Queen of the Kitchen

Cupcake Chocolate Frosting

2011-06-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

This cupcake is one of the cupcakes I made for a baby shower today for a beautiful little sweet chinese girl. The dough is the same I have made before for the Vanilla Cupcakes but the frosting is just so delicious I had to share it, and the good part it is fast and easy to make

Originally found on allrecepies.com . It can also be used to frost a cake as well. I am definitely going to use this frosting again for other cake projects. It doesn´t actually contain chocolate but cocoa, I used my Dutch Droste Cocoa, I find is the best in the world (at least the best I have tasted).

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups confection cugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons condenced milk or evaporated milk if available
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, stift together the confection sugar and cooca and set aside. In another bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with the milk. Blend in the vanilla and beat untill light anf fluffy. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes and decorate as desired.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2010-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Muffins

2010-10-12T08:03:00.001-07:00

Ever since my blogpost about the difference between muffins and cupcakes - I´ve been wanting to make some blueberry muffins. These muffins are so easy to make and you don´t even need an electric mixer to do so. The natural sourness of the blueberries makes a nice contrast to the sweeter variations of muffins or to cupcakes - plus they are great to take with you, since there is no icing to worry about ;-) The bursted blueberries make a pretty sight as well. I knew this was going to taste good, cause the recepie is from one of my favorite cookbooks about baking - over 500 pages of good quality, tasty and yummy recepies this book has never failed me. But it still always surprises me how good the outcome is.

If you need a quick and easy blueberry muffin recepie - this is the one. No electric mixer is required so you could even do this at night without disturbing your neighbours - but maybe with a lovely smell of newly baked muffins.

The Recepie

(makes 12)

180g plain flour

60g sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

55g melted butter

175ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

170g fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)

Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or use paper cases

Method:

1. Stift together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and baking powder) into a bowl

2. In another bowl add the wet ingredients - whisk the eggs together until blended. Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla essence and lemon rind and stir to combine

3. Make a mold in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. With a large metal spoon, stir just until the flour is moistened, not until smooth.

4. Fold in the blueberries

5. Spoon the batter into the cups, leaving room for the muffins to rise

6. Bake until the tops spring back when touched, about 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out

Recepie source: Martha Day - Baking

Introducing Baker´s Edge

2010-09-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Santa, I know it´s early but this is something I would want for christmas ;-)

Muffin or Cupcake?

2010-08-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Some think a cupcake is just a pretty muffin, or a muffin is just an ugly cupcake. But there is a difference between these two sisters.

Lets compare a blueberry cupcake with a blueberry muffin.

Blueberry Cupcake - picture taken from here

Blueberry muffin - picture taken from here

OK what is the first thing you notice different? You will probably say "The Icing" which is correct, that´s the first thing per se that difference a cupcake from a muffin. Anything else? Maybe the bun? Or the texture of the bun, see how lower a cupcake is than a muffin?

The Cupcake "cake" looks pretty much like a miniature version of a standard cake, and tends to be not too tall, because of it´s texture isn´t strong enough to allow for high structures.

A muffin is significantly heavier in texture, and comes out of the oven with a large overhanging rim. It can contain fruits, nuts or chocolate chips, it´s never iced and can be both sweet and savoir. A cupcake also has a rim, but much smaller and delicate.

I read somewhere if you threw a cupcake against the wall, you would hear something of a "poof!" and if you threw a muffin against the wall, you would hear a "thud!" I found this very funny in explaining the difference between a cupcake and a muffin.

A muffin is more of a every day treat, and a cupcake is something for special occations and often very pretty decorated and with alot of love to detail. You can see cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles but too cupcakes in form of characters like Kermit, Cookie monster, owls and alot of other things.

The Term Cupcake, first shows up in 1828 in Eliza´s Leslie´s Receipts cookbook. Two terms can be found "Cup Cake" and "Cupcake". Where Cup Cakes refer to cakes whoses ingredients are measured by volume using a standard size cup, instead of being weighted. The term cupcake, what we use today, takes it term from the "cup" they where baked in (before muffin tins where available). This is the use of the name that has persisted and used for any small cake that is about the size of a teacup.

The makers of this teacup cupcake mold must have known this ;-)

link to shop here

This is also a cute Giant Cupcake tin sold at several shops including here

A standard cupcake uses the same basic ingredients as a standard sized cakes: butter, sugar, eggs, milk and white flour. Nearly any recipe that is suitable for a layer cake can be used to bake cupcakes. With cupcakes - you beat the butter (that´s at room temperature) till it´s fluffy and smoth, then add the sugar and keep on beating - adding the eggs one at a time. The flour is stifted and mixed alternating with the milk. Baked in a preheated oven and then completely cooled before adding the frosting.

Now let´s turn to the muffins.

When we talk about muffins like the one on the picture here above, we are confearing to the american muffins. There are too english muffins, which predates the american ones, is a type of light bread with yeast. Which is usually baked in a flat sided disk shaped tin, about 8cm in diameter. They are usually split in two, toasted and served with butter and jam. The american form of muffins is yeast free. And the first recepies of these kind of muffins, we find first in the 19th century in american cookbooks.

The mixing does it. While you mix the cupcake dough you kinda fold in the muffin dough. If you did it the cupcake way, your muffins would become rubbery and would then probably make a "boing!" if you threw it at the wall ;-) A muffin dough is way quicker to make than a cupcake dough, cause the ingredients get folded in together, you don´t even need an electric mixer and every recepie says don´t overbeat the dough (or you end up with boing! muffins. The ones I have made usually contain buttermilk, and beside the baking powder you add some sodium. The butter isn´t beaten and comes to the dough in flakes and you hardly mix it - just enough to let it all come together. Muffins are great to take with you to a picnick, cause since they aren´t frosted you can fill up a box with them. Muffins aren´t cut but broken up, the dough is fluffy and airy and moist.

I like both muffins and cupcakes - cupcakes are the cuter ones, you make them with more love for special occations - muffins are everyday bakings - great to take with you for picknicks as well.

If you got a link to your favorite blueberry muffin or cupcake recepie please leave a link in my comments.

I hope you now understand a little more the difference between a cupcake and a muffin. I found this cute icon at Kawaii not where these two sisters are arguing a little who is the prettier one. But both can be pretty, and both can be ugly, it´s all in the hands of the maker ;-)

Baba Ganoush

2010-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

بابا غنوج

Baba Ganoush - Arabic Eggplant Crème

Baba Ganoush is one of the small dishes (Meze) served in the mediterranean and the middle east. Making it yourself is so easy and much more tasty than buying it canned up. Serve with some olives, salad, and fresh arabic flatbread (Khubz).

Preparation Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 1 hour
Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
for 5 persons

1kg eggplant
6 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons
2 teaspoons cummin
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F)
2. Pick the eggplants with a knife and let bake for 1 hour in the oven (200°C (375°F) )
3. After the eggplants have cooled off, peel off and discard the skin.
4. Cut the meat in chunks, then add the garlic cloves after you cut them in small pieces.
5. Place the eggplant chunks with the garlic in a bowl and use a food processor or a blender to mash it together to a paste. You can also use a knife or a fork.
6. Add the tahini and mix well
7. Add the olive oil and mix well
8. Press the juice from 2 lemons and add to your paste and mix well.
9. Spice up with the cumin, salt and pepper or untill you are happy with the taste of your paste.

