Thursday, December 29, 2011

Would Nutella Taste Good?


Just thinking about what to write for today’s post about Nutella is already making me salivate. Nutella newbies are always wondering what they can do with this dreamy chocolate hazelnut spread. Well for starters, anything that you typically put chocolate on will taste a billion times better with Nutella. If you’ve ever seen their commercial, the company tries to sell it as an additive to breakfast. I don’t think Nutella is a very healthy way to start the morning, but it will taste phenomenal on bread, bagels, waffles, pancakes, French toast, crepes, muffins, etc.

But we all know that sweet and salty go together better than Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries. Nutella and pretzels? Match made in heaven. Potato chips? Absolutely. Just don’t choose BBQ. That’s just weird. Stick with plain. Another favorite combination of mine is to make a sandwich out of Nutella and raspberry preserve. It’s like dessert for lunch. Probably isn’t very healthy at all now that I think about.

And while we’re on the topic of sandwiches, spread some peanut butter on one side with banana slices and you have pure delight for lunch. Add it to mixtures that call for chocolate, such as brownies and cakes. It will make a wonderful substitute. Everything tastes good with a little Nutella love, except meat and fish…

Sunday, December 25, 2011

The Most Expensive Desserts

Sure it’s great to have a nice hearty meal, but what’s a nice meal without the perfect dessert to end the night? There’s nothing better than being able to enjoy something sweet and tasty: cake, cookies, pie, pudding, or anything else- as long as it has sugar in it. When you indulge in sweet desserts, you might worry about a costly dental bill in your future… but, how about the price of the dessert itself?
There aren’t many people who can afford to, or who would want to, spend thousands of dollars on a dessert. However, if you are insanely rich (or just insane?), here is a list of ten desserts you should order. The rest of us will sit here watering out of our mouths and eyes from the hefty price tags.
Who’d have ever thought a sweet tooth could be so expensive:

10. Noka Chocolate, Vintage Collection $854 per pound
Probably the simplest dessert on the list, the Vintage Collection provided by Noka Chooclate comes in at an expensive $854 per pound. The chocolate that is sold by this company is well known for being delicious and one of the finest made in the entire world. Noka uses all different types of cocoa from places such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Cote d’Ivoire, and Trinidad. The chocolates that are provided in the Vintage Collection are all of the dark variety, each of them made with at least 75% cocoa. If you’re new to such high class chocolate, Noka even provides flavor profiles as well as tasting guidelines. Each box is packaged in the classic Noka design.

9. Golden Opulence Sundae $1,000
Made of the best of the best, the Golden Opulence Sundae, provided by New York City restaurant Serendipity 3, will add $1000 to your bill. The sundae was created in order to celebrate Serendipity’s 50th Anniversary- otherwise known as the golden anniversary. The restaurant says that they only sell about one of these sundaes a month, but any sale is better than none, right? Known as the world’s most expensive sundae, the Golden Opulence is made with 5 scoops of Tahitian Vanilla Bean ice cream mixed with Madagascar vanilla and Venezuelan Chuao chocolate and topped off with a leaf covered in 23K edible gold. There are also other ingredients, including gold dragets, Paris candied fruits, marzipan cherries, and truffles. To top it all off, one of the world’s most expensive chocolates (Amedei Porcelana) is drizzled over the top and a Ron Ben-Israel sugar flower is properly placed. On top of the sundae you’ll also find a small glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, sweetened with orange, passion fruit, and Armagnac, which gives off a shiny golden color. You even get to eat the sundae in style: an 18K gold spoon is provided to eat your delicious treat out of a Harcourt crystal goblet.

8. The Brownie Extraordinaire $1,000
Yo can try this dessert next time you’re on the East Coast of the U.S.- if you’re willing to dish out $1,000. The Brownie Extraordinaire is sold at Brule, a restaurant in the Tropicana Resort located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But, this isn’t just any brownie. It’s made out of dark chocolate that is then covered with Italian hazelnuts and served with a scoop of ice cream. Along with the sweet dessert, customers are also given a very rare and highlyexpensive port wine, Quinta do Novel Nicional, from Portugal. The wine is poured and served in a St. Louis Crystal atomizer. Although a brownie may not seem like a very lavish dessert, adding the rare glass of wine most definitely spices things up. And, if you’re a really big spender, you can choose to spend $15,000 on a Valentine’s Day package at Tropicana Resorts, which includes a hotel stay, romantic dinners, and of course the Brownie Extraordinaire.

