Domenique Nel

Friday, 9 October 2015

oreo cake

Ingredients:

FOR THE CAKE:

1 box devil's food cake mix

167g package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE OREO BUTTERCREAM:

118g salted butter – room temperature

118g unsalted butter – room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

680g confectioner’s sugar

3-4 tablespoons very cold milk

25 Oreo cookies chopped

Directions:

FOR THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of (2) 9 inch round cake pans with parchment and grease pans thoroughly.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, salt vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking the baking time. Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

FOR THE OREO BUTTERCREAM:

Cream the butters in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and combine well.

Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency.

Fold in chopped Oreo Cookies and frost your cooled cake layers.

lemon tart

Ingredients:

for the sweet tart pastry:

125g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

250g plain flour

for the lemon filling:

300g caster sugar

zest of 3 lemons

9 eggs

250ml lemon juice ( fresh lemons give a great fresh taste)

250ml cream

Method:

to make the pastry:

cream the butter, sugar and salt in a bowl. add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. turn the mixer onto a low speed and mix in the flour until just combined.
remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a flat disc. wrap in cling film and refrigerate until completely chilled, about an hour.
remove the pastry from the fridge about 10minutes before you are ready to roll it out
grease a 9 inch tart shell with spray oil and lightly flour your bench
roll out the tart pastry until 1/4 inches thick. and a little bigger than your tart pan.
lift the pastry off the bench and place into the tin, press it into the base and up the side, then trim off the excess around the edges.
place the tart in the fridge to allow the pastry to chill for half an hour, then preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
prick the tart shell all over with a fork, then bake, uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until lightly golden. in the last few minutes of baking, reduct the oven temperature to 130 degrees C.

for the lemon filling:

in a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest.
whisk the eggs until frothy, then the lemon juice and finally the cream.
transfer the lemon mixture to a jug.
place the tart shell onto a flat baking tray. place this into the oven and with the door open, pull out the race with the start shell on it and carefully pour in the lemon mixture, slowly push the rack back in and shut the oven for and bake the tart for 50-60 minutes, until set.

remove from the oven, allow to cool completely and garnish as desired.

serves 8-10

KEEP REFRIGERATED

HAPPY BAKING!!!

Halloween cupcakes

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is almost October. I desperately want it to feel like Fall, but Mother Nature clearly has other plans. One day I’m wearing boots and a sweater and for the next five, it’s back to t-shirts and flip flops.

Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies are made fun and festive with candy eyes and bright swirls of buttercream frosting. Boo could resist?!

While these Purely Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies were perfectly delicious on their own, I decided to jazz them up a bit by adding in colourful Halloween sprinkles and pretty swirls of buttercream. However, if using food dye is not your thing, simple spirals of plain buttercream create adorable ghosts that are pretty darn boo-riffic!

Ingredients:

for the cookies:

150g salted butter,

50g light brown muscovado sugar

80g granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

200g plain chocolate chips

for the buttercream:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 1/4 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 tsp PURE vanilla extract ** pure extract will help maintain the bright white colour**

1-2 tbsp of milk

gel food dye, optional

Method:

for the cookies:

preheat oven to 190 degrees. line two baking trays with non-stick baking parchment paper
put the butter and sugars in a bowl and whisk until creamy. beat in the vanilla extract and egg. sieve the flour, bicarb of soda and salt with a wooden spoon. add the chocolate chips and stir well.
using a spoon place small dollops on the parchment paper, using a round cutter fill the dough to the sides.
bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until light and brown on the edges. leave on tray for a couple of minutes to firm up and then transfer to a cooling rack

for the buttercream:

in a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. slowly adding one cup at a time beat in the icing sugar.
fold in the vanilla extract and if its to thick add tbsp of milk

can use dye if you want a different colour

gin and juice

I just could not pass up an opportunity to name a drink gin and juice

Total time: 5 mins

Prep: 5 mins

Makes: 1 drink

Level: easy

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp sugar

4-5 basil leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish

1 shot of gin

2 shots strawberry-apple juice ( 2 cups strawberries tops removed. 1 medium red apple, peeled and cored)

club soda, for serving

Method:

strawberry-apple juice:

juice the strawberries, then the apple. serve the juice immediately over ice. ( makes 8-10 shots)

drink:

add the sugar and basil leaved to an old-fashioned glass and muddle gently, fill the glass with ice and then the gin and stir. add the strawberry apple juice and stir, top with club soda, garnish with the basil leave sprig and serve

burger cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 batch of vanilla cupcakes

