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David Leite’s Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe | Leite’s Culinaria

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by grethascholtz in COOKIES AND BISCUITS

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chocolate chip, David Leite, Leite's culinaria, Ultimate chocolate chip cookies

Mmm, a bit rainy outside today, so a perfect day for baking!  I came across this recipe by David Leite a few days ago, and yum, it truly IS the ULTIMATE Chocolate chip recipe! His secret is to age the cookie dough for a few days in the fridge first.  So, if you can plan ahead, have the patience, and can resist the temptation of cookie dough in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, this is the recipe for you!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve lessened the sugar (you can use even less if you like, the cookies are very sweet, and lessened the chocolate – it was still MORE than enough), I also converted his measurements into grams to simplify things..

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

  • 240g cake flour
  • 240g bread flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 280g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 280g light brown sugar
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
  • 400g of chopped bittersweet good quality chocolate, at least 60 percent cacao content
  • Sea salt

Directions

  • 1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and Kosher salt into a bowl. Set aside.
  • 2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and fold in without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
  • 3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 176°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
  • 4. Bring dough to room temperature.  Scoop six  100g mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Flatten very slightly.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. You can also make the rest of the dough into balls and freeze them till needed.  Eat warm, with a big napkin.


David Leite’s Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe | Leite’s Culinaria.

Happy baking!

Rule Britannia!

05 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by grethascholtz in FOOD, INTERIOR, LIFE, STYLE, TRAVEL

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Berkeley, Diamond jubilee, Fortnum and Mason, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, High tea, Jimmy Choo, Liberty London, London shopping, Louboutin, Rachel Zoe, Selfridges, The arts club, Tom Ford

With the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations and the Olympics all in one year, London is certainly the town to be in at the moment!  I’m lucky enough to visit London a few times a year, ostensibly to keep my husband company, he HATES to travel alone, but basically, to fit in a shopping spree of epic proportions.  Living in South Africa for a large part of the year, I feel like a deprived child when it comes to fashion, so, oh boy, when I get to London, I let loose, and rue my credit card statement for the next few months!

Ideally, I like to go in spring, as, except for skiing, I’m mostly in my summer wardrobe, and I hate shopping in autumn when the shops are full of black and grey and brown.  Soooo depressing.  I also can’t stand the sales in London, everything jammed on rail after rail, women pulling and shoving and bumping, and places like Selfridges and Harrods are the worst.  They’ll actually step over your unconscious body.  I also find people on Oxford street incredibly rude, someone will bump into you so hard you’re left with a bruise, and they’ll pass you by without so much as an ‘excuse me’.  Maybe it’s because that’s where all the tourists are?  It’s very much every man for himself.

That said, I love a bargain as much as the next girl, so if there’s a pair of Choo’s you’ve had your eye on for ages, the sales would be the perfect time to pick it up, but your timing has to be impeccable, and then you pray that they still have your size in stock.  Generally, I’d just rather pay full price for something that I love, than go home with something that’ll end up hanging in my cupboard with the tag on, because it was less 70%.

London is the most amazing place for shopping.  I love high-street fashion, and they do it so much better than in New York, Paris or Milan.  And, strangely enough, I’ve compared prices of the big designer brands, and Prada or Gucci was no cheaper in Milan than it is in London.  And the variety…., I get complete fashion overload.  3 to 5 days is normally enough, then I’m exhausted and broke.  We’ve discussed a few times moving back to London (my husband M lived there for 20 years), but, like he rightly said, we’ll be bankrupt in no time.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the food.  I think restaurants in London are among the best in the world.  I’ve had much much better Italian food in London than I’ve ever had in Italy.  There are just too many good ones to choose from.  We had lunch in a little place called Cavallino, not somewhere we’ve ever heard of before, and it was FANTASTIC.  The best cotoletta alla milanese I’ve tasted in years, if not ever.  M used to be in the restaurant business in London for many years, so it’s always great to see what’s new and happenening, and to eat VERY well.  We had dinner at the new hotspot, members club, The Arts club, and even though it was 11 o’clock at night, and the place was absolutely bursting at the seams,  they managed to serve the best meal I’ve had this year.  Out-of-this-world.   Don’t ask me what I had, there was a whole table laden with food, but I recall the creamiest scrambled eggs I’ve ever had (especially for dinner?), with white truffles, and there was a yellowtail tartare with lime and ginger dressing I’ll remember forever.  Tian of crab, lamb chop with red pepper relish, the rest, after many many cocktails, is a bit of a blur, but I will be going back for more for sure!  Also, after spending enough time in Switzerland, the prices don’t even seem that shocking.  Food in supermarkets are certainly cheaper than in most European countries, in fact, some of it’s even cheaper than in South Africa, and the general quality and variety is fantastic.  Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Tesco, I just love walking through the aisles.  Oh, and the food department at Harrods…………  and the chocolate area in Selfridges, and the teas at Fortnum and Mason, and the rooftop supermarket in Harvey Nichols, and the Hummingbird bakery, and Ottolenghi, and Nobu and the Borough market, oh, I’ll be bankrupt, and fat!, if I lived in London…

Well, needless to say, with all the eating and shopping, I never actually do any of the sights in London, but isn’t it enough to just soak in the atmosphere?  But one day, one day, I’m going to make it to the natural history museum, to see what a PROPER cabinet of curiosities looks like….

