Phew... February already!

 

It's been quiet here at my little corner on the world wide web ;)

Busy...

Working more hours in the office & being caught by the flu didn't leave me with much time

to spend here... unfortunately!

 

However, I did have time to bake a chocolate-pear cake AND I did meet Lynda again for cappuccinos and a chat :)

 

 

She gave me these double French tulips.

Aren't they just beautiful?

 

 

 

 

Hope you're all, again, prepared for the cold AND for the Carnival??!!

I'm looking forward to a long weekend in Paris...

 

Have a nice week!

 

Snow and a pinkish touch

 

Am I glad that I planted the bulbs last week.

And those little hints of spring from last Monday?

I hope they will survive the 'truckloads' of snow that have been falling lately, because this is what it looks like outside since Tuesday:

 

 

A winter wonderland!!

 



 

 

 

Last weekend I wanted to bake something but didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Surfing the net, I found these oreos on the blog of Fraulein Klein

Shop bought oreos and a homemade filling, I added a bit of pink food colouring too as we had some guests who would appreciate a pinkish touch :)

You can find the recipe here

 

They disappeared in no time...

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with sunshine & snow...

... & some skating maybe?

 



Salted butter caramel macarons

 

Finally, I have found the time to update my blog!

I've been procrastinating...

Too busy with other things...

Like St. Nicolas (Dutch tradition)

Like diner parties (at home and elsewhere)

Like enjoying the snow
Like baking macarons!

 

Anyway, the (unforeseen) blog pause has come to an end!!

 

And what better way to celebrate than with these salted butter caramel macarons?

 

To be honoust, I've always been hesitating to make macarons,

it seemed too difficult & too much work to me!
Bu finally, I took the courage to really do it!
It wasn't that difficult, nor was it too much work.

I think they still need some 'finetuning',
but overall, they were not bad at all!

I tried several ones:
pistachio, red fruits, white chocolate-orange-cardamom
and last weekend I decided for the salted butter caramel ones!
Did not regret it!!

 

 

This salted butter caramel filling combines beautifully with the new Nespresso Variations:

noix de coco, macadamia or noisette. Did you try one of them already?

 

 

 

So, on a cold day like today, I pampered myself with a Macadamia latte & a macaron!

Life could be worse ;)

 

 

Blondie

Another cold & rainy Sunday afternoon...

Reason enough to bake :)

This time I wanted to try something new:

 

How to:

* Preheat the oven to 175°C.

* Grease a square baking pan with butter & line with baking paper.

* Melt the butter slowly, take the butter of the heat and add 75 grams of the white chocolate

and let it melt. Stir.

* Mix sugar and eggs until thick & yellow. Add flour, butter with chocolate, salt and vanilla essence & mix until well-combined.

* Finish by adding the dried cranberries and mix them carefully with the batter.

* Add the batter in the baking pan and put the rest of the chocolate on top.

* Bake the blondies for about 35-40 minutes. Let cool down and cut in squares.

 

 

The taste was great, but next time I will add the chopped chocolate to the batter instead of putting it on top. And I will also use less heat on the upper side and let it bake a bit longer.

 

The rest of the family enjoyed it to the last crumb so there will definitely be a next time!

 

Bon appetit!

 

Quicker than the squirrels!



With a walnut tree in the garden, October is always a busy month. Busy because we have to be quick. Very quick. Quicker than the squirrels! They love the walnuts as much as we do. But they have an advantage: they just climb up the trunk of the tree and get the walnuts from the branches. We, humans, have to wait, wait until the walnuts fall off the tree. Just hoping that the squirrels have left some for us!

 

This year, the harvest is good: boxes full of walnuts. A whole lot more than last year. Or were we just quicker and more observant?

 

Well, all these walnuts need to be used.

 

To start with cake, a walnut-cinnamon cake.

Here's what you need:

 

And this is what comes out of the oven after about 45 minuten on 175°C

 

 

As a little bit of batter was left, I used it for mini-bundt-cakes

 

Tastes delicious with some whipped cream too!

 

 Oh and I added a 'personal touch': some cider spices :)

Will definitely bake and/or cook more using the walnuts.

To be continued...

 

Wishing you all a nice weekend!

Ours is filled with a family reunion & a nice dinner to celebrate the birthday of a friend!

Happy Birthday Eline!

You know that 50 is the new 40, don't you??

 

 More bakes with walnuts? Click here for banana-nut-cake!

 

Coffee & cake!!

Saturday afternoon... groceries done, bunch of flowers on the table, time to bake!

This time I wanted to make an apple pie, as it definitely fits the fall season that has just started.

But then my eye caught a recipe for apple crumble cupcakes... So apple crumble cupcakes it is!

 

The ingredients

 

The outcome

 

And a triple portion for a teenager who had just played a soccer match :)

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

P.S. Wanna see another baking post? Have a look here

And should you like to know the recipe, just let me know in the comments,

then I will post it here!

 

When it's raining outside...

...it's baking time inside!!

Strawberry Sponge cake on the menu!

 Spongy cake

& fresh strawberries & cream

A cup of tea & a freshly baked piece of cake on a nice plate...

All you need on a rainy afternoon :)

Have a lovely day & enjoy your piece of cake!!

P.S. Should you need a fool proof recipe of another delicious cake,

then have a look here for a delicious & tasty banana-nut bread/cake!

Birthday boy!

(I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures... early morning, no natural light...)

Always nice to have something to celebrate...

Today is Thom's 12th birthday and although the party (karting & pizza...) will only be coming Friday, of course he had to take something to school to treat his class mates!

And there were presents...

 

Colourful sports outfits amongst them...

And for everybody who celebrates his or her birthday today too, this one is for you:

I wish you all a nice day, full of sunshine, flowers & fun!

Bisous,



A cake kit... Lynda style!

It's been a while, too busy being outside, enjoying the wonderful sunny spring days ;)

After my last post, the weather changed completely, someone must be reading my blog too!

So I played tennis... in the sun, played golf... in the sun, walked the dog... in the sun, had coffee with friends... in the sun! And didn't take the time to blog because I wanted to be... in the sun!

And over the weekend, my parents came to visit us so we were busy entertaining them!!

What I did do inside last week? Baking! Why? Because I won a give-away at Lynda's blog and received a little package... a do-it-yourself cake kit, Lynda style!

So this is what I received

(there was ready-to-go dough, cacao powder for the bavarois,

custard powder, shaved white chocolate, finishing jelly):

 And this is what I made of it

 (I added whipped cream and raspberries):

The cake was delicious, I served it while having coffee, cake, and more...

with a group of Dutch and Belgian friends:

 Wishing you all a nice week!

Bisous,

So sweet!

Here I am, enjoying a piece of banana-nut-bread and a latte macchiato, whereas I should be working, cleaning, making the beds, grocery shopping, etc. Friends are arriving tonight to stay a couple of nights with us. I'm really looking forward to it!
I have made this banana-nut bread ( a recipe I received from a friend)  over & over & it's always a hit.
With so many guests lately I have varied between making this cake and/or a tarte tatin. But I would love to read the recipees of your favorite bakes. I could use some new élan to my baking for our future guests!

Here's the cake recipe:

Ingredients:
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
2 or 3 very ripe bananas, coarsely mashed
3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup of buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350 °F, grease and lightly flour a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the flat beater, beat together  butter & sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the bananas and eggs & beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk and beat just until combined.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and nuts. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat just until combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the loaf is dark golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the loaf onto a wire rack and let cool. The icing is optional!

Bon appétit!
Chantal