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Chocolate & spéculoos cake in 15 min and without baking!

December 29, 2020
chocolate cake

Hi guys, I hope you had a happy & healthy Christmas, although you could not enjoy being physically with all your relatives. Thanks god nowadays we have the chance to use Internet to connect us during this crazy science-fiction movie we are all playing in! It looks so unreal that sometimes I really feel like being Jim Carrey in the Truman show ahah, don’t you?!

Another great way to cheer us up during the quarantine is fooooooood of course (and lots of alcohol). So here we go, today I wanted to share with you a delicious recipe for chocolate lovers that we tested with my mum as a Christmas dessert: a chocolate & spéculoos cake!

This recipe needs only 15mins of preparation and 0 min of baking! In other words, it is the perfect chocolate cake recipe if you have no time to cook and no oven as you just have to get the preparation ready, put it in the fridge and wait 😉

chocolate cake

Ingredients:

  • 300g of butter
  • 600g of dark chocolate
  • ½ little spoon of diluted soluble coffee
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g of sugar glass
  • 200g of spéculoos
  • Bitter cocoa
  • Fresh red fruits as raspberry, strawberry or blueberry

Preparation:

  1. First of all, melt the chocolate with butter put in pieces.
  2. Mix with a spatula until you get a super smooth and shining cream.
  3. Mix in a bowl the sugar with the eggs.
  4. Remove from the fire the chocolate preparation and add inside the sugar and eggs mix.
  5. Add the diluted soluble coffee and mix.
  6. Crush the spéculoos biscuits and add them to the preparation. Try to have some pieces bigger to taste them better in the cake J
  7. Cut in pieces the red fruits. Try to have irregular pieces, and keep some fruits full to give to your cake a yummy texture. And add them delicately to the preparation.
  8. Pour into a mold lined with baking paper.
  9. Place whole speculoos on top of the preparation to create a very crispy and delicious cake base.
  10. Keep the chocolate cake in the fridge at least 4 hours.
  11. Unmold the cake on a cute serving platter.
  12. Sprinkle the top of the cake with cocoa powder and garnish with plenty of berries. Be generous, it will look beautylicious!

Et voila, bon appétit!

Food

Tabbouleh

July 27, 2017

Looking for the ideal summer salad to take care of your body but you want to enjoy your meal?  Let me share with you a salad recipe that is freshy so fresh, super tasty-yummy and healthy! I learned it from my mother that learnt it from my grandmother that learnt it from…. ok it’s a family recipe you got it and it is called Tabbouleh! This recipe is from Lebanon but since my mum is from Senegal (learn about Senegal in the article: 5 reasons to discover Senegal) and we have some Lebanese in my family there, I had the chance to get to know how to make the authentic Lebanese Tabbouleh! And the original recipe has really nothing to do with what you can buy in the supermarkets. I won’t lie to you, it takes time because you need to chop finely a lot of stuffs but you can prepare a big Tabbouleh and enjoy it several days. This fresh salad is ideal to eat like a starter or to have with a barbecue! Just thinking about it, I have the mouth wet and it is the time for me to eat! Bisous, I’m leaving you to have my meal now! Melissa ♡

Tabbouleh recipe

Ingredients (4pers):

  • 1 bunch of spring onions
  • 1 boot of fresh mint
  • 1 boot of fresh parsley
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons of bulgur wheat
  • 1 cup boiling-hot water
  • Salt & pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Fresh juice of 3 limes

Preparation:

  1. Chop finely the onions, mint, parsley and cut the tomatoes in small squares
  2. Pour the bulgur in a bowl and add the cup of boiling-hot water. Then cover the bowl with a little plate and let stand 15 minutes.
  3. Once the bulgur has swelled place it in a big plate, add the onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil.
  4. Combine well and keep the tabbouleh in the fridge long enough to serve it fresh.
  5. Serve it with some leaves of salad and enjoy!

