Saturday 24 December 2011

Buche de Noel a la Tonia (Tonia's Christmas Log)

   Every Year, the day before Christmas, Mum spend all day in the kitchen making Buche de Noel. She will make loads a give out to neighbours, friends  and family. She use to make chocolate ones & white ones.
I am making some and decorating them the way she use to do it.


Ingredients:
Cake:
5 Eggs
1 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
Vanilla
If Chocolate: add 3 Tablespoon Cocoa sifted + 1 Tablespoon Water ( or Rum)

Cream Filling:
1 1/2 cup Milk  ( if chocolate add 2 tsp of Cocoa to the Milk)
1 Egg
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
2 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
 Vanilla

Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla then add flour & baking powder.  Pour in rectangular tray (32x21cm) lined with a greaseproof baking sheet. If you like the buche thin, divide the cake mix into a rectangular tray (32x21cm) & square tray (21x21cm) both lined with greaseproof paper ( this is what I usually do).
 Bake in medium hot ( gas mark 5) oven for 15 mins or until sponge-like to the touch.

Remove from oven, roll the cake with the baking sheet & leave it aside to cool down.
Meantime, prepare the cream. Mix egg, sugar & flour. Add the milk and place in saucepan on low heat and stir continously. Once the cream thickened, remove from heat and add butter. Leave it aside to cool and  stir the mixture from time to time till it cool down.

Once cake is cold, peel off the baking paper carefully & straight away spread the filling cream on the cake from inside to out. Re-roll cake.


Place, seam-side down, on serving plate. Spread cream on the top of the log. Run a fork up and down the icing until the icing resembles tree. Dust the Christmas log with cocoa powder and icing sugar. Sprinkle on top a little bit of coconut. Decorate the log with Glace cherry if you like or any festive decoration.
Put it in fridge for 2hrs before serving. 


3eid Melad Majeed!! Joyeux Noel!! Merry Christmas!!

Friday 23 December 2011

Chocolate Stars (no cooking)

   I came across this recipe; I tried it out of curiosity to see how all the ingredients would mix together without cooking.... The result: it works & it is very tasty & very easy.



Ingredients:
250g Ground Almonds
150g Caster Sugar
120g Dark Chocolate ( or Milk Chocolate)
2-3 tbsp Brandy
2-3 tbsp Water

Melt chocolate. Mix all ingredients in together to make soft dough.
Roll out the dough about ¾ cm thick and cut out stars (or any shape you like). Place the cookies on a baking sheet & let them dry overnight. 
 Yummy! Enjoy!


Tuesday 20 December 2011

Baileys White Chocolate Truffles

  One of my favorite Truffle recipes...


Ingredients:

125g Belgian White Chocolate
2 Tablespoon Double Cream
2 Tablespoon Irish Cream
2 Tablespoon Butter

Flaked Almond for coating ( optional)

Coarsely chop the chocolate. Melt Chocolate and butter.remove from heat. 
Add the cream and Baileys. Mix well. Chill the chocolate mixture 1-2 hr.
Spoon out a bit of mixture; shape into ball. Roll in flaked almonds.
Keep refrigerated until serving.

Truffes aux Dates a la Me’me’ ( Me’me’’s Dates Truffles)

     Christmas Truffles that Me’me’ used to make.


Ingredients:
2 cups Dates pitted & chopped
1/2 cup Walnuts chopped
1/2 cup Rice Crispies (or crushed biscuits)
2 tbsp Butter
A handful of Rice crispies crushed  for coating ( optional)
 

Put dates and butter in microwave for 30 sec, so dates become soft & easier to knead. Add walnuts and rice crispies and mix all together. Using a small spoon, scoop up a bit of the mixture; roll into small ball.
  It can be served as it is, or can be coated with some crushed rice crispies.  
Chill before serving. Sahtein!

Sunday 18 December 2011

White Chocolate TuttiFrutti

    This is my favourite white chocolate recipe. I have been making it every Christmas for the last few years.

Ingredients:

200g White Chocolate
50g Butter
6 Rich Tea Biscuits (Biscuit Marie)
6 Glace Cherries
2 Tablespoon Raisins
1 teaspoon Cut Mixed Peel (candied citrus peel)

Melt White Chocolate and butter in microwave for 30 sec, stir once then put back in again for 30 sec. Repeat until chocolate completely melted.
Stir mixture together until smooth & set aside to allow to cool. In the meantime, cut the glace cherries into pieces.  Crush the biscuits into little pieces using your hands.  Stir the biscuits and the rest of ingredients into the melted  chocolate. Chill for 30 min.

Tear off a sheet of cling film. Place half of the mixture on a sheet of cling film, shape into long sausage & then wrap it up with cling film. Put it in fridge to firm up. Unwrap and carefully cut into 1 cm thick rounds.






Truffes aux Marrons a la Me’me’ (Me’me’‘s Chestnut Truffles)

       Every Christmas, Me’me’ use to make these truffles & we were only allowed
 1 or 2 because they were saturated with Brandy!
Ingredients:

400g Chestnut peeled and crushed (or Chestnut puree)
200g Chocolate Dark (or Milk or both)
50g Butter
3 Tablespoon Double Cream
5 Tablespoon Icing Sugar
2 Tablespoon Rum or Brandy (or more if you prefer stronger in alcohol)

Sifted Cocoa Powder for coating.

Break chocolate into pieces & melt it with butter and milk. Add icing sugar, chestnuts and Rum. Let it cool; Put in fridge for 30 mins. With a small spoon, scoop up a bit of the mixture; roll into small ball; dip into the cocoa powder and coat thoroughly. Chill for 1-2 hrs before serving.

If you like, decorate with dusting of icing sugar.
The truffles will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge (never lasted that long in my fridge!)

Christmas Truffles


    One of the family tradition during Christmas  is Truffles. My aunty use to make delicious Chestnut Chocolate Truffles & Dates Truffles. I added to the tradition : White Chocolate Baileys Truffles & White Chocolate TuttiFruti. Trying to decide which one to make this Christmas,  I made a bit of each......

Recipes to follow...

Friday 16 December 2011

Apricot Truffles

I was looking into a different recipe of truffles and I came across this recipe and I had to try it....It is really good & healthy!


Ingredients:

100g ready to eat Apricots (dried - no soak)
40g Cut Mixed Peel ( Candied Citrus Peel)
50g Walnuts chopped
50g Raisins or Sultanas
1 tablespoon Orange juice or Orange liqueur


Chop the Apricot into small pieces, and mix all the ingredients together.  With a small spoon scoop up a bit of the mixture, roll into balls.
Roll the balls in dried coconuts or sesame seeds.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Gateau de Semoule a l'Orange ( Semolina Cake with Orange)

   Ages ago in Brussels, a family friend use to make Gateau de Semoule a l’Orange. It tasted nice. As much as my sister & sister in law tried to get the recipe, she always used to find excuses not to give it to us...Well, after several trials, this recipe below taste much nicer :)
This is for you Ladies!


Ingredients:

1 Orange Peel
3/4 cup Semolina
3 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Butter
4 tablespoon Sugar
few drops of Vanilla


  Rinse the orange and grate the peel finely. Pour milk in a saucepan and add the orange peel. Gently bring to a boil. 

  As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat down, to a very low temp; slowly pour the semolina while continuously stirring. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and butter. Remove it from heat, add the beaten egg yolks with vanilla and mix very vigorously. 

  Pour the mix in the mould, level the mix surface, cover with a cling film and let cool in the fridge for 1-2 hr.

 
  
  

  To serve, unmould the dessert into a serving plate and decorate with slices of orange or if you have a sweet tooth poor over some sirop like
Clementine Sirop or some honey....... Bon Appetit!!

Friday 12 August 2011

Bascot Sikar Asmar (Brown Sugar Cookies)

A simple cookie recipe......


Ingredients:
4 cups Flour
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter
2 Eggs
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
Handful of Walnuts for decoration
Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.

Roll into a thick roll. Wrap it tight with cling film. 
Put in fridge for 20-30 min.

 Take out of fridge. Cut it into ½ cm thick slice.

Put them on a greased baking tray.
Leave space between the cookies.
Decorate each biscuit with a half of a walnut.
 Bake in preheated oven gaz mark 6 (200C/ 400F) for 15-20 min
or until they are done.

Sahtein!

Sunday 5 June 2011

Joz ElHind ( Coconut Balls)

Simple recipe with simple ingredients for a great taste for coconut lovers!!


