Sweets Zoe Made

Sweet, salty, sticky, delicious

[gastrogirl]

double chocolate brownies.

[gastrogirl]

triple chocolate ombre coffee cake.

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Sweet and creamy, just like a peanut butter cheesecake! Perfect with a cold glass of milk.

  Chocolate and Peanut Butter Tart

  Courtesy of Leites Culinaria: http://leitesculinaria.com/65339/recipes-chocolate-peanut-butter-tart.html

  Ingredients

  For the peanut butter mousse

115g cream cheese

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup thickened cream, softly whipped

For the milk chocolate ganache

85g milk chocolate

55g dark chocolate

1/3 cup thickened cream

Sweet Peanut Butter Cookie Tart Crust, baked and cooled (or your favourite sweet-crust pastry shell)

  Directions

Make the peanut butter mousse

  1.     In the bowl of a standing mixer, preferably fit with the whisk beater, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar just until the mixture is uniform in colour. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla. Beat in 1/4 cup of the whipped cream just until it is incorporated. With a large rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whipped cream, mixing until the mixture is well blended but still airy.

2.     Scrape the mousse into the tart shell and smooth the surface so that it is level. Refrigerate the tart while preparing the ganache.

  Make the ganache topping

1.     Gently melt chocolate and cream together either in the microwave on low, or in a double boiler. Stir well.

  Assemble the tart

1.     Pour the ganache over the peanut butter mousse in a circular motion, being careful so that it does not land too heavily in any one spot and cause a depression in the mousse. Using a small metal spatula, start to spread the ganache to the edges of the pastry, then spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of the tart.  Refrigerate the tart for at least 2 hours to set or up to 5 days.

  2.     Remove the tart from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving. Unmold the tart and cut it with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, dipping it in hot water after each slice.

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Safe travels!

[sweetszoemade-blog]

I find your lack of cupcakes disturbing

[sweetszoemade-blog]

When you're craving chocolate cake

Unsurprisingly, I was craving chocolate cake after work. It wasn’t the first time, and I know it won’t be the last - accept it and move on, I say. Anyway, I stumbled upon this super quick, individual chocolate cake recipe. I’ve managed to bake, and nearly consume all of it within half an hour. Winning! So, when the cravings hit - try this bad boy out…   Ingredients * 1/4 cup choc chips * 1 large egg * 4 teaspoons sugar * 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter * 1 teaspoon flour   Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 190°. Grease a ramekin or line a small cake tin with paper. 2. Put 1 tbsp. butter and the chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl and microwave on low until its melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. 3. Whisk egg, sugar, and peanut butter in a small bowl to blend. Whisk in chocolate mixture until well incorporated, then stir in and flour just until combined. Pour batter into ramekin. Set on baking sheet and bake until as done as you like, 7 to 10 minutes for a molten centre or 10 to 12 minutes for a soft centre (cake edge will puff slightly). 4. Let cake cool 2 minutes. Tip onto a plate and frost with a spoonful of icing, a dust of icing sugar or a big spoon of vanilla icecream.    Taken from Joy Wilson, Joy the Baker Cookbook

[sweetszoemade-blog]

May the cupcakes be with you.

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Boozy Bailey's Chocolate Fudge Cake

My friend Eve's mum turned fifty a few days ago - to celebrate, I made her a cake shaped like a 40. Happy birthday! Let's pretend you're not really that old!

The cake was dense and perfect for carving, with a whack of chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream. And, with a rich, boozy ganache over the top, it was delicious.

Bailey's Fudge Cake

250g softened butter 1 cup brown sugar 4 eggs 1 cup chocolate syrup 3/4 cup of Bailey's Irish Cream 1 tsp instant coffee granules 1 cup plain flour 2/3 cup self raising flour 2tbs cocoa powder 1/2 cup chopped pecans For the ganache 1 cup dark chocolate melts 2 tbs sour cream 5 tbs cream a glug of Baileys

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, line tins with paper

Cream the butter and sugar together

Mix in the eggs, one at a time

Add in half the flour, all the syrup, Bailey's, cocoa and coffee and mix well. Add in remaining flour. Whack the mixer on high, and beat until the mixture has thickened slightly and is nice and smooth, fold in the nuts.

Bake about an hour (check after 50 minutes) or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cook on a rack, while you make the ganache

For the ganache

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, over a pot of barely simmering water.

When nearly smooth, add in sour cream one spoon at a time. The chocolate will appear to seize, but don't freak out, it'll all be ok.

Whisk in the rest of the sour cream and cream a spoon at a time, mixing well between each addition. 

Keep whisking over the heat until smooth and glossy. Add in a glug of Baileys and taste. Not boozy enough, add a glug more.

Drizzle very generously over the cooled cake, and enjoy with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

Happy birthday, Anthea!

