Almond and Chocolate Truffles

What a perfect treat to enjoy after your dinner!
These delicious bite-sized almond and chocolate truffles can be served as a snack, or after dinner with some coffee or tea, or even a glass of sweet wine, such as Porto. It would also be a hit for your Christmas dinner.

The following quantities are for about 72 truffles (about 1.5 centimeter diameter), so feel free to adjust them if you are baking for more or fewer people.

You will need:

• 185 grams of ladyfingers biscuits
• 185 grams of almond powder
• 110 grams of sugar
• 3 tablespoon of chocolate powder or shredded chocolate
• 5 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of brown spiced rum
• 25 grams of bitter dark chocolate powder

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Resting time: At least 2 hours in the fridge (you can leave them longer if you want to prepare them beforehand)

Start by crushing the ladyfingers biscuits.

You can do so in a bowl.

Or in a plastic sealed bag with a rolling pin.

Or directly in a bowl with a rolling pin.

You should obtain a fine powder as shown below.

Add the almond powder, the sugar, and the 3 tablespoons of chocolate powder to the crushed ladyfingers, and mix.

Warm up the milk.

Make a well in your dry mix, and add the warmed milk and the rum to the preparation.

Then, mix until you obtain a moist, compact batter.

Spread your bitter dark chocolate on a plate.

Take a chunk of the batter and roll it between your palms to form a small bite-sized ball. Repeat the process with all of the batter.

Then, roll the small balls onto the bitter dark chocolate powder. Shake them to get rid of the chocolate powder excess.

Place them on a sheet of parchment paper on a tray, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Note: You can keep these individual bite-sized almond and chocolate truffles for a few days as long as they are in a properly sealed container.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Apple Muffins

According to an old saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I would say an apple muffin a day will keep your guest coming back for some more! Not sure about the doctor though, I will leave that reflection to your judgment.

This recipe will delight kids and adults and can be served as a dessert, as a snack, or even for breakfast.

It is very simple and quick to make.

The quantities are for 6 individually sized muffins (7 centimeter diameter at the top, 4 centimeter diameter at the bottom, and 4 centimeter tall).

You will need:

• 175 grams of flour
• 11 grams (1 paquet) of baking powder
• 100 grams of sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 50 grams of soft to melted butter
• 1 egg
• 100 milliliters of milk
• 1 big apple or 2 small apples

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes

Start by pre-heating your oven to 200 C (390 F).

In a bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) and slightly mix.

Add the melted or soft butter to the dry mix ... 

... until you obtain a mix with a texture similar to breadcrumbs.

In another bowl, mix the egg and the milk.

Add the milk/egg mix to the previous batter and mix.

Peel the apples and cut them into pieces.

Add the apple pieces to the batter and mix.

Pour the batter into muffins moulds.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the muffins are golden and your knife comes back clean after poking a muffin.

You can serve cold or warm, as you prefer.

Note:

You can serve your muffin with a scoop of ice-cream or even with a delicious Apple & Maple Syrup Icing (coming soon to our menu)

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Madeleines

I love madeleines!  They are just so delicious that I started to adjust my recipe to my taste buds ... like chocolate madeleines or raspberry jam madeleines ... so many more possibilities ... my mouth is already drooling ...

The following quantities are for 18 to 23 madeleines, so feel free to adjust if you would like to bake more or fewer madeleines.

You will need:

• 125 grams of butter
• 125 grams of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 7.5 grams of vanilla sugar
• One or two teaspoons of lemon juice (to taste)
• 125 grams of flour
• A pinch of salt
• Madeleine molds

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 12 minutes

Start by pre-heating your oven at 180 C (355 F).

Melt your butter in the microwave or in a saucepan.

In a bowl, add the melted butter and the sugar, and mix them together.

Add to the batter the yolks, the vanilla sugar, the lemon juice, and the flour, and mix.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt.

Continue to whisk until the preparation becomes firm.

Gently add the egg white fluff into the batter ...

... and mix delicately until the mix is smooth.

Pour the batter into the moulds.

Bake for 5 minutes at 180 C (355 F), then bake for 7 minutes at 230 C (380 F).

Take the madeleines out of the oven when the top is golden.  Let them cool down, remove them from the molds ... and enjoy!

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond