Pumpkinsoup with spicy salsa

This is a real delicious and a bit spicy recipe: pumpkinsoup with salsa. Great for cold afternoons!

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches thyme;
• 1 pumpkin;
• 1 liter chickenstock ( recipe: homemade chickenstock);
• 2 onions, finely chopped;
• 2 garlic bulbs;
• 4 bunches oregano, fresh;
• salt and pepper, at taste;
• 2 tomatoes;
• 1 pepper;
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgine;
• 1 tablespoon balsamic cream.

Materials:

• Soup pan;
• Aluminium foil;
• Kitchen machine with knife;
• Blender;
• Baking dish.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Take a piece of aluminium foil and put the garlic and thyme in the middle. Pour olive oil on top. Fold the aluminium foil to a package and lay on the baking plate. Put the tomatoes and pepper on the baking plate. Oil the pumpkin and put it also on the baking plate. Put the plate in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the tomato and pepper of the baking plate and put the plate back for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile remove the skin of the tomato and put the tomato, the pepper and balsamico cream in the kitchenmachine and blend until it's smooth. Pour in a bowl.

After 35 minutes let the pumpkin and garlic slightly cool down. 

In the soup pan, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and simmer for about 10 minutes, while the onions glaze (don't let them brown). Press the garlic out of the bulbs into the pan and bake for another minute. Get the seeds out of the pumpkin and then with a spoon, take the pulp out of the pumpkin into the souppan. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil Simmer or 10 minutes and with a blender smoothen the soup. Reheat the soup and bring to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a soupbowl and spoon a tablespoon of salsa in the middle. Sprinkle fresh oregano on top. 

Drip some olive oil in the soup.

Tips and tricks:

• The salsa taste great with paprika. Roast the paprika with the tomatoes and pepper and blend afterwards;
• To smoothen the soup further, push the soup through a fine sieve.

4Pure: pumpkinsoup with spicy salsa

Homemade granola

Can you think of anything better than homemade. You know exactly what ingredients you used and when you're in luck, your house smells really great.
In a matter effect, the next recipe got such a great smell! There is only one problem... the granola is gone before you blinked your eyes.

Ingredients:

• 125 grams butter;
• 60 grams brown sugar;
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, grounded;
• 300 grams oatmeal;
• 150 gram almonds.

Materials:

• Baking plate;
• baking paper.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Cover the baking plate with baking paper. In a pan melt the butter, then add the sugar and cinnamon. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Turn down the heat and add the oatmeal and almonds and combine.

Distribute the granola on the baking dish, and if possible, make sure you got one layer. Put the baking plate 15 minutes in the oven. Get it out and with a spatula turn the granola around. Put back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool down to room temperature and put it in a airtight jar.

Tips and tricks:

• This recipe uses almonds. But this can be interchanged with walnuts, hazelnuts et cetera (or a mixture of nuts);
• If you want to add currants or other dried fruit add it after baking, when the granola is cooled down;
• This granola is delicious with a few tablespoons homemade jam and yogurt! 

4Pure: homemade granola

Pepernoten muffins

In Holland we celebrate Sinterklaas and I think you can compare it with Santa Claus, just a little bit earlier. We celebrate it 5 December. One of the traditions is that we ate lots of pepernoten. So today I share a recipe with pepernoten, called pepernoten muffins. If you like it, but you can't buy them, this is the link to the recipe of the pepernoten.

Ingredients (12 cupcakes):

Cupcakes:

• 125 grams butter, room temperature;
• 125 grams sugar;
• 125 grams self-raising flour;
• 2 eggs;
• 2 tablespoons milk;
• 1 teaspoon vanilla-extract;
• 1 hand full pepernoten.

Butter cream:

• 250 grams butter, room temperature;
• 250 grams icing sugar;
• 2 tablespoons milk.

Garnish:

• pepernoten, grounded.

