Cupcakes de Sant Jordi

INGREDIENTS makes 6
65 g butter soft at room temperature
60 g chocolate
75 g sugar
75 g flour
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
60 ml whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180º  and prepare the cupcake tin.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Set aside and let it cold completely.

Sift the flour and the baking powder in a separate bowl. Cream the butter and the sugars until fluffy. Whisk in the egg and beat until well combined. Add the chocolate and mix it. Finally dd the flour alterning with the milk and beat on low speed until combined.
Divide the mixture between the cupcakes cases. Bake 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out dry. Remove from the oven, let them in the tin for 5 minutes and finally let them cool completely in a wire rack before decorating.

For the decoration I used a buttercream with some drops of rose essence and red coloring. 

Happy day  ♥♥♥

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Last Sunday I had visitors for the afternoon tea and I needed a quick recipe and immediately I thought about this cake which is really fast to do and the best it has only 4 ingredients. First time I did it I did not realize that would got directly to my top 10 recipe list. I just love it, as well as everybody who tasted it. It has a texture and flavor very similar to a brownie and it is delicious gluten-free choice. The fudgy and moist inside texture contrast with the edges and the crispy of the cover.   

I hope you enjoy it too!

INGREDIENTS makes a 23 cm tin
225g good quality dark chocolate chopped, I used 65%
100g unsalted butter
175g icing sugar, sifted
4 large eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 180º  and prepare a loose-bottomed 23 cake tin.
Melt the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl in a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Set aside and let it cold completly.

Whisk the egg yolks and the icing sugar together until fluffy and creamy. Fold in the melted and cooled chocolate and beat until incorporated.

In a separate large bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites gently and gradually into the mixture, in three times. 

Pour the batter in the greased tin and bake for 30 minutes, until the top is slightly cracked but it is still sticky in the center. Do not overbake otherwise your cake will turn dry. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before removing the tin.

Sprinkle with sifted icing sugar or cocoa powder. Serve with whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream or just like this :D

I found this recipe in this wonderful blog.

I do not know how long you can keep it, actually it never takes more than 2 days at home, I think you will not resist as well. Covered at room temperature will taste the same the day after baked. I've tried other versions of this recipe, but definitely this is the perfect one for my taste, other alternatives use too many eggs for my opinion, also sometimes cocoa powder. I think the essence of this cake is the fudgy and moist which gives the melted chocolate and if the cocoa is a good quality one it will not be necessary to add extra chocolate flavor. Just try it and let me know!

Enjoy ♥♥♥

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

I was looking forward to make this recipe since I bought the last book of Marian Keyes. To everybody who doesn't know who Marian Keyes is, you must know that all her previous books are novels. I read all of them, so for me was a big surprise to know she wrote a cook book.

I love these kind of biscottis and specially these ones combining the crunchy of the dough and the nuts with the softness of the chocolate. To make them you will need a spoon of a nut oil. The author uses pistachio, in my case I put hazelnut oil which it's easy to find it here in any store. But if you can not find it out, don't worry you can use instead just normal olive oil.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BISCOTTI makes 12-14
120 g all-purpouse flour
75 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cocoa powder
25 g butter cold and cubed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon hazelnut oil (or olive oil)
40 g crushed hazelnuts
50 g chocolate 70% crushed

Preheat the oven to 160º and prepare a tray with baking sheet.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa, add the sugar and the butter and knead it well using your hands, you can also use an electric mixer. Mix until butter has disappeared. It will look like sand.

Beat the egg and the oil, add it to the mixture and mix it well. Add the hazelnut and the chocolate and knead it until combined.

Divide dough in half and make two cylinder on a floured surface, about 25 cm large. Press it, they must be about 5 cm width.

Bake them 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and using a serrated knife cut it, separate them from each other. Watch out the dough is fragile and very hot. Turn down the oven to 150º and put back the for 10 minutes until biscotti are crisp and golden.

Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

Store biscotti in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Recipe adapted from Marian Keyes Cook Book.

Enjoy your week ♥♥♥

Old-fashioned Sugar Cookies

I hope all of you are recovered from the Easter holidays and you enjoyed it with your relatives and friends. My week was quiet, so was perfect for baking time and enjoy the nice weather we are having these days in the Netherlands. Even with the cold and sometimes the hard wind the sky looks sunny and gorgeous, I love it! Today I want to share with you these easy and yummy cookies. They are so easy and quick to make, and probably you have all the ingredients at home. They slightly have a lemon taste, but you can add more lemon if you rather wish a stronger lemon taste. 

INGREDIENTS makes 12
190 g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
170 g granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling
30 g light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
110 g unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160º. Sift the flour, the baking soda and the salt, set aside.

Mix the sugars and the lemon zest, add the butter and mix on a medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, beat and add the lemon juice. Finally reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture gradually and mix just until incorporated.

Make balls of 5 cm using an ice cream scoop ot two spoons and place them on the baking sheet. Gently flatten each ball of dough and sprinkle with sugar. Brush them with a wet pastry brush and sprinkle again some more sugar.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completly.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Enjoy your week ♥♥♥