Food | Travel | Family | Life
With Valentine’s Day being tomorrow, it’s not too late to whip up something sweet for the one you love. Here’s a round up of some sweets for your sweetie. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what I made for my loves.
Chocolate Truffles
Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Pot De Creme
Homemade Ferrero Chocolate
Homemade Almond Joy
Almond Crescent Cookies
It’s become a tradition that hubby gets homemade chocolates for Valentine’s Day. I was looking for something different this time, having already made truffles a number of times, and homemade Ferrero’s last year.
I considered homemade turtles but then realized the caramel and pecans would be more for me than my love. When I found this recipe for homemade almond joy from Joy the Baker, I thought it was the perfect idea.
It didn’t take long and the chocolates tasted so close to the real thing. Of course, my little man had to get a box too! I made his a little smaller and he was so excited to get some homemade chocolates from his mamma.
Homemade Almond Joy
From Joy the Baker
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
30 roasted almonds
about 20 ounces of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the unsweetened coconut. The mixture will be thick. Place mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the freezer. With clean hands shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Press the logs together very well so they don’t crack when dipped. Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.
Place a medium pot with two inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water. Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once the chocolate has melted but keep the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water.
Remove the formed coconut from the fridge. Place one coconut almond log on a fork. Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping. Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet.
Let dipped candy harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to layer the candy in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers
Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate the day of love, I made hubby one of his favorite chocolates – Ferrero Rocher.
It was ridiculously easy to make and so good! The recipe for this is all over the web. You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make the chocolates. Just hazelnut wafers, crushed hazelnuts, nutella and chocolate.
Hubby loved these and thought they tasted even better than the real thing! A little dangerous to be able to make these so easily at home.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a line from one of my favourite poems, Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.
Homemade Ferrero Chocolates
10 hazelnut wafer sticks
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
2/3 cup Nutella
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tb whipping cream
Crush the wafers and mix it together with the hazelnuts. Once combined, fold in the Nutella. Chill the mixture until firm, about 1 hour. Form small balls and chill again for another hour.
Melt the chocolate and whipping cream in a double boiler. Dip the hazelnut balls into the chocolate until covered. Garnish with more hazelnuts if you wish. Enjoy!
Food Mamma is ONE! Wow, a whole year has gone by since my first post. As much as I loved the idea of a food blog, I wondered if I would be able to maintain it, and come up with different things to make and post about. Turns out, content wasn’t an issue. Finding time to post the content, well that’s another story.
I am inspired daily by all the wonderful blogs that I read. They influence this blog and make me want to inspire others. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and for your comments.
I thought it would be fitting today to post the amazing cake my mom made for my birthday this year. Q requested chocolate so mom happily obliged. Four layers of chocolately goodness separated by a mocha whipped cream icing. The rich cake with the light icing made it a perfect pairing. Delicious!
Four Layered Chocolate Cake
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Mix the first three ingredients and keep aside.
Mix the dry ingredients and keep aside.
Beat the butter, margarine, sugar, vanilla, eggs and milk. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the chocolate mixture to this and mix again. Pour batter into 2 round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Once the cakes have cooled, cut each layer in half so that you have four layers. Frost all layers with the icing.
Icing
3 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
pinch salt
2 tsp instant coffee Beat all the ingredients together until the whipping cream comes together.
I love March. It’s a month of many birthdays. My dad’s, my father-in-laws, nieces, nephews, friends …and mine. As much as I hate getting older, I do take the time to celebrate my big day. Actually, I celebrate the week! I have a whole lot of pampering lined up – massage, facial, mani, pedi, hair – it’s going to be a great week.
March for me is about indulgence. We had friends over recently and indulged in this chocolate cream pot. A creamy chocolate pudding with nutella whipping cream. It’s so easy to make. The hard part is letting it refrigerate for a few hours. Definitely worth the wait.
Chocolate Pots de Creme with Nutella Whip
Adapted from Claire Robinson’s 5 Ingredient Fix
4 oz chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp sugar
1 TB nutellaPreheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Put the yolks in a small bowl; while whisking, add a small amount of the warm chocolate mixture to temper the yolks. Whisk the yolk mixture into the chocolate until well combined. Pour into a large baking dish and place it into a high-sided baking dish. You can use 4 ramekins instead of one large dish if you prefer. Fill the pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the chocolate-filled bowl and transfer to the oven. Bake until the custard is set but slightly jiggly, about 45 minutes. When the custard is at room temperature, refrigerate for a few hours.
Whip the remaining cream with the sugar until firm peak form. Add the nutella and whip for a bit more. Serve the cooled custard topped with the whip.
