Crepes with Vanilla Cream and Maple Syrup

Receita em Portugues clique AQUI.

Here you are something to celebrate about, easy peasy to do pancakes (crepes) I made these on a non stick frying pan. This I offered to my family as a New Year treat breakfast ...Obviously with a steaming cup of coffee...but I am sure you know how to make the coffee....lol

Recipe Ingredients:
Crepes:

• 6 soup spoons of plain flour
• 3 soup spoons of sugar
• 1 egg
  
• 3 soup spoons of vegetable oil
• about 1 and 1/2 glass of milk (consistency should be of gravy)
• a dash of vanilla essence

Whipped Cream:

• 1 glass of chilled fresh double cream
• 2 tea spoons of sugar
• 1 dash of vanilla essence (or a scraping of vanilla seeds from a split pod)
• 3 drops of lemon juice

In a jug put the flour and the sugar in, whisk it together. Make a little well and pour the oil and the egg, star whisking it and as it starts to get pasty add milk little by little always whisking it, last add the vanilla essence whisk once more and it's done.

Place the non stick frying pan in the fire, once hot reduce fire to just bellow medium, pour a drop of oil and with a dried tissue spread that oil evenly on the whole area of the pan, then with the jug pour in the center of the pan the liquid until it fills 2/3 of the area then stop spread the rest by inclining the pan and going around motion always over the fire until liquid sets. Once it sets let it cook it takes about 2-3 minutes on each side, to flip with a spatula lift the side of the pancake enough to get your fingers in then with your hands (fingers) pull it up gently without ripping it and flip it to the other side. Then once cooked is ready for the filling...which you can just add sugar and lemon, or just syrup or chocolate sauce or fresh cream or many many more combos.

I used a vanilla whipped cream with maple syrup. To make this pour one cup of chilled fresh cream into a bowl and start whisking it once is half way through add the 2 tea spoons of sugar the lemon juice and whisk a little more then the dash of vanilla essence (remember at this stage you van also add liquor like Tia maria (coffee flavour) or baileys (caramel flavour) cointreau (orange flavour) see ...your only limit is your imagination...one cap full will suffice. And that is that.

Obviously there is many many more fancy stuff you can do with pancakes, I know a few maybe I'll tell you later.... ;)

Picture in the reverse order of making process:

Chocolate and Almond Mousse with Port

Every year (normally) I have my family around for my birthday. As my birthday is so close to xmas (27th) I ask them to come along and I celebrate by cooking for them something made by me entirely, so no peeking is aloud (into other peoples recipes), I can take past experiences in restaurants and cafés, and come up with my own thing.

So this birthday I decided to spoil them a little, well I do that every year... So I made for main course a Cod Fillet "en croute" with an Asian twist (Indian) and a plain rice portion with a special hot curried sauce (this inspired by Wagamamas, just the rice not the fish), and for desert I made a dark chocolate and almond mousse with an almond and port digestive base.

But on this post I will only provide you with the desert recipe, as I'll do another posting with the main meal, to make things simple. This desert was enough for 10 people.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 250mls double cream pots (one for the almond one for the chocolate)
• 8 chocolate squares ( dark chocolate cocoa from 30% to 50%)
• 9 Mcvites digestives (other brand will do)
• 2 soup spoons of Port Wine
• 1 + 1 teaspoons of almond essence
• 1 hand full of almonds (about 50grs) with the skin (chopped)
• 2 soup spoons of denmerra sugar
• 1 + 1 + 1 soup spoon of butter
• some white sugar
  

In a bowl crush all the digestives add one (full) spoon of butter, half of the almonds (chopped) a tea spoon of white sugar, one tea spoon of almond essence and the port, mix this very well and should be enough to place one soup spoon of this mixture into each one of the 10 ramekins, after doing that press mixture down with a flat object I used the bottom of a small glass.

On two separate bowls pour each of the creams and whip them until they are Chantilly, but remember to half way before that happens to add a tea spoon of sugar to each cream part, set them aside for a little while, while you do the flavouring.

Put two little pans on the stove one with a little water and a bowl inside that (bain Marie) inside the bowl put the 8 pieces of chocolate once hot enough the chocolate will become very soft, add now one soup spoon of butter mix well it starts to go harder and darker, remove bowl from heat and add one egg yolk and mix well, pour this mixture into one of the bowls of whipped cream and fold gently, once well mixed set it aside.