7. The Sultan’s Golden Cake $1,000
If you’ve ever wanted to try an edible brick of gold, this dessert is definitely for you. It’s available at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel located in Istanbul, for the hefty price of $1,000. The cake is made of figs, pears, apricot, and quince that are then put into a Jamaican Rum and soaked for two years. To finish, the cake is topped with French Polynesia vanilla bean, caramel, black truffles, and a 24 carat gold leaf. It is said that the cake takes about 72-hours to make. Once it is ready to be served, it is placed inside a sterling silver cake box with a golden seal. However, the cake is usually only made per request: usually for a wedding, celebration, or for a sultan himself.

6. Macaroons Haute Couture $7,414
Macaroons aren’t too hard to find in today’s world. They are simply two meringue puffs that are held together with butter cream. They are most popular in France, and you can usually find them for a reasonable price for such a tasty dessert. However, French pastry chef, Pierre Herme, has cooked up a new and more expensive type of macaroons. The price tag at $7,414 definitely makes these macaroons not as attractive to everyone as the original recipe. Herme says that he offers a large variety of ingredients that have elevated the costs. A customer is able to choose ingredients such as balsamic vinegar, fleur de sel, red wine, peanut butter, and anything else you can think of putting between your two meringue puffs. Not all of the macaroons are this expensive, but if you choose the right ingredients, be prepared to dish out $7,000.

5. The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence $14,500
They say food presentation is very important, and when it comes to the Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence, there is no doubt. In Sri Lanka, stilt fishing has become a very popular tradition that has been around for decades. The dessert pays special tribute to this pastime by portraying a stilt fishing scene made of delicious ingredients, including chocolate, exotic fruit, and Irish cream. The dish is served with a mango and pomegranate compote. It portrays a fisherman, carved out of chocolate, hanging onto the stilt. Underneath the fisherman is a perfectly placed 80 carat aquamarine. It sits on a tiny sliver of chocolate to fully represent the fisherman’s stilt. Those who order the dessert get to keep the jewel, but as of now, no one has forked out the money. The Fortress was first unveiled at the Wine3 Fisherman Stilt restaurant in Sri Lanka.

4. Frrrozen Haute Chocolate $25,000
Another Serendipity 3 dessert, the Frrozen Haute Chocolate is definitely a drink that no one will ever forget. At the price of $25,000, you can enjoy the frozen drink with the consistency of a slushy that contains a variety of cocoas from over 14 countries, milk, and of course 5 grams of 24-carat. To top it off, there’s a dollop of whipped cream and La Madeline au Truffle shavings. To ensure your money’s worth, the “Haute” cold dessert comes in a goblet that is banded with gold and decorated with diamonds: 1 carat of them, along with a take-home golden spoon. In 2007 the dessert was named the most expensive dessert in the world and was put into the Guinness World Records, but the price-tag has since been surpassed. In any case, would you want to pay $25,000 for slushy hot cocoa?

3. Platinum Cake $130,000
Created by a Japanese pastry chef named Nobue Ikara, the Platinum Cake rings in at the tiny price of $130,000, and is any platinum lover’s dream. The cake is decorated with plain white frosting and then draped with everything platinum, including chains, necklaces, pins, pendants, and even foils made of platinum that are edible. Ikara crafted the cake in dedication to many women, including Rinko Kikuchi, as well as in order to persuade more women to wear platinum. The cake was showcased by Platinum Guild International, a company encouraging more and more people to buy platinum jewelry, despite the record high rates for precious metals these days. The cake hasn’t been sold and the company has no idea whether it will be sold or not, but they do know it is worth more than many can afford. But, at least you get the chance to have your platinum cake, eat it, and wear it too. What a steal!

2. Strawberries Arnaud $1.4 million
As we’ve all heard, things are not always what they seem, and this saying applies to the Strawberries Arnaud perfectly. If you go to Arnaud’s restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter, you see nothing more than a bowl of strawberries topped with cream and mint. Yet, somehow they are worth $1.4 million? Look a bit harder and you’ll find a one-of-a-kind 4.7-carat pink diamond once belonging to Sir Ernest Cassel, an English royal finance advisor. Not only do you get delicious strawberries and a nice ring, the dessert comes with white-glove servers who provide wine out of a wine set worth $24,850, and of course there’s live jazz music. I mean, who would eat a $1.4 million dessert without music in the background? In any case, I say stick to your own strawberries and cream and a 25 cent plastic ring. She’ll never know the difference.

1. Diamond Fruitcake $1.65 million
For many of us, Christmas is all about spending time with family, enjoying a nice meal, and of course spending money on gifts for everyone. But, would you be daring enough to dish about $1.65 million for cake? Even better…could you afford it without having a nice overdraft fee in your bank account? Probably not; however, one pastry chef in Tokyo decided that his cake was worth this exorbitant amount of money. The chef decided to auction off the cake on Christmas Day at an exhibit entitled Diamonds: Nature’s Miracle. The chef took about 6 months to design the cake and an entire month to finish it and have it ready to be sold. 223 small diamonds are located throughout the exterior of the cake. Except for the diamonds, the rest of the cake is fully edible. This seems like a nice gift for your wife. “Here honey, have your cake and eat it too, just watch for all the diamonds”. But what woman doesn’t like diamonds, even if they are half-way covered in icing and not set in gold?

