Chocolate Coated Strawberry

The strawberry are here !!!!! I was invited to a bachelorette party and just could not resist the temptation to do something with strawberries !!!

The first thing which comes to my mind is chocolate coated strawberry !!! AN oldie... but always good !

Gosh... don't they look yummy!!!!

Ingredients:
1 pack of fresh strawberry
8 oz bitter sweet chocolate

Direction
1. Wash the strawberry and pat dry

2. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or microwave

3. Dipped the strawberry in the chocolate


Some tips here :
1. Do not use over ripe strawberry. For best result, use strawberry which are sightly green

2. Use a toothpick to dip the strawberry in the chocolate. Turn the strawberry upside down and insert the toothpick in a strofoam

~bel~

Walnut Carrot Bundt Cake

Been a while since I last baked... blame it on laziness :)

I finally dug out my bakeware ( lucky .. no cobweb yet *phew*) today to do some bake. Its 4th July here and the running peeps are having yet another party.

I had been making chocolate cakes and I really hate chocolate. So I decided to bake something which I really like- Carrot Cake

I saw this recipe from Joy of Baking.. it look easy enough for a lazy baker like me The only tedious part is grating the carrot.... I HATE grating Carrot !!!!!!

I decided to bake this in my bundt so I can "do away" with cream cheese frosting. A simple sugar glaze will be nice on the bundt

Carrot Cake Recipe:

1 cup (100 grams) of walnuts or pecans ( I used walnuts)

3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

1 cup (240 ml) safflower,vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Direction :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

2. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pan and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper. ( I use a bundt)

3. Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

4. Peel and finely grate the carrots.

5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.

6. In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. (Oppps.. I forgot the vanilla... but it still taste as good)

7. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

For the cinnamon glaze

1. 1 cup of confectionery sugar- sifted
2. 2 tablespoon of buttermilk ( I do not have buttermilk.. and so I decided to use the normal milk ... of course.. buttermilk and milk are not the same. But it came out great)
3. 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Mix until smooth, then refrigerate until thickened. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

This is really a simple recipe... try it :)

~bel~