1 tub buttercream frosting

4tbsp water (boiling)

1tbsp instant coffee powder

1 tbsp icing sugar

200 sesame seeds

375g dark/milk melting chocolate

red food dye gel

yellow food dye gel

green food dye gel

shredded coconut

Method:

cut the cupcakes in 3rd from the side.

to make the hamburger patty melt the chocolate over a pot of boiling water. using the bottom 3rd of your cupcake dip in using a spatula,

to make the sesame top bun, melt the instant coffee in the boiling water. taking a pastry brush brush over the top of the other 3rd, sprinkle over the sesame seeds,

to make the lettuce, take the shredded coconut and green dye and mix it around.

to make the ketchup, take vanilla buttercream and red food dye and mix, putting it into a piping bag

to make the mustard: take vanilla buttercream and yellow food dye and mix, putting it into a piping bag

so now you have everything ready, all you have to do it put it together. start with the bottom bun, pipe yellow frosting on the bottom of the bun, place the green coconut on the top and then place the chocolate coated burger on-top. now pipe a zig-zag perimeter of red frosting and then top with yellow zig-zag. finish of by placing the top bun on top

Enjoy!!! :)

spiked it boozy cappuccino granita

coffee AND alcohol? yeah, i am serious!!

Hey Hey! my name is Domenique and I cannot stop spiking my recipes. i am here to share them with you in hopes that we can chat over a cocktail-inspired snack.

lets talk boozy, frozen treats just in time before the winter weather that is just around the corner. i am all about a fabulous dessert in the evening, when you are sitting on the porch. or something frosty that would make for a perfect happy hour treat, or heck, even a lunchtime dessert with friends is great too.

Ingredients:

453g strongly brewed hot coffee

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp coffee liqueur ( such as kahlua)

1tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method:

whisk the coffee and sugar together in a large bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. whisk in the cream, liqueur, vanilla and cinnamon until combines.
pour the mixture into a freezer-safe baking dish.
freeze for 2 hours then bring it out and scrape the mixture with a fork. continue to scrape the dessert every hour for 4-6 hours and also placing it into thee freezer, before serving
when you are ready to serve, spoon the granita into a glass. you can add a few drizzles of liqueur. top with freshly whipped cream and marshmallows and a sprinkle of dark cocoa powder and cinnamon.

salted caramel the new pumpkin spice?

say hello to your new christmas flavour be.

we have already been talking about pumpkin spice for weeks now, anticipating the arrival of the Starbucks’ iconic latte long before it actually arrives — and we know we were not alone. but some surprising new intel was recently surfaced thanks to bloggers at the site MyFitnessPal — writers there claim that pumpkin spice has now passed its peak. and that leaves one question who is about to steal the spotlight * hint flavours in the title* but if you haven't caught on yet it is salted caramel YUMMM!!

the MyFitnessPal crew had been keeping track of pumpkin spice’s popularity in recent years by tracking consumption and the numbers show something a little shocking. last year, during the 2014-2015 pumpkin spice season, consumption of the beloved drink and foods flavoured actually decreased — for the first time ever!!!

according to toch’s data, people are also waiting longer each year to start devouring pumpkin-flavoured treats, with consumption maxing out around halloween, rather than seeing high numbers earlier in the fall season when the Pumpkin Spiced Late is usually re- released in late august or early September. in the past years, fans of the flavour had continued purchasing pumpkin spiced lattes and products well into the early spring time, with consumption taking a big downturn around march. however, last season saw a big drop off in the pumpkin spice madness much earlier into the winter, around late January .

and the downfall of pumpkin spice is not the only major news MyFitnessPal had to share. salted caramel — a flavour we had considered to be pretty classic, but one thats definitely gaining in popularity- is clearly on the rise with consumption of salted caramel drinks and foods taking a huge upswing during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2014 fall- winder seasons.

starbucks

and it has absolutely nothing to do with pumpkin.