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How To Bake Low Carb Cakes


Low carb baking tips
Lowering the carb count of baked goods requires a few easy recipe modifications. Though it is impossible to tastefully create a cookie, cake or other baked dessert with zero carbs, you can significantly reduce them with the following tips.
Cut the sugar
Even though sugar is all carbs – and simple quickly digested carbs at that – it does serve a significant function in baked goods. Sugar provides the expected sweetness of desserts as well as leavening, color, and the moistness that makes cookies, cakes and quick breads melt in your mouth.
However, in addition to simply cutting the sugar in half (with most recipes, you won’t even notice a taste difference), you can opt for sugar substitutes, which are typically even sweeter than sugar and provide few, if any, carbohydrates. Be sure that the sugar alternatives you use are actually made for baking – read the label for appropriate substitution.
Find a lower-carb flour
With the vast array of low carb cookie, cake, pie crust and quick bread mixes, you can make your low carb holiday baking a breeze.
If, on the other hand, baking from scratch is an integral part of your holiday spirit, find low carb versions of your favorite recipes, many of which substitute soy flour, whole wheat flour or even almond flour for all purpose flour.
You can also lower the carb count by using your traditional recipes and substituting one-fourth to one-third of the all purpose flour with soy, whole wheat or almond flour.
Another option is to look for flour-less desserts recipes (for example, flourless chocolate cake or chocolate torte) but make sure they are also lower in sugar.
Lower-carb substitutions
For baked goods that call for chocolate chips, substitute low carb chocolate morsels.
Replace part or all of the dried fruit with finely chopped fresh fruit (be sure to pat it dry or the juice will make the texture soggy). You can also replace part of the dried fruit with chopped nuts.
For recipes that call for candy – like candy cane brownies or peanut butter cup cookies – use low carb or sugar-free candy.
Cheesecake is an excellent low carb (and very decadent!) dessert. Replace the graham cracker crust with a crushed low carb variety of cookie or substitute half of the crushed cookie with finely chopped nuts or almond flour. For the filling, substitute an equivalent amount of alternative sweetener for the sugar.
When recipes call for freshly whipped cream, omit the sugar – the dessert itself will be sweet enough – or replace it with an equivalent sugar substitute.

Friday, December 16, 2011

How To Make Cheesecake

I’ve been in the process of perfecting a baked cheesecake recipe and I won’t be changing it much more after this latest version.
When I say ‘perfecting’, I mean to my personal taste…meaning a substantial, flavoursome base, New-York-type real vanilla cheesecake with some density in its texture but not too claggy (so it’s still refreshing), with an element of tartness, in this case raspberries.
My plan was to develop a gluten-free base as an option but this turned out so well I’m not saving it for necessary dietary requirements! It just proves how working within limited parameters can sometimes be a positive thing. Click on more to see the recipe…
Ingredients (for an 8″ cheesecake)
Gluten Free Base:
Ingredients:
75g Buckwheat Flour
40g Cornflour
75g Chestnut Flour
60g Light Muscavado Sugar
Pinch of Salt
100g Butter (room temperature / slightly softened)
75g Butter (melted - this is to mix with the above mixture after it’s baked)
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3
Mix the dry ingredients together and rub in the 100g Butter until a crumbly mix forms which you could form into a ball and roll out as biscuits or pastry if you wanted to, but leave it in crumble / streusel form for this.
Spread the crumble onto a lightly greased or lined baking tray and bake for about 7 minutes before taking it out and stirring around a bit to ensure fairly even baking. Return to the oven for another 7 minutes or until the crumble is just getting crunchy without burning.
Allow the crumble to cool for at least an hour before making into the base.
To make into the cheesecake base, put the crumble into a food processor and process just enough to make an uneven ‘rubble’. Add the melted butter and process one pulse at-a-time until combined.
Line an 8″/20cm loose-bottomed sponge tin with baking parchment (or butter wrappers) so that the parchment extends an inch or so above the top (the cheesecake’s quite deep).
Press the Base mixture into the bottom of the tin.
Cheesecake Mix:
700g Medium Fat Soft Cheese (eg Philadelphia - not the reduced fat version though)
150g Soured Cream
175g Unrefined Caster Sugar
25g Cornflour
2 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
A generous handful of frozen raspberries.
Method:
Set oven at 150C/300F/Gas2.
Put the Soft Cheese, Soured Cream and Caster Sugar in a food processor and mix until smooth. Srape down the sides.
Sprinkle the Cornflour over the top of the mix and process until blended.
Add the Eggs and Vanilla and process until blended. Scrape down the sides and process for another few seconds.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared base.
Scatter some frozen Raspberries on the top.
Bake for about an hour - the cheesecake should be just set but retain a slight wobble in the centre which will firm up as it cools.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Van Houten Chocolate Cake Recipe

