Parshas Vaera

In parsha Vaera, the makkos begin. Kids love learning about the makkos from parsha and there is just so so much we can do.

My kids absolutely love these frogs.  They are just plain fun and oh so cute!

And the best part is that they are so easy to make.

To make frogs....

Make a batch of cup cakes,  once ready and cooled place on the plate you are going to serve it in (once its iced it will be hard to move without cracking the icing).

using a spoon cover the cupcake with green royal icing (recipe bellow).  start with holding it in the middle and icing the sides.  

Place back on plate and then cover the top of the cupcake.

now allow the icing to harden over night. (place in oven or fridge)

 Stick chocolate chips onto white chocolate discs with chocolate spread or some melted chocolate.  If you cant find pareve white chocolate dics, melt white chocolate and using a plastic bag with the tip cut off, pipe into discs onto parchment paper and let it harden.

Using a Kebab stick poke to holes to make nostrils and using a sharp knife cut gently into the cup cake to make a mouth.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

2 tsp lemon juice

3 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar) sifted

green food colouring

Method:

with a hand whisk whisk the egg whites and lemon juice just to get a bit of air in it.  Pour mixture into a mix master with the paddle attachment (k beater).  add the sugar one cup at a time and beat on low.  You dont want it to high as it will get too much air in it and form air bubbles.  when all the sugar is mixed in, add the green food colouring and mix in with a spoon.  The amount of food colouring you use will depend on how dark or light you want the frogs to be.  

In this weeks Parsha Rachel Imeinu passes away whilst giving birth to Binyamin.  

For this weeks Parsha Dessert I decided to make an edible version of Kever Rachel.  

For those of you that don't know,  this is what Kever Rachel looks like... or rather looked like before they added all those mammoth sized security walls around it!

To make Kever Rachel, make a coco-pops marshmallow crispies(recipe below).  For the dome, line a round bowl with a bag and mush ice-cream into it.  Freeze and then assemble before serving.

Coco pops-Marshmallow crispies

5 cups mini marshmallows

8 cups coco pops

1 Table spoon margerine

Method:

In a large microwave proof dish, combine marshmallows and margerine.  cook for 2 minutes until all melted. check every 30 seconds as each microwave works differently.

When ready, pour coco-pops in and stir.  Coat your hands and spoon in oil so the mixture doesnt stick to you.

Line a dish with baking paper and pour mixture into it smoothing out with a spoon or your greased hands.

For the icing, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 4 Table spoons Pralinutta (parev form of Natella) and pour over the crispies.  

Freeze.

In this weeks Parsha Rachel Imeinu passes away whilst giving birth to Binyamin.  

For this weeks Parsha Dessert I decided to make an edible version of Kever Rachel.  

For those of you that don't know,  this is what Kever Rachel looks like... or rather looked like before they added all those mammoth sized security walls around it!

To make Kever Rachel, make a coco-pops marshmallow crispies(recipe below).  For the dome, line a round bowl with a bag and mush ice-cream into it.  Freeze and then assemble before serving.

Coco pops-Marshmallow crispies

5 cups mini marshmallows

8 cups coco pops

1 Table spoon margerine

Method:

In a large microwave proof dish, combine marshmallows and margerine.  cook for 2 minutes until all melted. check every 30 seconds as each microwave works differently.

When ready, pour coco-pops in and stir.  Coat your hands and spoon in oil so the mixture doesnt stick to you.

Line a dish with baking paper and pour mixture into it smoothing out with a spoon or your greased hands.

For the icing, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 4 Table spoons Pralinutta (parev form of Natella) and pour over the crispies.  

Freeze.

In this weeks Parsha Rachel Imeinu passes away whilst giving birth to Binyamin.  

For this weeks Parsha Dessert I decided to make an edible version of Kever Rachel.  

For those of you that don't know,  this is what Kever Rachel looks like... or rather looked like before they added all those mammoth sized security walls around it!

To make Kever Rachel, make a coco-pops marshmallow crispies(recipe below).  For the dome, line a round bowl with a bag and mush ice-cream into it.  Freeze and then assemble before serving.

