Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

2010-06-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

New York Cheesecake

Did any one saw Friends episode that called “The one with all the cheesecake”? Where Rachel and Chandler were stealing the cheesecake from their neighbor, I don’t know if they are good actors or the cheesecake was really really good!

Rachel was describing it in that way: “it had a buttery crumbly crust with very rich yet light cream cheese filling”! U see what I mean!

Sooooo !

I searched for the best New York Cheesecake recipe , I tried Joy Of Baking recipe – with minor modifications - and turn out to be soo SOOO good !

Pretty ladies, grab ur aprons and march straight into the kitchen coz u r gonna enjoy what coming out the oven today!

( CRUST )

2 cups (200 grams) finely crushed Digestive biscuits.
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar.
1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted.

Place the rack in the center of ur oven & preheat ur oven to 350ºf .

Mix crumbs , sugar & butter in one large bowl until u end up with a wet crumbs.

Grease a 9 inch springform pan and press the crumbs over the bottom of the pan and a little bit up the sides.

Cover , refrigerate and start working on ur cream cheese filling.

( FILLING )

32 ounces (1 kg) cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons (35 grams) all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream
3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In ur free standing mixer , combine cream cheese , sugar , flour.

Break the eggs in a separate bowl , Wisk together with the vanilla , then add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mixture in 5 batches , mix well after each addition.

Then pour the mixture on the prepared crust and in to the oven for 15 min.

After, lower the temperature to 300º F and continue baking for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. ( Now , I recommend that u constantly watch the cheesecake coz u don’t want to over bake it , if u see that the edges are firm and the center is wobbling a little bit when u shake the pan then its done ! )

Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges to prevent it from cracking as it cool.

When it reaches the room temperature, refrigerate it for 8 hours or more.

Serve it plane or heat some jam and spread it on ! ( or u can always eat it straight from the pan as I do *Ooops* ! )

Enjoooy <3

Dana ,

A Piece of Palmiers !

2010-05-18T02:46:00.000-07:00

Its elegant name is Palmiers (French for palm tree) and its cuddle name is Elephant Ears. This is possibly the easiest and most flexible treat that you can make. The best part of all is that it’s made by my favorite dough, flakey Puff Pastry <3

If you have some visitors that are coming soon and you have no time to do anything, just dust your kitchen counter with sugar, roll a puff pastry sheet and cut. Yes ! It’s that easy.

I made my palmiers with a little spicy twist and a refreshing Arabic splash of rose water (just love it). I also like to use Demerara brown sugar for this recipe because it gives a nice crunch. This sugar acquired its name for the region it originated from in the South African Republic of Guyana.

I like serving those palmiers with tea with mint. The nice thing about palmiers is that there are no precise measurements. It's all according to taste.

You need,

::Basic::

A sheet of Puff pastry

Demerara brown sugar

::Filling::

Mix together:

100 g nuts of your choice finely chopped

Table spoon melted butter

Table spoon rose water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

:: Glue ::

1 lightly beaten egg

:: Syrup ::

Honey

2 tablespoons rose water

How it’s done,

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and place the oven rack in the center.

2. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper.

3. Spread the Demerara brown sugar on your kitchen counter.

4. Place the pastry sheet on top of the sugar and press with your hands or with a rolling pin to make the sugar stick to the pastry sheet.

5. Spread your filling leaving boarders at two sides like I did or even on the whole sheet. It makes no difference.

6. Fold the two blank boarders brushing the edge of one to slightly stick on the other with the beaten egg

7. Fold each side once again and brush with eggs to glue them.

8. Optional: It helps when you’re cutting to put this formed cylinder back in the fridge for 15 min.

9. Cut into half inch slices.

10. Place on the parchment paper on the baking tray leaving a space of 2 inches between pieces.

11. Bake until it becomes puffy and golden.

12. Sprinkle with some syrup while still hot.

13. Leave on rack to cool.

Filling: Sweet & Savory

I usually use pistachios, pecans and walnuts. You can use any other type that you prefer. You can also use any other type of filling you want, perhaps even just sugar. These palmiers can also be transformed into a savory appetizer by eliminating the sugar coat (use flour in this case) and using some savory spreadable filling.

Puff Pastry..

Brand: If you’re in Qatar or in the same region, the puff pastry that I use is Al-Sunbula. I tried several other brands, but they didn’t give me the taste or the texture that I’m looking for.

