dark chocolate ganache truffles

i heart chocolate. i’m guessing you do, too. ;)

here’s another bakesale winner… so simple, yet so good. i picked up some lovely (organic & gluten-free!) dark chocolate chunks at market 17, one of my fave local markets, and felt inspired to make homemade chocolate ganache truffles. and it’s surprisingly easy to do.

adapted from sweethome

the ganache:
heat up a small saucepan and melt together the following ingredients:
– 1/4 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature, cubed)
– 2/3 cup light cream (a lower-fat alternative for whipping cream)
– 1 tbsp honey
– remove from heat and set aside

– place dark chocolate (chunks or finely chopped) in a large, heatproof bowl
– pour creamy mixture over the chocolate chunks in bowl and whisk together until the ingredients are combined and smooth
– add 1 tbsp pure vanilla to ganache for a flavour boost

– tightly cover bowl of ganache and refrigerate for approx 1 hour

(tip: if you want to plan ahead and save time on the day-of, prep the ganache the night before. i did that for the bakesale, and left the bowl in the fridge overnight.)

[happy blogoversary!] chocolate mud cupcakes

time flies when you’re having fun (and noshing on good food)! today marks the first anniversary of yumyumyummers… and what an amazing year it has been.

200 culinary experiments. some pretty incredible ingredients. fab dishes… and some not-so-fab (read: brown soup!). lots of learning. a fantastic community of new foodie friends… and some fun tweetups along the way. many thanks to my amazing friends and family who encouraged me to start yumyumyummers in the first place, and continue to support my culinary adventures through reading the blog and being a guinea pig in my test kitchen every once in a while. :)

and what better way to celebrate a sweet birthday (or, in this case, my first blogoversary!) with some oooey-gooey, chocolate mud cupcakes!

inspired by one of my fave foodie bloggers, sweet caroline — aka the cupcake queen!

– preheat oven to 350F

the batter:
in a stand mixer, combine the following ingredients together and beat on high speed until smooth:
– 1 cup icing sugar
– 3/4 cup cocoa powder
– 1/3 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature, cut into small pieces)
– 1/3 cup light margarine (i didn’t have enough butter in my fridge that day, so i improvised with a little margarine.)
– 2 large eggs (beaten)
– 1.5 tsp pure vanilla

(tip: i didn’t have any granulated sugar in my pantry at the time, so i thought i’d try baking with icing sugar instead. the cupcake texture was moist and fluffy! though granulated sugar would probably do just fine.)

gradually add the following ingredients to batter and beat on low speed:
– 2.75 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
– 2.5 tsp baking powder (divided)
– 1 tsp salt
– 1.25 cups skim milk (divided)

egg tarts

it sure feels great to be back in the kitchen! :)

it’s been truly wonderful spending quality time visiting family and friends during the christmas holiday season — and, of course, indulging in many a holiday feast! over the past few weeks, i’ve noshed on some pretty incredible food and also learned how to cook some family favorite dishes. there’s nothing quite like mom’s homecooking! :) here’s a recipe for one of my all-time faves, from my family’s kitchen to yours. happy holidays!

pre-heat oven to 300F

prep ingredients:
– 12 egg yolks (separate egg whites and reserve for another recipe)
– 28-30 frozen pie tart shells
– 1 can condensed milk
– 1 can evaporated milk

mix the batter:
– in a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth
– add condensed milk and evaporated milk to egg mixture and beat well