bounty chocolate: December 2010

Ginger peach muffins

When it comes to Eddie Murphy’s movies there are only two I like, but the first bite into one of these muffins and “The Heat is On” popped in my head. :)

The ginger adds a fresh, delicious kick to these muffins and I was amazed by how well the flavor goes with peaches.

Ginger peach muffins
from Good to the Grain

Topping:
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2-3 small peaches,

Cherry and almond tartlets

I know, I know – another cherry tart in less than a week… But be honest with me: would you be able to resist such a beautiful dessert? I ran to the kitchen the moment the magazine arrived at my door. :D

Cherry and almond tartlets
slightly adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Filling:
500g crème fraîche*
100ml pouring cream
20g pure icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
fresh

Plum burnt-butter pistachio cakes

I love stone fruit but they are not around for long – it’s time to enjoy these delicious treats while they’re in season here.

These cakes come from this beautiful magazine and even though I am crazy for plums they are not 100% necessary in this recipe: the burnt-butter pistachio cakes are so amazing I recommend them even without the fruit topping.

Plum burnt-butter pistachio cakes
from

Bill’s cherry tart

I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas series!

I thought that this delicious tart would be perfect as my last post before Christmas: it’s pretty much a clafoutis with a crust – I am a crust kind of girl – and the recipe comes from one of my all time favorite cooks.

Happy Holidays!

Bill’s cherry tart
from Holiday

Pastry:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup

Mince pie cupcakes with brandy butter icing

If I tell you that I kept this recipe in a very special place since January already thinking of this Christmas series will you promise not to think I am insane? :)

These cupcakes are incredibly tender and moist, one of the most delicious cupcakes I have made so far; they are so good that a simpler icing could be used with great results – or no icing at all.

Mince pie cupcakes with brandy

White Christmas Cupcakes

Tis the season for White Christmas Cupcakes.

Though in the Seattle area, we are more accustomed to wet holidays than the white variety… which I'm absolutely not complaining about, since my car readily doubles as a sled when there is so much as a blush of frost on the ground.

I'll take frosty christmas cupcakes over the real thing any day. More so today, since I was having a raging pregnancy sugar craving.

White chocolate gingerbread blondies

I’m a sucker for spices – you’ve probably noticed that – and the word “gingerbread” gets me drooling already; can you guess what I felt when I found Martha’s gingerbread recipe collection? :)

The only problem was choosing ONE recipe to make - luckily for me the bag of white chocolate chips in my pantry helped me out a little. ;)

White chocolate gingerbread blondies
from here

2 ¾ cups + 1

Gingerbread caramels

My friend Ana Elisa’s adventure in making torrone reminded me of how much work these caramels were: it took forever for the mixture to achieve the desired temperature, and I was melting in my kitchen while stirring it; after that, another century went by before I finished cutting them, oiled knife and all. Not to mention they were super soft and hard to wrap, too.

You’ll probably ask me why

Cinnamon-chocolate fruit mince tarts

I’d been meaning to make mincemeat pies forever, because I think they look absolutely adorable! But I always gave up at the idea of using suet, or anything similar to it.

That is why this recipe is perfect: besides being suet-free, both the pastry and the filling are delicious, with a not-very-Christmas-but-yummy hint of chocolate.

Cinnamon-chocolate fruit mince tarts
slightly adapted from

Caramel Wrapped Marshmallows

Few things woo me back into the kitchen like candy making. Not only is it fun and delicious, when making candy I always have this devious, subversive feeling come over me. As though I've thwarted some natural law by bringing the special, highly rationed substance CANDY into existence with my own humble hands.

Christmas muffins

These muffins are delicious and I think they are a great idea for breakfast on Christmas morning; on top of that I thought you deserved a simple recipe – one that doesn’t require making custard, soaking and processing dates or waiting for hours for cookies. :D

Christmas muffins
slightly adapted from here

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Science Cookie Roundup #8

Time for the long overdue Not So Humble Pie Science Cookie Roundup #8! I'm sorting through the blog's bloated email account this morning and I realize we have a great many submissions for this roundup. So let's get down to it!

Christmas cookies

This blog could not have a Christmas series without cookies, right? ;)

These were absolutely delicious and made me feel bad for not liking hazelnuts – the nuts were wonderful combined with the chocolate, the candied orange peel and the spices.

Christmas cookies
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (175g) brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon salt

Sorry About The Eggplant

Hello!

High time I posted something, right?

I'm doing well, still very much pregnant but not much in the way of a blogger. I just haven't been up for the marathon cooking sessions that drive this little website of mine.

Actually, I haven't been much of a cook at all. This pregnancy has taken food aversions to a whole new level for me. It is funny actually, as for the better part of my last pregnancy I felt as though I could run down and slaughter a taco truck like a lion on the Serengeti.

Total carnage.

Fluffy ginger and date cake

I love it when something great leads you into something equally good: just like “500 Days of Summer” got me to this amazing song, this delicious cake got me into trying – and liking – dates.

Fluffy ginger and date cake
from Donna Hay magazine

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
3 cups (420g) pitted dates,

Eggnog ice cream

Is there a better way to start something than starting it with ice cream? I thought so. ;)

My Christmas series has begun and I hope you enjoy the ideas for your holidays; David Lebovitz says that this ice cream goes wonderful with holiday desserts – and I believe him – but you must know that it goes well with just a sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg, too.

Just make sure you read the

Cheesecake swirl chocolate brownies

I’ve been on a White Rabbit vibe these days – feeling terrible late with lots of things to do before I’m officially on vacation.

I’ll leave you with these brownies while I try to deal with my chaotic day. :)

Cheesecake swirl chocolate brownies
from Donna Hay magazine

200g dark chocolate, chopped
250g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
1 ¾ cups (306g) brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
1 ½

Raspberry trifle cupcakes

I have to tell you two things about these cupcakes: first, they were delicious; second, the icing was a bit of a pain in the neck to make – I beat it forever using the electric mixer and it still did not firm up like the one on the magazine (I believe it happened because I used a different kind of cream).

It was not as quick as I’d expected it to be, but I wasn’t determined not to quit – I was