Size: If you can’t find a large sheet of puff pastry, use a couple or two of rectangular ones and spread them with a rolling pin to create 1 sheet of the size you want.

Here's a nice informative video for more illustration.

Bon ِِAmusement

--Nora

Pieing anyone ?!

2010-05-09T09:19:00.001-07:00

This pie is just too good to through and less messy ;P

It had been stated that pies appeared in England in the 12^th century and started with savory filling.This recipe comes from a very dear book to my heart because it’s the first baking book that I acquire in English language. Add to that having it as a gift from a best friend … <3

Pie pans vary in sizes: Big, small or even bite size and shapes: round rectangular or even heart shaped. They’re also different in other factors such as material and usability: classic ceramic oven to table dish, one piece or removable base plates, and more.

Pecan Pie

What I love most about pies is the multiple textures starting with the crunchy crust, to the soft heart, and ending with an upper crust or some kind of cream.

The pecan pie has a thin golden crust, a center full of sweet nutty think mixture and a crispy top. The key factor of giving the filling and top this texture is the use of corn syrup, specifically dark for this recipe. The pie crust in this recipe is a very easy basic one that you can use to make different types of pies, just change the filling and every time it’s a new thing.

Pie Crust

260 g flour
½ teaspoon salt
110 g unsalted butter

1. Put the three ingredients in your electric mixer and beat until you get crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix. Then add a second tablespoon of water and mix until you get a smooth dough. If the dough seems dry, add a third tablespoon of water. (I personally, added 3 tablespoon of water.)

2. Wrap the dough with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour.

3. Spread the dough evenly on a surface lightly dusted with flour (using a rolling pin)
4. Cover a 23-cm pie pan with the dough sheet and trim the excess on the edges. (I used a removable base pie plate.

Pecan Filling

200 g caster sugar

250 ml dark corn syrup

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

60 g unsalted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

110 g pecans, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 325 °F and place oven rack in the centre. ( I tune my oven to 275°F and place the rack slightly to the top of the oven, it depends on your oven)

2. Combine the dark corn syrup and caster sugar on a large sauce pan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil making sure that the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool.

3. Wisk the eggs.

4. Add the corn syrup and sugar mixture to the eggs slowly. Keep stirring cos if you don’t you might end up with a sweet omelet :P

5. Add the butter and vanilla extract. Keep mixing until the butter completely melts.

6. Put the chopped pecans on the pie crust.

7. Slowly pour the mixture.

8. Decorate it with additional pecans or cut some cute shapes with the excess dough and put them on top.

9. Bake this for 50-60 min.

You will know when this pie is done by the golden crusty texture that forms on top as the sugars caramelize.

Not a Problem..

A slightly smaller pie pan: don’t pour all the filling.

Don’t have a pie pan: you can use a pyrex dish

--Nora

Fantasy Lemon Cake

2010-05-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

Lemons are great because of their nutritious value and antioxidant advantage that resides in their high content of vitamin C.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by the lime tree at my grandma’s with its small white flowers and the aromatic citrusy smell that came from it.

The first person that introduced me to this citrusy dream was Dana, my best friend and partner in this blog. I was desperately trying to reach her that day and she wasn’t picking up. She was drowned in that fantasy !

The way she sounded describing that Lemon Cake made me crave to try it myself. Next thing you know, I went grocery shopping for some vibrant perfect skin juicy lemons.
If you’re into citrusy flavors, like I am, this is the treat for you. The sensational smell, the rich flavor and the soft texture will blow you away. Some people accuse me of having an affair with my food, but I’ll tell you one thing, you’ll never enjoy it unless you feel it. :D

If you dare to go on a sweet sour ride, fasten that apron on because here’s what you need..
(Recipe by Stephanie Jaworski, Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake)

:: Cake Ingredients ::
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature --soft
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon*
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

:: Lemon Glaze ::
1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

:: aaand Action ::
1. Oven & Pan
a. Preheat the oven to, theoraticaly, 350 F. This also depends on your oven. I set mine to a temperature between 250 F and 300 F.
b. Place rack in the center or more towards the top of the oven.
c. Spray a 9 inch pan with butter spray. You have to take into consideration that changing the size of the pan will change the baking time and most likely the oven temperature.

2. Wisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. With your electric mixer,
a. Cream the butter. Add the sugar gradually. Beat until fluffy (3 min)
b. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
c. Add the Lemon zest and vanilla extract.

