bounty chocolate: March 2011

Classic unsweetened chocolate brownies

My sister has a lot of friends, and that really makes me happy – I would never wish on her the lonely teenage years I had; some of her friends know I have a food blog and a couple of them read me from time to time.

A while ago I gave my sister and one of her friends a lift somewhere – the girl entered the car, my sister introduced us and then she very bluntly said: “I would love to have a

Rhubarb white chocolate muffins + a useful website

Having some rhubarb stalks left after making the compote, I needed a good recipe to use them, and something quick would be even better, since I had plans of watching a movie with my sister. There was a recipe for delicious-looking raspberry rhubarb muffins on "Flour" and adapted it a bit to get to the muffins you see on the picture – which were, indeed, delicious and super tender. :)

I found

Soba noodles with sesame seeds - a super quick meal

This is such an easy dish and it tastes so great that I had to share it with you – perfect for those nights when all you need is a shower, a quick dinner, your couch and Detective Stabler, I mean, Law&Order SVU on TV. :)

Soba noodles with sesame seeds
from Nigella Fresh

75g sesame seeds
salt
250g soba noodles
2 teaspoons rice vinegar (mirin)
5 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons

Lemon ginger frozen yogurt and the beginning of fall

Fall has arrived and the days have been gray in Sao Paulo – the sun comes up for a while, but fat, heavy clouds seem much stronger and take over the sky.

I am not complaining for I love cold days, but this frozen yogurt certainly reminds me of the last days of summer – fresh, tangy, delicious.

Lemon ginger frozen yogurt
slightly adapted from the amazing Bon Appetit Desserts

¾ cup (180ml)

Peanut butter pound cake with coconut topping

Like the lovely Nina, I am, too, a pound cake addict: they are simple to make, taste great – and stay that way for a good couple of days – and after that can be turned into delicious toast.

This cake is fantastic and the topping is just as good – I “accidentally” left some in the pan after icing the cake and had to eat it with a spoon. :)

Peanut butter pound cake with coconut topping
slightly

Mini rhubarb pavlovas

I told you once how much I adore “True Blood” – the show got me so addicted that after watching the 3 seasons I started reading Charlaine Harris’ books – in a very incessantly way, I might add. :)

Something similar happened when I watched some of Sophie Dahl’s videos on You Tube: her soft, lovely way around her beautiful kitchen and the delicious food got me hooked – I immediately bought her

Lemon financiers

I realized something a good while ago: I bake when I’m happy, and I bake when I’m sad.

If something bothers me, or if people let me down, I bake – or feel the urge to. If I am glad about something, or someone I like deserves a treat, I bake, too. :)

These financiers were baked on a very happy day: I was going to meet four lovely, gorgeous, fantastic women, who I am very lucky to call my

Cinnamon choc chip swirl bread

After cookies and cakes, Susan and I decided it was time to play around with yeast – we both wanted to bake from John Barricelli’s beautiful book and the cinnamon swirl bread caught our eyes (and our stomachs). :)

The bread is tender and delicious; the dough is easy to work with – not sticky! – but my idea of using chocolate chips instead of raisins turned out to be less than genius: I used

Caramel nut tart with brandy cream + my new Twitter account

Reading "Nigella Kitchen" the other day I could totally relate to her comment on the choc chip bread pudding (the one I made a while ago): it might seem odd to use cream, eggs and chocolate to save a piece of old bread – some people would just throw it away, I guess – but I really get her idea there; I did the same with this tart – all this caramel and nuts and pastry just to use up some heavy

Cinnamon panna cotta

Yes, I love panna cotta – actually, I think I could be considered a panna cotta addicted, if there’s such a thing. :)
The original recipe was for vanilla panna cotta, but let me tell you, without any modesty, that my cinnamon version was quite something – perfectly spiced, creamy, delicious.

If you think that my panna cotta addiction is a problem, don’t get me started on the favorite movies

Chickpea, tomato, lemon and mint salad

Another year, another Carnival ... and another salad – savory, this time – after tons of food and booze. :)

Again, mint is the refreshing agent around here – I never knew it would go so well with tomatoes. Just delicious.

Chickpea, tomato, lemon and mint salad
from The Commonsense Kitchen

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt
2 cups cooked chickpeas, well

Chestnut pound cake

A very dear friend of mine got me a package of chestnut flour as a gift – yes, we’re the kind of people who love giving/getting food as gifts. :)

I have never seen that flour around here, and the minute she gave me the package she said: “make Alice Medrich’s chestnut pound cake as soon as you can”. I did as I was told – four times already, to be honest – and I’m forever in debt with my friend:

Buttered rum meltaways

One of my readers – hi, Angelica! – left me a comment about the amount of recipes calling for rum around here – there’s another one today!
I don’t like rum for drinking, but I certainly love baking with it – and if you try these cookies I am sure you will, too. :)

I’ve slightly adapted the recipe from Lizzie, who got it from a book I’ve been meaning to buy.

Buttered rum meltaways
from

Cinnamon Rolls With Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Friday everyone!

Sorry for my lengthy post-valentines day hiatus. The third trimester has made me a little slow in the kitchen and I've had my hands full with family. Like my mother, who was in town last week and thinks a day at the spa is a better use of my time than baking (hey, I'm not going to argue). Then we had Mr. Humble's laptop crashing and needing to be resurrected after the latest Windows 7 service pack, something that makes the Mac user in me smirk with smug hipster superiority.

Mr. Humble (and his laptop) were necessary for today's post, since we're using one of his bread recipes. A recipe I've been begging... scratch that, demanding he make in recent weeks. You see, I've had some pretty crazy pregnant woman cravings for all things creamy. Cheesecakes, eclairs, cream puffs, donuts, and cinnamon rolls topped with pillows of creamy goodness. Knowing that Mr. Humble's soft, tender enriched white dough makes a beautiful cinnamon roll, I lobbied hard.

Of course, once I actually got my wish for a pan of delicious freshly made cinnamon rolls, I spent more time eating them than photographing them. Thus all I have to accompany this post is a bunch of photos of minimally-staged cinnamon rolls that are in the process of being eaten.

Fresh lemon gelatin + a great lemonade poster boy

I am completely biased when it comes to lemon/lime things – and you all know that – but these gelatins are so delicious I beg you to try them!
It’s like eating solid lemonade – and if I can’t convince you of how good lemonade can be Mr. Ford is perfect for the job. ;)

Fresh lemon gelatin
from Luscious Lemon Desserts

3 ¼ cups (780ml) water
1 cup (200g) caster (superfine) sugar
¼ cup finely

Plum financiers

My financiers did not look exactly like RLB’s, but they made me feel really proud: layering all those plum slices was not a quick thing, let me tell you that.

I wish they looked more like flowers, therefore more beautiful, but I’ll be nice to myself this time: the three weeks from hell at work are over and I’ve survived. Do not know how, but I did. I deserve some kindness, even if it comes