Rice crispy S'more chocolate bar

 

It is America thanksgiving day! It is also best known as BLACK FRIDAY, black Friday is always on the last Friday of November and people shop crazily for good deals in store and celebrate thanksgiving with their close ones.

We were having a black and white theme bake sale at work for fundraising. I thought I would make something that are easy to make and bring,and require minimum baking.

Here is what I ended up making. Rice Crispy S’more Chocolate bar!

Ingredients:

* Amount of ingredients depends on the quantity you are making, and how you want to design your chocolate bar. 

Various melting chocolate wafer/ melts

Rice Crispy

Almond chopped  or whole

Oreo cookies bites / pieces

Small marshmallow

Direction

1)      Melted chocolate pieces in a bowl using double boiler method or using microwave.

2)      Traced a baking pan on a piece of baking papers or wax paper, cut and place on the bottom of the pan.

3)      Poured melted chocolate in pan while still warm.

4)      Added a thin layer of rice crispy on top.

5)      Placed pan in fridge for couple minutes.

6)      Repeated step one for other kinds of chocolate.

7)      Poured other chocolate layer, let cool.

8)      Before top layer of chocolate set, placed oreo bite, almond and marshmallow on top.

9)      Added a little chocolate drizzle on top.

10)   Put in fridge to help cooling faster.

11)   Turned pan upside down to help getting out chocolate bar

12)   Ran a big knife under hot water, dried with paper towel, cut chocolate  into desired size.

Be creative, add any ingredient you like in this recipe. Packed them in the little bag, making it a easy sweet treat  gifts for others.

How to create old-looking texture paper?

Ideas for Halloween!

I created this burnt old looking paper to make a spooky sign for a Halloween party at work.

The whole process takes longer than I thought; however it is easier that I thought it would be. It is just time consuming, but I am sure you will be satisfied with the result!

1. Make a really strong cup of coffee. Pour coffee into a shallow container, such as cookie sheet or baking pan.

2. Using a spoon to help covering entire paper with coffee both bottom and top. Let it sit for couple of minutes.

3. To create starches, using your fingernails or spoon to create lines/ starches lightly on paper while it is still sitting in the coffee. Make holes if prefers.

4. Dry paper by hanging on a hanger or placing it on another baking pan, using hair dryer to blow dry if you don't have time; or dry over night.

 

(Tips: To create lumps or folds, before the paper is completely dried,  place the paper in a way that you desire to create the design you want; such as folding up a corners, tearing the edges of paper etc.)

5. Once paper is completely dried. Create burnt edges by placing paper on lit of fire back and forth until black burn spot is created. Be careful using fire.



*I used normal white paper here, and I assume that this method will work on any other kinds of paper, however, keep in mind that using thick papers will achieve better results and texture. Thin papers are hard to handle when wet, papers that are too thick takes more time to absorb coffee for strong/ solid  colour.  Whichever kinds will achieve different results, bring out your creativity, it is a fun activity for kids and an good decor idea on Halloween.

Easy Chocolate Mousse for Beginner

Make 4 servings

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time:  10 mins


Ingredients

Whipping cream 35%                          1 Cup
Milk chocolate (over 75% choco)        100 g
Vanilla extract                                      1tsp
Icing sugar                                           2 Tbsp


Methods

1) Chilled bowl and whisk for 15 minutes to ease beating cream.

2) Chopped chocolate into small pieces.

3) Filled water half full in a small pot, and boiled, placed a bowl on the pot, sitting right on the edge.

4) Put chocolate in bowl, stirred until smooth and melted. Set aside.

5) Using chilled bowl and whisk, beat cream until soft peak.

6) Added in vanilla and sugar, beat until stiff peak.

7) Folded in 1/4 of the cream into chocolate mixture, fold mixture from the bottom to the surface, repeated until blended in.

8) Folded back chocolate mixture in to rest of the cream using same folding technique.

9) Once mixture is well combined, serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.