4. Add flour mix and lemon juice alternately and gradually. Scrape down the sides and bottom and mix until ingredients are well incorporated, but don’t over beat the mixture because it can make your cake dry.

5. After you pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake it for 40-45 min. When I changed the size of the pan to an 8 inch one. I set the oven to 250 F and the baking time lasted to 60-65 min. I also tried it with a 9 inch doughnut shape pan and it took around 45-50 min. The trick here is to check the cake after 40 min, unless you’re using a pan that is smaller than 9 inch. To do that, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. When it comes out clean, your cake is done.

6. Put the cake on a cooling rack.

7. To prepare the glaze, mix the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice. I usually add a little more lemon juice until I feel that the consistency is good for pouring over the cake yet not very thin (about ½ to 1 teaspoon). Drizzle that on top and sides of the cake when it’s almost cool. Let the topping completely cool before you cover the cake to give it the ability to turn into a perfect glaze. If you cover it before, your cake will have wrinkles! :P The glaze is essential because it enhances the citrusy flavor within the cake and, hence, gives it the cake it’s rich taste.

Enjoy..
If there’s one thing that complements this cake, it would be a cup of tea.

Smooth Transformation..
Another thing that I tried with the same recipe was transforming it into an Orange cake. To do that all you need is to substitute the lemon zest and juice with orange zest and juice. The same goes for the glaze, but just make sure that you refine the juice that you use for the glaze from pulp because you want to keep that perfect smooth texture on top.

Lemons..
Try to get some perfect skin lemons because you’ll be using the outer skin of the lemon AKA zest. Zest is an amazing part of lemons. It’s very fragrant and full of flavor. CAUTION :: When you’re zesting the lemon, make sure that you’re only pealing the yellow part not the whit one beneath it because the bitterness resides in that part not in the yellow one. Also, zest the lemon before you juice it because it’s almost impossible to properly zest a squeezed lemon.

--Nora :)

Cake Pops

2010-04-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Leftovers!!

After a party or a family gathering we face such a huge dilemma with the leftovers, half a cake, 5 or 6 uneaten cuppies. . Etc! Cannot be served again nor can’t be frozen for a long time, not forget to mention that u might have prepared it a day before.

So, let’s gets creative!

What ever cake you have will do just fine, basic yellow cake, Almond cake, lemon cake, chocolate cake. . The sky is the limit! Then pair it with your favorite kind of frosting, for example; cream cheese frosting will do great with the lemon cake, the chocolate cake and the red velvet cake while the vanilla frosting tastes so good with the basic yellow cake and the almond cake.

I’ll be using the leftovers from my previous post and a *vanilla frosting.

Cut it into small pieces and through them in the food processor to have a very fine consistency (Sandy consistency)

Dollop a couple spoons of frosting and start to mix until you end up with firm dough.

Scoop equal amount of the dough (I‘ve used a table spoon) and roll it between the palms of your hand and apply slightly pressure, just enough to shape a well rounded ball.

Stick them in the freezer for about 20 minutes; meanwhile melt the chocolate for coating. Now I will highly recommend that you use the chocolate that is made for cooking purpose, don’t use Galaxy it won’t work!

The chocolate should be in a very very thin consistency so after melting add some vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil) until you get the best consistency.

Bring out the balls from the freezer, insert lollipop sticks in the balls and dip them in the melted chocolate, tap them to get off the excess chocolate, add some sprinkles if desired or just stand it on a Styrofoam board until it gets dry.

* For the vanilla frosting:

Ok, to be frank, I literary eyeball my frosting (Clumsy :$). I just mix this and that and it all turns to be very good .So I don’t have a precise recipe so I found you a nice recipe from Cooks.com

· 1 package powdered sugar (16 ounces)

· 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

· 3 tablespoons milk

· 2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth. If frosting becomes too thick, beat in additional milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is of spreading consistency.

I *Heart* the feeling when I bite one of those and indulge my senses with the crunchy chocolate coat and find out the soft spongy yet creamy center waiting for me in the inside . . . Heaven

Dana,

Confessions of a Chocoholic

2010-04-20T01:56:00.000-07:00

Forget love – I keep on falling in chocolate
I’m one of those that can never have enough chocolate. Isn’t it just so hard to resist the temptation of the variety of types stacked in the chocolate isle as you are passing to reach the veggies section :P ?! At least I know it’s hard for me. Nothing can brighten up my day like a venti latté and a good piece of chocolate *sigh* or a chocolate-based dessert.