Now spread it on a plate using the back of the spoon for the little molds. Sprinkle a cross with curry (I used purple curry) over your paste after sprinkling some olive oil over it. Garnish with fresh parsley, basil or mint.

Read more about baba ganoush on wikipedia

Coffee and Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-08-17T16:23:00.002-07:00

Coffee and chocolate the stuff that dreams come from..

Did you ever play that game as kid, where one thinks of a word and whipsers it in the ear of the next one and so on and in the end something totally different comes out? Well it´s the same with recepies - they go from one to the next and everyone adds his or hers own touch to it and makes it better or worse in the end. Well this recepie is adapted from Brown Eyed Baker who adapted it from My Baking Addiction who again got it from One Ordinary day. One Ordinary Day on the other hand got it from I Heart Cupcakes where the line ends - I don´t know where she got the recepie from, her lips are sealed. So that was the family tree of these cupcakes ;-)

I love when people write in their blogs where they get the recepies from - and in this case I not only discovered one great bog but four. Not much has changed with the batter along the way - My Baking Addiction adds chocolate, Brown Eyed Baker espresso powder to the batter. Original Buttercream is white chocolate buttercream. But I have seen other recepies, like from Martha Steward or Primerose Bakery that use coffee buttercream - and I for my part like that more. The colour is a tender light brown and decorating it then with some chocolate coffee beans looks very cute.

Makes 12 Cupcakes

1 1/3 Cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup dutch cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup strong coffee or 2 espressos (I used Nespresso Arpeggio)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), line a standard size muffin tin with paper liners

Mix the coffee, milk and vanilla essence together in a measuring cup (yes looks like a flavoured cafe latte ;-)). Set aside to cool off a bit.

Stift and mix the dry ingredients together in a seperate bowl

Beat the butter and both types of sugar together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy - takes about 3 minutes or longer depending on the softness of your butter

Now add the egg and beat until combined.

Now take your flour bowl and "flavoured coffe latte" Mix and add to your butter-sugar-egg mixture alterating, mixing together after each add. Don´t overbeat the mixture.

Divide the batter between the 12 liners and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Let cool completely before frosting

Espresso Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
Milk in 1 tablespoon at a time can be added if frosting is too thick

Disolve the espresso powder in vanilla extract

Whip the butter on highs speed for ~5 minutes, scrape the sides of the bowl down. Add the powdered sugar on low speed until coporated - then increas the speed again and beat about a minute or two until fluffy. Add the vanilla-espresso mixture and keep on beating on high speed until completely incorporated.

To make the swirls look the best use a 1M decorating tip - if you need some instructions on how to pipe the perfect swirl - there is a great instruction on wiltons homepage here

Decorate with some chocolate covered coffee beans or sprinkles, anyway you like the best

Now to the taste of these beauties: very good cupcakes - definately going to bake these soon again :)

Good.Cupcakes Good - Blog

2010-08-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

[Screenshot]

This is a pretty new blog - Caroline startet it in April 2010 - there are 3 - 4 entrys on it each month - though the first month did start out with 8 entrys. I hope she tries to update more often and share with us more of her cupcake recepies.

Good luck Caroline with your blog

Here is a link for you: http://goodcupcakesgood.blogspot.com/

Caroline is having her first blog give away - this cute tote bag from Cakespy to celebrate her over 1600 blogvisitors/clicks on her blog.

If you don't get lucky - Cakespy's shop is definatley a place to check out such as Cakespy blog.

Taken from Caroline's Profile:

CAROLINES LILLE KAKEBLOGG

Lazy Tuna Sushi Bento

2010-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Debra from Hapa Bento called this Lazy Tuna Sushi. It looked yummy so I decided to try it out and here is the result :-)
After cooking the rice (you might see I overcooked my rice a little - prob. cause I didn´t use original sushi rice - next time I will ;-)). I mixed them with the rice-vinegar-water-liquid and formed the little triangles with my hands and then added the tuna flavored with soya sauce, then formed my little triangles and wrapped them up with strips of nori and a little cut out nori triangle for the "eye".

I´m not gonna write up the whole recepie since Debra explains it so well :-D at Hapa Bento - I found the rice got a bit too wet with adding the whole liquid - and I even added some more rice to it. So it´s probably depinding on how wet your rice are after cooking - how much liquid they need.

Cooled down and had with some soya sauce they were really tasty and I am definately gonna do them in one form or another again :-)

Inside my fortune cookie: !Be Patient with others! So I guess it´s telling me to be patient - some day I´ll get the hang of it ;-)

Here is a link to hapa bento blog page - it´s full of yummy things.

Bento Box

Bento Bento

2010-07-08T06:22:00.000-07:00

As I first saw a cute bentobox I wanted one too - there are tons of blogs out there and books about the art of bento. It doesn´t always need to be pure japanese food - though thats the classic bento. I would call Bento a lunch made with love to lighten up the day - when you open it and find alot of sweet little things inside it really lightens up your day. And we all know love goes through the tummy ;-)

Here a picture of my cute new bunny Bento box closed

and open :-) full of yummy things

Upper Box (250ml) Contains:

Star Shaped Boiled Egg

Oatmeal Mocca Sweets (see recepie below)

home grown mini tomatos :-)

Lower Box (350ml) Contains:

Bunny Apples

Salad and Tomato

Tuna sandwich with the German Flag (see recepie below)

Upper Box:

Oatmeal Mocca Sweet Treats

250g Oatmeal grains

250g Powderd sugar

3 Tablespoon Dutch Cocoa

150g butter - melted

1/2 dl espresso

I decided to make these childhoods home made sweets. We used to make them as I was a little girl and I guess maybe they tought me to like coffee ;-) Today I used a freshly made espresso for the coffee flavor (nespresso Roma). Let the mixture cool a little before you make small balls out of it, cool in the freezer/fridge.

For the cute star shaped boiled egg - I used a bento egg mold. It´s very easy to use. Check here for some instructions on how to do it and pictures of other egg molds.

Lower Box:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away - and these little bunny apples are just too cute - I followed the method to cut the rabbits correctly here.

Tuna salad for sandwiches

can of tuna in own juice

4-5 cornichons (finely chopped)

1 boiled egg (finely chopped)

half a glass (125ml) mayonese with some sour creme or miracle wip

salt and pepper

This salad is perfect for sandwiches - The recepie´s origin might be japanese - at least its from one of my dear friends thats half japanese and my favorite ex roommate - meine große :-) .
You can use mayonese or miracle whip, or mix mayonese with creme fraise to give it a bit lighter texture. Whatever is more your style.

Drain the Tuna, finely chop the cornichons and the boiled egg (I just put it throug my egg cutter and then take it up and turn 90° and cut it again with my egg cutter) couldn´t be easier. Some salt and pepper if you like.

The Bread is italian and I used a normal cookie cutter to get the shape I wanted - you could sprinkle it with a little sweet paprica powder on top as well for a pattern. I made it 3 tier and stuck a little german flag in the middle. It´s the day after the big day for Germany with the bad ending.

