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A recipe to elevate your date cake to the next level

Posted on June 29, 2015 | 41 comments

Living in the gulf, offers abundance in dates. You find it everywhere, specially now it’s ramadan. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe for a cake, which meets my expectations, not being too sweet.

I’ve been told eating dates leads to a shorter labor. There is no study that proves or negates, but what’s the harm?! I was thinking why i don’t incorporate dates in my daily regime. I would do anything if it leads to easier labor.

This perfect recipe of date walnut cake, enliven your classic recipe and takes it to the next level. It will be your favorite breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or juice, or at anytime of the day, you will love it.

250g dates, pitted and chopped
4 tbs softened butter (almost 60g)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup hot coffee
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine dates, butter, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour the hot coffee into the bowl and combine. Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes before adding the egg, vanilla, baking powder, and flour, mixing gently until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 35-45mns or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The reason we put hot coffee is that its acidity reacts with the baking soda to produce rise. Plus it gives a subtle dimension to the flavors without being identified in the final outcome. You can substitute with just water but it won’t be that moist and a bit more dense.

After it is completely cool, you can slice it and serve it with coffee, juice or topped with cream cheese. Wrap it airtight to store at room temperature for several days or in the fridge for longer storage.

It’s a really wholesome cake i recommend, i am sure if you are dates lover you will be making it more often. You will be addicted to it!

This might be my last post now from qatar, as i am traveling to Beirut to deliver my precious “Joud”. I’ll try my best to post at least once a week. I will miss you 🙂

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

Tagged blog, cake, coffee, dates, food blogger, hot coffee, how to do, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, walnut, walnut cake

Strawberry jam crumble tart

Posted on May 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Are you craving a sweet treat that is unfussy? Try this delicious crumble tart with any jam flavor you fancy and reap a bounty of flavors in no time!

It’s been a hektic week, juggling hundred tasks, between work and home, especially we are moving to a new flat. I wanted to prepare something sweet but very easy and effortless. Right now, i am savoring one piece of this strawberry crumble tart while writing this post.

Share with me this pleasure, head to your kitchen right away to prepare this delectable tart, I am sure you have all the ingredients:

2 1/2 cup flour sifted
200g butter cold and cubed
1/2 cup confectioner sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
300g jam (flavor of your choice)

Mix all together until it just starts to come together. You need a crumble like dough not a solid ball of dough.

Preheat you oven 200°C. Take 3/4 of the dough and roll it in your pan (10 inches) with a half cm thickness. Bake for 10 minutes before taking out to spread the jam on top of it. Use any jam you favor, i chose strawberry for this time.

Crumble the rest of the dough over the jam and bake again for another 10 minutes.

Let it cool before serving. Personally i like it at room temperature and also cold from the fridge. It’s one of the treats light in efforts but rich in flavors just bake and slice!

Satisfy your sweet tooth and Sahtein!

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Mandarin pound cake

Posted on May 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’ve been craving this tangy cake for long! A real pleasure to the palate, made with fresh mandarin (you can replace it with fresh oranges) and comes with a warning label: ADDICTIVE!

This pound cake is not just looking amazing but it’s also uber delicious; As its name suggests, it’s citrusy, rich and buttery, and will surely please a lot of people. A lot of you would like NOW to pick a piece or two out of the screen.

This recipe calls for:

Cake batter:

1cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (227g about 2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated mandarin zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tbsp rum

Mandarin syrup:

1/2 cup mandarin juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mandarin glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Many times it happens a recipe calls for buttermilk and you realize you don’t have or find at the nearest supermarket. Luckily you can do it at home in just 5 minutes. All you need is a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon. Pour the milk on the vinegar and let it rest for 5-10 mns. I am sure lot of you will never buy again buttermilk once you know this easy substitution. If the recipe calls for more than a cup of buttermilk you can easily double the quantity.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour your bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the mandarin zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the mandarin juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the tops.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Meantime while the cake is getting baked, prepare the syrup: Cook 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup mandarin juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Take it out of the pan and place it on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the mandarin syrup over and allow it to cool completely.

To glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and mandarin juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top and allow to dry.

Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

Now I am sure it won’t last long stored in your fridge but it will be a staple in it especially it’s spring time!

Happy Baking!

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“Mini chef in the kitchen” 2- Jus de lapin (carrot-banana-mandarin smoothie)

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

In the “mini chef in the kitchen” series, today we are preparing a healthy fruit smoothie to beat the heat.

Giving the juice a creative name, attracts your kids attention and stimulates their curiosity. There is no way they won’t try it especially if they are picky eaters like my son.

“jus de lapin” or rabbit juice because it contains carrots and has a bright orange color!

You will need

1 large carrot
1 big banana
juice of 3 mandarines
half cup ice (optional)
1 tsp honey (optional)

Mix all and blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth and frothy.

My son is not fan of sweet taste, i didn’t add the honey since the mandarin were not very sour.

If the fruits are already cold or some frozen, you can skip adding ice. I put two colorful ice sticks for fun and to keep it chilled.

This activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn. Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

To add more fun and encourage Nady to have the whole smoothie i prepared moustache cut out and insert it in the straw. Click here for the printable file.

There are endless options for smoothies, use the favorite fruits of your kids, or even introduce some other veggies like celery, spinach or cucumber and make the green giant.

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Best Artichoke Spinach dip

Posted on April 28, 2015 | 3 comments

This best ever homemade artichoke spinach dip. It is a huge hit appetizer, merits a standing ovation from your guests.

It’s a pinnacle appetizer for my husband and I, we order it almost at every diner restaurant until the day i made it home. Since then my husband craves this symphony of well blended flavors.

To make this creamy dip you need:

250g spinach chopped (thawed if frozen)
400g artichoke hearts drained and chopped
250ml heavy cream
100g cream cheese
2 cups Emmental cheese (divided)
1 big onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
salt to taste

In a pot cook the onion and garlic with the spinach for 3-4 minutes. Put the heat off and mix in the artichoke, cream, cream cheese, salt and one cup of the Emmental cheese. You can use mozzarella if you wish a milder taste.

Pour the mix in a baking dish, sprinkle over the remaining cup of cheese and bake on 200°C in the oven for 30 mins or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.

Serve it with tortilla chips, toasted bread or crackers and dive right in! I am warning you it’s addictive 🙂

The flavors are outstanding! Try it and give me your opinion.

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