Bake with me: Experimenting in the kitchen

Chocolate Bar Biscuit

Chocolate Bar Biscuit

I love baking. For me it is magic. You take some simple ingredients, mix them together and you get something completely different as a result. I never tire of experimenting with textures, flavours, shapes, etc. The only problem with baking is that it's not good for you. Well, not so good for the body as everybody says now, but definitely good for the soul - it makes you happy, lifts your mood, makes you smile, the aromas take you on a magic journey to far away lands of your childhood, of milk and honey, of bliss. So I've developed a few tricks on how to make your cake and eat it:) without feeling guilty, but that is a topic for the next post. Today is about experimenting in the kitchen.

The chocolate biscuit in the photo above is my latest experiment inspired by a YouTube food vlogger Natasha Shakinko (you can see her recipe here) who made chocolate bar shaped biscuits. I absolutely loved the idea for several reasons:

1. It's super fun. And great to make with/for kids.

2. It takes less work to shape a chocolate bar rather than individual biscuits.

3. It's easy to portion into small pieces and make sure you don't overeat (it keeps well too).

4. You can experiment with flavours and have different varieties just like with chocolate - omit the cocoa and you will have a "white chocolate" bar; add dried fruit and nuts and you'll have a nut bar; add some alcohol or coffee for a grown-up chocolate bar!

5. You can reduce sugar to make it into "dark chocolate" or add milk powder for "milk chocolate".

That's why this biscuit gets me so excited! I've used my own recipe for the biscuit - I think shortbread type of biscuit will work the best for this recipe and the shorter the better so that it crumbles and melts on your tongue at the same time. I've added instant coffee powder along with cocoa powder to create Mochaccino flavour  as I think coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven. And an important tip is to bake this biscuit at low temperature (160C) for about 20 minutes. 

I hope I've inspired you to experiment in the kitchen:) You can also check my idea for an unconventional use of Yorkshire puddings - I do not have them with beef and gravy (the traditional way to eat them), but with youghurt and berries or stewed fruit for breakfast (recipe here).