In Celebration of 100 Posts

... could never tire of eating these lovely gems, or looking at them, for that matter...

Run, run as fast as you can!

... you can't catch me, I'm The Gingerbread Man!

An old woman was baking one day, and she made some gingerbread. She had some dough left over, so she made the shape of a little man. She made eyes for him, a nose and a smiling mouth all of currants, and placed more currants down his front to look like buttons. Then she laid him on a baking tray and put him into the oven to bake.

After a little while, she heard something rattling at the oven door. She opened it and to her surprise out jumped the little gingerbread man she had made. She tried to catch him as he ran across the kitchen, but he slipped past her, calling as he ran:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

She chased after him into the garden where her husband was digging. He put down his spade and tried to catch him too, but as the gingerbread man sped past him he called over his shoulder:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

As he ran down the road he passed a cow. The cow called out, "Stop, gingerbread man! You look good to eat!" But the gingerbread man laughed and shouted over his shoulder:

"I've run from an old woman
And an old man.
Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

The cow ran after the old woman and the old man, and soon they all passed a horse. "Stop!" called out the horse, "I'd like to eat you." But the gingerbread man called out:

"I've run from an old woman,
And an old man,
And a cow!
Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

He ran on, with the old woman and the old man and the cow and the horse following, and he went past a party of people haymaking. They all looked up as they saw the gingerbread man, and as he passed them he called out:

"I've run from an old woman,
And from an old man,
And a cow and a horse.
Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

The haymakers joined in the chase behind the old woman and the old man, the cow and the horse, and they all followed,him as he ran through the fields. There he met a fox, so he called out to the fox:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

But the sly fox said, "Why should I bother to catch you?" although he thought to himself, "That gingerbread man would be good to eat." Just after he had run past the fox the gingerbread man had to stop because he came to a wide, deep, swift-flowing river. The fox saw the old woman and the old man, the cow, the horse and the haymakers all chasing the gingerbread man so he said, "Jump on my back, and I'll take you across the river!"

The gingerbread man jumped on the fox's back and the fox began to swim. As they reached the middle of the river, where the water was deep, the fox said, "Can you stand on my head, Gingerbread Man, or you will get wet." So the gingerbread man pulled himself up and stood on the fox's head. As the current flowed more swiftly, the fox said, "Can you move on to my nose, Gingerbread Man, so that I can carry you more safely? I would not like you to drown." The gingerbread man slid on to the fox's nose. But when they reached the bank of the river, the fox suddenly went snap! The gingerbread man disappeared into the fox's mouth, and was never seen again.

When your whole house fills with the aroma of gingerbread, you know Christmas is near. Less than a week to go in fact!

Today I want to share one of my favourite cookie recipes at this time of the year. It's so very decadent and easy to make! And they are always a hit :)

You will need:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
200g of high quality chocolate
Ice cream, to serve

1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Makes: 24

Method:
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened for about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar and beat until combined. Add molasses and beat until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate and turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick. Seal with wrap and refrigerate until firm (takes approximately 2 hours).

4. Heat oven to 185 degrees C. Roll dough into 3cm balls; place 5cm apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool completely.

5. Eat on its own or serve with icecream. Make mental note to prepare a double batch for next time ;)

Enjoy!

PS. While we are on the topic of gingerbread men, check out these ABC Gingerbread Cookie Cutters. So cute!

A Dessert to Warm your Heart

Today I want to share a go-to recipe that I use at every Christmas gathering - I love it because it's easy to prepare (you will most likely have all these ingredients already) and always enjoyed by everyone!

Petite Madeleines served with Warm Chocolate Sauce

You will need:
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
180g unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup almond flakes*
200g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup pure thin cream
Icing sugar, to dust

Makes: 24 petite madeleines

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 185°C. Grease and flour a 24-hole mini madeleine pan (or use a 12-hole pan and cook in 2 separate batches)
2. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and set aside for 2 minutes.
3. Beat eggs and sugar with electric beaters until thick and pale. Fold in the flour, butter and almond flakes*. I have sometimes substituted the almond flakes with some lemon juice or you can leave it out completely.
4. Spread 2 teaspoons of mixture into each mould. Bake until golden (on my oven it takes only 5 minutes!)
5. Cool on a rack and dust with icing sugar.
6. Serve with warm chocolate sauce (place chocolate and cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until chocolate melts - stir until smooth) when everyone is huddled around the fireplace (if you have one!)

“She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place…at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory…”

— Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1: Swann's Way. Marcel Proust

Summer Treats

I don't know about you, but how appetising do these macaroons look? They are almond, chestnut and praline flavoured... mmm! This macaroon recipe comes from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern with flavours substituted to individual taste. And below, an absolutely divine persimmon / yoghurt cake:

And how could anyone resist a serving of churros with spiced chocolate bisque? Looks so good I can almost smell it from here!

Images by Aran Goyoaga

Tasty Temptations

Melon, Strawberry and Banana cupcakes!


Grape tart and Strawberry mousse


Caramel cake, Mille-feuille, Raspberry tart, Lemon cake


Chocolate and strawberry waffles, stick cakes, pancakes, Canelé


Macarons!

Don't these little handmade treats just make your mouth water? Too bad they're not actually edible!

Save those Shavings

This set of Chocolate-Pencils are the creation of Japanese designer and architect, Oki Sato and patissiere Tsujiguchi Hironobu. It comes with a special sharpener that you can use to create those delicate melt-in-your-mouth chocolate curls and guaranteed, it will take you back to your childhood days.

Even cooler? These pencils come in an assortment of flavours from light milk chocolate to dark bittersweet, much like real pencils that come in H, HB, 2B! The idea is too cute.

My Idea of Saturday morning Perfection

Every Saturday morning, I opt out of a home-made breakfast and instead visited the local patisserie for a pastry and cup of coffee. It is something I've done for the past two years and I always look forward to it because it gives me a chance to relax after the hectic week.

One morning a short while back, I was on my way to what I call my Heaven on Earth when I spotted an adorable girl not a day over 5 nibbling on a delicate pink macaroon with an orange pastry cream filling as she was being led out of the store by her mother. I had never seen a macaroon look so pretty & mouthwatering in my entire life! So I went into the shop, took my usual seat and made sure to order for myself one of those rose and orange-blossom macaroons sitting behind the glass cabinet. It was undeniably the most delicious treat I had ever tasted in my entire life and also the moment my adoration of French pastries began.

1: S. Gin Photography; 2: organicpixel; 3: Celine S.; 4: Kristybee

On my best friend's trip to Paris last year, she was lucky enough to visit the French patisserie Laduree at the Champs Elysees and taste a selection of their famous creations. I was so envious! But to my delight she brought this home for me!! I can't wait to go there myself one day :) For now, I order 3 macaroons as a treat to start my weekend off beautifully. Today, I picked the rose & orange-blossom (as always!), coconut and hazelnut praline. It was yummy! xx

Tutti Frutti

From this

1: Yoshiko314;

And this

2. La tartine gourmande;

To this...

what.makes.your.world.go.round?

What do you think?