Bento Box

Banana and Cardamom Bread

2010-06-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

(please click on picture to see full size)

This combination of banana and cardamom is delicious in this soft textured moist loaf. It´s perfect for tea time, served with butter and jam.

Ingredients:

150ml warm water

1 teaspoon dried yeast

pinch of sugar

10 cardamom pods

400g strong white flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons malt extract

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon sesame seeds to sprinkle

Method:

1. put the warm water in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the sugar, mix and leave for 10 minutes

2. Split the cardamom pods. Remove the seeds and chop finely

3. Stift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture with the malt extract, chopped cardamom seeds and bananas.

4. Gradually incorporate the flour and mix to a soft dough, adding extra water if necessary. Turn the dough on to a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Return to the clean bowl, cover with damp dish towel and leave to rise for 2 hours until double in bulk.

5. Grease a baking sheet. Turn the dough on to a floured surface, kneed briefly, then divide into three and shape into a plait. Place the plait on the baking sheet and cover loosley with a plastic bag. Leave until well risen. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).

6. Brush the plait lightly with water and sprinkle with the seesame seeds. Bake for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 200°C (400°F) Cook for 15 minutes more, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Note if you prefer using a bread machine to make the dough - add the ingredients recording to your bread machine instructions. Take the dough out of the bread machine when the cycle is finished - you might need more flour - kneed a little and put in a floured bowl to let rice for 1 hour more. Then go on with #5 as described here above. I made my dough using a bread machine and a baking pan so I didn´t have to divide the dough in 3 pieces to make the plait.

Picture above shows the whole bread after baking

(please click on picture for full size)

As well as being low in fat, bananas are a good source of potassium, therefore making an ideal nutrisious low-fat snack.

Note

Using Malt Extract in breadmaking produce a well-risen. good flavored loaf. Beside adding natural sweetness to your bread it is a complex mixture of carbohydrates, minerals and proteins, together with trace elements and vitamins. If you can´t find malt extract you can substitute it with other sweetness like vanilla or molasse.

Birthday "Hæ Hó Jibbí Jei og Jibbi jei ... það er kominn 17. júni"

2010-06-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Icelands National Day and my birthday - Usually there is rain on my birthday - even in the famous 17. June song "Hæ Hó Jibbí Jei og Jibbi jei það er kominn 17. júni" (if you wanna play the song on guitar or just sing along just click the link for lyrics and guitar grips) they sing about it - no Birthday without hearing that song play on the radio (thanks for internet and internet radio I could hear it loud and clear over RUV then on Monday 14th and in the radioshow Stefnumót just put your cursor between Rás2 and Rondo then you should be on the right place in the show to hear it ;-) If anyone got this song as mp3 I would be very happy to get it :-D Thank you Humperdinkus from youtube for letting me know where I could listen to the song - brouht the spirit of 17. June over to Germany :-)

(please click picture to see full size)

I had Birthday Butterfly´s over the Rainbow cake - some strawberry-bree salad and some chocolate cupcakes of course with vanilla butter creme (pink) and mint butter creme (green)

First to the primadonna of every Birthday - The Birthday Cake

(please click on picture to see full size)

Since the 17th of june is famous for being a rainy day - I had a little rainy surprise in my Birthday Cake ;-) wanna slice? ;-)

(please click on picture to see full size)

Now here is the best part - hardly any food colouring used - I just added a few drops to make the colours look brighter - beside that it´s all in the fruits and berrys :-) Every Layer has it´s own taste. Red is Strawberry, Orange is Orange, Yellow is Lemon, Green is Kiwi, Blue is Blueberry and Purple is purple grapes. Covered with whipped cream and served with the rest of the berries :-) I saw this cake for the first time by I am baker Blog and fell in love with it - this was something I definately wanted to try at least ones ;-) It does take some time to mash all the ingredients and bake the 6 layers. There was no recepie for the bund at the I can bake blog so I just used one from another cake and used 8 eggs. On the original blog they use 6inch cake pans - but my smallest ones where my checkerboard cake pans (9inch). So it wasn´t as high as by I am baker.

Birthday Cake

Before you start making the dough - it is useful to prepare your "fruit-colouring mixes"

Here is what you need:

Red: 1/2 cup pureed strawberries

Orange: 2 tbsps of freshly grated orange zest and 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Yellow: 2 tbsps of freshly grated lemon zest

Green: 1/2 cup of diced kiwi

Blue: 1/2 cup of blueberries

Purple: 1/2 cup of finely diced purple grapes, 1 tbsp lemon zest and 1 tbsp orange zest

I used the dough from an old family cake recepie from my mum and doubled it.

Ingredients:

8 eggs

400g caster sugar

200g flour

Beat the eggs with the sugar untill fluffy then add the flour and mix well (but be carefull not to overmix it)

I used a measure cup to measure how much dough I had and divided it then in 6 seperate mixing bowls. Then added the different "colour-mixes" prepared before. You can do this cake without using any food colouring - but I added like a drop to the blueberry mix and some orange to the orange mix to make the colours clearer. Beat well together and always be sure to clean your instruments between "colours"

Now time to bake :) at 370F or 180°C I baked 3 at a time for like 10 minutes - then put on a wire wrack to cool.

After they where all baked and cooled I cooked together 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to make a simple syrup. Set a side to cool down and then brush that on between the layers. Cover your cake with some plastic foil if you are serving it the next day or later.

Then whip the cream and cover your cake and decorate the way you want to - of course instead of whipped cream you can use any other covering frosting of choice. The whipped cream however tastes delicious to this fruity taste cake.

My Motto was Birthday Butterfly´s flying over the Rainbow to keep the rain away ;-)

Strawberry-Bree Chese Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

with all the lemons that lost their zest during the making of the birthday cake I decided to use all the lemon juice from them for my dressing on the healthy part of my birthday dish - the Strawberry-Bree Chese Salad with the Honey Mustard dressing

(please click on the picture to see full size)

All you need is a salad mixture with Frisee salad in it - Here in Germany you can buy a salad mixture called paris salad mixture and it´s a great mixture and ready to go as well - so no snip snap needed ;)

Add

250g of strawberry´s sliced in half

200g of Brie cheese ( I used the one from President)

150g cashew nuts

Honey Mustard Dressing (double)

2 tbsp Honey

10 tbsp olive oil extra virgin

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp mustard (dijon)

1 garlic clove

serve with fresh baquette

Of course ther wouldn´t be a birthday without cupcakes - ;-)

Magnolia Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups all-purposed flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened) (see note)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces (170g) unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5-10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C) .
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stift together the flour and the baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on a medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing well until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, altering with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Icing: Vanilla Buttercream and Mint Buttercreme (I used the buttercreme from here adding vanilla essence or mint essence)

(please click picture to see full size)

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.
This is a recepie from the famous Magnolia Bakery in New York

Doves on the cupcakes are not eatable but the flowers are (both from tortissimo)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2010-06-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Have some delicious oatmeal raisin cookies today

you won´t regret it ;-)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups Butter

3/4 cup Brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 cups oats

1 cup raisins

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180°C (375°F). Beat margarine and sugars untill fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking soda, salt and spices; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.

