Chocolate Biscoff Puppy Chow with Banana Chips

It’s been a while since I made Puppy Chow (not for dogs!!). Remember that stuff? It’s malted cereal smothered with things like chocolate and peanut butter (see below), plus lots of icing sugar.Very snackable and very dangerous.

I was recently sent some Lotus Biscoff spread to ‘try’ as it is now available in all good supermarkets.

But I have adored this stuff for over a year now. It’s also called speculoos (more on the continent) or cookie butter (in the US) but in the UK it’s being marketed as Biscoff. If you don’t know what it is, it’s those little spicy biscuits, cinnamony and lovely, made into a spreadable paste.

I have made blondies with it, a frosting for cupcakes, cakey doughnuts and used it’s former name of Speculoos. But as of now, I am officially calling it Biscoff – much nicer sounding really.

Biscoff comes in a smooth paste or a crunchy one. I personally prefer the crunchy one for spreading on toast or crumpets. And I like to use the smooth one in recipes.

When I was sent the spread I also received a couple of mini packs of the Biscoff biscuits which are coated on one side with chocolate. A great pairing. So I immediately thought it would be great as an ingredient in Puppy Chow (not for dogs!!). But the cereal on it's own didn’t cut it for me. What could I add to the mix?

How about little banana chips? I found small chewy ones in the supermarket (you didn't think I was going to make my own did you?) which I mixed through the cereal and the combination was lovely!

Here’s how easy it is to make;

print recipe

Chocolate Biscoff Puppy Chow with Banana Chips

by Stuart Vettese September-4-2014

Chocolate and Biscoff smothered cereal with chewy banana chips

Ingredients

• 300 grams malted wheat cereal (such as Shreddies)
• 55 grams unsalted butter
• 190 grams milk chocolate, chopped
• 125 grams smooth Biscoff spread
• 190 grams icing sugar
• 100 grams banana chips

Instructions

Put the cereal in a large plastic tub with a sealable lid. Place the chopped chocolate, butter and Biscoff in a saucepan and place over medium heat until melted together. Pour the chocolate mix over the cereal and stir it through so everything gets combined. Add the icing sugar and place the lid on the tub. Shake the tub vigorously! Remove the lid and place the cereal on a large baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Pop in the fridge to set, about half an hour. Transfer back to the tub and add the banana chips. Mix the cereal and banana together. Now, scoop the puppy chow into little bowls and enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 40 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: lots!

My other Biscoff Recipes
Biscoff Frosting
Biscoff Blondies
Biscoff Doughnuts

I am entering my puppy chow into this month's Treat Petite - hosted by myself and Kat at the Baking Explorer. The theme this month is 'anything goes'!

Disclosure Statement: I was sent the Biscoff Spreads free to sample. I was not requested to make a recipe. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Sweet Pizza Time at Zizzi

I was recently asked if I would like to try Zizzi’s new sweet treat – their Chocolate and Strawberry Pizza! Sounded like heaven to me, so Disneyboi and I ventured along to our closest Zizzi ristorante which is in St. Andrews, Fife.

Zizzi were kindly offering us a complimentary meal in return for sampling their new sweet pizza, plus they wanted us to look at other savoury dishes that have turned sweet. Not a bad challenge at all – as I am known for some of my quirkier bakes.

But first on to the meal…

Disneyboi and I turned up at the restaurant last Sunday. It was both our first time in a Zizzi and I have to be honest and say it wasn’t what we expected. The atmosphere was really friendly and relaxed. We were pleasantly surprised and sat down to enjoy our leisurely dinner.

To start with we shared the Cicchetti Platter. This was a selection of Arancini risotto balls (which I love!), chicken and pepper skewers, baked king prawn skewers, mini calzone with spicy sausage and a salad of fresh bufala mozzarella and tomatoes. This was gobbled up in no time at all. It was lovely to try lots of smaller bites and whetted our appetite for the main course.

We also had fruity frascati to enjoy and an Italian bread bucket to nibble on in between each course and dipped the warm breads into fruity olive oil and tangy sweet balsamic vinegar.

For our main course, I chose the Crab Linguine and Disneyboi had the Linguine Arrabiata.

I absolutely adore seafood and the linguine had lots of white crab meat throughout. It was quite broth-like at the bottom, which I enjoyed. Not a heavy pasta dish at all. Although there is an unspoken rule that parmesan cheese shouldn't be served with fish or seafood, I love parmesan and had lashings of it.

Disneyboi likes it spicy and was warned by our waitress that this was the case with the Linguine Arrabiata. He loved it. It was spicy, but not to the point that you couldn’t enjoy the dish.

We were really full, but knew we had to save room for our dessert. Bring on the Pizza!

Actually, Disneyboi went for the Chocolate and Banana Calzone (which he thoroughly enjoyed) whilst I ordered the Chocolate and Strawberry Pizza.

