you smell like love. { dark chocolate sugar cookies with tender rose hearts }

These vibrant coloured cookies are super fun to make, it feels like playing with play-doh! They take some time, but they are tremendoulsy easy to make and I love how everything worked out so well, especially since I made up the recipe from scratch! They are perfect for Valentine's Day, or for any other occasion, and you can dye and flavour them according to your preferences or what you have on your pantry. And hey, I had chocolate and roses - what a cliché! Isn't it such a coincidence? If you're looking for something pretty, original and fun for this Valentine's, you've come to the right place!

sweet tooth for tiramisu? i got you covered. { tiramisu for one }

this was actually not planned at all.

i didn't plan to make this dessert.
it came to me through my friend Lola.
she made tiramisu yesterday,
and, for some reason, the idea of it sticked to the back of my mind,
causing such weird and growing tingling sensation,
that i even had to add ladyfingers to my shopping cart.

i didn't plan to make this post.
i actually had two other recipes on the blog waiting list,
but i thought this one deserved a place here too,
and it had to be as soon as possible.

fondant au chocolat. { chocolate fondant }

it's dark. raw. gooey and turning to fudgy. gorgeous.

it's like a chocolate mousse baked bar.

you may eat it straight out of the oven... like a lava cake.

and after that, it's an heavenly gorgeous chocolate fudge.

p.s.: dust with cocoa.

blurred lines. { brigadeiros }

Some specific foods have the power to bring us back to our childhood.

Well, this one certainly does it for a lot of people.

It is probably one of the first recipes kids learn to make on their own, as it is quite easy and envolves no harmful appliances - except for the stovetop, a step that I immagine many parents would supervise.
This was the most likely item to be present at any kid's birthday party in the 90s. And all kids loved this thing!

I didn't really ever care for them... I don't know why, but at the sight of a table full with different stuff, this was something I would rarely go for. Maybe because they are overpoweringly sweet, so they would make anything else taste like nothing after - what a smart palate, if that's the case!
Plus we would never have them at home, I don't know why, but I never bothered to wonder
Hence, this is something I had never made at home, even though I had watched many friends preparing them.

For some awkward reason, being here has awaken some eccentric desires and cravings I didn't even knew I could have - as in even for some things that I kind of didn't like before. For you prents here, if you want your kids to like any traditional dish they hate back home, just send them abroad for a couple of months, it will totally solve the problem! (...just not to Portugal or Italy, as they may stay there for the food haha ;) )

One thing they don't have here in a regular supermarket is what we call 'regular' condensed milk back home... they sell this thin, cream-like mixture that I don't even understand what it is. Suddenly, I had an urge to make all condensed milk things I could think off. So I bought some at the portuguese shop.

In the end there was one can left in my pantry.

Last week, I really needed to eat chocolate, but it was ten in the evening and I only had cocoa. So I did what I had to do.

Get rid of that can.

overnight oats ♥ dessert { tiramisu overnight oats }

Is it breakfast? ...afternoon snack? ...is it dessert?

I don't care, it's awesome ♥

Start improving your breakfast today! And tomorrow is saturday... what better day to have dessert for breakfast?

(For dessert, maybe add some coffee licquor ;) )

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.

the one that I want { the best chocolate cake }

Well.. I had already published this recipe before, right here.
This is my favourite chocolate cake recipe - simple, delicious, fail-proof, addictive, versatile, healthy (enter multiple goodness describing adjectives here) - and I keep baking it over and over again, sometimes with a twist, and linking new posts with that early post of it for the recipe.

There are two main problems with this. First, it has no english version. Second, everytime someone asks me for a chocolate cake recipe, I want to share this one, but the original post is so huge (with the frosting and everything) that it scares any incipient cook straightway - even though it is SO simple!

So this time I am gonna show you just how simple it is.

I dare you not to try it when it is still like this!

I used halved strawberries inside this one and left it just a tad too little in the oven ^^

(If you're not into the baking soda bitterness I suggest you just get it well done :P)

Chocolate Cake - This is 'the One'

BOWL A (mix): flour (1+3/4 cup) + sugar (2 cup) + cocoa (1 cup) + baking soda (2 tsp) + baking powder (1 tsp) + salt (1 tsp)

BOWL B (whisk): eggs (2 L) + strong coffee (1/2 cup) + oil (1/2 cup) + buttermilk (1 cup) + vanilla flavouring (optional)

Incorporate B in A.
Pour into a removable bottom cake pan, bottom lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 170ºC in the middle rack until a toothpick comes out clean (or just leave it half baked as I did last time haha ^^)

Tips:
- you may add more sugar or substitute cocoa for powdered chocolate
- you should add chili ;)
- most people prefer no vanilla
- perfect for frosting and layer cakes
- you may use any oil you'ld like, even olive oil
- you can soaken it with some syrup, such as orange/licquor one

not your usual brownie. { spiced brownies with salted caramel frosting }

Hey there, I have a new kitchen!

