Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Icing

I'm not a big fan of cupcakes...Mostly because they contain a lot of sugar, butter and artificial flavourings and colour. Maybe I just didn't have luck to try one that is delightful to me. What about you - do you have a  recipe for a cupcake that is divine?

The other day I made these; the cake batter is not too bad and mint icing I had to change (as original called for 250 g butter and 850 g icing sugar + colour + flavouring). My boys liked them...

Ingredients:

Cake batter-

2/3 cup strong coffee

1/3 cup Dutch cocoa 

30 g dark chocolate

1/3 cup milk

3 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 sugar (white)

vanilla essence

150 g butter, soft

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt 

Icing-

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

green food colour (optional)

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp mint oil or essence

180g butter, soft

Method:

Dissolve cocoa in hot coffee, add pieces of chocolate and let it melt. Stir, then add milk. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 170*C; prepare cupcake moulds and line them with paper cases.

Beat eggs with sugar until light and fluffy, add soft butter and beat well. Mix in coffee mixture. 

Mix well flour, baking soda and salt. Sift it over the beaten mixture and fold in. Spoon batter into paper cases 2/3 full. Bake 13-15 minutes, or until done.

Icing-

Mix flour, sugar and a bit of milk into a smooth paste. Put the rest milk (in a heavy bottomed pan) to boil. Mix in the paste and cook until thick. (I do this in a microwave - mix everything then put on high for 3-5 minutes; stir twice during the thickening). Cover with cling film and let it cool completely. Beat butter, then add cooled mixture and beat again.

Use piping bag to decorate the cupcakes.

Čokoladni 'Cupcakes' sa Mentol Kremom

Nisam ljubitelj 'kap kolaca'...Uglavnom zato sto sadrze mnogo secera, maslaca, te umjetne boje i arome. Mozda nisam imala srece do sada da probam neke koje bi me odusevili. A vi - imate li neki recept za 'cupcakes' koji su bozanstveni?

Neki dan sam napravila ove na slici; biskvit nije tako los, ali sam krem morala izmijeniti, jer je originalni recept trazio citav maslac, 850 gr secera u prahu + boja + umjetna aroma. Djecacima se svidio...

Potrebno:

2/3 solje jake kafe

1/3 solje kakaa (Holandski ili najbolji koji mozete naci)

30 gr tamne cokolade

1/3 solje mlijeka

3 jaja

1 solja braon secera

1/2 solje obicnog secera

vanila 

150 gr maslaca, omeksalog

1 1/3 solje brasna

1 k sode bb

malo soli

Krem-

1 solja mlijeka

1/2 solje secera

2 K brasna

zelena boja za hranu (po zelji)

1/2 - 1 k mentol ulja ili esencije

180 gr maslaca, omeksalog

Nacin:

Otopite kakao u kafi, ubacite cokoladu i ostavite da se otopi. Promijesajte i ubacite mlijeko.

Ukljucite rernu na 170*C, pripremite kalupe i papirne obloge.

Umutite jaja sa secerom, dodajte maslac i jos mutite, zatim uspite mjesavinu s mlijekom.

Pomijesajte brasno, so i sodu bb, pa ovo prosijte preko prethodne mjesavine. Rukom lagano sjedinite masu. Sipajte biskvitno tijesto u papirnate obloge (koji su smjesteni u kalupe) oko 2/3 visine. Pecite oko 13-15 minuta.

Krem-

Pomijesajte secer, brasno i malo mlijeka u jednoliku masu. Ostatak mlijeka stavite kuhati (u serpicu sa teskim dnom); kada prokuha uspite masu sa brasno i skuhajte u gustu smjesu (Ja ovo radim u mikrovalnoj- sve pomijesam , stavim u dublju posudu i na visokoj moci kuham 3-5 minuta, mijesajuci u 2 pauze. ) Pokrijte sa prozirnom folijom i ostavite ohladiti. Umutite maslac, pa u njega uspite ohladjenu masu i sjedinite mikserom. Ukrasite 'kap kolace' sa poslasticaskom spricom.

Arabic Salad with Grilled Rump Steak

'Salata Arabia' is popular in Levant area (Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Eastern Turkey, Jordan and Syria). My son got this recipe from his school friend; original recipe doesn't include avocado.

Ingredients:
Rump (or other steak) for grilling (salt and pepper for seasoning, oil for brushing)
Salad-
3-4 small cucumbers, diced
2-3 tomatoes, diced
3-4 spring onions, sliced; or 1 large onion, diced
mint leaves, small bunch - thorn
parsley leaves, thorn
yellow capsicum, diced (optional)
Avocado (optional), diced
Dressing-
1 lemon, juice
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
Method:
Grill steak to your liking; keep warm.
Mix all ingredients for salad. Shake ingredients for dressing in a small jar; pour over salad. Serve on a warmed plate.
* If you use avocado, cut it in half and use skins for serving.



'Salata Arabia'
... poznata salata Levant erije.

Recept je dobio moj sin od skolske prijateljice. Originalni recept ne trazi avokado u sastojcima.

Potrebno:
Ramstek (ili drugo meso) za rostilj (so i biber za zaciniti + ulje za premazati)
Salata-
3-4 manja krastavcica, sjeckano na kockice
2-3 paradajza, kockice
3-4 mlada luka, sjeckana; ili 1 veci crveni, kockice
1 manji svezanj lisca mente / nane, iskidani
malo lisca persuna, iskidani
zuta paprika, kockice (po zelji)
avokado, kockice (po zelji)
Preljev-
1 limun, sok iscijedjen
1-2 K maslinovog ulja
1/2 k kima
1/3 k soli
1/3 k bibera
Nacin:
Ispecite meso na rostilju na nacin koji vi zelite; cuvajte na toplom.
Pomijesajte sve sastojke za salatu. U manji galon / teglu stavite sastojke za preljev i protresite. Prelijte preko salate. Servirajte zajedno na zagrijanom tanjiru.
* Ako koristite avokado, presijecite ga na pola i sacuvajte koru za serviranje salate.

