Hey folks!

I'm back with a dessert (that are becoming pretty scarce on my blog).
But it's not your common dessert. No it's again a recipe from one of favourite cookbooks, namely Jerusalem from Ottolenghi and Tamimi.
I already made another recipe that you will find here.





Let's jump right into this tested and approved recipe!


For the dough you will need (makes two cakes):


For the chocolate filling:


For the syrup:


Start off by making the dough. Place the flour, sugar, yeast in a mixer bowl. Stir everything on LOW speed for about 1 minute. Add gradually the eggs and water. Increase the speed to medium and mix it for 3 minutes until the dough comes together. Add the salt. Start adding the butter.
Continue mixing for 10 minutes (medium speed) until you obtain a smooth, elastic and shiny dough. While your mixing your dough you will find yourself scraping down the dough of the sides of the bowl.

Brush a bowl with some sunflower oil and place your dough in it. Cover with cling film. Let rise (in the fridge) for at least half a day or overnight.

Grease some tins with some sunflower oil and line the bottom with a piece of greaseproof paper.
Divide your dough in two.


For the filling you need to mix together the icing sugar, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and butter.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured (I used greaseproof paper) into a rectangle. Spread half the chocolate mixture over the rectangle. Sprinkle half of the almonds (or pecans) on top of the chocolate then sprinkle over half the caster sugar.
Brush some water over the end that is the furthest away from you. Roll up the rectangle like a roulade.


Now cut the roulade in two (lenghtwise).
Now start to "twist" the two sites. I can assure you that is part is the messiest one (but in the end it's worth it). Now place your twisted dough in your baking tins. 
Cover it with a damp towel and let it rise for at least one hour at room temperature.

Once the rising time is almost over, you can pre-heat your oven at 190°. Bake for about 30 minutes in your pre-heated oven. Check it although after about 25 minutes. 

While the babka is baking, make your syrup. Bring the sugar and water to a simmer until the sugar dissolves, remove it then from the heat. 
Once your babka is baked, take it out and brush the syrup immediately over it. 
Let it cool in the baking tin. Once cooled, dig in I would say!

Until next time!

Back on track with some chocolate dessert, brownies.
The slightly "healthier" version of this one.
AVOCADO Brownies, but I prefer to call them green brownies.




Pre-heat your oven to 180° C.

I'm posting the recipe of the well known, at least on the blogosphere, Magic Custard Cake.




I should probably warn you that at one point "the mixture" will look strange, but trust me it will turn out great!

I took inspiration on multiple blogs, but couldn't remember them properly.

I'm again on the blog with another "recipe".
In april I turned twenty-one but I, unfortunately, didn't had time nor to write, nor to post the recipe of my birthday cake.

Now that I, finally, have plenty of time, I decided I should post the recipe.

On another birthday I discovered Red Velvet Cupcakes. They basically are "red" cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. They were SO good that I decided to make a "big" Red Velvet Cake for my birthday.



I took major inspiration here.

For one delightful Red Velvet Birthday Cake you will need:



So first off you should preheat your oven to 170°.
Mix the eggs with the milk, oil and vanilla extract.
In another bowl mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder (=the dry ingredients).
Add the "liquid" mixture to the "dry mixture".
Butter and flour two eight inch pans.
Bake for about thirty minutes in the oven.
Once they are baked, let them cool down.

In the meantime make your frosting.
Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add your vanilla extract. Add the sugar slowly, in batches, to this mixture.
Your frosting is ready!If you want an ombré effect you should divide your mixture by three now. In the first one you add the most coloration, in the second one a bit and in the last one none.

Take your two cakes and put some jam between them. Then you can start frosting. Start with the most yellow frosting. Make some roses. Then frost away with the middle yellow frosting and make also some roses. And last (but not least) frost with the white frosting.



And there you have your spectacular, delicious but easy to make Birthday Cake. 

This week I had a massive dessert "order". I had to bake cakes for a party.
I was pretty sure that we couldn't miss a chocolate cake.




That's why I decided to make this cake from Leila Lindholm, which she describes on her website as 'My Sticky Chocolate Cake'

And do I still have to tell you that this cake was Utterly delicious? No, I don't think so (just LOOK at it!).

You will need:

50 gr butter
50 ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
170 gr caster sugar
70 gr brown sugar, I used blond sugar (cassonade)
150 gr plain flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 pinch of salt
Butter and flour for the tin 
50 gr dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
icing sugar (optional)

Mix together the eggs and (white, brown and vanilla) sugar until the mixture "lightens up". Add the hot melted butter and the vegetable oil. 

Mix in a separate bowl the (sifted) flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. 

Add it slowly to the first mixture. 

Cut your chocolate in little pieces and add them to your mixture.

Butter your tin and pour some flour over it. Put in your mixture into the tin.

Place it in the oven that has reached 150°C.

Bake it for 30 minutes.
Let it cool down and sprinkle it with some icing sugar (optional).

Serve and EAT!

So recently I turned out 20 (I'm becoming old).
I decided to invite alle my friends and to have a big party.
And on every great birthday party there's a great birthday cake!





The ingredients:

-For the chocolate cake (inspiration here):

200g flour
200g sugar
75g cocoa powder
450g milk
10 g baking powder
40g vegetable oil  or any neutral oil (so no olive oil)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-For the filling:

20 cl full fat cream
1 tablespoon of confectioner sugar
a handful chocolate flakes



Preheat the oven to 180°.
Whisk the first seven ingredients together.
Put the mixture in a buttered mould and let it bake in the pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes.

Take the cake out of the oven once it's baked and let it cool completely in his mould (I let it cool overnight).

Once it's completely cool, yo can start with your cream.
Whisk the cream to a stiff mixture and only when it's stiff you add in the sugar; make sure to not over beat it cause otherwise you stick with butter.

Slice your cake in two layers and put your cream on the bottom layer. Don't put too much cream!
Set the top layer on it. Put some cream on the sides too.
Leave it to cool in the refrigerator.

Take out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving and don't forget to put the chocolate flakes all around the cake!

Serve it and have the nicest chocolate birthday cake!