I have to say, the pizza was amaze-balls! It was a real pizza base, and not only did it have sliced fresh strawberries, the chocolate was actually a chocolate and hazelnut sauce (so was just like Nutella drizzled all over it), and it had melty marshmallows as well. The marshmallows were my favourite part. 

They were golden on the edges and tasted like they had just been toasted over a campfire. They were ooey-gooey and the whole pizza was really, really sweet and delicious.

Disneyboi snuck in this unflattering shot!

We did manage everything on our plates, but I have to admit we were stuffed! We had a couple of cappuccinos (in gorgeous glass cups) and chatted to the manager before making our way.

I have come up with my own sweet pizza – which I affectionately call a Sweetza . Mines has a blondie base instead of pizza dough and has a raspberry sauce layer, a sweet cream cheese drizzle and chopped up fruit. The whole thing looks like a real savoury pizza – so don’t be fooled!

I have in the past made a chocolate orange lasagne, which I think would work terribly well on the Zizzi menu! And other sweets treats I have made using savoury ingredients are;

Tomato Soup Muffins (be warned the photo is AWFUL)

Caramel Bacon Brownies

Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie

Apple Cheese Cookies

Visit your local Zizzi to try out their sweet pizza if you get a chance. It’ a seasonal special, so might not be around forever. If you want to have a go at turning savoury into sweet share your creations using #SweetPizza.

Disclosure Statement: We received the meal free to review the sweet pizza. I have not been paid for the post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Treat Petite September 2014

Me again! Yes I’m hosting Treat Petite this month too as Kat and I are ‘swapping’ months.

Thanks for all your No Bake entries in August – you are an inventive lot!!

Can you believe it, but Treat Petite is a year old! It has gone fast and we have had brilliant entries for our various themes over the past 12 months. Our first theme was ‘Anything Goes’ so basically anything individual you baked was fair game.

Kat and I have decided that this September we will keep the theme the same – so ‘Anything Goes’ again!

You might have noticed something's changed – the logo. We wanted something updated and fresh, so we plumped for the one you see at the top. We hope you like it.

(I shall be on my holibobs for a week, but rest assured I will retweet your entries when I can!!)

So here are those rules. They've changed a wee bit as we have added a linky tool for your convenience...

Treat Petite is for all of those delicious bites, which can be individually portioned. Tray bakes are fine, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, macarons and so on. No cakes, puddings, loaves – you get the idea…here are those all-important rules.

1. Add your petite treat to the Linky at the bottom of this post by the 25th of the month, midnight at the latest.

2. Post your bake onto your blog and link back to Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer, stating who is hosting this month.

3. Follow Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer blogs on Google + (see sidebar links), if you haven’t already.

4. If you tweet use  #treatpetite and mention @MrCakeyboi and @BakingExplorer – we will retweet
   
   
5. Add the new challenge logo to the post and ‘Treat Petite’ as a label to the post
   
   
6. Use any recipe as long as the source is noted

7. If you like, add your photo to the ‘Treat Petite’ Pinterest board (request access from me – Cakeyboi)

8. Feel free to enter old posts as long as you update the post and meet all the requirements above!

Above all else – have fun!!

Treat Petite August 2014 Round Up

As we are fully into Sumtumn © now – it’s time for the Treat Petite round up for August. The theme was No-Bake as the weather had been so warm and we didn't fancy putting our ovens on much. Our ‘bakers’ didn’t let us down.

First off, Helen at Family-Friends-Food entered these brilliantly named Nobbly-bobbly Spiced Chocolate Biscoff Fruit & Nut CrispyBites. The fact these contain Biscoff has me sold instantly. And in case you are wondering the nobbly part is crispie cereal!

My good friend Luca, whom I met at Food Blogger Connect this year submitted these beautiful individual Cherry and Banana Cheesecake Verrine via his blog Oh La Vache. Luca, who lives in France, explains a verrine is simply a dessert served in a glass. He layers cherry jelly, speculoos biscuits then a heavenly mix of banana and mascarpone on top. Heavenly indeed.

Next Choclette, over at the Chocolate Log Blog made these Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispies inspired by Reese’s PB Cups. She was disappointed with the way they turned out after converting US measurements to UK, and with reduced ingredients, but I don’t they look bad at all!

Laura at I’d Much Rather Bake Than made these Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats. The combination of white choc and PB is something I’ve not tried together before. However it looks delicious in Laura’s Treats.

Caroline at Caroline Makes, brought us two no-bake treats. Her first was a deconstructed Lemon Meringue Pie. In a glass she crumbled some digestives, then layered lemon curd on top, followed by a layer of whipped double cream. Lastly she sprinkled on some new Lemon Meringue Sprinkles, which I hadn’t heard of before.  This is a really fast, easy and impressive dessert!

