Chocolate Babka

Why didn't I make this before? What was I waiting for?? Fullfiling, dark-chocolaty, just happiness!!! Perfect for breakfast, perfect match with coffee..

It all started with my visit to closest Panera Bread and I saw their advertisement for their newest product: Chocolate Babka ! Although I don't like all of their baked goods, it looked good and wanted to give it a try.

Got my coffee and a slice.. From my first bite, it was a match made in heaven and it became my ultimate goal; to bake it at home..

 

So I went straight to my ultimate baking book;Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. I saw the recipe many times in the book but somehow I always passed it ..Tsk, Tsk!!

After the dough rising, rolling and twisting it with LOTS OF CHOCOLATE,  it was worth all the hard work.. You will have two good sized Babkas with this recipe. So, I kept one for home, sent the other one away.. The one at home was finished in a week!!

Just one very important tip: don't be a penny pincher on chocolate and use a very good quality one.. I used Trader Joe's %72 Dark Chocolate and I strongly suggest it..

Come on, try it..I know you want it.. Here's the recipe: Chocoloate Babka Recipe

Dark Chocolate-Olive oil Cake

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/dark_chocolate_cake.aspx

Zucchini Cake with Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Zucchini Cake recipe 

Tahini Cookies

If you want to try a different taste in baking, these cookies can be a perfect option. These cookies are really nice for a winter night with some hot tea.

As one of the ingredients,I used raw sesame tahini which I purchased from a Middle Eastern grocery store. Only trick in making these are adding the flour gradually. Just check the consistency of the dough when you add each batch of flour so that you should be able to roll each cookie.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sesame tahini
• 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 egg ( separated)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3,5 cups floursliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat the sugar and tahini for 1 minute.  Add butter, egg yolk and vanilla extract until well combined. 
3. Gradually add flour in 1 cup or 1/2 cup batches. Check the consistency of the dough each time. You should be able to shape the dough into small balls.
4. Shape dough into 3/4- to 1-inch balls and dip in egg whites first,then sliced almond. Place in the baking sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes until they start to brown on the outside.

Le Marquis (Chocolate Spongecake)

For a long time, I wanted to get Julia Child's famous book " Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and finally my husband surprised me with this book as a gift.

This is the very first recipe from the book and it was PHENOMENAL. It is called Le Marquis and since it has melted chocolate inside, it just simply a chocolate heaven. Don't be scared, it is very easy to make , just follow the steps exactly.Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.relishmag.com/article/34750.html

I preferred not covering with any icing because it's just delicious as the way it is..The trick while making this cake is NOT TO OVER-MIX during folding the egg whites. When you remove it from oven, it sinks little bit. Don't worry because as a result you will have a nice crust on the outside..

Pellegrino Marble Cake

Hmmm Pellegrino???? In a cake???? Hell yeah !!!! This cake is sooooo heavenly!!! It's moist, light and very delicate. While I was tasting it, the only sound that I made was "mmmmmmm" again and again :) And it is very easy to make..

I found the original recipe from an old cookbook of Emine Beder (BTW,she is the maestro of cooking in Turkey) . If I remember it correctly, her book was one of the very first cookbooks that I purchased and I was about 18 years old. I immediately fell in love with the recipes in that book which I brought to US with me 4 years ago.

Again, I reduced the white sugar to 1 cup but added also brown sugar. To speak honestly, I had to do it because I was run out of regular granulated sugar :)) However, the result was perfect because brown sugar made the outer crust little bit chewy. So that cake was moist and tender inside but crusty and chewy on the outside:)

Well, in honor of Emine Beder, here's the recipe which I  modified from the original one..

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup mineral water ( I used Pellegrino)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 380 F. Butter the baking pan,dust with flour,tapping out the excess.
2. Beat the eggs with sugar about 2 min until it becomes foamy.
3. Add oil,mineral water ,lemon zest and vanilla extract,beat to combine.
4. Mix flour with baking powder in a separate bowl.
5. Add flour mixture to the liquid ingredients in three parts.Mix until just combined,not to overmix.
6. Divide the batter into three batches and set aside one of them. Mix cocoa powder with the reserved cake batter,stir until well combined.
7. First, put one vanilla batter in the baking pan. Then on top of it, add cocoa batter. Finally add the remaining vanilla batter. To create the marbling, run a table knife or a toothpick in the batter in a swirling motion.
8. Bake about 1 hour until the tr pan in a tester comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool about 10 minutes. Turn out the cake from the pan and cool completely...

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

I don't know what's going on with me recently but I've been searching for delicious cookie recipes a lot nowadays.. It may be because of my husband since I bake for him very often so that he could take them to his office for the breakfast or as a snack. Or may be they are easy to make compared to other baked goods and they require less ingredients thus cost less:))

But the thing is I don't like too sweet cookies although I'm a big fan of Nutella:)) I really believe that the lesser sugar in the recipe, the deeper flavor you get from the cookie. So during my research for different flavored cookies, I found this recipe in Cookies,Brownies & More Recipe Collection Book.

I modified the recipe little bit though..I've included 1 tbls lemon zest to give a refreshing taste, used wheat flour ( original recipe uses all-purpose flour) and reduced the sugar almost to half!!! They came out quite delicious and a healthier choice as well..

Here's the recipe & enjoy:))

• 1 cup Crisco All Vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbs lemon zest
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sliced almonds 

1. Heat oven to 375 F
2. Roast almond slices in a nonstick pan for 3-5 min to boost their flavor and aroma.
3. Combine shortening and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in eggs,vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Combine flour,baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips and almonds.
5. Prepare cookie pan with baking sheet. By using an ice cream scoop,drop dough 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets ( you can use a regular tablespoon as well). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned ( do  not over-bake it!! ). Cool on cookie sheets 4 min, transfer to cooling racks.