autumn aura. { gluten-free spiced pumpkin-carrot cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting }

Miniature sized cupcakes are a whole lot of cute. I called these mini stunners 'autumn aura' because if autumn were a pallet of flavours, that of this cupcakes would be there, side by side with roasted chestnuts and pear compote. Behold the beauty of these tiny things, the dash of coconut on top lending them a snowish appeal. Bite into the delicious balance between a moist peppery pumpkin cake and a thick vanilla cream cheese frosting. And you wanna know what...? They are also gluten-free.

overnight oats... oh, whatever, overafternoon too. { chocolate, coconut and blueberry overnight oats }

This kitchen will be moving soon... so the aim now is to get rid of as much stuff as I can from my pantry.

This also means that I have to get crazy creative in the kitchen.
Which is challenging and, hence, good.

Running out of my favourite daily-consumption stuff, I remembered I had a practically full bag of oatmeal - that I can't even remember why I bought! Plus, I remembered how much I treasure these muslis they make at fancy-brunch-places around here. Well... look no further, here they are!
So I'm in a oatmeal haze these days: breakfast, afternoon snack and, who knows..., dinner?

I guess I'll be posting further ideas soon ;)

Overnight Oats #1
The Dreamer. Chocolate, Coconut and Blueberry Blend
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup 0.8% milk
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp light muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp blueberries
- 1 tsp shredded coconut

1) Mix everything well in a jar, close and refrigerate overnight (around 4-8 hours will do),
2) When serving, shake well before opening. If desired, warm up in the microwave. Sprinkle with extra shredded coconut and/or chocolate chips or shavings.

munching muffins. { cocoa, hazelnut and cappuccino muffins with hazenut, coconut, white chocolate and granola crumble }

There's a bittersweet taste in being the last one standing. In Munich, I mean.

Most of the best friends I had over this last year are gone by now. I truly miss them all already and I hope we can meet someplace, someday, soon.

I've watched them all go. And on top of that, I was kind of the last one to be with most of them here, either left at the bus station, packing up the car trunk, staying over in my couch...

This doesn't make me that sad. It's great to know that I have (really good) friends all around the world.

All this to say that... I've been the final destination for all sorts of things. Food too. Things that I already had tons of, like pasta, things that I needed, like baking soda, and things that I had never tried, like rice milk - and I liked it a lot!

Fact is, I've been given way too much stuff, and I needed to get rid of some of it soon....

Like this hazelnut-flavoured cappuccino powder that was reaching its best-before date.

So I took a look at my pantry and found some white chocolate, a half-empty bag of hazelnuts, a lot of shredded coconut, some granola... and I was happy to find out that I still had two eggs, a tiny (but thankfully enough) amount of flour and a lot of cocoa. I quickly mixed everything in my mind and this is what I came up with.

one brownie with a twist. { malibú fudgy brownies }

I know you haven't seen them all...

But I've seen them raising in the oven...
and I have this feeling I've been baking way too many chocolate cakes.

These brownies were made by request.

I was actually not even going to do them, because I kept postponing it and ended up being too busy with other stuff that day... but I was feeling bad for the whole afternoon, until I finally gave in and decided to go chop some chocolate.

I took the liberty of improvising a bit lot (the request was quite specific for this brownie batter), but I guess I was able to still meet the wishes of my friend ;) They travelled to a barbecue early this week and no one has seen them ever since!

Brownies Malibú Fudge

- 200g de chocolate 70% de cacau

- 120g de manteiga

- 120 ml de café frio

- 3 ovos M

- 120g de açúcar

- 50g de farinha

- uma pitada de pimenta, piri-piri e gengibre em pó

- 200g de doce de laranja com raspas

- 2 colheres de sopa de coco ralado

- 1 colher de sopa de gin

1) Derreter o chocolate com a manteiga em banho maria; deixar arrefecer,

2) Bater os ovos com o açúcar até obter uma mistura cremosa e esbranquiçada,

3) Envolver suavemente a farinha peneirada,

4) Incorporar o chocolate derretido e o café,

5) À parte, misturar bem o doce, o coco e o gin,

6) Verter a massa numa forma rectangular forrada com papel vegetal, distribuir pequenas colheradas de doce por cima e levar ao forno a 160ºC durante cerca de 15 minutos,

7) Deixar arrefecer e cortar em pequenos quadrados.

