Tag Archives: chocolate

Ver post de French

Spiced chocolate crêpe gateau

Posted on Friday May 4th, 2012 by Monica
8 people
Number of Diners
Advanced
Difficulty Level
1h 30m
Preparation Time
2h
Cooking Time

My first crêpe-cake was a huge experience, specially because it came out without thinking it so much. I started with the plums, and ended up making plum-crême pâtissière, and filled the cake with it, and some almonds :) This time, again, against all odds I decided to make it again. This time 100% chocolate, and spices.

The ocassion couldn’t have been better: my close friend Evita invited me to Becerril de la Sierra, a beautiful place outside Madrid, for lunch with her husband and her two beautiful daughters. And if you want to win the children and conquer the adults, I think no-one does that job better than chocolate. On the bus ride, everyone looking at me, or well, the dessert, because to be honest (you can judge by the picture!) it turned out perfectly beautiful and delicious!!

The recipe has a really nice spice touch, that goes so nicely with the chocolate: the crêpes have some Cointreau, clove and cinnamon and the chocolate mousse is made with a fresh ginger-infusioned milk and orange zest. Exquisit. The inspiration came from FOOD52.

It requires time and organization, but if you have an afternoon off and guests or you are a guest for next day, believe me when I say you’ll have everyone in love with you by the first bite. The crêpes with the mousse make and elegant and fun dessert.

Ok!! Let’s go to the step by step recipe.

Go to Recipe of Spiced chocolate crêpe gateau
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Ver post de Italian

Panettone with sweet sourdough starter

Posted on Saturday December 17th, 2011 by Monica
Expert
Difficulty Level
40h
Preparation Time
1h
Cooking Time

The traditional Panettone is a sweet bread from Milan, made with a sweet sourdough starter. It has flour (of course), egg yolks, butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla, honey and dried fruits/raisins. I changed the last two for chocolate. In Perú, eeevery Christmas we have panettone for breakfast on the 25th, toasted wth some butter and hot chocolate on the side. I think it’s a world-wide tradition to have this bread on our table during Christmas season right? And since Monitouille this year is dressed for Christmas, I decided to bake 9 kgs how about that!

What a challenge! After making son many breads and being obsessed with my sourdough, this 2011 I decided to finish the year making il Panettone. Of course, with natural sweet sourdough starter, the traditional way. Not only that, but I decided to sell them (If they worked out well of course) as now I am also selling my bread each week with pâtés, cheese, marmalades and home-made things. Anyway, lots of nerves. I started Wednesday to convert a portion of my liquid 100% hydration sourdough starter into a stiff one (50% hydration). Y finished baking on Sunday, 9 kgs of panettone, which ended up being 16 panettone. They were soft, spongy, and really tasty. Of course I have some critiques of my own and would like to improve some things for next time -> January, that way, next year I’m an expert ;) Are you ready for a fully detailed recipe???

Ok. But first, I’d like to tell you my favorite story about where this delicious sweet bread came from. There are many, this one is my favorite: It’s Christmas eve, and the 1500′s. Duke Ludovico, known also for the “Lord of Milán” is hosting a huge party. Time for dessert is coming, but turns out the cake is ruined. However, Antonio one of the dishwashers took some leftover fruits from the party and was baking a sweet bread for him and his family. The kitchen smelled so nice, the cook decided to serve his bread as dessert. The Duke liked it so much, he entered the kitchen asking for the cook that had made the dessert. …’Antonio’, ‘il pane di Toni’, and so today we know it for ‘Panettone‘.

It is very important that you manage well your time. You will be needing a 2-day early start to get your sourdough ready and ‘sweet’ (no acid).

Go to Recipe of Panettone with sweet sourdough starter
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Ver post de Desserts

Banana and coconut ice-cream bonbons.

Posted on Wednesday June 22nd, 2011 by Monica
12 people
Number of Diners
Advanced
Difficulty Level
1h
Preparation Time
5h
Cooking Time

Finally!! The time has arrive for dessert-lovers. This time I decided to do ice-cream Bon Bons because they remind me of my childhood in Lima at the beach during summer times. Since I hade very soft bananas, vanilla (from Magadascar by the way) and coconut… well, I did banana-coconut ic-cream.

So… the method I used with a traditional ice-mold was a little complicated when taking the Bon Bons out of the mold. Some of the couverture chocolate brok :$ . However, I later saw that either with a silicone ice-mol or dipping the ice-cream into the chocolat you will get a less “rustic” result. You can try either method. My friend Sandra, for example, told me she liked them best in a less “perfect state”. You know what they say: ‘for taste, colors’ (is it the same in english? I wonder…).

