White Chocolate and Pistachio Macarons

I have been making macarons for a few years now and I had never made pistachio flavoured ones before. I researched some recipes for fillings and found mostly butter-creams and I prefer filling macarons with ganache, so I adapted a few of the recipes in order to make a white chocolate and pistachio ganache.

The pistachios I used to make the ganache initially were in shells, so after shelling them the skin still remained which didn't allow the natural green colour of the pistachio to come through when made into butter to mix in the ganache. I added green food colouring to the ganache purely for presentation reasons, however it is not necessary if you don't want to.

Macarons are tricky, but with some practice you'll have the technique in no time!

It's your turn!

Italian meringue macarons

150g caster sugar

37g water

55g egg whites

1g egg white powder

150g almond meal

150 icing sugar

55g egg whites

Green food colouring 

White chocolate and pistachio ganache

400g white chocolate

200ml pouring cream 

60g pistachios, shelled 

Green food colouring (if needed) 

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil until it reaches 118°C. Add food colouring. 

When it is getting close to the temperature put 55g of egg whites and the egg white powder into an electric whisker and whisk until frothy.

Once the sugar syrup has reached the right temperature add it to the egg whites in a steady stream while whisking. Continue whisking until warm, about 8 minutes.

Put the almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor and process to a fine powder, then sift into a large bowl.

Add the extra egg whites to the dry ingredients and then add the meringue and use a large spatula to fold them through until combined.

Continue mixing until the mixture fall of the spatula slowly.

Transfer mixture into a piping bag with a 7mm round nozzle, pipe 3cm-diameter rounds of mixture onto heavy baking-paper-lined oven trays. Set the trays aside for 30-60 minutes or until a light skin has formed and the shells are not sticky to touch.

Bake the shells in a pre-heated oven of 135°C for 15 minutes, until they have a firm outer shell.

Carefully remove shells from the tray after 2 minutes and set them aside to cool.

Place the pistachios in a food processor and grind until they form a paste. 

Place chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream and pistachio paste in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate and mix well until melted and combined. 

Allow the ganache to cool and become firm enough to pipe.

Fill a piping bag with a 1cm round nozzle with the ganache and pipe onto the flat side of half the macaron shells. Top with the remaining macaron shells. 

Enjoy! 

Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Macaron recipe from Adriano Zumbo 

Chocolate Overload

This month on the cover of Taste magazine was a decadent triple chocolate layer cake. I always like giving the cover recipe a go to enter into the 'cook the cover' competition. I'm not going to lie and say this cake is super quick and easy to make, because it took me a while and bits of it were quite tricky. However if you are patient and follow the recipe there is no doubt you will finish with an amazing looking and tasting cake.

I found the most difficult part being the twisted chocolate swirls on top of the cake. Take care and time filling the piping bag with the white and dark chocolate buttercream to ensure they don't mix together and of course practice before you pipe the swirls onto the cake.

If you give this one a go, make sure to enter it with #tastemagcover to be in with a chance to win the prize!

It's your turn!

Melt & mix triple choc layer cake

570g caster sugar
375ml milk
300g unsalted butter
95g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g self-raising flour
75g plain flour
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Dark chocolate ganache
800g dark chocolate
500ml thickened cream
80g unsalted butter

White chocolate buttercream 
200g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
1 tbs milk
180g white chocolate, melted, cooled

Preheat oven to 180°/ 160° fan forced. Grease and line the bases of 2 round, 19.5cmm cake pans.
Place sugar, milk and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium- low heat, using whisk to stir mixture until smooth. Use a fine sieve to sift cocoa and bicarb over mixture. Whisk until well combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly for 5 minutes.
Add flours to chocolate mixture. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
Divide mixture among the prepared pans. Gently tap pans on a bench to release air bubbles. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

For the ganache, place the chocolate, cream and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir for 5-8 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Pour into a bowl. Place in the fridge for 3-4 hours or until thick and the consistency of peanut butter.

For the white buttercream, use electric beaters to beat butter in a bowl until pale and creamy. Gradually add icing sugar. Beat until combined. Beat in milk until light and creamy. Beat in white chocolate.
To make chocolate buttercream, combine 1/4 cup of the white buttercream with 1/4 cup of chocolate ganache.

Trim top of cakes to flatten. Use a serrated knife to cut cakes in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a plate and spread with 1/2 cup of white buttercream. Top with 1 cake layer and spread with the chocolate buttercream. Repeat with another cake layer and white buttercream. Top with remaining cake layer.
Use electric beaters to beat dark chocolate ganache until soft peaks form (do not overbeat as it will become firm).
Quickly spread top and side of cake with some ganache.
Spoon remaining white buttercream into 1 side of a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm fluted nozzle. Spoon remaining dark chocolate ganache into the other side of the piping bag. Pipe marbled swirls over top of the cake.    

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Recipe from: Taste Magazine 

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tanya Burr has once again shared a delicious recipe that I had to try. These cookies are so quick, simple and tasty. The cookie recipe is just a simple base and you could choose to add anything you like to them like chocolate chips, sultanas, nuts etc.

I chose to add some dark chocolate chips but they would be great with a variety of chocolate. I made smaller sized cookies using a tablespoon of mixture which made 32 cookies in total. You have to give these a go for your next party or just for a little treat!

