sweet

Twisted matcha tea buns (and a cinnamon version)

November 23, 2020 by Ariel 2 Comments

I havent had good quality matcha to cook with in ages.

Call it pure laziness on my end, I just hadn’t taken the time to shop around for a decently priced alternative since my last matcha plug stopped shipping to Canada. Luckily, the universe has been on my side and clearly heard my prayers because the Canadian company Yupik contacted me on Instagram, about a month ago, to send me some of their delicious matcha tea along with other goodies.

May I say that I’ve been happily surprised with the quality of organic products that was sent to me and their matcha is no exception!

If you’re ever shopping on Yupik.com, make sure to use the code: ARIEL12 at checkout for a nice discount.

Now, this recipe for matcha twisted buns is a nice twist (pun intended) on the classic and oh so delicious cinnamon buns but because when they are baked in a giant muffin pans, they come out with a crunchy exterior and a nice soft interior. The brightness of the matcha, when you cut right through, is not only pleasing to the eyes but also so bursting with flavours.

Along with these gorgeous green buns, I’ve added the recipe for the classic cinnamon version (but still twisted) and baked in a regular rectangle oven dish. You’ll noticed that both recipes are slightly different in execution than what you might be used to but, this minor extra step makes such a difference in the potency of your preferred flavours, in the end.

Obviously, both baking methods can be used for either one of the fillings, it only depends on the final texture you prefer. As mentioned above, baking them in individual portions in giant muffin pans makes the outside crunchier while baking them in the classic rectangle oven dish will make keep them more hydrated and chewy.

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Apples & sweet clover extract scones

October 22, 2020 by Ariel 4 Comments

Yesterday was my first day back on Twitch and may I dare to say that it was a blast.

Talking to everyone again and meeting new awesome peeps really made my Wednesday afternoon magical. It had been over a year since my last Twitch stream and I was a little nervous to get back on the horse, manage the chat and make sure the recipe I’m making isn’t a total disaster.

Luckily, everything went great and I’m already looking forward to the next stream. Here’s the recipe that was created yesterday which turned out incredible! Not that I expected it to be bad but, it was created on the spot and it took two hours to make it because of all the talking and probably a bit of the nervousness of being live.

In normal time, this is a recipe that will take you a maximum of 20 minutes (beside the rest needed for the apples) to make and I really hope you get to try it because it’s a strong 8-9/10 in my book. A nice mix between a flaky savoury biscuit and sweet scone with the tartness of the apples (Cortland & Lobo) and the delicate aroma of my new favorite extract: sweet clover flowers. If you ever come across this product, buy it right away. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. You can use vanilla extract instead but try to seek that sweet clover extract because it will be making a world of difference in these delicious scones.

Sending a huge thank you to everyone who came to the stream yesterday, I’m looking forward to next Wednesday 3pm eastern time for the next one.

Now let’s get to the recipe…

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Apple & ginger crumble

June 27, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

This is actually a pretty easy recipe. Although, when I first made it on Twitch, it wasn’t optimal. There was not enough fruit to crumble ratio but the result became some delicious “cereal” that kept me well fed and happy for the few days after the stream. Yesterday, I made it again to tweak the recipe and take photos. The result is a wonderful dessert that I’m eating with a spoon as we speak!

Hope you get to try it and if even if you’re not a fan of apples or ginger, you can make it with pretty much any fruits you like. This is the kind of easy going recipe that you’ll learn to love because the possibilities are endless.

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Spiced, gooey brownies with candied ginger

April 1, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

Ohhhhh snap. These are the good ones.

When I first made this recipe, a few week ends ago, my bestie and I added a little secret ingredient to make them “magical” and then we went on this crazy adventure all around Montreal. Allow me to be dead honest, some parts of this adventure is a little blurry today but overall we had a blast and I’ll forever cherish this memory. Today, I’m offering you the updated, upgraded and non magical version of this delicious creation which I hope you’ll love as much as I do.

The recipe doesn’t make that many brownies and can easily be a serving for one. I used a much smaller pan (6″ x 8″) to make sure they are thick enough so all the gooeyness shines through. It’s also my fifth time tweaking this recipe (my friends are drowning in brownies from all the previous batches as it would have been impossible for me to eat everything) to make sure they are banging and I really think they are!

If you’re a fan of decadence and gooeyness, you got to try this recipe. Enjoy!

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Angel food cake

March 20, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

It took me a little time to tweak this one even if it’s a very simple recipe. Most of everything found out there (I thought) uses way too many egg whites and since I live alone, the last thing I wanted was to end up having to eat a huge cake on my own. Not that I wouldn’t be able to eat it in full but, this where I have to draw the line at being a solitary foodie.

So this recipe only uses 6 egg whites and make a much smaller cake which is perfect if you live alone and/or you just don’t like to share your food (like Joey from Friends). The most important aspect of this preparation is to make sure you start with stiff peaks when whisking your egg whites AND that you take your time to fold the flour/powdered sugar mix in to the egg whites. After this, you’re pretty much set and you’ll soon have a deliciously fluffy sponge cake to devour.

