Chocolate Raspberry Oat Crumble Cake

I absolutely adore dark chocolate and raspberries! Which is why I chose to make this cake for a nice lunch dessert. I changed it a bit so it would be to my liking, I hope you guys enjoy it too!

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Ingredients

   crumble

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

   cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp.

1 cup milk (any type)

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 large egg 

80g dark chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries

Ready, set, BAKE!

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 8 or 9 inch baking pan.

2. To make the streusel, beat the cold butter. Add the flour and sugar and beat with a wooden spoon or fork, until combined. Add the rolled oats and beat until chunky.

3. In a medium bowl stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. 

4. In a large bowl beat the butter. Then add the milk, vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.

5. Stir the flour mixture into the large bowl until fully combined. Take care not to over-mix.

6. Add the raspberry and chocolate chunks just until combined.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. Chill completely before serving. Enjoy!

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Who doesn't love freshly squeezed orange juice with their breakfast? Personally, it is one of my favorite things to drink in the morning. So yesterday, I opened the fridge looking for orange juice and I noticed we were all out! I was so disappointed but then I saw that there were a bunch of oranges, so I took my juicer and got right to it. 

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Ingredients

10 oranges, halved

1 lemon, halved

Ready, set, bake!

Juice the oranges and lemon until there is no more juice. Take the skin of the oranges and gently carve out the pulp (white part), taking care not to puncture the orange part of the skin. Serve the orange juice in the carved out orange skin cups. Enjoy :)

Mother's Day

1. A cute little windmill at the park. It kept on spinning so rapidly I thought it would snap off!

2. There is nothing like a beautiful batch of strawberries on a warm Spring day. 

3. Egg salad and tuna pico de gallo mozzarella sandwhich, yummy!

4. The strawberry was so pretty I just had to photograph it. 

I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's day! We spent ours at a very big park on the outskirts of Paris. We had a perfect little picnic and spent the time laughing, telling stories and of course soaking in the sun. 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Mother's day is just around the corner, so to help all of you out there with making this day special I decided to post this bread which is great for a Mother's day breakfast and dessert recipe. 

If you are planning on making breakfast in bed I highly recommend making this bread. Yes, it does take some time so you will have to make it the day before but let me tell you, it is completely worth it! Now, I don't say that about any old bread recipe because I have had my share of bread fiascoes but this recipe is pure and utter genius!! 

I highly recommend making french toast with this bread. It absorbs the milk and eggs and when you slice into the french toast mmm... it tastes likes heaven! I guarantee your Mother will be over the moon with homemade bread and french toast for breakfast. I wish you all a happy Mother's day and enjoy the delicious cinnamon-y smell that will be wafting from your ovens :)

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adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 
2 large eggs 
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cups sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cups raisins (optional, but I highly recommend using them)
1 egg and a dash of milk mixed together, for brushing
Softened butter, for smearing and greasing

Ready, set, BAKE!
1. In a medium saucepan melt the butter and milk together just until very warm, do not boil. Allow for it to cool until it is warm to the touch. Once how sprinkle the yeast over the top, gently stir it together and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. In  a medium bowl combine the flour and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix the sugar and eggs until combined. Pour in the milk mixture until combined. Gently pour in half of the flour mixture and stir until completely blended in. Pour in the remaining flour mixture and mix until you know longer can with your wooden spoon.
4. On a very lightly floured work surface, turn your dough and knead until smooth and is not longer sticky, about 5-7 minutes. You may need to add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of flour to reach that smooth consistency.
5. Wash the bowl you previously used for the dough and later fill it up with boiling water, for about 5 minutes. This will heat up the bowl and will help to the dough to rise.
6. Once your bowl is warm drizzle it with canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil until it is fully coated. Cover your dough and allow it to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
7. Once risen, turn the dough onto the work surface (I did not flour it but you may if you need to). Roll the dough into a neat rectangle no wider than your loaf pan. Take the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and gently brush it over the dough.
8. In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle it evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Now take the raisins and very gently press them just a tiny bit into the dough.
9. Starting at the end closest to you, roll the dough away from you, keeping it tight. When you get to the end pinch the seam to seal the dough roll together.
10. Take your loaf pan and butter it generously with softened butter. Place the dough seam down into the pan. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for another 2 hours.
11. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
12. Mix the egg and dash of milk, gently brush it over the top of the loaf.*
13. Place the loaf in the  middle rack and bake it for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

*Note: You can use the remaining egg and milk mixture later to make french toast with the cinnamon bread.

Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

A big part of the French diet is bread and after having lived in France for awhile I now have found myself eating at least twice the amount of bread that I ate back in the States. How could anyone resist the urge of buying so much bread when you have a bakery at every street corner, literally. Which is why I have found myself sometimes tossing out bread that has gotten way too hard to bite through. The other day though, I was looking through recipes and saw a recipe for bread pudding. Genius! Yes, I found the very simplistic recipe for bread pudding utter genius. After having looked at a few more recipes I decided to dive right in, blindly. So for all of you out there with stale bread crying out to you every time you look at it here is a recipe that will turn that frown upside down. Enjoy :) p.s the bread pudding is at its best a few days after being baked.

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Wooden Spoon original 

Ingredients

1 loaf of your favorite bread that is stale, I used whole wheat sesame bread

4 cups milk 

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp ginger 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

3 slices of toast, un-toasted, cubed

1/3 cup brown sugar 

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2 golden delicious apples, cubed the same size as the bread

Ready, set, BAKE!

1. With a serrated knife, cube the loaf bread into 1-inch cubes. 

2. In a large bowl mix the milk, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla extract until completely combined.

3. Place the cubes of bread into the milk mixture and let them soak up the milk for about 35 minutes or until they have absorbed the desired amount of milk.

4. In a medium bowl mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Gently toss the cubed apples until completely coated; set aside. 

5. Add the cubed slices of toast into the milk mixture 5 minutes before removing the loaf cubes out of the bowl. 

6. Pre-heat oven to 350*F and butter a 9x12in pan. 

7. Once the 5 minutes are up, drain about 1/4 to a 1/3 cup of the milk mixture and discard. 

8. Pour half of the soaked bread and the remaining milk mixture into the prepared pan, then pour in half of the apples, then the bread cubes and lastly the remaining apples on top as your last layer.

9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the apples have softened. 

April Likes

1. I absolutely love this book! It is the cutest thing ever and it has wonderful recipes at the end of each chapter!
2. Yes, I waited in line for 15 minutes outside of a Ben and Jerry's shop. In my defense their Peanut Butter Cup ice cream is amazing! I highly recommend it.
3. 'Cocina Criolla' is about the best Puerto Rican cookbook out there! I recently made a flan using a recipe from this book and it came out delicious!
4. I recently learned about this street in Agueda, Portugal where they created shade by hanging a line of multicolored umbrellas. I can't wait for the day I get to visit this street.
5. Yes, I am mentioning ice cream again or actually gelato and it is the best gelato I have ever had. Best thing is, you can pick as many flavors as you want and they make it into a rose shape.
6. Loving these collectible Marc Jacobs coke bottles. I have currently collected 1/3.
7. Running. I have started running 10km races and I finally understand why a lot of people enjoy it. It makes you fresh and fit!

Strawberry Spring Cake

Happy Spring! No more lugging around big puffy coats, gloves and thick scarves for me, no sir-y! So, to kick off this nice Spring-y weather I decided to make a strawberry cake. The recipe has been hanging on my refrigerator since January and when I finally found a perfect looking crate of strawberries at the market, I took the whole thing. I swear the people behind me in line were giving me the evil eye, but hey a girl needs her strawberries! Prepare your taste buds for a whirlwind of tangy and sweet strawberry cake!

