donna hay's milk chocolate chunk muffins

 

 

 

so... I made muffins.

 

i bought this book, Simple Essentials Chocolate by Donna Hay, quite some time ago. when i first got the book i tried this recipe. then...i sorta like *ehem* misplaced the book and sorta like *ehem* forgotten that i even had the book. haha.

 

anyhoo...long story short, i found the book and since i had all the ingredients aaaaaand this is yet another NON-mixer recipe, i decided to give this a go...you know, for class.

 

my take on this muffin is that, if you are a chocolate lover and you don't like your muffins to be on the sweet side, then, this is THE recipe for you. BUT you need to really use good quality cocoa powder and milk chocolate chunk to get the most out of this recipe. i personally like it because the texture is a bit densed, unlike normal muffins...and it has this rich chocolatey flavor minus the sweetness of sugar. this is a winner, for me lah.

 

if you want to know, you trylah... you try, okay? okay!

 

ready for the recipe?

 

 

 

 

you will need: *

2 cups (300g/10½ oz) self-raising flour, sifted 

⅓ cup (40g) cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (220g/7¾ oz)caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅔ cup (160ml) vegetable oil
½ cup (125ml) mil
1 cup chopped milk chocolate **

*i don't know lah this donna hay...i don't know if she uses the US cup measurement or the OZ measurement cup...but bila I tried to convert it is not the same as the metric measurement given in her book. Pening mak temah...what I did was for the flour I used 250g of flour. because when I baked the first batch, the batter was a bit too sticky and thick.

**I chopped up about 200g of milk chocolate.

the how to:
1)  preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)

2)  in a bowl, place the flour, cocoa, baking powder and sugar. mix to combine.

3)  in another bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. whisk these together.

4)  stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.

5)  fold in the chocolate chunks and spoon the mixture into your muffin liners.

6)  bake for 20-25 minutes.

this is a pretty simple and straightforward recipe. no rocket science required. so...I hope you guys will give this a go. kalau tak...rugiiii...sedap wohhhh.

luck luck...and be sure to come back okay?

thanks to:
1)  www.goodreads.com for the book cover image
2)  donna hay's Simple Essentials - Chocolate book for the recipe.

chocolate madeleines

i made madeleines. yesterday. chocolate ones. i didn't make the original ones because i didn't have any of those zesty fruit things to zest and mix in the batter plus i just bought this book by donna hay and saw the recipe and thought that since it looked easy enough, why don't i just give it a try, right?

and plus, the wife was coming over and i had nothing to whip up at the very last minute, so...

i was a bit scared, of course, since it was my first time baking these tiny cakes. i always had the impression that they would be the french version of our 'kuih bahulu' you know?

you can read more about the madeleine, here.

as for what i think about this particular version of the madeleine is that this one is a bit too dry to my liking, but then again, it could be my fault entirely what with this being my first time and all. but, fear not, i will attempt this again, but this time with the original recipe, complete with them zesty fruit things in the batter. hehehehe...

so, anyone interested in this chocolate madeleine recipe? yes?

let's go!!

 

 

you will need:

2 eggs
75g caster sugar
50g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
60g butter, melted

the how to:

1)  preheat the oven to 180°C

2) in a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar till combined.

3) sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder over the egg mixture.

4) then in goes the melted butter and proceed to fold the ingredients till everything is mixed.

5)  spoon the mixture into a pre-greased madeleine tin, about two-thirds full.

6)  bake for 10 minutes or till the madeleines are set.

