I have a sweet tooth, just a quick look at some of the posts on the blog is a dead giveaway. I have to eat something sweet everyday, erm, lets just say sometimes for fear of sounding like a crazy person. From mug cakes to chocolate and everything in between. Having any kind of sweet treats lying around the house has become my weakness, as a result we no longer buy chocolate or the like. This includes Nutella, that beautiful, chocolate, hazelnutty goodness. It never lasts in our house, a medium sized tub would last a week at best. The sad reality is that I cannot control myself around Nutella, so we no longer buy the stuff. It’s chocolate hazelnut gold, I tell you!
Ok, Nutella avoidance aside, when we have had Nutella in the house, I haven’t just eaten it on bread or toast or just with a spoon out of the jar, I’ve also made Nutella mousse. You can easily make a quick single serve or make a big bowl of the stuff. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser.
I by no means invented this. If you search the internet you’ll be flooded with recipes. However at the time of making it, I wasn’t aware there were 2 ingredient versions out there or aware of just how easy it is to make. I kinda just threw it together in a bowl and mixed.
For the quick and easy single serve version, all you’ll need is 1 teaspoon of Nutella and 2 tablespoons of thickened cream. Just put them together in a bowl and mix until smooth and combined then hide behind the couch before anyone catches you, you won’t want to share.
Below you’ll find a recipe for a bigger version, fill it into a large bowl and decorate with chocolate shavings, cookie crumbs or go fresh with strawberries and raspberries. Or you can do what I did and fill them into individual small pots like below.
A quick and easy 2 ingredient delight, sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
½ cup nutella
1½ cups chilled thickened cream
Instructions
Beat your cream until soft peaks form.
Place your Nutella into a heatproof bowl and warm for about 10 seconds in the microwave. Ensure your Nutella isn’t too hot, you just want to warm it enough so that the texture is slightly more runny.
Pour your Nutella into the cream and fold gently until combined.
Serve as is or decorate with chocolate or fresh fruit.
My dear friend Henna of My Ninja Naan is due to have baby number 2 very soon. In honour of such a momentus occasion I organised a little virtual surprise baby shower for her along with the help of her food blogger friends Sarah of flour and spice blog and Asiya of chocolate and chillies. I’ve introduced you to Henna before, she very kindly wrote me a guest blog post while I was away earlier this year. You can see more of her yummy recipes and beautiful images on her own blog.
We’ve been planning this for a little while and I hope we were successful in keeping it a surprise. Henna is actually completely unaware this is happening, we planned the posts to go up while she sleeps so she could wake up to it the next morning. Henna, I hope this is a pleasant surprise and I hope you enjoy your virtual shower.
The theme we decided on was ‘finger food’, I made snowball whoopie pies. Whoopie pies are handheld sandwich cakes; a popular treat in America. Since Henna is American I thought why not create something close to home. I also happened to have a request from my brother for South African Snowballs; a small rounded sponge cake covered in red jam glaze and sandwiched with more jam or vanilla filling. As you can tell I put the two together to create these Snowball Whoopie Pies. I wanted to make a baby shower cake, but considering the theme is finger food, this is the next best thing. It doesn’t get much better than a handheld cake, right? You don’t even need a spoon or a fork, just pick it up and munch away.
I’m not sure what a whoopie pie is meant to taste like and these don’t taste like traditional snowballs, as they aren’t very spongy and I decided not to include the jam element but I think it all works together nicely and is a great treat all the same. Even snowball loving Mr Munchies approved of them. The whoopie pie recipe was actually suggested to me by Henna, I used her adaptations as well as making some of my own. I think it turned out really well. Henna always has great taste with food, always sharing recipes that work well and have delicious flavours. Don’t forget to check out her blog and be sure to scroll through to see what the other attendees brought to the party and to view the recipe at the end.