Coco pops-Marshmallow crispies

5 cups mini marshmallows

8 cups coco pops

1 Table spoon margerine

Method:

In a large microwave proof dish, combine marshmallows and margerine.  cook for 2 minutes until all melted. check every 30 seconds as each microwave works differently.

When ready, pour coco-pops in and stir.  Coat your hands and spoon in oil so the mixture doesnt stick to you.

Line a dish with baking paper and pour mixture into it smoothing out with a spoon or your greased hands.

For the icing, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 4 Table spoons Pralinutta (parev form of Natella) and pour over the crispies.  

Freeze.

In this weeks Parsha Rachel Imeinu passes away whilst giving birth to Binyamin.  

For this weeks Parsha Dessert I decided to make an edible version of Kever Rachel.  

For those of you that don't know,  this is what Kever Rachel looks like... or rather looked like before they added all those mammoth sized security walls around it!

To make Kever Rachel, make a coco-pops marshmallow crispies(recipe below).  For the dome, line a round bowl with a bag and mush ice-cream into it.  Freeze and then assemble before serving.

Coco pops-Marshmallow crispies

5 cups mini marshmallows

8 cups coco pops

1 Table spoon margerine

Method:

In a large microwave proof dish, combine marshmallows and margerine.  cook for 2 minutes until all melted. check every 30 seconds as each microwave works differently.

When ready, pour coco-pops in and stir.  Coat your hands and spoon in oil so the mixture doesnt stick to you.

Line a dish with baking paper and pour mixture into it smoothing out with a spoon or your greased hands.

For the icing, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 4 Table spoons Pralinutta (parev form of Natella) and pour over the crispies.  

Freeze.

parshas chayei sara

 

 When Eliezer was looking for a wife for Yitzchak, he asked Hashem to send him a sign when he finds the right girl.  The sign was to be that when he asks for water to drink who ever offers to put water out for his camels as well will be the one.

Hope you have a wonderful Shabbos!

Whilst this well cup cake looks complicated, it actually is really easy.  

Start with making cupcakes.  When filling up the trays, fill up only half way to get this shape.  otherwise you end up with the rounded top.  Let them cool properly so they dont fall apart when icing.

To cover the base, I made a chocolate icing by melting 250g chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Riches whip.  If you prefer the icing to be more 'liquidy' add more Riches.

Whip the left over Riches with food colouring to make the 'water' in the middle of the well.

Now for the well part...

Draw a well on paper.  Trace the well with chocolate onto baking/wax paper.

Make sure to make them thick enough so they dont break when pushing them into the cupcake.

Parshas Lech Lecha

Hashem promises Avram that his descendants will be as many as the stars and the the sand.
For this I made star shaped doughnuts and coated them with a sugar and cinnamon mixture as sand. 

This is such an easy fail proof recipe, and it tastes great!!

enjoy!

Star Shaped Doughnuts

1 package dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water or milk

3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour

1/2 cup sugarr

1  tsp. salt

sugar and cinnamon mixture (for coating)

 canola oil (for frying)

Dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cup warm water.  Do not mix, allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Mix in 1 cup flour then sugar and salt.  Mix in remaining flour until you have a smooth, non-sticky dough.  Knead on lightly floured surface.  Place in lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until dough is doubled in warm, turned off oven (about 2 hours).  

Turn out dough onto floured surface.  Divide into 8 balls and roll out with a rolling pin.  the thickness depends on what you preffer.  i made both really thin and slightly thicker(1cm thickness) and both were great!
Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat (not too hot or they burn on the outside and stay raw on the inside) and fry for a minute or two on each side.
When ready, roll in sugar cinnamon mixture and enjoy!

Parshas Noach

Parshas Noach is all about the great flood that destroyed the entire world excepting Noah, his family and all the animals they saved with them in the ark.

I really struggled with these arks and some of them look like submarines... but they are cute non-the-less.

Let's start with the meringue ark.

