Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts

Black Tea with Vanilla


The perfect cup of tea - some of us have found it, some of us haven't. For some, the perfect cup of tea changes time to time, and for others, it stays the same for many years. The perfect cup of tea for my grandpa is simply black tea with a hint of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. For my mom, its double bergamot earl grey with a teaspoon of honey. For my friend Emily, it is Earl grey with lavender infused honey, and for Jason, it is either peppermint or black tea with nothing else. My perfect cup of tea often changes with the season. For example, my favorite in the winter is peppermint tea with a hint of honey, while in the summer my favorite is green tea. In the spring and fall, I tend to gravitate towards black tea with some honey.


My tea drawer is quite extensive, with many different types of teas - mostly black, as it is usually my favorite. Finding my favorite black tea, however, has been quite a journey. As of June 2017, my favorite black tea is "Pure Leaf" black tea with Vanilla. I've been through them all it seems, from the Tesco scottish blend, to Yorkshire gold, to Tetley, to other small niche local brands of black tea. Which ever the case, none seem to be as simply delicious as this one by Pure Leaf.


I found this Pure Leaf version at London Drugs on sale for 5$ - not bad for a quality tea like this. I have found that it is very easy to accidentally steep tea for too long, and with black tea, that usually results in a very bitter, unpleasant taste. With this Pure Leaf version, the tea does not seem to go overly bitter, even if steeped too long. I really appreciate that, as I forget easily and have a habit of over steeping my tea.

I am so happy to have found this tea! It is full bodied, with a distinct vanilla flavour - perfection! I like to have it with honey. It is also good plain, and super delicious with both cream and sugar - a treat! If you have struggled finding the perfect black tea, I suggest giving this one a try!

Thanks for reading, 
Madison xx

Read more »
Labels: , ,

Chocolate & Berry Trifle



My mom makes the most delicious 'death by chocolate' trifle desert. It is always filled with the most delicious cream, pudding, chocolate, and other yummy things. Trifle is a layered desert, and while I have not played around with the trifle process too much, I did create this fun little variation a little while ago and I thought I would share it here! This chocolate and berry trifle is full of chocolate cake, pound cake, whipped cream, chocolate pudding, and of course, berries! This is an extremely easy recipe because you can use boxed pudding, boxed cake, and other quick alternatives rather than making everything from scratch. While I do really enjoy making things from scratch, in a recipe like trifle there are definitely ways to make the process a little easier and quicker!


Directions

If using boxed cake, the first step is to bake the cake of course. Use the instructions given on the box, usually it requires a liquid (water or milk), veg oil, and three eggs. After the cake has cooled completely, break it up  into small bite sized pieces.

I was able to find pre-made pound cake at my local Safeway, making the process even easier. If you don't have the access to pound cake, or the ingredients for pound cake, feel free to use boxed vanilla cake. The density and flavour of pound cake is really great, but a simple vanilla cake will do. Just like the chocolate cake, break the pound cake into small bite sized pieces. I chose to keep the 2 kinds of cake (chocolate and vanilla) in two different bowls to allow for nice coloured layers!

While the cake is baking, go ahead and make the chocolate pudding. I use the Jell-O brand which is extremely simple to make and comes together very quickly.

The pudding will take around 5-8 minutes to set, so during this time, if you are using homemade whipped cream, go ahead and whip the cream. Add sugar and vanilla to your taste (not too much, we dont want to over sweeten the already sweet dessert), and whip it until stiff peaks form. We want the whipped cream to be very thick so that it will hold up in the trifle. For this reason, my mom uses cool-whip because of its firm texture. I prefer homemade whipped cream to cool-whip, but either works in this desert!

 The last step is to assemble! Usually my mom and I assemble this in a large punch bowl because it can be so big! However, depending on how much you are planning to make or serve, this trifle also does really well in individual portions. I find glass jars work really well for this, as well as wine glasses, or personal dessert bowls. I begin the layering process with the chocolate pudding. On top of that I add some crumbled chocolate cake, and then a few berries. The amount of each layer depends on the size of the vessel you are serving the trifle in. For smaller servings like the glass jar, do not make the layers too big as you will quickly run out of space. After the berries, I put a layer of whipped cream, then I add the crumbled pound cake, another layer of berries, and some of the crumbled skor bar. Keep repeating these layers, alternating chocolate and vanilla, ending with a generous heap of whipped cream and berries on top! I like to sprinkle even more of the skor bar on top to garnish.

It is likely that you will need to adjust the amount of pudding and whipped cream depending on how much cake you use. When I make these individual portions, I use only about a quarter of a box chocolate cake and only a few pieces of pound cake. If you are planning on making a giant serving of the trifle and use the entirety of both cakes, I suggest preparing 2 packages of chocolate pudding and making a LOT of whipped cream! 😀

This is an extremely delicious desert that is sure to impress both your taste buds. The lightness of whipped cream and berries balance the dense nature of the chocolate pudding and the pound cake.

Enjoy!




Let me know if you try this recipe & be sure to come back for more great recipes!

Thanks for reading,
Madison xx

Read more »
Labels: ,

Cinnamon Spread


When I was growing up, my sister and I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house. I have several 'taste memories' from our many meals there, but one that stands out is cinnamon spread on toast! We were never allowed to have that at home, so it was such a treat at grandmas house. 💓 She bought it in a small tub, it was called 'cinnamon spread' by the brand Imperial. We had it for breakfast after sleepovers, or as a sweet afternoon snack. I honestly loved it so so so much!

My grandma passed away a few years ago now and I completely forgot about the delicious treat we used to have. I was reminded a few days ago when I was recipe testing for cinnamon buns (coming soon). I was playing around with the filling for the buns and realized that what I had created tasted EXACTLY like the cinnamon spread from my younger days - instant taste memory!


Directions

Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl, then add the sugar. Allow the sugar to dissolve into the warm butter and then add the cinnamon. Stir well and set aside - the mixture should thicken slightly.

Next take half a cup of fresh cream and whip it until stiff peaks form. Once the cinnamon mixture has become somewhat 'gelatinous', go ahead and fold in the whipped cream. I prefer to leave the whipped cream unsweetened because of the sugar in the cinnamon mix, if you want to use sweetened whipped cream, feel free - it will be extra sweet! 

Place the cinnamon spread in the fridge for at least an hour to let it firm up, and then it is ready to eat! 

It is important to keep this spread refrigerated as it can soften at room temperature. Like I said before, the spread is great on toast, but it is also really delicious with apples! 


Let me know if you re-create this recipe & be sure to come back for more!

Thanks for reading,
Madison xx



Read more »
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)