Henna, I wish you everything of the best in this chapter for your family. I hope all goes well for you and bub makes a safe and healthy arrival, in Shaa Allah. Your support and friendship has been amazing, thank you.
Sarah from Flour and Spice – Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels.
Asiya from Chocolate and Chillies – Stuffed Mushrooms.
Pre heat your oven to 170c and line your baking sheets with baking paper. Cream butter with sugars until smooth and creamy. Add in eggs, vanilla and yogurt and mix again until combined. Mix together milk, vinegar and bicarb and add it to the mixture. Add in your flour, and baking powder and beat until mixed through. Using a table spoon or small ice cream scoop, spoon out your filling keeping 1-2 inches between each spoonful. Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes. The whoopie pie will be done when they’re lightly golden and firm to the touch. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet.
Glaze coating
Mix 1 cup sifted icing sugar with enough water to make a runny glaze, add in colouring and mix through.
Buttercream Filling
Beat together butter and icing sugar. Slowly add in the cream and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
To assemble
Spread buttercream onto one side and sandwich with another. Swirl each side in the glaze and then roll in desiccated coconut. Be prepared to get your hands messy for this one.
Notes
Adapted from https://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/vanilla-whoopie-pies/
My next guest post is by another good blogger friend, Sumaira from The Muslimah Mommy. She writes about all things mummy and parenting related. If you aren’t already following her, you should be.
Sumaira decided to step a little outside of her normal blogging to bring us a recipe today. Before I continue I probably should clarify something for my Aussie readers, cilantro is coriander. You know that delicious herb that adds amazing flavour to anything you add it to. As a child I never liked coriander, I would ask my mum to keep it out of every dish she made, thankfully she never listened to my crazy talk. And if you enjoy it just as much as I do, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. I’m going to have to give it a try when I’m back.
Rustic Cilantro Chutney
Chutney is a big hit at our house, even the kids enjoy it! There are so many variations of chutney, for instance there’s mint chutney, mango chutney, and etc. At our house, we try to keep things simple to suit our busy lifestyle, and that’s why I prefer to make cilantro chutney- because it only takes 3 minutes to make!
I call this chutney ‘rustic’ because instead of using an electrical kitchen device, I use a mortar and pestle to grind the cilantro leaves; thus bringing back the element of the Pakistani village that both of my parents grew up in. The chutney itself is not a smooth mixture- it’s chunky and well…rustic looking! In our household, we eat this chutney with chicken, fish, curried vegetables, and rice; in other words, pretty much with anything!
Ingredients:
A handful of cilantro (coriander)
1 green chilli pepper
1 ½ cups of plain yogurt
½ tsp of salt
1 tbsp of vinegar
Method:
In a mortar, crush the leaves of the cilantro with the the green chilli pepper.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add the yogurt, salt, and vinegar.
Mix well, and enjoy!
If you are serving this to children, you can always adjust the spiciness by adding more yogurt or putting in half of a green chilli pepper instead of a whole one.
My first guest post is by my blogger friend Henna of My Ninja Naan. Somehow, somewhere in this big blogosphere, our paths collided and we’ve been good friends ever since. While we’ve never met or have spoken face to face (type to type is how we roll, lol) we keep in touch often. Henna is a great friend, her recipes are even greater, if you haven’t already checked out her blog you are missing out. I could go for some of this chocolate ice cream right now.
Today Henna has made M&M Cookies to share. How good do they look? I wish she lived close by.
Salaam and Hello All!
My name is Henna and I blog about my love for all things culinary over at My Ninja Naan. I met Faaiza some time back, and since then we have gotten to know each other on a very personal level. Alhumdullilah, praise be to God, for the connections and relationships that we make with others in all corners of the world through blogging, something that many of us consider a hobby.