Caroline also brought us this Strawberry Marshmallow Mousse. It’s from a Waitrose recipe and involves boiling strawbs with orange caster sugar and marshmallows. After this is cooled some fromage frais is folded in then the mix is left to set. Now that is ingenious!

Elizabeth at Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary made these Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites. Now, I have made cookie dough bites before but never triple chocolate. These apparently are very addictive and I for one wouldn’t argue.

Pauline at Pauline’s Occasional Baking Adventures made these Baileys and Chocolate Miniature Cheesecakes. With lots of Baileys, chocolate, biscuit and cream cheese my only question is why does Pauline only bake occasionally?! You should bake all the time if this is the deliciousness you concoct!

Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker made these vibrant Chocolateand Peppermint Squares which have an Oreo crust, a pepperminty cream cheese layer then topped with minty Areo Bubbles. They look fantastic and that we addition of green food colouring really makes them stand out!

Next, Kate The Gluten Free Alchemist made these MarshmallowParty Bites. They are (giant) mallows topped with chocolate and then sprinkles, nuts or Smarties added on top. Kate says she thinks these are possibly the English version of my Top Hats I made recently. They look great fun for a kids party.

Manpreet at Eat Well Feel Good gave us a healthier no-bake Treat Petite in the form of these Date and Nut Energy Bites. Packed with natural, healthy ingredients these are perfect for those not wanting too much refined sugar in their diet.

Angela over at Garden Tea Cakes and Me made these ChewyToffee and Salted Cashew Nut Cookies. They are made in a pan, then rolled into parchment paper and when set sliced into ‘cookies’. I love the way the cashews are sliced in half and look really pretty.

My co-host Kat at the Baking Explorer made these traditional Chocolate Truffles. Made from melted chocolate, butter, egg yolks and icing sugar (plus a bit of vanilla) they set overnight before being rolled into balls and then coated in whatever you fancy such as vermicelli, coconut, sprinkles – you name it!

And lastly I made a healthy no-bake recipe in my Optimum9400 blender from Froothie. My Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pinwheels have a ‘chocolate’ layer made from dates, nuts and cacao powder (yes, not cocoa) and then homemade peanut butter is spread on top of that before this is rolled into a sausage shape. Sliced into little cookies, these are healthier and hit that chocolate/PB craving without too much guilt.

Thanks to everyone who didn’t bake this month – lol! We really appreciate your entries. And stay tuned for Treat Petite September – also hosted by me. See you soon!

Disclosure Statement: I received the blender for free. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Chicken Caesar French Bread Pizza

You did read correctly Chicken Caesar French Bread Pizzas – this is another foray into the savoury side of things for Cakeyboi! My Sweet ‘n’Easy Chicken Curry I posted a couple of months back was a big hit, so I thought I would do more savoury dishes – on occasion.

I was thinking what I could make for dinner for Disneyboi the other night. He LOVES Chicken Caesar Salad, but I wanted to change it up a bit. How about having it on French bread?

So much nicer than those pre-packaged French bread pizzas, which come out of the oven all hard and tasteless. Mine is full of flavour and is what I would term a white pizza. There is no tomato sauce, just (shop-bought) light Caesar dressing, rocket, parmesan cheese, fried bacon lardons and oven-baked chicken breasts. The crouton part comes in the way of the crusty fresh baguette (white or wholegrain) this lovely concoction sits on top of.

It’s really easy to knock together and looks quite impressive for a simple supper solution.

You could of course make your own Caesar dressing, but if you are short on time, or quite simply can’t be bothered, the shop ones are very tasty. I used little pancetta lardons for the bacon, but good old smoked back is fine too.

I used rocket instead of the traditional iceberg as rocket has way more flavour and holds up better under the heat of the grill.

I used fresh parmesan from the block for this. With some grated and some sliced on top. This is the part that will melt under the grill and keep it all together.

Disneyboi was impressed and asked that I make it again sometime. So that, ladies and gentleman, is a huge recommendation for you!

Here’s how I made it;

print recipe

Chicken Caesar French Bread Pizza

by Stuart Vettese August-28-2014

Chicken Caesar Salad on top a crusty french baguette, grilled to perfection

Ingredients

• 1 medium french baguette
• 2-3 tablespoons light caesar dressing
• 2 chicken breasts
• 80 grams approx. bacon lardons
• a couple of handfuls rocket leaves
• parmesan cheese (to taste)

Instructions

Place the chicken in a foil wrap and pop in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C. Add the lardons to a hot frying pan and cook until crispy. Drain excess fat on kitchen paper. Cut the baguette into 4 equal slices. When the chicken has cooled, cut into small cubes. Make the 'salad' by combining the cubed chicken and bacon with the dressing, rocket and grated parmesan. Layer up on each piece of bread and with a vegetable peeler, slice parmesan strips on top. Place under a hot grill until the cheese has melted and is bubbly. Finish with some black pepper and more grated parmesan.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 4 pizzas

White Chocolate Chip Moose Maple Butter Cookies

Couldn't you sink your teeth into one of these White Choc Chip Moose Maple Butter Cookies right now??!