Malibú Fudgy Brownies

- 200g 70% cocoa chocolate

- 120g butter

- 120 ml cold coffee

- 3 medium eggs

- 120g sugar

- 50g flour

- pepper, chili and ginger powder

- 200g orange marmalade

- 2 shredded coconut

- 1 tbsp gin

1) Melt chocolate with butter in a pan placed over another pan with simmering water; let cool,

2) Cream eggs and sugar,

3) Carefully mix in flour,

4) Mix in melted chocolate and coffee,

5) In a bowl, mix well the marmalade, coconut and gin,

6) Pour the batter over a rectangular cake pan, lined with parchment paper; spread the jam over and bake at 160ºC for about 15 minutes,

7) Let cool and cut into small squares.

a hidden black forest. { chocolate cake with berries and coconut }

Remember I said I didn't intend to spend a whole day in the kitchen on Friday?

Well... I did spend around ten hours there - between Thursday and Friday -, but I also watched a film and two episodes of Mentalist, so it was pretty cool. As a result I came up with ten different dishes - among appetizers, main dishes and desserts -, so I guess I was pretty diligent! I even had time to stop for a while staring at the finale of the season, which was quite lovely. Everything went as planned - a bit of a lie, but in the end it was even better! - and there was time to relax, get ready and prepare the house for the evening.

In the end there was this bunch of amazing people coming over to celebrate the fact that I've got a new apartment, and it was really, really awesome!

Once again, if you are reading this, thank you all a lot :) You are welcome any time!

As such, I have now a variety of new recipes to share with you, so stay tuned during the next days!

This is my favourite chocolate cake ever, with a twist ;)

Bolo de Chocolate com Frutos Vermelhos e Côco

- 1 receita de massa de bolo de chocolate como esta

- 100g de mirtilhos

- 100g de framboesas

- côco e açúcar em pó para polvilhar

Preparar a massa de acordo com a receita até antes de ir ao forno,

Incorporar os frutos vermelhos,

Levar ao forno conforme a receita,

Desenformar, deixar arrefecer, cortar em quadrados e polvilhar com côco ralado e açúcar em pó

Chocolate Cake with Berries and Coconut

- 1 receita de massa de bolo de chocolate like this one

- 100g blueberries

- 100g raspberries

- shredded coconut and powdered sugar

Prepare the batter according to the recipe until ready to the oven,

Mix in the berries,

Bake according to the recipe,

Unmould, let cool down, cut into squares and sprinkle with shredded coconut and powdered sugar

Snow White ain't this sweet. { white chocolate mousse parfait with coconut and hazelnuts }

Bem sei que tenho mesmo muitas receitas para partilhar, fruto de várias horas na cozinha a preparar a óptima noite de ontem, mas decidi publicar uma receita que fiz mesmo hoje, porque foi completamente inventada, esteve quase para não ser feita e está incrível!

Though I have several recipes to publish, from the many hours I spent preparing yesterday's delicious evening, I decided to publish a recipe I made today, because it was born from scratch, I almost didn't do it and it is amazing!

Parfait de Chocolate Branco com Côco e Avelãs
Ingredientes:

- 200g de chocolate branco Pantagruel

- 200ml de natas

- 1 iogurte grego

- 6 folhas de gelatina

- 1 colher de café de aroma de baunilha

- 1 clara

- 2 colheres de sopa de côco ralado

- 1 mão cheia de avelãs picadas grosseiramente

Preparação

1) Derreter o chocolate em banho maria,

2) Derreter a gelatina num pouco de água a ferver e bater com o iogurte grego,

3) Bater a clara em castelo,

4) Bater as natas até estarem firmes, juntar o iogurte grego, batendo,

5) Incorporar o chocolate nas natas, batendo sempre,

6) Envolver suavemente a clara,

7) Deitar num recipiente de vidro (ou vários) e levar ao frigorífico cerca de 2 horas,

