Apple Tart with Sweet Pie Dough

This sweet pie dough and the adapted apple filling recipe is from the Pies sweet and savory DK book. The crust with the filling is delicious, we enjoyed this apple tart with ice cream.

For the Sweet Pie Dough

1 cup flour

5 tbsp chilled unsalted butter

Substitute 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 lightly beaten egg yolk optional to make a richer dough

flour for dusting

Afternoon Tea Delight with Denby

I made these delicious Indian Tea Cookies following the recipe from the Indian Vegetarian Feast book by Anjum Anand. This book has lots of simple and healthy vegetarian dishes that we can easily make for our family and friends. I like that all the dishes and sweets have an array of flavour in them. The beautiful pictures on this book will entice the readers to make the dishes, and try them. Th book is separated by breakfast and brunch, drinks, appetizers and snacks, salads, broils and grills, vegetables, cheese, beans, and eggs, grains, and desserts.

Middle Eastern Semolina Cake Basbousa

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year.

This Middle Eastern Semolina Cake known as Basbousa has many different versions of making, and this is a simple delicious recipe I like to make.

For the sugar syrup

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp orange blossom water or rose water

Carrot, Coconut, Apple Muffins and Giveaway

Wishing all of you celebrating Eid a blessed Eid.

Eid Mubarak.

I had the opportunity to taste the creamy new Gay Lea's Coconut Whipped Cream made with pure coconut cream. This non-dairy and lactose free whipped cream is perfect for vegans, and those who are lactose intolerant. Gay Lea's Coconut Whipped Cream is cholesterol free and has 13% fat. It taste just like the regular whipped cream that my family and I are used to, and is fabulous served with fruit, dessert, and hot beverages. 

Cranberry Lemon Matcha Muffins and Giveaway

Matcha green tea is a super-charged version of regular green tea that allows us to reap the rewards of green tea in a wider variety of ways. Matcha is green tea from the Camellia sinensis, but in a very fine powder version of the healthy drink. Unlike other teas derived from Camellia sinensis, matcha has not been fermented. Matcha can be harvested from anywhere in the world and is derived from tea leaves grown in the shade that allows the leaves to achieve a dark green colour giving matcha its magnificent amino acids. It’s quite a long process to produce matcha, but serious tea drinkers rely on matcha to enhance their culinary experiences by adding it to homemade pasta, brownies, breads, cakes and more.

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts

1 cup flour

1/2 cup vanilla infused sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

6 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Buttermilk Cake

This buttermilk cake recipe from Model Bakery cookbook is delicious, and has become my go-to recipe for cake bases. I served one of the cakes bases with a layer of canned fruits. 

1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature

2 3/4 cups cake flour *

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Celebrating National Canned Food Month with Peach Smoothie

Since it is the National Canned Food Month, I am celebrating it with Del Monte Canned Peaches by making a delicious smoothie. During the cold winter months, it is difficult to find fresh, economical fruit to include in our fruit and nutrient intake. Luckily, we can buy canned fresh fruits such as California peaches that have vitamins our body needs.

Easy to Make, No Bake Date Pastries

1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cardamom ground

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates like Medjool

In a small saucepan melt the ghee and add the nutmeg and cardamom and leave aside. Place the flour in a heavy bottom pan and heat it in medium heat until it has toasted and has become lightly brown, stir continuously to avoid it from getting burned.

Sago Coconut Milk Pudding

1 cup sago or tapioca seeds

about 4 cups water
1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup sugar

2" fresh or dried pandan leaves optional

cashews and raisins

Sweet Potato Doughnuts

Happy 2014 Everyone! Wishing you all the best and a healthy New Year. Thank you for being part of our family and site :)

This delicious recipe for Sweet Potato doughnuts or kueh keria is from a blogging friends's site that I had bookmarked for a while and glad I got a chance to try it. The following recipe will make about 8 so I doubled the following amounts to make about 16 doughnuts. 

Chocolate Treasure Island Cake

I made a Treasure Island cake using the following chocolate cake recipe for my son's birthday to accompany the pirate ship cake.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

French Toast in a Mug and Holiday Recipes From Egg Farmers of Ontario

This quick, delicious French Toast was made in a mug, in the microwave and was ready to enjoy in two minutes.

1 tbsp butter

2 to 3 slices of bread cut into cubes

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon

maple syrup or treacle to serve

Shortbread Cookies

Dating back to 12th century Scotland, shortbread cookies have been a holiday essential. This year Gay Lea Foods is embracing the shortbread tradition with delicious treats that will appeal to everyone in the family, as well as, hostesses having holiday parties. This Winter Wonderland Shortbread Snowmen are adorable edible crafts to make with our kids and decorate using gum drop for earmuffs, liquorice for scarves and chocolate chip for buttons. 

