Meringue and sponge cake lovin'

Macarons belong to favourite food in the world list... and rightfully so. When i happened to stumble across this recipe, i jumped into the chance of baking these cookies for myself.

Chewy Chocolate Meringues

Makes 3 dozen

• 1cup egg whites
• 2cups sugar
• 1cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Place the egg whites and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar melts.
3. Place the warm egg white and sugar mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until the whites are stiff and glossy, about 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Add the chocolate chips and mix on medium until incorporated.
5. Scoop large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. These cookies won’t spread, but you want to keep an inch between them on the sheet. They will look like fluffy clouds, and will retain this shape during baking.
6. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until they are hard on the outside and soft in the center. The best way to test is to break one in half and make sure it’s cooked through, but still soft.
7. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them carefully with your hands. Store in an airtight container up to 4 days.





Since i had 3 egg yolks left, i decided to make use of them. This sponge cake recipe is gorgeous and the cake turned out to be incredibility soft and delicious.





Egg Yolk Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• ½ cup superfine sugar
• ½ cup self-raising flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk

• Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C-if your oven is quite hot try 170°C.
  2. Beat egg yolks and hot water till creamy then gradually add the sugar and beat till thick and pale. Add salt and vanilla.
  3. Fold in the flour and milk alternately till combined. Pour into a greased and lined 20cm round tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
  4. Split cake in half then fill with jam and whipped cream then dust with icing sugar. Turn the oven down a bit if it's browning too fast.
  
  
• F x
8. 
   

cooking is cool

I've made the decision to make/bake atleast one dish every weekend. And blog about it. And post the recipe. I may or may not be a little excited. So, here goes...

Made chocolate fudge today.

• 1generous cup crushed cornflakes
• 1/2cup finely chopped roasted hazelnuts/almonds/cashew/walnuts
• 1/4cup cocoa powder
• 1/2teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4cups sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2cup bittersweet chocolate, melted

1. Line an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish with two crossed strips of parchment or wax paper, letting the long ends hang over the sides of the dish. Grease lightly with butter or baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the conflakes, nuts, cocoa, and salt. Pour in the milk. (If desired, you can set the can in a pan of warm water to make it easier to scrape out and stir in the milk.) Pour in the melted chocolate and stir firmly to thoroughly combine, then scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and press firmly into the pan.
3. Chill for at least 1 hour, until firm enough to cut. Lift the parchment paper to remove the brownies from the pan. Cut the brownies into small squares. They will be fudgy but quite firm. Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

#Day2

My parents went grocery shopping today and bought a whoooole bunch of yummy stuff. I'm constantly complaining to my mum how there's never any chocolate in the fridge, and mum did the unthinkable today. She bought like a basket full of candy bars, gummies and what not. If you know me personally, you might know that my sweet tooth obsession has no bounds.
But the real event that made me happy was the little box of cadbury hot chocolate lying under a bunch of vegetables. I LOVE hot chocolate.
I'm home alone at the moment, and i'm spending my valuable time by blogging, eating cold pizza and drinking my hot chocolate. I regret nothing. Cheeeeers.

F x

#Day1

Okay i know i was supposed to start with the happy days thing from monday, but i just couldn't resist.
I just finished watching movie this movie called "Bend it Like Beckham" and it's like one of those movies i've grown up watching but i've never actually come around to watching the entire movie at a go. Like i've just seen bits and pieces of it. So, i decided to actually sit down and watch it.
And I absolutely LOVED it. I suck at football and i'm not even a tiny bit close to being even average at any sport, but i can relate to the protagonist at an emotional level. I know, i know, it has stereotypes, but to be honest, i can see my own family living up to most of the stereotypes in the movie.
So, hey Band It Like Beckham, thanks for those two hours of happiness. Smiley face.

F x 

Positive Vibes

I've decided to do this thing wherein i post atleast one happy incident that happens to me everyday; be it eating my fav ice cream one day, or reading a good book the other. If you think i'm trying to copy the 100 happy days thingi from instagram, you are absolutely right. Ha. #365happydaysmuthafcukas
I just really need some positivity in my life. Hopefully every time i decide to stalk my own blog (i do that more often than you'd think possible) i'll see posts which will make me smile, instead of ones which constantly remind myself of the major failure i am.
Gonna start from this monday. I'm excited!

F x

Makes sense?

Bloody hell.
I'm currently reading this book called Allegiant, and one of the characters says, "I prefer to look at it another way—which is that if they are persistent enough, even tiny drops of water, over time, can change the rock forever. And it will never change back."
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I SAID IN MY LAST POST. HOLY SHIT.
The world works in weird, weird ways. Also, that proves that i don't usually think about senseless stuff. Ha, the absolute relief.

F x