Use a full rounded tablespoon to make cookie dough balls - press them down a little on a prepared baking sheet ( no worries they don´t fload over all during baking). I got around 25 cookies from the dough - but of course it varies how big you want them.

Bake 8-9 minutes for chewy; 10-11 minutes for crunchy cookies. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Remove to wire rack. Store tightly covered.

Here a picture of them cooling down

P.S. I accidently forgot the plain sugar in this recepie and only used the brown one - but they still taste sweet enough for my taste ;-)
This recepie I found on http://www.bigoven.com/

Sandwichbread

2010-05-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

[please click on the picture to see it full size]

This Bread is really a basic white flour bread enriched with egg - adding the eggs to the loaf however gives it a richer flavour and creamier crumb, as well as a golden finish to the crust. The slices have a great crust and soft in the middle - perfect for sandwiches. This is a bread you can do from the start till the end in the bread machine - or like on this picture do the dough in the machine and then bake seperately in the oven.

Ingredients:

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

water see method

500g (4 1/2 cup) flour

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp dried yeast

Method using a bread machine:

1. Put the eggs in a measuring cup and add sufficient water to give 300ml (1 1/2 cup)

2. Mix lightly and pour into your bread machine pan.

3. Sprinkle over the flour covering the water. Add the sugar, salt and butter in seperate corners and make a mold in the middle for the yeast.

4. Set the machine to basic/normal settings if you want to bake the bread in it as well or use the dough setting if you want to bake it seperately in the oven. For the latter - take it out of the machine when the dough cycle is finished and place in a bread baking pan - let rest for 15 min then brush it with a beaten egg and bake in the oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 25 - 30 minutes depending on your oven - if you think it´s about ready - you can always take it out and if you hear a hollow sound when you tab on it´s bottom it´s ready.

Norwegian Raisin Buns

2010-05-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

for breakfast or to afternoon tea - these soft and tender raisin buns with a touch of cardamome you are garantied going to love. If you can´t get a hold on cardamome essence - you can use grated cardamomes as well
This recepie makes around 30-40 buns . You can easily freeze them as well.

It´s perfect to make the dough in the bread machine or the old fashion way

Ingredients:

150g melted butter
7dl (5-6dl) warm milk
1 pack dried yeast
2 tsp cardamome essence
1 kg flour
pinch of salt
2-3 dl raisins

Method:
1. Melt the butter and add the milk, cool it down to 37°C (98,6°F)
2a. If using a bread machine add the warm solution to the pan, add the cardamomm essence as well and cover with the dried ingredients (set the raisins aside and add to your dough when the machine peeps) and press the dough only button (takes about 11/2 - 2 hours depending on how long the dough cycle is in your bread machine
2b. If not using a bread machine - mix together the butter-milk solution with the rest of the ingredients and form a dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for up to an hour - till the dough has doubled in size
3. After the dough has risen / or the bread machine dough cycle has finished - you can now form around 40 buns out of the dough. Place on a prepared baking sheet and leave for few minutes before you bake them.
4. Brush your buns with a beaten egg (milk or water) and bake for around 15-20 min at 200°C (392°F)

Recepie first seen on matseld.is

Cupcake takes the Bread

2010-04-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Usually I bake this bread for easter shaped like a Lamb - see picture here. But today I didn't even know exactly what I was going to make till I started with the little knots and I guess my cupcake love took over and volá here you can see the result

This Dough is sooo nice to work with and for people who like to use the technique in this world - it´s so great to just put all ingredients in the baking machine and press the dough setting. 1 and half hour later I returned to the scene of the cupcake crime and punched down the dough a little and started making these knots and tails - even formed a giant cherry with a stem and leaf.

Ingredients:

500g flour

250ml milk

1 egg

80g butter

60g sugar

one pack dried yeast (7g) or 25g fresh yeast

1 tsp salt

if you are not using a bread machine - disolve the fresh yeast in the warm milk and add the sugar. Combine all ingredients together and kneat untill you have a solid dough. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour - or untill double in size. Using a Breadmachine - add the ingredients in correct order and choose the dough setting. It takes about 1 and a half hour in my machine using dried yeast. After the cycle is finished or your dough is double in size start forming it and shape it the way you like. Leave for 15 minutes to rise again and brush with milk before you bake it for 15 - 20 min at 180°C (350°F).

Anna´s Coconut Macaroons

2010-04-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 eggs

175g sugar

200g coconut grade

1 - 2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp vanilla sugar

100g melted chocolate

Beat the sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs well till fluffy and light. Gently stir in the rest of the ingredients with a fork (beside the chocolate) untill well blended. Place small mounds of the batter with a teaspoon on the pergament lined baking sheet, be sure to have enough space between them.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes at 175°C (347°F) then cool on a wire rack. When cooled completely, dip them into the melted chocolate and flip them upside down and let stand. Keep in an air tight cookie box.

This is a recepie from my mums friend Anna - I baked them for christmas and they are the best.
Thank you :)

Petite Madeleine

2010-04-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

These little sweet french treats come from the Lorraine region in northeast France. They are baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions that gives them this typical look after baking. Traditional recipes include very finely ground nuts, usually almonds. A variation uses lemon zest, for a pronounced lemony taste. These cakes were either "born" in the 19th century and named after a the pastry cook Madeline Paulmier, other sources say that Madeline Paulmier was a cook in the 18th century for Stanislaw Leszczynski, whose son-in-law, Louis XV of France, named them for her. But either way they are delicious.

Here is my version of these sweet little treats.

Ingredients:

125g sugar

125g flour

1 tsp baking powder

125g butter

3 eggs

pinch salt

50g grounded almonds

2 tsps neroli (orange flavor - Orangenblüten wasser)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Soften the butter then mix with the flour. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well between adding the next egg with a wooden spoon. Now addd the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

The dough needs to be cooled for at least 1 hour in the fridge before you start again.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 200°C (395°F) and prepare the cake pan. The shell-shaped depressions will then be half filled with the cooled dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes in the top of the oven.

Cool on a rack.

Note: If you would like to try the lemon variation - use instead of the orange water and vanilla extract zest of a lemon and juice.

Caramelized Onion Bread

2010-04-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite breads is this onion bread, it´s mouthwatering flavour of golden fried onions is great to serve with soup, cheese or salat. This recepie is taken from a great book for all bread bakers called BREAD from Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter

Ingredients:

50g butter

2 onions chopped

280ml water

1 tbsp clear honey

450g bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp dried yeast

makes 1 loaf

I made this one in my bread machine - but if you don´t have one - make the dough like you normally do. I love my bread machine - I don´t bake so much in it though, but use as a dough maker ;-) There are bread machines out there for every purse - and it´s something for my opinion should be in every home :)

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sautè the onion over a low heat untill golden. Remove the pan from the heat and let the onions cool slightly. Place a sieve over the bread machine pan, then tip the content of the frying pan into it, so that the juice fall into the pan. Set the onions aside to cool completely.

2. Add the water and honey to the bread pan. Sprinkle over the flour, covering the liquid. Place the salt and pepper in separate corners. Make a shallow indent in the centre of the flour, add the yeast.

3. Set the bread machine to the dough settings. Press start. Add the onions when the machine beeps or in the last 5 minutes of kneading. Lightly flour a baking sheet (or use a baking stone).

4. When the cycle has finished (1 1/2 hour later), remove the dough from the bread pan and place on a ligthly floured surface.

5. Knock back (punch down) gently; shape into a ball. Place on the baking sheet (or baking stone) and cover with oiled clear film. Leave to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C (395°F). Slash a 1cm deep cross in the top of the loaf. Bake for 35-40 minutes; Cool on a rack.

Homemade Pasta

2010-04-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

At first I thought this must be hard and I saw a big disaster for my eyes - like dough stucking inside the machine etc., but it´s way easier and much more fun to do than you could imagine plus nothing compares to homemade pasta. If your pasta machine doesn´t have a motor stuck to it - you need two pairs of extra hands to help you out - grab your partner/friend and make some pasta basta!

Basic Pasta Recepie

150g Flour (405 Flour)

250g Semolina Flour (00 Flour)

4 eggs

some salt

Step 1: Making the Dough
Mix the two flourtypes together and place on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and salt into it. Beat the eggs with a fork untill smooth and then use your fingertips to mix the eggs with the flour, untill everything is combined. It might look a bit messy at first - but just keep on and ones you can kneed it - kneed it till it´s shiny and soft instead of rough and floury.

Wrap it up in plasticfoil and refridgerate for at least one hour before you use it. You might want to cut it in two parts and wrap them up seperately - if you wont be using it all on the same day. Pasta dough keeps up to 3 days fresh in the fridge.
Step 2: Roll out your Pasta
Now take out your dough and cut in half so you have pastadough of the size of a large orange, wrap the other half back in the plastic wrap and put in the fridge. The pastadough dries out pretty quickly. The easiest way is to roll out your pastadough is to use a pasta machine. Dust some semolina flour on the surface and screw your pasta machine to the table. Flatten your pastadough with your fingertips and set your pasta machine at its widest setting and roll the pastadough through it. If it´s sticky just dust some flour over it. Click the machine down a setting and roll the pastadough through it again. Now fold your pasta in half, click the pasta machine back up to the widest setting and roll it through again - repeat this process five or six times. You will notice how your pasta changes and becomes more silky and smooth.
Now you are ready to roll out your pastadough properly - working it through all the settings on the machine - starting with the widest down to the narrowest. Lightly dust both sides of the pasta with a little flour everytime you run it through.
Now fold the pasta in half lengthways, then in half again and once more. Turn it 90 degrees and feed it through the widest setting of your pasta machine. Roll it down through the settings for the last time.
Depending on what kind of pasta you would like to make - like for tagliatelle or lasagnia you need to roll it down to between the thickness of a beer mat and a playing card.
For stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortelini - you´ll need to roll it down slightly thinner or to the point where you can clearly see your hand or lines of newsprint through it.
Once thin enough for you to use - cut it and shape it straight away - since it dries out very quickly.
You can use a damp clean tea towel to cover it up with - to stop it from drying out as well.

Good Luck and Bon Appetit

Recepie is from the cookbook Poletto´s Kochschule and instructions leaned to Jamie Oliver´s Instructions from his book.

Mummy´s Marble Cake

2010-04-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite everyday cake - is my mums marble cake (icelandic: Marmarakaka). Unlike many marble cakes I´ve tried this one isn´t dry at all - but soft and delicious with coffee or tea and great to take with you on a picnick now in spring :)

Ingredients:

150 – 200 g (5-7 oz) softened butter/margarine

2 ½ dl (1 cup) sugar

3 eggs

1 dl (1/2 cup) milk or cream

4 dl (1 3/4 cups) flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla sugar

1-2 tbsp cocoa (I prefer the dutch cocoa)

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F)

Beat sugar and butter till its light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. In an extra bowl mix the dry ingredients (without the cocoa) together and stift. To the egg-sugar mixture now add the dry ingredients and the milk alternatelly. Now take a third of the dough (1/3) and place in a seperate bowl - to that third you add the 2 teaspoons of stiftet cocoa powder and mix well.

In a prepared ring cakepan place the half of your yellow dough (1/3 of whole recepie) then the dark dough on top of it (cocoa dough) finishing with the rest of the yellow dough - so you get three layers (yellow - brown - yellow).

To make a pretty pattern use a fork (or a knitting needle) and go all to the bottom of your pan then up again all the way around in zig-zag-movements. Place into the preheated oven and bake untill toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in a pan for few minutes before you turn it out of the pan on the cooling rack to cool completely.

If you like you can dust the cake with powdered sugar but it´s not necessery. If you can´t finish in one day ;-) It´s good to wrap it up in plastic wrap to keep it soft longer and keep in a cool place.

Potato Pizza

2010-04-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

I just made this Pizza for dinner, it's quick and easy recepie for the dough, and then you just put what you love on it. I like the potato Pizza::

Pizza dough from http://www.himnesk.is
350g wheat ( spelt can also be used)
1 - 1,5 tablespoons baking powder
pinch of sea salt, like maldorn salt
2-3tablespoons oil (coconut oil or rapsoil, or olive oil)
180-200ml warm water.

mix it in a bowl, put water in slowly.
makes 2 pizzas. Bake it in 200C in the owen for 3-4minutes, put a moist cloth on it when you take it out, beforu you put on it the ingredience. Then bake till it's ready!!!

On top:
hunts tomato sauce in a can like the tomatoes
cheese
potatoes (boiled but not perrfectly) , red onion, motzarella, timmian ( would be great to put fresh and also basil fresh)
pepper and maldorn salt
a bit of extra virgin olive oil ower before i put it in to the owen.

Enjoy

PANDORA

Shortbread Cookies

2010-04-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

My cookie jar is empty and needed a refill - since we love to have something to munch on with our evening nespresso - I thought this time lets fill it up with these shortbreads. I´ve been wanting to try this recepie from Joy of Baking out for a long time now. So last night I made the dough and left in the fridge over night.

The hardest part is really to decide what kind of cookie cutters to use ;-) I got these cookie stamps a while ago and wantet to try them out too :) I picked I ♥ U and HDL (German abbrevation for Hab Dich Lieb = I love you).

Joy of Baking is one of my favorite pages and I was happy to find them too on Facebook.

If you want to decorate your shortbreads with royal icing - check out Bake at 350 I love how she decorates her cookies.

Here a peak before and after baking

after the baking they looked like this

I got about 30 cookies - and they taste really good :)

Ingredients

2 cups (260 grams) all-purposeflour
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsaltedbutter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing)sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) purevanillaextract

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick. Just take one part of the dough out of the refrigerator - since the dough quickly softens. Cut into whatever shapes you wish using lightly floured cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes or freeze them for 5-10 minutes. That way they keep their shape better and rise just slightly higher. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly brown. Cool on rack.

Easter Cake

2010-04-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Made this for easter

it´s a pretty big recepie, beside this cake I got some muffins and two heart shaped cakes ;-)

But it´s soft and has a deliscious texture and yellow colour. The Perfect cake to the three o´clock coffee or tea.

I found this recepie over my Wilton Cake Decorating Facebook Page - they recomended this one for baking a lambcake for easter. I don´t have a lamb mold but I got this cute chicken mold and gave it a shot. Before today I was using the recepie that came with the mold but after I tried this one - there is no turning back :-)

The original recepie can be found here . I used the Lemon grid and juice instead of vanilla since I love lemons and it gives a great yellow colour.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks, 225g) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
(1 tablespoon vanilla extract)

replace with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon chest for a lemon pound cake

1 cup sour cream (230g)

Preheat oven to 325°F (I baked it at 180°C). Spray pan with vegetable pan spray; set aside.

In medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack. Carefully loosen edges of cake from pan; turn out onto cooling rack and cool completely.

YIELD: Makes about 12 servings.

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T04:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter :-)

cake topping

2009-08-16T16:17:00.001-07:00

made out of fondant for a birthday cake
and here the whole cake :) it´s a lovely icelandic date cake the men of our family just love - no birthday without it :-)
Here the Recepie:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Dates, chopped
1 Cup Almond, chopped
1 Cup Sugar
3 Tbsp Flour
1 Tsp Soda
1 Tsp Vanilla essence
2 Tbsp cold Water
2 Eggs

You don´t really need a mixer, but I usually mix the eggs with the sugar first and then add the rest.

Bake in a good greased tin, since it is sometimes hard to get out of the tin.

180°C, ca. 20 - 25 Minutes

Place on a rack to cool

Then whip some cream (250ml) and slide a Banana for the top and sprinkle over with some chocolate.

Best is to make it one day earlier, or the evening before, that makes the cake extra juicy and soft.

The Knead for Bread

2009-06-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful bread blog - those english muffins look soo great - gotta try these out soon :o)
Blog is too on my Blog List (see right panel).
Click HERE to be redirected

Spätzle - German Pasta

2009-06-22T05:09:00.000-07:00

I love spätzle, but never made one myself. And after I did, I will never buy it again. It´s so easy to make and tastes really fresh and good. The picture above is of the Spätzlehobel or spätzlemaker I bought.

All you need is a pot with boling salt water
place this iron on top (or use something similar, like potato press)

make the batter:

400g Flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/8 L water

mix together and then place it on your iron and start mooving forwards and backwards letting the spätzle drop down in the boiling water.
When it swims up to the surface it´s ready, fish out and then repeat with the remaining batch

you can add some cheese and cook in the oven or just serve with meat like you would serve pasta with. Enjoy!

Kermit Cupcakes

2009-06-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Had to smile every time I had put another pair of eyes on the cupcakes. I love Kermit and did those as the cake for my birthday.

Had to close my eyes to eat them LOL

The eyes are made of Mentos and then painted with a food colourin pen

Recepie: see the Vanilla Cupcake recepie I posted earlier

Chocolate Butter Cake

2009-06-20T07:25:00.001-07:00

another delicious cake from the cake bible

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 3 tbs Dutch Cocoa (Dutch cocoa is the best)
1 cup boiling water
3 large eggs
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter (room temperature)

Method:
1. whisk together the cocoa and the boiling water , let cool to room temperature
2. whisk together 1/2 of the cocoa mix + the eggs + vanilla
3. mix the remaining dry ingredients
4. add the butter and cococa mix
5. mix together on low speed then faster for 1 1/2 min
6. gradualy add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beat 20 seconds each time

7. place in 2 9-inch (23cm) cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes at 350°F or 180°C

cool on a rack

you can add any kind of frosting on this cake, nice to add a lill orange extract in it for example. This time I put some chocolate frosting on it. Was very tasty with some icecream/cream and fresh strawberries. Not at all too heavy chocolate tasty or too bitter. Yummy Yummy Cake :o)

French Dimpled Rolls

2009-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

# Servings: 10 pcs
# 400g unbleached white bread flour
# 1 1/2 tsp salt
# 1 tsp sugar
# 15g fresh yeast
# 120ml lukewarm milk
# 175ml lukewarm water

Directions:
Cream the yeast with the milk until dissolved, then pour into the center of the flour mixture. Sprinkle over a little of the flour from around the edge. Leave at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble.

Add the water and gradually mix in the flour to form a fairly moist, soft dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly olied clear film (plastic wrap) and leave to rise, at room temperature, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knock back (punch down) Re-cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Divide into 10 pieces. Shape into balls by rolling the dough under a cupped hand, then roll until oval. Lightly flour the tops. Space well apart on the baking sheets, cover with lightly oiled clear film and leave at room temperature, for about 30 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.

Lightly oil the side of your hand and press the center of each roll to make a deep split. Re-cover and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place a roasting pan in the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F. Pour 250ml water into the tin and bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Bounty Muffins

2009-06-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

# 250g Wheat
# 2 1/2 tsp Backing Powder
# 1/2 tsp Natron
# salt
# 3 Tbs Coco poweder
# 100g chockolate drops
# 2 eggs
# 150g Caster Sugar
# 125g soft butter
# 6 Bounty (28g x 6)
# 250ml Buttermilk

Directions:

And thats how you do it:

Mix the indegrients, and slice the Bounty in 1cm thick slices. Don´t mix it too good. Only with a wooden spoon.

Bake at 180°C for 30 Minutes or untill ready.

P.S. The Picture is of dark and light muffins - the Dark once are done just like the recepie here - the light once are missing the bounty and the cocoa and having 1 TSP of Vanilla extract in the batch as well :o)

French Chocolate Cake

2009-06-02T09:45:00.001-07:00

# Cooking Time: 50-60
# 200g Butter
# 200g Dark Chocolate
# 4 eggs
# 3 dl sugar
# 1 dl flour
# 100g hashed hazelnuts

Melt the butter and chocolate over water.

Mix the eggs and the sugar until fluffy.

Pour the chocolate mixture carefully to the egg mixture, and leave the mixer on. Be careful that the chocolate mixture isn't too hot

Add the flour through a sieve and then the hazelnuts, stir lightly, not too long though, because then the cake may become to stiff

Bake at 180°C for 50-60 Minutes

Garnish with powder sugar and some berries like red currants or strawberries

Serve with whipped cream

Checkerboard Fantasy Cake

2009-05-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

Checkerboard Fantasy Cake

Taken from The Cake Bible – Rose Levy Beranbaum

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 1/3 cupsMilk
1 tablespoon Vanilla
4 cups Sifted cake flour
2 cups Sugar
2 tablespoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Unsalted butter (must be softened)
85g extra bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)

• Melt the chocolate
• In a medium bowl lightly combine the eggs, ¼ of the milk and vanilla
• In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and remaining milk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 ½ minutes to aerate and develop the cake´s structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.
• Divide the batter approximately in half (1 ¾ pounds/ 793g in one bowl, 1 ½ pounds / 680g in another bowl). Stir in the melted chocolate into the smaller batch of batter until uniform in color. Fill 2 large pastry bags fitted with a large round tube ¾ inches in diameter (a large number 9 tube) with the 2 batters.
• Place the divider ring in 1 of the prepared pans and pipe batter into each section, alternating batter colors. The batter should fill the pan about ½ full. Using a small metal spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth any seams or divisions in the batter. Now carefully lift out the divider and rinse it off. When piping batter for the second layer, alternate the colors, i.e. if you started with yellow for the outside ring, start with chocolate. Pipe batter for the third layer exactly like the first.
• Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and cake spring back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after removal from the oven.
• Let the cake cool in the pans on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula if needed and invert it onto wire racks. To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the tops are up and cool completely before wrapping airtight.
• When stacking the layers, use a very thin coating of yellow or chocolate frosting to adhere the layers without disturbing the checkerboard effect.

