Oh my whoopie pie!

These little devils are something between cake and cookie but graced with the name of 'Pie'. Baking the infamously delectable whoopie pies was high on our list of priorities this weekend, and let's just say they lived up to our expectations. We adapted the recipe from http://www.joyofbaking.com/WhoopiePies.html. Our version contains some minor adjustments which only helps improve the pies. Also, our cocoa had some sugar granules in it (make sure to look out for that in drinking cocoa) so we reduced the amount of sugar by 20g.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Ingredients (Cake)

• 230g all purpose flour
• 100g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 170 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• 150 grams granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 60ml buttermilk
• 60ml lukewarm strong coffee 1 tsp vanillaPreheat the oven to 375F/Gas 5, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper 
• 60ml lukewarm water

• 100g butter
• 200g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tspb food colouring (optional)

Method

• Sieve together flour, salt, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda in a large bowl
• In a smaller bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale yellow
• Add egg and vanilla to cream and butter and mix well
• In a small measuring jug/cup mix the buttercream, water and coffee
• Add the buttercream mixture and flour mixture alternatively to the butter&sugar, blending well after each addition
• Drop the batter by heaped tablespoon onto tray
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cake springs back

• To make the buttercream, slightly soften the butter and cream
• Add icing sugar in small batches, and once its creamed add vanilla extract and food colourig
• Spread buttercream icing between two whoopie pies



Shut the stuff up!

When it comes to Italian food we wave our tricolored flag high. Pasta being a staple food in our diet, its not uncommon for us for dish up a little something from that boot-shaped-pizza-capital. In fact, this week's main meal was none other than Homemade Beef Ravioli, a combination of flavorful beef and flaky pasta dough that we found surprisingly tasty. 

Although we chose to make our own dough (recipe below), store-bought fresh pasta sheets like these http://www.tesco.com/superstore/xpi/4/xpi52414094.htm will do just fine.

Beef Ravioli

Ingredients:

Pasta Dough-

• 250 Plain Flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• Half glass water (This is an estimate but you may need more)

Filling-                           

• 480g cubed/ground beef
• 1 Grated carrot
• 1 Onion
• 1 Garlic clove
• Olive oil
• Salt&Pepper
• Red wine
• Water

Method for pasta

• Stir the salt into flour and make a small hill with the flour
• Dent the top of the hill, crack both eggs into the dent, and mix into the flour
• Blend in water, and mix into dough

Method for filling

• Chop the onion and garlic
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, and fry the onions and garlic until soft
• Add meat, carrots, salt and pepper
• Cook for 15-20 minutes
• Splash 1-2 tablespoons of red wine
• Cook for another 15-20 minutes (or until cooked through)
• Put meat mixture into blender, and blend until finely ground

Method for assembling

• Roll the dough into one large sheet, and use a fluted edge circle pastry cutter to cut circles
• Stretch the circles slightly, and brush water around the edge

• Place one teaspoon of meat mixture in the center of the dough, and place another circle of dough on top

• Squeeze the edges and place into a pot of boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or until they rise to the top

• Serve with melted butter and sage

Losing our 'post-virginity' to chicken fajitas

This is our first post, but definitely not our first creation. In fact we often get in touch with our Mexican side, as we did last wednesday, and this week's experiment turned out to be especially tasty. Thanks to a recent revelation, we have now started to incorporate peppers into our fajitas.
Although we sometimes tend to the mild side, we recommend adding chilli or hot sauce to our recipes if you like your sombrero to fly a little higher (olé!).
For a while now we've started making our own tortillas, because they taste better hot off the grill, like these http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Flour-Tortillas/Detail.aspx
(However store-bought tortillas do the job just as nicely)

El Pollo Bailarín Recipe (Chicken and Pepper Fajitas)

Ingredients

• Cubed chicken breasts (we use one per portion)
• A drop of oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 medium white onion
• Salt & pepper
• Chopped peppers (we used one yellow and half a red)
• Greek yoghurt or sour cream
• Avocado, cubed or sliced
• Cheese of preferrence, such as mature cheddar

Method

• Heat the oil in a medium pan, then add finely chopped garlic
• Chop the onion and add it to the pan, leaving it for about 5 minutes
• Add the seasoned chicken and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes
• When the chicken is nearly cooked, add the chopped peppers
• Now you may want to add some other spices of your choice, as well as salt & pepper
•  Once chicken is cooked and the peppers have absorbed some juices, remove from heat.
• Serve the chicken with a dollop of yoghurt, avocado and cheese.
• Wrap in a tortilla, eat warm