Ingredients

• 120gr unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 60gr bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 45gr cocoa powder
• 85gr all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 170gr sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 115gr cream

Cooking time: 18-20 minutes

For the coconut frosting

• 80gr butter (room temperature)
• 220gr mascarpone cheese
• 250 gr confectioners’ sugar
• 100gr shredded coconut (it actually depends on your taste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof bowl. Double boil the mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. In a small bowl, mix the flour and baking powder and set aside.
4. Whisk eggs in a big bowl to combine; then, add sugar and salt and whisk until fully incorporated.
5. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in the cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is creamy and thick.
7. Pour the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes (don’t forget the toothpick test - it never fails!)
8. Remove the cupcakes after 10 minutes. Let cool and add the frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Beat the butter and the cream cheese until light and creamy using an electric mixer.
2. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar.
3. Gently fold in the shredded coconut using a spatula.

Maria Neves sent us this yummy recipe for her own chocolate soufflé. Now does that look delicious or what? Thanks, Maria!

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing
• 400ml milk
• 140g chocolate, chopped - I like using something between 40% and 65% cocoa
• 15g flour
• 30g caster sugar - use less if your chocolate is already sweet
• 5 eggs, separated

Cooking time: 20/30 min (really depends of your oven).

4 Golden Rules of Soufflé: Do not open the oven until the end. Allow for enough space for the soufflé to grow. Do not over mix the batter. Serve within 90 seconds after removing from the oven.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven 160º/Gas mark 3 and grease a soufflé dish with butter.
2. Bring all but 2 tbsp of the milk (400ml - 2 tbsp) to simmering point in a pan over low heat.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate.
4. Mix the remaining milk, flour and sugar to a smooth paste and set aside.
5. Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl and pour the chocolate milk, stirring.
6. Stir in the flour and sugar paste.
7. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in gently into the chocolate mixture - I use an electric whisk at minimum speed never allowing the mixture to be over beaten.
8. Pour mixture into the prepared dish and gently level the surface. - I would also suggest to clean the border of the dish so that the soufflé grows evenly.
9. Place in the oven for 10 min, then increase the temperature to 200º/gas mark 6 for the remaining time.
10. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Ingredients:

• 220gr flour
• 350gr sugar
• 4 eggs
• 240 ml vegetal oil
• 450gr carrots
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 70gr shattered nuts

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups.
2. Cook the carrots, after peeled and chopped. Once cooked, reduce them to a pure and let cool.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder; mix well and set aside.
4. In another bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Then slowly add the oil while beating.
5. Add the flour mix to the eggs. If you feel the batter is too tough, you can add a little bit of warm water to it.
6. Finally, fold in the carrot pure and add the nuts, and pour the batter in the muffin cups.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the cups after 10 minutes.
8. After cooling, you can add icing. I love them with dark chocolate frosting!

Ingredients:

• 225g of unsalted butter
• 115g of semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 250g of granulated sugar
• 65g of cocoa powder (extra-dark if available)
• 125g of mascarpone cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 65g of all-purpose sifted flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 165°C (325°F) and prepare a square pan with a little nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Once melted add the chocolate to the sauce pan and pull off the heat. Give the pan a little jiggle to submerge the chocolate and then allow to stand for a minute then stir until smooth.
3. Sift the cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture and then add the sugar and salt, mix well and set aside.
4. Beat the mascarpone and eggs on low/medium speed until smooth. Pour the butter and chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl and mix until no streaks remain.
5. Remove the bowl from your mixer and gently fold the flour into the batter. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
6. Bake the brownies for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Once cool you can top with the chocolate ganache.

Love snacks is a collection of recipes and thoughts on food, from two amateur foodies who sometimes get weird cravings - not necessarily for the food itself, but for cooking delicious stuff.