Black forest fudge cake

 

Make two 4" round cake                                               Preparation time: 10 mins

                                                                                     Baking time: 30 mins

Ingredients

250g eating milk chocolate, chopped

125g butter, chopped

2/3 C icing sugar

2/3C self-rising flour

4 Eggs

Methods

1) Preheat oven to 180C, sprayed baking pan with oil, cut and placed baking paper on baking pan. (* traced the edge of the pan on baking paper with a pen, cut paper extending 5 cm above sides)

2) Boiled a pot of water, placed a glass/ ceramic bowl in the pot.

3) Put chopped chocolate and butter in bowl, using spatula to stir ingredients till melted.

 (* Be extra careful not have the chocolate mixture contact with water, and do not have glass bowl touching the bottom of the pot; the concept here is to use the heat/ stream to melt the chocolate and butter, NOT to boil them)

4) In a big bowl, put sugar, flour and beaten eggs, mixed well with electrical mixer or whisk.

5) Once mixture is well mixed, slowly poured chocolate mixture into big bowl, using electrical mixer in low speed to mix mixture for 3 minutes, (Do not over-mix, you may see some bubbles when mixing, we do not want to over-mix which would destroy the bubbles and the structure of the cake)

6)Poured mixture into pan until skewer comes out clear when inserted.

7) Melted chocolate and made whatever shapes to want to decorate your cake when it is cool!

Caesar Salad

Made for 2 servings

Ingredients

Romaine Lettuce                       1 head 

Bacon strips                             2 slices

White/ Whole wheat bread       1 slice

Parmesan cheese                      1 Tbsp  (personal preference)

Caesar salad dressing               4 Tbsp  (personal preference)

Cooking oil                              2 tsp

Pepper                                     dash

Direction

1) Preheat oven to 350F

2) Cover cookie sheet or baking pan with tin foil; spray oil.

3) Place bacon strips on pan and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Flip bacon strips every  5 minute.

4) Cut bread into small cubes or desirable size, place bread cube on baking sheet.

5) In a small bowl, add dash pepper and cooking oil, mix well.

6) Brush oil mixture on the surface of bread cubes using oil brush.

7) Baked  at 350F until golden brown, flip/ turn croutons every couple minutes.

8) Wash and cut romaine lettuce in to small or desirable size. Set aside to drain off water

9) Once bacon strips is cool down, cut into bite size.

10) Mix in bacon bite, croutons with lettuce, sparkle parmesan cheese on top and add in salad dressing to taste. 

Hand-Craft Greeting Cards

Your very personalize card for your special ones.

Once awhile, I would spare some time to walk around at Michaels, a craft and art store in North America. 

They have all the art supplies that you could think of for your project.

I found a set of letter stamp the other day for only $1.50 CAD.

I thought it would be perfect for making a birthday card for a friend of mine. I also grabbed a pack of blank greeting cards and markers. The total I spent on the card was under $6. It probably costs cheaper than a card that you would normally buy from the greeting card selling store, but what make it special was that you are the one who design and make it. 

People always ask: I am not a good hand writer, or I don't have a good handwriting" 

This is when using a stamp come in handy.

Have not got an idea?

I am not a design-person either, although I love all kind of art and craft. I usually look or search on Internet for ideas.

Craftgawker is the site where all craft-bloggers share their works and ideas.

I have inspired a lot by just reading their posts and admiring their works. 

This is their website: craftgawker.com

15 minutes mini quiche/ 15分鐘 法式火腿焗蛋

Quiche is a quick baked French breakfast. It can be simply made of egg, ham, milk and cheese baked in a pie shell, just like any other egg breakfast we have in North America, the ingredients we used in making omelette is very similar to that in Quiche. In fact, Quiche can be made of any ingredients that you can think of, making it your personalized Quiche.