For this cake frosting I used chocolate frosting from Betty Crocker

Vanilla Cupcakes

2009-05-09T10:36:00.001-07:00

I made cupcakes for the very first time and used a recepie I found on http://www.joyofbaking.com/VanillaCupcakes.html They taste so good and are so easy to make.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk or light cream

Assorted food colors (if desired)

Vanilla Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. If you want to pipe the frosting, I like to use a large Wilton 1M closed star decorating tip.

For the Frosting: In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. Tint the frosting with desired food color (I use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores).

Makes about 12 cupcakes

http://www.joyofbaking.com/VanillaCupcakes.html

First Fondant Cake

2008-09-28T11:05:00.001-07:00

DSC05450
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

Hello again,

this is the result of my first Fondant Cake I made at a class of www.tortissimo.de

and yeah .. its pink, what else did you expect ;-)

it wasn´t that hard as i thought it would be, and was sooooooo much fun to do..

its my first Fondant Cake but not my last... Can´t wait to do my second, third, fourth .. etc one ;-)

Bread I made for Easter

2008-08-24T05:34:00.001-07:00

Bread I made for Easter
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

Sheep bread ... the picture is made with a mobile telephone camera .. but isn´t the sheep a cutey :o)

Here is the Recepie:

500g Flour
1/4 L Milk
1 Egg
80g Butter
60g Sugar
7g dry Yeast (or 25g fresh yeast)
1 tps Salt

I made the dough in the bread machine and then made the sheep, leave 15min in a warm place, brush with an egg and bake for 15-20 min at 180°C (350°F)

German Plum Jam

2008-08-24T05:33:00.001-07:00

the birth of a german plum jam
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

this picture shows the birth of real german plum jam... the time of year is august to do this... and the taste is really christmassy ...

plums, cinnamon, anis all cooked and filled up in glasses

# 2,5 kg Plums (Zwetschken) without stone
# 500g sugar
# 1/8 L wine vinegar
# 2 cinnamon stick
# 3 star-anise

Day One:

Put in a bit pot, the plums without the stone, the sugar and the vinegar. Stir together and place the lid on the pot. Let rest ´till the next day

Day Two:

The plums with the sugar and vinegar have become very juicy and now ready to be cooked. Add in the Cinnamon stick and the star anise (as soon as it cooks you gotta take them out again, I used a tea filter). Preheat the oven to 200°C while you heat your plum mash to cooking point. As soon as it starts to cook, take out the cinnamon-sticks and the star-anise.

The often should be warm now. Place the Pot inside (without a lid) and let cook for almost an hour, while stirring occasionally.

In the mean time, prepare the glasses your gonna fill your marmalade with (cook in water).

I had 13 Glasses of Jam ca. 200ml each

Mocca Muffins

2008-08-24T05:32:00.001-07:00

Mocca Muffins
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

Tasty Muffins with a soft cream cheese filling in the middle

Green Carrot Cake

2008-08-24T05:31:00.001-07:00

afmæliskakan mín 17. júni 2007
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

like a summerday-picknick in green grass with colorful flowers all around, dont forget the sunblocker

# 125g Butter
# 190g Sugar
# 1 Egg
# 250g Carrots
# 1 Lemon
# 1 Tsp Vanill-sugar
# 1 Tsp Zinnamon
# 400g Floor
# 2 Tsp Baking Powder
# Salt
# 70g Almond-powder
# 125ml Milk
# 220g Aprikose-marmelade
# 2 Eggwhite
# 400g Powdered sugar
# 2-3 drops of green Foodcolour
# Sugarflowers for decoration

Directions:

Preheat the Oven to 180C (160C with air-circulation).

Mix together untill creamy the Butter and Sugar.

Add the Egg / Eggyolk, the coarsely grated Carrots, the Juice and the paring of the Lemon and the vanille-sugar to the batch.

In another Bowl mix Floor, Baking Powder, Cinnamon and Salt together.

Mix these dry indegriends by turns with the milk to the batch. At last add the grounded Almonds.

At last add the stiff whisked eggwhite.

Bake in a 18cm spring form for around 50 minutes.

Let the cake cool down.

Warm up the Apricot jam and coat the cake with it.

In another bowl mix together the powdered sugar with the white from egg and the food colour, for a better taste of the icing add vanille or lemonjuice.

After you have the right colour spread the icing on the cake and place the sugar flowers immediately.

Muhammara

2008-08-24T05:29:00.001-07:00

Muhammara
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

this is a syrian paprika dip, made of fresh paprika, walnuts, garlic and harissa... really spicey and addicting ;-)

Belgian Waffles

2008-08-24T05:28:00.001-07:00

Belgian Waffles
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

First Waffle ever made in my new flip flop waffle maker

what you need:

200g Flour
50g Sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla sugar
salt
20g yeast
0,3L milk (hand warm)
40g butter
2 eggs

mix the flour, sugar and vanilla sugar together
then disolve the yeast in the warm milk and add to the flour mixture

mix together till you got a smooth dough, then leave for 10 min to rise

melt the butter then cool down to room temperature, add the eggs. Then add this to your mixture.

let rise for another 20 min

beat the egg white till stiff, and add carefully to the mixture.

Now it´s time to bake those waffles on your hot iron :o)

N.B. These can be reheaten in your toaster if you have any left overs ;-)

Birthday Starcake

2008-08-24T05:27:00.003-07:00

Birthday Starcake
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

Lemon Cake with no Baking Soda

Muffins

2008-08-24T05:27:00.001-07:00

Muffins
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

Bounty Muffins and Vanilla Muffins ..

Happy Birthday Bits

2008-08-24T05:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Bits
Originally uploaded by Duddasnudda

This is a traditional icelandic "brownies", a delicious soft and fluffy cocoa cake with icing made of coffee, cocoa and powderd sugar ... sprinkled over with some coconut ... recepie will follow in due time

Hæ Hó Jibbí Jei og Jibbí jei

2008-06-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sautjándi júní

Lag og texti: Haukur Ingibergsson / Bjartmar Hannesson

G                                      C
Blómin spring út og þau svelgja í sig sól.
D                                   G
Sumarið í algleymi og hálft ár enn í jól.
                                               C
Í hjarta sínu fólkið gleðst og syngur lítið lag,
     A                           D
því lýðveldið Ísland á afmæli í dag.

G D G
Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei. Það er kominn 17. júní.
G D G
Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei. Það er kominn 17. júní.

G                                         C
Jóni heitnum Sigurðssyni færir forsetinn,
D                                      G
firnamikinn árvissan og stóran blómsveiginn.
                                         C
Fjallkonan í múnderingu prílar upp á pall,
        A                                     D
með prjáli les upp ljóð, eftir löngu dauðan kall.

