Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau

photo by tasteofhome



Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Hazelnut-Gateau

or

Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau Recipe
12 Servings Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling
20
30
50
Ingredients
2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup ground hazelnuts, toasted

GLAZE:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Toasted slivered almonds and fresh mint leaves
Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the hazelnuts.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; carefully fold into batter. Spread into a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove sides of pan. Cool completely.
In a saucepan, bring the butter, corn syrup and water to a boil; stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Spread over top and sides of gateau. Garnish with almonds and mint. Yield: 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece (calculated without almonds and mint leaves)equals)384 calories, 25 g fat (14 g saturated fat), 89 mg cholesterol, 256 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

I was in the mood for chocolate so I baked a cake to bring to a get together. Despite a few mistakes in mixing it turned out pretty good. I made a double layer gateau because there were going to be a lot of friends at the dinner so my filling was just a simple chocolate whipped cream filling.

heavy whipping cream
cocoa powder
sugar
Whipped till firm and then spread generously in between the layers.


I am kicking myself for not taking a photo of my final product because for the first time in my life my glazed turned out looking perfect.

New Kitchen Art

My kitchen was looking quite bare with no pictures so I painted this today to cheer up my little room.

Finally.

A dress for Lilly.
Julie picked this fabric out ages ago and I finally found time and drive to finish this sun dress.
Now I just have to get it in the mail...

Simply Soup.

I like simple and quick recipes. And this soup is perfect.

Cannellini Bean Soup.

2 x 14 oz cans chopped with herbs
9 oz cavolo nero leaves or savoy cabbage (I just used spinach)
14 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
ground black pepper

1. Pour the tomatoes into a large pan and add a can of cold water. Season with pepper and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

2. Roughly shred the cabbage leaves and add them to the pan. Partially cover the pan and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the cabbage is just tender.

3. Add the cannellini beans to the pan and warm through for a few minutes. Check the seasoning, then ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle each with a little olive oil and serve immediately.

It started with a simple bread recipe.

Today was baking day. I have been wanting to make bread and finally made the time this morning. I used a simple white bread recipe:

Home-Style Yeast Bread.
3 packages active yeast
2 cups warm water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
7-3/4 to 8-1/4 cups bread flour (I used regular white flour)

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a heavily floured surface; divide into thirds. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place in three greased 9-in x 5-in x 3-in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yields 3 loaves.

This recipe makes 3 loaves! What would we do with that much bread! I could freeze most of it, but because Eddie is not very fond of sandwiches for his lunches I decided to try something different. I made two loaves and then use the leftover dough to make a pizza for lunch and also a few stuffed rolls. I made few pizza pockets and also used up some leftover BBQ meatloaf and made stuffed meatloaf rolls. They turned out great and will make easy lunches for Eddie. I feel like I have had a very profitable morning.

Knitting attempt: Day 1

Thanks to youtube, some yarn and random needles I had laying around the house I was able to start learning how to knit early. I still would love to buy those circular harmony needles Caroline told me about but I have to wait till I save up to afford them. Soon, but until then here is my progress.

Someday...

I would like this living room. It is as simple as that.


http://www.worldmarket.com/home/index.jsp?ab=header:logo

World Market is one of my favorites. I love their stuff!