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An online vanilla bean and spice shop sourcing the finest ingredients from around the world. Check out our blog and video recipes for tasty and creative ideas to get you cooking and baking today.

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Rich and aromatic this hot chocolate recipe is elevated with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise, creating a cozy and indulgent treat. Enjoy this holiday season or whenever you fancy a nice refreshing cup of hot chocolate with the family. Prep Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 10 min Total Time:a 15 min Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 cups milk 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 cinnamon stick 2 star anise 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate (about 1/3 cup) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Whipped cream or marshmallows, for topping Directions 1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cocoa powder. Stir well to combine. 2. Add cinnamon stick, star anise, and ground nutmeg.Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the milk is warm but not boiling. Allow the spices to infuse. 3. Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped dark chocolate. Stir constantly until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. 4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 5. Strain the hot chocolate to remove the cinnamon stick and star anise. 6. Pour the hot chocolate into mugs and top with whipped cream to enjoy. And there you have it—a warm, cozy cup of spiced hot chocolate that’s perfect for any chilly day. If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out our online spice shop for the cinnamon, star anise and other spices. They’re the secret to bringing out those rich, aromatic flavors that make this drink so special.

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Good morning, chefs and spice lovers! 👨‍🍳 The fall and winter season is upon us, and with the cooler weather comes a shift in flavors. Kitchens and restaurants alike are filled with the scents of cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon, blending beautifully with savory notes of bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and rich umami aromas.

Today, we’re resharing a sweet favorite: Chai Spice No-Churn Ice Cream! This creamy treat features a warming blend of ginger, green cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and just a hint of black pepper. If you’re looking for a dairy-free option, use the same spice blend with your favorite dairy alternative and a thickening agent for a luscious non-dairy version. To top it off, drizzle with cashew milk chocolate for an extra layer of deliciousness!

The recipe is below, but feel free to follow the link to get more details or visit our online spice shop to grab the ingredients.

Happy spicing and enjoy the season! 🍂🍨

-Slofoodgroup online spice shop

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Green Cardamom Spiced Granola Recipe

This is not your average granola!

Warm spices like cardamom, ginger and nutmeg provide a subtle kick to often one-note granola. Make this recipe as written or substitute your favorite nuts and dried fruits (just be sure to add any dried fruit after the granola is baked and cooled).

Naturally dairy-free and vegan, this granola also easily goes gluten free by eliminating the wheat germ and using certified GF oats.

Enjoy!

Cardamom Spiced Granola

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

20 cardamom pods, crushed, seeds removed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup

2 – 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups dried cherries

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the oats, walnuts, coconut, wheat germ, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Place the cardamom seeds and granulated sugar in a spice or coffee grinder and process till finely broken down. Add to the bowl and combine the ingredients well. 

Add the maple syrup and olive oil to the bowl and stir till well coated, adding more of each ingredient if needed. Pour in a single layer onto your prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, till deep golden brown. Let cool completely on the pan. Add the cherries and stir to combine.

Notes:

Any nuts or dried fruit may be substituted for the walnuts and cherries.

You can eliminate the wheat germ for a gluten free granola.

Honey or agave syrup may be substituted for the maple syrup.

Granola freezes beautifully, and retains its texture when frozen for longer storage. Freeze in a single layer in Ziploc bags.

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Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix

Make you own pumpkin spice at home with a little help from us. Perfect for all your favorite fall recipes that call for pumpkin spice.

Get the recipe on our blog.

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Vanilla Creme Burlee Recipe

a favorite around our household. Vanilla creme burlee is an easy recipe that is great for any get together occasion.

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Banana pudding trifle with fresh nutmeg and vanilla beans

This delicious banana pudding trifle with fresh grated nutmeg and vanilla beans is up on our blog. Give it a try, it's wonderfully delicious and easy to make.

Do you want this recipe? Find it on our blog at Slofoodgroup.com

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It's my 2 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳 ha isn't this fancy. Thanks @Tumblr

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Here is one of our absolute favorite recipes. A reverse Rocky road ice cream popsicle. We added double the chocolate, vanilla bean paste and a pinch of green cardamom to really round out the flavor. Enjoy!

Read the whole recipe and watch the video in the link below

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Truffle Pao de Queijo

Pao de Queijo – otherwise known as Brazilian cheese bread – is a cinch to make, and only requires a few ingredients!

This recipe is very similar to gougères, a popular French cheese puff. It is far more simple to make though, since everything is mixed in the blender! Tapioca flour replaces all-purpose flour, making this a completely gluten-free treat. In addition to cheese, we’ve also incorporated grated preserved truffle to ramp up the flavor! 

Check out this recipe and other on our blog. 