Tea tea lovely tea, I can never get enough of all the gorgeous packaging, even though I don’t actually DRINK tea….  Fortnum and Mason is one of my favourite stops for a tin or two, and they’re lovely as gifts.

And is there a more elegant picnic basket than this?

Talking of tea, that should of course be one of the ‘must-do’ things when visiting London.  A good old fashioned afternoon high tea.  One of my favourites is at the Berkeley London, where their designer afternoon tea, Prêt-à-Portea, is inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world.

The new Spring / Summer 2012 collection sees designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Jason Wu and Valentino grace the Berkeley’s tea stand.  Prêt-à-Portea adds a creative twist to the traditional English afternoon tea with cakes and pastries resembling the latest designs for the style conscious.  I loved when Anya Hindmarch made little handbag-shaped biscuits, I just couldn’t bear to eat them!

Just in time for the diamond jubilee!  Tea at the Berkeley

This their menu at the moment, don’t you just wish you could be there?

  • Gucci art deco Grand Marnier and dark Valrhona chocolate mousse embellished with golden beads
  • Mulberry white chocolate crème de menthe and raspberry mousse topped with a lemon meringue
  • Fendi nautical red and white striped vanilla cake filled with fraise des bois cremeux accessorized with oversized yellow button
  • Christian Louboutin must have neon yellow high heeled chocolate biscuit with signature red sole
  • Jason Wu romantic cherry bavarois and coconut cream topped with playful pink skirt and biscuit heel
  • Miu Miu 1950’s inspired vanilla bikini biscuit with red hot icing and playful white bow
  • Valentino romantic peach cake dress with light pink champagne jelly and edible flower
  • Dolce & Gabbana light blue Sicilian blueberry sponge cake wicker basket wrapped in chocolate
  • Michael Kors safari opera cake with dark chocolate and mocha filling topped with signature leopard print

Now, according to Belleabouttown, the five best places for afternoon tea in London is at The Dorchester, The Langham, The Metropolitan, The Berkeley, and the Orangerie at Kensington palace.  Be sure to try one next time you’re in London!

The arts club is London’s oldest art club.  This grand Mayfair institution, co-founded by Charles Dickens, has entertained the likes of Whistler, Kipling, Degas and many a Royal Academician since it first opened nearly 150 years ago.

Having undergone a major, year-long refurb the place has an uber plush new look (no boho touches or shabby chic here) and a star-studded committee; Gwyneth Paltrow has collaborated on the décor with David d’Almada and Mark Ronson is in charge of the music.  Stella McCartney is a patron, also HRH Prince Philip.  The club’s  restaurant is currently home to the hottest tables in town, with superstar chef Raphael Duntoye (from Le Petite Maison) overseeing a delectable menu, and has a world class contemporary art collection.

I spent a WHOLE DAY in the Selfridges shoe gallery.  Does that make me a bad person?

It seemed that if you didn’t own a pair of glossy rose gold shoes, you simply weren’t current, darling!  And if they look like something out of the Jetsons, living in space, even better!

Louboutin, oh Louboutin

I lost my heart to these…

Every girl needs a pair of party shoes to dance the night away in!

What is not to love about Alaïa?

Lanvin

The stylist, Rachel Zoe, has her own shoe range now.  Not really my style, seeing as I’m nearly 6 foot tall, and with rather large feet, I need to steer clear of the platforms.  Otherwise I scare small children and men.

I also popped downstairs to their interior section, and loved the antler mural.  And can you ever have too many beautiful mirrors or cloches?

Then off to the Harrods food hall for a snack, before I undergo some more retail therapy.

Checked out Tom Ford’s new shoe collection…

Fell in love with these intricate leather pieces…

Then Liberty London for some Liberty print diaries…

I discovered a fantastic new shop by Latvian designer Atis Artemjevs, floating, frothy creations, wth the most innovative draping, and the wonderful assistant, that gave us tips on her favourite Icelandic restaurants, a real gem!

