Healthy Brownies

Hello my sweet ladys and gentlemen,

as sitting in the office all day long is not the best for your health and body, I decided to at least change one thing in my life so that I can stay healthy throughout the week. So I decided to eat a lot more plant based food, not too much carbs and gluten and also no processed sugar. Even though I am doing this just for a few weeks now, I already feel a lot better. When talking about eating healthier, most people feel like they won't be able to eat any kind of sweet treat like chocolate or a piece of cake. But it does not matter if you eat a piece of cake or chocolate when you are craving something sweet. It's all about the ingredients. When you eat "normal" cake and sweets, the baddest thing about them is the processed white sugar and the big amount of white flour and lots of unhealthy fat.

But you can change that. You can change the recipe this far that it has no processed sugar in it, no unhealthy fats and no flour. Sounds impossible to bake a cake without butter, sugar and flour right? First, I thought that too but soon I discovered how easy it is to actually bake very delicious, healthy cakes. Today, I am going to share a healthy and gluten free brownie recipe with you.
You won't believe it, but these brownies contain avocado! They are so so rich and chocolatey and really moist as well. And the good thing is that these'y don't even taste like there is avocado in them. They taste just as good as regular brownies...I think that they taste even better!
For these brownies I use avocado and a little bit of raw coconut oil as a substitute for butter, coconut sugar as a much healthier substitute for normal, refined sugar and I am using raw cacao instead of sweetened industrial cocoa powder and last but not least, greated nuts instead of flour. Avocado and coconut oil are two of the most healthy fats you can ever find, and also avocados are high in protein, vitamin B, C and E and contains lots of dietary fiber.
The coconut sugar is not "healthy" but it is so much better than normal sugar because it is unrefined and with that, it does not spike your blood sugar levels as regular sugar would do. The grated nuts contain healthy fats and antioxidants and they can even prevent heart deseases and cancer. Flour instead, would work like sugar for your body and slow down your metabolism.
But we should not forget that these "healthy" brownies are still a treat but they are still a lot better for you then any other piece of cake
Making them is yet so simple: You just stir everything together and pop the whole thing in the oven for about 30 minutes and your done! Here are your healthy and even more delicious brownies. Guilt free :)

Ingredients:

3 tbs coconut oil

1 ripe avocado

200g grated whole almonds

100g grated hazelnuts

3 eggs

180g coconut sugar

3 tbs raw cacao powder

100g 70% dark chocolate (dairy free and fair trade)

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

 Preparation:

First of all, preheat your oven to 180 °C. Then, put the coconut oil and the chocolate in a sauce pan and melt it over medium heat. Now, you can gradually add the sugar, the greated nuts, salt and baking powder and give it all a good stir. In a food processor, mix the eggs and avocado together until it becomes a smooth texture. Pour the egg and avocado mixture in your sauce pan and add the cocoa powder. Then, again give it all a good stir with a spoon until it is a smooth batter.
Pour it all in a small or medium sized cake pan and bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes. After that, let them cool completely and cut them into equal, square shaped pieces.
I like to eat mine with fresh berries (especially raspberries) or with greek yoghurt and banana or walnuts on top. You can use all your phantasy to create the brownie of your choice.


See you on sunday to an other jummy recipe! xoxo

Blueberry filled Brioche

Hello my sweet ladys and gentlemen,

this time I've made something special. As you know, sundys are not only for relaxing but also for exploring. Every sunday we go out for a nice long walk and we spend a lot of time outside. After such a long walk, there's nothing better then coming home to a loveley smelling house with a warm brioche in the oven.
To me, brioche is a autumn/winter musthave.

This time, I developed a recipe of a fluffy sweet brioche filled with heavey cream cheese and lots of juicy blueberries inside. I was a bit nervous about the way it would turn out so it was also  bit ike exploring.. but I'm telling you it turned out even better then I expected.
I sprinkled brown sugar and some sliced almonds on top which created the perfect bit of crunchyness on top and the dough... oh my goodness the dough came out so moist and fluffy and the filling was just perfectly sweet and fruity. After taking the first bite, you simply can't stop eating more. This brioche, is like sliced heaven with blueberries inside.  And it tastes even better when you have some creamy hot chocolate or a nice cup of black tea with it. Yum!
You need to take yourself some time to make this as the dough needs 4 hours to rise and I know it sounds a lot but believe me, it makes a huge difference and it is so worth it.

