It’s Mardi Gras ~ Oreillettes, a traditional french pastry

Hey Guys, it’s Mardi Gras ! A traditional way to celebrate Mardi Gras (besides the famous carnaval)  is to to eat “Oreillettes“. It is a traditional pastry from the south of France with a sweet orange flower taste. Hope you will enjoy !

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of orange blossom water
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 3 tablespoons of baking powder
• 4 cups flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Methods:

1 . In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, eggs, orange blossom, baking powder and canola oil. Slowly add the flour into the mixture.

2 . Mix until you have a firm rough dough.

3 . Roll out the dough (on a flat, floured surface) as thinly as possible (about 2 mm) in a somewhat rectangular shape. This should be fairly easy as the dough should be elastic and moist.

4 . Cut out stripes about 1 1/2″ to 2″ wide. Divide the stripes into smaller rectangles, approximately 4″ long and with a knife, make a 1 1/2″ long slit in the center of each rectangle, lengthwise.

5 . Heat the oil in a frying pan (oil should be about 1″ or 1 1/2″ deep) until boiling hot. Place a few of your small rectangle of dough in it, making sure they don’t touch each other. Flip once, after only a few seconds, then wait a few seconds longer.

6 . Take out as soon as the oreillettes have a nice golden color. Drain on paper towels placed in a plate.

7 . Once all the oreillettes are cooked, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

 

Yogurt Apple Cake

Hi Guys ! Happy Monday !

Today’s recipe is an unbelievably moist cake that’s loaded with chunks of apples. Once you eat your first slice, you’ll be begging for more! It’s a big cake that’s really easy to make. Full of fresh apples, vanilla extract and yogurt for the moisture, it is a fabulous fall/winter dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 apples* (peeled, quartered, diced)
• 1 apple* (peeled, quartered, sliced for the top of the cake)

*I used pink lady apples for this recipe but you can use any other types of apple.

Method: 

1 . Preheat oven to 360F. Grease and line base and sides of a 20cm round cake pan.

2 . In a large bowl, add the greek yogurt, the sugar, the eggs and the vanilla extract.

3 . Gently fold in the flour, the baking powder and canola oil.

4 . Add the 3 apples at the bottom of the pan and then add the mixture on top of it.

5 . Arrange the apple slices on top of the cake, then bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry

Hey Guys !

If you like spices this meal is full of delicious Indian flavors. This easy to make Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry takes less than an hour to make & is super easy to make as well.  It’s a healthy vegan recipe, perfect for a meatless lunch or dinner !

Ingredients for 4 persons: 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon curry
• 3 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1 cup green lentils (dried, not canned, make sure to rinse them before cooking)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 15 ounce can coconut milk

Methods :

1 . Peel and dice onion and carrots. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes.

2 . Add the cumin and curry and cook until they start to get brown for about 45 seconds.

3 . Add the lentils and 4 cups of water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 35-40 minutes. Stir the pot a few times to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom.

4 . Once the lentils are soft, add the coconut milk and salt to taste. Bring the pot back to a simmer. Remove the pot from the heat, it’s ready. You can serve it with some basmati rice. Enjoy !

Pour la version française c’est par ici: Lentilles au Lait de Coco et Curry

Valentine’s Day Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone !

Here is the recipe of some awesome iced oatmeal cookies ! They are fun to make and super nice to share with your love(s). Hope you enjoy xx

Ingredients for 30 cookies:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ cups Old Fashioned Quaker Oats ( use a knife or mixer to chop the oats, make sure to leave some texture and to not mix it thoroughly)

For the icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• food coloring of your choice

Methods :

1 . Beat butter and sugar. Add in the egg and mix thoroughly.

2 . Add flour, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and oats to mixture. Mix well.

3 . Roll out dough on well floured surface with floured rolling pin, then cut with a heart cookie cutter.

4 . Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes until just golden.

5 . For the icing:Mix all the ingredients together and outline with a #4 tip and fill in a shape of heart.

Pour la version française c’est par ici: Sablés de Saint Valentin

 

Stuffed Tomatoes with Basmati Rice ~ Gluten Free

Hi there!

Today’s recipe is again a classic in french cuisine. It is a familial meal that my mum used to make very often. Hope you will enjoy xx

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients for 6:

• 1lb (450g) of ground pork
• 6 medium tomatoes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon of grounded nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cup of rice

1 . Heat oven to 375 degrees. With a paring knife, core tomatoes. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the center of each tomato. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and place in a baking dish.

2 . Mix together the grounded pork, fresh chives, a pinch of salt and pepper, grounded nutmeg and the egg. In a pan, cook for 10 minutes until the meat is fully cooked.

3 . Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of the meaty mixture in the hollow of each tomato and keep any leftover aside. At the bottom of the baking dish, add the rice and add water until it is fully cover. Sprinkle any leftover of meaty mixture into the rice.

4 . Bake for 45 minutes.

Ombre Chocolate Cake

Happy Sunday !

This fabulous Ombré Chocolate Cake is perfect for any celebration. I had family over last weekend and thought it was a perfect occasion to test this recipe.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Supplies:  4 (six-inch) cake pans

Cake Batter:

• 500g of flour
• 100g of sugar
• 10g of baking powder
• 250g of butter, melted
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups of milk
• 100 g of cocoa powder

Frosting:

• 300 ml of heavy cream
• 250 g of mascarpone
• 1/2 cup of sugar

Methods:

The cake batter

1 . First of all, separate the yolk from the white of each egg in two different bowl. In the yolk bowl, mix together the sugar, the melted butter and the yolk until mixture become whiter.

2 . Then add the milk, the baking powder and the flour.

3 . Add a pinch of salt into the egg white. Whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer.

4. Preheat the oven to 360°F. Next, butter and flour 4 (six-inch) cake pans. If you don’t have 4 pans, you can do this in batches of two.

5 . Slowly add the whipped egg to the previous mixture.

6 . Divide the batter amongst four bowls, each should weight 200g.

• For the first layer (the whitest), pour into the cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
• For the second layer: add 15 g of cocoa powder, pour into the cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
• For the third layer: add 35g of cocoa powder, pour into the cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
• For the fourth and last layer: add add the rest of cocoa powder (50g of cocoa powder), pour into the cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

7. Transfer to the oven to bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

8 . Let the cakes cool down for 30 minutes.

Mascarpone Frosting 

1 . In a bowl: add the mascarpone, the heavy cream and the sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake:

1 . Add a layer to the base of a cake board or cutting board. Top with a few tablespoons of the  frosting, smoothing it out to the edges. Repeat with the following layers.

2 . Add a few tablespoon of frosting all around the cake. Using a big off-set spatula, smooth out the sides. You can add any decorations on top of the cake, like chocolate chips or nuts. Enjoy !

 

Candlemas or Crêpes Day

Hey guys!

Today is a special day in France as everyone celebrate Candlemas or “La Chandeleur“. Nowadays it’s a family time most simply associated with eating crêpes, delicious thin French pancakes.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes + 30 minutes rest
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Supplies:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups (750 ml of milk
• 3 cups (375g) of flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil + 1/4 cup for the pan
• 1 tablespoon of orange flower water

Methods:

1 . Put the eggs, oil, sugar, milk and orange flower water into the blender. Mix for couple seconds.

2. Then add the flour and mix for 1 minute. Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before making the crêpes.

3. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium. Lightly coat with a bit of vegetable oil. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then quickly flip. Cook one more minute. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter.

5. Add any filling that you like: sugar, chocolate, jelly.. you have an infinite choice !