Spring calls for a light and ethereal treat, hence my choice for a Matcha shortbread. The grassy nuttiness of the matcha is juxtaposed against the velvety sweetness of Blond Dulcey, not just in texture and taste, but in colour as well, making for one delectable cookie.

A sprinkle of black sesame seeds is a nod to the Japanese inspiration, while providing textural interest and a pop of colour. And I haven't even talked about the wildcard ingredient, which is Yuzu liqueur, still staying within the Japanese realm, lending the confection with a sweet, refreshing and citrusy tang to delicately balance out all the flavours.


Ingredients:
240 g all-purpose flour
20 g matcha powder
Pinch of salt
225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
60 g confectioner sugar, sifted
1 tbsp Yuzu liqueur
150 g Valrhona Blond Dulcey 32%
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cocoa butter
1 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds (to decorate)
1 tsp matcha powder (to sprinkle)

Directions:
1. Into a large bowl sift together the flour, matcha powder and salt.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sifted confectioner sugar until very light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Reduce the speed to very low, and fold in the flour until just combined
4. Mix in the Yuzu liqueur
5. Transfer the dough onto a plastic wrap, flattening it into a disc. (The dough will be soft resembling Play-Doh)
6. Refrigerate for an hour.

When ready to bake:
7. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
8. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
9. Roll out the dough to 5mm or just shy of 1/4 inch thick.
10. With a lightly floured cutter, gently cut out into desired shape, and transfer to the baking sheet, one inch apart.
11. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes until just getting browned around the edges.
12. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the Dulcey dip:
13. In a bain marie (bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water), melt the chocolate chunks until softened.
14. Stir in the oil and cocoa butter.
15. When cooled, dip the matcha shortbread halfway into the Dulcey dip, then place them on a (new) parchment lined sheet.
16. Delicately line the middle with toasted black sesame seeds, the. dust with matcha powder.
17. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to set.

Four cakes are going to be on a table this day, and you can be sure there will be one chocolate cake among them all. Right on! But in no way should I resign myself to the tried and true, the fail-safe, the fool-proof Devil's Food Cake, should I? Oh gosh, no! Life would be utterly boring. Even the best chocolate cakes would cause one's palates to become immune to its pleasures if it were to be served on one too many occasions. Hence the chocolate chocolate chunk coffee cake.

Tedious and tongue twisting the name may be, it does give a comprehensive description of the delight to follow. The cake is essentially a chocolate cake, we got that. Then there's chocolate chunk, mind you, not those over-processed chips that contain stuff we do not need, rather chunks dark (over 70%) good quality chocolate, good enough to gift, good enough to pair with wine. Yes, that good, the stuff that is about four or five times the price of generic chocolate. Trust me on this! It is a birthday cake, go ahead, you can splurge!



Then I included the word coffee, and not in the sense that it's an afternoon tea accompaniment, but actually using espresso powder and coffee stout in the cake. Why? Because coffee intensifies the chocolate flavour like no other. Then there's a secret ingredient! You can scroll down to the recipe to find it, but don't turn up your nose just yet! It's egg content and emulsifying properties lend so much richness to the cake and rounds it off nicely.



This recipe is adapted from Tasty's Ultimate Chocolate cake, and true to their word, it is an ultimate version of your home-made chocolate cake. I amped it up with Kahlua to bring out the coffee even more, made a cake syrup to intensify the chocolate flavour, then frosted it with my favorite buttercream - Italian meringue, chocolatized! Yes, it's now an official word. I just submitted it to Oxford English Dictionary. And yes, you can do that! I just did! :D



So then what does one call a cake that's more than Ultimate? Rather than calling it Supreme or Superlative Chocolate Cake, which could be just click-bait, how about Chocolate Chunk & Coffee Cake with Chocolate Buttercream? Now you're really salivating, aren't you? ;)

Ingredients:

A) Godiva liqueur cake syrup:
240 ml (1 cup) water
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
30 ml (1/8 cup) Godiva Chocolate liqueur

B) Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake:
225 g (1-7/8 cups) all purpose flour
150 g (1-1/4 cups) Dutch cocoa powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
450 ml (1-7/8 cups) coffee stout
1-1/2 tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur
1-1/2 tbsp espresso powder
285 g (1-1/4 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
375 g (1-7/8 cups) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
150 ml (5/8 cup) mayonnaise
170 g (6 oz.) dark chocolate (from a chocolate bar), chopped

C) Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream
425 g (2 cups + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
90 ml (3/8 cup) water
6 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
510 g unsalted butter, just slightly softened, cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
60 g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted

Directions:

A) Godiva liqueur cake syrup:
1. In a small saucepan, place the water and sugar.
2. Bring to a boil, then set aside to cool.
3. When cooled, stir in the Godiva chocolate liqueur.

B) Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake:
1. Butter and flour the sides of 3 20-cm (8-inch) round cake tins, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C or 325F.

3. Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the coffee stout, Kahlua, and espresso powder. Leave to rest. Before using, whisk again, then strain this mixture into another bowl.

Here we stretched it to sophisticate by transforming plain vanilla cake into a delicious white chocolate cake, then making the chocolate cake extra decadent with bittersweet 70% dark chocolate.

You don't really need folks to come over to make one. Go ahead, treat yourself.

Ingredients:
240 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
170 g (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
175 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp vanilla extract
120 ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
115 g (4 oz) melted white chocolate, cooled
115 g (4 oz) melted 70% dark chocolate, cooled

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C or 325F.
2. Butter and flour a 22x12 cm or 9x5 inch loaf pan.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until lightened in colour.
5. Reduce the speed and add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until fully incorporated before adding the next one, followed by the vanilla extract.
6. On the lowest speed, fold in the flour in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Begin and end with the flour.

7. Divide the batter into the two melted chocolate bowls, folding the white chocolate into one bowl, and the dark chocolate into the other.
8. Drop ladle-fulls of batter on to the loaf pan, alternating between the white and dark. We are aiming for distinct chunks of white and dark in the pan.
9. Run the knife through the batter in a swirling zig-zag motion from one end to the other.
10. Tap the loaf lightly on a towel-lined countertop to even out the surface.
11. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
12. Let cool in the pan for 8-10 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

I actually subbed a 1/4 cup of oat flour for the all purpose, because oatmeal and chocolate, hmmm, why not? As for the cocoa, find the best and darkest of the lot. Fortunately, I keep a huge stash of the good stuff :) Love how buttermilk brings slight tang to the batter, while olive oil offers fruity richness.

Anytime is chocolate muffin time. Seriously! A quick and easy snack, muffins are a glorified bake and take dessert in my household. It's portable, it's portion controlled and who doesn't love chocolate?



This recipe for chocolate applesauce muffin was borne out of an apple overdose, of which a wonderful jar of applesauce was made. Just peel, core and quarter the ripe apples, pop them into a slow cooker, and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours, depending on the quantity. Stir sometimes. Done. No sugar and no spice required, as it will mostly be an ingredient in baking.

A wonderful (partial) replacement for oil or butter, you can usually substitute it by 1:1 in muffins, cakes or quick breads. It works like fat in baking by hindering the complete absorption of flour into the wet ingredients, avoiding a tough and rubbery texture of your baked good. Kinda like magic ... a boon to health conscious bakers. 'Wink, wink'

So next time your apples are on the verge of being tossed into the compost bin, please make applesauce. You not only extend the life of the apple, you get healthful treats and bakes, but more importantly, you avoid food waste ... Score!!!



So you don't have applesauce now, and neither do you have ripe apples in order to make this chocolate applesauce muffin. Now what? Well what you do have is an inspo, maybe also a primer for healthful substitutions. And an enticing photo of a chocolate muffin to remind you about the magic of applesauce, and that you don't need all that oil and/or butter to make a fabulous baked good.

Ingredients:
75g (3/4 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa
150 g (1-1/4 cup) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
150 g (3/4 cup) light brown sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
60 ml (1/4 cup) applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
175 ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk, at room temperature

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175C or 350F.
2. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cases.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the sugars until light and fluffy.
5. To that, add the oil, applesauce and vanilla extract, beating until well incorporated.

6. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 batches. Begin and end with the flour.
The resulting batter will be a bit runny, but that's ok.
7. Fill the paper cases up to 3/4th full, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

8. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.

I guarantee that if you have kids in the vicinity, they'll all be lining up in the kitchen now ;)

Enjoy!

and beautifully packed.

It's Pierre Hermé's recipe! Did you really need me to say anything else? Well, get to it ...

Ingredients:
260 g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) flour
30 g Dutch processed cocoa
250 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
100 g (3/4 cup + 1 tsp) icing sugar
30 g (1 large) egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

3. Sift the flour with the cocoa and set aside.
4. Beat the butter with the salt until butter is smooth and slightly lightened in colour, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and pale.
6. Beat in the egg white, then the vanilla extract.
7. On a low speed, fold in the flour and cocoa, mixing just until no more streaks remain.