I finally moved to my new apartment last week - which I must say is oh-so-cozy - and have now the most itty-bitty kitchen I've probably ever cooked in. Nonwithstanding, it is incredibly practical and, somehow, it makes me eager to cook much more often!

I had been craving cake - actually the process of making it more than the real thing ;) - for a really long time... And then this 'World Baking Day' came and it was a Sunday, when all supermarkets are closed around here, and in my fridge, freezer and pantry one could count a box of pasta, yogurt, some tomato sauce, fruit, breakfast cereal a lot of frozen fish. Meaning... no cake material. No cake, no bake until yesterday. Yes, yesterday I finally got everything I needed and I had to do something big. This was it.

I was actually planning on not posting this recipe, because it got so decadent that I started thinking why shouldn't I have a secret recipe, and why shouldn't this be it. But I figured that you really deserve - and absolutely must - plunge into a batch of these.

I wish I had better pictures, but I keep using my really damaged iPhone camera. I hope that soon I'll be able to get the camera I've been dreaming of.

Brownies com um toque especial e cobertura de caramelo salgado

Brownies:

- 200g de chocolate Pantagruel

- 100g de manteiga

- 125g de açúcar

- 3 ovos

- 50g de farinha sem fermento

- 50ml de café forte frio

- uma pitada generosa de gengibre, pimenta, piri-piri moído

- uma pitada de sal

Molho de caramelo salgado:

- 1 chávena de açúcar

- 3 colheres de sopa de água

- 85g de manteiga, à temperatura ambiente

- 1/2 chávena de natas, à temperatura ambiente

- 1 colher de sobremesa de sal

Cobertura:

- 1/2 chávena de molho de caramelo salgado

- 250g de philadelphia

- 100g de manteiga

- 185g de açúcar em pó

Para o bolo, derreter o chocolate com a manteiga em banho maria,

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

Incorporar o café com um salazar,

Incorporar suavemente a farinha peneirada,

Por fim, incorporar o chocolate e os restantes ingredientes,

Verter sobre um tabuleiro fundo forrado com papel vegetal,

Levar ao forno a 150ºC durante cerca de 15 min,

Deixar arrefecer sobre uma rede e cortar em pequenos rectângulos

Para preparar o molho de caramelo salgado, derreter o açúcar numa panela alta sobre lume médio com a água, mexendo a princípio para dissolver homogeneamente, até obter uma cor âmbar e um aroma de caramelo torrado,

Juntar a manteiga e misturar energeticamente com um fouet,

Juntar as natas e envolver também,

Verter numa taça funda, deixar arrefecer. Pode se conservar no frigorífico.

Para fazer a cobertura, bater a manteiga com a philadelphia durante cerca de 2 minutos, até obter uma mistura homogénea e bem cremosa,

Bater o caramelo com esta mistura,

Acrescentar o açúcar em pó e bater até obter a consistência desejada. Se necessário juntar mais açúcar em pó.

Cobrir o bolo com a cobertura e polvilhar com confettis de chocolate.

Brownies with a kick with salted caramel frosting

Brownies:

- 200g Pantagruel chocolate

- 100g butter

- 125g sugar

- 3 eggs

- 50g flour

- 50ml strong coffee, cold

- a generous dash of ginger, pepper and dry chili pepper powder

- a dash of salt

Salted caramel sauce:

- 1 cup sugar

- 3 tbsp water

- 85g butter, room temperature

- 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature

- 1/2 tbsp salt

Frosting:

- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce

- 250g cream cheese

- 100g butter

- 185g powder sugar

To make the cake, melt the chocolate and butter over bain-marie,
Beat eggs with sugar down to a creamy whiter mixture,
Mix in the coffee,
Fold in the sifted flour,
Fold in chocolate and remaining ingredients,
Pour over a baking tray lined with parchment paper,
Bake at 150ºC for about 15 min,
Let cool completely before cutting small rectangles

To make the sauce, melt sugar with the water in a tall pot, mixing carefully until everything dissolves smoothly, and let cook until it reaches an ambar colour and the aroma of toffee caramel,

Add the butter and mix vigorously,

Add cream and repeat,

Pour in a jar, let cool. Can be stored in the refrigerator.

For the frosting, beat the butter and the cream cheese for about 2 minutes, to a creamy and homogeneous mixture,

Mix in the caramel,

Mix in the powder sugar and beat until reaching the desired consistency. Add extra sugar if needed.

Frost the brownies and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.