~ La dolce vita ~

Brigadeiro

2008-11-16T20:41:00.003+01:00

Brigadeiro is a brazilian chocolate candy, best described as Chocolate Fudge Balls and is made using condensed milk, some butter und cocoa powder. These seemingly usual ingredients come together to form the always-delicious Brigadeiro, which is also an all-time favourite in Brazil, or so I heard from my brazilian friends, whom I knew from my language course.
It was these friends who taught me how to make them. In fact, it is so simple, there wasn't much to teach, just lots of sampling...
Esther loved these candy and ate three of them in succession. Her first compliment was: "The butterfly tastes good!" It was, of course, not really a compliment for me, since I did not make the butterflies, which are made of sugar. I just didn't like to cover them in chocolate sprinkles.

The non-chocolate variation is made without the cocoa powder but with grated coconut. It is also pretty good, but nothing like the chocolate ones. I will try again next time with some brandy I guess, but that will make them unsuitable for the kids...

In any case, a real calorie bomb! =)

OREO® Chocolate Cheese Cake

2008-11-03T21:41:00.003+01:00

I wanted to bake the all-time favourite OREO® Cheese Cake, since I have my last box of OREOs at home which I have actually kept for another occasion.

I found some pics of the OREO Cheese Cake I made some time ago, but the pics were not nice, so I made this weird montage out of them:

Anyway, I decided to improve on my recipe. "How," you ask, "on earth could anyone improve on OREO Cheese Cake?"

Well, here I introduce, OREO CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE!

I added cocoa to the cheese batter and baked as usual. I even have crushed oreos as topping for the cake, as well as caramel hearts as garnish. One response I got was that the cake wasn't as chocolatey as it looks and that it still tastes like cheese cake (that came from Zool, who would rather have an oreo cheese cake without the cheese cake). Other more positive reactions include words like "special", "interesting" or from Domi "soooo lecker!"

Personally, I found the cake a tad too sweet with both the oreo crust and oreo topping, but then again, who can have too much of oreos?

Note that the hearts are all different and kind of uneven... a definite sign that they were homemade!

Z Chocolate Cake

2008-11-03T21:40:00.002+01:00

It was Zool's Bday and we were all eager to celebrate it with him. However, he didn't want to have a party, most probably due to the reason that he didn't like us as much as we thought he did. In any case, we weren't going to leave it just like that, you know, having him ignoring us and all, so we decided to bake a cake and force entry into his room.

Lester came over and helped. He had free rein as to how he would like to decorate the cake and this is what he came up with:

A big fat Z (composed of white chocolate covered - cornflakes) and the rest of the surface covered with dark chocolate shavings over the chocolate cream cheese frosting. It was again my fav chocolate cake recipe.

Caramel Chocolate Cake

2008-11-03T21:38:00.002+01:00

2 photos of the Chocolate Cake with Caramel I made for a random gathering of Sporeans and Food. I love this particular chocolate cake recipe, cos it's simple and it turns out well every time. It was my first time handling caramel, so pardon me for the not-as-pretty-as-I-hoped cake.

Microwave Chocolate Cake

2008-11-03T21:10:00.003+01:00

The above prepared mixture was microwaved for 8-10 mins and you can see the results below:

A yummy, moist chocolate cake (well, more like a brownie), just with the microwave! So no one has any excuse not to make cake anymore!

Since it was quite a while back, I think it was chocolate banana cake, and that explains the yellow patches you see... heh

Although yummy, I did not make this again since, I guess because baking with the oven is not any harder. But it is definitely an idea for those without the luxury of an oven!

Cranberry Muffins

2008-11-03T20:32:00.003+01:00

I made these some time ago, using fresh cranberries and my usual muffin recipe. Cranberries are only cultivated in USA due to the climate and soil, so what we usually find in Germany is the dried kind. That's why I was pretty happy to find the fresh variety at a reasonable price. Cranberries contain a high level of antioxidants, but are generally sour, which is why they are usually heavily sugared when processed into the dried product. I tried making muffins with the dried cranberries, but it wasn't very satisfactory. In comparison, these muffins with fresh cranberries were a lot better!

Beer Batter Cheese Bread

2008-11-03T19:18:00.003+01:00

So I made this delicious Beer Batter Cheese Bread, which I first read about on the Straits Times... (now you kinda know the reason why I am an avid news reader...:P)

Since both beer and cheese are cheap in Germany, I decided to try out this simple recipe. Even easier than the no-knead bread (that I raved about a long time ago), the entire rising process for the dough is skipped due to the addition of beer and the yeast in it.

