Chocolate Cake

This is an indulgent cake recipe for fanatic chocolate lovers. It stays nice and moist. The cake will serve many people, a slice of this is very filling!

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Chocolate cake

  • 150 gr butter
  • 150 gr sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 3 eggs
  • 150 gr flower
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 75 gr dark chocolate
  • 75 ml cream
  • Chocolate icing:
    • 75 gr dark chocolate
    • 50 gr butter
    • 150 gr icing sugar
  • For the baking tin: 25 gr butter and bread crumbs
  1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Measure up all your ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients and mix them with the fork. This makes the flour light and airy.
  2. Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C.
  3. Coat your baking tin thouroughly with butter and bread crumbs.
  4. Mix the sugar, butter and vanilla essence.
  5. Mix the eggs in one by one.
  6. Fold in the dry ingredients.
  7. Pour the batter in the baking tin.
  8. Bake the cake for 45 minutes or untill it is golden.
  9. Let your cake on a wire rack before turning it around on the serving tray.
  10. Make your icing:
    1. Melt the chocolate and butter.
    2. Mix in the icing sugar.
  11. Decorate your cake.

Find a banana bundt cake recipe and more baking ideas inspiration here.

Homemade burgers

Nothing beats a good home made burger. You can pick the best meat and spice it just the way you like it. The same goes for all the other components, when you make burgers at home, get the best ingredients your money can buy. Burgers are actually a very honest recipe, where all the individual ingredients should shine.

Another advantage with making burgers at home is that it is good family fun. I like to make a platter with all possible toppings and sauces, and everyone builds their own favorite burger.

For all you busy parents out there: you can make your patties in a day in advance and keep them in your fridge. You can even prepare all the veg, and store these in an air tight container or a ziplock bag. When you want to eat your burgers all you still need to do is fry the patties.

Burger

Burgers ( for 4 burgers)

  • Patties:
    • 500 gr. minced beef
    • 1 tsp HP sauce
    • Salt & pepper to taste
    • 1 tbsp oregano
    • Optional: 1 tsp of paprika
  • 4 burger buns
  • Slices of good cheese, cheddar or dutch cheese will do
  • Ketchup and mustard to taste
  • Onion, sliced in rings
  • Tomatoslices
  • Crunchy salad leaves
  1. Combine the pattie ingredients in a bowl and mix gently with your hands. As this is beef, I recommend tasting to test if your have seasoned it properly.
  2. Devide the mixture into 4 portions and mould these into burger patties. They should be less than 1 cm thick and match the size of your buns.
  3. Now you can let your burgers rest in the fridge for 15 minutes to 24 hours. I like to coat my patties with a thin layer of oil to prevent them sticking to the plate. I cover the plate with cling film.
  4. When your table is set and your side dishes are ready, fry your burgers in a pan or griddle on high heat. Thanks to the layer of oil, you don’t have to add oil to your pan.
  5. You can test how well done your burger is by pressing it in the centre, when it is more firm, it’s more cooked. I recommend experimenting a little here and find out what your favorite cooking time is.

We like having oven baked chips with our burgers.

Need a good vegetarian alternative? My beetroot burgers taste just as good on a burger bun.

Chicken fingers

ChicknChipsIn our family, we love making our own fast food. Our favorites include hamburgers and chicken fingers. This is an easy way to make the most tender chicken breast you will ever taste!

Chicken fingers (2-3 portions)

  • 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch wide, long strips
  • Chicken marinade
    • 1,5 cups of buttermilk (or watered down yoghurt)
    • 1 tsp sweet paprika
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  •  Crust:
    • 200 grams bread crumbs
    • 1 tsp sweet paprika
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tbsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pepper
  • 200 ml of sunflower oil for shallow frying
  • Dip:
    • 1 cup of sweet chili sauce
    • handful of koriander, finely chopped

ChickenFingers

  1. Cut your chicken, and mix with the marinade ingredients. Marinade the chicken for 30 minutes to 24 hours in the fridge.
  2. Combine ingredients for the crust.
  3. Prepare your chicken fingers:
    • Shake each finger off.
    • Place in your crust mix, you will find the buttermilk acts as the perfect glue for the crust.
  4. Warm up your oil. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C (the perfect temperature for making chips in your oven!).
  5. In small batches, fry your chicken fingers, turn the chicken fingers after they have brown on one side. Take your fish fingers out of the oil, in a dish in the oven.
  6. Combine the ingredients for the dip.

Read more chicken inspiration, and the recipe for chips.

Gnocchi bake

This dish may take you 40 minutes to make, but it is less than 10 minutes work to prepare. You can even create the whole bake a day or two in advance. Which means any person who can operate an oven can finish the dish when you want to eat it.

