Happy Fathers Day !!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who are with us and to those who have left us!! Nothing can fill the place of a lost father, so cherish every moment with your dad when he's around. Tell him you love him every possible minute !!! Even though you might have ups and downs every once in a while be sure that it is merely superficial... The truth lies within the hearts of each and every one of us !!! We know that we love them, we know that without our dads we are worth nothing because if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been whom we are today. 

So I want to take this moment to tell my dad, that I love him and even though we are miles apart, you are always on my mind and in my heart and I would like to thank you dad for standing beside and helping me out when I was in need, thank you for your love and care and tenderness and thank you for believing in me and pushing me to become what I am today. Your blessings and prayers are all I ask of you, Love you Dad!!

Here is a cake I made just for you !!!

Easy Orange Sponge cake with Raisins

3 Cups Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

2 Cups Sugar 

3/4 Cup Oil

1 Cup Milk 

1/2 Cup of Raisins 

Zest of 1 Orange 

Beat eggs, add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. 

Start to add oil beating until all incorporated. 

Mix zest and baking powder with flour. 

Start to add flour and milk alternating until all are used. 

Always beginning and ending with flour. 

Stir in raisins. 

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45mins at 170'. 

Zoo animal cupcakes

I finally completed my zoo animal cupcakes project. Had a hard time finding the cupcake paper to go with the theme but those yellow cheetah patterned ones turned out perfect. 

For my cupcakes I opted for a classic chocolate recipe that my family simply love. 

I decided to add a signature to all my cake work to make it as personal as can be. I chose Divine Cakes as Nivine (my name) and Divine are just one letter apart and because my daughters find my cakes simply Divine!!! Nice right?!! 

Happy birthday hassoun

It's done!!! My first ever fondant covered cake is done!!! Ina Garten's chocolate cake with Nutella butter cream icing. Hope it tastes as good as it looks. 

It's taken me one week to get this baby ready !! 

Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe : 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html

So this how the cake looked when we cut through it 

The moist fluffy crumbly cake went beautifully with the flavourful Nutella buttercream filling. The girls loved it and my husband too. He licked his plate clean !!!!

So the Nutella buttercream icing recipe is as follows : 

1 cup Nutella 

1 stick butter

11/2 cups powder sugar

11/2 tsp vanilla 

2-4 tbsp heavy cream 

Beat together butter and Nutella until creamy. Mix in vanilla extract. Add in powdered sugar and mix well. Add cream until required consistency is achieved. 

Sablé a l'Apricot

A quick recipe baked just before going to get my hair all dazzled up with a fresh coat of colour and a fresh cut. 

Sablé a L'Abricot also known as apricot tart, is so simple it will literally take you 45mins from start to finish. 

Ingredients

3 cups Flour

3/4 cup Butter

3 Eggs

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Baking Powder 

4 tbsp Apricot Jam

1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs and vanilla,  and beat well until incorporated. 

3. Add flour and baking powder and mix again. 

4. Spread out 3/4 of dough into tart dish with your hands. 

5. Heat apricot jam in microwave until runny. Spread on tart 

6. Decorate with remaining dough after forming it to make stripes.

7. Bake for 20mins in 350 oven or until nicely coloured. 

8. Allow to cool before slicing. 

Lebanese style

My Bibi just got home after a 5 day business trip to Ireland so this week-end I decided to cook him his two favourite dishes, beef shawerma and stuffed aubergines. 

Shawerma's origin goes back to Turkey. It is a meat preparation, where marinated beef or chicken meats are placed on a spit  (commonly a vertical spit )  and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Although it can be served in shavings on a plate (generally with accompaniments), shawarma also refers to a sandwich or wrap made with shawarma meat. Shawarma is eaten with Tabbouleh or Fattoush Salad and french fries. Toppings include Tahini, hummus and  pickled cucumbers. 