Want to taste another healthy salad recipe for summer? Discover my exotic salad here;)

Food

3 chocolates cake

February 26, 2017

Dear chocolate lovers, this recipe is for YOU! You should also be crazy about it if you are fascinated by unicorns because it has 3 different chocolate layers like a rainbow: dark chocolate, chocolate with milk and finally white chocolate! In fact this chocolate cake is as beautiful as delicious! If CHOCOLATE is your religion and this picture makes your mouth water, you definitely need to taste this 3 chocolate cake! Bisous, Melissa ♡

 

3 chocolate cake recipe

Ingredients:

  • The base: 200g of biscuits, 100g of butter
  • Dark chocolate layer: 150g of dark chocolate, 200ml of light liquid cream, 200ml of milk, 1 sachet of cuajada
  • Chocolate with milk layer: 150g of milk chocolate, 200ml of light liquid cream, 200ml of milk, 1 sachet of cuajada
  • White chocolate layer: 150g of milk chocolate, 200ml of light liquid cream, 200ml of milk, 1 sachet of cuajada

Preparation:

  1. Start with the base: smash the biscuits with a mixer. Then combine this powder of biscuit with the butter and place the mix at the bottom of the mold or cookie cutter with an oven paper underneath. Keep it in the fridge.
  2. Prepare the dark chocolate layer: warm the cream with 100ml of milk in a pan. When the mix is getting hot, add the squares of chocolate and stir constantly making sure it never boils. While the chocolate mixture is getting darker, combine in a bowl the rest of the milk with the cuajada. Once the chocolate blend is ready (around 7min cooking) add to the pan the mix of milk and cuajada, stir again constantly and increase the fire until it is boiling. Keep stirring during 2 min and remove from the fire. Wait 3 min and add delicately the dark chocolate layer to the mold.
  3. While the dark chocolate layer is refreshing and getting solid, prepare the milk chocolate layer with the same process. Wait 20min between each layer.
  4. Prepare the white chocolate layer.
  5. Keep the 3 chocolates cake 1 day in the fridge.
  6. Your chocolate cake is ready! Enjoy!!

Want to taste another dessert with chocolate? Discover my tasty and healthy pancake recipe here;)

Food

Melon cocktail

August 31, 2016
melon fruit cocktail recipe

Let’s be bad today and speak about alcohol! Because summer is sun, summer is beach and summer is also party! Ok I don’t want to encourage my readers to become alcoholics, I care about your health, really, but a nice cocktail with a drop or more of alcohol has never killed anyone right? So here is a fruit cocktail recipe made with melon and rum that is really refreshing for summer, easy to realize and a very cool drink to enjoy on the beach. If you want to bring this fruit cocktail for a picnic on the beach, just put the cocktail in plastic bottles, do not forget to bring the half melons, ice cubes and place everything in an icebox! Oh and of course moderate your consumption of alcohol 😉 Cheers – TchinTchin! Melissa ♡

Cocktail recipe

Ingredients (2 persons):

  • 1 melon
  • ½ L of melon or peach liquor
  • 2 shots of white rum
  • Ice cubes

Preparation:

  1. Cut the melon in 2 pieces
  2. Remove the seeds from the melon with a large spoon.
  3. Scoop out the flesh of each half-melon and purée it in a blender with the melon liquor and rum.
  4. Pour the fruit cocktail in each half-melon and serve with some ice cubes and straws.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Food

Exotic salad

August 12, 2016
Exotic salad

If you think that salads are boring you should definitely try this one! This exotic salad recipe is mixing sweet and salty flavors, with fresh prawns, tropical fruits such as mango, avocado and don’t forget to add a little crispy touch with some almonds, seeds of sesame, chia or pumpkin. For the sauce, just prepare a mix of olive oil with a fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I promise this exotic salad is a perfect summer recipe: tasty, healthy, easy to prepare and beautifully colored! And last but not least, this recipe is totally recommendable for your bikini action plan just like the recipe of the fresh melon soup (article available here). Have fun and enjoy!

Exotic salad recipe

Ingredients (2 persons):

  • 18 fresh prawns
  • 50g of lamb’s lettuce
  • 1 mango
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 orange
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 lemon/lime
  • 4 stems of fresh coriander
  • 1 soup soap of Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 handful of almonds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Chia seeds

Preparation:

  1. Peel the fresh shrimps and place them in a small bowl.
  2. Cut in small dices the mango/ cut in slices the avocado, orange and almonds/ cut in two the cherry tomatoes/ chop the coriander leaves and place each ingredient in a small bowl.
  3. Place in a big bowl the lamb’s lettuce and cover it with each ingredient previously cut. Feel free to make a creative and lovely presentation.
  4. Spread the topping of sesame and chia seeds and some fresh coriander leaves.
  5. Add the sauce of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Bon appétit! Melissa ♡

 

 

