Chocolate marble cake

An easy and old-time-classic cake today. I made it for the school of one of my kids to sell and fund their trip. I chose this cake as many people like this cake and it is true that it disappeared immediately.
The best compliment was the one of my kid that when he saw that the cake was sold immediately, said the sweetest thing to my husband : "Mum has something magic in her hands that makes everything that she cooks delicious" .... Am I not lucky with such kids?

Ingredients
1 cup of butter or margarine
2 cups of sugar
1 vanilla
4-5 eggs (depending on how big they are)
3 1/2 cups of self-raising flour
1 cup of milk
4 spoons of cocoa powder
2 spoons of icy sugar
1/8 teaspoon of bicarbonate

 

Procedure
Soften the butter and warm the milk in the microwave oven (separately). Then add to the butter the sugar, the eggs, the flour and the 2/3 of the milk.

 Mix well for about 4-5 min.
Pour 2/3 of the mixture in a buttered cake mold (here in two small ones).

In the remaining dough, mix the cocoa powder, the icy sugar, the bicarbonate soda and the remaining milk.
Pour on top of the first dough.
Use a stick (whatever you have available) and with round movements mix slightly the two doughs like in the photo. 

Bake at 180 degrees of Celsius and fan for about 40 min (in my case) or until you use a knife and it comes out clean of the dough.
Leave the cake to cool for about 10min and get it out of the mold.
I hope that you will have time to admire your result like in the photos as it might disappear fast. Sprinkle some icy sugar on top to make it look even nicer (I did not do this time as it was not practical for the school).
Nice to serve at tea time and for breakfast.
Dedicated to a friend Tony, also, that he is German and told me once that I do it exactly as his mother does it and it is also a great compliment for me! 

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Triple chocolate mousse cake!

Happy Valentine's day! I profit from the day to try a cake that I like a lot and I always buy it or order it in a good pastry shop, the "Triple chocolate mousse cake". What best to try for the lovers day than a cake full of all kinds of chocolate?
I have searched a lot to find a good recipe and for once, since long time, I tried a recipe that I found online and seemed to me quite reliable (http://douceursexquises.canalblog.com/archives/2007/03/05/4180019-p50-0.html). 
Normally, I do not try a recipe unless I have tasted it myself, but this time, I decided to give it a try as it seemed too close to my moto: simple ... but delicious :) Find here, my version of this recipe that I really liked and turned out to be a revelation!

Ingredients

For the base:
2 eggs
60 gr of sugar
15gr of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
15gr cocoa powder (some more for the topping)

For each layer of chocolate mousse (x3)
100gr of chocolate (black, white, milk, in total 300gr)
20cl of cream 30% (in total 60cl and a spoonful of ice sugar)

Procedure

Start by buttering a cake mold of 20cm diameter (the best would be the ones that you can open and take out the surrounding part).
Beat well with the mixer the eggs and the sugar to increase almost 3 times in volume. Then add the flour, the cocoa powder and the baking powder and mix slowly.
Pour the mixture in the mold and bake for about 10-12min in the oven at 180 degrees of Celsius and fan. Take it out and let it cool.

 Then, take the three chocolate bars and break them in small pieces separately in three bowls.

 Melt each one according to instructions either in the microwave oven or in a "bain-marie".
I chose the first, and in about 1min30sec at 600W and 2 spoons of cold water, I managed to melt each chocolate.
Next step, is the whipped cream. Whip the 60cl of cream for about a minute and then add the ice sugar and continue until you get a nice firm whipped cream.  

 Put 2 spoons of the whipped cream in each bowl of chocolate and mix well. Then add slowly the rest cream sharing it evenly to create 3 types of chocolate mousse.
Get back to the cake and start spreading on top each mousse one after the other (you choose the order :)

Finish by covering with cocoa powder and ice sugar, using your imagination like shown in the photos below...
Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours or best overnight if you can resist to the temptation :) 
Here, noone could resist which explains the bad quality of the photos as it was late in the evening, but who cares ? ;)

 I let you decide whether you will try it ...
but my instinct tells me that this recipe will become very popular in my blog...

    

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Meat loaf with eggs

Another classic Greek recipe today, a meat loaf hiding inside the eggs :) The meat loaf is made like my Homeburgers, only that is in the form of a loaf and we close inside some boiled eggs. Final touch, the potatoes to complement the recipe! One of my favorite recipes also...






Ingredients

For the meat loaf
700 gr ground meat (veal and pork)
1 onion (minced)
1 egg
some old bread (soaked in water and drained well)
parsley and mint (minced)
salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil

Extras
4 eggs (boiled)
some flour
potatoes
salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice

Procedure

Boil the eggs, let them cool and peel them. Prepare the ingredients.

Mix well the ingredients for the meat loaf and make it like in the photo and put the boiled eggs inline and close well to form a loaf.

Put carefully some flour around and move it to the dish that you will use for baking in the oven.

Peel and cut the potatoes in small pieces and put them around the meat loaf. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, the lemon juice and water to cover almost the potatoes.

Bake in the oven in 180C/fan for about 1h30min. Watch out for water, in case is needed to add some more. You are ready to share it with you loved ones! Enjoy :)

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Tortilla rolls

 Here's a simple but very attractive idea for a buffet: tortilla rolls!
You will need :

• wheat tortillas
• your favorite cream cheese
• a lettuce (washed and well drained)
• slices of ham, turkey or salmon

Just spread the cheese on the tortillas, then add the ham and some lettuce. Roll tightly and cut in parts using your imagination. Use toothpicks to hold the rolls. Decorate nicely and enjoY! 

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Cinnamon rolls!

Like cinnamon? Crazy with cinnamon? You just start dribbling when you smell cinnamon? Then you will love cinnamon rolls :)
If you have never tried them, trust me, you should.
If you are already addicted to them, and you were always bought them, find today a simple recipe to make them yourself for you and your dear ones...
The recipe is very easy, you just need to have quite some time available as there is one hour of waiting time in between the steps of the preparation.

Ingredients 
3 cups of flour
1 cup of milk
1 package instant yeast
1 egg
3+2 spoonfuls of sugar
3/4 cup of butter
1 cup of walnuts
2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon and some salt
Procedure 

Warm the milk and add the yeast and the 3 spoons of sugar. Mix well and leave it for 10 min for the yeast to activate. Put the butter in the microwave oven to melt and empty the 1/2 cup in a big bowl and keep the rest. Add the flour, some salt, the milk-sugar-yeast mixture, the well beaten egg and mix them well in the beginning and continue by kneading them. Adjust the flour in order to have a nice soft dough that does not stick to your hands.
    

Grate the walnuts, add the 2 spoons of sugar and as much cinnamon as you like :) and mix well with a spoon.
In a light floured surface, roll out the dough in a thin rectangle, approximately 40cm x 20cm.
Brush the rest butter evenly on the dough and sprinkle on top the walnuts mixture like in the photo that follows.    

Start rolling the dough, and close well by wetting with your fingers the edge to stick well. Use a sharp knife and cut every 2-3 cm and put them in an oven pan using the special paper. Leave enough space in between as they will grow. You can create nice "flowers" if you like also.
While you do this, warm the oven at 50 degrees of Celsius for about 5min and close it. 

Cover them with a towel and put them in the oven for about an hour or until they grow enough like in the following photos...

 

When the time has passed and the rolls are almost double in volume, brush them with a beaten egg and put them in the oven to bake for about 25-30min or until they get a nice golden color.
Consume immediately!!! Ok, ok... wait for about 10min to cool down if you can resist :)
If you want to keep them for the next day, put them in plastic bags and seal well.
Admire the results ...

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