Blog Migration

Hello you that read my blog.


That's the last post I will write in this blog. I did migrate everything to
http://viclic.blogspot.com  and its becoming personal agan. I hope you like it :)

Love,

Viclic

Banana Apple Sultanas bread - quick in the bread machine

Im sooooooo sorry I havent been here in so long. I've just been so busy at work, plus I am doing a diet (A serious one this time) and so is Ben so cooking has been a little bit out of the loop.

Anyways, Ben likes to go cycling, and he does...pretty much every tuesday and thursday he wakes up at 5:30 and goes out for hour and half or more.
So usually they go to a cafe place and have banana bread, but since we started a diet I've been making him some, a much lighter version.
This version is 4 PROPOINTS (New Weight watchers system) per slice and here is the recipe:

You will need
2 cups of flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp apple sauce - no sugar
30g sultanas
1 banana large
1 apple or pear in small pieces, no skin

Method:
put everything in the bread maker and turn it on and let it stir for 5 minutes. you will get a sticky mixture. you dont really need more than 5 minutes.

Get a spatula and fix the top.

Choose the baking option from your machine and let it bake for around 1 hour (You will need to check if its cooked or need another 10 minutes in the end) and Ta dahhhh

If you slice it in 15 portions, 4 points each

BON APPETITE.

The most amazing Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

We had this party last night.
A friend called me and asked: Hey Vic, which ingredients do I need to make a chocolate cake? So I thought, you know what, I will do it. I've been wanting to do something fancy for a long time (only problem is that I am on a diet, but...it was ok, I bought strawberries to eat while I was doing it).

So it it a very nice Cheesecake. It requires a lot of time and prep. But you can do it while you are doing something else because each stage has like a 30 min. "rest".

So here you go:
You will need:
Layer 4:
150gm dark chocolate, finely chopped
150ml Pure cream (I'm not sure the light will work)
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup water (Around 30ml)
Cocoa power for dusting

Layer 3
240g 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
600g firm ricotta (Full cream)
20g icing sugar

Layer 2
240g compound white chocolate
600g firm ricotta (full cream)

Layer 1
60g caster sugar
60g sour cream
100g butter divided in 60g and 40g / softened
90g plain flour - sieved
30g cocoa powder - sieved


Method:
Starting with layer 1:
Pre heat oven to 180c.Beat sugar, sour cream and 60g of the butter for around 3 minutes, until smooth and pale. Add the cocoa and Flour (that's when I sieved it) and mix it to combine. put it in between 2 pieces of baking paper and roll it until 1 cm tick. Its not really a dough, don't get scared.
Take one of the baking papers out, and bake it for 25 to 30 min, until crispy.
Wait until cool enough to use your hands and break it in pieces.

I put the butter to melt on the hot cake

Add to food processor to create crumbs - Add the 40g of butter, melted to the food processor and mix to combine. Press into  a base 22cm ring mould and place back in the oven for 8 to 10 min. let it cool.

Layer 2 
Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for 2-3 min. Process the ricotta in the food processor until creamy and smooth. Pour in the chocolate and process to combine.
Spoon over the crumb with a spatula, smooth the top to be flat and balanced in both sides, and refrigerate for 30 to 40 min.

Layer 3
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for 2-3 min. Process the ricotta with the sugar in the food processor until creamy and smooth. Pour in the chocolate and process to combine. Spoon it over the white chocolate layer using a spatula and again, refrigerate for 30 to 40 min.

Layer 4
Combine dark chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stir occasionally until smooth (3 to 5 min). At the same time which yolks and water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until light and fluffy (2 to 3 min). fold in the chocolate mixture, transfer to an electric mixer, whisk until thick and cooled to room temperature (6 to 8 min) .
Spoon over the cake (it will be more liquid) and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Dust with cocoa on the top or any other decoration...

Multi Grain Bread Machine recipe - My best so far

Hiiii

Happy new year!!!
If you have a bread machine you know that sometimes the bread doesnt get fluffy as the one you buy in the supermarket right? At least mine doesnt. And then, gets a little bit crumbly...and Ben, my beloved hubby, complains.

I think I finally found the secret of making a perfect bread in the bread machine...kneading a little bit while the machine is doing its job. Sounds weird?
Well, its not even close to the work of really kneading a bread from scratch. I just opened the machine and used my fingers to break in the air a little bit (I think that's what happens when you need). To be honest I didn't even got my nails dirty.

Anyway: here is what I did (For a large Loaf, almost 2lb - 850 g)
1 1/8 cups warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon margerine
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast


Method: Put everything in the machine but the seeds. add them in the final kneading cycle. But before that, when the dough is already formed...use your fingers and knead it a little bit.

Here is the result:

Oh, have I mentioned I have an alarm clock in the kitchen? I love cook listening to music, and I use the clock itself to control my times. heheheheheh

happy 2011 with a nice video,