Ingredients. For 12 servings or more!

  • 4 very soft bananas (the softer, the more sugar and the less sugar you add to the recipe whiche means less complex carbohydrates).
  • 200 ml cream
  • 2 cups of whole milk
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • the juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 1/4 cup of grated coconut
  • 1 package of couverture chocolate
  • 3 ice molds best if you have silicone, I had some trouble with the de-molding part using regular ice-molds.

Preparation.


For the Banana and coconut ice-cream:

  1. In a small skillet mix the yolks with the sugar until they are foamy and start adding the milk.
  2. Cook at medium heat until it thickens.
  3. Cool in the fridge.
  4. Place the grated coconut in a baking plate and toast a little in the oven.
Go to Recipe of Banana and coconut ice-cream bonbons.
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Ver post de Desserts

Banana, nuts and chocolate cupcakes

Posted on Sunday May 15th, 2011 by Monica
12 people
Number of Diners
Newbie
Difficulty Level
20m
Preparation Time
20m
Cooking Time

It’s time for another dessert, yes. How about banana cupcakes with nuts and chocolate AND some chocolate frosting on top? Sounds good right? While I was baking them people that passed by my balcony said ‘Smells delicious!’. Emilio, my building’s doorman has always been one of the oficial tasters of my food. He gave these cupcakes 10 out of 10 stars.

banana cupcakesAnd on Friday, my friends took me to a surprise ‘gastronomic’ trip to Salamanca, and I took a box with cupcakes for them to eat on the road…

Ingredients. Makes 12 cupcakes.

  • 1 cup of mashed bananas
  • 1/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup of caster sugar
  • 180 gr unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 200 gr flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla esence
  • 1 teaspoon cinammon
  • 1/4 cup of nuts in small pieces (save some for decoration)
  • 1/4 cup of pieces of dark chocolate
  • 1 banana in fine slices to decorate

For the frosting (variation from the blog Best Cupcake Recipes):

  • 7 oz dark chocolate
  • 125 gr unsalted butter
  • 1,5 tablespoon milk
  • 2 cups of confectioners sugar

Preparation.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  2. Beat at medium speed the butter with the sugars.
  3. Once it is well incorporated add the eggs and continue beating.
  4. Add the banana puree and vanilla.
  5. Finally add the flour, baking powder and cinammon, little by little and keep beating.
  6. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, add the pieces of nuts and chocolate.
  7. Move with a spoon and scoop and even amount of dough to cupcake molds.
  8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until they are brown on the top and when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle willl come out clean.
Go to Recipe of Banana, nuts and chocolate cupcakes
Posted in Desserts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments
Ver post de Cheesecakes

Lucuma cheesecake

Posted on Tuesday April 12th, 2011 by Monica
8 people
Number of Diners
Newbie
Difficulty Level
40m
Preparation Time
4h
Cooking Time

…y así Kon-Iraya, el hombre huaca, le extiende su semilla a la bella Cavillaca. Semilla moldeada por el crepúsculo, luz de color de un sol que se oculta, color indecible, rojizo, color de fuego lento, amarillento, con tintes de oro y matices de luna…

LucumaLucuma: Fruit of love and fertility and of the hidden beauty…

This recipe will bring smiles to all the fans of My Lúcuma Dessert, that I have been cooking for many for their birthdays and special occasions. All my peruvian friends who have become my “abroad-family” enjoy this taste because it transports us back to our roots, to where this amazing fruit comes from: Perú. And people who have never taste it!! I love their face of surprise and not knowing what it is but knowing they just fell in love in one minute. It is very special, and thank god the fruit is dry and when I bring it with me to Europe in a “flour state”, the taste remains much much like the same.

So! This dessert is very easy and simple. I am in debt with many friends because I stopped preparing it every birthday, so now they have the recipe and I know they’d rather have me cook it but well, this is also a present for them (and it leaves me time to make other desserts!). Happy birthday to all! And welcome Monitouille’s first dessert. The best one.

Ingredients. Makes a big one or like 10 small portions.

  • 1 lucuma envelope of ‘lucuma flour’ of 200 grs or the pulp of 3 lucumas
  • 1 can of evaporated milk
  • 200 ml of cream
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
  • 200 gr cream-cheese
  • 1/2 envelope of powdered gelatin or 3 sheets
Go to Recipe of Lucuma cheesecake
Posted in Cheesecakes, Peruvian, Desserts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments