chocolate & sweet potato cake

Chocolate & Sweet Potato Cake

(on the left is the original recipe from Bushveld Banquets, on the right is my heavily modified recipe)


180g butter at room temperature (100g)
360g brown sugar (50g)
4 eggs
450g cake flour (120g rice flour, 30g corn starch)
100g cocoa powder (50g)
15ml baking powder
180g dark chocolate
400g sweet potato, cooked, peeled and grated/mashed
400ml buttermilk (25ml normal milk)

Ganache (I didn't make)
20ml instant coffee powder
400ml cream
300g dark chocolate
120g butter

Cream butter & brown sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs one by one. Sift together the flour, cocoa & baking powder and fold into the creamed mixture. Fold in the melted chocolate, sweet potato and then buttermilk and mix well. Pour batter into a greased tin (or 2 if you're making a layer cake) and bake at 180C for 30 min until tester comes out clean (mine was a loaf pan and much thicker, I baked it for about an hour with aluminum foil on the top to keep it from getting too dark). Cool on a wire rack.

Ganache
Combine coffee powder, cream, chocolate and butter in the top half of a double broiler. Heat over simmering water until the ingredients have melted to a smooth mixture, stirring occasionally. Cool and then cover the sides and top of the cake.

mac & cheese

Homemade Mac & Cheese
(2 servings)

* Cook and drain pasta for 2 people
* Saute 1/2 an onion in 1 tbsp butter
* Grate 2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (mine was white cheddar but either one works)

Set all the different components to the side.
* In a saucepan:

Mix 1/2 liter of milk
2 tablespoons of corn starch (maizena)
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of nutmeg

Over low heat continuously stir until the white sauce (bechamel) thickens and if you run your finger over the back of the spoon the sauce is thick enough to stay off to the sides.
Quickly mix in the cheddar and the onions. Stir until the cheddar is melted and smooth then pour onto the pasta and mix all together. Serve with a pinch of paprika on top.

galettes de sarrasin

Galettes de Sarrasin

Here is the recipe I used for my batter for 2 people (2.5 galettes each)

* 125g farine de sarrasin (buckwheat flour)
* 1 egg
* salt
* about 50cl water

I started with a little less water and then kept adding some until the batter was the right consistency (should run a thin ribbon when poured with a spoon or ladle and swirl around easily inthe hot pan.)
Then we flipped them once and then filled them with ham, cheese and a cracked egg on top, (or anything else you want!) YUM!

chicken stock

Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass (or 4 or 5 big legs, several wings etc) with the leftover meat and skin on
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
parsley/thyme etc
salt/pepper

Put the chicken in a big pot, fill with enough water to cover the bird. Add all the veggies roughly chopped and skins/leaves included. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let cook for several hours until the chicken has basically fallen apart, meat off the bones etc and all the veggies are very soft. Drain through a colander or cheesecloth saving the water and discarding the veggies. Use as is or bring to a simmer and reduce even further. As it cools it will gel and the fat will rise to the top, you can skim it off (my chicken seems to be very lean and there isn't much to skim off) or leave it in for flavor.

Freezes very well, in mini Tupperwares or ice cube trays. You can use any veggies you want or have lying around, I've also added bell peppers, garlic, potato skins etc Just make sure they're washed.

This is a great way to use up chicken that you normally would be throwing away for future soups, risottos and anything else that calls for chicken stock. It has FAR less sodium than bouillon cubes or prepackaged stock and tastes delishous! ;-)

risotto

Risotto

1 onion
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups risotto rice (the round kind)
veggies
1 liter chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Dice the onion and saute until clear in the olive oil and butter. Add the rice and mix well. Add the white wine and lower the heat to a simmer. As the rice absorbs the liquid start ladling in the chicken stock letting it absorb between each ladle full. When you're about 2/3 through the stock add diced veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers etc) and any meat (turkey, chicken, seafood) and continue to simmer and add half the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let sit 5 minutes.

Serve with more Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

When the rice is just cooked through remove from heat and add 1/2 package of

pecan pie

Maple Syrup Pecan Pie

1 prepared unbaked pastry shell, 9-inch (try a gluten free crust)
3 eggs
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecan pieces or halves

Preheat oven to 350° and place rack at lowest position. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Blend well and stir in pecans. Pour into prepared pie shell. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the filling is set.