Beef and Chicken Vertical Spit Grill

Considering the fact that I don't have a vertical spit to grill my beef, the easy way to cook the beef and get the same result is by slicing the meat into thin strips and marinating the beef and then grilling it in the oven. The secret is in the marinade, the longer you marinade the meat the more tender it will be. 

Marinade ingredients : 

vinegar 

garlic 

ginger

bay leaves

cinnamon

cloves

cardamom

nutmeg

black pepper

You will need to marinate it for a day especially if you are making beef shawerma. 

Vegetarians would love stuffed aubergines !! The Aubergines are cored, stuffed and cooked in tomato sauce and are usually eaten with fresh green or white onions. 

Stuffed Aubergines 

1/2 kg small black Aubergines 

2 cups chopped parsley 

1 cup rice

1 cup tomato diced

1 tbsp chopped green mint 

1 large onion chopped 

1/2 cup lemon juice 

1/4 cup olive oil 

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp allspice seasoning 

1 can tomato purée 

Wash and cut the stems off the aubs' then core them until all seeds are removed. Wash again and drain. 

In a bowl add parsley, tomato, rice, mint, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cinnamon, allspice seasoning and mix.

Start to stuff the aubs' but remember to squeeze out the extra juices and Do Not Fill More than 3/4 of each Aub !!!

Drop in pot along with tomato sauce and strained juices from stuffing and cook on high for 30-40mins or until a fork goes through easily. 

Bon Apetit !!! 

Divine Cupcakes 1

Nothing can be more calming and relaxing than the aroma of fresh baked cupcakes. Just baking a dozen ( minus one to satisfy my carvings) can help give you that zen feeling : your body and soul + a cupcake = a big smile that lasts all day !!

A dear friend of mine asked me for zoo animal cupcake toppers for her sons birthday cupcakes, so I started working on a few ideas. 

And these are my cute little cupcake toppers made from marshmallow fondant. Still have to work on a few more animals like lions, tigers and pandas. 

The final project is not yet finished I will post it when it's done. 

Egyptian Night

It had been quite some time since my last  dinner event. My dear friend Hania was craving for a stuffed pigeons meal, the egyptian way. So I flew the birds with me all the way from good-old generous Cairo to wild and crazy Beirut, nicely packed in their ice bag ready to be stuffed and devoured !!! 

The day came when it was time for the pigeons to get their stuffing. A quick call to mum back home and the recipe was all set. She took me through it step by step until I had them stuffed and ready for roasting. 

Roasted stuffed Pigeons 

The menu for the dinner event also included koshari( an egyptian staple dish) consisting of rice, lentils, pasta and fried onions accompanied by a chilli hot tomato sauce.

Koshari

 Misakhan, (a Jordanian /Palestinian dish) that one consisted of roasted chicken dressed with a sauce mainly made out if chopped onions and chicken stick , sprinkled with sumac and pine nuts and served on a bed of Taboun  bread  (carried all the way from Amman by my love Hassan) 

Misakhan

More dishes on the menu included Warak Einab ( stuffed vine leaves) with cucumber and yogurt salad and Bamieh( Okra) stew with rice. 

For dessert my sister sent me her Basbousa recipe: an oriental sweet mostly made in Egypt. 

My guests enjoyed the meal to the sound of the famous Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez, and we finished off our meal with my dessert and ice cream cake and Mille feuille cake.

Basbousa recipe 

2 nestle cream 

2 cups smeed (fine semolina) 

2 cups coconut 

1 cup sugar

2 tsp Baking powder

Use the nestle tin as your measuring cup. 

Mix all ingredients together 

Pour into deep dish  lined with parchment  paper, with wet hands smooth the top out. 

 Dip tip of knife into water and make square cuts, decorate with almonds and bake on 170 for 35mins until done. Take out tray and slice again return dish to oven for 10mins.

Whilst baking put 2 cups sugar in pot with 1 cup water and bring to a boil.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice and flower water and let boil for 5 mins set aside. When basbousa comes out of the oven start to pour your syrup until 3/4 of it are absorbed. 

Let sit to cool. 

Slice and enjoy.