* i used a mini madeleine pan, so i got about 29 madeleines.

psst, guess what? they taste vanderful with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. hehehehe...you can get the recipe here. ;-)

luck luck you guys!!

recipe taken from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials - Chocolate.
madeleine information courtesy of wikipedia, thank you!
image of donna hay's book, taken from amazon.com, thank you!

wordless wednesday: shower curtain

triple chocolate oreo chunk cookies

oh my. oh my. oh my. oh my. oh my.

i can go on and on and on and on and on...and on... :-p

i haven't been able to think about anything else ever since i saw the cookies here which then led me here. seriously folks...i have been thinking about this recipe for the past 3 days. but because i've been a bit *ehem* occupied, i had to put it on hold till today. TODAY, of all days...today when the day and weather was actually really conducive for vegging out and napping and just doing nothing else...i was watching tv....and knitting (yes, i've started knitting again, and you know what that means, right? eh, you know ke? i oso don't know...aiyer...i'm straying from the topic at hand.) where was i? oh yes, i was watching tv and knitting and all i could think of was the recipe...and so, i cannot tahan already, had to go and say hello to the oven.

preparation was easy peasy because i had everything at hand.

i'm sure you guys would want to know what the taste is like, right? well, it's blardy (hehehe...pardon my french) delicious!!!! the cookie seriously reminds me of a store bought (i tamau mention which storelah...bukan dia bayar i buat endorsement pun, kaaaan???) cookie. haaaaa...only....*jengjengjengggg* (ada je 'only'nyaaa) it's a tad too schweeeeet for my liking. i've already reduced the amount of sugar, but looks like i'm going to have to reduce them some more.

so? anyone interested with the recipe? you want? here goes. as usual, since i'm such a nice girl, i've taken the effort to change everything into metric. kenapalah they all ni tak suka metric? seme orang dah start pakai metric kot???

okay, okay, mak temah tak membebel dah. time for the recipe.

oh, by the way, if you use an ice cream scoop with a 4cm (about 1 ½") diameter you will get 68 cookies. so, what are you waiting for homies? get on with it!!!

you will need:

312.5g all purpose flour (2 ½ cups)
1tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

50g dutch processed cocoa (¾ cup), i used nestle toll house cocoa
227g unsalted butter at room temperature (1 cup)
225g granulated sugar (1 cup)
200g light brown sugar (1 cup)
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
150g chopped white chocolate (1 cup)
150g chopped semi-sweet chocolate (1 cup), i used dark chocolate
100g oreos, or about 10 pieces of oreos, or 1 cup of chopped oreos

the how to:

1)  pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

2)  sift all dry ingredients together, set aside.

3)  cream the butter, both sugars till smooth and then add the eggs one by one.

4)  next in goes the vanilla and mix till blended.

5)  slowly add in the flour mixture. mix till the flour disappear.

6)  then stir in the chopped ingredients. (i didn't use Giant for this)

7)  drop by rounded tablespoons. (i used my ice cream scoop - smallest size)

8)  bake for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE, capische???

9)  remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes.



i totally blame technology for my ugly handwriting. :-p


recipe source:  www.twopeasandtheirpod.com , thank you!!!

i thought i

taw a puddy tat.. i did! i did!!! remember that line? okay if you guys remember that line then you and i are from the same *ehem* era...BUT! if you don't know what i'm talking about, then...errr...then, there's always mr.google. hoccay?

i received a special request to make these with white chocolate. so being one always up to any kind of challenge (we are still talking about me, right? miahahaha) i accepted the challenge. *macamler susah sangat senah oiiii....tukar jelah cengklatnya* but instead of spongebob, she wanted tweety bird edible image to be on top of the chocolate. little did i know that the challenge would be to look for these edible images of the (once) famous tweety bird. dah pupus dah. i went to five bake shops but none had them, luckily there are people online that can print them on edible sheets. hah!

so, dearest orel, i hope that special someone love these and that you guys will have a blast celebrating her birthday. :-) eh, you want me to sing ah? :-p



chocolate covered oreos

for emraan.

i made these once for a friend's son's birthday and thought why not make some for emraan's belated birthday celebration today. it's going to be a double celebration, so i heard. hahahaahahaha!! *laughing frantically like a lunatic means, i am still NOT ready for tomorrow, so, let's all laugh together, shall we?* hahahahahaha!!!!!