Van Houten Chocolate cake, anyone? If you are looking for a tried and tested recipe for chocolate cake, you might want to try this out. This chocolate cake recipe is actually modified from the scroll cake recipe. Medium moist, light and buttery, it makes you want to have another piece once you’ve eaten one. Van Houten Cocoa Powder is used in this recipe. If you can’t find it, you might also want to try the Tudor brand. As for butter, we use Golden Churn brand. SCS butter is also a good substitute.
To prevent sticking, ensure that the baking pan is well greased with butter followed by dusting with flour. Cool the cake over a rack before storing.
Oh, in case you were wondering, the Van Houten Chocolate Cake is on the foreground. The other pieces of cakes are the famous Sarawak Layer Cake (Kuih Lapis Sarawak). Looks good, don’t they?
But for now, let me share with you the recipe for Van Houten Chocolate Cake :-
Ingredients
10 oz. Butter
10 oz. Castor Sugar
7 ½ oz. Flour
1 oz. Cocoa Powder
8 Eggs (separate egg yolks from egg whites)
2 ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
Method
Beat butter and sugar for 8 minutes (or until white).
Add egg yolks one by one and continue beating for another 10 minutes.
Fold in flour sifted with cocoa powder and baking powder (sifted 2 to 3 times).
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and add it to the butter mixture.
Pour mixture onto a baking tray (8″ inch, square tin)
Bake in a 300°F (or 150°C) oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Chocolate Dessert Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
1 orange, zested
1/2 cup roasted pistachios
4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely grated
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the noodles for 1 minute. Drain them and put them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and lay on paper towels to dry.
Whisk together the ricotta, sugar, cocoa powder, and eggs on medium speed with a hand or stand mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until it is well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and orange zest. Spread 1/4 of the cheese mixture into the bottom of an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle some of the pistachios over the top and press on a layer of noodles. Repeat, ending with the ricotta mixture and pistachios. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the lasagna has risen. Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle the white chocolate over it. Let cool, cut, and serve.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

How To Make Pine Nut Biscotti

How to make Pine Nut Biscotti - Italian Dessert Recipe? These are the ultimate dunking cookies: Italian wedges baked twice to become very hard, just waiting to be dipped into a sweet dessert wine like Vin Santo; although i also seen them dunked in red wine in Italy. The sugar is added to the dry ingredients, not beaten with the wet, to create a drier, crisper cookie. Pine nuts are soft, so a little cornmeal in the dough gives these biscotti extra crunch. Makes about 48 biscotti. Ingredients and easy directions:
PINE NUT BISCOTTI - ITALIAN DESSERT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS :
2/3 cup pine nuts
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brandy
DIRECTIONS :
Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet set over medium-low heat; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Set aside while you make the batter.
Whisk the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the eggs and brandy in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined but not fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn the beaters off, add the fl our mixture, and beat at low speed until a soft but crumbly and dry dough forms
Scrape down and remove the beaters. Work the toasted pine nuts into the batter with a wooden spoon.
Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour, then turn the dough out onto it. Knead until smooth and the pine nuts are evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. Divide the dough in half and roll each half under your palms into a 12-inch-long log.
Place each log on a separate baking sheet and bake in the top and bottom thirds of the oven for 10 minutes. Reverse the sheets top to bottom and continue baking until firm, lightly browned, and a little puffed, about 15 more minutes.
Remove the sheets from the oven and cool the logs on them for 30 minutes. (Maintain the oven's temperature.)
Transfer the logs to your work surface and use a serrated knife to slice them into 1/2-inch-thickpieces, cutting on the diagonal to get long, oblong biscotti. Place these cut side down on the baking sheets.
Return them to the oven to bake for 5 minutes. Remove them from the oven, flip all the cookies over to the other cut side, reverse the sheets top to bottom, and continue baking until dry and crunchy, about 5 more minutes.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

Hey everyone! I've got a yummy new recipe to share! These were awesome. They really do have the texture of a brownie, even though they're not your typical all chocolate brownie. I used chunky peanut butter, which gave them the addition of peanuts, which was great along with the chocolate chips. You can use regular, it's whatever you prefer. They're not only yummy, but they are also super easy to make! They are one of my favorite kinds of recipes: ONE BOWL! Who's with me there? Next time you're looking for an easy treat, whip these up!
Ingredients
cups Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, melted
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Preparation
1
In large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter or margarine, peanut butter, vanilla, and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Spread batter into a greased pan and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.