Growing up, this cake has always been my all time favourite and if I had known how easy it was to make it, I would have stopped buying the pre-made ones at the grocery full of bad ingredients. Everything is always better when it’s homemade so don’t get too intimidated by the procedure, it’s really not that complexed.

Angel food cake

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

Author: ZestyandSpicy.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 1 cake

Ingredients

Bowl 1
- ½ cup of all purpose flour, sifted
- ½ cup of powdered sugar, sifted
Bowl 2
- 6 room temperature egg whites
- ½ cup of regular cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon of almond extract

Instructions

- Pre-heat the oven at 350, DO NOT GREASE the tube pan.
- Sift all the ingredients of the bowl #1, reserve.
- Mix in the egg whites the cream of tartar, both extracts, salt and a bit of the sugar and start whisking with an electric mixer. Gradually add more cane sugar while mixing on the fastest level until the full ½ cup if incorporated and you end up with STIFF PEAKS.
- Take the flour/powdered sugar mix from the bowl #1 and VERY SLOWLY FOLD IT in to the egg whites. Take your time on this step, if you go too fast, the cake won't rise as much as it should.
- Transfer the batter in to the UNGREASED mold, smooth the top and put in the oven for 45minutes.
- Cool down the cake upside down on a cooling rack and gently unmold once it's fully cooled down.

Sourdough maple sticky buns

February 11, 2018 by Ariel 4 Comments

If you’re nursing a sourdough starter, there’s always this one day where you have too much of it and, before feeding it, you have to discard some. Since I don’t like thinking I’ve been “wasting” all this precious flour and water, this recipe is a delicious way to use your discarded starter.

There’s only one word to describe these… AMAZEBALLS. They are drenched in maple and brown sugar and the bread texture is soft and elastic. I really hope you’ll get a chance to try this recipe because it’s absolutely delicious and really easy to do.

Definitely one of those sweet treat worth cheating on your diet.

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Sweet Sesame, Potato & Chickpea Curry on Black Japanese Rice

September 5, 2016 by Ariel Leave a Comment

This is clearly not a traditional curry but it is inspired from what I know about the culture.

The idea started from the seasoning attached to this recipe. Pre-made spice blends save my life when I’m uninspired after a long day working and, this seasoning was inspired from the episode of Chef’s Table (…on netflix, you HAVE to watch it) where they featured the progressive restaurant Gaggan in Bankok. The way Gaggan Anand described the perfect flavour balance of his dish made my head spin and this is what I was able to come up with. Some red chili powder would be interesting to give it a spicier twist but, I sadly didn’t have any on hands. Instead, I choose to top the curry with a little bit of Kochukaru (Korean red pepper flakes, used in kimchi) and it gave it the little spiciness I didn’t add in the seasoning.

I hope you’ll enjoy this potato & chickpea curry recipe and new spice blend attached to it. Make sure to have a small container for the remaining seasoning because you’ll have extra to be creative with.

Happy Cooking! *^_^*

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Maple & Carrot Semolina Cake

September 13, 2015 by Ariel 1 Comment

Just tasted this beauty I made yesterday.

Usually, it’s not my style to let some freshly baked goods wait on the counter before being honoured by our palates but, by the time it had come to the right temperature, it was getting way too late for me to indulge in such decadence. As a first “fall baking” project, I’m very pleased with the results and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to. The final texture is extremely silky soft and dense, very close to a pound cake but with a nice variation because of the semolina flour.

Cut yourself a slice, toast it the traditional way or put in the oven for a few minutes before devouring it with melted butter or cream cheese spread on top.. It’s worth it.

Bon Appétit!

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Avocado Brownies! ….no brownie pan needed!

May 19, 2015 by Ariel 3 Comments

Have you ever woken up from an amazing night of sleep craving something terrible?

Here I was, 7:30am, in my kitchen baking brownies and trying to find a way to avoid using any oil or butter because it’s not because I want to pig out on brownies at 7:30am that I want to gain a million pounds.

Did you know you can substitute avocado for butter using a 1 : 1 ratio in your baked goods and get the same result?

O_O

YES YOU CAN!! …and these bad boys are the perfect example that it is possible to bake without butter or oil. Pillow soft (80% cake like and 20% fudge like), not too sweet and a perfectly balanced dark chocolate taste for the fancy palate.

I have topped mine with simple, sliced almonds but add a little sugar glaze on top and they become out of this world!

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Max’s Pink Smoothie

April 3, 2015 by Ariel 1 Comment

Max’s always like his breakfast smoothies to be sweet and full of fruits. While I’m on a the green smoothie train, he usually prefer to step away from the heartily kale for the sweetness of the fruits. I’ll admit, this smoothie is pretty delicious but………… I still prefer mine 😛 hihi

If you’re like him and have a sweet tooth, this is for you!

Enjoy!

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