Chocolate Cake Bonbons

I opened my fridge and spotted half dozen mini chocolate cupcakes, leftovers from the Super Bowl bash, staring at me.  So I started the day with a terrible predicament:  toss the cutie mini cupcakes or makeover the leftovers?  Not being one to waste chocolate cake, I decided to recycle the cupcakes into scrumptious chocolate bonbons for Valentine’s Day.

Leftover Makeover:  Chocolate Cake Bonbons

2.5 ounces chocolate cake, crumbled  (remove the frosting and toss out)

1 tablespoon crème fraiche

1 tablespoon Godiva Chocolate liqueur

1.75 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

½ teaspoon butter

Remove the frosting from the cake and toss.  In a small bowl, crumble the chocolate cake.  Add the crème fraiche and liqueur and mix well.  Roll the cake mixture into 6 balls.  Set them on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet.  Put the cake balls in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until fairly firm (but not frozen).

Put the bittersweet chocolate and butter in a small glass microwavable bowl and microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. 

Swirl each cake ball in the melted chocolate, remove, and set on waxed paper to cool.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Bara Brith

Bara Brith is my favorite tea-time snack.  It is speckled with lots of currants and raisins and look like a fruit cake..I know what you are thinking..but it is more bread-like.  It’s really simple – dried fruit, tea, eggs, self rising flour and sugar.  There is no additional fat!!!  I make a loaf on the weekend and then relish a heavenly slice every afternoon with a cup of Earl Gray.  It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

Bara Brith

240 ml/1 cup strong Earl Grey Tea, cooled ( I use two teabags)

 8 ounce/228 g mixed dried fruit ( I used a mixture of 2-ounces/57 g each of currants, raisins, dried cranberries and candied orange peel)

4.5 ounces/128 g Self Rising Flour

2 ounces/56 g sugar

1 large egg

3 tablespoons Orange Marmalade

In a medium bowl pour the Earl Grey tea over the mixed dried fruit, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven 350F.  Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, add the self rising flour, sugar, egg and marmalade.  Mix well.

Add the tea and dried fruit mixture and combine well.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan.  Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until skewer or knife comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pan.  Remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool.

No Self Rising Flour. No worry.

For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt.  Mix to combine.

 

Egg and Tomato Sandwich

Sandwich and a cup of soup….that’s my kind of lunch!  I really, really like this Egg and Tomato Sandwich, not because it’s easy (a big plus on weekday mornings), but because it’s so delicious.  The hard part was trying to figure how to keep it from falling apart as I ate it at work.  Egg on my laptop..ugh!!  Well, I channeled my inner “Martha Stewart” and wrapped and tied the sandwich.  Amazing how a simple sandwich can be so yummy!

Egg and Tomato Sandwich

Serves 1

2 slices multigrain bread
Butter
2 thick slices ripe tomato
1 large hard boiled egg, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped scallions, optional
1 tablespoon Japanese kewpie mayonnaise. See note below
Salt and pepper

Butter one slice bread and place the tomato on the buttered side of the bread.  Top with the sliced egg and  scallions.  Sprinkle salt and pepper, to taste.   Spread mayonnaise on the other bread slice.   Sandwich with top bread half. Press down lightly. Eat and enjoy!

Note:  Kewpie (pronounced QP) is a smoother, creamer mayonnaise, and it's made with rice vinegar rather than distilled vinegar.  You can use regular mayonnaise instead of Kewpie.

Korean Spicy Soba Noodles

Anyone for Dunch?  The pre -dinner meal that does not involve tea and scones with lashings of clotted cream!   These Korean Spicy Soba Noodles are a perfect light meal to keep the afternoon hunger pangs at bay. The spicy sauce takes soba noodles to another level of yumminess!

Korean Spicy Soba Noodles

Adapted from www.simplyrecipes.com

Serves 1

2 ounces buckwheat noodles

1 ½ ounces julienned cucumbers

1 ½ ounces julienned carrots

1 ½ thinly sliced cabbage

1 ½ ounces thinly sliced Asian Pear (optional)

1 scallion, sliced

½ boiled egg

Sauce

3 tablespoons Gochu Jang (Korean red chili paste)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1-2 tablespoons honey or to taste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or Korean chili pepper powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, stir in the red pepper paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, sesame oil and sesame seeds.  Mix well and set aside.

In a medium pot, add water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the buckwheat noodles and bring to a boil.  Cook soba noodles for about 3 -4 minutes or according to package instruction.  Immediately rinse the noodles in cold running water and drain well.

Place the noodles in a bowl.  Top with 2-3 tablespoons sauce,  Add the vegetables and egg.  Serve the remaining sauce on the side.