Materials:

• Cupcake baking form;
• Mixer.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the butter in a bowl. Mix the butter with a mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk another 2 minutes. Break the eggs, one by one and add to the batter. Add the second egg when the first one is completely combined with the batter. Pour the vanilla-extract in the bowl and whisk another minute. Add the self-raising flour and mix the flour in the batter with a spatula. Crunch the pepernoten and add to the batter. Whisk very gently with a spatula until everything is mixed.
Put the cupcake forms into the baking form and pour in the batter until the forms are 2/3 filled. Fill all the forms and put the baking form in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool down for 5 minutes and release them from the baking form. Let them cool down on a rack. 

To make the butter cream add the butter and icing sugar in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed mix the butter and sugar. When they are combined add 2 tablespoons milk. Change the mixer to high speed and mix for another 3 minutes. Spoon the cream into a piping bag. When the cupcakes are cooled down, pipe the butter cream on the cupcakes. Sprinkle beaten pepernoten as garnish on top.

Tips and tricks:

• If you don't got cupcake forms or won't use them, butter the baking form to easily release the muffins;
• Don't use butter that's easy to smear on roomtemperaturen. It can happen that the piping won't last. Better choose a firm butter.

4Pure: Pepernoten muffin

Foodblogswap: Kit kat Smarties cake

My assignment for the foodblogswap of November was to bake a recipe from the blog of Marina's Bakery. This blog is completely designated to baking. With really nice recipes, all of them were in the category baking. But one took immedeately my attention.  Marina wrote a blog about her birthday cake. A real good looking cake photo accomponied the post. And at that precise time, my birthday party was in four days. That coincedance probably meant that I had to make just that cake. I showed the picture to my childeren and that made the final decision. This one was going to be made from Marina's blog: the Kit kat smarties cake. I used smarties instead of M & M due to the artificial colours used in M&M's, the rest of the recipe I followed as described. The childeren on my birthday party ate the cake and there was one conclusion: Not only nice to see, but also very delicious.
The recipe was written in the Allerhande:

Ingredients :

• 180 grams chocolate, minimum 72 % cacoa
• 100 ml milk;
• 200 grams butter, roomtemperature;
• 175 grams sugar;
• 3 eggs, large;
• 200 grams self-raising flour;
• 400 grams chocolate mousse;
• 1 1/2 sack kitkat mini's, 375 gram
• 1 sack smarties

Materials :

• Springform 18 cm diameter;
• baking paper.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cover the bottom of the baking form with baking paper and brush the sides of the baking dish with butter. In a bowl poor the milk and butter and heat them au-bain-marie until the chocolate melted. Let the chocolate mixture cool down a bit. Beat the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, until they are fully incorporated. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the batter. With a spatula gently mix the self-raising flour into the batter. Poor the batter in the baking dish and bake for 45-55 minutes in the oven, until the cake is ready.
Let the cake cool down to room temperature. Remove the springform. Cut the cake horizontal, so you will get two layers. Smear one side with half of the chocolate mousse. Lay the other layer onto the chocolate mousse. Smear the top and side with the rest of the chocolate mousse. Place the kit-kats vertically around the cake. Sprinkle the smarties on the cake.

Tips and tricks:

• A real nice touch to this cake is to take a ribbon and place it around the cake and finish it with a bow;
• If you don't have a spring form but a baking dish of 18 cm diameter, make sure to cover the bottom and sides of the baking dish with baking paper. The cake will  be easier to get out after cooling down. 

Kit kat smarties cake

Spaghetti with shrimps and rocket lettuce

Today a really tasty recipe with homemade pasta: spaghetti with shrimps and rocket lettuce. A really tasty dish!

Ingredients (4 persons):

• 400 grams homemade spaghetti (recipe: Homemade pasta);
• 16 shrimps;
• 8 cloves garlic;
• 8 sundried tomatoes;
• handfull rocket lettuce;
• olive oil.

Materials:

• Garlic press;
• Wok.

