Dark. Decadent. Delicious.

Ladies and Gents of the internet,

I present to you, an amazing, scrumptious, DEE-LI-CIOUS

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIE!

YEAP. 

Not chocolate, or chocolate chip, (although i dig that stuff as well.) it's DOUBLE CHOCOLATE!

Okay, I'm starting to become nauseating and slightly unbearable, but guys, this is really really really good. 

It started yesterday, in the afternoon, when it occurred to me that I don't bake for people enough, which is a shame because there are pretty darn amazing people in my life right now. And since I have an impromptu study "date" with two of my favorite people tomorrow, people who i shall not name due to the added dramatic effect that it gives off, their discretion, I decided that I wanted to bring a gorgeous treat to make up for all the times I promised to bake something for them, (i.e Valentine's day) but never brought my lazy bum to actually go through with it.

And obviously, gorgeous=chocolate. For me, anyway.

And these bad boys, were so good. After pulling the last tray out from the oven, I couldn't resist but sneak one right away and do a little taste test. (Mind you, i take my taste tests VERY seriously.) I just melted right there and then because they were just so darn rich and so satisfying to my palate. Then, i quickly sprinted to my phone and immediately told them (my friends) about what was waiting for them tomorrow.

Ahh!

So, I couldn't possibly talk about cookies without mentioning their texture. They were perfect, honestly. A gentle crunch that enveloped the soft, velvety, ominous cocoa centre. And the white chocolate chunks was the icing on the cake.  It provided such a sweet contrast to the slightly bitter cookie base.

I DEMAND YOU TO MAKE THESE COOKIES NOW!

Seriously, because you deserve nothing less than perfection. Starting with these cookies.

Recipe

from Design, Bake, Run here

{Also guys, I'm going to start posting recipes on my blog now, only because I always found that traveling for one website to another can be quite a pain when you aren't in the mood for it, so for all you lazy bums out there, here you go! I've actually rephrased the instructions quite abit and I hope I didn't violate/aggravate anybody by doing this, so I apologize in advance. Although, I still think that you should still check out the link above, because I reckon the photos there might be more enticing that mine!}

Ingredients

-1 cup of all-purpose flour

-1/3 cup of cocoa powder

-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

-5 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter (I used 65 grams)

-1 cup of sugar (Because I'm really weird and was NOT prepared for a sugar shortage in my house, I had to use a blend of light muscavado, light brown and white sugar! I don't know if it particularly affects the quality of the cookie... but i DO know that adding more brown sugar than white sugar into any baked good, increases its chewiness, so I think you guys can try that out as well.)

-1 tsp of sea salt (I omitted but if you have sea salt readily available mail it to me add it in!)

-1 egg

-1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (I added a WHOLE teaspoon because I didn't read the instructions carefully. hur hur)

-As much white chocolate chunks as you like. But not like a suffocating amount. The right amount, you know?

Instructions!! 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (or) 175-180 degrees 

(OMYGOSH, I WAS ON STEP 5 WHEN I REALIZED THAT I MISSED A STEP. And because I can't be bothered with fitting the step in and rearranging the sequence, I'm just going to tell you,

In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together and set aside. I consider this quite an IMPORTANT step because cocoa powder tends to clump together after some time and adding it directly to the batter as it is, could really ruin what you're making and you DON'T want that. Trust me. All that sweat would have been for NOTHING.)

2. Prepare the pan that you're going to use for baking with a baking sheet. (I used a lamington pan. Don't ask me why I have a lamington pan)

3. Place the softened butter into a large bowl and using a mixer (or a whisk if you're like super buff like the Rock) beat the butter for about a minute.

4. Then, add the sugar and beat until light and FLUFFY. (about 3-5 minutes)

5. In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla extract vigorously. 

6. Slowly, stream the egg mixture into the butter and sugar while still beating the batter.

7. Then, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet batter in two batches. (DO NOT have the electric whisk on "HIGH" at this point. Unless you want brown snow.)

8. Using a spatula, fold in the white chocolate chunks and sprinkle in the sea salt.

At this point your batter is ready. Now you CAN absolutely bake it immediately, but I've always chugged any cookie batter I make into the fridge, covered with cling wrap, for at least half an hour before baking it. If you choose to do this, you have the option of preheating your oven AFTER making the batter, which is what I did.

9. Using two spoons, (to make things so much easier for you), drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, a small space a part from each other because these little things WILL SPREAD. And you don't want them to kiss because they're too good for that!

KIDDING.

10. Bake for 8-9 minutes. (DON'T LET IT GO BEYOND THAT OR THEY'RE GONNA BE HARD AND UNDESIRABLE.)

11. After baking, let them cool completely before eating. (Or you could be a badass and eat them while they're piping hot, using like heat-resistant gloves.)