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Ingredients

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

3 medium large strawberries, shredded to a pulp

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

10 large strawberries, hulled and halved

Ready, set, BAKE!
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 10-inch pie pan.
2. In a small bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt until combined.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla just until combined. add the dry mixture gradually, mixing until smooth.
4. Pour batter into prepared pie plate and arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as in possible in a single layer (i had to overlap a few to get them all to fit in one layer). Sprinkle strawberries with remaining 2 tbsp of sugar.
5. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50-60 minutes.
6. Let cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Banana Muffins

When life gives me mashed, brown and yucky looking bananas, I make banana muffins!  These muffins are great as an on-the-go breakfast and the best part is they are super easy to bake. They also get better day by day, granted you might not want to leave them lying around for a week and then expect them to be edible during the weekend. So, as I promised here is my recipe for a deliciously moist banana muffin and the video tutorial link can be found below along with my food/beauty collaboration blog. Hope you enjoy!

     

      

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 large bananas, mashed 3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1/3 cup butter, melted 2-3 tbsp milk

Ready, set, BAKE!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with veggie oil or use paper liners.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. Mix the bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl until combined.

4. Fold in the flour and then mix in the milk.

5. Fill the tins halfway, add about 3 banana slices on top of the batter and then cover the banana slices with about 1-2 tbsp more of batter.

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or the muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

Mini Pretzels

So, yesterday I decided to tackle a 30 minute pretzel recipe. I was surprised to find out that the recipe did not call for the dough to rise and I honestly thought that the pretzels would just come out really tough because it did not rise and get spongy. I was really happy when I tasted the pretzels because they were the best mini pretzels I've ever made.

I am now wondering if I could use that same recipe to make cinnamon buns, because you see I've tried so many different recipes for cinnamon buns but they always come out dry and hard, so if I'm ever brave enough I will try it out and see how it goes. If it's successful I'll share with you guys and if not well, I'll let you know so that you don't waste a perfectly good pretzel dough on cinnamon buns. If you have any good cinnamon bun recipes just leave them in the comment box below, please :)
                             

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Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups warm water

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour + more for the counter surface to knead

1 large egg + 1 tsp water

Course sea salt for sprinkling

        if making cinnamon sugar pretzels

3 tbsp butter, melted 

1/2 tbsp of cinnamon 

2 tbsp of granulated sugar

Ready, set, BAKE!

1. Preheat oven to 425*F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir with a spoon until fairly mixed, about 1 minute. Some clusters of yeast will remain. Add salt and sugar; stir until fairly combined. Slowly add flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick. Continue to add more flour until dough is no longer sticky. Poke the dough with your finger - if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and shape into a ball. With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough in 1/2, then those 1/2 in half etc. until you get the desired amount of dough balls. 

4. Roll the dough into a rope with an even diameter and about 12 inches long. This measurement will depend how large you want the pretzels. Once you have your long rope, take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle. Twist the ends, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into a pretzel shape. 

5. In a small bowl, beat the egg. With a silicone brush, brush the egg and water over the top and sides of the pretzel, be generous.

7. Bake for 10 minutes at 425*F degrees. Turn the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning.

8. Allow to cool and enjoy. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pretzels may be stored in an airtight container or zipped top bag for up to 4 days (will lose softness). Pretzels freeze well.

       Optional: In a separate shallow bowl mix the cinnamon with the sugar. While the pretzels are still hot, dip the top side of the pretzel in the butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Shake of any excess cinnamon sugar. 

Chewy White Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies

Guess what I have for all you foodies out there? Chewy white chocolate craisin cookies! I have to be honest, when I found this recipe I thought, "not again". We all know those recipes that "guarantee" us a chewy cookie but they always come out too hard and too crunchy, even if we did  follow the recipe exactly.

Well, I am here to tell you that unless you over bake these cookies there is noway they won't be chewy. 
The thing that I love the most about this cookie dough is that you can use it as a base for any other cookies. Like, chocolate chip or white chocolate chip macadamia. So, here you go guys a guaranteed chewy cookie recipe. 

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Ingredients

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Ready, set, BAKE!

1. Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, wooden spoon or your hands, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. On low speed, mix in flour, baking soda and salt. 

3. Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries. Chill dough (covered) for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. 

5. Drop balls of dough (1.5 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet or used a standard-sized cookie scoop. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. 

6. Do NOT cook them longer than 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown (they continue to bake even after they have been taken out of the oven). 

7. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.
slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction