All posts filed under: Desserts & Breads

Mini Choco Beet Cakes

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Don’t Kill my BEET! I am probably under some music influence. This weekend started with music in the background and boiled beetroots on the counter top. I could have made a salad or beet hummus but chocolate always wins especially on a Friday morning after a hectic week (weekend in Saudi starts on Fridays). This recipe is great for all the mommies out there trying to feed undesired veggies to their kids (it can be done with zucchini  as well). Let’s cut the story short and get to the tasty part with the recipe 🙂 Ingredients: 2 medium beetroots (boiled a nd peeled) 100g flour (gluten free) 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbs cocoa powder 2 eggs 50g brown sugar 2 tbs agave syrup 150g dark chocolate 100g butter (you can use coconut butter or any other substitute) 1 espresso shot => Use a muffin tray and paper cups for the mini cake version 1. Grind the beets in a food processor or use a cheese grater 2. Preheat the oven to 400 F 3. Sift …

The Tart Edition (2): Tarte Brisee

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Here it is! basic unsweetened pie crust, used for savory pies and salted tarts.

I just love this pie crust because I know it can’t get wrong with the topping. Besides, I get to have it in the freezer on standby for any occasion.

Now that it is summer and we need lots of freshness in our menus, I am certainly doing couple of those for my gatherings.

Banana Bread

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My new breakfast favorite! The Banana Bread is a good substitute to toast for breakfasts and handy snack with your afternoon tea/coffee. My dairy and sugar free recipe is made of easy-to-find ingredients (Okay, probably not the almond milk which could easily be replaced by coconut milk). Ingredients: 2 Eggs ¼ cup Almond Milk (or Coconut Milk) 1 ¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour ½ cup Honey 1/3 cup Olive Oil 1 cup mashed ripe Bananas (2 large bananas) 1 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Vanilla extract ½ tsp Salt ½ tsp Cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top Optional: ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruits, fresh banana slices, etc. Preheat oven to 185 degrees Celsius (about 350 degrees F); In a large bowl, mash the banana and add the oil and honey with a whisk or a fork; Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the almond milk; Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon, and whisk to blend. Then, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour (in 3 …

Waffles, the old fashioned

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No better way to start a morning during your weekend without good old Waffles topped with honey and orange slices. Fortunately, I have the traditional recipe tucked into my apron. Please note that a less calorific recipe will be added later 😉  Ingredients: 2 cups Flour 2 Eggs 40g Butter 1.5 cup warm Milk 4 tsp Baking Powder 2 tsp Sugar 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Vanilla extract Preheat the waffle iron before mixing the dough. 1. Put the flour in a bowl with the baking powder, sugar and salt; 2. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the warm milk, butter and vanilla; 3. Stir in the flour mixture and beat until blended, it will take less than 1 minute (make sure you don’t over blend); 4. Pour in the mixture into the waffle iron and cook until the waffles are gold and crispy; 5. Serve the warm waffles with honey and some fruits on the side. Bon Appetite! The Urban Apron

Carrot Cake

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I just love carrot cakes or maybe it is just the cream cheese frosting. This weekend was more about resting and indulging comfort food so I made the carrot cake with a ginger cream cheese frosting for a change and decorated the cake with pecans instead of adding them to the batter. I tried several recipes and came to this final one if you want a fluffy cake. As usual, I try to cut down as much as possible on sugar, I even tried to replace it with Agave syrup but the batter will get burnt quickly. Besides, it is always better to replace the vegetable oil with coconut oil or make it half half. Ingredients: 400g all purpose flour 3 large eggs at room temperature 300g vegetable oil OR 150g vegetable oil & 150g coconut oil 300g sugar 2 teaspoons of baking soda 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg 3 cups of coarsely grated carrots 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional) Frosting: 450g cream cheese, at …

Chocolate Fondant

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My heart skipped a beat! Who doesn’t like chocolate and more specifically  a gooey, decadent dessert with a molten middle? It is so irresistible that I started a diet for just the thought of having it. This dessert is perfect for the festive season, as it can be made way ahead of time. They will sit happily in the fridge overnight, or in the freezer for up to a month. Ingredients: Serving: 10 pieces 400g Dark chocolate 180g Butter 160g Flour 200g Sugar 8 Egg yolks 10 Eggs 1 tsp Vanilla powder 1. Preheat the oven at 200°C 2. Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. 3. Put the eggs and yolks with the vanilla together in a robot and whisk them until they form a mousse. 4. Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture and beat well 5. Sift the flour and sugar into the mixture until the mixture is completely combined to a loose cake batter 6. Cut baking sheet and put them inside the ring molds …