Preparation:

Cook the spaghetti al dente. Press the garlic cloves in the garlic press and set aside. Cut the sundried tomatoes in small stripes. Pour two tablespoons olive oil in the wok and put it on high heat. Add the shrimps and bake for 3 minutes on one side until it turns pink. Turn the shrimp around and add the garlic and tomatoes. Bake until the shrimp turns pink and then add the spaghetti. Bake it for a minute or so and spoon onto a plate. Sprinkle the rocket lettuce on top and serve. 

Tips and tricks:

• Use the oil of the sundried tomatoes to bake the shrimp instead of olive oil to add even more taste;
• This is a real great recipe to add salt with added Parmesan and Basil. (It's my own experience. I don't get paid to write this down!). 

4Pure: Spaghetti with shrimp and rocket salad

Cheese sticks

Delicious cheese sticks to eat before the television. They were all gone in this house!

Ingredients:

• 250 grams flour;
• 8 grams baking powder;
• 1/2 teaspoon salt;
• 4 egg yolks;
• 2 tablespoons sour cream;
• pepper;
• 200 grams butter, cold in cubes of 1 x 1 cm;
• 1 tablespoon milk;
• 75 grams old cheese, grated.

Materials:

• Baking dish;
• Baking paper;
• Plastic foil;
• Kitchen machine with knife.

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. In the bowl of the kitchen machine add the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse the knife and add the butter cubes. Pulse again until the butter gets the size of peas. Add the 3 egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sour cream and pulse until the dough forms a ball. Fold this ball into plastic foil and put this in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Mix 1 tablespoon of milk with 1 egg yolk.

Cover the baking dish with baking paper. Cut a bit of dough and make a roll with a diameter of approximately 8 mm. Lay on the baking paper and brush with the egg/milk mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Repeat this for the rest of the dough. Put the baking dish in the middle of the oven and bake during 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips en Tricks:

• If you don't have old cheese, but you do have mature cheese you also can use type of cheese;
• If you're short in time you can use puff pastry instead of making your own dough. Don't roll the puff pastry, but cut in small stripes. 

4Pure: Cheese sticks

Caramel praline toffee

My dad had his birthday and he loves something sweet. Especially for him I made these Caramel praline bonbons. And they tasted very good. Dad congratulations and many more years!

Ingredients:

• 75 grams butter;
• 350 grams sugar;
• 150 mL whipped cream;
• 50 grams hazelnuts.

Materials:

• Baking dish;
• Square baking dish 15 x 15 cm;
• Kitchen machine with knife;
• Baking paper.

Preparation:

Put in baking paper on the baking dishes. In a small pan bake 100 grams of sugar with 2 tablespoons water, until the sugar dissolves and changes color. When the color gets amber turn of the gas and whisk the hazelnuts through. Bring to a boil again and poor on a baking dish. After about 15 minutes the praline is cooled down enough. Crunch it with your fingers or knife and grind in the kitchen machine.

Sprinkle the grounded praline on the baking paper in the square baking dish, so the bottom is evenly covered.. 

Cut the butter in cubes and place in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and whipping cream and bring the liquid to a boil. When it boils, turn the heat low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the caramel turns amber. Poor the caramel on the praline in the square baking dish. Smooth the surface of the caramel with a spoon and let the caramel cool down for about 30 minutes. Get the caramel out of the baking dish and remove the baking paper. Cut with a knife the toffee in nice rectangles.

Tips en Tricks:

• If you want to use a sugar thermometer, warm the caramel to 130 degrees Celsius;
• Watch out for spatters if you work with Caramel, it will become very hot. When pouring caramel make sure you pour away from your body. 

4Pure: Caramel praline toffee

Easy to make chocolate mousse

This chocolate mousse is easy to prepare and doesn't take much time.

Ingredients (4 persons):

• 150 ml milk
• 2 egg yolks;
• 30 grams sugar;
• 180 grams chocolate (70 % cacao), chopped fine;
• 375 mL whipped cream

Materials:

• Fine sieve.

