Thursday 31 December 2015

Lady Fingers Sponge Cake

Lady Fingers Sponge Cake

             Ingredients                                            Yield: Will fill an average baking sheet

  • 8                     Egg Yolks
  • 5ml (1 Tsp)      Vanilla Extract
  • 75g (1/3 Cup)   Sugar
  • 8                      Egg Whites
  •     (1/4 Tsp)      Cream of Tartar
  • 115g (1/2 Cup)  Sugar
  • 225g (2 Cups)    Flour

             Instructions
  1. In a bowl add egg yolks, vanilla and sugar (1/3 cup).
  2. Mix until it becomes really silky and smooth.
  3. In a different bowl add you egg whites and cream of tartar.
  4. Mix until the egg whites become foamy, then add your sugar (1/2 cup).
  5. Mix until egg whites form soft peaks. 
  6. Alternately mix in flour and egg white mixture into your egg whites.
  7. Scoop the batter into a piping bag and pipe onto a lined baking sheet. Fill the whole sheet if you can and pipe into strips. One touching the other. Or you can bake them into 3-inch individual strips.
  8. Bake in a 375 F oven for 12 minutes. 
  9. Remove from the oven and cool. 
  10. Once cooled you can remove it from the baking sheet. 
  11. Cut into desired shapes and use in layered desserts like, tiramisu, triffle, etc... 

Check out the video!
https://youtu.be/jE-rbvLsftI

Sunday 27 December 2015

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread Cookies

                    Ingredients                                                      Yield: 1 Dozen
  • 225g (1 Cup)         Softened Butter
  • 60g (1/4 Cup)       Sugar
  • 175g (1 1/4 Cups) Flour
  • 1 Tsp                   Vanilla Extract

                    Instructions
  1. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. 
  2. Add the vanilla extract and mix until blended.
  3. Gradually add the flour and mix well. You may want to start mixing with your hands, as the dough is very crumbly. 
  4. Knead the dough on a clean surface until it is smooth and stays together. 
  5. Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut out the cookies. Don't be surprised if some of them crumble, just be very delicate. 
  6. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies begin to turn lightly golden. 
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool. 
  8. Enjoy!

Check out the video! 

Saturday 19 December 2015

Homemade Eggnog

Homemade Eggnog

                      Ingredients                                               Yield: 1.75 L
  • 8                           Egg Yolks
  • 200g (1 Cup)          Sugar
  • 750ml (3 Cups)       Whole Milk
  • 500ml (2 Cups)       Heavy cream
  • 180ml (3/4 Cups)   Dark Rum
  • 180ml (3/4 Cups)   Brandy
  • 8                           Egg Whites
  • Sprinkle                 Grated Nutmeg                  
                     Instructions 
  1. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until the sugar somewhat dissolves and becomes silky and creates ribbons when you drizzle the mixture from the whisk.
  2. Gradually add the rum until the mixture is thin and easier to whisk. Then add the brandy. 
  3. Whisk in the milk and then cream. 
  4. If you'd like you can add a bit of nutmeg to the eggnog, or you can leave it for the garnish when it is served. 
  5. Pour your eggnog into clean glass bottles or containers. 
  6. You can either leave it in the fridge to ferment for at least to a week (recommended, just check every week of fermenting to ensure that it has not soured), or you can serve it right away. 
  7. If you decided to ferment the eggnog, make sure that you shake the bottle every few days to ensure it stays fresh. 
  8. When serving your eggnog, first whisk your egg whites to a soft peak. Then mix in your eggnog. 
  9. Gently fold until the mixture is rather frothy. 
  10. Carefully pour into a glass, and grate the fresh nutmeg on top. 
  11. Serve and enjoy!

Check out the video! 

Thursday 17 December 2015

Royal Icing

Royal Icing

                    Ingredients                                            Yield: 4 Cups
  • 4                     Egg Whites
  • 400g (4 Cups)   Icing Sugar
  • 5ml (1 Tsp)      Vanilla Extract

                    Instructions
  1. Whisk egg whites until foamy. 
  2. Add vanilla extract.
  3. Add the icing sugar gradually. 
  4. Mix until well blended. 
  5. If you find the icing is not thick enough, add more icing sugar until you find the right consistency. 

Check out the video!

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House

                    Ingredients                                              Yield: Approx. 2 Doz Cookies
  • 280g (1 1/4 Cup)           Butter
  • 205g (1 Cup)                 Brown Sugar
  • 5g (1 Tsp)                     Baking Soda
  • 4g (1 Tsp)                     Ground Ginger
  • 5g (1 Tsp)                     Ground Cinnamon
  • 2                                  Eggs
  • 280g (3/4 Cups+2 Tbsp) Molasses
  • 620g (5 Cups)                Flour

                      Instructions
  1. Beat the butter in a mixture until smooth.
  2. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy.
  3. Add eggs one at a time until they are all mixed in. 
  4. Add the spices, baking soda and molasses. Blend until incorporated. 
  5. Add the flour and mix until everything is blended and doughy texture. 
  6. Wrap your dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. 
  7. Roll our you dough to about 1/4- inch thick. 
  8. Using pre-cut pre-measured templates, cut out all of your gingerbread house piece. 
  9. Place them onto a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
  10. Let your gingerbread pieces cool and dry out for about 1 day. 
  11. Using royal icing, you can assemble your gingerbread house however you'd like!

