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Bake Away Your Blues.

I get emotional a lot. No, don’t worry. This won’t be a rant about the perils of student living and the amount of work it seems to take to keep things afloat – uni work, work work, social work (and not the kind that benefits society), love work and all that other mundane work – but I just thought I’d establish that sometimes life gets too much.

I could take the easy way out and drop out of uni, waste glorious amounts of time and eat myself stupid, whilst being a full time blogger that earns zilch from her craft but does it anyway to entertain her one reader – but that doesn’t seem all too far removed from what I do already. And there’s an easier way to do away with student blues.

I know I’ve harped on about it before but I’ll torture you all and do so again.To me the best way to distract myself from all that’s gettin’ me down is to bake my little heart out.

Today I had a strong urge to make choc chip cookies. There’s something nostalgic and cheerful about them that is the perfect antidote to, well, life. Most recipes call for actual chocolate chips but a look at the price of even the smallest packet was a very rude awakening. To me they’re poor value for money unless you buy a generic brand, which I’m often wary of. So instead I say take the cheaper way out and buy a large block of chocolate. Not only is it more affordable, you can also get a bit of variety to spice up your biscuits – hazelnuts, almonds, and other types of nuts make wonderful additions.

Following my bake-a-thon my emotions are a little more stable. The therapeutic nature of baking lies in its rhythmic calm: sifting flour, measuring things and mixing and pouring and licking the bowl. There are no mentions of Foucaultian theories or global economics or the human anatomy. No customers to pester you with ridiculous questions. No drama, no fights, no plot lines to rival a bad daytime soap. The only work involved is easy and makes perfect sense and produces a delicious end result. Not only will you cure your own bout of doom and gloom but you’ll probably make someone else’s day a little sweeter, too. Naw.

Hazelnut Choc Chip Cookies.

Hazelnut Choc Chip Cookies

Makes 20

150g butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup corn flour

200g hazelnut milk chocolate (any type of chocolate is fine), roughly chopped into choc chip-sized pieces

1. Preheat oven to 180c/160C fan forced. Grease an oven tray and line it with baking paper.

2. With an electric mixer, beat together butter, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.

3. Sift the two flours into the butter mix and stir well to combine.

4. Add the chopped chocolate and combine.

5. Using your hands, shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place 5cm apart on tray.

6. With your fingers or with a fork, flatten the balls slightly.

7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and cool on trays.

Tags: baking, biscuits, choc chip, chocolate, cookies, hazelnut, student, university

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Heaven for a Choco-Nut.

8 Aug

I love peanut butter and I love chocolate. But what do I love more? The two combined and melted in a thick vat of dark hot chocolate.

Before a few days ago, I didn’t think this combination was possible – instead merely existing in my dreams or, at best, being concocted at home by smearing a piece of chocolate with peanut butter and putting it in the microwave. Pleasant, yes, but nothing compared to my new favourite chocolate beverage. Sorry, Mr. Brenner, your Italian Hot Chocolate is wonderful and amazing and delicious, but this one has the added (and probably unnecessary if we’re talking calories) benefit of a large dose of peanutty goodness.

When dining out with friends who still live at home, often it’s difficult to match them dollar for dollar in terms of menu choices. Most of the time I do, but subsequently forfeit lunch the next day or paying the energy bill on time. I advise against this, as there are many options on most menus that, although maybe not as decadent or elaborate as your friends’ choices, won’t break your credit rating. This hot chocolate is one of them.

At only $6.50 including a chocolate-peanut butter spoon, the San Churro Spanish Hot Chocolate is fantastically affordable. Sure, the average hot chocolate is probably half that, but I find most of them to be disappointing, either too weak (instead deserving the title, ‘hot milk’) or thin and watery. But this one fills all the criteria of a good hot chocolate: it’s thick, sweet and oh so chocolatey. The practically gargantuan cup that they serve it in further ensures that the price is justified, with its bulbous shape allowing a very generous serve.

And now to the spoon. It’s basically a teaspoon of peanut butter covered in chocolate which, if you’re not familiar with this delectable combination, may not sound too exciting, but is definitely something worth trying. I have friends who believe the two should never mix (much like I adamantly believe Surf ‘n’ Turf to be the most unappetising menu option around) but if you haven’t before, do try it. It caters to all tastes with a choice of milk, dark or white chocolate, and can be added to any hot drink. It melts gloriously in the dense hot chocolate, adding to it a tiny hint of nuttiness.

Spanish Hot Chocolate with a Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter Spoon.

My friend chose the Hot & Cold hot chocolate ($5.90), upon rumours that it was the most amazing thing ever. She wasn’t disappointed by the mix of the same Spanish Hot Chocolate with the addition of white chocolate ice cream. Like my chocolate-peanut butter invention, I’ve tried to combine hot chocolate and ice cream at home, failing rather miserably. Although I didn’t try her choice (I’ll blame the flu season for that), I hear it lived up to those rumours. Her cries of ‘wow’ and the slightly less intelligible ‘gawwwfff’ pretty much said it all.

Another friend had the hazelnut hot chocolate ($5.90) which, she said, tasted strangely like liquorice. Again I didn’t try it (see above) but the smell was enough to tell me it had that they’d maybe gone a little overboard on the artificial hazelnut. Much like almond essence and sesame oil, to me fake hazelnut is something that should be added with caution. Her verdict was that she should have gone with the Hot & Cold, especially after hearing our other friend rave about it in incoherent cries of excitement.