If you think that bread is hard to make you should start with baking a focaccia. Focaccias are the equivalent of our french Fougasses. The texture is similar to pizza doughs but thicker and topped with sea salt, herbs and sometimes cheeses or even meat (which, in that case, is a whole meal by itself).  It's easy to make and only requires 10 minutes kneading. All you really have to do is wait for the dough to rise. This is a classic rosemary & olives foccacia, nothing fancy. But it's delicious! Perfect as an appetizer, you can... [Lire la suite]

My boyfriend works in the movie industry so I decided to make this cupcakes for his coworkers. They are easy to make (even easier if you go for the version with ready to use caramel spread) and looks like real popcorn bags. Not to mention that they taste good! A perfect treat for a movie night! If you want to make the caramel spread yourself you can follow the recipe here.   Ingredients :- 200g unsalted butter, softened- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract- 1 cup caster sugar- 3 eggs- 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour- 1/2 cup milk- 1... [Lire la suite]

You will find in this granola all the warm flavours of Thanksgiving (except the Turkey!;) A wonderful mix of Pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, ginger, cranberries & mapple syrup.     Ingredients:- 1 1/2 cup oats- 1/2 pumpkin seeds- 1 cup dried cranberries- 1/4 mapple syrup- 1/8 brown sugar- 1/8 vegetable oil- 2 tsp cinnamon- 1/2 tsp ginger   Preheat the oven at 200C. Mix all the ingredients together except the cranberries.Spred the mix on a cooking sheet and toast it in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden... [Lire la suite]

Altough I'm in Sydney right now, I still wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving. What I enjoy the most in holidays is the cooking part so I couldn't miss it. So what's specific to Thanksgiving? Pumpkins? Cranberries? Turkey? I didn't want to bake a whole Turkey. First of all because, of course, nobody celebrates Thanksgiving in Australia as it's specific to American history so I had nobody to share the turkey with, except my boyfriend. But it's also beacause I like to make delicious vegetarian dishes for holidays.I'm not a huge fan of all... [Lire la suite]

Those cupcakes are more almonds cupcakes with a cherry on top than a cherry & almond cupcake as the only cherry taste comes from the cherries I used on top  of them to decorate. If you want your cupcakes to have a much flavorful taste of cherries maybe you should add some cherry jam in the center or add some fresh cherries to your dough prior to baking.Despite the use of almond meal that usually makes cakes quite "heavy", those cupcakes are really light and soft. I like my frosting to be light (almost like a whipped cream... [Lire la suite]

Those cookies, called "galettes bretonnes" are typically french. It's a speciality from Bretagne, a North-west region of France. You can't make them more french : they are full of salted butter.  All you need are very basic ingredients but make sure to get a really good butter with Guerande sea salt crystals. That's what make all the difference with basic bland cookies and gives this distinctive nutty, buttery sweet-salty flavor. Don't even consider baking them with margarine.... that would kill any french.   Ingredients... [Lire la suite]

I don't like granolas from supermarket. They are often too sweet, are lacking nuts and sometimes contains weird ingredients like glucose syrup or palm oil. Last year I discovered how easy it was to make granola in one of Jamie Oliver's books. Nothing can't be more simple. It's basically always the same process : you mix some roalled oats with any type of nuts or seeds you like (pecans, alomnds, hazelmuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts...), some sugar, mapple syrup or honey and some vegetable oil. Then you toasted it in the oven... [Lire la suite]

One of my favorite cakes! When I was a kid my mum use to make it quite often and everyday after school I had a slice and dipped it into some milk. Yum!   Ingredients: - 200g butter, softened- 1 cup sugar- 1 tsp vanilla extract- 3 eggs- 2 cups self-raising flour- 1/2 cup milk- 2tbs cocoa powder, sifted Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a square cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition... [Lire la suite]

The perfect cake for afternoon tea.   Inredients :- 180g butter, at room temperature- 2/3 cup sugar- 1 tsp vanilla essence- 3 eggs- 1 cup almond meal- 1 cup self-raising flour- 1/3 cup milk- 2 pink lady apples, diced   Preheat oven to 170°C. Brush a cake pan with butter to grease. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the almond meal. Add half the flour and half the milk. Use a wooden spoon to stir until well combined.... [Lire la suite]

Banana bread is a classic. I use to make this recipe with some chocolate chips. But my lovely boyfriend prefers it without chocolate in it. With the chocolate it tastes more like a dessert than a piece of cake you would have for breakfast. So it all depends on what you are looking for, either a banana bread for breakfast or a banana cake for dessert. I usually freeze some slices for later, it's convenient to bring it to work when you don't have the time to have breakfast at home.   Ingredients:- 1 1/2 cups flour- 3/4 cup... [Lire la suite]