Travelling and where I have been..

I have been wanting to post recently and baking delicious recipes but unfortunately haven't managed to photograph said recipes before they were eaten, so no posts. However I thought I would write a tiny post to tell you where I have been this Easter. See if you can guess -

 

There was plenty of lots mountains, beautiful views and lots and lots of snow. I'm not kidding, just look at the roof of our apartment!Layers and layers of impacted snow -

So I think you've guess correctly? This Easter I've been away skiing!

It was absolutely amazing. We went to the alps and timed our visit perfectly. The day we arrived there had been so much snow and wind that the slopes had been closed for 3 days but our first day of skiing was glorious. We got snow at night so each morning was a powder day and then beautiful sun during the day to heat us against the freezing conditions. The day we left the sun blasted so strong that it melted the top layer of all the powder, encouraging us that we were leaving at the right time.

One of the most interesting things we witnessed on our trip was the local race that the town holds. Each year they fill the main street with snow and race up and down. It is amazing to see the main street of the town turned into a snowy race course!

I know it's been a while since I posted but I have been thinking about the blog and will return with new recipes very soon. So for the moment, in addition to these skiing photos,I will leave you with a picture of our Easter table all decked out by the Easter bunny -

Smores Brownies and dreaming of summer

It's spring, the days are longer, the flowers are blooming and there is significantly less chill in the air. I won't lie, spring is not my favourite season. It's confusing; days are warm one minute and frozen the next and I find myself spending far too much time chilled because I mistakenly decided against a scarf or boiling because I mistakenly wore one. The best parts of spring are easter and the approaching summer. This Easter I plan on making a lot of delicious chocolate based goodness but in the mean time I am dreaming of summer, barbeques and smores.

These smores brownies are a delicious combination of the flavours you love and remember from campfires and barbeques. The biscuit base and sprinkles are crisp and buttery and the marshmallow are gooey and sweet. Combining that with a deep rich chocolatey brownie and you have a perect dessert.

Smores Brownies

200g dark chocolate
150g butter
250g caster sugar
60g cocoa powder
80g plain flour
1 tbsp yoghurt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

300g digestive biscuits/graham crackers
75g butter melted

500g mini marshmallows

1 - Preheat your oven to 170'/325/gas mark 3. Break up your biscuits until you have crumbs and melt
      the butter in a saucepan.

2 - Pour the butter over the crumbs and mix well. Then press the cookies into the base of a roasting
     dish. Pour any left overs into a seperate pie dish.

3 - Bake the base for 15 minutes. Remove the extra biscuit crumbs and let cool.

4 - Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water.

5 - Remove from the heat and add the sugar and cocoa powder and stir to combine.

6 - Add the vanilla extract, yoghurt and flour. Then finally add the eggs and stir well.

7 - Pour over the base and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes.

8 - Remove from the oven and immediately pour the marshmallows on top. Slice and leave to cool

Then just enjoy =)

Vegan Ice-cream! All of the yum and none of the dairy

This past weekend we went for a visit to my sister's place. The weekend was filled with lots of enjoyable outings (tamper included) and some local sight-seeing but my favourite part had to be the vegan ice-cream. We had discussed ahead of time that we would be preparing this and I was very excited at the notion. I had never made traditional ice-cream (with an ice-cream maker) before, let alone a vegan variety, so needless to say I was very excited about this activity. Given my severe lack of experience and my sister's relatively little experience we decided to consult an expert - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and adapt her pumpkin vegan ice-cream recipe.

This recipe is surprisingly simple and although it requires specific pieces of equipment, it is relatively simple. The longest parts are the boiling of the cashews and the churning and chilling of the ice-cream. However these do not require your attention so you can be doing other things while your ice-cream is being made for you, almost!

In terms of flavours we went for a coconut and cashew ice-cream with hazelnut croquant pieces inside. The flavours come together deliciously and could be augmented with some vegan caramel, I found a delicious looking recipe here but on to our recipe.

Hazelnut Croquant Vegan Ice-cream

Equipment: Ice-cream maker, blender and saucepan

2 Cups Unroasted Cashews
2 cups Coconut Milk (1 can)
1 cup distilled water
3/4 Cup maple syrup
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

1 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar

1 - Boil your cashews for 45 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile to make your croquant - melt your sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan and swirl, do not mix, until golden brown, then add your hazelnut and stir quickly before pouring onto a piece of greaseproof paper and let cool.

3 - Once your cashews have boiled, drain the water and add them to your blender. Now add your coconut milk, water, vanilla extract, maple syrup, golden syrup and salt. The blender will look like a delicious ombre bubble tea!

