Yummy chocolate cake

My honey’s birthday calls for a classic French chocolate cake tonight.  And when you don’t have much time to bake it after a long day’s work, here is an easy recipe.

My cupboard ingredients

– 200g. dark chocolate
– 4 eggs
– 125g. of butter
– 200g. of sugar
– 100g. of flour
– 1 pack of yeast

How to:

Pre-heat your oven at 180°C

Melt your chocolate on the stove or in a microwave (add 2-3 spoons of water if you melt it in the microwave).

Add the butter.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs and the sugar.  Then the yeast and the flour.

Pour the melted chocolate, then mix well until well balanced.

Pour in a cake dish that has been buttered and floured.

Cook for about 25 minutes (adapt your cooking time to how runny you wish the cake to end up).

Here is what it should look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bon appétit!

D.

Popovers

As I was walking around my supermarket today some old ladies were talking about making “popovers”…intrigued by the name I asked them what that was and they mentioned these were little bread-like oven-baked yummy cute things…

So thanks to Google, I found a recipe online, which I of course tried out right away to enjoy them tonight.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 cup flour (I used a gluten-free flour mix)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 extra large eggs
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 additional unsalted butter
• 1 popover pan

Prepare the Popover Pan

Place oven rack at lowest position in your oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the popover pan on an aluminum lined cooking sheet. Prepare the pan by thoroughly greasing it with unsalted butter.

Mix the Popover Batter

In medium bowl, combine flour and salt. In a small bowl, crack your two eggs. In another medium bowl, combine milk, eggs and the melted butter. Beat it well.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir with wire whisk until it’s just blended. You’ll see that the batter will be thin. And it’s okay if there are some lumps.

Bake the Popovers

Pour batter into your popover pan. Fill each cup half-way. Place the cookie sheet and the pan into the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes. Be sure not to open the door while its cooking.

After 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15-20 minutes longer. The popovers are done when they are a deep golden-brown color.

Serve the popovers with your favorite sweet or savoury spread as this little puffy bread has quite a neutral taste.

Mine looked like this (did not puff up as much as I wanted but I think it is due to the non-traditional flour I used)

Bon appétit!

D.

Solution to your salmon nightmare

I hear too many people complaining that they can’t cook salmon, it’s too dry, it burns, it’s too oily, etc.

Here’s a great way to succeed!

My cupboard ingredients:

(this is for one portion)

Foil (or oven safe multibake paper – but I prefer foil, cooks better)

1 Salmon fillet

1 lemon

2 spring onions

Pesto or dill paste

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

550 ml. of water

Cooking cream (liquid)

How:

Pre-heat your oven at 220c

Cut a sheet of foil large enough so that you can wrap your salmon fillet en papillote

Set your salmon fillet skin down

Drizzle with olive oil

Set a lemon slice on top of the fillet

Sprinkle the finely chopped onions

Add a little bit of dill (or pesto) paste on top of the fillet

Salt & Pepper

Seal the papillote

Set it in the baking dish and add the water around (I mention 550ml but that is for my dish – the water should basically come up to about a half of the side of the papillote, so add quantity of water to the size of your dish).  DO NOT forget to add the water, this is going to bring moisture to your fish.

Cook for 25 minutes

Than take out of oven, add the liquid cooking cream (be generous) over the fish in the papillotte

Set back in the oven for 5-8 minutes leaving this time the papillote open

Take out of oven and out of the paper in a plate.  Peel off the skin.  Serve with rice and a slice of lemon.

The result should be tender, moist and creamy.

Bon appétit!

D.