Food

Fresh melon soup

June 8, 2016
healthy recipies fresh melon soup

As the sunny days are coming, I guess you may have seriously activated your sexy bikini action plan! If you want to get fit in a happy mood for this summer and you are looking for new ideas of healthy recipes, this one is for you! I really love this recipe that I learnt from my mum (she is such a good cook) because it’s ♫ Fresh it’s so Fresh excitiiiiiing ♪, easy, healthy and very important TASTY; perfect to change a bit from eating salads! The recipe is mixing the famous Mediterranean flavors of the melon and Serrano ham which are served in 2 ways. It is a fresh melon soup aromatized with a little bit of pastis ( french liquor but you can replace it by Muscatel or Porto) and served with some chips of serrano ham, and a thin slice of melon and ham. This melon soup is a cool alternative to gaspacho that needs less ingredients and it will really impress your guests! In addition the melon has very good healthy and beauty properties as it contains vitamins A, B6 and C, beta carotene and potassium. It means this fruit is good for the eyes, protects the skin, helps to suntan and to get slimmer (diuretic properties) and it is an antioxydant. If you are vegetarian, you can replace the Serrano ham by beetroot, it will be really delicious and beautiful too. This healthy soup is really fast to prepare and should be realized at the last minute to keep al its freshness and crispy!

Melon soup recipe

Ingredients (4 persons):

  • 1 big melon
  • 1 soup spoon of  Pastis, Moscatel or Porto (See I told you it was healthy 🙂 )
  • 8 thin slices of  Serrano ham or beetroot for vegetarians
  • Fresh leaves of basil
  • Pepper
  • Material : un mixer, 4 transparent glasses and small plates.

Preparation:

  1. Melon : cut 5 thin slices of melon and cut in small dices the 5th slice of melon. Then mix the 3/4 remaining part of the melon and add Pastis.
  2. Serrano : keep 4 thin slices of Serrano/beetroot and grill 4 other slices in the oven while you are mixing the melon (3 min at 180° are enough/ 55 min at 150° for the beetroot)
  3. Presentation : arrange the soup of melon and the dices of melon in a transparent glass, add pepper on the top, dress the chips of Serrano or beetroot on/in the transparent glass and add some fresh leaves of basil. Then place the melon and Serrano/beetroot slice in a way to create a structured plate. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Bon appétit! Bisous, Melissa ♡

DSC_0125_1024 

Food

Chicken Yassa

April 1, 2016
poulet yassa

I am very exited to share with you this African recipe that is so special to me! First of all, the chicken yassa is one of my favorite meals and it is a recipe that I learned from my mum who is from Senegal. When I am feeling down, cooking a chicken yassa for the people I love or just for myself have the magic power to make me feel happier 🙂 Everyone that has tasted it loves this exotic flavor, so of course it makes you feel great! But what is this magic recipe?? Well, is it a Senegalese recipe of a chicken marinated in a lemon sauce with onions. It looks simple but this recipe is really tasty, healthy (almost no fat and the lemon has extraordinary virtues for the health), cheap (just 4 main ingredients) and easy to cook. Ok you may think I am totally crazy, it is just a chicken with some onion and lemons! Well try my family’s recipe and you will see that I was not lying 😉

Ingredients (4 persons):

  • 4 chicken legs
  • 4 onions
  • 4 limes
  • 200g of basmati rice
  • 1 glass of water
  • Oil
  • 1 hot pepper
  • Salt & pepper

Preparation:

This recipe is a fast version of the original recipe. The chicken should normally be marinated (in oil, minced onions, limes juice, pepper, salt and hot pepper) during at least 2 hours before to be cooked. If you are in a hurry, this recipe below is very practical and as tasty I promise. Time: around 1 hour.

  1. Brown the chicken on both sides in a pan or in the oven with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mince the onions while the chicken is getting a nice golden color. Don’t forget to check the chicken!
  2. Once the chicken legs are brown, set them aside in a big cooking pot. Grill the onions in the same pan where you have browned the chicken. While the onions are cooking, press the limes’ juice.
  3. When the onions and limes juice are ready, add them to the cooking pot with the chicken legs. Add also the water, the hot pepper and more salt& pepper.
  4. Put the cooking pot on a medium fire during minimum 30min. However, more time it is one the fire, the better it is. You will notice that the chicken yassa is even better and tastier when you warm it the next day. While the yassa is cooking, prepare your basmati rice.
  5. The cooking pot smells deliciously well. It’s time to enjoy!

Bon appétit!!!