So this is how it goes:
- you have cravings for some beer batter cheese bread
- you search for a recipe online or take out the recipe that you had
- you mix all the ingredients in a big bowl (being totally flexible, you can add all your fav stuff in it... I had chopped spring onions, black olives and sun-dried tomatoes)
- add the beer last (you can taste the beer in this, so you will want to add a light beer if you don't fancy too much beer taste in your bread)
- mix thoroughly
- transfer to loaf pan and bake in oven
- 45 mins later, you will be devouring thick slices of yummy bread and find your neighbours knocking your door, curious to know the source of that great aroma...

This bread is great on its own or with some plain cream cheese... (yeah, I know, more cheese... heh) Best on lazy public holiday mornings when the bakeries are closed and you would like to have some brunch... yum!

Peanut Butter Frosted Chocolate Banana Walnut Muffin

2007-07-13T07:46:00.000+02:00

For some reason, I miscalculated the number of muffins the recipe makes and doubled it, so I ended up with 24 yummy muffins, instead of a more humble number of 12 or 15. It doesn't matter, does it, since when one has muffins, one has friends too!

I read about this peanut butter frosting for banana muffin and I thought it was a great idea. So I added cocoa powder to my favourite banana nut muffin recipe and also some chocolate chips...

They look like rabbits... with the frosting and the banana chips stuck on...

The frosting is supposed to be made with creamy PB, but I wanted the nuts for crunchiness.

It turns out that there are a few people who really don't like PB, and I just found out, after offering them nice PB frosted muffins. One lives and learns...

Next time there should be 4 out of 12 with chocolate frosting or no frosting....

I like the PB frosting a lot actually and have to keep it away from myself, now that my weighing machine is working again, I have to be more careful...

Zucchini Brownie =)

2007-06-24T20:38:00.000+02:00

Another round of brownies never hurt, right? ;)

I made a tray of brownies and cut out a big circle of it for Ma-Ga's bday cake, but I didn't photograph it cos i was in such a hurry to leave. So to make up for that, I decorated a square of the leftover brownie, decorated in pretty much the same way as the cake.

As usual, this healthy and scrumptious treat was well received. Those who are trying it for the first time couldn't believe that it was made with zucchini. There is this dark chocolate frosting I used this time and that added the amount of antioxidants per slice ;) !

Blueberry Muffin and Muffin-Cake

2007-06-18T20:15:00.000+02:00

I found some fresh blueberries in the supermarket and made a small cake using the muffin recipe I have. Looks real cute with the 2 butterflies.

Baked real muffins using the leftover blueberries. Not 10 minutes after I posted this pic as my display pic on MSN came an offer to help to finish them up, since they were afterall still fresh from the oven. Only one of the nine survived the evening...