4 - Now blend until completely liquified. The finished product should coat the back of a spatula and hold a line if you run your finger down the middle.

5 - Follow your manufacturer's instructions to churn your ice-cream, first for 20-25 minutes.

6 - Meanwhile chop up your hazelnut croquant with your blender on the chop setting.

7 - Now add your chopped hazelnut croquant and continue churning for another 20-25 minutes.

8 - Move to an air-tight container and eat now, like a soft serve ice-cream or freeze overnight for well frozen traditional looking boules.

A little sweetness, a healthy treat

Since my last post I have not been very good at updating. It is probably due to the lack of sugar in my life right now. Last week I even started a 'Better Call Saul,' review and just left it sitting open on my laptop all day, without adding to it. I'm not sure if that says more about my sugar deprivation or about the show. If I'm honest I'm not sold on that show yet, emphasis on the yet! It has potential in my opinion but it seems to be a slow builder. In case you are wondering, since we are talking Netflix, I am about 8 episodes into season 3 of 'House of Cards' and will be doing a review when we're done. (Yes I dedicated a whole day to it this weekend, no judgement!!)

Anyway so this weekend I also found myself craving sugar and sweets and buying things like 'crackers' that are really biscuits and decided to just go ahead and make something nice. So I present to you the delicious hazelnut macaroons -

Galettes- Pancake day alternative, or addition?

Pancake Tuesday is one of my favourite days. In Ireland, Christian traditions dominate the popular culture, so pancake Tuesday is everywhere you look. In our house pancakes means crepes, not the thicken and equally delicious American style pancakes. So every year my Mum prepared a giant vat of batter in the afternoon, and let it rest on the counter, tempting us with thoughts of the upcoming feast. The hardest part was eating the normal dinner (always fish) before we could make the sweet pancakes. Well I don't repeat that torture in my home, for main meal we eat galettes!

Baked Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins

When I started writing this blog I used to work shifts, often overnight. Shift work is incredibly draining at times and there were many nights when I would reach my normal bedtime and know that I had a full grueling 8 hours ahead. On those occasions I often made an oatmeal pancake from oats, eggs and milk. It would fill me up and give me the energy I needed to get through the night. So seeing pins of baked oatmeal brings me back to that time, it also makes me think of how much of us need an energy boost at this time of the year. I thought I'd try it out again with a basic version of the recipes I see most places and then maybe suggest some changes

Nutella cupcakes

This week we had the opportunity to go to a dinner and cocktail party and decided to try out a new cupcake recipe. There are a couple of classic flavour combination that I always go back to, hazelnut  and chocolate is one of them. It just works! We also recently discovered in my house that I had been keeping Nutella out of the house, and when I say we I mean my bf. Needless to say I got in trouble, which is fair. But in my defense - I cannot handle myself around a jar of Nutella, it's an addiction and the only solution is cold turkey, but this solution is somewhat unfair to other Nutella lovers in my life.

Anyway here's how I made it up to him and gifted my dinner party hosts -

Nutella Cupcakes

Frosting   (technique from Butteryum)

400g Dark Chocolate
500 ml Double Cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract

This technique has literally changed my perception of  ganache. It makes it so so easy.

1 - Heat the cream to just below boiling
2 - Chop up your dark chocolate as the cream heats
3 - Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
4 - Don't stir for 2 minutes then beat together until smooth
5 - Add the vanilla extract, stir again.
6 - Now cover in a tea towel and leave sitting for 8 hours/overnight.
7- Done! Amazing.

Hazelnut Cupcakes  (adapted from Martha Stewart)

100g Ground Hazelnuts
1+1/4 Cup Plain flour
+ 3 tablespoons corn flour sieved together             

1.5 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
113g Butter (unsalted)
32g Caster Sugar
110g Dark Brown Sugar
180ml milk (I used lactose free)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp amaretto or vanilla extract
5 medium egg whites
Nutella to fill

1 - Preheat your oven to 180'C/350'F, Line your muffin tin with 
     cupcake cases. Now whisk together
      the hazelnuts, flours, baking powder and salt.

2 - Beat together the butter and sugars.

3- Beat the egg yolk and amaretto into the milk.

4 - Then in stages add and alternate 1/3 of the flour mixture and milk into the butter mixture.

5 - In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites into soft peaks. Then add half into the rest of the mixture
      and mix. Then fold in the second half and immediately pour into the cupcake cases up to half
      way.
6- Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and set up to cool on a wire wrack

7 - Using a teaspoon scoop out a little from the center of each cupcake, add a teaspoon of nutella.
      This works well while still slightly warm.

8 - Decorate with frosting and caramalized hazelnuts if you wish, then enjoy!

Are you ready?!

Dig in!