Anzac Biscuits and Choco-Mint Slice

ANZAC biscuits - My favorite biscuits!
During World War I, the wives, mothers and girlfriends of the Australian soldiers were concerned for the nutritional value of the food being supplied to their men, because all the food has to be sent by ships, which took long time to reach them.
It has been claimed that special nutritious biscuits were created and sent abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.
ANZAC means Australia and New Zealand Army Corps

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup Instant oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup sugar
125 g melted butter
1 tbs Golden syrup
1 Teas Baking soda
3 Tbs boiling water
Method:
Preheat oven to 180*C, line a baking sheet with silicon paper.
Put all dry ingredients (except soda)into a big bowl. In a smaller bowl mix butter, water, golden syrup and soda. Mix all ingredients together. Take a spoonful of mixture, shape into a circle and bake 10-12 min, or until golden brown.
Keep in a dry, cool place for a month.

Choco-Mint Slices

(from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook)

Ingredients:
Base-
125 g butter
1,5 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
250 g plain biscuits (wheatmeal, milk coffee or similar)
Topping-
60 g vegetable shortening (Copha)
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbs milk
1 teas mint essence
1 drop green food colour (optional)
Choco topping-
185 g dark chocolate
60 g butter
Method:
Crush biscuits finely. Combine butter, cocoa and sugar. Heat and stir in a saucepan until melted and blended. Cool slightly. Stir in beaten egg and the rest of base ingredients. Press into a paper-lined tin (33X25cm). Refrigerate.
Melt shortening, add sugar milk and essence. Mix well. Spread over the base. Refrigerate. Melt chocolate and butter, mix well; spread over mint. Refrigerate until solid. Cut into small slices and serve.



Anzak Kolačići

Ovi kolacici su kreirani od strane majki, supruga i djevojaka Australije i Novog Zelanda tokom I svjetskog rata, za vojnike koji su bili daleko od kuce. Obzirom da je sva hrana putovala brodom, trebalo je pronaci nesto hranjivo i dugotrajno, za njihove najdraze.

Sastojci:
1 solja brasna
1 solja zobenih pahuljica
1 solja kokosa
3/4 solje secera
125 gr maslaca, istopljenog
1 K (Golden) zlatnog sirupa
1 k sode BB
3 K kljucale vode
Nacin:
Ukljucite rernu, stavite papir za pecenje preko pleha.
Stavite sve suhe sastojke (osim sode) u vecu posudu; Pomijesajte maslac i ostale sastojke u manju posudu. Sastavite sve zajedno i promijesajte. Oblikujte kolacice okruglom kasikom i pecite 10-12 minuta, ili dok ne postanu zlatno-zuti.
Cuvati do 1 mjesec na hladnom i suhom mjestu.

Čoko-Mint Kocke

Sastojci:
Osnova-
125 gr maslaca
1,5 K kakaoa
1/2 solje sitnog secera
1 jaje
1 solja kokosa
1/2 solje sitno sjeckanih oraha
250 gr keksa (petit beure ili sl.)
Premaz-
60 gr tvrde masti biljnog porijekla (Copha)
(mislim da je to 'puter' od palme) Margarin moze zamijeniti
3 K mlijeka
2 solje secera u prahu 1 k mint extrakta
1 kap zelene boje (po zelji)
Coko-premaz-
185 gr tamne cokolade
30 gr maslaca
Nacin:
Sameljite kekse. Zagrijte maslac sa secerom, dodajte kakao i dobro promijesajte. Malo prohladite pa ubacite ostale sastojke za osnovu. Dobro promijesajte i utisnite u kalup (33x25cm)koji ste prekrili papirom ili folijom. Ostavite u frizider.
Zagrijte Copha (margarin) dodjte secer , mlijeko i mint. Dobro promijesajte. Premazite bazu sa ovom smjesom i vratite u frizider. Istopite cokoladu i maslac, promijesajte i ovime premazite mint sloj. Rashladit, izrezite na manje kocke i sluzite.

Tabouli

 Famous Turkish salad

Ingredients:
1/2 -1 cup burghul (cracked wheat)
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2-3 tbs chopped shallots
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper
1,5 cups parsley leaves (Italian), Chopped
1/3 cup chopped mint
Lemon zest (1/2)
2-3 tbs olive oil
3-4 tbs lemon juice

Method:
Soak burghul in cold water for 2 hours; drain and squeeze. Put it into a bowl, add everything else, and mix well.
Perfect with grilled meat.

Tabuli (Turska salata)

Potrebno:
1/2 -1 solja bungura (bulgur, lomljena psenica)
2 velika paradajza, sjeckana na koce
1 srednji krastavac, oguljen, sjeckan na kocke
2-3 kasike sitno sjeckanog mladog luka
1/2 kasicice soli
1/2 kasicice bibera
1,5 solja lisca persuna, sjeckanog
1/3 solje mente (nane), sjeckane
Ribana kora 1/2 limuna
2-3 kasike maslinovog ulja
3-4 kasike soka limuna

Nacin:
Namocite lomljenu psenicu u hladnu vodu, nakon 2 sata ocijedite i istisnite visak vode. Prebacite u posudu za serviranje, dodajte sve ostale sastojke, pa zacinite uljem i sokom limuna.
Odlicno uz meso sa rostilja.