(there is no Karo (corn) syrup in France but this recipe is just as yummy!!)

apple pie take 2

Gluten Free Apple Pie

3/4 c brown rice flour
3/4 c ground almonds
25g butter chilled
1 egg beaten
2 medium apples
1/4 c applesauce

For the crust:

mix the brown rice flour and ground almonds together. Add the egg and butter and mix together. The dough remains very sticky!
(I spread it into the piepan with the back of a spoon dipped in water to smooth it out. I guess you could add more flour but I was so happy with the end result I wouldn't change anything!)
Put pie weights or dried beans/rice and prebake the crust for 10 minutes at 180C.
While baking peel and thinly slice the apples.

Finishing the pie:

When the crust is done spread the applesauce over the bottom and arrange the apple slices on top - bake for another 15-20 minutes until the apples are cooked and just starting to turn brown. the crust was very yummy, had just a slightly nutty taste and was almost like a "pate brisee" like a big cookie :-) yum!

spaghetti sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

2.5 kilos fresh ripe tomatoes (chopped)
2 small onions (minced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 steak hachee
1 small green pepper (minced)
mushrooms (sliced
olive oil
basil
thyme
oregano

In a large pot sautee onions, garlic and green pepper in olive oil until soft. Add the crumbled pieces of steak hachee (or hamburger meat) and mushrooms (and any other veggies, I threw in some leftover zucchini. Cook until the hamburger is browned.

Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Salt, pepper and other spices to taste.

Cook down until the tomato has broken down and the consistency looks good.

tomates farcies

Tomates Farcies

4 large and firm tomatoes (slightly under ripe, you don't want them to get mushy) *you can also use round zucchinis!
250g ground beef (or 2 steak hachees)
1/2 cup cooked rice, cold if possible
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped (or garlic powder if you don't have any fresh on hand)
salt and pepper
butter

Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides so you get as much room as possible. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients (I use my hands to make sure they're well mixed). Split the mixture into 4 equal parts and stuff it inside the tomatoes. Put the "hat" back on and put a small nob of butter over the stem of each tomato to prevent them from burning (you can also add some bread crumbs but as I didn't have any gluten free on hand I left that out.)

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Coconut chicken

Coconut Chicken

* 2 skinned chicken breasts (I used escalopes de dinde)
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup unsweetened dried coconut

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. In a shallow bowl beat the 2 eggs and on an extra plate pour about 1/2 of the coconut.

Dip the chicken in the egg, making sure to cover all of the chicken with egg.

Then transfer the chicken onto the coconut plate and "bread" it with coconut, repeat with the second breast.

Then cook over medium heat until cooked through.

I served it with fresh squeezed limes but I bet a nice chutney would be delicious too!

Tapioca Pudding

Tapioca Pudding

2 3/4c milk
1 egg (well beaten)
1/3c sugar
3 tbsp tapioca pearls
1 tsp vanilla (or 1 sachet sucre vanille)

In a medium saucepan mix the first 4 ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as it comes to a full boil remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Let the pudding sit for at least 20 minutes (it will thicken as it cools). Serve warm or chilled and for an extra treat add some fresh fruit or jam.

gluten free pancakes

Gluten Free Pancakes

1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup chestnut flour
1/4 cup corn flour (not corn starch!)
salt
1 tsp sugar
1 pack of gluten free baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Beat the egg and milk together in the mixing cup (saves dishwashing ;-) ) and then add to the dry ingredients. Stir until most of the lumps are out.

On a hot skillet ladle out the pancakes. This is the step that differs from other flour pancakes, normally they form little bubbles that stay open when the pancake is ready to be flipped, these guys you have to check not to scorch the bottom because they don't do the same thing.

Serve on Sunday morning maple syrup and a side of bacon. Yum :-)

summer veggies

Summer Veggie Dish

3 medium tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 small/medium eggplant
2 bell peppers
1 fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil to sprinkle on top after baked

I made this veggie "lasagna" last night and added a few extra steps that could probably be left out if you're in a hurry. I wanted to make something that my vegetarian friend and Mystery Guest on his gluten free experiment could enjoy.

First I roasted the bell peppers in the oven until they were black all over (or you can do this over a gas stove but alas I run on electric...). Then peel off the skin and take out the seeds.

Second I peeled and sliced the eggplant and sprinkled salt over the slices to let them sweat out some of that extra water.

Finally I layered all the ingredients in a small dish topping the whole thing with the Parmesan cheese. I baked it for about 30 minutes until the veggies were bubbling and the cheese was golden brown.

I thought it might turn out to be too dry with no extra sauce but the veggies actually had a lot of juice when backed and the whole thing was quite delicious! I should have made some rice to go with it but I had run out :-( Next time!

fondants au chocolat

Fondants au Chocolat

Prep time: 10 min

Baking time: 12 min

120g dark chocolate + 4 squares (10g each)

3 eggs

80g sugar

35g butter

1 tbsp. flour (can be optional and therefore gluten free)

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler until smooth and creamy.