Gnocchi is a kind of pasta made from potatoes, which gives them a great chewy texture. I like making this pasta myself, but this dish is my “go to” when I want an easy meal.

If you have little oven dishes. You could also make individual servings.

I like to serve a green salad with this dish for some extra veg.

Gnocchi bake (3 portions)

  • 500 grams of gnocchi (1 pack)
  • 400 grams of my no fuss tomato sauce
  • 100 grams of cheese, pick your favorite melting cheese: grated Dutch cheese, cubes of blue cheese and/or mozzerella
  1. Boil the gnocchi for a couple of minutes, your gnocchi is cooked when it floats on the surface.
  2. Strain the gnocchi and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
  3. Mix the gnocchi and tomato sauce.
  4. Top with cheese.
  5. Now your bake is ready for the oven, or for your fridge.
  6. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees C for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Find more oven bakes here or more Italian dishes.

Winter sprout quiche

I love eating Brussel sprouts and now I am happy to tell you about a new way to enjoy this winter vegetable, in a quiche. The bitterness of the sprouts is such a great combination with the egg and the cheese! The whole family polished their plates the day I cooked this quiche.Spruitenquiche2

Sprout quiche

  • 1 recipe of short crust pastry or a ready made puff pastry
  • 200 gram of boiled sprouts
  • 1 onion, finely sliced and gently fried till tender
  • 100 gram of small bacon cubes or a handfull of pine nuts for vegetarians
  • 150 gram of grated cheese (cheddar or young Gouda)
  • 3 eggs
  • 150 ml of cream
  1. Pre-bake your quiche base for 10 to 20 minutes until just cooked at 210 degrees C.
  2. Spread your ingredients on your pizza base and fill your pie with a mix of eggs and cream.
  3. Bake at 220 degrees C for 20 degrees or until golden.

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For more quiche inspiration, look at my asparagus quiche or spinach quiche. This quiche taste great with a simple tasty salad. For more sprout inspiration, look at the sprout cappuccino.

Bookmarks made with love

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My sweet mother bought me a laminating machine the other day (thank you mum!). And I must say I have been feeling very inspired! I used this machine to create a beautiful gift for my son’s daycare lady’s. They are like second mothers to him, which makes them extra special!

I drew 3 bookmarks with a black marker. One with a lucky theme with clover fours, one with a love theme with hearts and one book marker with a party theme with balloons. After this I went crazy with the coloring pencils. Of course I wrote a personal message on the back of the book marks and I added a foto of my toddler. To preserve the book marks I laminated them first, after which I cut them out. I attached ribbons with a bead that can stick out the book they read.

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I attached each marker to a beautiful bouquet for a festive surprise. Of course you could also let your toddler do the coloring for a personal touch too.

Fabulous five! Fall activities

The days are getting shorter and the leaves are all turning lovely shades of yellow, red and brown. This colourful display combined with the November sun never fails to inspire me! These are my five favorite fall activities for me and my family:

  1. Walking in the park – is obviously the first thing that comes to mind. My pre-schooler loves foraging for beautiful leaves, rocks, nuts and sticks. He is obsessed with collecting these items. As I don’t always want this souvenirs in my home, I often have him display these in the garden.
    Fall
  2. Getting creative with our finds – you can make beautiful creations with pine cones or stones.
    Kerstboom
  3. Drawing & coloring – the leaves are a great starting point for a coloring project. You can find and print a fall color project here.
  4. Baking – My little cookie monster and I love making MMMonster cookies on a rainy day.
  5. Visit the library – During the summer we tend to neglect our books but when it gets colder and the evenings get darker, I feel a strong urge to curl up on a couch with a book. I am currently still busy leafing through Home Made by Yvette van Boven.

Mmmm monster cookies

The other day I felt a strong craving for some decadent American style chocolate chip cookies. After dome experimenting I found a recipe that works for us.

I made the dough a day in advance and I pulled the dough out when my pre-schooler seemed bored. We had great fun slicing the cookies and watching the oven do all the work.

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After this we enjoyed these satisfyingly chewy cookies with a tall glass of milk, yum!

I turned this recipe into a lovely coloring project. You can download MonsterCookieColoring here.

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Monster cookies (8 to 10 cookies)

  • 250 gram selfraising flour
  • 200 gram light brown sugar
  • 100 gram butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of milk
  • 250 gram chocolate chips
  1. Mix the sugar, butter and salt well.
  2. Stir in the eggs and milk.
  3. Combine with the flour and chocolate chips.
  4. Form a roll of about 5 cm in diameter. Wrap the roll in cling film and rest for 30 minutes to 3 days.
  5. Slice your cookies and place them well spaced apart on a baking tray.
  6. Bake at 190 degrees C for 10 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy your baking and coloring project!

