Braided Nutella Star | Pull Apart Bread | Brioche [Recipe]

This Braided Nutella Star has been popping up on my Facebook newsfeed recently, and since I've now submitted my M.A. thesis [I've now plenty of free time until I find a full-time job] I decided to try it out yesterday.

It only requires few ingredients [less thank 10, to be exact!] and it is quite simple to make [although you do need to allow an hour or so for the dough to rise]

This is what you'll need:

• 450 grms all-purpose flour
• 180 ml warm milk [if it's full fat, the better]
• 2 eggs [separated into yolks and whites]
• 2 tsp yeast [around 10 grms]
• 30 grms melted unsalted butter
• pinch of salt
• 70 grm sugar [I used castor]
• 1 jar of nutella [I used a 350 grms jar]

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork [so the flour - which you should sieve, yeast, sugar, and salt]

Add the butter, milk, egg yolks.

Continue to mix with a fork or wooden spoon until lightly combined, then when it starts to stick together, tip everything on a work surface, where you should proceed to hand knead the dough for approx 5-10 mins until it looks smooth, a bit shiny, and bounces back to shape if you press a finger into it.

Lightly coat a bowl with vegetable oil, put the dough in [toss it around until it is coated with the oil], cover with a damp tea cloth or clingfilm, and put it in a warm place. 

Leave to rise until it doubles in size [I left mine for about 2 hours]

When it's done, tip it on a work surface and knock the air out from it by pressing lightly with your fingers. Proceed to cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.

Put some flour on your work top and roll out each piece of dough until it is the same size of a dinner plate. Take said dinner plate and rest on rolled out dough, so it lightly indents its shape [this way you'll know where to spread your nutella] 

N.b. this brioche dough is a bit finicky, so take your time with it.

Put some nutella in a bowl, and warm it up in a microwave until it is soft and easy to spread.

Layer nutella and brioche dough as if you were making a lasagna.

Of course the last layer has to be sans nutella. Trim everything by using the same dinner plate and a sharp knife.

Cutting part: 

Place a glass in the middle of your creation as a guide.

Cut from the glass to the edge in a 12//3//6//9 o'clock movement. Then proceed to cut each quarters in half. Then again cut those in half. You should end up with 16 segments.

Take 2 pieces in your hand, and turn counter clockwise twice. Do this with the rest of your pieces. Smush the edges together to achieve this pretty star shape.

Now you can cover it again with a damp teacloth or clingfilm for another 20 minutes, or you can skip this step if you're impatient like me.

Take the 2 egg whites we didn't use earlier and lightly wash the star with it for a beautiful shine.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for about 10-20 minutes. I think the best method is to cook for 10-15 minutes normally, than switch on the top grill for 2-3 mins [depending on oven, of course]

Your house will smell amazing [of bread and chocolate!]

Allow to cool completely before you taste it :)

You can also sprinkle some icing sugar on top, if you prefer.

Some more photos below:

If you have any questions, leave them below!

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Homemade 'Baci' Chocolates [Recipe]

Dear readers,

Happy Sunday!

It's been a while since I last shared a recipe with you [and I've been quite the baker lately], so I though of sharing with you this easy and quick recipe for 'Baci' chocolates.

For those of you who don't know, Baci chocolates are made in Italy and are a favourite in Malta [along with several other Italian chocolates].

p.s. 'baci' mean kisses

You will need:

1 jar of Nutella

around 450 grams of roasted hazlenuts

some extra hazlenuts

dark chocolate [or milk if you prefer]

First off you have to bash the hazlenuts until they're quite small - but take care not to turn them into dust. Omit a couple of hazlenuts (I dare say around 30 should be more than enough) for decoration.

Pop the lid off the jar of Nutella and place it in the micro for about 50 seconds, or until it's smooth and a bit runny [it will make mixing it easier]. 

Place it in a bowl [sorry for the pink hue but I used a pink plastic bowl]

Add the crushed hazlenuts and mix well with a wooden spoon. Now I should have added a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder to the mixture to make it less runny, but I forgot to buy some [but they did turn out ok in the end]

Pop the mixture in the fridge or freezer until it firms up but is still manageable. 

Roll the mixture into balls [yes it's messy but you get to lick your hands after you're done] and place on a non stick baking sheet. Put some hazlenuts on each ball.

It is important to pop these in the freezer for about 20 mins to set.

In the meantime melt some chocolate in a double boiler or microwave [depending on the instructions].

Pop each chocolate ball in the melted chocolate using a fork, then once covered tap the fork on the side of the bowl so as to remove excess chocolate.

Place on the greaseproof paper, pop in the fridge and leave to set.

...and hey presto! yummy 'baci' chocolates!

Love,

Lorraine

xoxo

Recipe: The Yummiest Christmas Log EVER!

Dear readers,

It's not that I'm biased but, I think that my Xmas log recipe is the yummiest (and most calorie laden too - but who cares. it's Christmas!) ever!