The secret of Halawa

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Halawa, Haleweh, Halva.. different names to the same middle eastern confectionery. Its preparation is based on traditional recipes that include long hours and meticulous steps of creating a meringue, which makes it difficult to re-create at home. You should know first that this sweetmeat is one of the most nutritious whole foods sweets you can have. Plus the fact that it indulges the sweet toothed! It’s delicious and can come in different flavors: chocolate, coffee, vanilla, rosewater or orange oil. You can add a crunchy flavor to it using pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts. It is usually served with bananas and honey, in a bread. In my opinion it can be used as a great topping to a chocolate tart. It feels like a good mix of French and Lebanese culture in a dish… Super Tasty! Ingredients: 250g Powdered Milk 200g Icing sugar 250g Tahini (sesame paste) 30g Cocoa powder (optional for chocolate flavor) 2 tsp Vanilla flavor (optional) 1. Mix the tahini (sesame paste) with the cocoa powder or vanilla flavor in a robot (make sure to sift the cocoa powder). 2. In a bowl, sift the …

Chocolate Tart

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Friends are coming over and you don’t have time to bake something fancy? Well, if you already have a baked tart (pie crust) in the freezer here is a 5 minute chocolate ganache preparation to dazzle them. Please note that the chocolate quality is key to a tasty flavor. My favorite brands are Lindt (for pastry) and Poulain: not easy to find in Jeddah, so I purchase them every time I travel to stock up my pantry. The original french recipe has 2 eggs, but I like to reduce the amount of eggs I use. In this case, I increase the chocolate and lower the milk to keep it well balanced. Eventually, you have to get a concentrated ganache (not too liquid). You can also find other recipes without eggs: with sugar instead, which in my opinion, kills the chocolate taste. Ingredients: Tart Sablee 1/4 cup Milk 120 g Heavy Cream 140 g Dark Chocolate 1 Egg 12 g Butter Salt flakes (optional) 1. Break the chocolate into pieces in a bowl. 2. Boil the cream, the milk and the butter in a pot (keep stirring so …

The Tart Edition (1) Tarte Sablée

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I have a sweet tooth, what can I do? When it comes to pastry there are some basics to be praised. My first learning and practice in my culinary workshop was the “Sablage” –  the basic of making a tart, known as pie crust. There are 2 methods of Sablage: – Classic Sablage using your bear hands takes you 15 minutes to prep the dough. – Modern Sablage using the robot only takes 8 minutes to prep it, which is great when you are on a hurry! I prefer the classical Sablage even if it takes me 10 minutes more because I feel I am in control of the dough shaping and texture and I usually make more than one dough when I am not in a rush. Another thing to know about French pies is that there are 3 types – it is not that complicated: – Tarte Brisée: the basic unsweetened pie crust, used for savory pies and salted tarts. – Tarte Sucrée: Same as tarte brisee but with added sugar, used with any sweet filling. – Tarte Sablée: my preferred pie …

The Apple Tart

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November deserves a warm welcome. This weekend I decided to check out that easy apple tart recipe as seen on several YouTube accounts and bring warmth to my kitchen table! I used o think apples are boring and underestimated its taste in baking. I think I consumed them a lot as a snack and didn’t find it attractive anymore. Luckily this year I made peace with the apple! In fact, my new neighbor-friend made me discover its taste via her yummy German baking! The recipe is super easy however I adjusted the apple-cooking step since I am not a microwave fan for cooking directly. Ingredients: 1 frozen Puff Pastry dough 4 pink Apples (red & yellow stripes) 1 tbs Flour, to sprinkle the counter 3 tbs Lavender-Apricot jam (simple apricot jam can do the trick) 1 tbs Cinnamon (as much as you like) 2 tbs. Agave Syrup (replacing granulated sugar) 100 ml Water 1. Take out the frozen Puff Pastry 30 minutes before you start rolling it. 2. Cut the apples in halves, remove the core and cut the apples in paper thin slices. …