I baked these little Quiche in the tiny Ceramic bakeware, I didn't  baked them in a pie shell. All sizes of ready pie shell can be purchased  from moat of the grocery stores.
If you are going to bake your Quiche without the pie shell, baking it in a ceramic bakeware would achieve a better appearance and texture  than baking it in a tin/ foil-ware ( such as tin muffin pan). It is also easier to remove them out of the bakeware, giving it the clean, smooth surface. (See below picture)


 To make this a balanced nutritious breakfast, simply throw some shredded/ chopped vegetable, such as julienne carrot, sliced tomato, and chopped broccoli. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Make 5 mini Quchie

Ingredients:

• Eggs                                                           5 
• Milk/ Cream                                               200 mL
• Shredded Cheese (Marble/ Cheddar)          1/4 C
• Diced ham                                                   2 Slices
• Sliced tomato                                              1 small
• Julienne carrot                                             1/8 C 

                 

         

Methods:

1. In a bowl, beat eggs and add milk and half (1/8 C) of shredded cheese
2. Place 1 Tsp of ham and carrot in each of the baking cups.
3. Pour mixture evenly over, and place a slice of tomato on top.
4. Sprinkle rest of the shredded cheese on top.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until solid. ( skewer comes out clean after inserting in the center. 

Sprinkle some pepper or salt to taste when serving!

法式火腿焗蛋是法國的一種早餐,跟普通的美式早餐沒有太大分別. 這個焗蛋是用蛋, 火腿, 牛奶跟起司做的, 可以隨意加些蔬菜, 例如 蓄茄, 紅蘿蔔絲, 西蘭花. 加培根/煙肉都很好吃唷.

做法好簡單又乾淨. 我做的是迷你版, 傳統的焗蛋是一個大咸派. 我做的是沒有派, 是直接做在焗盤的, 所以更簡單. 迷你版更方便有小烤箱的朋友.

烤箱溫度 250C

數量: 5 小個

主料：

雞蛋                             5隻
牛奶/ 奶油                  200毫升
乳酪絲                         1/4 杯
火腿(切丁)                       2片
番茄(切片)                   1小個
胡蘿蔔絲                     1/8 杯
                 

         

方法：

1。雞蛋打在一個碗裡，加入牛奶和一半的奶酪絲
2。將1茶匙分量的火腿和胡蘿蔔分到每個烤杯。
3。將 蛋液均勻地倒進烤杯，並在上面放置番茄片。
4。撒上剩下的奶酪絲在表面。
5。烤15分鐘或直到形固。

食的時候再撒上一些胡椒或鹽調味！

Fruit Jam Cookies/ 果醬曲奇

Ingredients:

1/2 C shortening
1/2 C butter
1 C white sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda


Direction:

*Pre-heat oven to 350F
1) In a bowl, mix shortening, butter and sugar till fluffy.
2) Add egg and vanilla extract in the mixture.
3) In other bowl, combine rest of the dry ingredients
4)Combine two mixture, mix well.
5) Roll dough into a thin sheet, using cookie cutter to cut shapes.
6) Place shaped dough onto greased baking sheet, bake for 5 to 7 mins or until golden brown.
7) Place finished cookies on cooling rack, let cool.
8) Spread jam on cookies, enjoy.
.

Strawberry Shortcake

Yield: 8 pieces.






Ingredients

Shortening, room temperature                 2/3C
Vanilla extract                                         1 t
White sugar                                            3/4 C
Eggs, room temperature                           2
Milk                                                       3/4 C
Pastry flour, sifted                                    2 C
Baking powder                                       1T
Salt                                                         1/2 t
Whipping cream                                      150 ml


Method:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2) Grease bottom of pans, and place greased wax paper in the bottom.
3) Using beater, cream shortening and vanilla well until light and fluffy.
4) Add 2 table spoons of sugar each time gradually into shortening mixture, until sugar is finished, beat well after each addition.
5) Measure flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl, stir well.
6) Beat in egg one at a time into flour mixture.
7)Add 1/3 of flour to shortening mixture, mix well. Add 1/2 of milk, mix well. Add another 1/3 of flour, mix well. Mix the rest milk and flour alternately using the same method.
8) Pour mixture in pan evenly.
9) Bake approximately 30 mins or until golden brown.
10) Let cool for 10 mins in rack. Cut cake horizontally in three or two layers.

Whipping cream
1) Cool bowls, whisker, spoon, or any other utensils in freezer for at least 5 mins before using.
2) Pour whipping cream in a large bowl (keep in mind that whipped cream will double of its size)
3) Beat with beater or whisker until it stiffs enough to hold its shape.

Spread whipped cream on layers, decorate with sliced fruits and chocolate chips.


Enjoy!