Magic Chocolate Fondant

There are a lot of instant chocolate cake recipes around, you know the ones made in a microwave. This moist fondant is inspired by them, but made in a traditional oven – I’m not a big fan of microwave…

Besides, it is a magic dessert that makes itself while you’re enjoying your main dish! Just tuck it in the oven when you're about to start your meal. Remember to set an alarm to 12 minutes, then remove the fondants, place them on serving plates – and when you’re ready with your main dish, the fondant will be just the right temperature to be eaten!

I was astonished that this recipe, that involves no beating, melting, and so on - it only takes 2 minutes to make the batter - resulted in the most perfect fondant I’ve ever managed to bake.

Think of replacing the coconut oil by a neutral tasting one if you’re not a fan of coconut. I just love the rich taste of coconut – but the men in my family don’t ;)

 

For 5 portions you need:

• 3 eggs


• 3 Tbsp yoghurt


• 3 Tbsp coconut oil


• 6 Tbps sugar


• 3 Tbps whole-grain flour


• 3 Tbsp cocoa powder


• a pinch of salt

…and 5 pieces (or 2 if they're very small) of dark chocolate

First, combine eggs, yoghurt, and coconut oil (or sunflower oil) in a baking bowl. Stir with a fork. Then add the rest – sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and stir again. Ready! Don’t worry if the coconut oil remains a bit lumpy – it will melt in the oven, and you won’t notice a thing.

Now, divide the batter into five silicone muffin forms. Tuck a piece of dark chocolate inside each of them – this will be the liquid core of your fondant. Bake in a preheated oven (190 C) about 12 minutes, or until still not quite set from the inside.

Transfer onto serving plates, decorate with berries and a bit of confectioner’s sugar, and serve!

 



P.S. Just think how altruistic I am – to come up with this perfect recipe, I’ve eaten my way through of at least four less perfect instant chocolate cakes ;) So I do hope you like it :)

Desserts That Make Themselves

Some of you might remember that Finnish bank ad from quite a few years ago, that featured “a house that cleans itself”. Well, I can promise you something even better: a dessert – or actually quite a few of them – that make themselves while you’re enjoying your main dish. You just have to sacrifice 2-3 minutes more in the kitchen, and the rest will take care of itself. It’s like magic!

I’ve tested this concept for five days now, and it works even too well. I have namely served dessert with every single meal! And even between the meals! ;) One just needs to remember to take that chocolate fondant out of the oven, or turn the heat off when cooking those apricots in Cointreau. (I suggest you use an alarm.)

Curious to learn more about instant desserts, like this chocolate fondant? (No, it's not the microwave one.) Then stay tuned! In the following posts, I’ll reveal some of them – and more fast main dish recipes, of course.

 

Omelette with Goat Cheese, Red Pepper, and Rucola

Omelette is an excellent choice if you’re cooking for only one or two people, and not bad for a bigger lot either – as long as you have a big pan! It goes so fast that you definitely need to set the table before starting to cook.

You can top the omelette with almost anything: mozzarella, feta, goat’s cheese, blue cheese, tomatoes, pepper, rucola, any herbs of your liking… My favourite combination is soft goat cheese, sweet red pepper, and rucola.

This recipe is for one person!

For the omelette:

• 2-3 organic eggs


• 1 Tbsp milk


• salt and pepper to taste


• a bit of olive oil for frying

On top:

• 50g soft goat cheese, cut in cubes


• 25g sweet red pepper, sliced


• a handful of rucola


• 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

This is how to do it:

1. Combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Beat slightly with a fork.

2.Heat olive oil in a heavy pan and pour in the omelette batter.

3. With a wooden spatula, move the batter on the pan with long, slow moves until the omelette starts to set, then stop and let it set completely. Flip the omelette as if it was a pancake and fry just enough so that the other side gets a bit of colour as well. Remove from heat.

4. Add goat cheese, pepper, and rucola on top of the omelet. Sprinkle with Parmesan – and a bit more salt and pepper. Serve immediately!

Avocado Soup with Lemon and Coriander

I love guacamole. Whenever there’s good guacamole around, I wish I could just take the whole bowl and spoon it all up! Well, with this soup, I can finally do that without looking like I’m lacking all manners ;) This rich and smooth soup is like guacamole gone to heaven... And best of all, it only takes 5 minutes or so to make it. Amazing!

This soup can be served either cold or warm. I prefer it warm. Not hot, though: when warmed up too much, the avocados get a horribly bitter taste. Been there, done that..! So, any leftovers should be eaten cold rather than be warmed up again.

Remember to only use ripe avocados!