Delicious Cheesecake From The Greek Yogurt Cookbook

The Greek Yogurt Cookbook by Lauren Kelly has over 125 nutritious recipes. Although, my family and I enjoy yogurt we barely eat it on its own. However, I find when I incorporate yogurt into our food such as in desserts or savoury dishes it gets eaten. Greek yogurts are different from traditional yogurt because it goes through an extra straining process that removes excess sugars and liquids. Some historians think yogurt was found accidentally far back as 9000BC when milk was stored in warm climates and it fermented resulting in yogurt. 

Creamy Sweet Potato Dessert

201 Gluten Free Recipes For Kids by Carrie S. Forbes gives ideas on how to make delicious meals without gluten ingredients. Many people are adopting to eat healthier by avoiding gluten. If you are new to a gluten-free lifestyle, then this book will provide lots of information as well as delicious recipes to get us started.

Quick Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

2 carrots (about 1 cup) grated

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup raisins

2 eggs

1 tbsp orange juice

Pumpkin Streusel Muffin

1/2 cup sugar pumpkin purée

1/2 cup whole milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg beaten

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter

1/3 cup walnuts chopped

Almond Sweets Halwa

Everyone celebrating Eid, have a blessed Eid 

عيد مبارك 

2 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup fine semolina
1 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp nutmeg*
1 1/3 cups milk
sliced almonds, raisins, cranberries optional for decoration

Berry Muffins

We can use any of the Dorset cereals mueslis for this Berry Muffins recipe that I adapted from the Hellmann's website. We are very impressed how tasty the muffins turned out. 

1 1/2 cups flour 

3/4 cup Dorset cereals

3/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp cinnamon optional

1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries** 

1 cup milk 

1/2 cup Hellmann's® mayonnaise dressing 

1 egg 

*I used frozen mixed berries 

In a large bowl combine flour, Dorset cereals, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in berries. 

In another bowl beat together milk, Hellmann's® mayonnaise dressing and egg. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. 

Spoon mixture into 12 paper lined or greased muffin cups. Bake in 375F preheated oven for 20 minutes or until muffin top springs back when lightly touched and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Hellmann's mayonnaise founded on the principle of real, simple ingredients such as egg, oil and vinegar is celebrating their 100th anniversary. More than 80% of the ingredients in Hellmannʼs are sourced from within Canada and the brand is committed to using 100% Canadian Free Run Eggs in all their products by 2020. Everyone in our home enjoys mayonnaise, but we didn't know about the nutritional benefits associated with it. Mayonnaise is a wonderful substitute for traditional cooking oils since it locks in flavour and moisture, giving added benefit of omega-3 and a polyunsaturated fat.

• Good fats like omega-3 fats help our bodies to absorb vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. Vegetable omega-3 fats are an essential part of a healthy balanced diet because our bodies do not produce them. We can get omega-3 fats through foods like canola and flaxseed oil, walnuts, or mayonnaise. 
• Nutrition guidelines suggest that we should choose more mono and polyunsaturated fats, like those found in vegetable oils, soft, non-hydrogenated margarine and mayonnaise, instead of saturated fats found in butter and cream. Trans fat, found in hydrogenated oils and shortening should be avoided as much as possible.
• Canadaʼs Food Guide recommends eating a small amount (30-45 mL or 2-3 tbsp) of unsaturated fat each day. This includes oil used for cooking, salad dressings, margarine and mayonnaise.

I used the delicious Dorset Cereals in these muffins that gave it a fabulous taste and texture. The mueslis mixture recipes are made with a blend of oats, flakes, fruit, nuts and seeds. Their muesli and honey granola are not only delicious to eat for breakfast with yogurt, but also to include in all types of desserts. 

The different blends of Dorset cereals have unique combinations of nuts, fruits and grain to suit everyone's preference.

• simply delicious muesli (raisins, sultanas, sunflower seeds, dates, brazil nuts, roasted hazelnuts, multi-grain flakes) 
• simply nutty muesli (multi-grain flakes, almonds, dates, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds) 
• fruit, nuts  & seeds muesli (raisins, flame raisins, dates, sultanas, banana, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, flaked almonds, whole hazelnuts, multi grain flakes) 
• super high fibre muesli (toasted cereals, raisins, flame raisins, dates, sunflower seeds, toasted coconut, chopped roasted hazelnuts) 
• really nutty muesli (cashews, brazils, hazelnuts, almonds, sultanas, dates, flame raisins, multi-grain flakes) 
• super cranberry, cherry & almond muesli (cranberries, cherries, almonds, raisins, sultanas, sunflower seeds, flame raisins, toasted cereals) 
• honey granola (oats, sunflower seeds, flaked almonds, rye flakes, pecans, pumpkin seeds baked in honey with a hint of vanilla extract* alcohol based) 

Their mueslis do not have added preservatives or sugar. It is high in fibre and has whole grains. Dorset Cereals can be bought in many countries. 

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2010 - 2013 unless mentioned. Please Ask First