G D

Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei........

G                                                   C
Skrúðgöngurnar þramma undir lúðrasveitarleik,
D                                        G
lítil börn með blöðrur, hin eldri snafs og reyk.
                                         C
Síðan líður dagurinn við hátíðannahöld,
A                                        D
heitar étnar pylsurnar við fjölmörg sölutjöld.

G D
Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei........

G                                         C
Um kvöldið eru allsstaðar útidansleikir,
      D                                  G
að sunnan koma rándýrir skemmtikraftarnir.
                                              C
En rigningin bindur enda á þetta gleðigeim,
      A                                     D
því gáttir opnast himins og allir fara heim

G D
Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei........

English Translation (it´s not the best translation out there I´m sure off) The song pretty much describes how 17th of June is celebrated in Iceland

The flowers blossom and they drink the sun

Summer has come and half the year till xmas

The People are happy and they sing a little song

cause iceland has it´s birthday today

Hi, ho, jibby, yei and jibby, yei. today is the 17th of june

In memory of Jon Sigurdsson the president lays a big flower wreth down at his memory statue

the woman of the mountain in her dress climbs up on the stage

and reads a poem a long dead guy wrote

Hi, ho, jibby, yei and jibby, yei. today is the 17th of june

Parades and Marching Bands march down the streets

Little Children with balloons the older ones with snaps and smoke

Then the day passes with celebration acts

people eating hot dogs from streets salesmen

Hi, ho, jibby, yei and jibby, yei. today is the 17th of june

In the evening there are open air dances everywhere

from the south (south iceland - capital Reykjavik) very expensive artists have arrived

But the rain ends the big party at last

when the doors of the sky open up and everyone goes home

Hi, ho, jibby, yei and jibby, yei. today is the 17th of june

Gleðilegan Þjóðhátíðardag kæru landsmenn :)

Skúffukaka - Icelandic "Brownies" one could call them

2008-06-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

(picture taken by my dear little sister)

I was asked to make these for my colleges on my Birthday ... every woman in Iceland has a recepie of their own Skúffukaka... and this is our little secret from my Mum.
She makes this in the owen drawer and then cuts it up in pieces after the frosting is stiff again, and safes it in a air tight tin. It´s great to take with you on a picknick or on a small trip. The cocoa - coffee - cocos taste just makes a hit. Once i baked it in a too small pan and it kinda looked like a vulcano so some of my friends know it as the Volcano Cake ;-)

This Picture is from my little sister, the recepie from my mum and my big sisters bakes it too.. and the funny thing is, it never taste the same so I guess a part of everyones soul get mixed up in the dough and makes it by every baker special

so here is the recepie

Dough:

300 ml Sugar
2 TSP Vanillasugar
2 eggs
450 ml Flour
3 TSP baking powder
150g Butter
1 TBSP Cocoa
150 ml milk

preheat the oven to 180°C

Beat the eggs with the sugar, then add the rest of the things to it. Bake in a greaced pan, i usually make the 2x recepie and bake in the rectangular baking tin that comes with the oven.
Bake at 180°C for about 40 minutes.
Then its time for the cake to cool of in the tin. While the frosting is made. Usually when I have time I bake the cake in the evening and put the frosting on it the next day. Or i put it out on the balcony when its cold outside ;o)

Frosting:
200g powderd sugar
4 tbsp melted real butter (magarine wont do it, cause it gotta get stiff when cold!)
1 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp espresso
2 tsp vanilla sugar

So that the frosting wont get too thin, I use cold espresso and let the melted butter cool down a bit. Then just mix it all together, whisk well till its soft and smoothy and poor over the cooled of cake.
In the end spread some cocos grate over it, just like it has been snowing.
Let the frosting cool completely before you cut the cake in bites :o). This cake stores very vell in a air tight tin box and is a great compagnion for a short trip.

Mini Brioche

2008-06-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

these small french breakfast breads taste excellent with my plum jam ;o)

30ml / 2 tbsp milk
2 eggs
225g unbleached white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
15ml / 1 tbsp caster sugar
50g / 2oz butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp easy-blend (rapid rice) dreid yeast
1 egg yolk, to glaze

makes 12

1. Pour the milk and eggs into the bread machine pan. If the instructions for your bread machine specify that the yeast is to be placed in the pan first, simply reverse the order in which you add the liquid and dry ingredients

2. Sprinkle over the flour, ensuring that it covers the liquid. Add the salt, sugar and butter, placing them in separate corners of the bread pan. Make a small indent in the centre of the flour (but not down as far as the liquid) and add the easy-blend dried yeast

3. Set the bread machine to the dough settings; use basic dough setting (if available). Press Start. Lightly oil 12 small brioche moulds.

4. When the dough cycle has finished, remove from the machine and place on a floured surface. Knock it back (punch it down) gently. Slice off a quarter of the dough, cover with oiled clear film (plastic wrap) and set aside. Divide the remaining dough into 12 pieces.

5. Knead each piece of dough into a small round. Place each round in an oiled mould. Divide the reserved pice of dough in 12 and shape into small pear shapes.

6. To shape each mini brioche, make a small hole or cut a cross in the top of each large piece of dough. Place the pear-shape pieces of douch on top, narrow end down. Cover with lightly oiled clear film and leave in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, or untill well risen. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas 7

7. Make the glaze by mixing the egg yolk and milk together. Brush the mixture over each brioche. Bake for 15 minutes, or untill the brioche are golden and have risen well. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.

EXTRA to the Pear-Shape. I added some more Fotos to explane how you make the smaller ball on the Brioche…
From that Quarter of Dough you put aside you make little Balls and then you sort off squeese them to a Pearshape, so that they fit better the hole you put in the middle of the bigger Ball. But as you know a Picture is like 1000 Words I have added some more pictures to explane it. Good luck and thank you for the comments… if it still isn´t clear, please ask :o)

French Chocolate Cake

2008-06-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

This is a delicious cake, easy to make and the taste is Royal ;-)

All you need:

200g Butter
200g Dark Chocolate
4 eggs
3 dl sugar
1 dl flour
100g hashed hazelnuts

Step 1:
melt the butter and chocolate over water.

Step 2:
mix the eggs and the sugar untill fluffy.

Step 3:

Pour the chocolate mixture carefully to the egg mixture, and leave the mixer on. Be careful that the chocloate mixture isn´t too hot

Step 4:

add the flour through a sieve and then the hazelnuts, stir lightly, not too long though, ´cause then the cake may become to stiff

Step 5:

Bake at 180°C for 50-60 Minutes

Step 6:

garnish with powder sugar and some berries like red currants or strawberries

serve with whipped cream

welcome

2008-06-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Blog ... here I will Post some recepies with Pictures of my Magic in the Queens Kitchen... so stay posted

check out: www.bakespace.com and www.pinkcakebox.com

I love baking pretty tasty cakes and breds and love photographing my results, and since one of the best indegrients of kitchenmagic is sharing, I´m gonna share these with you and maybe we can exchange thoughts too and give some tips...

so keep posted best regards

your
little icelandic kitchenqueen in the middle of germany

Andromeda