Nigella's Instant Chocolate Mousse

I love fast and simple recipes. Anything to get to my food haven as quickly as I can is gold in my books. When I saw Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Mousse made with mini marshmallows I knew it was a winner. It was quick and almost instant, didn't require any heavy lifting or a long list of ingredients.
I made a few small changes to make an adult version and I halved the amounts because well... i'm only making mousse for two. 3 for me and 2 for him.. that's enough right??

 Here is it! In all it's billowy goodness!

Tall shot glasses add a touch of elegance to this simple dessert- great for parties

 What You Need:

- 2/3 cups of mini marshmallows
- 100 grams of 70% dark chocolate
- 25 grams of butter
- 100 ml of double cream
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean
- 1 shot glass of hazelnut Bailey's (For a child friendly version just leave out the Bailey's)
- Optional: Shaved chocolate on top

What To Do:

1. Add the marshmallows, dark chocolate and butter to a pan
2. Melt slowly on a very low heat until everything is combined and smooth
3. Put the chocolate mixture aside to cool
4. Whip the cream, Bailey's and vanilla together till it is in between a soft peak and stiff peak consistency.
5. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture through with the cream
6. Once the mixture is folded through and combined spoon into shot glasses or liqueur glasses
7. This is optional but I added some shaved chocolate on top (use a knife to scrap the chocolate and create curls)
8. You can eat this instantly or pop into the fridge, frankly I couldn't wait!

Great use for these liqueur glasses I got as wedding favours!

Enjoy!!




xx Mel.

Dreamy Fudge Truffles

Fudge Truffles.... can it sound any better ?? Of course it can... Chocolate and peanut butter Fudge Truffles!

What are these?? An accident that's what they are. My fudge truffles came about when I was making fudge... got impatient and tried to cut into warm fudge ruining it. Then I thought to myself... how do I salvage this? Easy! Turn them into balls rolled in coconut and call them fudge truffles. 

This is a super easy and simple recipe, doesn't cost all that much taking in mind I took full advantage of the half price chocolate sales at the supermarkets. 

Here they are:

Bowls from Daiso $2.80 each. 

What You Need:

- 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate 50-70% cocoa

- 1/3 cup of smooth peanut butter (although crunchy would be good too!)

- 1/2 can of condensed milk

- 30 grams of unsalted butter

What to do:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl 

2. Microwave for 2 minutes (stirring it even 60 seconds)

3. Check to see there are no lumps, if there are microwave for a further 30 seconds

4. Pour into a dish , the larger the size the faster the mixture will cool for rolling

5. Place into the fridge for 1 hour or freezer for 20 minutes

6. Take the mixture out and start rolling them into balls (around the diameter of a 20 cent coin)

7. Roll the fudge truffles into desiccated coconut or chopped peanuts

8. You can eat them straight away or store in the fridge, but they won't last long!

Fudge mixture ready for cooling and rolling!

This recipe is also great as a gift  or scattered around the room in delicate bowls at a party. You can customise the flavour to suit what you like. For Christmas remove the peanut for more chocolate and add peppermint. Like Nutella? Add Nutella instead of peanut butter. Like a bit of naughty? Add some Baileys or Kahlua ... the options are endless!

Perfect pairing with a nice strong cup of espresso

Enjoy!

xx Mel 

Thumb Print Cookies With A Twist !

I have always loved the taste of thumb print cookies, the chewy tart jam combined with the buttery cookie was always a winner to me. Unfortunately on some rare occasions you find people who don't enjoy the yummy jam center ... Then what do you do??

My post last week inspired me to make a Butterscotch thumb print cookie with a white chocolate drizzle!


Here it is!

What You Need: 
- 125 grams of unsalted soften butter
- 1/3 cup of caster sugar
- 1 1/4 cup of plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Bean paste
- Cooled Butterscotch (Recipe here Click for Butterscotch goodness - you will only need half the amount and you could save the rest for some late night ice cream drizzling)
- Around 30 grams of white chocolate

1 tablespoon per cookie rolled into a ball

I made the dents in my cookie using the back of a measuring spoon

Butterscotch is spooned into each dent

What To Do:
1. Mix the Butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until combined
2. Add in the flour and mix until the dough is smooth
3. Flatten into a disk and place in the fridge for 30 minutes
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
5. Use a tablespoon to measure out each cookie and then roll into balls
6. Use your thumb or spoon to create an indent for the butterscotch - don't stress about cracks when you press down, I find them charming and homely.
7. Spoon the butterscotch into the center
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes - until slightly golden on the edges
9. Cool slightly and then move to a baking rack to cool further
10. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the cookie
11. Pack into a cute metal cookie tin and you can give this as a gift or eat them yourself :)

Great as a gift!

Enjoy!


xx Mel.

Bargain Finds and Butterscotch Sauce

On my weekends one of my favourite things to do is bargain hunting! Not only in brightly lit shopping centers but also at markets where people sell their precious little treasures for a steal!

I happened to find something that I am madly in loved with and I got it for $2 !!

Here is it! a beautiful pale jade dish with a real gold trim

Just gorgeous!! Perfect for Trinkets or as a glorified ice cream bowl

I also found some super cute retro cookie tins for $4 each! These would also be great when you are on a tight budget but want to give a thoughtful gift. Add some homemade cookies in it and you would have an edible gift and something for them to keep. Best of both worlds!

Also this would not be a post without some sort of sweet treat ...

So here is my butterscotch sauce, perfect for the ice cream that will go in my beautiful new dish.

What You Need:
- 60 grams of butter
- 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of thickened cream
- 2 teaspoons of golden syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt ( or another 1/4 teaspoon if you like it saltier)

What To Do:
1. Pop all the ingredients into a saucepan and mix
2. Heat it up until it starts to bubble
3. Let it bubble for 1-2 minutes before you turn the heat off
4. Give it a stir and transfer it into a jar for storing


There you have it! a quick and easy butterscotch sauce , serve with ice cream anytime or eat it out of the jar with a spoon... yum

I added some cookie chunks to it... because I can :)

Enjoy



xx Mel.

Cool Off With Some Ice Tea

With the hot and humid weather I find myself craving a cool sweet drink constantly. While I find myself wanting to reach for a freezing cold soda I know.. my waist line will curse me later !

My cooling fruit infused ice teas will have you well quenched and totally satisfied without the nasties that come along with a sweet refreshing drink. 

I love to stock my pantry with various things that help me whip something up whenever I want. One of these things are flavoured teas , great for entertaining friends on a budget and on short notice, just add some slice up some fruit for presentation and flavour. 

Here it is: 

Got my Glass Jars for $2.50 each at a bargain store! Love it!

This is not advertising but I just love Dilmah flavoured teas, there's a large variety and the flavours are easy to work with!

What You Need:

- 3 flavoured tea bags per jar

- 1 1/2 table spoons of Stevia

- Fruits of your choice ( oranges, green apples, frozen raspberries, mint, frozen mango, passion fruit)

- Ice

What To Do:

1. Infuse 3 teabags in 2 cups of boiling water. 

2. Dissolve the Stevia in the boiling water

3. Once the Stevia is dissolved and the water is teabags have infused remove the teabags and add cold water

4. Pour the flavoured tea into the jars and fill to 3/4's of the way. 

5. Add the fruit sliced and chopped into the jars. 

6. Add the ice till the jar is full. 

* You don't want the tea too be too strong or sweet , it is meant to be a nice light refreshing drink. 

Enjoy!!

xx Mel.