You will need:

• 4 packets of Morning Coffee biscuits
• 300 grms Roasted Hazlenuts
• 300 grms Walnuts
• 200 grms Cadbury Dairy Milk
• 5 tpsp Nutella
• 3 packets Maltesers
• 5 tbps Chocolate Powder
• Candied Peel
• x2 (400 grms) tins of Nestle Condensed Milk
• Some water
• Glaced Cherries 
• Baileys / Cherry Brandy / Vermouth
• est 300 grms of milk chocolate (you can also use white or dark) to decorate

Method:

Crumble the biscuits, bash the life out of the walnuts, hazlenuts, maltesers and dairy milk

Put all the powdery/dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the chocolate powder. Mix well!

In the meantime melt the Nutella (using the bain-marie method). Add candied peel and cherries (cut into quarters)  to the dry mix. (the peel and cherries can be omitted).

Add the melted Nutella, condensed milk (one tin at a time), some baileys + cherry brandy + vermouth to the mixture. Mix well (you will need a ton of elbow grease for this - be warned!)

I got so tired mixing that I asked my boyfriend to help. He snapped the wooden spoon in half after about 20 seconds. Gee thanks love. 

.....until you get this consistency.... (it is better to mix by using your hands). If you feel that the mixture is too dry, add a tiny bit of lukewarm water - a tablespoon at a time while continuing mixing). The mixture shouldn't be too soft or too dry - and not sticky at all.

Cut aluminium foil and clingfilm in squares (placing the clingfilm on the foil). Get some of the yummy mixture and shape into a log

Place in the fridge to set for about an hour. When set, melt the chocolate (bain-marie method). Cover the logs with chocolate using a brush. Allow to cool, and re-cover with chocolate. Using a fork, grate the chocolate to make it look like a wooden log.

.....and enjoy the yumminess!! 

Love,

Lorraine

xoxo

Recipe: Traditional Maltese Pasta Bake

Dear readers,

It has been ages since I last cooked a pasta bake, or what we normally call it in my country, 'Imqarrun' or 'Ghagin il-Forn', so yesterday I decided to cook some.

It is a really tasty pasta dish made with a bolognese sauce and cooked in the oven. This is what the finished dish looks like:

Recipe:

You will need:

• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 400 grams ground / minced meat
• 1 tin corned beef
• 4 eggs
• grated cheese or parmesan
• penne 
• 1 large onion and 1 large garlic clove
• some olive oil 
• curry, chilly, salt, pepper, dried oregano
• marsala wine
• tomato passata
• tomato paste

Method:

• First off chop the onion and garlic, and fry them in a little bit of olive oil. 
• When golden, add and brown the minced meat.
• Add the tin of corned beef

It should look like so...

• In the meantime, boil 3 medium eggs
• Boil some penne pasta (I used about 500grms of Barilla penne) for about 5-7 mins - you don't want to over boil them.
• Add the spices and mix well
• Add in 2 tablespoons of Marsala wine and cook on high heat till wine evaporates
• Add in 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (optional - add a little bit of sugar)
• Pour in the tomato passata, reduce heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes

• Mix the bolognese sauce with the semi-cooked pasta.
• Dice the hard boiled eggs and add to the pasta/sauce mix.
• Add and mix the 4 (uncooked) eggs.
• Add grated cheese or parmesan to the mixture

• Spray a ceramic (or oven proof) dish with vegetable oil (you can also coat it with olive oil)
• Pour in the mixture.
• Put some more cheese on top
• Cook for about 1 hour (I cook mine on high - about 200 degrees celcius)

Finished dish:

Love,

Lorraine

xoxo

Dukan Diet Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Hello readers,

Have you ever heard of the Dukan diet? Well, if not, you should google it :p It's a 4-stage diet which I follow (when I do), and it does work - you shed pounds, and if you follow the plan to a tee - you will keep the weight off.

Well, here is a recipe for a chocolate mousse you are allowed to have on the Dukan plan - and you could also prepare it as a yummy treat while following other diets. And believe me when I say that it tastes heavenly! Excellent for chocoholics like myself who sometimes (or daily) would like to indulge in a bit of chocolate.

So, this is a list of stuff you need - pretty simple ingredients you could find in any supermarket;

• Decatesse (or sweetener)
• 0% Regilait (or powdered skimmed milk)
• Low fat chocolate powder
• 0% Fromage Frais or Greek Yoghurt

Mix 4 table spoons powdered milk, 2 table spoons sweetener, 4 tea spoons chocolate powder....

Add some water to the powder mixture, 1 tea spoon at a time.....slowly does it :) till you get a mixture like this.....

Add a dollop (or a about a table spoon really) of the fromage frais or greek yoghurt. Mix well, and refrigerate for approx. 2 hours (while resisting the temptation to eat it as is).....

End result: yummy-ness!! (without being fattening) ^.^

Let me know if you try it,

Love
Lorraine
xoxo