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Creamy morel mushrooms fettuccine pasta recipe 

Ingredients

8-ounce dried fettuccine pasta

3 tbsp unsalted butter

½ cup dried morel mushrooms

½ cup hot water

½ tbsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tbsp chives, chopped

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Brown Butter Madeleines

Madeleines are scallop-shaped tea cakes that get their shape from the special pan that the batter is baked in. At their most basic they are nothing more than butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla, but we’ve stepped them up considerably for this recipe. We started by browning the butter. If you’ve never browned butter, you are in for a real treat. Butter is cooked beyond the point of melting, till it reaches a state of golden, nutty deliciousness. It adds a subtle yet distinctive flavor to any baked good and requires just a bit more time (but no extra work). Next, we glazed the madeleines with a white chocolate ganache, made “extra” by infusing the cream with whole cloves. The spice infusion lifts the often one-note flavor of white chocolate and complements the cookies beautifully.  

find the recipe here 

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Green Cardamom infused macarons with vanilla bean and orange butter cream filing 

20 cardamom pods

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, divided

1 cup almond flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Grated zest from 1 large orange

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

1 tablespoon milk or cream

Procedure

Make the macaron shells: Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods by crushing the pods with a rolling pin or large chef’s knife. Discard the pods.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and fit a large pastry bag with a 1” plain tip.

Place the egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-low speed until frothy and no longer translucent. Raise the speed to medium and add the granulated sugar very gradually. Once all the sugar has been added, raise the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form – the tip of the meringue should not move a bit when you remove the whisk and turn it upside down.

While the meringue is beating, place 1 1/2 cups of the confectioner’s sugar, the almond flour, the reserved cardamom seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until very fine, then pour through a sieve into a medium bowl.

Scoop one-third of the meringue into the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold it in. Once it’s completely incorporated, repeat 2 more times with the remaining meringue. Continue to fold the mixture with the spatula until you can lift the spatula and the mixture pours slowly off – like ribbons of lava. Immediately transfer to your prepared pastry bag and pipe small circles, spaced about an inch apart, onto your baking sheets. Rap the sheets a few times on the counter to eliminate any air bubbles and let sit for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 300°F. clean and dry your mixer bowl and piping tip. Place the tip in a clean pastry bag.

Bake the shells for 15 minutes; then, remove from the oven to cool completely on the pans.

While the shells are cooling, prepare the buttercream: Place the butter, remaining 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, orange zest, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt in your mixer bowl. Scrape the seeds from the halved vanilla bean and add them to the bowl. Using the paddle attachment, beat on low until the confectioner’s sugar is completely incorporated. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides, add the milk, and beat again. Transfer to your prepared pastry bag.

When the shells are cooled turn half upside down and pipe a dollop of buttercream on each half, leaving space around the edges. Top with the remaining shells, pressing down lightly until the buttercream reaches the edges. For the best texture, store the filled macarons in an airtight container overnight in the fridge.

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Mexican Horchata, yes please

Check out the recipe in our blog. Ceylon cinnamon, and our homemade vanilla extract stands out in this sweet and creamy rice Milk drink from Mexico. Try with some carne asada street tocos and you got yourself one fire lunch 🔥  More than a spice store, Slofoodgroup offers the finest ingredients in the world. Shop today or browse any of our recipe and video content to help you get cooking.   Recipe in link!

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Fig and Almond Coffee CakeIngredients

For the cake:

1/4 cup dried figs, chopped into small bits

2 espresso shots, approx. 2.5 oz, hot

1 cup blanched almonds

1 stick butter, room temperature

pinch of salt

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose white flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/2 teaspoon  ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/2 cup yogurt or skyr

4 large eggs

For the frosting:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod

2 cups cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup icing sugar

3 tablespoon fig jam

Procedure is on our blog.. Check it out and let us know what you think. Happy baking. 

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Gourmet vanilla beans from Comoros. Available online! Find these and other sustainably source vanilla beans and spices. 

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Cinnamon-Clove Eggplant Jam - Murabba El-Batinjan (Eggplant Jam)

An authentic Middle Eastern delicacy made with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and eggplant. 

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Saffron Aioli with Cayenne Spiced Crispy Potatoes 

Making aioli from scratch may sound intimidating but trust us, it is not! The key to aioli, or any other mayonnaise, really, is the slow and gradual incorporation of the oil and the constant stirring. Adding oil little-by-little. By that we mean ½ teaspoon at once, making sure there is enough body for the oil to adhere to. Also, it is very important for the garlic to be paste-like in order to obtain a homogenous composition for the oil to evenly incorporate. Adding a touch of our saffron will give the aioli a nice kick of taste and pop of color. Any other herbs or spices can be added to taste, based on your preference. We like this sauce best with some crispy and spicy potatoes or some fried calamari rings.

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10’

Cooking Time: 0’

Additional Time: 30‘ for the potatoes

Ingredients

For saffron aioli:

1 clove of garlic

Sea salt

1 raw egg yolk

5-6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Juice ¼ lemon

3-4 threads of Persian Saffron, Sargol Cut

For the potatoes:

2 large potatoes, cut into wedges

Olive oil

Sea salt

Cayenne pepper to taste

Procedure

Start by soaking the saffron in the lemon juice in a bowl;

In a mortar and pestle, bring together the garlic and the sea salt; grind until a garlic paste is formed;

Add the egg yolk in and stir until well combined; slowly incorporate the oil, little-by-little while constantly stirring to avoid separation;

After half of the oil quantity is added, introduce the lemon juice, again little-by-little, while constantly stirring; alternate the lemon juice with the remaining oil until everything is well incorporated;

Serve next to some oven-roasted potatoes that simply get tossed with a bit of olive oil, sea salt, and cayenne pepper 180℃/350℉.