Friday, May 6, 2011

Recipe for madeleines with chocolate


I love this french madeleines cookies because there are so good and so easy to make. In no time you have the finest chocolatey cookies for all the family.








Ingredients for madeleines:
  • 2 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • zest from one orange
  • 1 cup (200 gr) melted butter
  • 50-100 gr chopped chocolate

 Melt the butter and let it cool.

 In a large bowl, beat eggs with the sugar, vanilla and orange zest.





In alternative additions, add the flour and melted butter.






Fold in the chocolate pieces.


Spoon the batter into a madeleine pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until brown on the edges.



Your house will smell delicious from baking this chocolate madeleines recipe.


Monday, December 27, 2010

Banana and white chocolate muffins recipe

This muffin recipe is all you can wish: moist, soft and full of delicious flavours from the bananas and vanilla. And it's so easy and quick that you don't need a special day for them...


 This recipe is from tastorama.com.

Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 100 grams white chocolate chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 4 bananas mashed well (aproximately 450 grams) 
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F .
 
Melt the butter and let it cool.

Peel and mash 3 of the bananas with a fork and slice the fourth banana

In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


In a large bowl mix the eggs and sugar, until smooth and white.



Add the mashed bananas, melted butter and vanilla.



Add the mixture of dry ingredients and mix at low speed until well incorporated.
 

Finally add the chocolate and fold gently.



Spoon the batter the prepared muffin tins and place a slice of banana on each muffin.

Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


You will sure enjoy this easy banana and chocolate muffin recipe.


Thursday, December 23, 2010

How to melt chocolate

If you are a chocolate addicted, the first step in making amazing recipes is learning how to melt chocolate. Once you learned it you can make a killing with a chocolate brownie, drizzled cookies and many other chocolatey sweets.

I recommend to melt chocolate only with a double boiler, because chocolate is very sensitive and easy to overheat. This method is best for its gentle heat from the hot water below.

With a sharp knife chop the chocolate in equal pieces, to ensure even melting. Place the chocolate in the top bowl of the double boiler.

Place the pans on low heat to ensure gentle heat.


Chocolate melts gradually from the heat of the bowl, so you need to stir in constantly to prevent overheating the chocolate on the bottom of the pan.


When you hear the water below boiling, remove the bowl with chocolate and continue to stir until the bowl gets cold.  Return the bowl on the steam and continue to stir until is completely melted (shiny and smooth).


To prevent overheating and for the best consistency use a chocolate thermometer: 120 degrees for dark chocolate and 110 degrees for milk and white chocolate. Do not allow the chocolate to exceed this temperatures.


This is your smooth and glossy melted chocolate!


Tips and tricks:
  • use bowls and ustensils completely dry
  • don't cook while you are using chocolate, because it will turn muddy and lose its shine due to the humidity
  • never try to melt whole pieces of chocolate that have not been chopped
  • melt the chocolate slowly over low heat
  • overheated chocolate means you should never heat dark chocolate above 120 degrees or white and milk chocolate above 110 degrees