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Beet burgers

BietenB2My friend loves taking me to great lunchrooms. At one of these fabulous lunches I tried my first beetroot burgers, and I was hooked. Unlike other vegetarian burgers this burger does not try to replace meat, it is a totally new flavor sensation providing great texture and filling you up for the rest of the day.

Obviously, it is also a very healthy alternative to your regular meaty version. But that is not why you should try this. This is a new flavour you have to introduce to your pallet, the healthy part is just a bonus!

I have to honestly admit this dish isn’t for everyone, especially meat lovers that think veggie burgers are blasphemy. And you have to love beetroot. I do think that offering lots of garlic rich yoghurt sauce will help convince your family members.

These burgers and sauces can easily be made a day in advance, making them the perfect easy home made fastfood!

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Beet root burgers (4-6 burgers)

  • 1 uncooked medium beet root, finely grated
  • 800 grams of tinned beans, I used field peas (we like to call them kapucijners in Holland)
  • 1 onion, grated
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups of oats

Mash up the peas (in the foodprocessor), I like leaving some chunky pieces for texture.

Mix in the beet root, onion and egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Add half the oats and let the mixture stand so the oats can soak up the moisture. After 20 minutes, check the mixture and add oats as needed. You want a firm, non-sticky mixture that still holds together well. I like to compare it to how my meatball texture feels when it is just right.

Shape your burger paddies, dust with oats to prevent the paddies from sticking if needed and let them rest for at least 30 minutes. For the practical busy moms I recommend making these a day in advance.

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Fry your paddies in some oil on a high heat for a few minutes on each side. After making the paddies crusty on each side, place the paddies in the 220 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with some fresh crispy buns, some lettuce, a spicy yoghurt sauce and a yoghurt mint sauce (you find the recipe with the posh fish and chips recipe).

Spicy sauce

  • 1 tomato in small cubes
  • 1 onion finely sliced
  • 1 finely sliced chili pepper
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • handfull of freshly sliced parsley and/or koriander

Blend half the tomato, union and chili to a pulp. Mix the pulp with the other ingredients and season to taste.

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My mighty Moussaka

One of my favorite restaurants to visit is a Greek restaurant. I love the Mediterranean spices, and the hint of the orient. It is one of the few types of restaurant where I can choose tasty freshly grilled meats as well as seafood, or a jummy slow cooked lamb stew. I am also partial to their yummy yoghurt sauce, tzatziki!

I have always loved Greece’s answer to the lasagna: the moussaka! Recently it occurred to me that I could easily turn this recipe into a vegetarian dish. My meat loving husband was nearly finished with his dinner when he realized there was no meat in his food. He had enjoyed the texture and flavor too much to notice what was missing.

On the practical side of things, this recipe has plenty of upsides too. I made the actual dish a day in advance. The next day I baked the moussaka, which made for a nice fuss free evening for me and my toddler. This dish will definitely be on a family favorite list for a while.

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Moussaka

  • Sauce:
    • 1 tin of depuy lentils ( 310 gram )
    • 1 tin of diced tomatoes ( 400 gram )
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • 2 tsp thyme
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tsp mint
    • 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 3 tbsp of olive oil
    • 1 large union, diced
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
    • 1 glass of white wine
    • Half cube of vegetable stock
  • 1 aubergine in slices
  • 3 medium large potatoes
  • Topping (you substitute this with bechamel sauce, this is my lazy cheat version):
    • 2 tbsp cream cheese
    • 1 tub of cottage cheese ( 200 gram )
  • 150 gram of grated cheese

You will need an ovenproof dish, I used one of  27 by 18 cm.

  1. Before you do anything else. Boil your potatoes until they are soft.
  2. Prepare the sauce;
    • Fry your union in some olive oil until soft.
    • Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin and thyme. Add the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes.
    • Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients.
    • Bring the sauce to a light simmer. Leave it to simmer for about an hour.
  3. While the sauce is simmering, prepare your other ingredients;
    • Slice the aubergine length ways. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Fry the slices in a griddle pan on each side.
    • Let your potatoes cool, then slice them.
    • Wilt the spinach down in some oil in a really hot pan. Let the spinach cool and slice it roughly. The spinach needs to cool in a collinder now. Drain as much of moisture out as you possibly can.
    • Mix your topping ingredients.
  4. When all your components are ready, you can layer your moussaka in an oven proof dish:
    • One layer of sauce
    • One layer of spinach
    • One layer of potatoe slices, don’t forget to season these.
    • One layer of sauce
    • One layer of aubergine
    • Spread out your topping
    • Sprinkle with the grated cheese
    • Season with some freshly ground pepper
  5. (You can keep the dish overnight before this step) Bake the moussaka in a 220 degree C oven for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.
  6. Let your moussaka stand for 5 minutes before serving.