I have recently been talking about the decline of PSL and the rise of a variety of other fall flavours. ( we are looking at you, salted caramel!) and it seems that even Starbucks corporate is aware that its golden child is losing popularity!

the toasted graham latte, as the new drink is called, features a graham cracker-and-sweet cream base that is, of course, mixed with steamed milk and espresso ( otherwise it would not really qualify as a latte)

the drink is then finished with flourish of crushed cinnamon-flavoured graham cracker crumbs. from the official description- passed on to the public recently in a company press release — it sounds like this latte has all the flavour of childhood after school snacks with an adult- friendly hint of caffeine of course. and the new drink isn't just being presented like any other Starbucks concoction- the TGL ( yes, i have already been abbreviating it) is also served in the new fall cups, covered in a design of pretty and seasonally appropriately yellow- and - orange leaves, which will be “monogrammed” with customers names in coordinating orange markers.

In other Starbucks news this week , the company finally finished that nationwide rollout of their mobile pay app. so latte lovers across the country can now skip the line if they want to try the new beverage ASAP!

as people who love pumpkin, but are also a little over the PSL , we have to say cheers to the new fall latte! and heres to hoping that all those decorative monograms get spelled correctly.

why the sudden oats in lattes?

why are people suddenly putting oatmeal in their lattes??

have you ever found yourself half awake in the morning staring down at a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and wondering “ why can’t life be simpler?” no? well someone thought it excessive and decided to combine a cup of joe with a cup of oats. thus birthing the oatmeal latte.

prior to the cultural upheaval of moving back to Bedford, there were only three reasons for me to eat and sip from the same cup/bowl 1. a root beer float 2. a bowl of sugar cereal or 3 soup. suddenly i arrived in a land of acai bowls and milkshakes so thick they need an industrial vacuum cleaner suction to drink them. add one more item to that list.

oatmeal lattes are the latest curveball. think of them as a one-step breakfast or choking hazard. depending on who you ask. frothed milk cookies the instant oats which is then covered with two espresso shots. some coffee shops go nuts with almonds and raisins while others simply top the final product with granola.

Oatmeal lattes surfaced about a decade ago thanks to those looking to get an early morning jump on the day - skiers, thus creating the ultimate all-in-one meal. while these health-conscious lattes made their first known appearance on a menu at chicanos cafe descartes. its a cuppa joe that currently holds the torch for the chunky beverage.

theres certainly an appeal to getting your caffeine fix while filling your hungry stomach simultaneously, but just make sure you sit down to a table or desk when eating. the oats might be creamy and delicate, but the fixings are poised to attack your face in a moving vehicle.

oktoberfest cupcakes

its the OKTOBERFEST TIMEEE!!!!

Ingredients:

50g cocoa powder

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

175g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

175ml german beer or other beer ( but ey milk also works ;) )

1 batch of vanilla buttercream frosting

12 gingerbread cookies or ginger cookies

mini pretzels

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger powder

Method:

heat the oven to 160 degrees C.
line a cupcake tin with paper cases.
add all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix just combine before you add the softened butter.
let the mix reach the crumbly, sand like texture.
add the eggs and beer into a jug and whisk together well.
add the mixture to the dry ingredients in a steady stream while the mixer is on low
make sure you scrape down the bowl each time you add an ingredient to make sure everything mixing well.
scoop into cupcake pan, filling 3/4 way up
bake for 20 minutes or pierce the cupcake with a skewer and make sure they come out clean
once they are down let them cool down completely
to prepare the gingerbread frosting add spices to the buttercream frosting
take care to scrape down the bowl. frost using a round piping tip and pipe in a swirl motion.
finish it off with a sprinkle of gingerbread cookies and mini pretzel on the front.