Now, I’m not normally one for second-hand/vintage shops (same problem with digging through rails of clothes), but I did find a fabulous shop, Sign of the times, just off the Kings road, stocking Alexander McQueen, Cavalli, Dior, Gucci etc etc. All lovely, on trend fashion with not a mothball in sight. A McQueen dress would set you back about £150-£300, Dior for £250, and I bough a gorgeous emerald green dress by Bruce Oldfield for £100.  See, told you I loved a bargain!

Had to stop off at two of my favourite shops, French sole and Blue Velvet, to pick up some ballet pumps, I know, we’re so tired of them, but they’re great if you have to walk miles and miles!

I also tried to do lots of research on interiors, and stopped off at as many places as I could.  Saw some wonderful driftwood tables and mirrors at Oka, reindeer ice-bucket at India Jane (it’ll work in the chalet),  crystal at William Yeoward, fabrics at Designers guild, oh the list goes on.  Spent waaaay too much time in Anthropology – will post that tomorrow – and had a good look around Ralph Lauren.

I love the marble topped table in Ralph Lauren

The linens were incredibly intricate, I’d love to dress a very feminine bedroom in these..

French connection has started a home-ware collection.  Very calm beach-side chic…

Very cool campaign-style chair

After a long day of shopping, back to the Berkeley, the Blue bar this time, for a well deserved glass of champagne!

After 5 days in London, I’m well and truly exhausted.  One of my best friends is a buyer for a big fashion chain – is that every girl’s dream job, or what? – and I truly don’t know how she does it.  I’m suffering from complete sensory overload, too much information to process, and a monster hangover from all the party-ing and dining.

Thanks to said hangover, I had to cancel our table at Heston Blumenthal’s London restaurant, Dinner, and I’m completely devastated!  I was SO looking forward to it, I’m obsessed with that man’s cooking, but I just can’t seem to drag myself out of bed on a rainy Sunday night in London.

Boohoo, so sad, I’ll just have to go back to London soon!

Ta-dah for now!

Incredible, edible sculptures

04 Friday May 2012

Posted by grethascholtz in CAKES

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

animal cakes, baby shower, Cake sculptures, christening, cupcake gifts, cupcakes, delicate biscuits, food, iced biscuits, wedding biscuits

Ok, so I love to bake, and I think I’m quite good at it, but there are some crazy talented people out there.  I look at Nadia from My little bakery‘s incredibly delicate biscuits, they’re so beautiful, I don’t think I could ever eat them..  The dedication, and steady hand! it has to take to make these boggles my mind…

Then there’s Karen Portaleo and her catering team at the Highland Bakery in Atlanta, Georgia (who count Demi Moore and Sir Elton John amongst their celebrity clients), who specialise in cake sculptures – and appear to do a particularly good line in animal-inspired creations.

Take, for example, the cake they created for Sir Elton’s birthday party, which depicted a dog complete with wacky, Elton-esque sunglasses. Or the pooch poking its head out of an oversized Gucci holdall. Or the incredibly complex octopus cake, intricately finished down to the suckers on its tentacles.

Amazingly, lead decorator Karen has no formal training in baking, and worked as a prop and set designer for the advertising industry before turning her sculpting skills to baked goods. She now records her creative cakes on her blog, Special Sugar – complete with step by step tips in case you ever want to make your own.

Could you honestly eat this?

And then, of course, the perennial favourite, cupcakes…  I adore these by Grace from Cupcakes by design that I always order when a friend has a baby…

Or they’re great to send at any time…

And just for the heck of it, because they’re so pretty, hydrangea cupcakes…

Chocolate deliciousness

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by grethascholtz in CHOCOLATE, DESSERTS

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CHOCOLATE, chocolate cake, Decadent chocolate cake, Easter chocolate cake, raspberries

Image

Mmm, it’s Easter, so what better way to celebrate than with this scrumptious chocolate decadence by top chef Jason Atherton of London restaurant Pollen street social.  I’m forever baking chocolate cakes, and I have so many favourite recipes, but the hint of spice in here is perfect for this time of the year.  Jason does his with lemon thyme, but I find it’s not an ingredient that I normally have lying around, and it tastes just as delicious without.

Spiced chocolate cake with macerated raspberries

Ingredients (makes 8-10 slices)

  • 200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra to grease the dish
  • 2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra to dust
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 5 large eggs, separated
  • 250g raspberries
  • 3 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust

Method

1. First, prepare the macerated raspberries. In a bowl, whisk the icing sugar with 3 tbsp warm water until dissolved, then add the raspberries and toss gently. Set aside to macerate for an hour or so.  If you can get your hands on wild strawberries, the taste is even more intense en delicious.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease the base and sides of a 23cm Pyrex flan dish, 4cm deep, with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

3. Sift the 2 tbsp flour with the spices and set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and spiced flour. Let cool slightly for a minute or two, then beat in the egg yolks until well combined.

4. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold into the chocolate mixture, a third at a time.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for about 30 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out with some moist crumbs attached. Leave in the dish to firm up a little, then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. The cake will rise and the top is likely to crack in the oven, then it will collapse slightly on cooling.

Yum!!

Panettone bread and butter pudding

24 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by grethascholtz in CHOCOLATE

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bread and butter pudding, chocolate chunk, Christmas pudding, dulce de leche, Panettone

20111224-135040.jpg

It’s snowing outside, so what better time to make a decadent, rib-sticking bread and butter pudding. M’s out skiing, and I can’t think of a cozier welcome than having the delicious scent of toasting panettone wafting through the chalet.

This time of the year, I like to use panettone, but you can use normal white bread (crust removed), egg bread (8 1/2 inch slices) or croissants (6-8 small croissants) for a truly decadent pudding for any season or budget!

500g plain panettone, cut into 1 inch cubes. I cut the outside brown bit off, but it’s not necessary
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup dulce de leche, caramel condensed milk or caramel sauce plus more for serving. When I can get my hands on it, I love to use salted caramel sauce. Or if you can be bothered (I can’t!), better yet, make your own caramel.
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons dark rum, optional. When the mood strikes, I use Baileys instead
1 teaspoon good vanilla bean extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips. My luxe version: Lindt salted dark chocolate
2 tablespoons sugar
Powdered/ icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350°F. Place cubed bread in large bowl. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons melted butter; toss.

20111224-134016.jpg

Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bread begins to color, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Cool.

20111224-134259.jpg

Stir whipping cream and 1 cup dulce de leche in medium saucepan over medium heat until blended and bubbling. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs and yolks in large bowl. Add rum, vanilla, and salt; gradually whisk in warm dulce de leche mixture. Stir in bread cubes.

20111224-134634.jpg

Let soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix chocolate chips into custard mixture.

20111224-134813.jpg

Rub a 11x7x2-inch (27x18x5-cm) baking dish or a 8×4-inch (20×10-cm) round dish with a bit of butter. Pour into prepared dish. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake pudding until puffed and set in center, about 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Don’t let it stand for longer, or else it becomes stodgy. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm, passing more dulce de leche topping alongside.

20111224-135940.jpg

Absolutely scrumptious! Enjoy, and have a merry Christmas, with much love from les Diablerets, Switzerland

Hello World!

16 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by grethascholtz in FOOD, INTERIOR, LIFE, STYLE, TRAVEL

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Albertus Seba, Baking, Cape Town, Chef, Decorate, Design, fashion, Finland, France, Gretha Scholtz, Interiors, Lepidopterology, Orchids, Renovate, Shoes, South Africa, travel

So how DOES a girl from a farm in the middle of South Africa end up on an island in the Finnish archipelago? Well, that’s what happens when you marry a Scandinavian man…  It feels like I spend MOST of my life travelling from our summer house on an island in Finland, to the little farm-house in the South of France, or our house in Cape town, South Africa.   And that’s when we’re not in Malta, where we’re residents.  Throughout all this my hubby will be by my side and all you need to know about him is that he indulges and humours me, and he goes by M.

The fun thing about this life is that I get to travel, explore, renovate, decorate, shop, try new restaurants,  and bake, so that’s what I write about, things that inspire me, catch my eye, and make my heart beat faster.  In my spare time I’m a collector, designer, photographer, writer, muse and artist at heart. My current obsessions are cabinets of curiosities, copper-plate engravings by Albertus Seba, the natural history museum, vertical gardens, orchids, lepidopterology, quartz crystals, book art, and yes, shoes, always shoes.

Baking is another of my many passions, I know no better way of expressing love and friendship to people, presenting them with a tray of cupcakes fresh from the oven, and besides, there’s no scented-candle that beats the fragrance of baking brownies wafting through the house!  I’m not a professional chef by any means, and I like to experiment with old favourites, sometimes successful, sometimes not so much!  but I AM passionate about it, so even if the recipes have not been tested in a professional kitchen, the favourites I post here have been baked by myself,  and eaten by those I love.

In a perfect life, I’d be living on a farm in a country where the weather’s never bad, yet I get to sit in front of a roaring fire in the evenings.  There’ll be animals, and I’d read interior blogs, shop on-line, try new recipes, always get to lick out the bowl, eat chocolate for breakfast every day, all while wearing a silk & lace slip and fabulous shoes. I’d get to re-decorate every year with an unlimited budget.  I’ll have friends over for long lunches under the old oak trees every day.   I’ll get to drink champagne when I’m thirsty. I’ll always have perfect hair.   My best friend will be a couturier.  Another will own a vineyard.  I’ll be invited on amazing holidays.  Hang on, that IS my life (except for the good hair), and this is my story.

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