8. Fit a piping bag with a star tip and pipe rosettes or S swirls on the baking sheet, placing them 3 cm (about 1 inch) apart.
9. Bake each sheet for 10-12 minutes until just slightly starting to turn golden on the edges.
10. Cool in the sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely on the cooling rack.

Avocado Frosting

Easy, peasy, love this recipe. Hey ... that rhymes ;)

I kid you not, I made this recipe three times in the last 10 days! Yep! My husband had a few get-togethers and I don't know how much he's marketed my blog and my baking, but I'm getting requests for baked goods in his meetings. I suppose I should be flattered.



So I'm thinking about something sweet, of course. And something chocolate, because as we know, chocolate is universally loved. And something easy, peasy, and isn't going to kill me and turn me off all future requests for baked goods.

Not just chocolate, but with a hint of coffee. Don't we all expect coffee in meetings? Nice, but why stop there? How about walnuts, because everyone loves a little crunch. Sure I could make a chocolate muffin, but why? And so Mocha Walnut Muffins were the answer. 2 bowls, no appliances and not much elbow grease required. Even better!



Once I made it for tea time, it came out of the oven 5 measly minutes before he drove up to collect it. Hey ... I'm not lounging around doing nothing the whole day too. I actually have a day job. Then he requested it for a breakfast meeting, it was ready at midnight, and maybe the kids took their cut as they were burning the midnight oil. Then for the third time, another after work event, where these babies actually became the dessert. I think I whipped up about 120 of them! No kidding.

So yes, tried and tested, with a few variations of them: with and without walnuts, hemp hearts on top, toffee chips in addition to chopped chocolate. And all of them a resounding success. These beauties held up. Everyone loved it ... at least, that's what the husband said ;)


This recipe makes 24 medium sized muffins, and is easily customizable.

Ingredients:
4 eggs, at room temperature
240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk, at room temperature
240 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
120 ml (1/2 cup) freshly brewed black coffee, cooled to room temperature

240 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
180 g (1-1/2 cups) whole wheat flour
50 g (1/2 cup) Dutch processed cocoa
750 g (3-3/4 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
125 g (1 cup) chopped toasted walnuts
350 g (2 cups) chopped 72% dark chocolate (or bittersweet chocolate chips)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cups.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and the cooled black coffee.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cocoa, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
5. Add the chopped walnuts and the chopped chocolate, folding it in briefly.
6. Fill the muffin cases up to 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean.
7. Cool them in the pan for 5-8 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan to cool completely.

I've been making a bunch of these lately ... pistachio financiers, raspberry financiers, and now chocolate. They are the epitome of a tea time treat. I love how they're just so light, quite ethereal possibly. And with this chocolate version. Ooh la la!


The best part it, they are portable. And pretty to pass around. It's warm now and we are spending a lot of time outdoors. We love taking some sandwiches and iced tea, along with our huge mat to English bay, where we set up under the tree next to the engagement rings.


Speaking of which ... it's high time for another pique-nique while the weather is gorgeous.

This recipe makes 12 financiers. You may want to double it. It keeps well for 2 to 3 days.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, cocoa powder, icing sugar, flour, and baking powder.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredient bowl, place the egg whites and vanilla extract in it, and whisk well to combine.
4. Add the cooled browned butter to the batter, and mix well.
5. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter for one hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 230C or 450F.
7. Generously butter a financier (rectangular) tin, boat-shaped tartlet tins, or a mini muffin tin.
8. Pour the batter into the cavities, filling it 3/4 full.
9. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.

10. Place the financiers in the oven, and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 200C or 400F.
11. Bake until the top is springy to touch, about 16-18 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack about 10 minutes before unmolding it and popping it into your mouth.

So good with a cup of tea.

A few days ago, my daughter came home and told me that it's her friend's birthday next week and could we please make her some cupcakes. Hmmm... As I was mentally going through my schedule and thinking about whether I would be working that day, she then proceeds to let me know that I don't have a chocolate cupcake recipe on the blog and that this would be a great opportunity to do one. Hahaha. Sold!



These cupcakes are moist, they are rich, they are your personal little treat you don't have to share. Surely you weren't thinking of splitting one, were you? We've made it less sweet so it can take on a bit of frosting, but even then, we were enjoying these beauties sans icing, and it was amazing.


It was actually surprising how fast I could pull this through. As long as you've taken out the butter and eggs to come to room temperature, mise-en-place took 15 minutes, beating and mixing another 15, baking a final 15, and these cupcakes were done in under an hour. I wasn't even done wiping the counters down and I had to take them out of the oven!