The basic recipe for meringues is

1. preheat oven to 130 C (260F)

2.  For every egg white you use add 1/4 cup castor sugar and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar(or lemon juice)

3.  Beat the egg whites adding the castor sugar 1 tbls at a time making sure to mix the sugar in properly.

4.  When its all well incorporated add cocoa for a darker colour (not to mention the most delicious chocolate flavour)

5.  Using a piping bag shape the bottom boat-

And then the next two layers- 

6.  Bake in the oven for about 1 and a half hours. Allow them to cool in the oven (turned off)  with the door open.

7.  Fill in between the layers with whipped (parev)cream.

Brownie Ark

1.  Double any recipe for a brownie that you have and bake as usual.  

2.  Allow to cool properly.

3.  Using an oval cookie cutter cut out the bottom layer of the boat.

4.  Cut little squares for the top bit.

5.  Ice using Whipped parev cream.  use some of the left over cake to make little windows.

Rainbow cupcakes

Bake vanilla flavour cupcakes and decorate using whipped (parev) cream.  use a belt 'sour' sweet as the rainbow.

Wishing you all a wonderful Shabbos!

Orit

xxx

https://www.facebook.com/ParshaDessert

Parshas Vezos Habracha-Simchas Torah!

Vesoz Habracha! The last parsha in the Torah! We read this parsha on Simchas Torah.

For the occasion I made brandy snap 'Torahs'!  

These are usually great with a filling down the sides but I didnt fill mine as I'm going to be serving them with ice cream.

Brandy Snap Recipe:

Ingredients:

180 grams margarine

180 grams sugar

120 ml syrup

10 grams ginger

180 grams flour

Method:

1.  In a sauce pan melt the margarine, sugar and syrup.  Allow to boil and stir to disolve the sugar.

2.  Pour the mixture into a bowl.  Sift the flour and ginger into it.

3.  Mix and mix until all lumps are gone and its a smooth batter.

4.  Refrigerate for about an hour to allow the batter to stiffen a bit.

5.  Preheat oven to 180C (350F)

6.  Take about a tablespoon of the batter and roll into a sausage.

7.  Only make 4 at a time.  Leave a lot of space between them as the spread a lot.

8.  Place in oven for 6-8 minutes.  You will know they are ready when the whole cookie bubbles and starts turning a golden colour.

9.  Let them cool for a minute or two.

10.  Roll the sides of the cookie up onto the back of a wooden spoon (i cut the end off my wooden spoon to make it easier to use.)

11.  Pull the wooden spoon out and allow to set of cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Wishing you a Chag Sameach!

Orit

XXX

https://www.facebook.com/ParshaDessert

Parshas Haazinu

The Day that Moshe turned 120 years old was his last day on earth. Almost the entire parsha of Haazinu is a song which Moshe sang to Bnei Yisrael on that day. (the little midrash says) these are meringues shaped into musical notes.

Meringues Recipe:

3 egg whites

3/4 cup castor sugar (fine sugar- if you cant find any, put 3/4 cup regular sugar in food processor and grind for about a minute)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar (or a pinch of salt)

Method:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 90C (200F)

1.  Beat the egg whites for a few seconds just to get them a  little bubbly.

2.  Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.

3.  While beating on medium high add the sugar a tablespoon at a time.  

4.  Beat until stiff peaks form and all the sugar is dissolved ( you can test for this by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers- it should be smooth.  If its grainy carry on beating for a bit longer)

5.  Using a piping bag, pipe out musical notes 

6.  Put in oven for about an hour (or until crunchy on the outside).  When done, turn oven off and leave door open and allow them to cool slowly that way.

Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos!

Orit

XXX

http://www.facebook.com/ParshaDessert

Parshas Vayelech

In This weeks parsha we learn the last mitzvah in the Torah... that is the mitzvah of every Jew writting their own sefer Torah!

So of course I made...puff pastry torah scrolls!

Roll out the dough and cut into strips.

Fill the ends with a mixture made of 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tbls cocoa

Roll

Egg wash...

And bake!  See how puffy they are?

Using the back of a spoon press the middle down.

walla!

Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos!

Orit

XXX

http://www.facebook.com/ParshaDessert