Check out the video! 

Thursday 10 December 2015

Butter Tarts


Butter Tarts

                Ingredients                                            Yield: 36
  • 300g (1 1/2c) Brown Sugar
  • 480g (1 1/2c) Corn Syrup
  • 175g (3/4c)    Butter
  • 3                     Eggs
  • 15ml (1 Tbsp)  Vanilla
  • 210g (1 1/2c)  Raisins
                Instructions
  1. Melt butter in microwave until liquid.
  2. In a bowl mix butter with brown sugar and corn syrup until combined.
  3. Stir in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
  4. Mix in the raisins.
  5. Pour into tart shells that have been placed on a sheet pan. Fill the shells 3/4 full, making sure each one has raisins in it.
  6. Bake in a preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling profusely. 
  7. Cool on wire rack and serve!
Check out the video here!

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Balls

                 Ingredients                                                    Yield: Around 2 Doz.
  • 90g (1/3 Cup)         Butter
  • 90g (1/2 Cup)         Powdered Sugar
  • 110g (1 Cup)           Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 250g (1 Cup)           Peanut Butter
  • 340g (2 Cups)          Chocolate

                 Instructions
  1. In a bowl, beat the butter until smooth. 
  2. Add the sugar and beat again. 
  3. Add the graham cracker crumbs and peanut butter and mix until everything is incorporated. 
  4. Place the bowl in the fridge so that the mixture firms up enough to be formed into balls.
  5. Using about 1-2 Tbsp of the mixture roll them into balls and place them on a lined baking sheet.
  6. Stick toothpicks in each ball and place back into the fridge to firm up again. 
  7. Melt your chocolate, then grab the peanut butter ball by the toothpick and completely coat it in the chocolate. 
  8. Place the coated peanut butter ball onto the tray. 
  9. Once they are all coated you will have to keep them in the fridge so they don't melt. 
  10. Great treat for Christmas parties or just to snack on throughout the holidays.
  11. They freeze super well!

Get the recipe here!
https://youtu.be/f2JGoLLBWXw 

Saturday 5 December 2015

Meringue Mushrooms


Meringue Mushrooms

                Ingredients                           Yield: 2 doz.
  • 4                   Egg Whites
  • .5g (1/4tsp) Cream of Tartar
  • 150g (3/4c)  Granulated Sugar
  • 60g (1/4c)    Chocolate
  • as needed    Cocoa Powder
                Instructions
  1. With a mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks.
  2. Once soft peaks have formed, gradually add in the sugar while whipping until all sugar is used.
  3. Whip until stiff peaks but do not over whip. (If the meringue is liquidy, the egg whites were not whipped enough before adding in the sugar).
  4. Place meringue in a piping bag with a large circle tip.
  5. On a sheet pan lined with parchment, pipe stems and caps for the mushrooms in equal amounts.
  6. Lightly dust the caps with cocoa powder and blow off any excess.
  7. Bake in a preheated 200 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2 hours until meringues are dry and crisp.
  8. Melt chocolate in microwave.
  9. Using a toothpick make holes in the underside of the caps so the stems will fit in.
  10. Dip the stems in the chocolate and place in the inverted caps and leave until chocolate hardens.
  11. Store in an airtight container!
Check out the video here!

Thursday 3 December 2015

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Homemade Hot Chocolate

                  Ingredients                                                        Yield: 2 Mugs 

  • 575ml (2 1/4 Cups)         Milk
  • 30g (2 Tbsp)                   Cocoa
  • 60g (4 Tbsp)                   Brown Sugar
  • 4g (1 Tsp)                      Ground Cinnamon
  • Handful                          Mini Marshmallows
  • Sprinkle                         Cocoa Nibs
  • 2                                    Cinnamon Sticks

                  Instructions
  1. In a pot add the cocoa, sugar and cinnamon. Mix briefly.
  2. Add the milk to the pot and place over medium heat. 
  3. Whisking frequently, make sure all the sugar and cocoa gets dissolved in the milk. 
  4. Simmer until the mixture is hot.
  5. Carefully pour into to mugs. 
  6. Add a handful of marshmallows to each cup. Toast the tops of the marshmallows with a blow torch. 
  7. Sprinkle a few cocoa nibs on top of the marshmallows.
  8. Add one cinnamon stick to each mug. 
  9. Present your lovely homemade hot chocolate to whomever you are sharing it with.