Melissa ♡

 

Food

Tasty & healthy pancakes

February 1, 2016
healthy pancakes

This year I am investigating new healthy recipes with a special focus on the breakfast as everybody say it is the most important meal of the day. I don’t want to fall into an extremist diet but I try to eat less sugar (white bread, industrial juice & cereals) and less dairy products ( yes I love to eat a piece of camenbert with my coffee…). The idea is to replace all this by fresh and homemade stuffs. So last week-end I experimented a recipe of healthy pancakes totally gluten-free and lactose-free but sooO tasty, gourmand and fluffy. Ok Ok I’m maybe over exited! In this recipe, the pancake dough is simply made with muesli, bananas, eggs and baking powder. So there is no need to use flour, milk and sugar. You can also add some salt, cinnamon, natural vanilla and a bit of rhum (yes why not!) to bring more flavor to the pancakes. Then for the topping, I think a mix of chocolate sauce, with fresh strawberries and crispy nuts is so delicious and matches very well with the pancake dough made of bananas.

So here is the recipe of healthy pancakes!

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 3 bananas
  • 3 eggs
  • 50g of muesli
  • 1 big spoon of baking powder
  • 1 coffee cup of cinnamon
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • a pinch of salt
  • 150g dark chocolate bar
  • 20 cl of rice milk or milk without lactose
  • 100g of strawberries
  • 15 nuts
  • Butter

 

Preparation:

  1. In a big bol, mix the bananas, eggs, muesli, backing powder, cinnamon, vanilla, salt.
  2. While the pancake dough is relaxing 15min, heat the dark chocolate in a bain-marie, cut and clean the fresh strawberry and prepare the nuts.
  3. Warm a pan with a little bit of butter
  4. Put the equivalent of a soup spoon of pancake batter and turn them when some little holes appear
  5. Serve with the hot chocolate topping, fresh strawberries and pieces of nuts. And bon appétit bien sûr!

thumb_DSC_0956_1024

Bisous, Melissa

Food

Autumn flavor

December 4, 2015

Hello! To fight against the cold weather of this week, I have cooked one of my favorite autumnal dish that is very tasty and can even delight vegetarians! I propose you the recipe of a mushroom pie with flavors from south of France (my home country). This recipe is for 6 persons and needs only 15 min of preparation and 35min of cooking.

Ingredients:
– 200g of puff paste
– 400g of fresh boletus, or other tasty mushrooms
– 50g of walnut or almond
– 3 shallots
– 2 slices of sandwich break 
– 15cl of single cream
– 1 soup spoon of armagnac or other sweet wine
– 80g of butter
– 3 cloves of garlic
– salt, pepper

And the non-vegans can add:
– 100g of smoked duck breast
– 100g of bacon or Serrano


Preparation:

  • Clean the mushrooms with a humid linen 
  • Peel the shallots, slice them thinly, brown them during 5min with the bacon and smoked duc breast cut in cubes. Flambé with armagnac. Add the walnuts, bread, single cream. Mixez everything until obtaining the texture of a stuffing. 
  • Peel and chop the garlic, brown it with butter.  
  • Spread the puff paste, garnish it with the stuffing, recover with freshly mushrooms cut in big pieces, grizzle generously with the garlic butter and saison.
  • Put in the oven at 180° during 30min. And enjoy your mushroom pie with a nice cup of wine! Bisous, Melissa ♥
Food

Pumpkin and chestnut soup

October 23, 2015

Hello everyone ! I am so existed to write my first post! Today I would like to share with you an autumnal recipe I love. With the arrival of the cold weather and soon halloween, a good bubbling soup is comforting! Here is my recipe of pumpkin and chestnut soup that even your grand-ma may rob you the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small pumpkin
  • 1 liter of chicken stock (Kub Or)
  • 200g of chestnuts
  • 2 soup spoons of olive oil
  • single cream or cheese “la vache-qui-rit”
  • 1 onion
  • coriander ou parsley
  • sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds

Preparation:

Peal the pumpkin, remove the seeds inside and cut the pumpkin in small dices. Roast the dices and the onion in a casserole with olive oil. Then baste all of it with the chicken stock and cook 20min until the pumpkin is fondant enough. In a pan, grill the chestnuts, then remove their skins and add them 5 min to the stock. And the best moment is finally coming: mix the soup and add some single cream or cheese “la vache-qui-rit”. Serve the soup in a bowl with some little pieces of chestnuts on the top for the taste, coriander for the color, and sesame seeds for the crunchy. Bon appétit ! Bisous, Melissa ♥