Category Archives: j delights

A perfectly spiced carrot cake

Posted on November 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

carrot cake

It’s been long i want to make a carrot cake. At last i found the right time with the best recipe to welcome my parents who are coming to visit me.

The secret behind a successful carrot cake is a the well balanced taste of spices in the batter and the perfect sweet taste of the cream cheese. I believe this recipe really nailed it.

I mentioned in the previous post that mom and dad are coming to visit us in Doha. Last time they were here, i welcomed them with the spectacular chocolate cake with red fruits, and it was a hit. This time should not be less at least. A moist fresh carrot cake with cream cheese frosting to say Ahla w sahla!

carrot cake If you like this cute welcome bunting, click here to download a printable file. You can make it yourself using two wooden sticks (or straws) and a green thread (or whatever color you want) to attach on it the letters. I believe simplicity is the best. Welcome mom and dad, Nady and Joud are so delighted to have teta and jeddo with us!

carrot cake To make this fab cake you need:

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
500g finely grated fresh carrots

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and flower two 9″ round baking pan.

In a bowl mix oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined then add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg then add them to the liquid mixture and mix until all well combined and smooth. Finally fold in the grated carrots.

Pour the batter equally in the prepared baking dishes and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

When they cool off, layer them with the cream cheese and frost outside the cake as you desire, i made it look like a big carrot adding orange and green food coloring to the cream cheese.

carrot cake

To prepare the cream cheese you need:

600g cream cheese
200g butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter until no lumps remaining. Add the vanilla and salt and combine. Lower the speed and add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and after the last cup increase the speed to medium high and beat until combined.

Some people likes it with walnuts or raisins. You can add some between the layers if you fancy.

This cake stays up to 4 days covered in the fridge. I suggest to serve immediately and enjoy it with your favorite people. I can’t wait!

carrot cake If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

Make your own all natural energy drink

Posted on October 28, 2015 | 3 comments

These days i feel like a train hit me! I am physically worn out. I am sure lots of moms (or even dads) have been there and felt exactly the same after those long sleepless nights and busy days without a help. To cut it short, i am dog-tired!

Luckily and finally mom is coming next week. Yeyyyy! can’t wait. But till then all i can do is drinking from this energy drink to survive. A homemade, all natural drink to boost your performance.

1cup orange juice (2-3 oranges)
1/2 cup mandarin juice (2 mandarins)
3 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
dash of salt
1 tbsp honey

You can add 1/2 cup of water to these ingredients if you don’t want a really tangy taste. This super easy energy drink is the best when you need a quick jolt of balanced revitalization, and being full of vitamin C, it works as a prevention from cold and flu as well.

Citrus fruits, especially oranges, are a good source of electrolytes. For the people who doesn’t know what are the electrolytes, they regulate our nerves and muscles function, our hydration, the pH of our blood, rebuilding damaged tissue, and determining blood pressure. They are basically calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium chloride, hydrogen phosphate (a mineral) and hydrogen carbonate (a salt). So having this tangy drink is a smart option to replenish depleted electrolytes.

Honey, as they call it liquid gold, is a natural sweetener that directly enters the bloodstream and deliver a quick boost of energy and memory.

Salt (sodium chloride) is needed to maintain the proper stomach pH. It’s also known that salt lowers adrenaline spikes to improve the sleep quality.

This fire booster drink is a healthier substitute to coffee, if you wish to lower your daily caffeine intake.

Citrus fruits are in season now, don’t hesitate to try this homemade all natural energy drink and keep up your verve all day long.

Offer this drink to your kids after school (not later than 4 o’clock, they will be full of energy and find difficulty to sleep and you will hate me), it will recharge their energy and protect them from catching cold. Skip the dash of salt, kids might not appreciate the taste, and don’t worry, the lemon will do the job, it is a super alkaline which helps your body maintain a healthy pH level.

Now catch me if you can 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in dessert, special occasions

Tagged all natural, citrus fuits, electrolytes, energy drink, food blogger, homemade, honey, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, salt

5 minutes banana chocolate chip cake, great for school

Posted on October 15, 2015 | 2 comments

Over ripe bananas means it’s time for a banana cake. This recipe is extremely easy and quick. If you’re not fan of cooking or baking, this fool proof cake will make you a star in the kitchen. It takes time to prepare less than the time you need to preheat the oven. 5 MINUTES!!!! yes, try it!

3 slightly over ripe bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chip

In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, (when really ripe) then mix in oil, egg and vanilla. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix all to finally toss in the flour and combine. Finally fold in the chocolate chip. And the batter is ready, in 5 minutes!!

We poured the batter in small paper molds (it makes 6-7 small cakes) as school friendly portions. I said “we” because my little munchkin is the chef behind this delicious cake. He was preparing his dessert for school.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in a preheated oven ( 200°C). Let it cool and enjoy every flavorful bite.

If you don’t want to bake individual parcels, bare in mind it will take more than 15 minutes to bake one. Start checking after 25 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Tagged 5 minutes recipe, banana chocolate chip cake, easy recipe, food blogger, individual parcels, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, quick recipe, recipe

Pineapple cake and pineapple flower DIY tutorial

Posted on October 12, 2015 | 2 comments

The joy of baking a cake for a special occasion shows that simple things in life are the best, a personal touch makes things memorable. Despite the difficulty of having a time on my own with a newborn, i insisted baking Antoun’s birthday cake myself. This is how we are used to celebrate and i won’t change this routine.

A pineapple cake sounds perfect, we all love pineapple at home. To prepare the batter we need:

3 cups flour sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted and softened butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C and prepare 9″ baking dish (greased and floured).

In an electric mixer, whip butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time adding the vanilla with the last egg yolk.

Add the flour and baking powder in small amounts, alternating with the milk and pineapple juice, mixing on low speed until the batter is well combined, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Let it cool for at least one hour. Meantime lets prepare the frosting.

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cream cheese (left at room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In the bowl of the electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form or your cream will be runny when decorating. Scrape into a separate bowl to whip the cream cheese with the remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold the mixture in the whipping cream.

Now the cake is ready to be decorated. You will need 300g of pineapple chunks (caned) for the stuffing. Divide the cake in two layers, drizzle from the juice of the pineapple can on both layers for a moist texture before putting the cream and pineapple chunks. Cover the whole cake with the remaining cream.

To make it look festive and up to the occasion i decorated the top with fresh pineapple, looking like flowers. It’s very easy to make them, follow the fool proof scheme step by step :

Slice off the top and bottom of the pineapple and peel it. Pop out the seeds on the sides. Slice the pineapple very thinly so that the slices are almost translucent. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper. Bake at 150°C to dry them out slowly. Timing will vary, i worked with a baby pineapple so i didn’t need more than 10 minutes before i transfer them to a muffin tin so that the edges curve upward in the shape of a flower. I let them sit to cool this way to retain the flower shape.

Add some of the pineapple stems to give it a realistic look. Enjoy the heavenly taste of this mouthwatering cake.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Tagged birthday cake, cream cheese frosting, dessert, food blogger, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, pineapple, pineapple cake, pineapple flower tutorial, qatar, recipes

A lip smacking beef stroganoff

Posted on September 14, 2015 | 4 comments

What a flavorsome savory dish that will grace your table and leave you with enjoyment and comfort. So quick that can be prepared by the time of boiling your tagliatelle. I can promise to soothe your hunger in less than 30 minutes!

It’s a classic russian dish with many variations. My recipe calls for:

500g lean beef strips
1 big onion finely diced
100g butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup beef broth (or water)
1 tbsp mustard
1/3 cup wine
200g mushroom
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onions slowly until tender (3-4 minutes) , then add the beef strips and brown (3-5 minutes) stirring constantly. Sift in the flour and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the broth (or water) along with the mustard and wine. Let it simmer together for 10 minutes. Finally add the mushroom and cream to cook for 5 minutes all together.

Serve on a bed of tagliatelle or rice. Some people likes it with roasted potatoes too. Sprinkle with chives or parsley and wow your family/guests. I promise you lots of murmuring between them and a another visit sooner than you think.

Having baby Joud with long nights deprived of sleep and living the experience of brotherhood and first year of school for Nady make us need this type of comfort food. I can say at this stage and where we live, good food is the enjoyment for my husband and I.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.