Chocolate, Chocolate et chocolate
Bars, buttons, melts, fudge, flacks, fountains... As a chocoholic, the favorite places to be are the ones with different forms, types and sizes of chocolate (so don’t be surprised to see me in Maya and Chocolate Bar ;D). Other than these specialized chocolatiers, there are some good quality chocolates in our market. My favorite and which I believe is the best is the Swiss Lindt.

This is the first chocolate recipe that I’m sharing and I assure you that it’s not going to be the last. B-)

Today's Chocolate Star :: Chocolate Crinkles
I just love the look and texture of the cracks (photo) that beautifully shows the contrast in colors between white and brown. But not only does it look pretty, it tastes SO good ! One of my favorite aspects about this recipe is that it relies on the butter and chocolate to solidify again to transform the dark dense liquid batter to soft solid dough. I’ve taken this recipe from the website of the talented Stephanie Jaworski, Joy of Baking.

Here’s what you need,

60 g unsalted butter
225 g semisweet chocolate
½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup powder or icing sugar

This is how you do it,
1. Melt chocolate and butter. Some people like to use the microwave for this process, but I just put it in a pan over boiling water until it completely melts. Leave that aside to cool.

2. Wisk the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder and salt)

3. Beat the eggs and the sugar until it becomes pale and fluffy.

4. Add the chocolate and butter mixture and keep mixing.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients.

6. The resulted batter is dense yet liquid, so you can’t shape it into balls. Therefore, put it in the fridge for 3 hours or until it reaches a solid consistency.

7. Heat the oven to 325°F (for my oven, I tune it to 275°F)

8. Divide the batter into 36 balls.

9. Roll them in the powder/icing sugar.

10. Place them on parchment paper and bake them for about 10 mins

Quality makes a difference..
For the recipe that I’m sharing today, I highly recommend that you use the classic dark chocolate bar from Lindt (the one without chocolate percentages, just dark). I believe it’s the secret factor that gave my crinkles that special taste that everyone was wondering about when they tasted them.

Tips:
• This amount makes approximately 3 dozens. To get all the cookies to be about the same size, divide the bough in quarters and then each quarter makes 9 pieces. It’s easier to eye-ball a smaller portion to equal size balls.

• You could also make them smaller in size (more small cookies), but take into consideration that the baking time will most likely decrease.

• It can be a bit tricky to know if these cookies are done because they are brown so you can’t see them brown from the bottom and decide that they are done. So stick to the baking time. ;)

Just a thought..
It’s good to serve this with coffee or if you want something fancier put a few pieces in a small plate with some barriers and ice-cream. (Y)

--Nora :)

Cakes 101

2010-04-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

. . A Bakerista <3
I’ve been thinking for the past few days , how would I describe my obsession with baking ?, and I found out that I’m a girl that would trade her designer bag for a cake ! As simple as that! A typical Taurus girl that loves to welcome her friends in an apron wrapped on her waist and the smell of a freshly backed cake is coming out of her kitchen.

The simplest thing in “caking” is the basic yellow cake. Can be enjoyed by it self with a cup of coffee or can be the base of any other dessert. I’ve been through many recipes for the best yellow cake and the best was Wilton’s recipe, fluffy and moist from the inside with a tempting golden crust from the outside. This recipe can be used as well to do yellow cupcake, simply make the batter, then line paper cups in a muffin tray and fill ⅔ of those cups with the batter, 25 minutes will be more then enough in the oven.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine (Equivalent to 133 grams of butter)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Instructions:

• Place the oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven at 350º F.

• Grease bottom and sides of an 8 inches round pan an and line a parchment or waxed paper on the bottom and the sides of the pan , now , if you want to do a two layer cake prepare 2 pans and divide the batter evenly between them otherwise its fine to use one pan as long as it a deep one.

• Sift together the flour, backing powder & salt, set aside.

• Break the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk the vanilla together with them, set aside.

• In your electric mixer cream the butter and the sugar until light color appear.(Don’t forget to scrape the sides every now and then)

• Add the eggs and vanilla mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, and mix well.

• Then add the dry ingredient alternately with milk to the previous mixture, mixing well after each addition.