8) Polvilhar com o côco e as avelãs e servir

White Chocolate, Coconut and Hazelnut Parfait
Ingredients:

- 200g Pantagruel white chocolate

- 200ml heavy cream

- 1 greek iogurt

- 6 gelatin leaves

- 1/2 tsp vanilla flavouring

- 1 egg white

- 2 tbsp grated coconut

- a handful hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation

1) Melt chocolate over bain-marie,

2) Melt gelatin in hot water and beat with the greek yoghurt,

3) Beat the egg white until firm peaks form,

4) Beat cream until firm, incorporate greek yoghut,

5) Beat in the white chocolate,

6) Fold in the egg white,

7) Pour in a big glass jar, or smaller cups, and refrigerate for 2 hours,

8) Sprinkle with coconut and hazelnuts and serve

O chocolate utilizado / The chocolate I use

Coconut Moon { coconut lime pie }

Every year, amidst September, we have this family gathering at my granda's, since a local festivity is happening, and everybody fills the table to receive relatives and friends. I always make some kind of dessert for this day, and other parties, with pleasure, but this time I had no will to be in the kitchen at all, no desire for any kind of sweetness or even any wish to cook.

Nonwithstanding, the evening before, I realized I really had to do it, although I was stuck somewhere between thesis and portfolio, so I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, forgot it all, and put hands to work. The recipe is a little bit messed up, just like my dizzy head at the moment...

Tarte de Côco e Lima
Ingredientes:

- 1 base de massa quebrada (receita aqui)

- sumo de 2 limas e 1 limão

- 250g de açúcar

- 75g de manteiga

- 4 ovos

- 100 g de côco ralado

- 1 colher de sopa rasa de maizena

- leite q.b.

- açúcar em pó para polvilhar

Preparação:

Esta receita pode ser feita de três formas, a meu ver: cozinhar apenas massa e deixar o recheio cremoso, cozinhar tudo junto ou apenas gratinar o topo. A espessura desejada para o recheio depende da cozedura ou não no forno.

1) Caso se deseje não levar ao forno, ou apenas gratinar, cozinhar a massa quebrada estendida numa tarteira a 200º até estar dourada,

2) Dissolver o açúcar, a manteiga e a maizena no sumo de lima e limão sobre lume médio,

3) Bater os ovos e acrescentar aos poucos ao sumo também, mexendo sempre com uma vara de arames,

4) Misturar leite no côco ralado (apenas o suficiente para encharcar o côco caso se deseje não levar ao forno, ou mais caso se queira gratinar ou mesmo cozinhar),

5) Acrescentar o côco à lima e limão,

6) Levar ao lume para espessar um pouco, até ficar com uma consistência de curd (que pode ser mais ou menos líquido conforme a tarte desejada, como referido),

7) Deitar o recheio sobre a massa da base,

8) Deixar arrefecer (tarte fria de creme), gratinar (tarte cremosa quente e tostada) ou cozinhar durante cerca de 25 min a 180º (tarte mais seca, tudo cozinhado ao mesmo tempo).

Coconut-Lime Pie
Ingredients:

- 1 homemade pie crust (recipe here)

- 2 limes + 1 lemon, juiced

- 250g sugar

- 75g butter

- 4 eggs

- 100 g shredded coconut

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- milk q.b.

- powdered sugar to dust

Preparation:

This recipe might be made three ways: to cook olny the crust and leave the filling uncooked, to cook both at the same time or to cook the crust and gently gratin the filling. Filling thickness must be adjusted to each method.

1) If not cooking the filling, or just gratineeing, cook the crust in a pie pan for 25 min at 200ºC,

2) Dissolve sugar, butter and cornstarch in the juices over medium heat

3) Beat the eggs and add bit by bit to the juices, beating vigorously with a fouet,

4) Mix milk and coconut (not baking: just enough to soak the coconut, cooking: more),

5) Add coconut to the first mixture,

6) Take to heat, stirring, until reaching a curd-like consistency (more or less liquid accordingly to the method followed),

7) Pour the filling over the crust,

8) Let cook (cold creamy pie), gratin the top at 230º (hot creamy pie with a golden top) or cook for 25 minutes at 180º (dry pie, everything cooked together).