Strawberry NY Cheese Cake

2007-06-17T20:07:00.000+02:00

Silky smooth and rich new york cheese cake, with strawberry and white chocolate shavings...
not for the weak at heart!

~~~

I love yummy Cheese Cake!

Zucchini Brownie Cake with a Bow

2007-06-02T19:51:00.000+02:00

Awesome Carrot Cake With Caramelised Walnuts

2007-05-13T21:00:00.000+02:00

~ Moist Carrot Cake with walnuts and raisins ~

(i have been adding healthy shredded flax seeds and wheat bran to all the cakes I made lately... taste just as great and with additional health benefits to boast of!)

I couldn't decide which angle was the better one, so posted both!

Cake sliced up:

Pink Heart-shaped Cake

2007-04-16T08:23:00.000+02:00

E stands for Esther and if you look upside down, it is a 3. For Esther's 3rd Birthday.

It is actually a zucchini brownie cake, since Esther is also an avid chocolate lover like me! :)

I managed to cut the cake in the shape of a lopsided heart (mama's advice for artistic flair: never strive to make the shape too geometric... always make it slightly uneven... this is a very impt piece of advice for me engineer).

Then I slathered on pink frosting. It was difficult trying to make the frosting pink. I didn't have red food colouring or whatever and actually intended to use my grenadine syrup, but in the end, I realised that it wasn't red enough and that it is too watery for frosting. So I used strawberry jam with cream cheese and butter and I sieved the whole thing to get rid of the bigger pieces of strawberry. It was pretty pink in the end, and sweet! I had to make the frosting sweet, because the cake wasn't -- and it is Domi's fault. She literally screamed for me to stop while I was adding the sugar! Due to her protests, I went against my better judgement and added waayyyy too little sugar! The only consolation is that it is even healthier!

After the pink frosting, I decorated the sides with small balls of roasted-almonds-in-bourbon-vanilla-cream from Lindt! I find them really irresistable! This is one reason why Aachen is so great! We have a Lindt factory and can buy the products at staff discount prices. And they also sell those pricey chocolates in 300g-, 500g-, or 900g-bags at a much lower price! I think I have devoured more Lindt in my couple of years in Aachen than other Germans in their entire lives in cities-with-no-Lindt-factory!

Zucchini Brownies

2007-04-09T10:08:00.000+02:00

Before you wring your nose at these delicious, healthy brownies, just because they are made using a seemingly unsuitable ingredient -- Zucchini, look at the tempting pictures!

A heap of brownie-triangles...

(It has always been a challenge for me to photograph brownies, cos they are, well, just brown...)

See traces of green in the brown mass??? That is the zucchini skin... I find it simply too wasteful to peel the zucchini before shredding, since most of the vitamins are found directly under the skin.

As I already mentioned, these brownies are heavenly and healthy... the healthiest brownie recipe I have ever got.
The use of shredded zucchini in the recipe eliminates the need for eggs and cuts down on the amount of oil/fats needed. So, viola, eggless brownies for the cholesterol-watchers... (my usual brownie recipe calls for 6 large eggs)
I substituted half of the oil required with homemade apple sauce, which made the brownie even more sinless...
The addition of shredded flax seeds may have just tipped the scales to push these delectable gems into the category of health food... :)

For those of you who are itching to try this terrific new way to preparing vegetables, here is the original recipe on allrecipes.com. I didn't change a thing except for the addition of some shredded flax seeds, the substitution of half the oil amount with apple sauce, the use of almonds in place of walnuts, a little less sugar than called for, (i have to admit that I couldn't help adding in some dark chocolate chunks) and a little generosity in adding the cocoa powder (which incidentally contains lots of antioxidants, which helps in the prevention of cancer and coronary heart disease, as well as reducing the development of wrinkles and i just read today, that some german researchers reported that cocoa is more likely to reduce one's blood pressure than tea, due to the fact that the procyanids in cocoa are more active than the polyphenol in tea!).
[heh, i think i did change quite a few things... ;)]

I read about another way of devouring brownies, that is to put a slice of vanilla ice cream between 2 slices of brownies. Now that summer is slowly approaching, this will definitely be a great idea! Yum!

Pecan Cheese Cake

2007-03-23T13:40:00.000+01:00

I made this pecan cheese cake with all the pecan halves I have left. (Gotta wait for the supermarkets to have an "Amerikanische Woche" again to buy them at reasonable prices).

It is made according to a german recipe book. While the cake has a delicious lemon taste, the base (and sides) are definitely pecany-nutty. And I especially like the caramelized sugar strands on top of the cake (although the photos are not really optimal).

Marble Sour Cream Pound Cake

2007-02-09T11:18:00.000+01:00

Bread II

2007-01-31T07:45:00.000+01:00

More of the No-Knead Bread:

Nice crust, covered with wheat bran and sesame seeds.

Soft interior, especially fragrant with the addition of olive oil.

Thick filling slices, waiting to be served.

Taste so good with my marinated cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, black olives and Feldsalat.

Homemade Bread

2007-01-21T22:20:00.000+01:00

Made using the No Knead Bread recipe taken from the New York Times.

Bread served with black olives and marinated cream cheese

Bread served with marinated cream cheese, rucola, cherry tomato halves and sliced olives

Orange Chocolate Cake

2007-01-21T21:04:00.000+01:00

Tiramisù

2007-01-07T22:32:00.000+01:00

The Italian name tiramisù means "pick-me-up". The dessert is made with ladyfingers briefly soaked in coffee and rum with alternating layers of plain and chocolate cream made from egg yolk, mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. The decorative chocolate balls are made the way my brazillian friends taught me, with cocoa powder and condensed milk.

Keks

2006-12-26T11:22:00.000+01:00

The Erdnussplätzchen above is made from a german recipe. I would give it a fancier name in english... hmm.. maybe "Peanut Brittle" or "Peanut Butter Crunch". =)

It was voted as a favourite by 50% of those surveyed.

More of the pecan sandies which are my (non-choc) favourites!

These chocolate chip cookies are an all-time favourite, especially for chocolate lovers!

I don't have any photos of the regular cookies,

but I made 3 special cookie lollisticks for the girls. They loved it! =)

I only managed to eat one of these choc chip cookies

before the whole tin was devoured in record time.
They were voted as a favourite by 50% of those surveyed.

Melt-in-the-mouth Pecan Sandies

2006-12-18T15:47:00.000+01:00

Lovely Tulip

2006-12-03T13:00:00.000+01:00

Cheesecake Brownie

The AACHEN Cake

2006-12-02T19:00:00.000+01:00

Cheese Cake with a thick Brownie layer

~ R ~

2006-11-23T13:00:00.000+01:00

2006-11-23T12:00:00.000+01:00

Chocolate Frosted Banana Cake

2006-11-17T14:00:00.000+01:00

Cheese Cake decorated lavishly with Fruits and Chocolate

2006-11-17T13:00:00.000+01:00

Mango Cheese Cake

2006-11-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

Strawberry Cheese Cake

2006-11-17T11:00:00.000+01:00

Walnut Carrot Cake

2006-11-17T10:48:00.000+01:00

~ Gâteau ~

2006-11-17T09:00:00.000+01:00