Hard to believe it’s almost been 2 years since our last visit to Geneva. My sister worked there for a few years and it’s been one of my favorite places to visit. The history, the lake, the chocolate, and of course, the food! The one thing that stands out, besides all the chocolate, is the pain au chocolat aux amandes. The day that we left for our swiss train ride, my sister ran to a nearby bakery and surprised us with these goodies. Croissants filled with almonds and chocolate, sinfully delicious! I’ve been addicted to these ever since. She has even brought them over on a few of her visits.
I’ve been thinking about these lately and just had to have one. We have some great bakeries in Calgary where one can easily find pain au chocolat or an almond croissant. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one that sold the combination. I figured I would try my hand at it, a perfect project when cooped up at home with a cold.
When searching for recipes, most called for marzipan as the filling for the almond croissant. Not willing to leave my house, I threw a few things together to make an almond paste. To make things a little easier, I pulled out one of my favorite ingredients from the freezer – puff pastry! Come to any party of mine and you will be sure to find something made with this buttery dough.
The result was a wonderful substitution for the croissant from Geneva. A flaky buttery crust filled with chocolate and a subtle hint of almonds. A delicious but dangerous snack to have around.
Pain au Chocolat aux Amandes
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 TB softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 TB flour
puff pastry
chocolate chips
egg whites, for egg wash
sliced almonds, for topping
icing sugar, for dusting
Combine the first six ingredients to make a paste. Roll out the puff pastry and cut into rectangles, approximately 8 rectangles per sheet. Spread almond paste on each rectangle. At the edge of each rectangle, put a line of chocolate chips, roll over once and add another row of chocolate. Roll the puff pastry to the end and place on parchment paper, seam side down. Brush the tops of rolled pastries with egg wash and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. Dust each with icing sugar.
Happy Valentine’s Day! With my birthday being next month and our anniversary the month after, we aren’t big on store-bought gifts. I remember our first Valentine’s Day, I made my honey some home-made truffles. Hard to believe that was eight years ago! It was definitely time to make the truffles again.
People always seem impressed when you make chocolates but it really is so easy! It’s also messy, so be prepared to get your hands dirty. My favorite combo is chocolate with roasted almonds but any topping will work – sprinkles, dusted cocoa, even icing sugar.
Chocolate Truffles
8 oz. chocolate chips or squares
1/2 cup whipping cream
chocolate chips, melted
toppings (nuts, sprinkles, cocoa, etc.)
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and whipping cream. Refrigerate the resulting ganache for a few hours. With a melon baller, scoop out little balls from the chocolate and refrigerate again. Take the scoops of chocolate and make them into round balls with the palms of your hand. Dip the balls of chocolate first into the melted chocolate and then into the topping of your choice. Enjoy!
Chocolate – it’s a huge weakness of mine. It’s rare for a day to go by without me having it in some form. I was so happy when I rediscovered these chocolate fiber muffins. I found the recipe years ago and it was a favorite of mine, but somehow got lost and forgotten. I recently found it on my old computer and it has been a staple the last few weeks. Chocolate muffins that are good for you! These are filled with fiber and have no butter or margarine. These muffins are dense and filling and with their chocolately goodness, I don’t know who likes it better, me or my toddler. I substituted half the batch with mint chocolate chips making it a good substitute for my peppermint hot chocolate which I rarely have these days. I wish I knew where this recipe came from – the creator of this recipe deserves A LOT of credit.
Chocolate Fiber Muffins
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 TB baking powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups water
3 cups All Bran Cereal
2 egg whites
2/3 cup chocolate chips (or mint chocolate chips)
Put cereal in water and set aside. Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk. Combine cereal, dry mixture, egg whites and vanilla and mix well with a mixer. Fold in chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.
It was a wonderful Christmas. My sister who had been stuck in Europe because of all the flight cancellations finally made it here with her fiance. Although time with them will be short, we are so lucky to be spending the next few days with them.
Around here, a fave of ours during the holidays is candy cane bark. With two layers of chocolate topped with crunchy candy canes, it’s a winning combination.
Hope everyone’s Christmas was as sweet as ours!
Candy Cane Bark
1 cup dark chocolate
1 cup white chocolate
5 candy canes, crushed
Melt the dark chocolate and spread a layer on parchment placed on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate until cooled. Melt the white chocolate and place on top of the dark chocolate. While still warm, sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Once hardened, break into pieces.
Chocolate Puffed Wheat Squares
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 TB cocoa
5 cups puffed wheat
Over medium heat, melt the margarine. Add corn syrup, brown sugar and cocoa and let the mixture come to a boil. After 1 minute, take it off the heat and add the puffed wheat. Pour mixture into an 8″ x 8″ pan and cool before cutting it into squares.