In a large bowl mix the eggs, sugar and flour. Add the chocolate and stir until smooth.

Fill each ramequin 1/2 way full, then add 1 square of chocolate and cover it with the rest of the batter.

Bake at 350F for only 12 min, no more! Let them sit for a few minutes but make sure they are served room temperature so the inside is nice and gooey. YUM! This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe ever, I'm sure you'll love it!

broccoli and potato soup

Broccoli and Potato Soup

I made this soup for the first time over a month ago and I just love it! So easy to make and delish! All the credit goes to Kari thanks for letting me steal your recipe.. ;-)

3-4 large potatoes, washed and cubed
2 cups broccoli florets, cooked until bright green
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp butter
1/4 cup light cream
2 tsp chicken bouillon
pepper/nutmeg (opt)
1 cup shredded Gouda or cheddar cheese

Place cubed potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes.
Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and soft, stirring often.
Once potatoes are cooked, drain off the water - but keep it! Add 1 tsp chicken bouillon, garlic and onions, cream and a pinch of pepper and nutmeg.
Using a stick blender, puree the mixture. Add the potato water as needed to thin the soup to the consistency you like. Taste, and add another tsp of bouillon if desired.
Stir in the cheese and ladle it up!

puree de carottes

Puree de Carottes

5 or 6 medium size carrots

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

Boil the carrots and garlic until very tender. Drain. Then either in a mixer or with a potato masher mash the carrots with the butter until fairly smooth, add a little bit of milk at a time to get a creamy texture. Salt and pepper to taste.

I love this, the first time I ate with a French family we had mashed carrots and it was delish! I had never heard of mashing them before but I love it. Yesterday I found a great deal on carrots at the market and stocked up. Since I had so many I thought I'd try out this recipe for the first time, turned out great!

apple crumble/crisp/cobbler

Apple Crumble

4 or 5 apples (just over 1 apple per person)

1 cup brown sugar (sucre vergoise)

1 cup oats (apparently oats in themselves are gluten free but can easily be contaminated by other grains)

80 g butter

Slice and peel the apples and lay them in a large baking dish. In a medium bowl mix the sugar and oats together then roughly slice the butter and mix it all together. I like to use my hands to get the butter really mixed in. It should resemble wet sand in consistancy when all mixed.*

Crumble the topping over the apples and bake at 350F (180C) for about 30 minutes. It will be done when the top is golden brown and you can see the apples bubbling underneath.

*You can also sprinkle in some cinnamon!

In the summer I like to vary it with peaches and blueberries :-)

stovetop popcorn

Stovetop Popcorn

*popcorn kernels

*vegetable oil

With this easy way to make popcorn its all about proportions. Take any size pot and pour in 1 layer of popcorn kernels, making sure they just cover the bottom of the pot.

Add vegetable oil until it just barely covers the kernels. The put the lid (or if you're like me and don't have any lids - crip aluminum foil around the top of the pot) and place over the burner. When the first few kernels start to pop start moving the pot over the burner so it doesn't stay in one spot and burn the popcorn. When the popping becomes less frequent take it off the heat and eat away!

I started making popcorn this way when I realized how expensive microwave popcorn is in France. You can find the kernels in most big grocery stores in the spice area for a much better price.

breakfast potatoes

Breakfast potatoes

'Taters

butter

salt/pepper/paprika to taste

*optional cheddar cheese

I just made this up for my brunch but all I did was boil whole potatoes and then dice them up into small cubes. (For time reasons I did this the night before) Then I heated the frying pan with some butter and sauteed them until golden brown with said spices :-) When all was done I set my oven on the lowest heat and sprinkled a generous amount of cheddar cheese. While the rest of brunch was cooking I let that sit warming in the oven and the cheddar was all melted over the potatoes. Yum.

cornbread

Cornbread

Preheat oven to 425F (220C)

Grease pan.

Mix in a large bowl:

-1 1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal

-3/4 cup flour (need to try some gluten free flour substitutes, think it could turn out ok)

-1-4 tbsp sugar

-2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

and in a small bowl:

-2 large eggs

-2/3 cup milk

-2/3 cup buttermilk (lait ribot)

Add wet ingredients to the dry, stir and fold in:

-2-3 tbsp warm melted butter (or veggie oil)

Bake 10-12 minutes for muffins

or 10-25 minutes for bread