For 4 small or 2 very big portions you need:

• 500ml vegetable broth


• 200ml heavy cream (non-dairy cream for a vegan option)


• 500g peeled avocado, the seed removed (about 2 big or 3 smaller ones)


• 3 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste


• salt and black pepper to taste


• fresh coriander to serve

This is how to do it:

1. Bring the broth to the boil. Remove from heat.

2. Pulse the avocados and lemon juice with a hand mixer into a smooth puree.

3. Now, add cream and avocado puree into the hot broth. Stir, check the taste, and add salt and pepper according to taste.

4. Divide into soup bowls, sprinkle with some fresh coriander and serve with a slice or two of good bread.

Could cooking get any easier than this?!

Sesame Noodles

Preparing and eating these decadently delicious noodles for the first time was something epic. How can something have such a rich and fulfilling flavour, a smooth texture, be 100% vegan, and be ready in no more than 5 minutes? Yes, you heard me right: from the moment you enter your kitchen, this dish will be on your plate in five minutes – provided you (or rather your stove) get that water boiling fast!

Furthermore, sesame noodles are tasty without being spicy at all, so kids love them as well.

There are a lot of different recipes out there for sesame noodles, and my starting point was New York – les recettes culte, although I’ve modified it a bit.

For 3-4 portions you need:

• 250g noodles (I use the ones made with wheat, and without egg)


• 50g tahini paste


• 50g peanut butter


• 50g sesame oil


• 4 Tbsp rice vinegar


• 3 Tbsp sugar


• 2 Tbsp soy sauce


• 18g fresh ginger, peeled


• 12g garlic, peeled


• 100ml water

.. and fresh cucumber, coriander leaves, and sesame seeds to serve

This is how you proceed:

1. Bring 3 liters of water to the boil. Add a bit of salt, then the noodles, cover, and take away from the heat. Let stand about 3 minutes.

2. In the meantime (yes!), prepare the sauce. Measure all ingredients in a bowl, and pulse with a hand mixer into a smooth paste.

3. Transfer the noodles in a colander, wash with cold water, drain, and place into a serving bowl. Add the sauce and stir.

4. Decorate with sliced cucumber, fresh coriander and sesame seeds.

5. Serve with a cold drink!

I prefer to eat this dish a bit warm, not cold as suggested in the original recipe. At what temperature do they taste the best to you? Well, I guess you’ll have to make them a couple of times to find out…!
 

Spaghetti with Broccoli and Home-Made Pesto

Quick food doesn’t necessarily mean pasta. The mother of all quick meals is nevertheless pasta with pesto, at least for me. Everyone loves it, kids and adults alike – even the picky ones – and to get it on your plate, you really only need the time it takes to cook the pasta. So if the package says “cottura 18 minuti”, forget about it! We need it quicker.

In this recipe, broccoli is cooked together with spaghetti – both require exactly the same time to be al dente! Miraculous! And with that much broccoli, the whole thing seems a lot healthier ;)

This is what you need to feed 4 hungry people:

• 500g spaghetti, with 8-9 minutes cooking time


• 400g broccoli


• 40g basil leaves


• 40g Parmesan cheese


• 10g pine nuts


• 100g olive oil


• 1-2 garlic cloves


• salt and pepper to taste


• plus a couple of basil leaves, pine nuts, and some grated Parmesan to serve

This is how you proceed:

1. Bring enough water to the boil in a large saucepan to cook the spaghetti. When waiting for the water to boil, cut the broccoli in pieces. Then add some salt, spaghetti, and the broccoli. Stir once in a while.

2. When spaghetti and broccoli are cooking, you have exactly 8 minutes to prepare the pesto and set the table – but it’s more than enough! Wash and drain basil if needed, place it together with olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper, in a bowl. Pulse everything with a hand mixer into a smooth paste.

3. Drain pasta and broccoli and place them in a serving bowl. Then add the pesto, stir, and decorate with basil leaves and pine nuts. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan and serve!

For a vegan version, forget the cheese – or use a vegan alternative. My favourite is No-Moo Piquant.

 

Hit-and-Run, or the Faster than Fast Recipes

There are days where I love to spend time in the kitchen. But there are also days where I’m feeling too lazy or tired to bother. Yet one has to eat something. And especially the kids do. And most of the time, they just can’t wait. Even pizza delivery would not be an option when a little princess is crying she is “so hungry she can’t wait any second longer!” That empty plate should be filled fast – but how?

So, what are the options for those days where even looking for that frying pan might seem too difficult a task, let alone all of that chopping, cutting, frying, simmering, and of course, waiting?

Pizza delivery – as mentioned before – just takes too long. But maybe one could walk or drive to the closest supermarket and buy ready-made meals? No chance, at least with those hungry kids!

But luckily, there are surprisingly many recipes that allow you to have a proper meal on your plate in just ten to fifteen minutes, or even less! The recipes I like to call hit-and-run recipes (and the Germans Blitzrezepte) require little or no effort and almost no time at all. It takes less time to make them than it takes to walk to the supermarket and back!

In my next posts I’m going to reveal my favourite hit-and-run recipes. Stay tuned!