• Spread the batter in the prepared pan, even the top with a spatula and pop it in the oven for about 1 hour or until a wooden pick is inserted in the center comes out clean. “In the case of using two pans then its gonna be half an hour approximately”

• After its done remove it from the oven a let it set in the pan for about 10 minutes then run a knife around the edges and flip it on a cooling rack , peel off the parchment paper and leave it to cool completely.

*Very important remarks:

DO NOT! , and I repeat DO NOT open the oven while the cake is still backing , because losing the hot air in the oven will ruin the cake. U can check when the backing time is almost done.

Don’t stick to the time of baking because there is a difference in each oven , to be sure that the cake is baked insert a wooden pick in the center and if it comes out wet leave the cake for 5 more minutes in the oven. Repeat when needed.

Always break the eggs in separate bowl to avoid the shells and whisk the vanilla while they are still in the bowl.

Don’t panic if you forgot to sift the flour, its going to work either way ;)

:

Now, someone would say: why would I go through all this while there is a “Betty Crocker” on the shelves? Ok, I agree with the saving time factor BUT! Doing a cake from scratch is healthier then a boxed powder, and they r missing a very important ingredient. . Love <3

Dana ,

Baking A.B.C

2010-04-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

They always accuse me of being very accurate and detailed. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I became an engineer ;P. I believe that these “characteristics” are a key to my success in my hobby and passion: making dessert.

When it comes to desserts, following the instructions precisely is one of the key factors to success. Therefore, if the recipe says, for example, that you need to use eggs or butter at room temperature; you really need to do so. From my modest experience, I’ll tell you a thing or two about the ingredients in our market that can give you the best results and the basic tools that you need to have in your kitchen for making desserts.

Butter: the best type of butter that you can use is Al-Marai’s, a Saudi product. Generally, when you open the cover of the butter, you’ll find small dashes indicating how the amount of butter is divided, usually to units of 25g. This can help you measure the amount of butter without using a scale of making an extra cup dirty.

When the recipe states that butter should be at room temperature, make sure you put it out ahead of time. When the butter reaches room temp, it will be very creamy and soft (Y). Sticks of 100g come to room temp faster than bigger sizes. Therefore, if you forgot to put the butter out before or had one of those sudden baking mood spans that come to me, use an equivalent amount of sticks.

None-Stick Spray & Parchment Paper: This product can make your life easier when it comes to greasing your pans. It is very beneficial when you have one of those fancy pans with curves and texture. There’s a variety of brands of non stick sprays in the market. I personally used Crisco and Mazola and they’re both very good. There are butter, oil and olive oil sprays. I always use butter spray for cakes. Parchment paper is also a good product to ensure that what you’re baking doesn’t stick to the pan. Cut the paper to fit the base of your pan, then add small sheets to the sides if it’s required. The greased side in your parchment paper is the inner one, don’t forget that while you’re using it (I always do :P).

Colors and Flavors: Your recipe dictates the solidity of the colors you should be using. You can find paste colors which are excellent for coloring frost because it doesn’t spoil its consistency. Liquid colors can work for other things. I find that the best paste colors you can use are Wilton’s which you can buy online or from Tavola (in Royal Plaza). I started with the 3 basic colors (red, yellow and blue) and mixed as I needed other colors, but you can also buy all the colors that you need. The liquid colors are available in all grocery stores. I usually go for Foster Clarks colors. The flavors that are most commonly used are: Almond, vanilla and rose extracts. For those, I’d go with Foster Clarks too.

Measurement Tools: Use the standard measurement tools such as cups, teaspoons and tablespoons. Empty yogurt cups, mugs, water glasses, used food cans or any other “tools”, that I was very surprised with, are not accurate and, hence, can spoil your cake. When you use a certain measurement cup, use it for measuring everything throughout the entire recipe. It’s also very beneficial to have a small scale for the kitchen. You can find measurement tools is many places such as hyper markets, or in cooking equipment stores such as Tavola and others.

Oven: Before you start measuring and mixing ingredients, turn on the oven to the required temperature and adjust the oven’s rack. This step is very essential for the success of your baking. I love the way my mom describes this process when she assures it’s importance. She pictures it as if the batter “jumps” due to thermal change (3ashan el kaika tfzz, hehehe). When you bake you usually use an upper rack. In my oven there are 4 levels; I use the second from above. The temperature that I usually use for baking is exactly between 250 and 300 F (electric oven).