FYI, i didn't go to any formal chocolate making classes. whatever i learnt, i learnt from my friend tini (thank you for the tips fren, really appreciate it) and also, of course from everybody's friend, MrYouTube. for this particular thing (i don't think this classifies as a 'dish', right?) i went through mrGoogle and found the tutorial here. but instead of using chocolate transfer sheets, i used edible printouts that people usually stick on top of cupcakes.

i also did not use my microwave to melt the chocolate instead i used this little thingamajig. pretty handy, i tell you.

all in all, i had fun making these and i will definitely make more for future birthdays or just because. hehehe...

as for my darling emraan...happy belated birthday. semoga emraan menjadi anak yang soleh, diberikan kesihatan yang baik dan berjaya di dunia dan di akhirat.

ummi and pak lang LOVE you! muahhhh!!!

tutorial source: http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/

M.I.S-S.I.S-S.I.P.P.I mud cake

M.I.S-S.I.S-S.I.P.P.I (please use the Mickey Mouse Club theme song melody when you spell). hehehe...it is only befitting that i dedicate this cake i made today, to the friend who taught me how to spell Mississippi. (i still use the melody when i spell it okay...haha). Puan Ave Haryati, thank you so much. because of you, i can spell mississippi (still, with the melody in my head)

and also to a very special friend whose birthday is today. ita, happy birthday! i wish you could enjoy a slice of this cake with me...tapi, i'm sure you're enjoying yourself even more, wherever you are. Muahhh!!

my mum came over today, with my future sister-in-law...sporting kan mak-mak sekarang...siap boleh berjalan dengan future daughter-in-law lagi. jaman den dulu...jangan harap dot com dot my.

roomie and i have been feeling a bit under the weather for the past week now, but since i have HannaH with me...under the weather or not, antidott still needs to put up a brave front and make sure that our precious niece is happy and well entertained. but, this post is not about that. it's about my baking mojo. it disappeared about a month ago. seriously. i don't know where it went to. i just don't feel like baking anything. but today, since my mum came with ain (the future sister-in-law) i decided to jumpstart my baking mood. what better way to do it, than to bake something with chocolate in it. yes? yes!!

i got the recipe from the 500 Chocolate Delights book...for those of you who know me, you'd know i really swear by this book, because most of the time, the recipes in these books will never fail you.

needless to say, the cake was a hit! it is super chocolatey, super moist and super yummy. it's not too sweet. it's just nice. half of the cake 'disappeared' minutes after it came out of the oven. *i obviously didn't take the instruction to cool the cake for 10 minutes before serving advice seriously.* i mean, seriously? who could resist a slice or, two or three of warm chocolate cake on a cool rainy day, right?

i am very happy that the cake turned out exactly like i imagined it to be. what a way to coax my baking mojo to come back. kan? *eh, banyak pulak orang sakit ni mengomel*

anyways, you guys ready for the recipe?

ready? set? go!!

you will need:

250g (9 oz) unsalted butter

175g (6 oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces

340g (12 oz) light brown sugar

300ml (10 fl oz) hot water

1 tbsp instant coffee, i used a sachet of Nescafe Gold

200g (7 oz) plain flour*

55g (2 oz) self-raising flour*

55g (2oz) Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 eggs, beaten

icing sugar to dust

the how to:

1)  preheat oven to 160°C (325°F/gas mark 3).

2)  grease a 23cm (9 in) square cake tin and line with parchment paper. i didn't have a 9 in bla bla bla, so i used a round 8 in cake tin.

3)  place the butter, chocolate, sugar, water and coffee in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat until melted. stir until the mixture is smooth, then cool for 15 minutes.

4)  transfer the cooled chocolate mixture to a bowl, sift in the flour and cocoa and stir in the eggs.

5)  using an electric whisk, beat until smooth. (i used the help of Giant for this)

6)  pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours

7)  transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (sorry, didn't exactly follow this)
:-p

8)  dust with icing sugar and slice to serve.

9)  store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. (i don't think the cake will last this long because it is SO sedap!)