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Chocolate Chip Muffins

After a long and treacherous day at work, all I wanted was something sweet.

I managed to convince my boyfriend to run to the store for milk, on the condition that he'll be rewarded with a batch of choc chip muffins.

These have to be the quickest and easiest muffins on Earth. Stir everything together, bake for 20 minutes, then enjoy!

Easy Peasy Choc Chip Muffins

Makes about 18

2 1/2 cups (375g) self raising flour

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

1 cup (190g) choc chips

2 tbsp melted butter

1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Line a 12 hole, 1/3 cup (80mL) muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Sift flour into bowl; stir in sugar and choc chips. Add combined butter, milk, egg and vanilla, mix gently til just combined.

3. Spoon mixture evenly into muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked.

4. Serve to boyfriend as a payment for nipping to the shops.

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

I turned 24 a few months ago. Since I'm the one who bakes the birthday cakes in the office for everyone else, I couldn't let them upstage me when it was my birthday, so I went all out.

I spent three days cutting butterflies out of fondant, painting them with food dye, outlining them with black food dye (totes worth it for the final look) and drying them.

And ended up with THIS! I was SO over it by the time I was done, I only have crappy iPad quality photos of it.

But it was pretty awesome none the less.

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Macarons

The first time I made macarons, they came out pretty good. The shells were crisp and shiny, the centers were soft and chewy and I thought to myself "these were easy - I don't know what the big fuss is about".

The second time I made macarons, they came out like little, rock hard nuggets. Oh. Perhaps I should have mixed them a little more.

The third time I made macarons, they came out like goopy pancakes. They had the little feet, but oozed all over the baking tray. Oh. Perhaps I shouldn't have mixed them so much.

Yesterday, armed with a fridge full of eggs, I decided to have another go. SUCCESS! FINALLY!

I decided to try making chocolate flavoured shells, and after about five seconds of deliberation, decided on peanut butter frosting as the filling. As an Australian who has travelled quite extensively in the US, the salty sweet combo of chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favourite things I've bought back.

If you haven't tried making macarons before, give it a go. It's worth it.

For the macaron shells (taken from 'Macaroons' by Angela Drake)

75g Ground Almonds 100g Icing Sugar 2 tbs Cocoa Powder 2 Egg Whites (make Creme Brulee with the yolks!) 50g Caster Sugar

For the peanut butter filling

75g smooth peanut butter 75g butter about a cup of icing sugar (adjust it to taste and consistency)

Whizz up the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor til its all combined (about 20 seconds).

Whip up your egg whites until soft peaks form (use an electric mixer, you'd be mad to do this by hand). Slowly (a spoonful at a time) add your caster sugar until the eggs are thick, glossy and luscious.

Sift in about a third of your almond mix into the eggs and carefully stir with a spatula. Add in another third of almond mix and mix in, then add the rest.

After all of the dry ingredients are mixed in, keep cutting and folding the batter until thick ribbons of mixture can drip off your spatula. (This is the tricky part - its pure trial and error until you know what you're looking for. Too thick, your macarons will be dense nuggets, too thin and you'll have pancakes).

Pipe small rounds (about the size of a 20c piece (sorry Americans! Slightly larger than a quarter)) onto a baking tray, using a 1cm nozzle. Leave plenty of room between each macaron, in case you've overmixed!

Allow the piped macarons to sit out for about 30 minutes until the s urface sets. I left mine out for about 2 hours on a damp Perth day. This allows the surface to dry out a little, and *should* result in a crisp shell once they're baked.

Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes, then leave to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before you carefully peel them off to dry on a rack.

Sandwich together with your filling once they're completely cool. Sample one now, then leave the rest in the fridge to snuggle. Take them out about 20 minutes before you're ready to snack. 

Peanut Butter filling (I use this for chocolate cupcakes - divine!)

Whip together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. I always do this in my Kenwood for cupcakes, but couldn't be bothered this time. Whisking by hand has the same result.

Add in the icing sugar in two halves, and check the taste. Too sweet? Add more peanut butter! To salty? Add more icing sugar! Too thick? Add a splash of milk! Easy!

[sweetszoemade-blog]

Classic Chocolate Brownies

Nothing cures a case of "I'm bored and feel like something sweet" better than a quick batch of brownies! Chocolate Brownies * 140g unsalted butter * 200g dark chocolate * 200g light brown sugar * 2 tsp vanilla extract * 2 eggs * 1 egg yolk * 85g plain flour * 75g walnuts, chopped 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line the base of an 18cm square cake pan. 2. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. When butter and chocolate have melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. 3. Beat the sugar, vanilla and a good pinch of salt into the mixture. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add egg yolk and flour, beating until smooth. 4. Fold in the walnuts and pour mixture into pan, smoothing the top. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. 5. Cool in the tray, and don't burn your tongue when you steal a bit from the corner when it first comes out the oven.