Ingredients:

1 tin (400ml) Condensed Milk (I used Light!)
400g Desiccated Coconut
1 tablespoon Butter (melted)
Few drops of Vanilla

Handful of peeled Almond ( for decoration)


Mix coconut, milk, butter and vanilla together. Rest the mix for 20 min.


Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up to a ball between your hands and then place it in a greased or greaseproof paper lined baking tray. Place an almond on top of each ball and press it down a bit.


Bake in hot oven (gas mark 6) for 5-10 min or until slightly golden. Delicious!!

Sahtein!!

Sunday 29 May 2011

Bascot ElQuaker (Oat Cookies)

 Bascot ElQuaker was my Dad’s favourite type of cookies. He introduced us to oats and porridge after his trip to the UK...


Ingredients:

3 cups Flour
1½ cup Butter (softned)
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Oats
1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Raisins
3 Eggs
2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of salt

4 tablespoon of sugar with ½ tsp of cinnamon (for decoration)

     Rub flour, oats and butter between your hands.
 Add the rest of ingredients and mix all together to make dough. Mix sugar & cinnamon (for decoration) in tea saucer. Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up into a ball between your hands.










Then flatten it a bit. Dip it in the tea saucer so the top of the cookie is coated with the sugar mix.

Place it on greased baking tray. Repeat until the tray is full, leaving some space between the cookies.

 Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6(200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or until they are done. 


Sunday 22 May 2011

Bascot bil Custard (Custard Cookies)

I love this recipe at it is very simple and the cookies have a great texture. I couldn’t stop myself from eating a couple hot from the oven...


Ingredients:

1 cup Custard powder
½ cup Sugar powdered
½ cup Butter softened
1½ cup Flour
1 Egg

Cream the butter & sugar together. Add the egg. Sift the flour & custard powdered together. Add to the butter mixture and mix well.
Using a cookie maker (cookie press) or a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and arrange on lightly greased baking tray. You can make any shape you like.
Bake for 10-15 min in preheated oven gas mark 6 (390F – 200C).
If you like to make it chocolaty, add 2 tablespoon of Cocoa powder to the ingredients (instead of 2 tablespoon of flour to keep the dough consistency).

Saturday 14 May 2011

Snein El Ajouz

Snein El Ajouz is  a deep fried dough coated with honey syrup........This is my favourite dessert that mum used to make especially for me  when I visited her...Simple ingredients but superb taste.

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 Eggs
2 cup Flour (as much you need to make it a soft manageable dough)
Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Vegetable fat and vegetable oil for frying

Syrup:
1 cup Sugar
1/3  cup Water
½ cup Honey
Squeeze of lemon

Mix eggs with vanilla, salt & flour until it becomes a soft dough. 

Roll into rope & cut them into small cube with the knife. 
Deep fry them in mixture of vegetable fat & vegetable oil until they become a golden brown.

Place them on kitchen towel to absorb the extra fat /oil.

For the syrup: Put sugar & water in a saucepan on the hob. Bring it to boil while continuously stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil the syrup for a couple of minutes till it thickens. Add a squeeze on lemon then add the honey. Bring it to boil again for a minute. Syrup should become thick. Remove the saucepan from heat.
Add the deep fried diced dough. Mix it with syrup for a minute & then pour it in a serving plate till it cool down.
Mum used to put a glass in middle of the plate & pour all the Snein El Ajouz around it. Once cooled, remove the glass & they will be in shape of a ring as above top picture.

Or simply as this -->

Monday 2 May 2011

Bascot bil Yansoun ( Aniseed Biscuits)

This is a very old recipe that I copied ages ago from my mum’s cookbook. Mum used to make it long time ago, I didn’t remember how it tasted, so I had to try it for myself and it was a great success! Simple and yet full of flavour, scrumptious!

Ingredients:
4 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
¾ cup Sunflower oil
1 Egg
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ cup Aniseed
A bit of water (if needed)


     Mix all ingredients together. Add a bit of water if needed to get a good dough consistency.

Take a bit of dough, roll it into a long thin rope & cut it into a 10cm length piece. Pinch both ends of each piece together into a ring. You can do any shape you prefer.


Then place the biscuits on a greased or greaseproof paper lined baking tray, leaving some space between the biscuits.


Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6 (200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or untill they are done. Sahtein!