*i didn't have any self-raising flour, so what i did was i used 255g of plain flour, but added 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of baking soda.

this recipe is definitely a keeper. it's delish and easy to make. aaaand will taste even better with a scope of vanilla ice cream or even some whipped cream. but, i didn't have any. so, i served the cake just as it is and it's just as good. if you guys don't believe me, then...get crackin'!!!

till next time. have a fantastic weekend!!!

recipe source: 500 Chocolate Delights by lauren floodgate
mickey mouse theme song taken from youtube. thanz horrr...

peanut butter bombs

a.k.a homemade pieces of heaven :-p

i was talking to a friend the other day about how you can make your own version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...although, obviously, the taste is not exactly the same, but it's similar. bolehlahhhh...bak kata orang melayu, kan?

if you look at the watermark on the photo, it was taken some time in 2010. that was the last time i made these. maybe because it's a little bit time consuming to produce these babies...but believe you me, it is well worth it. betul! mak temah tak tipu!!!

so? you want in on the recipe? yes? okaylah...because i'm such a nice person *barf*, i will let you in on the recipe. before that, let me just thank Pook from dailydelicious.blogspot.com because this was where i got the recipe from. thank you once again Pook, your recipes rock!!

okay, everybody ready? let's go!!

you will need:

225g milk chocolate, melted and tempered for lining and sealing the cups, i used dark chocolate

130g smooth peanut butter

30g icing sugar, sifted

60g butter, soft at room temperature

30g milk chocolate, melted. once again, i used dark chocolate

pinch of salt

the how to:

well, the ever so helpful Pook has even prepared a step-by-step method as to how you can do this...so, here it.

enjoy you guys!!

p/s: this font too small for you or not ah?

recipe source: Pook's blog, www.dailydelicious.blogspot.com thank you Pook!!

image of reese's peanut butter cups taken from www.hersheys.com thank you hershey's!

brownie tart

the family (minus the brother) came over for lunch yesterday and for dessert, instead of baking the normal chocolate cake, i decided to go for something different. lo and behold! my first ever any kind of tart, that turned out to be a 'tart' because i started the day on the wrong side of the kitchen (read: robot malfunction) and wasn't in the mood to do anything anyways, but, since i woke up with every intention to bake, i cannot disappoint myself. *to hell with the robot!*

so, here, my first ever any kind of tart, called the brownie tart, served with freshly whipped, whipped cream...if you can call it that. i think i might have overbeaten the cream a tad because i found that it had somewhat separated, but tastewise, it was the samelah. only thing i should've stopped when i saw the soft peaks coming out...but, i didn't because i was angry...bla bla bla...lesson learnt, (a) don't whip any kind of cream when angry, (b) don't bake and (c) try to minimise on the anger. haha...!!

i took the recipe from one of my 500 series book called 500 pies and tarts, by rebecca baugniet.

alright friends, i shall now give you guys the recipe:

ingredients:
70g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
85g unsweetened chocolate
85g unsalted butter
225g granulated sugar, i used castor sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
115g fresh raspberries (seriously? i didn't put any...)

the how to:
1)  preheat oven to 175°C (350°F/gas mark 4).

2)  in a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. set aside.

3)  in a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring to combine, remove from heat and stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla.

4)  add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. turn them mixture into a greased 24cm (9½ in) tart tin and bake for 20 minutes.

5)  transfer to wire ract to cool.

6)  garnish with fresh (fresh? seriously???) raspberries and serve with whipped cream.

here's the recipe for the whipped cream...

basic whipped cream
what you'll need:

235ml whipping cream, i had a 200ml box of whipping cream meant for *ehem* macarons waiting in the fridge and i used that one. :-p

1 tbsp icing sugar, i had to add a bit more

the how to:
1)  with an electric whisk, beat the cream in a large bowl until frothy.

2)  add the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form and the cream has double in volume. (this is when you STOP!)

3)  do not overbeat. (o-kaaaayyy)

4)  whipped cream can be prepared up to 4 hours in advance.

there you have it ladies and gentlemen, my first ever any kind of tart.

enjoy!

i took the recipe book image from: www.cook-books.com.au