ENJOY!! :D

Hello!

*avoids eye contact*

*nervously twitches fingers*

*takes slow breaths*

Okay, i guess posting/blogging has been a tad slow. I mean, really slow.

I mean, I can't even tell for certain if anyone is actually reading this, so there goes my motivation to be productive.

But nevertheless, dear internet, I present to you an extremely moist orange cake made WITHOUT butter!

The horror!

But it was so moist, and so so soft. And flavorful. 

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!

Honestly, I don't know. But I'm assuming that yoghurt and 1/2 a cup of canola oil had something to do with its sublime texture.

So I apologize If for that ethereal moment I had led you to believe that it is a fat-free cake, because it really isn't.

But, canola is practically health-food, no?

I also probably should mention that this is the first time i baked with zest, orange zest to be more specific. And it was a dream! It gave off the most beautiful scent when it emerged from the oven.

Before I reveal the recipe, i should probably mention my adaptations (or lack thereof)

:-I baked the batter in the square tin that you see above and it took my cake 30 minutes to bake to golden perfection. 

 -I used canola oil instead of olive oil.

 -I also used greek yoghurt with a small splash of milk to make it a thinner consistency. After which i added a teaspoon of madagascar vanilla extract.

 -Before baking i sprinkled some sliced almonds on top which added a magnificent crunch. And i highly recommend that you do as well. I reckon the next time i make this, I will sprinkle them generously.

RECIPE.

from Orangette but I followed the recipe from this website

Also I'm contemplating whether i would want to post recipes here instead of leaving you guys with links. Would that be better?

I don't know.

Anyway, Enjoy!

:D

Moist mini butter loaves and where I've been lately.

Before i get into anything, my fellow readers (if you be there), how would you feel about me uploading, the majority of the pictures i will post here, entire from my Iphone gallery . You see, my possibly non-existent internet friends. I'm starting to think that i can't do the whole, DSLR-slung-over-my-shoulder-with-a-tripod-under-my-chin-and-take-photographs-which-i-would-promptly-edit-on-my-computer thing, for obvious reasons, 

1. I have incredibly shaky hands.

2. I couldn't possibly work with photoshop to save my life.

3. I do not have a tripod in my possession and using my elbows are out of the question. (trust me i've tried)

4. And last but not least, (this is probably the most important reason) I procrastinate. Too much.

And that is why the majority of the photos on this blog will come directly from my iphone, with a few touches on Vscocam of course. (I love that app. Best thing since sliced bread)

Part 2 of my post AKA a reasonable explanation for my hiatus.

There IS no reasonable explanation for my hiatus. If you aren't convinced, refer to point 4.

Okay, the moment we have all been waiting for!

Let me tell you about the moist little butter cakes you see above and why they could very well be the bestthingseverrrrr. They have THE perfect texture. Soft and light with the crumbs knitted closely together. A brown and crisp exterior that adds a (very) small but important crunch. It tasted buttery without being overwhelming.

It was simply flawless.

And of course something as delectable as this could not have come from anyone but Ju, who is a connoisseur of light and fluffy cakes that makes me ooh and ahh.

The recipe for the little buttery clouds of heaven can be found here.

And i strongly suggest that you make them. ASAP.

{My VERY SMALL AND ALMOST NEGLIGIBLE adaptions: I used french butter. But i'm sure any (unsalted) butter would do. I'm not sure if using french butter made a significant difference because I haven't exactly made anything with french butter before nor have i ever tried this recipe. Also, as you can see, i made them in these little disposable mini aluminium loaf tins that i bought from a store. And if any of you are interested in baking them that way, i suggest you start checking on the loaves after 20 minutes. Try inserting a long wooden skewer to check if they're done, they will not have any wet batter on them.}

Morning

I love breakfast. It's really simple. I love any food that one would normally associate with the term "breakfast". Cereal, french toast (AW YEA), waffles, oatmeal, the list goes on.

But pancakes.

They are on an entirely different league of their own.

These are quite possibly one of the best buttermilk pancakes that i have ever made. With a strawberry sauce or strawberry compote. I think.


It's really just some roughly chopped strawberries, tossed together with about 4 teaspoons of sugar, 1/3 cup of water and some cornstarch to thicken it And then you heat it up for about 15-20 minutes. I thought it complemented the pancakes well but i still haven't nailed it yet. The recipe for these pancakes can be found here. And i highly recommend you to make these babies ASAP because they are a dream. Really. The perfect thickness and they held together well.

LOOK AT THEM! Served with some bacon and chicken ham. And i still can't understand why some people skip breakfast. :\

ENJOY!