having a buy one get one free on all their bagel bags! I took that as a sign haha. So hurry down to your nearest supermarket and pick up a bag!...or two! =)

Grilled red peppers, Brie and garlic ham bagel

Ingredients

• 1/4 red pepper cut into slices
• Brie cheese (or you could use mature cheddar, depending on what you like)
• Butter
• olive oil
• One bagel sliced in half
• Garlic ham (you can use salami, pastrami etc.)

1. Lightly toast the red peppers in the oven for 10minutes with olive oil and a pinch of sugar
2. Butter your bagel, cover bottom bagel with cheese, layer with ham, remove peppers from the oven and layer peppers on top with another sprinkle of cheese.
3. Pop it in the oven to toast for 10minutes
4. Done!

Time to get back to work! =)

Funfact: Did you know that bagels are boiled?! I was so shocked when I found out!