Affogato

What goes hand in hand with Almond & Pistachio Biscotti?

Affogato of course!

Translated it means 'drowned' and that is exactly what you are going to do to the ice cream with the coffee.

Use: Good quality vanilla bean ice cream; hot espresso shot & (optional) a shot of your favourite liqueur such as frangelico

Do: Place one or two scoops of ice cream in a bowl or glass.  Prepare a shot of coffee (using an espresso machine preferably) and pour over ice cream.  (If using a liqueur, pour this over now aswell).  Eat with a spoon.

The juxtaposition of the hot and cold sensations in your mouth at once is sublime.

NomNom!

Almond & Pistachio Biscotti

Let me admit to you, right off the bat, that I am a Biscotti novice.

Up until now, I had never cooked, nor even thought about cooking Biscotti.  I wasn't even sure I liked them!

But as you do on a rainy day, you break out your recipe book (or in this case, scour the Internet), raid your pantry and crank the oven.  So why Biscotti?  Why not!

Admittedly, I had some minor issues along the way, and they turned out looking like a Biscotti goddess had a serious run in with an ugly tree, but boy did they taste Deee-Lish!

Biscotti Use:

Biscotti Do:

(Rolling the logs was a little more finicky then I expected and they ended up to long and not thick enough)

From here on in I don't have photos.  I was concentrating so much so that my eyes could cut through sheet metal like lasers! Anyhoo...

5. Once cool, preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Using a serrated knife, thinly slice the logs and place flat down on a baking tray. (this was a little difficult because my log was still a little soft inside, I would suggest cooking the log in step 4 for another 5 minutes)

6. Bake for a further 5 minutes or so.  Be careful not to over bake as the Biscotti will become hard.

Devour!

As an aside, it's not all doom and sugary gloom with this biscuit; almonds & pistachios are a good source of protein, rich in dietary fibre, B vitamins, essential minerals & mono-unsaturated fats.  

With all sugary foods remember, consume in moderation.

For the original recipe click here

Friday Foodie - Orange Cupcakes

I'm a huge fan of citrus flavoured desserts and sweets. In fact I find them so hard to resist that I am indulging in an orange cupcake as I type this post - it's very hard to eat & type you know!

These cupcakes, are super simple to make, have a light texture and are bursting with orange flavour - naturally!

Cupcakes Use:

Cupcakes Do:

At this point, don't be tempted to eat all the mixture, a little bit on the tip of your finger is quite okay!

Don't they just look dreamy already?

If you can resist, allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While time ticks away, get cracking with the icing.

Icing Use:

Icing Do:
1. Sift icing sugar into medium bowl
2. Add butter and smoosh it into the icing sugar with the back of a spoon
3. Add zest and a little orange juice at a time, stirring well after each addition, until it becomes a spreadable consistency
4. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.  Refrigerate until set.

Feel free to embellish the tops of your cupcakes with any goodies your heart desires.

Enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee!

For a printable recipe click here to download