S'more Tart

Have you made s'mores yet? It's in right now, everybody is coming up with their own version and I am not the exemption. Last year, Lucas was not into s'mores at all, he would only eat the chocolate part of it, not caring for the rest. This year I made this tart and let me tell you, there was nothing left behind. 

Nobody can blame him. This tart came out really good, a crunchy-buttery graham crust with a layer of rich ganache topped with marshmallow fluff, do I need to say more? I've made this tart in the past using biscotti instead of the graham crackers and it works really great so, if you happen to have that handy, try it out. Although this time I kept it simple, sometimes I like to add spice to the crust. Cinnamon and nutmeg add a nice touch of Fall.

Ingredients:

For the crust

7oz graham cracker 

8 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Finely grind the crackers in a food processor then add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs mixture over the bottom and sides of an 9-inch springform pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack and set aside.

For the ganache

7oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

(I used 70% Callebaut chocolate)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp butter

Place the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a gentle boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 10 minutes allowing the chocolate to melt. Whisk until smooth. Pour the chocolate onto the cooled crust and cover with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly on top of the ganache. Set aside until the ganache sets, this may take few hours. Once the ganache is ready, make the marshmallow fluff (recipe below). Using a torch, roast the top.   

Marshmallow fluff

4 egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulate sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of boiling water (make sure the water does not touch the pan). Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and egg whites are warm. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix for 5 to 6 minutes on high speed or until you get glossy, stiff peaks.

Coconut Buns

Coconut buns were probably one of my favorite treats growing up. See, I used to live minutes away from the beach in Honduras and this was something very common to find anywhere in the city. There is an African community called Garifunas which is  where this bread comes from.

I had the opportunity to see the process and let me tell you how amazing it was to see these women crafting these breads from scratch with such passion, getting dried coconuts right from the tree, extracting the milk and creating these fantastic treats that all locals know and love. The smell alone, makes it hard to resist. In New York, as you can imagine it's hard to find coconuts so I used canned coconut milk. The flavor of coconut is not as strong as the original but they came out so good, I was very pleased with the result. I leave you with the recipe, enjoy them for breakfast or in the afternoon with a cup of coffee. 

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons full fat coconut milk, a little warm, not hot!

2 large eggs

1egg yolk

5 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoons salt

Egg wash to brush the buns

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add all the ingredients and mix for five minutes (starting the mixer in low then increasing to medium), mix until the dough is smooth. 

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic film and let it ferment for an hour. Divide the dough in 12 pieces (about 80 g per pieces), shape each piece into a round, place it in a lightly oiled baking pan and brush it with the egg wash. Cover it and let the buns rise for 1 hour more. Half an hour before you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 ˚F. Right before baking them, brush them again with egg wash. Bake them for 18-22 minutes or until golden. Let them cool but serve them just a little warm.

Note: In the last batch I made, I added ½ cup shredded coconut (mix it for a minute at the end when you are making the dough with the mixer on low speed) for a stronger coconut flavor. Using milk coconut from actual coconuts will give you a stronger flavor.  

Hummus with Chickpea Stew

If you asked me, what is that one thing I could never live without, I would answer, hummus. You will alway find hummus in my fridge. With it, I can put together a nice healthy meal in no time. It's not just a dip, you can top it with many things, fava beans, chickpeas stew, falafel, meats, you can really dress it up. By the way, "hummus" is the Arabic word for chickpea, with that said, there is no hummus without chickpeas ;)

Chai Muffins

Isn't it great to start your day with baked goods? It makes it even better when it involves something so soothing like Fall flavors and aromas. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and cardamon, came together to make these outstanding chai muffins. 

I love to utilize whole spices for nearly everything I cook or bake.  I lightly warm them in a cast iron skillet just to release their aroma. I then grind them into fine powder and that, my friends, is what sets these muffins apart from the rest. I wouldn't take that extra step if the results weren't that amazing. 

Since I was in a Fall-spices mood, I went ahead and made chai tea to go with the muffins. Chai tea is one of my absolute favorite things to drink during the cold months. It's just  so soothing, aromatic and it has a great kick to it from all those spices. These two together may seem like a lot of spices but I promise, they work harmoniously together.

Ingredients:
makes 12

Find chai tea recipe HERE

For the muffins:

1 ¾  cups flour

1 lg egg

⅓  cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

a pinch of tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp ground clove

½ tsp ground cardamon  

To coat:

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tbsp cardamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp clove

6 tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a muffin pan and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together for few seconds, the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg and vegetable oil, whisk to combine. With the mixer on low, add the milk mixture into the dry ingredient in three parts. Once all the milk mixture is in, increase the speed to medium and mix for few seconds until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. In the meantime, combine the sugar and the spices in a bowl, once the muffins are cool, dip the top of the muffins into the butter then roll them in the sugar mixture. 

Mini Chocolate Donuts

This has been a crazy week between work, sick Lucas (thankfully, he is ok now), school and my 30th birthday. Oh yeah, I turned 30 on Monday and it feels great. A friend of mine told me "Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most, live the longest. So enjoy and keep them coming." HA! funny guy. 

I had an awesome time, my friends worked hard to make it special. 30 of them share one thing, flavor, recipe, experience etc. (about herbs and spices) that I should try or do in this new decade of my life. Everything came together in a beautiful little book they called "Najwa's Delicious 30's" Isn't that a cool idea? Special thanks to all of you! 

Instead of baking a cake, I went for baked mini donuts, chocolate of course, covered with ganache and sprinkled with crushed pistachio which added texture to each bite. Don't let this miniature cake goodness fool you, you DO NOT eat less because they are small, on the contrary, you eat more because to think they are small, ha! We never win! I now leave you with this must-try recipe! 

Ingredients:
(makes 48 mini donuts)

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 cup flour

⅓ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup oil

1 lg egg

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup hot water 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease a donut cake pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until blended. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, egg and buttermilk. Slowly add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients on low speed until well blended. Scrape around the bowl with a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and the sides. Slowly, add the hot water into the batter, blend well on medium speed for 20 seconds. The batter will be thin, don't worry, that's the way it should be. pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the donuts in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. 

For the ganache:

3 oz dark chocolate, chopped

½ cup heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

Place all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl over simmering water until the chocolate and butter melts. Mix well until smooth. Dip the cool donuts into the chocolate and sprinkle them with crashed pistachio.