On the other pan, put a (full soup) spoon of butter, and the remaining almonds, let them sizzle for about 3 minutes them add the denmerra sugar and and a soup spoon or two of water, let this continue to boil until is near caramelized but not caramelized as such. Let this cool briefly than pour it into the second bowl of whipped cream but not directly into the cream, let it cool a little more, than fold int into the cream adding also a tea spoon of almond essence.

Spoon both types of cream into the ramekins two have two halves each colour (see picture), then decorate top, i did the chocolate side with chocolate shavings, and the almond part with a little more chopped almonds and refrigerated these for 30 minutes.

It was a great success with the guests. You can also use instead of port amaretto (almond liquor) I did not try but I bet would be nice too.

Golden Slices (or Eggy Bread)

Receita em Portuguese clique AQUI

It has been a little while that I have not made something sweet, well here is a treat for you cheap and easy to make. Eggy Bread (also known as golden slices), this can be a way of using bread that is a little old.

Ingredients for Recipe:

• Half a loaf of bread
• 1 glass of milk
• 2 soup spoons of sugar
• 3 eggs
• a mixture of two soup spoons of sugar and a tea spoon of cinnamon
• a plate with some absorbent tissues
• a frying pan with a finger deep of oil

This is so darn easy and so tasty, (however quite fattening therefore only have it once in awhile). In a soup plate put the milk and the sugar well mixed, on another plate the three eggs (beaten), place the frying pan on the stove until the oil is well hot, quickly deep a slice of bread in the milk both sides, don't leave it in or absorb a lot of milk, them bathe it in the egg, both sides too and place it in the pan, repeat the process on another slice, once it fries (seals) on one side turn it to the other side, to seal that too even if is not yet golden, as the idea is to seal the egg so that it does not absorb the oil, as you just want to cook in it not eat it. Once both sides are sealed then, yes let it get golden brown on each side, pull it out making sure all the oil drains and place it on the plate with the paper tissue, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on both sides of each slice, then just keep repeating the whole process until the whole of the bread is gone. And that is all, just call your kids but don't get distracted as if you do by the time you look back all the slices are gone lol.

If the beaten egg plate gets to low or the milk and sugar plate you can always add more.....but it is that easy!!!

Milk Tartlets

Recipe Ingredients:

• 5 dl of full Milk
• 4 Eggs
• 130 grs of Flour
• 30 grs Butter
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 Dash of Vanilla Essence

Confection:

This is an easy one, Mix the flour and sugar together until well blended, the mix eggs one by one mixing in between until a smooth paste, heat the milk with the butter until this one melts, once that is achieved, pour slowly into the egg; flour & sugar mixture (always mixing) finally add the lemon zest and the Vanilla essence. let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. Then pour into silicone cups and bake in the oven in a "bain marie" 190 degrees, for 20 minutes until golden brown (see picture above) and enjoy them, let them cool before eating.

Butter Bean Cakes

Recipe Ingredients:

• 500 grs Sugar
• 2.5 dl Water
• 250 grs Butter Beans (these can be from a can, but you must peel them)
• A soup spoon full of Butter
• 6 yolks and 2 full eggs
• the zest of one Lemon
• A dash of Vanilla Essence

Preparation:

Put in a pan the sugar and water boiling this until it reaches "pearl point" for you and me until when it drips from the spoon onto a surface forms like a pearl (it takes about 7 minutes boiling).
While that is going on after peeling beans mash them with a fork until a smooth paste, once the sugar reached the point take it off the fire and add the beans mixing well take it back to the fire for about 3-4 minutes so that it just thickens up a bit (always stirring) lastly add the butter until it melts. Once done take it of the fire and set it aside.
Let this mixture cool down a bit and then add the eggs (mixed) little by little always mixing it, then add the lemon zest and the dash of vanilla essence. Mixture done.

Dough Preparation:

In a bowl mix 1 cup of flour and a heaped spoon of baking margarine, mix it with your hands until resembles bread crumbs, then add a little water and continue mixing until a silky soft dough (like bread dough), let it rest for 15 minutes in the bowl with a cloth over it. After that cut a small piece and roll it with a rolling pin in a well floured table until about 2-3 millimetres thickens, cut round shapes (using a dough cutter) then lay it into aluminium cup cases that have been previously buttered. (the secret for a wafer thin dough is to stretch the circles inside the cup to cover it all. (well practice makes perfect...have fun).
Fill the cups with the mixture and oven bake them for about 25 - 30 minutes.