Preparation:

Boil the milk in a small pan. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, until they are pale yellow. Poor, while whisking, the milk into the egg yolk mixture. When all the milk is added, poor everything back in the small pan. Bring to a boil, until the custard binds. You can check this by taking a wooden spoon and dip it into the custard. Take your finger and make a stripe in the custard. When the stripe stays visible on the spoon, the custard is done. Sieve the custard through a fine sieve. Whisk the chocolate through the custard and let it stand for a minute. Then whisk again until the chocolate is incorporated. This way you get a chocolate cream. Let it cool down, at room temperature for about 10 minutes. 

Beat the whipped cream until it gets the thickness of yogurt. Then take a spatula and with care work it gently through the chocolate cream. Scoop the chocolate mousse in the serving glasses and place them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 

Tips en Tricks:

• If not all the chocolate is incorporated and the custard becomes to cold, heat it shortly on very low heat, while your whisking;
• Decorate the mousse with small chocolates or grated chocolate. Grated chocolate is gotten by taking a sharp knife and shave it on one side of the chocolate bar. 

4Pure: Chocolate mousse

4pure4lunch: sandwich with homemade pesto, pine nuts, cheese and ham

As you used to I present you a lunch recipe. This time a sandwich again (I love a warm sandwich when it's getting cold), but this time one with a Mediterranean twist.

Ingredients (1 sandwich):

•  2 slices bread;
• 1 handful basil;
• 50 grams old cheese or Parmesan;
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 50-100 mL olive oil;
• 3 slices mature cheese;
• 1 slice ham.

Materials:

• Sandwich grill;
• Kitchen machine with knife.

Preparation:
Roast 1 tablespoon of pine nuts on low heat in a dry frying pan until they are slightly colored and smell nutty. Turn of the heat and poor the nuts in a bowl. Take the ham and put it in the hot frying pan and on low heat, bake it until it's browned.
In the kitchen machine bowl put the basil, old cheese (or Parmesan), 2 tablespoons of pine nuts and 1 clove of garlic. Turn on the kitchen machine and slice everything to very small pieces and until it's well mixed. Add one tablespoon of olive oil each time and turn on the kitchen machine to mix until the pesto gets the right thickness.
Take a slice of bread and smear the pesto on one side. Lay the cheese on the pesto and the ham on the slices cheese. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top. Layer with the second slice of bread and put in the sandwich grill until it's done.

Tips en Tricks:

• This is also a very nice idea for an open baguette. Slice the baguette and smear the pesto on each half. Layer each half with the cheese and ham and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Put the two pieces of baguette under the grill for 2 minutes or until the cheese is molten;
• The pesto is also delicious when used through a bowl of spaghetti or to add taste to mashed potatoes.

4pure4lunch: tosti with homemade pesto, pine nuts, cheese and ham

Stroopwafel cheesecake

Stroopwafels are a Dutch product: 2 cookies with syrup in between. They have been cooked in a waffle-iron. I served this cheesecake on my birthday party and everybody loved it! Off course I will give you the recipe (and I hope you can buy stroopwafels).

Ingredients:

• 1 package cookies;
• 1 package ministroopwafels;
• 4 eggs (L);
• 100 grams butter, melted;
• 500 grams mascarpone;
• 3 teaspoons vanilla-extract;
• 250 grams ricotta;
• 150 grams sugar;
• 10 grams corn flour.

Materials:

• Baking form 26 cm diameter;
• Kitchenmachine with knife;
• Baking paper;
• Mixer.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the rack on the lowest ledge in the oven. Butter the baking form with a bit of butter. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with the baking paper.  Crush the cookies in a kitchen machine and mix it with the melten butter. Spoon the cookie mixture into the baking form and flatten the cookie mixture with the back of a spoon In a bowl mix the sugar and eggs until it's fluffy. Add the ricotta, mascarpone, vanilla and corn flour and mix until everything is incorporated. Spoon the cheese mixture on top of the cookies on the bottom. Flatten the top. Bake the cake for 40 minutes and take it out of the oven. Let it cool down to room temperature. Put it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Just before serving crunch half of the stroopwafels and sprinkle them on top of the cake. Press some cookies into the cheesecake to get a nice touch. 

Tips en Tricks:

• If you haven't got a kitchen machine, you can put the cookies in a bag. Tie the bag and take a rolling pin. Beat the cookies and crunch them; 
• If you've got an conventional oven use it! It makes sure that the cheesecake is well-done on the in- and outside. With a convector oven it's possible that the outside is well done, but the inside is still wet. 

4Pure: Stroopwafel cheesecake

Leek casserole

A real nice dish and very good to let children eat leek. Mine ate everything when I serve this dish and the recipe is just enough for 4 of us. When it goes in the oven and you start to smell the bread and cheese everybody starts to get hungry. And when it is served, it becomes very quit and we all enjoy this dish.

That simple. 

So hereby this great fall recipe:

Ingredients (4 persons):

• 300 grams chicken breast;
• 130 grams butter, room temperature;
• 1 garlic clove;
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt;
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice;
• 15 sprigs parsley
• 150 grams bacon, cut in small strips;
• 4 leeks, sliced in rings;
• 2 baguettes;
• 50 grams cheese, grated;
• 20 grams flour;
• 2 dl beef stock, room temperature (recipe: Homemade beefstock 4Pure);
• pepper and salt.

Materials: 

• Baking dish.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Crush the garlic clove above 100 grams of butter. Chop the leaves of 5 strips parsley very fine and add them to the butter, together with the sea salt and lemon juice. Mix the butter very well and set aside.

Cut the chicken breast in 1 x 1 cm cubes. Heat a frying pan and add the bacon. Leave it on low heat for about 3 minutes, so the fat from the bacon comes free. Add the chicken and bake until its well done. Scoop the chicken and bacon with a slotted spoon out of the pan and into the baking dish. 

Put the frying pan (with a bit of fat) back on the heat and add 1 tablespoon of garlic butter. When it's melted add the leeks. Stir fry the leeks for about 3 minutes. Add to the baking dish. Make a white sauce by melting the remaining butter. When it's melted, but not browned add the flour at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and flour becomes one. Then add the cold beef stock and stir with a whisk. Taste and add pepper and salt if necessary. Simmer for about 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally

Cut the remaining parley leaves very fine and add to the sauce. Poor the sauce over the chicken/leek mixture and stir everything through and through.

Slice the baguette and butter the slices with the garlic-butter mixture. Cover the baking dish with the slices of baguette (with the butter side on top). Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Put the baking dish 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Tips en Tricks:

• Cut the leeks lengthwise once (stop about 1.5 cm from the bottom). Quarter turn the leek and again cut lengthwise once (and stop again about 1.5 cm from the bottom). Get the outer leaves of the leeks and wash under the running tap. You can wash all the sand out this way;
• Add to a warm roux (butter - flour mixture), cold liquid. Add to a cold roux warm liquid. That way you won't get clumps. When you add warm liquid to a warm roux you will get clumps!

4Pure: Leek casserole

Homemade chickenstock

As promised at the post: Oriental chicken soup, hereby the recipe of a really delicious chicken stock. And when you've made it once,  you notice you don't need all the additives that are added with a store bought bouillon tablet. And maybe you think throwing away all the vegetables and chicken is such a waste. We just don't throw it away, but reuse it. The vegetables become chickenfeed (and they love it) and the chicken is reused in chicken soup or when we stir-fry. You can store it perfectly in the freezer.

You can freeze chicken stock very well. If you use a lot of small quantities you can freeze it the same way when you would make ice cubes. But I'm using a lot of larger quantities and I freeze it in freezer containers at exactly 250 mL. That way I always can use chicken stock when I need it. 

Ingredients:

• 3 onions, peeled;
• 3 cloves;
• 3 carrots;
• 3 leeks;
• 2 celery sticks;
• 1 whole chicken, about 2 kg;
• bunch of thyme;
• 4 stems parsley,
• 1 bay leave;
• 6 cloves garlic;
• 1 teaspoons salt;
• 10 pepper corn;
• 2500 milliliters water.

Materials:

• Soup pan, at least 6 liters;
• Rope.

Preparation: 
Rinse the chicken under water. Cut two onions in quarters. Stab the cloves in the third onion. Wash the leek and cut in quarters. Scrape the carrots and quarter. Peel the garlic cloves. Wash the celery sticks.
Put the chicken in the soup pan. Add the vegetables and herbs. Poor the water in the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for an hour. With a slotted spoon remove the fat that will float on top of the soup. Remove the chicken (let it cool down, remove the flesh and freeze in small portions or use it immediately) and simmer for another 1.5 hours.
Sieve the stock. Put the pan in cold water to fasten the cool down of the stock. The stock is ready and can be stored or used.

Tips and tricks: 

• A simple way to bind the herbs: Take an outer leaf of a leek (one you would throw away anyway. On one half lay the thyme, parsley and bay leave. Fold the other half around and tie the rope;
• The pepper corns are easy to keep together when you put them in a tea bag. If you want to use the vegetables as chickenfeed, you can simply remove the pepper;
• If you don't have a slotted spoon you can remove the fat on top of the stock by using a normal spoon.

4Pure: chicken stock

Banana bread

Do you have that to? On some weeks you have to little bananas in the fruit basket. And the next week, they won't eat them. One way to use them (instead of throwing them away), is to make banana ice cream. In our family they can eat that in winter and summer and everything in between. But when I'm looking on the Internet I read a lot of recipes to make banana bread. Off course I've got to try that one! And the end result: If you like bananas, you love banana bread!

Ingredients:

• 3 - 4 bananas, smashed with a fork;
• 80 mL butter, melted but not browned;
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla-extract;
• 1 teaspoon baking soda;
• 1/8 teaspoon salt;
• 210 grams flour.

Materials:

• Cake tin.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Brush all sides of the cake tin with butter. 

With a spatula mix the eggs through the mashed bananas. Add the sugar, melten butter and vanilla-extract and mix very well. Sprinkle baking soda and salt on top and again take the spatula and mix everything through and through. At last take the flour and add to the mixture. Mix everything so that all the flour is wetten. Poor the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour in the oven.

Get the banana bread out of the oven and place it on a rack for 5 minutes. Then get the cake out of the tin and let it cool down further on the rack until serving time. 

Tips and Tricks:

• It isn't necessary to use a mixer. Just mixing with a spatula will do the trick; 
• In Holland you can get baking soda at the drugstore. Baking soda is necessary so that the cake will rise.

4Pure: banana bread

Sugar buns

It's almost weekend and what I like most of them are the breakfast with warm buns. This week we serve a real special one: sugar buns. Sweet buns, sprinkled with pearl sugar. If you put this on the breakfast table on Sunday, everybody becomes happy instantly.

Hereby the recipe:
Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons yeast;
• 500 grams flour;
• 5 grams salt;
• 100 grams sugar;
• 180 mL milk, tepid;
• 55 grams butter, room temperature;
• 2 eggs (L), slightly beaten;
• Pearl sugar;
• 1 tablespoon milk;
• 1 egg yolk.

Materials:

• baking dish;
• plastic foil;
• baking paper.

Preparation:

In a bowl whisk 100 mL tepid milk with the yeast and one tablespoon of sugar. Add 125 grams flour and stir. The dough should be soft and smooth. Cover with foil and let it rest for about 2 hours, this is your starter. Add the remainder of the flour, salt and sugar in a big bowl. Add the milk, eggs and butter and knead the dough for a short time, about 1 minute. Add the starter and knead again. Form a ball and put it in a bowl. Let it rise for 12 hours in the refrigerator.  Cut the dough in 10 pieces and lay it on a baking plate covered with a baking paper. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. Then form buns of the dough and place them back on the baking paper. Cover and let the buns rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
Cut the  the top of the buns with a scissor or sharp knife. Whisk 1 tablespoon milk with the egg yolk. Brush the top of the buns with the egg mixture. Sprinkle pearl sugar on every bun. Bake the buns in the oven for about 18 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Tips en tricks:

• By using a starter, the buns will gain a fuller flavour;
• By resting the dough after dividing it in 10 pieces for 15 minutes, it will ensure you will better form the pieces of dough into buns.

4Pure: sugar buns

Chocolate creme caramel

You have to make crème caramel at least once in a lifetime, or eat it. Personally I like it, but I think it's very sweet. The chocolate in this creme caramel is just the right counterpart to the sweetness and makes this a very good dessert. If you want to serve a delicious dessert, which looks great, this is your chance!

And the thing that makes it even better is the special creme caramel form. That's one of the reasons I like this recipe, just for it looks when I'm cooking.
There is one reminder for this recipe: besides the preparation time, it also takes a couple of hours to stiffen the custard. So make sure you've got enough time before dinner, when you are making this dessert!

Ingredients:

• 100 grams sugar;
• 2 tablespoons cold water;
• 500 mL whole milk;
• 10 mL vanilla-extract;
• 5 cardamom pods, crushed;
• 90 grams dark chocolate, at least 70 % cocoa;
• 3 eggs (L);
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Materials:

• Charlotte form;
• Baking dish for the water bath.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Put the baking dish with hot water in the oven.
Brush the bottom and sides of the Charlotte form with oil.
In a baking pan mix the sugar with the water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar turned into caramel and has got a golden brown color. At that moment turn of the heat and poor the hot caramel into the Charlotte form. Turn the form around, making sure to coat the bottom and sides of the form.

In a second pan poor in the milk and add the cardamom pods and vanilla-extract. Bring to a boil and turn of the heat. Break the chocolate in small pieces and add to the milk mixture. Make sure the chocolate melts into the mixture. Set aside for 20 minutes so the flavours of the cardamom sets in the chocolate milk. Put a fine sieve on a bowl and sieve the chocolate mixture.
In a second bowl mix on high speed the eggs with the brown sugar for one minute. Add the chocolate milk and mix through and through. Poor into the Charlotte form and place the form in the oven.
Leave it in the oven for 50 minutes. Check if the chocolate creme are ready by shaking the mold slightly. The center of the creme should be almost set but not fully as this will set when cooling down.
Let it cool down to room temperature. Then put the form into the refrigerator and cool for another 2 minutes. Unmold the chocolate creme caramel on a plate and serve.

Tips and tricks:

• If you don't have a Charlotte form, but you've got small ramekins, that is fine to. This recipe is enough for 6 small ramekins;
• If you want to make it even more spectacular, dust the top with cocoa;
• If the chocolate creme caramel doesn't unmold immediately, put the outside of the form in hot water for about 2 minutes. The creme caramel will unmold easily afterwards.

4Pure: chocolate creme caramel

Oriental chickensoup

With this cold weather a spicy soup for lunch will do the trick. Today an oriental chicken soup. And if you've got a cold or are chilly, this soup will warm you.

What do you need?

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped;
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped;
• 2 shallots, chopped;
• 2 tablespoons oil;
• 1 teaspoon Laos;
• 1 teaspoon turmeric;
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger;
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander;
• 1 teaspoon cumin;
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar;
• 3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce;
• 2 teaspoons tamarind;
• 2 teaspoons sambal;
• 200 grams bean sprouts;
• 150 grams boiled white rice;
• 1 liter chicken stock, homemade. I'll post the recipe later this week;
• 5 celery sticks;
• 4 hard boiled eggs;
• 250 grams chicken, cut in cubes 1 x 1 cm.

Materials:

• Stock pot.

Preparation:

Heat the stock pot and poor in the oil. Add the onion, garlic, shallots, Laos, turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin, sugar, soy sauce, tamarind and sambal and while whisking bake for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, taste and add salt at taste.

Rinse the bean sprouts with boiling water and lay 50 grams of sprouts in a soup bowl. Add the egg, and 40 grams of rice. Poor in the soup and serve immediately.

Tips:

• If you don't have homemade chicken stock, add 1 liter of store-bought stock;
• Serve with crackers, baked onions and spring onions

4Pure: Oosterse kippensoep