It's your turn!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

200g butter (softened)
300g caster sugar
1 egg
325g self raising flour

350g chocolate chips or whatever you would like to add

Preheat the oven to 180°
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat until combined.
Gradually beat in flour until combined.
Mix in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Roll 1tbs of dough and press lightly on tray. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool in the tray.

Note: cookies may still seem too soft after 10 minutes of baking, however they set perfectly after cooled.

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Recipe from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsUzi4x9m-E

Sticky Date Pudding

I found this Donna Hay recipe a few months back and I have made it a few times now and it has turned out perfectly every time. It is ridiculously simple, so tasty and has definitely become my families favourite dessert! Sticky date pudding is best served warm with a scoop of ice-cream or cream and drizzled in warm toffee sauce. I would give this one a go if i were you!

It's your turn!

Sticky Date Pudding

1 ½ cup chopped pitted dates

1 cup  boiling water

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g butter, chopped

¾ cup  brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

Ice-cream or cream to serve

Toffee sauce

150g butter, chopped

1 cup  cream

1 ½ cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF). Place the dates, water and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Place the date mixture in the bowl of a food processor with the butter and sugar and process until well combined.

Add the eggs and flour and process until just combined.

Pour into a lightly greased 26cm x 16cm tin lined with non-stick baking paper.

Bake for 30–35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Cut into squares.

To make the toffee sauce, place butter, cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter is melted.

Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly.

Spoon over puddings and top with cream or ice-cream.

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Recipe from: https://www.donnahay.com.au 

Healthyish Chocolate Brownie

Once again I have been inspired by a fabulous YouTuber to re-create a healthy dessert. This time Tanya Burr shared her healthy chocolate brownie recipe so I decided to give it a go. It was the same sort of method as any other brownie but had some ingredients substituted to make it a bit more healthy and nutritious. This brownie is also gluten free and dairy free. If you aren't too concerned about adding calories you can serve this brownie with cream or ice-cream or you could just add some fresh berries.

This is such a clever recipe and tastes just like a normal gooey chocolate brownie, you would never know it contained healthy ingredients! Check out Tanya's video and channel! youtube.com/user/pixi2woo

It's your turn!

Healthy Chocolate Brownie

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

300g Dark Chocolate

2 cups Coconut Sugar (found at most health food stores)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 cup Ground Almonds

1 mashed Avocado

1 tsp Baking Powder

3 Eggs

Pre-heat oven to 180°C

Melt coconut oil and chocolate over low heat.

Stir in sugar, vanilla, ground almonds, avocado and baking powder until combined.

Beat eggs and stir through until just combined.

Pour mixture into a lined baking tin and bake for 25 minutes

Cool in tray for 10 minutes.

Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Chocolate and Avocado?!

One of my favourite YouTubers Ingrid Nilsen (missglamorazzi) recently shared a video of easy and healthy spring recipes. I was sceptical and a little bit intrigued by the recipe for Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding because firstly it was a healthy dessert and I had never had chocolate and avocado together before. So of course I had to give it a go! 

This recipe was so so so easy and tastes incredible, and it contains healthy and highly nutritious ingredients! I would definitely give it a try if I were you! 

Also, check out Ingrid's video for more healthy recipes and while you are there check out her channel because her videos are awesome! www.youtube.com/user/missglamorazzi

It's your turn! 

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding

2 ripe avocados

1/3 cup pure cocoa powder

1/3 cup pure honey

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp chia seeds

1 tbsp Peanut Butter

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Spoon into a ramekin and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Serve with fresh raspberries and coconut.  

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Passionfruit and Strawberry Roulade

I had my family over for dinner the other night and I wanted to bake something a bit different that I hadn't baked for them before so I made them this roulade. I've made this recipe a few times now and it has always worked out perfectly and it's actually easier than it may seem.

Even though this is quite a summery dessert, you can change the fruit to what is in season or add chocolate depending on what you like and when you make it. This roulade is light and fluffy and fairly quick and simple to bake.

It's your turn!

Passionfruit and Strawberry Roulade

Melted butter, to grease

4 egg whites

1/2 cup raw caster sugar

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 cup thickened cream

3/4 cup passionfruit pulp

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced

Icing sugar, to decorate

Preheat oven to 150°C. Brush base of a 25 x 30cm Swiss roll pan with melted butter to grease. Line base and sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.

Use an electric beater to whisk egg whites in a clean, dry mixing bowl until firm peaks form. Add sugar a tablespoonful at a time, whisking well between each addition, until just combined. Whisk for a further 2-3 minutes or until all the sugar dissolves, mixture is very thick and glossy and a long, trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted. Whisk in cornflour and vinegar until just combined.

Spoon meringue mixture evenly into the lined pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until surface is golden.

Gently turn meringue out onto a piece of non-stick baking paper. Peel baking paper carefully off base of meringue. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Use electric beater to whisk cream until soft peaks form. Fold in 1/4 cup of passionfruit pulp. Spread cream mixture over meringue, leaving a 3cm border along far short side. Scatter strawberries evenly.

 Roll meringue up, beginning with closest short side.

To serve, dust with icing sugar, drizzle with remaining passionfruit and scatter extra strawberries.

Enjoy!
Eat sweet, be sweet :)

Recipe adapted from: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12482/meringue+roulade+with+passionfruit