sabato 29 settembre 2012

the ultimate choc chip cookies by Linda collister



"Nine out of ten people love chocolate, the tenth lies". (Anonymous).  I confess I'm a chocolate-addicted: this is the reason why I opened my blog, almost 2 years ago, with this incipit. I love good quality chocolate, it's obvious; but nutella.. mmm I love it over all! In spite of the purists and of my husband who always accuses me:" a blogger like you, how can you love and eat nutella? There's no explanation: you love it point. And in fact I venerate it as the huge jar in Moretti's dreams and film. It 's the mother's womb, the Pamper with a capital P, the place par excellence. Summer or winter does not affect my concession to pleasure: dipping the spoon into the brown velvet cream, strictly kept at room temperature and tasted BY MYSELF, without 'anyone' around. The books about chocolate in my house, then, are wasted and far outweigh the longest toilet paper in the world. Among these I quote definitely "Divine Chocolate" cookbook by Linda Collister: here her recipe of the fantastic choc-chip cookies. Isn't that a happy dance!? To the recipe, I added 1 ml of milk to the final mixture to make it softer for the rest I leave you the recipe faithfully reported.
P.S. of course I did the doubled dose again for my problems above!




Ingredienti per circa 30 cookies:

  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 100 g walnut or pecan
  • 125 g unsalted butter, soft
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 100 g light muscovado sugar
  • 1 large free range egg
  • 220 g plain flour
  • 3 tbs bitter cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
How to make:
        
Heat the oven to 180°.
Break up the chocolate into squares and mix with the nuts. Set aside. Put the soft butter and the sugars into the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until soft and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl. Mix well then stir in the chocolate squares and nuts.
Using a heaped tablespoon of mixture for each cookie, roll the mixture into balls then arrange them on the baking trays, flatten slightly with your fingers, spacing the cookies well apart to allow for spreading. Bake in the heated oven for about 12-15 minutes, then leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire wrack. Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days or freeze for up to a month.




sabato 4 agosto 2012

tart with fresh fruits and cheese cream




Prepare the pastry for a baking pan in 28 cm diameter, according to this recipe or to your favourite one.
Grease the cake tin  and place a sheet of parchment paper so that it bleeds profusely from the edges (so that you can remove it from pan without breaking it).


Roll out the pastry and prick the base inside. The time cooking will vary depending on the thickness you want to give to your tart.


Put the pan in the freezer only the time necessary to prepare the filling. Will be perfectly cooked.


For the filling you need:

250 g di ricotta cheese (goat ricotta is perfect) 
90 g caster sugar
1 lemon zest
50 g yogurt (or cream)
2 free range eggs









    A very quick and delicious tart stuffed with ricotta cheese, wich embraces the flavors of summer fruits, you will choose according to yout taste.



    Whip the ricotta cheese with the sugar and yogurt (if you use the cream, whip it a bit before), add the eggs and the grated rind of lemon. I also added a few drops of home made vanilla extract. 
    Take the tin with the pastry out from freezer, pour in the filling of ricotta cheese and dip in the fresh fruit you prefer.  (here I used grape, peach, apricot, pear) sprinkle some almonds and bake at 175° for 1 hour. If your pastry needs extra time cooking (this depend on its thickness) cover the surface with aluminium foil. I have cooked it for 1 h and 20 '.

    Store in the fridge. Itwill be much more exquisite!
           

    giovedì 12 luglio 2012

    Guinness chocolate cake




    a pinch of salt




    How to make


    Melt the butter in the beer over low heat. Add the cocoa and the 2 sugars sifted together, stir and remove from heat when they are well combined. Pour the buttermilk into a bowl with the eggs and the vanilla extract, stir with a whisk and add to the mixture of beer. I another bowl mix the baking soda, flour and salt previously sifted together and then add to the mixture. 
    Grease a baking mold of 22-24 cm in diameter with high sides and cover the bottom and the sides with baking paper, letting out 2-3 cm in height. Pour the mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

    Have a nice week-end!

                           Mony




    lunedì 23 aprile 2012

    ricotta cheese cake




    I found this beautiful recipe here and have changed only little things: like sugar, using less.