summer idea 03 :: affogato

As I said, these summer ideas are not, I repeat not, recipes. E's youngest nephew could probably make this. But it's something that you may not know of, or not thought of for a while, so why not plant the seed?

Affogato is an Italian drink/dessert that involves vanilla ice cream and espresso. Already sounds good, right?

I just love this. 3 steps:

1) Brew a nice espresso.
2) Scoop some vanilla ice cream into a glass or bowl.
3) Pour espresso over ice cream.

Eat straight away - the ice cream will immediately start melting, but in a really, really good way. Trust me on this.

If you're feeling indulgent (me, always), crumble a chocolate cookie on top. We got given some quadruple chocolate cookies recently and they took over my life for a while.

As has this.

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homemade peanut butter cups

I briefly mentioned in this post that I had discovered Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream and how it rocked my socks off. That stuff didn't last 3 days in our freezer.

I've tried the classic American Reese's peanut butter cups (and my favourite, Reese's pieces), and think they are annoyingly delicious, but they definitely contain some questionable ingredients and are generally not the healthiest choice. I am not at all against having such snacks now and then, but I was convinced that I could try and whip up something similar at home, with fewer (and pronounceable) ingredients.

So I experimented, and it actually worked!

I'm sure this isn't an original idea and no doubt you can find countless versions of this on Pinterest, but here's what I did (and it was so easy & quick!):

Ingredients:
100g dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa Green & Blacks)
100g milk chocolate (Again, used Green & Blacks)
120g no sugar added smooth peanut butter 
10g agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup, can add more)

To make:
1) Prepare a mini muffin tin (or a regular one, or any moulds you like), line with mini muffin cases.
2) Heat half of each chocolate bar in the microwave until completely melted.
3) Fill each muffin case with 2 teaspoons of the melted chocolate, make sure it's levelled, place in fridge or freezer until hardened.
4) Stir the peanut butter with the agave nectar until mixed.
5) Once the chocolate is hardened, fill each muffin case with 2 teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture, level, place in freezer until hardened.
6) Repeat 2 & 3. Freeze until hardened, and then tuck in!

They can be stored in the freezer if you prefer them to be rock hard (E and I both preferred them frozen), but they can be stored in the fridge too - the peanut butter portion will just be a little softer. They are pretty virtuous as far as chocolatey treats go, and as with the B&J ice cream, these didn't last very long around here either.

And if you're thinking how cute those polka dot mini muffin cases are, me too.

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paris: for the sweet tooth

Continuing on a sugar high from that clafouti, Paris is famous for its beautiful and high quality patisseries. We had time for two pit-stops (on two separate days, thank goodness) at our favourite places for sweet treats - Angelina and Pierre Hermé.

Although we've gone on a previous trip to the actual café of Angelina, this time we happened to pass by a little shop branch, so we popped in to grab one of their iconic Mont Blanc cakes for E, and a couple of macarons (pistachio and vanilla) for me. The shop itself has that luxurious, Parisian feel, and of course their creations are always incredible.

E is currently immersed in mastering the art of macaron making at home, so getting some macarons at Pierre Hermé was a must, for his "research". I agreed to come along out of duty, of course. Definitely not because I will take any excuse for more macarons...

There was a small queue outside the boutique that we went to, not surprisingly as his cakes and chocolates and pretty much everything else are hailed as the best of the best. We didn't have to wait too long, and once inside the (small and a bit cramped) shop, we just stood gaping at the beautiful desserts on display.

We took away with us his infamous vanilla tart (absolutely incredible), and 6 of his macarons (a mixed bag of salted caramel, passionfruit and milk chocolate, pistachio, rhubarb strawberries & passionfruit), all of which were outstanding.

The tart and 6 macarons set us back just under 20 euros, which is definitely not cheap, but if you're a real foodie and a lover of artisan desserts, it's worth it as a special treat. We didn't regret a simple cent or crumb, that's for sure.

I'm sure that I'm yet to experience so many other incredible places in Paris for food like this - next time, I think I'll try and find some off-the-beaten-path places that might not be as well known but be great discoveries.

strawberry clafoutis

In search for a quick, easy and portable dessert to take to our friends' house for dinner, I hopped online to a Japanese recipe site (that has fairly recently launched an English version!) for inspiration.

I wanted to make something fruity, so when I found an incredibly simple sounding recipe for Strawberry Clafouti, it was pretty much perfect.

In case you don't know what a clafoutis is, it's basically a kind of cake/flan/baked custard hybrid. It uses very little flour, but just enough so that it isn't like a full on flan/crème brûlée type of consistency.

I made a little more batter than the original recipe calls for (mainly to fill up the pan I was using, but it worked out perfectly for 2 girls and 2 hungry boys), so here's how it was done:

Ingredients
1 pack strawberries
5 large eggs
300ml whipping cream
150g sugar
65g whole milk
45g flour

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.
2. Chop off the green bits of the strawberries, slice them in half.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, pour into a pan (any shape, mine was a 8 x 11 one), place the strawberries on top (I tried to do this in an orderly and pretty way, but the batter is very liquid-y so don't bother!).
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

That's it!

The most traditional version is made with cherries - which E is begging me to make next time - but I think any fruit, especially berries, works great with the recipe. It's the easiest thing to whip up for upcoming summer barbecues, so really, you have no excuse.

What's the easiest recipe you have in your arsenal that never fails you? This has definitely become one of mine.

snowflake gelato

I've mentioned more than a few times now, that I can never say no to ice cream. It's the one thing, above chocolate or cake or cookies or anything else, that wins over this not-so-sweet-tooth of mine.

I had walked past Snowflake Gelato in a couple of different locations before, but finally it was perfect timing and I got to see what the fuss was about.

I honestly get giddy when I see all the pretty colours of the gelato lined up like this! My ultimate dream house would definitely have a gelato parlour.

Anyway, after much hmming and ahhing, I ended up choosing Pistachio & White chocolate, and Mint choc chip.

Truly decadent and delicious. I would say that the mint didn't pack quite the same punch as Gelupo, but it was still amazing and the pistachio rocked my socks.

Somewhere I can see myself frequenting in the (hopefully) warmer months to come... do any of you Londoners have a favourite ice cream place in the city?

And non-Londoners, what's your favourite ice cream flavour? I recently tried Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup, and I think I died and went to heaven.

e cooks: crème brûlée

Crème Brûlée is E's favourite dessert of all time. So it was quite a nerve-wracking day, when he decided to tackle it himself.

Although he thought it was a semi-fail (it wasn't as well-baked as he had wanted), I thought it was delicious. The vanilla pods really made a difference and made the flavour pop, and I prefer mine softer rather than too solid/jelly like so it was ok by me!

He promises to fine-tune it and get it perfect next time. Although I have no idea when that will be, since he has a "to cook" list the size of his (long) arm right now...

You can also look to Ice Pandora's post on her crème brûlée for inspiration, I loved her take on it.