Chocolate Mountain

A very easy to make dessert.
One that you can keep in your freezer ready to bake when unexpected guests come to visit or when you crave a special treat ;-)


Ingredients:
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 200 g dark chocolate (70% cacao)
- 100 - 150 g sugar (brown or dark Muscovado)
- 4 eggs
- 4 sp flour

Preparation:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a hot steam bath. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat the eggs with sugar.

3. Add the eggs to the chocolaty mixture - make sure it isn't too warm - you don't want to make scrambled eggs!

4. Stir in the flour.

5. Butter up 6 ramekins and fill with the mixture.

6. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for 2 hours.

7. Bake in an 180 C oven for approximately 20 minutes.

* As ovens vary you may want to adjust the time of baking - you want to make sure that the inside stays gooey and the cakes are oozing with warm chocolaty filling as you dig in with your spoon :-)

8. Serve warm. Add your favourite toppings and eat up:-)

This is a very rich dessert cake and it goes best with ice cream - my favourite combination is coffee flavoured ice cream plus a topping of warmed up raspberries or fresh strawberries - no sugar added.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Almond Muffins

One of my favourite things with a morning latte!
So, if you have half an hour to spare
make this delicious treat and start your morning sweet :-)

Ingredients:
- 250 g of flour (= 2 cups)
- 100 g of dark Muscovado sugar (= 1/2 cup)
- 2 eggs
- 100 grammes of butter (melted and cooled)
- 200 grammes of kefir or sour cream (3/4 cups)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 50 g of almonds (raw, skinless and chopped)
- 50 g of dried cranberries

Optional: 4-6 squares of white chocolate, crushed
When you add chocolate, remember to add less sugar.

SERVINGS: 12 muffins

Step 1:
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add the melted, cooled butter, kefir (or sour cream) and eggs.
Mix well by hand or using a blender with a whisk attachment.









Step 2:
Fold in the roughly chopped, skinless almonds
and cranberries. Stir gently.
(Optionally: add in the chopped white chocolate)















Step 3:
Scoop out the muffin batter into muffin cups
or a muffin tray.















Step 4:
Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
Bake for 16-20 minutes.
Check center of a muffin with a toothpick.















Taste delicious with a morning coffee :-)

Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
- 350 g of crunchy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of dark Muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tbsp of honey

Makes about 20 cookies.

350 grams of peanut butter = approx. 1 1/2 cup

Check out this GRAM to CUP CALCULATOR.

Step 1:
Prepare all the ingredients.















Step 2:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.




























Step 3:
Form little balls and place on a cookie sheet
on a baking tray.















Step 4
Press down on the cookies a little with a fork
making a criss-cross pattern.















Step 5:
Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 180º C oven.
Don't worry if the cookies are very soft.
Just set them aside for about 30 minutes before
transferring them from the baking tray to a plate.















Taste best served with cold milk :-)

French Toast with Fried Bananas and Cinnamon

Delicious Sunday breakfast :-)





All you need is:
- 1 large egg or 2 small ones
- 2 slices of bread of your choice
(I like whole-grain or honey wheat)
- 1 banana
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- a bit of butter for the frying pan
- natural maple syrup (you can substitute it with honey
or cranberry jam but maple syrup works best!)

Step 1:
Beat the eggs in a bowl. Dip the bread in the eggs.



Step 2:
Put the bread soaked in eggs on a hot frying pan, after the butter has melted. Fry, then switch sides.


Step 3:
Sprinkle the bread with cinnamon (be generous!). Add the sliced banana and sprinkle some more cinnamon and brown sugar.


Step 4:
To serve, I usually sprinkle some more cinnamon (of course!) and pour MAPLE SYRUP on top. Enjoy :-)