 Ingredients:

- Dough-
42 g fresh yeast
500g all purpose flour
1      egg
150g sugar
50g   butter
1 tbs cream cheese
50 ml milk


-Filling-
4 tbs full fat chream cheese
2 tbs sour cream
4 tbs sugar
150g blueberries (fresh or frozen)






Preparation:

Grab a large bowl and mix the four and sugar together. Then, in a small bowl, mix togehter warm milk and the fresh yeast and pour it over the flour and sugar mixture. Then, one by one add melted butter, one egg and the cream cheese and mix it all together until it becomes a silky soft dough. Now, take a clean large bowl, gease it with some vegetble oil and then put your dough in it. Cover it with a kitchen towel and put it in a warm place and let it rise for 3-4 hour (the longer, the better).
After that, flour the top of your kitchen counter and put the dough on it. Flatten it out a bit (ca. 1cm). Then, mix the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar together and put it in the middle of the dough from the top to the bottom and add all the blueberries on top of it. Now, fold the top and the bottom sides in first, continuing with the left and right sides and folding them from side to side and pressing the last ends together so it creates a closed kind of "bag" and nothing will come out while baking. Put it on a lined baking tray and brush it with milk, sprinkle some brown sugar and a hand full of sliced almonds on top.
Now, you are ready to put it in the preheated oven at 180 °C and bake for about 25 minutes until the top is really crusty and brown. Them, get it out and let it cool completely. And here you are, a proud baker of the worlds best blueberry filled brioche bread. Enjoy your treat!

!And be prepared for next weeks Blogpost: I will be posting a special recipe for healthy brownies! Xoxo

French Caramel and Cinnamon Croissants

Hello sweet ladys and gentlemen,

on my way to work this week I discovered something new. I baught it at a local bakery while I was in a rush and when I took the first bite, I fell in love. The top was covered with a thin layer of caramelized sugar and cinnamon and the puff pastry was gloriousy sweet and buttery soft. It was exactly how I love it. It was not just a normal croissant, it was the PERFECT croissant. Filled with cinnamon, crispy cramelized sugar on top and a hint of vanilla. I mean just look at them..they look so perfect that you can't even resist taking another one. It is the perfect company for your morning cup of coffee or tea.

 Last weekend I decided to make them myself and it was incredibly easy and they tasted exactly as the ones from the bakery.
So here's the recipe for these super easy and decadent sweet croissants. Try them and you'll love them as much as I do. Promised!


















Ingredients:


2 puff pastry sheets (ready to bake from the store)
100g unsalted butter
150g sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
2 tbs vanilla sugar

- Cinnamon -

Cinnamon can heal every sickness..

especially when you crave a little childhood memory

  Preparation:

Place one pastry sheet on your kitchen couter and spread half of the butter on top (make sure the butter is really soft but not melted). Then, in a small bowl mix your sugar, cinnamon and vanilla sugar. Sprinkle half of your sugar mixture evenly on top. Then, take the second pastry sheet and place it exactly on top of the first one. Now, press the edges together so that it is closed. Then, spread the rest of the butter on top of the second sheet and also sprinkle the rest of the sugar mixture on top.
After that, you are ready to toll it strating from the long side. Make sure you roll it as thight as possible so that there are no gabs inside.
Then, use a sharp knife to cut it in 6 equal pieces. Place them on a baking tray and leave space between them as they will get a lot bigger then they are at this point.
Now, take a wooden spoon and press the stick down in the middle (see picture). With this technique you will achieve the perfect croissant shape. Press the ends a bit together at the top and then brush them with a little bit of melted butter and sprinkle a little bit sugar on top.
Now, you are ready to pop them in the oven and bake them for about 20-25 minutes until the sugar on the top is perfectly carmelized and they are  little bit brown.
Then, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely. And now you are ready to enjoy these babes..