Did you see my new feature the other week called ‘That’sWhat I call New’? I posted about a few new items I have been sent or tried recently.

One of them was a brilliant new spread called ‘Moose Maple Butter’. It is organic butter specially blended with 'grade A' maple syrup and a touch of sea salt. This makes for a delicious naturally sweet spread for your toast, crumpets, to eat with a spoon – you name it! The good thing with Moose Maple Butter is there are no hidden nasties just pure honest ingredients.

Me, I think it tastes like pancakes in a jar! Which I love! So how could I use it in my baking? I decided to add it to some cookies. Made with brown sugar and with added white chocolate chips, the maple butter left a delicate maple flavour in the cookies, not overpowering at all. Delicious! I also used some icing sugar in the cookies for a light touch.

The cookie dough is quite thick, so the OXO Good Grips spatulas I featured recently are perfect for getting every last bit of that dough out the bowl!

Of course if you want to just get your hands on Moose Maple Butter, pop over to the website for more details.

print recipe

White Chocolate Chip Moose Maple Butter Cookies

by Stuart Vettese August-25-2014

Soft chewy cookies, made from brown sugar, maple butter and white choc chips

Ingredients

• 110 grams moose maple butter, softened
• 150 grams light brown sugar
• 70 grams icing sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 100 grams white chocolate chips
• 300 grams plain flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C and line two large baking sheets with greaseproof paper. In a bowl mix mix together the maple butter and the sugars until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until the mixture thickens slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until the cookie dough forms. Add the milk to loosen it up slightly. Add a bit more if the dry ingredients aren't incorporating. Lastly add the white choc chips and stir through. Spoon large amounts onto the baking sheets, about an ice cream scoop size and flatten down slightly, making sure they are well spaced apart. Pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Place on a cooling rack. Your cookies are ready to enjoy.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 10 large cookies

In the mood for maple now? Here are some more recipes from some favourite bloggers featuring maple syrup;

Homemade Fruity Granola with Maple Syrup from Emily at A Mummy Too
Maple and Pecan Flapjacks from Jen at Blue Kitchen Bakes
Blueberry and Banana Pancakes from Camilla at Fab Food 4 All
Maple Bacon Muffins from Helen at Fuss Free Flavours

Disclosure Statement: I received the butter free to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

DotComGiftShop Bundle Giveaway!

Have you visited DotComGiftShop before?

They are an online retailer who sell a selection of brilliant gifts and home accessories. All the items are designed exclusively by their in-house team.

They sell items for every occasion, weddings, birthdays, for him, for her, for cooks, for gardeners. There is really no-one who isn’t catered for.

And I was extremely happy when I was selected to be one of their favourite bloggers. And because of that, I get to bring you this brilliant giveaway of a goodies bundle from DotComGiftShop,  hand-selected by my good self, for you the Cakeyboi reader.

First up we have two items from the Vintage Ivy range which would look great on any table and the products are environmentally friendly.

There is a Medium Vintage Ivy Pink Bamboo Bowl (rrp. £4.95) and a Vintage Ivy Teal Bamboo Plate (rrp. £5.95). Both of these items are made from biodegradable material, but can be washed in a dishwasher. And when they come to the end of their life they can be slung in the compost bin!

Next we have a crate of 6 school milk bottles (rrp. £9.95). If like me you are old enough to remember getting your daily milk at school, then these will bring back loads of memories. The glass bottles can be used for smoothies, milkshakes any drink you like, or used as cute little vases. Plus they come in their own handy metal crate with handle.

For all those delicious Cakeyboi recipes you are going to make we have a set of 12 vintage doily baking cases (rrp £2.95) and a set of 6 vintage doily loaf shaped baking cases (rrp £3.95). These are made from card and can be safely used in the oven up to 180C. 

And lastly to carry these all in, the final item is a recycled Vintage Ivy DotComGiftShop reusable shopper bag made from plastic bottles (rrp £1)!

All the items are fantastic quality – I know. I was kindly given one of everything myself too, so I could try them out. I will be featuring some of them in my photographs over the next wee while.

But to be in with a chance to win ALL of these DotComGiftShop goodies please enter via the Rafflecopter thingamajig below. The giveaway is open until midnight on 9 September to UK residents only.

Good Luck!

Disclosure Statement: I received these items free to review. The winner will receive a new set directly from DotComGiftShop. I have not been paid to run this giveaway. Any opinions expressed are my own.

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