Cooling rack: a rack is an excellent tool for cooling things. It is very essential when you’re making cookies and biscuits because they have to be cooled from both sides to ensure that no moist remains and spoils them. You can find a cooling rack in any cooking equipment store.

Mixer: When you’re mixing you can use either an electric mixer or a hand mixer, yet they are both very essential in the kitchen. There’s a variety of brands for electric mixers in the market (Moulinex, black & Decker, Kenwood, etc), choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.

Spatula: Make sure you have a rubber spatula in your kitchen because you will need it to scrape the sides of the bowl, fold a batter or other functions. An offset spatula will be essential for decorating. (We will be featuring decorating in several articles in the blog, beeee patient ;D)

Sifter: A sifter is important when your recipe states that you have to sift a certain ingredient (again, I’m very annoyingly accurate with what the recipe states :$). For example, sifting the sugar is a must when you’re making frost to make sure that the frost is smooth and has no chunks.

This is so far all I can think of. Both Dana and I will be updating you with the best ingredients and where you can find them according to each recipe that we post.

--Nora :)

Baking ...

2010-03-06T01:27:00.000-08:00

Life takes us to mysterious turns and twists. It makes us run into a heterogeneous mixture of souls and a diverse number of situations which all, in return, unleashes a powerful emotional motion inside us. And as physically known, when something is set in motion, it can’t help but create momentum. The flow of this momentum differs from one to another because everyone in this universe is unique in his or her own way. Baking has the same characteristic for the same recipe will never taste the same if it was made by two different people! Life turns some of us from little princess with plastic colorful kitchens to grown-up women with hearts full of secrets and real kitchen equipment.

Every one of us has a different reason for perusing their passion, or in our case obsession, in baking. Some of us have a history full of passion and sweet memories with it. Some love the fragrant aroma of freshly baked bread. Some love to know the heritage of a country though it’s museums and restaurants, and if they were to choose between the two they would definitely go for the last one. Others have been through some rough times that brought out the baker in them. They picture measuring ingredients as if it was quantifying their feelings towards someone or something, mixing them to dissolve in each other as if they were making these feeling fade into one another, baking them into a delectable product as if they were taking away the best of this experience, and leaving the bitter part to be washed away! Some are well inspired from the long hours they spend watching famous bakers on food channels, the delicious food made by mothers and grandmothers and even the passion of friends towards this. Some started a self discovery with applying a single recipe and ended up swept of their feet with baking.

If you have noticed, we used the word baking not cooking -- although who knows, our obsession might extend to cooking as well ;). Baking is a special form of cooking. It’s done by exerting the food to dry heat inside the oven. This technique is mainly used for cakes, breads, pies, and other patisseries. What baking does to the ingredients is simple yet sophisticated. It gives it that golden look that results from tanning under the oven’s sun, and keeps what’s within that formed crust moist. Eventually, this moisture evaporates. While we have to cool whatever we baked, we have to cover some things directly after they cool. Leaving things such as cakes uncovered for a long time may cause them to dry, but it’s perfect for others such as cookies.

When we first thought about starting this blog, one of us had the movie “Julie & Julia” recommended to be watched by friends and the other had coincidentally watched it too. We kept chatting on how the movie has added a new motive for starting this blog. Throughout this blog, what you‘ll be reading isn’t just plain ingredients and instructions. Each one has a personal experience to it. We will share with you the funny stories behind applying some, the hassle and struggle to reach a perfect outcome in some, and the secret ingredient of some. Taking about the secret ingredient; the most powerful and the one that should always be used in all recipes is without a doubt: LOVE. For “as within so without”, so does what you feel inside reflect on your food. Even if you’re baking because you feel mad or sad, bake with love. Let the power of love in your baking heal you.

We’ll try to present different types of recipes with different origins and brief you on the history and of some. You will also witness our learning path in traditional Qatari and Arabic sweets as we share with you what we have learned, and what has worked of course. We’ll also tell you where you can find some the strange ingredients and special tools in Doha and perhaps online.

Hope you have a tasty reading here and apply some of the recipes that we share. Don’t ever hesitate in sharing any of your experiences with us or the different ways you have for the same dish. And, though, we’re only armatures that get lucky and bake with tremendous love, please feel free to ask us about anything that you struggle with in our recipes. We’ll try to help you troubleshoot the problem.

Bone Apatite,
The Editors