The recipe that I am sharing with you today is something that the little ones in your life would enjoy both creating and eating- m&m Cookies! My son, who is now 3 ½, loves to help out in the kitchen whenever possible. Although it can get messy, I love pulling up a stool to our counters and letting him get involved. The excitement that comes from creating, and then waiting for the end results, are so worth any amount of mess 🙂
Go ahead and give these a shot, I’m sure you and your children will not be disappointed 🙂
And lastly, thank you Faaiza for this opportunity! I pray that you and your family have a wonderful trip to India, and that you return safe and sound. Can’t wait to read all about your adventures!
M&M Cookies
Yield: 1 to 1 ½ Dozen Cookies
Ingredients:
· ½ cup unsalted butter
· ½ cup brown sugar
· ¼ cup sugar
· 1 egg
· ¾ teaspoon vanilla
· 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1 cup + more for topping, candy-coated chocolate pieces
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt and mix on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.
Fold in candies, and drop tablespoons of dough, spaced at least 3 inches apart, on an ungreased baking sheet. Gently push a few candies onto the tops of each ball of dough. Refrigerate baking sheets for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Cool completely on trays.
Salaams. Tomorrow (actually, since it’s passed midnight, it’s today, eek) I board a plane and leave for India with 2 kids. Crazy, I know, my sister in law is getting married. I can’t believe the time has finally come. Whilst I’m I’m looking forward to the events that lay ahead, I am dreading the idea of travelling with the 2, will have to check for some ‘tips for travelling with kids’ from my good old friend, Google. I can safely say everything on my 10 Essentials for the Muslim Mum Traveller is checked except #1, which I’m about to go work on.
Before I go, I wanted to thank every single one of you for reading my blog. Thank you for making me love to do this little thing that I do. You have all motivated me to dream big and do more. I’m hoping 2015 will be a better, more productive year. Is there something you’d like to see here? Be sure to let me know, I want to make this blog better for all of you. I have big plans and In Sha Allah I can turn those into reality.
For now, have a look at the 5 most popular posts for 2014:
1. 29+ Ideas for Hajj at Home with Kids
This one broke the internet (just kidding), however it was a pretty big post for me with over 1000 shares on Facebook and over 600 pins on Pinterest, Alhumdulillah.
5. Rose Halwa
A dish I took to a virtual iftar, delicious and refreshing.
Although I’ll be away for a few weeks, with the help of some great blogger friends the blog will stay active with some fantastic guest posts. Be sure to look out for them, they’ll be hitting your inboxes every Wednesday (if you aren’t already subscribed, you can enter your details into the boxes below).
I’ll also still be active on social media. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, be sure to click #modestmunchiestravels , I’ll be using that # throughout my travels.
Eid-ul-Adha has come and gone, another year flies by. Our lives are so different since last year. Last year this time I was pregnant, finally over the morning sickness and totally back in my baking groove. For Eid last year I had made Red Velvet Cheesecake! Sounds amazing, I know, I’m still kicking myself for not getting enough pictures or writing down the exact recipe so I could share it with all of you. Plus I had gone with a Red Velvet Crust which didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. I’ll have to make it again, so I can post that recipe.
This year however, I made a Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart. I wanted something simple yet delicious and this dessert definitely delivered. It’s been the year of the cheesecake for me it seems, I made this one and this one and a of course the red velvet one I haven’t blogged.
This Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart is so fresh and light. The strawberries compliment the tang of the cream cheese and the base adds some crunch. The base is a taste.com.au recipe, it was good but I’m still in search of that perfect tart base recipe, do you have one you love?
In a mixer combine your cream cheese and vanilla essence. Mix until it is smooth and without lumps. Add in your icing sugar, start off on a slow speed and increase as the icing sugar is incorporated. Mix until smooth and creamy. Gently fill the cream cheese mixture into the tart base and smooth out the top. Chop your strawberries into quarters and lay them on the cream cheese filling.
Eid was good as usual, busy and fun. You know it’s been a good day when you end up exhausted by the end of it, and we were definitely exhausted. It’s a bit late to ask, but what did you get up to this Eid-ul-Adha?
