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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Quick and Easy Chocolate or Vanilla Pudding





Warm or cold,
 la crème au chocolat (chocolate pudding), was a part of my childhood routine.
Growing up in France, my mum used to make us (my sisters and I) this delicious and comforting treat.

Real crème au chocolat should be rich, decadent and bursting with chocolate flavor.
It should have a smooth and creamy texture and a strong taste of cocoa.

Wonderful as a dessert (what better way to end a meal!), 
or for the goûter (afternooon snack).
Our son loves it!

(See the previous post where I talk about 
the chidren's goûter in France, HERE).

When I made crème au chocolat  yesterday, I decided that this recipe should absolutely be shared with you.

It is surprisingly easy to make 
and takes only 15 minutes to whip up from start to finish!

The pudding is thickened with the combination of cornstarch and egg yolks, which gives it a custard-like quality.

You may use cocoa powder, good chocolate or 
a combination of both.
My mum actually melts the chocolate in the milk, 
but I find that using cocoa powder instead, is a little quicker.

You should use whole milk to give the pudding 
a rich and creamy flavor. 
Of course, if you only have 2% milk in the house, 
it would still be okay. But I would not use a milk lower in fat, 
or the pudding would lose a bit of its magic.

This chocolate pudding may be simple, but simplicity is often just what you need.

Rediscover 
homemade pudding's comforting simplicity.

This recipe also makes a downright delicious vanilla pudding 
if you just leave out the cocoa powder.



INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1/4 cup of cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (if making chocolate pudding)
  • 2 1/2 cups of whole milk
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:


  • In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. If you are making chocolate pudding, add cocoa powder.


  • Very gradually, whisk in the milk (just a few tablespoons at a time), making sure to dissolve the cornstarch thoroughly.


  • Whisk in the egg yolks.


  • Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat.


  • When the first large bubble forms and sputters, reduce the heat to low. Still whisking, cook for 1 minute.

After whisking for 1 minute.

  • Remove saucepan from the heat. Then stir butter and vanilla extract into the hot pudding. Yummy!



  • Divide among 4 serving dishes.


  • Chill the crème au chocolat for at least 3 hours (if eaten cold) and up to 3 days.

Voilà!




Notes:

If there are any small lumps, you may optionally run the pudding through a fine mesh strainer to remove them.

•••

If you dislike pudding skin, you may want to put plastic wrap on top of the pudding 
and smooth it gently against the surface, before refrigerating.
At home, we do not mind the skin,
I actually like it!


Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by,
Alexandra

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Second Birthday Party


Sarita Relis Photography


I cannot believe that 2 months have already passed, since we celebrated our son's 2nd birthday.

I would like to share with you some photos of that memorable day 
as well as a wonderful recipe for a
Chocolate Dream Cake

We had James's 2nd birthday party at nana and grandpa's house in Santa Barbara, like we did last year.
It was a convivial gathering of family and friends in the garden and we all had a lovely time. 
We wanted a casual barbecue. 

On the menu, 
  Tasty hamburgers and hotdogs with all the trimmings, 
Nana's famous potato salad,
A delicious Caesar salad,  
A huge fresh fruit salad.

I had also ordered a few dozens cupcakes from our very good local cupcakery.
Vanilla, Red Velvet, chocolate and coconut were the flavors we chose.

Sarita Relis Photography


Sarita Relis Photography

I also wanted to bake a very special yummy chocolate cake for our very special birthday baby boy.
I wanted it to be super moist!

I searched online and I found a recipe on Pinterest (HERE) for a Chocolate Dream Cake.  
I only used the recipe for the dark chocolate cake and opted for my personal favorite frosting, no glaze. 
(Recipe HERE)

What is a dream cake? 
A Dream Cake is a layered cake that is so moist 
and so delicious that it is dreamy.



Voilà!


I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cake, so I found this photo online which very much looks like 
James's cake, only a bit shorter.

Source


Sarita Relis Photography 

Baby James feeding his toy bear.



Sarita Relis Photography

James definitely enjoyed his Chocolate Dream Cake
and I also got a lot of compliments from our guests!


INGREDIENTS:



  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 cups of water (I know, it is a lot of water! But do not worry, it works!)
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 5 oz of dark chocolate, chopped
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
DIRECTIONS:



  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 6-inch round cake pans. The original recipe called for two 8-inch pans, but I wanted a smaller and taller cake. It worked out great. Then set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally, until melted. 
  • Whisk in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Wait 5 minutes (to cool a little bit), then quickly beat in the eggs (do this fast so that they do not cook) into the chocolate mixture, until combined. Whisk in dry ingredients, until smooth.
  • Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, OR until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cakes cool in pans until cool to the touch.
  • Remove from pans and cool cakes completely on a cooling rack, before frosting.

Note:

I actually wrapped my 2 cakes in waxing paper and froze them. Then on the actual day, I let the cakes thaw at room temperature for a few hours before frosting.
It turned out great and I did not have to stress about baking on the day of the event.
I decorated the cake with pretty red sugar sprinkles.


•••


The birthday theme that we went for this year was 
Fire Engine!


Sarita Relis Photography 

The decorations were custom-made by a lady that I know. 
I found her on Etsy last year, for our son's 1st birthday.
She made the birthday banners, cupcake toppers, 
napkin rings, drink labels, food/drink signs, 
party favor tags 
and I always ask for a special welcome sign.

I displayed my husband's old vintage fire engine 
from his childhood, 
on a very handy little red stool (HERE
that I found on Amazon.

I also got some fireman party hats from there.



Sarita Relis Photography 



This time, I used the drinks labels on plastic reusable Mason jars
I thought everyone could take theirs home, as a party favor.

I love Mason jars!

Also found on Etsy, 
the seller had various colors for the lids and of course I picked red to go with the theme.

I bought red and white paper straws from my local paper shop, stuck the labels on and 
here they are!

Sarita Relis Photography 

 Don't they look so pretty?


Sarita Relis Photography 


The main party favor was a freshly baked, custom-made 
fire engine sugar cookie.
The baker was also found on Etsy.
Can't you tell I love Etsy?


Sarita Relis Photography

 I was very pleased with them.
So cute and delicious!

We decorated the garden with a lot of helium balloons.
An assortment of red, white and a few black ones.
Also some red paper lanterns.
I love paper lanterns!

Music was playing
and bubbles were floating all around.

Good times!


Sarita Relis Photography
Bubbles!



Baby James could not wait to open his presents.

We also had an art and creative play area for the children.


Sarita Relis Photography 

Sarita Relis Photography
Kids at play

This year, we had 2 art projects for the kids:

Decorate your own apron

Source


Decorate the wooden people sticks

Source

And lots of drawing!


I went to the arts & crafts section of our closest 
Lakeshore Learning Store 
and got a few fun things:



James had a BIG birthday surprise in the back garden!

A swingset!
Thank you nana and grandpa!

Sarita Relis Photography
James blowing the candle.


James's birthday hat and tee-shirt were custom-made by a lady I know in Pasadena.
I first met her last year, when she made our son's 
1st Birthday Cake Smash outfit.
I also found her on Etsy. 

I made the cake banner.
I think a cake banner, or bunting cake topper, really embellishes a birthday cake 
and makes it even more festive...


Sarita Relis Photography
...and James liked it!

I cannot believe our baby boy 
is now 2 years old...


Sarita Relis Photography
Our little prince
Sarita Relis Photography 
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥


Thanks for stopping by,
Alexandra


P.S. If you are interested in any of the custom-made 
birthday items, I will be happy to share the links.

Photography by Sarita Relis
http://www.saritarelis.com/