So yes, they are as superb as they are speedy! We need not sacrifice effort for outcome in this case. This blog is called 'Fueling with Flavour' after all, not 'Desserts under an hour' ;)


This recipe makes 24 cupcakes, and is adapted from Joy of Baking's chocolate cupcake recipe.

Ingredients:
75 g (3/4 cup) Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant espresso powder (or instant coffee granules)
360 ml (1-1/2 cup) boiling hot water
260 g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
170 g (3/4 cup) butter, at room temperature
225 g (1-1/4 cup) granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Line 24 cupcake cups into 2 muffin pans.
2. In a small bowl, stir in the cocoa and espresso/coffee powder into the hot water, then set aside to let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides often.

5. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.

6. Into the mixer, add the eggs, one at a time, followed with the vanilla.
7. Add the flour and beat only until incorporated, taking care not to over mix.
8. Slowly, pour in the cooled cocoa mixture, scraping down the sides to fully incorporate.

9. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Place a tea towel on the counter and gently 'bang' the muffin pan on it to settle the contents and create a flat surface, ensuring the cupcakes rise evenly.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cupcake.
Do not overbake or they will turn out dry.
11. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

 Now to frost or not ... that is the question.

So yes, I now have bananas for banana bread, the spotty, soft, almost black, or sometimes even black bananas that no child can bring for fear of soiling the textbooks in their backpack. This time, though, I felt a chocolate banana bread was in order. Just because. And look how it turned out. Moist and rich, with that amazing banana aroma, and the subtle crunch of cocoa nibs on top. It was almost a guilty pleasure.



This loaf is dark as night thanks to the super dark Camino cocoa I used. Fair trade and organic, ahem! I really love how it makes all my baked goods look super decadent. Yes, there are chocolate chunks in this loaf, dark on dark, so you can't really see them, that's why I cut down on the sugar, preferring the chocolate to shine and sweeten.

And of course, feel free to use chopped walnuts here, half a cup will do wonders. Also, in the absence of texture to top the loaf with, use chopped walnuts. It perks up the dark loaf instantly, making for increased visual appeal. After all, you were going to post a picture somewhere, weren't you?

Ingredients:
150 g (1-1/4 cup) all purpose flour
60 g (1/2 cup) Dutch processed cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
115 g (1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
180 to 240 ml (3/4 cup to 1 cup) mashed bananas, from about 3 large over-ripe bananas

These are cookies I grew up with. I love Tante Anneke's chocolate spritz cookies. So did my brothers. That's why my Mom usually orders two giant tins. One for them and one for the rest of us. And now my kids are growing up with these amazing cookies, too. For a while, it came from Tante Anneke's kitchen, but now that we're right on the other side of the world, it's coming from my kitchen.

For a few years, these cookies would be part of our 'homecoming' food basket. Yes, one does exist. And I'm happy to know that I look forward to these baked goods as much as the bakers are looking forward to see me. Okay, not me as much as they are looking forward to seeing the kids. And seeing the way the kids are devouring their fruits of their labour. I can empathize. I also love to see family and friends enjoying my baking. Don't you?



Well, back to these amazing cookies. I was so thrilled when Tante Anneke shared this recipe with me. She had all of us come over (the kids and I) and made a big batch of cookies. She will be so happy to know we are finally making them!



Tante's original recipe uses margarine. I prefer to use all-butter. The addition of margarine makes for a crispier and hardier cookie where the all-butter version lends itself to a more flaky and crumbly cookie that melts in your mouth. Who doesn't love that?

Unlike most cookie doughs, this one does not benefit from refrigeration. Because it becomes too hard for the cookie press. When it looks like your typical cookie dough, it won't press. Speaking from experience of course. Therefore the best spritz dough is the one that's soft and hardly comes together. Trust me ... it works!

Ingredients:
400 g (3-1/4 cup) flour
50 g (scant 1/2 cup) cocoa
4 egg yolks
454 g (1 lb / 4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
250 g (1-1/4 cup) sugar

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and the cocoa. Set aside.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the yolks for 1 minute to combine.
3. Add the butter and beat well for 4 - 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla, then the sugar in 2 batches, beat another 4 - 5 minutes.
5. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 additions.
6. Let the dough rest for 10 - 15 minutes.
It will be softer than your usual cookie dough. But that's fine.

7. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 325F.
8. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Place the dough into the cookie press and shape straight into the lined baking sheet.